Courageous. Adventurous. Mischievous. As a young child Jack was all of these things and more. However, even though he lived happily with his mother and father along with infant sister, the boy spent a rather large portion of his time on his own. After all, nothing brought the boy greater joy than rustling through the woods that circled the small village of Burgess.
This day, was alike all the others. Dawning a brown cloak over his usual cotton white shirt and dusty brown vest, Jack gave a quick word of farewell to his mother before racing out the door of their small raggedy built house. With chocolate eyes lit fierce to match his wild spirit, his boyish features never lost a smug grin as he tramped barefoot through the snowy forrest floor. For a moment his gaze shifted up to stare at the moon above. Even then, he had always felt beaconed by the silvery orb that hung above and illuminated even the darkest night.
Venturing further into the barren forrest, away from the casting light of the village fires, Jack hummed to himself a light tune as he pried a branch from the nearest tree. With a gleeful cry the boy thrust his makeshift sword above his head before charging at the many beasts that took shape within his mind. Safely away from the criticisms of those less imaginative, the boy was finally able to be himself and become the hero of his own world.
"Take that!" He cried, raising the wooden rod to his chest before taking a powerful stab at the air before him. His eyes shimmering from beneath a head of floppy locks, the young child couldn't help but feel overcome with a sense of joy and freedom. For, reflected in his youthful sight, a dangerous dragon had just fallen in defeat.
"Don't worry Mom, I'll protect you!" Jack again called out, this time over his shoulder. But it seemed that this invisible danger wanted to put up a chase, and the colonial boy seemed more than happy to give in and race after. Abandoning the large twig behind him, Jack began to duck and weave through the maze of trees as he entered the more dense areas of the wilderness.
But, while the child still believed he was alone, another figure watched his little game from afar.
Hidden away in the shadow of a slender tree, two eyes watched ominously with their glowing yellow orbs. The silhouetted figured was apparently pleased with what he saw, as a pointy white smile flashed across his features. Now there was finally something to occupy his time. Someone to fuel him with fear. Careful not to alert the child of his presence, Pitch slipped from shadow to shadow to follow him in his tracks.
Still sparking his overly optimistic and wondrous attitude, Jack tracked along through his winter playground. Noticing a path where the ground inclined upward towards the sky, Jack took it upon himself to try and scale the small hill. Only once he reached the top did he skid to a stop. His feet just barely met the edge of a small cliff, which dropped straight towards a rocky earth bottom below. "Whoa.." Jack let out a sigh of relieve as he leaned just far enough to stare wide eyed at the dangerous drop.
Behind him a chuckle resounded as his pursuer stepped out into the moonlight. Clothed in thick black robes Pitch approached with hands clasped together behind his back, a pearly white smile still highlighted his face. He glided towards Jack with a malicious shine to his golden hued eyes. "Well, hello there little one."