Pillars, Chapter 3
I'm very sorry for the very OC-heavy... everything of this chapter, but Mallory decided she wanted a song and some character development. Please give me feedback on her, I'm doing my best to make her well-rounded so she can contribute to Jack's character development.
The Skellingtons were there when he opened the door, Jack looking happy yet distant and Mallory sporting the most wicked grin. Finklestien felt a tremor of apprehension run down what was left of his spine, and he forced his face to look extra happy.
"Mallory, Jack, good mo-"
Sally's door swung open, hitting the wall behind it, making the entire tower ring like an oversized church bell. The Skellingtons stood their ground, bones rattling and coming a bit undone with the vibrations. Finklestien clamped his mouth shut, experiencing the most horrible (in the bad way) itching sensation in the cores of his teeth. Chipper, happy, oblivious little Sally leaned over the railing of the stairs and waved. "Hello!"
"Sally!" Jack cried back, collecting himself before his mother and running up to join Sally in her room. "Good morning! How are you?"
"I just figured out how to make the cape have little wing membranes like you wanted!" answered Sally. "Come in and see!"
They disappeared to Sally's room, chatting excitedly about Jack's Halloween costume.
Mallory stayed, looking so wonderfully prideful and royal in her little gray dress, covered from neck to ground in the finest of fabrics and tailoring, nothing short of royal sophistication. It was nearly unbearable. Finklestien had known her when she was young, before being a mother, before being Queen, before she bound herself so tightly in bustles and girdles and gloves that the only visible bones on her were her skull and three topmost vertebrae. He remembered those days all too clearly. To see her so full of herself, so cut off, made him secretly sick to his stomach.
Mallory's grin grew wider. "So. How are you enjoying child rearing, Finklestien?"
By her every word, it seemed she, herself, remembered none of it.
It seemed this is what today's "I'm better than you" conversation was going to be about. Finklestien had to give credit where she had earned it, though, and though it was bitter, he swallowed his pride. "I'm not. Sally is a problem child."
Mallory finally stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. "Really? Problem child? Worse than my Jack?"
"Certainly not!" snapped Finklestien. "Sally is not an inattentive, prideful little snit like your son."
A wave of hatred flowed from Mallory, and the room grew deathy cold. Finklestien gasped, realizing what he just said, and quickly corrected, "She's simply... stupid, and loud, your grace. She never shuts up. Always asking questions and correcting you if she thinks you're wrong. ME, wrong! Imagine."
"Oh yes," Mallory sneered, "Because you're never wrong about anything."
Finklestien fumed in his seat. Admitting anything less that perfect in his creations always hurt, but royal punishment could be far, far worse... He grappled for an even ground in the conversation. "She simply needs teaching. A few more years in-"
"I don't want a few more years." Mallory intruded. "I want her ready by this Halloween. She will participate with the rest of us."
"But- What? This year?" Finklestien screamed. "She's a baby! She's MY baby!"
"And I won't let her fall behind."
Like your son, Finklestien finished in his mind. In a way, though, he could see the connection. Even now, he could hear Jack and Sally chirping upstairs like someone... well, half Jack's age, and twice Sally's age, or something, but still very very young, he'd do that math later. As much as he hated it, they did get along. If Sally participated this year, then Jack would too, finally ending Jack's very late blooming period.
Finklestien had to say his peace, though. "I can teach her nothing... about scaring."
His voice lowered, and he wheeled his chair close to Mallory. "Those days are long behind me."
For the first time in a long time, Mallory met Finklestien's eyes not with anger, not with pity, but with understanding. "I know. The accident. I'll teach her."
Finklestien asked, "You? Personally?"
"Me personally. One last little favor, for you." The Pumpkin Queen ducked her face, hiding behind the wide brim of her hat. "If I may have her for the evening."
"Take her! It'll be nice to have some quiet in the house for once." Finklestien bowed the best he could. "Thank you... your majesty."
"Sally, as a member of Halloween Town, you will be expected to perform every duty you are assigned to the best of your abilities." Mallory did not break her admittedly tiny stride to wait for a response, instead letting Jack and Sally trail along behind her. "Your complete compliance and cooperation is necessary to keep the town running smoothly, understood?"
"She's said that three times already," Sally whispered to Jack, "Should I tell her?"
Jack whispered back, "She just likes to talk. Say 'Yes ma'am' a lot and let her about her business."
Sally answered, "Yes, ma'am."
"Every person in Halloween Town has their specific duties." Mallory pointed to each citizen as they wound past. She weaved in and through the crowd, having memorized their personal routines and pathways from centuries of observation. "The Behemoth tends the Pumpkins, the vampires concoct fireworks and serve as town sentries. Even the children have their purpose, assisting those adults until they choose an apprenticeship. Understood?"
There was no response. Mallory finally stopped and turned around.
Sally had gotten caught in the spoke of a passing wagon, and Jack was simultaneously untangling Sally's leg from the axle and making cheerful small talk with the owner, the Werewolf.
"Stop that!"
Everyone, even the wheelbarrow, jumped at Mallory's abrupt shout. Sally's leg came cleanly off, finally falling free from the wheelbarrow once it was released from her body weight. Jack was practically about to laugh himself apart.
Mallory growled, jamming Sally's leg into the doll's arms and forcing her upright. (Sally fell back onto Jack for support, using him as an impromptu crutch.) "This is no time for frivolity! With Halloween only a month away, we have to work every minute to make sure it is complete on time! We must be efficient! We must be dignified! And we must not intercourse our legs with wagon wheels! Understood?"
Jack snickered. "Intercourse."
Sally nodded, cradling her severed leg, not quite following. "Yes, ma'am."
Mallory sighed. "Sally, I know you have a lot to learn over the next month. It will be your first Halloween-" (Jack stuttered, "Wait a minute-") "-and I want you to be more than just another bit player in this most wonderful occasion. I want you to become someone important."
Sally... felt something... change. Something in the town seemed to fall into a light rhythm, a bouncy one that felt a lot like walking up a set of stairs. She clung to Jack and watched him, looking for answers. He met her eyes with his sockets and rolled them just a tiny bit, focusing his attention back on Mallory. Sally looked back to Jack's mother; she had taken up perch on top of a small wall.
She sang.
"To be a pillar of the community
Is to be stalwart and upright."
(She held her hand aloft proudly.)
"It is to lead with an air of authority
And to make everything just right.
(Sally looked back to Jack again, just to be certain. He nodded; Mallory had just stopped to sing a little song. Mallory continued, unaware that Jack was apathetic and Sally was confused, only knowing that the town was beginning to fall into her song.)
"It is to make Halloween a priority
In every moment, every day;
And if you stay the course
And you succeed without recourse,
Then you will always have your way!"
The townspeople swarmed around their queen, lifting her and carrying her above their heads by her tiny little feet, singing along in perfect pitch.
"It is the way we're meant to be!
Cogs in the great machine,
We help Our Lady to succeed!
Oh, Hail the Pumpkin Queen,
The Pillar of our Community!"
Somehow, during the Queen-worshipping dance, Mallory had drifted back to directly in front of Sally. Held at eye-level by her townspeople, Mallory punctuated her statements with sharp pokes to Sally's nose.
"To be a pillar of the community,
You will be graceful, strong, and poised.
You will refrain from mishaps and frivolities."
(Mallory poked Sally's loose leg, making the little doll (and Jack) flinch in sympathetic pain.)
"You will refrain from useless noise."
("Yes, ma'am, bu-" Sally's protest went unheeded.)
"You will make your duties a priority,
And how to always do them well.
When you are fin'lly seen
On this glorious Halloween,
I want for everyone to tell-"
"That you're a pillar of the community," the townspeople sang,
"A lady of great taste and tact."
"A person of true grace," added Mallory,
"Who never looses face,
And this also goes for Jack."
(Jack blanched at the thought, but Sally couldn't quite find the presence of mind to smile at that.)
"You will be proud and strong and reliable
And you will never let us down!" sang the townspeople. They finally let Queen Mallory down, on top of the town fountain, where she puffed out her chest and sang to her people.
"And everyone will see
What a treasure you can be
When your philosophy
Is to be-"
"A pillar of the community!" The townspeople held that final note, raising in pitch and finishing off in a strong crescendo.
Sally nodded, stunned. "Yes, ma'am!"
Jack simply groused, "Can we reattach her leg before her stuffing rots, please?"
Mallory growled in frustration and stormed off into the crowd.
The townspeople had dispersed back into their own duties. Jack lead Sally into an alley, brightly lit but outside of the town's traffic, seating her on a step so she could sew her leg back on. They stayed remarkably quiet, considering the pair of them together in a secluded place. Jack only remarked once that she had wooden sticks instead of bones, and then stayed silent. He seemed so very... angry. Not at her, but it still unsettled Sally to see her cheerful friend so upset.
"That was... very strange."
Jack didn't respond to her immediately; he was politely holding Sally's skirt back so she could sew her leg back on without sewing herself to her dress. From her seat right beside him, Sally could feel the anger coming off of Jack in tiny waves, like the ripples in the lake. She didn't press him, staying quiet and sticking to her work until she was almost done.
"Jack..." she nearly couldn't speak, her words forced into a delicate whisper by her nervousness. "D-does everyone here sing?"
Jack snapped out of his trance, shaking his head with a soft rattle. "Sorry about that."
"Okay."
"Yes, everybody sings. It's what-" Jack stopped, then looked at Sally very hard in the face. "The Doctor never explained that to you, I'm guessing."
"No."
"That bastard. Also, Mother put your nose out of joint." Jack pulled on it just slightly, making Sally giggle, and finally smiled again. "That bastard."
Sally gave Jack a long hug. "You're funny."
"And you're adorable, but let's not get distracted." Jack pulled Sally away, "placing" her in her seat and standing up to be in Fancy Teacher Mode. "Singing is a way of life here in Halloween. Singing is a group occassion, a solitary pondering of thoughts, a declaration of intent! It is everything and everywhere, all at once!"
Sally cocked her head. "But how did everyone know the words?"
"Nobody knows!" Jack exclaimed with glee. "That's why it's so fantastic!"
Sally cocked her head the other way, and Jack nearly squealed at how cute it was. "What about science?"
"Science can't explain absolutely everything, Sally. Sometimes we just have to appreciate what we don't understand." Jack touched the center of Sally's forehead gently. He was mostly making stuff up on the spot; nobody had ever explained the singing to him, it was always just something that happened. But it was worth spouting poetic nonsense if it made Sally's eyes glow like that. "Remember that forever." Because he sure wouldn't.
Sally nodded. "Why didn't I know the words?"
"Well, you can't really know all the words until you sing your first song." Jack splayed out his fingers. "It will simply come to you one day, from deep in your heart, and then suddenly you'll know all of the right words to say and when to say them."
"Thank you, Jack!" Sally chirped. "And so will you!"
That little statement nearly killed him on his feet. Sally was just learning about her first song, and she had already grasped that Jack hadn't had his yet. He was nearly a millenium behind his peers. There were young children in town who had their first songs within a few years of their birth. And here he was, a prince, an adult, without a word to say for himself.
Sally stood up and hugged him, not tightly but... comfortingly.
"Your first song," he whispered. "Will be beautiful."
"Yours, too." Sally cooed. "Don't worry."
He didn't deserve a good friend like Sally.
His mother was not going to ruin her like she was trying to "train" him.
"Sally, ignore everything my mother said about today," Jack finally said. "Pillar of the Community be damned. You don't have to be wholeheartedly dedicated to anything."
Sally pulled a face.
"That... came out wrong." Jack backspaced a bit. "You don't have to be wholeheartedly dedicated to anything unless you want to. And you can do it however you want! Make unnecessary sounds! Trip over wheelbarrows! It doesn't matter!" Sally laughed at that, so he continued. "Trip over all the wheelbarrows! It doesn't matter! Do what makes you happy, because that's what matters!"
Why did some of Jack's best personal revelations come whenever he was just trying to make Sally smile?