Chapter #2
Jack observed the walls attentively. Some of the pictures had grotesque images on them. They didn't bother him though. He was used to this sort of thing. Besides, it wasn't called the Town of 1,000 Sorrows for anything, was it? He wanted very much to rest. His trip had been exhausting. Even more so now that he was in a world much like his own, and not as exciting.
"Um... If you don't mind my asking, what do I call you, my lady?" Jack asked the Girl-In-Black. She looked over at him with quiet black eyes. She watched him for a moment, until she saw him fidget under her piercing gaze.
"Just refer to me as the Fallen Angel, and I will do you any favor you ask." Jack looked thoughtfully into her face. Angel was right. If Sally had been there at the moment, trouble would have aroused. Fallen Angel seemed to have noticed his discomfort, and smiled devilishly. "Don't worry. I don't bite... hard."
"That isn't what I was thinking... Why do you live here alone? Do you have any servants? Surely you don't mean to go about this place alone in the dark, with no one to help you do anything Angel... May I call you that?"
"I live here alone, yes, but with one person besides me. She is my only assistant, and she works in the lab all day long, with nothing else to do but my whim. I certainly hope royalty such as yourself has servants. And yes, you may call me Angel for short if you like." Her sarcastic smile told Jack she was making a point. No, Jack did not have servants. And yes, he was royalty in a way... Pumpkin King... Yes her point was made.
They walked along until they came to a door with a lock in the shape of a wolfs head. Jack liked this very much, and in agreeing so, allowed the girl to show him what was inside the room. When Angel opened the odd looking door, Jack observed a small table, with chairs, all covered in a white silken cloth. He looked eagerly around. Something didn't feel quite right...
"Is there going to be a meeting of some sort?" He asked shyly. She looked at him. Jack looked a little worried, as he looked around the room some more. The walls were dark, just as the rest of the castle, but for one difference. They had oil lamps on the side, with a blue light. Not the natural fire torches along the outer main chamber walls. The light gave the room a gloomy appearance, and Jacks bone white face became royal blue. Before she could answer his question, he found his answer standing in a shadow.
The shadow had no eyes, and wasn't even a complete figure. The only thing visible was the cloak that it wore. The figure came to the other end of the table, and Jack soon realized this was another female from the world. She pulled back her hood to show an elf's face. From the top of a bookcase, flew a baby red dragon, with a mermaid fin-shaped tail. The little thing perched on the elf's shoulder, and they both took a seat. Angel left the room.
"Ah... Jack Skellington... I've been looking forward to meeting you." She said. Her voice was vibrant, and had the many colors of life boiling in the words. Jack did not recognize her, but he could tell she was of great importance.
"How do you know my name?" He asked, suddenly alarmed, and suspicious. She chuckled a little, and laid a card on the table. The card was a tarot card. On that tarot card was the "death" symbol. Jack stared.
"I think this card has already appeared. In your past... Let's see what your future hides, Jack." She laid another card on the table. The card was nothing a mortal has ever seen. This was a totally new card, and no words could describe it except pure horror. Things were starting to take a brutal turn on Jack's story. The whole tale, "Nightmare Before Christmas", was starting to feel as though it were a fairytale, and this were the real deal.
He watched as she pulled yet another card. This was one was less terrible, and held the mark of "great fortune". This was starting to confuse him. How could something so terrible come to be something of fortune? Words buzzed in his head, and he stood up from the table in utter discontent. Things were starting to make him think twice about what family really means, and what it means to stay out of trouble. Sally was probably at home right now wondering where he was, or what he was doing.
"I think I'd better go now..." He said, slowly backing away. The elf stood suddenly, and yanked him back down. It wasn't hard grabbing one of his long lanky arms to do so either. Jack never even made a fight to stop her. Once again taking his seat as a prisoner, he listened to the elf's strange fortune telling.
"You have a doom upon you, Jack Skellington. Something not even the people in Halloweentown can prepare you for. You're lucky you have Sally around to take the job as the Pumpkin Queen, otherwise, you're world would be lost, and Halloween would be no more." Her prediction was strange, and unsettling. Jack had just about enough. He stood, and left as quickly as he could, before the elf could catch him.
Upon leaving the room, he noticed Angel standing next to the door, listening in on his conversation. She didn't seem perturbed by his noticing her eavesdropping. "So how'd it go?" She asked innocently. Jack scowled, and walked back down the hall where they came from. Angel stopped in front of him, and blocked his way. "I admit, I listened in. But you must understand Jack, you belong here now. You cannot leave, even if you wished to go." Her eyes turned a sour green, and Jack understood, she was meant to trap him.
"You work for this elf?" He asked. She nodded gravely, and turned her face away. She knew what she'd done, and so did Jack. Now the secret was out. Jack walked past her through the hall, ignoring what she told him. As he rounded a corner to walk out the door, he suddenly became slow motion, as though he were swimming underwater. His hands became blurs, and it became so hard to move, he finally stopped. His eye sockets widened, and he turned to catch a glimpse of Angel turning a corner, tears streaming from her eyes. Something deep inside told Jack he was in for a rough awakening.
