Pitch paced throughout his lair, watching the lights twinkle. He frowned as he searched for his favorite child. She was being moved a lot. He grinned as he saw her light in the mountains of Southeast Asia. Of course! Tooth's palace. It was one place where she could face her memories. It was the one thing she hated and feared. Yes. He knew all her worst fears. One was facing her past. He knew about her darkest secret. Her darkest fear.

Oh yes. He was getting good at getting it to come during her sleep. The next step was going to be sweet. The fearling he had in mind was old. It was powerful. All it needed was a suitable host. He had chosen the perfect candidate to help him spread his fear more. He outweighed the risks. True, the fearling was dangerous and difficult to control. Yet Colleen was a perfect host. She had the most disturbing nightmares since she was a child. He had been watching her since she had joined the military. He was quite impressed with her: how she dominated her troops with fear, her heart was icy, her nerves were steel. He would serve her as his fearling lieutenant. All he had to do was have her give in to her fear.

Sitting on his throne, he created a sand image of his favorite child, reminiscing the time she first came to his Lair.


Gram told the girl stories about the mystical and magical creatures that lived in the world. The spirits. The faeries.

Yet there were stories about monsters. The unseelie fairies that were dishonorable and murderous. The banshee: a witch that warned of the impending death of beloved ones with a wailing shriek. The red caps: malevolent dwarves that murdered travelers to dye their caps in their blood. The dullahan: a headless fairy that rode on a horse, stealing souls of mortals. Anyone who got in its way was marked as his next victim and its only fear was gold. This creature scared her a lot that she begged Gram to get her a gold bracelet to keep the dullahan away.

But one of the monsters that the girl was always feared was the Puca. She was so terrified of this monster that she always closed the closet door tight. Stuffed boxes under her bed to make sure there was no space. Even begged her Gram to get a nightlight that would be bright enough to keep the monster away.

The Puca would always come despite her efforts to keep it away. It brought her nightmares. She would wake up screaming in the dark. Her parents or Gram would comfort her and assure her that it was only a dream.

There was one time she had actually seen the Puca. After a nightmare, she opened her eyes and found the monster standing over her. She saw the golden lamp like eyes that pierced the dark and the jagged teeth that grinned with malice. She heard the dark chuckle. Above her was a monstrous horse made out of dark sand, trotting.

Yet, the child was curious about the Puca. She was certain it was a man since his chuckle sounded like the grown men that Daddy would meet with from the Army. Who was he? Why did he bring nightmares? Where did he come from? Night after night, she would wait up to see the Puca again only to fall asleep. Sometimes he didn't come. And the times the nightmares would come, she would try to wake up to catch him again. But she hadn't seen him again after that one time.

There was a day when the girl decided to explore in her new neighborhood. She started by going in the woods that was near the frozen pond. The snow crunched beneath her feet while she gazed up at the tall trees as her breath rose on the cold day. Upon going deeper into the woods, she came upon the strangest thing: a solitary wooden bed frame. Curious, she got closer, wondering why such a thing would be sitting out here. Examining it, the wood looked worn and the middle was broken. Underneath it was a huge, dark hole. Wondering how deep it was, she picked up a rock and dropped it down. The rock was swallowed up by the blackness and it made a faint clatter.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard her grandmother calling her to come home. She decided to come back again to check it out. This time, she came at night with a flashlight. She found the lone bed still there. Standing next to the frame, she shined the light down the hole, but saw no bottom. She wondered what could be down there. Could it be a hole that an animal dug? Yet, why was there a bed there?

Startled by the sound of a dry twig snapping, the girl stumbled back and fell down the hole with a scream...

...she landed at the bottom. It surprised her that it was a short fall. The ground was solid stone. Her jeans were wet from mud and her bottom was sore. She brushed herself off and looked up to see that the hole seemed like miles away now. Scared, she could feel tears prick her eyes when she realized she'd never get back up. Now she began to regret sneaking out and wished she was home safe in her warm bed instead of in this cold, dark hole, alone. Pushing away the urge to cry, she remembered Daddy telling her that tears got you nowhere. Just to keep moving forward until you found a way out. That was how one survived.

Sniffling, she fumbled around in the darkness for her flashlight until she felt the shape of it. Her hands trembling, she pressed the button and stood up to look around the cave. The tunnel had stalagmites and stalactites. Shining the flashlight towards the tunnel, she followed the path. It led deeper and deeper underground. Truth be told, it was scary to be alone down here.

The rocks skittered from her boots. The girl looked up and down and all around, listening to the sounds. It was silent except for the sounds of her own footsteps. Her green eyes darted all over the place and she kept her ears alert.

By the time she reached the end of the tunnel, her eyes went wide with awe: it was a large cavern with an ancient ruin. The ceiling was so high that it seemed endless and there were thousands of black iron cages hanging there. Stone stairs twisted in all directions like a labyrinth that it confused her which way to go. She looked down and saw that there were wide gaps that looked like a long way down if one fell.

"Well, well," a voice said from the shadows. "What do we have here?"

The girl let out a startled gasp, whirling her head around to see around to see where the voice came from and shining her flashlight to find the owner of that voice. It was definitely a man's voice-smooth, yet frightening. He let out a cackle and a shadow loomed over her. She found herself falling in the darkness, screaming as she descended through the dark abyss like in one of her nightmares. Eventually something caught her. It felt like a light and invisible hammock. It set her on the solid ground where a huge black globe stood with blinking lights. She looked around with her blonde pigtails whipping her freckled cheeks. Her heart was racing.

Next there was a menacing snort and out of the shadows, she beheld a black horse. It wasn't like any beast she had seen before: it was made entirely of black sand. Spines covered its neck. It had yellow eyes that glared threateningly and it bared sharp teeth. Its nostrils were flared, breathing angrily. Frightened, she tried to think of a way to get away from it, but was too scared to move because she didn't want to fall off the edge again.

"Shush now, girl!" the male voice scolded. "That's no way to treat our guest."

Out of the shadows appeared a tall man. His skin was granite grey. His whole body seemed to move like a shadow-even his clothes looked like them. His black hair stood up like spikes. The girl watched as the man began to stroke the horse's muzzle, calming it down. But the one thing that she stared at were the man's eyes.

"So...what's a little girl like you doing in my lair?" he said tilting his head as he looked her over. "Are we lost?"

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," she said with a lump in her throat.

Another dark chuckle came from the man, shaking his head. This child was amusing. Typical response from many children.

"I would hardly call us strangers," he said, still stroking the horse. "I've known you since I created your first nightmare."

The child shuddered. She looked at his eyes. A familiar face she had seen after a terrible nightmare.

"You're him...aren't you?" she said with a tremor in her voice. "T-the Puca."

The man looked flattered that the child had recognized him. Not many children saw him nor believed in him. He tried to make an appearance after a child had a nightmare, but it wasn't successful since those bloody parents always disrupted his work, waking up and running to their side. How they told them there was no such thing as the Boogeyman. This child, however, DID believe in him. She believed in a lot of things even the dark spirits.

"I go by many names, child," he said, petting the horse. "But that is one of them. I prefer my real name, Pitch Black."

"I didn't know the Puca had a name."

"Of course I do, Colleen. And I see you've found my lair. Normally, I don't allow humans to come in. But for you, I'll make an exception."

She opened her mouth to ask why, but was stunned that the man knew her name.

"Wait...how do you know my name?" she gasped.

She was trembling since this man frightened her since the first time she saw him. He could sense she was afraid. Very afraid. Ah yes! One of his favorites.

"I know every child's name, their fear, their nightmares," he spoke, approaching her.

The child looked up at the Nightmare King with wide green eyes, becoming more uneasy as he got closer. She watched as the Puca swished his hand, creating a swirl of black sand. It took shapes, showing her greatest fears. She trembled and started to move away from him in small steps. He smiled in cruel delight at the horror-struck look on the child's face.

"Your nightmares are quite works of art," Pitch said. "In fact, you're one of my favorite children."

The girl swallowed. "Favorite?"

"Oh yes. The children I love the most are the most lonely and unhappy. Their fears are the worst of all."

"I'm not afraid of you," she lied.

Pitch just chuckled amused. A typical tired old line said by a lot of children. Of course, this child was not a very good liar either.

"Maybe not," he said with a smirk. "But you are afraid of something. You're afraid that the people you love will leave you."

He paused after a beat, remembering her nightmares. They were far more disturbing than normal children. Her nightmares were often about the banshee or the dullahan-figures of death.

"After all, you've lost your mother in death," he continued with a smile. "You've had to leave your friends since your Daddy's job demands it. And now...your Daddy is leaving you."

The child's eyes widened, feeling a surge of panic as she listened to the Nightmare King's words. She had never told anyone this.

"H-how do you know?" she said nervously.

"It's the one thing I always know, my child. People's greatest fears."

She felt the urge to cry. What he said was correct. Her Daddy had pushed her away. Her Gram was the only person left to love her. She was so lonely at times. Pushing her fear away, she was curious about the Puca, deciding to ask him one question she could think of.

"Why did you save me?" she asked.

The Bogeyman frowned. "I'm not sure what you mean, child," he said.

"On the stairs. You could've let me fall, but you didn't. Why?"

"Would you rather I let you fall?" he responded arching a hairless eyebrow.

The girl shook her head rather quickly. "No...thank you, sir," she said uncomfortable.

"So, my child, what brings you to my humble home?"

The girl lowered her head with shame in silence. The Nightmare King chuckled when he sensed her discomfort. The black sand formed her Nightmare-showing her sneaking out of the house. Her Daddy's anger when he found out what she had done. The Nightmare approached her with a menacing snort; its ears were flattened and it bared its teeth.

"Get...away from me!" she said with a tremor.

"No use," said Pitch. "This is your Nightmare, Colleen. It's imprinted to you...it shows me ALL your fears. The more your fear grows, the more it riled up it gets."

He started to stroke Colleen's Nightmare. It nickered excitedly. She could see the images of her worst fears forming: she could hear the anger in her Daddy's voice. The punishment. She whimpered, trying to be brave and think about what her Daddy said to her about surviving. It was pointless. She was lost here in this dark, frightening palace of Nightmares and she'd never get home. She slumped to the floor and began to cry, hugging her knees.

"I want to go home!" she whimpered.

Pitch chuckled, amused by her plea. The child's fear was so strong that he almost felt sorry for her. He thought about keeping her around. It'd be nice to have some company and scare her to his heart's desire, but he already knew it wasn't a good idea. He didn't want to be stuck keeping her alive. The crying was already starting to irritate him. While Pitch enjoyed a frightened child when he created nightmares, at least he could leave. But having one in his lair was out of the question. He didn't like having to look after a lost child.

"I think I'd like to keep you here," he taunted. "I do enjoy your nightmares."

"Oh please don't!" she begged.

She sobbed, terrified at the thought of being kept here, tormented by all the monsters. Her tears streamed down her freckled cheeks. Snot ran down her nose.

"Then why did you run away?"

The girl only shook her head, not wanting to explain. While he was good at telling what people's greatest fears were, he felt other unpleasant emotions as well. He sensed the child was deeply unhappy. Lonely. Angry. Her discontent interested him. She wished from those miserable Guardians to bring her only ONE thing she wanted. But they couldn't give it to her.

A father's love.

In his dark heart, he was starting to feel sorry for her. How all those years of being told that he was nothing more than a bad dream. Those Guardians bringing wonder and light.

"Well?" Pitch demanded.

"I didn't run away," she admitted. "I snuck out. I wanted to see why there was a bed in the woods."

"That was a bad decision," Pitch said sternly. "There are monsters other than me that would harm an innocent child."

"I-I know," she sniveled, looking at him with wet green eyes.

"Now you know not to go exploring in strange places, right?"

"Y-yes, sir. Now will you please bring me home? I won't come back here again. I swear!"

"Why should I?" he said, crossing his arms. He only said this to scare her.

"Because my Gram and Daddy will be worried if I'm gone too long. Please!"

Pitch was getting tired of listening to the girl's endless whining. He flicked some black sand at her to knock her out. The child lay sprawled on the stone steps. The shadows lifted the child up in a billowy hammock and he phased through the darkness. Once at her room, he held her to put her back in her bed. The child snuggled close to the Nightmare King; her tears soaked his robe. Pitch looked uncomfortable-no one had ever touched him before. No human child did anyway. A distant memory of feeling good to hold a child. Almost an instinct he thought was gone forever. Pushing the feeling away, he lay her in her bed. The child clung to his robe tightly that he had to pry her fingers off of him and shake her off.

Just to make sure her visit was stayed a nightmare, he created one...just for his favorite.


AN: This takes place before Colleen meets Jack Frost. The Puca is the Irish bogeyman. According to Irish folkore, it's a shapeshifting ghost that takes the shape of goats, rabbits, horses and men. I thought it would be interesting to research Irish folklore.