Princess Mirabelle had to be cautious, but she had to be fast. The wicked knights of Lord Montclement wouldn't hesitate to drag her back to the tower in chains if they caught her -- the tower where she had been held for the past month, and given nothing but bread and water. 

Perhaps Lord Montclement meant to starve her to death. Maybe he wanted to keep her locked up forever, until her family's kingdom fell to ruin and everyone forgot she had even existed. Maybe he would even try to marry her -- yuck! As if she'd ever marry a man who had a monocle, or such a greasy mustache. But whatever his evil plans, Princess Mirabelle wasn't going to let him get away with it. She would find somewhere safe, and send word to her father, fighting in far-off lands. Then surely he would come, defeat Lord Monocle, and take Mirabelle and her brother back home, where Mom would be waiting --

Princess Mirabelle, more commonly referred to as Mira (by her friends) and Mary Louisa (by her boring adult relations), stopped in her tracks. The building in front of her was huge. It was at least as big as the high school she had sometimes walked past back home, but it sure didn't look like a school. It didn't look like any building she had ever seen before.

Maybe it was the library? Her aunt had mentioned it the first day, like it was something that would make Mira happy to be here. Lots of places had libraries; this place wasn't special. Though, if this was what their library looked like...

Something prickled on the back of her neck, and Mira spun around to look behind her. Someone was coming. From this distance, she couldn't tell for sure who it was, but they were coming from the same direction as her aunt's house. If they saw her --

Mira ran up the stairs to what she really hoped was the library. The door was heavy, but she managed to pull it open on the first try. Barely waiting for the opening to be wide enough, she bolted inside, nearly getting knocked over by the door as it bumped against her backpack when it swung shut. 

After the bright morning sunshine, it took her eyes a moment to adjust to the dark. When they finally did, Mira knew one thing for sure: 

This was not a library.

Delia rounded the corner, her arms overflowing with boxes, wreaths, and various holiday sundries.

"Well, hello, my dear!" Delia exclaimed. "If you're here for the party, I'm afraid things are just starting to be set up, but there's drinks warming in the kitchen."

To our dear writers: The moderating team has decided to fold the Holiday Mansion into the regular Mansion this year. Feel free to continue with your characters' adventures as you please, but just be aware there might be a few more baubles and snacks wandering around than usual. The Holiday decorations will come down after the Feast of Epiphany, but the Mansion will remain open after that.

Now, Lupine the Werewolf, had been hanging around the area since the previous Hunter's full moon in November, when she had been overcome with this horrible urge to bay the moon like the other wolves, summoning those who lived quietly in forests, running with the wolves in packs whenever possible, dodging not only the wicked knights of Lord Montclement, but also the rest of humankind with whom, when she recovered from these werewolf episodes, she blended in as quietly as possible, hoping nobody noticed or recognised her, let alone in her lycanthropic condition every full moon. 

But even before Delia rounded the corner, with her arms overflowing with boxes, wreaths, and various holiday sundries, Lupine thought she smelled food, which just might be in some of the boxes. Hungrily, she followed Delia, who mentioned a party to Mira. And parties meant food. In her werewolf form, Lupin looked just like another wolf, but hoping to pass for an oversized dog, looking for handouts, she decided to attend this party, even if she had to hide under the table to do so. Keeping her ears pricked for any more information, she marked the exact place where she was to go to this party, whilst wondering from whence Delia had originally brought all those boxes & paraphernalia. Perhaps there, she could find some food....Arroooh!

Cerberus lifted his heads and sniffed at the air. He was still far down the hall, but he could smell something dog-ish coming. Unfortunately for Delia, she had not yet bribed him to a room with a bone to avoid distressing partygoers, so he was free to investigate as he pleased.

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

Arroooh!

Cerberus scrambled to his feet. He had smelled something! Now, to find the interloper. Friend? Foe? Who knows! All Cerb knew was, it was bound to be fun!

Maybe Lupine shouldn't have let out that wolfish howl? She heard rustling, somewhere near, on the other side of a magnificent door with frosted glass panels. One panel was just big enough for Lupine to see through, noting it led into a hallway. But when she made out the form of a huge dog with three heads, she gasped in fear, let out a yipping howl, Yip, yip yiiiip, as she took a strategic retreat, back inside the forest. She knew of a nice little pool, where she stopped to lap up water. If she could find something to scrounge, then somewhere safe to sleep, she might shed this wolfish form overnight, clean herself up, maybe in that little pool, and then return in her human form.

She didn't know what to think about a dog with three heads. Fenrir Ulf, the oversized werewolf who bit her as a child, had been fearsome enough. But Cerberus seemed bigger still. Did each of the three heads argue with the other two? Were three heads really better than one? Did he still do doggy things, like wag his tail? Who knows?

A party?

Mira suddenly remembered.

Aunt Lauren had talked about the Mansion and its parties before, about a white elephant and a bull and a bunch of other fascinating things that, frankly, Mira hadn't expected to hear from a grown-up -- especially not a grown-up like Aunt Lauren. 

Uncle Ian had been talking up this party for days, so much so that Mira had stopped listening. Now she wished she'd paid a bit more attention. If this was the Mansion, and the party was today, then he and Aunt Lauren would be here any minute --

Actually, that might be for the best. Noah was probably driving Aunt Lauren crazy, and they would have to get dressed for the party, and all that other stuff. She might not realize Mira was missing, and when she and Uncle Ian got here, Mira could just say that, since the Mansion was so close, she'd thought she'd just go ahead of them a bit. Aunt Lauren would probably get mad for a bit, but at least she wouldn't ask why Mira had snuck out, or what was in her backpack.

Speaking of her backpack... 

With a winning smile and her sweetest, "Thank you!" Mira went around the corner Delia had just rounded, looking for the kitchen, but more urgently somewhere she could stow her backpack where it wouldn't be noticed.

Cerberus sniffed in the new Human's direction, but decided Delia has handling her just fine so she was not of interest at this particular moment (though that backpack...did it have snacks? He should check it carefully when he had the time), so he turned away from her and headed down the hallway, skidding to a stop at a large glass door. He hesitated. Cerberus had mastered the Art of Doorknobs centuries ago, but Delia had always told him that was Bad if done on random doors.

But...he didn't remember there being a door here before, and the Mansion did have a mind of its own. Maybe this wasn't a random door. Maybe the Mansion wanted him to open this door. Maybe this was a sign he was supposed to go looking outside!

With one head keeping watch, Cerberus ever so gently reached up and grasped the knob. It took him a moment, but a blast of cold air hit his face, and two of three noses snuffled in the wondrous smells of The Forbidden Great Outdoors.

~~

Delia smiled at Mira, then proceeded into the great room, where she dumped her load topsy-turvy on a couch. A wreath for the door, garland for the arches, menorah for the window, miniature village for the mantel, hay for the shoes, and a Christmas tree for general cheer. That seemed about right. Now, should she try to get it all up before more folks arrived, or assume that the Holiday Cheer the guests brought with them would do the work? Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Meanwhile, Lupine awoke from a lovely dream of being dressed in a slinky, satin gown, that left her arms bare, over which she was deciding whether or not to wear a beautifully embroidered translucent, lace trimmed, shawl to cover her arms to this party she had heard about, to be held at the Mansion with the magnificent front door with inserted glass panels, some in variously jewel-like coloured glass. But surely, as a human, she did really have the right to bare arms, so the shawl might not be necessary?

However, when she fully awoke, her arms were still disappointingly hairy forelegs. In the distance, she could hear wolves urgently howling in the night. Yes, the December full moon was nigh, tomorrow, on 4th December, at 6.14 pm. It should be a larger & brighter moon than the usual full moon, a supermoon, due to its proximity to the Earth. Wolf lore notes it is to be a "Cold Moon".  And from the sound of the howling, the Wolves had invited her, amongst others, to their own sort of party. This could be fun as well, when, at least, she didn't have to decide what to wear to such a party. 

Running with the wolf pack could be exciting, when there is strength in numbers, & loyalty amongst wolves, & when she also got to hear the news over the monthly wolf howling sessions, that was also a boon. Surely, when with the pack Lupine could deal with anything untoward. But what about this three-headed dog, for instance? She'd heard of a similar sort of dog, back when she lived in a mysterious faraway place, called Wagga Wagga, where, it was claimed, its giant of an owner called this dog "Fluffy" even though it was anything but fluffy & cute. Lupine learned it could be sent to sleep with lovely music. If she tried to sing Christmas carols in wolf-like fashion, perhaps that might tame this enormous dog on the other side of that mansion door? She tried a few notes - Arrooo?

Apart from a field trip to Temsee's capital, Mira had never been to somewhere as fancy-looking as the Mansion. She didn't usually pay attention to furniture, but she needed to find something big enough to hide her backpack in, and memorable enough that she could find it later -- she'd made that mistake before. Fortunately, she didn't have to look for long before she found a wooden cabinet that resembled one of her grandmother's -- Grandma called it a "sideboard" -- and when she opened one of the doors, she found an empty space just big enough for her backpack. Mira studied the decor until she was certain she would remember it again, then nodded in satisfaction.  

And not a moment too soon. She had only just thought Which direction is the kitchen? when she heard the front door open, followed by a terrifying sound --

---

(approximately five minutes earlier)

For the first time since middle school, Ian Grayson faced the terrifying prospect that Lauren Winston might start crying.

(Well, there'd been that one time in college, but then he'd had other friends of hers to rely on. This time, it was all up to him.)

"Let's check the Mansion," he said, with all the optimism he could muster. "I mean, where else would she go? Especially in this cold." For the benefit of the three-year-old holding his gloved hand, Ian shivered theatrically. He glanced down at his honorary nephew. "How's our pal Sniffenheimer doing, bud?"

Noah looked up at him with wide gray-green eyes. "Did Mary have an assi-dent?"

Next to him, Lauren inhaled sharply. 

Ian squeezed Noah's hand. "Course not, bud. Ditto Town is super safe, remember? No accidents here." Please do not make me eat those words. "Like I was just telling your aunt, I bet she got tired of waiting for us, and went ahead to the Mansion. Look, there it is!"

If the situation had been less delicate, Ian would have suggested a footrace, or another means of getting to the building as quickly as possible. But between the three-year-old in a bulky coat and his friend clinging to her composure by her fingernails, Ian thought that was not the best idea. So instead they walked, taking an agonizingly long time to cover the remaining half a block between them and the Mansion.

They appeared to be on the early side. It didn't look like Delia had even gotten most of the decorations up yet. Still, the Mansion was by far the most interesting-looking building on their street. Surely an imaginative kid like Mary would have gone to investigate it.

After what felt like a small eternity, Ian pulled the front door open, letting Lauren and Noah go first. Instinctively, he dropped to his knees to help Noah out of his coat, and immediately realized his mistake.

Lauren did not stop to take off her coat. She walked straight into the Mansion, not even acknowledging Delia. Too late, Ian realized that his concerns over Lauren crying had been a bit premature. There was another emotion she had to work through first.

"MARY LOUISA GARDINER!" Lauren shouted. "GET OVER HERE NOW!"

Lupine awoke in her wolf's lair, feeling woozy and nauseated, aching throughout her whole system as if her very bones were resetting themselves.  How did she get into such a state, she wondered, & how did she find her way back to her lair from the Full-Moon howling she had attended? It was quite an occasion, when the wolf-pack's howling had attracted more than other wolves, or even moonstruck werewolves, in the vicinity, like herself, at such a time. Lupine recalled many dogs being at the party, most of them strays, drawn to the area, not only wolfhounds but sheep & cattle dogs, plus others who were, more often than not, legendary workhorses like Kelpies, for instance, a mongrel breed with possible Dingo ancestry in the wild. Now, she couldn't put a name to any of these attending canine creatures any more than she could name the members of the welcoming wolfpack, either, even though she had learned that there had been plenty of these sorts of characters around, near that Mansion, a long time ago, & who might have returned.

Though both Wolves & Dingoes don't bark as a rule, all the dogs that were present, most certainly did, especially a rather large dog, unusually one with three heads, which all barked together, like a barbershop quartet minus one, giving his merest "Woof" a stereo effect which entranced the assembly, which demanded an encore. The resulting cacophony, between woofing dogs and howling wolves would certainly arouse the inhabitants of that Mansion, not nearly far enough away, to simply ignore the racket, or the usually well-kept area where it was held, looking like a dog's breakfast, the following day. "Had they noticed the absence of that three-headed dog? How did he get away from the Mansion", wondered Lupine? Obviously, with three noses, he wouldn't have trouble sniffing out the wolfish jamboree and its extra doggy guests.  And with six ears to hear with, no wonder he would have made a beeline to that event! She wondered if he enjoyed himself, or if he'd prefer to enjoy classical harp music like Fluffy, the similar creature she remembered hearing about. In truth, she'd rather read about how this three-headed dog, who told her his name was Cerberus, came to be in the mansion than compile her own werewolf tale (tail?).  

Now, although it is rude to criticise a free meal, she wondered about the wolfish methods of catering for such a big crowd. Yes, there was food & plenty of it, but what is suitable for wolves might not be suitable for other species, let alone werewolves, like herself, & which might explain her present queasiness. She remembered her uncle Lykos, usually nicknamed Wolfie, who was starved to death when he lived on little more than lettuce. Lupine hoped the people at the Mansion were kinder to the three-headed dog. Did he go back to that place without incident, she wondered? Did the people there even notice he was missing?   

Maeve and Kaelin walked down the street, Kaelin uncharacteristically calm and sedate. While this could be credited to the infamous condition of Growing Up, it is much more likely that she was more interested in strutting her new threads. As usual, it was a matched set, but this year it was purple and had the addition of a silky scarf to go along with it. Thus, she strut along with her sister, keeping her skipping entirely internal and only breaking into a small run up the steps to open the large wooden door before her sister reached it.

"We're here!" she exclaimed, quickly shedding her coat and hurrying into the drawing room. Maeve caught the recently shed coat, and followed, but only after hanging both up like a proper human.

Delia nodded approvingly at the new decorations, and, noting that folks were starting to arrive, pulled a rather large bone from her pocket and gave a low whistle. Cerberus' ears pricked and he looked back down the hall. He thought for a moment, then looked back at the glass door...which was once again a wall. 

Opportunity missed--but perhaps there would be snacks accompanying this whistle. He usually got lots of snacks during Mansion parties. He gave a sigh, then trotted down the hallway, looking for Delia.

Any party needs music, and Anthony Lively was just the fellow to provide it. He carried a violin in a padded case, one carrying strap slung casually over one shoulder. Previous visits to Ditto Town had been quite adventurous, and he thought fondly of faces and smiles he sort-of remembered. 

Anthony followed two young ladies -- sisters, perhaps? -- up the steps and inside the entry. He nodded to the older one as she hung up the coats.

"Lovely time of year for a party!"

"It is!" Maeve said with a smile, "and this particular party tends to be a highlight of the year for us. I'm Maeve, and that one"--she indicated with her chin, as her hands were busy--"is Kaelin."