Authors Note: Hello! So sorry I'm so inconsistent about chapters. Here's a brief summary of the last few chapters. Anna went back in time and made James and Mira adopt a changeling that was meant to replace their daughter, Muirgen. Chakis takes Anna back to meet up with Jack who has a lost soul with him, Raili, who was a Finnish ghost haunting a forest. They have a run in with a malicious forest spirit/fairy that was Raili's "husband" (horrible use of the word) when she was alive. Raili gives Anna some advice about making a choice. Back in Halloween Anna confronts Jack and demands he train her as his apprentice. There's some back and forth but he agrees on the condition she stays in Halloween for her own safety. Upon agreement to the deal Jack immediately drags Anna along to a town Council meeting where Anna gets to irritated some others beside Jack. Back at the Manor, Sally has a surprise for Annalise and takes Anna to a room Sally has set up for her.

Chapter 59

Citizenship

Jack went off to his office while Sally left Anna and Lily to explore the room.

Anna suspected there were secret passages in the home, but she didn't put much effort into looking for them just yet. She poked at reliefs in the fireplace and wiggled shelving. She even knocked on some of the wall panels, some of which definitely were hollow. So yes. She was sure there were cool secret passages in the house. That was awesome. She always wanted a house with those. If only she could figure out how to get into them.

Lily quickly got bored with Anna's investigation of the somewhat sparse room and left. Anna followed, picking the cat up in the hallway and heading to where Jack's office was.

She lingered at the bottom of the thin metal spiral staircase.

"Jack?" she called up after a few awkward minutes.

"I'll be with you presently!" Jack called down to her, his voice distant and vibrating the metal railing slightly.

"Ok," Anna said.

She settled down on a small sofa in the hallway.

There it was. That stupid anxiety twisted under the surface of her bones like she was an assemblage of glass tubes and some caustic liquid was sloshing inside, gradually eating its way out.

She picked little bits of Lily's fur out of her knuckles before continuing to pet the cat, running her fingers through the fur and undoing the early picking work.

"You missed a spot," Lily grumbled.

"Where?"

Lily shifted and stretched until a certain part of her back was pressed against her person's hard fingers.

She had to admit, even with the odd smells, the tinge in her voice, and the odd aura around Annalise, her hard bony fingers made excellent scratching implements. Almost a shame Anna didn't have any skin to scratch herself. Did she even itch without skin? Ah well, more pampering for Lily.

Annalise needed to think of anything besides the sounds of Jack in his office. She peered up the thin staircase but didn't catch a glimpse of him. She settled for sitting back in the small dusty hallway sofa. She could be patient.

She had only waited about two minutes.

Maybe two minutes. She should get a watch. A pocket watch would be nice and aesthetic.

"You went through with it?" Lily asked.

Anna blinked. "Oh. Yeah. He took the deal. Sorry, I forgot to tell you."

"I figured it out," Lily said without opening her eyes or ceasing her purrs. "We're here, after all."

Anna scratched between the cat's ears. "You haven't asked much about this Citizen thing."

"That skeleton man's explanation covered it well enough. Signing that book of his means binding our souls to this underworld. Simple enough."

"Maybe…" Anna stared at her cat. "Lily. Did you always know about this stuff? Have you always been… intelligent."

Lily grumbled.

"Hey," Anna chided, getting the sense she just got cussed out.

Lily sighed and lifted her head, an ear flicking. "I could have sworn I've answered this."

"Not really."

The white and gray cat was quiet for a moment. "Humans have always been blind to most of the world. Mothers never tell their kittens about magic because we always already know that it's there. We just don't care most of the time if it's not a concern."

"What about your intelligence?"

Lily scoffed. Maybe it was a laugh?

Anna continued. "I'm having a hard time putting the way you talk with the rest of the animal kingdom. It's cruel and can be…disgusting. And…personifying animals has always been a problem outside of fiction."

"It's 'wild' you mean," Lily said. "Tell me one of those disgusting things."

Anna hesitated, wracking her brain for an example Lily could speak on. "Don't tom cats kill kittens if they find them so they can mate with the mother?"

"Hm. Yes. And I suppose you find that wrong?"

"You don't?"

"Nature isn't good or bad. People are. You humans got yourselves cursed with morality and everyone else has to pay for it, for better or worse."

"So you don't think animals can be malicious?"

"I didn't say that."

Anna sighed, mildly frustrated. This was a philosophical discussion for later. Or never.

How did her life(?) get to the point that she was having philosophical discussions about morality with her cat?

Lily didn't seem interested in continuing the talk either and just sat purring on Anna's lap.

It felt like a cop-out, letting the topic go but they both had other things to think about.

Anna, for one, was jealous just how little their situation was bothering the feline.

"Do you know what a familiar is?"

"Jasper and Trouble explained," Lily said. "I help you with magic and fetch things like a dog."

Anna snorted at the insult in her voice. "How do you feel about having to do actual work now?"

"Depends on how much 'actual work' you're going to do," Lily said. "Don't expect me to follow you around all the time."

Anna rolled her eyes. She looked up at the sound of footsteps before she could respond.

Jack came down the steps just enough to stick his head over the railing.

"Annalise? Would you come up please? Lily, I'm afraid you'll have to stay down here until your turn. This is a highly private affair."

Lily didn't seem very happy about letting Anna go up without her, but she eerily didn't make any complaints while Anna stood up and set her down on the sofa.

"Don't take so long," Lily said as Anna trudged up the stairs. "Things to do, you know." She almost sounded anxious. Was she worried about Anna leaving her?

What things? Anna thought over the sounds of her own foot steps.

Jack's study was still a funny looking mess.

Sally wasn't exaggerating about the seven-foot tall stacks of books. The immediate area was clear but if she looked up she could see those stacks up on a sort of loft area Jack had above his shelving.

"Sit down. Please," Jack gestured at chair as he stood on the other side of the desk, looming over her a bit but too awkward to sit down just yet. He carefully picked up a small glass orb.

It made her tense and her gaze locked on it, trying to decipher where the swirls and light was coming from. Was it sucking light to it or producing the light? She was so entranced she didn't notice Jack slip a thin little rod in his pocket, glowing tines of a magic key retreating into the metal.

"The ceremony is deceptively simple. I believe I told you before. First you take the scrying ball. It has a different effect on everyone." He paused as Anna's sockets met his. He forced his jaw to move despite that intense gaze. "Some see their entire afterlife played out. Some see all the multitude of versions born out of choices, regardless of consequences. Some just see their second-death. Some see only one thread of potential amidst a multitude. Some remember whatever they see and some don't. Some see nothing, but they hear a voice or sounds. Whatever the case, something always happens. Halloween shows you what you need to see. You decide whether to proceed with Citizenship depending on what you experience." This was a bit more than the last time he had to explain. "I know we've already struck a deal, but it's unfair not to afford the same opportunity as others before you have had."

Anna frowned and tore her eyes from the orb. "Do monsters still choose to stay even they see something really horrible happen to them?"

"I don't know," Jack admitted. "Rarely does ever tells me what they see. And I don't ask. I've been given details occasionally. But sometimes it's better if only you know what you see, if you remember it at all. I've seen monsters shrug it off and I've seen some break down crying. Some I've had to retrieve from a stupor or shakes. We take as long as you need. Once I had a monster stay in a trance for a whole week."

Anna grimaced in distaste.

"From what I understand, they were going through the thousands of timelines they had the potential to experience. They didn't remember a lick of it when they came out, but they knew signing the book was the right thing for them." Jack tapped the large book he had cleared his desk for. "Taking the Oath and signing the book binds your soul to Halloween."

"I remember," Anna said. She held out her hand, then hesitated. "If I forget what I see, how do I know whether to sign or not?"

"Everyone just knows," Jack said with confidence. He took her hand, the slick hardness of his fingers against the same ivory of her wrists. The ball hovered over her hand, but he didn't place it yet. "You feel it. A lingering understanding of what is needed. Emotion lingers beyond reason." A part of him desperately wanted to skip this part. It always worried him. He wasn't sure if he could handle whatever the girl saw.

He grasped her hand, gently, and lowered his voice. "I've seen every emotion come out of this," he said, the orb hovering over Anna's hands. "From joy…to grief to bliss to such utter rage that I had to sedate someone and lock then in the dungeon until they calmed down."

"Who made the thing?" Anna asked in curiosity, her hand held inches under the orb as she stared at it and missed Jack's anxious expressions. It might not have mattered. She wasn't afraid of Jack's stories. Yes, the orb frightened her, but not because of whatever reaction she had. She was scared of what she might see, which didn't make sense to her. Why be afraid of something she didn't even know?

"It's hard to explain," Jack said, the both of them still poised with their hands and the scrying tool between them. He considered a secret.

Anna was his apprentice now… How much of a King's duties needed to be in her purview?

"Halloween…" he began. "Has always provided something like this to the King. Once this ritual was done with a pool of human blood that left shapes in the water that droplets were mixed with. The potential citizen would drink the concoction. There was once a well that did the same, without the blood. One king had to lock potential citizens in a cave until they went mad and had a vision. My predecessor… he didn't care who signed so long as they brought him tribute." Jack had a flash of disgust and pain in his sockets, but wiped it away before he could dwell on those memories too long. "And long long ago there was no such thing. Souls came and were just part of this world. The divide between those who wanted a town and those who wanting no ties at all was a gradual development as the town was built. A magical ceremony rose out of the need to protect those who wanted order and community, on accident possibly."

His eyes focused on the glass. "I found this on accident shortly after I took the throne. It's never effected me, no matter what magic I tried to etch into it. But the first time someone else touched it when I asked what it was and handed it to them to study, that monster froze and fell into a trance for half-an-hour. When they awoke, they told me what to do with it and walked right into my house and up to this book—." Jack turned and tapped the tome on his desk with his free hand. "—and scratched their own name out before bequeathing their things to their lover and leaving town." Jack looked pained, well aware he might be telling too much.

"They left a child behind. I chased them down in the Hinterlands and found them months later, but they said that their Citizenship was always a lie under the previous King. They had to leave. Their nature was too violent for the Halloween I wanted and they would have led to its destruction. Really a disheartening day. Despite their grasp on the old ways, they truly loved Halloween. Up to that point, I had been confident they had the strength to change with it. But Halloween knew their truth and had the decency to tell them."

"Did the population shift a lot after you became King?"

"Yes. Many monsters left, like that. But many more came in from exile, more than welcomed and pleased to come out of hiding. It was about twenty years before the book stopped letting names be scratched out."

Anna stared at the ball, a bit of worry tightening her chest.

"Annalise?"

She looked up.

"Are you ready?"

She nodded. "Yes sir."

She didn't even feel Jack place the object in her hands. There was coolness against her bones and then nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Something but no memory.

Nothing.

…

She didn't exist.

For how long?

She wasn't sure.

But…then it was over.

…

She looked up, tears in her eyes. She didn't remember crying! Her head hurt. Her ribs were tight.

That was underwhelming… But she couldn't shake the feeling of something…

She looked up and recoiled.

Jack had an odd expression.

She blinked, confused.

Jack was suddenly holding the glass orb.

She didn't remember handing it back. "Um…" she looked at her hand that she was sure wasn't empty a moment ago. Wait…it wasn't empty. She stared at the pen she didn't remember picking up. It was glowing, just slightly. "Was something supposed to happen?"

Jack blinked, staring for a moment. He let out a strained laugh and tilted his head up at the ceiling like someone trying to keep tears in.

"Jack?" Her eyes shifted to the window. The light was different. How long had she been here?

"What do you remember, Annalise?" he said, his voice suddenly quiet as he sat down, as if worried his legs would give out.

"Remember? What the hell happened?"

Jack drummed his fingers on his desk for a moment. He glanced out the window with a pained expression. He looked back at her, struggling with a decision.

"I don't know what to tell you," he admitted. He glanced down at the orb that he was still holding. "Do you want to try again?"

Anna's sockets widened at some vicious instinct, and she frantically shook her head.

Jack nodded, relieved. He hadn't been excited about the idea either. Smoothly, he put the orb away as if it might bite him. The light that it bent snapped back into place as the drawer shut and the key was turned then hidden away again.

They stared at each other in silence as each tried to sort out what in Halloween had just happened.

Anna was worried about how disturbed Jack seemed. Something had happened. Something that freaked him out. Something he wasn't telling her. She was getting sick of secrets.

Jack sat down in his chair, thinking. He looked up. "Have you decided?"

Anna paused then looked up. "What happened?"

"…You were conscious," Jack said. "We conversed."

"What?"

"That's what happened," Jack said.

"What did I say?!"

"You talked of a few things to come," Jack said smoothly. "I don't think I should tell you anymore if you can't remember."

"But…" She was about to call bullshit, but she trailed off as Jack stared at her. She looked at the pen in her hand, the message from the self that remembered what just happened clear.

"Have you decided?"

Anna leaned back. "I decided hours ago." She swallowed without a throat and leaned over his desk. She was holding the pen for a reason, she supposed. She must have grabbed it in her trance.

Jack's eyes widened. He forgot something. The bone man abruptly stood up again and reached for her hand. "Wai—!"

She scribbled her name into the book before she could second-guess anything. She barely let her eyes pass over the signatures above the line left for her.

Sally (1993)

There was another name between Sally's line and hers, but Annalise purposely didn't read it because she knew she would be too interested and her hesitation would jump at the opportunity.

Annalise Grisholme (1995)

She already had her deal with Jack after all. Maybe seeing her own future wasn't necessary.

She didn't have another moment to worry about it as a sharp burning suddenly struck her eye.

She shrieked, dropping the pen as a headache threatened to split her skull right through her left eye. The pain was only a moment, but an uncomfortable warmth was spreading from her eye to the back of her throat, while her name glowed and burned into the page before her. She coughed, startled at the purple mist that fell from her mouth as Jack rushed to her side and helped her into the chair again. She hacked as if coughing or puking, but nothing except the weird mist came up. Her ribs didn't act like they knew that. She wondered if she could break them just with coughs.

"There you go. It's alright. You're okay," Jack said quickly. "Give it a moment."

Anna coughed and tried to scratch at her socket and dig her fingers inside as if she could scoop out whatever was irritating her. It didn't hurt any more, but it was maddening to feel like there was suddenly something there. It didn't interfere with her vision, but it felt like it should be.

"No no don't scratch. You're all right. It will pass. Very sorry," Jack apologized. "I should have warned you. It can feel different depending on where the Mark appears. I haven't see someone manifest it in their eyes in a long time. I wasn't expecting it. That tends to be the most uncomfortable."

Anna coughed violently again, magic spewing out of her mouth, but less than before. Her sockets felt like they wanted to water from the itchy burning behind one of them.

"What the hell is…" she waved at the weird 'smoke' that was billowing out of her mouth and giving off a strange translucent violet light before she started coughing again. It smelled funny too. Not bad. She just couldn't compare it to anything specific.

Jack chuckled. "That's your aura. Your body is expelling a little magic in response to the Mark. Like an immune response, I suppose. I'm not an expert on human medicine so that might not be a good correlation…but ah… Well, it always takes a little bit for an aura to adjust to Halloween etching into it."

"Ugh…" Anna groaned as the pain subsided to a dull and irritating itch. "Why is everything glowing? Why are you glowing?"

Jack helped her up. "This is what we look like, Annalise," he said. He frowned as he leaned back to look at her. "Hmm. That hit you harder than it should have. Come on. Let get you to your…your room. You should rest." He carefully guided her down the stairs while she stared at him in wonder. She looked between him and her hands.

Jack didn't interrupt her thoughts.

"We're beautiful…" she whispered.

Jack smiled down, not letting go of the unsteady teen. "We are indeed. Quite a light show, eh?"

"Is it…is it like this all the time?"

"Oh yes," Jack said with a smile. "Although you'll learn to tune it down a bit. It can get distracting."

"What does Sally look like?!" Anna breathed.

"She's gorgeous."

Anna nodded. Of course.

"I feel sick…" the teenager almost fell down the spiral stairs at least three times, but Jack caught her, pulling one of her arms across his shoulders.

"What happened?!" Lily snapped, looking worried. She hopped off the sofa with the questioning yowl.

"Ms. Lily," Jack said although he couldn't understand the cat's exact words. "Please don't get underfoot. Annalise is fine, she's just a bit dazed by Halloween claiming her as a Citizen. I'll explain when it's your turn. Would you go get Sally please?"

Lily glared at him before running off, although she wasn't sure how she was supposed to fetch the ragdoll. Maybe she should ask that dog. Dogs were good at fetching, though not much else.

"Why do I feel like I have a hangover?" Anna moaned, hurking at the sudden nausea. "Ugh. It's pretty, but the light show isn't helping…"

"It will pass," Jack said, amused. It wasn't common to have such a strong reaction, but he had seen it before. And he'd dealt with it. Anna wasn't that unique. "You put a wrench in the ceremony, Annalise. You're supposed to take a verbal oath before signing the book."

"You didn't stop me."

"You didn't give me a chance to!" he retorted. "It's an important step. It wouldn't have hit you as hard if you said a few simple words."

"I can say them now…" Anna muttered.

"You're already a Citizen, Annalise," Jack sighed as she stumbled into him again and mumbled an apology as she coughed. "Ah ah, one foot in front of the other. That's a good girl. I supposed saying it will help you recover faster. Oh crows, which room did Sally pick for you?"

Anna gestured weakly down a particular hallway. "Shit, the whole world is glowing. Or at least the manor…"

"No it's all of Halloween, Taibshe," Jack said. He stiffened at the slip of a name.

Anna didn't seem to notice, too busy whining like a drunk as she rubbed the rim of her eye socket.

"There we go. Keep walking, Annalise. You just have to be unorthodox, don't you…? Alright pay attention now. As best you can. You're right. The Oath may help ease the impact. Do you, Annalise Grisholme, swear to uphold the terror and trepidation of Halloween Town."

"I do." Anna snickered. "Who wrote this?"

"Shh. I need you to take this seriously, Annalise." He guided her into another turn.

"Yes, Sir."

"Do you swear your allegience to the Pumpkin King, and Halloween itself?"

"I do. Ow!"

"Watch your step. Alright, good job. One last thing. Repeat after me, clear as you can. Alright? The town motto, Annalise. Timore coniungit nos. Fear unites us."

"Timore coniungit nos," Anna said groggily.

There was a dull flash of purple light from inside her socket and she yelped, grinding her steps to a halt.

Jack nearly stumbled as she stopped.

She rubbed her eye and groaned. But she didn't seem as loopy.

"Oh that's better," she mumbled.

"You should still rest," Jack argued, hooking his arm with hers to pull her to her room.

He blinked as he realized where they were. He had been so preoccupied with his concerns over Annalise's Citizenship that he hadn't noticed who's room was across the hall from Anna's. It likely affected Sally's decision.

That room hadn't been touched since its inhabitant had gone, except for the occasional moment of nostalgia and longing. He really shouldn't be so melancholic about missing the inhabitant, but sometimes he couldn't help it.

"Right…here you are," Jack said with a sigh as he shoved the door open. It made a wonderful creaking noise. Sally really outdid herself. He paused just inside the door, unsure what to do now. Surely Anna would take offense if he actually put her to bed like a toddler.

Anna looked about to pass out, so maybe she wouldn't care.

She really should have followed his instructions.

He looked at Sally as she appeared in the doorway behind him.

"Is she alright?" Sally asked.

"She will be."

Anna grunted and gave a weak thumbs up.

"Are you sure?" The ragdoll raised an eye in disbelief. "This didn't happen to me." She crossed her arms and gave Jack a pointed but questioning look.

"Well…" Jack grunted as Sally took Anna's other arm and guided her to the bed, pulling the covers back and setting the still-dizzy-but-not-as-bad-as-earlier skeleton down.

"Lay down Annalise," Sally instructed.

"I can actually do things myself," Anna grumbled. "It's just…everything is loud. And bright." She winced out a laugh but did as Sally said. "Jack's right. You're gorgeous, Sally."

Sally chuckled and petted Anna's head. "Why thank you. You're not too bad looking yourself."

"I feel like a glowstick," Anna muttered. She lifted a hand and stared at it, "I'm neon purple."

Sally and Jack both snickered.

"Oh no, it's a very pretty glow, Anna," Sally said, "You're very bright. Like a nebula."

"…you know what a nebula looks like?"

"We got a hold of some of those lovely photos humans took of the stars. Clouds in space. They were beautiful."

"Space is pretty cool…" Anna agreed.

"Yes and you look like lavender starlight. It's very lovely."

"I'd like to see those pictures sometime. I kinda miss stars… real stars. Not whatever those are…" she threw a hand at the window, and Jack was surprised it didn't literally fly off.

"I'll borrow them from the Doctor sometime," he promised.

"I like your color," Anna decided without taking her eyes off Sally. "Like the human sky and the beach. A nice beach. Is that supposed to be tan? Or like a funny yellow…" She squinted at Jack. "How the hell does black glow?"

Jack let his aura flash out a little with a mischievous grin. "That's a secret."

"Ugh!"

"Speaking of," Sally interrupted. "How come Anna is having such a dramatic reaction, Jack?"

Jack shifted. "Uh… a few factors I believe. One, she didn't say the Oath first." He crossed his arms and looked at her pointedly, but she was ignoring him and humming with closed eyes.

"What else?"

"Mmh. Being in town for so long without being a Citizen can cause some problems for spirits. I have a few theories. One is that Halloween slowly builds up a resistance to a monster until they are welcomed or compelled to leave permanently." He winced. "But if they do become a citizen, a Mark can cause a more…explosive…reaction as it purifies the resistance. I haven't seen it happen a lot. Just a theory of course. It didn't happen that way with Ivy. She had a fairly normal signing."

Sally and Anna stared at him.

"You had Ivy say the Oath fairly early on," Sally reminded dryly.

"I need to meet this human." Anna grumbled. "How the hell does a human end up in Halloween?"

"It's a long story, Anna."

"Yeah I heard," the teen muttered. She frowned. "Is she dead? Actually dead? She died, didn't she?"

Sally and Jack looked confused, unsure of how to respond.

Anna seemed to think that was a sensitive question, so she quickly moved on before they could explain or question her why she would ask that. She looked at Jack and laughed. "Anyway, are you saying…I'm basically having an allergic reaction to Halloween because you put off my Citizenship for so long?"

"I am compelled to point out that this is a theory," Jack said. "If that's the case, I apologize but I still hold that this would not have happened if you were a bit more patient."

Anna grumbled something as Lily jumped up and curled up between Anna's boney knees.

Lily glared at Jack.

They could do her ceremony later.

Jack left before she was fully asleep as Sally chatted with the girl. He shut the door behind him and wearily slid down it a bit.

When Anna touched the scryer…he had never seen anything like that happen before…

And he wasn't sure if it was something she would want herself to know about.