Giving Way to the Light

Chapter Eleven

What does one say to a friend that they had not seen and had actively avoided for close to 500 years? I sure as heck had no idea.

'Sorry I completely ditched you for a few centuries, but I'm back now so could you skip forward to the forgiveness part so that I can convince you to help me hunt down a human murdering madman?'

...Yeaaaaaah, no.

"Why does the sun look like a giant pumpkin?" Jack asked, squinting up at the suddenly dimmed sun.

"It's just an enchantment," I assured him, purposely leaving out the fact that it had been a complete accident on my part as I had been aiming at a tree. But hey, what he doesn't know won't hurt him.

North circled the town once before landing in an empty field adjacent to the cemetery, and surprised (but pleased) voices rose up from below. I simply continued to hover in the semi-conceiling mist that forever hung over Halloween Town, and Jack floated next to me.

"You gonna be alright there Ms. Reaper?" Jack asked mischievously.

"My name's not Reaper," I answered automatically, not really arguing, but simply running on autopilot. I was too busy staring down at the streets below.

The town had changed in more ways than I had ever imagined it would. When I had left, it resembled a festive little pilgrim village with rather interesting inhabitants, and one to many jack-o-lanterns. Now it was like something out of a fairy tale. A very creepy, messed up fairy tale, but a fairy tale nonetheless. The cobblestone streets were horribly uneven and beaten into the ground, hardly visible above the dirt. At the center of the town, a fountain spewed forth green sludge from a demon-esc statue, and as the water rippled I had the sneaking suspicion that there was something alive in there, moving just beneath the surface.

Just beyond that was a rather grandiose public building that could only be the capital mayoral building. From there, several shops, manors, and indistinguishable buildings had popped up and already grown old and decrepit. Haunted for lack of a better word.

This was not the same town I had left oh so long ago; this was a town that had grown and flourished, dispute what it's outward appearances suggested. And yet, just along the outer fringes, standing unchanged, was my castle. Not at all impressive compared to the lavish palaces in Europe, but still nothing to turn your nose up at. And next to my old house was the tall winding tower Skeleton Jack called home.

"You gonna be alright Vera?" Jack asked, significantly more gentle this time. I realized I had been staring down at the town for a few minutes now. "We don't have to do the whole dramatic return if you don't want. We can wait at your friend's house until he gets home."

I shook my head stubbornly. "No, everyone needs to see that I am back and not afraid. Fear is a powerful thing here in Halloween Town, and cowardice is highly frowned upon."

He nodded in understanding and gestured for me to lead the way.

"After you," he said. I took a deep breath, folded my wings and dived, letting gravity take control. The ground quickly came rushing up to meet me; 300 feet, 200 feet, 100 feet, 50 feet...

Exactly 35 feet from the ground, I unfurled my wings, swooped gracefully in a wide arc, and landed soundlessly on the autumn-leaf riddled ground. A trick I had learned by carefully observing a family of barn owls for weeks.

A few seconds later Jack landed less gracefully on the ground beside me.

I had purposely landed on the far side of the plaza in the dark cover of the mayoral building, easily casting shadows around myself thus making myself nearly invisible.

North had gathered quite the crowd and in the center of it all was Jack. Skeleton Jack, the Pumpkin King. He was animatedly shaking hands with a slightly flustered Tooth Fairy.