Jack's POV

Rhia went back to bed, practically forcing me to leave her room after what had just happened.

"NORTH!" I roared down the hallway as I jogged to the Globe Room.

"Jack Frost! What is it?" He replied jovially from where he stood by the control panel. I looked at him with a fire in my eyes, which caused his spirit to dampen.

"Jack?"

"Pitch was in her room a minute ago." Silence reigned between the two of us, but not an awkward one,a worried one. "What if he tries to take her? What do we do then when we aren't with her?"

North stroked his beard thoughtfully. "She could always stay at Pole? That way she is protected in these walls where Pitch's powers are weak. He is clever. He knows his powers are diminished here. That is why he did not try and take her earlier."

I nodded. She is safer here than anywhere else. "He isn't going to give up, is he?"

The large man stared at me for a minute, and then looked down.

"No. He will not stop. Once he has something in his sight, he will not let it go. Right now, we can only hope that Rhia will stay with us. She has no real reason to go with Pitch, and the answers he provides can be written off as lies by us, because she doesn't remember." He placed his hands on his stomach.

"I just hope she is not as Curious as she was as Gabriella. Then we would be in trouble, because she would be digging for answers. No. Jack, go get some sleep. Tomorrow, we will find out more about Rhia's powers, and we will be working very hard. Be rested. We have to prepare for the event that something does eventually happen, and she will need to be able to withstand him."

A great sigh flew out of my mouth, and I leapt into the air lightly, allowing myself to just jump through the air back to my own room.

Upon arrival, I shut my door softly, only to reach out and slam my fist into it with a force. I reached my hands up to my forehead, running them through my hair.

"Why couldn't he just have stayed buried in that hole under the bed."

Rhia's POV

I ushered Jack out of my room and locked the door, retreating to my bed and sighing as I flopped down upon it.

"Pitch? Are you still there?" even to my ears, my voice was unsure. Why was Jack so worried about him?

Just as I was about to turn over and go back to sleep, a voice sounded from the corner of my room.

"I am always there when you need me."

I shivered at how close he sounded, but when I turned, he was at the farthest corner of the room, smiling softly.

"Just being sure I wasn't imagining you. You know, you kind of just disappeared."

He shrugged his shoulders and approached, sitting on the edge of the bed. I curled into myself, sitting upright in the fetal position.

"So, you are the King of Nightmares?" I asked curiously. "What does that really entail?" He frowned slightly, straightening as he prepared to answer.

"Obviously, I give children nightmares. I can see everyone's deepest fears, and what they dread. I put them into nightmares. It is that simple."

I gazed calmly back at him. "Why?"

The question seemed to catch him off guard. "Why?" He asked, slightly Bewildered, slightly dazed.

"Why." I prompted, trying to figure him out.

He laughed bitterly, turning his head down. "Oh, yes. Why does Pitch give the sweet little, innocent children nightmares? One thing the Guardians don't know about me is that the Man in the Moon told me to inspire fear. Fear PROTECTS. It keeps children from going where they shouldn't. It keeps them away from men in Vans, and away from large spiders that may poison them. I like what I do. I will not make any move to deny the fact that I love putting fear into the world."

I took a moment to soak all of that in for a moment, tilting my head and looking at him, watching him watch me.

"That's new," He murmured to himself as he tucked my hair out of my face, looking at the black butterfly that sat just beneath my eye.

"What do you mean 'that's new'?"

"Just a matter of speaking to myself, Gab- Rhia." He straightened up, clearing his throat, if slightly uncomfortable.

"I must take my leave, and you must get your sleep. I shall tuck you in, if you'd like?"

I stared at him, before going and climbing under the covers, nodding to him like a child.

"Thank you," I whispered to him as he stood to leave. He smiled, placing his hand on my forehead.

"Goodnight, Rhia," He said kindly, walking off to the shadows and disappearing in a whirl of black sand.

Strange. He is strange.

Strangely Familiar?

And why was Jack freaking out earlier? It's not as if he is a mean guy, I mean, come on! He just tucked me in! And didn't try anything! He seems pretty decent, and has a reason for scaring people. That is his purpose.

"What a strange man." I mumbled to myself as I felt my eyes close and my mind drift into a world of dreamless sleep.

~TIME SKIP~ 9 HOURS

"Rhia! Time to get up! It's time to get cracking on some learning!" Jack's voice echoed through my room, startling me out of my reverie.

"Dang it Jack!" I called as I fell out of bed onto the floor. His laughs were heard from behind the door as they faded, signaling that he had walked away. I sighed and leaned against the intricately carved wooden post of the bed, slowly opening my eyes as I truly woke up. The first thing I noticed were the light purple shoes by the door, with little bells on the end.

"How did you get here?" I asked them as I crawled over to where they sat, to lazy to walk over there myself. "Did North put these here?"

I shrugged and slipped them on, pushing myself off the ground and walking out the door, rubbing the black lines on my arm, already missing the feeling Pitch gave me when he stroked them.

A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry that this was such a short chapter, but I have midterms to study for, and wanted to boost something out there for you so that you knew that I hadn't died or anything! Thanks for waiting! Sorry, but I will post another chapter as soon as I can!