The following two weeks had passed by quickly. Silvia had adjusted relatively well to life in the lair. Pitch smiled as he watched his daughter play with a small group of fearlings. The shadow creatures had become quite fond of her and would spend hours entertaining the girl. The only snag they'd hit was when the impish shadows had begun to call her the shadow queen. This had almost immediately put the girl on edge, but the fearlings had immediately realized their mistake and the matter was quickly laid to rest and forgotten. "Silvia darling are you ready to go?" Pitch called to his daughter.
She looked up for her game of tag. "Yeah dad, I'm ready!" She called out before squealing in glee as she was dog piled by her shadowy friends. "Guys… that wasn't fair…" she whined before letting out a yelp as her father emerged from the shadows behind them all scooping up his daughter with a warm laugh. "You aren't becoming scared of the boogeyman are you?" He teased.
"Of course not." Silvia replied before leaning over to kiss his cheek. "I could never be scared of my daddy." She replied in a sickly sweet and innocent voice.
The gathered fearlings all began to giggle until Pitch fixed them with a glare that sent them scattering. "Did you have to do that in front of my minions?" He asked Silvia.
She nodded. "Call it revenge for making me yelp."
Pitch sighed. "You really are so very like me."
Silvia smiled smugly. "Well I am your daughter." She pointed out. "Are we really going to see the others daddy?"
He nodded. "Yes we are Silvia."
She smiled widely. "Awesome." she replied before looking away. "Do you think that the others will like me?"
Pitch gently lifted her chin so that he could look her in the eye. "They will love you just as much as I do." He answered sincerely. "Now what do you say we get going? After all we have several different places to visit."
Silvia thought for a moment. "I want to go visit Haisley."
Pitch smiled. "Alright then first stop is the Hoia Baciu forest." He replied as they took to the shadows.
When they reappeared they were standing in a forest clearing. Silvia felt a shudder creep up her spine. "Daddy? How many spirits are there here?"
Pitch was about to answer when Silvia was suddenly snatched from his arms by a lanky girl with wild red hair in the almost stereotypical witches clothing consisting of a black knee length dress and a pointed hat. "Oh my ghost i had heard rumors that you'd adopted a human Sire but I didn't dare hope that they were true." She gushed as she placed an extremely startled Silvia on her hip. "And she's a Hallow born." She continued while spinning Silvia round and round causing the girl to cling to her dress.
Pitch chuckled. "Calm down Haisley."
Silvia for all her strength was starting to feel more than a little sick at all the sudden motion. "To much spinning, gonna hurl."
That got Haisley to stop almost immediately. "Sorry! I'm just so excited! And you are so adorable! Ugh! If Pitch wasn't already your dad I'd adopt you myself!" She looked to Pitch. "So what brings you back to the kingdom Sire?"
Pitch motioned to Silvia. "My daughter Silvia wanted to meet the other dark spirits of my kingdom"
Haisley squealed in delight. "That is absolutely precious!"
"You are crazier than a toddler on a sugar rush!" Silvia exclaimed.
Haisley blinked at the girl while Pitch burst out laughing, the warm sound echoing through the trees and drawing out several more dark spirits all excitedly murmuring to themselves about the king's return.
Silvia looked around and paled at the sight of the gathering crowd. Just then a large black cat surged into the clearing. It circled Haisley's legs while looking up at Silvia yowling.
Pitch raised an eyebrow. "When did you start using feline helpers Haisley?"
Haisley looked down at the circling feline. "I didn't. This cat and two others showed up a little over two weeks ago. We were wondering if you had made another dark spirit?"
Silvia looked down at the cat which seemed to stare directly into her eyes. "Haisley, please put me down."
Haisley looked from Silvia to the cat. "Um...okay." She replied as she lowered the young girl to the ground.
Silvia stood in front of the cat. She opened her arms. "Up." At her command the feline lept into her arms leaving the small girl struggling to stay upright as the cat was nearly the same size as her. The cat almost immediately began to nuzzle her and purr loudly.
Pitch blinked. Cats were finicky creatures by nature, and this one and it's companions were linked to a spirit. Something was amiss. Silvia wasn't a spirit and yet the feline was responding to her commands as if she were it's master. This left him deeply troubled. If she was meant to be the master of those cats that meant that he'd accidentally marked her to become a dark spirit the night he rescued her, and individuals that were marked by him to join his kingdom usually didn't live for long after he marked them.
"You know the nightmare king showing fear is very noticeable thing? Малышка will be fine." Rasped a heavily russian accented female voice directly to his right.
Pitch glanced at the surprisingly young woman at his side. "I certainly hope so Baba Yaga." he murmured as he watch his daughter play with her new feline companion. "After the hell her life started as she deserves a long happy life."
Baba Yaga nodded. "You know I can see future for those that seek me. Her moment becoming spirit will be her choosing."
Pitch sighed. "That does little to ease my mind Baba Yaga."
"I know. But is all I can say. Moment of her choosing is still too far away to be able to tell date." She said with a shrug. "But take my advice live with her in the here and now. Worrying for future that may be long ways off does nothing but hurt your heart. Малышка needs her papa to show her how to be strong, to be warrior."
Pitch managed a half hearted smile. "Something tells me I won't have to teach her much."