Hello again, and welcome to the first chapter of Shade's Hollow, revised. For the sake of the readers, I divided the song from the beginning of chapter 1 into a prologue, as I've been told that it tends to bore readers when it's immediately followed by prose. I've also been told that someone who is a teacher cannot have a relative as a student, so I've changed a few things in terms of character. Hopefully now it makes more sense. Oh, and Troy is now named Ian. The name "Troy" began to bug me; "Ian" is so much better.
Also, I've made a playlist for Shade's Hollow of a few songs that I thought were appropriate for the story. I'm thinking about posting both versions of the story, the sequel preview, the playlist, and any fan art on a website. When I get a chance to build the site (which should be soon, I believe), I'll post the link in the story and on my profile page for you all to see.
Reviews are greatly appreciated and aid in the progress of the story.
Disclaimer: Carlin doesn't own The Nightmare Before Christmas. If she did, the plot would probably have turned out something like this story and millions of TNBC fans would have rioted. All Carlin owns are the plot of this story and the characters.
Shade's Hollow
Chapter 1: Myths and Legends
The Autumn sun was weak today; the wind whistling through the tall, dying grass chilled Bella, sitting on a picnic table with her feet firmly planted on the wooden plank of a seat. Pulling her jacket closed around her body, she sighed in mild irritation as the breeze shuffled the pages of the novel she'd been engrossed in for the past half-hour. There was another sigh of frustration from behind her and she turned her head to take in Ian's face. He had his eyes closed and his brows furrowed as if something were troubling him. His body was sprawled out behind her, his legs dangling off the side of the table and his arms folded across his chest. He exuded impatience, but Bella rolled her eyes and turned back to her book.
After a few more minutes of silence, she stated, "You could always get up and do something, you know."
"I'm waiting for you," he retorted, "If you insist on boring me to death by ignoring me and waiting for your uncle instead, go ahead. I'm still waiting for you."
"Why?"
"I have nothing better to do."
"Oh, okay," Bella said, promptly going back to her book. There was a growl of irritation from Ian and a few leaves soon found their way into Bella's vision. She whipped her arm back and smacked the boy in the arm.
"Hey, pay attention to me! I'm bored!" Ian whined, flailing his arms in the air.
"You can't expect me to entertain you every moment of every day, Ian."
"Sure, I can." Ian reached around and plucked the book from Bella's grasp, causing her to scoff and chase after him as he jumped off the table and sprinted through the trees. "See? Pure entertainment!" he called, laughing.
"Ian, you're so immature! You're twenty, not ten," Bella laughed, "Give me my book back!" She lunged at Ian as he stopped and dangled the book in her face. He dodged, laughing as she landed in a pile of leaves, then bent over with his hands—and the book—clasped behind his back.
He gave an almost sincere smile. "Missed me, missed me. You know what to do." He tilted his head to show her his cheek and closed his eyes, obviously waiting for a kiss.
Bella narrowed her eyes, shaking her head as she tried to unweave the fallen leaves from her dark hair. She sighed and flopped back in the leaves, staring at the golden trees above her. She inhaled the cool Autumn air and closed her eyes in contentment. Fall was her favorite time of the year; the colors were spectacular and it was the time of year where her aunts went all-out with desserts and baked goods.
There was a rustle of leaves and Bella opened her eyes to see Ian beside her, his head nestled in the leaves, close to hers. He was staring up at the sky with expectant eyes. "So, what are you looking at, anyway?"
Bella shrugged. "Nothing in particular," she replied, "Just thinking about things."
"What kind of things?" Ian questioned.
"Halloween, for one thing." Bella sat up and grabbed her book from Ian; he let her take it. "The festival's only a week away and I have so much to do." She began counting on her fingers and whispering to herself so low that Ian couldn't hear her. She looked so troubled, Ian couldn't help but notice.
"You're thinking about your mother," he stated. Bella didn't acknowledge that she'd heard him, but Ian knew she had. He wasn't stupid, and he knew Bella wasn't, either. He glanced at the tome that she clutched to her chest. Glancing over towards the school building, he nudged Bella's arm. "There's your uncle."
Bella lifted her head to stare at the young man leading eleven young children out into the school yard. Some held hands as though they were afraid to get separated and become lost, and one little girl was hoisted in the teacher's arms, sucking her thumb, innocently. The teacher's spectacles slid down his nose and he used one finger to push them back up, then reached around the back of his head to tug lightly at his blond ponytail at the nape of his neck, as if he were checking to make sure that no foreign substances (like gum or finger paint) had found their way into his locks.
As it was, it seemed the four-year-olds had decided to decorate not only their own masks but their teacher, as well. Bella could make out at least seven colorful strings of beads around his neck and the paper mask pushed to the side of his head had a few extra smiles and scary faces. And was that a hint of glitter on his nose?
The teacher, William Spectre, was Shade's Hollow's only male kindergarten instructor, and Bella's uncle. He was the children's favorite because he was so goofy and playful. He enjoyed taking care of the younger children, telling them stories, doing all sorts of crafts and bringing in snacks and juice drinks.
Bella watched him as he sat down upon a stump and bid the children to gather around him as he told their favorite Halloween story, the Legend of Skeleton Jack. Smiling, she glanced at the book she held, a novel of the same legend and various others.
If there was one thing the little town of Shade's Hollow was known for, it was Skeleton Jack. It was said that when the founders of the town had first set foot on the land, it had been on the night of All Hallow's Eve, and from the darkness of the forest at the very south end of the town, a forest of shadows and mystery, there came a hoard of demonic creatures, creatures of nightmare. They terrorized the town, but the King of the Darkness bid the spirits to return to their world, the very world that he ruled over.
There were many variations of the tale; some said that the King had brought his subjects with him to the town while others claimed that it was a mistake and that the King went to stop them himself. However, every story told of the Spirit Dancer, the woman who pleaded to the King to end the havoc that his creatures were wreaking upon Shade's Hollow.
Since that time, Skeleton Jack, the King of All Hallow's, had been revered as the patron saint of the town, for he vowed to bring no misfortune to the town and to aid them in any way that he could.
That was a long time ago, over four hundred years, and the town's religious views had changed. Christianity took over, churches were erected, but the townspeople never forgot the legend of the skeleton King, not when it was dictated in every book about the town, not when it was practically built into the history of the town. Fictitious though it was, it was an integral part of Shade's Hollow.
Every Halloween, the town held a festival in Skeleton Jack's honor, just like their ancestors had in their time. Bella's family was supposedly descended from the very first Spirit Dancer, Rosalie Windsor, and every year they would participate in the festival, one of their women playing the part of the Spirit Dancer. Two years ago, Bella's mother had been the Spirit Dancer, and this year, Bella had volunteered to play her part.
William Spectre gave out a shout, bringing Bella's attention back to him. There was a light in his grey eyes that gave him a boyish look as he leaned forward towards the children. "Beware of Skeleton Jack! Heed my words . . . When the moon is full this Hallow's Eve, it might just be his skeletal face you see outside your window." The kids around him shivered in excitement and fear, chittering amongst themselves. The little girl sitting on her teacher's knee sucked on her thumb with even more fervor than before, her eyes wide as she stared at him.
Mr. Spectre laughed and ruffled the girl's hair. "Don't look so scared, Amy. You've been a good girl, so Skeleton Jack won't scare you. Isn't that right?" Amy gave a timid nod, releasing her hold on her thumb briefly.
Lifting her off his knee, Mr. Spectre set her gently on the ground beside him and stood up, clapping his hands together. "Alright, you've all got your bags and your masks? Let's go see your moms and dads." He had them all stand up and follow him around the side of the school to where their parents waited. He glanced at Bella and smiled, gesturing for her to follow.
Once the kids had all left, Bella approached, waiting for her uncle to take off his paper mask and attempt to scratch the glitter off his face. "I think Amy thinks you're her father; she looks so secure with you," she stated, watching the smile slowly spread across her uncle's face.
"I admit, I'm rather fond of Amy."
"I swear, Mrs. Shreeve was staring at you like a three-course meal," Ian added. His statement caused a light to gleam in Will Spectre's eyes, and Bella knew exactly what it was that put it there.
Amanda Shreeve, little Amy's mother, was once her uncle's high school sweetheart; they'd once been madly in love, until Amanda's mother and father had split up and she was forced to move to the other side of the country. She'd lost contact with Will, gotten married to another man and had Amy, but only a year after, her husband had contracted an STD. Since Amanda was healthy, it was a telltale sign he'd cheated on her, and she left him to come back to her hometown, taking Amy with her.
Will's eyes widened just a bit as he questioned somewhat incredulously, "Really." He shook his head again and smiled at his niece. "So, what brings the two of you here?"
Bella shrugged one shoulder and beamed at her uncle. "Just came to visit."
Will raised an eyebrow in cynicism, "That's all?"
The young girl rolled her eyes with a smile. "And Aunt Carol told me to remind you to bring the munchies for Friday night, since she and Aunt Suzanne watching Tommy for Gina and Benny Mill."
Bella's uncle let out a sharp laugh. "I knew it! She thinks I'm going to forget her goods just because we have so much work to do for the festival." Pulling his niece into a hug, he told her, "You let my sister know as long as you're making the pumpkin pie this year, I'll buy her double her usual kryptonite."
Bella laughed and pushed at her uncle's arm. "Hey, her pie wasn't that bad last year."
"Then I guess my stomach was overdoing the whole food poisoning thing, too, huh?"
"Oh! You're so bad!"
"I try," Will gave her a soft smile. "Now, run along home, you two. I've got glue to scrape off my table." They all shared a laugh and a wave before they parted ways. Bella and Ian made for the wooded area behind the school, the back route to Bella's house.