The Fae World: Ava: Finding Out Ava Has Magic
Written for dreamwidth user outlineofash’s prompt: the face on a jack o’ lantern changes expression.
Ava never would have known she had magic if it hadn’t been for the jack o’ lantern. At first it had seemed totally normal. She, along with her sisters, had made a jack o’ lantern every year since their mum had disappeared, almost hoping that one of them would guide her back to them. Unfortunately it hadn’t happened yet and she’d been gone for seven years, so it seemed unlikely, but that never stopped them. That year they did the same thing they always did. It had taken them some time to find the perfect pumpkins, because that was one of the most important parts. Each of them had a different idea of what made the perfect pumpkin: Ava’s always had to be the right shade of orange; Fallon’s had to be the right size; and Mabyn’s had to feel just right. She dreaded to think what other people thought of them when they watched them paying so much attention to picking out the right pumpkin.
Once they had the right pumpkin they always spent an afternoon carving it. The lid came off first, carefully, because for the first few years none of them had got the lid right. Ava’s first pumpkin had technically had two lids after she’d cut it in half and was lucky she’d been able to place them on it. Next they took out the insides, putting it all together in a large bowl ready for cooking later. Fallon always did that. She was the best cook of the three of them. When the pumpkin was empty they carved the face on. Every year they chose an expression each out of a hat and tried to show it on their pumpkin. It didn’t always go right but it was fun.
Fallon picked happy out, sighing with relief. They all always wanted happy because it was the easiest to do. Mabyn got fae, which made her furrow her brow, because that seemed to be one of the hardest ones they’d ever chosen to put in the hat. Ava, always the last to chose because she was the oldest, chose friendly. Smiling, she picked up her knife, the thought of having a friendly jack o’ lantern amusing her. Watching her sisters out of the corner of her eye she started carving. Really they were too young to have knives, but both her sisters had matured quickly when their mum had disappeared.
When the pumpkins were complete they put the three of them together. It was almost sunset, almost time to put the tealights in, but they liked to view their work both with and without light. As they stood there, arms around each other, knowing that they were all hoping for the same thing, something strange happened. To begin with Ava thought she was seeing things, but then her pumpkin winked at her. She shook her head.
“Did you just see that?” Fallon asked, sounding just as confused as Ava felt.
“Yes,” Mabyn replied. “Ava’s pumpkin is changing.”
The friendly face Ava had carved turned into an unhappy face, complete with tears. “What the hell?” Ava asked, knowing that there was only one explanation.
Mirrored from K. A. Jones Writing.