I saw Rise of the Guardians today, and this idea just popped into my head, just like that. I don't want to spoil anything about it just yet, but observant people might notice what could happen after reading the opening lines. I'll talk some more after I post the second chapter.

This story takes place one year after Guardians.

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

"And when the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come." I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth."

It was a lovely day in Burgess. The sun was shining high overhead, the birds were singing, and all the children were laughing as they played in the late-seasonal snow. They chanted 'Jack Frost' over and over, while snowballs came out of nowhere and made them laugh harder. Elizabeth smiled as she watched little Sophie play with her big brother Jamie. As his next door neighbour, they had been friends ever since he was old enough to talk. Recently, she had been his babysitter, running after the little brat and his excitable sister when their parents were out late. He was such a cheerful guy, going on and on about the Easter Bunny, and Santa, and the Tooth Fairy. If you listened to him, he and all the other kids helped them stop the Boogeyman from taking over the world last year.

If only her little brother could be out here playing.

Matt had been diagnosed with very severe Asthma at a young age, along with minor HIV. It meant that he had difficulty breathing, and he caught illnesses far too easily. He could never go outside and play with all the other children, as all the strenuous activity could push him too far. But he never let him down for long. He especially enjoyed it when his big sister took time to play with him. But everyone was so worried. The doctors kept saying that he might not be around for much longer.

She shook her head out of her funk, just in time to dodge a snowball aimed at her. She giggled as Jamie prepared to throw another one.

"Wow, Jack." He said to thin air. "Guess you're not such a sure-shot after all." A snowball came out of nowhere and knocked him slightly, causing him to drop his snowball. She waved at him until her phone started ringing. Probably her mum, asking her to do an errand for her.

"Hey mum, what'd you need?" She said as she answered it.

"Oh I'm so sorry dear," Mum replied. "But could you head on over to your father's? He's got a list of things I need, and it's rush-hour for him."

"Don't worry. I'll get it." She nearly groaned as she got up from her seat. Dad's list took forever, usually because he'd put on everything he could think of. Not just things for home, but things for work, or school, or for customers even. So a thirty minute run usually ended up taking around an hour or two to do. And her whole body ached afterwards. It was times like that that she wished mum and dad let her have a car. She passed her driving test a month ago; she knew how to handle herself on the road. And it wasn't like anyone got hurt during Jamie's 'runaway sled' incident. But, they only had one car. Dad used it almost every day for work.

But she still did them, because Mum was busy keeping an eye on Matt all day. And Dad was busy making sure that there was enough money for his next lot of medication. So that just left her to do everything else. She ran down the street, careful to watch out for black ice and other hazards. In no time, she had reached Dad's 'Store of Everything', and was working up a sweat under her old jacket. That's Dad for you; he was never very good at naming things. But despite the name (Or, she thought, because of it) it was very busy most of the time. Not bad for a building that used to hold just one store instead of about five. She barely heard the bell over the sound of customers, and she had to squeeze her way in after the door got stuck behind someone. She coughed as she walked smack-dab into a lady trying out the make-up and perfume section, got bounced off someone's behind as they bended over, and had to duck as a couple of workers battered their way through with a new TV. It was almost like she was dancing, once she got the rhythm going. Eventually, she got through to the counter, climbing over it to reach the backroom.

"Hey, Elizabeth." Her dad called out while he was getting a box of stuff off a shelf. He was an average man, with a shock of curly brown hair and a pair of old square-framed glasses. "Crazy day, huh? I think at least half the town is in there."

"Hey Dad." She replied, grabbing his ladder before it fell out from under him again. "Guess those specials were a bit too good. Mum said you had a list for me?"

"A list? List of what?" She groaned. Dad could be so forgetful at times. She lost track of how many days she helped out here and a customer had been waiting for nearly an hour because he forgot about them. "By the way, could you be a dear and grab that hammer for me? This shelf feels a bit wobbly." He didn't even look as he traded her the box of goods for the hammer. She grunted as she wobbled under the weight, quickly placing it down on a nearby table. "Oh, can you grab the box with the chocolate in it, over by the wall? And can you do a few favours for me? I've got a list in the cashier. Only thing is, somehow I've gotten your mother's hand-writing along the way."

"That's probably because it's Mum's list she mentioned." She answered as she grabbed the chocolate and put it by the other box. The table groaned ominously under the weight.

"Your mother made a list? Oh, that's right! I was supposed to give it to you when you got here." He laughed as he got down and pulled some batteries out of the big box. "I swear, I'd forget my head sometimes if it wasn't screwed on."

"Well you do keep for getting your pants."

"What? I don't forget my pants."

"Sure you do. Every Fourth of July, you rush out of the house as fast as you can, and you keep forgetting about pants."

"And who keeps remembering to bring me them? You do, that's who." He yelled back as he rushed into the store to restock the batteries. "And who brings me my lunch when I leave it at home? You do." He rushed past with a handful of tin toys. "And who helps me out when I forget the combination to the safe?"

She laughed as he rushed back in again. "I do."

He stopped and smiled at her. "That's right, sweetheart." He sighed as he hugged her. "You're a better adult than I am. God knows where we'd be without you."

She smiled back at him. "So, can I finally have a car then?"

"Not on your life." She groaned as he reached for the box of chocolate, not even blinking when the table wobbled like crazy.

"But Dad. All my friends have cars. And they get to head on over to Michigan whenever they feel like it. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to have to hitch a ride with your friends?"

"Now, now young lady." He scolded her. "Back in my day, we had to walk to Michigan. Every day for school. And we only got a little bottle of milk for breakfast, and you had to do gym in the rain and snow…"

"…And it was a big day when we didn't have to have broccoli for lunch." She said along with him. They had this argument so often, she could recite it off by heart. "But what about when they all go to College? This is our last year of school, and everything is so far away. I don't want to have to stay stuck here forever, you know? I want to see the world."

Her dad looked at her, smiling a sad smile. "I know you do. There's nothing more I'd love than to help you fulfil your dreams. But things are just too hectic right now. Maybe when you're older, we can think of something."

"That's what you said last time." She nearly cried. He didn't say anything. He just pulled her into a hug. They stayed like that until a clerk came in looking for them.

"Mr. Wittershine?" He asked. "We really need that chocolate now. The customers look like they're ready to eat me."

"Alright, Philip. I'll be out soon." He smiled at her as he picked up the box, placing one hand on her chin. "Chin up, hon. Things will get better, I promise."

"Thanks Dad." She whispered as he rushed out to a crowd of loud voices. It took a little while to finally clear enough people for him to come back in, a list in one hand.

"Now you better get this done, or your mother will have our heads." She had a quick look-over at the list and mentally groaned. Trust Dad to choose big, heavy, awkward items. But, she had a job to do. She weaved her way back out of the store, waving at the pet department as she left.

"Say hi to Bruno for me." She yelled back at her dad, before rushing out to get the things done quickly.

Dad hadn't been kidding about Mum wanting their heads if they were late.

/~-~\

"Thanks for that Mr. Bowman." She said as she pushed a large trolley full of groceries and clothes out the back door. "And I'm really sorry for having to borrow your cart again."

The much-older Bowman smiled as he shook her hand. "Not to worry. Sometimes I think I should just let you keep it, the amount of times you borrow it."

"You know my parents would never accept. They'd see it as hindering your own store."

"Oh pish-posh. It doesn't hinder me at all. Now, you'd better get going. Old Theresa will work up a storm if her eldest isn't back in time for dinner."

I know." Elizabeth replied as she quickly scooted the trolley away. She quickly, but carefully ran down the street, making sure not to hit anybody with the trolley's heavy payload. She started cursing under her breath as she panted. At this rate, she'd never make it home. Oh, why did Dad need such obscure items anyway?

"Hey Beth." Jamie shouted as he passed on a trail of frost. "Aren't you running a bit late?"

"Really? I didn't notice." She replied sarcastically.

"You know, Jack Frost could get you home in a jiffy." She scoffed. Jack Frost was a made-up character. There wasn't really a boy running around a painting frost and snow on everything. "C'mon, it'll be great. He got me through all that traffic last year."

Fine. She'll humour him. "Oh Great and Mighty Jack Frost. He whoith be wise and skilled, handsome and brave. Aid this here maiden with her most heavy burden of getting home before dinner." She shrieked as a path of frost suddenly formed under her feet, causing her to jump onto the trolley before she lost control of it. The path wound round traffic and obstacles like it had a mind of its own, sidestepping trucks and buildings with ease. It wasn't long before she and Jamie skidded into a large snowbank that Elizabeth was certain hadn't been there before in the morning. Oh well.

"That was fun." Jamie squealed. "Let's do that again."

"Sorry Jamie. But by butt is freezing after that. I'd better check that nothing got damaged during the trip." She stretched out and pulled the trolley out of the snow bank before brushing it off.

"Ok. But you're still coming over tonight, right?"

"Of course I am. Your parents still owe me twenty dollars."

"Yay!" it'll be so much fun." And with that, he dragged his sled over to his house. Elizabeth sighed once she was certain everything was still there and undamaged. Then, with a lot of grunts, she dragged the whole thing over to her garage.

If she had believed, she might've noticed a white-haired boy watching her from the power lines.

/~-~\

"So." Her mother said during dinner. "How was everyone's day?" Elizabeth worried about her mum sometimes. Everytime she saw her, her long black hair seemed streaked with more grey. Even though she put on a brave face for everyone, Elizabeth could still tell she was worried about Matt.

"This steak is delicious." Dad replied, before realising what she had asked. "Oh. Well, things finally started to calm down after Liz grabbed the list. And I think we're all sold out of eggs now."

"Not much." Elizabeth said, playing with her mashed potato. "Got everything on the list, watched Jamie and his friends having a snowball fight."

"Well, Matt said saw a very large hare hopping around the back yard." Mum said proudly. "He said it was carrying chicken eggs. And I think you told me it had a belt on."

"That wasn't a hare, mum. That was the Easter Bunny." Matt replied. He looked rather adorable, with Dad's curly hair and a cute set of rainbow glasses. His meal wasn't as big as everyone else's, since he never really ate that much. "He was six feet tall, and hopped around on his back feet. And he was carrying a basket full of Easter eggs. We should really leave a note asking him if he could hide them inside this year. I'd love to go on an Easter Hunt."

Mum laughed. "Alright honey. I'll leave the note out tonight for him." Elizabeth knew mum was only teasing. She was too old to believe in the Easter Bunny. Only Matt still believed. "But only if you eat all your greens."

Matt groaned. "But they don't taste nice."

Elizabeth saw Mum giving her 'The Look', so she had to help. "If you eat all your greens, then you can be big and strong like me. Plus, the Easter Bunny has a helper."

"He does?"

"Oh yes. He's called the Green Spotter. He goes into the houses and watches everyone. And if he finds out that someone hasn't eaten their greens, poof. All the Easter Eggs vanish." He stared at her, wide-eyed, before nearly drinking down his vegetables. Mum gave her a thankful look. "Well, I'd better get moving. Don't want to be late for Mr. and Mrs. Bennet."

"Have a good time over there." Mum called out to her as she put her plate into the dishwasher.

"And remember," Dad mumbled. "This is good learning experience for when you have a kid." Elizabeth shuddered. Hopefully, that day wouldn't be for many, many, many years to come. Or ever. After putting her coat on, she rushed over just in time to see Mr. and Mrs. Bennet getting ready to hop into their car.

"Oh thank you Elizabeth." Mrs. Bennet said. "And we're so sorry for springing this on you again."

"No problem Gloria." Elizabeth shrugged it off. "I'm just happy to help. And thanks for helping out my car fund."

"I still think you're going to be doing this for a long time if you want to afford a car." Mr. Bennet joked.

"I'll get one for cheap. Enjoy your dinner!"

"We will." They shouted as they backed out of the driveway. She stood there, watching them drive away until she couldn't see them. Then, she entered the house in time to catch Sophie before she smacked into her.

"Off." She groaned. "You're getting to be a big girl now."

"I know." Sophie replied, giggling as Liz carried her back inside, shutting the door with a kick. "Do you think Santa will be helping Mr. Bunny again this year?"

"Well, Santa is probably busy in his workshop, making toys for all the good boys and girls." She answered, plopping the young girl on the couch. "But you know, my brother saw the Easter Bunny today. He said he was putting eggs out all day."

"He probably doesn't want a repeat of last year." Jamie said as he came down the stairs. "After all, if children don't believe in him, he can't bring joy and hope to kids."

"Well now. We can't have that. But I bet you've never seen him."

"I have. He's really tall and cool, with a load of belts on, and a pair of boomerangs."

"Boomerangs? What is he, Australian?"

"Yep. He has the accent and everything. I also saw Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Sandman and Jack Frost." Here we go. He loved telling her about them. She almost hated to see the day where he realised they weren't real. "Santa Claus is really big. But not fat-big, more like giant-big. And he swings around these two large swords and fights on a jet-sleigh. And the tooth fairy, looks like a humming-bird lady."

"She's scary." Sophie chimed in. "She showed me baby teeth with blood on them."

"Uh huh." Elizabeth nodded. "That is scary."

"And Sandman really short. But he kicked the Boogeyman's butt like, Whaa! Chaa! Hoo, haa! And Wham Bam! It was so awesome."

"What about Jack Frost? What does he look like?"

"He looks… Well, normal. I think he's about your age, with white hair. He wears a blue sweatshirt, and waves around a staff. And he doesn't need shoes. He just walks around normally. You'd probably like him, Liz."

Not in a million years, kid.

/~-~\

Liz groaned as she headed back to her own house. She kept trying to hide it, but she was bone tired after all the work today. She was just glad she didn't have to help Dad all day like usual. She laughed as she saw the sign on the door, asking the Easter Bunny if he could please find a way to have an Easter Hunt in the house. She stepped inside quietly, so as to not disturb anyone. It was really late now. She winced whenever the floor creaked under her socked feet. She nearly made it to her room when she heard Mum complaining.

"…Oh Fergus." She moaned. "How could you have forgotten?"

"I-I didn't." Dad replied. "It was right here, I'm sure of it. I got them out weeks ago."

Mum sighed. "He had his heart set on this. It was what he wanted so much."

"I'm sorry, honey. I'll rush to the store first thing tomorrow, see if they have any more eggs on sale." She had heard enough. She'll go with Dad tomorrow morning. Getting those eggs is the most important thing in the world right now. She slinked her way off to her room, but Matt was waiting for her.

"Hey Liz." He said. She sighed, before getting a smile on her face before turning around.

"Hey, squirt. You're supposed to be asleep."

"I'm too excited. I can't wait for tomorrow. An Easter Hunt sound really, really fun." Part of her soul died as she saw how excited he was. It was going to tear him apart when the eggs weren't there.

"They are really fun. But you know, the Easter Bunny can't do his job if you're still awake. So go to sleep, munchkin. I promise you they'll be waiting for you in the morning."

"Promise?"

"Promise." She crossed her heart as she said that. It made him smile, before closing his eyes and snoring away. He looked so fragile in his bed.

As she walked down to her comfy bed, she seriously considered robbing some other house of their eggs. Matt needs them far more than anyone else.

/~-~\

She smiled as she had a wonderful dream. In it, she had gotten Matt an entire carload of Easter Eggs, and Mum and Dad let her keep the car. She was just dreaming of heading down to the sea, when she was nearly blinded by a flash of light in her dream. She groaned as she was forced awake, the sun peeking through a gap in her curtains. It took some time before a thought made it through all the sleepy dust.

"Shit!" She swore. It was morning. Dad might've already gone into town to check at the local stores. As she rushed out into the hallway, she saw that Matt's bed was empty. Shit, shit! He was already up. She promised that he'd have a hunt, and now he was going to be heartbroken. But when she got down to the living room, she stopped in surprise.

Matt held a small basket filled with Easter eggs. At this moment, he was walking out of the kitchen, another egg in his tiny hands. Behind her, she heard Mum and Dad walking down the stairs, and also stop in surprise.

"Mummy, mummy!" Matt yelled as he hoped over to them. "Look, look! The Easter Bunny came last night. He did notice the sign! This is the greatest Easter ever!"

"Fergus?" Mum asked. Elizabeth turned around to see him shake his head. They both looked at her, and she just shrugged.

If none of them had gotten the eggs, then who did?

/~-~\

Elizabeth yawned as she walked down the street. Jumping out of bed like that had left her feeling more tired than when she got in. But her mind was still whirling and trying to think over the hunt this morning.

Mum and Dad hadn't done it. They were both surprised, and Dad was too scatter-brained to have planned a surprise like that on his own. And unless she slept-walked, there was no way she could've done it. But that would mean that someone, somehow, managed to pick the lock on the door, sneak around the house, hide all those eggs, and then lock the door after themselves all without waking up anyone. The only thing that she found was a single flower in the kitchen floor. How did that get there?

Her phone rang suddenly, surprising her with the noise. She fumbled for a bit before seeing who it was. Great. It was Hubert, her ex-boyfriend. He just couldn't accept that she didn't like him. She hung up on him immediately, not wanting to endure another minute of his disgusting talk. He made it very clear he cared only about her looks. Well, she'll just find someone else. Someone that loved her for herself. She hummed as she crossed the street, thinking about what kind of guy that would be. So she didn't hear the car until it was too late.

She turned just in time to see a brown car zooming towards her, its silver bumper glaring at her. She didn't have enough time to react, getting smashed in the legs by it. Her body ached so much as she slammed against the hood, but her legs were surprisingly numb. She felt her body go flying, soaring above the town as the world spun. All the sounds grew faint, and the sky turned dark as she headed back for the ground. Her head made a loud crack as it slammed against the ground, and she could feel some wet liquid trickling beneath her. She tried to breathe, tried to stand, tried to do anything. But her body just wouldn't listen to her. She could barely see everyone rushing over to her in slow motion, her world growing dark and blurry.

And then it all went black.

Don't worry. It wouldn't be much of a story if the heroine died in the first chapter. We'll see her again very soon.

Now with Matt, I wanted to give him something life-threatening, but plausible, so that Elizabeth would have someone to worry about. Those of you who figure out what's going on might see the plot coming a mile away. But, I still find this enjoyable.

See you with in the next couple of weeks.