Chapter 12
The first day of October brought in chilly weather for Blackpool. The inhabitants, including Grace and her family were preparing for the Halloween festivities.
It was also Saturday and Grace, Pitch, and Erebos were eager to start on the sketch.
"Mummy, I will be out in the woods today," Grace told her mother.
"It's supposed to rain. You best take a raincoat and an umbrella," the woman said to her daughter.
Grace put on a green raincoat and a big umbrella and took her sketchbook and charcoal pencils.
Gray clouds covered the sky, but Grace ignored them as she entered the woods.
She found Pitch and Erebos by the stream. "What do you want to do?" he asked and Grace began to think.
Then, the rain came down in big droplets. "Oh no, not now," Grace said and opened up the umbrella.
Erebos lifted a wing over Pitch, shielding his master. Grace looked at them and says, "That's perfect!"
She had Pitch sit down on the flat rock and positioned Erebos' wing over him. "Look down at the stream," Grace said to Pitch and he did.
Grace sat under the umbrella and went to work. She started drawing Pitch and then Erebos. Grace only took one look at them and had her eyes glued to the paper.
The rain was getting heavier, but Grace kept going. Pitch took one look at her, noticing the calm, yet concentrating face on her.
A half-hour later, Grace had finished the piece. "You best get inside or you'll catch your death out here," Pitch said and she went back to the house.
Pitch went up to her room and waited for Grace to come and show her the finished piece.
"Grace! My goodness!" her mother exclaimed and Pitch listened. "You go and take a hot bath, you don't want to catch a cold, do you?"
"No mum, I don't," Grace replied and headed up to her room.
"Pitch," she whispered and he came out of the shadows. "Here it is," she said and opened up the sketchbook.
Pitch released a gasp of surprise when he saw the piece. In it, Pitch was staring at the stream while Erebos had a wing hover over the nightmare king, shielding him from the rain. The Pitch in the sketch had a sorrowful face as if he lost something. Pitch could not stop staring at it; it was so detailed that it looked like a black and white photograph.
"Do you like it?" Grace asked.
"No, I love it," Pitch said, honestly.
"I drew you with a sad face because the children of the world had forgotten about you," Grace replied and closed the sketchbook.
The girl went through her dresser drawers to find new clothes. "I'll be taking a bath, but I won't take long," Grace said and left the room.
Then, Canaletto came in and brushed himself against Pitch. "Hello Canny," the boogeyman said to the cat and he sat down on Grace's bed.
The cat leapt onto Pitch's lap and he began to pet Canaletto. "What is the matter with me? I used to enjoy myself by spreading fear, but now, I feel guilty by what I have done in the past," Pitch said, but the cat just purred.
He took another peek at the drawing, it was beautiful and he wish he could take it, but he couldn't.
Pitch took the cat off his lap and went back out into the rainy day.