Hello good people of ! I am pleased to present chapter 4 of The Nightmare of Amelia Brave! Enjoy!

Unbeknownst to Amelia, Jack had hid in the shadows when she sung her lament. However, once she had finished, he snuck away so she wouldn't see him. Thus, he didn't see or hear her encounter with the strange voice that told her to leave. He had walked out of the cemetery through the gate when he heard her approach so he then dashed into the trees. She mentioned her birthday as she exited through the gate and that much his ears did catch. When she passed his hiding place and made her way back, he soon realized that if he didn't hurry she would beat him home and discover his absence. Quickly muttering something under his breath, he disappeared. She returned to the house and never knew that Jack had followed her.

The next day, everyone in town resumed their jobs and tasks they had been assigned. Once again it was a very productive day and each of the citizens worked their hardest. It was late in the evening when Amelia had finally finished up a costume design for one of the townspeople. She held her sketchbook in hand and walked around town as she drew out more ideas for how she wanted everything to look.

"Everything is going quite smoothly." She commented to herself, "I can't wait to show these to Jack!" she stated as she completed one of the sketches.

She continued to draw until the sun was no longer visible on the horizon. She breathed a small sigh of exhaustion but still held a smile on her face. Then, she began to walk around town and compared her drawings to the subjects so that she would know if she got every last detail right. In short, Amelia is a perfectionist.

Meanwhile, a tall figure walked through the town gate. It was a young man who seemed to be of noble stature for he was dressed in a tailored, Victorian gothic suit with a black cape gently flapping in the faint breeze that was created when he walked. His hair was as black as the night sky and his eyes were as crimson as blood. He caught sight the vampire quartet nearby and approached them.

"Excuse me," as the stranger spoke his sharp fangs were revealed, "Could one of you please tell me where I might find the leader of Halloween?"

The quartet had recognized him as a fellow vampire so they kindly directed him toward the young sorceress in the middle of the town square.

He paused a moment before approaching her and raised an eyebrow, 'How could a mere girl be in charge of an entire holiday?' he questioned in thought.

He noticed she had a sketchbook in hand as she turned slightly. He studied her face for a moment before the corners of his mouth curled up into a devilish smirk, which again revealed his fangs, and began to make his way over to her.

When he was about half way across the square, he slowed his pace and scowled as a tall, slender skeleton in a pinstripe suit with a bat bowtie walked up to the teenager.

"How is everything coming along Amelia?" Jack asked the teen sorceress.

"Wonderful! Err…I mean horrendous!" she corrected herself.

"That's the spirit!" He noticed the sketchbook in her hands, "Say now, what do we have here?"

"Oh! These are my sketches of what the town should look like once all of the decorations are put up." She handed her book over to him and he began to flip through the pages.

"Hmm…" he examined the drawings, "Very nice. Yes, very nice indeed! You've outdone yourself yet again!" he handed them back to her.

"Thanks." She suddenly felt her cheeks get a little warmer at his compliment so she looked down at her sketches and pretended to be going over them.

Someone cleared their throat behind them and the two turned around to face the strange newcomer. Both of them smiled and Jack stepped forward to greet him.

"Hello there, welcome to Halloween Town! Who might you be?" the Pumpkin King asked.

"Thank you," the vampire gave a curt nod in respect, "I am Alucard Doram Lio." His sharp fangs flashed as he gave a half smile that was more like a smirk as his eyes came in contact with the young sorceress's.

Amelia feels her face heat up as his gaze met hers. Her breath had caught in her throat for a brief moment as her heart skipped a beat.

"I come from La Ville des Mensonges in France." He continued with a slight French accent as he stated his hometown's name, "I grew tired of living in hiding for so long while in the human world so I decided to come here."

"Well it's a pleasure to have you." Jack stated as he shook his hand. "I am Jack Skellington, King of all Halloween. This is Amelia," he gestured to the young girl next to him, "Princess of Halloween."

She snapped out of her daze and bowed her head, "It's nice to meet you." Her blush returned at what the vampire did next.

Alucard smoothly took her hand and kissed it, "Please," his dark red orbs met her sky blue ones yet again, "The pleasure is all mine."

The sorceress felt as though she could faint. Never in her life had she ever met a young man who was so polite and well mannered, which was something she had started to look for in a guy. Not to mention he was drop-dead handsome. She wanted to say something but temporarily couldn't find her voice.

However, if she had she wouldn't have had the chance before Jack interrupted. A strange feeling had overpowered him as Alucard had started to act suave. He put a hand on the young man's shoulder and directed his attention away from Amelia.

"If you're going to be living here, we ought to find you a place stay!" he beamed and almost forcefully, he began to lead the vampire away. He turned his head to look over his shoulder toward the still a little flustered sorceress, "I'll meet you back home in a few minutes."

"O-ok." She stuttered her response. When he turned his attention back ahead of him, she shook her head to banish the blush that had remained on her cheeks and began to walk back to her 'home away from home.'

Alucard gave the tall skeleton a strange look and raised an eyebrow.

"Amelia was once a newcomer here too." he explained as he released the vampire's shoulder, "Her parents sent her here to learn to overcome her fears and master her powers. I gave her the guest room in my house so that she would have a place to stay. She now loves this place and practically lives here, but she does return home now and then." Telling him that she is staying with him was Jack's indiscreet way of saying that he looks out for her and that Alucard had better mind his distance.

Meanwhile, said young sorceress was going through inner turmoil as she made her way back to the house.

'I don't know why but Alucard looks so familiar.' She thought to herself with a confused expression across her face. 'But I've never seen, or heard of, him in my life! Not to mention he's lived in France and I've never been there!' She scratched her head as she tried to figure out the strange puzzle. However, her attention was diverted to a stout man in a tall top hat who approached her.

"Why hello there Pumpkin Princess!" the Mayor beamed with his head turned to his happy face.

"Please Mayor," she tried not to cringe at the nickname, "don't call me that." She plastered on a fake smile, trying not to be rude.

"My apologies Amelia." He gave a curt nod.

"Thank you." She mentally sighed in relief.

"By the way, I hear that we have a new arrival." The Mayor pointed out, obviously excited about the news. "A vampire of sorts, is that true?"

"Yes, his name is Alucard Doram Lio." She informed, "He came from La Ville des Mensonges in France." She imitated a French accent. "He moved here so that he wouldn't have to live in hiding among the humans anymore."

"Ah! I see! Well, considering you have your hands full for the next few days, how about I fill him in on the Halloween Celebration." He beamed again.

"Oh, thank you so much Mayor!" she smiled, very grateful for his offer, "That helps me a lot actually, one less thing on my already extremely long to-do list."

"Not a problem at all!" He exclaimed, "Well, I had best be on my way. Good evening Amelia." He lifted his hat slightly as a goodbye gesture and then left to go wherever it was he planned to go, leaving the princess alone with her thoughts yet again.

She made her way once again toward Jack's home. 'I'm so glad that the Mayor will be doing that for me. I already have so much I need to do tomorrow, helping out making the city decorations and what not.' She heaved a small sigh of exhaustion.

Suddenly, an image of Alucard's face popped in her mind and she let out a small moan in frustration. 'Where the heck have I seen that guy before!' she yelled in her head.

Jack took Alucard to a small but suitable house toward the other end of town. It was conveniently, for Jack, farthest from his own home and from Amelia. He didn't know why, but the tall skeleton could help but be protective of his friend.

"I hope that you will find this fitting for you." He smiled as he opened the door to the house for the vampire.

Once inside, Alucard looked around and briefly inspected the living room and the attached kitchen. He then turned around and walked inside the bedroom. He gave a nod in satisfaction and walked back up to the Pumpkin King.

"Yes, this will do quite nicely." He commented to the skeleton.

"Glad to hear it!" Jack then turned to exit, "Well, I'll leave you to get settled." He began to walk out the door and back outside.

"Thank you Jack." The vampire said as the king made his way out.

"Not a problem!" he called and began his way back to his home.

Once he was a block or so away from the Alucard's new dwelling, he began to ponder the behavior of the new arrival.

'I have a bad feeling about this Alucard fellow. I had better keep a close eye on him' he thought to himself. 'The last thing I want to do is to put Amelia in danger again.' He sighed as the memory of the nightmare that had occurred on his account nearly six years before.

"I'm not going to let that happen again." He quietly, but determinedly spoke aloud.

I hope you all enjoyed it! Please review! You know the drill, it makes me type faster lol.