Jack

Despite the knowledge that the weather was progressively getting worse, I couldn't help but feel elated the entire way home. Anna believed. She'd said she loved me. Maybe, just maybe there was a chance to fix the family. Pitch was manipulating Elsa. I just knew it, and she had to see it sooner or later. Then, she would come back home without having to hide anymore, and we would send the bogeyman on his way. Our family would finally be perfect. I had the image in my head, and it was so close that it hurt.

I flew as fast as I could back to the kingdom, to Anna's great disappointment. Above the clouds, the night sky was beautiful, and she would reach up and point at the stars, almost as if she might grab them. Though I knew she must be tired, we talked nearly the entire way back.

"It's all real!" she exclaimed happily, her eyes wide with wonder. "So what's Santa like? Or the Easter Bunny?"

"They're all really cool. Rough around the edges, but cool," I explained. "Remind me one of these days to take you to Santa's workshop. All year long, it's so colorful and fun, full of toys you would never think existed! The warren's also pretty neat, especially closer to Easter. I'll have him show you how the eggs are painted. There's so much I want to show you, now!"

She hugged me tighter around my neck. "There's so much I want to see!" she replied. "The palace was gorgeous!"

"And you have to meet Sandy! I'm sure he'll love you."

"What's he like?"

"Quiet, but a really fun guy. I still remember that time I watched him kick Pitch's butt! Ha! Fun times!"

"Who?"

I was confused by her question for a moment and had to remind myself that she still wasn't completely caught up with names. "Pitch. Pitch black, aka the bogeyman."

"Oh." She grew silent for a minute, considering something. Carefully, she asked, "And what's he like?"

I opened and closed my mouth several times, trying to find the right words to say. The whole situation seemed so complicated. "Bad."

"Alright. What does he look like? What kind of powers does he have besides making nightmares?"

"Why so interested?"

"Well, Mom said the bogeyman took Elsa, isn't that right? Did Pitch Black take Elsa?"

"Yes," I answered slowly, wondering where this conversation was heading.

"I just thought that if we're going to get her back, that I would need to-"

"We?" I interrupted.

"Yeah, 'we.' I started all of this, so I'm going to help."

"No."

"But Dad!"

"I said no! Pitch is dangerous, and I'm not going to let him hurt you, too!" Anna shrank back at my outburst, and I hoped that I wasn't driving her away. If anything, I needed her now more than ever, but I was not going to let her anywhere near Pitch. I don't think either of us knew what to say at that point, so the rest of the trip went on in silence. I almost thought that she had gone back to sleep, but when we reached the castle late that night, she stirred on my back. I flew in through the window we had left from, and she shimmied off. After fighting the wind to close the panes, I turned back to Anna, knowing that I should say something.

Never really the shy one, Anna spoke first. "I had fun tonight, Dad." She gave me a warm smile. Her eyes were tearing up from the fierce wind, and her cheeks were red from being stung by her pigtails, but she was practically glowing with happiness. I couldn't help but smile back, feeling assured that everything was going to be alright. Rapunzel had said to think positive, and I wasn't sure how I hadn't been able to before. Everything was fine.

"I did, too. It's late and cold. You should probably head off to bed." I kissed her goodnight, and off she skipped to her bedroom like a good, obedient, little girl, which was my clue that something was up. I made a mental note to keep a close eye on her all night. I floated out of the room and down the staircase, where I saw a familiar train of golden hair. Playfully, I flew over and gave it a tug to get her attention.

"Now, if you do that one more time-!" she warned, turning on me with frying pan in hand. "Oh, Jack. It's just you. Where on earth have you be-" I kissed her before she could finish, and we pulled back, both smiling. "I'm guessing it all went well?"

"It was great!" I said, floating around her. She giggled and tried to keep up with me, which only resulted in her getting tangled up in her own hair. I came to a rest balanced on top of my staff. "So, how was your afternoon?"

"If that stupid Duke of Weasel-town doesn't-"

"Oh, you call him that, too?" She nodded, laughing.

"He's just been awful. He hates me for my magic and for Elsa's."

"Nah. He's just jealous of your hair," I teased. "I blew past him in town earlier. He's wearing a toupee, in case you haven't noticed."

"Oh, everyone's noticed except him, I think!" We laughed. "Jack, it's so nice seeing back again. You always did know how to make me laugh."

"I never really left," I said, though I knew exactly what she meant.

"I know. It's just that there's a time to be serious and a time to be fun, and thirteen years of being serious is overdoing it a bit, don't you think? I like the fun you. I like it when you're happy."

"Well, when you're right, you're right. I'm just thinking positively. Your words, not mine."

"You wouldn't have needed my help with that, Mister Snowballs and Fun Times. You're already so good at it. I think you were just a bit out of practice." She smiled radiantly.

"I love you," I blurted out (a sign that maybe I had spent too much time with Anna, if that were possible). I dropped from my staff and went over to hug her but was interrupted by a squeak. "What?" Baby Tooth suddenly flew out of my jacket pocket and hovered by my face.

"Aw, she's adorable! You went to the tooth palace?" Rapunzel exclaimed.

Baby Tooth uttered a series of chastising squeaks, her odd colored eyes squinting in anger. "Yes, I know I stopped by without saying hi to you," I responded. "I'm sorry, but now there's no way to get you back home. I can hardly fly through this storm." Baby Tooth gave a passive squeak and settled onto my shoulder.

"I don't think she cares," Rapunzel laughed.

"By the way, when did the storm get stronger?" I asked while it was on my mind. "It's reached the tooth palace."

"No way! It only got this bad a few hours ago." Rapunzel sighed, travelling over to the window with a view of the North Mountain. Elsa's ice castle was invisible among the clouds and flurries. "I just wish I knew what was going on up there. I don't like it. I don't like it at all."

Pitch

My power was growing every minute, as was hers. I had to credit myself on the genius of this plan. Cold and dark was an awesomely effective method of drawing out fear. I could hear them all from my perch on the balcony. They feared that Elsa could trap them all forever in eternal winter or just kill them on a whim, which was true, but it would be my whim, really. I could feel Jack's little wife's worry about her daughter up on the mountain, but something left a sour taste behind when I felt it.

Hope. Since the last time I had checked, there was an awful sliver of hope that had found some room to grow, and what was worse was who it had come from. Jack's fear was potent and wonderful. I still savored the feeling from that morning. Watching the torment on his face as his daughter, his precious family, turned his back on him. The screams of agony were still wonderfully fresh in my ears, but I realized that I had failed in tearing the family completely apart, but there was still time to spread the fear, and if all else failed, well, there were other ways to destroy nuisances, pests, and the like.

I wandered from the balcony to the front doors, where just outside, Elsa was practicing her magic like I had insisted. Though she felt like she was rebelling, she was still acting like an obedient child. Even her practice appeared to be more play. She smiled wide when she saw me, and I could help but smile back. It was almost like she was my own daughter, though even sweeter than that notion was the vengeance I had enacted by stealing her for myself. If Jack was going to have a family, so was I, but in my own way.

"Who needs flowers!" Elsa called over to me to get my attention. With a wave of her hand, crystal roses burst up from the snow with exaggerated thorns. "Who needs stars!" She tossed a blast of magic into the air that exploded brightly like a firework, and snowflakes rained down upon the both of us. She continued to play, creating and ornate mirror of nothing but ice, but it wasn't perfect, and every time she looked into it, her image came back distorted, which only made her laugh all the harder. I came up behind her, our faces swirling together in a funhouse effect. I found it mildly amusing, but Elsa simply could not control her laughter, and her magic sparked uncontrollably at her fingertips. "Watch this!" she said after catching her breath.

She made a large, sweeping gesture upwards, the concentration evident on her face. Above her head formed a massive, glittering snowflake. It was a little too pretty for my tastes, so pulling back my arms like I held a bow, I shot some of my nightmare sand into its heart, and it exploded in a black, sparkling cloud. Elsa squeaked in surprise, folding her arms over her eyes as the sand rained down on her. It fell and mixed into the snow, forming patterns of swirls and specks. "Whoa!" Elsa gasped, running her fingers through it. "This is amazing."

"We're amazing together," I said, placing a possessive hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me almost lovingly, a young adult but still so much a child, easily manipulated and easily exploited.

(Short chapter for now. Just thought we needed a bit of an update on Pitch and Elsa. And what is Baby Tooth doing hanging around? As always, review!)