Chapter 1

The Man in the Moon

I raced the doe through the forest, trees just a blur behind me. As the wind carried me, my almost white hair blew everywhere, covering my eyes and my vision. I saw the doe was gaining speed and could heard her hoofs beating up the dirt.

"Wind! You better hurry up!" I yelled excitedly.

I sped in front of the doe, and saw the river which we had marked as the finish line. As I looked behind me, I noticed that I was way ahead. The wind set me down gently near the river. The doe scurried to me, knowing she lost again.

"That's not fair." The doe pouted.

"What's not fair?" I asked, a puzzled expression appearing on my face.

"You're so much faster with the wind on your side, and I'm slow with all of the snow on the ground."

"It's just who I am."

"But it's not fair!"

I laughed, knowing how stubborn the doe could be. I might be able to win a race against her, but an argument, never.

"I'll see you around, spring time is coming, and I have loads of work to do." I said, and a serious tone came into my voice

"Alright, good luck." The doe said over her shoulder as she turned back towards the safety of the woods.

"Hey wind!" I shouted.

Almost as reading my mid, the wind lifted me up strongly, and we were racing above the tree tops again. We came to the edge of the woods, and the city was looming above us, the metal buildings glistening in the sunlight, blinding me. I flew into town, the wind rustling papers in windows and birds flew up from the bare trees in a panic. Soon the smells of gasoline overwhelmed me, and I choked.

We came around to the park, a statue stood in the center, covered in snow. The wind set me down, and as I touched the cold metal, all of the snow melted away. I focused on happy warm thoughts, and soon the ground around it was green with grass and little flower buds were springing up. I flew up, brushing past the tree. Young, green leaves poked up, filling me with joy to finally see spring start. I radiated a ball of energy, slowly filling the town with new leafs, grass, and flowers. Children looked around, feeling the warmth coming. They all became excited, jumping around. Soon the fountains in the park were unfrozen, and were crowded with children's shrieks of joy.

I flew over to them, watching from a little distance. I was satisfied with this small town, but I still had hundreds to go to. A little girl came up to me, smiling.

"You can fly!" she laughed excitedly.

I motioned for her to wait a second. A little seed formed in my hand, sprouting, and a red rose in bloom was soon in her hands.

She bounded away happily, and I could hear her talking to her mom about the girl who can fly.

"Honey, people can't fly, but I love your rose." She muttered to the little girl as they both walked away.

I chuckled, knowing that the woman would probably never belief in me. I would just stay invisible to her, and that was completely fine with me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a boy, about sixteen years old, with white hair speeding across the sky. As he landed on the statue, his staff touched it, causing a thin layer of ice to form on it. I knew who it was, and I was defiantly not happy. Jack Frost.

I walked over to the statue casually, pretending not to see him, for he was invisible to most people. As the ice thickened on the statue, I leaned on it, making it melt. Jack looked puzzled, and turned in a circle, expecting the answer to why this happened to be right in front of him. It was, but he wouldn't be smart enough to figure that out. He touched the statue with his staff again, waiting to see what would happen. The same thing happened, and again he was wearing that puzzled look.

Jack suddenly looked down at me, and caught me staring at him.

"Listen," he said calmly, "I don't know what you were doing or how you were doing it, but stop. It's my duty as a guardian to bring joy to the children."

I smirked at him. Joy? What did he know about joy, all he knew was how to make things cold and unwelcoming.

He caught me on my shoulder, but I just shrugged him off and continued walking away. He caught up to me ordering me to stop, but I just ignored him.

"Hey! Don't do that again, you understand?" he asked me sternly.

I responded to his question by sending another blast of warmth, melting away everything that he had frozen. It was my job to bring spring time, and his stubbornness wouldn't interfere. I continued walking ignoring his constant shouts. I felt the wind pick me up again, and let it take me away. He would just anger me, and I did have to continue with the season changing.

I looked back, and saw him coming after me. With a flick of my wrist, I cut his wind off, sending him sprawling into a fountain below. This was too easy. The wind sped up, carrying me back into the forest. I felt safe again, especially with the trees thick with new leafs. The moon was rising, and so I nestled onto a branch, stretching my feet out. A cold wind blew through the trees rattling the leafs, and lulling me to sleep.

A cold water droplet woke me, and I was chilled to the bone. The birds were chirping wildly, and the sun was filling the treetops. I brushed the leafs off of my navy blue sundress, and pulled out a twig from one of my two braids. I stood balanced on the branch, and jumped off. The wind caught me right above the soft grass.

I walked through the trees, leaving a trail of fresh flowers behind me. The branches bent towards me as I passed them. As I came to the edge I was once again overwhelmed by the fumes from cars. The wind carried me to the park, and to no surprise, the top of the statue was once again covered with a thin layer of ice. I didn't bother melting it again. The weather was warm enough to do that for me.

I jumped off from the statue onto the hard stone pavement that covered the park sidewalks. I strolled off towards the buildings, filling the streets with the reflections off of their metal sides. I noticed jack soaring above the tops of the buildings, and decided to follow him. The wind picked me up, but I stayed below him.

Jack was doing flips off of the building balconies, coming inches from the ground, and swooping up again. He was probably going to go over to North's place. I always wanted to see the workshop, and there was no harm in following Jack.

The town became just a speck in the distance. We flew over seas, and Jack never noticed I was there, and even if he did, he didn't seem to care. The North Pole soon came into view, and a giant dome loomed on the horizon.

The dome was a spectacular show of colors and lights bouncing off of the ice, making it look like a splatter of colors. Jack flew inside through on opening on the top, but I just sat down on the ledge, looking down into the dome. The Yetis were painting toy soldiers blue and red, and the elves were running around with cookie platters. "Santa Clause" stood in a corner, carving a piece of ice. As he finished, he set it on its ice tracks, and let it chuck along as his eyes grew wide with pleasure.

"North, what's the big occasion?" questioned Jack.

I sat on the dome, looking down at how busy they were, chattering away like there was no tomorrow. Soon the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sand Man joined them. I heard North say something about the Man in the Moon, and how important it was for them all to be there. Soon the full moon came over the opening in the workshop, and a blue crystal rose from the ground.

"Who do you think it will be?" Tooth jabbered excitedly.

Sandy made a fur leaf clover appear above his head made out of his golden sand.

"That's what you said last time, and it was probably the complete opposite." mocked Bunny, his Australian accent laying on every word.

Sandy frowned, and I heard North hush everyone.

"It's starting, quiet now everyone!" he yelled, weighting down every word with a Russian accent.

The crystal glowed a brilliant blue, and a figure appeared above it. I was stunned. It was me! Great, I thought as I looked up at the full moon. You give me even more work.

"Krikey." muttered Bunny.

"Who's that?" asked Tooth.

"That, my dear, is Mother Nature." Answered North quite casually.

"Oh great." I heard Jack mutter, and I knew at once that he had recognized me.

"Jack, what do you mean by oh great," questioned Tooth, "It'll be great having another girl around!"

"Ya, if you don't get on her bad side" Bunny laughed.

I was a bundle of emotions, astounded, honored, but deep inside I was confused and angry. The wind lifted me, and I wanted to get as far away as possible. I knew they would soon be on the lookout for me, and try to kidnap me in a sack and throw me into a magical portal, as they did with Jack. They don't ever know I'm there, but I've watched them do their magic since the very beginning.

The salty air soon grew near, and the warm water was soon lifting up in great waves all around me as I headed out to sea. I hated how much pressure and work the Man in the Moon put on me. Ya, so he did choose me to become Mother Nature, and I thank him for that, but isn't taking care of all the seasons and animals enough work?

I soon saw the forest and town side by side, but didn't feel like stopping by there today. The wind carried me up into one of the oaks, and I made the branches bend around concealing me completely.

"Why, why do you do these things to me? Why am I even here? I'm not a guardian! I don't protect children! I protect nature!" I yelled into the sky.

"Why don't you answer me?" I questioned as my fist punched into the branch. I just broke down, tears streaming down my face. I just didn't get it. I knew I had to get myself together. Leafs around me were staring to wilt, and the branched started drooping.

"Well, that's new mate. Mother Nature talking." said a voice from behind, making me jump a bit.

They had found me. Panic spread through me, and I jumped from my branch, landing with a silent thump on the ground below. I oriented myself, a plan forming in my mind. They could be anywhere. The clouds covered the sun, making it dark as I ran through the thick trees. The branches bent towards me as I ran, making it impossible to take the path I was taking.

There were sounds of footsteps to my left and I heard branched breaking loudly. Did they really think that I was this dumb? The wind lifted me onto a dark branch full of leafs and I lay flat on it. North passed right under me, and I pressed myself into the branch. He had left a huge open path behind him. After I was sure that he was a safe distance from me, the wind set me onto the grass, and I went through the path that he had torn through the underbrush. I ran over the dead leafs silently, unlike them.

Jack lowered himself from a branch above me, cutting me off. I swerved to the right, the leafs parting only for me. I had to get away somehow. The wind lifted me and I flew into town. I knew who would help me hide, probably one of the only children who could see me; Sophie. I had visited her often enough, and she always let me in through the window. As I knocked on the glass, she let me in like every other day.

"Sophie, their after me, can I stay here for a while?" I pleaded.

"Who?" Sophie questioned.

"It's really complicated, and I don't have time to explain. Can I please stay for a while?"

"Did you get on the naughty list?" the thirteen year old blond girl mocked.

"In a really weird way."

"Ya, sure, Jamie went to his friend's house, so you can stay in his room for a while."

"Thanks, you're the best, and if they ask if I'm here, just say you have no idea who they're talking about!" I yelled over my shoulder as I headed down the hall to Jamie's room.

I slumped down on Jamie's bed and felt overwhelmed by the day's events. The sun came out from under the grey clouds, making me feel a bit better. The window was ajar, and the wind blew it wide open. I cut it off, and went to see what was going on outside. The children were having a blast out in the park feeding the pigeons, but I felt unsafe to go out and join them.

I drew the blinds and went to close the door. I felt so isolated, so alone, nothing could help me now. The moon had chosen me, and I knew I couldn't run from it forever, but there was no harm in trying.

A knock on the window resurfaced me from my deep thinking. I didn't care who it was. I was exhausted, and I laid back on the bed. My eyes closed, and springtime filled my dreams.

Sunshine filled the bedroom. I felt a gentle hand shaking me.

"Blue. Wake up!" I heard Jamie shout.

"What?" I muttered sleepily.

"It's the middle of the day. And what happened in here, my room is practically frozen solid!" the seventeen year old, dark haired boy exclaimed.

"Jack." I muttered.

"Ahh, I see, so what did you do to get on the naughty list?" he asked.

"That's exactly what Sophie asked!" I exclaimed.

"So what happened?"

"The Man in the Moon wants me as a guardian." I muttered unhappily.

"Well that's great, isn't it?"

"Not really. I have enough work with all of nature, I can't do everything you know." I answered.

"Ya, well could you unfreeze my room at least?"

The ice that had formed on the walls and ceiling soon began to melt, and the water evaporated.

The window blasted open, and North squeezed through. He was followed by Jack, Tooth, Bunny, and Sandy.

"So this is where you've been at." he muttered.

My face was completely expressionless. The rooms temperature plummeted, and I saw Jamie frown.

"Well nice to see you guys too." he said, welcomingly.

"Hey Jamie." They all answered in unison, except for Sandy, who made a waving hand appear above his head.

"Sorry mate, party's over." Bunny threatened as he approached me.

"Bunny, be nice," Jack warned as he too came near me, "We have to treat guests nicely."

I backed into the wall, and felt Jack's staff tap me lightly. Soon my body grew cold, ice crystals forming on my hands. I felt my body growing numb, and soon hit the floor hard. I was unable to move, and soon everything turned pitch black.