So this is just something I've been thinking about. And it's been a while since I posted anything. So here is the start of a series that I hope will last for a while. Any mistakes should be pointed out to the nearest adult. And I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians.
Jack held the letter in his hand tightly as he rode the wind towards Sandy's home. He hadn't been aware that the Sandman actually had a permanent residence, he had simply assumed that Sandy was too busy for one. It was always night somewhere in the world, people were always settling in to sleep.
He was hoping he would catch the busy sandman at his place of residence, if not he would have a busy day of tracking down the golden man ahead of him. He had no idea why North insisted that he deliver the letter instead of simply waiting for the monthly meeting all guardians made time to attend. It all seemed a bit ridiculous to the winter spirit.
He spotted the golden building easily from the sky and landed gently on the beach surrounding the castle and held back a chuckle as he tucked the note into his hoodie pocket. The structure was made entirely from the Guardian's signature material. A true "Sand Castle." It even had plastic red flags topping the corner towers.
"How punny." Jack snickered, making his way easily to the large archway serving as a door.
It was what many would consider to be a perfect temperature, warm and yet cool, but to Jack it was just barely tolerable. Any hotter and he would be complaining. He explored the castle lazily, keeping a lookout for his friend and comrade. A soft sound caught his attention in the silence of the surprisingly large castle. He followed the light tinkling of a sweet melody into a vast high-ceilinged room.
It was almost totally open, wide windows taking up much of the wall space. Around the room paintings hung on what space there was, many others simply rested on the floor propped up against the golden walls. Bookshelves lined the wall right across from Jack; bursting with large leather bound books, paper backs, and scrolls alike. He even spotted what seemed to be a shelf full of journals. The room was every renaissance man's dream, completed by the magnificent grand piano standing proudly in the center of the room, accompanied by a beautifully made cello and shimmering French horn.
The only discerning thing was the fact that he heard music, yet no one was seated at the piano. Jack entered the room cautiously; he hadn't pegged Sandy to be a fan of the arts, at least, not this big of a fan. Then again, Bunny was still getting over the fact that Jack liked to read. They were all full of surprises. As he ventured further, he caught sight of a pair of large glass doors that, when closed, blended into the floor to ceiling windows perfectly. As it was, they were open.
Outside was a large balcony with many plush lounges and sofas, even some pillows spread about in a corner. There, perched delicately on the elegant railing of the balcony, was a woman in a dark red dress with long hair almost equal in color to her gown. Normally, Jack was a gentleman and asked a woman's name before pointing his staff and ultimately his source of power at her. But this woman was delicately weaving a pattern in the air as maroon sand lazily followed.
He only knew one man who used sand for good, and he most certainly wasn't that pretty. What with Pitch and the whole fiasco behind that, Jack wasn't taking any chances when it came to others using a sand, and an ability, that they shouldn't.
"Who are you?" he demanded, glaring as the woman whipped around to face him.
Her eyes were big and brown, a lot like Jamie's. They stared at him in surprise and a slight hint of hesitation. She slowly swung her legs over the railing and stood from her perch. She held her hands up in the universal sign of surrender, the sand coming to circle her legs calmly.
"You have three seconds to tell me who you are and what you're doing here. Three." Jack warned, staff held steadily at the ready.
Her eyes widened suddenly and she frantically shook her head, the sand swirled anxiously as it began dancing into different patterns and shapes hectically, mirroring her nervousness.
"Two." He said, grip tightening in preparation.
The woman grew even more frantic, but made no move to attack. The sand was flying into different shapes and symbols, too fast for the winter spirit to follow but he had an idea of what it meant. His suspicions were confirmed when she tapped her throat and shook her head sadly, the sand finally coming to rest at her feet in a restless cloud once more.
"You can't talk, can you?" he asked softly.
She nodded slowly, leveling him with a heavy gaze. Her eyes were suddenly far older and much too deep to be anything like Jamie's. She seemed ancient in that moment; and Jack felt like a child, lowering his staff sheepishly.
"Sorry, it's just that since-" he began to apologize, only to be silenced when the maroon sand morphed into the silhouette of Pitch.
She was still giving him that heavy gaze, but it was touched by anger, regret, and sadness. And if he looked close enough, he could have sworn even fear. That small flicker of fear struck something within him. Throughout their entire battle with the "Boogeyman," the other guardians had never truly shown fear when facing him or even speaking about him. Though they became antsy in his presence, and even though they showed fear for Jamie, it was mostly worry of not being able to protect the "Last Light." None of them were actually afraid of him.
But this woman was. He wondered why. He was brought back when a small hand fell lightly on his shoulder. He looked up and met warm brown eyes. She looked at him, concerned. He gave a half smile to let her know he was alright.
"Just thoughts. Again, sorry for being so rude. I'm Jack, Jack Frost." He said, holding a hand out to her.
She smiled, her hand slipping from his frosty hoodie and into his cold hand. Her grip was firm as she shook hands with him. The sand leapt up and formed one word.
"Muse?" Jack questioned, "That's your name?"
She nodded her confirmation, before gracefully returning to the grand room. Jack followed her to a large painting. It was of nine women, all holding different objects. One held a lyre, another a scroll. At the bottom of the painting was a golden nameplate. It read:
"The Nine Muses, Goddesses of Creativity and Inspiration."
"I'm guessing they didn't get you quite right?" Jack asked, raising a brow as he turned back to the woman.
She nodded, nine figures standing proudly in the sand before coming together to form one, a perfect replica of the lady before him.
"You live here?" he asked, wandering around the room to look at the other priceless pieces.
She nodded again, wandering around the room after him.
"With Sandy?" he continued, unable to stem his curiosity.
She nodded again, this time a bright smile accompanying it.
He suddenly remembered the errand that had brought him to the castle in the first place, "You wouldn't happen to know where he is would you?"
He turned to face her, finding her presenting five very different sand figures to him. He barely recognized one as Sandy and another as the woman before him before they dissolved. She shook her head in response to his question, but held out a hand for the letter.
Jack gave it to her, curious as to what she wanted with it.
She beckoned for him to follow her, as she marched briskly from the room. She led him into another part of the golden palace, this one taken up mostly by a large globe. This one was slightly different from North's, as a small figure of the Sandman was floating around it, as if orbiting the world. Jack was surprised to see the small figurine halt suddenly over Norway before continuing on towards the Atlantic.
Muse took Jack's arm and led him away from the globe. She exited the castle in a no nonsense manner and gracefully took flight, bare feet peeking out from under her dress. Jack followed, calling the wind to lift him to the sand user's side. They quickly flew to Burgess, which slightly annoyed Jack. He could have just waited here himself. But he couldn't complain, he was excited to meet another immortal.
They arrived when the town was just settling in for the night, Jack checked on Sophie and Jamie, careful to avoid being seen. The kids were irreplaceable to him, and he loved them both dearly, but they needed to sleep. His presence would only rile them up.
When he checked on Sophie, Muse followed curiously. Jack bit back a laugh as he watched her struggle with the little girl's cuteness. She settled for a content sigh and smiled peacefully at the sleeping girl. He left the sand user alone as he checked on Jamie, still up and reading one of his books. He decided to wait on the roof of the Bennett home, Sandy would be along shortly.
Muse joined him, settling in next to him, seeming not to mind the cool air that perpetually surrounded him. She was very quiet, even the shifting of the sand had died down to a soft mummer. Soon enough, tendrils of golden sand graced the night and began making their way to those who would be receiving splendid dreams. Jack ran his fingers through the material, never getting tired of getting a peek at one of the dreams.
This one presented a large rabbit leading a small girl around by the hand while they were accompanied by dozens of tiny eggs with legs. Jack smiled, he'd have to tell Bunny that it was time for Sophie to visit again.
Muse stood, greeting Sandy with a smile as he came down to investigate. The guardian of dreams returned her smile, accepting the letter with a question mark.
"It's from North. He sent me to give it to you. I found Muse at your place." Jack said, unable to say Sand Castle with a straight face.
Sandy nodded in understanding before opening up the letter and reading it intently. The short man rolled his eyes before shaking his head with a smile.
"What?" Jack asked.
Sandy simply held out the letter for the guardian to read. Jack took the piece of paper and held it so Muse could scan it as well.
Dear Sandy,
I have been thinking about Jack recently, and how much he has yet to learn as a guardian
and an immortal. I was hoping that you would bring Muse by for a visit, just as a way to
introduce Jack to a fellow immortal. We could make it a party if you'd like. A welcoming of
sorts for our newest member and some old friends.
I'll have Phil ready the eggnog.
Your Friend,
North
Jack couldn't help but chuckle, Muse smiled patiently.
"Well I guess you don't have to travel all the way to the Pole." He said to the woman.
She gazed at him for a moment, before trading a glance with Sandy. The smaller man quickly presented the guardian of fun with an image of a grand celebration followed by a large check-mark. Jack smiled.
"Never pegged you for a party animal." He teased.
Sandy shrugged before saluting his friend and waving to Muse. The younger spirits waved back and watched as the Sandman flew off into the night to continue his work. Muse turned to Jack with a small smile and waved, the words "Until later," forming in her dark red sand.
"Until later." Jack agreed.
With that she was gone in a storm of red sand and silk. Jack watched her go before taking flight himself to deliver Sandy's reply to North. He was going to have to talk to them about using him as a messenger, he didn't accept the title of guardian to only be used as their go between.
Jack smiled as the wind carried him home.
Reviews feed my starving soul. Hopefully this will be updated on a pretty steady basis, but then again whenever I make plans life likes to burn them and laugh at my pitiful attempts. Also any suggestions, ideas, or requests are welcome!