Author's Note: First off I'd like to say if you're coming here because of As the World Falls Down and you got a "New Story" update from my thing, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME. It's still being written, albeit slowly, but nonetheless. I'm still in Zutara zombie mode, but I'd prefer to get a solid chapter out rather than rushing little baby ones.

For the new readers, hello! This is my first fic for both Frozen and Rise of the Guardians. I became a Jack/Anna fan after I watched the movie and was sad at the very small amount of fanfiction for them so I dove in to give Janna fans something to look at. Hope you like it (I know this first chapter is pretty draggy, I just like to set up everything even if it's boring rather than explain it in context later on)

Kristoff fans, be warned, Jack is kind of taking his place from where the movie started off so he will not be present at all...sorry :/

Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen, Rise of the Guardians, nor the VERY beautiful song this fic is titled for.

Shallow Sleep

Prologue

'I just saw you
Beyond the course of time
A room that we once shared
But my memory's a haze
Forgetting what was said'

-'Shallow Sleep' HYDE

Jack was hardly cut out to follow his father's footsteps. From the spry age of thirteen he had begun the laborious work alongside other youths that looked to take on the family business as they braved the frigid temperatures on the frozen rivers and lakes.

Somehow the four years hadn't been enough. As Jack took in the other young men, those he had started the dangerous task of sawing at the ice, stealing the frozen heart from the bodies of water, he could easily see the difference between himself and the others. He was smaller than the others who had gained taller, stockier builds from years at work. By no means was he scrawny, but his body was built more like his mother's and no amount of physical labor had managed to change that.

Pulling fiercely on his end of the saw, slicing the block before them so it would have straight, flat edges, it was here he saw the greatest difference between himself and the others.

They had lost their fighting spirit, their determination to be anything but what they were now, to find a way to enjoy time while it was still here. Instead they had given their youth up without a fight, the winters making them as cold inside as out.

That wasn't for Jack. He would never surrender himself; allow all the spark to die out with the summer heat.

He was grateful when he heard the familiar horn blow, announcing mealtime.

Letting out a mental cheer, he hurried back to his family's sled. His father was already seated, preparing to make a meal of stale bread and the potato and beef stew left over from the previous night's dinner. So far the stew was just a frozen lump in a pot, situated above a small fire.

Beside his father was the one thing he looked forward to on these rare days even more than food. On top of the sled, curled up amongst the many furs with the family dog loyally beside her was his young sister Emily. It was rare his parents permitted her to come with them, but Emily loved Jack as much as he loved her, and lately in this frozen wasteland she was on the only one Jack could coax a smile out of.

It was these meal times and the ride back home that Emily yearned for, when she got to sit with Jack as he told her stories or helped her build her snowmen which had become plentiful enough one would think an army lay in the field. Here she could lie beside the dog, Sven, that wasn't allowed inside back home. Sven returned her love with constant loyalty as he kept a watchful eye out for any wolves or bears that would be attackers. None had ever been drawn to the sound of dozens of men yelling as they sent their axes and saws into the ice, but it was a reassuring thought all the same.

"Jack!" her smile brought an even wider one to his lips. "I waited here all day!"

"Well that's funny, one would think the sun should set first before its 'all day'."

Emily stuck her tongue out. "It's still a long time."

Jack reached his hands out, tickling at her stomach. "Sorry to make you wait, princess."

She shrieked in protest, always the ticklish one no matter how many layers she was bundled in. Her feet kicking wildly, she sent a wave of snow towards the already pathetic excuse for a fire, wetting half of the wood and causing the flames to die down.

"Oops," both children murmured as their father shook his head wearily, shaking the wooden spoon in their direction.

"You two find somewhere else to throw your snowballs. I refuse to eat bark as a meal a second time."

His voice was gruff and stern, suiting a man of his stocky structure, but behind his facial hair his lips twitched upward as he watched Jack salute and his precious Emily follow suite, watching Jack carefully to see if she was doing it exactly as he was.

"Yes sir!" Jack barked, still laughing under his breath while Emily giggled beside him. "Come on, princess!"

Ignoring the looks he got as he raced past the other fires, occasionally turning back to make her think she had a chance of catching up before he stuck his tongue out, all five fingers splayed out on each side of his head like the antlers of a reindeer.

A snowball flew about a foot away from his head and he grinned cheekily. "You're going to have to do better than that, Ems!"

Dodging another frozen projectile, he took this time to put together his own snowball, a confident smile in place as his eyes searched Emily's noticing she was going into flight mode as she always did when he began to retaliate.

What he hadn't anticipated was for her to flee towards the frozen river. In the woods behind their house there was a frozen over pond that they frequented to ice skate. It was second nature for her to use it as an escape route. When she had been permitted to occasionally go with Jack and their father, she had been warned of everything but the deadly ice. 'Don't go into the woods, there are wolves. Keep Sven with you at all times. Make sure to stay covered, frostbite comes quick in the open air.'

Never had they thought to warn her of the most obvious danger, because it was never expected she'd need it, not with the men always around. They were on it every day, knew where the look when she wouldn't. The water froze fast out in these temperatures, and even a block pulled up from that morning could have frozen back over an inch or two, but not enough to bear a person's weight.

"Emily! Stay where you are!" She had barely stepped five feet out on the ice, but it still sent Jack's stomach tumbling in circles.

"I'm not stupid, Jack. You always play tricks! You're trying to hit me!"

With confidence only a self-assured ten year old could have, watching her brother rush closer to her, Emily scurried back further from the edge

By now others had noticed their predicament, but a round of calls-"Girl, get off the ice!"-wasn't enough to cover up to ominous sound of a crack beneath her feet. Emily's smiled wavered as she looked down, hands shaking before she glanced back up to meet his eyes.

"Jack, I'm scared..."

Without a second thought Jack raced to the nearest cooking pit, pulling the staff from its situated spot before heading onto the ice. It was a long walking stick with a curved end, used by one of the oldest ice pickers. He had been rather satisfied when he first found it, due to its ability to aid in his steps on the journey back home as well as hold his cooking pot off the end of it.

"You don't have to be scared, Emily. I'm here to protect you."

It was almost as if it was slow motion, watching the ice chip away around her feet. She was too young to die, he wouldn't let it happen. Biting his lip, he leaped forward, hooking the staff around her waist and pulling her back to safety. He could hear the cheers erupt behind him, knowing she had made it. Allowing himself a shaky, nervous laugh, he righted himself, making to brush the snow from his jacket.

A loud crack interrupted his thoughts, followed by a horrible stinging like a rain of needles. And then there was darkness, cold...and nothing.

A/N: Okay, there, it's out of the way. I really hate rewriting things in a way they were in the original material, it makes me feel like I have no imagination but since I needed him to be with all the ice pickers and still be a guardian...there it goes...