Edward paced back and forth angrily. He didn't deserve to be locked into his room. The punishment was unjust. He folded his arms and laid on the bed. Then he began to think. "Perhaps I could run away.' He thought. 'No. That wouldn't work. You don't know anywhere past Halloween Town. They would find you for sure.' Then Arachne's face came to mind. He smiled. It could possibly work, 'Yes! That's it!' he thought then quickly walked to his bed and went to sleep.

.

Arachne left the house, after the sun had set. She sighed and was in normal clothes. Shock had decided to think about their decision of letting her join. Lock and Barrel were busy fighting for her rights to be in it. However, after the night previously, she didn't think it was the best idea either. She walked to the cemetery and sat on one of the gravestones. Only a few nights earlier, she and Barrel did their best to cause chaos there. It seemed like ages ago. She sighed and inspected the graves of those around her. Her father didn't have a grave. He was burned in lava, or squished. Arachne heard a twig snap and she turned around. There was Edward standing at one of the graves. "Edward?" she asked.

He walked over to her and smiled slightly. "Hey,"

"Did you sneak out again?"

Ed nodded, "You can call me Ed." He said. She nodded and smiled slightly. "I was placed under house arrest."

"Huh?" she asked and looked curiously at him. "For meeting me?"

Ed shook his head, "No, my father just thought I was let too much freedom and because of that, I no longer listened to my elders."

Arachne smirked. "Some parents you've got."

"Well, what about yours?" Ed asked climbing on a grave stone.

Arachne looked at him curiously. "You like to get answers don't you…" he smiled his shy smile and she answered, "My dad was murdered and my mom left me."

Ed looked at her, "What?" he then looked embarrassed. "Sorry, didn't mean to bring it up." Ed watched in amazement as a small smile crept past her lips.

"For what? I don't think you killed him. I know who did. And…and I intend to get back at him for it." She looked at her feet for a while.

"You know who killed him?" asked Ed.

Arachne smiled in a strange way, "You don't know, because you ignorant of what I am." She giggled slightly then looked toward the odd spiral in front of the yellow moon.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"It's Arachne. I don't see why I shouldn't tell you. It won't harm me." She thought for a moment. "Yes, I don't think it will…"

"Arachne…like the old story?"

"Ah! You know your Greek mythology. You can call me Ara, if you want" She smiled slightly. "My father named me that." She sighed. "He used to make me laugh. He used to make all sorts of trouble and mischief. Everything was a joke for him." She laughed suddenly and Ed felt himself at ease with her genuine laugh. "There was one day, when we released a whole swarm of rats. It made everyone almost have a heart attack…" she laughed and laughed, wiping away a tear of laughter. "What about your dad, did you do anything fun with him?"

Ed nodded and smiled then began to think. He had never really done anything fun with him. He was never allowed to talk to him, because 'his job was so stressful,' and 'he doesn't need a child weighing him down'. "Actually…"

Arachne gave a small smile. "Don't worry…I know. I suppose I would like it to be that way." She looked at the moon again, the light illuminating her face, making her look stunning. "That way, it would be easier to accept that he's dead." Ed nodded and tried to understand what it was like to be an orphan.

"Is it easy to live on your own?"

"No. That's why they take care of me. They've sworn to protect me." She said. "But I'm just a normal person…and one day, I'll be able to take on the responsibilities my father carried, and I will have to become what he was. To do what he did."

Ed nodded. "What did he do?"

"Just stuff. I will do the same one day, if I wish." She thought for a moment. "But I don't know if that is the choice I wish to do."

.

"Two hours till day break." Said Lock. "She hasn't even come back for meals. Jeeze, wonder what she's up to."

"This is exactly what I'm talking about! Boogie Boys work together, remember? Her running off is exactly the kind of behavior we don't want!" Shock answered staring malevolently at Lock who was very concerned.

"As long as she doesn't get in trouble, she'll be fine." Said Barrel who rolled over and went to sleep. He liked to sleep during the day like Ara, because the night guarded him from being seen.

Lock frowned. "I'm going to go look for her."

.

"No, throw it sideways, that way it skips on the water. See?" she threw a flat stone into the black waters. Ed tried again. It sunk with a loud splash. They stood knee high in the cold waters. "Try again." She said throwing the stone and watched it skipped.

"Five skips," he counted as the stone finally stopped it's dance and fell into the water. She grinned and urged him to go. "Get ready for ten skips!" he shouted sarcastically and once more the rock went sailing out of his hand and splashed into the water. She snorted.

"You really suck at this,"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said then tried again.

"Well…it was a good try." She admitted sarcastically. He frowned and looked at her. Then his eyes looked into the forest behind her. She looked to where his eyes were looking. "Dammit." She whispered. Lock came out of the trees grinning his wicked smile.

"Did you find him in your web again?" he walked toward them and continued with his wicked smile. Arachne held her breath and looked forward. "You are good at catching him. Or he's just an idiot to fall for the same trick twice."

"Lock, please don't." she began. He held his hand up for her to stop. She fell silent.

"So, I wonder how his highness got down here." Lock walked into the water and grabbed Arachne's wrist. "Well, I suppose we have to thank you. I wouldn't have been able to find her if you did decide to shut your big mouth." He smirked and dragged Arachne out of the water and pulled her into the forest. Ed almost tried to follow them, to stop him from taking her away. But she gave him a look before being swallowed into the darkness of the forest.

.

Lock slammed Arachne into a tree. "What the hell are you thinking?" he demanded. She looked at him, almost scared, yet her pride would never reveal it through her expressions.

"I didn't catch him in a web." She said.

"I was being sarcastic back there." He hissed. "You know who he is and you know who you are." He kept her pinned against the tree. "If I catch you with him again I will tell Shock and she'll never let you join the Boogie Boys."

"Stay out of it Lock." She pushed him away, her eyes flashing a dangerous color.

Lock stared at her in disbelief. "What did you just say?"

"I don't have to listen to you." She said then began to walk away when he grabbed her again. The wind was swept from her lungs when she was slammed against a tree.

Lock's eyes looked into hers, "I took an oath to protect you. If I don't keep my oath it's my suicide."

"Really? What can he do? He's dead Lock." She said still gasping for breath. "Stay away from him Lock. You'd be just as dead if you hurt Ed."

"Ed?" he let go of her shocked. "Ed?" he repeated. "You've spent that much time with him to call each other that?" he backed away from her. Then his face twisted into a wicked smile once more. "Ah…you were hoping to be something more intimate than enemies." She stood helpless, her spider web falling dangling by one thread as her stomach jolted. He leaned in and whispered into her ear, "If he found out what you were…do you think he would want to look at you? The daughter of the most hated citizen of Halloween Town? The daughter of the man who tried to kill everyone who that bastard associates with." he began to laugh then grabbed her wrist and began to drag her. She squirmed trying to free herself, but his grip on her was so strong that she could barely move. "Perhaps when he finds out, he'll hate you. And you'll have no one to turn to." He laughed even harder at this, his sharp teeth revealed.

.

Arachne laid on her bed. Lock's words jumping throughout her brain. 'He'll hate you' she clenched her eyes shut. She sat up and began to think. He stomach flipping every moment, her heart beating faster and faster. 'No!' She thought. 'I don't love him. I don't. His father killed my father. He's the reason why I have no one left…' then her heart began to beat faster again, 'It wasn't his fault…maybe he could love me…' she flung herself once more onto her bed and thought. 'If he found out what you were…do you think he would want to look at you? The daughter of the most hated citizen of Halloween Town? The daughter of the man who tried to kill everyone who that bastard associates with.' "Oh god." She whispered. "Why does everything have to happen like this? What if I wasn't his daughter? What if he wasn't his son? Would we be able to be together?" the thought brought empty tears of selfishness to her. 'Idiot. You don't even know if he likes you.' She angrily wiped away her tears and continued to think. Finally she sat up and walked to the shattered old mirror in the corner. She always kept it because it reminded her of a spider web. She waited for her eyes to reduce in puffiness and her nose to turn back from the red color. She inhaled and pulled herself to the fullest height. "I can do this." She whispered and crawled out of her room. Shock looked at her curiously, and Lock eyed her. She walked past them and out the door. Her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. She inhaled, everything was so…different. She smiled and ran toward the forest. The sunlight left shadows on the forest floor, even she had a shadow. She stopped and looked at the trees. They were taller now that she could see them. She felt someone grab her arm.

"What are you trying to do?" Lock demanded.

"Why are you following me?" she said trying to squirm away.

"You think you can walk over all the years that we spent trying to protect you and run off with him?" he asked and held her so tightly that it hurt. He held her so that she faced him. Ara looked away. With his other hand he forced her to look at him. "Look at me." He hissed. Ara looked, even though he was around her age, he could be very intimidating. "One stupid move and all will be over."

Ara looked at him. "I want to be alone for a while." She whispered.

"Alone? For how long until he comes along?" demanded Lock.

"He can't. He's not allowed to leave anymore. It just happened that last night he was able to leave without anyone knowing. It won't be able to happen again. Please, just for an hour."

Lock looked like he was considering it. "No." he said and pulled her back to the house.

"You can't do this to me!" she cried squirming again. "I can't be shut up during the day. I want to go out during the day."

"And one good look at you and you'll be revealed." Lock answered and dragged her into the elevator. "If you run away ever again, I'll give you something to really want to run away for." He said then the elevator cricked into movement and they were lifted up. He pushed her into the hole and put the floor board over it. She was left in complete darkness.

.

Ed walked slowly back and forth in his room. He wanted to see her, but it was daylight now. She wouldn't be out anyway. He sighed and looked out the window. There were many girls in Halloween Town, but none of them had sparked his interest enough to strike up a conversation. He frowned. "I'm in a predicament." He smirked at the thought. "I wonder if this is going to end well." He said then smiled. He was at ease around Ara. Talking to anyone was like tight-roping. Always having to choose his words carefully, and never able to truly speak his mind. He didn't care however. Ara was the first breath of freedom and a choice that he ever had. His 'choice' as he secretly dubbed her, was beautiful. Even her red eyes did not scare him. He found it refreshing on a female. Her laugh was genuine with him, unlike other girls in Halloween Town, who forced themselves to laugh after every sentence he spoke, even if it was not meant to be comical. She was serious when he needed her to be, and always was there with a smile. He sighed and went to sleep, despite his hunger.

.

The moon hung in the air and Ara pounded her fist on the board. "Let me out!" she shouted. Barrel opened the door and rubbed his eyes.

"I thought you already left." He said and helped her out of the hole. "Did the board fall or…?"

"Doesn't matter. Thanks for letting me out Barrel," she said and left the house before Lock or Shock could stop her. She walked to the cemetery again and then up to the spiral. She didn't know what it was called, and at the moment, she didn't care. She laid on it and watched the lights begin to turn on in Halloween Town. It was odd. Life continued despite the odd predicament she was in. She began to make a web, and soon she had made a whole web. She smiled appreciating and climbed on the web. The strands never stuck to her, it was the spider's best qualities perhaps. She used to do this when she was little, and she needed to do it now. It had always brought comfort to her. She stood up and balanced on a piece of web. She lifted her leg and began to dance. She twirled, jumped lightly, and then landed, so light that the web could not even tremble beneath her weight. She skipped and continued to dance. Slowly the dance ended and she fell to her knees. She felt her emotions let go, and tears of anger, tears of hate, joy, love, and sadness came pouring out of eyes. She covered her face as the tears rolled down onto her web, making it look like dew on a web in the morning.

"Why do you cry?" asked a voice. She had heard it only once before. She looked up and gasped. The Pumpkin King stood before her, his long limbs dangling at his sides. She bowed and then turned away, trying to wipe away the tears. Jack Skellington, the name came back to her memory.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone would be here." She said, her voice trembling.

"Do not worry. May we talk?" he asked. She turned to him curiously. He did not seem to want to kill her. She nodded slowly. He sat on the ground and she sat on the web. "Do you know who I am?"

"Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King." She answered. She stared at her feet.

"You know me…do I know you?" he asked. She shook her head no. He thought for a moment, "Who do you live with?"

"My family," she lied.

"Do I know them?" he asked.

"We tend to keep to ourselves." She answered. "You probably won't even have heard of us."

Jack Skellington nodded his head. "I see. May I ask why you cried?"

Ara smiled slightly. "Even I don't have the answer. Some of the tears were happy ones, some were tears of anger. Some were my fears that I was finally being relieved of." She answered. "Have you ever cried like that before?"

Jack smiled slightly too. "No. I can honestly say I haven't…but if I did I would feel relieved I am sure."

Ara nodded, "That's what I'm feeling now. It was building up and until I couldn't hold it in any longer. I have something to admit." She began, "I had heard that you were a bad person. That you had caused pain to someone…I believed them with all my heart. But you don't seem so bad now…"

"Who said such things?"

Ara shrugged, "Just a story that I had heard…Oogie Boogie. That was the story." She said carefully.

He nodded. "I did cause him pain." He began, "But he deserved it." Ara looked at him. "He did many bad things in his life. He deserved death, the final escape before he was dragged into complete evil. He had tried to kill me, my friend and my wife." Jack said and stretched out his limbs. She nodded. She remembered it well.

"I suppose that person would have to move on with their life…to forget everything that happened in the past." She whispered slightly. Jack looked at her curiously.

"What did you say your name was?"

Ara stood, and smiled a brilliant smile, "I didn't. Thank you, your highness. I feel much better…relieved." She said. She no longer wanted him or anyone to pay. She was going to live her life now, no longer in fear, or in tears of her father.