CHAPTER 6: IF YOU DON'T MIND

It wasn't Jill's idea to open the library up to the public during the party. Ezekiel, who was the most uptight about Ramshackle traditions, was the one who suggested it. "Ramshackle has a much deeper history than most know," the scrawny ghost had insisted. "It's always been more than just a 'leftover dorm' for students who don't match up with the Great Seven. I'd like more youngsters to understand that, even if our dorm has a different name now."

It was no surprise that Ezekiel was watching over the library like a hawk, hovering above the bookshelves at the few students who were in the room. Jill glanced up and nodded to him before moving into the center. There at a large table were four familiar Diasomnia classmates—Sebek Zigvolt, Lilia Vanrouge, Malleus Draconia, and Silver… actually, Jill didn't know what Silver's last name was (if he had one).

"Hey, guys," she greeted quietly. "I see you're enjoying yourselves."

The four had been reading various books and had been rather absorbed until Jill came in.

"Jill! Good to finally see you," Lilia said. "This party has been charming, and I should know—I've been to quite a few back in my day!"

"Lilia, stop pretending you're old," Jill chuckled. "You're just a junior, remember? Not that I fully believe that, either—why, standing up, you only come up to my nose!"

"Do I? I guess I have more growing to do," Lilia joked warmly.

Sebek suddenly got to his feet, glowering down at Jill. He had the opposite problem of Lilia—Jill could never believe that Sebek was just a freshman like her. With his lofty height, impressive muscles, booming voice, and chiseled face, Sebek seemed more like a man in his twenties.

"Human!" he scolded loudly. "Do not speak to Lilia that way! You have some nerve to mock an upperclassman's height, especially when you're—"

"Shhh! You're in a library!" Ezekiel hissed. "Inside voices only!"

"…Oh," Sebek said, caught off-guard. Even his inside voice was rather loud. "Still, you must practice proper respect for those older than you! You humans are so arrogant—"

"Sebek, that's enough," Lilia scolded. "She was only joking."

"She is also the hostess of the party we are attending," Malleus reminded him.

Jill blinked; being yelled at had put her in a frightened trance like a deer in headlights. She imagined that her face was less than composed.

"I apologize," Sebek mumbled, and he sunk back into his chair, looking small. Jill almost felt bad for him. But although he was kind to her from time to time, Jill was convinced that Sebek didn't like her. Usually he only wanted to talk about how amazing Malleus was and how nearly everyone else (including her) was trash in comparison. Not exactly someone she liked to shoot the breeze with.

"I hope you'll forgive Sebek," Malleus said. "Thank you very much for this lovely party. You've provided many things to hold my attention, including opening up the library to Ramshackle's past."

"Of course," Jill said automatically. "I'm glad you like it, Steve."

Sebek grumbled something under his breath. He wasn't fond of the nickname that Jill had given Malleus, even though they both had explained that it was a friendly joke between them and nothing insulting. Upon their first meeting outside Hallowgrim, Malleus asked Jill to give him a nickname, as it was something that human friends did with each other. Jill could only think of 'Steve', because in her own words, "You look like a Steve." It wasn't her most creative moment; she was a little sleep-deprived at the time. But Malleus had laughed so genuinely, and the name 'Steve' had stuck. Sometimes Jill tended to forget Malleus's real name.

Suddenly, Silver jolted awake. The handsome white-haired boy had been drifting in and out of consciousness, and he seemed surprised to see Jill. "Oh! Jill! Hello… I'm sorry that I fell asleep."

"Still having trouble with your narcolepsy?" Jill asked worriedly.

"Afraid so," Silver said. "I'm sorry if I seemed like I was bored. I've been enjoying myself so far."

"Perhaps you just need more scares! This is a haunted house, after all," Lilia said teasingly.

"You just don't get enough rest at night. That's why you keep falling asleep during the day," Sebek said.

"Oh… I have an idea!" Jill said. "This library is from the Ramshackle days, but I do have some Hallowgrim books. Like… this one!"

She went to a shelf against the wall and pulled out a grayish book with a thick leather cover. She placed it in front of Silver; the title read 'Sally Skellington's 1001 Potions and Remedies'.

"Sally Skellington?" Silver asked.

"She's also known as the Pumpkin Queen," Jill explained. "She was brilliant at making potions. I think Mr. Crewel even covered a few of her potions in class."

"Ah yes," Lilia said. "I remember seeing Deadly Nightshade and Frog's Breath in Professor Crewel's ingredient stock."

Jill flipped to the table of contents. "She also made an awakening potion… see, here, on Page 112. Maybe it's what can help you, Silver."

"I hope so," Silver said. "Could I… please take this book back with me? I promise I will return it once I'm finished."

"Of course. It's a library, after all," Jill said.

"Thank you," Silver said with a lovely smile.

"Don't you usually need a card for taking out books?" Ezekiel asked. Jill ignored him.

"If you don't mind…" Malleus began, "Could I borrow this?" He closed the book he was holding and showed the cover to Jill. It was a familiar black hardcover with 'The Afterlife and Times of the Pumpkin King' in thin golden letters.

"Oh, that's one of my favorites!" Jill said happily.

"The Pumpkin King is such a mysterious figure… I can see why you're so enthralled by him," Malleus said. "If I have the time to read this, perhaps I can understand him better."

"With all due respect, Malleus," Sebek said carefully. "I always believed that the Pumpkin King was only a story. A figure created to frighten children into behaving at Halloween."

"It's true, most people don't believe in him anymore," Malleus agreed. "But this book proposes the idea that he may indeed be real… or has been real at some point."

"Briar Valley had the Pumpkin King be part of their Halloween celebrations, right?" Jill guessed. "Every year, someone would dress up as him and go around scaring people."

"True, those were the days!" Lilia said. "But eventually, that performance was phased out. There were concerns that he was too scary. Now you just see Jack's face on Halloween merchandise. How completely boring!" He made a pouty, scoffing sound.

Jill laughed. "I believe he's real! And hopefully, you guys will believe that too. Of course you can borrow that book, Steve. I already know it all by heart."

"There are worlds beyond our own. You're proof of that, Jill," Silver said. "Perhaps the Pumpkin King and all his people live in a realm beyond our dreams…"

Jill nodded with a smile. She could hear music faintly thudding from the dance hall—it sounded like "Masquerade" from the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack. Tempting, but still not quite the song she wanted to dance to.

"It sounds like fun out there," Lilia said. "We should go out and show these other dorms how to really dance."

"Before that, I'll take the books back to Diasomnia so they're safe," Malleus said. "I'll return shortly. Daughter of Man, thank you very much for your generosity."

"Absolutely," Jill agreed. "It warms my cold goth heart that you're interested in my king."

Malleus took Silver's book, and Silver thanked him quietly. Then in a flash of light, Malleus had vanished. Jill had seen that trick a few times, and she never failed to be impressed by it. Sebek smirked a little at her open mouth and wide eyes, and he then took the task of putting the other books away where they belonged.

"I have to go and talk to the other guests," Jill said. "Tell St—er, Malleus that I'll see him later, okay?"

"Of course. Once he returns, we can go to the dance hall," Lilia said. "We do hope you'll cut a rug with us."

"Sure. There's one song I really want to show everyone… but it hasn't shown up on the mix track just yet," Jill said. "When it does, I'll cut all the rugs!"

"We'll look forward to it," Silver said.

"Human… thank you for making our liege happy," Sebek said at last.

Jill smiled and thanked everyone, then left for the artroom. As soon as she was gone, the remaining three Diasomnians leaned towards each other to whisper.

"Father… did you ever dress up as the Pumpkin King during one of the older Halloweens?" Silver asked.

"Oh yes, it was great fun!" Lilia said. "Of course, I had to wear stilts under my pants for the full effect. A shame we phased out that little tradition."

"Perhaps your terrifying performances are why they were phased out…" Sebek said with a shudder.

Author's Note: One thing I don't get about "Twisted Wonderland" is why no one ever uses the Disney characters' real names. It might be a censorship issue, like how "Heigh-Ho" was taken out in the English version of Book 5, but it's kind of awkward. If these characters were historic figures, people would know their names. So in my version, people usually refer to these figures by title out of formality but sometimes drop their names, a trait which Jill has picked up on.