Frozen Amethyst Chapter 26

The feeling of pain slowly returning to your chest, you rubbed your eyes to clear out your vision.

Oh, my head...

Your head was pounding and everything seemed blurry for a second there. But as your eyes focused on what lay ahead of you, you finally realized you were in some sort of immense bird cage, dangling from the ceiling. Each and every move you made would make your tiny prison swing from one side to another.

Oh, perfect. Just perfect.

Bringing your knees up to your chest, you rested your back against the bars. There was no point in escaping anyways. Pitch had drained all of your powers. And maybe even a little more than necessary, considering you felt weaker than you normally should.

What will my parents think? It should be day by now. Oh no, what if they think I ran away or something? God, this is all my fault... I should of never trusted that bastard in the first place...

At least some of your emotions were back. Sighing once more, you squeezed your eyes shut, enjoying the silence that roamed throughout the lair.

Jack...

The thought of him came to your mind unexpectedly and made your heart ache even more. If he comes here to save you, Pitch will block every possible way out and he'll be trapped. Then you'll have to watch the whole scene from your stupid bird cage.

Just as your thoughts went wild, an echo bounced off of the cavern walls.

It seemed distant, but every time you would hear it, it just got closer.

Oh please, no.

"____________!" Indeed, it was Jack's voice. He had come to your rescue after all. You were really flattered by this, but he was the last person you wanted to see right now. If he didn't go, Pitch would trap both of you!

"Oh, __________! You can't believe how much I've missed you!" Jack flew up to your cage and his face was inches away from yours. The only thing separating you was the bars.

Looking down onto his torso, you could see a few bandages coming from underneath his hoodie. He must feel pretty weak. But since he was hovering before you, it probably wasn't that bad of a wound.

"Jack, you're hurt. You shouldn't be here." You croaked, holding back your emotions.

"This little wound? Are you kidding? I can barely feel anything!" He seemed a bit too happy for this kind of situation. He poked his chest, but did not wince at all. "I've come to save you. Don't worry, I'll get you out-"

"Jack, don't you get it? Pitch wanted you here! That's why I'm in this damn cage! He's planning on trapping you and getting rid of you, for once and for all. And I'm your bait." A single tear streamed down your cheek, but you quickly wiped it away. "Why did you even come, anyways? It's not like you actually care, right? I mean, after all I did..."

Jack's smile slowly disappeared as he tried to get a hold of your trembling hand through the bars.

"I came because I love you. And the reason I left, 2 months ago, was because North told me to. He said the best way to protect you from was for me to stop seeing you. Believe me, I really didn't want to go with that plan. But since the Guardians said there was no other easier way, they gave me no choice." His eyes were now focusing on his hand, entwined with yours.

"And so that's why, that last night, I told you all of those beautiful things about yourself. So your last memory of me could be one worth remembering."

Your eyes were now filled with tears and you could visualize yourself smiling like a fool. Jack didn't really leave you after all. He was just... protecting you? Why didn't you think of that? Mentally slapping yourself for being so hard on him, you brought your attention back to him.

The young spirit looked up and chuckled.

"I guess I can tell North that his plan didn't work out so well, eh?"

You couldn't help but laugh despite the fact that you must look really weird by now. Noticing that Jack was leaning in closer, you knew where he wanted to take this. But as you lips were about to touch, an obnoxious laugh echoed not too far away.

"Love, such a wonderful thing. Too bad ___________ won't be able to enjoy it when I'm going to be done with you, Jack."

Pitch was standing below the cage, looking up at you as he smiled.

Seriously, he should win an award for best mood ruiner of the year!

"It's over, Pitch. Face it, you lost and you know it." Jack hovered down at Pitch's level and pointed his staff at him.

Pitch took a step forward and patiently placed his hands behind his back.

"On the contrary. I think this is just the beginning."