Chapter Five: Fuchsia
It had been three days, hadn't it? Or was it three weeks? Pitch blinked solemnly up at the sun that barely shone through the foggy clouds that draped over the entirety of the sky. If you happened to be watching him, you would think he was calm. You would be wrong.
He was weak, no one feared him here and when was the last time he tormented a child's dreams? The bogeyman felt more lonesome than ever and now he felt powerless. It angered him immensely. Why hadn't he taken his chance before, why hadn't he attacked or escaped when he had nightmare dust flowing through his body, dancing on the ends of his fingertips?
He was such a fool.
But it had all distracted him. The other creatures, the circus itself, the pain and bewilderment of knowing his capture and being punished for faultless crimes by his captors. At least he had it better than the guardian.
Tooth was weaker than he was, with her wings clipped when she wasn't performing, the memories couldn't flow and her willpower faded each day. The only teeth she had laid eyes on were the sneering scowls of workers, the grubby yellow stones of the ringmaster and the snarling points of his own sharp teeth. Pitch growled, recalling the time she had knocked one of his teeth out onto slick ice with a sharp punch. He never really got her back for that. Sighing he looked down, daylight had always bothered him.
Surveying the field, he was immediately drawn to someone leaving a train carriage further down. A massive frame of fur and teeth and claws. It was painfully obvious what it was. A werewolf. It's roars resounding about the area like thunder. It was being uselessly restrained by workers who definitely didn't get paid enough. Shredded grey trousers about it's powerful thighs and chunks of its tall ears slashed out. This beast had seen the suffering of the circus. Pitch didn't think much of it, who wasn't having a bad time? That was until he saw a young woman draped in a crimson cloak stride over to the monster and take it's hand as lightly as she would to someone of royalty. The struggle stopped and the men around all but dropped the restricting ropes as the best calmed and leant forward into the woman to nuzzle against her hood. The attire slipping down to reveal dark, luscious hair.
Did relationships of gentle nature really exist in such a way here? As though to prove his point he looked to where a sudden scream alerted him. His gaze flitted to where staff practised on short platforms and wires. A worker had a young girl in his fist, she struggled and wept. Just another example of how the sweetness of companionship was temporary.
"Did you really think I wouldn't notice you stealing more food?"
"I-I need it for the...performers in the b-back carriage, they haven't been fed in two days!" she yelled back with equal fervour, though her words were cluttered from her stolen breath as he gripped her slender throat.
"They'll get it when they deserve it!" he spat, throwing her to the grass. But suddenly his motions stiffened, he found himself unable to move his feet and he frantically grabbed at his ankles as though he could will them to movement.
The young girl scrambled away from him with horror and ran into the carriage quickly. A pale brown and cream skirt flowing behind her like caramel.
Tooth peered out of her carriage with fearful curiosity, looking over at the shrieking man. She gasped and glanced around for Pitch, accusations already swirling in her mind. What was he doing? If the workers found out it was...
Pitch suddenly appeared before her, eyes stern and mouth a straight line.
"I see you've emerged" he commented and she shivered off her initial shock and stepped down. Wishing she could feel the soft, damp grass under her feet instead of tight metal.
She looked over to Pitch, she was surprised. Guardians...and non guardians had signature appearances, his had always been the draping jet black clothes over his grey skinned body but it seems they could be removed though it had once looked like the material had faded into his very being.
They had forced him into simple black trousers and high boots to which said trousers were tucked into. An overly big greyish-white shirt on his torso fell loose over his lithe frame. It was somewhat undone and ruffled making him look rugged and poor, suspenders were stretched over his shoulders. It must be to do with the humanising enchantment on the place. Pitch noticed the fairy observing his new attire and coughed irritably.
"What are you doing? If anyone finds out you managed to keep some of your sand-"
Something caught her eye, a fluttering of pastel and flaxen locks. A young girl was leaning against the carriages of the train and staring ahead, anger evident in her glossy hazel eyes.
"Hello" Tooth called shyly, Pitch looked with her and watched the girl glance at them then properly face the fairy and dark spirit.
"...Hey" she replied, surprise evident on her face, she had striking features and a small white corset on her top with pale cream and beige silk falling down the back of her legs and sides. She looked young, maybe thirteen, her skin was a freckled brown.
"I'm Toothiana, but please, call me Tooth" the guardian of memories greeted her, nodding politely.
"Carnation, call me Arna if ya want"
Pitch rolled his eyes, he didn't time for friend making. Adrenaline was pulsing through him slowly, like molten lava beneath the crusted black rocks. He needed more fear.
He left without a word to Carnation or Tooth and both girls watched with mild confusion.
"He is Pitch" Toothiana claimed with a sigh. Carnation just nodded.
Sandman had used the dream sand to knock Ivy out late into the night and effectively erase her memory of the guardians being real, now they were only a dream. North was upset by this but understood it was important to not to worry her. They had gone to Sandman's home to use his map for ideas to Tooth's whereabouts. A tremendous golden ship that lay nestled in a sea of glittering clouds far above that of any human limits.
With a great curving frame and wing-like sweepers that shifted back and forth with fluid motion kept it suspended in the sky. Pale grains of golden sand escaped from it's frame every now and again and made it shimmer like the sun hitting the ocean.
Jack gasped as he wandered into the main deck area, this was the first time he had gone to Sandman's home and the dream-manipulator chuckled watching the guardian of fun take it all in.
Heading down into the depths of the ship, stunning stairways and halls opened up to them, pale wood and marble pillars, all with tiny specks of gold on the banisters and frames.
In what seemed to be the main room, a giant swirling earth turned in the centre. Simply suspended and upon its glittering surface, tiny white dots filled the countries. The children.
"Don't you get sick of gold?" Jack joked and the Sandman shrugged. Floating over to his earth his twirled his finger in the air and the earth slowed, clearing up until the sand fell from its entity. Jack gasped and his cerulean eyes shone with amazement as what was left was a stunning, crystal clear earth, like glass. Jack wondered if a single tap would shatter it.
"So, can you pick her out or somethin?" Bunnymund hopped forth and stared closely at the flawless surface.
Sandman took in a deep breath and trailed a finger over its edge. Everyone fell silent as though anticipating a sound but what noise would there be?
Sandman drew back warily and turned to his fellow guardians with a head shake. North stamped his foot quick and fast before turning away and storming back into the hall, his crimson cloak draping out behind him like a blood spill.
"North!" Jack called, rushing out after him, Baby Tooth safely tucked in his hood. The Russian stopped and seethed. Turning back to the frosty spirit he calmed and brought his hand to his head.
"Has Baby Tooth spoken yet?"
Jack looked down, shaking his head.
"Her mouth was bleeding when we found her, remember?" he reminded the Christmas guardian and North nodded, waving his hand in dismissal of the unhelpful information.
"Then we must find another way until she can"
"What about Manny, hasn't he told you anything?"
"Man in moon has not done much for us this time, Jack" North snapped and Jack reeled back sourly. A familiar bitter rage filling up inside of him as he remembered the moon's previous ignorance to his begs and pleas.
"Look for Pitch" he suddenly said and North looked up at him, startled. Bunnymund and Sandman who had just entered also perked up at the words yet they all waited in silence until Jack elaborated.
"I mean...didn't the little girl say something about the bogeyman? I don't know, maybe it's worth looking for Pitch instead, you have that connection with him through the sand anyway, don't you Sandy?"
The sandman nodded and thought to himself.
"As if that git would stick with her, he's probably under some bed cowering right now, slimy devil" the Aussie snarled and Jack rolled his eyes with a wry smile.
"It's a better than nothing"
Sandman floated over to his globe, raising his hands and allowing seeping sand grains to cover its entity, certain ones glowing like the little lights on North's or even Pitch's spherical earth. He had the strongest connection with the bogeyman, being something of the same spirit and power though their hearts could not be more apart. Searching with a desperation Sandy would never admit, he looked for a jet black spark and shook for a moment with terrible frustration when nothing appeared. The king of nightmares was either hiding himself on purpose or he...had suffered whatever fate Toothiana had.
"Why hurt him, he hasn't done anything!" Viktor screamed, going for the meaty woman who raised the thin bottle above the redhead's back. The lady turned to the ghost and sniggered, fat lip curling up like a convulsing slug.
"Well I can't hurt you so it's the next best thing, hun" she cooed sickeningly before smashing the light glass upon Iancu. The vampire screamed as it shattered against his back and sunk into his flesh with burning lashes.
"What's goin' on in ere?!" a booming voice silenced the shrieks and cackles as all three looked to the ringmaster who stood, lifting up the material of the tent door with a glove-clad hand.
The evening sky glowed around him and for a moment, he seemed like a saint to the tortured creatures, until he moved forth and struck Iancu.
"Get back to ya tent, take Viktor" he spat. The vampire nodded quickly and silently like a scolded child, grabbed Viktor by the garlands of violets that draped over his neck and left.
"Quit ruining the produce" he told the woman who stood in the shadows as the tent door closed.
Viktor and Iancu raced past Tooth as she was dragged to the male den once more and the man tugging her stopped and stared. At the pale appearance of the ghost with what looked like thick silver tear trails streaked over his cheeks and the torn up clothes and blood splattered over the body of the vampire.
"What the fuck-" he started before both ran to the nearest blue, white and black tent. Tooth watched them go and fear swelled up in her heart like a painful stab. She looked to the man, wondering if the sight of such cruelty would set his heart alight with sympathy.
"Fucking freaks, c'mon" he grunted, tugging her chain and she let out a soft whimper.
Pitch watched from the train carriage as the guardian of memories was forced into the tent. Shaking his head because of the fairy's submission and the disgusting nature of their owners, he slunk back into the darkness of their dusty prison.
He had tried flying out on a swirling, glittering black cloud before now, just enough sand to suspend himself. He hit the sightless barrier at least a hundred feet up and was thrown to the ground in a twitching heap of pain. The ringmaster had pressed his cane into the king of nightmares throat and smirked. Asking how the spell felt.
They weren't as foolish as he first thought, they had done their homework. But there was only so much a feeble, man-made enchantment could do for so long.
They were thrusting their slimy hands down her chest feathers now. Tooth yelped and reeled back, lifting her right leg and kicking Trollson hard in the chest with her gold plated boots. The tent's inhabitants fell silent before Voodoo burst out laughing.
"Wondering when she'd fight back, bad timing Troll" he sneered only to get his thick black curls near torn from his head as Troll used his skull as support to stand back up.
"Feisty bitch" he snarled, shoving his hand out once more and tearing some silky, turquoise feathers from her arm. She shrieked and gripped her arm as pale trickles of blood seeped out of the fresh wound pitifully. Trollson smirked, lifting them up to the lamp light.
"Wonder how much these are worth" he winked at her and then left the tent without a word and only a quick rub to his own aching chest.
Voodoo shook his head and patted down his hair.
"What a goon" he muttered.
A small, high pitched sound escaped from the darkness and Jack sat up with a start, he had been sitting in an unlit room in Sandy's ship, looking out into the stars and watching the guardian of dreams complete his duty when he looked back to see Baby Tooth weakly crawling from the folds of his hood. He exclaimed her name and went to cradle her in his hands. His silken, silver hair falling over his cerulean eyes as they widened and watched her try to speak.
"Take your time, Baby, what's up?" he told her softly, his voice the only sound in the room.
A faint chirping sound that Jack recognised as his name came into audio and he laughed shakily.
"That's it, keep trying...N-north, North! Bunny!" he yelled.
Both guardians rushed in, in due time and all crowded round Jack Frost as Baby Tooth coughed and spoke more.
"She says...she's sorry...sorry she couldn't have helped more before" Jack translated the tiny noises and Bunnymund pushed forth.
"That's fine, Baby Tooth, but what can you tell us now?"
A/N: Will Baby Tooth be able to tell them? Will I ever stop ending my chapters with rhetorical questions?
Iancu and Viktor belong to me and even I don't know if they are filler or a way of further expressing the brutality of this circus but I like them!
LAW09.
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Xion5: Ah, it is so wonderful knowing you are a regular reviewer! I am trying to update more often now. I don't want to keep you waiting! Thanks so much for another lovely review!
