Jack tossed another tooth capsule into the bag. He had made a solo trip to the Tooth Palace to gather more teeth for the dreams. Heart had gotten back to North's Workshop and shut herself in her room, making sure to avoid everyone she could. Jack and the others had gone back to what they always did in their spare time lately; making Dreams. That's what everyone else was doing back at the North Pole.
Jack looked at a capsule. A picture of a smiling girl with a blond pixie cut and hazel eyes looked back at him. He set in the basket with the rest before picking up another one. This time it was a Asian girl with black hair and deep brown eyes. Into the basket. Then a boy with short brown hair and glasses with a goofy grin. Into the basket. Suddenly Jack froze, looking at picture on the newest capsule. A girl with long blond hair and gold eyes smiled knowingly up to him. Heart. Jack stared at it. He looked around. He was alone in his corner of the Tooth Palace, all the fairies busy doing their own jobs.
His mind weighed the idea forming in his head. These where Hearts memories, not his. She had a right to keep them a secret. But what if there was something in them that could help? They were still private. But curiosity got the better of him. He had to have proof of whether or not Heart was trustworthy. He thought she was, but Tooth had already planted doubt in his mind. He need to know whether or not to let the doubt grow or get rid of it.
Jack sighed. He had to know. Reluctantly, he reached up and touched the blue diamond in the middle of the capsule. The scene suddenly changed to a dark cave made of a gray rock, the only opening a hole the size of a door covered by a hanging black sheet and a small candle was lit on the other side of the room. The area was mostly bare, with a small dresser and bed off in one corner. Once Jack's eyes adjusted to the dim light, he looked at the simple bed to see a small figure. She was very little, only what looked like seven, her wings were smaller and her hair was shorter, but it was definitely Heart. She was barefoot and was in a simple white dress, sitting on her bed close to the small flame. In her hand she had a book that she was attempting to read in the flickering candle light.
From outside the sheet serving as a door, the neighing of a Nightmare echoed through the dark rock tunnels. Heart's head whipped around towards the door, looking alarmed. Quickly closing the book, she shoved it between the rock wall and her bed just as Pitch Black himself pulled aside the curtain and looked inside her room. Heart looked back at him as he narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you doing?" he asked, suspicious. "Just... thinking." she answered. "Not much else to do around here." Pitch looked around her room one more time before grunting. "Well, I'm back from a rather long night, so I'm going to bed. Stay quiet." he commanded.
Just as he was about to leave, a new voice rang out from outside the room. "Pitch! Pitch, where are you?" Pitch closed his eyes and groaned. "Of all days..." he grumbled. Heart, meanwhile, brightened at the voice. "Auntie!" she said excitedly. She hopped off her bed, brushed past Pitch and ran out the door, bare feet slapping the rock ground. Pitch reluctantly followed, though at a much slower pace.
The hallway opened up into a large cavern, missing a wall so the rising sun shone in through the whole room. On one wall, a fireplace was carved into the rock and a fire blazed inside, seemingly the only cheerful thing in the cavern. In front of the fireplace was a gray throw rug and a black leather arm chair. Books lined the mantelpiece and the numerous shelves along the walls beside it. And facing the fire stood a figure with her hands clasped behind her, the flames casting shadows against her face.
Heart ran towards the figure. "Auntie!" she cried again. The character turned at the sound of the voice. As her face became clearer, Jack was surprised to see it was Nightshade. But it wasn't. She was… different. Jack couldn't place it, but she seemed happier. More relaxed. Her eyes had lost their usual hardness and anger. As she looked down at her niece, they glittered with kindness at Heart's happiness. She was dressed differently, too. Instead of her intense black and purple gown, she was in black leggings and a purple tunic with a black waist belt, and her hair was curly and pulled into a high ponytail with purple ballet flats on her feet.
"Sweetheart!" Shade said with a smile, kneeling to give Heart a warm hug. "How's my favorite niece?" Heart giggled. "I'm your only niece!" "But you're still my favorite." Shade joked, brushing Heart's bangs out of her eyes. Behind them, Pitch coughed. Shade looked up at her brother and smiled. "And how are you, might I ask?" she said, straightening but keeping a protective hand on Heart. "Why are you here, Shade?" Pitch asked, ignoring the question. Shade pouted. "What, a spirit can't say hello to her only family once in awhile?" She smiled. "Just wanted to say hi."
Pitch sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Look, I just got back from a very long night, so, I'm just going to go to bed. We will have to catch up later." Heart and Shade looked at each other and Shade rolled her eyes. Heart giggled but suddenly stopped when Pitch looked at her. "Stay out of trouble." He mumbled before turning around and trudging back down the hallway. Heart didn't relax until he rounded the corner and out of sight. Shade looked at her skeptically.
"Has he been treating you all right?" she asked. Heart looked up, seeming startled by the question. "Oh, he treats me fine. He just... neglects me. He doesn't tell me what to do or what not to do, usually I can just tell by the way he looks at me. He doesn't like me reading his books, for one thing." she said, looking at the shelves piled with hard backs. "You have a pretty high vocabulary for not reading much." Shade said with a smile. Heart bit her lip and looked at the hallway Pitch had gone into before leaning towards Shade's ear and whispering, "I read them anyway. When he's not home." Shade laughed as Heart blushed.
"How long are you staying?" Heart asked, changing the subject. "Until the next sunrise." Shade answered, looking out at the early morning sun. "So we have all that time to do things dear old Pitch won't let us do. He's either going to be asleep or working the whole time." she said with a wink. "What about your job?" Heart asked. "Oh, everything's taken care of for now, I won't be needed for a while." Shade said carelessly.
"Now, what do you want to do first?" she asked, kneeling so her face was level with Heart's. "We could go outside." "What would we do outside?" Heart asked, tilting her head. Shade looked at the wings on Heart's back and smiled. "I have an idea..."
Cliffy! I will continue this part in the next chapter and publish it as soon as I can!