Author's Note! So depending on how mature the stuff you read is, this chapter might be a little spicy. Nothing M rated, but maybe a little risque. Again, it all depends on you and what you think is naughty or not. Just be warned I guess.

Pitch watched Mary lovingly from the shadows. For such a little thing, she had so much fight. She tried fruitlessly to squirm out of thick sand bonds that kept her on a short leash, but all she was doing was providing Pitch entertainment. The other two still were out, locked in cages above Mary. But the little girl was trying her best to wake them. Squawking like a song bird to try waking her friends. If he wasn't so pleased by this whole situation, he'd actually feel bad for her. Though, he was growing tired of all the loud shouting. Might as well through her a bone. With the wave of his hand, Auryn woke from her nightmare.

Mary?!

"Auryn! I'm down here!" Mary exclaimed, instantly stopping in her struggles. Auryn crawled to the bars of her hovering cage and caught sight of her friend. Mary was chained to a wall, but there was enough chain that she could get a few feet before having to stop. Her ankles and wrists both shackled by the cursed sand.

Are you okay?

"I'm fine! Are you? Is Aster?" Auryn looked herself over, not noticing anything suspicious. Then she examined the Guardian of Hope in the cage next to hers. He too appeared unharmed, except some matted fur from earlier. The audible sigh that left her lips let Mary know they were okay before she could speak. Still it was nice to hear from Auryn after a good few hours of silence and her shouting.

We are both okay. How long have I been asleep?

"A few hours. I don't know where Pitch is. You'd think he'd be rubbing his success in our faces." Her sarcastic comment coupled with that adorable pouty face was just too much for Pitch and he let out a sickeningly happy laugh. Both the girls looked around for the source of the shudder-inducing laugh. Even Bunny was roused by it's violent and malicious tone. He looked around groggily before spying Auryn next to him.

"Auryn? Where's Mary?" Mary's heart skipped a beat, hearing that her sweetheart was finally awake. She smiled despite herself.

"I'm down here Aster." He, like Auryn, crept to the edge of his containment chamber and peeked down at Mary. "Are you okay?" Even with Auryn's prediction that he was okay, it didn't hurt to have a second opinion on the matter. Bunny rubbed the back of his head where a goose egg was formed, and also his neck which was still sore. But other than bumps and bruises, which he could live with, he appeared to be fine.

"I'm alright sheila. Was that Pitch laughing like a maniac?" He couldn't keep the contempt out of his voice at the mention of the Boogeyman. Auryn nodded to him, and his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Of course no one would be comfortable being locked in a cage hanging from the ceiling, but for some reason he was especially nervous. Maybe because Mary looked so vulnerable down there. He longed to hug the girl, to let her know he was there and he cared for her. The most he could do was stare down at her in fear for her.

"How adorable." Pitch's voice rang out again at the look he spied on both Bunny, and Mary's face. Absolute adoration and concern for the other. He hated it. "I hate adorable." He added with a fierce cutting tone. The shadows of the walls writhed before Pitch stepped out into their line of sight. Mary instantly jumped away from the dark spirit, not that it would make a difference. In fact it kinda just spurred Pitch on. He came to stand right in front of the girl, uncomfortably close for all of them excepting Pitch. "I must say Mary, you make this all too easy. Your fear is entirely too satisfying." He muttered, a devilish look in his eyes.

"I am not afraid of you." She said strongly. His smirk said he knew otherwise. The odd thing was, there was a time when she wasn't afraid of Pitch Black. In fact it was only a short time ago that she had begun to fear him. She didn't understand why she was suddenly so weak. Apparently Pitch could understand her internal fretting because a larger smirk took place of his already snarky expression.

"I remember when you truly were not afraid of me. Hell, I was more afraid of you than you were of me. Tales of you and your evil used to give me a shudder of fright. Imagine my surprise when I went to find a simply Autumn spirit, instead finding a domesticated Bloody Mary." He spat the word out like a curse word. Then his eyes softened and he grabbed the girl by her chin. "But I have a way of changing that. You may have resisted the Nightmare Sand before, but soon enough I think you'll find yourself on my side again." He explained thoughtfully.

"I would rather die than return to that!" She growled angrily. However it didn't seem to phase Pitch, who was looking the girl over for what felt like the hundredth time to Mary. She was tired of feeling his eyes on her! Why was he taking so much joy in making her uncomfortable? He paused in his action of studying her to think back a few days to the first time he tasted her fear. How helpless she'd been. Like a doll in his hands. And while she was still helpless, she had more fight in her. This whole experience was slowly hardening her into a mature woman. Still, maybe he could have one last moment to toy with her?

He slowly trailed his gray fingers down her pale cheek, making a blush rise to her cheeks and drawing a low animalistic growl from a protective Bunny. Auryn was almost frightened by the noise the Pooka made. It only spurred Pitch on though. He grasped Mary's face in his palm, forcing his lips onto hers. Bunny started shouting cuss words at this. Words Mary would have never thought would come from him. But she was more concerned with the fact that Pitch Black was forcing a kiss on her than Bunny saying a few curse words.

"I swear ta MiM I'm gonna kill you Pitch!" Bunny exclaimed, raw fury in his voice. At this Pitch applied pressure to Mary's jaw, forcing her lips open so he could explore the untainted mouth within. It disgusted Mary that he had so much power over her. She was all too happy when he stopped his assault. But, beneath her hate, her detest, she was confused. Pitch could see right through the predominant hatred to that little confused girl inside and smirked.

"You didn't think I was only after you to turn you evil...did you? Sure I love to prove a point, but only if there's something else in it for me." A violent shiver of fear nearly brought tears to Mary's eyes. Suddenly she felt like that ten year old girl she died as. So small under his gaze. She still wasn't quite sure what he meant but between the passionate, if not repulsive, kiss and his statement...she could infer he wanted her to be his lover.

But...she knew nothing about love except family love. Her mother and Auryn. And Aster. But with Aster it was a special kind of love. But she felt none of these feelings towards Pitch. She would rather be evil than be his. Pitch seemed to sense this, because he didn't look as snarky as usual. Both were so busy thinking that they'd completely zoned out Bunny's shouting from his cage. But now it was starting to get annoying to Pitch. With a smirk he kissed Mary again and turned.

"I'll leave you all now. But first. Are you hungry Mary?" Bunny ceased his shouting to look surprised before glowing at the Nightmare King. Mary and Auryn just looked surprised, not thinking to hide their emotions like Bunny had. Mary didn't understand the question. She hadn't been hungry for three hundred years. But, it kinda seemed like Pitch knew that. What was he playing at? He turned on his heals at the stunned silence, a basket in his hands that hadn't been before. Inside the basket, glowing in a magically delicious way, were five bright red apples. They seemed to radiate satisfaction and sweetness. Mary couldn't take her eyes off of them. And, it was the strangest thing, suddenly she was hungry. Every second she spent staring at the magical fruit, the more hungry she got. But even when she looked away, her stomach growled, begging to be fed by the savory apples. Pitch's smirk returned seeing the look on her face.

It's a trick Mary, don't eat those!

Pitch cast an annoyed look up at Auryn, who was also noticing the effects of the spell-cast fruit. But she was much better at resisting the lure since she was only half immortal. Bunny though was having the same problem as Mary, his mouth watering, dying for a taste of the blood red apples. Pitch again offered the basket to the girl, but she hesitantly shook her head. She didn't know why, but something was telling her not to eat the fruit. Just a small part of her brain that said for some reason she couldn't have them.

"Are you sure?" Pitch's smirk was becoming a regular sight for the girl, but that didn't mean she liked it. It was so cruel. She looked away from the fearful man with her bottom lip jutting out ever so slightly. Pitch chuckled, the basket disappearing. When Mary looked again he was holding a crystal goblet with the clearest, brightest, tantalizing looking water she'd ever seen. And her throat burned in longing for a taste of the jewel liquid. "Thirsty perhaps?" Pitch asked ever so quietly.

"Pitch stop it!" Bunny yelled, despite the fact that he himself was yearning for the cool clear water. "You're torturing her!" He added when Pitch simply began swirling the water around. Mary was quickly becoming a mess under Pitch's knowing golden eyes. Why was he doing this. He watched her carefully as she sank to the floor, crunching her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. With one last satisfying taste of complete despair, Pitch dismissed the water. He knelt in front of her to capture her eyes.

"You will give in. Eventually." Pitch hissed before standing and striding authoritatively from the room. Mary watched him go, trying to ignore the basket and goblet suddenly within her arms reach.