(Heads up, I'm posting two chapters today. This is the first one)
Chapter Five:
It was dark, and cold. He could no longer remember his name, or anything about himself. All he knew was the gnawing hunger in his chest, craving more.
Fearlings whirled through the walls, but he couldn't move away. Several of the monsters hit him, disappearing into clouds of dark dust that only fueled his hunger. He didn't know how long he'd spent chained up in his cell.
He had resisted the lull of the Nightmares for what felt like years, but like all, he had reached his breaking point.
Kozmotis opened his eyes and watched as the Nightmares surged forwards, rushing into his body in a giant flash of darkness and power. The chain around his wrists shattered, and the man fell to his knees.
He took a break and looked up, noticing a new crack in the prison - caused from the Nightmares. With the newfound power bubbling at his fingertips, he could easily break the walls open even more.
"What is my name?" A voice asked, swirling across his mind. "What… is my purpose?"
"Black…" The fearlings crooned. "Pitch Black…"
"Pitch… Black?"
"THE NIGHTMARE KING!"
It was a chilly winter day, and the four had abandoned training for down time. They still hadn't left the glade, but even Rapunzel had admitted that they probably should. Something might have happened to Kozmotis, and the four had a feeling that nobody else knew where they were hidden.
Jack and Rapunzel were currently spinning circles on the freshly frozen lake. Jack had reinforced the ice with his powers, and the two spirits were skating loose circles around each other as they talked.
"Merida says we leave when spring hits," Rapunzel whispered to the white haired spirit, who nodded. "I've… never left before,"
"She leaves all the time," Jack answered. "We can trust her, and besides, you can always trust-"
There was a sudden howling sound, and the two spirits whipped around to see a horde of monstrous, shadowing horses, pawing at the ground around them.
"Ahh!" Rapunzel suddenly yelled, clutching her chest and slipping to her knees. She gasped painfully for air, and when Jack turned to help her, he fell too, also clutching at his heart. "Something's wrong!"
The horses pawed at the dirt again, preparing to charge.
"Get away from her!" Jack spat, clutching his staff and standing protectively in front of the blonde. "Punz, go find Merida and Hiccup,"
"I-I can't! It hurts too much!"
The horses charged. Jack tried to freeze them, but was caught off guard as three Fearlings slammed into his chest, knocking him over Rapunzel's head. He stood up weakly and held out a hand for the blonde, who reached out too.
"Jack!" Rapunzel cried, stretching out her arm, but in the split second that everything seemed okay, the ice under Jack's feet faltered, and cracked.
There was a loud cracking sound as Jack stared at Rapunzel, and instead of looking into the spirit's green eyes, he found himself catching one last glimpse of the sun before he disappeared under the water.
"JACK!" Rapunzel screamed, and the horses descended on her too.
"Wot was that?!" Merida yelled, looking at Hiccup. The other spirit shook his head, having not heard Rapunzel's scream.
"What are those?!" He responded, pointing behind Merida.
"I donae know!"
Hiccup grabbed Merida's hand and pulled her back towards his window, where he hoped to find Toothless. The dark horses only followed them, walking with slow, precise movements.
"Get back!" Merida yelled.
'Be brave Merida' She thought, hearing Kozmotis' voice. The redhead widened her stance and glared at the horses.
"Donae touch him." She snarled. Even if she wasn't worth anything, Hiccup was.
"Meri!"
"Get out Hic!" Merida yelled, sparing a glance at the dragonrider. "Run!"
"MERIDA!"
Her eyes snapped back to the doorway as the horse leapt, slamming into her and disappearing with a cloud of dust. At the same time, Hiccup felt a pang in his chest, and he stumbled back. It was barely a minute before the horses caught him too.
And then, there was a deafening silence as the four young spirits were thrust into the darkness that their savior had so willingly accepted.
When four young beings awoke in the middle of an isolated glade, they spared no attention to the others. Only fueled by a power hungry darkness, they each broke away from what had confined them for so long.
The two that woke inside the caves saw each other at first, and the boy followed the girl as she strode outside, a hungry gleam in her eyes. He fell into what others might have called 'love' but to him, it was an infatuation that guaranteed his undying loyalty.
The other girl stumbled outside aimlessly, not knowing which direction to go. She was full of swirling thoughts and voices screaming for dominance, all smothered by a wall of grief that had consumed her before her transformation.
And at night, when the moon was brightest, the last spirit emerged from a dark pond, dripping with icicles that formed from the water collecting on his skin. He limped, picking up a discarded staff on the grass, and walked away… frost forming beneath his feet.
Authors Notes: Behold, the most dramatic and angsty thing! I hate writing death scenes so much, even if they're technically fake. Death scenes are just hard, and I rather characters stay alive because I'm sentimental like that.