"Mother, can you please let me look...", murmured a quiet voice, leaking out just the smallest hint of a whine of impatience. The speaker of this voice was Ana Skellington, daughter to Jack Skellington and his wife, Sally the Ragdoll.
She appeared to be the perfect mixture of both Jack and Sally, sharing a little piece of each of them.
Ana wasn't very tall, only 5'2 and skinny, taking much after her father. She had no bones, only rags, like her mother. Pale white and covered in black seams, holding her together nicely. Her hair was midnight black with the faintest hue of red, along with some blue, and resembled yarn. She had deep red lips, the corners extended with black stitches, and emerald eyes, shining like little marbles.
Sally was kneeling on the ground, finishing the hem-line on her daughter's sixteenth birthday dress. Wiping a tired hand across her forehead, Sally stood next to Ana and removed the blindfold that covered her eyes. Ana opened her eyes and let a small gasp escape her lips.
The dress was perfect, a sleeve-less corset gown with the skirt just skimming the floor. The corset of the dress was black, tied in the back with deep violet ribbons. It showed her thin frame off well, exposing an appropriate amount of skin that was acceptable for a sixteen year old. The corset ran down her narrow hips, stopping right below her stomach. The skirt was black as well, with a purple-grey netted material covering it, allow a slight bustle as she moved.
Ana smiled and wrapped her arms around her mother. "Thank you so much! It's beautiful, I love it!" she said into Sally's shoulder. Sally hugged her back, happy that her sewing skills hadn't failed her in creating the perfect dress for her daughter's party.
"I'm so glad that you like it, sweetheart. A special dress for a special occasion." Sally said with a smile, breaking away from the hug to begin packing up her sewing materials.
Downstairs, the sound of the front door was heard opening. Sally walked over to the banister and leaned down, seeing it was her husband, Jack.
"Come up and see Ana's dress, Jack." Sally called, walking back into the room, placing a hand on Ana's shoulder.
Jack entered the room and grinned seeing his little girl's dress. "Oh my... You've outdone yourself." he said to Sally as Ana did a 360.
Jack walked over and hugged Ana, his skeletal grin still on his face.
"There won't be a problem with the suitors tonight!" Jack said, placing an arm around Sally and Ana.
Ana's brow furrowed as she questioned her father. "What suitors?" she asked, pulling out of his hold and crossing her arms.
Jack looked down at Sally, who glanced at the floor. "You didn't tell her yet?" he murmured, just loud enough for Ana to hear.
"Tell me what?" Ana questioned, her smile now replaced with a nervous frown.
"Well, darling... Um, your father had it planned that at your party tonight, you would meet a suitor. Not a husband, not yet at least, but at least a possible courtship opportunity." Sally said, trying to welcome Ana to the whole idea.
"You want me to be courted? I'm sixteen! It's not like i'm thirty!" Ana exclaimed, a few tears beginning to blur her vision. It was a mixture of shock and sadness that was overwhelming her. And the fact that her father had kept this from her until the night of her Sweet Sixteen party. "I've grown up in this town, I already know everyone!"
"Sweetheart, there are some people that I've contacted, from some other towns and a couple of villages on the outskirts of Halloweentown, that have agreed to come tonight." Jack reasoned. He didn't understand why she was getting so emotional over the idea of a possible courtship. He just wanted his daughter, his pride and joy, to be taken care of.
"I'm not going to this party if this is all that you've had in mind." Ana said, storming out of the house. She ignored the stares of people and walked angrily through the town gates and into the woods, hoping to get lost.
Thoughts were rushing through Ana's head, her eyes still blurry with tears. She absently wiped them away, leaving her eyes a very scary shade of green. Ana found walking a little hard to do in just a pair of slippers and her party dress, the long skirt constantly getting caught on random twigs and such.
After a few minutes of walking, Ana came across an abandoned house. She had never seen this before, even though she trekked the woods many times as a kid. As she got closer to the house, Ana realize that this was the house that her father had told her many times to stay away from. With a smirk, Ana entered as a wave of rebellion fell over her.
Back at home, Jack and Sally were worried about where Ana went to. "Just give her some time, she needs to cool off." Sally said, kissing Jack's cheekbone lightly. Jack nodded, taking Sally's hand as they left the room to finish setting up for the party.
Author's Note : Okay, some things have been changed in the story, hopefully for the better :) It may seem that everything is going a little slower, but next chapter is when she meets Oogie(again...). Everything in the revamped version will go pretty much along the same lines as in the old version, just with a few mini changes.
Hopefully you'll still like it, and please read and review!!!