My Guardian

Chapter 30 - Father and Daughter

Seraphina was actually nice to talk to. And trust me when I say that we had been talking for a while. I couldn’t help but wonder what was taking Jack so long. Surely news that his daughter was waiting for him was enough to make him fly over to see her! The sun was beaming down on us, though the breeze kept the cold. Seraphina must have noticed my confusion in regards to the weather.

“Oh! Sorry! I’m just a little mixed in regards to my emotions at the moment. My dad, never really wanted to talk to me, and now that he’s going to, I guess I’m just scared he won’t like who I’ve become,” she said, looking at the ground sadly.

“He’s going to love you no matter whom you are.”

“I guess you would know all about love, huh?” she half smiled, looking up.

“I guess,” was all I could manage, shrugging.

“Seraphina?” I heard a voice say. In shock, we both looked up, only to find Pitch standing there, looking uncertain.

“Daddy!” Tears welled up in her eyes as she ran to hug her father. Jack flew over and landed beside me, a hand intertwined with mine.

“You did it. You brought love to the Nightmare King,” Jack said as we watched the father and daughter hugging and apologising for all of the mistakes they made.

“We did it,” I corrected, hugging his spare arm. He kissed my forehead.

“Thank you,” Pitch said, walking over and shaking my hand. A tear streaked his cheek and I gasped when I saw the trail it left behind. It wasn’t grey like his normal skin… it was a pale Caucasian colour.

“What the hell…” Jack somehow managed. He must have noticed too.

“What?” Pitch asked.

“Your tears…” I began. Pitch removed his hand from mine and wiped below his eye to rid of the tear. But the water just smudged more of the grey away.

“Pitch! Your skin!” I exclaimed. Seraphina gasped too, noticing the change in her father’s appearance. Shocked and quite frightened, Pitch looked at the back of the hand that had wiped the tear and found the grey had been wiped away. When he looked up, it was not only surprise I noticed in his eyes, they were an emerald shade of green.

“What’s happening to you?!” I asked, freaking out myself.

“My… my appearance is turning back to the way it was before,” he explained, hands still out.

“Goodness! Look at your hair!” Jack exclaimed. As I did, I noticed the roots spreading like paint, an orange/red colour, fading the black out to the tip. After a minute or so, Pitch was hardly recognisable. The grey had washed out of his skin, his eyes were a brilliant shade of green, his hair was orange and his once black cloak now stood a deep blue colour. Completely gobsmacked, I just stared.

“Dad, you’re back to your human form…” Seraphina cried, covering her mouth with both hands.

“Not quite,” I heard a voice call. Turning around, my gaze was met with one quiet short man dressed in silver and white robes, a short white beard and old silver eyes. Beside him stood a tall, stick like figure standing perched on one leg with a staff in hand. He looked quite mechanical. On the short mans other side stood an average sized aging man with a white beard almost brushing the ground, a tall pointed hat, grey cloak and a staff with a moon on the end.

“Who… who are you?” Jack asked. I recognised them but couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

“I am the Man in the Moon, or Mim. This is Ombric, or Father Time, and this handsome young man to my other side is Nightlight.” Mim’s voice was soft and kind.

“Oh! I’ve seen drawings of you! Why are you here?” I questioned. Mim just smiled a broad and warm smile.

“Pitch Black, the Nightmare King, has deserted all want for pain and fear. So there is no need for him to be the man he once was. He may look his human self, but he isn’t. Yes, he is immortal as he has been. But that is only so he can stay with his daughter. If we sense any bad intentions from you, Pitch, Ombric here shall take away your immortality and you shall die as the humans do in a world you do not know. Is that understood?” Mim declared.

“Of course. Thank you.” And just like that, Pitch Black was kind hearted, loving, caring and sweet. I couldn’t help but smile when I realised we would have to think of a different name for him. After a few minutes of Pitch swearing to kindness for as long as he lives, Nightlight sat down with Jack and I and told us everything he knew about Katherine. From the sounds of it, she was pretty much the perfect Guardian. She was like… my role model.