The Winter Flower

Welcome readers, to my first Rise of the Guardians fanfic. I have a whole bunch of ideas planned, so I hope you like the story. While I might be busy with school, I plan on updating as much as I can.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians.

Chapter 1

The sun was low in the sky when Toothiana finally made it back home. Her brilliant tooth palace was an unprecedented beauty, standing on the mountain cliff and reflecting the early sunset colors of pink and gold. The gentle light glittered off the windows and the smooth white walls.

With tired eyes and aching wings, her smile was content if not exhausted. Another night out in the field and the western hemisphere children were now waking up to surprises and gifts in exchange for their baby teeth. Wonderful kids who had moments before had been fast asleep.

The way their hands had grasped at soft blankets, the sleepy smiles that were positively endearing but most of all their innocence. So many tried to stay up but they all eventually fell asleep. So much anticipation…just for her visit, it was enough to make her love her job more.

But like all Guardians, she had a job to do. She could not stay and wait till they woke up; there just never was enough time. So she left and returned to the life of schedules and a loneliness that never seemed to leave her heart. For while she may see millions of children, it was all one sided.

Kids would never see her. She was something to be believed in but nothing more. She was like a ghost in the night and for all her love, she did not deny that feeling of longing for something more. Something that could make her feel like plain old Toothiana instead of just the tooth fairy.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Tooth noticed some of her small helpers in the distance. There was a huge flock of them, thousands that were lining up in front of Baby Tooth. After volunteering for leadership over the eastern hemisphere, Baby Tooth took her job very seriously.

She proudly nodded, looked over and carefully inspected each tooth that was brought in by her sisters. This façade fell away instantly when Baby Tooth spotted her. The little fairy smiled cheerfully and waved her hand, chirping until Toothiana came over to inspect the growing line.

It was growing larger by the minute and Tooth bit her lip, mentally counting the fairies as they lined up to deposit the baby teeth into the large catacombs.

"Have all the fairies returned yet, Baby Tooth?" she asked nervously. "North America was a pretty big continent. If there are any fairies left behind I have to know about it right away! We only have a few more hours left until the next bedtime thanks to daylight savings time."

Her smaller duplicate chirped a comforting tweet and presented her checklist importantly.

"Oh good; I am so glad everything is going smoothly. No close calls or last minute stops. I am very proud of you Baby Tooth. Keep up the good work!"

Toothiana started flying towards her office but was surprised to see Baby Tooth following close behind. She was twittering softly, looking at her superior with concerned eyes. She was obviously worried about something but Tooth just smiled gently and waved her off.

"Aw, thanks for thinking of me Baby Tooth but I'm fine." Tooth assured gently. "Now I cannot stay for long. I have to go over the next list of children. Time is running out and I'm falling behind as it is. So please, we have a schedule to keep and I'm counting on you."

Baby Tooth nodded solemnly but once Tooth was gone, a little knowing smirk appeared on her face. Humming to herself and grabbing the checklist, Baby Tooth buzzed with excitement. The plan was set in motion but until then, she had fairies to monitor.

The whole palace seemed to be anxious but Tooth did not notice. Instead, she busied herself with a piping cup of wildflower tea. Whistling to herself, she carried the mug into her office and enjoyed the warm scent of sweet honeysuckle that provided such a comfort on days like this.

Perching in her office chair, she began to unroll the long, long list and studied the names carefully. For each child there was the tooth lost and the amount that would be owed upon each visitation. At the bottom, she had to sign off on the sum of money to be given. The amount was quite staggering but… it did make the children happy.

"I sure hope I get this done in time." Tooth sighed. "If I am late I might end up delaying the next batch of fairies due out for the eastern hemisphere! So much pressure!"

Facts and figures were quickly adding up and she tried her best to focus. Slowly sipping the tea between breaks, Toothiana tried to ignore the fact that her eyes were growing heavy. She could feel herself slipping into a sleepy daze. She soon rested her head quietly upon her feathered arms.

"Alright this amounts to exactly $1,589,993.50" Tooth mumbled quietly. "Or maybe it was only $1, 589, 339. 50? I must get the numbers right. I need to recalculate that amount…"

Resting her eyes for just a moment, Tooth fell quickly into a deep sleep. She was so comfortable and so tired. Minutes ticked by into hours and it was not until a window opened, that she was startled by a cold breeze that ruffled her feathers and jolted her awake in an instant.

"What? What's going on?" She mumbled drowsily. "I'm awake! I'm awake…"

Startled, she turned around to see Jack Frost smirking at her. Griping his staff in his right hand, he jumped off the window ledge and into her office with a dramatic flourish.

"Hi Tooth! Long time no see!"

"Jack? What are you doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything but it's almost summer time! The heat could be dangerous for you. Is there something wrong? It's not Pitch Black is it? Oh, I knew I should not have fallen asleep!" Tooth babbled nervously.

"Hey! Hey…it's alright. Everything's fine." Jack assured her. He swaggered over and smiled as he looked around the room curiously. "I'm just here for a little visit, that's all. Unless you're too busy, then I guess I will just have to come back later. "

Toothiana sprang up. Her wings fluttered and she put her hands to her mouth to hide a growing lovesick grin. She wanted to spin in circles and laugh like a lunatic but she knew her visitor was watching so instead she just smiled softly. "I'm always busy but I'll make time for you Jack."

"Good, because I've been talking with Baby Tooth and it seems that you've been working too hard. So as the Guardian of fun, I thought that a vacation was in order. That's why we thought of this little intervention. For your own sake, naturally." He explained, grinning mischievously.

Startled, Tooth flew back and forth anxiously. Her long, long list had rolled to the ground and she looked at the clock. The time for the next flock to go out was in ten minutes! She looked from Jack to her list, feeling completely torn.

She was a Guardian but she also wanted to spend time with Jack Frost. What in the world was she to do? He was giving her those big blue puppy dog eyes!

"Well…I can't just forget the children!" She protested. "They might forget about me! I could never let those kids down, not when they are counting on me to gather their baby teeth!"

Jack shrugged. "Baby Tooth said she would organize everything. That's why she wanted to be in charge of the Eastern Hemisphere. She said that she and her sisters could manage the job alone for one night. So…how about it? Think you could manage a little bit of fun?"

He pulled her enticingly towards the window, an unseasonably cold wind chilling her feathers as it lifted them up into the air. Sighing, Tooth nodded her head in resignation. Fluttering her wings, she followed the Ice Guardian up into the clouds, laughing for the first time in decades.