Hello! lilyan1994 here, and welcome to my newest story, Found And Lost Again!

Now, this story was inspired by s/10568857/1/ThThe-Wrong-Universe, and it's a really great story, so I suggest that you check it out! Anyways, on with the chapter!

It was a dark, cold night in Toronto, Ontario. No moon shone in the sky to show the way, for dense clouds blocked it's soothing light. It was on this night that the Guardian Of Strength was sitting on the thick branch of a pine tree that resided in front of her old school. She sighed, trying to get more comfortable. As you might have guessed, sleeping on a branch isn't very comfy. But it was what Lily was used to. Sure, North would have happily given her a room at The Pole, but...Let's just say that Lily wasn't used to having people that cared, so to speak. She was always used to being ignored, or being made fun of, or other not so nice things.

She reclined back against the trunk of the tree, sighing softly. As she drifted off, though, she failed to notice a strange, silvery fog that glided in her direction.

If only she had.

The mist moved quicker and quicker with each passing second. Soon enough, it swallowed up the child Guardian. And when it did, it disappeared into the cool night air.

Taking The Guardian Of Strength along with it.

When she awoke, Lily was surprised to not feel the hard wood of a tree under her. Had Jack or one of the others found her, and taken her to The Pole? But, no, what was under her didn't feel like a bed...She opened her eyes, and sat up, looking around. It was night, wherever she was. All around her were trees, thick oaks that seemed like they were alive, with how they swayed in the soft wind. She cocked her head to the side, confused. She'd never seen this place before, and she'd been everywhere. So, where on this good earth was she?

"What do we have here?"

Hissed a very familiar voice, one that made Lily's panic level spike. What? That was Pitch! But, how? She had helped get rid of the darkness inside him, but Kozmotis had died...Back to the point, though, HOW WAS THIS POSSIBLE?!

"You must be foolish, coming here at night, child...Everyone knows that I am it's ruler!"

Black, shadowy beings raced towards Lily from all sides. She immediately got to her feet, and expected light to shoot from her hand. But it didn't. She glanced down at her hand, her eyes widening in shock. What? She attempted to surround herself with a wall of ice. That didn't work either. She stared blankly, wondering how the hell any of this was happening. But she was snapped back into reality by one of the shadow creatures slamming into her. She cried out in pain, grabbing at her side where the creature had hit her. Realizing that she was surrounded, and seemingly defenseless, she did the first thing that came into her mind: Call for help.

"Jack! Help!"

She called, trying her best to dodge the shadows that seemed to swarm, connect with each other and move in perfect synchronization. Nobody responded to her plea.

"North, Bunny, Tooth, Sandy!"

She yelled, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Why weren't they coming? They, they promised that they'd always be there for her, so why weren't they here now? She started running, as fast as she could, ignoring the pain that began to blossom in her chest. Jumping over roots, even bushes to try and get away from those things. She misstepped and tripped over her own two feet, before crashing to the ground, letting out a cry of pain as her left ankle twisted violently. She tried immediately to scramble away, but she felt something grab her hair and yank her back.

"LET ME GO!"

She screamed, thrashing and kicking at whatever had her captive. Her vision was blurred with tears of physical and emotional pain, why wasn't anyone coming to help her? Just as she was about to lose hope of any help whatsoever arriving, a streak of light suddenly flashed before her eyes, there was an inhuman screech of pain, and whatever had it's hold on her disappeared. All of the adrenaline that had been previously flowing through her veins disappeared in a heartbeat. She layed limp on the forest floor, trying to catch her breath. All the while, she heard what sounded like sounds of battle from nearby. Also, what was that glowing spectral figure...? It looked like a...boy...? Her mind was too clouded to even attempted to make sense of it. She felt sleep tugging at her, inviting her into it's comforting silence. Without thinking, she happily accepted. Maybe this was all just a dream, and she would wake up back in her tree.

She dearly hoped for that.

Nicholas St. North panted, slightly out of breath, as he sheathed his sword. He looked back at the other Guardians. Toothiana was scanning the clearing, as if looking for any other signs of the Fearlings. Sandman was doing the same. Bunnymund was muttering to himself, and the former Cossack thought he heard the Pooka mention eggs a few times. He then looked to Nightlight, who was staring at the still form of a girl lying in the grass.

North and the others had heard the scream during a meeting in Big Root. Katherine had been asleep at the time, and therefore had not heard it, and Ombric had stayed behind to make sure that nothing could get into the magical tree. North walked calmly to the girl, and the other three Guardians copied him. None of them recognized her from Santoff Claussen, so she must not be from the magical village. The girl had long, golden-brown hair which hung in loose waves over her shoulders. She wore a loose, grey tunic, and navy blue tights. She wore no shoes, and her face and arms were covered in scratches, and they could tell that her ankle was injured by the way it was slightly twisted at an odd angle.

North bent down, lifting the girl up gently in his arms. He began walking towards the exit of the forest, through the town and towards Big Root. The moon shone down, and when Sandman looked up at it, he was surprised to see that it looked almost...ashamed? Each Guardian shared the same thought at that moment, the same question: Who was this girl, and how had she gotten here?

Little did they know, they were in for an unexpected adventure...One that may or may not destroy them.