"Shady?!" The door to her castle closed behind me with a crash. "I know you're home!" She hadn't been on the grounds and she wasn't in the dining room. Armory next, then. "The winds told me you were here!" There was music playing over the speakers so I knew she was awake. I poked my head around the door to the armory. It was dark and empty. Bedrooms next. It took a while, but I finally found her in a bedroom in one of the towers. "We need to talk." She just glowered at me. "We're gonna talk whether you want to or not." She rolled her eyes but got up. She went to move past me to the hallway but I blocked her. She growled and when her eyes met mine there were daggers in them. "I will fight you if I have to." I'd come wearing my bracers and with my scabbard strapped to my back.

She bared her teeth, and they remained clenched as she spoke. "Pitch?"

"Yep, that's one of the things we're gonna talk about." I wasn't resorting to sarcasm to avoid her anger this time, though I'd never seen her this angry. "We're also gonna talk about Annie and how long you've been helping her seal immortals away."

She sneered. "She innit stealin em away! Annie's been helping us! An she's been moar elp den Manny evr as."

A scoff escaped me. "You really did drink the Kool-Aid."

"Wut?" Trust an immortal older than the discovery of the Americas to not catch a well known reference.

I rolled my eyes. "You don't really buy that she's only doing this to help people?" Do you? "Because I'll be the first to tell you, she's a manipulator and a liar. I don't trust a thing she says anymore."

She gave me a disgusted look as she ducked under my arm. "Ah can't believe you!" She yelled over her shoulder as she strode away. "Ye were the first person I'da thot wud understand!"

I scrambled after her. "I do understand! I understand that was her goal when she started this!" I caught up with her and stopped in front of her. "But I also understand that it's not her goal now." I saw a flicker of doubt in her eyes. "And it hasn't been for a long time."

I watched her set her jaw as the doubt disappeared. "She's still elpin people." She pushed past me again.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "I'm not gonna chase you through this while fucking castle while we argue back and forth."

She eyed me with disdain. "Yer free ta argue wit yersef if ya like." She yanked her arm out of my grasp. "But I won be doin wit ya."

The frustration in my sigh was enough to make her glance back at me. "She took Mosy!" She stopped but didn't look at me. "And I know for damn well she wasn't fading." She turned her head a bit, not enough to look at me, but enough for me to know she was listening. "I know because all of her believers got shifted to me." I took a step closer. "And you know damn well she wasn't a threat to Annie and she wasn't asking for it." When I got close enough, I saw fear in her eyes, though, once she saw me looking, it disappeared.

She shook her head. "Doesna matter. Neider o us were dere."

"It does matter!" She shot me a look that begged me to drop it. "I'll admit, a lot of people she probably saved." I couldn't argue that so many of us didn't want this life, but there were so many that did, I knew she wasn't in the right... Right? "But the fact she lets us pick someone 'not to target' - her words - proves that something's fishy about this." Doubts filled her eyes again. "If all she's doing is helping people, why is there anyone she's targeting in the first place. And why won't she tell the Guardians, let them help?"

"Eider way, she's elpin enuf of us..." She looked around like she was trying to find the words. "Shoodn't we help er?"

"Why do you think I told her I agreed?"

"Den why're ye ere fightin me?" She was exasperated.

My eyes fell to the floor. "I'm here to talk." I held my hands up in defeat. "You started the argument."

She sighed and I'm sure she rolled her eyes. "Ah still dannae why ye came ta talk inna first place."

"Cause she told me there were things we knew that the other didn't, and I wanted to fill the knowledge gap." I looked up to see Shady confused.

"Wut?" She eyed me suspiciously. "Is this ta do wit Pitch?"

I nodded. "Probably."

Her eyes narrowed. "Mebe we do need ta talk." She looked me up and down. "Ye really prepared ta fight me? Need arise?"

I shrugged. "If I needed to, yeah."

She stared at me a second before bursting out laughing. "Yer funny." She took a breath and whistled it out. "Ye wouldn't a beat me." I rolled my eyes in response while she clapped her arm across my shoulders. "Speekin of, we need to git back ta yer training."

I chuckled, glad she wasn't mad anymore. "Yeah, we do..." Which reminds me. "I started visiting Pitch at random one day." She froze for a second, her face resuming its earlier anger. "I didn't have a reason other than morbid curiosity." She took her arm off of my shoulder and turned to face me. "But I met him and just kept going back." I met her eyes defiantly, hoping she'd accept my actions.

"Why" Her jaw was clenched but she had stopped to speak.

"Because I didn't have a fear then, and I felt invincible." I was grasping for words, literally. "Because it irritated him and it felt good to have that over him?" I sighed. "Eventually, once he accepted my presence, as he put it, I started liking his company." I looked at her. "Eventually I started thinking of him as a friend." I shrugged meekly. "In the beginning I told myself it was because there was a way to get Kozmotis back." The confusion that flashed across her face asked the question for her. "The person whose body Pitch is possessing." Horror filler her eyes. "You don't know how he became Pitch?"

She shook her head, still horrified. "Dere's someone else in dere?"

I nodded in exasperation. "How many of you haven't read the books, geeze?" I waved off the rant I knew would have come pouring out of me otherwise. "Kozmotis is Mother Nature's dad." Shock flashed across her features. "He was a general for the Golden Age and he was targeted by the Dream Pirates- " I held up my hand to stop the question I saw on her face. "They don't exist anymore. The Guardians killed the last of them the first time Pitch attacked on Earth." She closed her mouth, looking sheepish. "Anyway, they targeted Kozmotis, leading him away from his home, meanwhile they ransacked his home." I could see the realization mounting in her eyes. "They killed his wife but Mother Nature - I'm calling her Serafina from now on, it's less of a mouthful. She escaped on a Wishing Star." I rolled my eyes at the confusion in her eyes. "The thing Sandy came to earth on, jesus you guys need a fucking history class."

"Sorry." She was more indignant than anything else, but I accepted it.

"After the battle they lured him out with ended, he returned home to find it ransacked. He found his wife, and assumed his daughter had met the same fate." I saw despair in her eyes, though she didn't say anything. "The fearlings were less sentient then, sort of working as vultures following the Dream Pirates' wake, but en masse they were a threat." God it's like answering the twins' questions all over again. "But after finding his home in shambles, he went on a rampage and killed a lot of the Dream Pirates. Because the dream Pirates were decimated, the fearlings were a lot easier to round up so they got locked away in a prison designed for them." I'd paused to take a breath.

Shady decided to use that time to ask stupid questions. "Wut's that ave ta do wit Pitch?"

"If you let me finish, you'll find out." Sheepish, again. "Kozmotis thought he had nothing more to lose so he volunteered to be the warden of the prison. He was guarding the place for I don't even know how long until the fearlings got smarter." Her brows knitted themselves together. "They got smart enough to start talking. Not intelligently, mind you, but talking." I could see the realization dawning across her face. "So not only was he mourning his whole family, but he was hearing voices. Constantly. Eventually the fearlings started saying more intelligent phrases, like help us, or let us out, et cetera."

"Et drove 'im mad." She was nodding to herself.

"Actually, no." Her head jerked up. "Eventually one or more of the fearlings used a voice that sounded like his daughter's." Her eyes widened. "And it was screaming and begging for help. And because her body was never found, he thought she was in there, that somehow she got trapped in there. And he opened the door and all the fearlings rushed out, possessing him in the process. He had less than a second to realize his mistake before he was Pitch."

She didn't say anything for a moment before something like suspicion darkened her face. "Ye knew all that, and ye still befriended 'im?"

I leaned back against the wall, realizing once again, I'd have to defend myself. Mentally, I rolled my eyes, cringing at the fact that were he at full power, Pitch would hate what I was about to say. "He's not the same person - hell, he is a person now." She scoffed at me. "Literally, he doesn't remember anything before waking up on earth." She balked at me, seeking the truth in my eyes that I already knew was there. "He gets a ghost of a memory here and there, but otherwise, nothing." I shoved my hands in my pockets, feeling defensive. I could see she was still suspicious. "Every time I go visit him, he's more like a person, and every time, I see him more like a friend." I steeled myself for what I was about to reveal. "To the point he sees me as a friend, even if he'll never say it out loud." I met her eyes. "To the point he warned me away from Annie."

She threw her hands up. "Ere we go again."

"I'd gone to see him and when I got there she was threatening him. She was so fucking menacing I didn't even recognize her voice." She rolled her eyes at me. "She wanted me to be an inside man against the Guardians until she realized it was me." She wasn't looking at me, but I could see something in her eyes that told me she'd had her own suspicions. "I asked him about it and he literally made me leave to keep me safe. Yeah, I didn't believe it either." She'd shot me an incredulous look. "I went back to help him, and then I found out it was Annie." Shady had nodded to herself. "One of the first things she said was to point out how people in high places would notice if I went missing." I didn't have to look to feel her stiffen up. "I don't trust anything she says, just what she does. If she helps people, I trust that. But if she hurts anyone, it'll confirm my suspicions."

We were silent a moment before she spoke up. "So, Who are ye gunna choose?"

"I have no idea."

"Are you crying?" Sam chuckled lightly.

"It's a good movie." Our date had been a movie marathon. Once Shady and I had discussed all we wished, deciding to regroup after my next meeting with Annie, I'd checked in on Pitch one more time before heading to Sam's for our date. I'd chosen a movie marathon where we took turns choosing the movies. "I love Treasure Planet."

He laughed again at my reaction once more to my favorite movie on earth. "This is your favorite?"

"Yes! It is!" I looked at him in mock horror. I bobbed my head knowing how childish I sounded. "Listen, I know it's stupid."

He shook his head, making himself not laugh anymore. "It's not stupid. I can see why it's your favorite, I just expected something more."

"I was a kid who's dad left me and had wanderlust without knowing the word." His smile faded. "And watching his dad leave and him finding a new one when my new one was equally fat and goofy and a nicer person than my dad ever was..." I smiled weekly. "Made little dady's girl me feel better." I sniffed, trying to stop myself from crying more. "Besides, this movie started my want to fly my whole life."

He cocked an eyebrow at me. "This one?" I could see in his face that he was grateful i'd changed the topic.

I nodded. "Yep. The twelve years later scene where he drops out of the sky and catches himself..." I shook my head remembering how much I'd longed for it before I could fly on my own. "The first thing I did after waking up was try to fly." I wiped at my face. "Anyway, it's your turn, what're we watching?"

He winced. "I hate to end this, but I have to meet up with North to look into a few of the missing immortals." He gave me an apologetic smile. I'd felt my heart speed up at the reminder that I still hadn't chosen who needed more safety. And my impending meeting with Annie. He noticed, despite my efforts to hide it. "I can stop by later - if you want?"

I forced it out of my mind, for now, shaking my head as I did. "No, no. Go, do your job." I sat forward, readying myself to stand up. "I'm not gonna be the reason your Guardian duties are messed up." Any more than I already am.

He leaned forward. "Right now's still our date. If you want it to last longer, it can, I'll be fine." He was barely holding in a grin.

His grin started to bring out one of my own. "I'd like to watch at least one more if that won't set you back too much. It can be a short movie."

His barely hidden grin slipped out. "Okay." He got off the couch to start swapping the movies, hiding which one he was picking.

"What'd you pick?" I craned my neck to try and see the cover, only catching a glimpse of red.

"It's a surprise." I could still hear his smile in his voice.

He draped his arm across the back of the couch as he sat back down. "You know I'm gonna figure it out as soon as it starts playing."

"Just," He shook his head, eyes on the screen as the studio logos started playing. "Watch the movie." He chuckled to himself a little. I obliged, settling in. I was keeping one eye on him during the movie, having seen it before. He kept fidgeting with the remote and smiling to himself when he thought I wasn't looking. What's going on with you? While I was watching Sam more than the movie, Aphrodite's words from the previous week floated across my mind. Oil paint and ink... They were similar smells despite how confused she'd made me when saying it. I'd gathered that she could always smell Sam under Jack, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out the rest.

Sam glanced over at me, smiling from the movie. Lemons? I didn't realize, for a second, that we were staring at each other until his expression changed. "You okay?" I nodded absentmindedly. Lemons? Why'd she mention lemons?

I blinked, coming back to reality. "Yeah, just... lost in thought." A small disappointed look crossed his features for the shortest second. "Are you okay?"

He blinked in surprise. "Yeah I'm fine."

"You didn't look fine a second ago." I didn't want to ruin the end of the date, but I thought I already had.

He sounded defensive and pulled his arm back to his side. Why did I like it more where it was before? "I'm fine. What were you thinking about?" The defensiveness was gone with that last bit, though the way he spoke now was more like small talk.

"Lemons." Confusion marred his features. "I don't know why either."

"Lemons?" He almost looked at me like I'd grown an extra head. "You hungry?" He glanced at the coffee table that was laden with snacks. "I can grab some sour candy if you want?"

I shook my head. "I'm not hungry, besides I've been craving savory stuff instead of sweet lately." I shook my head again. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom real quick." I stood up before he could say anything. "I'll be right back." I speed-walked my way to the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I stared at myself in the mirror. What the hell is wrong with you? "Lemons?" I could have said anything else, but fucking lemons?

Why was I even cringing at myself? Sam had been one of my best friends for most of my life, and I'd said plenty of stupid stuff before. Because, this is a date. I hadn't been embarrassed of myself on my dates with Jack though. Why was I embarrassed now? My jaw fell. "Fucking lemons!" Aphrodite had just told me that citrus and ink was my smell. How hadn't I noticed why the fuck she'd said lemons before?! I threw the bathroom door open just to find Sam in shock with his hand raised to knock.

"Are you okay?" He awkwardly lowered his arm, shoving his hand in his pocket. "You were in there for a minute..."

"Last week, when Aphrodite came to talk about me, she told me what your love smelled like."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Okay... and what does this have to do with ..." He gestured towards the bathroom behind me.

"She told me about mine too. Yours is fall leaves, oil paint and 'something sweet'. Her words." I could see he was gonna interrupt but if I stopped now I'd never get it out. "Mine is ink, 'something metallic', and citrus."

I could see the smallest spark of understanding flicker past his eyes. "Lemons?" He still sounded confused or weirded out.

I nodded with growing excitement, making me jittery. "Right before you got back, she said something about oil paint and ink and I didn't fucking get it." His eyebrows slowly started to rise.

"Lemons." I saw something light up his eyes. "As she passed me she said something about lemons." I nodded, knowing he understood, and, finally, so did I.

"She was trying to get it through my stupid head!"

Sam's eyes were shining. "Your beautiful, stupid head." He pulled me into a hug that I wholeheartedly returned. As he hugged me, I could feel his heartbeat and it felt like home. When he finally pulled away his smile was a mile wide.

The following night I found myself at Legends. I didn't think Annie would do anything when the other patrons were there, but I expected to be held back again, so it was about ten at night when I arrived. I had spent the entire day matching up everything I'd even known about Sam with everything I'd known before him. I was having a hard time keeping myself from grinning like an idiot.

The first person I ran into was Thor, who was watching the doors. "You're happy tonight!"

"You have no idea." He waved me through and my eyes instinctively searched for the strawberry blonde. A moment after I spotted her, she lifted her head, sniffing the air. A second later her eyes snapped to mine and a sly grin spread across her face. I couldn't stop myself from smiling back.

I made my way to the bar, noting that Shady wasn't working for once. Artie came over to grab my drink, already grabbing the pop on his way over. "No Sam tonight?" I could tell by his voice that he was giving me a hard time.

"No, he's got Guardian duties today." He had pushed back his meeting with North until today, as we ended up spending the rest of yesterday together. I could feel a small blush start to spread across my cheeks as I took my drink from Artie.

He raised his eyebrows. "Good date huh?"

"I'm not talking about it with you, one way or another." I made a mental note to calm myself down before speaking with Annie. If I was this easily read, I'd be in trouble.

He feigned an injury. "I'm hurt, I really am. If you're looking for Shady, she's not here tonight."

"Where is she?"

He shrugged. "Home I think?" He grabbed a few empty glasses from the bartop as a group of goth-dressed creatures made their way to the bar. "It's her night off, but she decided not to come in." He put the glasses in a bin half-filled with dishes already. "She'll be here tomorrow, though."

I left the bar, looking for a seat anywhere, really. I was about to give up and go back to the bar when I noticed Aphrodite waving at me. I made my way to her table - near the wall- as she grinned at me. "About time!" I sat in the only empty chair I'd seen all night. "I have been waiting all week for you to figure it out!"

I pointedly ignored her for a moment as I took a sip of my drink. Finally I decided she didn't deserve silence. "If you wanted me to figure it out sooner, you should have made it easier for me to figure out." I eyed her.

She sat back, looking pleased with herself. "You should count yourself lucky." She played with her straw. "I told you I don't meddle with the lives of immortals." She looked up at me, a smile slowly growing across her face. "You're just so thick in the head, I thought you needed a nudge." She shrugged to emphasize her words.

"Wow, you're gonna insult me while you gloat." We both knew I wasn't really mad.

"So," Her tone made me look up. "What finally made you realize that you love Sam?"

I couldn't stop the blush that crept across my face. I had to physically stop myself from rolling my eyes. "Fucking lemons."

A giggle escaped her. "Oh, I had hoped you'd understand what I was getting at last week." She grabbed my hand. "How long did it take you?"

I could feel the blush spreading as my face got hot. I avoided her gaze as I mumbled my reply. "Yesterday." Her face fell in disappointment. "Well, excuse me for not immediately realizing your cryptic way of telling me!"

"If I just told you, you wouldn't have believed me!" She let go of my hand, though. After a moment she spoke again. "How'd Sam take it?" I could hear the curiosity in her voice. My whole face got hot. "Oh, so he took it well, then." I shot her a look only to see a self-satisfied smile covering her face. "You did tell him, right?"

"Yes." I had to hiss it at her from how hard I was clenching my mouth shut. "We were on our date when I figured it out."

She bounced her eyebrows at me. "Ooh, doing what?"

I deadpanned at that. "Watching a movie. We were having a marathon."

She pouted. "You two are no fun." I shook my head, trying to keep myself from asking what kind of 'fun' she expected. "How did you even tell him?"

"Same way I told you."

She slammed her hand on the table hard enough to almost topple my glass. "You did not just blurt out lemons, did you?" At my silence she groaned. "I swear, you two are lucky you're immortal this time."

Even though she'd said it under her breath I heard it. "What?"

I knew she'd messed up because of the way she responded. "What? I didn't say anything." She said it the way a kid does when you catch them in a lie.

"What do you mean 'this time'?" Her eyes shifted away from my inquisition. I leaned over to catch her eye again. "What was last time?"

She winced. "I can't tell you. That's not my job."

"Then whose job is it?" As I asked it, I already knew the answer.

She nodded as she spoke. "Mors."

My eyes strayed to the skeletal drummer as the band packed up for the night. It was fairly close to dawn and the club had been slowly losing customers as the hours wore on. I had been hoping to catch Mors then and there, but they left with Sunny and Gaia. As the three of them left out the back door, Annie appeared out of the kitchen. She smiled at me and it almost looked real. "Story. How was your date?"

I'd made sure to be drinking as she spoke to keep myself from blushing again. Don't give her anything. "It was fine." Do not - so help me - blush, for the love of god.

Her smile didn't change. "Why don't you wait for me downstairs? I have one or two things to finish up, but I'll be down soon." She shooed me towards the stairs before turning back to restocking the bar.

I went down to the basement - cellar? And sat in the only chair facing away from the doorway. I looked around trying to get some semblance of who she was when no one else was around. Most of the decorations were Greco-Roman - I could never tell which. There was a small portrait on a shelf of a younger looking Annie wearing a blue and gold dress. A few things looked like they were collected from when Legends was on different continents. The furniture was a little less haphazard than those above. There was a small doorway leading to what I assumed was her bedroom, though I thought against snooping any further. It was quiet, almost like it was soundproof, even though I could hear muffled footsteps from above. The moonbeam warmed against my back, a bit, trying to stop the shiver that went up my spine as I thought many of my friends may have been taken here.

After about ten minutes I heard her start coming down the stairs and I steeled myself for whatever was to come. She walked past me and ended up sitting across from me. After a moment of awkward silence, well, it was awkward to me, she spoke. "You've chosen?" Don't blush. I nodded. "I saw you speaking to Aphrodite earlier. What was that about, I wonder?" She crossed her legs, eyeing me.

"Sam."

Her eyebrows rose, almost imperceptibly. "Owen? Really?" She looked away for a second, like she needed to think. "That's a surprise, I was certain you'd have chosen to protect Frost." She chuckled to herself. "Just the same, it's probably better you chose Sam." I was fighting to keep my face carefully blank. Why was it better for her? Her smile fell. "Irregardless, I still don't trust you to not meddle, even if you agree with me."

A chill shot down my spine. "What..." I swallowed, having heard too much of my worries in my voice. When I tried again, it was more leveled. "What am I gonna be doing then?"

"Before I can trust you with any role, I need assurance that you won't speak out against me." She stood up and walked to her 'front door'.

Good thing I talked to Shady yesterday. "How can I do that?"

She poked her head through the archway in the front of he livingroom while she looked around and seemed to listen for a moment. When she turned back to me, there was a bit of the look she'd given me when she'd threatened me that first time I'd called her Pandora. "The building is empty now." I knew it was a warning without her having to say anything more. She walked to the doorway in the back - where I thought the bedroom was - and mumbled something in the same sinister tone she'd spoken to Pitch with, even if I couldn't make out her words.

It felt like shards of ice were growing along my neck as I heard her voice so close. I heard her searching for something before hearing a small scuffle right before she reemerged. There was a fearling writhing in her grasp as she confidently strode over to me. "This is going to be with you at all times, sitting in your shadow." Before I could say anything, she tossed it towards me. I instinctively jerked back as it slithered into my shadow, merging with it instantaneously. I couldn't feel anything physically, but I could sense it squirming about within my shadow. It felt like something slimy crawling around me. I couldn't stop the shudder that passed through me at the thought. "Every time you and I speak, it will be my informant."

I could hear the threat clear as day, even if her tone was cordial. I nodded "Understood."

She slipped into the same chair she'd been occupying earlier. "Shady has one as well." I fought to keep my face blank, even though my eyes threatened to bulge out of my skull. I fucked up. She knew what I'd said to Shady, and if she didn't yet, she would soon. That's why she wouldn't say anything! "I'll give you a few days to get used to your new friend, then I'll give you some tasks." She gave me a smile that we both knew wasn't supposed to comfort me. "For now I'll let you go home, you must be exhausted."