Nightmare
by Sirenfox
Chapter II
Cupcake had been watching her favorite movie when she fell asleep, the familiar story leaking into her dreams. Not that she really minded, anytime she dreamt about unicorns was alright with her. Plus the added bonus of Prince Lir making an appearance…and yeah, the preteen was more then fine with this dream.
Lir perched on a rock an arm around his beloved Amalthea as they watched the little girl pet the unicorns. Cupcake couldn't prevent the startled gasp from escaping her lips as one of them nudged her from behind, knocking her into the creature standing in front of her.
Lir tossed his head back and laughed, causing Cupcake to shoot him an annoyed look over her shoulder before returning her attention to the beautiful creatures. The man's laugh trailed on uncomfortably long, dipping lower and taking on a chilling edge.
Cupcake frowned, looking back at the man, who was now watching her from the shadowed edge of the forest, his eyes glowing an eerie yellow.
The sinister sound echoed through the trees, the air growing taught with tension and the light in the glade faded to a drab grey that hung in the glade like a veil of death. Amalthea was nowhere to be found.
Cupcake's hands, braced against her unicorn friend's side felt weird and she spun around, tugging at it in desperation. The side of the creature was sticky and her hand came away warm and wet, letting go with a disgusting sucking sound. Choking back a scream Cupcake scrambled back, eyes glued on the horrifying image of the pure white animal bleeding black goo.
She didn't get very far before her back slammed into another creature that screamed at the contact. The sound hurt her ears, and her hands automatically raised to block out the sound only to flinch when she came in contact with the goo coating her fingers.
Cupcake's heart was pounding as she spun around, tripping over her own feet and landing hard.
Towering over her stood a gaunt skeletal imitation of her favorite animal, completely black and baring a set of unnervingly long fangs that dipped out of the creature's mouth.
***rotg***
The girl jolted from sleep with a strangled scream, wide terrified eyes darting around her dark room. The once calming safety of the familiar surroundings were twisted grotesque monsters that loomed out of the shadows as fear clung to her mind and clouded her thoughts.
The little girl groped in the dark, her fingers clamping around a soft plush leg. With a sob Cupcake drew her stuffed purple unicorn into her arms and curled up against the wall.
One thing stood out to her, ringing through her head like the tolling of a bell. Her nightlight wasn't working.
Sleep escaped her the rest of the night as she cried in a corner of her bed, not daring to move because she was afraid she would set off one of the monsters lurking just out of sight.
It wasn't until dawn crept back into the world that she was able to relax. Small rays of sunlight filtered into her room, banishing the fears of the night.
More confident now that she could see the whole room, Cupcake slipped from her bed and went to investigate her faulty nightlight.
The little pink unicorn hid a shattered light bulb, which confused the little girl. Before she could clean up the glass, her mother pocked her head in the door. She blinked, looking surprised that her daughter was already out of bed. "Hurry and get dressed sweetie, you still have time for breakfast before school and I made pancakes." She chirped, obviously proud of herself and practically bursting with energy. She started to close the door only to pause at the last second, "And don't play with that, cupcake, it's dangerous."
The door closed and she could hear her mom's voice yelling down the hall, "Honey! You need to change the bulb in that nightlight again."
Cupcake sent one more concerned look at said nightlight before turning to get ready for school.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw something small and black skitter under her bed. Dropping her shirt, Cupcake crept closer to the suspicious spot, her heart in her throat. When she got closer she could hear something scraping against the wooden floor, just out of sight.
She swallowed thickly, fear clawing in her chest, but she brushed it aside as she locked eyes with her stuffed toy, which was watching bravely from her pillow. She took courage from that steady gaze and crouched in front of her bed. She was shaking slightly as she reached out and lifted the blanket and bent down to peer into the darkness.
Wary eyes scanned the space, flitting over abandoned toys and bundles of forgotten clothes until she found herself staring into narrowed yellow eyes, exactly like the ones from her dream.
Cupcake gasped, dropping the blanket and scrambling away, her mind reeling through images of black goo and gaunt skeletal forms and sharp pointy teeth.
The blanket moved.
Rippled and bulged as whatever was under there tried to get out. To reach for her.
Cupcake grabbed the closest object she could reach, raising it above her head as the monster under the bed surged forwards and finally broke free.
Cupcake bellowed a war cry and launched her weapon as hard as she could.
A small black cat shrieked and scrambled away, hissing when the Barbie flew passed it and slid under the blanket and out of sight.
Cupcake sagged in relief as her pet shot her a dirty look and trotted out the window with her tail held high and proud.
***rotg***
The rest of the day passed in a blur. Cupcake wasn't really in the mood to play, too busy jumping at shadows.
Jamie, naturally, took notice but he waited until after school to ask her about it. "Are you okay?" He asked as they walked home, the rest of their friends had run ahead of them and it gave them a bit of privacy to talk, "You're not acting like yourself."
Cupcake shrugged, eyeing a dark alleyway nervously, "Nightmare." She said simply, but it was more then enough of an explanation for the boy.
Jamie's expression hardened, "Do you think it has something to do with Pitch?" He asked suspiciously.
Cupcake shrugged again. It was a nightmare, didn't they all involve Pitch? But on the other hand, it had felt…different. Ominous, and it hadn't faded as the day went on, it stayed fresh in her mind as if she had only just woken up.
Jamie touched her arm, pulling her out of her thoughts. She glanced back at him, finding he had come to a stop and was now staring at her with concerned hazel eyes. "Maybe you should go see Jack. If this is about Pitch then he needs to know. Maybe he can help."
It wasn't a bad suggestion, but Cupcake really didn't want to go into the forest alone. Something of her thoughts must have shown on her face because Jamie smiled in sympathy.
Cupcake hadn't had to explain her nightmare, he seemed to understand anyway. "It'll be alright, Cupcake. I can go with you if you want." He offered and that was more then enough to chase away the last of Cupcakes fear.
"Thanks." She said, smiling in relief as they sped up to catch up with their friends.
***rotg***
They didn't get the chance to go see Jack that day, nor the next and every night Cupcake had another nightmare, each worse then the night before. Her parent's were baffled by the nightlight that shattered every night despite the new bulb they put in every morning.
Cupcake was a jittery mess by the time Jamie showed up on her doorstep Saturday morning.
Her mother popped her head around the corner, as if knowing she was leaving. "Don't forget your coat, sweetie. It's getting cold out there and I don't want you getting sick." She warned before disappearing back inside.
Cupcake obediently grabbed a jacket and followed her friend out the door. Her father was in the driveway fiddling with the car, he looked up as they passed, "Have fun, cupcake. Be back before sundown."
Cupcake had no intentions of staying out that long, not wanting to be outside when darkness crept over the town.
The two children found Jack at his lake, lounging on the rocky shore and watching Wind chase red and gold leaves around his lake.
The minute the eternal teen saw two of his favorite kids he leapt to his feet with a broad smile. "Hey guys. What are you doing out here? I thought you'd be playing ball with the others." When they got close enough that Jack could see Cupcake more clearly he crouched down in front of her, concern etched onto his face. "You alright, kiddo? You don't look so good." He reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder, only to pull back at the last second his hand curling into a fist.
The little girl didn't notice and Jamie chose not to mention it, this was about Cupcake. "That's why we're here." He said, bringing Jack's bright blue eyes to rest on him briefly before turning back to Cupcake, who was trembling slightly.
Seeing the usually tough girl so shaken was definitely a cause for concern and Jack was determined to get to the bottom of things.
Cupcake seemed to fight with herself before she was able to tell him what was wrong, "I've been having Nightmares." She said softly, looking as if every ounce of courage that made up the girl had been sucked right out of her with those heavy words.
Jack frowned slightly at the admission as he led the girl over to a rock, gesturing for her to take a seat. Cupcake did, feeling as if her legs had given out completely and weren't able to hold her up.
Jack settled back down in front of her, prompting her to look up at him. He smiled sweetly at her when their eyes met, "They're just bad dreams." He told her in an echo of his words to Jamie in their fight against Pitch. Jamie recognized them as well, if the way he started at the words was any indication, "They can't hurt you."
Cupcake didn't look all that convinced, her mind flashing back to the cruel echoing laugh and the sinister feeling that seemed to seep out of every corner of her room. But this was Jack. She trusted him.
The teen stared at her for a few minutes as he thought, before nodding his head to himself, "Like I said, they're just bad dreams, but I'll talk to Sandy. See if he can get rid of them for you, okay?"
Relief flooded Cupcake at Jack's words and she felt much safer. Jack would never let anything bad happen to her, so she had nothing to worry about.
"Now, why don't you go play with your friends, and I'll go find Sandy right now." Jack watched the two kids disappear before taking off to find his fellow Guardian, a worried frown on his elfin face.
Special Thanks to Willow Lark and sparklehannah for your wonderful reviews.
Hey guys, how did you like it? So, there are a couple little Easter Eggs in this chapter and I'm wondering if anyone was able to pick them out. Please feel free to let me know what you think, and don't forget to go check out my beta, FandomAffairs. See you all next chapter.
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