Chapter 6: A Smile in the Dark

Arianna's heart pulsed in her chest, beating with pain as her wings strained to keep her in the sky. Everything felt heavy, like she was trying to carry a load of lead, but Arianna endured it. There was something that she had to see for herself. The palpitations in her chest became unbearable as she flew back to the city, pushing to find a place that was safe to land. A low building came into view and Arianna's body screamed in protest to the torture she was putting herself through; she had landed with a stumble, falling to her knees when she could finally let her body rest.

Arianna breathed heavily, gasping from the ordeal, but despite the heavy gasping and the ringing in her ears from the rush of blood leaving her head, Arianna could hear the distinct shouting and yelling from two people down on the street. Shaking, she pushed herself to her feet and staggered to the edge of the roof and looked over.

Three people were screaming and shouting, two women and a man. Arianna noticed the two of the people, because she had sent an arrow to both of them. What she did not see was that this man had already made a bond with another woman.

"What the hell are you doing?" the new woman shouted. "Who is this?"

"Look, it's not what it looks like," the man quickly said. "We're just classmates in the same class. We just had some lunch. It meant nothing."

Despite his attempts at trying to defuse a situation, Arianna felt the jagged edge of hurt and heart-break sink inside her chest. She cried out in agony, giving voice to the girl who stood on the sidelines who was the owner of those feelings. However, the girl smiled, hiding her pain from the other two.

"Y-yeah. It was just two classmates out to lunch. Really it didn't mean anything."

The girl departed the scene before it got worst, tears silently falling as she disappeared into the crowd. Arianna watched as the string that bound the two people together suddenly snapped and that had made the pain in her chest turn white-hot. Arianna bit her lip as she barely managed to cling to consciousness; her eyes faded to black and the sounds around her were fuzzy and distant. But she pulled herself back to the racket of the cars and crowds, but the effort had sapped the last bit of strength she held within her.

I just need to lie down. I just need to rest. Arianna slowly lowered herself down to a comfortable place to rest. Just a few minutes to recover and I'll be back in the sky soon enough. The hours faded into the background as Arianna drifted off to sleep. When Arianna woke back up, the sky had changed to a star strewed night. Arianna groaned from how sore her body felt, especially her chest. As she pushed herself off of the roof, she winced at how stiff her shoulder and thighs felt from sleeping on the roof.

"Great place to fall asleep, Ari," Arianna told herself as she worked the muscles out of their sleeping positions. "Guess I should head back to the Cove. Aethon will chew me out for not coming back after another episode."

Arianna stretched her wings, but they weren't ready to start another flight. She sighed and reached behind her back to feel that her bow and quiver were still there. There were a few arrows left, but looking down at them made her depressed.

Aethon will have to wait. I don't have the will to go back to the Cove now. Arianna took the stairs down to the street. With the number of people who still lingered on the street and how quiet it was, told her that it was late, which meant that most of the children were inside and asleep, and the adults that were still out would definitely not take notice to her, because they didn't believe in her. The thought left a mild sting, but she preferred it this way. She just needed time by herself to sort things out, to put her thoughts into perspective.

Arianna simply wandered the streets, not having any specific destination in mind. Her feet carried her through alleys, through nice neighborhoods and not so nice neighborhoods. Arianna didn't know how long she walked, her mind wasn't focused. When she finally brought her mind back to reality, she looked up to notice that she had walked clear out of the city limits to the suburbs, where forests had taken the place of steel and concrete buildings. The chill on the ground was more persistent in the woods, without having the steam billowing out of the manholes and subways, but the chill shied away from her footsteps. Arianna found that she could find peace while she walked through these woods; everything was quiet and she could just let go of everything without having people worry about her.

"Ok…let's look at this with a clear mind…there was definitely something there with those two, I saw it. Their hearts were in sync," Arianna said to herself. "But why didn't I see that his heart was already connected to someone else's heart?"

The forest gave her no answer and she sighed at the silence. Arianna pulled her bow off of her back and ran her fingers over the bowstring and wood. "Please...tell me what I'm doing wrong," Ari whispered to herself. "What do I have to do to stop myself from having these pains?"

The bowstring hummed and gave a faint glow as it warmed between her fingers, as if the bow was trying to reassure her with its warmth.

"Some help you are," Arianna growled.

A chilling laugh had broken the quiet stillness of the forest and Arianna felt a chill stroke her spine. Her eyes scanned the forest only to see now that the shadows of the trees made Arianna flinch and jump, making creatures and images dance before her eyes, and disappear without a trace.

"You won't find your answers in that, my dear."

Arianna turned to find who said that, but with no luck. The trees however became more sinister with each passing minute. The branches turned to gnarled hands that reached and clawed at her. Arianna fastened an arrow to her bow, readying herself.

"And what would you know about that?" Arianna hissed. The arrow turned hot as Arianna's fingers brushed the phoenix feather.

"I know more about you than you realize."

Arianna spun in circles, not wanting to move from her place. She searched the forest to find the person who was talking to her until Arianna suddenly came face to face with a pair of cold amber-colored eyes. She fell back away from the man, startled by his sudden appearance.

"Sorry, did I frighten you?" he asked with a soft voice.

"It's not what I would call a normal greeting," Arianna replied, only now did she realize that she aimed her arrow at the man's chest, her body poised and ready for an attack, despite the unease in her stomach.

"You're right. Forgive me," the man said, bowing to Arianna. "I did not intend to be so disrespectful on our first meeting. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Pitch. And you are?"

"Arianna."

"I'm pleased to meet you. And judging by your attire," Pitch said as his eyes observed Arianna's clothing, "You must be Cupid, if I'm not mistaken."

"What's it to you?" Arianna snapped.

"I see you have a temper. I was merely remarking on the last time I have met Cupid."

"We've never met," Arianna shot back.

"You're not the first Cupid I have met, my dear," Pitch replied in a silky voice.

Arianna felt herself lower her bow at that comment, "What do you mean by that?"

Pitch was taller than Arianna and the atmosphere around him was poison, but what had disturbed her more was that his heart did not have a warm, red flame like every living being on the planet that she has seen. His heart was empty, cold, and black. He was intimidating, but Arianna wanted to know what he had to say.

Pitch sighed; there was pity in his eyes and Arianna felt herself flare with rage, she did not need his pity. "They haven't told you about the others?"

"What others?" Arianna growled.

"Sweet girl, you were not the first one to be made into Cupid," Pitch stated.

"And how would you know?"

"Because I've been on this Earth far longer than you have, and I have seen enough Cupids to last me a life time, but each one I have seen have all succumbed to the same fate as the ones before them."

Arianna digested his words, but she lowered her bow and placed her arrow back into her quiver, "You're good at telling stories, but unfortunately, I don't have the time or the energy to listen to them." She turned and walked away from Pitch, this was the last thing that she needed now.

"Stories?" Pitch asked with a touch of hysterical laughter. "Tell me, do you feel pain when one of your arrows builds a bad connection with a couple?"

Arianna's feet froze to the spot as Pitch said that. How did he know that?

"Does your heart feel the same pain that a human feels? Does your heart ache when there is rejection, unrequited loves, and even break-ups?" Pitch asked as he stepped closer to Arianna. His eyes glistened with malice as he saw her hand slowly reach up to her chest.

Arianna looked to him, "How do you know that?"

"Is it really that hard to figure out?" Shadows from the trees slowly rose up and encircled Pitch and Arianna. The shadows started to take shape and form. "As the job entails, Cupid is to unite forlorn lovers who are destined to be with one another and that process is done by a simple arrow from Cupid's bow." A shadow version of a cherub firing an arrow into a black heart had danced in between Arianna and Pitch. "The humans are then forever bound to one another in eternal love, but where does Cupid get these arrows and how does Cupid unite them?"

The shadow Cupid lifted its hands to its chest and an arrow rose from the center of its torso. "Cupid's arrows originate from their master's own heart. That is the knot; the force that keeps the couple together. However, humans have become more fickle as they grow and change with each passing year. The human's hearts have grown weak, and it's not enough for Cupid's arrows to bond two people together anymore. Then when humans grow apart, they break Cupid's bond and with each broken bond, more people lose faith in love and with each arrow that is broken, it has an adverse effect on Cupid."

The shadow Cupid doubled over in pain and struggled to stay in the air, just like Arianna had experienced a few hours ago. But this Cupid slowly fell to the ground in a heap and faded into nothing.

"I shouldn't have to explain what happens if one too many of your arrows break, do I?" Pitch asked. The fear that had seeped from her was delicious. He breathed it in, feeling strength fill his muscles. This is the source I have looked for.

Arianna felt uncomfortable with what Pitch was saying and she didn't want to believe it, there was no way this was true. No one ever told her this. But his knowledge of her pain, no one else knew about it other than Aethon and the cherubs. At least that was what she thought. Who else knew about this? Why didn't anyone tell her? Her head swelled with questions that rammed inside her skull, leaving in their wake a searing headache.

"Are you alright? You look pale," Pitch said as he placed a hand on Arianna's cheek. He gently lifted her head so he could look into her eyes as he said in a soft and gentle voice, "How many arrows have you had broken?"

She felt her stomach dropped. "I…I don't know." She swallowed and asked Pitch. "How many arrows broke before…?" Arianna didn't have the will to finish her question, but Pitch knew what she was asking of him.

"10 was my last count, but it's different for every Cupid. Some faded from having just five broken."

Arianna trembled. Today was not her first day of dealing with this pain, but it had hurt more so than the last one. From her memory, this would be her third broken arrow. The other two happened when she had just started her job as Cupid. Aethon had ended up finding her on the ground unconscious and she always woke up back in the Cove. How many arrows would it take until she faded from this life?

A sudden explosion of frost and snow slammed into Pitch, his hand leaving a scratch on her cheek as he tumbled across the ground.

"Arianna, are you ok?"

She looked to see Jack by her side, his blue eyes searching hers.

"I-"

"She's terrified, Jack," Pitch interrupted Arianna. He pulled himself back to his feet as he looked to Jack. "You still haven't gotten out of that nasty habit of interfering I see."

Jack looked back to Arianna and could see the fear in her eyes, the way she held herself. He turned back to Pitch, eyes glaring, "What did you do to her?"

"I merely told her the truth, something that you and your Guardians are quiet fond of keeping from her."

"What are you talking about?" Jack questioned, his staff glowing.

Pitch smiled. "Not this time, Jack. I won't give you the answers you're looking for that easily." He turned back to Arianna. "If you still have doubts about what I say, all you have to do is ask those Guardians of yours and see where their loyalties really lie."

The shadows slowly enveloped Pitch, but Jack ran after him, "You're not getting away!"

But Pitch was already gone when the blast of cold from Jack's staff slipped through the shadows and froze the tree behind him. The forest didn't seem nearly as dark now that Pitch had disappeared, and Arianna could feel her body again. She walked over to a nearby tree and sat down at the base of it, Arianna needed to sit down, she needed to figure things out, but she was lost.

"Arianna."

She looked up to see Jack standing in front of her; she didn't have anything to say to him, or rather she couldn't find anything to say to him. She was so confused.

Instead of asking her questions, Jack took a seat beside her and just sat quietly with her, giving her the time she needed. After what felt like an eternity, Arianna drew a shaky breath.

"I don't understand any of this," Arianna said quietly. "I…I mean, I've been through that type of pain before, Aethon told me that was a high possibility, especially since I was new, but I didn't know that I wasn't the only Cupid. I didn't know that I could-"

Arianna's voice cracked as she struggled to keep herself together. Jack just listened to what Arianna said. He didn't have an answer that he could give her and he didn't know what to say that could comfort her, because that was something that he never been through.

"You got a scratch on your face," Jack said to break the tension and to draw Arianna away from those thoughts.

Arianna's eyes shimmered with tears as she looked to Jack and touched her face. She laughed weakly, "Yeah, I guess I do."

"Does it hurt?" Jack asked.

She shook her head. Jack placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled, "Don't worry. We'll figure this out, and I'll be there with you to help you out with anything you need."

She smirked at that, but tears had slowly started to break free and track down her cheeks. Jack's hand gripped his staff in frustration. Pitch was back and it seems that he chose his next target.

"Let's go talk to the others," Jack said as he stood up on his feet.

"What?"

"We need to tell them that Pitch is back," he said as he offered a hand to Arianna. "Besides, you can't trust anything that guy says. We're better off trying to find our answers from people we trust."

Arianna looked to his hand and turned away. "Can I trust them Jack?"

Jack frowned at that, but he knew that it wasn't entirely her fault for thinking that way. Pitch was good at putting doubt and fear into anyone he targeted. He crouched down so that he and Arianna were at the same eye level. Arianna looked up, the tears had stopped but her face was still wet.

Jack smiled softly, "Do you trust me?" He offered her his hand again and Arianna looked to it.

His smile broadened when Arianna slowly reached for his hand. He tightened his grip and pulled Arianna to her feet. A soft breeze began to blow and Arianna stretched her wings, they were starting to feel better after resting for so long.

"Time to call a meeting," Jack said. And with that, the two had taken flight into the night sky.