Word Count: 1,484
A/N: Day nineteen of a writing challenge.
Summary: Jack was made to be Pitch's, The Man in the Moon had seen to it when he allowed the dark to caress the cold.

Transformation

When Jack breaks down, shaken and all but broken from being invisible it is Pitch that finds him. The King of Fear held out a pale hand in the moonlight, offering all sorts of things that Jack craved. Knowledge of who and what he was, companionship, and acknowledgement. It is an easy task to take Jack away from the world that has shunned him; the boy had been ignored for over three centuries, never knowing more then his own name. He was more then willing to go with a creature, even one as dark as Pitch, as long as he was seen.

"Hello, Jack. I am Pitch Black, would you like to come with me?" Pitch smiled thinly, teeth bared in a parody of a happy grin. But Jack hadn't seen a smile in years, so the twisted expression on the Nightmare King's face was as radiant as it was dark.

Pitch could have approached the winter sprite earlier; but Pitch was focused on the long game, he was a master at chess. Jack would become his Knight, an entity that existed to protect the King, to protect Pitch; because while Jack was weak now, creating minor blizzards and flurries, he would be strong later. His frost and ice and cold would have the power to influence the world, it would have the power to change everything. So Pitch waited, making sure that the boy was desperate, would be so thankful for a 'friend', for someone to see and understand. And when the time finally came he stepped out of the shadows, reached out a single hand, and snatched Jack Frost away.

—-

"Now Jack, I want you to know that we're friends now. Allies. We watch out for each other, protect each other. Do you understand?" When Jack nodded hastily Pitch smiled, and this time it was just a tad more real.

To Pitch, the Man in the Moon had created Jack solely for him; he had crafted the icy teen out of Pitch's greatest ally, the cold. For the dark and the cold had worked in tandem for centuries, by all rights the two beings that controlled them should be companions. Should work together. So Pitch promised silently the night that he took Jack into his dark realm; he vowed that he would heed the Man in the Moon only once. That he would return the favor when asked to, for MiM had given him something precious. He had given Pitch a loyal Knight, someone that could think independently and would not leave his side.

The Man in the Moon stared down at the pair of spirits silently; it wasn't what he had planned but it was acceptable. If Jack went with Pitch, that is. The Winter Spirit needed a mentor and Pitch a friend; after all, Pitch had once been a grand warrior, a general in an army. An honorable man. He had been stolen though, tricked by the very nightmares that he now commanded, and that was partly The Man in the Moon's fault. He had watched as Pitch was tricked, never thinking to help Pitchiner. So when the general fell The Man in the Moon felt sadness, felt failure; he had failed the once mighty guardian.

So if Pitch wanted Jack, if he was desperate for a companion, then The Man in the Moon would let Pitch keep him. He would stay silent, never revealing that Jack had been made, he would let Pitch be the one to choose when the frozen child was to appear before the world. It was the least he could do.

Pitch keeps Jack hidden for what seems like eons, and sometimes Jack feels like he should question that; should ask about leaving the kingdom of shadows, but he never does. He never actually asks Pitch to leave the place that he has come to call home, because what if his questions anger Pitch? Or worse, what if they disappoint him? Jack had worked so hard to learn everything that Pitch taught him, he had tried so hard to be useful, to be needed; because if he ever became unneeded, unnecessary, then Pitch may get rid of him.

His fears are his own; because Pitch would never cast Jack out. Not after he is so close to making the icy teen his Knight. Jack is far too important now, he knows to much, has too much power. Pitch can not afford to have Jack as his enemy; or, that's what Pitch constantly tells himself. Refusing to notice the strange heat in his chest, he couldn't be fond of Frost. The boy was simply a means to an end.

"Pitch?" Jack stared at the man half hidden in shadow, forcing himself to stay still and not twirl his staff in his hands. Pitch always hated it when he did that, especially since Jack had accidentally frozen one of Pitch's Nightmares.

"Yes, Jack?"

Jack lit up ever so slightly when Pitch acknowledged him; he could still remember being ignored. Even after more then two and a half centuries he feared being forgotten. "I was wondering if I could-" The Winter Spirit stopped, briefly considering what he was about to say. How could he? It was inconceivable that he was about to ask Pitch if he could leave, if he could back out to the world that didn't see him. No, it was better to stay with Pitch. "-Never mind."

As Jack walked away Pitch stared after him, the King of Fear had known what the teen was about to ask; Frost had exuded fear, fear that had whispered to Pitch, revealing what the teen had wanted. Pitch smiled, and this time it was even less forced, Jack had chosen to stay with him, he had chosen to never ask for his freedom.

He was a step closer to being Pitch's Knight.

Pitch is excited, so excited that the emotion is almost tangible in the air. Jack had refused a Guardian, he had fought with North, he had protected his King. Jack was ready. Finally, Pitch could begin to move, the pieces were in place and the game could begin.

North had been scouting for the rest of the Guardians. It was during his off season and they were all concerned with what Pitch had been up to; Manny had been eerily silent on the Nightmare King's movements the last few centuries. When before the first Guardian had shared everything about Pitch he knew, now he was quiet. Keeping as silent as the cold snow. The silence had concerned them all, and so North had set out to find out what Pitch was up to.

He cornered the dark man in Paris, trapping the King of Fear in the light of the Eiffel Tower. He had been ready to question him, demand answers from Pitch, when a gust of freezing air had stopped him. He paused for a second, wondering why the North Wind was interfering, usually the Winds ignored everything. North shook off that concern soon enough though, stepping towards Pitch who was curled up on the ground, surrounded by light.

It wasn't a wind that halted him then; it was ice. Ice that froze his feet to the ground and caused frost to lock his joints into place; ice that expanded from the pale feet of the teen that crouched in front of Pitch, staff extended in front of him as if North was the threat and not Pitch.

The unknown teen snarled, "Stay away from him." He glared at North darkly before inspecting the King of Fear, checking him over for injuries and the like after erecting a solid wall of ice between him and the Russian.

North could only watch, stunned, as the teen created a blizzard. Everything was cast in darkness and with a groan Pitch rose, "Who are you?"

Pitch grinned openly then, seeing the way that Jack's face changed. The Russian had lost any sympathy Jack had held for him with that comment, he had lost any chance of stealing Jack from Pitch.

"No one you need to worry about." With that Jack whistled, calling the North Wind to him. "Take me home!"

Pitch laughed loudly as he watched the world freeze; fear was growing in the hearts of every human! His Knight had defeated the Guardians! He had won!

When The Man in the Moon created Jack Frost he did it with a purpose; he wanted there to be a creature that would bring fun. That purpose was never fulfilled though, because The Man in the Moon had overlooked the fact that his messenger of joy was winter; he was cold. And what went better with the dark then cold?

So Jack was twisted, his purpose was corrupted and he was altered. He became a Knight to a King.