Something Quite Peculiar - Chapter 41

Chapter Forty-One: Toxic

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The balcony was one of the larger ones adorning this side of the pole, overlooking a deep, intimidating ice canyon. Jack immediately felt a bit at ease, away from the crowds and around the ice and snow. It was quieter out here, the party inside muffled by the windows and doors.

"Well, this is a romantic setting for our little talk," Jack said, leaning against the railing and glancing down at the jagged, sparkling ice.

"Please, I can and have done better," said Cupid dryly. "I need to talk to you about the Shadow People and what exactly it is that you're all planning to do."

"What, Mommy Dearest hasn't filled you in?" Jack said, cocking a brow.

"She doesn't want me involved, so no one else will tell me a thing because apparently pissing her off is more terrifying than being wiped out entirely," Cupid said with a roll of the eye. "I know that you guys are going to make weapons and that you're planning something, but what is it?"

"Why should I tell you? I mean I figure this is probably supposed to stay under wraps, can't have it getting back to the Shadow People, right?"

Honestly, Jack didn't really expect that Cupid would turn on them, not with his mother being a Muse and therefore at risk if the Shadow People achieved their goal. The frustration on the boy's face, however, was more amusing than it should be.

"The Muses are my family, just tell me, please, I can help," Cupid said.

"I don't know, the rest of the alliance might get all mad at me," Jack shrugged.

"How would that be different from any other time?" Cupid asked.

"True," said Jack, pretending to consider this for a moment. Annoyance grew on the other boy's face. "Fine, fine, the plan is to take the Shadow People down in Burgess on the full moon when they'll be at their weakest."

"What's a Burgess?" Cupid said, puzzled.

"Burgess, Pennsylvania, it's full of lunar magic, apparently," said Jack.

"Oh the place with the pond and the kid that wouldn't stop believing or whatever," said Cupid. "Okay. How are you guys getting them there to ambush?"

"We haven't sorted out all the details yet, but my understanding is that either Melpomene or Thalia will be disguised as Rowan and used as bait."

"And then what, the Guardians and a few of the Muses take down all of them?" Cupid said skeptically.

"At least enough of them that they're no longer a threat."

Cupid shook his head. "Look, I need a favor. I need you to come with me and back me up when I talk to North about letting me fight with you guys."

"I'm not so sure we need your help, Kid," Jack said. Cupid visibly became angry at the term Jack had used to address him. "I mean, I know the Muses aren't all cut out for combat but the Guardians kind of have it covered. We just need to make the weapons and we'll be fine."

They had taken care the Nightmares and Pitch. With the right tools they should be able to get rid of the Shadow People as well. Then at least some of his and Rowan's problems would be taken care of.

"First of all, I have lived your lifetime almost six times over so you can just back off with the 'Kid' bullshit," said the dark-haired boy.

"Touchy, touchy," Jack laughed. He knew Cupid's aging rate was a sore subject for him. It was why he brought it up so often.

"And second, Apollo gave me my bow before I could properly walk. There's not anyone that's a better shot than me," said Cupid. "But I mean, I guess you're right, how could almost two thousand years worth of archery experience possibly be useful in a combative situation?"

"What are you going to do, make the Shadow People fall in love with us?" Jack said, cocking a brow.

"If North lends me some stardust to make some arrowheads out of, I can get rid of them, just the same as your staff or his blade," said Cupid. "You've been up against these things, you've seen some of their numbers. If they're gonna dare come out during the full moon you can bet there will be more of them than you can imagine."

And with that, for the first time, Jack found himself taking the pretty boy in front of him seriously. Jack had fought the Shadow People more than anyone else in the alliance and each time, all he could do in the end was run. Hold them off long enough to get away, to make sure Rowan was somewhere safe.

Cupid was right, there definitely would be more of them if everything went according to plan. They could use all the help they could get.

"Why do you need me to back you up?" Jack asked. Cupid's expression seemed to soften some when it became clear that Jack might actually be willing to help him.

"Like I said, my mom doesn't want me involved and she's got enough influence over everyone else that they'll side with her to avoid conflict," Cupid explained. "But if another Guardian is on my side, I might be able to convince North, and my mom won't go against North."

"Wouldn't we have to vote you in like we did with Pitch?" Jack asked.

"Not necessarily, and honestly, I follow both the sun and the moon so I should be part of this alliance anyway. It's just a matter of letting me fight," said Cupid. "If North supports it, my mom will go along with it and no one else can really say anything."

"I thought you just followed Apollo," Jack said, confused.

"No, no, my powers were a collaboration between him and Tsar Lunar," Cupid said. "When my mom died, she was pregnant with me and Apollo saw it as an opportunity to see how magic would develop in a still-developing entity and he asked Manny if he wanted in on it. I'm assuming it's because Manny works better when it comes to kids. That's why I age so slowly, because if they just paused my aging like they do when the Muses come back, I would have never developed passed being an embryo. So, to keep me immortal, this happened."

"That is... really complicated," Jack said, clearly overwhelmed. "I always figured Apollo was your father or something and the powers just happened. And that the aging slowly thing was just a funny way genetics screwed you over."

"No, none of the Muses are involved with Apollo. He's more like a weird father-figure for them," Cupid said, shaking his head. "Which I guess makes him a grandfather-figure for me? He's, uh, he's interesting. But are you going to help me?"

"I guess I can back you up with North, I'm not guaranteeing results or anything."

"It's better than nothing," Cupid said, genuinely smiling. "C'mon, let's go find him."

"And then we're done, right? And I can go find my girlfriend before she tries to make friends with the personification of death or something?" Jack clarified, going to walk after Cupid, who had already approached the doors, when he slipped on some ice and struggled to keep upright.

"She seems pretty competent outside her decision to date you, I wouldn't worry too much," Cupid said, laughing as Jack cursed his shoes and finally just let himself fall. "Having trouble?"

"Give me a second," Jack said, kneeling so that he could pull at the laces Jamie had tied for him earlier and slip the shoes off, taking the socks with them for good measure. He stood upright again, noticeably more stable. Walking easily to the edge of the balcony again, Jack tossed the shoes and socks off the edge, feeling satisfied as they disappeared from view. "There, now let's go find North," he said, walking back to Cupid and through the door the other boy held open.

"Better not let Arachne find out you did that," Cupid said, still laughing slightly. "'Italian leather!' she'll say. 'Italian leather down a ditch!'"

"Well, maybe since I'm doing you a favor and backing you up with North, you'll do me a favor and not tell the scary spider woman I threw her hard work down a ditch."

"Oh she doesn't make the shoes, she outsources those, but fine, that's fair enough," Cupid nodded, scanning the crowd for North. One would think it wouldn't be so difficult to find a man that was at least seven and a half feet tall and dressed in red.

But there were a lot of larger than life creatures here. Jack darted out of the way of a cyclops not quite looking where he was going.

"And that's one of the small ones," Cupid winced as Jack straightened his stance and attempted to play it off as though that had never happened.

"Oh, good," he winced before returning his attention to the crowd. He was keeping an eye out for both North and Rowan, still unsure how she would handle being left alone with the other legends for too long.

"Shit," Cupid mumbled. Jack only heard because the music had stopped. Following Cupid's gaze, he found precisely what had left Cupid swearing. North was on the platform nearest the globe, smiling and speaking with Erato.

"Should we try later?" Jack asked, frowning at the idea. He just wanted to get this over with so he could find Rowan and make sure she was all right.

"Nah, come on," said Cupid, gesturing for Jack to follow as he pushed through the crowd and approached North and the Muse.

"Jack!" North said cheerfully as the pair approached. "And Cupid!"

"Hey, North-" Jack started.

"So glad you are here!" North said, beaming. He turned his back to the boy almost immediately, however, turning his attention toward the rest of the pole and shouting. "May I have your attention!"

Jack winced and Cupid took a few steps to the side as everyone in each part of the pole suddenly turned and silenced. North's voice was loud and commanding, with what seemed to be minimal effort. Those on other platforms shuffled to the railing to listen.

"As we approach the New Year in Iceland, I would like to say few words," North said, smiling. "First, I would like to thank all of you for coming. This ball is a chance for all of us to enjoy each other's company and be at ease, if only for a few hours, and I'm sure you all know how precious having that is. It has been a trying year for many, and we all did not always get along."

There were a few, scattered laughs throughout the pole at this statement.

"But we must remember all the good things that happened! Despite the hardships, belief is still strong!" North gestured to the globe, glowing brightly. The pole erupted into applause at this statement. "Friendships have only grown stronger with passing years and this one is no exception!" More applause.

"We have a new Guardian in Jack Frost, and I know he will make us proud!" North threw an arm around Jack's shoulders, bringing him forward suddenly. The boy smiled nervously, unsure what to do with all these eyes on him. It made him incredibly uncomfortable.

The applause that came for him were noticeably weaker, scattered, more polite than anything.

"So please, my dear guests, continue to celebrate! May we celebrate the past year's accomplishments and the new year's potential! Let us celebrate everyone who has made it through in good health."

"And everyone who didn't!" called a slim, dark-skinned man from another platform, holding up a glass. His face was painted to resemble a skull.

"And everyone who did not," North acknowledged with a nod. He spread his arms with a smile. "Five!"

"Four!" The rest of the pole chimed in with him. "Three! Two! One!"

"Happy New Year, Iceland, and everyone else in that time zone!" North announced. "Enjoy yourselves, everyone!"

Scattered applause rang through the pole again as North finished talking, turning his attention back to Cupid, North and Erato.

"Happy Icelandic New Year, Nicky," Erato said, swiftly grabbing the man by his collar and pulling her down to her level. While she was tall, and wore heels, she was still much too short to reach the man otherwise. Cupid sighed, embarrassed, and Jack cocked a brow as the Muse pressed her lips to North's in a brief kiss before taking a step away, smirking. North's eyes were wide and clearly surprised.

"Mom, stop flirting with Santa Claus, it's weird," Cupid said.

"Cupid, stand up straight," Erato said, chuckling to herself as she walked off, waving gently to North as she went.

"I think she broke him," Jack said, watching North, who was frozen in the spot, eyes still wide. The man seemed to be attempting to process what exactly had just happened. Jack gently tapped the man on the shoulder. "You okay, North? Anyone home?"

"I do not know what is going on," North said, shaking himself out of it. He glanced after Erato, still visible as she walked off to some other part of the pole. "I suddenly want to write love poetry, though."

"Maybe later? We have to talk to you," Cupid said.

"Is something wrong?" North asked, returning his attention to the two boys.

"Not necessarily," Cupid said. "I want to talk to you about getting some star dust arrowheads so I can help you guys out with the Shadow People."

"I do not know, Cupid, your mother does not want you involved," North said with a frown.

"She's worried about my safety and I get that, but I'm worried for hers," Cupid said. "I'm not a little kid, I can help."

"What do you think about this?" North asked Jack, brow raised.

"I think we can use all the help we can get against these things and at least this time we're not making a deal with the devil," said Jack. "I mean, the plan is to take out as many of them as possible, right? I don't know that we can really handle that many of them even with Cupid's help."

"The Nightmares were easier, because we just had to focus our efforts on Pitch," North nodded. He turned his attention to Cupid. "Erato will not be happy, though, if I make you weapons."

"I would rather have my mother unhappy than have all the Muses continue to exist in hiding," said Cupid.

"What's going on over here?" came Calliope's voice, but with a cheerful inflection that Jack had never heard before. The group turned to see Calliope, dressed in a lovely mermaid silhouette dress approaching with drink in hand and Sandy trailing her.

"Cupid wants to help us with the Shadow People," North said. Sandy smiled up at Jack and waved to him in greeting. His usual sand suit had been fixed up to look more like a tuxedo and included a bow tie.

"Hi Sandy," Jack smiled, returning the other Guardian's greeting.

"I think that's a great idea!" Calliope said with a smile.

"You do?" Cupid said, surprised.

"She is drunk," North said. Sandy nodded immediately.

"I am not! Not… not very drunk, anyway," Calliope said, setting her glass to her lips as Sandy rolled his eyes. The small man smiled at Cupid and floated up on one of his dream clouds until he was at eye level with the boy and pulled him into an embrace.

"It's good to see you too, Sandy," Cupid said as he released the Sandman from his grasp. "I've been fine, thanks, nothing new to really report."

"Cupid is such a good boy he should help us," Calliope said, pulling Cupid into her arms as soon as Sandy moved out of the way for her to do so. Her hug was far more of the backbreaking variety. "You're such a good boy, Cupid. Such a good nephew… godson… thing."

"And, uh, you're a great Godmother, Aunt Calliope," Cupid said, gently patting the woman on the back. Jack chuckled slightly.

"And you!" Calliope said, releasing Cupid and pointing to Jack. "Cupid needs more friends, but if you're gonna be one of them, you just don't go getting my nephew into trouble you hear me? You're trouble." Calliope set her drink to her lips again, smiling.

"We're not really friends, he just thinks that I should help you guys out, too," Cupid said.

"Aw, but Cupid you need friends your own age," Calliope said with a nod.

"I'm over a thousand years older than he is," Cupid pointed out.

"Not like that age," Calliope said, waving Cupid's comment away. She turned back to Jack. "He's got his own holiday now, you know. We're all so proud. Valentine's Day. You don't have a holiday, do you, Jack?"

"Neither do you," Jack pointed out.

"It's not my holiday," Cupid groaned.

"It's his holiday," Calliope said.

"But back to serious matters, are you sure you are willing to do this, Cupid? It is not your fight, I do not want to make a target out of you," North said.

"They're going after the Muses, and as far as I'm concerned, that makes it my fight," Cupid said.

"He's so sweet," Calliope said, patting Cupid on the shoulder.

"The more long range weapons we can get on our side the better," Jack said. "And being able to fly is an advantage because the Shadow People can't."

"Tomorrow, when it is not so chaotic, we will discuss the arrowheads, I am not sure how you go about making your arrows," North said.

"You're gonna let me fight?" Cupid said, trying and failing to hide his excitement over this.

"You are a great marksman, Cupid, it would be foolish to turn away your offer to help," North said with a nod.

"Thank you!" Cupid said with a grin, dimples flashing.

"Your mother is going to be angry," North said.

"Oh, I'll deal with that. Thank you so much, I feel so much better knowing I can do something about this now!" Cupid said. It was clear that some kind of weight had been lifted from the boy's shoulders.

"Your mother may still stay no," North pointed out.

"Oh, Erato needs to lighten up," Calliope said. Jack laughed. Calliope? Saying someone else needed to lighten up?

A few images flashed above Sandy's head as he gestured to Calliope.

"Sandy's right, Calliope might not be on your side once she sobers up," Jack said.

"I expect as much," Cupid shrugged. "But as long as some of you are on board I should still be able to do this."

"I'm just ready to put all this Shadow People bullshit behind us," Jack mumbled.

"Where is Rowan?" North said, suddenly realizing the girl wasn't with Jack. Jack winced.

"That's a, uh, good question," Jack said sheepishly.

"Oh, the Mortal Muse? She's telling a whole group a story about pirates," Calliope said. "We passed her earlier."

"She would," Jack smirked.

"Good, good, as long as she stays out of trouble," North said.

"Sit down?" Calliope said, sounding a bit insulted as she watched sand images appear above Sandy's head. Sandy sighed. "But I don't want to sit down! Come on, Sanderson, dance with me! Let's dance the, uh… the Macarena! Or, no, not the Macarena, the um… hmm... Let's just dance, come on, come on."

She set her drink down on and took each of Sandy's hands in her own before clumsily pulling him to the dance floor, giggling the whole way.

"I almost feel bad that every time there's a ball he ends up babysitting her drunk ass," Cupid said, watching them go.

"I don't think Sandy minds," North said. Sure enough, Sandy was all smiles as he and Calliope twirled around the dance floor.

---

"So Jack and Mr. Perry start making plans to steal a ship almost immediately and Miss Gates has to remind them that there's still a gem on the island that they have to get first. Mr. Perry points out that one of the officers has a ring with a gem that always left him feeling sort of uneasy. Deciding that that must be it, the group decide to steal back their weapons and map and then track down this officer," Rowan said, exceedingly more confident now, thanks in part to the alcohol she'd consumed and in part by the fact that the small crowd that had formed around her seemed hooked on her every word.

"They found the office where their effects were being kept and upon glancing inside, found a well-dressed man carefully examining the map the sea witch had drawn out for them. On his hand was a ring, whose gem glistened in the candlelight in an almost taunting manner.

"'That would be him,' Mr. Perry told the others. Before anyone had a chance to question how they would not only get the gem, but get their weapons and map back, Anne burst forward into the office.

"'Officer!' she cried, throwing herself at the man, clinging to his shoulders. Jack and Mr. Perry watched, puzzled. 'Please tell me that you can help me! Two men are following me, I can't get rid of them!'

"Jack scowled. 'If she double crosses me again,' he started, before the officer pried Anne off of him, his expression stern. He began to lecture Anne, knowing full well that she was the woman that had been brought in earlier. Anne maintained eye contact, though her fingers were sliding across the desk's surface.

"Jack reached for the door and was about to enter himself when the officer howled in pain. Jack and Mr. Perry exchanged looks before rushing inside, finding the officer on the ground and Miss Gates holding a bloodied dagger that had been on the desk in one hand, and the ring, also covered in blood in the other. Jack and Mr. Perry's eyes quickly darted between the ring in her hand and the hand that the ring used to be situated on.

"It had been severed, and now sat on the desk's surface as the officer cradled his bleeding stump of an arm. 'I got the gem!' Anne said proudly.

"'You certainly did,' Mr. Perry said, appearing quite frightened. Jack, having been in the company of pirates most of his life, recovered from this revelation far more quickly than Mr. Perry did and began gathering together their weapons. 'Was that entirely necessary?' Mr. Perry asked.

"'I didn't kill him,' Anne said, tucking away the ring and leaning over to wipe the blood from her hand off on the officer's jacket. She scooped up the map and took the sword Jack handed her before the trio rushed from the office.

"'Are you sure you're not a pirate?' Jack asked Anne as they crept through some shadows, hoping to avoid any guards.

"'I never said I wasn't, it seems I've got a talent for it,' Anne said, clearly smug. It was probably her best career option at this point, considering she had just robbed the governor and cut off a man's hand in the span of twenty-four hours.

"'It's nice to know that fearing you while we worked together was justified,' was all Mr. Perry had to say on the subject as the group finally made it away from the prison, their sights on the harbor," Rowan said.

"Well, then what?" Johnny asked, now on what had to be his third or fourth apple he'd consumed since Rowan started her story. The man ate the entirety of the apples, too, core and all.

"Well, that's all I've really got right now, I'm still sorting out what happens next," Rowan said with an apologetic smile. Several members of the crowd groaned in disappointment.

"I'm going to have to drop by and find out what happens next. You're in New England, are you not?" the Horseman said.

"Yes," Rowan nodded.

"Don't be surprised or alarmed if you hear a horse one of these nights, then," he said.

"Well, then you can fill me in," Johnny said to the Horseman.

"And me!" Baba Yaga demanded. "The story is decent but I wish it had more witches."

"Agreed!"

"More witches!"

"Sea monsters! Where are the sea monsters?"

"I'll keep all that in mind," Rowan smiled as the crowd began to disperse now that her tale was through. She hoped her story truly had gone over as well as she thought it had, and that the liquor wasn't simply making her imagine such a thing.

She was left alone at the refreshment table for no longer than a few moments before a smooth, seductive voice filled her ears.

"Well, well, this is the Mortal Muse."

Rowan turned to find a tall, slim man with a long face and pointed chin. He wore an Edwardian styled suit with a long coat. Everything about it was black. The coat, the dress shirt, the tie, the waistcoat: black, black, black, black.

He walked with a woman, also tall and wearing heels that only served to enhance this height. Her already tiny waist was exaggerated further thanks to the corset of her off-the-shoulder dress. Her sleeves were tight and full-length. The skirt was full, padded out with a petticoat. The dress was black, but accented with red.

"Who are you?" Rowan asked bluntly, unable to find it in herself to be as polite as she had attempted to be earlier after that last shot of vodka.

"Ah, yes, introductions are in order," said the man. "I am Pitch Black. And this, well, this is Melpomene, the Muse of Tragedy."

Rowan's stomach sank and she was sure it was clear on her face as exactly who she was speaking to became known to her. Her eyes became fixed on Melpomene immediately.

She hand pronounced cheekbones and eerily beautiful gray eyes. Her glossy black hair looked as though it would be soft if you touched it. A small, insincere smile pulled at her lips, a deep red.

Jack hadn't been wrong in his assessment that she looked like the descriptions of Snow White. She was stunning, absolutely stunning. Lovely, but with a sadness behind her eyes. A sadness that begged to be taken away.

Why did she have to be so lovely? Rowan felt as though her appearance became more and more plain, more and more ordinary, the longer she stood within a few feet of Melpomene. This was her boyfriend's ex. This gorgeous creature.

Rowan adjusted the skirt of her own dress, biting her lip nervously. She suddenly felt like a child playing dress-up.

Her insecurities multiplied by the second. Was Melpomene doing that? She was just standing there. Smiling that small, insincere smile.

"Right, well, I've heard a lot about both of you," Rowan said, glancing back up, this time focusing on Pitch, eyes narrowed. This was the man that had attempted to kill her little cousin months prior.

Of course they would both show up at the same time.

"All terrible things, I'm sure," Pitch smiled, setting a hand to her shoulder. "We're not all bad, Miss Sawyer, you mustn't let Jack's bias account influence you."

Rowan stepped away from his hand, crossing her arms before her chest defensively.

"Oh, let her think what she wants," Melpomene said, her voice far more hoarse than Rowan expected. "Regardless of how she feels about me, we are sisters."

"That's what you guys keep saying but I'm not really on the market for mythological siblings, so," Rowan said.

"I know the feeling. Believe me, we aren't the most agreeable group," Melpomene said, glancing toward the dance floor where Thalia and Arachne were still attempting to waltz.

"I noticed," Rowan said, turning away from the pair and beginning to walk off. She needed to get away from Melpomene as soon as possible. Her thoughts of how she wasn't pretty enough or skinny enough or tall enough in comparison to Jack's former fling would not stop.

"Now, now, Rowan, it's rude to leave without saying goodbye," Pitch said, suddenly emerging from the shadows in front of her. Rowan turned, looking back to the refreshment table she'd left to find Melpomene still there. The Muse watched Rowan and Pitch for no more than a few moments before gracefully walking to the dance floor, quickly being offered a hand to dance by the Horseman.

"She's so graceful, isn't she?" Pitch said, setting a hand to Rowan's shoulder again. "They all are, even Thalia, in a way."

"Hm," was all Rowan said, shrugging away from his grasp again and starting away from the dance floor again.

They were all so poised, so graceful, so beautiful. She didn't carry herself in the right way to be a Muse, she thought as she attempted to straighten her stance while she walked, to exude more confidence than she actually had.

"You feel like a fish out of water, don't you? The only mortal among legends," Pitch said, suddenly appearing beside her again.

"Leave me alone," Rowan said, wincing at his words.

"Well, I've heard that one before," Pitch said with a slight roll of the eye. "I know how you feel, Rowan."

"Sure you do," she said, rolling her own eyes.

"I do," Pitch insisted. "Coming to this gathering, wondering when you speak to each person, 'what have you already decided about me?' 'How much of a lesser being do you see me as?' Feeling as though you don't belong."

"Okay, but people think those things about you because you're kind of an asshole from what I've heard," Rowan said, finally glancing his way. Her irritation with the man didn't stop her thoughts from colliding into one another

So they had liked her stories. Maybe it had been a fluke. Maybe they were being polite. She still wasn't sure what half the Muses thought of her. Did any of them actually like her? Did any of them actually care what happened to her, or was their main concern her powers? What did the other legends think of this mortal girl, lurking around the North Pole?

"I've made some questionable judgment calls," Pitch said vaguely. "None of which concerns you, so let's not let that affect our relationship, hm?"

"You tried to kill my cousin," Rowan said. She realized all at once that revealing that she was related to the little boy that helped ruin Pitch's long-planned attack was probably not a smart move on her part.

But then, if dating the spirit that completely destroyed Pitch's long-planned attack hadn't counted against her, then...

"Cousin?" Pitch said, suddenly stopping his pacing beside her. She stopped walking too, although she couldn't say why. She looked the man in the eye and his brow furrowed as he examined her face.

"Jamie Bennett," he said. It seemed something had clicked. There was at least some kind of resemblance between her and Jamie, particularly in their eyes and freckles. "Well, that certainly explains a bit."

"Yeah, so, excuse me for already having an opinion of you but I don't really appreciate you trying to kill my family," Rowan said bitterly before stepping away again.

"It wasn't anything personal," Pitch said, following her again.

"Don't you have some beds to hide under or something?" Rowan mumbled.

"No, not thanks to the conditions of the agreement that I'm sure Jack told you all about," said Pitch.

"What do you want?" Rowan said, turning to face him again. Had she been sober, she wouldn't have entertained the man for this long, certainly not. Avoiding him entirely would be the best plan of action. She was mortal, she had no control over her powers and even if she did they wouldn't help her against him.

But she felt stronger than she truly was. She could handle the Boogeyman, surely. She'd had just enough liquor to believe that.

"Simply to talk, Rowan," said Pitch.

"About what? The fact that you don't have any eyebrows?"

"What?"

"I've been trying to figure out what's weird about your face, that's it," Rowan said. "You should very much consider drawing some in."

"You're intoxicated, aren't you?" Pitch said, clearly unamused.

"Little bit, did it take you this long to figure it out?" Rowan asked.

"I imagine you drank more to try and get rid of the fear," Pitch said casually, leaning against the wall."I feel as though I should tell you that you can't get rid of fear."

"I'll remember that next time, D.A.R.E. Officer Boogeyman," Rowan said, mockingly saluting the man.

Pitch smirked. "Look at you with your alcohol confidence, you're still terrified."

"Congratulations, you figured out that I'm nervous about what the immortals think of me. That was real hard to figure out, I'm sure."

"It's not just that," Pitch said. "You're afraid of the other immortals' opinion of you, certainly but you're more afraid of your own mortality."

"Again, super hard to figure out, you're so good at your job, man," Rowan sighed, leaning against the wall as well.

"You're afraid of what will happen to you after you die. With all these deities being real, you don't know what the after life will have in store and the idea of being stuck in some kind of limbo terrifies you. Not to mention death, you're thinking about it much more than most people your age. Will it hurt? Will it be lonely? You don't like not knowing," Pitch said. Rowan shifted uncomfortably, unable to come up with a response. "But then, there's the idea that you might come back, you might be cursed to walk this world for the rest of eternity and living forever is a burden you don't want to bare."

"Did you want to be immortal?" Rowan mumbled. The thought of outliving everyone in her life was awful. The thought of watching the world go by and not participating was awful. The thought of a story with no ending…

"I didn't choose to be how I am, either," Pitch said vaguely. "I had other plans. And so do you, don't you? You have plans for your life, plans that don't involve fulfilling some duty given to you by Apollo, and you're afraid that might be ruined. It's a lack of control, and that terrifies you. You want to be able to fix things, to manipulate the circumstances of your life to go your way and the second magic was introduced, you found that you couldn't control anything anymore."

She didn't need Pitch to tell her this. She'd already had her breakdown over this. She had already cried over this.

"But as you pointed out before, that's not hard to figure that out," Pitch continued. "What's been scaring you lately is Jack."

"I'm not afraid of Jack," Rowan said.

"No, no, not of him, but of your future with him," said Pitch, leaning in and speaking in softer tones. It felt as though is voice was coming from her own mind and she remained rooted in the spot. "You fantasize about growing up and growing old with him, of having a life with him that you know very well you can never actually have. You came up with your cover story and you want that. And then you feel guilty. Because you care so deeply for him as he is, but if you could change that about him, you would. You wish he were mortal, like you. You feel guilty about wanting to change him and being so unwilling to change yourself."

"Stop," she said, refocusing on the ground before her rather than the Boogeyman, feeling her heart rate increase, her anxiety spike as he spoke.

"You're afraid of the day that this all ends. Because it will all end, it certainly can't last. You're afraid of saying goodbye, so you focus on the present and try to enjoy that. You're afraid of the day that he flies out of your life and," Pitch said, leaning in even closer, his mouth so close to her ear now, "Never. Comes. Back."

The feeling of loneliness that had consumed her when she and Jack had fought before getting together tugged at her heart as the greatest sense of fear consumed her. The confidence the haze of alcohol had given her was gone, all she was left with was the fear, the crippling anxiety.

"And that's all beside the fact that now that you've seen Melpomene, well, you wonder why he's even bothering with you. You're not good enough, and he's going to leave you," Pitch whispered.

His face seemed somehow brighter, less gaunt as she looked him in the eye at last.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Boogeyman," said a tall, slim man with a chuckle, cigarette clenched between his teeth. Rowan and Pitch each turned to face him, Rowan stepping away from the wall and Pitch at last. He was dressed in a magnificent suit, complete with top hat but lacking a shirt. Rowan wasn't sure if the visible ribcage was a fancy paint job on the man's chest, or his actual ribs. Every time she thought she had figured it out, she began to second-guess herself again.

His skin was dark and his face was meticulously painted to resemble a skull. Rowan remembered suddenly that he had spoken earlier, when North had addressed the entire party.

"Who sad you get to keep the pretty mortal girl to yourself all night? Aren't you here with Miss Tragedy?" said the man.

"Aren't you here with your wife?" Pitch said dryly.

The man waved Pitch's comment away before sliding his arm around Rowan's shoulder. "Come with me, Sugar, we'll have so much more fun."

"Okay," Rowan said immediately. Any excuse to get away from Pitch, to talk about anything else that wasn't her insecurities and her fears. She began walking with the man, glancing back at Pitch just in time to see him smirk slightly before disappearing into the shadows.

"Do you smoke? Of course you do," said the man, pulling a cigarette from his coat pocket and sticking it between Rowan's lips before swiftly lighting it.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Rowan said, coughing on the smoke as she pulled the cigarette from her lips.

The man smiled. "Baron Samedi. I was hoping to meet you, Mortal Muse."

---

"Jack!" Tooth said, pulling the boy into her arms and taking him by surprise.

"Hi Tooth," Jack said, hugging her back. When she pulled away, her smile was radiant, as was her dress, pink and sari-inspired, just like the sketch Arachne had shown them. She wore glistening bracelets and a jeweled head piece. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you," she smiled. "So do you! Where's Rowan? I was curious about how her dress came out."

"I'm not sure, something came up and I kind of lost her," Jack said sheepishly. "I was actually about to ask if you had seen her."

"No, sorry," Tooth said, shaking her head.

"Hello, Toothiana," Cupid said with a smile. Tooth watched the boy for a moment, clearly confused, before her eyes lit up in recognition.

"Cupid?" she said. "You got taller!"

"I did!" Cupid grinned.

"Oh goodness, just look at you! You've changed so much! And I mean, in a good way, obviously," Tooth said with a nervous smile. "I didn't recognize you for a second there."

"Well, it's been about four hundred years," Cupid shrugged. "You look lovely."

"Thank you," she smiled. "It's the one night a year I dress up."

"I wasn't talking about the dress," he said. "But it's nice too."

Tooth visibly blushed. Jack chuckled and the other two seemed to immediately notice that he was still there. "Don't mind me, I'm going to go find Rowan," he said with a smirk, beginning to walk off as Tooth fidgeted nervously.

"Would you like to dance, Toothiana?" Jack could hear Cupid asking as he left. It briefly crossed Jack's mind that he and Rowan hadn't attempted to dance at all yet this evening. Perhaps he'd ask her whenever he found her.

Jack scanned the crowds as he walked through the pole. A few times he had spied other women in blue dresses and thought for a moment that he had found her, only to find that this was not the case.

The North Pole was massive; she could be anywhere.

"C'mon, Sawyer," Jack mumbled to himself as he continued searching. He was growing worried until he found her, blushing and wide-eyed as the skull-faced man from earlier cackled at what must have been a very, very dirty joke.

She gently reached for the cigarette between her lips, slowly exhaling smoke as the man continued talking. Did Rowan smoke? She certainly hadn't ever done that in the time he'd spent with her. There was something appealing, though, about the way the smoke danced away from her mouth.

She took a drink of something that the man seemed to be holding the bottle for. It appeared to be rum of some kind.

"But honestly, Sugar, don't worry so much. You're going to love dying. When you die, nothing matters anymore, it's very freeing. It took the other Muses some time to get used to it, but they came around. Death, Sweetheart, is so much better than the living make it seem," Jack could hear the man saying as he approached.

"Jack!" Rowan said, eyes immediately lighting up as she saw him.

"I've been looking for you-" Jack started before the man stepped in front of him, blocking Rowan's view of the boy.

"We've had such a good time, haven't we?" said the man.

"Oh you've been great," Rowan smiled, setting the glass to her lips again.

"Did you come here with anyone, then?" the man asked.

"Right here," Jack said, walking around the man, glaring the whole way.

"Oh, the new Guardian," the man said, sounding somewhat bored as he glanced Jack's way but briefly. "I guess that makes sense." He returned his attention to Rowan, smile pulling at his lips. "Sugar, you let me know if you change your mind about that."

"I'm standing right here," Jack said. Who the hell even was this?

The man looked to Jack again, eyes scanning the boy up and down for a moment, seeming thoughtful before saying, "Hmm. You tell me if you change your mind about that, too."

At Jack's surprised expression, the man laughed before lightly brushing his hand over Rowan's shoulder and walking away.

"Did he just hit on both of us?" Jack said, watching the man go.

"I think so," Rowan giggled.

"Who even was that?" he asked.

"Baron Samedi, I think is what he said. He's from Voodoo," Rowan said, matter-of-factly, still laughing slightly. "He's one of the Death deities, but he's not as scary as you'd think, he's just very lewd. And pushy."

"Huh. And since when do you smoke?" Jack asked, gesturing to the cigarette. Rowan glanced down, and seemed to suddenly realize she was still smoking the item in question.

"Oh!" she said. "I don't. But he gave it to me and it seemed rude to say no, same with the rum."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to give in to peer pressure?" Jack teased as Rowan approached the nearby refreshment table, filled mostly with empty dishes, and put out her cigarette before gently setting down her glass.

"I don't know that I would call a voodoo deity my peer," she said, turning around to face him again, smile on her face. "Besides, he was nice enough. Some of his jokes were funny."

"Well, I guess that's good to know. Are you drunk?" Jack said, cocking a brow as he watched the girl, who seemed a bit hazed the more she spoke. She swayed ever so slightly as she stood.

"A bit," she nodded, still smiling. She stepped forward, sliding her arms around him and leaning her head on his shoulder. He half wondered if this was just to keep herself steady or not as he slid his arms around her in return. "I was starting to sober up, I think, and then he gave me the rum. North's vodka, it hits you fast, but it also fades off sooner than expected."

"Maybe we should find you some water," Jack said.

"Water and a private place," she whispered in his ear. "Jack let's have some fun, hm? I'll tell you all about my dream..."

Jack's eyebrows shot up at this suggestion. "Yeah?" he said. "How about we get you the water first, and wait for you to sober up a bit, see if you still feel the same way."

"I guess that's a good idea," she sighed, pulling away from him slightly in order to properly look him in the eye. "I just haven't stopped thinking about you all night."

"Same here," he smiled.

"You look so hot in this suit. I mean, figuratively speaking," she mumbled, fingering his collar. "Obviously you're still quite cold."

He laughed. "Obviously. You're not half bad yourself."

She pressed her lips to his, briefly but sincerely, before embracing him yet again. "Stay with me," she whispered.

"Considering the last time I left you alone you started drinking with a death spirit I'm not letting you out of my sight," Jack smirked, assuming she was simply talking about staying with her for the rest of the ball. "Come on, let's find you that water."

She nodded, releasing him from her grasp so that they could properly walk, gripping his hand as they went.