* I referenced "The Guardians of Childhood" book series. I don't own "The Guardians of Childhood" book series.
Dark Cellar
Very few times, Pitch had gone down the cellar in the Dark Ages. However, during that time, it was nothing more than a muddy hole in the ground, uncovered by any door. According to him, it would be no short trip for the Guardians. He promised a long journey indeed, but it seemed that Jack was the only one who noticed Pitch's negligence to describe what they were up against. However, Jack waved this off when he quickly uncovered the next obstacle.
When they arrived at their usual guest bedroom at the Pole, Jamie breathlessly flopped back on the fur-covered bed and, after moment, slowly curled up on his side, letting his eyes fall shut. As he stepped over to the drawers, Jack used the crook of his staff to hook a corner of the blankets and flick the covers over Jamie's snoozing form. Jack extracted a blue gym back – the same one from Jamie's old bedroom in Burgess – from the bottom drawer of the dresser. He then proceeded to rifle swiftly about the room in search of anything useful to bring.
Like a dutiful Guardian, North made sure to keep tabs on the world he and his comrades protected. This meant getting an influx of newspapers and articles from around the world. Every day numerous elves would walk into his main workshop to neatly stack the papers in a corner of the room. Where the elves always got the newspapers from, no one was sure, but North, seeing that the elves prided themselves in being useful in not just 'toy-making', wasn't one to question it. As such, it was in the recent hour that North received two startling newspapers, each from Russia and relaying the disappearances of even more children.
Despite the need to make haste, Jack couldn't bring himself to wake the slumbering child laying on the bed. He could tell poor Jamie had been steadily reaching a limit, and sleep deprivation finally caught up to him. Jack came and went from the room several times as quietly as possible as to let Jamie get some shut-eye, even if just for a minute.
With an unusually aggravated sigh, Jack tossed the empty bag onto the nightstand and plopped down next to Jamie. The winter spirit buried his face in his hands, trying to win a losing battle with his instincts. Perhaps there could be a different way to go about this, perhaps he should've sided with Bunny. Jack looked to the far wall in dread, and then down at Jamie. Fishing a hand through his front pocket, Jack brought out a homely and lightly frayed stuffed animal. The toy only brushed against Jamie's hands before the kid's eyes shifted beneath their lids. Still not awake, Jamie brought up his arms and tucked his beloved stuffed rabbit against his chest. Jack half-smiled wistfully.
There was no avoiding it; Jamie would be coming with them. Honestly, if they left the child behind, where was he to go? As nomads, Jack and Jamie didn't have a home, and Jamie obviously couldn't go back to Burgess. North's workshop wouldn't do much good as Reapers, a creature that matched up with Nightmares, could more than likely get passed North's defenses.
"He could stay in the Warren," Bunny had offered with a grimace. "But my sentinel eggs are geared to mainly protect Sophie. They could protect Jamie just as well, but if Reapers got in, Sophie would be their first priority." And if Reapers were growing as powerful as Pitch thought they were, Jamie wouldn't last very long in the Warren, the sentinel eggs and his uncontrollable magic doing little to no good. Jack's hope was to bring Jamie with him and that the Reapers wouldn't suspect a child to go willingly into their midst.
Bunny's ever-grouchy voice hollered to Jack from outside the room, signaling it was time to go. Jack called back to him to request another minute. The yelling made the younger boy stir. Jamie's large brown eyes blinked open, hands instinctively holding his stuffed rabbit closer as he embraced semi-consciousness.
"Hey, kiddo," Jack muttered softly, ruffling a hand through the kid's hair. "Time to head out." He stood up. Jamie nodded only once before his head fell sleepily back on the bed. Jack chuckled. Shaking his head the winter spirit gently pried the rabbit from Jamie's hold, placed the toy on the dresser – didn't want to lose it where they were going – and retrieved Jamie's cloak from the bed knob.
Jack's head turned at the sound of the little voice. Jamie shifted until he sat up. "Sophie's going to be okay, right," the kid asked. "And mom?"
For an uncertain moment, Jack didn't say anything. However, the winter spirit soon flashed a warm crooked grin. "Of course they will be, kiddo. Sophie's perfectly safe in the Warren and Reapers don't target adults too often, so your mom'll be fine, too." Jamie matched his friend's grin.
It was almost a lie. Truthfully, Jack wasn't certain if Reapers were after any adults. However, with Pitch's quarters close to Burgess, Jack presumed that the man might have more of a preference to protect the town. At least that's what he hoped.
"Do we have everything," North asked his fellow Guardians. He raised an eyebrow at Jack and Jamie. "What have you two brought?"
"The clothes on our backs," Jack simply said with a shrug. "We don't really own much."
Jamie was about to add that he still had a snow globe rolling around in his pockets until a breath rushed through his hair. He swallowed when his gaze travelled up to meet the yellow eyes of a towering Nightmare. The dark horse shook its sandy mane and before it could rear back, Pitch stood from his throne.
"Onyx," The Nightmare King barked. "Go! Do your job." The Nightmare snorted indignantly and trotted back to the shadows. "Onyx will be collecting the Nightmares of children around the world," he explained to the Guardians gathered around the open cellar door. "The more Fearlings she recruits, the fewer Reapers we should see." Pitch shook his head. "Mind you, to gather enough Nightmares and their strength would be a decade-long process-"
"We will take what we can get, for now," North finished, taking a sword from its sheath. With his free hand, the Guardian sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and opened his mouth.
"I don't expect thanks," Pitch growled bluntly. He kicked the edge of the cellar door. "Just get rid of them."
North glanced behind him, shooting one last look at his friends before they all nodded. One by one, they made their cautious trek down the cellar. After Jamie had trailed down with the Sandman, Jack was about to follow before a hand fell on his shoulder.
"You're bringing the boy with you," Pitch asked with a level of incredulity.
Jack sighed. "No place safe for him."
Pitch rolled his eyes. "No place you deem safe. Wouldn't the Lunar Lamadary take him?"
Jack shook his head. "They don't like to let in too many strangers. Besides," Jack began, not the first time he ever said this to anyone. "I can look after him." Pitch scowled, but said nothing more as he and Jack turned from each other, each going off into a different set of shadows.
Though the darkness concealed any hint of a ladder, Jack still descended down into the pitch darkness of the shadows, the dim light of Pitch's lair fading from above until Jack couldn't even see his own hands in front of his face. The familiar wooden material of the ladder under his bare feet was replaced by cold cobblestone. And the moment he touched solid ground the faint golden glow from Sandy flooded the corner of his eye.
Trudging aimlessly through the darkness, Jack caught up to the light, the whispering of his friends, the fluttering of Tooth's wing's, and the ominous drip sounding somewhere off. The darkness was smothering, not allowing Sandy's glow to reach more than a few inches out. The dream giver, Bunnymund's back paws, and North's boots were the only thing clearly visible.
Just as Jack ran up beside the Sandman, the hissing of a match and the blaze of a blinding light flooded everyone's senses.
"Ah, knew this would come in handy," North grinned proudly at the pallid candle in his fist. The white candle was a special, recent design of North's, supposedly being the brightest candlelight on Earth. Everyone grinned at the source of light, and Jack's smile widened when he saw Sandy's little hand resting securely on Jamie's shoulder. The little man gave Jack a thumbs-up. But all smiles vanished in awe when their eyes fell upon the now lit room.
Large wine caskets lined every inch of the small room. The only provided space was the narrow hallway between the casks leading down to a large rectangular wooden box on the floor at the far wall.
Tooth followed the sound of the dripping and found that a casket on the top row was leaking out the tap. Flying upward, she ran a hand under the drip, allowing a few drops of wine on her index and middle finger, before tightening the tap to a seal and tasting the beverage. She scowled. Though she wasn't one to drink much alcohol, she could tell by the taste that the wine hadn't aged.
"Some harvests start in the summer," Bunnymund grumbled. "I'm no summer spirit, but I'd say we're looking at a fresh harvest of grapes."
"Reapers enjoy wine?" North wagered as he and Sandy took a sip from a nearby casket.
Jamie walked up beside North. "Can I try?"
"No way, mister," Jack said, dragging Jamie with him. "I've see you on a sugar high. We are not putting alcohol in you." Jamie whined in protest, but Jack ignored him; his curiosity was leading him to the large oak box at the end of the cellar.
Jack hooked his staff over the tap of a cask and knelt to push the lid of the odd box out of the way. Not letting him do it on his own, Jamie pitched in to help. As soon as the lid hit the ground with a resounding clatter, a plume of dust shot out at Jack and Jamie's eyes. Jack was going to be thanking the Moon that the dust cleared from his vision first, rather than Jamie's. A horrified gasp choked passed his pale lips and a tremor shocked his stock-still form as he stared into the box.
Jamie coughed a few times, dust watering his eyes as he tried to look, too. "So, what's-" The child's voice shattered Jack's reverie.
He grabbed Jamie roughly, pushing the kid's face protectively against his blue hoodie. "Don't look," he exclaimed. Regardless of the strange white halo surrounding the figure, Jack knew Jamie would get terrible nightmares from the image before them.
Resting in the large casket, pale as Jack, eyes closed, and certainly unmoving was a boy no older, if not younger, than Jamie.
* Well... it's rated T for a reason. I apologize for the overdue update. Let me know what you think so far!
