:D I'm so glad to hear you all love it! I'm having so much fun writing this for you guys! Here are some chapters to my reviewers who made me laugh, my followers who made me smile, and my favoriters who also made me smile. :D :D :D :D :D
Emiline's P.O.V
She couldn't take it anymore. The loneliness and the silence was killing her. When Pitch had started to leave she had almost asked him to stay, almost. She had only gotten as far as "No!" before she remembered who she was and who was counting on her to be strong. When he had left she had dissolved into silent tears in her corner, sobbing until she couldn't breathe. Now she was lying in the corner of her cage, eating the rest of the food Pitch had brought her.
There was the lightest sound as someone brushed against the cage's bars. Emiline bolted upright, her eyes ablaze with desperate fire. She saw the Fearling boy leaning against the bars, staring at her in that silent searching way of his. Emiline let out a sigh of relief and joy, here was someone to squash the loneliness. If only it was someone who would actually speak to her.
"Do you ever speak?" Emiline asked the boy, wiping crumbs from her face. The Fearling didn't give any indication that he had even heard, though the way his eyes shined showed that he did. "Would you please? I need to hear someone else talk. I need noise." Emiline said, begging him. Still, the Fearling boy didn't answer. Sighing, Emiline got to her feet and walked over to the Fearling boy until they were just a few inches apart, the bars being the only thing keeping them apart. "Please. I beg you. Just, please speak." Emiline whispered, her eyes locked on his fiery red ones.
No answer. He was just staring at her now with his head cocked ever so slightly to the left, like he was confused or curious. There was the slightest crease between his eyebrows too. Emiline reached out and touched the crease, smoothing it. She wanted to get a reaction out of him, a noise in disgust or gasp of surprise, but nothing came from him. The Fearling just stared down at Emiline silently. She felt tears well up in her eyes and she looked down at the ground, refusing to let the boy see them.
"You're doing this on purpose aren't you? You know this hurts me." Emiline whispered. Her eyes were still focused on the ground but that didn't keep her from gently running her fingers over the crease on his forehead. He flinched back suddenly and Emiline looked up expectantly, hoping to see emotion or hear him speak. But no, he just kept staring. "Please speak." Emiline choked out suddenly.
The boy shook his head.
Emiline dropped to her knees and placed her head against the cold unforgiving bars. She started sobbing, careful to not let out any noise so that the Fearling couldn't take any pleasure in knowing he had driven her this far into depression. The lights in the room went out for a second then reappeared suddenly. Emiline looked up in surprise and saw that the Fearling boy had gone. That was when she let out a scream of emotional pain that echoed around the room in a beautiful repeating melody.
Her jaw dropped slightly. The screams would remain? She could keep noise in the room? To test it, Emiline let out another short scream. It echoed around a bit before disappearing. Emiline laughed a little then took a deep breath. Without a moment's pause, Emiline began to scream. She screamed, beat the cages with her sword, screamed some more. Emiline caused as much noise as she could and when she did stop to take another short breathe or rest her limbs it would remain in the air like a lullaby. Joyful tears ran down her cheeks.
Finally, Pitch came storming out of the shadows. "What are you doing?!" He shouted as he stomped over to the cage.
Emiline stopped, a sheepish look on her face. "Making noise." She whispered awkwardly as her final scream died out in the room. Now the silence was back and it made Emiline want to claw at her ears.
Pitch let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You are a thorn in my side girl." The King of Nightmares said in annoyance. Emiline would have happily said that she was proud of that but she didn't want to anger Pitch. He was speaking to her, providing the company and noise she desperately wanted. "Well if you're done with having your little episode I'll be going. I didn't want to return here for another couple of days at the least." Pitch said, strolling back towards the shadows.
Suddenly, Emiline couldn't take it anymore. "NO!" She screamed, throwing herself against the bars. She reached through them and latched onto Pitch's cloak, refusing to let go. "Please, please don't leave me. I can't do it. I can't stand the silence anymore." Emiline whispered through her tears. Pitch didn't turn around, remaining a cold silent statue as she stared desperately at his back. "Please Pitch, don't leave me here. Don't leave me with the silence." Emiline begged.
There was a moment's pause before Pitch finally turned around. He gently pried her hands from his cloak, watching her with his eclipse eyes the whole time. Once he was released Pitch slowly made his way over to Emiline, passing through the bars of the cage with ease. Emiline didn't hesitate, she threw herself into Pitch's arms like it was the most natural thing in the world. The Fear King let out a dark chuckle before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into him as closely as possible. Emiline didn't care though that it was him holding her, she needed the physical interaction. She pulled him even closer, burying her face in his chest. Tears stained the already black fabric.
"Don't leave. Please, don't leave." Emiline whispered as she clung to the King of Shadows.
Pitch laughed, his chest vibrating. "I won't leave little dreamer, not with you clinging so savagely to me. But you have to tell me a story to keep me entertained." He told her.
Emiline nodded and instantly settled on a Stephen King book in her head. She hadn't wanted to tell him any of King's stories but if this was what it took to keep him here then fine. Emiline told him one dark terrifying story after another, scaring herself with the intensity she told the stories with. Pitch laughed at many parts and he seemed to be growing stronger with each story Emiline recited. His grip on her was so tight that if Emiline decided she wanted to get away she wouldn't be able to. Finally though, Emiline ran out of stories to tell him. Panic settled in her as she tried desperately to remember a book he would like to hear.
"Beautiful Emiline, simply beautiful." Pitch said, his voice dripping with dark pleasure. His fingers gently ran up and down her spine, playing chase with the chills he always caused in her. "Now tell me one of your stories. One about me." The Boogeyman told her.
No. No, no, no, no. She couldn't do that. No matter how much she wanted him to stay and give her company and noise in this terrible place she couldn't tell him one of those stories. Emiline couldn't tell one of those stories without feeding it magic, it just wasn't done. One story and Pitch would grow powerful enough to take the happiness out of the whole west coast. Emiline found herself gently shoving the King of Shadows away, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I won't do that Pitch. I will never tell you one of those stories." Emiline whispered, her eyes on the ground.
Pitch closed the space between them. He grabbed her chin gently and lifted her face up so that she had to look at him. That creepy, cold, arrogant smile was on his face. "Never, my little dreamer?" Pitch asked. His voice was smooth and coaxing, gently pushing her to change her mind.
Emiline felt her resolve harden at the sight of that smile. She wasn't going to let him control her. She wasn't going to let him take over the world she loved so much and hurt the kids she loved as if they were her own siblings. "Never." Emiline growled at him, her fists clenched murderously tight.
For a moment they just stood there, staring at each other. Then Pitch gave an animalistic growl, shoving Emiline away in disgust. "Fine girl, be that way. You could have kept yourself this way but no, you had to refuse me." The Boogeyman said furiously. Emiline glared at him, her whole body itching to dive for her sword and stab Pitch through the heart. "You better enjoy your remaining time as a Guardian sweet Emiline because soon you will be my Fearling Princess and you'll never see your precious friends again."
With that, Pitch disappeared into the shadows. Emiline collapsed on all fours as if the weight of the sky had suddenly been dropped on her shoulders. She stared at the cold unforgiving ground of her cage, breathing heavily. Slowly, Emiline reached into her mouth and wiggled a loose canine tooth. It was her last baby tooth, the thing that contained every memory she had of being a Guardian.
"I'll remember them. I swear, I'll remember them again." Emiline whispered, already thinking of what would happen when Pitch turned her into a Fearling.
Pitch's P.O.V
Emiline had refused him a story. She was never going to tell him one, at least until she was a Fearling. So it was decided, he would have to transform her. Soon too if he wanted to do it before she became a completely broken little toy.
Pitch grabbed one of his nightmare arrows from the cabinet. He examined it with a smile. "She'll make a nice little Fearling, don't you think Dracus?" The Boogeyman asked the shadow beside him.
Slowly, the Fearling boy emerged from the shadow with a look of anger on his face. He had obviously been trying to spy on his master, failing at it too. "Yes Pitchy, I'm sure she will. But don't you think she'll be a little rebellious? Like me, dear Pitchy?" The King of Nightmares growled a little, the boy was so close to switching that P to a B.
"Yes she'll be rebellious, you can't get rid of a spirit that strong completely, but without her memories she'll be much easier to control compared to you." Pitch explained, placing the arrow inside the folds of his cloak for later. He was going to have so much fun turning Emiline into a Fearling in front of those idiotic Guardians. It would be a night to remember forever. "A simple spell is all it will take and then the girl will be mine. We won't even call her by the same name anymore, she'll become something new all together." Pitch said excitedly, sounding like a kid on Christmas, a joy in children he hoped to destroy with Emiline's help.
"How do you know she'll keep her powers? Aren't the arrows supposed to turn Guardians into opposites of themselves? What if her powers suddenly switch up?" Dracus asked curiously, eyeing the remaining arrows in the cabinet.
"The arrows only affect personality. They won't do a thing against powers." Pitch said, shutting the cabinet doors so that Dracus couldn't look into them anymore. He made a black chain wrap itself around the cabinet before securing it shut with a black padlock. "No playing with the arrows boy." Pitch said, smiling cruelly at the Fearling. He knew the boy's unsatisfied curiosity would leave him in a bad mood for the rest of the day.
Pitch turned away from the Fearling, his cloak swishing against the ground. He disappeared into the shadows with the smile still painted on his features. This next part of his plan was going to be so much fun.