Hello, again! This is kinda short, but is basically a little filler blurb to make up for my laziness until I can get my longer chapter out!
Hope it's okay!
I sprinted, as hard as I could, dodging trees, climbing steep hills, splashing through streams and lakes with a furious breaststroke. Nothing coukd stop them. The nightmares cantered in the distance, hard on my heels. Their shrieks echoed across the empty, endless woods. I could hear the bizarre laughter of the boogeyman, of Pitch.
I thought he was my friend.
I thought he would never do this to me.
I felt so... betrayed. Broken. Our trust had been defiled.
So I pressed onward.
After a while, my strength began to wither. My chest was seared with the desperation for oxygen. I was beginning to slow. My mind, despite the will to flee, finally overrided the need to escape. I slowed to a stop, leaning on a trunk for support, panting. I slid to the ground, gasping in air. The nightmare circled around me, barricading me in the ring of trees. At the crest of the slope stood Onxy, Pitch's best nightmare with the Nightmare King atop her.
"There's no where left to run, Olivia," Pitch called down to me, "And you're so tired. Why not give in?"
"Never!" I exclaimed, sending my lungs back a bit in their effort to restore more heart rate to normal.
The boogeyman steered his nightmare up to me in a steady trot. He had time to waste. Then, once he was several paces away from my feet, Pitch stopped. The air was stiff as we held eye contact, warring in our gazes. He smirked down at me whilst I glared back up at him. The Nightmare King finally dismounted, reaching my side.
"Give in," he whispered, gentle and reassuring. "We can make it work."
I shook my head dazedly. "No, Pitch!"
The Nightmare King leaned into my face until he was moment away from me. I stared into his silvery-gold eyes that seemed to probe my mind. I reached out, fingers trembling, to caress his face. "Pitch..."
I slapped the boogeyman.
"HOW MANY BLOODY TIMES DO I GOTTA TELL YOU?" I shouted. "I'M NOT GETTING YOU JACK TIED UP ON A PLATTER WITH AN APPLE IN HIS MOUTH FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY!"
"But that's not faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaair!" Pitch wailed. "You promised me something good!"
"I'M TAKING YOU SHOPPING TOMORROW!" I yelled. "YOU CAN GIVE ME IDEAS THEN!"
"I already gave you a whole list of reasons why I need that!" Pitch protested.
"Yeah, and they were awful!" I retorted. "If you keep whining, I'm going to get a rabid cat for you, and then I'm going to THROW IT AT YOUR FACE!"
"Fine," the boogeyman grumbled. "I'll wait!"
Well, things worked out. I gave Pitch a stuffed unicorn (he calls it a nightmaricorn) and a book that may or may not be about his secret brother/cousin in it.
He seems pretty happy. But I haven't let him near Jack or any apples for a while.