Chapter 22: A Small Hotel Room
Ragnar, Tooth and Bunnymund arrived in Châtellerault several hours later. They had raced as quickly as they could there in case there was some Vampire watching their movements. They had managed to arrive without a single hitch. Ragnar was glad that something was finally going right. The last time they were out and about, there were probably around fifty Vampires chasing them. Châtellerault was a small town but looked like a nice place to rest and relax in.
Ragnar headed down what he presumed to be the main street. Tooth and Bunnymund followed him and walked just behind him. Ragnar had realised that finding the others when they have no idea where they were, wasn't going to be easy. But he did have a plan though. He knew that they must have come in either really, really early or during the night so finding a place to stay that was open during that time, should lead them to the others.
They didn't see anyone else out during the night. It was the middle of the night in a quiet village so anyone out, may be trouble for someone. However, Ragnar would have liked to have seen someone to give them a pointer in the right direction. They had no idea where they should go but they did have one thing on their side. Vampires and Werewolves have the ability to smell each other out as they have distinctive smells. All they had to do was follow the sense to wherever Elsa and the others were hiding out.
As predicted, their sense of smell did indeed led them to a place; The Knight's Inn. It looked like a pub merged with a small motel. Ragnar noticed that the hours listed on the window that it was open from the early hours in the morning until late. It looked ideal for a couple of Vampires and some Werewolves to hide out. They all agreed to hang out until the inn opened. They took up positions on the sidewalk opposite the building. If anyone saw them, it would look like some young adult tourists being night owls. They wouldn't have to wait very long – only a few hours – so Ragnar sat down and placed his back up against a wall. Tooth relaxed next to him and Bunnymund sat down in front on them. Vampires have excellent night vision so Ragnar could see the other two as clearly as if it was daylight. Werewolves, on the other hand, don't have as great night vision as Vampires but they could still see. So at least they weren't all bumbling around in the dark. There were some streetlights down the main road and all three of them could see the illumining light from a distance away.
"So," Ragnar said to the other two, "looks like we have some time to kill."
"It does look that way," Tooth agreed. She was scratching and rubbing her arm for some reason. Ragnar wondered why. It was a little weird for her to be doing that.
"You okay Tooth?" Bunnymund asked.
"Yeah," Tooth said. She stopped the moment Bunnymund asked her about it.
"Let me take a look," Bunnymund said. "We've been out in the woods and during the night, you could have some kind of bug crawling over you."
It was at that exact moment when Ragnar realised what was making Tooth so itchy. To a human, Vampire venom is highly toxic. It creates all kinds of pain in the muscles, joints, blood and even in the bone. This is the reason why turning into a Vampire is so painful. However on Werewolves, the effect is a little different. A Werewolf will not turn into a Vampire if they are injected with venom, except something else happens. Irritability sets in instead of pain.
"Nah, it's fine," Tooth insisted but Bunnymund gave her a small smile. He seemed insistent on the issue. Ragnar was getting the feeling that Bunnymund was the protective type when it came to Tooth. He seemed to want to be able to fix any problem that she may have despite it being something minor.
Bunnymund took her arm and pulled it back. Bunnymund probably expected to see some redness with some scratch marks but he didn't. He stared at the two puncture wounds on her arm which were just above her wrist and on her left arm. There was a moment while they waited for him to say something.
"What is that?" he asked simply to his girlfriend.
"Er," Tooth could only respond with that. It looked like she didn't really know how else to respond to Bunnymund's question.
Bunnymund whirled around on Ragnar. "So," he snarled at Ragnar, "the first opportunity you have, you decide to feast on my girlfriend."
"It wasn't like that," Ragnar said firmly. "I needed blood and there wasn't a whole lot available. You saw what Pitch did to those other families."
"So instead of just controlling your desire, you decide to go for my girlfriend," Bunnymund said.
"Do you even understand thirst?" Ragnar said. "The desire for blood isn't something that you can just control. Imagine for a second that you are desperate for a bottle of water but there isn't one around. Wouldn't you do everything you could to get a drink of water?"
Bunnymund paused for a moment. He seemed to be stumped on what to say to Ragnar in response to this.
"Needing a drink of water and drinking blood are not the same thing," Bunnymund said. "You are comparing apples with oranges."
Ragnar sighed. "Yes they are. Vampires need blood in the same way a human needs water. It's not something we have magical control over. We need blood and if we don't drink, we weaken, otherwise, we go out of control looking for blood."
Bunnymund opened his mouth to say something but Tooth interrupted.
"That's enough," she snapped at Bunnymund. Bunnymund seemed put out that Tooth was directing her comment at him. "Ragnar didn't pounce on me. I offered my blood to him."
"You offered?" Bunnymund spluttered.
"Yes," Tooth said. "I knew that if he didn't need blood, he would go out of control. Unlike you Bunnymund, not all of us don't understand how the desire for blood works."
Bunnymund didn't look too happy at what Tooth had said. He didn't say anything more on the topic. Tooth seemed to have put an end to the conversation. Ragnar felt a little guilty especially since Bunnymund was giving him a glaring look. It seemed to Bunnymund that Ragnar has crossed a major line. Ragnar quickly looked away.
Silence engulfed them. Ragnar became fidgety. He wasn't quite sure what he should do. Bunnymund was in the middle of hating him and Tooth was a little mad at the moment with Bunnymund for his insensitivity. Ragnar tried to think of something to break the silence but he couldn't think of anything. So silence would have to do.
Elsa and Jack were snuggling in their bed together. They were supposed to be asleep but they had other ideas. Jack was on top of Elsa giving her small kisses along her neck and up to her jawline. Elsa knew that they should go to sleep but Jack was impossible to resist. His hands were teasing her by attempting to take off her t-shirt. All the pain from her sunlight injury was gone. Elsa's mind was on other things.
"I think Anton's asleep," Jack whispered in her ear.
Sure enough, Anton was snoring away. Normally Vampires wouldn't sleep during the night but Anton was exhausted. He hadn't slept in the last few days and he needed a well-earned sleep. Elsa, herself, was trying to get as much rest as possible. She should be taking a nap at the present moment but Jack was distracting her.
"Jack, we can't," Elsa said but Jack's lips found her own and Elsa let out a moan of pleasure at Jack's actions.
"Come on," Jack teased. His lips went down to her chest, exposing her bare skin as he did.
"We'll wake up Anton," Elsa said with her eyes darting over to him.
"Elsa," Jack looked into her eyes, "we managed to do more than this and you were practically screaming my name and no one burst in on us."
"I was not," Elsa looked horrified but Jack looked gleeful. They both knew it was true. They got up to some mischief in Elsa's old bedroom in Arendelle.
"Come on," Jack teased again. Jack paused while he ripped off his shirt. His fingers found Elsa's pants' zipper and pulled it downwards. The tease was almost too much for Elsa.
"Well, maybe like five minutes," Elsa whispered.
"I'm still awake over here," Anton's voice came out.
Elsa suddenly felt incredibly embarrassed.
"Sorry," she spluttered. "We didn't realise that you were awake."
"But you guys did you know I was in the room," Anton sat up and didn't look too impressed at them, "and you knew that I asked for clothes to be kept on!"
"Er, maybe," Jack said looking a little embarrassed himself.
"Look, I know you guys like haven't been intimate in a long time," Anton said.
"Too long," Jack said.
"Try well over a hundred years, too long," Elsa added.
"Well," Anton looked a little surprised by the number of years but he shook it off. "I understand but this is a shared room. A little respect please."
"But –" Jack started to protest. He had been having a lot of fun and now Anton was running it for him. To Elsa, it was like Anton had taken Jack's favourite toy away.
Their conversation was then cut short by a sudden rapping on the door.
Light started to appear in the sky. This told Ragnar that soon the sun will be making its ascent into the sky. Now would be the time to go and check into the inn and see if their friends were in there. Ragnar got to his feet as well did Tooth and Bunnymund. The last few hours hadn't been too much fun. Some light conversation had been splattered over the course of that time but nothing too much had come out of it. A man appeared at the door and started to open up the curtains and changed the closed sign to an open sign. Ragnar got to his feet.
"Let's go ask," Ragnar walked in with Tooth and Bunnymund right behind him.
A man and a woman were talking behind what Ragnar saw was the front desk. The man had short, cropped brown hair and was tall and very slender. He had a kind face and dazzling green eyes. The woman next to him was blonde and had green eyes that match the man's except her eyes seemed a lot lighter in the tone of their colour. She was shorter than the man standing next to her, in fact that man had several feet on her but she as thin as he was. They both looked up when Ragnar, Tooth and Bunnymund entered the room.
"Consommateur (customers)!" the man said in French and smiled at the three of them. "Bonjour, je m'appelle Francis, comment puis-je vous aider aujourd'hui? (Hello, my name is Francis, how may I help you today?)
Ragnar, Tooth and Bunnymund just stood there and staring. Ragnar understood only a little bit of French and he all he got out of that statement was that the guy who was addressing them was called Francis. Judging by the looks on the his companions' faces, they didn't know much French too.
"Er," Ragnar stuttered. He wasn't quite sure what he should say. Should he address him in English?
"They don't speak French," the woman next to him spoke with a hint of an Irish accent. She laughed. "Sorry but my husband doesn't speak very much English. I am, myself, am fluent in French as my master's degree is in French literature, so I had to learn the language. I've been trying to teach Francis a little English but he's not exactly picking it up." She did a small laugh. She turned to her husband and muttered something in his ear in French. Ragnar didn't quite get what she said. Francis gave her a small kiss and then disappeared behind a door that was behind the counter. She then turned back to Ragnar, Tooth and Bunnymund and smiled widely. "My name is Lara. How may I help the three of you?"
"We're looking for some friends of ours," Ragnar explained. "I think they checked in yesterday if they came to this inn."
"Yesterday, huh?" Lara went through the register and started to check names. "Would you know what they checked under so I can check for you?"
"Nickolas North maybe," Tooth supplied.
"Hmm, yes," Lara didn't even check the register. "My sister Vivian, who helps me run this place, told me about them. I remember because he had such an unusual name. Was it a big group? Five people?"
"Sounds about right," Ragnar nodded.
Lara checked the entry. "Ah yes, here it says that they are expecting the rest of their party is to join them soon. I gather that is you three?"
"Indeed," Tooth nodded.
"Excellent," Lara smiled again. "Room eleven and room twelve. The stairs are right there and the rooms are on the second floor."
"Thanks for your help," Ragnar, Tooth and Bunnymund all said.
"No problem," she sang. "They have the only key I'm afraid."
"Thanks," Ragnar said. "I'm sure if we knock, they will let us in."
Lara smiled. "Enjoy your stay." She disappeared behind a door that her husband had just previously gone through.
"Shall we?" Ragnar asked the other two who both nodded.
Elsa watched as Anton opened the door. Ragnar, Tooth and Bunnymund walked in. Elsa was glad to see them. She had been wondering what they had gotten up. Elsa had figured that maybe the sun had caught them out so maybe they hid during the day in Anton's cousin's house.
"Hey," they all said to each other when they walked in.
"Glad to see you're doing okay," Ragnar said to Elsa who smiled.
"These rooms are small," Bunnymund commented when he had entered the room.
"They're cute," Elsa said.
"So who's rooming with whom?" Tooth said.
"You two," Jack pointed at Tooth and Bunnymund, "are bunking with North and Sandy while Ragnar is in here with us."
"It's going to be cramp," Bunnymund said.
The door opened again and North and Sandy both walked in. Booth looked surprised and glad to see that Ragnar and his fellow Guardians had returned.
"You guys made it," North gave the three of them a small smile.
"Took a while," Tooth said, "but we finally did."
"How long are we going to be here?" Bunnymund asked him.
"Until I hear from Manny," North said. "I have contacted him about what has happened. We need to get a hold of this situation before it spirals out of hand."
"Agreed," Elsa said. "So what do you propose?"
"Elsa, Anton, Ragnar, how well do you know Pitch's Capital City?" North asked them.
"Invite only," Ragnar said. "Only very special people get an invite. My visit was the first time I ever stepped foot anywhere near that place."
"Anton's been there several times," Elsa said. "I had a good look around when I was there."
"Is there a secret way in?" North asked.
Elsa looked at Anton.
"Not that I know of," Anton said. "Pitch has the place locked up tight. He doesn't want anyone in or out."
"Hmm," North paused. It looked like he was thinking hard. "Maybe a distraction?"
"A full moon distraction?" Elsa suggested.
North grinned. "Maybe Manny will agree that may be a good idea."
"Maybe he will," Elsa grinned back at North.
"But while we wait, let's come up with something full proof."
So for the next three days, all eight of them were jam packed into Elsa's room. Tooth, Bunnymund, Sandy and Ragnar were grouped on the floor looking up at Elsa and Jack. Elsa was lying on her bed with her long hair, which was out of its usual braid, draping over the edge of the bed and it was touching the floor. Her bare feet was resting on her pillows while Jack was tickling them with his fingers which was making Elsa smile. Jack had one arm behind his head while he leaned up against the wooden head board of the bed. He had his legs stretched out towards the end of the bed. North was leaning against window; it was late at night so no sun was leaning in. Anton was in the corner of the room and had his arms folded and his legs crossed. His head was leading downwards and with his eyes were closed. He seemed to be thinking hard.
"It's official," Bunnymund collapsed onto the ground. "I cannot think of a single thing that will enable us to enter the city apart from what Elsa suggested."
"I agree with the Easter Bunny," Ragnar said. "Elsa did make a good suggestion."
"Did you just call me 'Easter Bunny'?" Bunnymund demanded as he sat up straight and glared at the Vampire.
"Well your name is Edmund Aster Bunnymund," Ragnar said. " Bunnymund or Easter Bunny. Plus Tooth told me about it."
Tooth let out a giggle while her boyfriend didn't look so happy.
"Babe, that was our special name," he said to her.
"Oops," she said. She enjoyed teasing him.
"So what do we do?" Jack asked.
"We need to take out Pitch Black," North said. "That should be our primary objective."
"But the Vampires will smell us as soon as we come near," Jack said. "There's no way we can sneak in."
"So maybe we spilt into two groups?" Elsa suggested. "Jack, Anton and myself enter the Capital while the other group is distracting?"
North was about to answer Elsa's suggestion when his phone went off. North told them to wait while he answered. There were some murmurings as talked. When he got off the phone, they all looked up at him expectantly.
"That was Manny," North said. "He wants us to meet him in one of the main Werewolf dens that are constructed around the world."
Elsa sat up. "Where is that? Russia? I know Manny is from there."
"Not Russia," North said. "Scotland."
"Why Scotland?" Elsa asked.
"Manny moved there after a while," North said. "I went with him and the first Werewolves, apart from myself of course, are Scottish. They formed their own packs which roamed around the United Kingdom. I moved on and eventually formed The Guardians but Manny stayed on in Scotland before becoming a lone solitary Werewolf."
"Sounds sad," Elsa said.
"So if we go, we won't get attacked by a bunch of angry and vengeful Werewolves?" Anton asked, voicing Elsa's and Ragnar's concerns.
North shook his head. "Manny has explained the entire situation to them. They are aware of the fact that Pitch Black has been pulling the strings. They're glad that there are some Vampires that have seen through Black's smoke and mirrors. Unfortunately one had to pay the price of betraying Pitch Black."
North nodded in the direction of Elsa. Elsa's wound had healed but it still needed time. It still hurt whenever she moved in a certain way. Jack was still very concerned about her, he got like this whenever she got ill or injured. When she was fifteen, Elsa got quite sick. People had been afraid that she wouldn't make. Jack had stayed by her side during the entire time she was sick despite the risks that he may get sick himself. Elsa had recovered but she never forgot the care that Jack put into her recovery. It was that moment when Elsa believed she discovered she had fallen in love with him.
"So we go to Scotland?" Anton asked.
"To Scotland," North nodded.
The plane touched down in Scotland a couple of days later. They left The Knight's Inn shortly after North had his phone call with Manny. There was a hurried packing of bags but there wasn't much to pack. No one had had really done any unpacking anyway. Getting to Paris could only be done during the night, so they stopped at several towns along the way to make sure that the Vampires that the Werewolves were travelling with didn't turn to dust. They had taken the car as so not to alert suspicion by any Vampires that may be lurking around. They managed to get to the airport before the sun started to rise into the sky. The private plane that they had arrived in was still there which was how they travelled to Scotland.
It only took them a few hours to get to Scotland as the private plane was fast. When they arrived Edinburg, North took them in the direction of the den. They must have walked around for hours before North started to slow down. There was a set of large concentrate steps that led down into a small area. The area had stone stones and a number of potted plants. There was a door as well. They all hurried down the stairs and North knocked on the door.
Elsa felt a little nervous as he did. This was it. They were about to start planning to take down Pitch Black. She could hardly believe it. Pitch was going to get what he deserved.
The door then opened and someone was behind it.
A/N: I hope that everyone enjoyed this update (sorry if there are errors on this chapter, I've been busy this week doing university work so my writing may not be on par this time, sorry about that but I think I got all the errors). Anyway, please review =)
Reviews:
WeirdWerewolfFan: Next chapter for you! Never heard of the Night Time Series but it sounds interesting. Sorry but I cannot update to a schedule as University keeps me busy, so I write when I can (although I am uploading this on a Friday night like you asked). You'll be glad of those boring weekends, my weekends are always busying doing essays or assignments. South Africa huh? Awesome!
Kat-IlluminatedPurity: Haha, I loved that bit too. Your review, once again, gave he an idea for this chapter so that rule was most definitely got broken (another reviewer gave me the same idea and so I thought, yes this needs to be put in). Yep, Pitch had a massive spaz attack. He may have anger management issues. You'll find out what will happen next in due course. Thanks! I look forward to your next review!
lollipop3056: Yep, your feeling was correct. Bunnymund did end up finding out what Tooth did and he wasn't too happy about it. Thanks so much for that compliment.
Owlgirl55. Thanks so much. No time huh, been busy like me huh? No problem with answering that question. I get emails whenever someone posts a review to one of my stories (which always makes me super excited) so yeah, I always read reviews on progressing or completed stories.
heartfulyumi: Speechless huh? I wonder what bit that was (I hope it is a good thing too).
Frostbite Productions: Ah okay. Once again, work on your writing. It needs a some work as it isn't formatted quite right and needs some editing to make it readable. I'm sure once you get it all worked out, it will come out great.
KAMICAKES: Sweet Tooth (just to clarify, that's Tooth and Bunnymund right? I haven't heard that ship name before for some strange reason) probably is one of my favourite ROTG couples (human form only though). I love Kristanna, probs my second favourite ship in the Frozen universe (and may be overall second favourite ship). Sadly there isn't Kristanna in this story, I miss them so much. Jelsa is my favourite too. Haha, yep, the rule is broken (one of my favourite moments of that chapter too and I may have borrowed that idea from your review and another reviewer about that, so it got put in). I'm with you on that romance bit. I love all Jelsa and Kristanna moments. Thanks so much for loving the story. Pitch may or may not die, you never know. You may just have to read and find out what will happen to Pitch.
Mickhe11: Nah, Bunny's not gonna flip, not at this point. Besides, who would he flip on? He's loyal to The Guardians and the Werewolves.