my ghost wont associate with your ghost

October, 1915

Mayfair, London -> Various Addresses

All,

I know, I know. Not another invitation, you are thinking, adding it to the pile of invitations you will have to invent excuses not to attend for, not another ball, or gathering, or ridiculous Enclave-wide generic holiday event.

Generic this event is not; Matthew and Esme Fairchild do not believe in generic anything, and are hereby inviting you to a refined, bespoke All Hallow’s Eve gathering. (And by ‘refined,’ we mean as eloquent as possible while our house is covered in all sorts of toys and toddler crayon drawings, and by ‘bespoke,’ we mean as cultured as possible when some of the invitees have still not even touched my gothic literature recommendations for the month of October.) (Yes, Jesse, I’m talking to you - having four kids under four is no longer an excuse.) The events unfolding on the continent are harrowing enough; let us forget the real terrors of the world, this one night, and instead enjoy as thrilling an evening as possible amongst our extended friends, family, and several toddlers and babies running about.

Please refer to the below details and commonly-asked questions; if you have further inquiries (looking at the daftest among the invitees - A. Carstairs), please just ask your better half for clarification (Tommy Chap) or refrain from attending this gathering all together.

Always yours,

Matthew, Esme, Vienna, and Graham

Further information:

“What is this?” To be quite candid, Esme and I are sick of the Wentworth’s awful Halloween ball. We are establishing this event under the guise of a literary saloon, if only to help our nearest and dearest avoid another year of Piers’ recitation of ‘The Raven.’ What we will actually be doing is sitting around, gossiping, and generally enjoying the revelry and one another’s company.

“But Matthew, I love the Wentworth’s Ball! I especially love Piers’ fine rendition of Poe.” Fine, Alastair, don’t come. We will try not to weep with despair at your absence.

“But Matthew, I have kids!” That’s okay! Bring them! Only prerequisite: they must be wearing a cute costume, for it is All Hallow’s Eve (and I want a picture of all the kids in cute costumes, Angel spare me!)

“Do I need to bring anything?” If your name is Anna, Ari, Thomas, Alastair, Lucie, Jesse, Eugenia, Harry, or Cordelia: no! If your name is James and you have the world’s greatest fortune of being my parabatai: yes!

Other Details: Fairchild Residence, 31st October, 7:00 PM. Eat dinner beforehand - Esme and I loathe cooking. We will have puddings and candies for the kids, and even the American tradition of bobbing for apples. It will be FUN and you will LIKE IT.

Don’t worry about RSVPing - you’re all coming. Together, we can put an end to the Wentworth’s All Gallows Ball (an accurate name; I’d fancy a trip to the gallows over an evening with Rosamund attempting to critique ‘The Modern Prometheus,’ when we all know she has not finished reading a book since the Codex in school.)

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Cornwall Gardens, London -> Mayfair, London

Fairchild,

At long last, I believed the day had come that I could reject one of your invitations; Thomas and I had previous plans to be out of the country, and I thought I could finally rest in peace whilst knowing our mutual companions are languishing at another ridiculous Fairchild get-together.

Rest in peace (on the streets of Paris, no less), I could not; my mother has just requested that Thomas and I take Zachary due to a last-minute family emergency regarding her sister in Tehran, and we have had to cancel our travel arrangements.

(I know, I know, Cordelia should take one for the team. But no - Mâmân says she is busy with Owen and Elizabeth, and practically begged us to keep Zachary here in Cornwall Gardens. He is eleven, to be fair, and far more energetic than little Owen and Betty, so we relented.)

Now, Thomas is insisting we attend this awful farce, with Zachary and costumes to boot. I have never dreaded a singular event more in our entire, unfortunate acquanaeitancship, and I write now to pose three simple questions to preserve my sanity (I know you said no enquiries from me, which is precisely why I must ask):

Will your sisters Matilda and Louise be in attendance, or will Alexander Lightwood? Zachary adores spending time with them when he is in London, and I reckon their presence will prevent a reprise of the clown makeup fiasco (Cordelia still will not allow Zachary to get within ten meters of Elizabeth when he is armed with a kohl pencil.)

When you say costumes are required, please reiterate to Thomas that this is only for the children. I will not be donning a ridiculous Peter Pan hat again, no matter how much the children enjoy it.

If I do have to wear a costume, do you think Jesse would be offended if I opted for a sheet ghost? I do not have time to pull something refined together on such impossibly short notice.

This is the worst news I have ever received. I dread seeing you on All Hallow’s Eve… though I must admit it is a better option than the Wentworth’s Ball.

Unfortunately yours,

A. Carstairs

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Mayfair, London -> Cornwall Gardens, London

Dear Alastair,

Yay, the more the merrier! Graham will be so excited to see you again - I think he rather enjoyed sitting on your lap while you played the piano last weekend. I know my son is but two (and I know, as his mother, that I might be quite biased), but I believe Graham may have a natural inclination towards music - only time will tell, I suppose!

As for your enquiries - yes, Matilda and Louise will be here! Matthew and I are watching them for the next few days, as Charlotte and Henry have gone to Fairchild manor in Idris. Things are getting quite scary with the war on the continent, and we are hoping—

What is this? How could my wife ever betray me by writing these words?!? Thankfully, I found her unfinished correspondence before it could be sent, and irreversible damage could be done.

COSTUMES ARE MANDATORY. Originally just for the children, but I’ve changed my mind: you too must done a costume, A. Carstairs. May I recommend a clown or a court jester, rather, to reveal your own character? It could match my Dorian Gray costume - each of us could wear a reflection of our own soul. Mine, of course, will be refined and distinguished - and yours, a fool.

Esme is now laughing like mad over my shoulder - she seconds the clown costume, though she is too kind to say it.

Then again, isn’t Jesse afraid of clowns? Maybe you should stick with a ghost - dead, just like sense of humor, charm, and wit.

With very abundant love,

Your first and forever favorite friend,

Matthew Fairchild

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Curzon Street, London -> Wilson Street, London

Luce,

Please apologize the horrendous hour of this letter - Elizabeth is refusing to sleep, because we told her about Matthew and Esme’s party, and she is insisting that she, Margie, and Vienna all wear matching princess costumes.

(Remember when we used to write one another about urgent things - battles and investigations and such? Now demons are at an all-time high due to the war, and here I am writing you urgently, well past 11:00 PM, because my daughter wants to wear a matching tutu with yours. How the times have changed!)

Anyways, please reply at your leisure about this pressing, world-shattering matter. I do not think they have to genuinely match one another - they are five and four, after all, and would probably be happy in dresses they already have with toy crowns - so it might be quite an easy costume to put together at the last minute!

Sidebar: why must Matthew and Esme insist on such “bespoke” gatherings? Why can’t we all just meet up for enjoyable company and make up an excuse for the Wentworth’s?

Side sidebar: please tell your brother not to dress Owen like a duck in an attempt to startle your father at our family dinner before the party. James suggested it and Owen is just besotted by the idea, and I saw James crafting a costume duck beak out of spare cardboard and string. Truly, these are desperate times.

Always yours,

Cordelia

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Wilson Street, London -> Curzon Street, London

Darling Daisy,

Aw! Do tell Elizabeth to rest well - Hazel is keeping Jesse and I up at present (she is at the age now where she is terrified of the thunder at night - poor love!) - but Margie told me today that she wants to be a princess, so of course they can match. Matthew and Esme’s party is shaping up to be quite elaborate - Thomas told me that apparently he and Alastair are dressing up as well, are you and James? - but I must admit, it will certainly adorable to see all the children in their costumes!

Oh, please let James dress Owen as a duck! That’s adorable, I’m sure Papa will secretly find it quite amusing.

Speaking of James: please tell your husband he is responsible for the costume dilemma in our house, as all of his hours of reading The Iliad to Edmund have worn off, and now my five year-old son wishes to dress as Achilles for the party. I don’t know how we’re going to swing that one… if you and James happen to have a Greek war helmet lying around, please do let me know.

As for the twins, Jesse and I are dressing them up as a puppy and a kitten! I’m sure they will protest all the matching when they get older, so I’m trying to get it all of my system now - they are just so precious! I can hardly believe they just turned two…

Okay, okay, I’m going to stop with all the sentimentality now. Hazel is dozing against my shoulder and I just might cry!

Love you to pieces, my darling parabatai. Let’s get on those princess costumes tomorrow (and by that, I mean please consult Jesse, because you know I am utter rubbish when it comes to fashion.)

Your soul sister,

Lucie

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Mayfair, London -> Cornwall Gardens, London

Dear Zachary,

I heard you were coming to the All Hallow’s Eve Party - yay! Esme is helping us send this fire message, because we have an idea for a fun prank!

So our brother Matthew is having the party, right? And your brother Alastair is coming too - we should prank them so that they show up in matching costumes, and then we can tell everyone that they are best friends or boyfriends or soulmates or something! Which is funny because they DO NOT like each other - you know how they are!

We just need to think of a costume - Esme said she thinks she can get Matthew to do a matching costume with her, but then she just won’t do it and you’ll have to make sure Alastair shows up matching! I asked her for ideas, and she said we could do something like salt and pepper (but how do you dress up as that?) or maybe characters from a book. Let me know if you have any ideas!

Okay, we’re so excited you’re in London! Write back as soon as possible but DO NOT let Alastair see it!

Best,

Louise & Matilda Fairchild

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Cornwall Gardens, London -> Mayfair, London

Dear Lou & Mati,

What a perfect prank! I asked Thomas for help, and he’s completely in on it!!

Thomas started laughing really hard, and said we should get them to dress as Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. I think there’s a deeper joke here I’m not getting, but let’s just go for it!

What are you planning to wear to the party? I think I’m going to dress like a vampire!

(Okay, Thomas just said that’s offensive to vampires. Maybe I’ll be a zombie instead.)

So excited to see you both,

Zachary

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Mayfair, London -> Cornwall Gardens, London

Thomas,

I’ve been on the verge of tears all day - I CANNOT stop laughing at your brilliant idea! Matthew is totally on board to do Watson and Mary with me, so now you just need to get Alastair to do Sherlock. Just point out what an easy costume it is - I’m sure Alastair won’t fuss much once he realizes he just needs a trench coat and a pipe.

There is a small chance they leave us both after this, but it’s a chance I’m willing to take. If nothing else, we’ll pin all the blame on the children (Matilda and Louise are technically my sisters-in-law, sure, but they’re the true masterminds behind this plan.)

I’m so excited! We cannot wait to see you all tomorrow.

Yours,

Esme

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[After the party]

Undisclosed Location -> Various Addresses

All,

Congratulations; your scheming has created history, and now for the first time, Alastair and I have come together to plot our revenge. You all will rue the day-

Rue it!

-that you dared drive us to the same side. Our costumes were an embarrassment; the children calling us “soulmates” was even worse.

And really, Esme and James, did you have to take pictures to show our parents? The humiliation in front of those gathered was bad enough; the permanent photographic evidence will haunt us forever.

All we’re going to say: revenge is coming. You never know when, you never know how, but Alastair and I have a mutual goal now.

Revenge. Is. Coming.

Undersigned,

Matthew & Alastair

Best friends and soulmates forever

Quit it, Fairchild.

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A quick note on Halloween, circa 1915:

There are quite a few historical inaccuracies in here, but I included them for the fun of the story :) people did dress up for Halloween in the early 1900s, but they typically only wore paper or cardboard masks and dressed as animals or supernatural things - costumes like Alastair and Matthew dressing as book characters, for example, wouldn’t have been thought of until Halloween evolved to be more similar to how it is celebrated today (which happened during the Great Depression, circa TMT times!)

Halloween costumes were always handmade in the early 1900s, and American department stores like Macy’s didn’t start selling costumes until the early-mid 1930s.

In the UK, what we now call “Halloween” was celebrated in Ireland and the Scottish Highlands before it ever made its way down to England. By the 18th century, Irish and Scottish teenagers used the holiday as an excuse to “imitate spirits” and play pranks. The tradition of pranks and costumes did not make its way to England until the 20th century, and by then the commercialized American version of the holiday became popular.