Hello, my lovely readers! I apologize for the long wait, but Christmas has just been hectic, and on top of that, I had writer's block!

DarkAzalea: I tried to work your idea in as much as I could and still have it make sense in my mind. Once I got writing, though, I got it close(ish, maybe) and changed it to work with what I saw in my mind. I hope you don't mind. Anyway, you're awesome!

My thanks also goes out to CrystalQueen for her continued support. I love you both!

Anyway, enjoy!

Leetah POV

"Well, old friend, you should see your little daughter now. So helpless, alone, and afraid. All because of you." I heard a voice coming out of the darkness. Even after regaining consciousness, my mind still felt foggy. I opened my eyes and all I could see was black. Closing my eyes again, I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. I had no idea where I was, who took me here, or if I would ever see again. To be completely honest, I was terrified.

"Oh, and of course you sent her down as a star. What did you think would happen? That if she wasn't a spirit, she could return to you? Too bad she'll never get a chance. Once I turn her heart black, she will be the thing that allows my son to rule by my side." The last thing I heard was the British man's maniacal laugh before being dragged back into unconsciousness.

Jack POV

"LEETAH!" I called, "LEETAH!" I was flying throughout the Burgess forest in search of my Fireheart. I didn't even realize that she had run off until I turned and saw her gone. That girl was silent. I wasn't even completely worried until Manny was covered by clouds, plunging the night into absolute darkness. Other people would have written it off as a natural occurrence, but I knew better.

It was Pitch.

I could hear my heart thumping in my ears. I was desperately trying to find Leetah in hopes that he hadn't found her first. I was scanning the ground when I saw a glint of something silver. I felt hope rising in my chest, even though I tried my hardest to press it down. Landing in the small clearing, I quickly found the silver object. It was one of Leetah's shoes. I picked it up delicately and examined it

Black dust. Pitch's nightmare sand was dusted all over the tiny shoe. Rage began building up inside of me, causing me to grip my staff so tight that I feared I would break it, and shoot up into the sky. A blizzard was already brewing, and I knew Jamie would want to play tomorrow, but right then, I had other plans. I was going to find Pitch and punch him so hard that Tooth would have a hayday. My sights set on where I knew Pitch's lair was, on the very outskirts of the forest. Setting my jaw, I flew fast and straight as a bullet to the entrance to Pitch's lair.

I was surprised when I realized that the lair was different than before, more jail-like. I found myself in a small, dimly lit hallway that lead to the main room. I was about to run to where I knew Pitch would be hiding when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Crossing the hallway in a single pace, I was face-to-face with... a wall. But, slightly above my head, most likely where Pitch's eye level would be, there was a small window, complete with bars that would satisfy a prison warden. Floating up, I peeked in the window and let out a small gasp.

"Leetah."

I had to get to her. She was laying motionless on a stone table, her beautiful hair spread around her like an angel's halo, her pale skin making her seem as if she were glowing. I made quick work of freezing the bars and breaking them apart into one or two pieces so that I made the least amount of sound possible. Once I squeezed through the small opening, I sprinted to Leetah's side, every other thought being forgotten. I was horrified at what I saw.

Leetah was pale as always, but her skin had less of a silvery, healthy glow and was instead more dull and deathly white. Her arms, which were laying at her sides, were wrapped up to her shoulders with thick black thorns. the vines were as big around as my wrists, the thorns an inch long and, I assumed, razor sharp. Leetah's hands were cut and bleeding, the red liquid staining her dress and dripping off the sides of the table. Upon inspection, I discovered that there were thorns wrapped around her legs as well, but I didn't dare look to see how far up they had gone. Going back up to her shoulder, I tried to pull the thorn vine off, which only caused it to wrap itself tighter around Leetah's shoulder and start to work its way across her chest and up the opposite side of her neck. Leetah let out a whimper of pain as the thorns dug deeper into her arms, extracting more blood. My heart sunk. I'd never be able to get her out of here by myself without hurting her even more. I thought about freezing the vines, but that would also mean freezing my Fireheart. Knowing there was nothing else I could do, I stationed myself by Leetah's head, my hand finding its way to her hair and gently stroking it. Suddenly, a voice came out of nowhere.

"He did that to her." It was a voice that I'd never heard before, male, with an accent that was a strange mix between American and British. By the sound of his voice, he was maybe sixteen.

"I know," I said, biting down on the inside of my cheek to avoid getting angry at this person that I could not see.

"Do you know why?" the boy asked, clearly knowing the answer. When I refused to respond, the boy continued speaking. "She refused to join him. She refused to allow him to turn her heart dark, and he didn't take very kindly to it. This is what he did to her for not working with him."

I tried to control my rage. How dare he? How could Pitch just expect someone to work with him, especially someone with a heart as kind as Leetah's? How could he, when keeping her prisoner is punishment enough, torture her while she was completely helpless? I clenched my jaw, taking short, deep breaths to try to calm my anger. "Why are you telling me this?" I asked without meaning to. But I had to know.

"She is innocent," the boy responded, "and I do not want her heart falling into the hands of Pitch Black." The thorns then started shrinking, the vines retreating from Leetah's small body. Two minutes later, Leetah was completely free of the vines and I had covered her arms and legs in a thin layer of frost to slow the bleeding. "Now, get out of here. You have sixty seconds before Pitch comes and finds her missing."

"Thank you," was all I could say before I felt as if I was alone again. Taking a miniature snow globe out of my sweatshirt pocket, I shook it and whispered, "North Pole."

Throwing the small magical orb to the floor, I turned and picked up Leetah, supporting her under her legs and back. The portal opened, and as I stepped through, I made a promise.

That I would never let anything harm my Fireheart again.

Sad attempt at a cliffhanger? Yes, it is. Thank you guys so, so much for reading and again, if you have any ideas or suggestions, tell me and I'll try to work them in here. I have another week of break, so hopefully I can get some more chapters out before I have to go back to school.

I love you guys so, so much and feel free to review (I don't bite)! See you next chapter!