Chapter five

Inevitability

It was after midnight when the door to Pitch's room slowly opened. The big, bulky form of North filled up the doorway, casting a rather large shadow over Pitch's bed. Silently and gently the man walked in and pushed the door closed behind him. He walked over and eased himself down in the rocking chair in the corner without saying a word.

It had been early in the day that Pitch had been deposited within his room to await North's return, and within that time, he had gone through a myriad of emotions from fear and anxiety to anger and rage at his situation back to trepidation before finally a sullen acceptance that he wasn't going to be able to do anything about it, so he was just going to have to face the music. This melancholy realization left him feeling defeated and weak, and as such he had crawled into his bed burying himself deep within the covers as he waited.

He had begun to think North wasn't going to come, but when he heard the slight creak of the door, and the soft pad of feet leading to the groan of the rocking chair, Pitch gulped back a hard lump. He was wide awake acutely listening as his breath quickened and he tried his best to remain still. Maybe North would think he was asleep and leave him be until morning? Would that be worse than just getting it over? No. That was preferable he thought as he secretly willed Clause to leave.

North didn't move from his place in the rocker. Instead, he began to slowly rock. The gentle creak of the chair being the only sound in the room.

Each creak ran a cold chill up his spine, and Pitch found the time between each sound to take an eternity. Why wouldn't he say something? Did he think he was asleep and was waiting for daybreak? This feeling wasn't an unfamiliar feeling for Pitch he realized as the fear gripped him not unlike many of the many nightmares he had on a nightly basis. So thick he could taste it, ever present, and all encompassing.

"Pitch," North finally said. His voice sounded calm and normal. "I know you are awake."

Pitch shifted into a tighter ball before finally peeking out his head from the covers his gold and silver eyes shining in the moonlight depicting his fear of North. He didn't speak for several moments before he finally sat up drawing his knees in as he frowned studying North, his fear turned into anger as he spat, "Well, you've got me here. Exerting your control over me. I hope you're happy."

There was a heavy sigh followed by more silence.

Pitch watched North continue to rock as they both stared at each other in silence. Finally Pitch could stand it no more as he hissed, "You never said I couldn't be resourceful. All you told me was to complete your stupid lists. Why wouldn't you expect me to employ your little trolls to assist me. You have them assist you, unless you're trying to say that you hold a higher station as a spirit than I do just because you're a guardian! I am still the nightmare king, and I deserve some respect!"

North stopped rocking. "So, you admit to using the elves?"

Pitch paused now his eyes widening as the realization that he'd basically admitted to North that he had in fact been exploiting the elves and that perhaps North hadn't been on him yet because he was waiting to hear the truth instead of just assuming so. Pitch's jaw worked as he hesitated, "Well… not, not in the manner you accused me of. I had rounded up a few… helpers… to aid me, but I never left any of them behind to do any chores on their own."

North started rocking again, nodding. "Pitch, you know very well what I expected of you when I gave you those lists. I made perfectly clear when we had our little talk the first day you were here. It is punishment—your punishment. No one else's. When you're assigned work as punishment, it is your job and your responsibility to fulfill without help from others. How do you expect to learn anything if someone else does it for you? It would not be punishment. I could tell the elf I saw was not doing that work because he wanted to. You were making him do it. So you can stop lying."

Pitch found himself chewing on his bottom lip as North chided him. He did in fact know full well what North had expected, but the guardian had never spelled it out in specific terms, and so he'd hoped to use the elves as a technicality. He visibly pouted now as he responded, "It wasn't a lie! You were never clear in your intentions! You can't blame me for making my own assumptions… I'm… I'm not used to doing things 'your' way."

Despite everything, North felt compassion for Pitch. He knew it had to be hard on the boogeyman to adapt to this new way of life and new way of doing things. He understood and even expected that there would be slip-ups and misunderstandings and blatant disobedience. It was expected of someone who had spent thousands of years wallowing in evil. Santa was willing to cut him some slack occasionally, but he wasn't about to give Pitch an edge and allow him to walk all over him.

"Enough!" North snapped. "Perhaps is true that I wasn't completely clear on all terms. But that doesn't make what you did right." North's voice had an edge to it. "I understand this is all new to you, but I also know you still have brain in your head." he sighed, massaging one of his temples. "I want you to answer one question for me."

Pitch was staring at North defiantly ready to defend his actions as he spat, "And what would that be?"

"Did you do any of the work yourself?"

Pitch's face dropped. It was work getting those little heathens in line… did that count? He faltered, "Well… we worked as a team… I coordinated the effort." His face felt heated now knowing that his answer wasn't going to please North.

Being Santa Claus, North knew Pitch was lying and had been lying from the beginning. He wanted the boogeyman to openly confess his own wrongdoings, but it was perfectly clear that he wasn't going to do it without some persuasion. A pity, North thought. He had planned on being lenient on Pitch if he had but answered his last question correctly. But since he still insisted on lying about it, he knew he had no other choice but to give Pitch a full dose.

"Pitch," North said, his voice having a hint of sadness to it. "Please, come here."

Pitch knew where the next step was going, and he was fully unwilling to put himself into a position for North to give him a spanking! His eyes darted back and forth even though he knew there was nowhere for him to go. Swallowing hard he shook his head, "No! Are you daft? I'm not going to come over there to you, so you can beat me! You… you're abusing your power over me just because you're stronger than me now! I'll not submit to you!" His anger was a recourse to the trepidation he felt, and on some level, Pitch knew he was likely making things worse, but he just couldn't bring himself to willing partake in this level of shame. Maybe North would grow weary of fighting him and just give in or they would talk longer and delay the inevitable. He was breathing hard now gripping the sheets tightly as his anxiety built.

North scowled dangerously in Pitch's direction. "Beat you? I am not going to beat you. If I wanted to beat you, I would hand you to Bunny. I aim to give spanking. Is different than beating." North leaned forward in his chair. "You will come here, if you know what's good for you. You have dragged this out longer than need be, and I am tired! Here! NOW!" He pointed to the floor directly in front of him.

Pitch's mouth hung agape losing all of his defiance in the wake of the building tempest that was North bellowing at him. Pitch was now frozen in indecision as North's countenance was intimidating, and ignoring his requests seemed increasingly more foolish, but his massiveness and the fact he was now yelling at him made it difficult to move towards the obviously very angry man. Pitch wrung his hands together a moment before holding them out defensively towards Santa, "Now, now North; you, you might need to calm down again before we go any further don't you think? You… you are getting very upset!" Pitch's voice was unsteady now quite terrified now of what North had planned for him.

North pushed himself out of the rocking chair and started forward toward Pitch.

Pitch's pupils dilated as North rose a whole new level of terror ringing through him as he scrambled backwards into the headboard still holding his hands up as if the mere gesture would halt North from coming, "Wait! Wait! Wait!" Seeing North was moving incredibly fast, Pitch gasped moving to roll off the bed and remove himself from North's vicinity.

Quickly, North snatched Pitch by the back part of his robe, sitting down on the bed at the same time. Without saying a word, he calmly and gently dragged Pitch into position over his left knee and pinned his kicking legs between his own.

Pitch screamed out, "No! North stop!" as he clawed desperately at the bed spreads tearing the comforter out of its neat hospital corners, but unable to stop Clause from his decided task. Once he was secured, Pitch began bucking as the true terror of being pinned triggered further that he couldn't escape this particular decree. He felt sick with anxiety as he stared back at North over his shoulder, breathing heavily from his exertion, a pleading look on his face as he rasped, "Please don't do this to me! I… we can talk this out!"

"I'm through talking, Pitch." said North, grabbing Pitch's robe and yanking it back. "I've tried already to talk with you, but you do nothing but lie and blame everyone but yourself and make excuses and smart aleck remarks. No, time for talk is over for now. Maybe after spanking we will talk." He pointed at the 'Naughty' tattoo on his right arm. "You are on naughty list." Not saying anything more, he raised his hand back and brought it down swiftly on Pitch's rear with one hefty smack. Then he repeated the action, and kept on repeating it until his hand was a blur.

Pitch cringed as he saw North raise his palm and squeaked out an undignified yelp as the meaty paw connected spreading an exacting pain that seemed to spread deeper with every swat. Pitch did his best to put his mind anywhere but here as he clenched his teeth holding back the noises that threatened to escape from the pain and squeezing his eyes tightly to shut out the visual of this happening to him.

North continued to bring his hand down in fast, even swats, studying Pitch's reaction. Without pausing his hand, he tilted Pitch forward a bit and moved the swats to the underside of his rear.

Hitting the more sensitive area caused Pitch to jerk in surprise as his legs slammed into the back of North's calves in an attempt to block the onslaught. Pitch's mind raced as he tugged his upper half in vain to move his rear out range of the constant swats that assaulted him. The fact that the pain continued to build upon itself was maddening as Pitch felt himself beginning to meet his threshold for pain.

Shooting North a desperate look he pleaded now, "Okay, okay! I am sorry! I promise I'll never go near another one of your elves! Just stop! You've made your point!"

North grunted, shaking his head. "And why do you think I'm spanking you for going near elves?"

Pitch began to emit small grunts as North's hand continued to connect with areas that were growing tender from the repetitive smacks. He twisted with all his might, and when it hadn't budged him even slightly, he began to panic as he yelled out, "No! Enough! Okay! I… I didn't do any of your stupid chores! I made the elves do them! I'll do them now! I'll do them! Just stop hitting me!"

North nodded approvingly. "Now we get somewhere. Yes, you will do them... tomorrow. For now, you still have much to pay for over my knee." North's hand came down harder. He paused only for a moment to pull Pitch's pants down in one quick jerk, landing one of the swats on his bared underside.

Pitch hated the sound of his own voice pleading to North, it was degrading, but hearing that Santa had no compunction of stopping even after Pitch had given him what he thought was what North had wanted to hear sent a tremor of panic through him. The feeling of his pants getting pulled down though was a whole new level of shaming he hadn't realized he could attain as he gasped in mortification, "What! No! What are you doing!" His head spun around as if he'd needed to affirm the fact that the rush of cool air had in fact not just been in his imagination. He writhed now desperately trying to reach around North's massive arm. But as before, the most he could reach was the small of his back where he could prevent nothing as his hand flailed uselessly attempting to cover himself only making him feel like he must look ridiculous. This level of helplessness stirred something deep within him, and he roared out an inarticulate cry of both rage and humiliation. He couldn't endure this treatment much longer without demeaning himself further he realized as his groans of pain became more vocal from the intensified pain of flesh on flesh contact.

North's eyebrows lifted slightly. He remained silent and calm and allowed Pitch's pent-up anger to vent itself as he continued bringing his hand down in steady slaps. He moved from the underside to the cheeks and back again, evenly covering every inch of Pitch's bottom with pain.

As the punishment continued the pain was undeniable and Pitch couldn't help but to call out as North's hand made contact again and again. All of his fighting to get away from this proved to exhaust Pitch, and he finally found himself unable to struggle anymore as he turned to towards North with an imploring look, "Stop! North please! Please let me go now! Surely your point has been made!"

North stopped and regarded Pitch with a serious face, "One thing you should know, Pitch. When you are receiving punishment, it is not up to you to determine when it stops." he gave Pitch's rear another hard swat. "It will last for as long as I feel you need." Another swat came down.

Pitch jumped at every swat his mouth hanging agape in his shock as North's words sank in. He whimpered pitifully now, "North please have mercy! I… I'll do as you ask. I can't… I can't take this anymore." Pitch's voice was beginning to crack, as he felt tears welling in his eyes. Don't cry! Don't cry in front of… him! Pitch turned away willing himself to be strong, but the more he thought about it, the harder it was becoming to hold back the welling tears.

North stopped, but continued to hold Pitch in place over his knee, his pants still pulled down. He sadly and silently eyed the boogeyman.

Pitch went rigid taking in deep breaths now, and when it was clear that North had paused the punishment he dared to look back his eyes wide and attentive. Could they be done? Pitch inwardly cheered that he could have barely made it through this punishment without North breaking him. He tentatively lifted himself cringing at the redness of his rear end his mouth formed into an angry pout as he grumpily stated, "Can I get up now."

"Depends," North stated simply. "I should do it longer, but I will show mercy this once." He reached and pulled Pitch's pants up in a single jerk and helped him to stand. "You will do work I give you tomorrow without help." he waggled a finger at Pitch. "If I catch you using elves again, you will get a repeat of what I just gave you, only it will be worse. Do you understand?"

The feeling of North pulling his pants back into place caused Pitch's face to flush, but he was glad that the punishment was officially over. As North wagged his finger at him chiding Pitch, his frown deepened, but he held his tongue in check. The thought of doing the work himself now coming to mind as he glowered irritably looking at the floor to avoid eye contact, "Yes, yes, I understand! You've made yourself quite clear on your demands." He wanted nothing more than for this humiliating encounter to be over with.

North peered at Pitch a few minutes, studying his face and wondering if Pitch really learned something from the spanking, or if the nightmare king was just faking. It was hard even for him to tell sometimes. Finally, he moved to stand, placing a gentle hand on Pitch's shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. "Get some rest." he said softly. He walked to the door, opened it, and left.

Unknown to both North and Pitch, Toothiana had been standing outside the whole time, listening. Now that North was gone, she silently moved closer to the door and put her ear to it, trying to decide whether or not she should go in.

Now that North was gone, Pitch pulled his robe aside and his pants to see the damage left there. His bottom was covered in red hand prints that shown starkly against his already very pale flesh. It hurt, and thinking of the pain that still radiated there as well as the fact that he'd just been spanked like a child made his lip tremble. How much more could these guardians humiliate him? If word got out in the spirit world that he was being kept as an errant ward by North and spanked when he didn't behave, he'd be a laughing stock. He adjusted his pants back into place, and the unshed tears that he'd held back finally broke like a damn as he sank to the floor on his knees and sobbed heavily for his loss of pride.

Hearing Pitch's cries, Tooth pushed lightly on the door and peeked inside.

Pitch was so caught up in his own misery, he didn't hear the door open as he sat folded in on himself cradling his face in his hands his shoulders shaking as he wept.

Tooth quietly entered and fluttered over to Pitch, her face showing grave concern and pity. She eased herself down next to Pitch's curled form and put a hand on his shoulder.

Not realizing she was there until she was touching his shoulder, Pitch jumped in surprise spinning his tear stained face to her. He wiped frantically at his face now feeling highly embarrassed that she'd seen him crying like this, "What… what do you want?" he hitched trying to get his emotions under control. His cheeks turning a hue of purple denoting his shame at her seeing him like this.

Tooth didn't say a word. Instead, she smiled lovingly at him and moved to wrap her arms around him, giving him a hug.

Pitch froze at the connection not used to affection but feeling in deep need of it for longer than he could remember needing it. He tentatively reciprocated the hug which only caused the tears that he worked so hard to hold back to come forth full force as he cried heavily into her shoulder.

"It'll be okay," she cooed softly, beginning to rub a hand over his hair.

Her affection made him clutch her tightly not wanting to let go. How long had it been since he'd shared something as simple as a hug? It made him feel weak and scared as he clung to her now crying out not only his pain but his loneliness. He reveled in her warmth drenching her shoulder in his tears. He found he couldn't bring himself to stop wanting so badly to just feel a connection with another person and having it now, he didn't know how to handle it as a swirl of emotions fought to come to the surface.

Toothiana didn't know what to do. She hadn't expected this sort of reaction. She continued to stroke Pitch's hair in silence and allowed him to vent his emotions for however long he wanted. She was upset with North and partly blamed him for everything that had happened. He should have appointed someone to look after Pitch to make sure he did the work properly instead of leaving him alone and expecting him to do it. There were the yetis, but they had their own work to do and couldn't keep an eye on Pitch every moment. She would speak to North about it in the morning, and volunteer for the job if he was willing to go along with it. Maybe if Pitch had someone to look over him, he wouldn't get himself in trouble.

After he'd let himself cry for some time he seemed to realize what he was doing and felt another level of shame for letting himself be so vulnerable in front of his enemy of all things. He released her shrinking away and folding his arms around himself as he stared at the floor, "I… I don't know what came over me," he shuddered as he worked to get his breathing under control wiping frantically at the tears that were still cascading down his cheeks disgracing him further.

Toothiana smiled and patted his shoulder. "You don't have to feel embarrassed. Everyone has to vent sometime." she smiled wider, "Would some cookies and cocoa help? I could bring you some."

Pitch looked away from her gaze still highly embarrassed that she would see him like this. He sniffled back the tears that he was finally getting control over as he moved to stand finding the hard wood floor to be rather uncomfortable to sit on. He absently rubbed at the swollen feeling still radiating from his posterior. He pouted; sitting on hard surfaces might be a bit of a nuisance for the next day or two he realized. Toothinia had offered him more cookies and hot cocoa which sounded comforting. She had been kind when she could have made fun of him, and even now she stayed giving him that same sympathetic smile. He peered back at her cautiously now his eyes searching hers afraid to give her anymore of himself than he already had, but not trusting his voice, he found himself giving her a small nod.

"Great!" Tooth piped. "I'll be right back." she quickly flew out of the room.

He watched her go wringing his hands as he looked outside his room. There was a yeti sitting on the floor sewing a teddy bear. He glanced up at Pitch and gave him a serious look that spoke to the tune to not even think about stepping foot outside of his room. He grimaced turning back towards his disheveled bed and nervously fidgeted with fixing the corners to make it more presentable for his returning guest. Not that he thought it really mattered, but the act helped to direct his energies while he waited for Toothinia to return.

Tooth returned after about ten minutes. She fluttered in, carrying a tray with a plate of cookies and other goodies and a mug of steaming hot cocoa. She set it all down on the night table.

"There you go," she said, smiling. "If you need anything else, just let the yeti outside know and he'll tell me." As quickly as she had come, Tooth was gone.

Pitch held up a hand as he muttered almost inaudibly, "Don't go…" But she was already gone, and he felt stupid for wanting her at all. Why did he want her to stay with him anyway? He shook the feeling from his head as he quickly closed his bedroom door to regain his privacy.

Turning back to the tray, Pitch frowned no longer wanting anything to do with the items because they now reminded him of Toothinia and the moment they'd just shared and the fact that she was now gone. Of course she didn't want to spend actual time with him. Why would she? He pulled back his sheets crawling into his bed, and twisting angrily, Pitch curled into a ball facing away from the tray. He thought about the entirety of his day and how much of it had been spent in anxiety and high intense emotions that left him now feeling very drained mentally. He sighed willing himself to sleep if only to erase this horrible day.

(As a side note for any here that are interested. I'm an artist as well, and I'm planning of doing small pieces for this story and inserting them over on my Archive of our own account. If you're interested in checking them out, my screen name over there is spankingfemme. I should have one done this weekend *eyebrow wiggle* =D As always thanks for reading and for those that take the time to review, it's like drops of honey to my writer's soul! LOL! Loves it!)