Ok, so this was part of a bunch of RS one-shots I'm writing, but as it started to have more an more chapters, I decided to have it on its own. If you want to read my previous story, as some kind of prequel, be my guest :D
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Please enjoy and review ;D
He could hear the chorus echoing in the frigid air, and smell the aroma of cinnamon in every kind of food. The enlightened streets breathed magic, enhanced by the ringing of bells and the giggling of children.
Oh yes, Christmas was a time of happiness and cheer!
Well, at least for most people. For a lonely spirit, it was just a reminder of the miserability of his life.
Instead of warming is frozen heart, those lights, scents and sounds would only reopen the hole that existed inside him, which he always tried to cover with his playful and carefree attitude.
He tried to find comfort in the happiness of the children. But then the night would come, and families would go inside, sit around the table and enjoy the bliss of each other's presence… That was simply unbearable for him.
He would just fly away, trying to restrain the tears in his eyes, and ignore the weight in his heart, anger and frustration pulsing in his veins.
And then he would spend the night alone, curled up in some quiet place, not before he had frozen something or created a blizzard somewhere near, not even once daring to look at the sky, wouldn't he get a glimpse of a certain stealthy sleigh and hate Christmas even more.
That was what Christmas has always meant to him, from what he could remember.
So he it was understandable that he was a little anxious with what might happen this special year.
He kept convincing himself that he didn't care. He was not very hopeful. Because, after all, who could assure him things would be different this time.
And there is no way he would form up expectations and then get them smashed again, as it has happened for 300 years.
But there was a tiny light, shinning in the back of his mind, just hoping, wishing with all his strengths that he wouldn't pass another holy night alone.
So, he decided to go talking with a certain Aussie, wanting to know what to expect.
He wasn't surprised to find Bunny in his burrow, surrounded by his never ending spring, planting some kind of magical flowers.
- It's just Christmas, mate. – he simply huffed, still crouched on the grass, doing his gardening. - No big deal.
The six foot tall tried to hide the grumpiness in his voice, pretending that the subject was blank of any kind of relevance to him.
Jack just rolled his eyes.
- Yeah, but, do you usually do something different, like a meeting or something? – the boy continued eagerly, the anticipation almost making him fall of the branch he was sitting on.
- I don't see why Christmas involves a meeting and Easter doesn't…
- Bunny!
- Ok, mate! Yeah, sometimes North organizes a dinner, some day between Christmas and New Year. But it doesn't always happen. We're not party all the time; there are more important things to do, ya know. I think the last was in '97… Can't remember.
Jack frowned, his voice low as he spoke:
- It means you spend Christmas all by yourself?
Bunny finally got up, facing the expectant Winter Spirit. The six foot tall rabbit sighed, and after a moment thinking of how to explain it, he talked as calmly as he could.
- Mate, when you're immortal, days and years pass by, and you don't give them much importance. We work for 365 days until we get our mission accomplished, and then we start that all over again, for many centuries now. We are pretty much by ourselves all the time! – Bunny said, with a sad smile.
Jack blinked, thinking about those words for a second.
His fantasies had been completely shattered. He had been rather egocentric, thinking for all these time that the Guardians would always be together, celebrating their own existence.
He didn't know why on the Moon he thought that. Maybe he was just jealous of them.
Either way, he felt awful.
- Hey, don't worry, mate! – Bunny exclaimed, seeing his heartbreaking face. – We all love our jobs, and we couldn't be more grateful for doing them! – he continued, messing the boy's snowy white hair.
- Ok, cottontail! Now get off! – Jack chuckled, backing away.
- Either way, – he shouted, as he flew away from the lair. - Merry Christmas!
- Yeah, yeah! Merry Christmas! – the aussie answered, seeing the boy disappear towards the surface.
He continued planting, but not before he had mumbled to himself, with an honest smile:
- I truly hope so, Frostbite…
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- Oh, look girls! Tomorrow it's Christmas! – the hyperactive hummingbird part of her cried, receiving an happy squeal from all her fairies.
She did a leap in the air.
It was a truly magical season. North always did a great job, and Tooth admired him for that.
This time of year was one of the best childhood memories for most people.
Sometimes, when she was alone on Christmas Eve, she would go and take a peek at some children's memories, just to feel the happiness and wonder with which they filled their world, in this season.
Tooth sighed, landing slowly on her knees.
Yeah, alone on Christmas Eve…
Well, of course she had her minifairies, but, considering they were parts of her, it was like being with herself. They wouldn't say nothing new, or do something unexpected.
Well, North was out of question.
Bunny wouldn't want to even hear anything Christmas-related.
And Sandy, well, who knows where Sandy is. Either way, as much as a good listener and a wise adviser her long date friend might be, he's not the kind of company Tooth needs right know.
She sighed again. That leads to the obvious choice.
Tooth had got so embarrassed when she woke up nestled up against a certain Winter Spirit, months earlier. She was extremely exhausted because of that stupid bet, and she wasn't lucid enough to measure her actions.
The first thing she felt was the scent of forest surrounding her. But it wasn't the humid aroma of the tropical forest, the one she was so accustomed to.
No, her nostrils were filled with the fresh fragrance of wood and resin.
When she opened her eyes, the only thing she saw was a deep blue. She was scared for a second, but then, something particularly familiar in that hue comforted her. She peacefully inbreathed that fresh sent one more time, and nestled a little more into the azure pillow.
But then her brain added two and two.
Suddenly, and now completely awake, the realization made her violet orbs open wide, and she slowly looked up.
His serene sleeping face was almost angelic, under the moonshine above them. He looked like a boy again, the face relaxed with the innocence of a quiet dream. His bluish lips were slightly open, breathing softly. She came aware of the arm that embraced her, protecting her petite form against his cool body.
She could hear her birdlike heart pounding fast, and below that, a much quieter and slower heartbeat. Steady and low.
She allowed herself a moment. A brief moment, frozen in time, so she could just appreciate his sleeping features under the moonlight. Just a moment, before she flushed bright pink in embarrassment and he would apologize himself and fly away.
A moment only, and she smiled, lifting her head slightly to get a better look.
But then, she heard an inbreathing sound, and felt his chest full itself with air. Her eyes widened with worry, but it was too late. When she looked at his face again, deep celestial irises were staring at her. She felt her cheeks warming up, and for the first time, she really didn't know what to say.
And that was a long time ago...
She hadn't had the courage to talk to him ever since. She simply couldn't do it. How was she going to look at his face a talk properly without being overwhelmed by such an incapacitating feeling, as her embarrassment was?
She rested both her hands in her lap, flexing her fingers nervously, biting her lower lip.
But it was Christmas after all, and Jack was probably even more alone than her. She couldn't fail him now! Not after 300 years of failure…
Stop being a selfish coward! Jack was sweet and helpful, and this is the way you thank him? Stopping contact for months? And in Christmas! Oh, Tooth, you should be ashamed of yourself! This is not proper Tooth Fairy behavior!
She filled her lungs with air, the smell of rain perfuming the breeze. With a strong wing-beat, the fairy flew away from the rainy forest, into the upper atmospheres, leaving her helpful helpers, with a single mental note:
"It's Christmas, girls! And I just hope a Christmas miracle is about to happen tonight!"
Because now, so she could find the illusive Winter Spirit, a miracle was everything she needed.
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His staff cut softly through the air, like a gentle caress, making the soft clouds relish their cargo. As the Winter Spirit, he just wanted to assure a white Christmas to all who could experience it.
He sighed deeply, his breath merging with the wind that flew with him.
His body felt numb, not thanks to any external factor, but only because his own mind was absent and unaware, lost in deep thoughts and leveling the emotions that ran in his heart.
Although his anger was rather calmed down, practically inexistent comparing to the years before, he still felt that known hollow in his chest. He was now aware that both his ire and fury were a mere shallow mask of the huge sadness that dwelt bellow.
And even though he had long ago forgiven the Guardians for something they had never done, he could now see that the odium was just a way to escape the true depression of his own loneliness…
He exhaled, and the fact that the breath came out slightly broken, surprised him.
Becoming conscious of the reason of his eternal inter-rage, was at the same time a big relief and extremely saddening.
The truth is indeed liberating, but at the same time, it is something very difficult to deal with.
Now that he had released himself from that old burden, he only needed to let everything get out, and become truly free, once and for all.
And in that moment, he didn't know why, but five perfect icy crystals fell towards the ground below, born in his watery eyes.
Of course his ego had to quickly kick in, bringing his pride close behind. His hand rapidly flew to his face, wiping his tears. Because, after all, back in that time, he didn't understood that hold everything inside was far worse than crying…
And in his ignorance, his mind was ashamed.
He had no reasonable motives for doing such a stupid thing, like crying was: he was not invisible anymore, he was believed in, and he had the Guardians.
There was more hope this night than it has ever been in those 300 years.
So, why was he crying? Or why was he allowing himself to cry?
Probably because he still needed to let go loads of sorrow. Or maybe the reason was that after all that happened in that year, he was still alone on Christmas Eve.
Suddenly, awakening him from his melancholic thoughts, his earlier talk with Bunny twinkled in his mind:
"We are pretty much by ourselves all the time."
And, almost instinctively, a pallet of blue, green and golden hues flourished in his head.
He didn't understand where that had come from, let alone why, but he could not be less worried about it at the moment!
He just knew that his heart became simultaneously a little heavier, just for thinking that the kind-hearted fairy might be feeling as lonely as he felt, and greatly lighter, as the idea of ending that solitude came to his mind.
He immediately stopped in his tracks, not that he was going anyway either. He gasped, as an idea popped in his head.
- A white Christmas… - he mumbled under his breath.
He turned east, towards the dim light of a sun hidden behind the curvature of the Earth. His heart beat faster in his chest, and with an amused laugh, the wind pushed him forward, heading to the far horizon.
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Her translucent wings fluttered quickly, being nothing more than a vague pink blur. They carried her light body easily, cutting through the wintry December air.
Even with her fast metabolism, and consequent high body temperature, she wasn't aware of her face anymore, and her hands felt numb. She tried to hide them underneath her cozy plumage, in a desperate attempt to warm them up.
She was almost there, in the place she would first look for Jack.
His home: Burgess.
Her perfect orientation skills lead her to the pound with the surrounding dark forest, where she guessed he might be.
Toothiana flew closer to the ground, her humming wings making a deafening noise in the quietness of the night.
Except for her, not a single sound could be heard.
She softly touched the snow. Brrr, so cold! Her sensitive feet couldn't handle it!
But she really was tempted to land, feeling as if her wings beat might attract too much attention. Or unwanted ones…
Stop that, you silly coward! Don't be so skittish!, she scolded herself.
But at the same time, she couldn't help but notice that the forest felt the exact opposite of what a Christmas night should be: happy, warm and full of live and love.
Instead it was cold and empty, just dark and alone.
- It looks like the Christmas lights don't reach here… - she quietly whispered.
And thinking that Jack might have spent all his Christmas nights alone in this lonely place, made her heart ache. And she abruptly remembered why she had come here in the first place.
She searched for him, calling his name to the wind, but there was no answer.
She examined the forest, the dark trees covered in white. She looked behind rocks, and inside burrows, and in the branches and in the night. But there was nothing.
She despairingly gazed the crescent moon.
Suddenly, her feathers fluffed up, when an idea stroke her.
She speeded towards the lights of the illuminated town, heading for a specific house of a certain boy, which would probably be the only comfort of a lonely spirit in this holy night.
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He peeked through one slightly open eye, seeing the darkened room around him, the shadows of soft snow cascading over his bed and floor. The expectation rose in his petit pounding heart.
This was the most wonderful night of the year and he was eager to get a glimpse of the illusive jolly character. Maybe he would stop at his house just to pay him a special visit!
Jamie was hoping so, wishing that the events that followed last Easter would make him special in some kind of way. It was a stupid thought, but he couldn't avoid his fertile mind from formulating it.
And if Santa was too busy to stop for a little chat, maybe Jack would.
He had been expecting to see him in a long time. When he didn't visited him the months that followed, the boy thought it was because of the temperature and he forgot about it, enjoying the summer with his friends and family. When autumn settled, he could hardly wait for the first blizzards to come.
And then he woke up one morning, and there was a thin layer of snow in the ground. He played all day long and when the night came, he hoped to find the hellion peeking on the other side of the frozen glass. But if he came, he was already asleep. All there was left in the morning were beautiful patterns of ice in his bedroom window.
He knew he have been there, that was obvious, but he couldn't understand why didn't he stopped to talk to him. Maybe he was too busy know, being part of the Guardians and all…
While he was lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice his eyelids starting to close and that the room became even darker. But suddenly, his groggy eyes caught a figure quickly crossing his window, projecting its shadow in his warm sheets.
Jamie grew wide awake, mouth slightly open, his toothing now complete again.
He then got up, and ran towards the window, opening it quietly so his parents wouldn't know he was still up.
He peeked through it, trying to see over the heavy snowfall.
The street was quiet, snow covering everything in its touch, and lights brightening everything in their reach. It surely looked like Christmas, but the young boy couldn't stop himself from wondering which of the Guardians he had seen. Maybe it was Santa, or Jack!
But whoever it was, it looked like they had already gone away…
Jamie stayed there, at the window, soft snowflakes entering his room.
He decided to call, just to be sure… because… they couldn't just pass by, could they?
- Is someone there? – he whispered to the night. No answer. His eyes fell to the parapet. – Maybe they really did just pass by…
The boy was about to sadly return to his bed, when suddenly he noticed the humming sound sublimely in the air.
The boy looked up right away, only to see the iridescent fairy hovering in front of him, with a tender smile on her face. With the lights behind her, and given the circumstances, she was almost similar to a Christmas angel.
- The Tooth Fairy! – he exclaimed, but covered his mouth right away, looking behind him, to the bedroom door, the narrow strip of light from the corridor entering the room through the slit under the entrance.
He then turned back to the fairy again with a huge smile on his face, and with a quiet giggle, the Tooth Fairy answered:
- Hi, Jamie.
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- So, are you sure you don't know where she is?
- Tchiicht, tiich!
- Yeah, yeah, I know Baby Tooth, but I thought one of you might know something. She couldn't just disappear! It's Christmas after all, where would she go!
The minifairy chirped angrily again, answering the Guardian of Fun for the millionth time, that she had no idea where the Tooth Fairy was.
She was worried too in the beginning:
There she was, doing her duties, when suddenly her queen's voice was heard inside her head.
"It's Christmas, girls! And I just hope a Christmas miracle is about to happen tonight!"
She didn't know what Toothiana had meant with those words, but before any of them could go after her, she was long gone. Baby Tooth was about to follow, but her and her sisters agreed that if she was leaving without further explanations, she needed to have a very good reason! So they let her be, and toke care of the Teeth Collecting themselves.
And now, here was their newest and beloved Guardian, asking for the Queen's presence as well!
Baby Tooth was truthfully sorry for disappointing him.
Of course she would have loved to get a glimpse of those pearly whites' of him, displayed in a grateful smile. But that was only one of the reasons.
Maybe, the most important of them all, was because they all knew that good warm feeling they got in their little pounding hearts every time their Queen was happy. And it seemed that in the presence of a certain jovial spirit, the feeling, very curiously, grew exponentially.
So, they were simply pleased to have him near for several valid reasons.
But it looked like she wasn't getting any of that right now. The Guardian of Fun looked unnaturally anxious, restlessly jumping up and down, passing his body weight from one foot to the other.
The boy looked around, absorbing the surrounding space. He sure got a lot of work to do…
But no problem, he could do it!
And on the bright side, maybe it was better that Tooth was nowhere to be seen. The surprise would be even bigger when she returned!
- Yeah, I can do this! And it is going to be awesome! – he mumbled to himself, rubbing his hands, as if to get ready for the major task ahead. – Let's do this!
Baby Tooth simply tilted her disproportionate head, her huge mismatching orbs blinking twice. The boy looked at her one last time, and grabbing his staff harder in his fist, he jumped out of the platform, only leaving behind a magical trail of ice and a laugh of pure joy.
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- Do you understand now, my dear? – the fairy continued to caress his chocolate colored hair. – Believe me, Jack really wanted to come and see you, but I had to explain him, just as I did with you…
The boy just nodded, his head resting in the Guardian's chest.
Some minutes before, after she entered Jamie's room, the Tooth Fairy had made him go to bed again, getting all motherly and saying that it was too cold for him to be out of his cozy sheets.
Then, after fixing his bedding, she had laid down next to him, and the boy, unable of holding it any longer, asked Toothiana, why is special friend never returned to see him.
In the wise fairy lips grew an amused smile, as if she was seeing before her eyes a unique memory that she somehow, related with the current situation.
- You know, it's curious. I'm experiencing kind of a déjà vu feeling…
- Hun? – young Jamie asked, tilting his head. And the iridescent fairy giggled, and cleared her throat, like she was preparing herself to tell a story. The boy adjusted himself too, giving the young woman all of his attention.
She then told him why Jack was not allowed to see him, or to let himself be seen by any other child. And why the same happened with all the other Guardians.
The boy listened curiously and open-minded, hearing everything the Queen had to say.
When the fairy finished, Jamie had already nestled up in her, his sleepy eyes long closed, almost falling to the peace of sleep and dreams.
Toothiana waited just a little longer, and when is breath shifted, becoming calm and paced, she carefully got up, laying his head on the pillow.
She looked at his sleepy expression one last time, and when he turned to the other side, facing his bedroom door, the fairy gave him a tender smile.
And with no longer delay, she went through the window, flying away to the freezing December air, silently leaving the sleepy town of Burgess.
Her mind was absent, so she wasn't able of see it coming. She didn't feel the wind shift, changing the way it interfered with her flight, or how the temperature suddenly dropped and the blizzard became madly thicker.
Her thoughts were on someone else, which she feared might be with a hollow - or even worse - cold darkness in his heart…