Go to sleep little babe.
Go to sleep little babe.
You and me and the devil makes three; Don't need no other lovin' babe."
Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby, Brother, Where Art Thou?
The youngest princess of Arendelle must have been insane. It was the only logical explanation for her responses to him.
Pitch would stand in the shadows, manipulating the darkness into horrible illusions meant to scar fragile minds. He showed her distorted faces, with mouths slit into a grotesque grin and eyes ripped from their sockets. He showed her monsters with teeth like swords and red ravenous eyes. He showed her horror. He showed her death. The Princess Anna would gasp dramatically at the images he presented before beginning to giggle and clap, as if he were performing a show.
Pitch would infect her dreams with nightmares he created especially for her. Nightmares where she was hunted by some unknown entity. Nightmares where she was being watched as she wandered around the woods, lost and alone, before being attacked. Nightmares where she hid within her bed, while something deadly and hungry stalked outside her room. Nightmares where decaying hands would latch onto her ankles and drag her below ground, where her screams were drowned out and the earth filled her lungs. Princess Anna would wake with a glorious shriek, before she caught sight of him and gave him a warm smile, as if to say 'Oh, it's only you'.
Something was wrong with the child, of that he was certain.
Pitch had found her attempts to display bravery amusing at first, perhaps even admirable. However, with each night that he returned, it quickly became frustrating when he found how difficult it was to break her spirit. His threats no longer held any weight to her. She brushed them off and opted to chatter at him as if he were one of her lifeless dolls or indentured servants. The nightmares he infected her mind with had stopped creating any terror within her except for a brief cry or gasp when she woke up. It seemed as if his constant presence had softened his effect, and now she was more curious about him than frightened. Her incessant questions and bright smiles were beginning to grate on his nerves.
He had come to the conclusion that returning to Arendelle as frequently as he did was a mistake. It would save him a large amount of strife if he renounced his mission to frighten this girl. She seemed to cause more stress than her fear was worth.
However, simply leaving her alone wasn't something he could allow himself to do. He couldn't let a child best him after months of conjuring earthly terrors from the shadows in order to frighten her. His pride had suffered enough abuse under the constant vexations that were dealt by the Guardians. He wouldn't allow himself to fall any further from grace by being daunted by a five year old, even if she was a lunatic.
He would return one final time, and release himself from this torment by finally extracting the fear he craved but seemed unable to access. And if she remained obstinate, he supposed another blow to his pride wouldn't kill him.
It was that line of thinking that had him returning to her room on the eve of the summer solstice.
Pitch emerged from the shadows with grim determination lining his features but paused when he appeared in front of her bed. On this night, this far in the north, the sun would hang in the sky until the very late hours of day. It was almost midnight when the sun had finally set, and Pitch was able to transport himself into the princess's room. Despite the late hour, and the fact that she should have been asleep, Princess Anna remained awake. She sat against the headboard of her bed with her knees curled up to her chest, staring hopelessly at her sheets.
Anna didn't acknowledge his presence, even as he approached the foot of her bed. Just enough moonlight spilled into the room so she would be able to glimpse his gaunt face. However, she seemed to be engulfed in her own thoughts, too much so to pay him any mind.
Ignoring the familiar pang of frustration and dread that manifested within him whenever he went unseen, he opted to get her attention by darkening their surroundings. The sliver of moonlight and star shine was blotted out from the window, causing them both to be enveloped in the darkness, only allowing just enough light for her to see the outline of his silhouette if she looked up. The princess didn't even offer him a glance or lift her head when she was plunged into blackness, she only huddled further into herself and sniffled pitifully.
Agitated by her behaviour, Pitch finally spoke, his voice lowered into a malignant hiss. "Has something finally dampened your spirits, your highness?" he taunted in order to jolt her from her stupor. "I must thank whoever's responsible. Usually it's impossible to get you to stop blathering."
Anna looked up then, and he was able to catch sight of the tears streaming down her baby cheeks. He mentally ignored the slight relief he felt when he confirmed that she could still see and hear him, and he focused on her emotional state. Large turquoise eyes shined in the limited light that he had allowed into the room and her lips formed a prominent frown. Normally, the presence of such despondence in a child would be opportunistic for him, for sadness was an easily mouldable emotion. Something that he could twist into anxiety and then into fear. However, for a child that seemed to be infallibly cheerful, it was almost disconcerting to see her so distraught.
Quickly, Anna reached up and used the sleeve of her nightgown to wipe the tears from her eyes. It didn't do her any good, once the streaks had been smeared across her cheeks, more tears flowed to take their place.
"I'm sorry," she said, though her breath hitched in her throat. "I just..." She sniffled and rubbed at her reddened face. "Can you come back tomorrow?"
Pitch scoffed at her feeble request. "Do you think this is a social call?" he jeered. It was difficult to ignore how familiar she was becoming with him, to the point where she treated him like a confidante rather than the monster that haunted her room during the night.
"I don't feel so good," Anna mumbled, sounding as pathetic as a tiny kitten at the bottom of a well. She hugged her knees tightly to her chest, turning her tearful eyes back towards the sheets on her bed. Her sorrow seemed to stifle any energy she had. The child who had been a living flame in his presence, fierce and curious, had been reduced to a whimpering mess for a reason he couldn't place. If his nightmares and shadows failed to bother her, what could have elicited such a reaction?
Considering her state of melancholy, it was likely that she wouldn't be the least bit frightened or responsive to his usual tactics. It would suit Pitch best to let her wallow in her own lonesome misery and avoid wasting any further time on her. However, his own curiosity and the uncomfortable itch that germinated beneath his skin when he saw Anna drop her chin onto her knees was enough to give him pause.
"What's wrong?"
Anna looked up at him in stunned silence, as astonished at hearing such a question from him as he was from uttering it. Even though his tone couldn't exactly be interpreted as concern, it was strange for Pitch to say these words without a hint of mockery. For a moment, the princess could only stare at the Nightmare King with her jaw slack and unshed tears welling up in her eyes. She began to tremble as her emotions bubbled up from within her, before they finally erupted from her lips.
"It's my birthday!" she exclaimed, launching herself into a rant. She spoke quickly, growing more upset with each word. "Elsa promised me she'd swim with me on my 6th birthday, cause then I would be big enough. And I know she's gotta do stuff and I know she doesn't wanna talk to me, but she promised! And it's my birthday! Why won't she even talk to me on my birthday?"
Pitch could remember how the eldest princess had turned her younger sister away on the day he had first came to Arendelle. She hadn't even opened the door when Anna had pleaded for her come and play with her in the snow. Despite Elsa's dismissal and separation from her sister, Anna seemed to admire her greatly.
"Perhaps you irritate her," Pitch stated simply, offering the princess a snide smirk. "You have a knack for it."
"That's not funny, Pitch. I'm serious," Anna snapped, pouting and crossing her arms over her chest. Despite how unintimidating and unintentionally adorable she appeared with the way her cheeks puffed out in anger, Pitch couldn't deny the severity in her strikingly bright eyes.
"We used to play together all the time," Anna lamented, flopping down onto her mattress with a dramatic huff. "She was my best friend, and I don't know what I did or what I said or what I can do to make her not hate me..."
Usually, a child's bellyaching did nothing but stoke his frustration and ire. However, Anna's whining brought up an intriguing question. He thought of the elder princess, how ice crawled from the tips of her fingers and acted beyond her control. It was dangerous and volatile magic, barely contained within her fragile form. He wouldn't be surprised if that was the root of the sisters' current strained relationship.
Pitch was careful with his next words in order to avoid giving anything away. "Can you think of any reason for why your sister would need to keep you away from her?"
Anna remained sprawled on her back, staring up at her ceiling with purses lips. "Papa says it's because she's sick and can't do as much as she used to or else she might get more sick," she said, a small gloomy sigh. "He says she needs to study and read these big boring books so she can be a good queen." Anna sprung up into a sitting position, her wild eyes focused on Pitch. "But even when she had to study, Elsa would still talk to me! Now she won't even let me see her!"
Pitch frowned at her answer, uncertain if she was really as clueless as she seemed or if this was some kind of deception. He found it unlikely that she was lying to him in order to protect her sister's secret. The little princess wore her heart on her sleeve, displaying her thoughts and feelings for all to see.
"And you can't think of any other reason?" Pitch prodded further, tilting his chin in curiosity. "Something she might be afraid of?" He leaned in towards her. "Something she might have difficulty controlling?"
Anna's eyes were as blank as a wall, showing no indication that she knew what he was talking about. She pursed her lips and scrunched up her freckled nose in confusion.
"Noooooooooooo..." She elongated the word as her eyes darting around, a million thoughts zipping through her head when she deliberated on his question. "Do you think she's scared of getting me sick?"
It was as if gears in an old clock were finally clicking into place. Anna didn't know about her sister's abilities, and she was purposefully being kept ignorant by both her parents and her sister. The memory of terror overflowing from a flaxen haired child while ice creeped across her desk from her fingertips. Prior to that, she had stubbornly refused to let the younger sister into her room. Pitch hadn't thought much of the interaction, but this conversation had revealed a great deal. Elsa's fear was almost overwhelming to him. She was constantly terrified of hurting those around her with her power. It wouldn't be a stretch to assume that she created this rift between Anna and herself in an effort to keep her sister safe.
It seemed there were quite a few intriguing secrets within this castle.
"Interesting."
"What is?"
Pitch was jolted from his musings by Anna's question, and he found her staring up at him with wide curious eyes.
He was quick to recover, easily slipping into an lie that would cover where his thoughts had led to. "Oh nothing, I just find it interesting. In your sister's absence, you chose to divulge your frustrations to the monster that lurks under your bed." A sinister grin full of pointed teeth stretched at his lips. "You must be starved for attention to resort to that."
Never one to be predictable, Anna dramatically rolled her tear- stained eyes at his attempt at intimidation. Certainly, she was becoming far too acclimated to his presence. "I don't think you're a monster," she said, as if such an answer should have been obvious.
Pitch frowned at her declaration. He ignored how the unflinching avowal that he was not a monster caused an uncomfortable twinge in his chest. "You should."
"Well, I don't," she asserted stubbornly, before a bright smile lit up her face. She was quick to bounce back from her previous hopelessness. She shuffled forward until she was perched at the end of her bed. "I think you're more like a sorcerer. Because you can do magic, even though it's scary magic."
When Anna smiled like that, so sickeningly sweet and blindly trusting, Pitch knew he should leave. This girl was either mad, deluded, or just desperate for some form of companionship. Either way, it would take far more effort than it was worth to induce her fear. No matter what he did or said, her optimism was simply unbendable. A believer or not, he shouldn't waste all this time.
However, the thought of leaving without ever returning was strangely disquieting. It was rare for him to be seen or heard by someone who wasn't among his fellow spirits. Even those that weren't included among the ranks of the guardians treated him like a leper. He would never tell the little princess, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant to converse with someone who didn't regard him with disgust or contempt.
Well, there couldn't be too much harm in returning every once in a while. Besides, he was still very curious to see where this family tragedy would lead. And how this self imposed separation would effect the paranoid little witch and her uncommonly resilient younger sister.
After he failed to reply to her last statement, Anna's features contorted into a frown. "Are you going to leave again?" she asked in her most frail and pitiful voice.
Pitch smirked at the question. "Why would it matter to you? I thought you wanted to be alone," he simpered, and his mocking tone successfully cowed her into embarrassment.
"I don't really wanna be by myself anymore," she admitted, nervously wringing her hands and rhythmically kicked her legs at the edge of her bed. She looked up at him imploringly. "Could you stay a little longer? You can keep making shadows to see if I get scared." With a new thought, she perked up in excitement. "Oh! Or I could show you the presents I got!"
Pitch didn't answer. He fixed her with a callous stare that caused her newfound alacrity to shrivel. With a sneer on his lips, he faded into the shadows. Anna's eyes turned downcast when he disappeared, her chest shuddering with a suppressed sob.
In her dejection, she failed to notice a shadow creeping along the floor towards her bed. With a guttural growl, the shadow morphed into a monstrous form, with glowing slits for eyes and a gaping maw of jagged teeth. The chilling sound caused the young princess to turn her gaze to the shadow on the ground and she shrieked at its gruesome appearance, before bursting into uncontrollable giggles and clapping excitedly. As if it were a show being performed. Pitch smirked at the bizarre melody of screams and laughter that bubbled up from her lips as he idly fiddled with the shadowy images on the floor from a darkened corner in her room. Anna bounced on her seat in delight as the shadows contorted from one frightening image into another.
Such a strange child.
Eliciting these little shocks wouldn't give him much nourishment, but he saw no harm in humouring her. It was her birthday, after all.
Xxx
Oh no! Someone's going soft!
Sorry for the horribly long wait my dudes. As you know it's been a bit of a tough year for everyone. I hope to be more timely with my updates in the future. Anyway, hope you guys are staying healthy and doing well!
According to Jennifer Lee, Anna was born on the summer solstice while Elsa was born on the winter solstice, and if that's not some divine timing for the birth of two princesses, I don't know what is.