The pumpkin princess

Keep you safe

Thank god jack had saved Bella from that monster, Oogie boogie. Now that bug filled sack will never come back and hurt the ones that jack loves.

Bella was sitting down on the couch, a blanket wrapped around her body. She was still shaken up after what happened with Oogie. He scared her to death for crying out loud! Not literally obviously.

Sally handed her a cup of hot tea before sitting down next to her, rubbing her back in circles.

"We are so glad you're alright Bella. We thought we had lost you." She said as she looked at her sadly. Even though she hasn't known Bella for very long, she felt like a mother to her. She wanted to protect her and make her happy.

Bella took a sip of her tea, her hands shaking slightly. Her eyes were red and swollen, since she had cried for a while.

Jack was sitting on the other side of Bella, one of his bony hands resting on her knee.

"What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?" Jack asked as he rubbed her knee with his thumb, his eye sockets filled with concern and love. He could feel her shake and it broke his unbeating heart.

She looked at him with her red and puffy eyes, her bottom lip quivering. She tried to be strong, she really did.

"H-he tied me up and put me on a roulette table before he constantly got in my face a-" she choked on her tears as more fell but jack gently wiped them away with the back of his index fingers.

Jack felt like a father to her. Just like sally felt like a mother. Even though she was human, that didn't stop them from caring about her and wanting to protect her from the evil of the undead world.

"H-he put a spider on my stomach and he told me that no one would save me. B-but you did jack..." she said before resting her head against his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her gently.

"You're afraid of spiders?" He asked, which earned them a nod. He ran his fingers through her hair, his chin on top of her head.

"My dear girl... he won't hurt you anymore. We promise. But ... maybe we should take you back to your human home." He said as he looked at sally a moment.

Bella didn't want to go back to her old home. She couldn't! Not after what she has been through back there! How her father treated her.

"P-Please... I cant go back. I-I" her breath trembled as she spoke, her hands trembling. Sally noticed and gently took the tea cup from her hands, setting it down on the coffee table in front of them. She held her hands, hushing her softly.

"Honey, breathe. Why can't you go back?" She asked softly, giving her hands a gentle squeeze. She wanted Bella to be safe, happy. And jack wanted the same.

Bella took a shaky breath before she started speaking.

"M-my father abuses me. Hurts me physically and emotionally..." she started as jack very gently stroked her hair.

"The other day, m-my father was blaming me for my mother's death. She died after she gave birth to me. So he started punching me, kicking me, and calling me a-awful names. H-he even told me I was a sad excuse of a daughter and that he wished I was d-dead."

Tears continued to fall down her cheeks but she still spoke. "S-so that night, when he was sleeping, I ran away... into the forest. I-I ran for what seemed like forever, my heart hurting. I-I mean, what kind of father treats his own daughter like that?

I-I came across this circle of trees... special trees you could say. B-because each one seemed to represent a holiday."

Jack and sally looked each other, knowing exactly what she was talking about. Jack looked at Bella, placing a bony hand over hers as she still spoke.

"So I picked the Halloween one... since h-Halloween is my favorite holiday." Jack and sally chuckled softly at that. Halloween was an amazing holiday. Free candy, dressing up, scaring the crap out of people... it's so much fun!

"I-I remember getting sucked in and falling hard on my back. I-I then realized I was in a cemetery with a big hill that looked like a spiral."

Spiral hill, where jack and sally first kissed...

"I-I was scared because I didn't know where I was. I cried because I was scared and confused."

Jack looked down a moment, gently squeezing his hand. "And that's when I found you..." he whispered as he looked back at her, which made Bella smile sadly.  

"N-now you know... I don't want to go back. I just can't." She said as the tears kept coming. She looked up to jack and sally. Like her parents. The loving, sweet, protective parents that she never had.

Jack picked her up, and sat her on his lap, holding her close.

"We won't send you back there. We will keep you safe." He kissed her forehead as sally kissed her cheek. Then jack and sally looked at each other, smiling sadly. Even though they didn't know her for long, she felt like a daughter to them. And they wanted to protect her. Love her.

And that's just what they were going to do.

(Not done yet! Still a few more chapters left! I really really hope you are enjoying it!!! ❤️🌸💙