Chapter 21: A Little Bit Of Blood

Elsa awoke some time later. She didn't know how much time had passed since she had fallen asleep but she guessed it had been some time. She did get a surprise when woke up though. The smiling face of Jack could be seen from above her when she opened her eyes.

"Hello," Jack said as he smiled down at her.

"Hi," she breathed.

Jack leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. It was nice to see Jack back in his human form. There had been a moment back in the Vampire Capital where she did fear for her life when Jack had transformed. She had thought that the man she loved was going to end everything. However, something else had happened. Jack had saved her.

"You okay?" Jack's eyes travelled down to her wound. He looked deeply troubled by what he saw.

Elsa nodded. The wound was healing. It was still painful but Elsa had experienced a lot worst – transforming into a Vampire, now that was incredibly excruciating. Elsa's regeneration was certainly taking its time to kick in. Well at least she wasn't dead, that was the main part of it. Jack had arrived just in time.

"I've been instructed to give you this," Jack picked up a blood bag on the bedside table. The way that Jack was eying the blood bag, it told Elsa that he despised it. Elsa sighed as she took the blood bag from Jack. Elsa tore the blood bag open and started to drink the blood. When the blood trickled down her throat, she felt so much better. Jack suddenly became very interested in Elsa's bedside table. Elsa knew what was up. Jack was deliberately not looking at Elsa drinking the blood.

"Now it's my turn to ask if you are okay," Elsa said to him.

"It's just that…" Jack's voice trailed away. Elsa knew instantly what it was though. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was making Jack act like this and be really uncomfortable.

"It's the blood isn't it?" she asked.

"Well yeah," Jack admitted. "It's just that…" Jack seemed to be struggling for words. "It's just that, well, maybe I'm not used to you drinking blood?"

"Maybe," Elsa said but she knew what it was really about. Drinking blood was not only a weird thing for someone to do but was also something that only Vampires did. Elsa knew that Jack didn't have an issue with her being a Vampire but perhaps Jack hadn't gotten passed the whole 'need to drink blood' thing.

Jack threw himself next to Elsa and placed his arm around her. Elsa rested her head on his chest and listened to his heart beating in his chest. Elsa missed having a heartbeat. There was only silence in her chest now. Jack pulled her in closer and wrapped his arms around her. Elsa missed these moments with Jack. It had been a long time since she had cuddled with Jack.

"I missed this," Elsa said.

"Me too," Jack kissed the top of her head. "It feels so long ago, doesn't it?"

"Like in another lifetime," Elsa said with a small sigh. She dug her face into Jack's shirt and smiled. She just let the happy warm feeling consume her.

"Er Elsa?" Jack said.

"Yeah?"

"You're getting blood on my shirt."

Elsa pulled her head back and indeed saw some blood smears on his shirt. Elsa quickly grabbed some tissues from the box on her bedside table and wiped her mouth clean. Some excess blood came off into the tissue. Jack just looked at his bloody white t-shirt.

"Sorry about that," Elsa said. "I've encountered that more than once in my lifetime."

"Do you guys have any secret way of getting blood out?" Jack asked.

"Vampires may have one or two ways," Elsa winked at him. She resumed her position from before and snuggled into Jack's shirt. "You're t-shirt smells nice though. The blood is an improvement."

"Normally having a bloody t-shirt is considered suspicious," Jack smiled. "But for you, I guess it's worth it."

Anton walked into the room and took one look at the lovebirds lying on the bed.

"Okay I think we need some ground rules," Anton said. "I have to share this room so no doing whatever you guys normally do, okay? So clothes remain on at all time, got it?"

"Aww," Jack said while Elsa laughed.

"Good," Anton said. He pulled in a mattress in from outside and some sheets. "Vivian managed to get me a mattress, so you two get the bed but now that I think about it that may not be a very good idea."

Elsa and Jack laughed again.

"What!" thundered Pitch to his Inner Circle.

Pitch had been patiently waiting for his Vampires to return with good news. He had just been behind his desk, waiting. Pitch had expected his Vampires to come in, dragging Elsa Winters and that Anton in with them while proclaiming loudly that they had managed to get rid of those annoying Guardians.

Jean had come in, accompanied by her lover Henri, Alexi and Charles. Alexi looked like he had been in some fight with a Werewolf as his arm was in a sling. Well, if Alexi was standing before them that meant to Pitch that he had won. Pitch had automatically assumed that there was good news so Pitch had greeted them with "So where's the traitor? She's not dead is she?" but his Vampires had avoided his gaze. It hadn't taken him long to figure out what was going on. Jean eventually admitted the truth to Pitch; that they had gotten away. Pitch had never been so angry.

Pitch, in his rage, threw everything off his desk. Papers went flying, pens fell to the floor, pictures on his desk collapsed to the ground and the glass cracked. Pitch grabbed Jean by the scruff of her neck.

"Are you telling me," he snarled at her, "that you failed?"

"I'm sorry sir," Jean stammered. Pitch's grasp on her was causing her to slowly suffocate. Pitch didn't seem to care though. He just wanted answers.

"Sorry isn't good enough," he growled. He threw Jean against the wall. Her head hit the picture behind her and the force of the impact caused the painting to break into two.

Pitch got up from behind his desk and headed over to Jean. She was picking herself from the ground and looked a little dazed from the blow to her head which she was rubbing. As Pitch moved towards her, a Vampire called Harold, stepped in front of him.

"Get out of the way," Pitch snarled at him.

"Lord Black, sir," Harold said, "don't you think that you may be overreacting?"

"Overreacting?" shouted Pitch. "I'll show you overreacting!"

Pitch grabbed Harold and twisted his neck. There was a loud snapping noise as Pitch broke Harold's neck. Harold slumped to the floor, clearly dead. There was a long silence as they all stared at Harold's body on the floor of Pitch's office.

"What are you all waiting for?" Pitch scream at them. "Go find those Werewolves."

There was another silence. It appeared that no one wanted to speak up.

"Well spit it out," Pitch said to them.

"Er, two things sir," Jean said in a small voice.

"Which are?" Pitch yelled at her.

"Er, we don't know where the Werewolves have gone and it's now daylight," Jean said as she twiddled her thumbs.

"Well then while it is daylight, figure it out and then go out," Pitch said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Jean looked a little nervous. "Yes, s-sir," she nodded.

"Before you guys go," Pitch said, "deal with this."

His foot nudged the body in the office. Henri and Charles gathered up Harold before they all scuttled out of the room. When they left, Pitch forced himself to calm down. This was only a little setback, he told himself. They will soon find those stupid dogmen and that traitor. This isn't the end. Pitch sat back down behind his desk and placed his feet up on his desk. Yes, he told himself, this was only one small battle in a war that he was going to win.

Ragnar hurried back to Anton's cousin's house along with Tooth and Bunnymund. The sun was about to rise, so they had to hurry. Ragnar could already feel the tingling feeling of the sun on the back of his neck. If he wasn't careful, he was going to end up as a pile of ashes. Thankfully, the house wasn't too far away. By Ragnar's calculations, it shouldn't take them too long to get there.

When they got to the house, they quickly closed all the curtains to make sure that no sunlight could get in. Anton's cousin is also a Vampire, so his house is decked out to make sure that no sun could get in. When they had done, Ragnar threw himself on the couch. He was exhausted. They had been through so much today.

"You should be safe here from the sun," Tooth said.

"Should be," Ragnar nodded.

"But what about from the Vampires?" Bunnymund asked. "They were here before, what stops them from coming back?"

"The same reason why I'm not outside," Ragnar said. "The sun, of course!"

"Oh right," Bunnymund slapped himself which made Tooth laugh a little. He seemed to have forgotten about that fact. "Vampires don't like sunlight. I feel like an idiot."

"Like always!" Tooth chimed in which made Bunnymund scowl at her but Tooth just smiled at him.

"So I guess, we will just chill here until the sun goes down," Ragnar said.

"I suppose," shrugged Bunnymund.

Ragnar decided that it was best for him to get some rest before they had to move.

Bunnymund watched as Ragnar yawned loudly. Ragnar then announced that he was going to have some rest. Vampires are nocturnal beasts so it is quite rare to see one during the day. Ragnar grabbed one of the blankets in a cupboard that he found before settling down on the couch in the lounge. He hadn't wanted to use a bedroom that didn't belong to him.

Bunnymund had entered the kitchen, feeling a little hungry. Somehow the tiredness wasn't getting to him but the hunger sure had. Tooth followed him like a lost little puppy. She must have been hungry too. Together they raided the cupboards looking for something to eat. Bunnymund found some bread and some cheese so they decided to make some toasted cheese sandwiches. Bunnymund found a grilling device and started to make the sandwiches. There was a sizzling noise when Bunnymund shut the lid.

"I'm starving," Tooth said. "It took me until now to realise it though."

"Bunnymund smiled. "Me too." They both took a moment to look at the grill. "So what do you make of this Ragnar fell?" Bunnymund thumbed in the direction of Ragnar who was curled up on the couch.

Tooth shrugged. "He seems to be okay. He was willing to help us out so I guess that he must be a pretty stand up guy."

"But he's a Vampire."

"If you're worried that he will decide to drink our blood, I think we're okay. I don't think Vampires like Werewolf blood."

"It's not that…" Bunnymund trailed off. He knew that there was no logical reason to not trust Ragnar. Ragnar had saved Bunnymund and he had also helped save Tooth. Ragnar hadn't turned on Bunnymund and the other Werewolves. It was just that there was such an ingrained distrust between Vampires and Werewolves within Bunnymund. It was hard to overturn his beliefs in just one short night.

Tooth smiled at him and took his hand. "I know how you feel Edmund. It is hard to suddenly change how you feel in one night. But we've got to understand there just like how there are good and bad humans, the same can be applied to Vampires and Werewolves. Pitch Black is the one behind everything. He is the evil Vampire – not Ragnar, not Anton and not Elsa. Together we can defeat Pitch, I know it. Once Pitch is out of the way, I'm sure some sense of normality between the Vampires and Werewolves can come to us. We've only know hate, it's time we know some love."

Bunnymund smiled at her. Tooth was the person that he trusted beyond anyone else – even beyond North and Bunnymund would lay his life down for that guy – and if she says it was okay, then it should be okay. When Bunnymund was told by Jack that these Vampires could be trusted, Bunnymund had thought that Jack was being manipulated by the Vampire he was sleeping with. North had understood Jack and Bunnymund had thought that North was being the bigger man. Then when Tooth had said the same thing, Bunnymund had started seeing a trend. Even though he was a bit antsy about trusting Ragnar and other Vampires, but he was willing to give it go.

"Well if you're saying give them a go then I guess I will," Bunnymund said.

"I know that's hard for you to do," Tooth smiled.

"Well as you say, he did save our lives back there. I don't like being in debt to a blood-drinker but I guess I will have to be."

Tooth grinned. "Great! Oh, our sandwiches," she added when she took notice of the burning sandwiches.

Bunnymund quickly managed to get them out. They weren't completely ruined – just a little burnt. They chowed down on the sandwiches which tasted so good. After they had the food, they decided to take a nap themselves. The food had made them all sleepy. They didn't have the same qualms that Ragnar had about sleeping in a bed that didn't belong to them. They both just collapsed on the bed that must belong to Anton's cousin. They were out as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

They woke up a few hours later. Werewolves didn't need as much sleep as humans did, so it came to no surprise to either of them that they woke up only after a short while. Bunnymund found Ragnar still on the couch when he woke up. Ragnar was snoring softly.

"Man, can he sleep," Bunnymund commented.

"Well to him it is his night time," Tooth said reasonably.

"True," Bunnymund shrugged. He looked outside. It was a nice and sunny day. Seems a pity to waste it. "How about a walk in the sun? Do us some good to get some Vitamin D and all that."

"Sounds nice," Tooth agreed.

Together they left the house. It was as if she was automatically doing it but Tooth grabbed his hand as they walked. Bunnymund didn't dare mention it. It felt nice that they were finally coming back together as a couple.

Both had agreed not to walk too far. They didn't want Ragnar to think that they had left him alone. After they had walked for about an hour, they decided to double back but that was when they heard a man shout. Both had run to the man's aid.

"Sir, what is wrong?" Tooth asked him.

"It's horrible," the man said. "My whole family – dead."

"What?" Tooth and Bunnymund said together.

"How?" Bunnymund said.

"Evil, that's how," the man said. "Evil came into this house and took my family."

The man collapsed in pain and grief. He howled with sadness as Tooth patted him awkwardly on the back as she tried to calm him down.

"It's not just my family," he said. "The whole area's been cursed."

Tooth gaped at him. "You mean everyone around is dead?"

"Yes!" the man howled again.

Bunnymund and Tooth looked at each other. There could only be one explanation for the sudden death of so many people in the area; Pitch Black was on a rampage.

Ragnar yawned as he woke up. He was a little groggy as he did. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. As he did, the blanket that had been covering him fell off. Ragnar got to his feet and headed into the kitchen. He was starting to feel a little thirsty – that was a little bit of an understatement, he needed some blood and he needed it now. He hoped that there was some blood still here. He didn't fancy having to ask Tooth or Bunnymund for their blood. Besides, there was always the fact that Werewolf blood tasted weird – or so they say, Ragnar had never tasted Werewolf blood himself.

Ragnar entered the kitchen and started to look through the fridge. There was nothing there but a small note from Anton. It simply mentioned that he was sorry about taking all the blood and he explained why. Ragnar sighed. He supposed he could always check out some of the human houses nearby. He could simply slip out and be back in a half an hour. Ragnar debated this for a few moments. Well he had to go get blood and he needed it now. Vampires didn't do so well if they didn't have their intake of blood. They lose focus and their abilities aren't up to scratch.

Ragnar decided to go for it. He started to scribble down a note – he didn't want Tooth and Bunnymund to think that he had just abandoned them – when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw that Tooth was standing only a few steps away from him.

"I see you're awake," she smiled at him.

"Yeah," Ragnar nodded.

Tooth came up to Ragnar and gazed down at the note that he was writing. She seemed intrigued by it.

"What are you up to?" she asked kindly.

"I need some blood," Ragnar explained. "So I think I will go out to one of the neighbouring houses – I think Anton did mention that there were some around here at one point or another - here and sneak some blood. I shan't be too long."

Tooth sighed. "I guess you don't know then."

"Know what?" Ragnar gave her a quizzical look.

"We've just heard the bad news," Tooth said. "Apparently in an effort to try and find us, Pitch had his Vampire knock on every door around. Everyone is dead."

"What?" Ragnar was shocked at this. "How did you find out?"

"Bunnymund and I had a sleep but we didn't sleep for as long as you so we decided to go for a small stroll. We bumped into a man who said that everyone was dead."

"How awful!"

"Yeah," Tooth sighed. "So what are you going to do about blood?"

"I don't know," Ragnar shrugged. "I suppose I could go to nearest village and try there but I don't know if I will make it."

Tooth looked like she got an idea. "Drink my blood. Your venom won't affect me so I don't have to worry about turning into a Vampire."

"What?" Ragnar looked very shocked at this. Did Tooth just offer her own blood to him?

"Just take a small amount that will satisfy you," she said. "Once we've reach the others, I'm sure Anton will have some blood for you or maybe you could hunt around."

Ragnar didn't like the idea of it. Bunnymund will kill him for starters but the idea of taking blood from someone who was offering seemed weird to him. No one had ever offered him that. Tooth pulled back her sleeve to expose her bare skin. Ragnar didn't want to do it but something made him lean in. His fangs extended and broke Tooth's skin.

Blood rushed into mouth and down his throat. Oh what a glorious feeling, Ragnar thought. The blood tasted far sweeter than he anticipated. He drank and drank until he remembered he was only supposed to take a little. He quickly stopped and leaned back so that he was away from the sight of blood. With Vampires, it only took a drop of blood to make them pounce.

"Thanks," Ragnar wiped his mouth clean before he noticed that Tooth had a pained look on her face. "I'm sorry, did it hurt?"

"A little," she admitted.

"I'm sorry," Ragnar quickly said.

"Don't be," she smiled at him. Already the fang marks were beginning to head. Two distinctive fang holes could be seen. Ragnar felt a little guilty for being the one to cause them.

They heard Bunnymund coming in from the other room. Tooth quickly covered her arm so that he wouldn't see. She seemed to realise that he wouldn't be so happy to hear what they've been up to.

"So gang, ready?" he said.

They both nodded. They knew what he was on about. It was time to re-join their friends in Châtellerault – the French town that was near here.

"Let's go find the others!" Ragnar said, clapping his hands together.

A/N: Alright, heading into the final phases of this story - bringing together all loose ends to finally end this war but who will win? Will it be the Vampires or will it be the Werewolves? Will the war even end? On another note, Sorry that I've been completely AWOL and it's only going to get worse, I'm afraid. I have an essay and assignment due next Monday, so updates will take a back seat I'm afraid. I'll try and get another chapter out by the end of the week but I'm not too hopeful. Anyway, I hope that everyone enjoyed this update. Please review =)

Reviews:

KAMIKAKES: Hmm, haven't yet decided if there will be a moment where all The Guardians will transform. Would be good for the final battle now that I think about it. I may just put it in. Yep, looks like Bunny and Tooth are making up. I do like that ship too and I know what you're favourite ship is, JELSA! Same as mine! Since Jelsa is your first and Bunny/Tooth are your second, may I ask what your second is?

WeirdWerewolfFan: Thanks! Next chapter as asked! I actually can't remember when I started shipping Jelsa, I know it was about a year and a half ago but exact time, I cannot say. What makes me think they're a great couple? Well I just think that they work together, fit together and have a lot of things in common, like their ice powers for starters, and are opposites to each other (opposites attract remember?).

Kat-IlluminatedPurity: Yeah, Pitch is really mad (I actually used your review for that bit, so thanks for the idea!) Can't wait for your next review!

Frostbite Productions: Hmm, I'm feeling like you're doing too many stories and taking ideas from too many different places. Maybe base your next story about an idea that you like - one that you designed yourself?

Owlgirl55: Ah, so you were the Guest. I should have figured. Daily checks should be helpful. I'm not going to be able to update every day but at least you will know when the next chapter is out. I also update at the same time, so that should be helpful too. Glad to see that you are making your way through Battle For Her Heart, you are up to an interesting bit. You may just have to wait and see on Jack! Yeah I do reuse characters. I like the OCs I've made so I like to reuse them over and over again. You generally find they have the same characteristics and could be the same person just in a different world. Thanks so much.

Calmdownmari: No sequel to this story but I'm not through with this idea. There shall be a prequel on the story. You may have noticed that not a lot of background was mentioned, that was deliberate. It's all for the prequel which I hope you will read once I upload it which shall happen after I finish this story.

Mickhe11: I like your thinking. It may not get too unpredictable from here on out as it's nearing the final chapters but you never know, I may be able to add in a twist or two.