~Blind Flight~

Emma was holding on to Jack's hand for dear life. The immortal boy in front of her had miraculously managed to get her off the ground, and now he was dragging her up to the altitude of an airplane. She hadn't flown so long, let alone this high up or this fast.

Jack pulled her through a large cloud, and the mist tickled her nose and made her wonder how high up they where. It was fun when they where lower, but now they where thousands of feet up and it felt like her own fear was squeezing the life right out of her.

She gulped and looked down to see how high Jack had managed to drag her. They where at least 20,000 feet up now, and going higher by the second. The houses and cars below looked like the kinds children would get on Christmas or at the toy store, only blanketed in bright new snow. Every time she saw a small doll house or a toy car she was happy, because they made children happy. But the sight of these small houses and cars filled her with nausea and made her want to puke.

She squeezed her eyes shut trying to imagine she was safely back on the ground. But it still felt like a pack of angry wolves was clawing away at her heart and the inside of her chest, and the dreaded feeling was filling her whole entire body. She could feel it rising up into her throat and she knew she couldn't take any more altitude or else she would pass out. Or at lest lose her lunch.

When had she become so scared of everything? She used to be so fearless, and now fear pledged her every day, every minute. What had happened to her?

"Jack!" She called up to him.

The boy slowed their assent and turned to her smiling. How could he be smiling? What if they fell and died! What if the wind stopped and they plummeted to the earth?

"What is it?" he said, completely oblivious to her terror. His hair was ruffled in the wind and eyes shone with pure innocence and childish glee. He hadn't ever flown with someone like this, and he had fun plans in store.

Emma pulled herself up to him. She was shaking and her eyes where wide with dread. "W-we...a-ar-are... h-high-high...enough." She said to him.

"But Snow! we aren't even at airplane altitude yet! Thats where the fun stuff happens!" He complained with much enthusiasm. He smiled and he radiated excitement.

Snow just shook in fear. She should have never let her feet leave the ground, she should have known this would have happened. Every time she did something courageous she got hurt.

Jack noticed her uneasiness and became concerned.

"Hey," He said tilting her chin so that her eyes met his. "You okay? Whats wrong?"

Her eyes where wide and her body was rigid, frozen in terror. Her knees where shaking.

She could barely speak, the fear had climbed into her throat rendering her speechless. She was able to choke out, "Jack...Im scared."

He squeezed her shaking hand. "Hey its okay. Lets go slow alright? Just don't look down."But on instinct she did exactly what he had told her not to do.

"Oh my gosh!" She screamed. They where at least 5,000 feet higher than they used to be. On instinct she grabbed whatever was closest to her, and that unfortunately just so happened to be Jack.

"Ow ow ow ow! Jeez girl! Retract the claws!" He said to her. Emma was now desperately clinging onto his sweatshirt sleeve like she was going to fall below. She buried her face into his shirt and tried to block out her surroundings.

He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her off of him with some difficulty. He noticed that a tear was running down her face. She was actually terrified.

He held her out in front of him holding onto her shoulders. "Snow," he said. "You can do this. Okay? Its going to be fun!"

She shook her head in disbelief. "No its not! Your just saying that!"

"No I'm serious! Just, don't look down. Look at me." He took her hands in his and started flying backwards.

She raised her gaze into his enchanting eyes and held it there. She knew she could trust him. She just knew.

He pulled her through the sky, and the whole time they held eye contact, his royal blue eyes melting into her electric blue ones.

In the gaze of this boy, this complete stranger, she could feel her fear melting inside of her heart. It had felt like her chest had been compressed from all of the fear inside her small body, crushing her spirit and willpower and making her helpless. But now it felt like her soul was simply exploding out of her chest and flowering in front of her eyes. Her fear slowly changed to excitement, and she started to laugh. Her eyes squinted as she smiled broadly at Jack.

"Im... Im flying Jack! Im flying!" She said between disbelieved laughs. He smiled to see her happy again. Her smile was bright and beautiful, it made his heart sing. He wanted her to always be happy, not fearful.

"Yes! Your doing it!" He replied with mirth in his voice, like he was talking to a small child. "Isn't it fun?" She nodded at him, still not breaking eye contact.

"Oh Jack! I had forgotten how wonderful it is to fly!" She said joyously.

"Well, why don't we try only one hand now?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

She frowned again. "Just one?" She said her eyes wide and un-comprehensive.

"Yes." he answered calmly.

"Really?"

"Really really."

She sighed and quickly added, "But what if I fall?"

"Then I will catch you!" He answered like it was a no brainer.

"Promise?"

"Pinky promise."

They locked pinkies and she laughed. "Okay." Then she hesitantly let go of his strong guiding hand.

He swooped in next to her, now they where flying side by side connected by their hands. At first she was wobbly and uncertain, but after a moment she was riding the wind with ease. They soared past all the towns, to the ocean. The currents where nice and flowing, and they cut through the air like a knife through butter.

She laughed and put her arms out, letting the fear completely leave her body. Suddenly everything looked so beautiful, now that she wasn't afraid. She looked down to the peaceful snow blanketed towns as they sparkled in the bright afternoon rays, like a postcard. The sun peeked out of the clouds and shined down on her cold face, and now she understood why Jack loved flying so much. It was wonderful and liberating.

Then she did something Jack hadn't been expecting, she let her hand slide out of his. He looked over at her as if to say, 'really? Are you ready? ' She nodded and smiled reassuringly.

He laughed and sped up, and Emma matched his speed and force. After a moment he looked over to her and saw her eyes where closed and she was smiling as the wind tickled her face. Her whole body radiated triumph and bravery.

After a moment she opened her eyes and looked at him. He realized he had been staring and quickly adverted his gaze and tried not to blush. She laughed at his embarrassment and poked him in the side teasingly. He giggled like a child and Emma's eyes became mischievous at her new discovery. She slowly started to approach him, giggling at his worried face.

"No, no! Im not really ticklish Snow! No! You stop right there!" Then he took off in the opposite direction yelling like a madman. She laughed and took off after him, just as fast.

She caught up with the sprite within seconds. Jack yelped in surprise and dived down to the ground, and she followed suit next him. Right before they hit the oceans freezing waters they pulled up at the same time. She looked over at Jack, and put a mischievous grin on her face. Then she lunged at him.

"No! *Laugh* Stop! *Giggle* Snow, stop it your going to make me pee! *Snort*" Jack said as she tickled him to death.

She finally took pity on him and stopped. He breathed hard, trying not to laugh still, but he would let a little giggle slip every few breaths.

She looked away for a moment and saw he had recovered, and had dropped his hand down and was letting it drag through the water below. She looked down into the arctic waters and slowly let her hand skim the cold surface. It smelled like salt and there was ozone in the air, a snowstorm was nearby. They two combined where a wonderful aroma. To a winter spirit at least.

They had made it to the pole now, in a few hundred feet a tall cliff rose up from the depths and ended the vast ocean. She looked over to Jack and saw that he was offering his hand to her. Snow smiled and took it without a second thought, expecting that he was going to help her up and over the huge cliff, but that wasn't what he did.

As soon as she took his hand in hers his face broke out into a mischievous grin. Her eyes widened in surprise as he pulled her in closer to him and slowed down. What in the world was he doing?

"Jack?" She asked. "What are you doing? Im sorry I tickled you! Jack no!" He had an impish gleam in his eye. "Oh no...Jack?..."

Then in one swift motion he scooped her up and started to tickle her. She giggled loudly and he laughed as he tickle tortured her. She thrashed and laughed madly trying to free herself from his grip.

"Jack *Laugh* You.. Stop! *Giggle* Icannotbreathe!" Jack laughed and released her go so she could catch a breath.

"Jack frost! *cough* I am going to kill you!" She yelled. But he was gone. She looked up and saw he had already taken off up the steep icy climb laughing hysterically.

She bulleted after him, but he was already over the top of the icy climb. His laughter had disappeared and now there was no noise but the roar of the waves beating on the cliff and the sound of nagging sea gulls fighting over fish.

Emma reached the top of the climb and landed in the fresh snow. "Jack?" She called out fearfully. "Jack where are you?" It was snowing so hard she couldn't see four feet in any direction. Did he just fly off thinking she was following? Or was he hiding somewhere poised to attack?

"Jack I dont want to play games anymore! Where are you?" She called with some urgency in her voice. Where was that boy?

Then suddenly out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of blue light deep within the snowstorm. Maybe it was Jack trying to tell her where he was at!

She blew into her necklace and it glowed, it could act like a flashlight in the storm. She took a deep breath and took off hopefully to the light. The storm threw her frail body around and the snowflakes where getting stuck in her hair and sticking to her eyelashes, blocking her vision. It was cold, really cold. And the storm was only getting stronger.

The glow was growing larger and brighter as she got closer, but as soon as she was within 50 yards of the light it went out leaving her alone in a blank white sea. She stopped in her tracks, maybe it would start again.

But it didn't.

She took off in the direction the glow had come from. If it was him he would still be there right? But she flew, and flew, and flew. After she had flown over 75 meters she stopped again. Had she missed him?

"Jack?" She called out desperately. She felt very vulnerable out in the open, anything could attack. She could even fly into a mountain! The snow had become so thick she couldn't see her own hand in front of her face. She could be standing on a cliff for all she knew. She would stop the snow, but this blizzard was too powerful for her to overtake alone.

"Jack where are you?" Her voice echoed off mountains of the vast Arctic plain. She was all alone in the coldest continent on the planet, and she had no idea where she was.

Her thoughts where interrupted by a loud noise. She knew that noise, it was the neigh of a NightMare. Her body froze in fear. She had to find Jack now, it was close.

She searched for some sign of Jack and saw another light, farther away in a different direction than it used to be. Was Jack trying to guide her to a safe spot? It was far away. The light was extremely faint, but it was still as visible as a lighthouse in the dark.

This time she didn't hesitate, she took off to the light with all the power she could muster. The snowfall was blurred around her, and her eyes where locked on the blue light dead ahead. She had to get there before it went out again.

But it did go out, and left her once again alone in the endless world of white and cold. She continued to fly with all of her strength to where the light had come from. But when the white snowflakes around her turned black and sparkly, she knew something was wrong.

Then a loud laugh ripped through the eerie silence, and it wasn't Jacks playful, kind laugh. It was an evil, dark laugh. The laugh that pledged her nightmares and followed her everywhere she went.

"No..." She whispered. "Not now!"

The snow was now not just snow anymore, but a mixture of snowflakes and black sand. It was falling so fast it looked like a blurry grey. And there was an endless sea of it.

She heard a loud NightMare neigh on her left side, so naturally she started flying to the right. But as she flew she realized the laughter was coming from in front of her. That horrible, cruel laughter

She stopped in her tracks, where could she go now? With the laughter in front and the NightMares in back? She was trapped with no visible way out. So, she flew up. Maybe she could get over of the clouds and fly home, or find Jack.

But there was no sign of the clouds above her, it was just darkness for miles. Thats when she saw the first NightMare, and it was directly above her. She could hear the beasts surrounding her, snorting and neighing. Only their golden eyes where visible in the grey storm. Dozens of them, just waiting for the signal to attack.

Emma froze in her tracks,and grabbed onto her glowing necklace, readying it for battle. If the only way out was fighting her way out, then so be it.

She summoned a strong storm wind to her, and she dived to the right. At first she just dodged every NightMare that came into her vision trying to just get as far away as possible. As they started following her she would send ice blasts behind her to shake them off.

She dodged and shot for what seemed like hours, but they just kept on coming. And the worst part was that the voice never stopped laughing, laughing at her struggle. It was like a nightmare come true and she couldn't wake up.

"Jack!" She screamed as she zoomed across the snow plain. Her energy was running out and she was becoming more sluggish in her attacks and dodges. "Jack, help me!" She cried desperately.

But the laughter only grew at her desperate calls. Pearly white tears rolled down her frozen face, and the cold air stung the paths they left. The fear was back, after she had thought Jack had helped her get rid of it. It had pledged her for so long, and she just wanted it to leave forever.

But suddenly the laughter stopped, and the voice spoke to her in a stern voice, like he was disciplining a naughty Child. "You cannot ever escape your own fear. I will be here your entire life, with you every day. There will always be fear. You just need to give into it, like me."

"No!" She shrieked. "No, no, no, no! Jack help me!"

And over the roar of the wind she heard a voice, a voice calling out for her. It was faint, and barely audible, but she could tell it was Jack's."Emma! Emma where are you! Can you hear me?"

She froze and began hovering backwards. "Jack Im here! Im here! Help me! Jack!" She screamed.

But she was startled when she bumped into a very hard object behind her. She turned around and looked at it, and luckily it wasn't a NightMare. But it was a mountain, and she was trapped once again. Golden eyes peered out of the darkness, completely surrounding her blocking every escape.

"Do you really he would trust YOU?" The voice whispered in her ear. "When he finds out who you really are, you will no longer be a part of his life. Besides, he's a guardian. What makes you think he will care about you? Especially after he finds out you can hear me. Besides, I am the only one who understands you. The only one in the whole world. After all the things you have done, do you think he could ever trust you of all people?" His words pierced her soul, and made her cry out in intense pain.

"Stop it! Jack! Jack!" Emma cried, trying to cover her ears to block his voice. But he was in her head, and she couldn't get rid of him. His words where true, and her heart filled with fear. This voice, this man, knew her secret. What if he told Jack?

Fear and terror rose in her throat and her chest felt heavy, her frozen heart to afraid to beat. Her breathing became labored and intense as the crippling fear enclosed her small body.

Then everything went black.

~~~

Pitch had caught the girl when she fell. It was a steep drop, and he needed her alive and well. He landed with a crunch and set her down in in a powdery white snow bank.

He sighed. He hadn't wanted to do this, but if she was going to go to the pole he had to inflict her soul with more fear now. He wouldn't be able to reach her and fill her with fear anytime like he was able to in the forest. He could only in her dreams.

He brushed the hair out of her eyes and looked at her face, contorted in pain as she experienced another nightmare.

"Don't worry. You'll give in soon, and your suffering will end." He said to the unconscious girl. "I will be patient."

Then he disappeared without a trace into the never ending white snowstorm.