Emily Van Dort

by Audra Markwell

A story about Victor and Victoria's freespirited daughter. What happens when she not only brings a corpse to life herself, but she also falls in love with him? What will Victor and Victoria do when an old enemy comes back for revenge?

Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Bride or its characters

Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Bride or its characters. This was done purely for my enjoyment of writing it and for the non-profit reading enjoyment of others. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Message to Everyone: Sorry it took awhile to update, I've had a bit of a case of writer's block, and been really busy. Well, anyway, love and thanks to all who reviewed and/or favorited it - you know who you are. It should be done soon, everyone. Enjoy!

Setting: Victorian England, a year after Victor Van Dort married Victoria Everglot.

Event: The birth of Victor and Victoria's first child.

It was midnight. William and Nell Van Dort sat with Lord Finis and Lady Maudeline Everglot in a hall in their married children's' manor.

They had been there since four that afternoon.

They were awaiting the birth of their first grandchild.

Victoria had gone into labor around three-thirty that afternoon. Victor had summoned neither her parents nor his own parents until half an hour later.

While the Van Dorts and Everglots sat in the hall, Victoria's midwife and childhood nanny, Hildegarde, attended to Victoria's needs while a paler-than-usual Victor sat beside her, holding her hand. Every once in a while, Victor would reluctantly leave his wife's side and give his parents and in-laws updates on Victoria and the baby.

Hours passed, and no baby. Soon, Maudeline began to sniff, looking haughty. Nell and William looked up, and they again began the argument that had cropped up the day Victoria announced she was pregnant.

"I tell you," Maudeline said. "This child is going to be a girl, and they will name her Mildred, after my grandmother."

"No," said Victor's cheerful father, William. "Little William is going to be the most popular child in our village."

"Oh, yes, of course," said fat Nell Van Dort. "All the ladies will want him. He will make a fine husband for any wealthy girl, just like our Victor."

Finis Everglot had barely said four words since he had come to the manor that afternoon. He did not really care about the baby's gender or what it would grow up to be. He had never really liked children, and still didn't. His daughter had been the only child he could ever stand to be near.

The parents, with the exception of Finis, were so busy arguing that they did not notice when Victor opened Victoria's room and came out, looking tired but happy.

"Excuse me," he said in his timid voice, just loud enough for the older folks to hear him.

Four heads turned to Victor. There was a rare smile on his face.

"It's a girl," said the proud new father.

A few minutes later, the Van Dorts and the Everglots were crowded into Victor and Victoria's bedroom. While Hildegarde stood beside her old employers and their in-laws, Victor sat on the edge of the bed with Victoria. Her brown hair down out of its normal tight bun, Victoria held a tiny, dark-eyed baby in her arms.

"Little Mildred, my granddaughter" Lady Everglot said proudly, looking down at the baby. She gave William a nasty look. "So much for little William."

The new parents looked at each other.

"Mother….." Victoria said.

"Yes?"

"That's not her name, I'm sorry." Victoria truly sounded it.

"Oh, really?" Lady Everglot said, her tone icy.

"Yes, madam, we've decided on a different name." Victor said boldly, or, at least, more boldly than he would've said before marrying Victoria.

"And what would that name be?"

"Oh, it's Eleanor, isn't it!" cried Nell. "Oh, how wonderful!" She grabbed her husband in joy. Lady Everglot looked furious. "To think that our Victor would name his child after me, his own mother!"

"Um, no," Victor said apologetically. "Mother, we've decided on another name."

"Oh," said Nell, looking put out. Lady Everglot looked as though she wanted to say something, but thought better of it.

"Enough already," grumbled Lord Everglot. "What's the child's bloody name?"

Victor and Victoria smiled at each other and than at Hildegarde, sharing a secret that only the three of them were in on.

"Emily." said Victor.

Fourteen years later……

"Emily, darling!" called Emily's mother from downstairs. "Are you up? Your grandparents will be here in just hours."

"Coming, Mother!" Emily called back to her mother. "I'll be up in a minute!"

"All right," said Victoria. "Come down and have breakfast, and then I'll help you with your corset."

"Yes, Mother!" called Emily, trying to sound cheerful. To herself, she made a face. She hated that corset. And her mother knew it. But it simply had to be worn whenever Grandmother and Grandfather Everglot came to the manor. And that was at least twice a month.

Emily had never been fond of her mother's parents. Grandfather Finis never smiled. He was always scowling and never had a decent thing to say. Grandmother Maudeline was, if anything, worse. She was a firm believer in rules and etiquette and was always trying make Emily into something she wasn't: a prim, proper lady. She was constantly telling Victoria that Emily and her younger brother, James, could always be improved.

Emily scowled, looking much like her grandfather as she did. However, that was the only time she looked like a "true" Everglot, as her grandfather sometimes said. Grandfather Van Dort maintained that both Emily and James were true Van Dorts. Emily loved hearing Grandfather William put Grandfather Finis in his place.

Emily stood up and went to her vanity. She looked at her reflection. While she had her mother's heart-shaped face and her father's artistic talents, she had neither parent's personality. Emily had a fire to her, a free spirit that no Everglot or Van Dort ever had. Emily often wondered where she had gotten that fire.

Emily knew that her grandmother disapproved of her spirit and the way she and her brother were raised. Her mother, Emily knew, had been raised under the strictest parents England had ever known. The Everglots had made sure that their daughter would be a lady and be polite and respectful. Perhaps that was the reason for her mother's shy ways.

Emily was not looking forward to tonight. The Everglots were having a party at the family manor across town, and Maudeline had insisted that Emily would come. At fourteen, Emily was now at that age when she would have to act and look her best for the young men of the village so that she might marry one of them someday.

This party would mean her long dark hair pinned up. Tight dresses. A corset.

Stressed, Emily picked her notepad up off her vanity: Drawing calmed her down. The notebook was full of her drawings and sketches. Her parents loved her artistic talent and encouraged her all the time, no doubt hoping that she would one day be an artist.

She could still hear her grandmother's sneering tone when she was told of her granddaughter's talent: Drawing is not ladylike. I will not have some destitute artist in this family.

Her father, calling for her to come downstairs and eat took Emily out of her thoughts. She sighed, put the small book back into its drawer, and went downstairs.

Eight hours later, Emily sat in her bedroom again, fresh after a bath, dreading the moment when Victoria would come into the room.

The party started in two hours.

Her mother needed those two hours to make Emily into a lady.

Emily sat on the cushioned seat, wearing her underthings.

The corset lay on the bed, the dress next to it.

Emily actually liked the dress itself. It was a deep blue and it accented her figure.

It was the corset that usually made the dress unbearable.

Waiting for her mother, Emily enjoyed her last few minutes to breathe freely.

She heard her mother's footsteps. The brass doorknob turned.

"Mother, please don't make me go." Emily pleaded as soon Victoria came into the room, carrying some hairpins and a light pink ribbon.

"Dear, you know your grandmother," Victoria said gently, setting the hairpieces onto the vanity. "She's adamant. She wants you to get to know the young men around here."

"The rich ones, you mean." Emily sulked.

"It's just for you to make friends," Victoria said. "You need to spend time with other young people, socialize."

"You never did, Mother," Emily argued.

"Things were different when I was your age," Victoria said patiently. "My life was always planned out, since I was born. It's tradition. Your father and I, well, we want you and James to have your own lives." She went over to her daughter and took Emily's hair out of its braid. Picking up the wooden hairbrush, she began to brush Emily's hair, the hair that so resembled her father's. "I promise you, darling, that you will be free to be your own person. Grandmother just wants to do what she can for you while you're still young."

Emily smiled. She and her mother were so close. Victoria could always read her thoughts and see her worries.

An hour and a half later, the smile had long since left Emily's lips. She stood in her room staring at her reflection with distaste. The blue dress was on, a tight thing that started at the top of her neck and didn't end until the hem hit the floor.

Her hair was done up in a bun so tight she had felt several hairs part company with her scalp after her mother had put it up.

The corset was on. Emily thought that at least three of her ribs might have cracked since her mother laced her up into it.

"Come downstairs, now, Emily!" Victoria called. "Your grandparents have just arrived with Emil."

Emily scowled. Her grandparents' ancient butler was sourer than her grandparents, and his presence would definitely not improve the night.

Taking a strained breath, Emily opened her door and walked out onto the landing. Reaching the top of the stairs, she gazed down at her family.

Her parents were standing at the foot of the stairs with Emil and the Everglots. James Van Dort, Emily's scientific nine-year-old brother, was sitting in an armchair in front of the fireplace, reading a book on mechanics. He was so immersed that he didn't look up when Emily stumbled over the bottom stair. The fancy black boots Emily wore did take some getting used to.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Victoria said to her parents.

Victor smiled at his daughter. He came over and hugged her. He had always had a special bond with his daughter. He always said that she reminded him of someone, but never did say whom.

"You look just like your mother did the day I met her," Victor said to her. "Beautiful." He smiled his shy smile at her.

Emily, upbeat from her parents' compliments, looked expectantly at her grandparents.

"She'll do," Maudeline said.

"She should be fine," Finis said.

Emily wanted to snap back, but she held her tongue.

"You look fantastic, Em!" called James from his chair.

"That's enough, James," Maudeline sniffed. She couldn't stand nicknames. "Come, Emily," she said, snapping her fingers. "We must go."

"We'll see you at eleven, darling," Victoria said. "Have fun."

"That's not too likely," Emily muttered as she followed Emil and her parents out into the night.

Minutes later, Emily found her standing in the entrance hall of the Everglot manor.

The place was packed, mainly of people of whom the Everglots had long since had an influence over, Emily's paternal grandparents included.

"Oh, darling, aren't you beautiful!" plump Grandmother Nell cried, rushing over from the fireplace, where she and her husband had stood talking to Lord and Lady Willows. She crushed her granddaughter in a bone-breaking hug the minute she reached her. "Oh, William, come here!"

"Well, well, who's turned out to be quite the little lady?" Grandfather William said fondly, giving Emily a kiss.

Emily looked up and saw several young men watching as her grandparents fussed over her. Despite feeling too young for any sort of relationship with these men, she blushed.

"Now, now, my dear," said Grandmother Maudeline, grabbing Emily by the shoulders and steering her away from her grandparents and towards a group of well-dressed teenage boys and girls. "We mustn't be rude to the young people. Go and socialize. Make friends with our guests. Ah, Mrs. Burton! How lovely!"

Maudeline bustled away towards two people Emily didn't know. Nervous, she looked at her companions.

"Hello," Emily said.

"Hello," said one of the girls primly. "And where do you come from?"

Emily was stumped. "Pardon me?"

"Why are you here? The Everglots don't normally invite commoners."

Commoner? "I'm not a commoner," Emily said, trying hard not to imitate the girl's snooty attitude.

"You can't possibly be of aristocratic blood!" said one of the boys.

"My name is Emily Van Dort, granddaughter of Lord and Lady Everglot." Emily said, her chin up.

The girls burst out laughing. The boys looked dumbstruck.

"Don't lie," said the girl. "The Everglots have no grandchildren. I should know. My grandfather and Lord Everglot have been friends for years. He's never mentioned a granddaughter."

"Wait a minute, Catharine," the boy said. "This girl probably is related to the Van Dorts. My parents have always said that there's something unusual about them and their son. They have queer notions, very unlike our own"

"The son's insane, Mother says," another girl piped up. "Mother said that when she was younger, the town crier had reported that young Van Dort had been married to a corpse! A corpse, of all things!"

"I heard that later he married the Everglots' daughter," another boy said. "An arranged marriage, of course, but Victor went missing, and Miss Everglot married a wealthy lord and ran off."

"Of course, that's why Lord and Lady Everglot never mention her," Catharine said. "An utter scandal, what Victoria did."

Emily couldn't take anymore. Anger was coursing through her body at this gossip. She moved away from the young aristocrats and walked over to where her grandparents were standing, talking to Lord and Lady Gordon. Emily was about to pass them when she heard something that made her stop.

"That young lady you brought tonight is quite the catch, Maudeline," Lord Gordon said. "Who is she?"

"A daughter of the nouveau-riche. Her mother wanted her to go tonight, so I brought her here."

"She is a beautiful young lady," said Lady Gordon, smiling. "What is her name?"

"Emily," Maudeline said sourly, hating the sound of the name. "Such a heathen name."

"I think it's quite pretty," said Lady Gordon. "Tell me, what is she like? She and our son could be quite the pair."

Lady Everglot scowled. "Oh, your son could do so much better. The girl is not marriage material, and never has been. She's very opinionated, loud, and crude. A tomboy, really. The only person she will marry will probably be some poor fish merchant."

Emily snapped. That was a low blow, considering the Everglots' son-in-law's parents were fish merchants, yet wealthy ones.

Fuming, her face red, Emily headed for the front door. She could walk home. Maudeline turned around just as Emily's hand touched the doorknob.

"Emily! Where on earth are you going?" Maudeline cried before Emily turned the doorknob.

"Home, Grandmother," Emily said, trying not to cry. "I'm not staying here another second."

Everyone gasped. The entire room had heard her say "Grandmother". Tears streaming from her eyes, Emily pulled open the door and ran out into the night.

"Emily Van Dort, come back here this instant!" she heard Maudeline shout. "Young lady!"

Emily heard her grandmother, but didn't stop running. She couldn't stop.

Crying, she let her feet carry her wherever they chose.

Before Emily knew it, she found herself in the woods that surrounded the town.

It was a place where she and James had played when they were younger.

Their parents didn't mind, really, but forbade them to go too far into the woods.

"If all you can see is trees, you're too far in," Victor had said.

Emily soon realized she was too far in. She could no longer see the lights from the village.

She kept walking. She didn't care if she got lost. Only her parents and brother would look for her.

Emily soon came to a part of the woods that was completely foreign to her. It was a clearing that had a small pond full of weeds. The moonlight glinted on the water's surface.

Contented to be in such a peaceful place, Emily sat down on a fallen tree and let the night's images flood her mind.

The embarrassment her paternal grandparents had caused her.

Those snooty young aristocrats, gossiping about her family.

Hearing her grandmother's opinion about her.

Scowling, Emily put her hand to the ribbon in her hair and pulled it out of its bun. Her dark hair flowed down around her shoulders as soon as the metal clasp holding the ribbon together broke.

With a groan of frustration, she tossed it into the pond. It sank straight to the bottom.

She heard a clunk, and then a groan.

Emily frowned. Had she hit something? A fish, perhaps?

No, fish don't moan.

Emily stood up, suddenly fearing she had hit something far worse than a fish.

Bubbles began to come up to the surface of the water. Emily's eyes widened. What on earth could it be?

To her horror, a human head came up from beneath the water, then neck, and then shoulders. With eyes staring blankly at Emily, the person came forward, walking rather stiffly.

"Oh, my God," Emily said

Backing away, Emily stared at this person in horror. It was a young man about her age; he was dead and had been for some time. His face was white, puffy, and bloated, the left side skeletal. His hair was so dirty and wet it could have been any color. He wore a soaked, tattered suit, much like the ones the young men wore to formal occasions. As he came closer, Emily could see where fish had nibbled at his skin on his face and hands.

The young man came closer, a hopeful smile on his face.

"Emily?" he croaked hopefully.

The sound of her name sent Emily running. How on earth did this corpse know her name? She certainly didn't know him.

Emily bolted for home. Between her parents' displeasure and this waterlogged corpse, she'd take her parents.

She blindly ran, sobbing, crashing into low tree branches. The horrible image of that drowned corpse would not leave her head.

It began to rain, soaking Emily within seconds. Mud quickly formed and splattered the hem of her dress. Emily's soaked hair hung in her face as she ran.

Soon, she made it to the edge of the woods and mercifully saw the lights of the village.

Her family's manor could been seen. She thought she saw James in the window.

With a gasp of relief, Emily ran for the front door.

Inside the Van Dort manor, Victor and Victoria were worried sick. The party had long since ended, and the Everglots turned up to tell their daughter that Emily had run off and that they had no idea where she was. Victoria had asked why Emily had run off, and her mother said that the party had been too stressful for her.

Victor and Victoria had decided to give Emily time to cool off, to catch her breath.

That was three hours ago, and Emily was still not back. The rain was coming down hard.

"Oh, where is she?" Victoria said worriedly. "She'll catch her death. She doesn't have anything warm on."

"Dear, I'm going to look for her," said Victor, going for his jacket. "I'll go through the village, the woods, everywhere. She must be somewhere. Perhaps she hid out somewhere when the rain started and is waiting for it to end. You just stay here with James. If I'm not back in by midnight, summon my father and tell him what's happened. He'll know what to do."

"All right," Victoria said. She stepped up close to her husband. "Please find her."

"I will, I promise."

At that moment, the front door flew open. Victor and Victoria gasped. In came Emily, a sobbing, soaked, muddy mess. Crying uncontrollably, she collapsed into Victor's arms.

"Emily, darling!" Victoria cried as she and Victor embraced their shivering daughter. "Are you all right? Where have you been?"

"P-party…com-complete disaster…rumors…about you…th-the woods…pond…corpse… young man…came alive…"

With that, Emily passed out.

Victor and Victoria looked at each other. This sounded familiar.

Within minutes, everything was different.

Victor gently carried Emily up to her bedroom. While he tended to James, giving him a snack and putting him to bed, Victoria undressed Emily, dried her hair, put her in a nightgown, and put her to bed. Victoria gathered up Emily's muddy clothes and put them in the laundry for the maid to wash.

She climbed back up the stairs and met Victor outside their daughter's room, right across from James's room. Victor and Victoria stood together in the doorway and watched their daughter sleep.

"I'll speak to Mother tomorrow," Victoria whispered. "Think of what the poor child went through tonight."

Quietly, she shut the door and she and Victor went downstairs. Before settling in for the night, they sat down in front of the fireplace in the parlor and had their evening cup of tea.

"Victoria, dear," Victor said quietly. "What about what Emily said happened in the woods? What are we to do about that?"

"I'm not sure,"

"You believe her, right?"

"Of course," Victoria said. "It's happened before, under similar circumstances."

Victor stood up and walked over to the window. His eyes on the falling rain, he frowned.

"Where do you suppose this corpse is now?" Victor knew the words would sound ridiculous to anyone else. "Emily, the Corpse Bride, didn't just vanish into thin air. She had a purpose, a reason for being in the Land of the Living. What could this poor young man want from our daughter?"

Victoria sipped her tea, not saying a word. She didn't have an answer.

Emily slept fitfully, her dreams punctuated with images of the young man she had brought back to life.

She kept seeing him rise out of the water, his dripping skin ice blue.

He would grab her hand and try to pull her back into the water with him.

She would struggle underwater, on the brink of drowning, and wake when at the point of death.

With a clap of thunder and a flash of lightning, Emily's eyes whipped open. Sweating and panting hard, she sat up in bed. Pulling her quilt up to her chin, she looked around the room.

Of course, no one was there. Emily lay back down. She watched the rain fall and splatter on the balcony outside her room.

Was it possible she had imagined this man? She had been under a good amount of stress.

No, she hadn't imagined him. She had seen him come out of the water, had heard him call her name.

What happened to him? Had he gone back to where he belonged? Was he possibly some sort of haunt, and simply vanished?

She pulled the quilt tighter around her and turned away from the window. She had to get some sleep. She that, in the morning, she knew Mother and Father would bring her over to the Everglot manor and have her apologize to Grandmother Maudeline and Grandfather Finis.

Suddenly, the hairs stood up on the back of Emily's neck. Her scalp tightened, her skin tingled.

She had the strangest feeling she was not alone.

And then she heard it: a steady drip drip drip on her carpet.

Terrified, she rolled over onto her other side.

A shadow stood over her bed. Dead eyes stared back at her,

A cold, wet hand clamped over her mouth, cutting off Emily's shrill scream.

Her eyes wide, Emily, panting, looked into the eyes of the corpse she had raised.

"Please, Emily, don't scream," he said. "It's me."

She tried to pull away. The hand stayed firmly on her mouth.

"I know what you're thinking," he said. "But it's me, I'm truly here. I've missed you so much."

Frowning, Emily mumbled something.

"If you promise not to scream, I'll let you go. Do you promise?"

Emily nodded something, beads of sweat pouring down her face.

"All right, then."

He pulled his hand away. Emily could feel pond water covering her mouth. Disgusted, she wiped it away.

"Who on earth are you?" she cried. "How do you know my name? What do you want from me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You keep saying my name! How do you know it?"

"I may be dead, but I don't forget my sister's name."

"Sister!" Emily cried. "I am not your sister. I have a brother, who is thankfully not dead, I might add."

"You can't have forgotten me, Emily! It's me, William. Your brother."

"James is my brother, you putrid corpse!" Emily spat. "My name is Emily Van Dort, and I am quite sure that that is not your last name!"

"Van Dort?" the corpse looked shocked. Emily was sure that if any color were in his cheeks, he would have blushed.

"Yes," Emily said. Had the young man been intending to haunt some other Emily? "My parents names are Victor and Victoria Van Dort."

William looked into Emily's eyes as lightning flashed. She could tell when the truth clicked for him.

"You aren't my sister," he said finally. "Your eyes are green, my sister's are blue."

He straightened up and walked slowly around the room, taking in every inch. He studied the small portrait of Emily and her family.

"This isn't her room. This isn't my family."

He looked so lost that all fear evaporated from Emily. Looking sympathetic, she climbed out of bed, wincing when her bare feet touched the wet spots on the carpet. She approached the young man and gently touched him on the shoulder. He turned around and looked at her.

Up close, she could see that he had been quite handsome. His remaining eye was a very dull hazel, but still had a piercing quality to it that must've made him irresistible in life. She was still unsure of his hair color, but studying him, she guessed it had been a reddish-blonde.

"Who are you, may I ask?" Emily asked.

"My name is William," he said. "Son of Henry and Elizabeth, and brother of Emily."

"Why are you here?" Emily asked.

"I'm looking for my family," William said. "My mother died when I was a baby and my sister was three. It was just Father and my sister and I for the longest time. Then I drowned in the pond when I was sixteen. I was trapped in the pond, and never found out what became of my family."

"I'm sorry," Emily said, meaning it. "I don't know your sister or father."

William frowned. "I wish I could help," she added.

"You can," he said. "Come with me."

"Where?"

"To the Land of the Dead. It's where the dead with unfinished business go. I haven't been there. Murder victims are trapped where they fall until freed."

"You were murdered?" Emily asked, horrified.

"Yes," William said. "By a man who wanted to marry my sister. He didn't like people getting in his way."

Emily felt enormous sympathy for this young man.

"Please, Emily," he begged. "Come with me. Together, you and I can find my family and put my killer to justice."

He held out a hand. Frowning, unsure of what would happen, Emily took it.

The balcony door opened. Together, they stepped out into the rain. Crows appeared out of nowhere and whirred around them as they rose towards the sky and vanished.

In his bedroom, nine-year-old James Van Dort woke suddenly.

He had heard a noise. It had come from his sister's bedroom.

It had sounded like a scream that had been cut off.

Was Emily in trouble?

James shook his head. It had probably been a nightmare. Nothing to worry about.

Then why did he have such a bad feeling something was wrong?

When his sister came home, soaked, he had heard her gasp the word "corpse". At first, he was fascinated, thinking that Emily had discovered a body.

But then, after his mother had put him to bed, he sneaked to the balcony of the stairs and had listened to his parents' conversation in the parlor. What they said hadn't made an ounce of sense to James.

A miniature of Victor, with his father's black hair and triangle-shaped face, James was smarter than most children his age. He had a logical explanation for everything. He didn't believe in such things as ghosts.

The thought of ghosts made James's scalp prickle, something that had never happened before.

He had the strangest feeling that someone who shouldn't have been there was in the manor.

"Emily?" James called. He was close to his sister. If she heard him call her name during the night, she would be in the room in a flash.

There was no answer.

James climbed out of bed, crossed the room, and carefully creaked the bedroom door open. He looked out in the dark hallway.

Total silence. Clearly, his parents and the help were asleep.

"Emily?" James called slightly louder. If she was asleep, he didn't want to wake her up.

Tiptoeing down the hall, he went towards Emily's door.

The door was just barely open, just as Victoria left it.

Very quietly, James pushed the door open just a little more, expecting to hear Emily's deep breathing.

He heard nothing.

Fighting back a stab of fear, James opened the door all the way and stepped into his sister's room.

The first thing he saw was the empty bed. The second thing he saw were the open balcony doors.

Frowning, James quickly made his way across the room. Suddenly, a sudden cold made goosebumps appear on his skin. He looked down and saw several wet spots on the floor, one under his bare foot. The spots were shaped like footprints, leading both towards and away from the bed.

"Emily?" James cried. He dashed onto the balcony and peered over the railing. James squinted his eyes and could see through the falling rain that there were no footprints in the muddy ground below.

A shiver that had nothing to do with the rain went down James's spine.

Emily was gone.

"MUM! DAD!" he yelled, dashing back into the room, through the doorway and down the hall. Reaching his parents' room, James knocked loudly on the door, and then simply ran into the room.

"MUM! DAD! Wake up!" he yelled as he approached the bed.

Victoria's eyes fluttered open. She focused on her son and was surprised to see that his face, usually so pale like his father's, was now flushed. Water was dripping from his hair and his nightshirt was soaked.

"James? Are you all right?" Victoria said sleepily. She took his hand and was immediately up when she felt how cold it was. "What on earth have you been doing?"

"Mother, it's Emily! She's gone!" James yelled.

"Victoria, what on earth's going on?" Victor said sleepily. "It's the middle of the night."

"Dad, wake up, please!" James pleaded.

"James, go back to bed. You had a nightmare," Victor said, sleepily waving James away.

"Darling, sit down," Victoria instructed James. He obeyed by sitting on the bed, next to his mother.

Victoria put an arm around him, surprised to feel that he was trembling.

"Now, calmly, tell me what's happened."

"Emily's not in her room. I woke up and looked in on her. The bed's empty and the balcony doors are open," James looked into his mother's eyes. "There're wet spots on the floor."

"Dear, you just had a bad dream."

"NO!" James said. His yell quickly brought Victor out of a doze. He sat up and looked at James.

"Young man-" he began sternly.

"Come with me, Mother, please!" James hopped off the bed and tried to tug his mother towards the door.

"All right, Jem, let's go back to bed," Victoria said, using her pet name for him. She slipped on a dressing gown.

"I'll come with you, dear," Victor said. Yawning, he pulled his own robe on over his pajamas and followed Victoria and James out into the hall.

James pulled Victoria passed his room and towards Emily's.

"James-" Victoria began.

"Please, Mum," he begged.

They reached Emily's door and stepped into the room. James looked up at his mother's face and saw it go even paler when she took in the sight of the empty room.

"Victor!" she cried.

"Victoria, what's wrong?" Victor said hurriedly, coming into the room.

"She's gone! Emily is not here!"

"That's ridiculous, she's here somewhere. Emily?"

Together, Victor and Victoria quickly searched the room. James watched from the doorway. His eyes were on the wet footprints on the carpet.

Victoria looked up at him and saw what he was looking at.

"Victor," she gasped, grabbing him. "Look."

With a shaking finger, she pointed to the footprints. Victor looked down at the carpet and gasped.

"Victoria…..you don't suppose…..the young man……the corpse….."

"She's not here, Victor, what other option is there?" Victoria said tearfully. "Oh, what are we going to do? How will we get her back? He's bound to take her where he is."

Victor put his arms around his sobbing wife.

"Don't worry, dear. I'll think of something."

Within minutes, Victor had formed a plan. He and Victoria quickly got dressed and prepared to go outside. Soon, Victoria called James to the master bedroom.

"James, get dressed," Victoria said when he came in. "You're going to stay with Grandmother Nell."

"But why?" James asked. "Mother? Father? What's going on? Where are you going?"

Victor and Victoria looked at each other, having a quick discussion with their eyes. Victoria then looked down at her son.

"James, you're too young," Victoria said, wiping her eyes. "It's too tragic for a nine-year-old. It will give you nightmares."

"Victoria, I think we should tell him," Victor said. "It's not right to leave him in the dark after what's happened. He's tough, it'll be all right."

Victoria thought for a second, and then sighed. "All right," she said to Victor. She looked down at James. "Get dressed first, though."

A few minutes later, James came back into the room, fully dressed. Victor and Victoria sat on their bed.

"Sit down, dear," Victoria said, gesturing at the spot between her and Victor. When James was settled between his parents, Victor began to speak.

"Son, you won't believe this story, but your mother and I promise you it's true," he said. "Fifteen years ago, when I was engaged to your mother, a disaster happened at our rehearsal ceremony, and I fled into the woods where you and your sister play"

James nodded.

"Well, for practice, I recited the vows I was required to say to your mother, when suddenly a dead woman came out of the ground, declaring me her husband. This woman, your sister's namesake, took me to where the dead are so we could live together as husband and wife. It's another story, but we found out that the marriage vows were not binding, but before we could validate the marriage, I helped Emily put her killer to justice." James did not need to hear about the evil Barkis Bittern and what he had nearly taken from Victor. "For that, she let me go back to your mother. I married your mother later that day and haven't seen Emily since."

James frowned. To his logical mind, this made no sense. The idea of the dead being reanimated was absolutely ludicrous.

"Dear, I promise you we're telling the truth," Victoria said. "I saw Emily with my own two eyes, spoke to her. She even saved my life. She became a friend. Emily was murdered on her wedding day. She lost all of her hopes and dreams, and gave up Victor so we could be happy. We felt that it was the right thing to give her name to your sister. Her spirit lives in your sister. We've seen it."

"All right," James said slowly, still doubtful. "But what about Emily?"

"Your sister?" Victor asked. "Well, what happened to her in the woods this evening is very like what happened to me. Your mother and I think that this is a similar situation and that this dead man wants something from Emily. We won't know what it is until we find her."

"So what will you do, Father?"

"We're going back to the woods where Emily had been killed. I'll recite the vows again, it won't be a binding marriage, but it should bring her back to us. She can take us to the Land of the Dead. That's surely where this young man has taken your sister."

"And no, you can't come," Victoria said, reading her son's thoughts. "It's much too dangerous for a child. You'll stay with Grandmother Nell until we get back. Now let's get going."

"But-" James began.

"Not a word, James," Victor said. "You heard your mother. We'll come back when we've found your sister. Now march."

When she and William had vanished from her room, Emily had closed her eyes.

Now standing still, Emily opened her eyes.

Immediately, she wished she had kept them shut. A sudden burst of color hurt her eyes.

"Oh, my lord," Emily said in a hushed whisper.

"What's the matter?" William said.

"This is……amazing." Emily said.

They had arrived at the Land of the Dead.

It was nothing like her home village.

Her village was full of stone houses and manors. The only colors that seemed to exist were blue, black, and gray. It was always very quiet.

This place was the opposite. The houses were ramshackle and made of wood. The bright, lively colors seemed to give the place some sort of creepy warmth.

Emily could hear people singing. And music.

"Not exactly like the Land of the Living, I suppose?" William asked, a hint of teasing in his voice.

"It's nothing like it," Emily said.

"Come with me," William said, pulling her to a nearby pub.

Emily looked up and saw a wooden sign hanging above the door. It showed a picture of a one-eyed skeleton.

" 'The Ball and Socket', " Emily read aloud. "A pub, I suppose?"

William smiled and led Emily into the pub.

Upon entering, Emily gasped, and the entire room went quiet.

The place was full of skeletons and people in various states of decomposition. Two skeletons played pool while another group played cards. A couple of dead men and women by the bar looked at William and then Emily.

Suddenly, a loud bell began to ring.

"New arrival! New arrival!"

A fat woman with skin the same icy color as William's came through a door at the back of the pub, came over to him and Emily, and seized William's free hand.

"Oh, my dears, welcome, welcome. My name is Ms. Plum," the woman said.

Emily looked closely at her. Like William, she was decomposing, but was at a more advance state. She was more skeleton than skin.

Soon, what felt like the entire pub surrounded them, happy at the arrival of a newly deceased person.

"Alfred, my dear boy," one well-dressed skeleton said, shaking William's hand. "Welcome, so very pleased to meet you."

"I'm William," William said. "And this is-"

Emily felt herself pushed out of the way. Annoyed, she looked up and saw three girls about her age all over William.

"My name's Amelia,"

"You are so handsome! Do you have a lady corpse?"

"How did you die?"

Emily felt a small pang of anger. It vanished when she saw a shadow above her.

"Oh, let me help you up, my dear,"

Emily looked up and saw Ms. Plum hold out a skeletal hand to her. Emily took it.

"Thank you," she said, allowing the dead woman to pull her up.

"My dear, why are you so warm?" Ms. Plum patted Emily's hand. Frowning, she looked into Emily's face.

"My dear lady, what is the matter?" Alfred said, coming over. He looked at Emily. Shock lit up his skeletal face. "By Jove, woman, a breather!"

All heads turned to the three of them. The idea of a living person being in the Land of the Dead was ridiculous.

"Ms. Plum, are you sure she's alive?" one of William's fan girls asked.

"Well, of course she is, you twit!" the one called Amelia said. She came over and put a cold blue finger to Emily's throat. "I can feel her pulse!"

She withdrew her hand as if she was touching something poisonous and harmful. Babble broke out over the pub.

"How on earth did this happen?"

"This is absurd!"

"This has never happened before!"

"She must go back to where she came from!"

"Oh, shut up, the lot of you," Ms. Plum snapped. She put an arm around Emily's shoulders. "The child is here for a reason. Remember that this has happened before. Don't you remember Victor Van Dort, that dashing young man who married our dear Corpse Bride?"

"Victor Van Dort?" Emily asked. "That's my father."

"Your father!" one hunchbacked man said. " You can't possibly be Master Victor and Miss Victoria's girl?"

"Yes, I am," Emily said. "How do you know?"

"I worked for your grandparents many years ago," the man said. "Name's Mayhew. Died the day your mum and dad were married."

"Emily, dear?" one voice said. The old woman speaking sounded familiar to Emily.

Emily turned around and saw a blue skinned-old woman standing next to Mayhew.

"Hildegarde!" Emily shrieked. She ran over to her childhood nanny who had died just days after James was born.

"Oh, my dear!" Hildegarde said, embracing Emily. She wiped her eyes. "You are all grown up. What a beauty you've become! How is the baby?"

"James is nine now, Hilda," Emily said.

"How time flies!" Hildegarde cried. She hugged Emily again.

"Let's sit down, Emily," William said. Emily jumped. She'd forgotten William was there. They sat down at the bar, all eyes still on them.

"Bon jour!" cried a voice in a perky French accent. Emily looked up and, to her shock, saw the partially-skeletal head of a Frenchman scuttling down the bar towards her. When he was close enough, she saw that beetles at the base of his severed neck were what was making the head move on his own accord.

"My name eez Paul," he said politely. "I am ze 'ead waiter. Drink for ze gentleman and lady?"

"Yes, please," William said. "Emily?"

"No, thank you," she said.

"Very well, zen," said Paul. He whistled, and several beetles picked up a jug that had a skull and crossbones on it. They poured a generous amount of the caramel-colored liquid into a glass and slid it over to William. He took a drink of the liquid. Emily thought that it smelled like turpentine.

A thought suddenly popped into Emily's head: a pub for dead people probably didn't have food or drink fit for living people.

She was suddenly glad she hadn't asked for anything.

"All right, James, we'll be back as soon as we can."

"Be good for your grandparents."

"We love you, darling."

At Grandmother Nell and Grandfather William's manor, James glared at his parents. He was not happy about them leaving. He hated them. He would never speak to them again. For all he cared, they could die just that young man who took Emily.

Of course, these thoughts weren't true. James went with them, though.

He scowled at his parents like the typical spoiled child, turned around on the stairs and stomped up to the bedroom. He slammed the door for good measure.

"My goodness," Grandmother Nell said. "Whatever is the matter with him?"

"Don't worry, Mother," Victor said. "James is just angry we have to leave him."

"Tell us again, where are you children off to?" Grandfather William asked.

"Emily's run off, Father William," Victoria explained. "We think to a village a far way from here. We need to bring her home, and James cannot come with us. Are you certain he can stay?"

"Of course he can," Grandmother Nell said. "As long as he needs to. Just as long as you bring that girl back. To think she ran out on the Everglots' party!"

"Mother, that's not the most important thing to worry about," Victor said sternly. "We have to find our daughter."

"Of course, of course," Grandfather William said. "Off you go, keep us informed, your boy will be just fine."

He clapped Victor on the back and gave Victoria a kiss on the cheek. His wife hugged Victoria and planted a big wet kiss on Victor's cheek.

"Good luck to you, kids." Grandfather William said.

Victor and Victoria left. William Van Dort shut the door before Nell could fuss over her precious son any more.

Up in the bedroom, James pressed his ear to the door. He heard the door slam shut.

His parents were gone. He'd have to hurry.

As quickly as he could, he stuffed pillows underneath the bed covers. James stood back and smiled at the interesting effect the pillows made. They made it look as if he was asleep in the bed.

Perfect. His grandparents would never guess differently.

Quietly, James sneaked over to the window, opened it, and climbed down the rose trestle. Once he hit the ground, he hid behind a bush and kept watch for his parents. In seconds, they came around the side of the house and hopped into the buggy. As quietly as he could, James sprinted through the rain, and carefully climbed into the luggage part.

The buggy moved forward. James smiled to himself, proud of his own daring and cleverness.

He was going with his parents, whether they liked it or not.

Being a smart child, James had decided on a course of action the minute he and his parents had left their manor.

He had spent the entire ride not speaking to them. He wanted them to think him spoiled and angry so they wouldn't suspect what he was up to.

To his relief, his escape plan worked.

He didn't care what his parents said or did when they found him. He had to see this "Land of the Dead" for himself. After all, seeing is believing.

Within ten minutes, Victor and Victoria made it to the outskirts of the woods, unaware that their son was along for the ride.

Victor stepped out of the buggy, and lifted Victoria out. Hand in hand, they walked into the soggy woods. The rain had stopped just after they'd left Victor's parents.

The woods were exactly as Victor remembered them. Save for the very edge of the woods, he hadn't been there since resurrecting the Corpse Bride. Sure, he had loved her, to a point, but he never liked to think of what she had lost when Barkis Bittern murdered her. The woods were a strong reminder of that.

Soon, Victor and Victoria reached the spot when the Corpse Bride appeared. Victor closed his eyes and a series of flashbacks went through his head.

A chilling wind.

The appearance of a beautiful young woman, dirty and bedraggled.

The words "I do", spoken in a whisper that still made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"Victor, is this where she appeared?" Victoria asked.

Victor looked down and saw a curiously shaped root sticking out of the ground. The root was shaped like a curled index finger.

"Yes," Victor said. "I'm sure of it."

"Well, do what you need to do," Victoria said. Victor looked doubtful. Victoria put her hand on his shoulder. "Dear, we need her help. We'll never find our daughter without her."

Victor nodded resolutely. Pulling one of his daughter's rings out of his pocket, he took a deep breath.

He prayed this would work.

"With this hand, I will lift your sorrows," he recited. "Your cup will never empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way in darkness. With this ring, I ask you……to be mine."

Successfully completing the wedding vows for the third time in his life, Victor slipped the ring onto the finger-shaped root.

With bated breath, Victor and Victoria waited.

Minutes passed. Nothing happened.

Victor frowned. Why hadn't this worked?

"Oh, Victor, what are we going to do?" Victoria asked. She began to cry. Victor, feeling helpless, put his arms around Victoria.

"Don't worry, dear, I'll think of something. Something has to work."

He held his wife as she sobbed. Frowning, Victor looked up and saw something coming towards them. He gently released Victoria and walked towards the shape.

"Victor? What is it?" Victoria asked, sniffling.

"Stay here," he said sternly. "Someone's coming."

"Is it…..her?" Victoria asked.

"I don't think so, Victoria," Victor said, frowning. "They're too small."

Victor carefully moved forward while Victoria hung back, looking terrified.

"Hello?" Victor called.

The small shape stopped in the moonlight, too shadowy for Victor to see. Victor took advantage of this and hurried towards the moonlight.

He gasped when he saw who it was.

"James!"

He hurried to his son and firmly took him by the wrist.

"What on earth are you doing here? How in heaven's name did you get here?"

"I sneaked out," James said, trying to look ashamed, but failing.

"Good lord, you gave me such a fright!"

"I'm sorry, Father,"

"Victor?" called Victoria from the darkness. "What is it?"

"Our sneaking little son," Victor said, dragging James into his mother's presence.

"James? How can that be?"

"Ask him," Victor said grimly. "Well, young man, tell your mother what you did."

"I sneaked out," said James, bowing his head. "I wanted to see this woman for myself."

"After we expressly told you that you couldn't come with us?" Victoria asked sternly.

"Yes, ma'am," James said apologetically.

"Well, we're taking straight back to your grandparents," Victor said, picking James up.

"Father-"

"No, no excuses, James, we're bringing you back to them. We'll have them tie you to the bed this time," Victor said, feeling bad for saying it.

"Father-"

"Oh, you're going to be punished once we get your sister home-"

"Father, look," James said in a whisper. "Behind you."

Victor turned around and looked down at the ground. In astonishment, he set James down and took his hand and one of Victoria's. Together, they watched as the ground cracked and crumbled in the same spot where the Corpse Bride had emerged fifteen years before.

A skeletal hand then came out of the ground and sank its fingers into the wet dirt. Victor heard James gasp, and felt him move behind Victoria. Victor simply watched as a woman's veiled head, and then body emerged out of the soil.

The Corpse Bride was almost exactly as Victor remembered her. She was just as beautiful, but she had decomposed quite a bit in the fifteen years since he had seen her. Her arms and legs were now completely skeletal, a large patch of skull could be seen on her forehead, the chunk of skin missing from her cheek had grown quite a bit, so Victor could see the entire right side of the Corpse Bride's oddly perfect teeth. The skin above her chest was starting to disappear.

The Corpse Bride lifted her veil out of her face and looked down at the Van Dorts.

"Victor?" she said. "Victoria! How wonderful!"

She went over to them and gave each of them a hug. The smell of death was so heavy that Victor and Victoria tried not to breathe through their noses.

"Hello, Emily," Victor said, trying not to cough. "How are you?"

"Just fine," the Corpse Bride said. "Well, as fine as I'll ever be. You two look so well."

She beamed. James, his dark eyes wide, peered around Victoria's dress and took in the sight of the Corpse Bride.

"And who is this?" she said, looking into James's eyes.

"Our son, James," Victoria said.

"A son! That's wonderful!" She knelt down to James's eye level. "Hello, my dear."

She held out a bony hand. James uncertainly took it.

"Victor, he looks just like you," the Corpse Bride said. Standing, she looked at Victor and Victoria happily and took their hands into her own. "I'm so happy to see you. It's been so long."

"You're the one my sister's named for?" James asked.

"Don't be rude, James," Victoria said, sternly.

"You have another child?" the Corpse Bride asked.

"Yes, a daughter," Victor said. "We named her Emily. After you."

"Oh, Victor," the Corpse Bride said tearfully. "What an honor. So, why did you call me?

"We need your help. Our daughter's missing." Victoria said.

"How awful. How can I be of help?"

"Emily was taken to the Land of the Dead by a young man," Victor said. "It's a long story, but we need you to take us to the Land of the Dead with you."

"Oh," the Corpse Bride said. "That's somewhat problematic."

"Why?"

"I came here because you spoke the wedding vows, twice now," she smiled. "But I can't think of a way for you to come with me."

"What about the Ukrainian Haunting Spell?" Victor asked.

"That won't work," the Corpse Bride said. "It has to be cast in the Land of the Dead."

There was a brief silence. Getting a sudden idea, Victoria grabbed Victor.

"Victor, what about how the two of you went to the Land of the Dead the first time? You had said that crows had surrounded you….."

She trailed off when the Corpse Bride looked at her, frowning. The Corpse Bride may have been a kind soul, but she also had a temper that had been unwisely crossed more than once.

"Give me your hands," she said. "And close your eyes."

Victor took the Corpse Bride's hand, she took James's, he took Victoria's and she took Victor's, so that the four of them stood together in a circle. All four shut their eyes.

A cold, chilling wind began to blow, rustling everyone's hair. James heard squawks and opened his eyes a fraction of an inch. To his shock, he saw a murder of crows flying around them. He could barely make his parents out through the thick flock of birds. Feeling sick, he quickly shut his eyes again, feeling the flapping of the crows' wings.

After a minute or two, the wind stopped blowing. The crows seemed to have vanished.

James dared to open his eyes fully. He gaped at what he saw.

The Land of the Dead.

After William had finished her drink, he and Emily had left the Ball and Socket to explore the Land of the Dead.

Emily was starting to like this place more than her old village. She felt like she could just be herself here.

Not to mention, William, odd as it was, was becoming dear to her. She was growing very fond of him and felt silly for ever having been terrified of him.

After an hour of walking, William looked down at her and smiled.

"Do you want to sit down, Emily?" William asked. "You look tired."

"All right," Emily said, smiling back up at him. "Where?"

"Up there."

He pointed up an uneven stone staircase. At the top of the stairs, Emily could see a crudely made wooden bench. Hand in hand, they ascended the stairs. When they reached the top, Emily gasped.

"Oh, William!"

The bench sat near a balcony. Emily hurried over to the railing and immediately fell in love with the view. From the balcony, the Land of the Dead seemed to go on for miles and miles.

"This is beautiful," Emily said, setting her elbows on the railing. She smiled, and then sighed.

"What's the matter?" William asked.

"I don't know," Emily said. "I'm just thinking of my parents. They must know that I've gone. They must be worried sick, they don't know where I am."

"We'll go back, don't worry."

"It's strange, but I feel I don't want to go back," Emily said, looking at him. "I feel that I could stay here forever. With Hildegarde, Ms. Plum……you.

William looked into Emily's eyes. He bent his wasted head downward and gave Emily a cold kiss on the mouth. When she didn't protest, but seemed to return the kiss, William put his skeletal hand to Emily's cheek and put more passion into the kiss.

After what seemed like an eternity to Emily, the kiss broke. She looked up into William's face and smiled. He smiled back down at her and went to kiss her again. Emily eagerly went to return the kiss. Their lips were together for just mere seconds when William pulled away, frowning.

"What's the matter?" Emily asked. "William, what's the matter?"

"This isn't right," William said. "We shouldn't do this."

"What does it matter if it's improper?" Emily asked, knowing full well what her grandmother thought of kisses before marriage.

"It's not that," William said, sitting down on the bench. Emily sat down next to him and looked at him.

"I don't understand, William," Emily said.

"I'm dead, you're alive," William said. "I lost my life, I've got no hope of falling in love, marrying, having children, growing old. You have that chance. Don't give that up because of me."

"William, please tell me of how you died," Emily said. "I want to hear the full story."

William looked at her, doubtful. She took his hands into her own and looked into his one good eyes. "Please, William."

William sighed.

"Emily, firstly what you need to know is that I value my loved ones above anything else. Anyway, my mother and my father were a powerful lady and lord, who wanted the best for their children. They were kind, loving people, even if my father was a bit intimidating. After Mother died, my father became overprotective, especially of my sister, and very strict with me. He did his best to bring us up a lady and gentleman. Even with Father's intimidating demeanor, my family and I were happy, despite Mother being gone.

"My sister was the most beautiful girl in our town. All of the boys wanted her. My father encouraged her to marry one of them, but she wouldn't have any of them. She wanted to marry for love, not money, like I had.

"When my sister was eighteen and I was sixteen, a man who called himself Lord Barkis Bittern came into the village. Upon meeting him, my sister fell in love with him, despite the twenty-year ago difference. He treated her like royalty and soon asked my father for her hand in marriage. My father was a great judge of character, and did not trust Bittern, nor did I. My father ordered my sister to stay away from him.

"She didn't. She kept meeting him every night. I caught her at it more than once, and finally I decided to have a talk with Bittern. I loved my sister too much to see her get hurt by an older man.

"Around midnight, I confronted Bittern in the woods where you found me. I told him that he was to break it off with my sister, to leave her alone. I told him that if he really loved her, he would respect her enough to move on. Bittern laughed and confessed to me that he had no romantic feelings for her, and said that he wanted the family's money. I became angry and we soon got into a fist fight. He overtook me and stabbed me. While I was still alive, and conscious, he weighed me down and dumped me in the pond. He left me there to drown."

"Oh, William," Emily said. "How awful!"

"The last thing he said to me was a promise that I would be seeing my sister soon. This can only mean that he has killed her, too. I need to find her. My sister went through with the marriage, I'm sure of it."

"But why did you bring me down here?"

"I've been in that lake for almost twenty years," William said. "You're the first friend I've had since I've been dead. Also, I can't find my family on my own."

"So you needed my help."

"Yes," William said. There was a long pause. "Emily, do you know that I love you?"

"Really?" Emily gasped.

"Yes," William said. "More than you'll ever know. You may laugh and think it's ridiculous. I may be dead, and I've never been in love before, but I know what I feel. I love you." There was another long pause. "That's why it truly pains me to tell you this."

"Tell me what?" Emily asked. "That we can't be together?"

"It's not only that," William said. "I'm telling you this because you must know how I feel before he takes you…."

"He?" Emily asked. "Who's he?"

"Barkis Bittern," William said. "He wants you, he'll give me my family's whereabouts in return."

"What?" Emily asked. "William, what are you saying?"

"I brought you down here for a different reason. Barkis Bittern wants you, I don't know why, exactly, but he promised me my family if I bring you to him." A tear dripped from William's one good eye. "I'm so sorry, Emily, but I need to see my family."

Emily was still trying to comprehend what William was saying when suddenly a cold voice spoke, coming from below them.

"Very good, William."

With a gasp, Emily looked up and saw a man in his late-thirties at the base of the uneven staircase. He had white hair that was slicked back, and he walked and spoke with the air of being a proud aristocratic. His skin was blue, like William's, but it was not clear to Emily was had killed him.

"Ah, Emily Van Dort," Barkis Bittern said. Hands behind his back, he gracefully walked up the stairs. When reaching the teenagers, Barkis took Emily's hand and kissed it.

"What a beauty," Barkis said. "William, you've done well."

"Who are you?" Emily asked, disgusted.

"Dear William did not tell you?" Barkis asked. "Shame, William, you never told your lovely friend her husband's name?"

"Husband?" Emily said, scared.

"My name is Lord Barkis Bittern," Barkis said. "William brought you here to my bride."

Seizing Emily's hand, he pulled her away from William. Casting a terrified look back at William, Emily saw that he remained where he sat, head bowed.

"William?" Emily asked.

"I am so, so sorry, Emily," she heard William mutter.

"I believe your sister is at the pub," Barkis said to William as he pulled Emily down the steps and around the corner.

Out of eye- and earshot of William, Barkis pushed Emily up against a stone wall and put a cold hand to her mouth. He gave Emily an evil sneer and looked directly into her eyes.

"Emily's at the pub," he whispered in her ear. Emily crinkled her nose at the smell of his foul breath. "With your parents."

"My parents?" Emily said, her voice muffled under Barkis's hand. "They're here?"

"Oh, yes," Barkis said. "Apparently, they're looking for their precious daughter. You'll see them again, of course, and they'll see you. But don't worry, my dear, you'll be dead long before they find you. You can count on that."

The Corpse Bride and the Van Dorts arrived at the Ball and Socket. James could hear cheerful, jazzy piano music coming from inside the brightly lit pub.

"This is the first place to ask about you daughter," the Corpse Bride told Victor and Victoria.

"All right," Victoria asked. "But what about James? He's just a child. He can't come into a pub."

"Don't worry about that," the Corpse Bride said. "He can come in. It'll be fine."

With her long train sweeping the ground, the Corpse Bride stepped forward and opened the door to the pub. Victor followed close behind her. Tightly holding James's hand, Victoria followed him.

James took one look inside and gasped.

The pub was full of the dead, some skeletal, some not. Some were playing pool or cards, some were chatting with others, some sat at the bar where a head was serving them.

The minute the Corpse Bride and the Van Dorts entered, a hush went over the crowd. James felt both eyes and eye sockets staring at them. Almost immediately, a rush of people got out of their seats and surrounded Victor. The Corpse Bride, smiling, sat down at the bar and watched. James and Victoria simply watched as person after person greeted Victor.

"Victor, my dear boy!" one dead man yelled. He rushed forward and energetically shook Victor's hand. "Welcome back, welcome back."

"Hello, Alfred,"

"Victor, dear!"

Victor leaned down and permitted Ms. Plum to give him a kiss on the cheek. He looked up and saw his parents' old driver, Mayhew.

"Mayhew!" Victor said, shaking his hand. "How have you been?"

"Pretty well," Mayhew croaked. "You?"

"Very well, thank you."

Frowning, James looked up at his mother.

"Don't you know anyone, Mother?"

"Miss Victoria, dearie!"

Victoria looked up and saw the woman who had cared for both her and her daughter from infancy.

"Hildegarde!" Victoria said happily. The women hugged.

"Miss Victoria!" Mayhew said, coming over. "How lovely to see you, m'lady."

Victoria blushed as Mayhew kissed her hand.

"Who's this young lad?" Alfred asked, looking down at James.

"Miss Victoria, this cannot be baby James?" Hildegarde said in surprise.

"Yes, Hilda," Victoria said, smiling. She ushered James out in front of her.

"Oh, my dear," Hildegarde said, hugging James. "You look so much like your father!"

Victoria saw the look on her son's face. "James, dear, this is Hildegarde. She delivered you and your sister and was to be your nanny." She looked sadly up at Hildegarde and smiled. "She died soon after you were born."

James smiled at Hildegarde and gave her a fierce hug. He knew of Hildegarde, of course. He remembered funny stories Emily said that their nanny had told her. Emily always told James memories of her, and there were several pictures of her in the manor. Although he didn't remember her, she was still as real to him as she was to Emily.

"Well, dear boy, what brings you down here?" Alfred asked Victor.

"Have you seen our daughter?" Victor asked. "Her name is Emily, and she has brown hair and green eyes."

"A girl who looks like Miss Victoria?" Mayhew asked.

"Yes," Victor said. "Have you seen her?"

"Of course we have, Victor," Ms. Plum said. "She passed by here with a young man…….not an hour ago."

"Are you in earnest, ma'am?" Victoria asked with a start.

"Of course, dear," Ms. Plum said. "Why so panicked?"

"That young man kidnapped her," Victor said. "Emily brought him back in the woods, and he took her away in the middle of the night."

"Nah, William didn't kidnap her," Mayhew said. "They came by here, he had a drink, they left. He did mention something about finding his family. His sister and father."

With that, the Corpse Bride looked up.

"William?" she asked. "What did he look like?"

"Mademoiselle, I saw 'im up close," said Paul. "Let's see, 'ee did have 'azel eyes, zat much I remember. Ze poor boy was drowned, didn't get much else."

"My brother," the Corpse Bride whispered.

"What?" Victor said.

"My brother, William," the Corpse Bride said. "I haven't seen him since I died. He went missing a few days before I eloped."

"We have to find them, Victor," Victoria said, grabbing Victor's arm. "We need to bring Emily home."

"I know, dear. Right," he looked around at the pub. "Does anyone know where they went?"

There were several murmurs of "no".

"Well, we're going to look for them," Victor said. "Can anyone stay with James?"

"Victor, you know we've got young ones here," Ms. Plum said. "James can play with them. He'll be fine. Oh, here they are now."

The skeleton girl and skeleton boy whom Victor remembered from fifteen years earlier ran over to them, giggling.

"Hello, Victor!" the girl piped up.

"Hello, children," Victor said. He took James by the shoulders and positioned him in front of the dead children. "This is my son, James. Would you two look after him for a bit?"

"Sure!" said the boy. "Sounds fun. Come on, James!"

The dead boy ran off. The girl took James's hand and pulled him out of the pub.

"Be back in an hour, children!" Ms. Plum called after them. She looked at Victor and Victoria. "It's just so we can look after your dear boy ourselves later, dears."

"Thank you," Victoria said, taking Ms. Plum's hand. She then looked up at her husband. "Where should we try first, Victor?"

"Elder Gutknecht?" Victor suggested, looking at the Corpse Bride.

"That's a good idea," she said. "He'll be able to find her exact location."

"Well, let us know what happening, dearies," Hildegarde said. "We'll be right here until you find your blessed child."

"Thank you, Hilda," Victor said. "We'll be back as soon as possible."

With that, he, Victoria, and the Corpse Bride left.

The minute they had left the Ball and Socket, the children had taken James to, what seemed to him, to be something of a play area. The boy climbed an old tree while the girl sat down in the dead grass. She patted the space next to her, inviting James to sit down.

"James, right?" she asked.

"Yes," he said.

"My name is Beth," she said. She pointed to boy. "That's my twin brother, Timothy. We're seven."

"I'm two minutes older," Timothy piped up. "Beth died first, though."

"We were very sick," Beth said. "Poor Mummy and Daddy lost us both."

"I have a sister," James said. "She's fourteen, I'm nine."

"Fourteen!" Timothy exclaimed.

"Gosh, that's old," Beth said. "Why are you here anyway? You're not dead."

"My sister disappeared," James said. "She came down here with a man."

"Barkis Bittern?" Timothy asked. There was a bit of fear in his voice. Beth shivered.

"Who is he?" James asked, shocked to see his new friends' reaction. Surely the dead had nothing and no one to fear.

"A very bad man," Beth said. "He's the reason Miss Emily's here. She was in love and he wrecked her wedding day."

"He killed her?" he asked, horrified. His parents had never mentioned the Corpse Bride's killer by name.
"I think so," Beth said. She looked up at her brother. "Isn't that what Ms. Plum said, Timothy?"

"I guess," Timothy said. "We don't know much about Mr. Barkis. Just that he's a very bad man who hurt Miss Emily."

He climbed down from the tree and disappeared through the dead hedges.

"What's he doing?" James asked.

"Getting Scraps from the doghouse, I think," Beth said. "Scraps doesn't like being left alone too long."

"Who's Scraps?" James asked.

Before Beth could answer, James heard a sharp yip and the sounds of something crashing through the hedges. Suddenly, the living skeleton of a small dog hurtled itself out of the hedges and went over to James. Landing on his chest with enough force to knock James to the ground, the dog barked and began to sniff him all over. James began to laugh.

"This is Scraps," Timothy said, appearing. "He's your dad's old dog."

"My dad's?" James asked, still giggling. With difficulty, he sat up, gently pushing Scraps off his chest. Once he had settled into a better position, Scraps barked and settled himself in James's lap, his bony tail wagging.

"He's our puppy now," Beth said, petting Scraps's skull. "He was your daddy's when he was a little boy, but he gave him to us when he came here."

"We've never had a dog," James said. He'd always wanted one. "My sister is allergic to pet hair."

James, patting the dog, looked at him carefully. From what he'd seen of the anatomy of dogs in books, Scraps seemed to have been a poodle or terrier in life. He definitely had the personality of either one.

James noticed a red collar around Scrap's neckbone. He took the metal tag into his hands and saw the name Scraps carved into the smooth metal. James smiled at the thought of his father, as a child no older than him, playing with Scraps.

Suddenly, Scraps perked up his head, sniffing the air. He began to whine.

"What's wrong, Scraps?" Beth asked.

Scraps leapt out of James's lap and began to sniff around, his nose not leaving the ground.

"What's he found?" James asked.

"I don't know," Timothy said, frowning.

Scraps went to the hedges, turned back to the children, and barked. He disappeared through the hedges.

"He wants us to follow him," Beth said. "He's found something."

James, Beth and Timothy got to the feet and went through the hedges. Together, they followed Scraps through the dead grass and trees. Scraps's whines seemed to get higher every few steps.

Finally, the skeleton dog stopped by a clump of bushes and sat down, barking.

"What did you find, Scraps?" Beth asked.

James knelt down next to Scraps and carefully moved the clump of bushes aside. What he found underneath startled him.

"It's a window," James said.

"A window?" Beth asked, kneeling down next to him. Timothy knelt down next to his sister.

"Yes," James said, frowning. This didn't make sense. How could a window be in the ground?
James looked through the window and was startled to see that he had a clear bird's-eye view of a small dark room.

The children seemed to be on top of some sort of little house or hideout.

"What is this place?" James asked. "Who lives here?"

"I don't know," Timothy said. "We never realized this was here."

"Oh, what if this is Barkis Bittern's place?" Beth said, trembling. "I bet it is! No one's seen hide or hair of him for fifteen years. We could have found where he's hiding!"

"But why did Scraps find it now?" James asked. "Why did he bring us here?"

"I don't know," Beth said, shivering. "Please, James, let's go back to town. It's safer there."

James looked up at her. She did look scared. He looked at Timothy. He wore an expression that was both curiosity and fear.

"All right," James said reluctantly. "But I'm asking the Corpse Bride about this place when-"

Beth screamed. Timothy gasped. As James was speaking, a cruel white face had appeared in the glassless window. James had a split-second view of the face before it grinned evilly, reached through the window, grabbed James's arm, and pulled him through the window.

Despite her worry for her daughter, Victoria couldn't help but be amazed at the spectacular place the Land of the Dead was.

No wonder Victor had been willing to marry the Corpse Bride. This place was much more cheerful and colorful than their own village. Anyone, living or dead, would have preferred this place.

"He's just down here," the Corpse Bride told Victoria. She pointed to a tall building off in the distance.

"Victor, do you think this man can find our daughter?" Victoria asked worriedly.

"He sent me back to you," Victor said, smiling at her. "If he can move two people between worlds, he can find our daughter."

They soon reached the door to the building. Putting one skeletal finger to her lips, the Corpse Bride opened the door and stepped inside. Just past the doorway was a winding wooden staircase.

"Elder Gutknecht? Hello?" she called softly. As the three of them ascended the stairs, Victor had a strong sense of déjà vu. The Corpse Bride had done this same thing fifteen years ago.

They reached the top of the stairs, and still there was no response.

"Elder Gutknecht? Are you here? It's Emily, Victor, and Victoria," the Corpse Bride said, a little louder.

"Are you sure he's still here?" Victoria asked, looking very nervous. "Maybe he's left or….dissolved, perhaps?" She had no idea what happened to a person when they had reached the most advanced state of decomposition.

Neither, apparently, judging by his curious expression, did Victor. He looked questioningly at the Corpse Bride.

"He couldn't have," she said. "We would have known. There's always a sign when someone finally crosses over."

"May I help you, my dears?"

Victoria nearly shrieked. The kind, frail voice had sounded right behind her. Whirling around, she, Victor and the Corpse Bride saw Elder Gutknecht.

Victor noticed immediately that time had not been kind the dead old man. Fifteen years ago, Elder Gutknecht had been frail, lame, an ancient skeleton. Now, he was stooped more badly, his wisp of a beard had vanished, and the cracked piece of his skull had long since crumbled. He looked as though the slightest gust of wind would cause him to crumble to dust.

Seeing the young people, his kind old face formed into a smile. He gently grasped the Van Dorts' hands.

"Victor, Victoria, it's lovely to see you. How long has it been?" he rasped. He looked up at the Corpse Bride. "Hello, Emily."

"Hello, Elder Gutknecht," she said. She bent forward and kissed his cheek.

"Hello, sir," Victor said. He very gently shook the old man's hand. Victoria smiled shyly at Elder Gutknecht. "It's been fifteen years."

"My, what a period. Time truly does fly," Elder Gutknecht said. "Now, what can I do for you, my dears?"

"Well, our daughter was taken down here," Victor said. "By a young man."

"My brother," the Corpse Bride added. "He vanished before I was married. Father and I never knew what happened to him."

"Poor child," Elder Gutknecht sighed, shaking his head.

"You know what happened to him?" the Corpse Bride asked. Victor could hear a shred of fear in her voice.

"My dear, William died," Elder Gutknecht said gently. "Your fiance killed him. Drowned, I believe."

"Barkis?" Victor asked.

"Barkis," the Corpse Bride said, her tone dark. She narrowed her eyes in anger. Victor had seen this look twice before.

"Sir," Victoria piped up. "We need to find our daughter. Can you please help us?"

"Let me see," the old man said.

He hobbled over to a shelf and studied it. After a minute, he reached up and pulled down a particularly fat book. He carried it over to his worktable.

As the Corpse Bride, Victor, and Victoria watched, Elder Gutknecht turned to the middle of the book and read one page. He began to gather various bottles and powders. Very carefully, glancing every now and then at the book, he poured the ingredients carefully into a rusted old cauldron, a fire lit underneath it.

Elder Gutknecht came over and plucked one hair from each of Victor and Victoria's scalps. Both cried out in pain as the Corpse Bride frowned at Elder Gutknecht.

"This is a location spell. Your hair is crucial," Elder Gutknecht said to the Van Dorts, dropping the hairs into the potion. "It will tell us where your daughter is. We must wait a few minutes, but it should let us know the child's location."

As the four of them watched, light blue steam began to issue from the cauldron, soon filling the room. Soon, Victoria, squinting, could make out a much darker shape come up from the cauldron's contents. It appeared to be a child in a sitting position, the hands tied behind the back. As the child's shape became clearer, so did its surroundings. The child was in a dark room. Victoria gasped, and the image vanished.

"That's odd," Elder Gutknecht said to himself. "Very odd."

Victor apparently didn't hear him. "Our daughter is being held captive in a room somewhere in the Land of the Dead? She could be anywhere." He glared angrily at the Corpse Bride. "How are we going to find her now?"

"V-Victor, I don't think that was Emily," Victoria stuttered.

"What?" Victor asked.

"Do you have another child?" Elder Gutknecht asked. "A boy?"

"Yes, we have a nine-year-old, James," Victor said. "We left him with the twins. Why?"

"My boy, that was your boy you just saw," Elder Gutknecht said gravely. "Wherever James is, your daughter is with him. The child in that image was James. And that child was in trouble."

Victor remembered how the child looked as though he was tied up. Without another word, he grabbed Victoria's hand and left the room. The Corpse Bride was staring at the floor, deep in thought.

"No," she said shakily. "My brother couldn't have kidnapped those children."

The Corpse Bride and Elder Gutknecht locked eyes. In one second, they understood each other: they knew where the Van Dort children were, who had taken them, and what would surely happen to them. If they were right on all accounts, there wasn't much time to the kids from a man who never set much store by the rules.

"Go, my dear," Elder Gutknecht said. "Help Victor and Victoria save their children."

He didn't need to say it twice. The Corpse Bride smiled at him and tore after Victor and Victoria.

When Barkis had pulled James through the window, James had landed on his head. The ground had been soft, fortunately.

Now, as James opened his eyes, pain shot through his temple.

"Ow," James moaned, putting a hand to his head. Shaking his head gently, he looked around.

He was in a dark room, the floor made of dirt. James looked up at the window and could see the dead trees outside.

The owner of the cruel white face wasn't around.

He heard something scuffle. Then whimpering.

"Hello?" James called. He could see a shape across from him. Squinting, he looked through the darkness and gasped when he realized who he was looking at.

"Emily!"

James got to his feet and hurried over to his sister. Paler than usual, Emily was bound and gagged, her dress filthy. James reached up and pulled the gag off her mouth.

"James, thank God!" Emily gasped. Her brother immediately went to work on the ropes binding her hands on feet together. Once Emily was freed, she and James hugged.

"How did you get here?" Emily asked, releasing her brother.

"With Mum and Dad," James said.

"They're here?" Emily asked, relieved. "How did you get down here?"

"The Corpse Bride took us."

"The Corpse Bride?"

"Long story," James said. He looked around. "Where are we?"

"In Barkis Bittern's hideout," Emily said. "William tricked me, he brought me down here to marry Barkis," She began to sob. "Barkis is awful, he says he's going to kill me."

"Like your namesake." James said.

"My namesake?" Emily asked, tearfully looking up at him.

"Long story." James said. "Don't worry, Mother and Father will find us. They're looking for you."

"He said something about revenge." Emily said. "Do Mother and Father know Barkis?"

"Yes, Dad married the woman Barkis killed," James said.

"Was this before or after he married Mum?"

"Before. A few years after Emily died."

Emily looked blank. "What?"

James told the tragic story to his sister as best he could. When he finished, Emily frowned.

"How could they not tell us about this?" Emily asked.

"I don't know, but we have to get out of here and find them," James said. "They're seeing someone named Elder Gutknecht. We'll go through the window and-"

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the other Van Dort brat,"

James looked up. Barkis Bittern stepped out of the shadows. His icy-blue face seemed to glow in the dark.

"So this is your dear brother, Emily?" Barkis asked, looking down at Emily. She looked back at Barkis, her eyes wide. Barkis stepped over to the children, seized James's arm and pulled him upward so that they were eye to eye. James looked back into the man's cold eyes, not flinching, his heart racing.

"You look very much like your father," Barkis said, his eyes taking in James's pale face, black hair, and brown eyes. "I don't see Victoria anywhere in you."

"I've been told that," James said coldly, bravely drawing himself up. "What do you want with my sister?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Barkis asked innocently.

"My parents told me about you," James spat. "You killed one of their friends. And her brother."

"Did your parents tell you that your wonderful father took from me what was rightfully mine? Something that was very near and dear to me?"

"And what would that be?"

"Our mother."

James and Barkis looked over at Emily. Barkis grinned.

"Very good, girl," Barkis said. "She was married to me. She was my wife! I was cheated!"

"You're not the only one," Emily said. She stood up, feeling braver because her brother's boldness. "What about William? You took his life. He didn't have a chance at life."

"Nor did Emily," James said. "They were cheated, not you. You're nothing but a murderer. A money-hungry murderer."

Barkis narrowed his eyes. In a blur, his hand came down and struck James across the cheek. He tumbled to the floor as Emily screamed.

"Watch what you say, you stupid boy," Barkis said. He bent down and looked James in the eye. "I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you."

"Why is that?" James said, standing. He had a hand-shaped red mark on his cheek. Emily inwardly smiled; she was so proud of her brother. "The dead can't hurt the living."

"Ah, yes," Barkis said. "You're not so stupid after all. I can't hurt you or your sister…not now, anyway."

Understanding Barkis fully, James narrowed his eyes. Emily shrank back into the shadows. Barkis sneered at the both of them, straightened up, and went into the shadows. He looked back at the Van Dorts.

"We're in the middle of nowhere," Barkis said. "Nobody knows this place is here. Scream all you want, no one will hear you. I'll come for you when the time comes. Right now, I think you two should just wait here. Let you calm down, prepare for your afterlives. Sleep well, children."

Barkis began to laugh, cruelly. He opened a hidden door, strode through, and slammed it behind him. In the echoing silence, James heard a lock click. He and his sister listened at Barkis's footsteps faded away. Once he was sure the evil man couldn't hear them, James looked at his sister. Tears tracks were visible on her grimy face.

"Emily?" James asked warily. "What was he talking about? What does he mean when he says, 'when the time comes'? What's he planning?"

"To marry me," Emily said, crying. "He wants to marry me and kill me, so he can pay back Mother and Father for what they did to him."

"They didn't do anything," James said. "I'm not stupid. Our parents wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone."

"Oh, James, I know that," Emily said. "The man's deranged."

"But how would marrying you benefit him?" James asked. "It's not like he would inherit any money from you. The only gain he'd get from marrying you is, well, you."

"He knows that," Emily said. "He said that the rules that apply to the living don't apply to the dead. He just wants to make our parents miserable. Killing me would do enough of that. Killing you would be an added bonus."

Emily began to sob harder. James stood up and put his arm around his older sister.

"It's going to be all right, Emily," James said, resting his head against her shoulder. "Mum and Dad will find us, we'll be fine. Besides, Timothy and Beth ran back to the village. They'll tell our parents and everyone else. Barkis will be stopped."

"It's not just that," Emily said.

"What is it?"

"William," Emily said. "He betrayed me. The first boy I've ever felt anything towards, and he betrayed me."

"That's what being a teenager is about," James said with a hint of a smile. "Or so I've read. A girl's first love never works out." Frowning, James repeated that sentence in his head. "Wait a second. You love him? The man who brought you down here? A dead man?"

"Yes," Emily said. "I thought I did. He said he felt the same way. He was so sweet and charming. But it was just so he could get me to Barkis. He used me."

James looked sadly at her. Being only nine, he didn't know the trials of being a teenager and losing your first love. He'd read about it, and so had an idea what it must feel like, but he couldn't empathize with her. He just took her hand and leaned against her, the only real comfort he could give.

Ms. Plum was in the Ball and Socket's kitchen, preparing something suitable for James to eat.

He and the other children would be back soon. Victor, Victoria, and the Corpse Bride still had not returned from Elder Gutknecht's. There was no sign of Emily or William.

Ms. Plum sighed, even though she had no breath. She hoped everything would be OK.

She picked up the plate of food and carried it into the empty bar. Everyone had gone home. She, Paul, and her fellow cooks were the only people in the bar.

Ms. Plum began wiping down the bar as Paul and his beetles put away the alcohol, to be taken out again that night.

Suddenly, she heard a faint shout. It sounded like a child's. She went to the door and peered out.

Timothy and Beth were running towards her, so fast that Ms. Plum could hear the sounds of their bare bones rattling.

Both children looked very scared.

When Barkis had pulled James through the window, Timothy and Beth had been so shocked that they couldn't do anything to help their friend. Before Barkis saw them, Beth and Timothy ducked out of sight. They had listened to Barkis threaten James and his sister. They had dared to look through the window and, after seeing Barkis's blue face, they ran for town, terrified

All too well, both Timothy and Beth remembered that face from fifteen years ago, at Master Victor and Miss Emily's wedding. They saw Barkis put a sword to James's mother's throat. They had watched Barkis die after drinking poison. They watched as Ms. Plum and the other dead people had taken Barkis into another room to "welcome" their new arrival. Because they were children, Timothy and Beth had not been allowed to see what had happened to Barkis.

They hadn't seen Barkis since that day.

Now, suddenly, Barkis was back and planning more murders.

Everyone had to know.

Timothy ran back to the Land of the Dead, Beth and Scraps just paces behind him.

"Ms. Plum! Ms. Plum!" they started shouting the minute the Ball and Socket came into view.

Ms. Plum stepped out of the bar, a dishcloth in her hands. Had she had any blood in her veins, she would have paled when she saw the children running towards her.

"Children!" Ms. Plum exclaimed. "What's the matter?"

"James! He's in trouble!" Beth said when they reached her.

"Barkis, he's here!" Timothy added. Scraps yipped.

"What?" Ms. Plum asked, dumbstruck. "Children, that's silly. Barkis can't be here. He's been banished. The man's in limbo."

"He kidnapped James!" Beth said. "We saw him! Please, Ms. Plum! Help him!"

Ms. Plum's head began to swim. She needed to calm the children down.

"All right, children, inside now," Ms. Plum said.

She ushered the children inside and guided them onto the stools by the bar. Distracted by the noise, Paul and the two cooks came into the room.

"What's eez going on, Madame?" Paul asked Ms. Plum, coming to a stop next to Timothy.

"Now, children, calmly tell us what happened," Ms. Plum said to the children.

"We're in the park, Scraps started to bark, James found what was making Scraps act up," Beth said.

"It was a window in the ground," Timothy said. "James got down to look at it, Barkis appeared and pulled him through the window."

"We couldn't do anything," Beth piped up. "We listened to Barkis tell James and Emily his plans. We panicked and ran back here."

"Emily? Victor and Victoria's daughter?"

"Yes," Beth sobbed. "Oh, Ms. Plum, he's going to kill them! What are we going to do?"

"Children, listen to me," Ms. Plum knelt in front of the children and looked into their eye sockets. "Are you absolutely sure about what you saw and what you heard? You have to be completely sure before we look for Master Victor and Miss Victoria."

"Yes!" said the children in unison, vehemently.

"Ms. Plum, he had white hair!" Timothy said. "He was tall, older, black suit, white shirt."

Ms. Plum blanched. This did sound like Lord Barkis. She suddenly knew the children could not be mistaken. No one could forget Barkis Bittern's greedy face.

"All right, this is what we're going to do," She looked down at Paul. "Paul, take the children upstairs and calm them down. Look after them."

"Yes, Madame," Paul said.

"You two go out and summon the others," Ms. Plum said to her fellow cooks. "Alfred, Bonejangles, Bonesaparte, Wellington, anyone who can help."

"Will do, ma'am," they said.

They left the bar.

"What will you do, Meez Plum?" Paul asked.

"I'm going to find Victor and Victoria," Ms. Plum said. "I'll go to Elder Gutknecht first.

Paul nodded and then turned to Beth and Timothy.

"Come wiz me, children," Paul said. He scuttled off the bar, and up a small flight of stairs. The children reluctantly followed.

"Don't worry, dears, James will be just fine," Ms. Plum said. "Don't you worry about him."

The children looked back at her, gave her hopeful smiles, and left the room.

As soon as they were gone, Ms. Plum left the pub, biting her lip in worry.

After Barkis left with Emily, William stayed where he was. He didn't have the heart to look for his sister, even after sixteen years of searching for her.

The betrayed look on Emily's face kept haunting him.

He meant what he said to her: he really did love her.

How on earth could he just give her to Barkis? Emily had trusted him, they were each other's only friend, and he just threw her into Barkis's clutches.

When William had died, he thought he had lost his chance of ever finding love.

He hadn't. Emily had proven that to him when they kissed, and he had felt himself falling in love with her.

He was pretty sure that she felt something for him, too.

So what was he going to do? Just sit there, feeling guilty, while the only girl he ever loved sat, terrified in his killer's clutches?

No.

He knew what Barkis was capable of. He knew he was planning to something horrific to Emily.

It was William's fault Emily was here, was in this situation. He had to save her.

Finding his sister could wait. The two of them were dead. They had all the time in the underworld to reunite.

Setting his skeletal jaw, William stood up and walked purposefully down the uneven stone steps.

His mind set on finding Barkis, he didn't even notice the blue-skinned young woman at the bottom of the stairs until he collided with her, his skeletal arm getting tangled in the ragged veil she wore.

After leaving Elder Gutknecht's, the Corpse Bride had set out to find her brother. It had been sixteen years since she'd seen him. He vanished two or three days before she and Barkis eloped, and nobody had ever found him.

She had had a suspicion that her brother was dead, but she never wanted to believe it.

Father would have gone mad if the same man killed both of his children.

Ever since her death, one of the things the Corpse Bride kept thinking about was how she had broken her father's heart. He had hated Barkis. He forbade their marriage, but the Corpse Bride had, of course, gone through with it, believing that she had loved Barkis and Barkis had loved her.

She, of course, had been wrong.

Her unbeating heart ached for her father. He had lost both his wife and his children.

The Corpse Bride shook her head. This wasn't the time to worry about her father. She had to find her brother, and together, they would get the Van Dorts safely away from Barkis.

Without realizing it, the Corpse Bride found herself walking towards the balcony where she had given Victor his skeleton dog, Scraps, as a "wedding present".

Lost in the pleasant memory of their first real conversation, the Corpse Bride didn't register the young man who appeared at the foot of the stone steps leading up to the balcony. They walked into each other. Her veil got tangled in the young man's skeletal arm.

"I'm so sorry," he said. The Corpse Bride felt his bony fingers scratch her cheek as he gently pulled his fingers from the veil.

At that moment, the two living corpses looked into each other's eyes. The Corpse Bride saw the young man's jaw drop slightly, his one good eye very wide.

It was a piercing hazel, just like her brother's had been.

They recognized each other simultaneously.

"William?"

"Emily?" William said, shocked. "Is it truly you?"

"Oh, yes," the Corpse Bride said, tearing up.

William gaped at her, and then gave her a fierce hug.

"I can't believe it. I finally found you," he murmured. They broke apart. "Oh, Emily, I've missed you so much."

"So have I. I've been looking for you." The Corpse Bride gave her brother a sad look as she took in his waterlogged, decomposed face. "Oh, William, what happened to you?"

"Barkis," William said sadly.

"Me, too," the Corpse Bride said, shutting her eyes.

William took her hands and looked into his sister's eyes. "Oh, Emily, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. Barkis wouldn't have done this to either of us if I had just kept my silence."

"No, I should've listened to you and Father," the Corpse Bride said. "You were right about Barkis, of course. I just didn't listen."

"Is Father…here?"

"No," the Corpse Bride said. "I've been here for fifteen years, since Victor found me. I haven't seen Father."

"He must still be alive, then," William said. They closed their eyes and thought of their father, alone, still wondering what became of his children.

The Corpse Bride studied her brother, sensing that something other than their deaths was bothering him.

"What's the matter?"

"I've done something awful, Emily," William looked at his sister. "I've been wanting to find you and Father so badly, I…I gave an innocent girl to Barkis so that he would tell me where you were."

"Emily Van Dort?"

"Yes," William said, taken aback. "How do you know her?"

"I don't," the Corpse Bride said. "I know her parents, Victor and Victoria. They and their son are looking for Emily. I brought them down here."

William looked scared. "What are they going to when they find out I gave their only daughter to a known murderer?"

"William, do you know where Barkis is?" The Corpse Bride asked. "This is urgent. He's got Victor and Victoria's son, James, along with their daughter."

William gaped at his sister, his guilt intensifying. If both Van Dort children died because of him, he wouldn't be able to live with himself, so to speak.

"Emily, what can I do?" he asked. "What can we do? We can't stop Barkis, we can't save the Van Dorts, we can't do anything." He sat down on a nearby broken coffin, his head in his hands. "I feel so helpless. I love Emily, Emily,"

The Corpse Bride sat next to him and took one of his hands. "If I remember correctly," she said. "A certain living young man gave up his life to save his sister. If he can do that, he can do anything."

William smiled at his sister. "I suppose," he said. "I truly do love their daughter. Have you ever loved someone you can't have?"

The Corpse Bride smiled at her brother. Oh, if he only knew.

Victor and Victoria had spent the last two hours combing the Land of the Dead, trying to find someplace that looked like it would have a room that was holding their children.

Of course, they found nothing.

Victoria was becoming close to hysterics, and Victor felt helpless as he ran out of ideas.

He felt that they were going about this all wrong. The two of them couldn't find James and Emily by themselves.

They needed more people looking.

"Dear, let's go back to the pub," Victor said.

"You're not giving up?" Victoria asked, aghast.

"Of course not," Victor said gently. "I think we need to get more people looking, to keep an eye out for any sign of our children."

Victor scowled. Victor marveled at how much she looked like Lord Everglot when she did.

"You go back to the pub," she said. "I'm going to keep looking."

She attempted to walk off. Victor held on to her hand.

"You're not going off on your own," Victor said sternly. "I won't let you. I'm not losing you, too."

Victoria's eyes flashed.

"So, you think we've lost our children?" she snapped. Before Victor could speak, she went on, "Oh, no maybe we have. They're in some God-forsaken home for the dead. For all you know or care, they could be lying dead in a ditch somewhere, their necks broken."

"Victoria-," Victor began. He'd never heard her speak in such a tone before, let alone hear her say something so gruesome.

"Well, we might as well go home," Victoria went on. "You're right, we can't find the kids ourselves. We might as well give up, get back to our lives, forget our children ever existed-"

"Victoria!" Victor said loudly, shaking her gently. "Think of what you're saying!"

Victoria blinked and looked into her husband's eyes. He looked back at her, willing her to come back to her senses.

Victoria's big eyes suddenly filled with tears. With a miserable sound, she slid out of Victor's grip and onto the ground. She began to sob. Victor knelt beside her, took her into his arms, and began to stroke her hair.

"Shh," he murmured soothingly. Victoria gripped him and sobbed into his shoulder. "Shh, darling. It'll be all right."

Slowly, Victoria's sobs began to subside. Once he was sure Victoria wouldn't fly off the handle again, he let her go. To his relief, she looked relatively calmer.

"I'm sorry, Victor," Victoria said, sniffling. "I'm just frustrated. We've been looking all night and we're no closer to find our daughter."

"I know, dear," Victor said gently. "I'm frustrated, too."

"Not to mention we've lost James as well," Victoria said, shaking her head. "We shouldn't have left him."

"We didn't know anything would happen," Victor said. He and his wife locked eyes, and Victor immediately knew what she was thinking. "It's not Ms. Plum's fault, and it's not the twins' fault. We'll get both of our children back, I promise."

"I know we will," Victoria said, giving him a small smile. "You've never broken a promise before."

Once again, the bar was full. It seemed to Ms. Plum that every member of the Land of the Dead, adult and child alike, was there, ready to help the Van Dorts.

"Right, you lot," Ms. Plum said, loud enough for everyone to hear her. "It's like this: Two children are somewhere in the Land of the Dead, being held by Barkis Bittern."

The crowd gasped.

"Who are the children?" asked one small boy who had recently come to the Land of the Dead.

"Emily and James Van Dort," Ms. Plum said bluntly.

Eyes and eye sockets widened as those who had known the Van Dorts processed Ms. Plum's statement. Those who were foreign to the story of the Corpse Bride and the Van Dorts looked blank.

"Are you serious, my lady?" General Wellington asked sharply. "Bittern is holding Victor's children hostage?" Through the cannonball-shaped hole in his chest, Ms. Plum could see the people standing behind him.

"Yes," Ms. Plum said. "Our dear children saw him with their own eye sockets."

She gestured towards Timothy and Beth. Everyone in the pub looked at them.

"How can you believe them?" asked one sour old man whom Ms. Plum had never liked. "They're children. How do you know they're not making this up, to get us all roused and bothered?"

Ms. Plum narrowed her eyes at him, relishing the idea of marching up to him and walloping him around the head.

"I know these children," Ms. Plum snapped. "I've known them since they came here twenty years ago. I've taken care of them as though they were my own. It's not in their natures to tell lies. But if you don't believe me or them, or if you don't care about the fate of children, you old fool, you can leave."

She pointed to the door. The man looked as though he was considering leaving. He hated kids and couldn't care less about what happened to them.

Watching him, Ms. Plum quickly read his thoughts.

"Of course, if anything were to happen to them, they'd stay down here, and they could stay with you," Ms. Plum said, goading him. "We all know how much you love children."

Giving Ms. Plum a nasty look, the man stayed where he was. If helping that old fool Plum meant keeping two less children out of his presence, he'd do it.

"Very well," Ms. Plum said, giving a nasty smile to the man. She looked at the others. "Now that that's settled, let's decide on a course of action, who's going with who?"
"If we're going up against such an enemy, as well as penetrating an impregnable fortress, all the troops should be equally matched," said Wellington, who spent his death as he spent his adult life: preparing for war.

"Who said we're going into battle?" Hildegarde asked nervously. "I thought we were simply finding the children."

"It's not likely Bitten would give the children up so easily," said Bonesaparte, a dwarf general with a sword sticking out of his chest. "Didn't the children say he was planning to kill the Van Dort children?"

"He really did say that, Ms. Plum!" Beth said.

"I know, dear," Ms. Plum said quickly. "Go on, Napoleon."

"Well, like my fellow soldier said, it's going take brawn to overcome Bittern," Bonesaparte continued. "You saw him at the wedding. He doesn't give up easily."

"You're right," Ms. Plum said. "Strength in numbers. Right, let's do this: four groups. Bonejangles, Wellington, Bonesaparte, and myself will head each one. I don't care who goes with who, just make sure each group's equal."

"What's happening?"

All heads turned and looked at the pub's entrance. Victor and Victoria stood in the doorway, looking tired. Victor's hair was severely askew and Victoria's face was red from tears.

The couple came forward, the crowd parting to let them through. The Van Dorts went to the head of the crowd and looked at everyone.

"Everyone in town is here," Victor said. He looked up at Ms. Plum. "What's happening, Ms. Plum?"

Victoria blanched. "Have you heard word from Emily or James?"

"Or Barkis?" Victor added.

Ms. Plum didn't ask how they knew James was missing as well. She knew Elder Gutknecht would have found out and told them.

"I'm sorry, dears, but no," Ms. Plum said gently. Victoria looked down, and Victor put an arm around her. Hildegarde came over and took their hands.

"Don't lose heart, dearies," she said. "Ms. Plum has a plan."

"Old fool," Victor heard one man mutter.

"You do?" Victoria asked, looking up at Ms. Plum. "What is it?"

"We're gonna help you, baby!" Bonejangles said, the Land of the Dead's American jazz singer.

"That's right," Ms. Plum said. "We're organizing a search party. You two can't find the children alone."

She didn't tell them about Barkis's plan. It would just worry them to the breaking point. Ms. Plum could tell that Victoria was close to that point. Perhaps she'd already been there.

"Oh, Victor," Victoria said, looking relieved. She leaned against him, and he put his arm around her. Victor looked up at Miss Plum.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked her.

"We'll be splitting in four groups," she said, speaking to both Victor and the rest of the pub. "We'll each cover a portion of the Land of the Dead."

"What if Barkis comes by here?" asked one dead woman, raising a partially decomposed hand. "I-I-I mean, I know it's not likely, but just in case?"

"I'll stay here, Meez Plum," Paul said from the bar. " 'e vill not notice me."

"That's using your head," Ms. Plum said. "Anyone else?"

"We can!" Timothy piped up, speaking for him and his sister.

"I dunno, children," Ms. Plum said doubtfully.

"Pleeeease??" they asked, giving her puppy-eye sockets.

"We've got an idea!" Beth said.

"All right," Ms. Plum said, sighing. She looked up at the head waiter. "Paul, make sure they don't get into trouble."

"Vill do," he said.

Ms. Plum looked around the pub.

"Right," she said. "Divide up and let's go."

Meanwhile, James and Emily waited in Barkis's lair, waiting for the horrible man to come back. Emily has cried herself out and sat by her brother, her face blotchy and tear-stained. James, however, had not spoken a word since Barkis had left. Emily watched as he stared at the window through which he'd fallen, down at the soft ground, and then back up at the window.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Emily asked, sniffling.

"What?" James blinked, startled, and looked at his sister. "Oh, nothing. Just thinking."

"About…?" she prodded.

"Oh…well, it's just…" James's voiced trailed off. He bit his lip. "I think I've got a way out."

"How?" Emily asked, her eyes wide.

"The window," James said. "I fit through it coming in, right? I can fit through it going out. You could boost me up, I could crawl out, find Mum and Dad, and come back and get you."

"And leave me here?" Emily asked incredulously.

"Well…yes," James confessed. "It'd just be for a few minutes. Fifteen, twenty at the most."

James looked into his sister's face. There was a look of such fear, he knew he couldn't do it. He sighed.

"It was just a thought," he said.

He pressed his forehead to his knees and studied the dirt floor underneath his legs. There was something wriggling under the soil.

"Hmm," he said.

"James?" Emily asked. "What is it?"

"I don't know," he said. "I found something."

Frowning, he poked his finger into the dirt and began to dig around. He caught hold of something, pulled it out, and held it up in front of his eyes.

It was green. And long. And wriggly.

"MAGGOT!!" James screamed so loudly that Emily yelled in fright, too. He flung the worm away from him and huddled close to his sister, shuddering. He hated creepy-crawly things. Snakes, snails, slugs, worms, anything that slithered. He quickly wiped his hands on his pants. James watched as the maggot uncurled itself and slithered away from the wall, towards the kids.

"Ugh," the maggot said, shaking its head. "What did you do that for?"

James and Emily gaped at the maggot.

"You can talk?" James asked. This had become the strangest day. Dead bodies walked and talked as though alive and the creatures that fed on them could talk.

"Of course he can talk," a sweet female voice said. James looked up at Emily.

"That wasn't you, was it?" he asked.

"No, silly, down here," the voice said.

The Van Dorts looked down at Emily's lap. There was a large female black widow, complete with five eyes and a red hourglass on her backside.

With another yell, James batted the spider away and pulled his sister as far away as he could.

"That's a black widow," he said breathlessly. "They're the most poisonous spiders in the world."

Emily edged closer to her brother.

"Oh, how rude!" the black widow said. She and the maggot went over to the kids, stopping by their feet. "Who taught you children to be so rude?"

"No one," James said. "You're disgusting, filthy creatures!"

James felt his sister tense as the black widow crawled up her dress, settling onto her knees.

"Stay very still," he whispered. "I'll get rid of it."

"You'll do no such thing," the black widow said in a scolding tone. "You stay still, young man."

James was about to retort when he felt something cold slither up his bare leg. He knew what it was and his phobia of creepy-crawlies stopped him from moving as the maggot slithered up his leg, out of the tear in his pants and onto his knees.

"There we go," the black widow said. "Nice and calm. Now, children, we're not here to harm you. We wouldn't do such a thing."

"Of course not," the maggot said. Up close, James saw he had big bloodshot eyes and tiny front teeth. "What are you two doing here? You're living, right?"

"Of course they are," the black widow said. She crawled onto Emily's chest. Emily's eyes widened. "The child's heart is beating a mile a minute. And this young man looks scared to death."

"Wait a minute, you look familiar," the maggot said. He peered up into James's face, taking in his black hair, dark eyes, and pale complexion. "Are you Victor Van Dort's boy?"

"You know our father?" James asked, looking relieved.

"Yes, this girl looks like Miss Victoria!" the black widow said. "Have we possibly found the Van Dorts? But where are your parents? Why are you with Barkis Bittern?"

"We were kidnapped," Emily said, sniffling. "How do you know him?"

"Oh, we've been watching him for many years now," the maggot said in a mischievous tone, making his way onto James's shoulder. "Just to make sure he doesn't stray back over to civilized corpses."

"He says he's going to kill us," Emily sniffled. "He didn't say when, he just said 'soon'."

Suddenly, they heard footsteps outside the door. The black window quickly scuttled up into Emily's petticoats and the maggot dropped into James's pocket.

The doorknob turned.

The door opened.

Barkis stood in the doorway. He smirked when he saw how terrified the children looked.

"Bad news, for you," he sneered. "A search party is out among town, looking for you as we speak."

He leaned down toward Emily and James and looked into their eyes.

"So we really must leave soon."

Barkis reached for Emily. Suddenly, a crash sounded from elsewhere in the little hideout. Barkis looked around curiously, his hand inches from Emily's arm.

"You brats stay here," he said. "I'll be back shortly."

He quickly left the room. James shuddered and Emily let out the breath she'd been holding.

"What was that?" she asked.

"My fellows are holed up in that room he calls a kitchen," the maggot said. "They probably broke something."

Biting his lip, James looked up at the window. Making a decision, he stood up and went over to it.

"Emily, give me a hand," he said.

"W-what?" she asked.

"We need Mum and Dad," he said. "I'm going to get them. That search party won't find us in time."

"But-but-but…you just can't leave me here!" Emily cried. "What if he comes back?"

"Then he'll see me gone, and wonder what happened," James said. "Possibly buying you time."

"Or he'll slit my throat," Emily said tearfully.

James went over to his sister and put his arms around her.

"Don't worry," he said over her shoulder. "I won't let anything happen to you. I'll be gone and back with Mum and Dad before you know it."

He broke away from her, put his hand in his pocket, and withdrew the maggot, shuddering at his slimy feel.

"Can you two take care of Emily?" James asked.

"Yes," the maggot said. "We'll keep a close eye on him and make sure nothing happens."

Emily stood up and shook her dress. The black widow dropped out.

"Of course," she said. She looked up at Emily. "Don't you worry, dear, nothing will happen to you."

Emily sighed sadly and went over to her brother. Bending down, she cupped her hands together, forming a foothold. James put a foot into her hands, and Emily hoisted him up to the window. James pushed it open and carefully crawled through. He just barely fit. Once outside, he looked back down at his sister.

"I promise you, I'll be back with Mum and Dad. Give me twenty minutes," he whispered.

With that, he ran off.

Unbeknownst to the Van Dort children, the Van Dort parents were very nearby, at the place when the twins had shown James Scraps.

"Emily?!" Victoria called. "James?!"

"Darling, hush," Victor said sternly.

Victoria looked at him incredulously. "Why?"

"We don't want Barkis to hear us," Victor said patiently. "He's sure to flee if he hears us."

"Flee to where? The Land of the Dead can't be that big."

Victor put an arm around his wife. They kept walking.

A twig snapped. Victoria instinctively looked up.

"What was that?" she whispered.

"I don't know," Victor whispered back. He crept forward. "Stay here."

Victoria clasped her hands together and anxiously watched as Victor made his way past an old tree, towards a clump of bushes. Victor lifted the bushes up and was suddenly knocked backwards. Victoria screamed and covered her eyes, but Victor started laughing.

"Darling, you can look!" he said.

Victoria peeked through her fingers. The skeleton of a dog was on his chest, sniffing at Victor's face and barking happily.

Victoria sighed with some relief and made her way over to Victor and Scraps. They hadn't seen Scraps since they had gotten married. On that occasion, Barkis had broken him after the little dog had bitten him. Victoria put her hand out, and Scraps sniffed it, barked, and wagged his tail, allowing Victoria to give him a pat on the head.

"How're you, boy?" Victor asked, getting to his feet with Scraps in his arms. "What have you got there?"

He plucked a piece of gray fabric from the dog's mouth and showed it to his wife. Victoria's eyes widened as she took it.

"That's James'," Victoria said breathlessly. "He and Emily must be nearby."

"I don't know, dear," Victor said, frowning. He looked around. "Scraps could've picked that up anywhere and then came to find us."

"Victor, why must you be so negative?" Victoria asked angrily. "This is our son and daughter we're talking about! Any sign is a good sign! Our children are in the clutches of a murderer who has already murdered twice and has attempted to murder me-"

"Exactly!" Victor said, his voice rising slightly. " 'Our children are in the clutches of a murderer.' That's the situation. I may be being negative, but I'm also being realistic! I wish that you would be the same way right now!"

"I can't be that way right now!" Victoria said tearfully. "I just can't! Our children are in danger and I can't think straight-"

"Hush!" Victor said, holding up a shaky hand. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Victoria asked, frowning.

"Listen…"

"Mum…Dad…"

Victor watched as his wife paled.

"James?" she mouthed.

"MUM! DAD!" The voice grew louder. Victor and Victoria looked around frantically.

"JAMES?" Victor yelled, forgetting his own caution.

Suddenly, for the second time in five minutes, Victor was knocked to the ground by a tremendous force. He looked up and saw Victoria disappear into the dead trees surrounding them and fall to her knees. He realized that his wife had knocked him over in her haste to get to their son, whom Victoria had in a tight embrace.

James was a mess. His black hair was disheveled, there was a hand-shaped mark on his cheek, and his clothes were torn and dirty. Victor ran over to his wife and son and embraced them, mentally sending up a prayer of thanks.

"Oh, James, thank God!" Victoria sobbed. "You're all right."

She reluctantly pulled away from her son and took his face in her hands, taking in the ugly bruise.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Barkis Bittern is here!" James cried. "He's got Emily, I had to leave her alone to find you. He's going to kill her! Mum, Dad, we need go back for her."

"Where is she?" Victoria asked, worry and panic fast replacing the relief in her voice and face.

"Where's Barkis?" Victor asked.

"Back there," James said, jerking his head behind him. "He's got some sort of hideout that's underground."

"All right," Victor said. "Victoria, takes James back to Miss Plum and stay there. I'm going to find Emily myself."

"Victor, I'm not leaving you," Victoria said.

"What about James? He's just a child. It's too dangerous," Victor flashed his son a look that said, Like I've already said.

"He'll be all right," said a voice behind him.

The Van Dorts whirled around. William and the Corpse Bride had come up behind them.

"Victor, Victoria, this is my brother, William," the Corpse Bride said.

William held out a skeletal hand in an apologetic gesture. Not moving, Victor and Victoria stared hard at the young dead man. It was, after all, his fault that any of this was happening in the first place. Sensing the animosity, the Corpse Bride reached over, gently took James by the hand, and gently pulled him over to the side, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Mr. and Mrs. Van Dort," William said. "I am truly sorry about all this. I had no intention of putting your daughter in harm's way or causing you grief or hurting her. I'm not, nor was I ever, that kind of person. I just wanted to find my family."

The Corpse Bride smiled. Father's habit of making formal, wordy apologies had definitely rubbed off on William.

"What you should know," William continued. "Is that I love your daughter."

"You do, do you?" Victor said, with the understandable air of a protective father.

"Yes, I do," William said. "Very much."

Victoria always considered herself a fine judge of character. She could tell when she was being lied to and could tell if people meant what they said. She looked into William's good eye and could see no trace of a lie or any sign that William did not mean what he said. She reached out and took William's wet, skeletal hand.

"Don't worry about it," Victoria said kindly. "We all do things when we're desperate."

"Victoria!" Victor said incredulously. "You can't be saying that it's OK he brought her down here!"

"No, I'm not saying it's OK, nor am I saying it's OK that he gave our daughter to Barkis Bittern. It's not OK at all." She gave William a stern look, and he looked down at the ground, ashamed. "What I'm saying is that it's understandable why he did it. What's important right now is that we find Emily. If William cares about her as much as he says he does, he'll help us."

"Of course I will," William said. "I'll do anything for her. I'd die for her if I could."

Victor eyed William suspiciously, and then went over to him and gave him a brief handshake. He then looked up at the Corpse Bride.

"Emily, could you take Victoria and James back to town?" he asked.

"Pardon me, Victor, but I thought it was our daughter we were looking for?" Victoria said. Victor briefly saw the Everglot spirit looking out at him.

"Dear, I want you to be safe," he said. He looked back at the Corpse Bride. "Find any search party members and send the message to the men to meet us here."

"Victor, I'm coming with you," Victoria said. "Emily can take James back to down and we'll look for Emily. Our Emily."

"Why do you assume I'm going sit quietly in town with the children?" the Corpse Bride asked. "I'm coming with you."

"Then who's going to take James back?" Victor asked.

"I'm not going anywhere, Father," James piped up. "How will you find her without me?"

"You're just a child!!" the four adults yelled.

"And you're not coming!" Victor said, pointing at the Corpse Bride. "This has nothing to do with you!"

"Excuse me, but who brought you down here?" the Corpse Bride asked, flaring up. "Without me, you'd still be up in the Land of the Living! We're all in this together!"

"She's not your daughter!" Victor cried.

"She might as well be!" the Corpse Bride said. She looked at Victoria. "Didn't you say that your children are my children? Before I came back down here? When you two were married?"

"That's not the issue-"

Suddenly, a dreadful scream, a scream that was full of fear, a plea for help, rented the air.

"Emily…" Victor gasped.

Victoria grabbed her son by the hand.

"Lead the way, James," she commanded.