In Love with the Darkness (A ROTG Story)

Chapter 15

Tooth helped me with the pain in my hips. Turns out my pelvis had been fractured. My injuries were healing a lot slower than normal due to the nightmare sand that was still in my system, but I was beginning to feel better.

It had been a couple days since I told Tooth what Pitch did, and she had been so kind. She never mentioned it again, but I knew that I could talk to her if I needed to. There was no judgement behind her words. She was genuine.

I could walk again, though it wasn't very good. Apparently a lot of my muscles had atrophied from all of the crawling around I did. I had to use my staff as a sort of cane. The wind helped too. Because we were in a much more open area, the wind was always right beside me, helping me to stay light on my feet.

I made my way into the meeting room, my hand dragging across the giant wooden table. There were so many different sensations here. Practically everything that Pitch owned was made of steel or leather. Softness and warmth didn't exist down there.

There were some photos on the wall, framed letters from children. It was sweet that North would've kept all these. When I touched them, I could practically feel the joy radiating through the words.

"Found my collection, eh?" North's Russian accent asked from the hall.

I jerked away from the photo, violently, practically tripping over myself to back away, "I'm sorry, I ... I was just."

North let out a hearty laugh, "No, I wasn't angry. Come here, sit down, I don't trust those legs."

I followed his instructions wearily, taking a seat in the large wooden chair. I knew North wasn't Pitch, and that he wasn't going to hurt me, but that didn't help the nagging fear that lurked in the bottom of my stomach.

"Jack, the first time that I saw you, I felt this connection. This need to protect you. It broke my heart when you left that day." North started.

I stared at him in shock, my eyes wide.

"I had never seen someone so pure, so deserving of love, that had been denied the basic right of happiness. I knew I had to help you. So Jack, let me help you."

I furrowed my brows, holding back tears. That was probably the nicest thing that anyone had ever said to me in my lifetime.

"I know we've avoided asking you this to protect you, but ... We've waited as long as we can. I think I know who did this to you. I think I've known since the first time you came here, and I was just hoping it wasn't him."

My breathing started to speed up, and my mouth felt dry. I just stared at him. If I told him, Pitch would be furious, even more than he already was. Who knows what he'd do to me, or if I'd even make it out alive? I couldn't tell him.

North readjusted in his seat, "Jack please, for everyone's safety, was it Pitch Black?"

The name reverberated through my mind, twisting and knocking loose terrible memories that I'd tried so hard to bury. Like the vibration of a train becoming a roar when it gets close enough, fear overtook me completely.

I slid out of the chair and huddled into as tight of a ball as I could. If I made myself small, he wouldn't be able to hurt me as much. I put my hands over my ears, trying to drown out the sound of his shouting.

"It's not real, it's not real. He's not here." I whispered quietly, rocking back and forth.

Pitch slapped me, and it felt so real. My head snapped to the side, and I backed away as far as I could. I put my hands out to protect me, but they couldn't protect me from the pain of a memory.

I turned around and grabbed onto whatever I had bumped into before, my fingers scrabbling for some sense of reality, "Pitch, please." I cried, burying my face into something soft and warm.

Pitch's whip came down across my back, causing me to lurch forward in pain. Each strike felt so real, I could barely keep myself from crying out.

When Pitch had finished with me, I just sat there, heaving in air, trying to level my breathing. That's when I noticed the pair of hands petting my head reassuringly. I looked up and saw that I was clutching onto North's leg. "I'm sorry," I muttered, releasing him.

All I wanted to do was go back to my room and go to sleep. North said something to me, but the numb void in my chest swallowed up the meaning. I grabbed my staff and hobbled back to my room, even more unsteady than I was before.