It was suffocatingly dark. The inky blackness wrapped itself around Rapunzel and she could swear it was tangible. She couldn't see anything, nor could she feel anything; it wasn't cold or hot in the hole. It was just nothing. As if all of a sudden Rapunzel no longer existed. But, she did feel fear. Fear consumed her. She could feel it whispering around her and taking her over. She reached out for something to grab onto- anything to prove this was all in her head- but found nothing. What was she going to do? How was she going to get out of here? Could she get out of here?

Then, there was a sudden bright light. All of the shadows retreated until the light filled the entire room. There wasn't much in the room; dozens of metal cages and a large metal globe with millions of little lights on it. Brier Rose was standing beside the globe holding a large, glowing crystal that came to a point on either end. Rapunzel had many questions: What kind of crystal was that? What was with the giant globe? How were they going to get out of here? But, right then, she couldn't think of any of that. She immediately began checking all of the cages for her brother and sister.

"Jamie! Sophie! Where are you?" she called out. There was no answer.

"They're not here," Brier Rose stated, not looking away from the globe. "It's only us and the shadows."

Rapunzel had been approaching a cage, but stopped. "Then where are they?"

Brier Rose's eyes scanned the globe quickly. "I don't know. Wherever Pitch has taken them, they're hidden. Their lights aren't even on the globe."

"What are you talking about?"

Brier Rose finally looked at Rapunzel. "Each of those lights is a child who still believes. To you, they all look the same; but to a select few, we see the child the light represents. Like an identifier, if you will. When a child stops believing, their light goes out. Jamie's and Sophie's lights aren't here, but knowing what I do about Jamie Bennett, it's not because he's stopped believing. Just a couple days ago, Pitch had taken over the Earth with fear and all of the children stopped believing- except Jamie." Brier Rose shook her head. "There's no way he's suddenly stopped believing now. Pitch must have figured out a way to hide him from us."

Rapunzel walked over to Brier Rose and looked up at the globe. "You're not making a lot of sense. What does Jamie believe in? And who is 'us' exactly?"

"We have to keep moving. Come on."

Rapunzel followed Brier Rose, but didn't let her ignore her questions. "Tell me what's going on."

Brier Rose found a tunnel and led Rapunzel down it. "Both of your questions, for the most part, have the same answer. But, you don't believe anymore, Rapunzel; so you won't believe me when I answer you. I know you think you can help the children, but believe me when I tell you, there's nothing you can do."

"Why not?" Rapunzel demanded.

They walked out of the tunnel, and were back in the woods. But, now it was dark outside and Rapunzel wondered just how long they had been down in that hole.

"We should rest for the night."

"How is it night already night?"

Brier Rose found some wood nearby and gathered it into a pile, then lit it with one of her arrows. "We've traveled a long way. Pitch's lair is in Italy."

"We're in Italy?" Rapunzel screeched.

Brier Rose shook her head. "We're back in Burgess, but it took us several hours to travel to Pitch's lair and back."

"How is that possible? It feels like only minutes have gone by."

"Magic."

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. "Give me a break."

Brier Rose gave her a stern look and pointed at her. "That is exactly why you cannot help Jamie and your sister."

Rapunzel sighed and sat down on one of the logs in front of the fire. It was freezing outside and she was grateful for the warmth from the fire. "I'm sorry, Brier. Please explain things to me."

"What Jamie believes in is hope, wonder, light, dreams...magic; the things that most children still believe in. Who we are... we're Protectors and Guardians. Each one of us represents a different virtue or ideal that is precious inside a child. But, the Guardians..." Brier Rose smiled for the first time. "The Guardians are legends; figures that everyone has heard of but only children still believe in."

"Who are they?"

"Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman, the Tooth Fairy and Jack Frost."

"None of them are real," Rapunzel pointed out.

Brier Rose gave her a sad look. "Of course they are. Just because you stopped believing in them, doesn't mean they aren't there. You just can't see them. You can't see what you don't believe in. The same goes with Pitch. You don't believe in the boogey man, thus you can't seem him; which means you can't fight him to save your siblings."

Rapunzel didn't know how to respond to that, so instead she asked, "How do you fit into all of this? You're not a Guardian, so are you a Protector?"

Brier Rose looked down at the crystal in her hands. "I used to be."

"What happened?"

Brier Rose was quiet for a long time, but finally replied. "It's late. We should get some sleep."

Rapunzel nodded and didn't press any further. The two girls lied down on the logs and prepared for sleep.

"Sweet dreams," Rapunzel whispered.

Brier Rose stared at Rapunzel for a moment, but then held the crystal tightly against her and closed her eyes. "I wouldn't count on it."