~ Hey all. Thought I'd give a try at Rise of the Guardians! I love this movie! Its everything I always dreamed of as a child. Well...maybe not 6'1 Pookas but close enough LOL. Please R & R. This is going to be a bit on the dramatic side so get your tissue box ready!~

**Maiko :3**

(I do not own the canon characters only Annalisa!)

Broken but Still Beating

Prologue

Books were always a good escape as long as you read the right stories that are. You had to read the right stories. If you read the right stories your whole life for a single chapter could be changed at least in your imagination. You could be someone else and be somewhere else doing something great. You could be a detective solving a mystery or a great warrior fighting a dragon. You could even be a princess and be waiting in a tower for your one true love to come rescue. For a short time, the darkness that was in your life could be held at bay, and you could sit in a peaceful bubble of fantasy safe and dreaming.

Annalisa Dane had been diagnosed with a rare degenerative heart disease when she was twelve. Up until then she had been a normal bright, healthy, and happy child. Then that day, she had been chasing her dog playing Frisbee out in her backyard on a gray winter day when she felt a pain and tightness in her chest. The next thing she knew she was waking up in the emergency room surrounded by nurses and doctors in a terrifying stark and sterile environment. After that came needles, wires, test after test, doctors, specialists, and consultations. Annalisa's world quickly became that sterile and stark environment and the sunshine and warmth that had been her life before seemed to start to fade. Instead of letting it fade as the doctors and nurses told her she had to start being responsible and being considerate of her health she refused to let all the rules and bonds hold her back completely. Her parents could give away her bike and her dog. They could keep her inside when everyone else went out for recess and P.E. but they couldn't take away her books.

Annalisa immersed herself in a world of fantasy to escape the pain that was threatening to consume her. She held the darkness at bay with fairies, dragons, gnomes, princesses, demons, heroes, etc. Her health after a while stabilized and she was able to live albeit a safe, quiet, and scheduled life but a life none the less. Annalisa accepted her fate and was grateful for the time and health she had left. Up until she was eighteen she was content until she went into sudden and life-threatening heart failure. She had been put on the donor list and after that it was a waiting game. There was less than a one percent chance she would receive a heart transplant and her time was running out. Through some sheer miracle, she received a heart transplant.

Her life changed after that for the better. For the first time in a long time, she was health and was able to do the things like run and walk for long distances without the restrictions of before. She could climb a whole flight of stairs on her own! Finally, she was able to live again. Moving out of her parents' house, she attended college and had just finished her two-year degree when she had another fainting spell while out shopping with friends. Rushed to the hospital Annalisa received news that would destroy everything inside of her. Despite the required medicines and following ever rule and protocol of being a donor recipient her body was rejecting the heart transplant.

Darkness consumed her world, and Annalisa felt what life she had left in her fading slowly. The doctors gave her a few months at best. Here she was at twenty-three with having fought for over ten years with nothing to show for it. Annalisa shut herself off from the world and let herself sink into a deep depression. Disability and money from her parents paid for her utilities and rent, but she refused to leave her apartment. Her mother came over once a week to clean her apartment and do her laundry. A neighbor did the grocery shopping for her. Annalisa felt like a ghost already just existing. Day in and day out she often stayed in her apartment staring at the sky. It wasn't until her neighbor who brought her usual week of groceries accidentally left her daughter's birthday gift behind did a small amount of light come back into her life. Her neighbor had bought her a fairy tale book a typical classic of general childhood stories. Annalisa had seen its gilded gold cover sitting on her counter. Curiously she picked it up and seeing the title she gingerly opened it. Annalisa hadn't touched a book in weeks. Instantly the words wrapped around her like a safety blanket and she were able to escape her world of darkness, pain, and listlessness.

Slowly over the course of a few days after reading the tales Annalisa found the strength to accept the inevitable that she was going to die. Peace found her, and her soul was finally able to rest with that knowledge. That being said she decided to make the most out of the time she had left. She started visiting her parents every Sunday for dinner. Slowly but efficiently she was able to do little chores around her apartment. Annalisa even volunteered to read to the young children at the library once a week and help with their arts and crafts after. It was something to keep the little toddlers busy. Being around their warm and vibrant little bodies, Annalisa found rejuvenation and serenity. What she didn't know is that she was going to find not only her true destiny but also her true love.