Chapter Twenty-two A Nightmare Remembered

*Author's Note: Hello everyone! I just want to say thank you to all who read and follow this story. Just so everyone knows, I shall be posting illustrations from this story on the . The account shall be of the same name as my username for this site and I will leave a link in my profile. If anyone has any requests for art from certain scenes of the story, feel free to leave your requests in the reviews you make. Hope you are all curious to see what Jack looks like as a human!:) Thank you all again!*

~noir ecrivain

~In which Jack learns of his true heritage and Eve finally becomes honest with herself~

Jack and Wallace looked at each other dubiously, but followed Myra's instruction to sit down. She sipped her tea and took her time doing so. Both men began to tap their feet anxiously. Myra continued to sip her drink. Unable to stand the suspense himself, Zero decided it would be a good idea to start barking. Myra gulped her drink in surprise and turned to look at where the barking was coming from. When she saw Zero she grinned.

"Awwww what a cute little….ghost dog." She cooed. Zero sniffed her and began to twirl around her happily. "I take it this is your dog, Jack?" she asked as Zero danced around her. He nodded and decided to pour some tea for himself, since he figured this might take a while. Wallace however, was not so keen on waiting.

"So are you gonna tell us what you came to tell us, or what?" he asked impatiently. Mrya giggled at this.

"Geez…" she said sarcastically. "Yes, I am. But to begin answering questions, I must ask a question." Jack and Wallace gave an exasperated sigh.

"Very well, ask away." Jack said. Myra sat on the bed and Jack grinned. If only she knew what was just happening right there…, he chuckled to himself. Myra shot him a look as if she knew what he was thinking and she scooted over to the end of the bed.

"Alright Jack, here's my question. What is your title in Halloween Town?" she asked seriously. Jack gave her a condescending look.

"Seriously?" he asked. Myra maintained her composure. He sighed. "King." He said bluntly. She nodded.

"And how did you become king?" She asked. Jack hesitated for a moment. In his silence both Myra and Wallace leaned in to hear what his answer might be. He straightened his back and cleared his throat.

"I was given the title." He said dryly. Wallace raised an eyebrow, but Myra looked pleased, but said nothing. Jack sighed.

"I was given the title of king…after I defeated the former king." He said, looking at the ceiling.

"'Defeated the former king'?" Wallace repeated. Jack nodded.

"To put it quickly and simply, when I arrived in Halloween Town there was a tyrant in the chair of the king. He ruled harshly and treated the holiday as such. However, despite being monsters, the townspeople were quiet nice and hospitable. They took me and gave me a place to stay. Having been exposed to such kindness, I couldn't just stand idly by while my friends were being bullied by that villain. So…" Jack dragged his words. "I led a revolt against him. And we won. Afterwards, they named me the new king of Halloween…and ever since then I never really felt deserving of the title." He finished.

"Who was this king?" Wallace asked. Jack shifted in his chair.

"His name was Grimm….you might know him as the Grim Reaper." Jack muttered. Wallace slunk in his chair.

"Wow." was all he could say.

"So would it make you feel any better to know that the title, which you believe you do not deserve, is actually your birth right?" Myra said. Jack threw a look of disbelief her way.

"What?" he said incredulously. She nodded.

"After further work into your past, which I was able to access by deep meditation and the fact that we had swapped saliva…" she was interrupted by Wallace half choking on his tea.

"What?!" he asked. Myra shook her head.

"It's nothing to be explained right now. Anyway…" she continued. "Yes, I looked into your ancestry and well, Jack, you are indeed royalty. Like, extremely royal! The blood that flows through your veins, your very being, is regal. That's why you were able to defeat Grimm, no mere commoner could have done that." She said enthusiastically. Jack rubbed his chin.

"So I really am a king? So…..what a minute." He said, suddenly thinking back.

"And now to kill you both, just like I did all those years ago!" Jack thought back to Oogie's words, when he was trying to kill him and Eve four years ago. Hadn't Wallace told him that his brother was the one who killed him and Eve over a hundred years ago? Jack's eyes grew wide.

"Wait! So my brother, who killed me and Eve over a hundred years ago…Thaddeus…, is Oogie? ….And if that's true….that means he's also royalty too! That's why he has always tried to fight for my crown!" Jack was stunned by his own realization. Jack rubbed his forehead.

"But how would he be able to remember all of that?" he wondered out loud. His head was spinning.

"Okay, hold on Jack. Calm down, alright? Your brother is royalty as well, or was. He forfeited his birth right when he spilled his brother's blood, that's you. However there was a prophecy made long ago, regarding both you and Eve. It was made by your ancestors, the very reason you are of royal blood. You see," Myra began to explain. "Your ancient ancestors were Celtic pagans, Jack. You spawn from a blood line of royal Celts, who were part of the group of pagans who created the holiday of Halloween itself." She described. Both Jack and Wallace sat in awe. She grinned.

"Pretty cool, huh? Anyway, the holiday was meant to trap the evil spirit, Grimmdeamhan, or Grimm for short. But they knew that he wouldn't be kept trapped forever, so they created a prophecy. A descendant of royal blood, a second come son, would rise forth from the ashes of death and seize the crown from the evil tyrant and thus restore peace to the holiday worlds and that of the mortal realm." Myra explained. Jack looked thoughtful.

"But I haven't restored any peace. My holiday is failing, my subjects are fading!" Jack cried. Myra held up a hand to stop him.

"Hold on, I'm not done. The prophecy also states that one born of Mystic blood shall come forth and be soul companion to the savior of Halloween and both shall create balance and peace throughout all lands…." Myra trailed off and Jack gave her a quizzical look. "That would be referring to Eve."

"Wait…there something else to it, isn't there?" he asked curiously. Myra looked at the ground.

"Well…there is another part to this prophecy." She muttered.

"Is it bad?" Jack asked tentatively. Myra shook her head, but then shrugged.

"Well, it doesn't seem bad; it just doesn't make any sense to me."

"What is it?" Jack asked. Myra sighed.

"A third shall rise up, made from death; a product of the truest love and will maintain the hold of the Halloween royalty and keep the balance between good and evil." Myra finished. Jack rubbed his brow and thought about this. A third? Who else could be involved in this mess, Jack thought. Myra shrugged.

"Well, cross that bridge when you get to it. The bigger point is, Eve is also of ancient, Celtic blood, except she is descended from the group of Mystics. A sacred people, with great power who came to your ancestors and insisted on the creation of the Halloween holiday to banish the evil from the land." She paused. "Don't you see, Jack? This was always meant to happen! You and Eve are supposed to be together and rule the holiday of Halloween, as king and queen. You have no reason to doubt yourself or your mission anymore." She said sternly. Jack leaned back in his chair. He said nothing for a good long while, and the three of them just sat in an awkward silence. Myra cleared her throat.

"You know, Jack, things need to start changing in Halloween Town. You need to accept your responsibilities as king. You need to establish your monarchy within your land. You need to be king." She said gently. Jack continued to stare into oblivion. He tapped his foot, completely lost in deep thought. Finally he emerged from his thoughtfulness and grinned at Myra.

"You're right. I've been so lost within myself, wallowing in my self-pity, that somewhere along the way, I forgot how to be the Pumpkin King, how to be King of Halloween. And that's the true cause for all my failure. Thank you, Myra. You've really helped me a great deal." He said, patting her on the shoulder, grinning. Wallace raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Just like that you've got your mojo back?" he asked. Jack nodded.

"Yeah, just like that." he said a bit defensively. "I just needed someone to lead me back in the right direction. And now, I need to get to work." He said, heading for his closet.

"Hold on. Not now! It's the middle of the night!" Wallace said. Jack stopped in his tracks, his cheeks flushed red.

"Oh, right. I suppose I should get some sleep?" he said, beginning to blush. Both Myra and Wallace nodded. Myra reached for her things and Wallace picked up the tea tray.

"By the way…I'm curious." Myra said. "Why do they call you the Pumpkin King?" Jack looked at her sheepishly.

"Well, it was right after I had become king. I was walking through the pumpkin patch that surrounded Moonlight Hill, my favorite spot in all of Halloween Town. I had the mayor with me on this walk and during this time we used turnips as jack-o-lanterns, which, those funnily enough, were also named after me. Anyway, I asked him why we don't use pumpkins instead since they were more plentiful in Halloween Town than turnips were. Anyway that's how it happened and that's how I got that name." he said. Myra grinned.

"See? You've made more of an impact in Halloween than you realize, Jack." She said kindly and with that left for the night. Wallace looked after her and then grinned at Jack.

"Well, that's quite a lot to take in for one night." He said jokingly. Jack nodded, but stopped when he heard his phone vibrate from the nightstand. He read the text.

"And it may not be over yet. Myra wants me to meet her outside in the garden right now." He said confused. Wallace shrugged.

"Do what you need to do, I guess." He said noncommittally. Jack nodded and slipped on his shoes and ran outside, Zero being right on his tail. On his way down he received another message.

Stop behind the ivy covered wall, DO NOT PASS IT!

Jack thought this was curious, but he obeyed. Once he got there, he didn't budge an inch.

"Shhhh Zero, don't make any noise and keep hidden." He told the ghost dog. Jack could hear voices coming from the other side of the wall. One of them was Myra's and other was Eve's.

What is Eve still doing here?, Jack thought.

"So, why were you here?" Eve asked Myra.

"I came to see if you were okay…you'd been gone a while." Myra lied. Jack could hear someone pacing.

"You already know, don't you? You know what I've done." Eve said bitterly.

"Have you really done anything? I can't really call that doing something. Almost, though." Myra teased.

"Oh, stop it. You know it was wrong! Myra, I almost had sex with Jack! And what's worse is that I really wanted to."

"I thought you weren't ready for that sort of thing." Myra said. Eve sighed. Jack could hear more pacing.

"I know….but he makes me feel….ready. I can't begin to describe the way Jack makes me feel." Eve paused. "I'm trusting you as my best friend to not say anything to anyone!"

"I won't, Eve." Myra said gently.

"Myra…I think…." Eve paused. Jack felt his breath become caught in his chest. "Myra, I think I'm in love with him." She whispered.

"Really?" Myra asked. The pacing increased.

"Jack…..Jack…..Jack. Ugh, even when I say his name, I get this feeling within me. I almost can't even explain it. It's a warm, tingling feeling. It feels mysterious, yet safe. Ugghhhh, I've become one of those girls." Eve moaned. Myra giggled.

"No you haven't, but don't you think you should be telling him this?" Myra offered.

"No, what would that do? I'm not even sure about any of this. If I told him, he might think I want to get involved further."

"And do you?" Myra inquired. There was a pause.

"Maybe…" Eve muttered. Myra sighed.

"Stop lying to yourself Eve. Please, just tell the truth." Myra implored. The pacing stopped. It grew quiet. Jack let out his breath in little puffs.

"I do. I want to get involved with him. Myra, I barely know him and yet he has my heart in his hands." There was a long pause. Jack's heart pounded.

"But… I haven't decided yet if I'm going to let him keep it."