A Light Within Darkness 29

"Ah my pets, have you news of the Guardians?" the Snow Queen asked as she raised a hand for her ice pixies to land upon. She smiled sweetly as she listened to their soft chatter. Since Pitch's obvious failure she had posted more of her pixies into Guardian territory in the hopes of catching them off guard once more. She was rather disappointed in the Nightmare King's failure but not over surprised. The man was arrogant and had he kept with their original plan things would have worked out so much more smoothly but rather than attack each Guardian one by one and working from the inside out he had to be bold and straight forward. He attacked them by attacking their Believers. Yes it was effective and by absorbing the Sandman into the nightmare sand had come close to destroying them but he had failed to see that young Jack was also a Believer and by trying to take away that belief left him wide open for a different form of counter attack, an emotional one. The man was still partially human after all. No, if Pitch had attacked them psychically through their nightmares no one would have been expecting it, no one would have even realized he was there until it was too late. The nightmare sand would have worked like the dreamsand and kept his victim unconscious as long as he needed and when the Guardian began to lose faith in him/herself then they would also lose their power and soon their Believers. It was working the opposite of what Pitch had but it would have been far more effective. Of course Pitch loved playing for the crowd and just had to be the drama king. And he the perfect weapon in Jack, an innocent child that could have played the victim, could have helped twist that knife into each of their hearts because he was a victim, a victim to the Guardians neglect and arrogance. Oh yes, the guilt trip he could have put each of them through. But it would seem he had already done that during the battle with Pitch and even after but had it been planned, had he gone under cover rather than lash out as Pitch had him do than their victory would have been assured. Ah…such a waste of centuries worth of planning.

She sat back in her thrown and listened as her faithful spies gave her their latest report. The Sandman was making his usual rounds as was the Tooth Fairy who had finally finished reorganizing her baby tooth library. All rather boring and of no real concern. MiM was shining brightly and a few Moonbeams had been spotted playing tag in London. Such a strange fascination the little warriors had with Britain. Oh, even the spectral boy had been spotted, albeit far above the Earth and most like checking the defenses MiM had put into place some centuries ago after Pitch and the Fearlings had awoke on Earth. Allegedly it was to keep the rest of the Nightmare King's legions at bay. It was also what was believed to have weakened Pitch and taken him from having the powers of a God to that of a mere shade, just as vulnerable as the ancient spirits who had lost Believers as mankind evolved. Pitch was no more powerful than any other magical being no matter how much he liked to think differently.

She hummed in boredom until word of Jack running away met her ears. Sitting up straighten she brought the pixies closer to her face. "Ran away?" she repeated intrigued. "And what pray tell brought that on?"

The pixie retold what she heard from her perch outside Santoff Claussen and how Pitch had turned to North seeking help and the shade's fear that the child may have become the Easter spirit's mate. The Snow Queen's face twisted with disgust before smoothing once more into a beautiful yet icy mask. "That won't do, that simply won't do. The Winter Prince deserves far better that some spring peasant. Why the Pooka isn't even human but an animal! Oh no, oh no, this simply won't do at all." She paused as a small group of pixies recounted what they saw while spying on said Pooka at the Warren. "No! They lay together? Has the prince been marked? No? Ah, than he hasn't been tainted. He's still pure and must remain that way. Bring my chariot! We'll retrieve my child and bring him home where he belongs, away from shadows and Guardians alike."

Ice elves bowed to her will and rushed to doing her bidding as she sat back and held up an ice crystal. Inside was an image of Jack Frost, squirreled away in the accursed Pooka's Warren where they thought they could hide him. Soon her Winter Prince would once again be hers.

. . .

Pitch glared at the tiny blue light that sat in the center of Easter Island. His hands balled into fists and it took everything he had not to jump into the first available shadow and launch himself at the island and reclaim his child. Instead he waved an arm at the massive globe. "See? He's there!" he yelled, pointing at the light. "Right there and Easter God Damn Fucking Island! He's probably in the Warren as we speak doing ancients know what with the rabbit! It's not right I tell you! Jack's a child and Aster is…is…"

"Older than the planet?" North offered amused by Pitch's outburst. The shade glared at him. Raising his hands to show he meant no offense he tried to pacify Pitch once more. "Alright, I understand your concern. This must look bad from your point of view but I assure you Bunny would never do anything to harm the boy. He's come to care for Jack very much. If anything Jack is helping him paint eggs and prepare for holiday. Not as important as Christmas mind you but very important to Bunny and Jack seems to enjoy eggs. Not as much as my cookies though," he said proudly but when Pitch didn't so much as crack a smile he sighed and his shoulders slumped slightly. "Alright, I'll send the borealis and summon them here then we can talk this out like grown men and…er…Pooka. If Bunny and Jack have decided to be…more than friends…then best to sit talk and talk reasonably before completely losing temper and make situation worse." He pressed a button on the Globe of Belief's control panel and then turned and inserted the dial for the borealis to direct it to Bunnymund rather than all the Guardians. With luck Bunny wouldn't be too busy and would hurry to the North Pole post haste with young Jack in tow. Then, smiling brightly at Pitch in hopes of easing the smaller man's tension, he ushered the shade into the sitting room. "Now, let's relax and wait for the boys to arrive. I'm sure it won't be long. While we wait we can discuss old times and share a drink. Eggnog?"

"Bourbon," Pitch said darkly, his whole body tense as he walked next to his former enemy. "And lots of it."

North chuckled and clapped him on the back. "See, we do have something in common."

It took only a few drinks to loosen Pitch's tongue and in less than an hour North knew more about both the Nightmare King and the general he inhabited. North allowed Pitch to do all the talking. He nodded when appropriate and spoke up when the need arose but mostly he sat back and drank deeply from his tumbler. Pitch seemed to need to talk, as if after all his years in exile, feared and unwanted had built up and without his Fearlings to rage at having another living being to speak with was a blessing. So North let him talk as much as he wanted to, rage when he needed to, and cry when the moment felt right. He didn't offer words of comfort because they were not what the shade wanted. He simply wanted someone to acknowledge that he was just as important as the Guardians.

"Jack's my light," Pitch breathed as he swirled his drink. He stared down at the dark liquid. "He brought me peace just as Nightlight did when he trapped me in that millennia long slumber, when he buried his dagger in my heart and condemned us to this planet. I would have happily slept forever if that silly Moonbeam had not woken the child. Have you noticed how much Jack looks like Nightlight? They could be brothers if it weren't for the fact Jack was once human." He sighed before emptying the tumbler and holding it out for more.

"Yes, I thought much the same when I first met Jack," North agreed remembering his initial shock when he first laid eyes on Jack. Had it not been for the boy's shabby clothing instead of armor he would have certainly mistaken the two.

"I thought Lunar was taunting me at first. I was there when Jack awoke under the ice, did you know that. I held him in my arms when he died too. But when he raised out of the water under the moonlight the ice particles covering his skin glowed so brightly that it was light staring at Nightlight but then he fell." He chuckled and a rare smile lit his face. "He was such a klutz! He had no control of the wind or his ability to fly. He would trip over his own two feet or his staff if he wasn't paying attention. I suppose it could be because the way he died. Drowning is a horrible way to go. Not nearly as bad as burning to death I suppose but mix in freezing water? He had no chance. Once he hit the water he gasped for breath and inhaled only water. His lungs were filled in seconds. Mix that with the cold and lack of oxygen and even if his sister was able to somehow save him he probably would have had severe brain damage. I'm guessing Lunar fixed what was necessary, everything but his memory. Sometimes I think that was a blessing, Jack would never have let his family be. It was hard enough with how protective he was toward his sister and her descendants when he had no clue who she was but imagine if he knew."

North gave a nod. While he could never imagine losing his memories he had met people who had lost their memories in an accident and fought to remember names of family and friends and growing frustrated and resentful when nothing came back, something even years or decades later.

"Ah, but he was always a good boy, so eager to please. If I was really such a bad man I could have used him and twisted him in my image. The Fearlings wanted that. They wanted me to turn him into my Fearling Prince but that would have taken away his Light. I couldn't do it. I told you he looks like Nightlight, right? The way his skin sparkles under the moonlight? He's my Light."

North couldn't stop himself from smiling. He leaned forward and plucked the tumbler from Pitch's hands. "Okay, enough bourbon for Pitchy. Maybe I should take you to one of the guest rooms so you can sleep this off."

The shade shook his head and waved his arms. "I'm not drunk," he denied, knowing what the Guardian was getting at. "I'm waiting for Jack to get home…I mean here. Why isn't he and the rabbit here yet?"

That was a good question and North had no answer for him but he wasn't about to say that. Instead he hauled Pitch to his feet and pulled one arm over his shoulder as he walked the drunk shade toward the elevator. "They'll be here soon. Bunny may be sleeping. He only has a few days left to Easter and needs his rest. He may not have seen the lights yet."

Pitch shook his head. "But Jack would have. He loves the Auroras."

"Perhaps but he wouldn't know their meaning," North pointed out as he escorted Pitch to the same guest room as the one used a year ago. "Now you rest. When the boys arrive, I'll wake you."

Whether or not Pitch heard him he was unsure. The shade was out cold before his head touched the pillow. North smiled. If anyone ever said that he would be treating the Nightmare King as a guest he would never have believed them, especially since this would be the second time Pitch was given a room. Tooth would not be happy. Yet oddly enough North felt comfortable with Pitch in his home. A year ago not so much but since Pitch began properly visiting him and actually talking rather than being snarky and constantly sarcastic. This Pitch was still a lot like the old one but there was something different and North was beginning to like this new Pitch.

He was on his way back to the globe room when he was nearly run down by the very Pooka he and Pitch had been waiting for. He managed to catch the furry ball of energy by the scruff and stop him. "Bunny?" he asked, surprised when he felt a shiver run through his friend. "Are you alright? Is Jack with you?"

The Pooka took several deep breaths before calming himself enough to speak. The longer it took for Bunny to answer the more concerned North became. It got worse when Bunny finally managed to catch his breath and spoke. "The Snow Queen attacked the Warren. Her elves overran us. They took Jack."