Author's Note: Well, this is it. The moment everyone who started reading this story when I first put out the trailer has been waiting for- Jack and Sally are getting married. Of course, neither one would exist if it wasn't for the fabulous brainmeats of Tim Burton and the creative team behind the film: Danny Elfman, Henry Selick, Disney, and Touchstone Pictures. The ceremony is being held in the Winchester Mystery House, a real place in California that I unfortunately don't own. Now, if there are no objections, let the ceremony begin.
"Rise and shine!" Mrs. Winchester exclaimed as she pulled open the drapes surrounding Sally's bed, letting the sunlight hit her.
"What?" Sally asked in a slight yawn as she stretched.
"You're getting married in an hour or so," Mrs. Winchester said, dodging to the side as Sally nearly leaped out of bed.
"I won't be ready in that time."
"You will if you hurry. Go into the master bathroom and just yell when you're done bathing. I'll send some ghosts to help you dress."
"Which way is the bathroom?" Sally asked.
"First door to your right when you leave this room," Mrs. Winchester said, pointing out the open door.
"Is the bathroom door supposed to have a window in it?" Sally asked as she walked to the doorway to get a look at the door Mrs. Winchester was pointing to.
"Oh, for Heaven's sake! Go in, I'll cover it for your privacy. I'm sorry, dear. I forgot about that."
"It's alright. Thank you," Sally said as she walked into the bathroom, listening to Mrs. Winchester slide a piece of furniture in front of the bathroom door.
"Well, that'll take care of any tours trying to get to that bathroom. Now, to check on the groom," Mrs. Winchester said to herself as she left the corridor and made her ay downstairs.
At the moment, Jack was checking his appearance in a mirror in the hallway just next to the entrance to the gardens. He felt so odd wearing this borrowed suit, which was baggy enough to hang a bit off of his frame. As he adjusted his normal bowtie, he kept expecting to see it blink or at least squeak. Alas, his regular clothing had been left in the mead hall and he definitely wasn't going back there for a while. He sighed as he stepped back and put on the black top hat Mrs. Winchester had also lent him. Then he smiled. This was going to work out after all.
"I told you I'd fix you up nicely," Mrs. Winchester said to Jack, who jumped at the sound of her voice. As a result, his pants fell halfway down his thighs before he got a chance to pick them up.
"I'm sorry. They're a bit loose," Jack said as he readjusted his pants.
"That nervous, eh?" Mrs. Winchester asked, receiving a nod from Jack in return. "Don't be. Now go wait at the gazebo. Your bride's going to be a little while," Mrs. Winchester said before a flash got her attention. "Those tour groups!" she exclaimed, storming off, leaving Jack alone at the mirror again; though, not for long.
"Hello, Jack," said a familiar voice, causing the Pumpkin King to turn around and back into the mirror in fear.
"Mayor?" Jack asked. "How… how-?"
"Good morning, Jack," Venus' voice rang out as she appeared, standing at the doorway to the garden.
"I-I can explain everything."
"No need, I already did," Doctor Finkelstein added as he rolled himself into the house and stopped in between Jack and the Mayor.
"Doctor, you brought them here? How could you?"
"Because we never would have realized how immature we were acting without him," Venus said as she walked over to the group.
"What's going on?" Jack asked, slowly coming to terms with the fact that perhaps Venus and the Mayor weren't here for revenge.
"We'd like to apologize for our behavior, Jack," the Mayor said, looking at his feet sadly.
"We were quite vexed with you before, but now that we understand why you did what you did, we understand," Venus said.
"It's alright, Jack. They won't attack you," Doctor Finkelstein said.
"Well… I'll accept your apologies if you accept mine. I'm sorry I ran away when I should have stayed to fix the newest mess I made."
"Oh, dear, I cannot imagine staying mad at you," Venus said as she gave Jack a hug.
"Neither can I," the Mayor said, extending his right hand to Jack, who shook it when Venus let him go.
"Now that this is settled, where is Sally?" Doctor Finkelstein asked Jack.
"Upstairs getting ready," Jack said. "Mrs. Winchester said she'd be ready in a while," he finished as a chorus of screams rang out in the hall.
"Speak of the devil," Doctor Finkelstein said as Mrs. Winchester gracefully glided over to the group.
"Those mortals, they desire to see a haunted house and get scared when they actually experience a haunting. They never know what they want," she said.
"Madam, I share your pain. If you think fear is bad, take a hand in handling Love," Venus said.
"More guests?" Mrs. Winchester asked Doctor Finkelstein.
"We were just settling some unfinished business before the ceremony, Sarah. Will it be taking place outside?"
"Yes, now all of you out to the gazebo. It's getting close to the time. Except for you, Doctor."
"What are you planning?"
"Well, if you're going to be here anyway, might as well have some tradition. Now scoot, the rest of you."
Neither Jack, the Mayor, nor Venus dawdled in going outside. However, one of them was surprised to see one guest already sitting in the front row, with his arms and his wings crossed. Jack recognized him right away. He ran over to the figure, keeping on hand on his pants to keep them from falling down, only to draw back in shock. Cupid clearly wasn't going to wish him well.
"You told, didn't you?" Jack asked, noticing the thread sewing Cupid's lips together.
Cupid looked down in shame and nodded.
"That's alright. I'm glad you made it, and between the two of us, I need a last favor," Jack whispered.
Cupid looked back up and smiled slightly before putting his mouth normally due to the pain of movement.
"With everything that's happened, I never planned a honeymoon-"
At that moment, Cupid stood straight up out of his chair and gave Jack a look of disbelief and disappointment.
"I didn't mean to forget, really. I only found out what it was last night. Can you help me, please?"
Cupid put his right hand on Jack's left shoulder, patted it, and then gave him a salute. He winked before he took off into the sky to places unknown. Hopefully, he would come back before the ceremony. For the moment, Jack was busy trying to keep his composure as more ghostly guests started to file in. Every once in a while, he would see a tour group passing by. Some almost entered the garden, but were drawn away by something scary. Apparently, Mrs. Winchester's job in this ceremony was to keep it flowing without mortal interference. That and playing a ghostly organ that was rolled outside to the right of the gazebo.
"Oooh, I haven't played this in years!" she said excitedly as she sat down. "Everyone ready?"
"Mrs. Winchester, who's marrying us?" Jack asked, pointing to the empty spot on the other side of the makeshift altar.
"Oh no. Hold on a minute," Mrs. Winchester said before dashing into the house. She returned moments later with the ghost of a frontier reverend who apparently overslept.
"My apologies," he said to Jack as he yawned. "You may begin the march, Mrs. Winchester."
"My pleasure," she said as she began to play.
As the first notes took to the air, the entire collection of ghostly guests, and goddess, looked towards the entrance to the gardens from the house. The doors opened to two figures, one considerably shorter than the other. As they stepped out into the light, it was clear just exactly what was going on. On the right was Doctor Finkelstein, smiling serenely as he powered his chair forward while holding the left hand of the bride.
Ah, yes, the bride. In a word, Sally looked complete. Her dress was made from basically every white piece of cloth she could find in the Winchester Mystery House combined with Jack's serving wench dress from the night before. If one looked, he or she could still make out a red underskirt underneath the long, mixed-up white train of the wedding dress. In anyone else's hands, the dress would have looked horrendous. Sally, however, had a gift for such things. She mixed cotton, lace, curtains, sheets, and then some into the most unique and beautiful dress that ever came out of someone's imagination. Jack's jaw dropped from awe.
"You give away this woman to this man?" the reverend asked Doctor Finkelstein while Jack put his jaw back into place.
"Yes, I do," Doctor Finkelstein said as he looked over to Sally, then to Jack, and then let go of her hand.
"Thank you, Doctor," Sally said as she bent over to hug him.
"Now, now, my dear. You have a new afterlife to begin," Doctor Finkelstein said, sniffling a bit before breaking the embrace and wheeling himself next to the Mayor and Venus.
"Dearly departed, we are gathered here today to join this man and woman and holy matrimony, to bind their souls for eternity in death and afterlife," the reverend began.
And so began the one normal part of the entire planning. The ceremony went as beautifully and emotionally as Jack and Sally imagined. The reverend spoke of love's undying nature, on how it was perfectly natural for the dead to love again because of that nature. He spoke of the responsibility Jack and Sally would now share as rulers of their land before allowing them to speak their vows.
"Sally, I never felt whole until we became a couple. You truly are the best friend I have ever made in Halloween Town. I can tell you anything and you will either try to talk me out of it, which is usually a good thing," Jack said, pausing when a few ghosts began to chuckle. "Or you'll stand by me, no matter what happens. Either way, without you, I don't think I could make it through most of my days. I promise to love, honor, and cherish you for the rest of eternity and that in our reign, Halloween will be better than anyone could have ever imagined."
"Jack, I've loved you from the moment I first saw you. I've wanted to stand here and be yours and for so long I was terrified to tell you how I felt. Now that it's happening, I'm hoping I won't wake up and have it all be a dream. I love you, Jack, more than any words can say, and I promise to love, honor, and cherish you for the rest of eternity. I am a bit nervous about ruling Halloween, but as long as I do it with you, I'm happy," Sally said, causing Venus to burst out to tears in her seat.
"It's all so beautiful," she cried, burying her head in her hands.
Once the goddess was under control, she could see the rest of the ceremony. By this time, the rings had been exchanged and Jack had lifted the veil covering Sally's face. This was the moment they were waiting for the entire time, since even before the ceremony.
"By the power vested in my by my former life and my position as House Reverend, I pronounce you king and queen, husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
Neither one of them hesitated. Jack and Sally didn't even realize that the guests had broken into applause and that Mrs. Winchester was playing exit music. It wasn't until a large, winged-horse drawn chariot landed on the other side of the gazebo that they noticed anything other than each other. Jack and Sally walked over to the chariot and found Cupid sitting at the reigns.
"What on earth is going on?" Venus asked as she ran over to the scene.
"I think this is our ride," Jack said.
"Ride to where?" Sally asked Jack.
"Our honeymoon."
"Really?"
"I asked Cupid for a bit of help on that part," Jack said, surprised when Sally hugged him.
"See, these things always work out," Mrs. Winchester said to no in particular.
"Better pack your things, then," the Mayor said to Jack and Sally.
"Oh, I'll have some ghosts take care of that," Mrs. Winchester said, catching wind of the conversation.
Mrs. Winchester whistled for some ghosts to get all of Jack and Sally's things and put them in the chariots. Some of them also hung tin cans from the back of the chariot, painting a "Just Married" sign on it as well. When Jack and Sally got on, Sally threw the bouquet of semi-wilted roses she was provided with to the crowd. The last thing she and Jack saw before taking off into the sky was Venus and Mrs. Winchester fighting over who really had a claim on it.
"I wouldn't want to resolve that," Jack said.
"Do these horses know where we're going?" Sally asked.
"I would think so. They seem pretty calm."
"Jack, where are we going anyway?"
"I'm not sure, but at least we're not going alone."
At that moment, Jack grazed his fingers over Sally's right cheek and pulled her in for a kiss. The horses could steer themselves for all he cared.
Think it's over? Not exactly. Where is the chariot headed? How will the new King and queen be greeted when they get home? And most curiously, how well will they test out that book? That's all for next time, boys and girls.