Rise of the Tangled

Chapter 6- An Old Friend

--Rapunzel's POV---

"Well Rapunzel, now that you have agreed to be a guardian, you have to find your power or calling. We all have one. I am the guardian of wonder, Tooth is the guardian of memories, Sandy is the guardian of dreams, Bunny is the guardian of hope, and Jack is the guardian of fun. Now you have to find out what you are the guardian of," North explained.

"How do I find out?" I asked.

"By finding your center." North replied.

"But..." I was cut off by Jack who seemed to know what I was gonna say.

"You'll find it! I had a hard time understanding too!"

"And you can help it along by spending time with us and the kids." North added.

"Oooo that should be fun!" I was very excited. I loved kids! That was probably from spending time with them, my whole life!

"We will have to make some adjustments though." said Tooth.

"That's right. You have to become invisible!" Bunny added.

I was SO confused!. "Wait...What?"

"You see, now that you're a guardian you have to seem invisible to kids who don't believe," Tooth explained.

"But, why would I want to be invisible to unbelievers?" I asked.

"Because the kids need to have faith to believe. They shouldn't just see us. They have to believe we exist."

I understood what they were getting at...kinda. I followed them to a small room. There was a big chamber right in the middle. It was big and glowing. It looked scary yet, enchanting.

"Just step here my dear," said North

I hesitated, "Will it hurt?" I asked.

"Oh no! You'll hardly feel anything," North replied.

I stepped into the chamber. It looked like I was in a room full of fireflies. Everything was sparkling. North closed the door of the chamber. A few seconds later, there was a big flash and a gust of wind. Then it was still again. I stepped out of the chamber and didn't feel any difference, 'Is that all?'  I wondered.

As if he read my mind, Jack answered me, "That's all! That wasn't so bad right?" He smiled a little smirk that made me feel fluttery inside. I blushed and turned away so that he wouldn't see me, "The only person who got to use that machine was North. All the rest of us came to be guardians by Manny's choice," he continued.

 We stepped out of the room and everyone went back to their jobs.

Rapunzel first stayed with North and tried to figure out how the toy making process worked. Nothing stood out to her, but she was always entranced by the Globe of Belief.

The next day she went to Tooth's palace to watch how the tooth-collecting industry worked. She traveled with Tooth to watch how they gathered the teeth. Rapunzel loved watching the kids and she even got to take a tooth herself. She didn't find anything, though, that could help her find her center.

The next day she went down Bunnymund's rabbit hole to Easter Island. She watched the coloring of the eggs and tried it herself. She had a true talent for painting. She made masterpieces on some of the eggs. But she didn't feel anything special in painting.

Rapunzel was starting to get discouraged as she laid in bed that night. Would she ever find her center? Was she doing something wrong?

She ran downstairs feeling very useless. The workshop was still. There was no one around, but Rapunzel. She wanted to talk to someone about it, but WHO?! North was asleep and the yetis and elves wouldn't really understand.

Then she heard a voice, "Rapunzel. Don't worry, I know what you are feeling."

The voice was sad and didn't sound very kind. She looked around with caution. All she saw was dark, 'W-who's there?" she said. Rapunzel was getting more and more frightened.

"I know what it's like to be useless. I know what you are going through." said the sad voice.

Rapunzel saw a shadow in the dark. It was moving toward her. Then, out of the darkness, came a tall, thin man. He was dressed in a long rice that seemed to disappear into shadow at the bottom. He made Rapunzel wary and she stood, frozen.

'W-who are you?" She asked. She was scared to death. He looked like the scariest thing she could possibly imagine.

"My name... is Pitch Black."

"Pitch Black! Go away or I'll call for North!"

"Oh there's no need for that. They are all making a big fuss about me. I am not the bad guy anymore. I have come to offer my help to you."

"I don't want your help."

"Well maybe not right now, but you will. Just remember, you can always reach me if you want."

Then Pitch disappeared.

---Pitch's POV---

I was in my lair planning my next attack, when my trusted horse, Onyx, rode in with news.

"What is it girl?"

Onyx tugged my to follow her. What could be so important? I followed her across countries to North's workshop, 'What are we doing here?'  I wondered. Onyx brought me over to the window and we peered inside.

All the guardians were gathered around a large sack, 'What's that?'  I said to myself. Out of the bag came a girl. She had long blonde hair. The guardians seemed very excited. I decided to get closer. As I listened to what the guardians were saying, I caught on. It was a new guardian! The moon knew I was planning something and he thought they needed help. Oh how fun!

A few days later I decided to pay the girl a visit. I had found out from my nightmares that her name was Rapunzel and that she seemed like an easily scared girl.

We arrived at North's workshop in the dead of night. No one would be up at this hour. I looked in the windows and to my surprise. Rapunzel was up and running down some stairs. She looked depressed and unloved. I smiled.

Perfect.

I entered the building and lurked through the shadows, watching Rapunzel. I decided to have a little fun with the girl before I appeared.

"Rapunzel. Don't worry, I know what you are feeling," I said in my wispy voice. I really did know what she was feeling. For years I was hidden in the darkness with no purpose.

'W-who's there?" she said. Rapunzel was getting more and more frightened. She really did get easily scared, which made my job more easier. I moved out of the shadows and into plain view. Rapunzel stood frozen. She looked terrified, but underneath the terror, I could see strength. I couldn't let the strength surface.

'W-who are you?" She asked.

"My name... is Pitch Black."

"Pitch! Go away or I'll call for North!"

"Oh there's no need for that. They are all making a big fuss about me. I am not the bad guy anymore. I have come to offer my help to you."

"I don't want your help."

"Well maybe not right now, but you will. Just remember, you can always reach me if you want." I knew she would call me. She looked weak. It was a perfect arrangement though, because I needed someone to rule the nightmares by my side. With a few evil tricks, I could get her to do just that!

I disappeared and went back to my lair thinking of my beautiful scheme. It would work.

I was sure of it!