Chapter 2: A New Home?

The Mayor was shocked to say the least when he heard Jack tell him the news. Switching to his worried personality, he shuddered. "This Beldam sounds worse than Oogie Boogie," he said.

"She is not to be taken lightly," Jack said in agreement as he looked over the adoption documents that the Mayor had kindly pulled out from a filing cabinet in his office. Finding everything to be in order, he filled it out and signed his name at the bottom. Of course, being the Pumpkin King, the document was valid the moment he signed it, but he turned to look at the Mayor. "Mayor, would you please sign this as a witness to my adopting Coraline?"

"Of course, Jack," the Mayor said, switching to his happy personality and signing the paper carefully, putting the official stamp on it. "There. Young Coraline is officially the new Pumpkin Princess."

"Thank you, Mayor," the tall skeleton said. "I'd appreciate if you kept this hush-hush. The child was terrified yesterday and I don't want to overwhelm her about her now being the Pumpkin Princess."

"Yes, Jack," his friend said understandingly. "Still, you have my word that we'll all protect her. That horrible creature will never get her."

"Thank you."

With that, Jack left the Mayor's house and went around town, telling the inhabitants of the child who had escaped the Beldam. They were equally shocked and vowed to protect the child and not just because she was now their new princess. "Any child that escapes that monster is under our protection, Jack," Hanging Tree said.

"What will we do if that awful creature comes?" Zelda asked worriedly.

"We'll use what we've got," Helga said with a nod. "We already know she is afraid of pumpkin fire."

Jack nodded. "I can count on all of you to keep my daughter safe and alert me if the Beldam dares to come?" He asked.

The citizens all nodded solemnly. "We won't let you down, Jack," the oldest vampire brother promised.

"Only one question, Jack," said the second oldest vampire brother.

"Yes?" Jack asked.

"Does the child know of us?" He asked. "If she escaped the Beldam, she might be rather frightened of us too."

"I'll tell her about all of you," the tall skeleton promised. "That way she knows she doesn't have to be afraid."

"Good," said Clown with a nod. "And if she needs a place to hide at any time, she's welcomed in my home."

The other citizens voiced the same, to which Jack was grateful and it took a load of his mind that his new daughter would be protected well and would be safe.

He was sincerely hoping the Beldam wouldn't come, but he had a feeling that she would. Monsters that sought to hurt or control children wouldn't give up even if the child had found a safe place to hide. He silently vowed that he'd never let that monster touch his daughter again.

At Jack and Sally's house...

Coraline felt a hand gently brush her blue hair away from her eyes and she opened her eyes and jumped with a start at that. "Oh, I'm sorry," a sweet voice said. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

The child looked to see a rag doll with kind eyes and long red hair. She blinked. "Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm Sally, Jack's wife," the doll said. "Coraline, correct?"

The girl nodded. "Yes," she said before looking around. "Where am I?"

"In mine and Jack's home," Sally said with a smile. "You're safe here from the Beldam."

Coraline sat up, hugging her knees. "But she might come after me," she said.

Two blue arms gently surrounded her. "Jack and I will protect you," the rag doll promised. "That monster won't ever hurt you again."

The child could tell that the doll meant that because she spoke it with conviction. She hugged her, noticing that the doll smelled like crisp fall air, a scent she had always loved because it reminded her of jumping into a pile of leaves and watching them fall back down around her. A bark got her attention and she turned to see a ghost dog nearby. She blinked before looking curious. "Who's this?" She asked.

Sally smiled. "That's Zero," she said. "Our dog."

Zero came closer and nuzzled Coraline's cheek with his jack-o-lantern nose, making her giggle and she reached out, amazed that she was able to pet him. Zero gave a happy bark and settled right next to the child, enjoying the ear scratch she was currently giving him. "He likes you," Sally said with a smile.

Coraline giggled. "I like him too," she said before looking at her. "I like you too. You're the first person besides Jack to be so nice to me."

The rag doll smiled. "All the people of Halloween Town might appear scary, but they do fun scares, not scares that hurt people," she explained.

"You mean like just jumping out and saying 'boo'?" The child asked.

"That and other fun scares," Sally said with a nod. "But not one of them would take a scare too far and they wouldn't dare harm a child."

"They sound like decent people," Coraline said.

"They are, so don't be afraid of them if and when you meet them."

The child hugged the rag doll, both perking up when Jack walked in. The skeleton smiled at the two. "I see you met my wife and dog," he said. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Better," the blue-haired girl said until her stomach let out a loud growl, making her face turn pink in embarrassment.

Sally smiled. "I have hot soup downstairs," she said. "Clam chowder."

Coraline perked up at that and followed the two downstairs, smelling a rather unusual smell besides the clam chowder. "What's that other smell?" She asked.

"Worm's wart soup," Jack said with a smile. "Sally is a wonderful cook."

"I wasn't sure if you'd like worm's wart soup, so I picked a soup I know most humans eat," Sally explained.

The child was surprised by their thoughtfulness. While worm's wart soup sounded neat, she wasn't sure if she was quite willing to try that yet. "Maybe I can try the worm's wart soup another time?" She suggested.

Jack smiled at her and ruffled her hair. "By the way, I have to go see the doctor about a few things and I have a meeting with the Mayor in a bit," he said.

"And I need to go to the market," Sally explained.

"So you may explore the town if you'd like, Coraline," the tall skeleton said. "The inhabitants already know about you, so you'll be safe."

"Thanks," Coraline said, smiling as she liked to explore.

"I just ask one thing," Jack continued, kneeling down to her height. "Don't go beyond the pumpkin patch at the end of Spiral Hill. If the Beldam knows you're here, she could be lurking in the woods beyond the pumpkin patch."

The child nodded. "I'll be careful," she promised. "And I won't go beyond the pumpkin patch."

She hugged Jack and he returned the hug with a smile, playfully tickling her right ear and the right side of her neck to make her giggle.

After an amazing lunch, Coraline went exploring, seeing many of the town residents and they smiled at her in a friendly manner, making her feel welcomed. She noticed a witch's shop and grew curious, going in to find a tall witch and a short witch. The tall one looked up. "Ah, you must be Coraline," she said, her voice friendly. "Come in, dearie. We don't bite."

"Welcome," the short witch said. "I'm Zelda and that's my big sister, Helga."

"Hi," the child said. "I was just exploring and grew curious."

"How are you settling in?"

"Pretty good, thank you."

Helga smiled. "Oh, my sister and I have something for you," she said, pulling out something from her pocket and holding it up. It was a necklace that had a orange pumpkin for a pendant and the pendant sparkled in the light. "We made this for you. If you are ever in trouble and you're alone, press the pumpkin firmly in the middle and it will tell Jack that you need help."

Coraline was in awe. "Thank you," she said, accepting it and putting it on, finding it fit her just perfectly. She then grew worried and looked up at them, to which they sensed what was on her mind.

"It's a 'welcome to Halloween Town' gift," Zelda explained.

"And a gift from two friends," Helga said with a smile.

The child relaxed, seeing that it wasn't just a gift to gain her affection as the Beldam had done. "I love it," she said before suddenly hugging them. Both witches hugged her back.

"If you ever need a place to hide, dearie, our shop and home are open to you," the tall witch said to her.

Coraline nodded, smiling as she decided that she was going to like staying in Halloween Town.

Looks like Coraline is beginning to settle in pretty good. :) Next up: Jack speaks to Dr. Finklestein. :)

Please leave a review, but no flames! :)

GoldGuardian2418