An empty chill filled the town of Halloween that night. It was almost as icy as the chill Sally felt inside of her. In one instant, she had gone from having all of her faith and trust in Jack into having none at all. Her mind kept going back to the woman in the black cloak, warning her of Jack. As she continued her walk, the rag doll did nothing but grow more and more concerned and confused over her love of Jack. Even the street musicians noticed her mood, which they tried to lighten up.
"Any requests, Miss Sally?" the musician in the bass asked, ceasing the song the musicians were already playing.
"No, not tonight. Thank you though," Sally replied sadly.
"You can sing if you want, just tell us which song you wanna sing," said the accordion player in a polite yet coaxing manner.
"I'm sorry, but I just don't feel like singing tonight," the rag doll said with a slight bow of the head before walking off.
"I don't like the looks of that, guys," said the bass player.
"Maybe the Bone Daddy knows what's going on. Hey, Bone Daddy!" exclaimed the sax player as Jack nearly rushed past them.
"Not so loud, people are in the middle of nightmares," Jack whispered as he turned around.
"Sorry. It's just that Sally just passed by and-"
"I'm on my way to figuring out what's going on."
"But, she went that way," the accordion player said as he pointed to the alleys of the town. "Why are you going to the woods?"
"I have a feeling that whatever is making Sally act strangely is past those woods and I'm going to find out what it is."
"Can we help?" the musician in the bass asked.
"You can keep practicing those love songs I gave to you."
"You got it, Bone Daddy. 'I Will Always Love You' from the top, boys," finished the body in the bass.
And so, Jack left the street musicians, the sound of the popular Whitney Houston song being turned into a death march quietly practiced on the streets of Halloween Town. The Pumpkin King made his way through the woods until he reached the spot where the holidays met. Without hesitation, he opened the heart-shaped door and leaped into the land of love.
It was much different than the times Jack had seen it. Whoever was on the streets was alone, without a partner. All the lone walkers of the night had the same skeptical look on their faces, the same look Sally gave Jack when she virtually fled from Skellington Manor. This only encouraged Jack to reach Venus' Temple at a quicker pace. Expecting to be confronted with an annoyed goddess, Jack was surprised to see that Venus was awake.
"Jack, oh praise the Fates, you're here!" Venus exclaimed, "I have no idea what is going on."
"You don't?" Jack asked, his face falling at the goddess' words.
"Everything is a mess. Men won't talk to women, women won't talk to men, and everyone is suspicious of each other. This is awful."
"You can't help me?"
"Alas, it is you who must aid me. Come, shoot the Arrows of Love and... Jack, where are your quiver and wings?" Venus asked before noticing the depressed look on the skeleton's face, "Oh, look at me! Goddess of Love and I realize just now you have been spurned. Oh, Jack, you came for my advice, did you not?"
"Sally has been acting odd."
"In what manner?"
"She was fine one moment and then she started asking whether or not I loved her and all these other questions. Then she got up and walked away."
"I knew it!" Venus exclaimed, "Psyche is obviously being lazy once again. That daughter-in-law of mine never should have been made a goddess."
"What can I do?"
"To begin, I suggest you start practicing with those arrows. If Psyche decides to keep this little tirade of hers up, those arrows are the only things that will preserve love. You do know which types are which, correct?"
"Don't they all create love?" Jack asked.
"No! Only the arrows with white feathers. The arrows with brown feathers bring a person out of love while the arrows with black feathers make people hate one another. Those are used only when the Fates command that they be used, I suggest you stay away from them."
"Love gets more confusing by the minute," Jack said to himself as he held his head in his hands.
"Dear, I have been in charge of Love for millennia, it never gets any easier. Now go back to the one you love. If she does not improve on her own, you will have to shoot her with a white feathered arrow."
"She won't be hurt, will she?"
"No, just make sure that you are the first person she sees after she had been shot, or else you will have to reverse the process and it will be a waste of arrows. If you excuse me, I have a goddess to set straight."
With that, the Goddess of Love left Jack in her Temple as she rushed off to find Psyche. Jack had no other choice but to get back to Halloween Town as quickly as possible. All the while, Sally had been strolling in the Pumpkin Patch, looking at the dead flowers until she reached the familiar area of Fortune Telling Flowers.
The last time Sally had picked out one of these flowers, she had foreseen the disaster of Christmas. Now, as she picked the petals of one, she prayed for nothing bad to show up. After a few plucks, the flower changed into the shape of a heart. Inside the heart was her figure embracing Jack's. However, a few moments of peace was halted by the heart's breaking in half. The heart-half containing Sally froze over, and the miniature doll had a look of bitterness upon her face. The heart-half containing Jack had turned black, with only the Pumpkin King's bones distinguishing him from the darkness. The model of Jack had an intense look in his eye sockets, as if he had no soul. After these visions appeared, the halves crumbled completely, leaving a terrified Sally backing away from the ashes of the flower.
"No! What can this mean?" Sally asked herself, "It has to be a lie, it has to be," she continued, unaware of the shadow looming over her.
"Is something wrong? You seem pretty upset over a flower," a familiar, female voice said.
"I remember you," Sally said as she turned around and faced the woman in the cloak, "Who are you?"
"Someone concerned about you."
"Oh, you don't need to worry about me."
"You're not that good of a liar. Something in those flowers disturbed you."
"I'm sorry, I don't feel well. I'll be going now," Sally said as she got up.
"You're seeing it now. My warning is becoming truth, isn't it?" the cloaked figure asked as she grabbed Sally's arm, only to have it detach into her hand and then scamper off after its retreating owner, "I love messing with others," Eris said to herself as she removed her cloak and enjoyed the full moon, alone and pleased with the chaos she just caused a few moments before.
Ooooooh! Bad Eris, bad! Naughty evil goddess is trying to make things worse between Jack and Sally. I don't know about you guys, but that vision creeped me out. Will it come true? Keep reading to find out . (Re-edit Comment: Once again, I miss writing for Eris.)