Chapter Nine: Rose
It had been two days or so, the rehearsals for the new show were well underway and as the Ringmaster looked into one of the larger practise tents, he grumbled. The shadow-boy and fairy were being awfully well behaved. It wasn't right. They should be more aggravated that they were being forced to work together but they calmly learned their lines and choreography from the ever expressive Bubbles.
He dragged the pipe-smoking man to one side for a moment and spoke in a hushed hiss.
"You bribed or blackmailed them or something? Why they suddenly being all goody-two-shoes?"
"Just a bit of love, no force" Bubbles grinned with a shrug and the ringmaster wobbled with fury. Something definitely wasn't right, no newbies suddenly "got the hang of things" and cooperated.
Bunnymund was the first to arrive, his light having been alerted first and he stared over at Jack with intrigued surprise.
"Found ya own method of bringin' us all together eh?"
"Seems I have" the Guardian of Fun was sitting on the top of his staff nimbly.
"Why have you called us here anyway, have you found Tooth?" Bunnymund was so sceptical when asking because surely if the younger man had found the tooth fairy, it would be the first thing he told the Aussie.
"Not quite, but I think I know how we can"
"And how can we?" the booming voice of North came forth as he entered the room. Grand crimson coat swaying behind him, Sandman was in tow.
"Well she contains all the memories in teeth right? She also has ours"
"So?" North raised an eyebrow.
"She must have her own scroll, maybe her teeth will show memories of where she is, the memories always keep up to date don't they?"
"I-Think-So" Sandman signed and Jack nodded eagerly.
"Well, I suppose we must visit her memory palace" North claimed, sliding one of the glistening orbs from his coat.
Viktor was panicking. He'd found out who Iancu had gone for those nights before and the consequences were far more dire than he'd ever expected. Blanche Hood of all people. Her beloved, Wolf; formally known as Hurste Silbermann was pissed. It was something of a miracle the werewolf hadn't torn down the tent he and Blanche resided in when the young woman had told him. Even though it wasn't a turning bite, just a painful mark, it was an attack.
Wolf had been calmed, or rather stunned by the fact on confronting Iancu, the vampire told him he'd been told to do it.
Of course Wolf had asked by who. Probably one of the workers who liked to wind him up for fun, and Iancu was so easy to persuade if the ghost was involved which means it wouldn't have taken much for some scummy staff to make him. But the vampire hadn't been so quick to tell. He said he couldn't tell Wolf yet.
Blanche had calmed the werewolf down and sternly told the vampire that he better have an answer by the weekend otherwise he and Viktor would be in trouble. Blanche didn't want either getting hurt but she knew what Wolf would do and gave the vampire until the full moon, when it would be completely out of control.
"The ringmaster is getting weirded out by you being so obedient" Arna told the both of them as they settled in the carriage for the evening. Everyone was relatively quiet, talking among one another, playing cards, reading and so forth.
"Well at least he's not getting angry" Tooth shrugged with a smile. Honestly, it was a godsend how good Pitch was being. But even she couldn't deny how...odd it was.
Looking to the King of Nightmares as though he could hear her thoughts and give her an answer, she found herself distracted by...him. She'd become used to seeing him in more 'human' clothes but they...really did suit him. With all the rehearsals happening and seeing him with his false sword and his daring speech, he'd seemed nothing short of princely.
"Yes, Fairy?" Pitch raised an eyebrow at her, looking up from his script he'd been going through. Toothiana rolled her eyes. He wasn't that princely. Though Pitch soon softened and continued speaking, "How are you finding this wretched performance then?"
"Not that bad honestly, I mean. Of course I don't want to do it but I can think of worse things to do", immediately she thought back to the times she'd had to spend in the tent and Pitch narrowed his eyes at the way she folded into herself.
"Do you guys think I'm doin' alright?" Carnation piped up. A little more unsure of herself in her voice and both Pitch and Toothiana were surprised.
"You're doing great! Why, what's up?" Tooth told her.
"Well, you two are brilliant. It's amazing watching you, everyone goes on about how well you two work" she shrugged
"Really?" Pitch marvelled. Although he soon internally scowled at himself for getting a bit excited about some acting praise. Of course he was good. "Well you're the best elderly tribe queen I've seen. And I've seen at least seven" the King of Nightmares declared, with complete sincerity. Before Tooth could laugh, Arna gasped and beamed.
"You think so?!"
"I know so" huffed, as though his opinion could be undermined. His haughty expression quickly melded into one of shock when Carnation barrelled herself into him. Hugging him as much as her short arms could wind about him. Toothiana blinked, eyes wide as the action and she felt something inside twist a little when Pitch, rather than pushing the excitable thirteen year old away, patted her awkwardly on the back.
Later on Tooth still couldn't stop thinking about Arna hugging Pitch. It was just...she didn't know. Odd, she supposed. The way a child wasn't afraid of the bogeyman. The way the bogeyman himself actually knew the fundamentals of a hug and wasn't too bothered about returning it. It was opening up a whole new perception to who Pitch really was.
"Hey Feathers, stop getting distracted!" Bubbles exclaimed with a dramatic sigh. It was true this wasn't the first time she'd spaced out during the late practice.
"You tired or something?" Pitch came up and asked, a little perplexed himself as to why Toothiana was being so distant. It wasn't like her. Not that he cared of course.
"N-no, I'm fine. Let's keep going" she answered with an awkward smile and straightened up.
"Right well, I want to work on the dancing. Neither of you are too rigid or anything, but you've both got very different methods of movement, we need them to coincide" for all the enthusiasm and flair he had, Bubbles was certainly a professional.
"O-okay" Tooth nodded and turned to Pitch who was already waiting. They'd only practiced the dance on their own before, earlier that day when Bubbles suddenly introduced it.
Carnation had explained to them at lunch that the ringmaster had been looking for a fight and had forced the two into a more intimate situation so Pitch might mess up or act up. The King of Nightmares couldn't have rolled his eyes harder if he'd wanted to.
And so Bubbles had thrown in some choreography and taught them individually before they now had to train together. Pitch had his suspicions some goons or the ringmaster himself were peering out of the tents that semi-circled the empty field on their left. So with a small smirk, stepped close to Toothiana and gracefully took her left hand in his and placed a careful other hand on her upper back. Toothiana's feathers bristled up, giving her a plumped effect and Arna laughed from a distance away, sitting on a crate with Bubbles.
"Yeah, we need to see that pretty face hunny, calm the plumage" the trainer called.
Toothiana took a deep breath and settled down. It was just a dance, why was she getting so excited? Even so, she found it hard to look the King of nightmares in the eye and instead looked to their feet. Especially her feet that were so unfamiliar with walking let alone dancing as they did. Pitch already had an advantage, so she supposed it was a good job that he was doing the leading.
Bubbles started telling them to reenact and incorporate their previously learned dances. The two did so, only they started letting go of one another with the focus of their own routine.
"No, no, on! Come on you two! You need to at least look like you like each other, let alone love like the show actually asks for" Bubbles sighed dramatically and Arna chuckled. She jumped down off the crate and rushed over to the two.
"For one, Tooth, make sure ya have ya hand on his shoulder and hand, Pitch, make sure ya hand is on her waist and her hand. Don't let go" she instructed and the two did so slowly, both looking to the thirteen year old for further guidance. It was almost amusing.
"Just start off with tha basic dance, so you step forward, side, back...yeah like that!" Carnation circled them as they begun to sway together. Albeit Tooth was a little quicker.
"Sync up!" Bubbles yelled from across the way and Pitch sighed. It was then like he sprung into action. He firmly took ahold of the guardian and spun her effortlessly before drawing her back. Toothiana was in such shock she let herself go loose and that seemed to be for the best as Arna cheered.
"Yeah! That's it!"
They continued following the choreography before Bubbles approached, clapping.
"Excellent, now we will try with the music and you two actually looking at one another", he went back and pulled out a small, rickety looking CD player.
"There will be live music on the night" the man quickly explained as he pressed play.
The song varied in its pace. The slow drawn tunes of violins shadowing the higher notes of a piano. Tooth almost forgot what it was she was actually doing when the rhythmic strum of a guitar merged through and she laughed. Pitch never ceased his movements as they continued to spin but his eyes widened and his mouth parted ever so slightly from surprise, before he too offered a small smile. Toothiana laughed even louder when the King of nightmares dipped her and brought her back up flawlessly, even Bubbles cheered from afar.
Tooth took this moment, her mind dizzy with the motion to look up to the bogeyman. Maybe it was the lack of his shadowy robe or the way the lanterns hung about the surrounding tents illuminated his usually sickly skin, but he seemed far...warmer than she thought. Sure, his teeth and eyes were still sharp, his voice a dark purr but he smiled, a real smile. Not a smirk or a snigger. He was strong, of course he was. But the way his lanky body seemed skeletal from afar deceived the tooth fairy, albeit, she wasn't exactly heavy. He was careful with his hands so close to her wings, he made sure not to brush them. He didn't hold her hand too tight. He was a gentleman. Tooth didn't know why her heart felt bruised, maybe she was angry she was staring to like the King of Nightmares.
"Make sure you don't go too far back" North abruptly told Jack who held Tooth's box in his palm. The white haired guardian turned to the older man and furrowed his eyebrows.
"Why? will I break it?"
"No, it's just...as guardians, some have pasts it's best not to delve into" the Russian explained and Jack simply nodded. Now wondering what it could be about Tooth he could suddenly discover.
"I thought it only shows ya the most important memories of a child?"
"Yes, well. Toothiana makes a habit of claiming all of her memories. Because in essence, she remembers the memories of children. Making her memories like the great shelter of all the others" North explained to Bunnymund.
Sandman squinted but nodded slowly in slow agreement. A little bewildered just like everyone else. Jack smiled and then looked to the cylinder with a sweet little Toothiana face on the front.
Tapping against the shimmering diamond patterns. It gently opened with a glittering chime and North leant forward.
"Show us this month"
"You can be specific?" Jack marvelled.
"Hush" was the answer.
The crystallised screen shivered until it showed nothing but darkness. You could hear the rumbling of something, the road. Being pushed back and forth by the vehicle. She was restrained. The guardians then watched the blurred snippets of whatever the memory palette deemed important. The great looming figure of the ringmaster against the stripes of the tent. A rickety smoking train. A young girl in a skirt like caramel and then...Pitch. The King looked...so different. Hair even messier than before, a white shirt adorning him, trousers and boots also. He was both tainted with weariness and also a sense of brightness. His expressions more visible and all went still at the sight of his smile. A genuine, kind smile.
"What's going on?" Jack whispered his thoughts aloud. "Are they working together?" he continued.
"I am not sure" North answered, he was bothered by the bogeyman but even more so about the darkness of a tent that they never saw the inside of properly. Whatever it was, it reeked of fear and he had a bad feeling.
"Critics will let us into Europe"...
"But we now know where they are going" he continued as they listened in on the young girl.
"I didn't know you could dance!" Tooth exclaimed to the bogeyman as she hovered alongside him, heading back to their train carriage. Pitch shrugged.
"You don't know a lot of things about me, Tooth"
The fairy slowed down and felt something twist within. He'd called her by her name. Not 'Fairy', or 'Guardian' or any other words said with scorn. Smiling to herself, she fluttered a little faster to catch up.
"Besides, it doesn't matter how well I dance. We still need to get out of here" Pitch muttered and the tooth fairy nodded.
"I know, believe me. I'm thinking about ways to trick the system all the time" the guardian claimed. The bogeyman turned to her with a raised eyebrow.
"Any luck?"
"I'd have told you"
"Really?" Pitch wasn't challenging as so much surprised. He couldn't help but ask with so much hope and scowled internally at himself.
"Of course" Tooth said, furrowing her eyebrows a little at his expression.
As they approached the carriage, a familiar someone was leaning against the wooden sides.
"I don't know what you freaks are up to but know this-" the ringmaster began, stepping away and up to the both of them. Namely Pitch who as usual, didn't even flinch as spit sprayed from the man's mouth. "-I am going to be watching you like a hawk during the show, don't think you've fooled me with your innocent act" he hissed. Jabbing a hard finger into his chest before shoving past to walk away.
Tooth flew a little higher than she normally dared and made a noise of indignation.
"I can't believe that man! We finally act well and he's not happy!"
Pitch just shrugged. The ringmaster wasn't going to let him out his sight? This was perfect.
A/N: I'm making so many facts up to help out with the story, forgive me! Ahahaa.
Anyway, it's not much for a first chapter back but we're delving into the nitty gritty now so stay tuned!
-LAW09
CHAPTER TEN UPDATE: Saturday 13th August 2016
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Tippi: Ahaha, I'm so glad you are continuing to read and you are enjoying! Thanks so much for the lovely review! :)
