AN: It's short, I know... but I promise, I will write more again from now on :)
When Pitch awoke much later he felt refreshed and ready to tackle whatever the night might throw at him. When he looked around at Melissa's bed, it was empty and for one short moment the familiar panic was back, the fear that she had left him, but then he quickly shook it off and got up. A few minutes later, he entered the main cave but the girl was nowhere to be seen. There was however a clearly visible piece of parchment on the nearest workbench and when he approached it, he found that Liz had left him a message. She had done her best to write it down, but had added a few nicely drawn pictures as well.
"I am out – back soon" it said and showed a drawing of herself with grass under her feet, a rather big sun, trees, a few lines that looked like water and also an outline of the boat they had brought back. Pitch smiled broadly and decided to let her have fun outside as long as the sun was still up. In the meantime, he checked his workshop just to make sure that everything was still there. He found nothing missing and after busying himself there for another few minutes he decided that while Liz was outside, he could just as well go and find her some breakfast.
Pitch didn't feel like traveling far and since his young friend had a taste for porridge, he decided to stay in the area. But before he left, he picked up Melissa's note again, smiled and turned it over, to leave a short message of his own. Only a few minutes later, he was already sneaking down a narrow street in a small nearby village. The sun was just about to set and the dim light was sparkling on a thin layer of crisp new snow that covered the low buildings. A few men were still milling about on the square and he watched them for a minute. They were busy erecting a life-sized statue that seemed to resemble a group of people or a family. The whole thing was made of stone and obviously very heavy but the men were pulling it upright with ropes while others were keeping the base in place by cramming wooden shims beneath it. Pitch also noticed that the entire square was also decorated with colorful pennants that fluttered in the cool winter breeze. It looked quite festive. Apparently this happy little community was planning some sort of celebration.
As the Nightmare King watched them from the deepening shadows, he thought about how much easier and faster this task would be done with the help of his – no Melissa's boat. The craft would easily be able to lift the weight but then he shook the thought off. Who was he to run to those people's aid anyway? This was their business and he had no reason at all to interfere. If what they were doing didn't work, they would have to use their brains and think of a new way. This was how inventions were made! And with that thought in mind he moved away from the square unnoticed and concentrated on what he had come here to do.
Pitch found out soon, that around sunset was not the best time to find something like breakfast for his friend. Instead, when he peeked into windows he saw people having dinner or preparing it and those who had young children were busy sending them to bed. He went on, following the road a bit further until he came to a building that looked quite a bit bigger than the rest and when he looked through a window he saw finely crafted furniture and carpets. This was the right place. The more people had, the less they would notice when something went missing.
He also noticed a pretty young woman sitting at a weaving loom, smiling as she worked. There was no sign of the man of the house and Pitch reckoned that he was probably one of the guys working back at the square. He went around a corner and found a small, high up window but being as tall as he was, he had no trouble peeking through it.
Bingo he thought with a grin when he realized that he had found the pantry. There were shelves upon shelves with groceries of all kinds. Dried meat hung from the ceiling along with bunches of onions and dried herbs. A crate in the corner held potatoes and there were bags of flour and a barrel that seemed to hold butter. On one shelf he even saw an assortment of rather fancy looking bakery. The cakes looked sweet and Pitch wondered if it would be alright to nick some for Liz. Before he could make up his mind however, a beam of light brightened the pantry and a moment later, a boy of perhaps seven or eight years came sneaking into the dark room. He was in his nightgown and kept looking back over his shoulder repeatedly before he carefully closed the door behind himself.
The Nightmare King raised an eyebrow at this but what sparked his curiosity even more were the waves of emotions that he sensed from he child. Pitch could practically smell a bad conscience mingled with the fear of getting caught. Whatever the boy was up to was obviously forbidden.
Wondering what kind of mischief was going on here, he kept watching and saw the boy moving up to the cakes. For a few moments he stood in front of the sweets as if unsure of himself. Or maybe he just couldn't decide which one to taste first. But then, the child reached out and broke off a small crumb of the nearest one. He nibbled it carefully and a glow came to his face. A moment later, he broke of a much larger chunk, took a big bite and then, still chewing, he tiptoed back to the door and looked carefully into the dimly lit room behind. Apparently the coast was clear because the boy slipped through the gap and was gone from view.
So I'm not the only thief here. That naughty brat...
Even as the thought so, Pitch felt the strangest sensation tugging at him. He tried to shake it off. It was none of his business and besides, he himself was here to take what was not his to take even though it was out of necessity and not to sate his sweet tooth. But he really felt like teaching that boy a lesson. He could not explain why, but it was such a strong desire, almost a need that it left him numb for anything else. The more he fought it, the stronger it got and within a moment he had forgotten all about his original plan. It was as if some primal instinct had taken over and before he knew what he was doing, he found himself in a dark corner inside the boys bedroom.
The child was already asleep with a blissful smile on his face. The Nightmare King frowned when he noticed a soft golden glow around the boy's rosy cheeks. He knew exactly what it was. He had seen it so many times before. A sweet dream. Now that was the last thing the little thief deserved. His frown turned into the most malicious sneer, an expression he hadn't worn in a long time but there it was!
Pitch never even noticed it. He was not even thinking about it when he walked up to the bed and did what he did best. The boy's sweet dream was quickly undone. The sweets he had been enjoying in it started to grow and turned into cake-monsters that tried to eat him instead. Beads of sweat started to form on his now rather pale face and he moaned softly while in his nightmare he was running from hulking pastries with gaping, drooling maws.
The Nightmare King's job was done and he stepped back from the bed and admired his handiwork. Only for a moment though. Then his expression froze in sheer terror when he realized what he had done. He couldn't explain how or why he had done this. The fearlings were gone, or weren't they? It had not been like his memory though, where he had been forced to watch, unable to do anything about his actions. This time he had done it all by himself and he felt horrible. Overwhelmed by guilt, he fled into the nearest shadow. He had to get away from here. He had to get back to the safety of his caves but what would he tell Liz?
"Liz" he gasped as he remembered just in time why he had come here in the first place. Pitch dove into the darkness and emerged from it not far away right in the pantry. For a moment he was surprised how cold it was in there but then he quickly looked around. What he had not seen from the window, was the assortment of pots and pans that hung on the wall below it. With only the slightest remorse did he take one of the pots and then he frantically went through the shelves. He quickly found a tin that held the oats he was looking for, a jug with milk and a few small apples. He took it all and then practically fled from the place as if hoards of fearlings were at his heels.
Melissa had spent the late afternoon looking for the perfect piece of wood for her fishing rod. Since the trees were old and large, and bushes were rather scarce, it had taken her quite a while to find something suitable that was strong and still bendable. She had cut three different rods and brought them back to the lake, where she had used her knife to peel off the thin bark and had then smoothed them all with sandpaper. By the time she was done with this, she felt half frozen but was not really in the mood to go inside. She wanted to enjoy the sunlight as long as she could. That was when she remembered the properties of the boat that sat only slightly hidden between the trees. As soon as she had climbed on board, the air around her became considerably warmer and the sun seemed to have much more power. There she made herself comfortable and simply spent some time daydreaming about the kind of dress she would perhaps start to sew for herself later.
Only when the sun finally started to set did she go back inside. Liz was a bit surprised to find the cavern empty. She had expected Pitch to be awake by now and working on something but when she sneaked into their bedroom in order to wake the sleepyhead, she found his bed empty as well. For just a moment she felt a bit lost but then she returned to the main cavern and looked for something to do. That was when she noticed the parchment with her message, only that it looked different now. But as soon as she picked it up, things became clear to her. Her reading was still slow but her determination was as strong and her wit as quick as ever. Within a minute she had figured out what it said and she smiled broadly. She also realized that she was indeed very hungry but all she could do was wait for him to return and perhaps spend the time doing something worthwhile.
Liz was rather pleased with her new skills, so she took her mothers journals and started reading slowly, letter by letter, word by word. It was wearisome but as words became sentences and the writing gained meaning, her motivation mounted. It was like a journey into her past since her mother had left many enjoyable tales about herself and her father as well. It had been such a long time, since the day her mother had been taken from her that she had almost forgotten what she had been like but her written words made her remember little things about her. What struck her most profoundly was how much she had been loved by her. It made her miss her parents more than ever.
She sighed and pushed those thoughts away, hoping that Pitch would finally come back from his errands. She also hoped that he remembered to look for some fishing line and hopefully some spices too. But she still had to wait quite a long time until the Nightmare King finally emerged from the shadows, with an actual pot in one arm and a jug of milk in the other.
The girl jumped from her seat with a bright smile and was just about to scold him playfully for taking his merry time when she noticed that something was wrong. Pitch seemed out of breath and when he came in range of the light of the blue fires, she saw that he looked deeply disturbed, even a bit scared and definitely guilty. When he simply walked past her, dropped his loot on the workbench and then sat down heavily, Melissa only raised an eyebrow. His behavior was strange enough to worry her but she was neither impressed nor intimidated.
She approached her friend slowly and sat down beside him. For a little while she lust looked at him and waited but for some reason he seemed unwilling or unable to look back at her.
"Okay" she finally sighed. "What happened?"
That at last made him look up at her but only for a moment. He was still trying to come to grips with what he had done but without much success. But what was he supposed to tell her now? He knew that he should stick to the truth - he actually wanted to. Melissa had a way to make him feel better about thimself, even when he messed up and he was almost sure that she might be able to it again. But only almost - there was still the possibility that she would blame him for his lack of selfcontrol. She might even hate him for what he had done to that boy. And in the back of his mind, there was still that unnerving little voice telling him that it was okay - that this brat had gotten exactly what he deserved.
Pitch took a deep breath and finally turned to his young friend. "I messed up" he admitted.
Melissa's eyes widened a bit with alarm. The way he said it told her that something truly awful must have happened.
Messed up? How? Has he been seen? Did the people chase him with torches and … well ... pitchforks? Or… oh dear! He didn't run into one of the Guardians and attacked them, did he?
"How?" she asked aloud and quite nervously.
"Big time" the Nightmare King explained darkly. "I turned a child's dream into a nightmare. I swear, I have no idea what came over me. I just couldn't help it. At the moment it felt like the thing to do, and now… "
Melissa blinked.
A nightmare? That's all?
She was really relieved that nothing worse had happened, but Pitch seemed to be completely devastated about his lapse.
"Why did you do it?" she asked carefully, wanting to understand how it had come to this. Pitch shrugged and told her what he had seen and witnessed in the village.
"I'd say the cake was probably for whatever kind of festival those villagers are preparing. The kid knew exactly that what he was doing was wrong but he went right ahead anyway. And then… it was the strangest sensation, I'm not sure how to describe it. It was like... like an instinct taking over, like whatever tells the birds to fly south before winter..."
The girl had been listening carefully. To her it all didn't sound so very bad, but she understood her friend's concerns. Turning dreams into nightmares was after all something he had done under the fearlings' control and now he was afraid that he might turn back into some kind of monster even without them.
"What was that nightmare like?" she dared to ask. "The one you gave that boy."
The Nightmare King explained it and when he was almost done talking he was interrupted by an odd sound. Melissa tried to supress it but it was no use. Before she could do anything to stop it, she whas laughing right out and so hard that tears started to trickle down her cheeks. Pitch was properly taken aback and could only stare at her at first, but then he scowled.
"You think this is funny?"
His harsh voice almost made her choke on her giggles but she nodded. "You made cake monsters chase him? Yes, I think it's hilarious!" she chortled. "And you know what else I am thinking? I think you did great! A bad dream won't kill that naughty kid and he definitely had it coming. Next time, I'm sure he will think twice when his desire for sweets gives him such ideas."
Pitch frowned. He was still upset and the fact that Liz was laughing about it made him think she was not taking the matter seriously enough. But what she said... it was like she was agreeing with that nagging little voice somewhere in the back of his mind. Was it really alright? Liz seemed to think so, she even thought he had done something good. But was that really the case?
"You really believe that?" he asked her. The harshness was gone from his voice. Instead it was full of doubt and he seemed so insecure. Melissa just had to give him that reassuring smile again. In fact, she was not entirely sure about it but she nodded anyway.
"Sort of" she said thoughtfully. "When the fearlings made you do it, what reasons did they have? What were they trying to achieve?"
"Nothing" the Nightmare King shrugged yet again. "All they wanted was the power those good dreams held and ... I believe they just wanted to torture their victims. I have not remembered too much about it yet but I dare say that the nightmares were worse."
It was just as Melissa had suspected and her smile widened as she nodded. "But you gave that nightmare out with a purpose! You gave that boy's conscience a little jumpstart, I dare say. You wanted to remind him that he had done something bad."
Pitch nodded but was not convinced yet.
"Look, If you are feeling so conflicted about this, why don't you go back there and see what is happening..."
"What?" he gasped in shock and disbelief. "You want me to return to this cursed place? What good could that possilby do?"
Melissa shrugged. "I don't know" she admitted. "But I do hope that it would show you the consequences of what you've done."
"Exactly!" he almost shouted with exasperation. "And why would I want to see that?"
"It would perhaps make you understand that not all nightmares are evil. If you are afraid of going alone, I will gladly accompany you" she offered, knowing that his pride would forbid him to take her along or to back out altogether. So when he finally answered after a few long moments of silence she was more than just surprised - she was shocked.
"Alright! You win! But you will have to stay very close to me at all times. You must not be seen. Stay in the shadows."
"Er... sure" she stammered. Never had she imagined this outcome and she was not at all prepared for it. But there was nothing she could do now except going along with him and once her mind had accepted the fact that she was finally going to see where her friend had stolen her breakfast from, she was actually anticipating the trip. "So... let's go?"
No matter how occupied Pitch's mind was with his own troubles, he had still seen through Melissa's scheme. She had played the pride card before, but this time, he was not going to fall for it. So seeing her stunned expression, when he accepted her company was more than enough to lift his spirits. And on top of that, he would not have to witness those 'consequences' all by himself. At least he would not have to tell her about the havoc he had caused. She would be there and see it first hand.
So he nodded and rose to his feet, now quite ready to face his fears. "Let's go" he agreed and invited her to follow him into the shadows.
Moments later, Melissa found herself in a child's bedroom and she looked around curiously. They were both hidden well in the darkest corner and Pitch's hand on her shoulder prevented her from taking even a step out of line. That was okay though, but something else seemed to be up. She could hear her friend drawing a sharp breath. Then she too noticed that the bed at the other end of the room was empty and the door was wide open. From somewhere beyond, she could hear voices and the sounds of a child crying.
She looked up at Pitch's face and their eyes met. "Told you so" Pitch's expression said but Liz was not convinced. Before she could even whisper a word, however, she was being pulled back into the darkness - but just for a moment. When she could see again, the sounds she had heard before were much louder but soft things were pressing in on her from all sides. Melissa noticed that they were standing inside some sort of wardrobe and the door was slightly ajar. They could both see what was going on in the dimly illuminated room outside. Pitch's grip on her shoulder tightened a little when they saw the young woman sitting on a chair not far away with the wailing boy on her lap.
By now the Nightmare King was feeling very uncomfortable again. Doubts were creeping in that this had perhaps not been such a good idea after all. He was just about to pull his young friend back into the darkness, when the boy started talking. Since he was still crying at the same time it was hard to make out any words but Pitch understood quickly that he was telling his mother about this nightmare. Melissa however did not understand a word. English was not a language whe was familiar with.
Surprisingly the boy's mother understood him too. She looked only slightly surprised. "What an odd dream!" she exclaimed however. "Why would a cake try to eat you? Isn't it usually the other way 'round?" The woman seemed genuinly amused, which made her son only wail all the louder.
"I ate the cake!" he cried. "I took some of it even though you told me not to. I know it's for the party... I know it was wrong. I'm so sorry!"
Just at that moment, the door opened and a man walked in just in time to hear the confession. He raised an eyebrow and exchanged a knowing glance with his wife. "Did you now..." the young mother said soothingly.
"And how about that other time?" the father asked a bit more sharply and the boy nearly jumped out of his nightdress. He had not heard him enter the house. When he turned around to face his other parent, Pitch and Melissa both got a good look at the boy's red and rather chubby face. "I... I..." the lad stammered. He looked shaken and thoroughly remorseful. "I did that too... It wasn't the mice... I ate it. I'm so sorry Mama, you worked so hard to make it..."
Pitch noticed how both parents exchanged a smile and he had to admit that he was more than just a bit surprised. Melissa however grinned and simply enjoyed the scene. Even without being able to understand the words, she had a pretty good idea what was happening.
It was so very strange to be right there in the same room with those people without them even knowing about it. At first she had felt a bit uneasy herself, as if she was doing something forbidden, but when she saw those knowing smiles, she felt a lot better. It had been good to come here.
"Well" the father said. "Let's take a look at the damage then, shall we?" He walked across the room and out of their line of sight but not even a minute later the man returned with the cake in question. A rather big chunk was missing. The mother sighed when she examined the mess. The boy was still sobbing. "Please Mama, please Daddy, don't be mad. I'll fix it somehow! I'll make a new one in the morning... if you tell me how... I'll fix it!"
This brought a grin to his mother's face. "I don't think that's such a good idea. I'll do it. But you can still fix this one later. We will even out the mess and you can coat the rest with some icing. It will be a bit smaller than the others but no will will notice."
"But you understand that you did something bad, don't you?" his father asked and the boy nodded, looking very ashamed of himself indeed. "And all crimes need to be punished accordingly." The little thief's eyes widened a bit and he actually looked scared now. Would he get a beating after all? His father stood before him with his hands on his hips, looking down at his son with a grim expression. "But you have told the truth, admitted what you have done and apologised, therefore I believe a little community service will suffice. Tomorrow you will help your mother serving the cakes at the festival. And you had better do a good job. I'll be keeping an eye on you!"
The boy nodded with relief written all over his face while his mother beamed up at her husband. She nodded. "Off to bed then, young man. And no more mischief, or the Boogeyman will come and sent more cake monsters after you." He didn't need a second invitation but dashed off with a rather frightened little yelp. The parents and the two peeping toms listened as the boys footsteps hurried up a flight of steps. A moment later they could all hear the telltale creak of a bed being jumped upon. Then both parents started to chuckle rather merrily.
"It seems he's finally beginning to develop a healthy conscience" the young woman said quite happily and got to her feet to embrace her husband. "And 'bout time too..." he agreed before he closed his wife's laughing mouth with a kiss.
"Time to go" Pitch whispered into Melissa's ear. The girl could not agree more. In fact she was beginning to feel very embarrassed by now. She felt for her companion in the dark wardrobe and only an instant later, they were both back inside the Nightmare King's caves.
"So?" Liz asked with a smirk when they both sat down at the workbench again. She had not missed the puzzled expression on her friend's face. But she was happy not notice also, that the guilt had disappeared from it.
"So what?" he countered evasively. He really didn't know what to say. This was not what he had expected at all but he could not deny that he felt strangely elated.
"I saw what happened but I didn't understand the language. Tell me what I've missed!" she begged impatiently and quickly added "Please?"
While they had been there, Pitch had not for a moment thought of this and now he ran his hand across his face when he realized that she was right. Then however, he explained quickly what the conversation had been about. Even as he spoke, the scene replayed in his mind and he began to understand why Liz had more or less tricked him into going back there. But how could she have known that things would turn out the way they had?
"So he got off easy. When his father came in, I was almost sure he would get a good working-over" the girl admitted but Pitch didn't seem to be listening. He had his gaze fixed on the blue, flickering flames of the nearest brazier and seemed lost in thoughts. Melissa had gotten used to him spacing out from time to time and she was usually patient with him, but right now she really wanted him to talk to her, she wanted to know what was on his mind.
She gave him a sight nudge to the side and looked up at him expectantly. "What do you think of your consequences now? What would have happened if you had not given him that nightmare?"
Pitch was annoyed for only a moment but when he looked at her face he could not help but grin. He knew exactly what she wanted to hear and just now he didn't really mind bolstering her ego a bit. She deserved it after all.
"Alright, alright! This point goes to you!" he admitted but with a laugh in his voice. "Perhaps it really wasn't so bad - might it be fate or sheer dumb luck but I do like the outcome. I guess that little sweet tooth has learned a few lessons tonight - and so have I."
Inwardly Melissa was almost bursting with pride but she also felt like she had missed something. "Right" she mumbled. "The boy learned that he had done something wrong and that it is always better to tell the truth. But what else? And what have you learned besides that I was right?"
The Nightmare King gave her a sharp look but then he got up and started pacing. Melissa knew what was coming. He often paced like that when he was lecturing her.
"The boy also learned that he has to take responsibility for his actions, for excample by fixing what he broke or accepting the punishment from his father. I was taught a similar lesson and yes - you were right. The nightmare had been a good thing at this point. But I have also learned that I still have that ability, and that I can actually use it to do something good for a change - something that I can be proud of!"
It was Melissa's turn to be surprised but then she nodded thougtfully. It was true. Just as she had said before, not all nightmares were evil and if Pitch used this ability to give children like this boy a little nudge into the right direction...
"There is however one thing, I would very much like to know" he interrupted her thoughts and she looked up at his face again. That puzzled expression was back but he was still looking right at her as if she might have the answer to his most pressing question.
"Who or what the heck is the Boogeyman?"