AN: Huge thanks goes to Greenchimes and my sister, Draygona, for giving me ideas on where to take this story. If it wasn't for them, this story would have never gotten off the ground. With Halloween being a few days away, I wanted to get this brain child out. More chapters to come, but not sure if they will be out before All Hallows Eve! Enjoy.
Chapter 1: Of Tales and New Beginnings
A lovely voice beckoned through the air: "Follow sweet children, I'll show thee the way through all the pain and the sorrows…"
Eyes stared enthralled at the ethereal young woman before them. A silver cloak shielded her from the crisp night air, a gossamer blue corset and chiffon skirt glittered over her pale skin. Her hazel green eyes latched onto those of the children who surrounded her, unable to resist her charms. As she sang her melody of magic, her lips curled into a cheeky smile at how intent they listened to her. She winked at the seven year old blonde boy who watched her the most intently.
"Weep not poor children, for life is this way: Murder and beauty and passions."
A tawny-blonde haired woman not much younger than the one singing began to join the chorus from behind the children, who gasped at hearing a voice they did not expect. This new figure was in shades of ivory and white but wore a similar cloak and corset. Her eyes weren't focused on the children but on the sky blue eyes of her beau who lounged lazily against a tree as he took in the sight of his love captivating the innocents.
"Hush now dear children, it must be this way, too weary of life and deception.
Rest now my children, soon we'll away, into the calm and the quiet."
The cloaked figures began a swaying dance as they circled the children they had gathered, their harmonious voices deceivingly like that of angels.
"Come little children, I'll take thee away, into a land of enchantment.
Come now dear children, the time's come to play here in my garden of shadows."
With their melody complete, both women stood before the enraptured children.
"And with her song, Sarah Sanderson lured poor young Emily Binx to her doom. Her brave, valiant brother Thackery came to her rescue, but it was too late. In his failure, he was cursed, forced into the form of a black feline for the rest of his existence. He did not die but lived for three hundred years, letting none read from the book of the witches' spells and protecting the black flame candle from being lit. Try as he might, he failed in that attempt as well, for behold, the black candle was lit last All Hallows Eve." The one cloaked in ivory held up the object, letting all the children see the remains of the spent candle.
"Do not think poorly of Thackery's failure," the ethereal young woman with the dark hair began, "for had the book not been read and the candle not lit, the means to defeat the Sanderson Sisters once and for all would not have been possible. Those of the Dennison clan would not have been able to ensure the witches felt the pure light of dawn last Day of the Saints, causing the witches to turn to dust once and for all."
"And so we good witches remind you to always keep a container of salt near your front door. When out trick or treating, keep a shaker of salt in your pocket, just in case. Don't step in a fairy ring. Hang fresh garlic from your windows. Always be nice to black cats."
"And no matter how tempting it may be, do not make any rash wishes," the raven-haired beauty hastily added.
Ample applause and cheering burst from the children once they realized the story was through. The blonde boy came up to the silver cloaked figure, wrapping his arms around her waist, "That story was so cool, Sarah! You tell it like the stories of the goblins."
Sarah ruffled her little brother's hair. "If it wasn't for Cousin Allison's storytelling skills, I would know nothing about Salem's most notorious witches."
The young man with the strikingly blue eyes came up from behind and placed his arms around the one he loved. "Well, if it weren't for us living that story, she wouldn't have been able to tell it so well."
"Max..." Allison looked cautiously around the lawn to make sure none of the others had heard him, especially not her mother. "It is just a really good story."
"It's okay, Allison," Sarah's little brother, Toby, started, "I know the story was real. Sarah told me. Did you know she saved me from goblins?"
"Aaaand that's enough storytelling for now," Sarah said. "Hey, Tobes, will you go inside and grab me some apple cider? I'm thirsty from all that talking."
Sarah had yet to confess her experience with the goblins and their king with her cousin, even after Allison and her boyfriend Max had shared their experience defeating the Sanderson Sisters. Had she not had her own adventure with beings of magic, she would have dismissed them as trying to pull one over on her. But their passion and details of their tale were such as to convince her that their experience had been real. Even though they had experienced something similar to her own situation, theirs had been grounded on Earth; she wasn't sure if they would believe she and Toby had been to another realm.
"Here Sarah!" Toby energetically pounced on her, causing some of the drink he brought her to slosh out of the cup. He giggled as he said, "Oops, sorry."
"Thanks Tobes. How much candy have you had tonight? Maybe I need to eat what's left in your pumpkin with you so wound up on sugar." Sarah teased as she shook off some of the liquid that had landed on her arm.
Toby hugged the plastic jack-o-lantern that was hanging off his arm to his chest, "No way!"
Max laughed, "Like that's going to happen. It's a Halloween party. Eating candy is the point."
"And the week's just getting started. Halloween is still five days away." Allison reminded them.
With the holiday falling mid-week, The Sanderson Museum of Witchcraft was holding its first public event since reopening after renovations. Because Sarah's step-mother's family owned the museum, Sarah had been tasked to earn field study credit for her History major, with a focus on Folklore, at Salem State University by helping to renovate the building for public exhibition. Seems that on Halloween the previous year, the fire sprinkler system had been set off, causing water damage to the interior structure. Most of the colonial artifacts had been saved from damage, having been kept in glass cases. But some of the work to restore the building was time-consuming. Sarah had been volunteered by her step-mother, Karen: Sarah had willingly agreed not out of any sort of obligation to her step-mother but because she could use the experience for her field of study.
Since Karen's family was from Salem and Karen genuinely cared for Sarah's well being, it had been a natural fit to have Sarah live with her sister, Paulette. Their family had one of the largest homes in town and Paulette was just ecstatic about letting Sarah come and stay with them. Allison was an only child and Sarah could be a mentor to her. Plus, the house was way too big to have just three people living in it. Since Paulette's husband was a dean at the University, he pulled strings for Sarah to get in-state tuition fees, even if it was Sarah's actress mother footing the bill. With a younger, second child in his life to pay for, Sarah's dad wasn't complaining. Sarah at first had protested since she had planned on going to school close to home in New York. But a free ride was nothing to take for granted. She found that she liked living with her cousin-by-marriage Allison, who was four years younger.
Jealousy was not something Sarah had expected when meeting Allison's boyfriend Max, but something about his assured smile and blue eyes made her think of a certain blonde king with similar characteristics. Sarah was jealous of Allison's sweet romance she had formed with this boy who moved into town last year and instantly bonded with her; it was like they were destined to be together. Sarah wondered if she was perpetually cursed to be alone; only one man had pursued her and she had said no. It made Sarah wonder if she would have been happy had she taken the offer so desperately given by the Goblin King. Yes, he was desperate, she realized after a few years of maturity made her ponder on his words. He had been frustrated, not angry as she had thought in her youth; he had done everything she had wanted, played the part she had given him to meet her expectations, and yet she had still rejected him. He had been short on time, she was about to defeat him, and all he had wanted was to keep her. He knew her dreams, knew that the story she read the book hadn't just been some tale to her but that she believed it; she was the heroine whom the Goblin King loved. Getting Toby home safely had been more important at the time than the fluttering hesitation of her heart. That had been six years ago. Now, in her twenty first year of life, she wondered if he offered her dreams again, would she take it?
"Sarah, where'd you go there?" Allison nudged her cousin, getting her attention back to the present.
Shaking her head, Sarah laughed and thought up a fib, "Sorry, I was imagining the horror this week will be with so many Halloween parties happening before the actual day. Maybe we'll be lucky and it snows this week."
"No, then it will be too cold to go Trick-Or-Treating," Toby whined.
"That's the point, Doofus." Dani, sister to Allison's boyfriend, made her presence known. Sarah had learned early on that Dani enjoyed taking people by surprise with her presence. Sarah also noticed the blush and avoidance of eyes that her brother did when the girl appeared. Dani was the 'older woman', nine years old to Toby's seven. He'd only met her a few times when he came to Salem to visit with his big sister, but he was smitten by Max's sister.
"So, um, Dani, I hear you made your brother promise to be Peter Pan this year, tights and all. Think he'll pay up?" Sarah asked.
"Damn it, Ally, you told her?" Max huffed in embarrassment.
"Hey, a promise is a promise." Allison teased, "I'm just making sure you hold to your end of the bargain."
Sarah briefly wondered if Max would feel as confident wearing tights as her Goblin King had seemed. Her Goblin King? Where had that thought come from? She had known him mere moments in her life: she was probably a blink of time for him-an insignificant waste of ten hours of his ageless life he'd never get back, especially since he couldn't keep her. He'd surely forgotten her by now.
Allison leaned into Sarah's ear, whispering, "If you keep spacing out on me, I'm throwing water on your head next time. Really, what's up?"
"It's nothing. I should go check with your mom. I think she'll want me to give our beneficiaries a tour of the inside." Sarah pushed her little brother towards Dani. "Why don't you show Toby your favorite parts of the museum."
"But…!" Dani started to protest, yet Sarah had already headed inside.
The funding for reopening the museum had come from prominent families of Salem, the "who's who" of the community. With Sarah being an amateur actress with a minor in Theater already under her belt, she had been tasked to give tours explaining the history behind the various exhibits within. A plaque inside the front door would be her first stop, so they could be shown their names etched in polished bronze: the proof of recognition for their monetary support. Their little museum had to compete for tourist attention with the Salem Pioneer Village, which had reenactors roaming the pavement to tell visitors the tales of Salem's past. Paulette thought Sarah and Allison portraying witches would fit best with the theming of the reopening, hoping to remind the guests of the cottage's previous witchy owners.
Sunday mornings were blissful for Sarah, mainly because she could sleep in and have the day to herself. Her brother's pounce on her stomach woke her and reminded her that this would not be one of those days. He had gotten a full night's sleep since Karen didn't want him out past eight; Sarah had been tasked to give tours of the renovated museum until after ten thirty. By far, it wasn't the latest night she'd had; after all, she was a college student who needed the occasional panic night of binging for a test or writing a 10 page paper to meet an assignment deadline. But there was something about performing that drained her. She didn't just give a tour of the Sanderson Cottage, she poured all her acting skills into being a contemporaneous figure and did her best to never break character. It was mentally challenging and thus exhausting.
"Tobes, give me at least until noon, will you?"
"It is noon." He said simply. "We ate breakfast without you. Now, it's time for lunch and mom sent me to get you."
Sighing, Sarah forced herself to sit up and do the responsible thing.
Toby moved to eye where her satchel she used in lieu of a purse lay. "I know you're going to say no, but can I borrow your book?"
Sarah jumped out of her bed in a flash to grab the bag from his hands before he could remove the little red leather book. "You know better than to ask."
"But Sarah, I want to show it to Dani. She doesn't know about goblins." Toby whined.
"I told you, that story is just between you and me." She placed the satchel in her closet and shut the door.
"Are we going to the museum today?" Toby asked, bouncing on the edge of the bed.
"What? No. You were just there yesterday. Didn't Dani show you around?" Sarah frowned and rummaged through her dresser to grab clothing for the day.
"I didn't get to see it. She just wanted to play the games and bob for apples. You promised me you would give me a tour, and then you were too busy with other people."
Sarah turned to him. "Look, Toby, the museum isn't even open on Sundays."
"Even better. I'd get a private tour. I'm sure Aunt Paulette will give you the keys. You helped fix it up."
Sarah shook her head, not really wanting to spend her day off back at the museum. "Toby…"
"Come on, Sarah. Please? I have to go back home tonight and won't see you again until Thanksgiving."
"Alright," Sarah huffed, "If you ask Paulette and she says yes, I'll take you."
Fate was against Sarah; Paulette said yes.