Down Among the Sticks and Bones

"'I think the rules were different there. It was all about science, but the science was magical. It didn't care about whether something could be done. It was about whether it should be done, and the answer was always, always yes.' -Jack Wolcott"

Down Among the Sticks and Bones is the second book in the Wayward Children series. It follows Jack and Jill's adventure in the Moors.

Description
Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.

This is the story of what happened first…

Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline.

Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you've got.

They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted.

They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.

Part I: Jack and Jill Live Up the Hill
The book begins with Chester and Serena Wolcott deciding to have children, to imitate the praise their coworkers received for their kids. When Serena becomes pregnant, Chester expects a boy and Serena expects a girl; they are both told not to talk about the pregnancy until twelve weeks, in case something goes wrong, but they ignore this and proceed to tell everyone. At their first ultrasound, they find out that they're expecting a girl, but are also having twins; the second twin's gender is currently unknown, and they do not find out until Serena goes into labor, though both believe wholeheartedly that they are having a boy and a girl. When Serena gives birth to two girls, Serena faints and Chester is disappointed. Neither had discussed baby names for two girls, so Serena names one Jacqueline after her mother, and Chester names the other Jillian after their head partner's wife. A nurse points out that that makes their names Jack and Jill, but Chester seems offended at the idea of nicknames.

Serena is unable to take care of the children, as she can't stop them from crying. Neither parent got much sleep, so Chester calls his mother to nanny the twins. Louise Wolcott arrives the next morning, and Serena dumps the children on her before leaving. The babies stop crying, and Louise raises them for the next five years. Chester tells the people at his firm that Louise was a nanny, hired to give Serena an extra pair of hands to help with the twins (never once considering that he could have helped), and Serena tells the people on her boards that Louise is her husband's invalid mother, who wanted to be useful. Louise raises Jacqueline and Jillian, who always tells them how special they were and how they were going to change the world. Serena and Chester only are able to tell the twins apart by their personality; Jillian likes to explore more and has little common sense, while Jacqueline seems less mature and not as brave. So Jill is given a pixie cut and boyish clothes, and Serena dresses Jacqueline up as a princess, though Jacqueline doesn't like this and cries to her sister. Chester and Serena are proud, and send the children to pre-school, where Jillian cries about having to leave the comforts of home, but Jacqueline is excited to go. Once at pre-school, Jillian goes to play ball with the boys, and Jacqueline goes to sit with the other pretty girls. Neither of them liked how the world was changing with them.

On the twins' fifth birthday, Chester and Serena invite their friends with children, where Jillian races with her friends and Jacqueline stays back with her grandmother. At the party, Chester's friends warn him that he might end up taking care of Louise as well as the twins, and Serena grows jealous of how much Jacqueline clings to Louise. They corner Louise that night and tell her to leave. Louise doesn't see the girls again, only sending them gifts through the mail that Chester and Serena confiscate. This is when the twins learn to never trust adults.

At age six, the girls find themselves outcasts, as Jacqueline believes herself to be a goody-two-shoes, and Jillian finds herself labelled a weirdo for hanging out with the boys. At age seven, people stop wanting to play with Jillian, while Jacqueline gets people to like her with compliments. At age eight, Jacqueline learned she was not expected to be smart and is constantly told how dorky her sister is. Her parents never taught her to stick up for her sister, so Jacqueline begins to hate her for being weird. The boys in the class tell Jillian how pretty her sister is, and Jillian begins to hate her sister for being the pretty one. Both want what the other has; Jacqueline wants to run and play, while Jillian wants to be liked. By the time they turned twelve, Jacqueline became short-tempered, and becomes popular and refuses to get dirty or show off how smart she is. Jillian became slow-tempered, and always wants to please people, as nobody wanted to befriend her. While the girls were still friends, they had a lot of resentment built up towards each other.

One rainy day, the twins sit in their room, Jacqueline reading a boring book and Jillian moping because she couldn't make soccer practice. Jillian suggests they play in the attic, and when Jacqueline refuses, due to spiders, Jill offers to give her her desserts for three days and do the dishes for a week. They run upstairs, to Louise's old room in the attic, where they retreat whenever they wanted to hide from their parents. They enter, and open Louise's old trunk of dress-up clothes, only to find that the clothing had been replaced by a winding wooden staircase. Since neither of them had read fairy tales, they didn't know how dangerous exploring new worlds could be. Jacqueline realizes that neither of their parents could have known about the staircase, so wants to go down and find their dress-up clothes. Jillian is less sure but follows Jacqueline, and they hold hands as they descend, and the trunk closes behind them.

The two go down the stairs, for a very long time. They reach the bottom, and find a door, one that one says "Be Sure." Jacqueline opens the door, and they arrive at The Moors. They step out, not noticing the door slam shut behind them.

Part II: Jill and Jack into the Black
The twins run through the Moor, finally free. Jacqueline runs, in this place where she couldn't be scolded, getting grass stains and mud, but not caring, while Jillian stops to look around, with nobody telling her to be faster, nobody ordering her to compete. They run, until Jillian looks up and sees the moon, shocked to find that it's not only huge, but a ruby red. She points it out to Jacqueline, who says that if the moon was really that big, it would mess up the tides and pull the world apart, due to the gravity, which horrifies Jillian. The girls then realize that the door is gone, and Jacqueline decides to go find it. She looks between the oceans and mountains, and asks Jillian to choose, which excites her. She decides to go left, and the girls walk off. Had the girls gone towards the mountains, they would have been in a world of endless winter and wolves; if they had gone towards the sea, they would have ended up in a world caught in the moment of drowning, of sirens and sunken buildings. Instead, they walk through the moor, picking flowers until they grow too tired, and fall asleep in the grass.

During the day, the moon sets and the sun rises, but covered in stormclouds. Wolves and things from the sea gather around the girls, but they don't touch them, as they chose the Moors. When the twins awake, they're alone. The two go off to find the door, finally coming close to enjoying each other's company. The two then fall down the hill, and land in front of a wall, made of sharpened stakes and bound with iron and ropes. Jacqueline sees the gate, and, very exhausted and upset, knocks on the gate. They look into the courtyard, and Jillian mutters that they shouldn't be here; the girls then turn to see The Master. Jillian apologizes for their intrusion, as they had assumed they were still in their house, and the Master asks if their house normally includes an entire world, to which Jacqueline explains that there was a door, that only said "Be Sure." The Master asks if they were sure, and the girls replied that they weren't. He smiles and thanks them for not lying to him, and asks for their names. He calls them Jack and Jill, and asks them to come with him, as they must be hungry. The girls feel uneasy, but had obedience drilled into them, so they agree and follow.

As they follow him through a silent town, Jill keeps her eyes on The Master, while Jack watches the windows, seeing curtains sway and candles moved, confused as to why they would be so scary. They then reach a barred iron door in a gray wall, and the Master explains to them that since this is their first night on the Moors, the law says that he must extend hospitality to them for three days. During that time, nobody could harm, hex or draw upon the blood of the girls, but once that time was up, they would be subject to the laws as anyone else. The girls are confused, and Jack especially is upset at the idea of anyone doing anything to their blood. She also adds that their parents are worried about them, which is a lie. The Master opens the door, believing that this will be fun, and they enter the House, though Jack is more suspicious than Jill. The Master mentions that the village is his, which awes Jack; the Master thinks about how pretty she is, and how she might do. They then go up the stairs, into a beautiful dining room. Mary, the maid, is waiting there, looking worried, and the Master asks her to get whatever it is children eat. Jack trusts the maid, while Jill does not. The Master also tells her to tell Ivan to send for Doctor Bleak, and asks the girls to sit. Jack moves to sit next to Jill, but the Master tells her to sit on the other side, as he'd like having a matching set for three days.

Mary soon returns, saying the kitchen-witch conjured the children some food. Jack is given half a rabbit, roasted and served over vegetables, with bread and cheese, while Jill receives three slices of rare roast beef, bleeding into the mashed potatoes and spinach, with a silver goblet of milk. The Master's food looks a lot like Jill's, who begins to eat fast. Jack is more cautious, and asks for the man's name, which scares Mary. The Master replies that the only people who know his name have earned it, and tells them just to call him Master. Doctor Bleak then enters, and looks between the twins. He asks if he had already made his choice between the girls, and the Master seems affronted at the accusation he didn't follow the rules, saying that the girls selected their own meals. The Master explains that Doctor Bleak lives in a hovel with rats and spiders, and Bleak asks if he's resorted to petty insults when he hasn't made his choice. The Master asks if he would really split up a matched set, as he would like to keep them both, which offends Jack, as she wants to leave as soon as the door appears. Bleak informs them that the door could be gone a very long time, which alarms the girls. Jill argues that her Dad will be furious if she misses soccer practice, while Jack says her Mother will be upset if she learns she went outside. The Master adds that not all foundlings return, gesturing to Mary. The Master explains that the last foundling- a boy with fire-colored hair and winter-colored eyes- was argued over by him and Bleak, because they both loved children and make houses feel like homes. The Master had won, but he promised Dr. Bleak that he could have the next foundling, but it was very fortunate that two had arrived; Dr. Bleak adds that the boy had found his door home. The Master invites him to sit and consider the wisdom of letting the girls stay a matched set, and Dr. Bleak says that if they stay together, they should come with him. He tells the girls that he can't keep them in luxury, but he can teach them how the world works, and they wouldn't be intentionally harmed under his roof. While Jill seems pouty at this, Jack likes the idea of him saying that she'd "never" be harmed, as opposed to the Master's promised three days. Dr. Bleak asks Mary for meat and bread and beer, and she smiles as she leaves.

Jill and Jack later go to bed in a tower room, with the windows barred; since both were raised to obey, they stay put. Jack and Jill talk after Mary leaves; Jack is very distrustful of the Master and wants to leave, while Jill wants to stay with him while they wait for the door. Jack tells her that she wants to go with Dr. Bleak, and Jill decides that she wants to stay. The next morning, Mary and two serving men bring the girls breakfast, and tells them that she will wait for them in the hall. Jack asks for a bath, and Mary tells her "not yet." While Jill begins to eat, and Jack decides to leave as soon as possible, knowing that if they both stay, they would not be a matched set, and she would upshow Jill, which would probably not sit well with the Master.

Jack goes to the hallway and asks Mary what would happen if she didn't choose the Master. Mary leans down and tells her to run down to the throne room and run away with Dr. Bleak. She says that Dr. Bleak would save any child he could, and she wishes he'd chosen her, and Jill would be safer without her. Mary tells her that she herself had not chosen the Master, and was kept as a reminder to the foundlings, and that if Jack left, she would have time to find out why she was called to the Moors and to run. Jack is lead to the Throne Room, and she sees Dr. Bleak and the Master. Jack tells Dr. Bleak that she would like to work for him, and Dr. Bleak informs her that it will be hard, and Jack affirms her decision. The Master asks what would stop him from killing Jack, as she'd forsaken his protection, and Dr. Bleak reminds him that she is more useful alive; should something should happen to Jill, the Master could draw upon Jack. Dr. Bleak and Jill then leave.

Once Jill finishes her breakfast, she goes to meet Mary, who tells her that Jack had already left with Bleak. Jill is upset by this, having hoped she'd choose to stay. Jill is also upset that she's told she doesn't get to make a choice, and tells Mary that she herself had chosen first, and Jack had skipped breakfast to look better. The two go down to the dining hall, where Jill tells the Master that she'd let her sister go first so she could finish her breakfast, and promises that she wouldn't lie about it. The Master tells her that she will be washed and tutored and expected to live with his household's standards, in return for her obedience. Mary reminds him that if she finds her door, he is honor-bound to let her go, and the Master agrees, though he says he hopes Jill would choose to stay with him.

Jack follows Dr. Bleak through the village, struggling to keep up. They walk outside the village and beyond the wall to his home, a large windmill. Bleak tells her not to touch anything without knowing what it was first, and that he would answer all questions, but many things in the Moors were dangerous. Jack asks what he meant by the Master drawing upon her, and Bleak responds that everything in the Moors comes down to Blood. Jack takes in the room, and asks Bleak if he had something else for her to wear, as her dress would get caught on things. Bleak is surprised that that is her only question, but Jack tells him that she assumes he will teach her everything else. He gives her a chest of children's clothing, presumably from former travelers that had been apprenticed to him. Jack picks out a white cotton shit with starched cuffs and collar, and a knee-length black skirt, and white shorts. He tells her to go upstairs and pick an empty room to be her own, and Jack asks if she can have a bath; Bleak replies that if she wants one, she will have to fetch the water herself, and gives her a large tin bucket. He then leaves, leaving Jack to figure out how to make herself a bath.

At the Master's Castle, Mary brushes Jill's unruly hair, and Jill is excited at the prospect of growing it out, and misses Mary's implication that it will have to be long enough to cover her throat. She is then taken to her own bath, through a door that just appeared. Jill is astonished at the beauty of the room, and smug at the fact that she was the princess of the story, and not Jack. Jill sits in the bath until lunchtime, finding her old clothing gone and replaced with a towel and white robe. She exits, and Mary hands her a purple, blue and white dress. Jill puts on the dress, though she needs Mary to fasten it for her, and the maid also gives her a purple choker with a pearl-and-amethyst pendant dangling from the center. Mary gravely instructs her to always wear the choker in the company of anyone besides the servants, including the Master, offering no explanation. Jill likes it, as she didn't normally get to wear beautiful things.

Bleak returns to find Jack has washed herself and dressed, as well as braided her hair back. He asks if she made dinner, and she replies that she can't cook, but is willing to learn.

Part III: Jack and Jill with Time to Kill
Years pass; during this time, Jill walks through the castle in beautiful dresses, causing rumors in the village that she is the Master's daughter who was returned to him, though they worry she will soon become a vampire like him. Jack, meanwhile, works in the windmill all day without ceasing, and she is favored in the village, though some are disturbed by her resemblance to the Master's daughter. When the girls' periods start, Jack helps the village women make safer undergarments to wear during the time to prevent the smell of blood from spreading too much, which earns her more love from the villagers. After Jill's first period ends, the Master begins to draw on her blood, something he doesn't do until she consents. A year after this, Bleak finds the body of a girl a year older than Jack, and the two bring her back to life. The girl is Alexis, and she and Jack start dating afterwards, something which makes Jack realize that she never wants to return to Reality.

On a day, some four years after they arrive, Jack is called by Bleak, which interrupts her time with Alexis. He asks her to go to the village and pick him up some aconite, arsenic and chocolate biscuits. Jack is worried about being sent to the village at night, but Bleak assures her that the aconite will ward off the werewolves, and the Gargoyles and Vampires still owe her for favors she'd done them. He lets her know she can walk Alexis back, and to give his regards to her family, who were very grateful to them for bringing back their daughter. As she leaves, Bleak thinks about how Jack was well-suited to the Moors, and how Jill is becoming more of a monster, and maybe seeing Jack in the village will do something good for her. Jack and Alexis walk to the village, talking about Jack's OCD and their future together, before arriving at the great wall. They announce themselves and enter.

Meanwhile, Jill sits in the gardens, waiting until three days are up and she can see the Master again. She thinks about how she has to reach eighteen before he will turn her into a Vampire and let her live with him forever. She sees Alexis and her sister in the village, and hatred clenches in her chest.

As Jack dines with Alexis and her parents, the door blows open and Jill walks in. The two coldly talk, with Jack starting to feel very antagonistic as Jill says she believes Jack was coming to see her, and compares the Chopper Family to beasts. Jack begins to stand, but Alexis begs her to not to start a fight, as that would end badly. Jack begins to act nice, and Jill makes her go shopping with her, as Jack offers to buy her a ribbon. The villagers all shrink back from her, terrified of what she could do to them, and Jack feels that just being seen with Jill will lose her the favor of the villagers for a while. While shopping for the ribbon, Jill offers to take Jack home with her, and re-educate her to turn her into a Lady. Jack refuses, trying to be nice; Jill believes that her changing her mind will be inevitable, and grabs a bunch of ribbons before leaving Jack to pay for it. When Jack attempts to do so, the stallhoder informs her that the Master always overpays for what Jill takes, and having Jack there actually made the situation better, as Jill did not threaten her. The Stallholder than tells her to leave, as Jill might become jealous. Jack runs home and cries to Dr. Bleak.

Part IV: Jill and Jack Will Not Come Back
Jack stays away from the village, doing chores at the Windmill instead, while Alexis continues to visit her.

One day, Jill awakes, to see that Mary has brought her red roses from the Master. The maid informs her that it is the fifth anniversary of her arrival on the Moors, and Jill is excited that she is almost eighteen, asking if it is time for her to be turned into a Vampire. Mary informs her that she will not be turned until the Drowned Abbey rings the bells for the change of seasons, and Jill protests, not wanting to wait so long. Mary reminds her that her Door could still open for her, and nobody is turned into a vampire until they are eighteen, since mistakes have been made in the past. Jill is still infuriated that she has to wait. As Mary leaves, Jill puts on a cream gown, to go and prove to her Master that she is ruthless. She knows that the Master will have a party for her, and hopes to end it with her vampirism. She also assumes that Bleak will have a party for Jack, and they will invite Alexis, who she believes is making her sister act unladylike. She walks, cloaked, through the village, and follows Alexis outside of it. She walks up behind her and tells her that she is Being Sure, before murdering Alexis.

Jack grows worried waiting for Alexis, and leaves the windmill to find her. She finds the corpse, and drops to her knees, horrified, and howls. Bleak hears her and finds her. He looks over the body, thinking about how unlikely it would be to reanimate her. Bleak asks Jack to follow the blood and see if what killed her took her heart, as resurrection was always easier with more of the flesh intact. Jack obeys, blank, until she reaches the village and sees an angry mob advancing on Jill. Mary comes out, informing the mob that the Master has disowned Jill for harming somebody under his protection, and leaves her to the mob. Jack freezes, considering leaving, but instead remembers how she used to love her sister, and grabs Jill and runs back to the windmill with her.

The girls run through the Moors, sobbing and followed by the Mob. The twins enter the Windmill, and Jack informs Bleak that the Master has left Jill to the Mob. Jill, in denial, tries to leave, but Bleak knocks her out. He starts a machine, and informs Jack that the Mob will try to kill them both, and the Master will burn the village if he finds out they have done that. He explains that the machine will open up a door to Reality, and Jack asks if that means she could have gone back. Bleak replies that she could, but she would not have been going home. Jack agrees, and Bleak tells her to stay away at least a year, and to re-open the door, she would need blood on her hands, either hers or Jill's. Jill would have to be left behind, or killed and brought back as a corpse. Jack promises she will return, and the twins step through the door.

Jack continues to walk up the stairs, until Jill awakes and tries to fling herself down the stairs. Jack forces her back with her, and they reach the lid of the trunk. They climb out of the trunk, and into the attic of their former home. The trunk slams shut, and Jill forces it open, finding only clothes. Jill tries in vain to find the door, and Jack realizes that she's the only one who learned to think for herself, and is sorry that she left her sister behind. The twins go downstairs, and reach the dining room, where their parents are having dinner with their brother. Their parents recognize them, calling them Jacqueline and Jillian, and the girls cling to each other and weep.

Characters

 * Chester Wolcott
 * Serena Wolcott
 * Jack Wolcott
 * Jill Wolcott
 * Louise Wolcott
 * The Master
 * Mary
 * Dr Bleak
 * Alexis Chopper
 * Doctor Ghast (mentioned)
 * Ms. Chopper
 * Mr. Chopper
 * Jack and Jill's Brother

Worlds

 * Earth
 * The Moors

Trivia
To be added