(Jack's POV)
Ok, ok, I know what you're thinking.
'Jeez Jack, what's up with you? Not like you to call a serious meeting. What happened to being top of the naughty list?'
Well just zip it ok! I'm upset enough with myself as is, I don't need your input thank you very much. And no THAT WAS NOT A POLITE "THANK YOU". That was sarcasm, and yes, I am rolling my eyes. It's not like I'm invested in this girl or whatever Pitch's whacko plan is this time or anything. It's just really inconvenient to have to deal with it all. So the sooner we wrap this up and foil Pitch's plan the sooner I'm back to "snowballs and fun times" instead of "hard work and deadlines".
--At the meeting--
"So Jack," North began, "Interesting you call for meeting. What is occasion?"
"Maybe he hit his head"
"Ha-ha very funny Easter" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Come now," Tooth chided, "let's hear what Jack has to say."
Sandy signed in agreement.
I took a deep breath and shared what I had heard from Elsa.
"So?" Bunny scoffed.
"SO", I retorted, "I have a, uh, a theory I guess you could call it."
"Crickey the boy knows how to use his head."
"Hush Bunny let us hear him out fully before you insult him."
"So what I was thinking is that maybe Pitch wants to use her."
"Oh wow, I thought he wanted to have her over for a tea party."
I was dangerously close to blasting Bunny with my staff when Tooth, sensing what I was thinking, put a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"How so Jack?" she asked.
"Well remember how he tried to get me to join him all those years ago?"
Bunny almost made a snide remark but a look from Tooth shut him up pretty quick.
"Well, he wanted me for my powers, right?"
They all nodded.
"And we recently learned, thanks to SOMEONE *cough cough* (glares at Bunny) that Elsa seems to have the same powers as me."
"So he's trying to recruit and use her too," Tooth finished for me.
"I suspect so at least."
Bunny was unconvinced, "Yeah but then why would he keep her prisoner? He tried to convince you and when you said 'no' he didn't capture you, he attacked you."
"But doesn't that seem like what he's doing to her though? She has clearly been hurt physically and I mean the phrase 'I can't get my powers to do what I want' clearly indicates that Pitch probably punishes her when she can't do what he demands of her."
"So he wants her to be stronger then?" North clarified.
Sandy signs
"Possibly"
"Well what do we do then? We can't just wait for him to take her again."
"Or for her to attack us" Bunny added.
I glared at him.
"Hey, I'm just sayin' we still know basically nothin' about this girl and to what degree she could be complicit."
North stepped in before we started fighting again, "You are both right. Seems we must to make sure she does not use her powers as much as possible to prevent her getting stronger just in case she is working with Pitch. But we also really need to know more somehow. Jack, you have gotten the most information out of her than any of us. It is up to you."
"What?!?!? Why me?"
"Well not only do you also have ice powers but Pitch also tried to recruit you once and you clearly know how to talk to her better than the rest of us."
"But-"
"No buts! so off you go."
Bunny was silently laughing to himself behind North while I got dumped with more work all because he couldn't control himself. I was starting to get some serious Deja vu!
Grumbling to myself I flew off; this was why I hated meetings...
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---Pitch's lair---
Pith was once again pacing in his lair.
"Shes grown stronger. All that work I put in and she suddenly progresses far beyond what I thought possible after just a few short weeks with them. Interesting. I can't forget that the longer she's there the more my hold on her weakens. I can sense that she hasn't been having good dreams at least. But that blasted Sandman has been cancelling out my bad dreams too! I can't properly get into her head. Just one little nightmare now and then and I may just succeed. Now if I could just figure out how to do that... well then my plan may be more successful than I initially anticipated. I just need to wait for him to slip up, just one night he forgets to sprinkle her with dream sand. It'll happen eventually and then my plan will be back in motion. mwa hahahaa
Drat! I need to work on my evil laugh..."
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(Elsa's POV)
They were escaping. I had spent so long containing and hiding them away. So why were they slipping out now?
You've heard of hearts of stone, and hearts of ice. Hard-hearted people who are cold towards everyone and seem to not care about anything or anyone. Well it doesn't come naturally. It takes work to be closed off and distant.
You take all the pain, all the emotions, all the thoughts and memories and box them up. Separate them from everything else, isolate them. Then compress them. You visualize putting them neatly into boxes in your mind. Then you take those boxes and shove them in a safe. Chain it, tie it up, lock it down. Put warning labels and 'fragile' signs. Nail it shut in a crate, then another safe, then a bank vault. More chains, more boxes, cover it in concrete then cage it and put it into a box again. Then you take that box, filled with layers of barriers and you bury it. Deep, deep down inside. In the darkest crevices where no one would look. In an unmarked grave with no map leading to it. Then it is mollified. Not gone, not safe, but hidden. You put up walls to protect others and yourself, so afraid of confronting what's in that box. It's better to leave it.
I'm not strong enough to face it. I fear that if even a little bit slips out, I will lose control. I will spiral out of control and leave destruction in my wake. Leaving behind only a faint whisper of who I used to be, one that will be washed away in the breeze. There will be no one to catch me if I fall, no one to put my broken pieces back together. I feel that I am missing too many pieces to be put back together anyway.
I thought it might be different here. Naïve and foolish as always. At least with Pitch I knew what to expect, I knew it was coming. The painful reminders of my past and the bleak future I am cursed with. I let my guard down. But I was reminded all over again. I opened up too much. My box is shaking. I need to re-enforce it, put it back stronger than before. I cannot afford for what lies within to emerge. I can't.
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A/N: Please don't try this at home!!! This is not a healthy way to deal with your problems.
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Trapped by Fear
FanfictionDuring a mission in Pitch's lair, the guardians find a girl. She was being kept prisoner but why? What did Pitch want with her? Can Jack gain her trust before it's too late?
