Chapter 5

Sandy felt when Aisling's dreams disappeared and then reappeared again. They were different, but no longer as week as they had been. This heartened him slightly, but he couldn't help but worry still.

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Aisling was BORED. Her father told her to stay in her room until she felt better, locking the door behind him. She looked around for something to do, finding nothing but the grey walls and bed. There was also a nightmare in the room to watch her.

"Play with me?" she asked it.

The nightmare snorted, but began to trot around the room as she chased it. When she caught up to it, the nightmare turned around and chased her back. After a while, Aisling collapsed on her bed, exhaustedly laughing. The nightmare tossed its head and stood next to her bed, just as tired. Aisling gently ran a hand through the nightmare's sandy mane. The nightmare had a silvery sheen to its coat and became more silver with each stroke. Aisling sat up and watched as the nightmare turned a brilliant silver color, glowing in the dark room. As it glowed, it shifted into a silver sand wolf.

"Wow," she said, "Did I do this?"

The wolf huffed and leaped onto her bed, lying down around her.

"I like you better in this form," she told it, "How about I call you Luna?"

The wolf seemed to sigh happily and she took that as a yes. They fell asleep together that night.

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Her father came again in the morning. He stared at the sleeping pair before waking them up. "What happened?" he asked Aisling.

"I don't know?" Aisling said back, "We were playing and she turned colors and changed form."

Her father sighed, "You must learn to control your powers, Aisling, it could be dangerous if they go out of control."

"Sorry," she said.

"Come," he said, "I will teach you to fight today."

They spent a few hours trying to find a weapon suited to the girl. She was clumsy with staff and scythe, and kept dropping the ax and sword. They finally decided she could learn the bow. She had naturally good aim and hit the target in her first tries. She used a physical bow for her first practice sessions, but her father promised to teach her how to make her own weapons the next day.

Aisling went to bed content, Luna at her side.

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As promised, Pitch showed Aisling how to shape things with sand the next morning. They started with simple shapes like a ball or cube and then moved onto more complex shapes. Aisling was also a natural at forming the sand items and creating her own sand in a silver color. She had some difficulty keeping her shapes solid, but her father told her she was doing well and they would be sure to practice more the next day.

Throughout the afternoon, she again practiced with her bow and arrows. Her father left her with Luna to go take care of some business. Again, she went to sleep with a smile on her face.

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Her father took her outside their cave the next day. He showed her a protest at a place he called the 'White House'. He told her how the mortals were foolish creatures who were always fighting each other. He also said immortals fought too.

Pitch told the girl of the upcoming battle, stating how the other immortals hated him and wanted to destroy him. He also apologized to her for dragging her into the battle as his child.

Aisling hugged her father and forgave him. "Don't worry father," she said, "I'll fight too and make sure they don't kill you."

Aisling practiced dutifully when they returned to their home and fell asleep easily, thinking of the day's events.

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Pitch was confused by the girl. Her loyalty reminded him of his previous daughter. She also seemed to be more inclined towards the light than the darkness. He wondered whether her heart had purified the Fearling he had injected into her, but decided it didn't matter as long as she stayed loyal. A piece of his remaining conscience spoke up from the back of his mind, telling him that he should protect his princess.

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Aisling could tell her father was thrilled with her progress. While she couldn't travel by shadow, Luna seemed to be able to teleport with her wherever she wanted to go. Her father had made her promise to never go anywhere outside the cave without him until they had won the battle. He was very protective of her and didn't want her in danger.

He did, however, trust her alone (with Luna) inside their home. She took to exploring on her fifth day out of bed. The numerous tunnels and caverns weren't easy to traverse without getting lost, but Luna could always transport her back and she took great care to memorize each path.

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After a week of exploring, she found a large room tucked away in a corner. It was filled with cages hanging up above. A nightmare sentry snorted at her to not enter any further, but she blew it off. Curious as to what was in the cages, Aisling had Luna fly her up into their midst. There was a boy in one and a girl in another. They appeared to be sleeping. Aisling sent off the nightmares that were guarding them and shook the boy awake, curious as to why he might be there.

"Hello?" she said as the boy blinked awake. His brown eyes were dull and red-rimmed, but brightened slightly as he saw her.

"Aisling?" he asked.

She nodded, confused.

"You're all right!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, father said I was sick for a while, but I got better. Although, I seem to have lost my memory." She replied.

"Your father?" he asked, confused.

She nodded. "What are you doing in this cage?" she asked.

"I was kidnapped and so were you!" he said.

Aisling laughed. "I've been here the whole time. This is my home." She said.

Jamie looked unconvinced, but he didn't push the matter. "Can you possibly get us out of here?"

"Sure!" she said.

She opened each cage with a sand key and helped them onto Luna. "Where do you want to go? I could take you to my father, he might know what to do with you."

"No!" Jamie said, "Um, could you just take us back to our friends and family?"

Aisling thought for a minute. "Okay," she said, "as long as it's a quick trip." She ordered the nightmares to not tell her father then asked where exactly they wanted to go.

Jamie thought for a minute. "The North Pole," he said.

"And where is that?" she asked.

"It's the northernmost part of the planet. It should be the only building around." Jamie replied.

"Ok!" Aisling replied cheerfully, "Let's go Luna."

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Yay! They're getting rescued! Ready for the next chapter?

Tsalyah