AUTHOR'S NOTE: I can't express in words how blessed I am to have such fantastic, considerate readers. Your kind words of encouragement, involvement in the story, and love mean the world to me! I just wanted to take this moment to thank anyone who reads this sincerely for taking time to read my humble work. I ADORE writing this story and it's rooted itself deep in my heart. Your dedication as readers and reviewers has given me strength to make this my best piece of fanfic work yet. I love writing it just as much as I love all of you. Thank you so much for reading and enjoying the story so far! Also, thank you for the awesome reviews in general—they're a joy to read and reply to, being so in-depth and complimentary. Thank you again for everything, and a thank you to anyone who takes time to read this story that I've recently been holding very close to my heart.
TwistingMoonbeam
Chapter 7: Black and Blue
The Sister found the area quaint.
She glided above the town, apparently called Burgess, in her elemental state and breathed in the early afternoon air with a grimace. She despised winter, and wanted to just release the Nightmare King and return to her Domain. The Human World felt too cold for a Fire Spirit.
The Sister of Fire was still confused as to why Mother Nature wanted Pitch Black brought to her. She technically wasn't doing anything illegal, but the Guardians of Childhood had locked Pitch away a year ago after he had tried to conquer the Human World with his fearlings and Nightmares. They certainly wouldn't be too pleased when they heard Pitch was free—but the fault would not be hers, it would be Mother's. She couldn't disobey Mother anyway—it simply just wasn't done.
A twinge of power reverberated in her. She sensed it and zeroed in on it. "Where . . . ? Ah." She dipped closer to the ground, halting to examine the power. Dark, strong . . . vengeful. The Sister of Fire landed in the middle of a forest, stretches of snowy grass and twigs crunching under her feet as her full body materialized: tall and plump, long fingers with claw-like nails, raven-feathered hair that floated above her head like the flame of a candle. Her outfit was a long-sleeved vermillion dress, lush and satin-like, a gold vest, and a golden band that went around her head under her bangs. Gold specks dusted her cheeks lightly, which only made her cat-like yellow eyes glisten like wet paint.
The Sister of Fire looked around. Wind whispered through the trees, causing the leafless branches to sway in a wintry ritual. She listened intently, fingertips to the ground, the cold of the snow doing nothing to help her mood. Power throbbed under the surface, the source under an abandoned bedpost that was in the dead center of a clearing in the forest, and it was alive, like a black heart was pumping underground.
How appropriate.
Both hands to the dirt and snow now, she closed her eyes, concentrating on the power, grasping onto it. The Guardians had done a number on the Nightmare King, that was sure: his prison was strong, and he was weak. But with a burst, she broke the prison, and a black shadow came out of the ground like rushing steam. Black sparks shot through the woods and a boom echoed, causing the birds nesting nearby to scatter.
The Sister of the Fire waited as the spirit of the Nightmare King collected the fragments of himself together. He was just an inky spirit in front of her, the shell of something leftover from a war for a bunch of children.
"Eldrid," Pitch Black croaked. "Sister of Fire. It's been years . . . you . . . what have you done?"
"I have released you, Nightmare King," she said. "Mother demands your presence."
There was silence as Pitch mulled over the new situation. "I would show my gratitude if I had a physical body," he said at last. "But, unfortunately, that won't be happening until I regain my strength."
"Yes, I know," Eldrid replied. "Mother has plans to assist you in that."
"She seems to have everything planned out, doesn't she?"
"Of course. Mother is always prepared."
Pitch scoffed. "Typical. She's still as over-dramatic as ever."
"I would be a little more thankful, if I were you," Eldrid retorted. "It was through her demand that you are freed from your pathetic prison."
"Do not mistake my comments for ungratefulness," the shadow said, slow and precise. "I am, in fact, very grateful. Confused, but grateful. I will be able to express it more when I have physical form again. But I haven't the slightest inkling as to why she would free me, or why she would want me."
"She's currently working at a project."
"Project?"
Eldrid nodded, pursing her lips and tucking a black, flame-like strand of hair behind her ear. "Mother is after a human girl."
The chuckle that slithered out of the shadow of the Nightmare King was just like his form: dark and ominous. "Really now? How different. I've always thought she despised humans."
"She does," Eldrid said tiredly. "Which is what perplexes me to no end."
"What is it about this girl that is so special to Mother Nature?" Pitch asked.
Eldrid looked at him. "She is Second-Sighted."
The Nightmare King was silent, taking it in. The shadows of his body wavered, like he was doing a complicated mathematics problem in his mind. "Is that so? I can see why she'd be interested."
"More like hell bent," Eldrid said.
Pitch was quiet again before asking, "So, she might require my services for locating this Second-Sighted girl."
"I don't believe the problem is locating her. We know where she is."
"Where? Europe? Asia?"
"Here. In this town."
Pitch chuckled again. "You're joking."
Eldrid just frowned in distaste.
"What in the world is stopping you then?"
"A certain pestering Winter Spirit."
Pitch sucked in a breath. "Jack Frost."
"The very same," Eldrid confirmed. "Aura tried to bring the girl to Mother yesterday and Jack Frost stopped her."
"So . . . the Guardians are involved in this."
"Jack Frost is, in the very least."
Pitch's shadows flared, black bolts zipping around like bees. "I will follow you. I have a certain . . . bone to pick with the Guardians."
"Very well. If anything, the problem could be solved sooner than we think, if Mother's second attempt doesn't slip through the cracks. Follow me, Nightmare King."
Eldrid swept up a curtain of fire, and it formed a cyclone around her and Pitch. In a matter of seconds, the two were gone from the Burgess Cemetery, the only indication of their presence the black and red sparks that were still invisibly racing through the town.
=!=!=!=!=!=!=!
"They were here, and you didn't wake me up?!"
Charlotte winced at her brother's volume as she dropped waffles into the toaster. "You could not yell, you know."
She still couldn't believe she had slept in until noon—she hated sleeping in that late. But she couldn't blame herself—that glob of dreamsand had done the trick. The second a particle had even brushed up against her nose, she had been out like a light. She couldn't remember if she had dreamed. She made a mental note to thank Sandy for his help.
"How can I not yell?!" Jamie demanded, eyes narrowed in outrage. He was dressed for another snow day, but his hands were in eleven-year old fists. "You promised you'd wake me up if he came back! And now you're telling me they all came, and you didn't even think of getting me?"
In her seat at the kitchen counter, Sophie pouted and crossed her arms across her chest. She loved the Guardians just as much as Jamie and had been upset when she found out the rendezvous that had occurred at three that morning. Her tangled blond hair was draped over her face, blocking out an angry green eye.
"Okay, look," Charlotte tried to reason. "It was super late and they caught me by surprise—I was too busy trying to actually accept that they were in my room. Besides, Jack and Bunnymund are coming back; they just had to go take care of some stuff first."
"Bunny! Bunny!" Sophie chirped.
Jamie held his glare for a minute longer before letting it drop. "Okay. You're just lucky I'm a forgiving person, though."
"Aren't I always?" Charlotte said with a grin.
The waffles popped up from the toaster. Charlotte got out a plate, cut them into bite-sized pieces, halved them again, poured syrup into the corner, and handed the plate to Sophie, along with a fork. Sophie gave Charlotte a partly-toothless smile and dug in. Charlotte got cereal for herself, hip against the wall.
Jack and Bunnymund had left a note saying they'd return after Jack brought snow to New York and Bunnymund checked on his Warren. Charlotte was surprised that she didn't have an anxious bone in her body—with Jack Frost and the Easter Bunny around, would Mother Nature even dare?
Charlotte's cell phone began to vibrate in her jean pocket. Fishing it out, she saw that the caller ID read Serena. "Hello?" she said, phone against her ear.
"Hey, Charlotte! Sorry I didn't text you yesterday—I got caught up with some stuff."
She sounds kinda weird, Charlotte thought to herself. "Hey, it's okay. Serena, are you feeling alright? You sound like you're in a rush."
"What? Oh, yeah, I'm cleaning my room. My mom freaked at me this morning to do it then and I procrastinated. I'm just kind of throwing things around." A few bangs came from the other end. "Ahhhh!"
"Serena?"
"Gah—sorry! Stubbed my toe. A-Anyway, want to hang out today?"
"Uh . . ." Charlotte glanced at the clock in the microwave. What time were Bunnymund and Jack going to be back? It's just Serena though . . . if we stay close, then maybe it won't be a big deal. Besides, Mother Nature can't know about Serena. "Sure. Do you want to come over?"
"Actually, I was thinking you could come over here." A pause. "I was gonna ask for help for the Pre-Calc test anyway. I barely get any of it!"
Charlotte smiled into the phone. Well, at least Serena hasn't changed, despite all the craziness going on right now. "That works."
"Be here in ten minutes?"
"Sure. See ya then."
After hanging up, Charlotte texted her mother saying she'd be at Serena's. She unwound the bandaging from her palm and sighed—the cut was still fresh and angry red. After applying new bandaging, Charlotte told Jamie, "Hey, I'm gonna be at Serena's for a little bit today, so you're in charge of Sophie and the house."
"But what about Jack and Bunny?" The boy was seated next to Sophie, eating the same cereal as her.
Charlotte blew a stray hair out of her eyes. "I won't be long. Besides, Serena is only a few doors down. If anything happens . . . I'll just run home. It'll be fine."
"They won't be happy, ya know," Jamie said matter-of-factly, spoon limp in his hand. "At least, Bunnymund won't be."
Charlotte hesitated before going into the hallway, hand on the wall. "Ugh, you're right. And the last thing I want to do is piss off people who are trying to help—and don't repeat that word," she added, eying Jamie and Sophie.
"Yeah, Sophie," Jamie said. "Don't ever say 'help.' You'll get bashed."
"It's no longer a wonder to me how you and Jack are so close," Charlotte muttered. "Okay, well, I can't just cancel on Serena—when they get here, just give them her address and they can, um, meet me there."
"Won't Serena think it's weird that you're talking to air? Unless you can make her a believer in like an hour."
"Most likely not gonna happen. I'll just adlib."
Charlotte jogged upstairs to her room and pulled her coat, beret, gloves, and boots on. She double-checked that she had her phone in her pocket and her house key, Pre-Calc packet and folder, calculator, and a pencil in her bag. After making sure Jamie had her number, their mother's number, and the numbers for the police, fire department, and Poison Control, she exited her house and started walking down the sidewalk to 2181 Blueberry.
The afternoon was crisp and nose-numbingly cold. Charlotte smirked, remembering the question she had asked Jack at three-thirty this morning and his hilarious reaction. Seeing him as upset as he had been had troubled her—perhaps it was only because he reminded her so much of Jamie, but the urge to comfort him had been instinctual. Or maybe she was just that awesome of a person. Either way, it made sense.
Walking to Serena's house was such a normal thing, it felt weird knowing the Easter Bunny and Jack Frost would be meeting her there later. But maybe that was the reality she had to start adapting to.
The Kingston house was identical to the Bennett house in a lot of ways—same color, same structure, same height. The driveway wasn't shoveled, and Mrs. Kingston had already broken out the Christmas decorations: inflatable snow globe, lights on the roof, a Santa figure that was arranged to look like he had smashed into a tree. Charlotte wondered what North would think of it and smiled at the thought.
As she was about to step up on the front porch to ring the doorbell, the world suddenly rocked like a ship in the middle of a storm. Charlotte caught herself before she could trip, but then something shot under her feet and forced her into the air before she was back on the ground, this time on her stomach. She could only watch as a black lightning bolt zoomed away after tripping her, disappearing into the neighborhood.
Charlotte stared, stupefied. She could barely even feel the pain from her stomach hitting the concrete. She managed to her feet, quivering, as the Kingston house's door creaked open.
"Charlotte?"
Serena Kingston had long black hair that was tied back into two ponytails. She was paler and taller than Charlotte, with big doe eyes, a fake nose piercing, two real piercings in her left ear, and nail polish that was always chipping off. She looked at Charlotte with a dark blue, questioning gaze. "What are you doing?"
"Uhh—did you just—did you feel anything? Did you just see that—um, that—"
"I didn't feel anything." Serena cocked her head. "Why don't you come in and relax?"
"Um. Yeah. Relax. Okay." Charlotte walked past Serena, and was startled to find the house dark and even colder than it was outside. When Serena shut the door, she could barely see.
"Serena? Where's the light?"
"Oh don't worry, Second-Sighted One. Where you're going, you won't need light. Because I'm going to make you see stars!"
Charlotte quickly backed out of the way as Serena's outline came lunging at her. Second-Sighted One . . . ? Oh no. Charlotte reached out and flicked on the lightswitch that she knew was there due to memory and illuminated the Kingston's living room.
In front of her, Serena's body was wiggling like jello, and then it all sloshed to the ground in a wet heap. Charlotte's hand flew to her mouth, but then the substance on the floor combined together and rose to tower above her. Colors formed and a human shape solidified, and then Charlotte was face-to-face to an Amazon-like woman, with bulging muscles and shaggy brown hair that reached the middle of her back. She wore a blue sleeveless dress that was cut off on the sides to reveal white capris. A blue headband snaked through her hair, and her fists were covered in white bandages. Her eyes were two baby blue jays glaring at Charlotte with contempt.
"Oh no . . . you're not—" Charlotte's voice caught.
"Greetings, Second-Sighted One," the woman said, voice silky and lullaby-like. "I am Nixie, Great and Powerful Sister of the Water."
"Shoot, no—not now—" Charlotte backpedaled a few steps. "Where's Serena?!"
"You have angered Mother with your cowardice and your disrespect," Nixie growled. "And I am here to assure that it never happens again."
