I think I have some clairvoyant readers
Disclaimer: I do not own the Rise of the Guardians.
"It was during the earlier years of my blindness. You see, during the beginning I had been able to see things near perfectly. Sadly, human beings began these foolish arranged marriages and such, disbanding love as just another silly notion. As the walls against love were built, my eyesight began to fade. By the time I had met Pitch, I was not as bad as I am today. I could see the children, but no other person. Back then, I had traveled alongside my Cupids and turtledoves in order to ensure that the children were safe. One day, a little girl's scream met my ears and I ran up to the home. Entering her room, I spotted her cowering on the bed, the shadows moving around her in a way that was frightening the child," closing her eyes, Valerie fell into the memory. The light smell of ash that filled the home. The soft brown locks of hair that fell to the small child's shoulders. Big, brown eyes staring up at her with fear.
"Hush child, do not waste such precious tears," she whispered, placing her bow and quiver of arrows on the floor before moving over to the small bed the child rested on and pulling the girl into her arms. For a few moments, the child shook in her arms. Looking down at the dark shadows, Valerie frowned. "Shoo, Nightlings. Leave this child be. Have you not better things to do with your time?"
"And who are you?" a smooth, chilling voice asked. Valerie's eyes went up and she saw him standing there. He was tall and lean, his golden eyes penetrating her through the darkness. His name evaded her, but she knew that she should recognize him. Her heart skipped a beat, a sensation that shocked her.
"You may refer to me as Valerie Tine," Valerie responded, laying the now sleeping child onto the bed before standing and grabbing her bow and quiver. "And what might your name be? You seem quite familiar."
"The children refer to me as The Boogeyman," he responded, inspecting his nails with disinterest. That title struck a memory somewhere in Valerie's mind. Some type of warning. The man looked back to her with piercing gold eyes. "You may call me Pitch Black."
"I almost killed him that night. I believe I would have, if not for his eyes. They were so pure, like melted gold. How could I claim someone to be evil with eyes so pure? After that first encounter, I ran into Pitch repeatedly. We would have short conversations, slowly building a liking of one another that we, or at least I, denied. Soon, I found myself purposefully seeking him out," Valerie smiled softly, reminiscing on the good times, the times before all fell to pieces. Looking down in the direction of her hands, she continued, "I soon fell in love with him. The more I denied it, the harder I fell for the man. As my vision failed, I never once lost sight of him."
"So, did you two date or something?" Jack asked, seeming quite interested in the story. Valerie's smile grew and she looked up at the winter boy.
"We became lovers, sneaking every moment we could just to be in one another's arms. Sadly, it did not last," her smile fell as she told him this. "The Man in the Moon discovered that I was in love with Pitch and told me that I must stop seeing Pitch if I wanted what was best for the children."
"Pitch and I were made to always counteract one another. He brought bone chilling nightmares, fear spawned from people's darkest fears. I brought warmth, love that battled away all fears and doubt. It is true that Pitch came to be much longer before I, but I was made to hide the children from his fear nonetheless. The Sandman, Sandy, was created for a similar purpose. He fought the nightmares with beautiful dreams brought on by his golden sand. Sandy was also much more suited for dueling Pitch," Valerie continued to explain, tucking a flaming lock behind one ear as she spoke. It was rare that she ever revisited her moments with Pitch, for revisiting them just made her heart ache. "Due to my love for Pitch, the Man in the Moon believed that I would be unable to face Pitch in battle with my usual prowess. He thought my views on the matter to be corrupted."
"I defied the Man in the Moon, turned my back on him for love. The Man in the Moon had stripped me of my sight by making me what I am. At the time, I had justified it by saying that the the embodiment of Love must never give up the one she loves. As consequence of me no longer searching out the children, protecting them from fear with love, Pitch grew stronger. The Dark Ages came, and I had to choose how blind I really was. Was I blind enough to ignore the tear stained cheeks of children? The children who trusted me!" Valerie's fist came down on the round, glass side table that sat next to her couch, shattering it. She didn't delve deeper into the story, didn't explain how Pitch and she had gone from lovers to what they now appeared to be, enemies. Ignoring the trails of tears down her cheeks, she let her eyes go to the crackling fire. Her voice broke as she finally spoke again, "Love is supposed to know what's best. How did I fail them so horribly?"
"Is everything okie-dokie in here?" North walked in, his voice sounding only a hint wary at the sight before him.
"TinTin was just telling me a story," Jack informed him, standing from the couch. Valerie could sense a slight change in his demeanor as the boy looked up at North. North patted him on the head in a fatherly way and Valerie smiled despite the pain in her chest.
"Thank you for your assistance, Guardians. If you are still weary, I am sure my Cupids are more than willing to guide you to the various guest rooms," Valerie stood, whistling for one of her turtledoves to come help with the mess she had created of the side table. Turning back to face the Guardians, she awaited a verbal answer.
"We'd love to! Oo! It'll be like a big sleepover!" Tooth cheered, her form fluttering around in a blur before Valerie's eyes.
Valerie walked into her bedroom, both mentally and physically exhausted. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she rubbed her eyes out of habit. When they opened, they immediately went to a black figure that was next to her wall. His form was more defined now, allowing her to see his fingers trailing over each rose on her wallpaper.
"How did you gain entrance to my room?" Valerie stood, wary of the intruder as he turned around and gold eyes pierced her. The deja vu hit her fast and hard, almost making her reach out for him. Almost.
"I have been waiting here for you for hours, my dove," he moved forward, getting closer to her than she should allow him. "You kept every single rose."
"Of course I did," Valerie looked away, her head turning to the side as she stayed planted firm in her place. Then she looked back to him. "What do you want from me?"
"I was just curious as to what such a beautiful maiden is doing alone at night?" Pitch drew even closer, the darkness shifting to reveal pale grey skin as he grew closer. Valerie held her breath, unsure what to do at first. In the end, she chose to fall back on memory.
"She is awaiting the arrival of her lover," she whispered, unsure as to where he was going with this. The memory was so fresh, she could recite the entire conversation with him easily. Pitch took her by the chin, tilting her head up slightly.
"Do you remember what we said to each other last night, in the cave, away from the prying eyes of your Man in the Moon?" Pitch questioned, his voice growing a cold edge to it.
"We promised to love one another until the end of time," Valerie responded without hesitation.
"Funny how things change when betrayal spins its webs," spinning around, Pitch gripped the wallpaper and a loud rip filled the entire domain of Valerie Tine.
"No, don't-" Valerie was cut off as she fell to her knees, clutching her chest and her eyes going to the darkening figure. Blood rose to her throat, rendering her speechless as her eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed onto the rose petal floor.
Much darker and dramatic than I thought it would turn out.