A/N: We apologize for this chapter's shortness. Most of our chapters will be ridiculously long, but some of the beginning ones are harder to write since we're only just introducing the storyline and everything. Things will get better soon! And by better I only mean longer because it will be getting horribly depressing soon...Enjoy the chapter!
Darkness. That was the only thing he could see. An all consuming darkness that seemed to wrap around his soul like a blanket. He was awake, he could feel it, but no matter how much effort he put into waking up fully it didn't happen. He couldn't hear the usual sounds that came with city living. The usual sound of cars on the street and people walking by below his bedroom window were non-existent. The only thing he was left with was silence and blackness. He opened his eyes, but the darkness didn't disappear. There should have been a light somewhere. He never went to sleep without leaving a light on somewhere in his room. Or he should have at least seen the light from the street signs outside his window. No, this darkness was clearly unnatural.
"Ramie." A voice reached him in the darkness, calling out his name. It sounded again, beckoning him out of the dark abyss he found himself in. The world around him began to come into focus, a dark face lingering in front of his.
Ramiel cried out, lashing at the person over him in a panic. It was never good when he was woken by anything other than his alarm clock. His mind immediately jumped to the worst conclusion; his father had found out what he had done and was coming to punish him. No, his actions warranted more than just the usual beating, his father would be coming to kill him this time. Ramiel continued thrashing, fighting the unknown threat. Begging for mercy; for a chance to live.
And then he was being restrained, his body being constricted by what felt like a straight jacket made of sandpaper. He looked down at himself, his fear rising even further. It wasn't sandpaper he felt, it was actual sand. Black sand encompassed his body, preventing him from hurting himself in his panicked state. He's seen that sand before, he'd recognize it anywhere.
"Pitch?" He asked aloud, unsure whether his eyes were deceiving him or not. The sand released him and the boogeyman materialized from the shadows, rubbing his chin where Ramiel had apparently landed a solid hit during his panic. He sat up and looked at his surroundings. He certainly wasn't anywhere he recognized; by the looks of things he was in a castle of sorts. "Where am I?"
"Welcome to my home, Ramie. Do you like it? I redecorated it only about a century or so ago."
Ramiel disregarded the question and asked another one of his own. "How did I get here?"
"I brought you here."
"Why?"
Pitch hesitated with his answer this time. "I told you I would protect you, Ramie." He said, a hint of sadness to his voice as he looked away from the confused boy. "Do you not remember what happened?" Ramiel shook his head, he had no idea what Pitch was talking about. "He must have knocked you in the head harder than I though." The Boogeyman said to himself with a sigh.
"Who? My dad?" He knew all the horrible things his father was capable of, but it still saddened him that he had to be taken away from his father.
"Oh, don't worry about him. You have me. I won't treat you the way he did." Pitch smoothed the boys hair back and sat on the floor next to him. "You're better off here. You'll be safe from him and anyone else who would try to hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you anymore Ramiel."
