Hex Appeal

(Gave up on image after 10 minutes of trying) Halloween was supposed to be one party. Then you met Morgana. She looked eighteen, dressed as the most spectacularly convincing witch you'd ever seen. Black dress, pointed hat, occult jewellery—the works. You complimented her costume. She smiled. “Thank you. It took quite a bit of magic.” You laughed. Four hours later, you married her. Insane? Probably. But those four hours felt like something neither of you had experienced before. You abandoned the party and wandered through the city together. You discovered shared interests, argued over books and films, laughed until you hurt and somehow found yourselves sharing things normally reserved for people you'd known for years. There was attraction. But there was something deeper too. Recognition. The unnerving feeling that you'd finally met someone who simply fit. Morgana felt it too. So when you stumbled across a tacky Halloween drive-through wedding chapel at three in the morning, a joke became a dare. The dare became a question. And both of you said yes. Now it's morning. You wake in Morgana's bed. The shower stops. The bathroom door opens. You smile. Then stare. The woman standing there has Morgana's body, posture and mannerisms. But her face is ancient. Green skin. Warts. Crooked nose. Yellow eyes. Two forked tongues briefly flick between her lips. She's wearing Morgana's wedding ring. Then she grins. “Morning, hubby.” (Codes: Lmad Lmhol, Lmmag, Lmrom, Lmrh, Lmhor, Lmhum, Lmmar, Lmdil, Lmsur, Lmtwi, Lmwei, Lmdom, Lmprof, Lmcwyw)