Hey hey hey! It's April Vacation and I'm happily here in the sunshine by the ocean giving you this chapter.
*reads back last chapter* Oh. Yikes...I really dropped the other shoe really hard, didn't I? Yeesh...So sorry. Uhm...well! At least I have this little guy for you. (Ok, little is an understatement.) Have fun!
Chapter 23
Alice and I arrived back home around lunchtime, still getting used to the shining daylight that was lacking down in the lair. The heat waves were gone for the time being, but nonetheless the humidity was still slightly unbearable. Even the birds and forest animals were in a lazy manner, much like we wished we could be in. But we had to get home to make sure Sadie wasn't getting into trouble.
But when I saw Sandman sitting outside on the wooden bench with his head in his hands, that made me nervous at first. His pointy hair somewhat drooped towards his forehead, and he kept rubbing at his closed eyes.
"Is he okay? I hope Sadie didn't get into another argument with him." Alice nervously bit her lip.
"Ah, if they did they'll make up instantly. I'll let him in." I patted her shoulder gently and strolled over to the dream spirit.
"I bet she locked the door again." Alice rolled her eyes, a smirk on her rosy lips.
Sandy looked up once I stepped onto the patio deck, eyes bloodshot from...tears. As well as lack of sleep, but tears. That made my heart drop instantly. As a professional in bringing forth fear in every living being, it wasn't normal of me to become afraid of something. It happens, yes, but rarely.
But Sandy's face scared the shit out of me.
"Sandy? What happened?" my own voice shook.
He opened his mouth, as if he was going to vocally tell me, shut it, and leaned his head back down into his hands. Alice looked at me worriedly, before letting herself in and running down to Sadie's room. I sat myself next to Sandy and nervously glanced at his wringing hands and his almost heartbroken face.
"Is everything okay?" I asked again.
They...took her.
He wouldn't look at me. He was ashamed. Ashamed of himself….
Why I wasn't responding fast enough, I have no clue. Maybe I was too shocked that the Elders would actually go through with what they said they do to spirits who break the rules. But I knew that Sandy's predicament...I've never seen it in him ever. I've known him more than any other Guardian, maybe any other spirit, and never have I seen him like this. Ever.
Alice threw open the sliding glass door, her eyes wide with horror, "Sadie isn't here!"
I stared blankly at her, too shocked to react. She closed the door behind her, her hands shaking with fear.
"The Elders took her."
"Why?! She didn't do anything! We're to blame!" she angrily retorted.
I knew she wasn't mad at me, and was only expressing her absolute anger towards the Elders for taking her little sister, but that got me to finally snap. I abruptly stood up and snarled, "Five years we've gone unnoticed, you would've thought they'd notice right when I told you I liked you!"
"Oh my God," she ran her hands through her hair, panicking, "They're just like the mafia. They take someone we love hostage until we pay them."
They're not like that at all! Sandy looked up at her, horrified.
"Yeah they are! Why else would they kidnap MY sister because of Pitch's doing?!" she pointed a thumb at me.
That got me even more pissed off, "Hey! You're in this as well! This wasn't one sided, sweetheart, you're just as involved as I am!"
"It's illegal for you, not for me!" she shot back, her eyes becoming glassy.
Stop! Stop fighting! Sandy looked between us, getting more and more jumpy the more we shouted at each other.
"Oh yeah, like dating a 'ghost' would be legal and sane, huh?" I hissed, folding my arms.
I SAID STOP FIGHTING! NOW! Sandy stood straight up and pushed us to gain our attention.
Alice and I stared at each other, realizing what we just did. She pursed her lips and looked at the ground, as did I. Sandy's nostrils flared as he breathed heavily, holding his spiky hair to gain some sort of control over himself.
After a moment of silence, I finally muttered, "This is my fault. I should've been more careful in protecting you and Sadie-"
"None of this is your fault, Pitch. The rule isn't fair, and you and I and Sandy knows that. Even Sadie. Many others would agree." Alice sighed sadly.
"It is. Because maybe if I did something to prevent this from happening…"
A hand touched my shoulder, and I looked up to my left. Sandy apologetically looked up at me, and then down at his curled shoes.
Maybe...Maybe even if you did, it still would've happened. They're not easy to hide from.
"The moon sees everything…" I murmured, allowing Alice into my arms, who bit back tears in order to remain strong.
Sandy patted Alice's back sympathetically, If they're holding your sister...the only thing we can do is to go to the Elders and confront the situation. You can't escape this anymore...you have to face your crime.
"I can't believe love is a crime…" Alice whimpered, hiding her face in my chest.
I can't believe it either. It went from trying to save humans to being something utterly redundant, Sandy's face became hard, We should convince them to overwrite it.
"They're not going to unless Man in Moon says otherwise." I said, looking at him seriously while stroking Alice's hair.
It's worth a shot...right?
Alice said he did have a point. It was worth trying to convince them to dissolve the law, but the odds wouldn't be in our favor if we did. What the main mission was, was to retrieve Sadie and confess of my crime...and if I'm lucky enough, I'll be spared.
Sandy suggested we might as well hurry up and head to the North Pole while we can before the sun went down. We needed all the daylight we can. Alice chose to ride with me on the nightmare as Sandy drove his dream plane. The entire ride there was mostly quiet, and by the time we reached the cold atmosphere up north, Alice turned to me and asked, "Why the Pole? Isn't that North's domain?"
I nodded, "It is, but as courtesy to the Elders he houses the Courtroom of Spirits in his palace. Mother Nature wouldn't house them in her domain despite being part of them but...you get the picture."
"...What if Sadie's hurt?" Alice's question was so close to a whisper I almost didn't catch it over the roar of the wind.
I kissed her shoulder comfortingly as Sandy's plane and our nightmare ride dove downwards, following the light of the aurora borealis. Despite Alice's wishes to see it in person, now wasn't the time she was engrossed in it's beauty.
"They wouldn't hurt her. To all spirits, it's by far forbidden to hurt a human, whether young or old. If they did, the case would be taken off my shoulders for the time being as they would be charged with treason."
Though now that I thought about it, Grim wasn't a very friendly person. He held a lot of grudges, especially against humans that avoided death in miraculous ways. If anybody there, Grim was the most likely to hurt Sadie. Maybe not intentionally, but it was still a factor. I didn't tell Alice that, for she was worried enough.
I had to prepare myself for this. It wasn't the trial that terrified me, but the thought of what the punishment would be. I heard from a rumor that in cases like this, the humans' memories could be erased. So all memories of me would be gone. Or maybe mine would be gone, and I would have no recollection of them.
Oh God, what if I just disappeared? What if I was banished into a realm I couldn't escape until they released me? Alice and Sadie would be long gone…
Sandy flew in first through an open hatch in the ceiling that was used as the central cooling system for the workshop, and I bade the nightmare to follow him. Immediately, we landed on our feet firmly as sand of both black and golden showered like ocean waves around us. Alice moved close to me, glaring right at Destiny as if to challenge her to move.
They all stood there, serious and stone faced. North and the other Guardians stood there as well as witnesses, the only ones of the entire encounter that looked genuinely worried and broken.
"Hello...Father." Mother Nature said flatly.
I couldn't respond to that, but I didn't have the heart to look away. Mother Nature flinched at Father Time's hand on her shoulder as he gave her a look, "Not now, Emily Jane. First the trial, then your confrontation."
"Your sister was quite persistent." Grim commented towards Alice, who immediately panicked.
"What did you do to her?!" Alice yelled, lunging towards him but I held her back by her arm.
The Grim looked at Sandy, tilted his head downward in what could've been a nod, and then glanced back at Alice.
"No. None of us even laid a finger on her. Sandy was quite...spoken, about that."
My eyes widened in shock at the play on words and whipped my head around to stare at Sandy, who could only stare at the ground as if facing a scolding. Alice glanced at him too, not understanding what he meant by that, but knowing that Sandy went far enough to make sure Sadie wouldn't be in danger.
"Enough," North sadly interrupted, "Let's...let's get this overwith."
…..
The Courtroom of Spirits was a smallish room, in a sense. The place where I stood with Alice and Sadie behind me was a perfect circle, the flooring of smooth, polished dark wood. The Guardians sat in pews level with us, but the Elders sat in extremely tall chairs, an imposing height to frighten the truth out of the people being questioned. From the left sat Mother Nature, then Grim, then Destiny, then to Father Time, respectively. The lighting was so dimly lit, the only source of brightness was from the lanterns in the high ceiling that almost disappeared and the candles that sat on the small desks of the Elders.
"Pitch Black, King of Nightmares, formerly Kozmotis Pitchiner, General of the Golden Army," Father Time's voice changed to a booming tone than the raspy way he talked before, "You are brought here under the infringement of Cupid's Law. This law states that no spirit in any form shall be romantically involved with a human, and is strictly prohibited."
Yeah, duh. Why else would I be here? I wish I could've said that, but not in front of Alice and Sadie.
"What do you plead?" he asked, peering down at me.
I wish I could've glanced at Alice. I could feel her and Sadie's fear, and this time...I didn't like the feeling of it. I wanted to give them a soft smile that it would be okay. But it wasn't. They knew that.
"Guilty."
Mother Nature pursed her lips as Sadie whimpered, and I could faintly hear Alice hurriedly shush her.
Father Time nodded slowly, not expecting that I would openly state the truth. He looked to Destiny, who said in her echoing voice, "You plead guilty. If you knew you were breaking the rule, why would you follow through with it?"
My fists clenched tight at that, "Because the love I had for Alice was worth the risk."
Even Mother Nature looked surprised at my response. Grim appeared slightly impressed, but then shaded his face once more. In the witness pew, Tooth beamed at Alice, who shyly smiled back.
"May the first witness, Sadie Xaviers, please stand," Mother Nature called.
That surprised me. I didn't know she would be the first one called up, I would think North or Sandy since they were more informed than the others. The others just heard through rumors...I think.
Sadie was brave as she stood next to me. When she previously stood behind me, I forgot she was fifteen years old, but thought she was the ten year old girl I met when all of this fell into place. Her height almost reached my shoulders, and she stared straight towards the Elders, prepared for their questioning.
"How old were you when Pitch first became known to you and your sister?" Mother Nature asked, a little bit more gently than she was before.
Sadie's response was quick and to the point with full honesty, "I was ten years old, Ma'am."
"How did you and Pitch first meet, if you can remember?" Destiny asked.
Sadie quickly searched her brain before responding, "Pitch carries his duty of giving nightmares to children who sleep at night. But I wasn't. And I also wasn't scared, and I was the first child that didn't treat him like a monster, at least that's what he told me. He walked in through the shadows and was...shocked, to say the least, that I simply was talking with him."
"Did Alice believe in him at your first encounter?"
"No, miss."
Grim finally spoke up, "Did you aid Pitch and Alice in their relationship?"
"...Yes."
I wish I could've responded with a shout denying that, but even I knew that was right. She may not have gone great lengths, but she did encourage it. But that wouldn't put the burden on her shoulders, the Elders wouldn't do that to her.
Soon, Sandy's turn came. He stood tall, straightening his spine so he looked dignified.
Questions drilled out, like when he found out about the relations and if he's ever physically seen it as well. Things ranging from where, how, and why took probably about twenty minutes.
But when Sandy responded to Grim's question, that was when I realized that Sandy was...maybe...somewhat considered-and I awkwardly say this-a friend.
"Do you believe Pitch's and Alice's intentions are true?"
Sandy glanced at us, and smiled. Wholeheartedly. He meant every word that he loved her, and so did Alice about him. Honest.
The third was North, who told of how he pulled me aside when Alice and I came to retrieve Sadie from her little play date and warned me that it wouldn't work, yet I still continued with it. He didn't sound keen with the idea of us together, but even he agreed with Sandy that my intentions were good and that I was coming from a good place, 'for once.'...and that he might be able to forgive me.
The rabbit stood up, though didn't say much since he wasn't as well informed as the rest. He did tell of how a strong portion of hope came between Alice and I, and that was why he believes it would be wrong to destroy what we've created, because it would be destroying the value of hope.
Tooth shared the memories of Sadie's teeth that fell out while I was in the picture, and I was...quite honestly, honored by the happy memories that were shown.
Things from chasing a ten year old girl around the yard as she laughed and squealed, napping on the couch with her drawing on the floor of what I look like, to seeing Alice and I through the window out on the grass late at night (that little sneak!), and to the final memories of her baby teeth where they proved of my love for Alice when she would watch us laugh together and dance slowly while I kissed her hands.
Tooth closed the golden box and finished her testimony, "I side with Pitch and Alice on this. I know my opinion is not considered, but even the memories held inside show that what they've found in each other, what they cherish, isn't some fluke like Cupid did long ago. He really means it, and so does Alice, just as much. They speak the truth...and I wouldn't say this about the old Pitch," she looked at me, not smiling but still giving off a harmless, hopeful appearance, "I can see that he's changed. Alice has helped him, when no one else could."
It was silent for a minute when she sat back down in her seat, her wings still fluttering with leftover nervousness. North gently smiled at her for her bravery and she sent one right back, shyly. I looked back at Alice, who grinned. She didn't look so scared anymore. Still afraid, but less.
"Jack, you're our final witness. Do you have anything to add?" Father Time asked, staring at the winter spirit.
Jack blinked, looking surprised that one of the Elders actually addressed him. He was still considered a new spirit, a rookie, and sometimes new spirits weren't invited to speak in a court case like this. But this was an exception apparently, and it made me nervous. I gave the boy a hard time, worst than...no, just as worse as the others, and I don't think I officially apologized for my wrongdoings to him either. It wasn't like I was going to, saying sorry was hard for me to do. But also that a spirit who is an adolescent, and that adolescents hold grudges worst than Grim himself, terrified me that he would jeopardize this. One witness countering this and everything could crumble.
He stood up, keeping his staff sitting against his chair and not in his hands like he usually has it. He fidgeted with his sweatshirt before stuffing his fists in his pocket, looking back from me to the Elders.
"I...I don't know. I mean, Pitch and I have a bad history, and...I thought it would kind of ruin what I see going on now. I thought if he was brought here, it was because he would harm someone, like how he harmed us in the past."
That made me flinch. I couldn't bear to look at Emily Jane...Mother Nature, at his statement. I was afraid she would have her mother's angered face, or my disappointed frown.
"But he changed, just like Tooth said." he continued.
That made me look up at Jack, the hope refilling my heart. Alice turned to Jack, surprised, as did Sadie.
Jack smiled before continuing, "I'll never forget what he did. But I'll also never forget how he mended his ways and became a better person because of Alice and Sadie. I think...I think that it was good he broke the rule, because if he didn't...he wouldn't have found the goodness he has now, you know?"
Okay, you're not supposed to end a statement with 'you know' but thanks anyway, Frosty. I smirked at him, and he beamed back before sitting down.
I looked back to the Elders, who looked genuinely surprised that the Guardians supported Alice and I. With a slight nod from Destiny, Grim smirked and whispered something to Mother Nature, who made some sort of face of agreement. Father Time heard them and stood up in his seat, holding his hourglass to his side tightly.
"Alice Xaviers and Pitch Black, please step forth," Father Time commanded.
Alice stood next to me, and was brave enough to reach out her hand and touch her pinkie with mine. Immediately, I grasped her hand, feeling her relax a bit and gave her a quick squeeze before they could notice.
"We have reached a verdict."