A Worthy Opponent
A thin, pale, white-haired Jack Frost sat on the docks of the beach as he watched the waves break over the shore. A smile of contempt entered his smile as he thought of his sister and the things they used to do when they were on the beach. He even laughed at himself, remembering the way girls would look at him when he wore his bathing shorts; the way they squealed when they saw him coming. But what really made him smile was when him, his sister, Emma, and mother, Emily, walked on the beach; the way his sister held his hand tightly and would run to the water and then squeal when it went over her feet; he and his mother laughed. He smiled and then flew back to the Pole, laughing and whooping as the wind hit his face. "WOOHOO! HAHAHA!"
At the Pole, Emma and the Guardians waited anxiously for Jack's arrival. "I'm scared, Tooth…"
Tooth bent down to Emma's height as the others came to her. "Why? What's wrong? You should be happy to see Jack again." Emma looked at her and the others as if she was gonna cry. Tooth put her arms around her. "Oh…oh…oh. Don't cry." Emma cried even harder; she hugged tighter.
"I'm scared, because, what if, I don't know, Jack doesn't want to see me?" Emma said, crying.
"Of course he does," Bunny said. "You're his sister. He loves you!" Suddenly, Jack comes.
"Hey…" Jack stops when he sees his little sister. "Emma…?" She turns to him. "EMMA!" she runs to him. Jack looked at her. Wow… he thought, scratching the back of his head. She hasn't changed, but why is she here? "Well, there's my little sister!" She looked at him, smiling, and she hugs him tightly. He hugs her tightly and twirls her around, tears stream down her face. "What are you doing here?" She looked at him, then back at the others. Something was wrong.
"I died…" Emma said. "I sacrificed myself…for our friend, Jane." He looked at her in shock.
"Sacrifice?" Jack asked. "You sacrificed yourself for Jane?" She nodded. "Why?" No response.
"But there's more…" Emma said as she took a deep breath. She didn't want to look at him. "Mother's dead…Sit down…all of you…I need to explain this to all of you…especially Jack."
Emma's Flashback/Story
She heard a gunshot. What was that?! She saw her mother dead on the ground. Her stepfather killed her, he turned to Jane, gun pointed. "NO!" She ran to her and was shot in the back. She fell to her knees as she saw Jane run to her, calling her name. Later that night, Emma's body disappears from the snow and she is turned into an immortal guardian. She was given the gift of light, joy, and love, because of the way she brightened up people's day and care for them. She looked up at the moon and smiled. "Thank you…I will do my best…"
End of Flashback/Story
Pitch paced back and forth in his lair; the globe showed a young girl with brown hair and eyes: Emma. "Such a beauty…yet…such a pity you didn't live long. I will have you as bait for Frost." With a snap of his fingers, a Nightmare Sand version of Emma appears in the palm of his hands. "I will make you suffer the worst pain possible…the day you lost your brother." He crushes the sand and watched as it disintegrated in the air. "I'll watch you as you scream in pain for him…"
Tears began to stream down Jack's eyes as he heard the ending of the story. Emma's eyes lock on him. "Are you alright, big brother?" Jack didn't respond. She scoots, hugging him tightly.
"I can't believe it…" Jack mumbled. "You…abused…then…" Tears overtook him. "No…"
"Jack…it's not your fault," Tooth said. She and Emma hugged him tightly. Emma yawned.
"Tired, little sis?" Jack asked. Emma mumbles and nods. He smiles and laughs. "I thought so."
"Do you want me to take her?" North asked. Jack shook his head and held her tightly. He smiles.
Jack went to his room that was located next to North's Workshop (A bad place to sleep in Jack's opinion) and gently put his sister in bed, kissed her forehead, turns the lights off, and closed the door. He headed back to the others to see Sandy flying to his room. "Dreams, right?" He nods.
Later that night, an ear-piercing scream was heard and Jack was the first to wake up and hear it.
"JACK!" The voice cried. "Help me! Please!" Jack ran to see Emma in Pitch's arms. "Please…"
Jack points his staff. "Let her go, Pitch!" He gets a little closer to Emma; no response. "NOW!"
"And if I don't?" Pitch asked, tightening his grip on Emma's shoulder. Jack stays frozen. He and Emma disappear. Pitch's voice echoes throughout the Pole; the others hear. "Come and get her."
The Guardians come to Jack. "What just happened?" His body tensed in anger. "Jack…" Before Tooth could finish her sentence, Jack stormed out of the room, leaving frost in his path. Sandy made a question mark over his head. What's his problem? She looks at him. "I don't know..." Tooth looked at North, concern and worry in her eyes. "Should we go after him?" North shakes his head. Tooth's wings flutter as her body tense anxiously. "What's gonna happen to him…?"
"Tooth, it's not our job to know," He looks up to the moon. "It's up to Manny and only Manny."
Once he was finally alone, Jack sat on the edge of the lake and looked at his reflection; a reflection he thought he'd never see: his human self, Jackson Overland and his sister, Emma. This is all my fault! If we didn't even go ice skating, none of this would have happened. I would still be with you, playing…being your brother…Suddenly, as he looked deeper into his reflection, he saw two things, the two things that he never wanted to see: Emma and his mother's death. Emma and his mother's death: She heard a gunshot. She saw her mother dead on the ground. Her stepfather killed her, he turned to Jane, gun pointed. "NO!" She ran to her and was shot in the back. She fell to her knees as she saw Jane run to her, calling her name. He falls back, tears streaming down his face. He turned to the moon. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?! IF THERE'S SOMETHING I'M DOING WRONG, JUST TELL ME ALREADY! Just…please…"
Pitch circles around Emma like a vulture to its prey who was trapped in a cage, and, in this case, a literal cage…a birdcage; no words were said just the eerie silence that brought chills down the girl's spine, but that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part is that all around her Nightmare-like snakes slither up and down, inside and outside through the holes and cracks in the lair. "Your fear truly makes me more powerful." He stops and turns to her; his nasty and cruel grin made Emma's body go cold. She looked at him, then immediately turns away; she does NOT want to see the one person look down on her like something that she is: a prisoner. Pitch was beginning to become agitated with her, so he grabbed her throat and lifted her off her feet. Emma grabbed his arms, trying her hardest to try and escape, but it was no use! He tightened his grip, lifting her higher. She gasps for air. Pitch's face goes cold. "His death is because of you." Her eyes went wide with fear; Is it true? Is Jack's death truly because of her? Is Pitch just trying to get into her mind? With one last squeeze, Pitch throws Emma against the wall. The loud thud re-echoes throughout the lair. He snaps his fingers and his Nightmare Guards surround her cage.
Tooth flies around to see Jack sitting by the lake. "Jack?" He turns around, startled. "Sorry."
He looked at her. "It's alright." He sits down on the ice, tears streaming down his face. Tooth puts a hand on his shoulder, but he was too lost in thought to notice. "This is all my fault…"
"What do you mean?" She touched his shoulder gently. "Are you talking about your death?" He looks up at her, tears brimming in his eyes; Tooth didn't say another word and hugs him tightly.
Jack dries his tears. "I'm sorry you had to see that…I hate crying in front of people, especially her…" Tooth hugged him more tightly, making him drop his staff and hug back. "Mother…"
She gently breaks away from the hug. "So, it's not your death that bothers you, is it?" He shakes his head. "I know how much you miss them. They miss you…" Suddenly, darkness fills the air and Pitch appears; Tooth immediately hides behind Jack and he gets his staff ready. She screams.
Back at the Pole, not too far away from the lake, the Guardians hear the scream and get in the sleigh. "What was that?" North asked. Sandy makes gestures that resemble Jack, Tooth, and Pitch. "So, Pitch kidnapped Tooth?" Sandy put a question mark above his head: I don't know.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Bunny asked. He jumped through his hole. "Let's go! NOW!"
Sandy and North gave each other a look and shrugged it off. Off they went like a bullet to them.
Back at Pitch's lair, Emma sits against the wall and curls up in a ball to keep herself warm. Suddenly, Pitch appears; she looks up at him, shivering. "W-W-What do y-you want n-now?" Pitch moves to reveal Jack and Tooth, who look at her; she looks back at them, fear in her eyes. "JACK! TOOTH! PLEASE! HELP ME! IM SCARED!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.
"EMMA!" Jack and Tooth cry. They turn to Pitch, faces stone cold. "LET HER GO, PITCH!"
"YOU HEARD THEM!" A voice echoes through the air. "LET! HER! GO! RIGHT! NOW!"
They all turn their heads to see North, Sandy, and Bunny standing in their defensive position. "No…" He snaps his fingers and they disappear. He turns to Emma. "Now, where were we?"
"Where are we?!" Jack yelled, looking around. It was the Pole. "He took us back to the Pole!"
"Jack, calm down, please," Tooth said. Jack's body tensed up, but soon he broke into tears on Tooth's lap like he did as a child when he was sad. Tooth, realizing how much his past haunts him, hugged him tightly. Suddenly, she heard him snore softly and fall asleep on her. She smiles.
"Aw, mate fell asleep," Bunny said. Sandy went over to him and gave him a dream while North carried him to his room. Tooth saw tears streaming down Jack's face, but it wasn't a nightmare. Bunny gently nudged Jack and he woke up with his eyes red and puffy from crying. "You OK?"
Jack doesn't respond, but his shoulders shake terribly. North hugs him. "Let's take you to bed."
"NO!" Jack screamed. He pushes North and yells like the child he is. "I DON'T WANT TO!"
"Why not, Jack?" Tooth asked her voice soft and calm. Just like my mother, Jack thought.
"I'm scared…" Jack mumbled as he fell to his knees and breaking down into tears again. The Guardians looked at each other not saying a word, instead, they hugged him tightly and Tooth began to sing him a lullaby. Jack's body begins to calm down and his tears began to dry up.
"I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'll never let you go when all those shadows almost killed your light. I remember you said don't leave me here alone
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight. Just close your eyes, the sun is going down. You'll be alright; no one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound. Don't you dare look out your window, darling everything's on fire…The war outside our door keeps raging on. Hold onto this lullaby even when the music's gone. Just close your eyes, the sun is going down. You'll be alright; no one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound. Just close your eyes, you'll be alright. Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound." As Tooth sang the last line, Jack was deeply sleeping on her lap again. "Always works." She whispers. She looks at the others, they smile. North takes Jack and puts him to bed.
Her screams filled the air; a smile appears on Pitch's face as he heard her. He ENJOYED it. She couldn't take it! "PLEASE, MAKE IT STOP ALREADY! PLEASE!" This was her constant plea, but, of course, Pitch would continue to make her nightmares grow to the point of her fainting. Once she woke up again, the torture began again. The nightmare was always the same: Jack drowning and reaching his hand out to her. PLEASE, JACK! DON'T. LEAVE. ME! JACK! She screams again and Pitch laughs in delight. She looks at him. "MAKE IT STOP! I BEG YOU! PLEASE!" She falls to her knees in pain, covers her ears, and screams at the top of her lungs. The cages were shaking because of her screams. Suddenly, she stops and breaths heavily. Pitch stops and goes down to her height and grabs her chin, pulling her close to him. She could only moan in pain. He chains her to the wall and brings out a Nightmare Sand arrow. She looks at it and nearly screams, but is unable to due to all the Nightmares that she just had. Pitch smiled and took this as an opportunity; he held her by the shoulder and with one massive shove, the arrow went right into her heart. Her eyes went wide with fear and her lips gave a gasp of pain. He releases her from his grip and the chains that held her and watched as she crumbled to the ground in pain, gasping for air. She looks up to see if anyone was still there, but they were gone.
Pitch entered Jack's room and smiled cruelly at his beautiful dream: him and his sister ice skating together with their mother watching them from afar. Aw! How sweet! A happy family playing together and enjoying each other's company. There's just one thing missing: a touch of fear! And with a touch of his finger, Jack's dream turned into a nightmare. He squirms. Pitch smiles and leaves the room. After giving nightmares to the others, he disappears back to his lair.
Jack's Nightmare
Jack had an eye on her. He reaches slowly down and removes the second of two rudimentary ice-skates, leaving him barefoot on the surface of a familiar frozen pond. She stands in her skates, rooted to the spot. A spider's web of cracks emanates from where she stands. The ice below her splinters more. She wobbles as it starts to separate. Jack fixes his gaze...holds it...there's nothing but the two of them. She pauses a moment, then smiles through her fear. And just like that, Jack's demeanor changes. A light is switched on inside him and the last thing that could be happening is what is happening. Jack became playful and cheerful. Emma looked more reassured. And Jack shows her the first leap, but mugs for her, almost losing his balance then catching himself. She laughs. The next jump. He reaches down to pick up his staff. He extends it towards her. She hops, wobbling, but then she falls in. He screams for her.
End of Nightmare
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Jack screamed at the top of his lungs. Tooth was the first to hear Jack scream. "EMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"JACK!" Tooth and the others run to him. "What's wrong?!" No response. His body shakes, tears spill from his eyes. He begins to punch his pillow. "JACK! STOP IT!" he stops and cries.
"Shh…" North holds him tightly. "Just breath and you'll be fine, my boy. I promise. I promise."
"Nightmares…" Tooth said, looking into Jack's eyes. "Pitch is torturing him with nightmares."
"And Emma. We need to save her," Bunny said. Suddenly, Jack screams again. "Uh oh…"
The others looked at and in unison said, "BUNNY!" even Sandy blew a fuse with his dreamsand.
"Sorry!" Bunny said. Jack looks at them, tears streaming down his face. "Jack, mate, you OK?"
He remains silent, looks around like a zombie and flies off. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"
"HOME!" Jack yells. "FAR AWAY FROM ALL OF YOU! I WANT MY FAMILY BACK!"
They all look at him, then back at each other. Tooth falls to her knees, crying her heart out. "This is all my fault. I should've been there for him. Be a mother to him, but, instead, I made matters worse." Baby Tooth sat on her shoulder while the others comforted her. After regaining her composer, Tooth looked at the others. "He said he went home, right?" they nod. "He went to the burned village….." Then she breaks down into tears again. "Oh! He's going to be devastated!"
Jack landed on the snow; he turns around…his village was gone. What happened after his death? Who would do this? Tears well up in his eyes; his body shakes intensely and his feet give in, causing him to fall to the ground. He screams. "WHO ON EARTH WOULD DO THIS?!" Suddenly, evil laughter fills the air: Pitch…but then another voice is heard: a young girl crying: Emma…Jack spins and attacks Pitch, only to hear a cry of pain. The winds subside and he sees Emma on the ground, clutching her chest in pain. Horror fills his eyes and he runs to her. "What have I done? EMMA!" but soon, he's stopped by Pitch who pulls Emma to her knees and presses a knife made of Nightmare Sand to her throat. Jack points his staff to Pitch. "LET HER GO!"
"A worthy opponent, I see," Pitch purred. He looks down at Emma. "Not only is there ice in her heart, Frost, but also Nightmare Sand…" He looks at Jack, making sure he gets the message. "From me." Jack's eyes aflame with anger and he grips his staff tighter. "I wouldn't do that…" He looks down at Emma and presses the knife harder. Her eyes go wide with fear as she looks at Jack whose eyes stream with tears. Tears well up in her eyes from the pain and she mouths: help me! Pitch laughs and looks around. "Do you like what I've done to your village, Frost?" Both he and Emma shake their heads. "No? I think it's quite lovely if I do say so myself. My creation…" Jack looks at him. My creation. What did he mean by that? Is he trying to force Jack to join him?
"We have to find him!" Tooth said. The Guardians look at her. "What are you standing around for?!" At this point, Tooth was ready to throw a fit. "EMMA AND JACK ARE IN DANGER AND YOU GUYS AREN'T GONNA DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT?!" No response. "FINE! IF NO ONE WILL SAVE THEM, I WILL!" With one last glare at them, she flies off to the village.
They looked at each other, completely dumbfounded. Does Tooth even know what she's putting herself into? Does she not know the consequence of her actions? Bunny and the others look at each other and immediately went to the sleigh. Bunny, of course, just went into his holes. "We'll meet you at the village, Bunny!" North called. Bunny calls back and off they go to the village.
She flew fast and faster still as she saw the figures slowly coming into view. Emma, Jack…and? As she flew closer, the third figure came into view: Pitch; she gasped and hid as she saw them. Suddenly, a hole appears and out jumps Bunny who crouches next to Tooth, not saying a word. The sleigh appears and North and Sandy jump out. "We have to help them," Tooth said. "Now."
"No, we have to wait," North said. "Who knows what will happen to them?" They (try) to wait.
Emma looked at him, fear growing in her eyes. Suddenly, she falls to the ground and her hair turns…black and white. Jack tries to run to her. "EMMA!" She looks up at him, weakly and smiles. Pitch laughs and watches. The Guardians run to them. "NO! Emma, stay with me! Please! Don't go!" She gasps for air as more ice and sand slowly engulf her. Tears spill from Jack's face as he clutches her tightly. He looks at the others and his voice breaks. "Don't go…" Jack turns to Pitch. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Pitch laughs. Jack stays next to Emma, but she was completely frozen. "No…NO!" He turns to Pitch. "I AM GONNA KILL YOU!" He sprints and tackles Pitch to the ground. Pitch kicks him and, with his Nightmare Sand, shoves Jack against the wall. The Guardians watch in fear as Jack falls to the ground. He looks at Pitch weakly. Suddenly, with every last ounce in him, out of his anger, Jack freezes Pitch forever….
Jack's body shook from the fight and he falls to the ground in pain. "I want Emma…back." The moon, hearing his request, made Emma immortal. After getting his strength back, Emma runs into his arms and they hug each other tightly; suddenly, Emma begins to cry. "Are you alright?"
"Jane's dead…" Emma said. He cocked his head in confusion. Her voice began to crack.
"What do you mean dead?" Jack asked. She shook her head and cried harder. "Emma?"
"THEY KILLED HER!" Emma cried, sobbing harder than before. "THEY EXECUTED HER!"
'Whoa…just calm down…" Jack said, rubbing her back. "Take a deep breath. Talk slowly."
Emma took a deep breath and held Jack's hand tightly. "The governor of the town executed her."
"Why?" Jack said. Then he remembered: Speaking to the dead is forbidden. "She spoke to the-"
"The dead…yes…" Emma trailed off before crying again. "And talking to us and her parents."
Suddenly, a voice is heard. "I've been through worse…" All heads turn to see a young girl in 1700's century clothing and on both sides of her were Jack and Emma's parents from the right, and from her left were her own parents. Emma and Jack look at each other, then run and hug them. "The moon brought us back." They hugged each other tightly. "I've missed you so much."
"Not as much as we did," Emma said. "But what happened to you…that day?" Jane looks down.
"My parents and I were executed for talking the…" Jane trails off, unable to say another word.
"Dead…" Emma, Jack, and their parents finish for her. "Speaking to the dead is forbidden..."
"But we're together now and that's all that matter," Jane said, hugging her family and friends.
Mrs. Overland turns to Tooth and the others and smiles at Tooth. "Thank you so much…"
"For what?" Tooth asked as she and the others went to them. "I didn't do anything at all."
"Yes, you did," Emily said. Tooth looks at her. "You were the mother he needed when…I wasn't there…I saw everything from up there." She points and then she hugs her tightly. "Thank you…"
"It's my pleasure," She turns to the others. "It's our pleasure." The others come and hug them.
The End
Kristina Haddad
6- 24- 18
"Love is putting someone else's needs before yours." Olaf – Frozen
"Some people are worth melting for." Olaf – Frozen
"This is my family. I found it all on my own. It's little, and broken, but still good. Yeah. Still good." Stitch – Lilo and Stitch
"Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten" Stitch – Lilo, and Stitch
"You and I are a team. Nothing is more important than our friendship." — Monsters, Inc.
"You're mad. Bonkers. Off your head...But I'll tell you a secret...some of the best people are." — Alice In Wonderland
"We didn't even realize we were making memories. We just knew we were having fun." — Winnie The Pooh
"I knew when I met you an adventure was going to happen." — Winnie The Pooh
"You've got a friend in me." — Toy Story
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hope, and always perseveres. Love never fails
~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
~Romans 12:9
Bear with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgive each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
~Colossians 3:13
Greater Love has no one than this…that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
Love God, Love Family, Love God More
Luke 14:24