The voice was dark but had an underlying gentle tone. What surprised Annie more than anything was the fact that this voice was talking to her. Could see her. She finally looked up at the origin of the voice and found a tall grey man. His face looked similar to a birds, with crazy black hair, and golden cat-like eyes. She would have found him extremely terrifying if she wasn't still in shock from both her earlier fall and his ability to see her. The only other person who had ever been able to see her was Cupid. Did that mean this guy was dead as well? He just stared at her face with an almost smug expression. He was also nearly impossible to feel. There were little to none emotion leaking from his pores.
"What's your name?" He said softly, as if trying to sooth her. Annie looked at him skeptically for a moment before answering. "Annie." she said confidently, trying her best to look unintimidated by this gigantic, grey man. He hummed a big before bowing just a bit to make a formal introduction. "Pitch. Pitch Black." He said with a kiss to her a tiny hand. Oh wow. Annie's face turned a bit red at that man's attention. Get it together. She snatched her hand away from Pitch's. "You may know me as the Boogieman." Annie cringed a bit a this. She was taught to be afraid of the Boogieman since she was a toddler and now here he was in front of her, being complete pleasant and gentlemanly.
"How can you see me?" Annie said forcefully; staring at the man once again. His angular face seemed to suddenly become sympathetic and his tongue clicked through puckered lips. He circled her slowly as he spoke. "Oh poor Annie. Looks like someone is not believed in." He said with a long hand on her shoulder. Her emerald eyes turned to look up at him from behind her. She knew that the confusion was on prominant on her features. "What do you mean?"
He explained it short, sweetly, and plainly to her. "You were chosen. I was as well. We have a purpose. Mine is fear. The less children believe in you, the less you exist to them." Easy enough to understand. It was pretty clear that she was chosen for a reason. Still, she had to sit for a moment to absorb the new information. So she wasn't damned to just wander around for thousands of years. Annie sighed in relief at that. Pitch stood a few feet away from her with his hands behind his back. He looked to regal and classy. She had known this man for just a few minutes and she already trusted him more than most. There was just something about him. He bent down to her level with a welcoming expression.
"Now Kitten, I can change that for you." He said soothingly with a stroke to her raven hair. He's a bit touchy. A chance to be able to speak to people again, to interact with people? How on Earth could she pass that up? But how, exactly, would he do that? She began to get excited. "You'll need some training, new clothes." He said in near disgust. It was true. The only clothes she wore were the tattered, torn, bloodied rags from the day she was killed. The dress no longer dragged around her ankles, instead in was around mid-thigh. She hated it, actually. It showed all the deep, jagged scars from the bears. Still, she cringed at his tone, no longer soothing and buttery. "How?" Annie asked helplessly. A grin spread across his face. "Come."
Annie stepped into his open arms and he hugged her loosely. She surprised herself, even when Annie was alive she wasn't one to so easily listen to those to ordered her around. Black smoke seeped from the ground around there feet and surrounded them completely, covering any evidence of the grass, sky, trees. Annie couldn't keep in the scream that escaped her throat at the darkness. It didn't feel good, it felt evil. Pitch hushed her lightly and pet her long hair. It calmed her significantly and she quieted her screams to just heavy breathing. When the smoke leaked back into the ground Annie was allowed to take a look at her surroundings. She was in a clearing surrounded by dying and greying trees. In front of her was a rickety old bed. There was almost nothing left except for the molding frame. Underneath that was a dark hole. Fear was beginning to build up in the young girl. Where did the hole lead? Pitch let go of her and stepped up to the hole, gesturing for her to follow before he slithered in. She stood still, not wanting to see what was down the hole. It felt just like the dark smoke from earlier. "Come on." Pitch's voice echoed from the hole. It held no emotion much like his aura. Just go. Annie stumbled over to the hole to look down. It appeared to have no bottom. Do it. Do it. She nodded to herself; diving feet first into the small pit.
Annie hit the ground softly unlike the hard impact she had been expecting. What she saw before her was stunning. A gigantic, black castle; fully equiped with large grey dragon. "That's Abdiel." Pitch said plainly, flicking his hand in the lizard's direction. It lifted its huge head at the mention of the name and looked at Pitch. It rested it's head on the ground when Pitch didn't respond. They crossed a rotting draw bridge and entered the castle. The floor was dark speckled granite, along with the walls. Annie was in awe. In the middle of the room was a large stair case with two other cases on either side. "You will be staying in the east wing until further notice. Dinner is in two hours. Be dressed appropriately. " He ordered simply. Annie turned in his direction to thank him but he was gone. What happened to the charm and class he had been just moments before? Whatever. At least she had a place to went up the stairs and went to her left, hoping that was the east wing. It led to a hall with several doors. Oh boy. She opened the nearest one; revealing the grandest bathroom see had ever seen. It was beautiful. The next was three interconnected rooms filled with clothing and shoes. The rest of the doors were closets, bathrooms, and bedrooms. And she got these all to herself? Crazy.
Selecting one of the bedrooms was easy enough. She chose the largest one obviously. The bed was covered in black silk and was draped in a thin, sheer fabric hung from the ceiling. Across from the bed was a vanity with a silver mirror and cosmetic tools. She felt like such a princess.
Suddenly Annie became excited. She could get dolled up! She hasn't been dolled up in forever. Finally she could invest some time into looking pretty. Annie stripped down to nothing, leaving the rags on the floor and dashing over to the royal looking bathroom. She bathed quickly, watching the clear water in the metal tub turn dark from dried blood and dirt. Annie hadn't even noticed how filthy she was until she could no longer see her legs under the surface of the water. Her hair was near impossible to groom with all the matted tangles. She swears that she ripped out half of her hair in the process of combing it but by the time she was done it was soft, silky, and tangle-free. Amazing compared to what it was previously.
The clothes in the three-room-closet were impressive. Even the richest of people probably couldn't afford them. Eventually she chose a simple dark red gown. The intricate corset was jet black and lifted up her breasts immensely. Being only sixteen it wasn't exactly appropriate, but looked nice regardless. Not much she could do with her hair at this point but it was dried enough to look somewhat presentable. Annie wasn't really too picky when it came to how she looked anyways. She still had around a half hour left by the time she was dressed and ready.
Where the hell is the dinning room? She stepped out of the large room and into the long hall. The only optional way was down the corridor. Annie didn't particularly want to go to the west wing where Pitch was staying so she chose to go down the main staircase. Next were two arching doors on her right and left, one obviously leading to the dinning area, shown by the long table and multiple chairs. Pitch was sitting at the very end of the table simply waiting. The table was already set with steaming platters and silver plates, meaning he may have been waiting for a few minutes.
Annie stepped into the room quietly thanks to her bare feet. She pattered passed the seat on the opposite side from where Pitch was, which was where she was obviously supposed to sit, and dumped herself in the seat diagonal from him. She could feel his emotions quite strongly this time; displeasure, irritation. Both probably had supporting evidence. "What's for dinner," Annie said flippantly. "I'm starving." Pitch's features drooped a bit at her actions.
"You're late." He said plainly. Annie seemed to ignore him and continued to scan the table and lift up platter tops. "This beef?" She pointed to a particularly red and juicy piece of meat before stabbing it with her fork and slapping it on her plate.
"Your hair is shaggy."
"Yeah, it usually does what it wants."
"You're not properly dressed." He said, his negative emotions flaring.
"Who exactly am I trying to impress?" Annie asked stubbornly with a mouth full of meat. The juices dripped down her chin in a red line, down her neck, and towards her chest. Whether or not it was to prove her point or it was just coincidental, Pitch wasn't exactly sure and he stared at her flabbergasted. "You come from a peasant area, don't you?" He accused tiredly with two fingers on his temples. The girl stopped stuffing food into her face to look up at him with an offended expression.
"What makes you say that?" She said; again with a full mouth. Potatoes, meat, and vegetables nearly spilling from her stuffed cheeks. Pitch groaned loudly at her manners as he rose from his seat and began to walk away, shoving his half-full plate towards her to finish. "Your training will begin in three days." He said over his shoulder to her. Annie rose a brow at his behavior before shoving even more food into her mouth. It was awesome to eat things that were actually edible and devoid of flies.
I'm really proud of this chapter, even if it is still short, it's longer than all my others. So Yay! I'm also proud of any banter between Annie and Pitch, just because. I actually think they're kind of adorable together.
Door is open to suggestions because I'm sure anyone reading as super ideas.
Drop me a review with any advice or just anything you like. Follow, favorite. I'm making this story my top priority from now on!
Check out the song One Last Hope from Disney's Hercules. The vast majority of the songs I recommend will be Disney. They'll just help to put you in the mood of the chapter. Except for this one, I just think that song is super.
Until next time, thank you!