Ana let out a gasp of surprise when she heard his name. "Oog...Oogie Boogie?" she questioned, holding her torn arm closer in shock. She had heard many stories from her father about how this evil man had held a man called 'Sandy Claws' and her mother hostage many years ago. Ana was mostly shocked to see him standing before her, seeing as her father had told her that he had been destroyed in a battle for Sandy Claws and Sally.
"I want to go home now... Let me out.", Ana studdered looking around for a way back up the tunnel.
Oogie laughed, stepping closer, still rolling his dice in his hand. "Ohhhh, this is too funny!" he cackled, resting against a tin solider. "The Pumpkin King's daughter has come to me! I didn't even have to call up Lock, Shock, or Barrel!"
Ana was frozen with fear, unsure of what Oogie wanted with her. She wished that she was back at home, with her mother and father, helping to finish decorating for her party. She'd even talk to some of these 'sutors' that her father had talked about.
"What do you want with me?" Ana questioned, cowering in the corner.
Oogie cackled a little more, stepped forward onto a small spider-shaped button on the floor. The ground began to spin, the toys moving forward in a slow marching. Ana pressed herself further into the corner, wishing that she would be back home in her bed, just waking up from this terrible dream.
Just then, the sound of cloth against metal was heard, getting louder by the seconds. Ana realized it was the sound of another person coming down the metal tunnel. Thinking it was her father here to rescue her, Ana stood up and ran over to the opening just as the person came into the room. As soon as their feet touched the floor, all the motion in the room stopped and Oogie stood with a grin on his face. Ana wrapped her arms around the person's torso, her heart sinking when the person tensed up as soon as she touched him.
"Dad... Who's this?", the person said, pushing Ana away. Realizing it wasn't the man she thought, she immediatly stepped back, looking at the person in front of her.
He looked much more human that Oogie Boogie, with a body that resembled a living breathing person, not just a flour sack stitched together and filled with bugs. He had raven black hair that looked like very thin yarn, it was combed back, revealing a pale cloth face with realistic eyes made of deep green thread with tiny black buttons used for pupils. He was a little more than a head taller than her and just as thin. He was wearing a black-on-black suit with a purple tie.
"Oh, I am SO glad you decided to drop in when you did... Allow me to introduce you to Ana Skellington, Jack's daughter." Oogie said, stepping forward to rest a hand on the man's shoulder. "Ana, this is my son, Eli..."
Ana distanced herself from the duo, still unsure as to their motives. She had just reached the back wall when she heard Eli's voice.
"You're party wasn't very fun without you there, you know..." he said, his voice deep and soothing compared to Oogie's evil mocking tone.
Ana stared at Eli in shock. Had he been one of the mystery suitors her father was referring to?
"My parents... Were they worried that I wasn't there?", Ana questioned very meekly. Her parents must be worried, wondering where their daughter had run off to.
"Not really." Eli said bluntly, walking off behind one of the soliders who had stopped mid-march. He returned with a needle and a spool of black thread in his pale hand.
Eli walked up to Ana, not caring that she was cowered in the corner, afraid of the situation and most likely his father. He held out his hand, motioning for Ana to allow him to fix her torn arm. She held her arm closer, unsure of if she could trust him.
"It's okay... I won't hurt you...", he said, his voice soft and gentle, keeping a simple monotone. "Seriously, I've been through this a time or two." Eli muttered, motioning to his multiple stitches, all black against white cloth so much like hers.
Slowly, Ana placed her damaged limb in Eli's open hand. The seam was torn right below the elbow, a rather easy fix-up. Eli went to work, quickly moving the needle in and out of the cloth a few times, then pulling the thread tight and finishing off with a nearly invisible knot.
Eli bent down to the stitch and bit the remaining thread off the knot, letting his lips linger on her for a few seconds longer. "There... Good as new." he said, letting his eyes meet hers. He winked, and walked away. "Nice to meet you, Ana..." Eli threw over his shoulder before disapearing behind a curtain painted with bats.
Author's Note : Okay, so Ana has met Eli! I only have a couple of faint ideas on where I want to take the story from here, so I would love to hear your ideas! Also, some reviews would be amazing, only 1 so far... I'm a silent reader too, but even I leave reviews every few chapters ;) Thank you for reading!