A/N So...this is my first fanfic and I'm happy with how this chapter turned out. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it :) Anyway, constructive criticism is welcome, but please, please, no hate. Seriously, I mean it. Hate will not be tolerated. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

The pale moonlight slashed through the paned glass windows, conveniently collecting in beams to illuminate the books, countless leaves of paper, and inkwell that cluttered the oak lighting was poor but Maris's sharp vision could make it work; a perk of being dead. The smell of coffee lingered in the air as the overworked coffee machine tried to keep her veins pumped with the caffeine infused goodness.

It was about half past three in the morning and Maris still had much to do until opening up for business at eight o'clock sharp. Her business was doing well as she had run low on not only potions, but also the necessary items needed to recreate her inventory. Countless after hours were dedicated only to locating new supplies. Another surplus of overtime was set aside to brewing. She had about seven more batches of different potions to go, multiply that by the time needed to make them and she would be done by 7:25 in the morning, leaving her with not even a half hour to sleep before she would begin the process of opening up for the day. Maris wanted to punch the person who had started the rumors that we may sleep once we are dead.

It felt like five eternities had passed by the time Maris bottled and shelved the last of the fresh eyed the dirty cauldron in dire need of a good scrub with distaste. It could wait. Besides, it was now 7:35, only twenty minutes until she would have to open up shop.

Maris collapsed in a pile of bony limbs with a sigh of relief. She rubbed her aching skull in anguish over how tight her usual chignon pulled her hair. She didn't really feel like dismantling the knot resting on her neck for it was very useful in keeping her waist length hair out of the way. Then again, her scalp was sore and there was a bun sized pain at the back of her neck when she laid on her back. Useful or not, Maris decided that her comfort was more important than keeping her hair neat at the moment.

Locks cascaded down her back, crossed shoulders, and twisted along arms as the band released the deep brown feathers of her hair. A sigh of relief escaped her thin pale lips as she massaged her aching roots. Almost unconsciously, her tired eyes drooped shut and she felt the weight of the night's work crash over her.

"It's been much too long since we've been able to get away." the man said. Maris agreed with a smile, following his steps. The grand ballroom was filled with a symphony of virtuosos sawing away on their stringed pride and joys, their fingers gliding over the finger boards as their sweet cadences crashed over the dancers, composing a waltz. Waiters with cocktail trays weaved through the nearby tables of people too engrossed in conversation to be pulled like marionettes to the dance floor. Maris and her partner on the other hand, could not resist the music. They left the champagne flutes and hors d'oeuvres behind and wandered on invisible strings as their puppet master guided them to the dance floor where couples spun around to the rhythm.

"I agree." Maris replied, taking the moment to spin away, the skirt of her red dress billowing around her like a cloud. Her partner pulled her back into a dip before straightening her upright and wrapping his arm around her waist. She in turn slung an arm around his neck before falling back into step. One two three, one two three, one two three.

"This is nice. Just you and me. No kids." he smiled. Maris threw her head back and laughed.

"No kids!" she agreed. His smile grew wide, dimples showing. It didn't matter that it had been almost twenty years; those dimples were still adorable. She was enjoying being with him.

The change of scenery was nice and although she loved her two children very much, she could only take so much of a twelve year old girl who was convinced she was strong enough to bring back the dead. Maris knew what it took to resurrect the dead. One of the necessary requirements was to recite an incantation in an old demon language, which Millicent most certainly could not do as she could barely spell in English now. Lawrence, on the other hand, possibly could manage it. But he wouldn't do it. Maris knew that Lawrence knew it was wrong. She had nothing to fear of them using magic that they shouldn't be using. If anything, she had to worry about them trying to kill each other after getting in a nasty fight.

That was the thing about siblings. Although Lawrence was rather mature at the age of seventeen, Millicent was a fireball of energy. He was the calm night of her bright and sunny day. She was also passionate about anything and was not scared to fight, whether it be physical or verbal. Millicent was not the poised and prim girl Maris thought she would be. Things could get ugly quick if Millicent got angry. Maris began to worry as scenes of a burning or destroyed home and children conjured themselves up in her mind. Her brow creased in worry from the sudden thoughts.

"Perhaps we should head home before the children tear each other and the house apart." Maris suggested, pulling away from her husband in order to retrieve her things. He caught her elbow and pulled her back to his embrace.

"They'll be fine, Maris. Lawrence is almost an adult. He can handle a twelve year old."

"We can barely handle her, Adam. She's a free spirit. When she's determined, there is no stopping her. "

"Wake up, Maris." Adam commanded suddenly. Maris paused.

"Excuse me?" she asked hesitantly. Adam started nudging her shoulder. Hard.

"Come on, wake up! You've been sleeping forever. There's customers and I've tried. God I've tried, but I can't handle custom orders." More nudging, or more accurately, hitting.

"Maris! Wake up!" a shout now. Maris broke the surface of her dreamscape, dragging herself from the calming bliss to her present afterlife.

A young woman stood over the couch where she had fallen asleep. Her violet hair hung in waves that reached her mint green elbows. She was thin with a long nose and wore a purple dress that rested just above the knees. A tall twisted hat of similar color rested precariously on her head.

"Wha…"

"There's people in the shop that need one of your custom spells. I've been getting better at magic, but I'm nowhere near your skills." Maris suddenly snapped to attention as she realized what her apprentice was saying. One of the services she offered was created her own personal spells that would be especially unique for her customers' situation. It was one of the things that separated her shop from the other witches' shops.

Maris glanced over at the clock hanging on a nearby wall. The clock read 10:27.

"Oh god! Shock, why didn't you wake me sooner? I should have been up hours ago."

"You looked like you needed the sleep.I could tell how deep you were sleeping from your snoring. Harlequin is waiting out front."

"Right, of course!" she exclaimed, propelling herself off of the couch, reluctantly waving off the lingering bliss of the dream. She marched through her living quarters hidden in the back of the shop to the front of the store where Harlequin Demon was waiting at the counter, bored out of his mind. He suddenly jerked up in surprise at Maris's abrupt entrance.

"How can I help you today, Mr. Harlequin?" Her question went unanswered as the silence swallowed Maris's gumption. The silence annoyed Maris. So much for a customer being in dire need of her magic.

"What?" she growled, hands on her hips at his blank and amused expression.

"Oh, I hadn't realized I had woken you from your slumber, Miss Maris." was his reply as he looked her up and down. Maris caught this and looked down at herself. She was still wearing the old yoga pants and baggy T-shirt she had changed into after returning from gathering ingredients last night, and her hair was still freed from its prison, tangled around her arms and hitting her lower waist. If she had to spend the night working, she would rather be comfy than running around in her usual black dress and boots.

"My apologizes. Would you please give me a moment to dress myself respectfully?" Maris amended, feeling her porcelain skin heat up from embarrassment at the wardrobe nodded, speechless from the exchange.

Maris retreated to her home in the back with as much grace as her humiliation could muster. She ripped off the comfy clothes and quickly threw on her elegantly fashioned black dress.

It had begun to be known as her "costume" only a day or two after her arrival when the other citizens took notice of her liking to the garment. The dress was long sleeved with a low square neckline that showed off just a little cleavage and was fitted around the waist. At the hips, the material fanned out a little so that it did not constrain her legs, making it easy to move in.

She quickly zipped up the heeled knee high boots that accompanied the dress before rushing to the bathroom vanity. Maris grabbed a brush and tore it through the long mess of hair that had tangled itself in her sleep. That was why it was braided when it wasn't up. The long hair was such a pain though she loved it so. Once each strand was stick straight, she gathered it all up into a new chignon, pulling the wild locks out of her unnatural bright yellow eyes; a color that didn't bother any of the citizens of Halloween Town but disturbed each person Maris met in her past life.

When she was done she washed her face and inspected her image in the mirror, careful to make sure that nothing was out of place. Once she was satisfied, she ran through the house until she reached the door to the shop and stopped. She took a breath, collecting herself from the humiliation that had just occured.

It was over and now she walked in with her usual elegant grace as poised as a noblewoman, hands clasped in front of her and head held high. An easy smile graced her face as she approached the large counter and opened the ginormous ledger resting in front of her. Shock moved to stand beside her, ready to do her bidding.

Shock had changed over the many years that had passed since that fateful Christmas and the day Maris came to Halloween Town; not just physically. Of course Shock and the other Boogie boys weren't perfect angels. They would still pull the occasional scheme, though these were rather few as Jack was quick to stop the troublemakers due to Maris's skill at reading Shock. The other citizens may not realize it, but the girl wears her heart on her sleeve. The three definitely still fought with each other many times a day. Lock and Barrel weren't too keen on the idea of Shock leaving them for considerable amounts of time most of the week, but they found that they actually liked the "no girls" time.

Shock had decided to shape up whenever she worked with Maris because Shock genuinely liked her and did not want to lose her apprenticeship. Because of this, Shock was sure to come to the shop right on time every morning for the five days a week that it was open and she did her best to take in what Maris was teaching her so that she could be the best witch she could possibly be.

Shock met Maris a couple days after Maris was welcomed to town. Maris had walked in on one of the Boogie boys' schemes and had questioned the trio what they were doing outside the mayor's home with multiple rolls of toilet paper and cartons of eggs.

"Do you realize how costly it is to buy those things only to waste them so carelessly?" she had questioned with a raised brow. Shock had immediately paused from throwing an egg to ponder the question.

"No."

"Well, let me tell you. From what I recollect it was rather expensive to stock a bathroom for my family." Shock had been both intrigued and annoyed by Maris's interference.

"You're a witch aren't you, child?" Maris continued.

"I'm not a child." Shock snapped.

"Have you mastered your powers?" Shock hesitated.

"No." she finally answered. Maris nodded.

"I see. Perhaps I could help you. I've opened up a Spell Shop. Stop by and maybe I'll train you and offer you an apprenticeship."

"I don't need help from an old hag like you!" Shock suddenly snorted. Maris was amused, but had no reply for the young witch.

"Yeah, get lost you old crone. We're busy here." the devil, Lock, joined in.

"Busy wasting your afterlife." Maris observed.

"Whatever, get lost. You'll blow our cover." the ghoul, Barrel, chimed in. Maris shrugged and turned to leave.

"I see. Well, my offer still stands. Drop by sometime if you changed your mind, young lady.

Soon after that, Shock was hit with the realization that Maris was the first citizen to show real interest in them. She wasn't afraid of them or disgusted by them like everyone else. And she had offered to help Shock. Shock's powers had developed a bit ago, but she had had no idea how to use them. It was about a couple weeks later after a sudden rush of customers that Shock entered the shop to accept Maris's offer. Maris smiled, glad that the young witch had returned and that was that.

Maris looked over at Harlequin.

"And what can I do for you today, Mr. Harlequin?" she asked in her best polite voice saved for customer service. Maris slipped into her routine of her passion, letting the recurring dream and the morning's embarrassment slide out to the back of her mind where it couldn't bother her. She had more important matters to attend to at the moment.

A/N And that's chapter 1! I know, I know, not much happened. This chapter was sort of an introduction. Things will happen later on in the story. I promise, I got a lot up my sleeve. Tell me what you thought! Reviews are encouraged, but like I said, no haters. Also, if you have a suggestion for something you would like to see in this story, you are very welcome to suggest it, but I'm not making any promises that I will use them. Like I said, I've got some tricks up my sleeve.