A Guardians of Childhood/Rise of the Guardians Fanfic
By Sakura Martinez
Author's Notes:
So, I've been really enjoying writing these one-shots for RotG. It's fun. And...well, productive. The idea for this one-shot came to me one lazy Saturday morning and I have been debating, since I've finished writing this if I should leave it as a one-shot, or add a few (one or two) more chapters to it. I'm still having an internal debate on that...although, I have already finished what would be the second chapter to this. So, if you guys want me to continue on with this...or just end it here and work on something instead, just let me know. I'm open for suggestions.
Like the previous one-shots I have uploaded for this fandom, I have originally posted this on my Tumblr (sakuramartinezfanfics) 20-or-so hours ago. I've made it a point to post it there a day before I do so here.
As for this one-shot-that-might-not-be-a-one-shot, this happens a year after Jack Frost has been awakened as the Winter Spirit.
Anyways, enough about this long author's note. I hope you enjoy reading. And don't forget to review! :)
Disclaimer:
I do not, in any way, own the Guardians of Childhood/Rise of the Guardians franchise.
At the Beginning by Sakura Martinez
First Published on Tumblr
The Mini Fairies had never known what a confined life was like. For as long as they could remember—and their memories are pretty good—they have always been so free. They flew the world over, searching for children's teeth and rewarding the children who have lost it. It was their job, and they loved it.
Being out all night, they were able to see much of the nocturnal wonders of the world. They also get to meet a lot of the spirits that roamed the earth. After all, there are only a handful of spirits who worked in the late hours of the night.
Their Queen—Toothiana—is not against fraternizing with spirits during their runs. She doesn't mind them taking a detour or two, so long as they manage to stick to the schedule and return to Punjam Hy Loo on time. She actually enjoys the stories the Mini Fairies tell her upon their return.
Unlike her Mini Fairies, the Queen of the Toothfairies had never set foot outside of the palace in a very long time. Hundreds of years, in fact. So she always welcomes the stories born from the misadventures her Mini Fairies would, from time to time, find themselves in.
Apart from stories about places and things that they would see, the Mini Fairies would also tell Toothiana about rumors they would hear. They would tell her about the recent news concerning the other spirits, like who was currently in a feud with who; or which spirit was dating one another.
Most of the time, the Mini Fairies' stories would revolve around Nicholas St. North challenging a couple of Nordic, Greek, Scottish spirits into a drinking game or a friendly sword fight to keep his skills in check. Other times it would be the story of Eros Sureshot—Cupid's—latest success.
There were times it would be a story concerning Mother Nature and the spirits under her command arguing about the length of the seasons, or some other weather-related topic. Lately, however, Toothiana had noticed some changes with her miniature—yet, deadly—army.
Every time her Mini Fairies return, they seemed to be charged with some sort of energy Toothiana could not comprehend. They were also a lot chattier than they had ever been with each other. Most—if not all of them—upon returning even have a dreamy look on their faces. Never has something like that happened before.
At first, Toothiana was not bothered by her Mini Fairies' behavior. She was, actually, quite amused by it.
But, as the days turned into weeks, and into months, Toothiana became baffled. Not only were they returning later than usual, they would also be moving in a sort of dream-like way. As if they were in a trance. Some would even lose the grace-like composure and flight that the Mini Fairies were quite known for. Worse, there were some who would suddenly swoon and fall off the air for no particular reason.
It soon became apparent to the Queen that she needed to get to the bottom of what was making her Mini Fairies act so strangely and eliminate it.
And so, she does what she usually do when faced with a quandary regarding her army. She talks with the youngest of them.
Trying to appear nonchalant, despite the growing curiosity, Toothiana asked the Mini Fairy with mismatched eyes the question that she had been wondering for months.
"Is there something going on with your sisters, Little One?"
The Mini Fairy who had looked so excited and happy to be spoken to by the Queen, suddenly looked as though she would rather be anywhere else than in her presence at that moment. She knew, of course, what was going on with the others. Or, a bit of it, at least. But she didn't wish to be a tattletale and didn't wish for her sisters to get in trouble.
Queen Toothiana watched patiently and silently. She was going to wait until the Mini Fairy before her was ready to open up. And if she didn't, well, there were millions (the last time she counted, at least, who knew how many they were now) Mini Fairies in the palace who would know and who wouldn't hesitate to tell her. Although, the chances of getting them to talk would—without a doubt—be lower. She had chosen to speak with the youngest Mini Fairy for a reason, after all.
The Queen of the Toothfairies shook her head. No, she would need to find a way to get this Mini Fairy to talk. She didn't have much choice on the matter—not without turning into nothing short of a dictator and demanding her Mini Fairies to answer.
She could use the bond she had with them, but she had sworn not to. Even her Mini Fairies needed some privacy, after all. The only time she would allow herself to use the bond was if there was some sort of emergency. And although the events transpiring at the moment was problematic and troublesome, it was not so much as an emergency that would warrant the use of the bond.
'I'm sorry, Queen Toothiana,' the Mini Fairy finally chirped. 'But...But I only know a little bit about it.'
"Well, a little bit of information is better than none," the Queen smiled in response.
The Mini Fairy bit her lip and wrung her fingers. 'Um...'
"It's okay, Little One. Your sisters will not get into trouble of any kind. And neither will you," Toothiana assured the nervous Mini Fairy. "I am merely curious...and worried. If I am overworking them, I would like to know."
'It's not fatigue, Queen Toothiana,' the Mini Fairy replied. 'It's just...they seem to be running into something interesting lately.'
"Something interesting?" the Queen quirked an eyebrow. "What could possibly be so interesting as to get your sisters—my Mini Fairies—to act so...gracelessly?"
'Well...I don't know everything, your majesty,' the Mini Fairy finally relented. 'But I do know what has gotten my sisters so excited.'
"Go on," urged Toothiana, although she would have chosen a different adjective than 'excited'.
'Teeth,' the Mini Fairy with mismatched set of eyes replied. 'Well, someone with a perfect set of teeth so white my sisters said it was like a beacon…to be precise.'
Toothiana narrowed her eyes, "That can't be right. If there was someone alive who had such teeth, I would know about them."
'Well, that's what my sisters said, your majesty. I wouldn't really know for sure. I haven't seen this person they spoke of.'
Toothiana bit her lip and contemplated on her options. It could be easy to dismiss what was going on, but the thought of someone with perfect teeth eluding her made it difficult to do so. It was no longer a matter of the Mini Fairies behaving differently. It was a matter of knowing who was behind it; the owner of those teeth.
Looking at the young Mini Fairy before her, Toothiana couldn't help but wonder if what she was going to ask of the little one would be dangerous. She was so young, newly born from the many memories of children she had obtained. Normally, she wouldn't even be thinking of letting her out of Punjam Hy Loo. But this was no ordinary circumstance. And she was—though she wouldn't admit it—desperate to have this mystery solved.
The Mini Fairy, for her part, watched as the Queen debated to herself.
"I do not normally do this, Little One," the Queen of the Toothfairies spoke after a while. "But I need your help to get to the bottom of this. Would you lend me your aid?"
Surprised—for it was not every day their queen would go so far as to ask for a favor from any of them—the Mini Fairy didn't hesitate in saying, 'Of course, your majesty! Anything!'
Toothiana smiled at the Mini Fairy and proceeded to tell her what she wanted her to do. Neither of them knew, at that time, how such a request would end in something quite...unexpected.
The young Mini Fairy's excitement was palpable. She never thought—not so soon, at least—that she would be allowed to go out of Punjam Hy Loo. She couldn't wait to see what the whole world has in-store for her.
And she did just that. But she didn't forget her purpose. The Queen had given her a mission. One she had to accomplish, along with doing the job that every Mini Fairy were tasked to do.
House after house, child after child, tooth after tooth, the youngest of the Mini Fairies hoped to see the one her sisters had spoken of. But as the hours dwindled, nearing dawn, there appeared no sign of this mysterious person. It worried the young Mini Fairy. She didn't want to disappoint the Queen.
Still holding up hope of meeting the person in question, the Mini Fairy continued on her way. She was in the middle of replacing a tooth with a coin when a sudden 'whoop' outside of the child's house startled her. Curious as to who could be making such a racket on such an hour, the Mini Fairy quickly placed the coin and rushed out of the window.
She didn't really know what she was expecting. She had zero experience in the world outside of the palace. She was certain, however, that even if she did have a bit of experience, she would have been still been quite surprised by what she saw.
There was a boy, laughing and making awfully loud noises. It was a surprise the whole neighborhood had not awakened from their slumber. It was only after careful inspection that the Mini Fairy realized he was not an ordinary boy, but a spirit.
Flying closer, but at the same time keeping her distance, the young Mini Fairy watched as the barefooted boy waved the staff in his hands around. The places the wooden staff touched suddenly turned to ice. This seemed to please the boy, and he kept at it until practically the entire town was encased in a wintry grasp.
The Mini Fairy felt herself getting cold, shivering as she kept close watch at the curious spirit. She had never heard of a spirit who could control snow and ice before. Her sisters have never spoken of such a being, and so she knew that he must be new.
Fueled by curiosity to know the spirits name—for the Mini Fairy wanted to be able to share some information to her Queen, even if said information was not related to the mission she had given her—the youngest Mini Fairy flew closer. It didn't cross her mind that this spirit might be dangerous. For some inexplicable reason, she felt confident that he was friendly.
She thought the young spirit hadn't noticed her presence, and was about to move in closer, when he suddenly turned around and faced her. A small frown was etched on his forehead. But it only stayed there momentarily, as the boy slowly smiled a small smile.
"Hello there," the boy had greeted her. He then whistled, and the Mini Fairy could feel the wind around them carry the boy upwards, until he was close enough to see her properly.
He can control the wind, too. the Mini Fairy made note of that fact. Which means he's just like the Queen, capable of communicating with the Wind.
"Hmm..." the boy mused. And much to the surprise of the young Mini Fairy, moved his face close to her person. "You aren't one of the others I've met before. Your eyes are different."
That observation, of course, didn't surprise the Mini Fairy. That was always the first thing other spirits noticed about her. Followed by...
"And you've also got a mole," the boy added. "Huh...up until now I thought all of you looked the same."
'We do,' the Mini Fairy had chirped. 'I'm just the exception. Queen Toothiana doesn't have an explanation for it, though.'
"I didn't mean anything by it. I'm just surprised," the boy said. "Still, you seem to be a little bit smaller than the others too."
'It's because I'm the youngest!' she felt proud at saying that, though it was the first time she felt that way about it.
"You're a chirpy little fairy, aren't you?" the boy laughed. "Well, I better not keep you from your job."
And before the Mini Fairy could ask the spirit what his name was, the boy had already jumped back. Adding to the fact that the wind was quickly carrying him away, he suddenly flashed her a disarming smile that shocked her and kept her from following him.
The Mini Fairy's jaw dropped. When she had managed to get herself back together, she felt like celebrating. She had found the person her sisters were talking about.
"A spirit, you say?" Toothiana was surprised by this new information.
The Mini Fairy nodded. 'I don't know his name, Queen Toothiana. He didn't tell me. But he can control ice and snow, and the Wind seems to be great friends with him.'
The mention of her old friend, the Wind got Toothiana's attention. Not a lot of spirits can get along very well with the Wind. The multi-faceted spirit, after all, was quite…temperamental.
'The others were right, though.' the Mini Fairy went on. She was starting to get excited once more. 'He does have incredibly white and incredibly perfect teeth. It's so ridiculous how well-taken care of his teeth are.'
The Queen nodded thoughtfully. After a while, she made up her mind and said, "Show me."
The statement—those two words—surprised the young Mini Fairy. It was rare—really, really rare—for the Queen to ask any one of them for something like that.
'Huh?' was all the Mini Fairy could process at the moment.
"I would like to see for myself," Toothiana didn't need to clarify but felt the need to. She then held her hand out, waiting for the Mini Fairy.
The Mini Fairy nodded and flew into the Queen of the Toothfairies' hand, sitting on her palm. She then closed her eyes, her wings outstretched. And then, she began to glow a faint yet brilliant golden glow.
With the glow came the vision of the night the young Mini Fairy had, from the moment she left the safety of Punjam Hy Loo's walls up to her return.
Of course, the moment that had piqued Toothiana's interest was the meeting the little one had with this mysterious new spirit who had perfect teeth.
He...was not at all what Toothiana imagined. He had snowy-white, windswept hair and pale skin. His eyes, she noticed, were bright blue and danced with some promise of mischief...which she could tell with much certainty was what he intended to do.
His clothes were very much like every other clothes, made from animal skin, worn during that particular time. He had on a white shirt and brown vest underneath his poncho that was speckled with ice and frozen over. A pair of animal skin pants, likewise dotted with frost, completed his ensemble.
Toothiana watched the exchange between the unknown spirit and her Mini Fairy, noting how the spirit spoke as though he could understand the Mini Fairy, when he actually couldn't.
And then, she came to the point where he had smiled, showing off his canines.
The way her youngest spoke of his teeth did no real justice to when she actually saw it for herself. They were as white as freshly fallen snow. From what she could see, they all looked pristine, as if great care had been placed at keeping them from rotting, having dental plaque, or tooth decay. To say that it impressed her—to say that he impressed her—would be an understatement.
Her free hand twitched. She wanted to have a good look at his teeth. She wanted to ask him how he was able to take good care of them.
At that moment, as the vision of the young Mini Fairy's first day on the field came to an end, the Queen of the Toothfairies came to a decision. She was going to find out who this new spirit was.
And thus began the Queen of the Toothfairies' fascination with Jack Frost and obsession with his teeth (though the Queen will adamantly refuse to call it as such).
