His Nightmare Queen (Pitch Black x Reader)

13: Betwixt

There was dirt stuffed underneath your fingernails from having anxiously dug up the snowglobe out of your hiding spot under the loose earth of the forest. You were still busy swiping off some of the dusty particles from the glass as you continued running on the trail away from the lair's entrance. Your panting was drowning out the adrenaline pumping powerfully through your veins and surging through your legs that were stamping through as far as the forest could take you. Pine trees crossed your vision in dark green blurs and something in your mind partly hoped that the dirt you were kicking up with your heels from your sprint would somehow hold back anything that could potentially follow you, if not choke the voice desperately calling out your name. You don't think you've run this fast since those relays in elementary gym class.

You could think of nowhere else other than the clearing where you had met with Jack earlier today when the sun was higher in the sky. Now that the golden light of the spring sunset was shining brightly against the sides of the tree trunks and casting darker threatening shadows, the only image your scattered mind could spit out was the lightness of winter's snowfall. With the snowglobe still in your hands as you hurried down the path, you demanded your trembling - yet still strong - legs to hurry you there for now.

The thicket-like space was not painted with frost or dappled with snowflakes as it had been this afternoon. The greenery was as fresh as could be in preparation for the upcoming summer as if the white powder had never touched it. You slowed yourself to a jog as you passed through the last cluster of trees and bare logs, more confident now that you were closer to being alone. You then came to a stop once you reached the center of the clearing and looked around. Ferns, tall weeds, and untrimmed grass brushed past your footwear as you circled to scan the area for signs of anyone else being near. The burning in your exhausted lungs as you gasped heavily for air alongside the thumping that was your pulse points made it hard to decipher whether there was a pair of eyes gazing upon you from the other end of the forestry or not. You flipped your head from side to side, hair flipping with your movements. 

"Jack?!" You decided to yell worriedly in between catching your breath. You tried taking account of every bush and standing pine in search of the potential that the Guardian had come back to the area. You looked up at the sky to inhale a deep breath in order to steady your lungs before trying to take in your surroundings some more. "Jack?" You called again in slightly less of a shout. The only reply you gained was a whoosh of the evening breeze. He must have stayed at the North Pole after having brought you there. It had only been around an hour-ish ago anyway. Oh man, if he's spilling out to the others that you really had been spending time with Pitch...

With a tense sigh, you lifted the globe up to your face with the knowledge that this was your last and fastest option to get as far from the Nightmare King and his lair as possible. Fearing that he could still be following you or trying to find you that very second, you stopped hesitating to give the glass a shake of its contents. The snow inside stirred to life to allow you to give it the necessary command. The whisper fell from your lips faster than you could process it in your brain. "To North's workshop."

* * *

The portal brought you back to the living quarters where you had stood earlier. You stepped into the fireplace-warmed atmosphere and refamiliarized yourself with the scent of minty chocolates and the background clicking of toys being put together in another room within the building. The bright crimson carpeting was another comforting reminder that you were no longer running in the grass of the forest near Pitch's presence. To think that you'd already been here today a little over an hour ago. It's been a long day.

Surprisingly, all five of the Guardians were still around in the workshop, just a bit more spread out rather than huddled up in a group of hushed conversation. So when the bright portal closed behind you, the first to turn around to face you in surprise was North.