(a/n: Hey everyone, a new chapter! Its short, i know but i felt that its been a while and this was enough to become its own chapter. Enjoy!)

Ch.6: Nocturne

Merida didn't know what to do. She sat alone in her room, staring out the window as the stars gleamed in the night sky. It had only been several hours since the magical winter and the terrible blizzard that gripped the kingdom but now it seemed like a dream to Merida and everyone else.

After Anna was thawed out and the kingdom returned to normal, Hans was arrested and shipped back to the Southern Isles for treacherous acts against the monarch of Arendelle. Hans was very displeased, to say the least. He tried to bargain and argue but they locked him up in the hold of the ship, which silenced him pretty quickly.

The Duke was sent away as well and all diplomatic and trade relations between the Duke and Arendelle were promptly severed.

After most of the visiting dignitaries departed, the people of Arendelle celebrated on behalf of their queen and for a horrible mistake being averted.

In gratitude for the service they provided for them, Elsa and Anna allowed Merida, Hiccup and James to stay in the castle for as long as they need. Provided that someone kept a vigilant eye on James, just in case he tried to pilfer their valuables.

When they moved into the castle, they allowed Toothless to stay in the stables. The dragon shocked the royals at first but the two eventually grew more accustomed to his presence.

Once all things were settled, Merida and the others, along with Kristoff and Anna, brought Genevieve up to see the trolls. The trolls greeted them with the same flair that they did when Merida had first met them. They made her smile and laugh when she saw how uncomfortable the trolls made James, what with their questions and smothering with greetings and affections.

It was a little surprising that the trolls recognized Genevieve and bowed their heads in respect as they laid her out on the ground.

The eldest of the trolls, Grand Pabbie as Kristoff calls him, did his best to help. Unfortunately, after a few hours of work, using many spells and other incantations, nothing worked.

The elderly creature sighed with regret and told them "I am sorry…but I'm afraid I cannot undo this"

"Why not?" asked Merida.

The troll stroked his chin "Whatever is ailing the queen is very powerful, even for her. Whatever it is, it is rooted in very old and very dark magic"

"Can't you do anything?" asked James.

Grand Pabbie shook his head slowly "I cannot. It is too powerful for me to remove" "So there is nothing we can do to heal her?" said Merida, sadly.

The troll frowned "I didn't say that. I was merely stating the fact that this…whatever it is, is beyond my powers". He looked down at the witch who lay there on the ground, breathing very slowly "This spell is very dangerous" said Grand Pabbie grimly "It is strong enough to kill anyone else. We are very fortunate that the queen is as powerful as she is. Even as we speak, she is fighting against this dark power".

Elsa stood there, staring at her godmother in amazement. On the journey up the mountain, they told her the truth of the fact that Genevieve was in fact a very powerful witch. "I still can't believe it" murmured Elsa "Why didn't Aunt Genevieve tell us that she was a witch?"

"She has her reasons" said Grand Pabbie cryptically "A witch like her is very busy and lives a dangerous life. Your parents and Genevieve wanted you to grow up in a life without the dangers of one filled with magic and that included knowing who she truly was".

Elsa nodded slowly "I understand but, still…"

"Its best that you didn't know" said James, folding his arms. The queen looked at him questioningly. The thief shook his head "A woman like her has some very terrible enemies who would love to do anything to get to her. Most of them aren't around anymore. However, there is one who is still lurking about".

Anna frowned, "Who is it?"

James said nothing for a good long moment, and then he looked at Anna and told her softly "One of the foulest creatures you could ever meet in this life".

Grand Pabbie and the rest of the trolls conferred amongst themselves and discussed for almost two hours.

Finally, they admitted to not having a solution, although Merida noticed that James had a rather pensive look on his face and looked ready to say something, but in the end, he didn't. They returned to the castle dejected and had a physician tend to the unconscious witch as the day carried on.

A knock at her door snapped Merida out of her reverie. She turned and saw Hiccup poke his head in. The Viking chief grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, is this a bad time?" asked Hiccup.

Merida smiled "No. You can come in". Hiccup entered the room. He wasn't wearing his armor or the thick layers that he wore when they ascended the cold, northern mountains. Instead, she noticed that he wore a long sleeved green shirt, a dark brown vest and earthen colored trousers.

His attire reminded Merida of the time they first met, only then Hiccup was a rather clumsy kid. Now, it would appear that he had grown to be a much more capable man. Merida's face flushed and she immediately pushed those thoughts away.

Hiccup pulled up a chair and sat down across from her. The Viking glanced out the window "So…what a day"

"That's one way of putting it" said Merida.

He chuckled "Yeah. Magical blizzards, snowmen coming to life, a mysterious shadow creature, that's a lot to take in".

She chuckled a little too. All of this was a new for Merida as well but she was a little more prepared to deal with weirdness, unlike Hiccup. Fortunately, he seems to be taking things in stride. Hiccup fell silent and his expression displayed concern. "Merida…what are you going to do now?"

"I'm sorry?" said the princess.

"What will you do now?" asked the Viking "I mean…Genevieve isn't going to wake up any time soon and there doesn't seem to be anything else we can do".

Merida nodded slowly. Hiccup was right; the trail seemed to end there. But she couldn't just give up now. They encountered the man who abducted Jack but from Hiccup's expression, the Viking was worried about the warning they receive during the blizzard, just as she was.

The man in the corridor and the shadowy figure that spoke to them in the snowstorm were obviously not human. He appears to have powers that she couldn't even begin to imagine. But despite all that she decided not to run.

"I think that I will keep going" said Merida, finally "My friend is still in danger and I have to save him" "It will be dangerous" warned Hiccup.

The princess nodded "Maybe, but I have faced danger before".

The Viking stared at her for a good moment, his face colored with worry but in the end he nodded slowly in acceptance.

"What about you?" asked Merida "What will you do?" Hiccup blinked and he struggled for a moment to answer, "Er, uh, well…". His face turned a light shade of red and he scratched the back of his head "I-I was thinking the same. I mean, I think it is best if I accompany you to help you save your friend".

Merida smiled and suddenly the door burst open and slammed shut. The two looked and saw James leaning against the door, looking very out of breath. He put his ear up to the door for a moment and then relief spread across his face. The thief sighed and turned then paused.

He saw Merida and Hiccup sitting together. "Oh…sorry for barging in on you" said James slowly "I didn't realize that you were having an, er, moment".

Merida frowned then she realized that Hiccup and herself were sitting a little to closely together. Hiccup realized it too and the two quickly scooted away from each other, stammering and coughing nervously. James smiled a little "I'm only teasing".

Merida rose from her seat "Well, what are you doing here?"

"Hiding" answered James, simply

"Hiding?" said Hiccup questioningly

"From Anna"

The princess and the Viking gave him an odd look "Anna?" said Merida.

The thief nodded "She keeps following me and keeps asking that I show her magic tricks"

"And?" said Hiccup.

James shrugged "I showed her a few tricks I know but I am utterly drained right now, but she keeps asking. If she keeps it up, I may die of exhaustion". He sighed, "I don't know what to do".

Merida smiled a little "Don't worry, you can hide here for a little while".

James shook his head "No, I can't." a grin began to form on his face "You two certainly don't need me lurking around as you continue to have your…moment". The thief wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, causing the princess's face to turn beet red. James chuckled "Well, anyway, I better be going now" He opened the door and slipped out, saying in a sing song voice "Have fun!" before Merida could respond to his comment, the door closed.

Hiccup cocked an eyebrow "What a strange fellow"

"Aye" agreed Merida.

Elsa walked alone up the stairs, heading towards the upper floors of the castle and, more specifically, to her room. She had spent the last hour or so monitoring her godmother's progress. So far, the witch remained comatose and unchanged from earlier that day.

After sitting around for a good hour, Elsa decided to turn in for the night. As she ascended the stairs, the new queen was so lost in thought that she just about collided with one of her guests.

A brief bit of pain and loss of balance quickly snapped Elsa out of her thoughts. Frantically, she tried to regain her footing and wildly clawed at the air to grab onto something for support but her attempts failed. Just as she fell backward, Elsa braced herself for the long fall back down the spiraling staircase.

However something caught the queen by the wrist and stopped her fall. Elsa looked up and saw James standing there, holding onto her wrist.

For a moment, the two stood there in awkward silence. Finally, James pulled the queen up until she regained her footing.

He cleared his throat nervously and smiled "Sorry about that, I really must watch where I am going".

Elsa shook her head "No, the fault is mine. I was really lost in thought and-"

James held up a hand "No, please, I was the one at fault here. Besides, you're the monarch here. You can simply blame me and put me in the stocks for attempting to take your life".

Elsa cocked an eyebrow "Now why would I do that?"

James shrugged "I dunno, that's the typical reaction of most monarchs if a commoner, such as myself, almost caused them to fall to their deaths".

The queen smiled "Well I will not do that, considering that you were the one who saved me from the fall". The thief scratched the back of his head "Oh…right". After another moment of silence, Elsa suddenly realized how closely they were standing together on the stairs.

She felt her face grow warm and she spoke up "Excuse me, I must be going. The last few days have been quite eventful and I think that I have had my fill of excitement to last me for a while".

The thief bowed stepped aside and bowed low, "Of course. I have matters to attend to myself before I sleep".

The queen trudged up the stairs with new energy. A little further up the stairs, Elsa paused and stole a glance back at James. The thief stood there for a few more moments, watching her. His eyes met hers.

The thief smiled and bowed his head "Pleasant dreams, your majesty", he turned his back to her.

James descended the stairs with a spring in his step, singing softly but loud enough for his voice to reach further up the stairs "A bear there was, a bear, a bear! All black and brown…" his soft voice faded into the distance.

Elsa felt her face grow warmer and some thoughts bubbled to the surface of her mind, which she quickly shoved aside and pressed onward. She reached her room, dismissed one of the maids that waited outside to tend her.

The maid curtsied departed without a word and Elsa quickly closed the door behind her.

The queen of Arendelle sighed deeply and did all she could to dispose of the stream of thoughts that appeared in her mind. Most of them were out right ridicules, others were outrageous and unbefitting a person of her station. James was kind, polite and not bad to look at, but he was right about what he said earlier.

He was a commoner and a thief to boot. Who knows how many crimes were stacked against him and how many had he stole from and how many of them were impressionable young women who fell victim to his charm?

Elsa shook her head and decided to hold off this line of thinking for another time.

For now, the new queen wanted nothing more than to get a goodnight's sleep.

In the corridor, the maid, whom the queen dismissed a mere few moments ago, walked briskly away from the queen's chambers. As she passed between two suits of armor that stood there like silent sentinels, the maid couldn't help but feel like someone, or something, was watching her.

She paused and glanced at both of the suits. The two suits just stood there, tall and silent like statues.

For a moment, the middle-aged woman could've sworn that she saw a pair of eyes watching her from inside the narrow slit in the visor of one of the suits. The maid, rubbed her eyes and looked again. The eyes were no longer there and the suit looked to be vacant.

The woman lifted the visor and peered inside the suit. Empty.

Satisfied that it was nothing but exhaustion, the maid continued on her way.

Once she was out of sight, the other suit's visor lifted of its own accord and a dark shadowy form emerged from the suit.

The shadow collected itself on the floor and untangled itself. A series of soft popping, snapping and groaning sounded.

Within seconds, the shadowy form took on a more human shape. Although it was humanoid, it was smooth and had no distinct features. The shadow turned his head back towards the queen's bedchamber and cocked his head to one side.

He tried being patient, he tried being gentle, and he even tried to reason with the silly girl. No more. No more of the employer's way, no more of these silly games.

This time, Harriman is doing things his own way.

A floor below, James peered into the guest room. Empty, except for the comatose witch. The thief smiled, satisfied that he was alone, and slipped into the room. He plopped down on the chair that was left at the side of the bed. James let out a sigh of relief as he settled back into the chair.

It wasn't a very comfortable chair, but considering that he had been on his feet for almost a whole day, running and hiking up a mountain, James took any moment of rest and relaxation when he could.

The thief looked at the witch, who was lying in bed and breathing slowly.

He scratched his chin "I don't know if you can hear me, but I just wanted to tell you that I did as you asked. I looked after them and now they are safe. I'll be leaving soon and I'll be heading for the Summerset Pass at dawn..." He paused for moment.

The thief half expected, and secretly hoped, the witch's eyes to snap open and for her to start lunge forward and start strangling him for his decision to go somewhere so dangerous. But, to his dismay, she remained unchanged.

James took a deep breath and he shook his head "I…I know its dangerous and I probably shouldn't go, but…Ayduin paid me a visit today. He's…pretty much the same when you last saw him. Angry, vengeful and desires to disembowel me".

The thief smiled grimly "Perhaps I should've listened to you. Maybe I should've been a bard or a court musician just like you suggested". He shook his head slowly. The thief had made some very stupid decisions in his life and this one will probably surpass them all. If Ayduin and his pack were this close and this determined, then it was time that James to face what he had been hiding from for a long time.

For a few long moments, the thief sat there and contemplated what he was planning to do. Having enough of silence, James decided to get some sleep before he set out on his journey. He stood to leave but he stopped himself. Noticing something, he leaned in and lifted some strands of Genevieve's light gold hair.

The thief's brows furrowed. The tips of the strands of hair were jet black. Slowly, almost unnoticeably, the jet-black color slowly crawled up the strands, slowly replacing the gold. James frowned and upon a closer inspection, he saw more of the witch's hair was changing.

There was an individual strand that was already completely jet-black. To his surprise, James saw part of Genevieve's neck was a shade of grey.

The thief took a step back and tried to understand what is happening. In spite of all his experience and knowledge, James had no clue as to what is happening to Genevieve. Out of habit, and partially out of paranoia, James closed his eyes and expanded his senses.

Feeling the magical energy all around, the thief searched for anything that didn't belong. He felt the overwhelmingly powerful waves of magical energy radiating from Genevieve, he felt Merida and Hiccup, who are still on the other side of the castle.

The thief could even sense the animals and humans outside the castle grounds. He could sense Elsa's energy, a few floors above and off towards the northern corner of the castle. Everything seemed normal, at first.

Before James decided that he was imagining things, he felt a dark, chilling energy slip past his senses. He looked up and felt around for it. The thief could sense some serious dark magic and wicked intentions, which was so horrible that it made James's stomach turn.

It was enough to make him deactivate his enhanced senses.

Once he was free from the horrible feeling, James quickly left Genevieve's room and took off running. As he ran, James hoped that he could reach Merida and Hiccup in time because whatever it was that he sensed, it was seeking to do something bad and it was in Elsa's room.

The queen of Arendelle was lying in bed, doing all that she can to fall asleep. Sleep didn't come, due to the thoughts that swam around her head and not actually feeling tired at all, despite the string of events that have occurred in the last day or so.

She turned over in her bed and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to will herself to sleep.

However, a soft click sound reached her ears and the queen's eyes snapped open.

Elsa sat up and looked around the dark room. Pale moonlight allowed the queen to see that her room was empty and that nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except the window that led to the balcony was open. The queen frowned. She could've sworn that the window was locked.

A soft breeze rolled in, causing the curtains to flap lazily.

Elsa crawled out of bed and went to the window. She closed the tall windows and latched it shut. The queen sighed and mumbled "How odd…" she turned to go back to bed but she paused.

In the corner of her room, Elsa saw a tall, eerie shadow standing there. Normally, such a situation would cause the queen to call for her guards. But now that she has more control over her abilities, Elsa knew that she could handle this.

"Who are you?" demanded the queen "What are you doing here?" The shadow said nothing. The shadow merely stood there, silent and unmoving. At first, Elsa felt that could be just be, literally, jumping at shadows. But, Elsa saw the shape beginning to move.

The shadow lifted its arm and seemed to be pointing something at her. It was difficult to see what, but Elsa reflexes kicked in. She quickly raised a hand and hurled a blast of ice magic at the shadow. The burst of blue, wintery magic struck the shadow square in the chest. The shadow let out a groan and stumbled forward into the faint moonlight. Elsa braced herself for what might happen next.

Nothing could've prepared her for what she saw. "Jack?" gasped Elsa, shocked. Her elder brother stood there clutching his chest, from which a large shard of ice protruded like a dagger. Jack still had snowy hair, blue eyes and was still dressed in his blue uniform, except it was tattered and dirty. His face was haggard and he looked like he hadn't eaten or slept in years.

The queen's lost brother looked at her in shock and wheezed "Why…?" he sank to his knees and began gasping for breath. Elsa went to her brother's side and started sputtering out apologies.

"Oh Jack I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry!" Jack moaned in agony, clutching his chest. The queen was petrified with fear. Her mind was frantically trying to come up with a solution but a single idea came to mind. "Help! Somebody help!" screamed Elsa, hoarsely "Help!"

She ran to the door but Jack croaked, "Wait!"

Elsa stopped and looked back. Jack gestured for her come close. She returned to Jack's side and knelt down. He motioned for her to come closer. Elsa frowned in confusion but did as instructed.

Jack leaned forward and whispered in her ear "You should've taken the offer".

The queen's heart stopped. She drew back and looked at her brother's face. An eerie grin had appeared on his haggard face and he let out a high, nasally cackle.

Before she could react, Elsa felt something wrap itself around her throat then suddenly hoisted her high in the air. The monarch saw in her corner of her eye that the blanket on her bed had come to life and had wrapped itself around her throat like a noose. Elsa pulled and clawed at the blanket but it only seemed to wrap itself tighter around her neck, cutting off more air.

She kicked and thrashed madly for breath. The queen even tried to scream but her words emerged as soft gurgling and coughing.

At her feet, Elsa saw Jack rise to his feet. He tore the shard of ice from his chest and tossed it aside, giggling.

The white haired young man cocked his head to one side. "You really should've taken the deal" sneered Jack.

Elsa stared at him and tried to ask him "Why is he doing this?" but the word came out as a choked gasp.

Jack sighed "I'm sorry lass, I didn't want to fool you but-No, wait…I actually do like doing this". He giggled, "I couldn't resist. And for my next trick..."

Jack reached up behind his head with both hands then began to pull. Just as Elsa's vision began to blur and as consciousness began to fade, she saw her brother peel apart his skin and exposing a familiar creature. The creature shimmied out of the discarded skin like he was wriggling out of old clothing.

The pile of discarded flesh dissolved into a pitch black substance and suddenly melted into the shadows.

Standing there was Harriman, only this time he was dressed in the black and red motley of a fool. "Heh, fool, get it?" giggled Harriman, gesturing to his outfit.

Elsa didn't respond, due to the fact that she was being strangled. Regardless, as the world faded into darkness, Elsa could hear the mad man sing loudly and cheerfully, "The bear, the bear! Lifted her high, into the air! The bear, the bear…" then darkness and silence claimed her.

Harriman watched as the little ice witch lost consciousness. With the flick of his wrist, the blanket slacked and the unconscious queen fell into his outstretched arms. Its times like this that make me love my job, thought Harriman. He let out a soft sigh, feeling very happy to actually be doing something fun on the job, which called for a bit of celebration.

The motely cladded young man then belted out few more lines, "Oh I'm a maid, I'm pure and fair, I'll never dance, With a hairy bear, I'll never dance, with a-" Suddenly, the door burst open and the Scottish girl, the Viking, the annoying thief and the obnoxious sister stormed into the room.

Harriman turned, pretending to look shocked. Merida took aim with her bow, Hiccup drew his blade, as did James and Anna wielded a…frying pan?

"Pardon me!" cried Harriman, in fake outrage "It is impolite to barge in on someone like that!"

"Shut up!" snarled James. Merida scowled at Harriman "Let her go".

Harriman pouted "But I don't want to". Hiccup brandished his sword threateningly and the blade suddenly ignited with crackling orange flames, as if to punctuate the seriousness of the situation.

Harriman stifled a laugh. As if such a blade could harm him. He could play with them for a little bit, but Harriman has wasted enough time with the usual antics and she hated time wasting.

The pale young man simply looked crestfallen and confused for his audience. He looked down at the unconscious queen in his arms, then he looked up at the rabble of idiots that stood before him and grinned broadly, "You know…I think I'll keep her."

Quick as a flash, Harriman snapped his fingers and the blanket flew off the bed enveloped Elsa instantly. The pale young man stepped away with his hands up. The blanket remained suspended in the air, covering a human form. Harriman grinned "And for my final trick tonight!" he grabbed the blanket and tore it away revealing, nothing but air. Elsa was gone.

Everyone stared at Harriman in shock. The motely dressed young man took a dramatic bow saying, "Thus concludes this evenings festivities. Farewell fair ladies and kind sirs, you have been a wonderful audience!" Harriman turned and took off running. He heard the sound of an arrow whizzing through air and felt leg grow stiff. The arrow hit its mark but it might as well be a bee sting because Harriman simply didn't feel the pain. He continued on, hopping onward on one leg.

Harriman threw himself forward, shattering the window and vaulting over the balcony, letting out a triumphant laugh.

Merida watched the strange jester throwing himself through the glass and jumping over the balustrade.

James rushed to the balcony and looked over the side. He grunted and uttered a venomous curse. The pale jester was gone.

Merida sighed angrily. What in the world was going on? First Jack and now he took Elsa.

Who was this man and why did he abduct Jack and Elsa? Nothing was making sense to her.

Anna stood there staring in shock at the shattered window. "Elsa…" breathed the princess, shocked. Merida looked sideways to the stupefied princess and felt sympathy. She has just witnessed a bizarre man abduct her sister for unknown reasons. If the same thing had happened to Merida's family, she didn't know what to do.

The princess stood completely still and silent, not knowing what to say.

After a length of silence, Anna stammered, "W-what…what do I do?" she dropped her frying pan and began pacing "Elsa's gone, the kingdom's going to fall apart. I-I can't rule, I don't know how!"

Hiccup placed a hand on the panicking girl's shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

Anna stopped and the Viking said firmly "The kingdom will not fall apart. We will find your sister and rescue her."

"But…what can I do?" asked Anna, her voice shaking "I-I don't know how to lead. If the other kingdoms discover Elsa's abduction, they'll…they'll…"

"Which is why we need to act now" chimed Merida.

Anna looked to Merida and pleaded "Please…you have to find her, you have to save her." "We will" said James, gruffly.

A horrible thought popped into Merida's mind. "But how are we going to find them?" wondered the red haired princess, aloud "Without Genevieve, we can't track Elsa."

"Actually…" said James, reluctantly "I know of someone who could help us."

Anna's expression brightened "You do?"

James nodded and they all noticed the grim expression on the thief's face. "What is it? What's wrong?" asked Merida.

James didn't answer. For a moment, the thief remained silent and grim faced. Finally, he answered. "This man is rather…dangerous"

"How so?" asked Hiccup.

"We'll be lucky if he cooperates and it'll be a miracle if we escape his castle with our lives" said James, bluntly.

A pall fell on the group. Anna's eyebrows rose "Oh my…" "Its dangerous, I know" said the thief "But what choice do we have? Elsa has been abducted by a magical mad man and Genevieve is unable to help us right now. To make matters worse, both of their lives are at stake."

Merida blinked "What?"

"I'll explain later," said James, dismissively "But right now, we have to decide if it's worth the risk to see this man. He is our best option of locating and saving Elsa, maybe even your friend".

Merida considered the thief's words carefully. Whoever this man is, he sounded incredibly dangerous. But on the other hand, he may be the only one who could help them find Elsa and even Jack. She glanced sideways to Hiccup and Anna. Hiccup nodded and Anna looked hopefully at her.

Merida turned to James "We're going". James nodded in acknowledgement.

"So where do we find this guy and what makes him so dangerous?" asked Hiccup.

James shook his head slowly "He is a very dangerous sorcerer who's cunning is legendary. This horrid creature thrives on making deals with mortals and playing cruel jokes for his amusement." "He sounds awful," said Anna.

James nodded "He is. However, fortune may be smiling on us. Genevieve has had dealings with him in the past, that may stop him from killing us on sight. From what i heard from rumors, he lives in a land called Misthaven. The thief clapped his hands together "I suggest we get some sleep, we have a very long journey ahead of us. We will be leaving at dawn."

The woman sipped some of her evening tea from her cup when her subordinate arrived. Even before he visibly appeared, she could feel his cold, eerie presence.

The foul creature who called himself Harriman emerged from a shadowy corner of her study, carrying his quarry over his shoulder. She regarded him with disdain. "You're late" chided the woman.

Harriman bowed his head low, "Forgive me mistress, the fair lady was quite persistent on refusing your gracious offer".

The woman sniffed "There is still no excuse for your lateness, you buffoon."

The pale creature's eye twitched a little in annoyance. She knew that Harriman hated her and would love nothing more than to slit her throat while she slept, but his desires were nothing more than dreams. As long as she held power, Harriman will forever remain her loyal, and infuriatingly stupid, servant.

The beautifully dressed woman arose from her chair and approached her servant.

She glanced the unconscious girl and nodded "Excellent work" said the woman.

Harriman's head remained bowed. "It is a pleasure to serve thee, oh wise mistress" said the pale creature, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

The woman glared at him but said nothing. She waved a dismissive hand, "Put her in the others and get to work on the final three".

Harriman nodded dutifully. The woman turned and left the study.

As she walked out of the study, the witch could feel her servant's glare boring into the back of her skull, as if he were trying to read her thoughts and discover a hole in her defenses. Luckily, the little fool doesn't have that power.

The witch could picture all the hideous faces he was making behind her back.

A small smile appeared on her face. Well tough luck, thought the woman.

The overly dramatic fool would have to grin and bear it for only a little bit longer. Once she has all of them in her possession, the demented little imp will then outlive his usefulness and then finally, the witch will move on to bigger and better things.

End of Chapter

(a/n: Well, what do you think? The lyrics are from the song "the Bear and the Maiden Fair" from Game of thrones, so i don't own them or anything. Also, I kinda drew a little bit from season 4 of Once upon a time for this. Well, i hoped you enjoyed this. Review!)