Author's Note:
Sorry for the delay everyone! Life has assaulted me again, so the past few weeks have been absolute hell. The next couple of updates will come out a little slower than the others, but I promise I'm still working on this and will get them out as fast as I can.
Thanks for all the new followers and the favorites! I love that this is still getting so much attention. One day I had over 160 views, which is AMAZING for me, so thanks a ton to everybody who has taken the time and interest to read my work.
booklover1798: Glad you liked it!
Momochan77: I can't say precisely when she'll start working with kids, but you'll get to see it, don't worry. I've got a plan... ;)
Sierra: Glad you're back, and it's always good to hear that you've liked the chapters. And while it may be a bit frustrating that you can't tell where I'm going with this, I kinda prefer it that way because I always like being a bit unpredictable. :D
Anyway, please enjoy and review if you can.
The moment the door was closed, Pitch pushed Lilly up against it and wrapped his arms around her in a firm embrace. He buried his face in the curve where her neck and shoulder met, completely uncaring for the fact that her thick curls were on the verge of smothering him. If anything, he was glad for them, as they helped to block out the sickening stench of Moon's ancient realm.
How I loathe this place!
He felt Lilly's right arm shift slightly as she set aside her staff, then her hands were on his back as she held him tight.
"What happened?" she asked softly, her sweet breath fanning his neck as she spoke to him.
He couldn't answer her. The truth of the matter was that he didn't have an answer. Moon had given him an impossible choice, and the fact that he was being forced to make it weighed heavily on his mind and even heavier on his heart.
"What did he say?"
Again her voice was quiet, as if she believed he was some fragile thing that would break into pieces if treated too harshly. Maybe he would break… There was just too much going on right now, far too many changes happening all at once. Pitch was physically and mentally and emotionally drained, and yet their tribulations were still far from over. Maybe Lilly would understand…she'd always been so incredibly understanding…but somewhere deep inside he wondered if this would be the thing that finally broke her. What if, even after he explained, she became furious or felt insulted or was incredibly hurt? He didn't want her to endure any of those things, especially not now, in this place, with a child growing inside of her.
"'If you truly love her then this shouldn't even be a choice.'"
Moon's words rang in Pitch's ears, causing him to grind his teeth in fury and frustration and anguish. His love for Lilly was far from superficial, of that he was absolutely certain. So then why was this decision so incredibly difficult for him to make?
Does that mean I don't love her as much as I think I do?
The very thought of that hurt him tremendously. He clutched at Lilly desperately, and he couldn't stop the tremors that had suddenly taken over his legs.
Misreading the tension in his body and the heavy, prolonged silence, Lilly asked him, "Did he tell you to leave me?"
The Nightmare King barked out a short, humorless laugh. "It wouldn't have been an issue if he had. I'd have told him to go fuck himself."
"Then what's wrong, Pitch? Why is it so hard to tell me?"
Darkness, why could she always read him so well? He tightened his hold on her, determined not to lose her, determined to never let her go.
"Please tell me." Her beautiful voice was filled with concern for him. She touched him continuously, rubbing his back and shoulders soothingly before reaching up to stroke her fingers through his black hair. "Don't try to struggle through this alone," she told him softly. "If you can't resolve it on your own, then please share it with me so that I can help you."
"Lilly…"
He said her name on a breath, a whispered plea that she didn't fail to catch.
"Talk to me," she said into his ear, still smoothing his hair back with her gentle hands. "Tell me something easier. Does he want me to become a Guardian?"
Pitch took a shuddering breath, let it out slowly. "Yes." His voice was surprisingly calm considering how tenuous his present grip on control seemed to be. "But not just in name. He wants you to actually work with those brats, though he wouldn't tell me why. He said he'd rather explain it to you directly."
"Did he happen to mention what my title would be?"
Pitch would've laughed if he hadn't felt so worn. Just thinking about what Moon had said made him want to roll his eyes.
"Peace," he muttered, to which she responded with a short, dry laugh.
"Oh, that's going to be a story and a half."
He nodded a mute agreement, still holding onto her tightly and not daring to look at her.
Sensing his lingering confliction, Lilly asked him, "What else? Did you have to bargain for my staff or did he just give it back?"
"He gave it back. Something about being grateful that you trusted him enough to use the Pool and not having the right opportunity to return it to you sooner." Pitch gave her a little squeeze. "You really didn't promise him anything in exchange for access to the Pool?"
"Of course not. I'm not some senseless broad who makes impossible promises to the enemy for the sake of my dying love. Only a fool would fall for that old trick."
She drew a long breath, and Pitch knew she was fighting back mental images of his burned and broken self. He wished he could delve into her mind and just wipe all those dark memories away, but he couldn't, and he'd never forgive himself for that.
"Besides," Lilly went on, "he's a far better manipulator than that. If he'd demanded payment then and there, his precious puppets would've seen him for what he truly is. Waiting until now has given him an advantage."
"You're right," he agreed on a mutter.
"So is that it on my end? He just wants me to be the newest addition to his menagerie?"
He shook his head slightly at her choice of words before nodding. "That's all."
"Hmmm…"
She was quiet for a bit. Pitch knew she was wondering about the nature of Moon's demands from the Nightmare King considering how little his old friend had requested from her. A part of him hoped she'd guess the answer so that he'd be spared from having to explain himself, but an even bigger part of him hoped the thought would never even cross her mind.
If it does, does that mean she doesn't think very highly of me, or does it simply mean that she knows me incredibly well?
He wasn't sure, and he honestly didn't want to find out.
At last, Lilly spoke again. "Pitch?"
"Hm?"
"What did Moon ask you to do?"
He still didn't want to talk about it, but Pitch had to admit that he was feeling slightly more loose-tongued now that she'd walked him through less troubling topics.
Why does she always know precisely what to do?
He took a breath.
"He wants me to relinquish my position as Nightmare King."
The words left his mouth far easier than Pitch ever thought they would, but even he couldn't deny just how monotonous they sounded. It was as if his mind was trying to separate him from reality by snatching away all of his emotions, leaving him painfully numb and empty.
"And?"
So she knew there was more…
"Not just the title," he went on in the same detached voice. "I'd have to give up my throne and even my globe. I'd be forbidden from reshaping any of my Nightmares, and I'd only be allowed to touch dreams in the direst of circumstances when I need strength replenished quickly…but even then I'd have to get permission from Moon or Sandman to do so. He said it's too great a temptation for it to possibly continue unrestricted."
Such a deceptively simple exchange: a mere title for Lilly's protection. The choice was so obvious it shouldn't have instilled such confliction in him, and yet the decision was far from easy for Pitch to make. He recognized the fact that a title alone meant absolutely nothing in the face of Lilly's safety, but even so he didn't want to stop being the Nightmare King. Being the Nightmare King was the one thing apart from his Lilly that he'd sworn he'd never give up, and now Moon was in a position to demand that he sacrifice one for the sake of the other. His old friend had called him selfish for being unable to decide, but Moon didn't understand—couldn't understand—and Pitch honestly didn't know if Lilly could understand, either. His every intent was to see to her protection, happiness, and comfort, to ensure that she was only provided with the very best, but how could he possibly fulfill such promises if in the process he had to give up every last thing that he was?
Instead of being a useless Nightmare King, I'll be a useless nobody.
He couldn't go back to that. He couldn't go back to wandering the shadows of night scavenging for fear while other spirits enjoyed their power and purpose and happily pretended he wasn't there. If he wasn't the Nightmare King, how could he ever bear to face Lilly, to look her in the eye and tell her that he could do right by her? He'd only be telling her lies, and it was impossible for him to lie to her.
He told Lilly this. He explained everything to her as clearly as he could, but even to his own ears the explanation sounded very much like an excuse.
And a pathetic one at that.
He felt absolutely wretched by the time he was done. He was glad he was holding her as he was, because he couldn't have borne to look at her in case he spotted anger or hurt or betrayal in those perfect green eyes. She listened without saying a word until he was finished, and not once did she stop holding him or touching his hair. When he finally fell silent once more, Pitch felt her arms slip down to his waist, settling around him as her fingers clasped loosely behind his back.
"Did Moon say something to you?" she asked softly, nuzzling into the shoulder of his robes.
"What do you mean?" he asked hesitantly.
"If he'd told you what he wanted and had left it at that, I could see you being angry or indignant more than anything…but you're not either of those things."
She squeezed him gently then leaned back a little so she could look at him. Pitch refused to meet her gaze, so Lilly released her hold on him to frame his face with her hands, gently but firmly raising his head so that he was forced to look at her. When he reluctantly opened his eyes, he was both shocked and enormously relieved to see that her expression was completely free of anger and hurt. Her beautiful green eyes were filled with worry instead, her only concern for him and him alone.
Why is she so good to me?
"What did he say to you, Pitch?"
He swallowed thickly before answering. "He said…that if I loved you then the choice should be obvious."
Lilly immediately went rigid. The worry faded from her eyes as they darkened with rage, and out of the corner of his eye, Pitch saw the white fire atop her staff flare up in response to her anger.
"Don't you dare believe that, Pitch," she growled. Her hands pressed into his face, and she stared at him with such intensity he was left shaken by it. "Don't you dare think that this decision is about how much you love me! Moon has no right to say something like that, he doesn't know a damn thing!"
"But I—"
"Do you remember this?" She released his face so she could roughly shove her left sleeves up her arm, baring to his sight the dark symbols he'd etched onto her body many, many years ago. Then she clasped his wrist and brought his hand to her skin, letting him touch those marks, his vows to her. "This is how much you love me!" she said fiercely. "Don't you ever let Moon or anyone else undermine your faith in that!"
His breath caught painfully in his chest. Pitch stroked her arm tenderly, and a little desperately, scarcely daring to believe it.
"You're not angry with me?" he whispered in disbelief.
"Of course not! You may not have been created that way, but being the Nightmare King is still a part of who you are. Hell, you've held that position for centuries longer than you've known me! Of course you'd be desperate to keep it, especially when it means so much to you. If Moon-man cannot see that, then he's a damn fool!"
Relief immediately washed over him, easing much of the pain and anxiety he'd endured since his meeting with Moon. Even now she trusts me. Even now she believes in me and understands me. Why was I so stupid as to doubt that?
Closing his eyes, Pitch pressed his forehead against hers. "I love you" he breathed, clutching at her naked arm and stroking her soft skin with his thumb. "I do."
"I know you do," Lilly assured him. "That so-called friend of yours is just trying to take advantage of your current instability. He knows you've got too many things on your mind right now, and he's using that to play with your insecurities." She ground her teeth against Moon's shameless audacity, but pressed relentlessly on. "You need to believe in yourself, Pitch. You have this doubt in your mind that you're not doing right by me, and it's eating away at you, and that's what Moon-man is feeding off of. You have to remember that I've already seen the very worst in you. Long before we formed our bond you bared your darkest self to me, and I willingly accepted it. After everything I've been through in my existence, believe me when I say that if I'd thought for even a moment that you weren't worthy of me I wouldn't have hesitated to walk away. But I didn't and I won't, because even at your worst you're the best thing that could've happened to me. You've given me happiness and love, acceptance and comfort. You've given me a home and even a new life." Her fingers brushed briefly, almost absently, across her stomach. "You've given me everything I have ever wanted, and more, so don't think for even a second that you're failing me. Not even in this, Pitch. No matter what Moon says, you're not hurting or betraying me at all by feeling conflicted. As much as I love you and want you to be happy, if someone told me I had to relinquish my place as a flora spirit in order to be with you, it wouldn't be an easy thing to do. It's a part of me, of my deepest self, just as being the Nightmare King is a significant part of your identity. Such a thing isn't easy to walk away from, no matter how desperately we want to do right by each other or how obvious the decision may seem to outsiders."
Lilly reached up to frame his face with her hands again, and he trembled under the tenderness of that light touch.
"What should I do?" he whispered, the words sounding strangely choked as if his throat wasn't working properly.
"I can't make that decision for you, Pitch," she told him sadly, and he somehow instinctively knew that she was sad because she wanted to help him but couldn't. Not this time. "Just know that no matter what you choose I will stand by your side. I won't be disappointed."
"Even if you're damned to be destroyed because of my selfishness?" he asked rhetorically, but she answered him anyway.
"We had already decided before this that if Moon-man's demands were too much, we'd take the risk of handling the fallout on our own. I'm not going to go back on that just because this is what he wants from you. I'm no insincere woman."
She stroked the pads of her thumbs across his cheeks, soothing him with those feather-light caresses. "This is about what you need and what you want, and because of that I will wholeheartedly agree with whichever choice you make. You aren't being selfish by keeping something you need any more than you are being weak by giving something up in exchange for help. That's why I'm truly all right with whatever choice you make in this."
She studied his face for a moment, during which she seemed to detect his lingering indecision. "If you can't give Moon an answer," she offered slowly, choosing her words carefully, "then answer this first: Do you need to be the Nightmare King?"
He thought hard about it, and she gave him time to consider without bothering him with words or pointed expressions. When everything was cut down to its barest bones, what exactly did he, Pitch Black, truly needed in and from this world?
As a spirit, he needed fear and shadow, for his existence was built upon the presence of those two things and without them he would simply cease to be. He could neither be denied them nor give them up without suffering dire consequences, so his need for them was both obvious and absolute.
His needs as a man were slightly different, but to his own mind they bore just as much importance. Pitch needed Lilly. His very heart was bound to hers, and no matter how many times he doubted his own ability to please or care for her, nothing in this world would ever convince him to leave her. If a night were to ever come when he awoke and found her gone from his existence, his will would shatter and take his sanity with it. That she now carried his child made his feelings for her burn hotter and stronger than ever before, and he supposed that meant he needed the baby, too. Irrespective of any reservations he still held over the matter, Pitch couldn't imagine giving that child up for anything, not even himself. It was strange how fiercely protective he already was of that child, but it was a part of him and a part of his Lilly, and that alone was reason enough to keep it safe no matter the cost.
As for being the Nightmare King, however…Pitch had thought he needed it—had in fact believed with his whole being that he needed it—but now that he thought about it, he realized he simply couldn't justify keeping it the same way he could everything else. It wasn't something he required to exist, like fear and shadow, and it wasn't something he couldn't afford to give up, like Lilly or their child. He desperately wanted to keep the title, and would absolutely hate to give it up, but when compared to everything else Pitch realized it just wasn't on the same level.
"No."
The word spoken so quietly, it was barely audible. It took a great deal of effort to get that single syllable out of his mouth, for even now Pitch was fighting against the dawning awareness that he didn't need to be the Nightmare King, he wanted to be the Nightmare King. Rather than lightening his burden, that newfound understanding only made him feel worse for wanting to cling to the role even though Lilly's safety hung in the balance.
"I don't want to lose it," he whispered to her, "but I don't want to lose you either. I can't lose you! I need you to be safe…both of you…"
"Then you know what to tell Moon," she responded quietly.
"I know, but…" He reached up to bury his fingers in her hair, clutching the fire-red strands tightly as he pulled her closer. His confliction was written all over his face, and he could hear it in his own choked voice. "…but I still don't want to stop! I don't want to stop being the Nightmare King, Lilly! I don't!"
The memory of his recent conversation with Moon rushed back to him, sending his already unsettled thoughts into greater disarray:
"Why do you clutch to it so tightly, Pitch? If the title of Nightmare King serves no purpose other than to make spirits loathe you and become your enemies, what's the point in keeping it?"
"Is that what you want?" Pitch let out sharp bark of laughter. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised! All you've ever wanted is for me to stop being the Nightmare King!"
"When I made you a spirit, Pitch, your purpose was to manage humanity's fear, not exacerbate it! Being the spirit of fear and shadow has never required becoming something as base as a Nightmare King or even a Boogeyman, so why have you made it so?"
"Nearly every spirit in existence possesses a title, Moon, it's not as if I'm the only one! Those five idiots have been designated as Guardians, that damned Sun Woman is worshiped like a queen and sits a throne…hell, even those naiads you hoard are the 'miracle workers' of the spirit world! Why is it that everyone else gets to have purpose and importance while those very things are denied me?! Without the name Boogeyman, without the role of Nightmare King, my being the spirit of fear holds no meaning! I'll go back to being weak and useless and nibbling away at the scraps of humanity you lot don't dare to touch! You cannot deny it, Moon!" he snarled when the older spirit opened his mouth. "I know firsthand just how hypocritical you are! You shower other spirits with exclusive rights and designations, openly celebrating their efforts and tenacity whenever they gain power or belief, but every single time I try to obtain those very same things for myself I'm beaten and berated and told I cannot have them!"
He drew a long, shuddering breath, a little surprised that Moon had managed to draw such emotion out of him. Baring his teeth to cover the shame of losing himself like that in front of his enemy, Pitch continued more quietly but just as fiercely.
"When I had nothing, nobody ever bothered to care for me. You pretended to be my friend because you felt sorry for me, but I never wanted pity! I just wanted what the rest of you had already! There's no honor, no dignity in my position unless I forcibly take it, and taken it I have! What else was I to do?! Both before and after the Dark Ages, the only times anyone ever bothered to spare me a thought was when they wished to mock me. First it was about how weak and pathetic I was, then it became about my being thrown down so mercilessly by your wretched Guardians! Lilly…" His breath hitched in his chest, causing him to choke on her name, but he recovered quickly. "Lilly's the only one who's ever taken me exactly as I am, accepting all of me and not just the parts deemed worthy of others' attention. You say that you are willing to accept me, Moon, but there's always been stipulations attached to that assurance. You're only willing to accept me if I do things your way, effectively smothering every last thing that I am. That's why you were so against my becoming the Nightmare King in the first place, and that's why you're still trying to force me to give it up, even after all this time!"
"I want you to give it up because it's brought you nothing but trouble," Moon countered quietly. Pitch couldn't quite identify the expression on that goateed face. Was it sadness? Understanding? Remorse? He honestly didn't know. "Look at what's happened, Pitch. Look at what's happened to you and to Lilliana thanks to your reputation and tell me that the same would have transpired had you never become the Nightmare King."
As much as Pitch wanted to refute what Moon was saying, he couldn't because he knew his old friend was right. Were it not for his past actions and sinister reputation, nearly every bad thing that had happened to him and Lilly in recent weeks simply wouldn't have occurred. Forget fighting with the Guardians and her getting kidnapped by them—those five idiots probably wouldn't have even existed had Pitch not acted the way he did during the Dark Ages. And even if Moon had come up with some other ridiculous reason to create them, at least they wouldn't have been Pitch's enemies, haunting his every step with their laughter and light. Even the present mess with the Sun Woman could be traced back to his dark past. She'd disliked Pitch long before he'd ever taken up the role of Nightmare King, but she hadn't openly professed her loathing of him or actively hunted him until after the Dark Ages had commenced. Faced with such evidence, it was fairly safe to assume that if Pitch had been nothing more than the spirit of fear and shadow when he'd bonded with Lilly, her mother still would've been angry but certainly wouldn't have reacted the way she had. She never would've made such a blatant attempt on his existence had he not handed her the perfect excuse to do so.
Unable to counter Moon's point, Pitch repeated weakly, "What else was I to do? I just wanted to be treated with respect. Nobody would give it to me, so what else was I to do?"
Standing before Lilly now, Pitch suddenly realized that it wouldn't make one bit of difference if he remained as the Nightmare King or not. He'd assumed the role in the hope of gaining respect and recognition, but humans still didn't believe in him and spirits hated and belittled him more now than they ever had before. What difference would it make if he gave it up, then? If all the power and influence he'd wielded during the Dark Ages hadn't been enough to sway others to his side, then there really wasn't anything else he could do, was there?
He was doomed to be insignificant forever…Moon had simply found a way to force Pitch to finally admit it.
"Oh, Pitch…"
It wasn't until Lilly said those words and starting wiping at his face that the former Nightmare King realized he was crying. He tried to hide his face from her, deeply ashamed and humiliated at having her see him like this, but she refused to let him turn away. Instead she pulled him closer, letting him lean against her as he wept for the very first time.
She whispered to him, "You will always be my Nightmare King, the one who took away my shadows and accepted my darkness. You will always be my love, my bond, my better half. The one who finally gave my existence meaning, the one I fear to lose when nothing else in the world has ever shaken me. Even if you no longer have a throne, I will continue to share your life, your home, and your bed. Even if you are nothing more than Pitch Black, you will be my Pitch Black, and I won't ever stop loving you."
It felt as if every ounce of her being was contained within those words. Never had she said anything with more conviction, except maybe her vows to him, and Pitch was left stunned and trembling by the power she possessed with her voice alone.
If no one else was proud of him or respected him, Lilly was and Lilly did, and hers was the only opinion that mattered, wasn't it?
He clung to her, his tears drying on his face and on her shoulder as she told him quietly, "Maybe this child's inception wasn't untimely after all. Maybe some greater magic out there knew this was coming and realized you would need something to set your mind and efforts to once you were no longer the Nightmare King."
"Maybe," he agreed just as softly. It was a nice thought: the child being a gift they could both treasure and happily anticipate instead of being some accident Moon had warped into another tool to be used in his relentless quest to drive his old friend and enemy into the ground.
Feeling a little more composed, Pitch straightened up. He and Lilly stared into each other's eyes for a long while, silently appreciating the familiar comfort of each other's presence and love. Then Pitch was struck rather unexpectedly by a strange and unfamiliar sensation, like a gentle but obvious pressure being exerted onto his brain. He gasped. It disappeared as quickly as it came, but he was left with no doubt as to what it was.
"Did you…?"
"I did." Lilly sounded a little awed. "It's already this strong…" Then she grinned at him. "I think it's voiced its opinion on the matter."
"Hmmm," he agreed and even managed a small smile of his own. "It's going to give those Guardians hell, I can already tell."
"Us too, don't forget. We're the ones stuck raising it, you know."
Pitch started to groan when a familiar giggling filled his ears. It seemed their child already had wicked things planned for them, and in spite of everything the former Nightmare King couldn't help but smirk at the knowledge that this child was going to be an absolute terror.
We'll get along splendidly, then, won't we?
Noting the look on his face, Lilly said with some resignation, "It's going to be hell living with the two of you."
His grin widened. "You know you'll love it."
"Shut up. If it wasn't for me none of this would've ever happened, so you're welcome."
Pitch nearly laughed at the excessive haughtiness in her voice. She was practically preening, as if she was exceedingly proud of the fact that her relentless stalking of him was what had ultimately brought the two of them together. Yet again he was left shocked and awed by just how deeply she could affect him. Mere moments ago he had been broken and crying before her, but now he was smiling and teasing her and getting teased in turn.
This is what I always wanted, he thought as he stroked her left arm tenderly with the backs of his fingers. This warmth…this acceptance…family…
He didn't need to be Nightmare King to be happy. It would still hurt tremendously to relinquish something he'd fought so hard to earn and had struggled for so many centuries to keep, but he realized now that he didn't need the role as he once did. Before the Dark Ages he'd been alone, rejected, and absolutely miserable. The power he'd gathered and the terror he'd wrought had brought him some semblance of contentment, but it had been fleeting, for rather than embracing the new, all-powerful Pitch Black, the spirit world instead came to detest him. Overcome with pain and fury, he'd used his newfound strength to push back against everyone and everything that had ever scorned or spurned him, but such reaction had only left him more dejected and isolated than ever before. Then the Guardians had come into the picture, and Pitch had been left with nothing but empty, crumbling ruins and a fading memory of what it was like to have humans believe in him.
Yet even then he'd stubbornly refused to stop calling himself Boogeyman and Nightmare King. Whether it had been out of desperation or determination, he couldn't really say, but he'd endured the passing nights by clinging to the idea that next time he would succeed in obtaining everything he'd ever wanted. That if he gave up he'd always be alone, so giving up simply wasn't an option no matter how pathetic and weak he became.
But things were different now. Pitch wasn't alone anymore, and as difficult as the past few weeks had been, he certainly wasn't miserable. He had Lilly, and soon enough they would have their child. He may not have power or prestige, and from the looks of things he probably wouldn't ever have them, but what little he did have made those things look pathetic and meaningless in comparison. As much as he would always hate and regret having to relinquish being the Nightmare King, Pitch realized he much preferred having Lilly in his arms than sitting alone on a cold, dark throne surrounded by terrified screams wondering why it was he was still so deeply unhappy.
"It will definitely take some getting used to," Lilly said to him, "but I think everything will work out all right for us."
"As long as you never leave me," Pitch murmured, but instead of being insulted by the comment his Lilly actually smirked.
"As if you could ever get rid of me."
Early the following morning, Pitch and Lilly met with Moon and his five pets. It was the first time Pitch had seen any of the Guardians except Frost since they'd entered his lair and stolen Lilly away, and even now he could scarcely stand to look at them. Just thinking about events of that morning filled the former Nightmare King with unbridled rage, but he pushed it down fiercely; he knew that losing himself in front of these spirits would do nothing to help their situation and everything possible to ruin it.
This is for Lilly, he reminded himself, squeezing her hand and feeling a familiar rush of reassurance when she squeezed back. This is to keep her safe, as I wanted, and to make things better between all of us, as she wanted.
"Have you made your decision?" Moon asked without preamble.
Lilly answered, "Yes," in a voice as clear and strong as a bell's toll on a silent night. She and Pitch had already agreed that she'd be the one to speak, for she was far more capable at maintaining her composure than he was and they both knew that Moon wasn't going to like what they had to say.
Meeting the moon spirit's silver gaze squarely, Pitch's brave, beautiful Lilly informed their longtime enemy, "But we have some conditions of our own."