Chapter Three: Cerise


Naturally Pitch and Tooth struggled to keep away from the disgusting circus staff but they were strapped down in tattered leather chairs as Pitch's hair was tugged and brushed, Tooth's eyes were painted round with dripping gold paint though such colour was hardly required. Her exotic appearance should surely be enough.

But the more dramatic the better it seemed. Outfits were the next objective. Pitch was thrown in a fur line cloak that draped behind him like the darkness he controlled. Entwined with embroidered patterns the same colour as his eyes. It glittered in the dim lighting of the tent.

Toothiana had golden wraps up over her chest and a rippling skirt of turquoise and deep blue round her waist with a thick gold belt. It was unneeded and messed with the freedom of her tail but she did little to go against their wishes, she was too scared.

The tooth fairy did; however, try to refuse the above knee, armoured gold metal boots but when a searing wisp of smoke touched the tip of one of her wings, she turned with horror to see one of the hideously painted girls holding a lighter up to them.

"Put them on, it's just for the show" she snarled.

They hurt Tooth's sensitive feathers as they were pulled on. In the end she looked glamorous...in a tormented, gladiator way.

"Should we give him eyebrows?" a blonde with tight, twisted curls asked her friend, a dark skinned girl with poker straight white hair.

"Do not even think about painting my face in any single way" Pitch threatened with a hiss and the girl shrugged.

Suddenly Pitch ripped free from the restraints that kept him in the chair. Tooth watched with startled amazement and shock. Her wings started beating frantically. Now...now she could get out!

Tugging at her restraints, she looped her slender wrists out of them and stood up, turning her head to the door.

Darting over, dodging a lunging hand from one of the staff members, she pushed the tent-door away and ran out into the sunlit field. Her golden boots clinked with each quick movement. Just as she bent her knees, ready to fly. A ferocious agony burnt through her spine.

Her wings, her wings were caught up in something, she couldn't move!

Looking back with fright she saw the ringmaster approach with a fine string wound around her wings. Yanking on it caused her to collapse to the ground with a cry.

"None of that now, love, get up and make sure your friend stops making trouble too" he sneered, looking into the tent where Pitch was standing defensively towards the circus owner.

"You hear? Stop with your resistance or I will use force" the moustache curled up with an animalistic snarl.

"Please refrain from threatening me, old man" Pitch growled, stepping out into the sunlight, shading the glare from his eyes with a hand.

CRACK

Toothiana cried out with terror when the whip-lash brushed past her and landed in the grass between her and the Spirit of fear.

"And don't push me, shadow boy" the crimson shirt around the man's bulging abdomen only seemed to stretch tighter as the short man attempted to puff up, show off some dominance. Pitch rolled his eyes and folded his arms. Aware they were drawing quite the crowd.

The ringmaster seemed to notice too and glanced around.

"Who the fuck told you to stop working?!"


Bunnymund was running, he was running quicker than he ever thought he could. Jack Frost was close behind him, riding on North's sleigh with Sandman and the big bearded man himself.

They had passed through to England now and were heading to a small town. It was late afternoon and very few people were out. It was unusual in a way, working so early. Especially for Sandman. They finally stopped at a house next to a large sycamore.

"This is it" North claimed, slowing the sleigh down and resting it on the roof as they all crept inside the main window on the upper storey. The child was not yet in bed and they all sat around, looking at each other and listening carefully.

"Alright, let's not frighten her, we may need to make her forget afterwards" North decided. Sandy nodded, miming that he would prepare one of his special sand spheres.

"Goodnight Papa, Goodnight Mama!" a little, girlish voice cried as her footsteps travelled up to her room.

"Goodnight Мышонок!" a deeper voice called back and North froze.

"Little Mouse…" North breathed.

Suddenly the cream door flew open and a little girl with pale brown hair and paler blue eyes stood in the doorway, heading over to her bed she grabbed a book from her shelf before climbing under the covers. All of the guardians were currently hidden.

"Jack" Bunnymund hissed. "Charm her with some of your snowy figurines or somein"

Jack nodded with a grin and leapt over to the window, drawing a little mouse (he had heard what North had muttered.)

It popped out as a glittering shape of ice and darted over to the nine year old who stared at it with wonder.

"Wow" she gasped, leaning forward to catch it.

"Do you like it?" Jack asked, appearing next to her. She jumped and stared at him, face straight as she nodded coyly.

"Y-Yes...who are you?"

"I'm Jack Frost, pleased to meet you" he tipped his head and the girl giggled after a few more moments of silence.

"Are you a spirit?"

"I might be" the silver haired Guardian of Fun winked. "Would you like to meet my spirit friends?"

Her mouth widened.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, there's Sandman, Bunnymund and North" Jack told her and then gestured to the other side of the room where the guardians appeared one by one.

The little girl was quiet for a few moments.

"Why are you all here?" she enquired shyly.

"Actually, if you wouldn't mind...we need your help" Jack told her, letting the mouse run into her palm where she squealed softly with delight"

"What's ya name?" Bunnymund asked, hopping forward and the girl scrambled up to the end of the bed.

"I'm Ivy Philipova" she gave a short bow.

North stepped forward.

"I heard your Papa, you are Russian?"

The girl seemed to recognise his voice and jumped up in her lilac pyjamas.

"My papa is from Russia, but my mama is from England!" she grinned.

North picked her up gently and swung her round with a bellowing laugh. All the other guardians told him to shush harshly and he paused.

"Sorry" he muttered.

"So...Ivy...we need your help" Jack continued.

Ivy nodded dutifully.

"I don't know if you...know but...have you ever seen a pretty, feathered young woman before?"

Ivy went quiet, she subconsciously snuggled into North more and gripped a lock of her hair with a grubby fist. She nodded.

"When did ya see her?" Bunnymund asked.

"At night...she...she has green and blue feathers?"

"Da, that is her" North said.

"...She was with...a dark clothes wearing man?" Ivy continued to press and all guardians looked at each other. Sandman immediately mimed Pitch.

"With black hair?" Jack made sure to clarify.

"Yes...he was really scary"

"Thats Pitch alright" Bunnymund growled.

North set her back down on the bed and looked at her marble blue eyes.

"Did the scary man take the feathered girl?"

"No!" Ivy shook her head adamantly. "He was very scary but two other people came in and trapped the blue and green girl, then jumped out of the window" she hugged herself and North gulped.

"I do not know...what this means" he told the others and there was a few minutes of tension and bitter silence.

"I'm sorry, is she your friend?" Ivy piped up.

"Do not be sorry, little one, she is Tooth Fairy, indeed she is our friend" North explained with a small smile.

Ivy gasped.

"No wonder I didn't get a coin" she whispered to herself. In any other situation her mumbled comment would have been humorous but the guardians were busy racking their brains for some understanding on the circumstances.

"Did you see what the two people looked like?"

"One was a tall woman, the man had blonde hair...they were wearing black...and a bit of silver" she claimed.

"How did they capture Tooth?" Jack floated beside her, she stared at his levitating for a second before replying.

"In a net from a big gun...then there was a weird, stinky purple smoke. I hid in the covers then"

"Sounds like it was planned" Bunnymund hissed. Sandman created little shapes to convey his agreement.


As the sun set over the hills and the field was packed with vehicles, audience members filed in, paying up tickets on their way in. Tooth couldn't see how many were coming in as she was surrounded by hyperactive clutter and noise as staff ran around. The ringmaster impatiently tapped his foot. Whipping round to face the two he glared at them.

"This is what's going to happen...you...fairy, you are going to fly around, fly over the audience members or something but don't let em touch you, you're my property. And you, moody..."

Pitch glanced up with an unimpressed look.

"You seem pretty good at creating things and controlling what is it...shadows? I have heard of you in stories, I will give you some leniency to your powers. Look, I don't care just do something exciting and if you don't...you'll fucking regret it, you hear?"

Pitch didn't reply and he was lashed across the face with the other end of the studded whip for that.

"YOU HEAR?"

"Loud and clear" Pitch hissed with venom lacing his tongue and words.

"Right, when you hear your introductions, get the fuck out there and impress, you'll know when you have to be called back in" the ringmaster finally explained. Then he disappeared down the side of the tent. Several feather clad dancers following.

Toothiana faced Pitch. Was it for a sense of comfort? A cruel satisfaction that they were both doing this? Or was it the tiniest bit of hope he had a plan to get out?

He didn't return her gaze, though he seemed aware of it so she never did understand the reason for her glance.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Circus of Flowers and Gold!"

Flowers and Gold? How odd.

An uproar went up from the crowd. Tooth and Pitch could hear it from their shadowed outside of the tent. There was a corridor running along the inside edge of the great striped sheet, hidden from the crowd – where acts prepared to go on.

Music began booming through the earth, causing the material to shiver and the beating of Toothiana's heart to stutter and pick up a hot, fast pace.

Pitch didn't feel much better, he felt angry and unsettled. Distressed if you will. Bending his fingers inwards one at a time with a sense of anxiety he stared at his feet. What was going on? What had this all come to?

It was like something out of one of his own nightmares.


A/N: Hope you are enjoying it so far! I'm not going to beat around the bush, it's going to be a dark story so I hope that's what you signed up for! ahaha

-LAW09


~Review Replies~

Zane: No problem, thanks again :)