Chapter 9 Pitch
Elsa's POV
We landed in London, and began to walk the streets, the people not noticing us as usual.
"I really meant it, you know," Jack commented after a while.
"Meant what?" I asked.
"The song I chose last night, I chose it on purpose. I think it fits you."
I blinked in surprise. "What do you mean? You think I'm insecure?"
Jack nodded. "And I have no idea why. You have ice powers, you're incredibly beautiful, Mani has chosen you to be a guardian, and now Jamie believes in you. So why are you so scared?"
I sighed. "I don't want to hurt anyone with my powers. I'm afraid of myself, Jack," I confessed.
Jack's eyes softened. "You don't have to be. You have control over your powers."
I shook my head. "Not when my emotions get away from me. Especially fear."
A boy suddenly rounded the corner and bumped into us, literally. He looked about ten years old, with coal black hair and brown eyes that were wide with surprise.
"J-Jack Frost and t-the Snow Queen?" he questioned.
"You can see us?" Jack asked.
The boy nodded, his eyes still wide.
"What's your name?" I asked, smiling.
"Ch-Charles," the boy responded.
I held out my hand. "Nice to meet you, Charles. Call me Elsa."
Charles smiled and shook my hand. As he touched me, I felt lightheaded, but ignored it.
"And you can call me Jack," Jack said as he shook Charles' hand.
I put a hand to my forehead, feeling dizzy.
"Elsa, what's wrong?" Jack inquired.
"I feel dizzy," I murmured. I thought I caught Charles smirk before a concerned look covered it up.
"Would you like to come to my house? I could get you something for the dizziness," he offered.
Jack nodded as he wrapped an arm around me to support me. "Lead the way, Charles."
I began to feel weaker and weaker, and more and more afraid as I did so. "Jack," I murmured weakly. "I don't feel so good."
"Charles will help you," Jack replied softly.
We followed the boy through the city, and I grew slightly suspicious. No one in London seemed to notice Charles, just as no one payed attention to Jack and I. Why was that? Was Charles not a normal child?
The three of us finally came to a large Victorian style house with a garden in the front yard.
"Mother, I'm home!" the boy called as he walked through the front door. He held the front door open for Jack and I, and shut it behind us.
As he did, I began to feel better. Strange. As Charles shut the door, the room disappeared, replaced with hanging cages filled with Baby Teeth, and piles of memory cylinders beyond them.
A malicious laugh reached mine and Jack's ears and Charles appeared in front of us, grinning evilly.
"What's this all about, Charles?" Jack demanded.
"You, Jack Frost, are too trustworthy," Charles' accented voice was deeper. "You followed me right into your trap!" He laughed again and grew before our eyes. His skin and clothes darkened and his eyes yellowed until Pitch Black stood before us.
Shock coursed through me, followed by a pang of fear. Pitch was right. Jack had followed him straight to his headquarters.
Pitch breathed deep. "Thank you for the strength, my dear."
Jack turned his head to face me, questions and hurt in his gaze. "Are you working with him?"
"No!" I answered. Another jolt of fear passed through me, followed by a wave of exhaustion; a lightbulb went off in my head. "I'm not working with him; not on purpose anyway."
"What do you mean?" Jack questioned.
"I'm fueling him with my fear."
Pitch began to applaud. "Oh, well done, Elsa. You always were the logical sister."
I turned a questioning gaze to him. "How would you know that?"
"Oh, come on, Elsa. How do think you get your memories?"
What?
"You gave them to me?" I was surprised.
"Well, my brother never gives the best Guardians their memories. How do you think Jack got his? I helped him remember, and I can do the same for you," he offered.
"You can?" I wasn't so sure about this. I mean, this was Pitch I was talking to; the enemy of the Guardians. But – I wasn't a Guardian, was I?
"Of course I can! Do you want them, Elsa? Your memories?" Pitch held out a golden cylinder with a picture of a grinning, childhood me.
I stared at the cylinder, not knowing if I should take it, or not. I reached out, but then drew back my hand.
Pitch laughed and disappeared. "You are a strange woman, Elsa. And you have a strange fear to go along with it." Pitch's voice echoed in the room.
"You think so?" I returned, stepping forward.
"I know so." Pitch materialized several feet in front of me, and continued to walk forward. "That's the one thing I always know; people's greatest fears." He turned to face me, although he was still many yards away. "Yours is yourself."
A large shadow passed underneath Jack and I, and before I could catch myself, I was falling. Falling until I landed on Jack.
"Thanks for breaking my fall," I murmured.
"Anytime," he replied.
"Worst of all," Pitch continued, showing up as several shadows behind us. "You're afraid you won't be able to control your powers and eventually hurt someone. Again," Pitch added. He appeared in front of me again, tossing the cylinder into my hands. "Just take them, Elsa. Happy early birthday, Snow Queen," he laughed and faded into the shadows.
Jack and I found ourselves in my bedroom, much to our surprise.
"I don't even know how we got here," Jack said. "What did Pitch say as he left? It's your birthday?"
I nodded. "Tomorrow." I looked at the cylinder in my hand, and then back at Jack. "Do you want to see this with me?"
Jack looked uncertain. "Is that possible?"
"What if we activated it together?" I looked at the cylinder again. "Um, how do we activate it?"
Jack smiled. "You touch the blue diamond in the center."
"Okay. What if we touch it together? Then we might be able to see it at the same time."
Jack nodded slowly. "Alright, let's try it."
We each touched the blue diamond and found ourselves watching my memories.
