Hey guys let us get chapter 21 going here before I forget and lose the urge to write (which happens on occasion) lol so yeah I won't keep you guys long here, gonna just jump right into here and lets hope I can figure things out with this one :) As always I do not own any of these characters.
After Jack left to get ready for dinner, Elsa sat and relaxed in the warm water. She poured rose scented oils in the water and lathered it through her hair before settling back into the tub. She glanced down at the necklace around her neck, "So this will protect me against dark magic?" She stopped fiddling with it and sighed, "Rayla I know you're trying to help, but Nyx and Pitch are powerful. No doubt could they find a way to still get to me through dreams. I just wish this battle was over." her eyes staring into the blue crystal laying flat on her chest.
She sank into the tub as her mind wandered to her previous encounter with Jack. She loved him so, but more worries entered her mind, "Jack, you will be put in your place. Once we leave Arrendelle, you will not be touching me while we are on that boat. I am not risking getting pregnant before we are married. Besides, I am not ready for a baby just yet." tucking loose strands of wet hair behind her ear.
Stifling back a yawn, she began to feel at ease in the water as it lulled her to sleep. In her dream, she was in a castle. She noticed she was wearing a black, strapless, Greek dress with her hair down and adorned with a gold crown. She walked through the castle, it being vaguely familiar to her. She noticed the darkness around her and two large doors in front of her. As she approached, they slowly swung open.
"Come to me my queen."
She shivered at the sound of his taunting voice calling out to her. She was terrified and her mind screamed no, but her body was forced to walk through the doors. She jumped a little when the doors shut behind her. She turned and tried to open them, but they wouldn't budge. She felt her breath hitch in her throat when she heard him chuckle behind her, "Oh it's been far too long my queen." She slowly turned to face him, his eyes lingering over her, "Love the dress I fashioned for you? I made sure you looked the perfect picture as my queen."
She pursed her lips, "I've worn better than what you have given me." Pitch just smirked at her, "I beg to differ." She crossed her arms, "How are you here? Rayla said the dark magic wouldn't get to me anymore?" Pitch slipped out from the shadows, "I have my ways Elsa. My powers are far more greater than hers." as he approached her. She backed away, he chuckled, "My you have gotten more lovely than when I lsat saw you. Turning into quite the young woman. I will have you with me again my queen, and this time you will not escape me. I will succeed with conceiving my heir with you." watching as she backed into the doors.
She felt his fingers tilt her chin for her to look at him, but slapped his hands away. She glared, "The hell you will. You were destroyed by the light Rayla and Jack conjured up. You cannot come back." He only laughed, further annoying her, "Oh I have my ways Elsa. You and everyone else underestimate my power, especially Nyx's. Darkness is powerful, after all you've experienced it first hand. I could show you more if you'd like my queen. After all I am better than what that insolent Jack could ever be. Once I return, I will make you watch him die, to show that you belong to me and only me." tugging her back to him.
She cringed at his touch and shoved him away, "No, you will never come back. I only hope your damnation keeps you reminded of the pain you have caused." He advanced her holding her to him, "Let us not waste this dream of yours. Spend this time together after so long." as he snapped his fingers to open the drapes. Light poured in the room to what looked like a ballroom. The huge window showed the moon and stars, the chandelier was black, but the ceiling looked like it was made of the sky itself. Elsa hated admitting it was impressive.
Pitch knew of her love for the night sky, but still she refused whatever Pitch had planned for her. He held her firm against him, "Let us dance as husband and wife." slipping his hand low onto her waist, his other holding her hand. She shook her head, "We are not husband and wife. Rayla said it wasn't a real marriage made of the church." He chuckled as he tugged her along the dance floor, "Maybe, but in my eyes we are. After all, I consummated with you, sealing the marriage."
As he spun her out, she rolled her eyes, "You forced yourself onto me without my consent, it sealed nothing." He spun her back against him sharply, she gasped, "Think whatever you want my sweet, but you still belong to me. We are bound by far more than that, or have you forgotten." She looked up at him, "What are you talking about?" His lips pressed to her ear, "Our dark magic ritual to bind us together." chuckling when he heard her gasp. She felt him pull away and stare down at her, "You are mine Elsa, never forget that."
She became angry and managed to get her hand free and backhand him. He released her and his eyes darkened. She glared at him, "You're a monster Pitch. I hope you remained sealed away in the darkness you love so much and rot here." she spat. He straightened himself and used his magic to bind her to the wall behind her. She yelped when she felt her body hit the wall behind her, "You're such a coward Pitch." she gasped out. He appeared in front of her, "I'll show you the monster in me Elsa, since that is was you say I am. I am coming back for you. I will have you. You will conceive my heir. Everything you know will fall."
She felt the binds around her waist tighten, and the ones around her wrists yank them above her head. She winced from the pain, his face close to hers, "Allow me to prove to you and your pathetic family that I am still here and coming for you." She watched him form with his magic a small blade, "You can't hurt me, this is just a dream." He chuckled as he traced the blade along the curve of her neck watching her breathing become erratic, "You sure about that? After all my love, this is my reality, my nightmares, do you really want to risk testing me?"
She whimpered as she felt the slight pinch feeling against her skin, but never cutting it. He chuckled, "You wanted the monster Elsa, here you have it." She shook her head, "Just leave me alone." looking away from him. His free hand grasped her chin, "I cannot forsaken you my queen, we are destined you and I. I can prove to you all right here right now, I am not gone." She watched the blade move along her bare shoulder, up along her arm and stopping at her hand. Pitch took the advantage and pressed his lips to hers. She gasped trying to turn away, but he held her in place.
Her gasping turned into a small scream as she felt the blade of his knife cut her open palm. Elsa jerked her head away as she cried a little from the pain, "I hate you!" His lips pressed into her neck as he muttered, "Enjoy the rest of your bath my queen, I'll be seeing you." as his binds disappeared along with him.
Elsa gasped as she woke back up to hearing knocking to her door. She felt her breathing finally slow, and more knocking followed by Anna's voice, "Elsa? You okay in there?" She cleared her mind a moment, "Y-yeah, I'm okay Anna just bathing." Anna laughed, "Alright, well dinner is starting and I figured I'd come check on you." Elsa sat up in the tub a bit, "I'm alright, I'll be down in a few." as she heard her footsteps walking away.
Elsa drained the bath and got out to dry herself off. Upon moving the towel she yelped when she felt the sting in her palm. She glanced down seeing blood dripping from her palm, her eyes widened with fear. She shook her head in disbelief, "N-no, it was just a dream. This isn't real." as she examined it. It was indeed there, as she grabbed a cloth to to cover it up. She left the bathroom and quickly got dressed and put her hair into a braid. She glanced down at the slightly red tinted cloth, "How am I going to tell my parents about this?" not sure if she should tell them about the dream.
She knew her parents would be devastated, especially her father, after working so hard to find a way to stop this from happening. Now it's gotten worse and her fear of Pitch's return intensified. She quickly changed the cloth and wrapped it up tight and went to her closet. She pulled out a pair of glove that matched her dress. She took a deep breath and left for dinner, hoping no one would pursue any questions during dinner.
Back in Phoenicia, Rayla was walking around the castle passing the time until Sandy would return to her from his meeting. She walked down the old familiar halls which held the portraits of the royal family. She found the paintings of King Thantos and Queen Andromeda, her grandparents. She smiled as she recalled a few memories with them. Further down, she found another portrait along with her father and uncle standing with their parents. How young and innocent both her father and uncle were at the time.
She found a solo portrait of her uncle Pitch and another with the two brothers together. She smiled upon seeing the two of them together. Both the teen brothers appeared to be happy as both were smiling. She sighed as she continued down memory lane of portraits. She soon found one with her father, mother and herself as a baby. She felt sadness as she remembered what it was like to see her family as a whole. Now all that was left of her family was herself. She felt a few tears slide down her cheeks as she stared at the paintings. Her fingers brushed along the outlines of her parents faces, "Oh father how I miss you so. I hope I am doing you proud. And mother, how brave of you to let me go the way you did. I only hope I too can show the same love to my child as you had for me."
"Rayla?"
She jumped with a gasp when she heard Sandy behind her, "Cedric, you're off early." as she fumbled to hide her sadness. Sandy took notice and was at her side, "My love, are you alright? I can see you are hurting, please don't hide it from me." having her look at him. She didn't look him in the eye, she felt ashamed at the moment, "I'm fine Cedric, nothing bad happened, I promise." He sighed, "I take your word for that, but obviously you are sad from something else. There is nothing to be ashamed of, you can tell me."
She looked up at him, "There are just a lot of memories in this castle. Good and bad combined. I miss my family Cedric, I wish they were here, now more than ever. All I ever dreamed of was to return home and all the darkness to be wiped out. Except the only thing good that has happened was the darkness subsiding. I have no one left in my family and it hurts knowing that." Sandy pulled her to him, his hands running along her back comfortingly, "Rayla, I wish there was something I could do to bring them back for you, I really do. Just know this Rayla, you are never alone. I am here with you. There will always be good and bad memories wherever you go. Right now we are making all new ones." as he pulled her back to look at her.
She slowly nodded as he continued, "We are starting a new family together. This child will be the first of many, I hope, that will get this started. We make the new memories together. I could not have asked for a better wife and mother to our child. This is where the new generation of your family begins Rayla, and I will be there every step of the way. I love you." as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She sighed into the kiss as he increased slightly with passion before they parted. He pressed his head to hers, "Now, no more talk of bad things. I will gather things ready for a small picnic for us. You go get yourself ready and I will meet you and the baby downstairs." as his hand held her small bump.
Rayla smiled, "That sounds wonderful Cedric. How did I get so lucky to have you for my husband?" He kissed her forehead, "It is I who is the lucky one. Now I will see you shortly my love." as he kissed her once more before heading tot he kitchen. Rayla sighed feeling much better than she did before. She glanced down the hall once more, "New memories with my new family." as she smiled and left for their chambers.
Elsa arrived in the dining hall followed by Terrence and Narcissa. She sat down in her normal spot next to Jack. Most of the time during dinner, she had kept to herself. She made small talk with Anna about her trip with Jack in the morning. She was just wanting the dinner to finish quickly to avoid any extra questions concerning her gloves. She was thankful no one noticed, or brought it up in discussion. Katya glanced over at her, "Are you both ready for tomorrow?" Jack took notice to Elsa's odd behavior instantly, but shrugged it off at the moment, "I do believe we are. I have my things set as well as the captain was doing his final runs this evening for tomorrow."
Katya smiled, "Wonderful, so glad to hear. How about you Elsa, are you ready for this?" Elsa nodded, "I've packed as well, so yes." Katya chuckled, "I meant as in are you ready for your first trip away from home, unlike the other." as she frowned at the thought. North patted her hand, "Things are much different this time around, she will be safe, as well as safer away from here." Elsa sighed, "My apologies if I have upset either of you for going." Katya shook her head, "Nonsense my darling, you have every right to go and as you should be going. It's just a hard thing to grasp when your first child is all grown up. You will understand one day when you both have kids."
Anna snickered, Elsa stomped on her foot under the table. Anna grunted, "Ow!" North and Katya exchanged glances, "Is everything alright you two? Something you want to share with the rest of us?" Both the girls shook their heads, Elsa responded first, "No, everything's fine. May I be excused now?" Katya nodded, "Are you sure dear, you've hardly touched your dinner." She nodded, "Yes mom, I'm fine. I'm just anxious about tomorrow is all, and probably should get to bed early tonight." Katya nodded, "Alright, you're excused." Elsa walked over and hugged her parents quickly before departing.
Jack got himself up, "Please excuse me, I'd rather make sure she is alright." North nodded, "Very well, you two should get some rest. Early day tomorrow." Jack nodded with a smile and quickly followed her out. He was curious about her odd behavior at dinner, knowing full well that whenever something was wrong, she kept to herself. He caught up with her at the stairway, "Elsa!" She turned, "Jack?" watching him stop next to her. He glanced down at her, "Are you alright? You seemed so out of it at dinner."
She climbed the stairs, "Jack, I'm fine, really. I just took a nap before hand was all." He followed her to the top, "Elsa, please don't hide anything from me. You know you can tell me if something is bother you." She walked towards her chambers, "Jack, please there's nothing bothering me. Now good night, I will see you in the morning when we leave for Icella." as she went to her doors. Jack wasn't buying any of it, "Elsa, wait!" as he grabbed her gloved hand. Elsa winced trying to keep from yelping any louder as she tried to pull her hand back.
Jack instantly released her hand, noticing the look of pain on her face. Elsa cradled her hand feeling blood seep out of the cloth. Jack eyed her, "Elsa, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" reaching for her hand. Elsa flinched away, "No, don't touch me." Jack took her hand and removed the glove. He noticed her hand was wrapped in a cloth seeped with blood. He gasped, "Elsa, what happened? Come on, we have to get this cleaned." as he pulled her down to his room. He opened the doors and sat Elsa on the bed. He walked into his bathing chambers to get cleaning supplies.
He dropped down next to her and pulled out some alcohol, "This might sting a bit." as he tugged off her makeshift bandage. Using a clean rag, he carefully dabbed the cut, she hissed in pain. Jack carefully wrapped her hand in clean gauze, "Elsa, tell me what happened." She avoided his eye contact, "Jack you wouldn't understand if I told you." watching him tie the gauze in place. Jack persisted, "Elsa, please don't shut me out." She sighed and slowly nodded as she began to tell him what had happened.
Jack pulled her in his arms as she broke down at the memory, "Don't worry, I am sure they will stop once we reach Icella. Nyx won't know we will be there." She nodded, "I hope so Jack, I really do." Jack kissed her cheek, "You should head to your room for bed, or you could stay with me. Once you've changed of course." She glanced at him about to say something, but he stopped her, "I promise I will keep my hands to myself." She sighed, "Alright, I will be back in a moment." as she walked to her room to change.
Okies here we have it. DarkTempest, I hope the ending was something along the lines of what you wanted, it was a tough one, but I enjoyed it none the less. let me know if there was anything you want added or touched up. I went with Elsa's dream a little to scare things up a bit and prove Pitch is all truly there and coming back idk lol. Anywho, hit me up with a review and I will see you all nect chapter.