A/N: Hello, everyone! This is my Christmas special. I will be posting a chapter every day until the final on Christmas :) I hope you all enjoy.
Inspiration: I sort of came up with this while watching The Nightmare before Christmas. It doesn't follow the plot of that or anything. It just sort of sparked an idea in my mind.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or The Nightmare before Christmas.
"Mother, why can't we go outside?" a young girl with striking violet hair asked her mother, whom had a darker hue to her hair, deep crinkles embedded into her forehead.
"It's for your own safety, Ultear," the tired mother said, gently caressing her daughter's cheek.
"For what are you protecting us?" Ultear asked, continuing her questions.
The mother was about to answer, but someone came bursting into the room. "Mom!" It was a small boy with white hair spiked up to one side. "Gray went outside!"
Ur was nothing but reasonable. She loved her children unconditionally, never asking more of them than necessary. Keeping them inside was completely necessary, for she knew that one day her powers would be passed on to one of her children. She was the strongest Winter Protector the world has every seen, so how could she not pass on the gene at least once having three children? She knew that when their time came, not knowing that there was a possibility of having special powers, let alone controlling them, could cause mass destruction. So knowing that, how could she even think of letting her children outside? They lived in a large manor, so they had much space to play and enjoy themselves. She understood human curiosity. She knew they would try to leave. She just didn't expect that Lyon would let Gray out of his sight.
Ultear was perfectly respectable in every way. She was very proper, always addressing people by proper titles. Lyon didn't fully understand manners and how to hold himself as high as his older sister, but he did follow rules better than anyone. Gray, on the other hand, possessed no grace or respect for rules. He tried to escape every chance he got, and he finally managed to do it.
Running at full speed, Gray tried his best to escape. He knew he was so close, just within reach. He ran very fast for only being six. But, sadly, he heard his mother's footsteps coming not too far behind. He could hear her getting closer, so he turned to face her. She looked angry. He could see Ultear and Lyon lagging behind.
"No!" he screamed. "Don't stop me!"
Extending his hands out, he hoped she would indeed stop. Rather than her simply stopping, she froze. Literally. Horror crossed the faces of the children as they looked at their mother, whom was covered in ice. Gray looked at his hands. Wisps of snow were circling around them. Other than that, they looked completely normal.
Continuing the surprises, the ice around Ur turned to snow, then melted. "Gray!" she shouted in anger. She stalked forward and grabbed his wrists. "I told you not to leave! Do you see what you've done?! At only five!" She let out a heavy sigh. "Now I have to teach you to control yourself. It's about time to change to Winter. I suppose that helps. We better hurry if you want to learn."
Completely baffled, all the children followed Ur back, not fully understanding what was happening.
X
As the years passed, Gray learned to control his powers. Ultear and Lyon became very jealous of their younger brother. They were all taught what was happening to the young boy, and it was hard to believe at first. After seeing the seasons change by the hands of Ur, though, they fully understood. They had lived in the mountains where it was always snowing before, but since one of her children got their powers, she decided to go live somewhere else. The children were very surprised to discover that they had been living in a castle all along. Adjusting to common life was difficult, along with keeping their secret, but they managed.
"Mom?" Gray had asked as they were about to leave their palace life behind. "I get what's happening with me, and I get that you have to change fall to winter every year, but why? What does this all mean? For you? For me? For everyone?"
Ur smiled. "I'm very glad you asked. Have a seat, Gray."
And so they sat on the couch that would probably never be sat on for years to come, and the story began.
"Many, many years ago, when the Earth was just being made, it was always sunny and bright. There was only one season, you see. That all changed when a special boy was born. He had the power to make anything freeze. He got angry that the whole world was hot when he could do something about it, so he froze the Earth. After three months of this, a beautiful woman came to him. She said she had the power to defrost the Earth, if he allowed it. He was enchanted by her beauty and agreed. They decided to allow half of the year to be cold, while the other half was warm. They two eventually fell in love. They had twins together. One had the power to make things windy, the other make things grow. The twins became fall and spring.
These children fell in love with normal people and had more children. For a while, many people had basic powers with the weather, but they never changed anything. They left that to the Guardians. Over time, less and less people had these powers. Every so often, someone would be born with the gene. It was so rare that whoever was born with the power became the next Guardian.
"I am the Winter Guardian. I control the weather. There are usually two Guardians for each season, but one specializes in something. I control the Weather mainly. I can't say who the other Guardian is. It's strict code not to discuss that with anyone, even other Guardians. This keeps the world balanced. Now, I'm extremely strong for a Guardian. I knew that you, Lyon, or Ultear would carry the gene. That's why I kept you locked up for so long. I'm happy that you didn't hurt anyone when your powers were awoken.
"When you get older, and I pass, you will have to be a Guardian. You will meet with the Fall Guardian and Spring Guardian every year to pass on the seasons. It does take some skill, but I plan on sticking around a while. You'll learn what you need to know from me. Do you understand?"
And he did.