Chapter 10: How It All Began

North looked at Bunnymund with a strange look in his eyes. He seemed to be a little lost with what Bunnymund was saying.

"What do you mean?" he asked him.

"Jack, well," Bunnymund stiffened slightly. He felt like he was going to the principal's office to tell on someone but he must save Jack before it was too late. Elsa was going to take advantage of Jack. He not only had to save Jack from Elsa but he had to save Jack from himself. "Jack, I fear, is being taken in by the enemy."

"What do you mean 'taken in'?" North said.

"One of his old acquaintances has reappeared in his life," Bunnymund explained. "She is now a Vampire and is using her friendship to get leverage on Jack. I fear she is using her position to get information out of him."

"Ah," North looked like he understood. "I see. How does Jack and this old acquaintance know each other?"

"They used to be close in Arendelle," Bunnymund clarified." Apparently they used to be in love or something like that."

"Ah, okay. Please go get him for me."

Bunnymund nodded and headed out of the door.

Jack knocked on North's door. Bunnymund had come to tell him that North wanted to see him about. Jack didn't have the faintest clue what he could mean. He though perhaps that North was going to give him another mission; maybe another recon mission. He really didn't know. When he knocked on the door, North told him to come in and Jack did.

When Jack entered, he saw North sitting behind his usual desk. He looked as if he had aged about twenty years which is odd for a Werewolf as they do not age. He looked a little grave when Jack walked in. Jack wondered what could be on his mind. His mind looked like it had a lot on it.

"Come in, come in," North said. "Sit down m'boy."

Jack hesitated but sat down anyway. Jack had the most horrible thought. Something was different this time around. There was something in his eyes as if there is the weight of the world on his shoulders. It wasn't like their normal conversations, there was usually a warmness in them but today, there was something different. Jack just couldn't place a finger on it.

"Yes?" Jack said but in a small voice.

"Edmund has come to me with his concerns," North said, "over what he believes is an inappropriate relationship that you have been having with a young woman with a taste for blood."

Jack's heart sank. Bunnymund had told North about his relationship with Elsa. Truth be told, he wasn't completely surprised. Bunnymund considers the Vampires to be the Werewolf's enemies. He was in favour of the war. However, he had hoped that Bunnymund would feel a sense of loyalty to him and not say a word.

"Oh," that is all that he could say.

"Now," North said, "do tell me about this girl."

Jack was a little surprised by North's words. He had expected to be yelled at or even told that he must choose between The Guardians and Elsa but not being asked questions about his relationships. Jack's stunned face made North chuckle.

"If you expect me to throw you out, you are sadly mistaken," North smiled which just made Jack feel even more confused. "Jack, I know that you once had this girl, who I heard from Tooth that you were quite in love with, back in your home country of Arendelle. When Bunnymund mentioned that the girl you are in a relationship with was from Arendelle too, I simply put two and two together and got four."

"I see," Jack's mouth was dry. Was North really taking Tooth's opinion in this matter? When Tooth learnt that Jack and Elsa were old lovers, she immediately accepted them and declared that they should finally be together.

"Look Jackson," North only used Jack's full name when he was being serious. It always made him jump to. "Bunnymund can be a bit headstrong when it comes to Vampires. He doesn't understand the full story."

"What is the full story?" Jack asked.

"You do know that I was bitten, I became the first the Werewolf," North said. "Manny, or Tsar Lunar as he became to be known by, was bitten by a wolf. His brother – well really his step-brother as his Manny's father remarried – was Kozmotis Pitchiner."

"So Kozmotis Pitchiner is really Pitch Black?" Jack asked.

"Yes," North said. "You see I do not know the full story except that once the brothers who were very close suddenly went their separate ways."

"Why?" Jack asked.

"Because he was jealous," a raw voice from behind them made Jack jump while North smiled. Jack spun round in his chair and saw that Manny was in the shadows.

"Continue Manny," North said.

Manny stepped into the light. He had many scars from his many transforms and battles while transformed. Being the first Werewolf wasn't easy for him. Sometimes he would be stuck in his transformed state for weeks as he couldn't turn back into a human.

"I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, like our friend North here, in 1054," Manny said, "to good parents. My mother died not long after I was born and my father remarried, some years later, to a young woman whose husband had died in the wars and left her with a young child to manage. This child was named Kozmotis Pitchiner." Manny sighed but continued. "We got along very nicely which made my father proud that he had made the right choice in his marriage. I married a woman with money just after my twenty third birthday and Kozmotis married a couple of years later. By then, my wife had given birth to our son who was the apple of our eyes. I worked as a trader and managed to get some money for our family. It seemed like our perfect life couldn't get better."

There was a silence while Manny talked. Despite his raw voice, no one else spoke or dared to even breath while the voice encaptivated the room.

"One day," Manny continued, "I was hunting in the forests near our little cottage when suddenly this rabid beast attacked me. It left me for dead in the woods only for me to be discovered by Kozmotis who was visiting with his new wife. They fetched doctors after doctors but I wasn't expected to live but I did. I healed but my wounds never did. They stayed with me till this day.

"A month later, I transformed for the first time. I turned into a ravage wolf with no control over my actions. My family escaped unharmed but left because they feared what I could do to them. I didn't disagree. My wife and son meant everything to me so I sent them to my brother in Moscow – where they moved to after their marriage. I became a recluse, I feared for the safely of others as I couldn't control my transformations. I had a great desire to learn how to control it so I could get my family back. However, that wasn't the end of the story.

"My brother had known about my ability to transform and wanted it for himself ever since he saw my first transformation. He was always greedy for power and desired it very much so. He journeyed to the forest where I got attacked and but no luck. He found me and when I neglected to tell him the secret. I followed him to a cave where a wolf was thought to be living. It had attacked some of the local livestock and the farmers were craving its blood. I followed my brother to that cave where what looked like hundred live bats came down on him. I got rid of the bats and helped my brother to safety.

"However, after that, he was never the same. He had a fever and aches in his bones for many days until he came out of it, brand new. He had become a lot colder and very different with a craving for blood."

"He had become a Vampire like how you become a Werewolf?" Jack asked.

"Indeed," Manny said. "I didn't know at the time but over time it became apparent so. With his new power, Kozmotis went after my family. He had always been jealous of my luck with love and family. You see, Kozmotis' wife had been having an affair with a local sailor and gotten pregnant with the sailor's child. They had run off to be together. It wasn't just that, Kozmotis could never hold down a job. His employers said that he had issues with authority and got into fights with his co-workers which often ended badly for Kozmotis. They didn't have a lot of money because of this. I knew he was having trouble with his family. I had offered to help but he took it as a great offense. He had yelled at me for my offense. He seemed to think that he could handle everything but he couldn't. The result of all this? He attacked and killed them all in his rage and jealously."

That news shocked Jack to the core. Pitch Black had been a monster and killed all hope of his brother's happiness.

"Go on," North prompted when he sensed that Manny's voice had gotten stuck in his throat.

"I attacked in my revenge," Manny said. "It was a full moon and so I had the upper hand but Kozmotis managed to flee and declared that he would finish me off one day. It wasn't long after that did I bite a man called Nickolas North and he became the same as me which was something I dreaded for two reasons. The first was because I dreaded hurting someone and the second because I gave Kozmotis an idea."

"How to make others into the same as you?" Jack said. "You told him the secret of turning someone into a Vampire?"

"Indeed," Manny said. "He went off to start his own race and others soon joined North and I. The others declared me Tsar Lunar as they considered me the leader of the moon. Kozmotis then declared himself Pitch Black as he was the nightmare in the dark."

"What happened with the war?" Jack asked.

"It was Kozmotis' final revenge on me," Manny said. "To get rid of me and my kind."

"So the war was born out of jealousy?" Jack asked him.

"Yes," Manny nodded.

"So the Vampires started the war?" Jack asked.

"No," Manny said. "Kozmotis started this war and taught his kind to hate me and other Werewolves. My fellow Werewolves started to hate them too and so the war was born not only out of jealously but also hate."

"The war needs to end Jack," North said. "So why don't you tell me about this girl?"

"Her name is Elsa," Jack said. "Elsa Winters. She was born in Arendelle in 1822 to the wealthy Winters' family and disappeared eighteen years later in 1840."

"You were in love with her," North stated.

"Yes," Jack nodded. "We meet when I was twelve and the friendship was encouraged. I got private tutoring because of this and Elsa's father intended me to be a doctor or maybe a barrister. As we got older, I started to develop feelings for her. I knew I could never have a relationship with her so I pushed them deep down but it didn't work. Then, when we were sixteen, we shared our first kiss after a party and our relationship flourished from there. I had discovered that she loved me just as much as I loved her. However, just a couple of years later, she got engaged to a suitor that her father had flaunted and I was pushed aside."

"Then she disappeared?" North asked.

"Yes," Jack said. "It was all rather strange at the time. Before the event, Elsa had withdrawn from society and broken off her engagement. She wouldn't even see me which made me very upset at it all. Then suddenly, Elsa's parents had been murdered and Elsa was nowhere to be found. At the time I had no idea what had happened, it was only recently that I learnt that Elsa's parents had gotten scared of Elsa because she had been Turned. She had murdered her parents by accident and raced off because she felt like she was a monster and she needed to be away from everyone especially her sister for fear of hurting them. But back then, I thought that whoever had murdered Elsa's parents had taken her. That had been a popular opinion back then. I knew that I had to find her. I didn't rest for many days as I was sure that I would find her one day. I looked but never found her. I was more than upset at this. I needed to find her before it was too late. Then one day while I was in the forests near Arendelle looking for her and got attacked by a wolf. You know the rest."

"Until now," North said.

"Until now," repeated Jack.

"The war needs to be finished Jack," North said. "Manny wants it over. I want it over but Pitch Black doesn't. The only way to finish this war is to kill Pitch Black."

Elsa walked into Château Rouge. The entrance hall was large and was decorated with suits of armour and was lit by a series of torches that were hung on the wall. On the wall was trophies of animals that Pitch undoubtedly had hunted himself. Elsa got the most horrible feeling when she looked at some of them. Some were human. Stopping herself from throwing up, she followed Pitch into an extravagant great hall. There was a large wooden table with dozens of chairs lined up. Some of Pitch's servants were making up a fire and decorating the table with food.

"Come on and sit," Pitch said.

They sat down at one end of the table. Elsa felt very comfortable at everything. Doctor Frasier was thoroughly enjoying it all. He relished in everything that was going on. Maybe he felt like this was where he belonged. Elsa was sitting next to Anton who guessed how she was truly feeling.

"Let me guess," he said. "You do not like this."

"Pitch Black has the need to impress everyone that he meets," Elsa replied back. "The way he does it, isn't exactly ethical."

"Ah," Anton said. "You have gotten those vibes off our leader and one true father of the Vampires."

"Indeed I have," Elsa had always gotten a bit of a shiver going down her spin whenever Pitch was in the room.

"I remember when I first came to Château Rouge," Anton said. "It was many years ago. I felt the same way as you are feeling now."

"Come now," Pitch's booming voice suddenly interrupted them. "Let us eat, rejoice that you are here then you may go to bed."

"Your hospitality is without equal Lord Black," Doctor Frasier said which made Pitch simply beam.

Elsa had forgotten; Pitch liked to fancy himself as nobleman and in a castle like this with servants to tend to his every need, he sure looked like it. A servant placed a bowl with a dark liquid in it. She didn't need to taste it to realise what it was. It was blood.

"Blood soup," Pitch said. "It's a popular dish in these parts."

Well when you only dine with Vampires, Elsa thought, it would be. She ate it without question. She hated to admit it but it was very good. After the blood soup came a steak that was so rare that it still had the blood coming out of it. After Elsa had eaten, they drank blood cocktails in an elegant room. It had large comfy couches, a fireplace, a large grand piano, chairs that were just as elegant, a large mirror above the fireplace and beautifully painted portraits.

Elsa took a seat down on one of these couches next to Anton while the rest of their party stood. Ragnar took a leaning positioned near the fireplace while Doctor Frasier and Pitch talked while holding their drinks.

"So why were you invited here?" Elsa asked Anton. She was eager for them to continue their conversation.

"I was the young apprentice of Doctor Frasier," Anton said. "He brought me here to indulge in the Vampireness of the place – yes that was the word Doctor Frasier said." He added when he saw the look on Elsa's face.

"So then what?" Elsa asked.

"He showed me the town and then we were invited for a special meal at Château Rouge by the invitation of his Bloodness, Lord Pitch Black."

"Ah," Elsa let out a giggle or two. "I see. So were you impressed with the place?"

"I will admit I was," Anton said. "However I found the air of the place and the host to be," he lowered his voice so that Pitch Black or Doctor Frasier would hear them; Elsa leaned in close to hear what Anton had to say next, "quite strange."

"I believe I know what you are saying," Elsa said.

She looked over to where Pitch was standing. He was giving her the strangest of looks which she didn't like at all. She contended herself with chatting to Anton instead with Ragnar pitching in from time to time.

After all of this, Pitch declared that it was getting late and the sun would soon be rising. Together they all went off to bed but Elsa was a little late getting to be herself. She had taken the wrong turn and found herself in another one of those rooms that she had just been in except it was grander and bigger. Anointed in the centre and above the fireplace was a large portrait of a woman. She had blonde hair that was tied up in a bun that was pinned to the back of her hair and had dangles, curled, that hung over the sides of her face. She was dressed in a rather plain but elegant red dress with a broach pinned to a side. Her blue eyes were stunning and matched her sapphire earrings. She was in a sitting position and had her left hand over her right hand which was resting in her lap. A golden band could be seen on her ring finger of her left hand – no doubt it was a wedding ring. But who was this woman and why was she displayed oh so proudly in Pitch's house. There could be no question about it, she was important to her.

"Elsa?" a voice behind her startled her and she turned around to see Pitch standing only a couple of metres behind her.

"Sorry," Elsa said. "You startled me."

"Oh then it is I who should be sorry," Pitch said. "I should have known that you would be involved with your thoughts."

"It's just this woman," Elsa gestured to the painting. "She is intriguing me. I am sorry but I know I mustn't pry."

"Do not apologise," Pitch said. He smiled up at the woman that was looking down at the pair of them. Her name is Katerina Pitchiner and she used to be my wife."

Elsa was a little taken aback. She had never known that Pitch had been married.

"We had met in Russia a long time ago," Pitch said. "We fell instantly in love with each other when I was studying to be a doctor in Moscow but sadly she contracted an illness after only a few years of marriage and died suddenly afterwards."

"I am sorry," Elsa said. She meant it. To lose someone that you love, well Elsa knew that quite well.

"Yes," Pitch sighed. He moved closer to Elsa which made her even more uncomfortable than she was before. "You know, in many ways, you remind me so much of her."

"I d-do?" Elsa said. When she looked back at the portrait, she could see a resemblance between her and the late Mrs. Pitchiner.

"Yes," Pitch breathed. He drew even nearer to her now. He tucked some loose threads behind her ear. Elsa didn't know what she should think. She was paralysed by fear. Pitch leaned in close but Elsa suddenly sidestepped him.

"What is it?" Pitch asked.

"I cannot," Elsa said.

"Why?" Pitch's voice sounded a little firm. Maybe he didn't like being said no to.

"I-" Elsa couldn't think of a reason. The only thing that was going through her head was an image of Jack. He was the one who Elsa loved. Pitch gave her the wrong feelings.

Pitch was drawing closer again, Elsa was about to speak, to tell him no, but someone else did instead.

"Elsa?" Elsa turned around to see Anton was in the doorway.

"Anton," Elsa looked at him gratefully. "Good day, Mr. Black."

Elsa hurried off to join Anton.

"What was that?" Anton asked as soon as they had reached the stairs.

"A situation that you had rescued me from," Elsa said. "I think Pitch may have had another motive to invite us to Château Rouge."

"I think so to," Anton nodded. "Well hopefully he may have gotten the message."

"Hope so," Elsa said.

They had turned into the corridor that had Elsa's room on it.

"Well good day Anton," Elsa said. She smiled at him before she disappeared into her room behind her so that she could finally get some well needed rest.

A/N: So it looks like Bunnymund's plan backfired for the good of Jelsa. North may be proven to be an ally after all. Some background information on the war has been revealed as well. Manny's and Pitch's beginnings are also revealed. Also Pitch looks like he was interested in Elsa (wasn't going to include it but then a reviewer suggested it so I thought that it was a good idea and worked for the story). Anyway, I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter. Please review =)

Reviews:

lollipop3056: All your questions have been answered. On Bunny, well he felt like Jack wasn't thinking straight and that he thought he was acting in the best interest of Jack and the Werewolves. I think you will find the answers most agreeable. Elsa doesn't have to worry about a thing when she gets back, thankfully. Probably only going to get more intense.

Guestie: Bunny was only doing what he thought was right, even though that meant betraying a secret that he had been entrusted with by his best friend. Don't worry about Jelsa, not going to rip them apart so soon. Thanks!

fireninjafox: Yeah, that is what I was thinking.

KAMICAKES: No, you read that wrong. She wasn't a hooker, she was a one night stand and was doing the walk of shame. She wasn't spending the night with Jack, she was saying she would rather have. Jack is not that kind of guy. Well at the time of chapter two, no Pitch wasn't but maybe times have changed. Yeah Bunnymund is a bit of an arse for doing that but in his own stupid way, he thought he was doing the right thing. Thanks so much.

Guest: Thanks so much. I hope they do indeed get better and better.

heartfulyumi: Why indeed Bunny but he did think he was doing what was best for Jack and the Werewolves despite it may have been the wrong thing to do.

Kat-IlluninatedPurity: I fear you may be right. We have yet to see what will happen between Tooth and Bunnymund but I fear it may not be positive. Yeah you're feeling is correct, I wasn't going to go down that path but it fitted so well. Yeah this is a Jelsa story. Any Pitch/Elsa will be purely one sided. Thanks.

SureSnowflake: Agreed. Although beheading Bunnymund may not work. He is a Werewolf after all and only has silver as a weakness. Maybe they should use a silver axe.