undergrounds | Harvest Festival

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Harvest Festival, 19th September 2015
Welcome to the Ealing Harvest Festival! Sponsored by Sylvia Redbright, this event takes place on a bright autumn day in Elthorne Park, Hanwell.

(Images for reference: One. Two. Three.)

FESTIVAL
The park has been transformed into a hub of colourful tents and stalls, a country-style fair selling wood carvings, paintings, baubles, baskets, plant pots and flowers, pretty tin boxes and knick-knacks of all kinds. Of course, this is all to give it an air of legitimacy should the general public wander by. The real wares on offer are those sold by witches: stalls crowded with incense, candles, precious stones, herbs, good-luck charms, spelled trinkets and magical jewellery. Gain entry to one of the small tents and you may be able to buy yourself a low-level spell or potion. It's all there if you know where to look.

Meanwhile, the centrepiece of the festival is the harvest altar: five large bales of hay, stacked around each other, where the festival-goers are encouraged to donate food and other gifts in thanks for the harvest. Tinned food is typically offered. Children attending can make a corn dolly and offer it to the harvest altar. There's food and drink to buy too, of course: vegetable and pumpkin soup, baskets of fruit and seasonal vegetables, home-made bread and jam, tea cakes, fruit cakes, seed cakes, scones and apple pie. Drinks include coffee, tea, cider and fruit juice. In short, it's all very wholesome. And decidedly not vampire-friendly.

A COMMUNITY IN MOURNING
It's not all about giving thanks. Following the hostile takeover by the fae in Croydon and the hard-fought conflict in Barnet, many witches have been displaced and are in desperate need of aid. The poster by the harvest altar says that all donations will be given to the homeless and vulnerable communities in London.

Meanwhile the entrance to the summer house has been disguised by a glamour to prevent the general public from entering. Only supernatural types may climb the steps to pay their respects at the memorial that has been set up to mourn the Daybreak witches and their allies who have recently passed. There are candles, flowers, wreaths and cards jostling for space with pictures of the fallen witches.

RITUAL AT SUNSET
The general public have disappeared but the witches have an important ritual to perform. As the sun sets, they gather up all the donations from the harvest and join hands around the altar. One witch will light a flame. Sylvia herself will invite volunteers of different species to step forward and offer their blood, as a symbol of unity between supernatural communities.

As the hay burns, the witches dance around the altar, their last ritual of the evening.

NB. Sunset is at 18:51.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She is not. She's an alcoholic.

She follows him, moving in close to him as they walk up to the stand.] Oh- look! mulled wine! [She'll be having some of that, thank you. Hot and alcoholic.]

[Okay fine mulled wine is acceptable. He'll get two of those and...] You want anything else?

We could split something sweet?

[Alrighty. He'll get a slice of... Carrot cake should compliment mulled wine nicely. And once that's paid for he's gonna gesture for Nancy to take her wine and waltz off to find somewhere acceptable to sit.]

[And she does waltz, cupping her wine in both hands. In a few minutes, she's lead them to an empty bench under a red-leaved tree.]

It's disgusting, isn't it? Redbright's the biggest fucking hypocrite I've ever seen, and you know who raised me.

[That gets a small laugh out of Eames and he nods, agreeing. Speaking like he's making an idle observation rather than belying his own dislike of Redbright as he splits the slice of cake and puts each half on its own napkin. (He'll take the smaller one, he's generous like that.)]

Wouldn't want to let a thing like bloody-minded hatred get in the way of looking stalwart and righteous, would she?

[What a gent.]

God forbid.

She says she cares about all of us, but- mother of witches- [she rolls her eyes as hard as she possibly can.] between her and Fagin that gives me a more dysfunctional family than the Bannisters on Game of Thrones.

Natural role of the child is to supersede their parents though, isn't it? [Not that he's suggesting Nancy take out Fagin and/or Sylvia or anything.] Improve on the past.

[No, that's exactly what you're doing.

She looks at him, tilting her head, her eyes almost accusatory. But only for a moment.]We can hope.

[What? No. Look at this face. Is that a man who'd encourage murder? He's just a kind and friendly guy.]

[He shrugs and takes a bite of his cake.] She's threatened by your coven. Sooner or later it'll come to light how irrational she is about it. [And a sip of wine.] Hopefully sooner.

[Nancy raises a glass to him, and focuses on drinking it.] It has to. I use dark magic to protect myself. But the way everyone looks at it- light and dark, it's so bloody polarizing. Dark doesn't make us bad, but you know this, Seelie, Unseelie. I just-

[She sighs, taking a bite of cake.]

We're just a bunch of witches looking for a place we belong. A place where we can be protected.

If she wants to call herself the Mother of Witches, it's her responsibility to protect you, no? All of you. [A sigh.] Surely there must be those within Daybreak who see the hypocrisy through the propaganda.

Does she even see it? That's what I want to know.

Doubt it. She seems like someone who thinks she's been burdened with doing what's "right." [He wrinkles his nose in distaste. Humans are always fighting over the subjectivity of 'right' and 'wrong'.] For the greater good.

[Nancy sighs heavily and stabs at the cake. ] That's such a gross statement: the greater good. Says who?

Says her, evidently.

Yes, we should all blindly follow whatever that vicious cunt asks us to do.

[A laugh, amused and a little bitter despite himself.] Personally, I've no intention of letting her stay in her ivory tower much longer.

[She leans forward, looking up at him. He's got her interested now.]

What're you planning?

Erode her power. Dismantle that which she's built. [He pauses to take a sip of wine.] I have some thoughts, but I'll likely need more politically powerful allies than the ones I have to pull it off.

[This is the problem when your friends are by and large petty crooks.]

And I'm not one of them, [she finishes for him.] And Fagin won't help.

[He was a coward. and didn't involve himself in politics.]

I wouldn't want his help anyway. Last thing I need right now is to owe Fagin a favour.

[Useful he might be, but not exactly the kind of guy you let have one up on you. As Nancy should know all too well. Getting too many fae openly involved would likely validate Redbright rather than erode confidence in her anyway.]

[What an annoying situation. But there's at least enough people with some interest that it's worth getting things moving. Powerful or not.]

Thankfully for the two of us however, you are very much not your father's child. Once I figure out how best to proceed, I wouldn't dream of leaving you out.

I know, right?

[He still had Nancy under his thumb in that regard, slave ring or no. She hated him, and he knew it, but he still, for all intents and purposes, owned her.]

I think that's the nicest thing anyone's said to me [She's cooling down now, finishing up her cake.] I don't know how much help I can be, but... She needs to atone.

[He smiles at Nancy.] I'm sure you'll be plenty of help.

I hope.

[She's finished her cake and is back to the wine, her anger cooling off now.] I won't ask questions, I know you can't lie and some things I don't want to know.

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