So so so so so so sorry for the belated update! These last few weeks have been hectic for me school wise...both grades and your overly-exaggerated teenaged soap opera drama. Needless to say, it's been pretty crappy. But hey to make up for it, this is THE LONGEST chapter in the entire story! So read and enjoy! :)

The King and "Queen" had approached the square and lo and behold, the Mayor frantically ran up to them with his face turned to its "worried" side.

"Jack! Amelia! Oh thank goodness you're back! But where did you go!" he asked in a panic. "The whole town is worried that something happened to you!"

"Well we…" realizing that they couldn't possibly reveal what had actually happened, Jack tried to quickly think of a cover story. However, Amelia was prepared and beat him to it.

"We were wishing our horrible friend Alucard a most terrible goodbye." She beamed. Receiving a confused look from the elected official, she explained. "To put it simply, he was homesick. He missed his home in France dearly and felt he had to return. We were merely helping him to be on his way and wish him goodbye."

"Oh, I see." The Mayor's head rotated to its "happy" side and grinned brightly at the two of them. "Well I'm sorry he had to leave on such short notice, you all missed a wonderful award ceremony."

Simultaneously, the two Halloween royals snapped their fingers and said. "Darn."

"But you are just in time for the last award to be given! The best Halloween costume!" the stout man proclaimed with glee, oblivious to their dreadful expressions. Reluctantly, Jack and Amelia followed the joyous man, dragging their feet.

Once back in the square, the Mayor happily bounded up onto the platform where a podium was and grabbed his megaphone. Ironically enough, when he was handed the judges decision so he could announce the winner, it was Jack's name that he called out as he read aloud.

Amelia giggled as the sharply dressed skeleton sheepishly walked up onto the platform and accepted the award. It was quite a funny sight to see the Mayor grab a bench and stand on his tip-toes to place the medal around the tall king, who even bowed his head to help the stout man. He was finally able to place the mischievously grinning Jack-o-Lantern medallion around his neck. Jack stood back up to his full height and faced the crowd, who in turn burst out into thunderous applause and cheers. He waved to them and gave his signature grin before stepping down off the platform so the Mayor could officially close the Halloween Celebration.

It was late, around midnight, when the two royals finally returned home and got ready for some much needed sleep. Amelia had changed out of her masquerade costume, into her nightgown, and now waited in Jack's room for said skeleton to return. She had come up to wish him goodnight and also because she had never truly thanked him for saving her life, but found him gone once she walked inside. She sat on the edge of his bed and gazed out the window into the starry night. Her mind replayed all that had happened to her, and in just one day! But the moment that really stood out the most was a rather unlikely one.

She remembered vividly her dance with Jack and she gave a sigh in content. To her at least, the moment could not have been more perfect even if she had been taking dance lessons her whole life. She closed her eyes and relived the memory in her mind. The music, his guidance, his grace, his smile, and how they both momentarily forgot where they were until the crowd started cheering. She had felt safe and completely at ease with him. She had been truly happy. It was as though all of their troubles and worries just melted away so they could live in that one single moment in time.

Before she knew it, she had lied down on his bed, rested her head on his pillow, and succumbed to the precious deep sleep that always seemed to elude her.

A few moments later Jack strolled in, wearing his nighttime attire, softly humming 'This is Halloween' to himself while adjusting his long nightcap. But he suddenly came to a stop and ceased his quiet song when he saw the slumbering sorceress on his bed. He crossed his arms and smiled, trying to contain the laugh that threatened to escape.

'Well I suppose I shouldn't blame her after all she's been through tonight.' He thought to himself and quietly walked over to her.

He curiously peered at her sleeping form. Her expression was soft and serene and she looked absolutely peaceful, the kind of slumber he knew she hadn't had in quite sometime. He just didn't have the heart to wake her.

'I suppose this one time wouldn't hurt.' He told himself mentally, chuckling quietly.

As carefully and silently as possible, Jack pulled up the covers over her. He smiled and leaned down slightly to whisper gently in her ear.

"Goodnight my little Ami."

And with that, he turned and quietly made his way across the room to the spiral staircase. Zero appeared next to him with his usual, happy, ghostly smile. Jack held his index finger to his mouth and gave a quiet shh, then pointed to the sleeping Amelia. The ghost dog's expression lit up even more as he noticed his friend and silently floated over to her. Zero curled up beside her on the other pillow and nestled down to go to sleep. Jack chuckled softly to himself, remembering a very familiar scene from when the young sorceress was only nine. Finally, he turned away and quietly descended down the spiral stairwell.

The morning's Jack-o-Lantern sun shined warmly through the windows of the tower. The beams slowly filled the room with light and gently touched the sleeping girl's serene form. The ghost dog next to her twitched its long floppy ears before it tiredly raised its head and gave a big yawn. Zero blinked a little as he got used to the morning's bright rays, but he perked up more when he heard a soft grumble from the slumbering sorceress. The sun warmed her body, beginning to wake her up. After a while, Amelia reluctantly cracked an eye open, carefully soaking in the light as sleep gradually left her.

"Nnnn…it's morning…" she mumbled and rubbed the remainder of sleep out of her eyes, but then abruptly stopped.

"It's morning!" She hastily sat up straight, clutching the blanket and looked down. She immediately realized that she had fallen asleep in Jack's bed. A bright red blush crept across her face and she quickly threw off the covers, jumping out and onto her feet.

"Eh! What happened! Who? When? How? Why am I in here!" her words were jumbled together, practically incoherent. But her memories from the night before came rushing back to her and then she finally managed to form a sentence properly.

"Where's Jack!"

She hurried down the stairs, down the hallway, and made a few turns before skidding to a stop in the living room. She quickly glanced around and saw that he wasn't asleep on the couch or any of the chairs. So then, she decided to check the kitchen to see if for some odd reason he was up and making breakfast.

'Stranger things have happened.' She thought to herself as she looked, but he wasn't there either.

She ran back down the hallway and quietly opened the doors to several rooms to check, but he was still no where to be found. Even more confused and about ready to give up, she made her way back to her own room and opened the door. She nearly fell over at the sight she saw.

There in her bed, Jack was sleeping while comically snoring loudly, and curled up with her teddy bear in his arms.

Amelia put her hand over her mouth and clutched her stomach as she tried to contain her laughter. A few snickers managed to escape, but she finally regained her composure and strolled over to him.

"Wakey, wakey Jacky." She whispered. When she only got a reluctant grunt in response, she said it again in a soft, sing-song voice. "Wakey, wakey Jacky."

One of his eyes opened a little with an annoyed expression, but then they both snapped open wide when he realized that it was Amelia who was staring at him. He shot upright with a flustered expression, not noticing that he still held the stuffed bear close to him in one hand.

"A-A-Amelia! I-I uh…Wh-what's going on?" he stuttered awkwardly.

The teenaged girl finally burst out laughing and clutched her stomach as she pointed at him.

"What? What's so funny?" he asked, a little irked that he didn't know what she found to be so amusing.

"Did my itty-bitty teddy bear keep away the big-bad nightmares Jacky?" she taunted in a child-like voice with her hands behind her back, putting on an innocent façade. But it shattered when she went into another fit of giggles.

He finally realized what was happening and had he had any blood, it would have all rushed up to his face from embarrassment. He quickly let go of the bear and climbed out of her bed.

"Knock it off…" he finally said to her, a little put out that she was still laughing, "It wasn't that funny…"

"Oh but it was." She sang again, still snickering.

He clenched his hands into fists and grumbled in annoyance while lowering his head. "Here I do you a favor by not waking you up last night and this is how you repay me?" he crossed his arms. "I am hurt by your cruelty." He mocked the expression of having his feelings hurt.

"Well you should have thought twice before choosing to sleep in my room." She retorted and crossed her arms as well.

"I do believe I should remind you that this is my house." He glowered as he leaned closer to her.

"I do believe I should remind you that you were sleeping in a girl's room, snuggled up to a teddy bear." She put her hands on her hips and smirked with pride knowing that she had won.

"You certainly do have a sharp tongue." He said as he dropped his fisted hands to his sides, though ready to accept defeat. But then a thought entered his head and his mouth curved into an evil smirk as he too put his hands on his hips.

"Though as King of Halloween Town, at least I'm not afraid of an itty bitty spider."

Her face fell in shock, but then she growled in annoyance and glared up at him. "As the Daughter of Fright, as least I'm not easily scared when someone sneaks up behind me. Unlike a certain master I know." She taunted.

"Pumpkin Princess."

"Scaredy Skeleton!"

"Vampire lover."

Amelia gaped, absolutely appalled. "You take that back!" she jabbed her finger at him.

"Mmm…nope." He grinned at her. "Sorry, but it wasn't I who fell hopelessly in love with the person bent on killing me." He jeered with a cheeky grin.

"Jack Skellington I swear I'll—!"

"Oh would you look at the time, best be off!" The skeleton man quickly turned on his heel and darted out the room, snickering to himself.

Amelia quickly ran to the door frame and yelled after him. "I swear I'll kill you! And I don't care if you're already dead!"

She heard him laugh louder, but then he dashed up the stairs back into his room. Sighing, she gave up and went back into her own. She crossed her arms and huffed, her face still red from embarrassment, but mostly from anger. She quietly mumbled to herself.

"The nerve of that undead skeleton."

Amelia stood on her balcony, dressed in her normal sorceress garb, her hair in its usual ponytail, circlet crown around her head, and her ever-present blue pendant around her neck. Her cerulean colored eyes gazed into the distance, a serious yet contemplative expression on her face.

"In just three months time I've experienced love, heartbreak, inner turmoil like I would have never imagined, and helped to solve a century and a half year-old murder." She let out a deep breath in exhaustion.

"I found out I'm a real sorceress, my life was threatened because of it, and…I'm falling for an undead skeleton in a pinstripe suit." She put her forehead in her palm, not sure whether to feel happy or embarrassed about the last part.

"I really need to get out more…" She then lifted her head as a thought came to her. "Maybe…I should go home for a while. I really need to that's for sure." Then realization began to set in.

"I have a lot of growing up still left to do. I'm only sixteen and there's my whole life ahead of me, just like Elizabeth said. I guess I need to spend some time away from Halloween Town. I can't just forget about my life in the human world. I have school, friends, and a future I need to focus on…" She stated firmly, albeit a little solemnly.

"But that doesn't mean I won't come back." She looked up to the sky with a bright smile.

Amelia walked back inside her bedroom and glanced at the nightstand next to her bed. On it was the ornately designed, silver hand mirror.

"Look in the mirror." Elizabeth's words suddenly rang in her head.

Still confused by her ancestor's parting advice, she walked over to the nightstand and gingerly picked up the family heirloom. Curiously, she gazed at her reflection in the glass, but that was all she saw. It was just herself with a puzzled expression.

'Maybe it's the light?' she questioned herself mentally as she arched an eyebrow. She remembered that each time Elizabeth had appeared it had been at night.

The young sorceress walked back over to her balcony window and closed the thick crimson drapes. Unintentionally, the room became to dark for her to see anything. She sighed in slight annoyance and snapped her fingers. A small flame appeared in her hand and she picked up the mirror to look again. This time however her reflected image became foggy, like the glass had been filled with smoke. But then it began to clear. She gasped in surprise at what, or more precisely who she saw.

"Jack?" she breathed in confusion.

He appeared to be in his tower, pacing around the room with his hands behind his back and an extremely nervous expression on his face. He talked to himself but Amelia couldn't hear anything at all. He finally came to a stop and looked at the palm of his skeletal hand. He was holding something rather small, but the sorceress who watched the odd scene before her couldn't tell what it was. Jack then sighed and slipped the object into the inside pocket of his tailcoat. His once anxious expression changed to that of determination as he exited out of the room, down the spiral staircase. The glass became clouded with the eerie smoke once again before dissipating. Amelia once again found herself staring at her own reflected image, wondering what she just saw could have possibly meant. Also, why and how Elizabeth knew that would happen.

Later that day, it was a familiar, yet sad scene to both Jack and Amelia as they stood side by side in front of the tree with the wickedly grinning jack-o-lantern shaped door. The young sorceress had her spell book in her hands along with her family's silver mirror, her black music box, and her stuffed teddy bear. She focused on the items in her grasp and a blue orb encircled them. They soon faded away as well as the magical sphere.

"Well that certainly makes my load easier." she laughed.

"So…you are certain that you won't be able to come back for a while?" Jack asked with a sad expression.

"Yeah, I've been gone from my world long enough. I have a lot of catching up to do." She smiled slightly, but her cheerfulness soon disappeared. "And…things are going to be tougher yet for me to visit now that I'm in my second year of high school. I have my future to think about, well my other future I guess I should say."

"Oh? You already have everything planned out for here in this world?" he arched a would-be eyebrow with an amused smile.

"Of course, you said so yourself that when I die I'll become Queen so I'm all set." She laughed. "I have my afterlife all figured out, now I just need to plan the rest of my living life."

Jack couldn't help but laugh as well. "Just when you thought you could get a break."

"I know right?" she shrugged and beamed up at him as she played along. She averted her gaze for a moment before looking back up at him again. "Hey Jack…I never thanked you for saving my life yesterday." She said a little shyly.

"Come now, you know there's no thanks needed." He smiled and waved his hand for emphasis.

"But I have to! If it weren't for you…Well I probably wouldn't be standing here." She said softly, not liking the thought that crossed her mind.

"Yes that is true…and I did promise to protect you did I not?" he put his hands on his hips and arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah I remember now." She laughed, recalling the promise he did in fact make to her shortly after they had met that fateful seven years ago. "But still, thank you." She wrapped her arms around him in a grateful embrace to which he returned.

"Of course, my little Ami." He said reassuringly.

They stood like that for several moments in silence, savoring the moment, for they knew that it would be a few years before they would be able to see each other again.

"Do you promise that you will write?" the Pumpkin King asked after a while.

"As long as you do." The Princess of Halloween responded.

Reluctantly, they released each other and smiled in content. Suddenly, the comfortable silence was broken by an echoing bark that seemed to grow louder. Zero zoomed in and spiraled up around the teenaged sorceress, making her laugh.

"Of course I'll miss you too Zero!" she said once the ghost dog finally stopped and hovered in front of her. Amelia then gave him a small peck on his glowing jack-o-lantern nose. His ghostly grin widened and he gave another happy bark.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye then…" she turned back to the skeleton man, "for now at least."

"Yes, a goodbye for now." He agreed, albeit with a saddened tone.

She opened the door that revealed the inside of the hollow tree and gave one last glance back at her good friend as the mysterious black wind enveloped her. The young sorceress smiled one last heartfelt farewell before the wind lifted her up. Then, Amelia Brave disappeared from sight. The pumpkin shaped door slammed shut as Jack Skellington stood there, silently wishing that the time between now and when she would return again would be shorter than the last.

A soul wanders through a dense forest until she comes upon a circle of tall trees with an odd color of bark. She stands in the center, her figure is transparent. Her long white gown flows in a breeze that is not even there. Her hair that was once in an elegant bun hangs down in loose, messy locks. Her skin is so pale it's practically white compared to her dark, wavy hair. She turns toward you and softly, yet loud enough to be heard, she speaks.

So now our story has come to a close,

Yet you ask, "Who is our mysterious host?"

It is I, Elizabeth Brave from beyond the grave.

If you think my part is done,

You might want to take another look,

For I still play a role in this book.

The next part in this spellbinding story,

Is about romance, passion, and tragedy.

What happens you ask? I cannot say

But I can tell you this: A new adventure is on the way.

Let's see, I would like to tell you guys my opinion on this chapter. I really, really liked this one! Especially the part about Jack curled up to Amelia's teddy bear XDDDDD My absolute favorite scene! And for once, I actually like how this chapter turned out. I don't feel like there's something slightly off, or like it's completely wrong. It's a nice feeling and I wish it would happen more XD

Just to be clear, there's the epilogue left in the story so THIS IS NOT THE END! Reviews make the world go round! :D