Austrian: LMAO, why do I feel so amused by your shock? I don't know why, but as you noticed, I like writing insensitive Jack and somehow he always has to have this role, finally in this story I can write the real Jack Frost, so yeah, that's a good change because he is such a sweet boy and that's why we love him. Btw of course, I am not mad at you, haha, I am the one, who makes them suffer... If there is a good reason behind it ;)

Thank you all so much for the reviews, follows and favorites. They mean a lot to me, I feel really happy. I hope everyone will like this chapter!

Chapter 8: The Dark Lord

It was a strange situation. North, Aster, Sandy, Katherine, Emma, Anna, Kristoff, Honeymaren, Ryder, Pabbie, who was a rock troll, Olaf, who was an alive snowman were sitting in the meeting room, only Sven and Bruni weren't there because Tooth strictly insisted on animals shouldn't enter the room, which was a quite logical, understandable viewpoint. Besides, Elsa was pretty sure Tooth was spending time with Sven and Bruni, her eyes flickered in pure joy when she first saw them.

Seriously, in a normal kingdom, there would be royals and counselors, not that Elsa was obsessed with the hierarchical system, it was just amusing to witness the magical creatures, as if they dodged from a fairy tale... This was coming from a woman who could create and manipulate ice and snow.

This wasn't why her situation felt unusual, extraordinary though. It was because he was there, standing right next to her. He came a couple of minutes later after her arrival, he had a poker face, she shivered instantly because he was creating a cold aura, which was oddly disturbing. Neither of them has spoken a single word nor made a comment about their appearance. Elsa knew, both she and Jack looked like death warmed up.

This had to be done, she told herself. She had to, before things got more complicated... He had a wife for God's sake, why was he too much occupied on her, instead of Katherine? He might be blaming her now, but it was partly his fault, he was a married man, he shouldn't have been... Elsa let out a deep sigh and shook her head. She wasn't going to ponder over this now.

"The enemy's name is Pitch Black. He let us enter his castle. He has a servant called the Nightmare Man... We don't know what that creature is capable of but surely, it is dangerous. As we walked in the hallways..." Elsa's voice trailed off when she recalled those sickly pale and skinny hands, the dreadful screams.

"Pitch. We are certain that he imprisons the villagers, they... don't live in good circumstances. When we finally found ourselves in the throne room, he was there. He is a tall, lean man with jet black hair and sickly gray, pale skin, he has golden eyes... He is the opposite of Sandy, now that I realize." Jack continued instead of her, his voice was harsh, rough and deep. "He declared himself as King of Nightmares." he spoke, a fierce expression spread over to his handsome outlines.

"He has powers... Just like Jack, I and Sandy." Elsa commenced telling them the story as soon as his sentence was finished. They weren't friends, not anymore but no matter how much she warned herself to resist, she and Jack completed each other.

"What powers?" Anna interrupted her sister, couldn't keep her excitement to herself.

Elsa halted for a brief moment to recollect Pitch's abilities. "He uses ghost-like creatures called the Fearlings as soldiers, we have no idea what they are or how there were created in the first place. He can also traverse great distances through shadows and darkness, only appears when he wants to be seen. Most importantly... He has black sand, the reverse of Sandy." she clarified the answer they have been wondering about.

"That's not his most significant power, if you asked me." Jack disagreed with her whereas he was folding his arms, his staff was laying on the massive table. His eyes were darted on the others, not her. "He knows people's greatest powers."

"What the hell?" Aster suddenly rosed up from his seat, slammed his hands on the table with an angry growl.

"Is there anything furthermore?" Emma also raised up from her seat rapidly, put her hand on Aster's shoulder to calm his nerves down. The oldest brother sat down while he was cursing under his breath.

There was a brief moment of dreadful silence. "Yes." Elsa replied without directing her gaze at Emma. "Pitch accused King North of murder. He said his motive was to get revenge... He won't stop until he destroys this kingdom and gets what he wants."

Emma's eyes grew bigger in astonishment, she silently returned to her seat and tilted her head at his father. In fact, everybody was looking at North now.

"Dad. I don't know what you are hiding, Pitch mentioned about the past, it is a clue, our key now. You must tell us what happened so that we can fight against this guy." Jack dismissed the endless pause, he seemed annoyed with that cute grimace of his. He grabbed a chair and sit down, Elsa also did the same.

Elsa scolded herself, she shouldn't have thought of him like that, he wasn't adorable, just irritated. No way she wasn't going to allow herself to be weak!

North let out a dramatic sigh, he shut down his eyelids whereas he was nodding in defeat. He seemed older because of his exhaustion. Nevertheless, instead of saying something, he directed his blue eyes at Katherine, who was obviously lost in her own world.

"You may explain, North. It is time." she spoke out all of a sudden, her gray eyes were fixated on a wall. Her words surprised everyone. Why was North asking Katherine's permission to explain?

"Pitch refers to the Dark War, Jack. The war that occurred when you were born." North finally retorted with his thick, intense baritone voice.

"The bloodiest war in our history... I still don't get what it has anything to do with that so-called King though." Aster muttered under his breath, then he gritted his teeth in hatred.

"Everything, Aster." Katherine responded curtly without turning her gaze towards him.

"Well, Miss I-Know-Everything, why don't you enlighten us then?" he grumbled in annoyance.

The woman tucked the lock of her auburn hair behind her ear. She silently removed herself from her seat and began to walk around with calm steps, her arms were crossed together. "Twenty-six years ago, a war in Northern Island arose. As Aster said, it was the deadliest war in Northern Island history. I was just one year old then and thankfully in my kingdom. The war lasted for two years, ended during the time Jack was born." she began to explain in detail since the people from Arendelle and Northuldra didn't know the story.

"The enemy was called othe Dark Lord, his real name is unknown, so is his identity. No one saw his face, legend says he always wore his black knight armor, you could only see a glimpse of darkness through his helmet." she continued on with her usual calm voice, which gave the impression that she was too deep in thought.

This woman was incredibly intelligent but also compassionate and kind at the same time, no wonder why Jack fell for her in the first place... Elsa made an internal face palm, she had to conceal her emotions at this moment.

"He was the definition of death and destruction. I've never seen an enemy, as powerful, evil, mysterious as him... He razed everything to the ground, caused famine and poverty to my kingdom." North went on, his fingers were laced together, he was resting his chin, causing his long white beard to brush the table.

"He... He murdered our brother, Jack's twin brother a couple of days after he was born. I never had the chance to meet him." Emma stated frigidly, her brown eyes and outlines were completely impassive.

Her reflexes acted before her logic, therefore, Elsa found herself eying at Jack, who was sitting next to her. His face fell down, he retired into his shell by avoiding eye contact. Jackson Overland... He had a twin brother? She winced, her sorrow that she felt for him crept into her heart.

"We know what happened at that time. I just don't understand how does this Pitch guy is involved." Aster changed the egregious topic, his features were harsh.

"I have a guess about that. Doesn't the name Pitch ring a bell?" Katherine hinted, she bent down and placed her palms on the table, glanced at North, Sandy, Jack, Aster and Emma one by one while the rest was striving to figure out what she had implied.

"Kozmotis Pitchiner." she answered her own question as she stood more upright, her posture was elegant and strict.

"He was the best general this kingdom could ever have. We defeated the Dark Lord thanks to his clever war strategy. He was a compassionate, a very good-hearted man, he avoided spilling blood as much as possible and cared for his men... He sacrificed himself to kill the Dark Lord. We may have won that day, but we lost our best soldier." North made their foggy minds clear, his eyelids were shut down tightly.

"Pitchiner... Do you think he and Pitch Black are the same person, your Majesty?" Kristoff inquired, he was frowning in bafflement.

"Do you have another theory?" North responded to his question with another question.

"How is that possible?" the blonde-haired man muttered to himself, Anna's hand found him, she gave a light squeeze to her husband to reflect her support.

Elsa's mouth was parted a little, she swallowed while she was shivering slightly due to the sudden coldness she felt in her veins. If what North had were true... Kozmotis Pitchiner, the respected and good-hearted general turned into Pitch Black, a murderer who was full of rage. Those thoughts sent shivers down her spine.

Pitch was right, something happened to him in the past. She wondered... She wondered if deep inside, a part of Kozmotis Pitchiner still existed in Pitch Black's heart... She doubted he had a heart.

"I don't know," was North's all reply.

"Why does he want revenge?" Emma questioned her father with an ordering manner.

"I don't know." he repeated huskily.

Everyone's attention turned to Jack when he chuckled loudly, it sounded dry, bitter and sarcastic. He shook his head, he removed himself from his seat whereas he was scowling. He snatched his staff and headed to the door.

"Jackson Overland. Where do you think you are going?" Katherine questioned him with a chiding tone, it was clear that her anger had arisen.

"Katherine." he spat out his wife's name furiously, but ceased for a moment. "I am sick of you and my father, constantly beating around the bush." he snarled, his frown deepened. "I need answers, you guys don't do anything but to keep secrets. Sandy, for example, has magical powers and I've known him for my entire life but I learned it recently. I am not a kid."

Katherine narrowed her gray eyes, the lock of her hair which was blocking her right eye twirled together, it became more curly. "Sit down. I am getting there." she demanded, he did what she had commanded reluctantly.

"I apologize if I sound know-it-all and arrogant. However, I am not allowed to talk about everything." Katherine calmly spoke with a strong posture, she seemed sure of herself. When nobody spoke, she continued. "I want everyone to listen to me without having prejudice because it may sound like nonsense..." her voice trailed off.

She raised her chin, gulped, then exhaled to ready herself. "There is a man in the moon."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Just listen to me." she requested. "There is a prophecy. If you don't believe in destiny or fate, let's say there is a story that is not completely written because it is not finished yet. Right now, as time flows, the story is forming all thanks to us." Katherine halted, gazed at their bewildered faces for a moment, then her gray eyes rested on the wall once again.

"When the war was over, the man in the moon warned us. Yes, the Dark Lord was gone, but a new evil would arise. A villain that could cause more harm than him. He said, years later, we would have another war and it would be nearly impossible for us to win this one. Nearly. We have a chance, even though it is an extremely small one, we still got one. The man in the moon... He granted a couple of people with magical abilities. Jack and Sandy for instance. The man in the moon, Manny he calls himself, he said we needed these magical people."

"Why does he help us?" Jack asked quietly.

Katherine darted her gray eyes at him sharply, then turned away her gaze once again. "It's his duty to protect the innocent lives." she responded shortly.

"How can you know all of this?" Aster interrogated her, for once, he sounded steady, quiet.

"He told me so." she replied curtly. "This is the duty Manny has given to me... knowing the stories, the outcomes, the possibilities."

"So you are a psychic?" Olaf opened his mouth to speak, made Aster startled.

She chuckled in amusement, pursed her lips with the process. "I guess you could say that." Her gray eyes softly landed on Elsa, the platinum blonde's breath hitched, her heart started to beat faster. "Look... I can't tell you anything, if I do, they may not happen. I am not supposed to intervene. Just... Trust me." she spoke for everyone, but Elsa was certain, Katherine said this particularly to her.


"Picnic?" Elsa grumbled with a sleepy tone, she was rubbing her cheeks to get herself together. She didn't have a lot of sleep due to their adventures, therefore today, she overslept a little.

"Yes! Us girls need to spend time! We should have lunch to get to know each other more!" Tooth chirped cheerfully while Anna was giggling gaily.

"I actually promised Jamie to spend time with him." Emma informed Tooth with a cool tone, nevertheless, Tooth snickered when she heard Jamie's name.

"You can have a date with him whenever you want, Emma! Since Elsa, Honeymaren and Anna are here, we should spend time with our guests!" she reasoned to show her disagreement.

A hint of redness crept into Emma's cheeks. "I-It is not a date!" she stuttered out, her blush reddened.

"Sure." Tooth didn't extend the topic, let it drop.

"I think it's a good idea." Honeymaren stated to support Tooth with an amused grin when Anna kept bugging her by poking her arm.

"I agree with Honeymaren." Katherine eventually opened her mouth to speak, she flashed the girls a tiny smile. "Although... Elsa? May I talk to you for a second, alone?" she inquired politely.

Elsa's eyes grew wider at those words. No, no, no! Why did Katherine want to discuss in private? There could be only one answer... Katherine wasn't an idiot, of course she discerned that Elsa and Jack were too close.

"Right before our girl time? Really, Kath?" Tooth berated the woman in irritation, Elsa barely held herself not to hug and thank her endlessly.

"We will be quick." Katherine pledged in order to appease her while she has already been pulling Elsa from her wrist. The platinum blonde had no choice but to obey her. This had to be done after all.

She had to prove Katherine there wasn't anything between her and Jack.

Okay, about Katherine... I couldn't read the Guardians of Childhood because I just can't find the series anywhere. I apologize if Katherine is OOC. My research is based on wiki, but it is not enough. At some point, I just let my imagination do whatever it wants. Please review, again, it means a lot to me. Thank you all for your support!