Chapter Eleven: a Performance to Remember

Toothiana hummed, stretching out her arms and leaning into the figure embracing her. They felt so warm, so tender. She tucked her chin in against their chest, draping her arms over their shoulders.

Then she opened her eyes. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of Bunny sleeping so soundly beside her, looking more at peace then she'd ever seen him before. She felt her heart twist as his strong arms pulled her closer against his chest, moving one of his hands around her so that his fingers slipped into her –now freed- curls.

Toothiana sighed, letting her enjoy the feeling of being near him. The moment was so perfect, so warm, that she could have lain there forever.

"Hey, Bunny! North said-" A familiar voice said as the shifting of a tent flap hushed across the room. Toothiana's cheeks flushed as she fumbled to grab for the sheets, pulling them up to her chest as Bunny stirred at the voice.

Toothiana looked over her shoulder to see Hiccup's face burn red as his mouth dropped. Tooth fumbled to find an explanation, but Hiccup simply turned on his heel and mumbled something about needing to go feed Toothless, letting the flap fall closed.

Tooth dropped her face in her hands. What was she going to do? If Pitch found out… she didn't even want to think about it. She quickly tossed the covers off and pattered across the ground to where her dress, among other things had been haphazardly tossed in the middle of last night's… activities. She quickly pulled on her dress, and began searching for her pearls and one of her gloves.

"Where are you going?" Bunny asked tentatively as he got off the mattress, stepping into his pants and fastening the belt buckle with a click.

Toothiana quickly grabbed her necklace –it had been thrown beneath the nightstand- and dropped it over her head. "Home." She said hurriedly just as she spotted her glove, slumped at the base of the bed. She stood up, not bothering to dust off her dress as she passed by Bunny, picking up the glove and sliding it up her arm. "Home." She said, grabbing her shoes and pulling them on.

She didn't see Bunny frown, but she felt him come up behind her and gently slip his arms around her. "Why?" He asked in her ear. She wanted so badly to lean into him, to be with him, but she couldn't, and she knew that.

"Last night… was a mistake." She bit down on her tongue, the words making her stomach churn. She loved Bunny, she loved him so much. She loved him so much that she wasn't going to think of herself. If she left Pitch for him… he'd come after her, she knew it. Pitch was never the kind to give up what was his. Toothiana didn't want to believe Pitch would hurt Bunny, but after what had happened last night… she lifted her hand gently to her sore cheek, wincing at the pain that ensued even with the slightest pressure. She felt Bunny stiffen for a moment, and tried not to think of the hurt look on his face.

Tears burned at her eyes, she was doing the right thing wasn't she? She was protecting the person she loved, right?" She felt his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him. She looked into his green eyes-confused and desperate. "You don't mean that." he said, bringing his rough hand to her unharmed cheek, "I know you love me."

Toothiana took in a shuddering breath, closing her eyes in an attempt to hide her tears. She bit down on the inside of her lip so hard that she tasted blood. "You don't understand." She said, voice wavering.

Bunny's gaze softened, and he gently brushed his thumb across her cheek, wiping away a tear she didn't know had fallen. "Maybe I don't" He said huskily, holding her close and resting his chin on her head, "but if you're afraid of Pitch, I swear that I'll protect you, even if it kills me."

Toothiana felt her heart leap into her throat, and her lungs suddenly felt constricted. She pushed away from him, retracting her arms so he couldn't stop her, "I need to go." She said, her voice wavering for a split second. She quickly wiped her eyes and straightened her back, making herself look completely composed.

"Toothy, please-" Aster said, gently taking her wrist as she turned away. Toothiana squeezed her eyes shut, bringing her arm across her chest. At that moment, she swore it was the only thing still holding her together.

"Please," She said softly, refusing to look back at him, because she knew that if she did… she wouldn't leave. Not ever. "Let me go." She said, tears burning at her eyes. She could practically feel his heart twist in pain and betrayal, and it broke her heart. She tried to stand up a little straighter, but her face remained tilted towards the ground. It wasn't about her right now.

She felt his grip loosen just barely, and Tooth took the moment to slip out of his grasp, slipping out of the tent and beginning to walk through the circus grounds- hopefully before anyone noticed her.

Just as the thought entered her mind she saw Sandy, at first the man had lifted his arm to wave at her, smiling his usual bright smile, but then his eyes fell to her cheek and his mouth dropped. Toothiana quickly looked down, crossing both her arms and tried to hurry away, but the man –despite his stoutness- could be very quick, and in a flash he was gently placing a warm hand on her arm.

"Please Sandy, I need to go home. Pitch is waiting for me." Tooth said stiffly. Sandy didn't move, or say anything, but she could feel his gentle gaze fixed on her as she focused on a particular pebble on the ground. "If I don't get home soon, Pitch will be upset," she said, the weight of what Pitch had done to her fully beginning to sink in. That hurt more than the slap itself. "If I don't get home soon…" She fumbled for words. "I-"

She felt something soft press into her hand. She looked away from the dirt and saw a clean handkerchief embroidered with golden thread around the edges. She smiled softly and closed her fingers around the cloth, finally meeting Sandman's gentle gaze. He smiled at her and squeezed her hand. "Thank you." He nodded, but the concern didn't leave his face as she pulled away, dabbing at her eyes with the handkerchief before giving him a quick goodbye and walking away, forgetting to return the handkerchief completely.

She forced herself to not look back.

Where would she go?

Home? Was it even home? Not really, not anymore. She thought dejectedly as she walked. But where else did she have to go?

TTT

Sandy walked into Bunny's room, his amber eyes scanning the tent. It was a bit messier than usual-not that he really needed to look around to know what had happened between the two last night, or for the past few weeks for that matter.

He'd picked up on it the moment he'd seen the two speaking with each other for the first time, and his suspicions had been confirmed when Bunny asked him for help on building a dream catcher. Maybe Bunny hadn't let himself believe it yet, but Sandy knew whom he intended to give the dream catcher to.

Bunny slipped through the flap leading to where the animals were kept and immediately locked eyes with Sandy. He stopped when Sandy tilted his head slightly to the side.

Bunny scoffed and shook his head, letting his hands drop to his sides as he crossed the room to his bedside table, picking up the dream catcher and beginning to loop the final pieces of leather together. "Don't look at me like that, mate." He said gruffly, refusing to look at him.

Sandy wanted to huff, everyone had been doing that lately, and it was getting on his nerves. He'd always had an iffy feeling about Pitch, although he never would've admitted it, and then he'd figured out Bunny and Tooth… he'd seen the change in his features - a sort of happiness that he hadn't had before.

And it was easy to see Toothiana had felt the same way, especially at the party. Sandy had seen them lock eyes and that instant he knew they were in love. He wanted them to be happy, and based on the mark he'd seen on Toothiana's cheek… it didn't involve Pitch. He walked over and sat next to Bunny, who stopped his twisting, letting his hands fall in his lap. Sandy looked at him, waiting to hear what he needed to get out.

"I love her, Sandy." Bunny said lightly, looking of into the distance. Sandy nodded, folding his hands in his lap. Bunny shook his head, "what should I do?"

Sandy paused, what should he do? He pattered his fingers across the blankets before he came to a good solution. He hopped up and grabbed one of Bunny's sketchbooks.

"Oi!" Bunny said, getting up and trying to close the book. Sandy simply flipped through the pages until he came upon a blank one, he then grabbed one of Bunny's pencils and scrawled out his message for Bunny to read, holding it up.

"Fight… For… Her?" Bunny said, pulling his brows together. Sandy nodded encouragingly.

Bunny chuckled and smirked, "sounds like a good plan, mate."

TTT

Toothiana made her way slowly up the stairs to her room, dread filling her heart and weighing down on her like lead. Will he hit me again? She wondered, tightening her hand around the cloth of her skirt. Please, please, please. She inwardly begged. Please let me be safe, please let him not be there.

She closed her fingers around the doorknob, taking a deep breath. "It'll be alright, Tooth." She said as strongly as she could before pushing open the door.

Pitch was sitting on their bed, his head in his hands. He looked up immediately, light filling his face as he quickly rushed towards her. "Toothiana!" He exclaimed as he reached her. Tooth flinched against her will as he brought his arms around her and held her to his chest. Her heart hammered as she tried to find what she should do, or say. "I was so worried about you." He whispered into her hair.

Tooth's arms hung limply at her sides as she replied, "Don't worry, I'm alright." Pitch pulled away, placing a hand on either side of her face as he examined the bruise, a mix of pain and regret filling his eyes.

He slipped one hand away, and leaned in, pressing his cold lips against her cheek. Toothiana shuddered and Pitch pulled away. Looking into her eyes. Tooth stared back. Despite his gentleness, fear pooled in her stomach and nearly had her hands trembling. "I'm so sorry." He said, sounding completely genuine as his eyes flashed to her bruise, "I-" he shook his head, sitting down on the bed, gently guiding her towards him. "I don't know what came over me." He said, his voice sounding strained as he shook his head, running his fingers through his hair. "Please," he said, taking Tooth's hand in his. "Forgive me." he gazed at her earnestly. Tooth's mouth dried up as she tried to find the proper words. She didn't want to forgive him, and that scared her, she wanted to be mad at him, she wanted to yell, cry… leave. But…

Toothiana placed her hand over his and gave him the best smile she could manage. "Of course I forgive you."

Pitch sighed with relief, pressing his lips to her knuckle. "Thank you, love. I promise-" He said, standing up and pressing his forehead to hers. "I won't let you down."

Toothiana felt the familiar sinking feeling in her chest. She wanted some space; she didn't want to be so close to him. She was feeling sick, she was scared, she- breathe Toothiana, breathe! She ordered, forcing her arms to stop shaking. He promised he wouldn't do it again; it's going to be ok.

She took a shallow breath, "I know, I know." She said, stepping away from him a little too abruptly, she knew he noticed, but… she just she couldn't.

"I-um I'm going to go take a shower… to get ready for tonight's performance." She clarified, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes.

Pitch's eyes were wide for a moment, but he slowly nodded. "Very well," he said, folding his hands together, "take as much time as you need."

Toothiana nodded, turning away and quickly walking to the door conjoining their room with the master bathroom. As soon as she closed the door she bolted the lock.

Something she had never done before.

TTT

That night, Bunny walked with North, Sandy, and Jack to their box seats, which had been specially given to them by Pitch. He looked around, the Theatre was absolutely massive; Deep, red, velvet curtains masked the stage and a dark black floor that barely seemed to be there. It just looked like a deep abyss that someone would fall into.

Their group took their seats, Bunny ending up being wedged between Sandy and Jack as the orchestra in the pit began to test their chords, the light music wafting up to their high perch above the stage.

Bunnymund took the moment to look around; the domed ceiling was decorated with a sort of white marble. A chandelier hung above them, the crystals setting off little speckles of light that danced above their heads.

"When is this thing supposed to start, mate?" Bunny asked, crossing his arms and leaning over to speak to North. Then all the lights went black, causing the crow to gasp as everyone turned their attention to the stage. A puff of white smoke appeared center stage, along with a bright spotlight. The cloud cleared, revealing Pitch in his usual clean suit, hair combed out of his face. Bunny grit his teeth and tightened his fingers around the armrests as he thought of the bruise that had been left on Toothiana's cheek thanks to him. "Show pony." He muttered underneath the cheers of the crowd.

"What's that, kangaroo?" Jack asked, leaning into him slightly.

"Nothin'." Bunny muttered, crossing his arms as the crowd's cheers hushed by Pitch simply raising his hand.

"Welcome," Pitch said theatrically, lifting his arms up high, "to the Theatre of Shadows." The crowd cheered again, so loud that it seemed to shake the chandelier. "Tonight you will see our performers risk their lives, perform dangerous and terrifying acts-" He paused for dramatic effect, making Bunny want to roll his eyes. He had the crowd wrapped around his finger. "and you will also be the first to witness a monstrous beast unlike any other on this stage for the very first time." He smiled darkly, revealing his shark like teeth. The crowd 'ooed' at that and Bunny leaned towards Jack.

"Are they talking about Toothless?" He whispered. Jack shrugged.

"I don't know, but Toothless is the last thing I'd call monstrous."

Bunny pondered that for a moment. "Where's Hiccup?" he asked.

"Backstage helping prep Toothless for his big performance. He said Pitch had a lot of trouble working with him."

Bunny felt himself smirk. He'd have to be sure to get Toothless an extra barrel of fish tonight.

"Now," Pitch continued silkily, "shall we begin?"

The lights went out.

And the show began.

TTT

Toothiana finished concealing the bruise with a layer of cover up and began to dust on the blush, despite the shaking of her hand.

The door to her dressing room clicked open and in stepped Fye, a white bag in her arms. "Hello, Fye." Toothiana said as the young girl hurried to close the door and rush over to her.

"Here's your costume, Toothiana." Fye said, offereing the bundle to her. Tooth looked at her hands, one holding a compact filled with blush and the other holding a brush. She looked to Fye apologetically, who simply draped the bag along the back of a chair.

"Thank you." Toothiana said simply, reaching for the pink eye shadow. She saw Fye pause in the mirror after turning away, then the young girl turned back, her eyes mixed with concern and confusion.

"Are you alright?" She young girl asked, stepping closer. Toothiana moved to the next eye.

"Mmmhmm." She hummed before reaching for the pink false eyelashes that grew wider as they moved farther from the eye.

Fye frowned at her, crossing her arms. "Did something happen with Pitch?"

Toothiana's heart began to hammer suddenly, and her chest hurt. Her cheek suddenly began to burn and she felt as though all the air had been punched from her lungs. She gasped, grabbing onto the counter with her hand as she struggled to breathe. Dots of color floated in front of her eyes before everything seemed to go dark. What's happening? She thought as she began to take short shallow breaths. Her head felt light and she began to go dizzy. Then out of her darkening vision she saw Pitch, looming over her with his sharp teeth glittering like knives. The teeth she once adored. He was coming towards her, and she wanted to run, she needed to get away. She didn't want to be stuck in the dark; she didn't want to be hit. She wanted the light. Where was it? She searched frantically for any source of light. For any hope. There was none.

She wanted to collapse on the ground and cry. She remembered where it went. She had sent it away. She tried to force herself to breath, but she felt like she was trapped underwater. Even if she tried to scream, no one would hear.

Aster.

She thought, clutching her arms to her chest.

Then she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, bringing her back. "Toothiana, Toothiana, please!" Fye shouted, tears streaking down her cheeks as she struggled to bring Toothiana out of her stupor. .

Tooth suddenly gasped, taking a huge gulp of air, feeling relief wash over her as it filled her lungs. Suddenly her mind cleared. She was back in her chair, in front of the mirror with the make up piled on the counter, her costume resting on the back of the chair.

She… she was fine. Toothiana sighed with relief, nearly feeling tears of happiness sting her eyes. "Tooth!" Fye exclaimed, throwing her arms around her. Tooth blinked in surprised, but returned the hug. "What happened?" She asked, pulling away.

Toothiana fumbled for a response. She couldn't tell Fye about Pitch… "I think it was just a panic attack." Tooth replied, smiling as reassuringly as she could as she turned back to the mirror, trying to pretend nothing had happened. She reached for the lipstick and gently applied a thin coat.

Fye looked at her doubtfully and stepped closer. "Tooth, you can tell me-" she began when their door was thrown open. Tooth jumped up, standing in front of Fye and reaching for the lamp resting on the side table. She stopped when she realized it was just two of Pitch's 'nightmares.' They were twins… Tooth believed Pitch called them the Stabbington brothers…. They were huge, one of them even had an eye patch, but it seemed like it the only difference between the two. They both had red hair and both had to wear Pitch's black uniforms.

"What is it?" Toothiana asked, not afraid to put a little edge in her voice as the brothers leered at Fye.

"Mr. Black wants little Baby Tooth to run along and get ready." One of the brothers said, while the other jutted out his chin towards the darkened hallway.

Toothiana felt Fye stiffen and she placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder. "Go on ahead." She whispered, keeping her gaze trained on the Stabbington brothers.

"But-" Fye started.

"Just hurry," Tooth ordered, guiding Fye towards the door, and slipping her protégé past the brothers. She gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine, I promise."

Fye bit her lip, but nodded and took of down the hallway. Tooth heard the brothers begin to move in the direction where Fye had disappeared and quickly turned around.

I may be afraid of Pitch… She thought. "Stop." She said clearly, holding out an arm. They looked down at her, seeming to be as tall as mountains. But I'm not afraid of them. "You will knock whenever you enter one of the dressing rooms in this establishment," she ordered, "and furthermore," She said so darkly it almost sent chills up her spine. "If I ever hear of you harassing one of my fairies again, I swear that you will regret it." She narrowed her eyes as the brothers glanced at each other. "Do we understand each other?"

The men nodded. "Of course ma'am." Toothiana could practically hear their thoughts, riddled with swears and slurs that would've been directed at her had she not been Pitch's wife.

"Good." She said coolly, "now go make sure that my husband" she mentally cringed at the word despite herself, "has no need of you."

The two nodded, obviously put out and moved in the opposite direction. Tooth, feeling a little pleased with herself, smiled and closed the door. She looked in the mirror. Her make up was done, now all she would need to do was get dressed and do her hair.

She walked to the chair and opened up the white bag. She nearly gasped at what she saw. A leotard-like costume completely decorated with feathers. They were mostly green, but a few were yellow, blue and even purple. She slipped into the costume, feeling surprisingly comfortable in it.

She then saw at the bottom of the bag, a sort of headdress. It too was feathered and fashioned to completely cover her head. Toothiana pinned up her hair and slipped on the headdress. It was beautiful, and fit nicely so that it wouldn't fall off if she spun through the air.

She looked in the full-length mirror, spinning to make sure everything was fastened tightly. It was only then that she noticed the tail feathers. They were long and grazed the floor, fading from dark blue to purple at the bottom.

"Wow." Toothiana whispered. It was by far the most beautiful costume she'd ever worn.

She heard the door open. Toothiana expected to see the Stabbington brothers there again and got ready to icily tell them that they may want to get there ears checked, but when she saw the dark, lanky figure of Pitch, she instantly hushed. Her heart seemed to tighten in her chest as she tried to speak through her choked throat.

"Pitch," She said, her palms going sweaty as she struggled to breathe.

"Love, " he said, slowly walking towards her. Toothiana wanted to run from him, but her feet felt glued to the floor. "It's time for you to go on." He said.

Toothiana licked her lips. "Yes, of course." And walked past him, pretending not to see the hand that reached out for her, or feel his fingertips brush her skin.

Now was not the time to be distracted.

TTT

Bunny heard a shift in the music. There were no more exotic instruments to thrum in his chest as contortionists bent and folded their bodies, nor were there sharp booming trumpets to blast in his ears as acrobats flew and flipped on the Russian swing. There were no more strange waves that seemed to pulse through the air as people in masks flipped across the stage, falling through what he assumed to be a trapdoor in the floor only to be replaced by more gymnasts that were brought down –flipping through the air- by invisible cords, giving the illusion that there was no floor, or ceiling. It completely blurred his ability to judge where the floor began and where the air ended.

Then he heard flutes, and light strings that danced through the air. He focused on the empty stage. What are they building up to? He wondered. Then, he saw a flash of bright colors as several trapeze artists flung and flipped through the air.

Then he saw her.

"Toothiana." He whispered.

TTT

Tooth was flying, flipping, and twisting her way through the routine, following the beat of the music and the familiar sound of her fairies slicing through the air. They continued for a while, merely entertaining the audience… now, she remembered what Pitch had created the Theatre for. It was time to scare them.

Toothiana pulled herself up so that she was standing on the bar of the trapeze, then she launched herself backwards flipping through the air, missing the first trapeze purposefully, which earned a shriek from the crowd, and a familiar voice shouting, "sheila!"

Toothiana felt as though her heart had been rattled in her chest. He's here. She thought, he's watching me…

She barely managed to grab the intended trapeze and right herself. She managed to catch sight of Fye, preparing to catch her.

It was time for the triple flip.

Toothiana took a breath and began to surge forward, building up as much momentum as she could before she'd need to do the flips.

She felt her heart rate quicken as she drew closer…

Now!

She flew forward, and as reached forward, she felt her own hand brush across her cheek, sending a sharp pain up her face, and flooding her mind with memories of fighting, of Pitch stalking towards her, striking her. She thought of Bunny and his gentle touch… Of Pitch roughly grabbing onto her arms, his hands crushing the bones in her wrists together-

"Tooth!" She heard someone scream shrilly.

Toothiana was yanked out of her memories and found herself reaching out of Fye… the young girl's eyes wide with terror as she reached for her teacher. Toothiana stretched out, forcing even her fingers to strain.

Toothiana felt her heart leap into her throat as the wind began to rush past her face, Fye suddenly growing farther away. "NO!" She heard Fye shriek, along with the entire audience.

She was falling, and Toothiana could feel it. The world was passing her by, and she was hurtling towards the ground. All she could hear above her were screams, all she could hear around her were screams.

She was falling.

Falling, falling.

Tears stung at her eyes as she tightly squeezed them closed, bracing for the impact. Her mind went to Bunny, of his eyes, of their time together, no matter how short.

Maybe this way it would be less painful to die…

A/N: Review? What do you think will happen? What are you afraid will happen? What so you want to happen? Leave me a review! Thanks for reading!