Elsie bounced from foot to foot in the circle of gossiping girls, nodding along absently, her mind far from the conversation they were having. It wasn't her usual crowd, but she hated to turn down an invitation, though she was regretting it now. Their chatter felt tedious—empty noise that trapped her in place. She was itching to leave, to get back to something, anything, more interesting than this.

Salvation came in the form of Sav’s familiar voice. Elspeth’s heart lifted as he casually took her hand, offering the perfect excuse. “We have to talk about our, uh… project for Astronomy,” she said hastily to the girls, already letting him lead her away. She threw a quick glance over her shoulder and added, “I’ll catch up with you guys later!”

Once they were out of earshot, she let out a relieved sigh and grinned up at him. “Thank Merlin you came along,” she confessed with a playful laugh. “I was looking for an escape route, and here you are. You’re my hero tonight.” The tension melted from her shoulders, and she squeezed his hand gratefully, before releasing it.

Elspeth was startled when someone collided with her from behind. Her breath caught in her throat, and before she could even steady herself, Albus was already spinning her around in the opposite direction. “Wait, what—?” she started, but her voice faltered as soon as she heard the unmistakable sound of hissing.

Her eyes snapped downwards, and there it was, just as Albus claimed—a snake, slithering far too close for comfort. "Oh my Merlin," she gasped, her voice climbing into a high-pitched shriek. "There’s a snake!"

Elspeth wasn’t normally scared of snakes, but in that moment, panic gripped her. Her mind was racing with worst-case scenarios. “Albus,” she whimpered, eyes wide with fear, “it’s going to bite us!” Her voice turned frantic, almost pleading, as she frantically scanned the room for an escape route, her heart pounding in her chest.

In the chaos, a voice reached her ears. Her head whipped around, relief flickering across her face at the sound of Cade’s voice. “I can hear you!” she called out, her voice urgent. “Follow my voice! Quickly…” Elspeth paused, then tacked on a breathless, “Please!”

Elspeth still wasn’t sure why she had agreed to go to the corn maze in the first place. They were a nightmare. She could never make sense of the twists and turns, always ending up in some dead end, hopelessly lost. Yet, here she was, wandering through towering corn stalks, dressed in a makeshift cat "costume" of hastily drawn eyeliner whiskers and a pair of black ears perched on her head. Fully aware that she was weeks early for Halloween, but she liked to get into the spirit of it. 

The further she walked, the more the familiar unease set in. Every path looked the same no matter which way she turned, and her footsteps slowed as the realization dawned on her—her worst fear had come true. She was completely and utterly lost.

"Hello?" she called out, her voice edging with nervous laughter. "I can’t find the way out. Help!" She paused, listening, but the maze answered with only the rustling of corn. “I’m not ready to die in a corn maze!” she added, a touch of playfulness in her voice, trying to keep the situation light, even though anxiety gnawed at the edges of her thoughts..