Pitch advanced on the small group of helpless Guardians on his nightmare, triumphant. They may not be quite beaten yet, but it was only a matter of time. Only one child still believed in them and that child was terrified.

Pitch's lips stretched into a thin smile as Jack Frost kneeled next to the last light to reassure him. What could he say that would make the darkness any less frightening? The child merely looked confused at his words. The winter spirit turned out to not be much help after all.

The young Guardian's presence here had been a surprise. He had expected the boy to eventually pull himself out of his hole and maybe even repair that staff of his, but not so soon. No, he had hoped he would have time to deal with the others first. Maybe he would reconsider his offer, with his hopes of joining the Guardians' happy little family well and truly crushed. Whatever the boy said, he did not really want to be left alone. But things had gone a different way and he would have to deal with that now.

But first, he had a light to snuff out.

"So what do you think, Jamie? Do you believe in the Boogeym—"

A snowball to the face rudely interrupted him. He heard them laugh. He should be angry, but for a moment, as he felt the cold frost on his nose, the anger did not come. He sat on his nightmare, frozen in place as an irresistible desire to just forget everything and laugh took over him. For a few wild seconds, he wanted to put aside his thoughts of fear and revenge and throw a snowball back at the escaping Guardians. The escaping Guardians. They were getting away.

Pitch shook himself free of the winter spirit's magic, the anger coming at last. He wiped the snow from his face as rage boiled into his heart. He would make the boy pay for this humiliation.

He would make him pay for letting him believe, for a moment, that there could be more for him than darkness and hatred.


This is my interpretation of why it took Pitch so long to react after getting a snowball in the face.

I went to see Rise of the Guardians with my parents today, so I got to watch the French dub for the first time (The Quebec French dub. There's at least two French dubs. They even have different titles.). I couldn't help but be amused at how they made the scene where Pitch ask Jack to join force with him sounds like a proposal. He was talking about what their union could do and the marriage of cold and dark. I was half expecting him to go down on one knee and pull out a ring from somewhere.