A Guardians of Childhood/Rise of the Guardians Fanfic
By Sakura Martinez
Author's Notes:
So, I came up with this one-shot while trying to think of a way to appease readers of 'Rise of the Fright Knights' because I haven't been able to update for a while (The second part of Katherine's story is still under WIP, and I had to take a break for it while I look for my missing 'Toothiana and the Toothfairy Army' book (I can't remember where I put it, haha). So...yeah, it gave birth to this.
Anyways, I'm open to writing more oneshots, though most of them will be posted on Tumblr first...Also, I'm accepting requests. So, there. Hope you guys enjoy this. Don't forget to review if you can. :)
"Music" by Sakura Martinez
First Published on Tumblr
There were so many things Toothiana knew about Jack Frost that nobody else did. For one, she knew about his past leading up to the tragic—yet heroic death—of the boy known as Jackson Overland Frost. It was sort of a privilege considering who and what she was. She also knew that he had never gotten over having forgotten about his sister. He would sometimes brood over the fact that he wasn't able to watch over her like he promised her he would.
And then, there was the little bit of information she had uncovered from her bond with Baby Tooth and the other Mini Fairies. Jack enjoyed music.
The Queen of the Toothfairies was surprised by this one little fact that seemed so benign. It was something she did not expect to find the Winter Spirit's interest in. He was movement, action, energy, and unbridled laughter. Curious still was how, despite the bond, she could not figure out what type of music it was that Jack listened to and liked. It was as if the Mini Fairies themselves were hiding this fact from her—which, if that was the case, would be a first.
Instead of asking something they had no intention of answering, Toothiana asked them how they learned of it. They didn't give her much in the specifics. They did tell her how Jack would always find time during the night to slip away from his duties to enjoy music. "For just a couple of minutes", they quickly added when they saw the look of disdain etched on their Queen's face. To placate the Guardian of Memories, they also told her where Jack would usually take his breaks.
For days, that was enough for Tooth's curiosity. But soon, Toothiana found herself wondering what, exactly, was Jack doing. Was he simply listening to whatever music he could hear from his 'secret' spot? What music did he like? Did he sing along to it? Can he sing? Was he any good?
It were those sort of questions that got Toothiana to fly a bit faster and to fret about more than she usually does. Finally, it came to the point where she just had to learn the answers to those questions.
Usually, the Queen had her Mini Fairies to look into these things for her. But with them keeping mum about the whole thing, Toothiana had to do it on her own.
She waited until the night when the moon was at its fullest. She waited for when the sky was clear and filled with all the constellations the universe had to offer. She had to force herself to be patient, even when she was itching for action. Jack, she was told, never went out to "enjoy music" unless he was under those circumstances.
Before leaving her palace in Punjam Hy Loo, Toothiana made sure the Mini Fairies knew their tasks and responsibilities. She placed the older Mini Fairies in-charge of delegating the work, and warned them of the consequences of a poor or sloppy job.
With that out of the way, the Queen of the Toothfairies flew to the open sky in search of that rumored spot Jack frequents.
Despite being one of the spirits who had been around longer (though Tooth didn't like the idea that she was "old", despite not actually aging past her teens), it took a while for her to find the spot the Mini Fairies had spoken of. It wasn't as easy to locate as the pond in Burgess (which Jack likes to freeze whenever there was no danger of being found out). If Toothiana had not known what she was looking for, she wouldn't have found the Winter Spirit comfortably nestled on one of the many pine trees that surrounded an uphill mountain road.
With his back to her, Toothiana could watch him freely. Whatever Jack was doing had him so preoccupied that he didn't even notice her presence. That was a first. Jack always had this uncanny ability to sense her—or anyone—looking at him. This made the Toothfairy even more curious.
And where was the music the Mini Fairies had said? She could hear but the sound of nocturnal animals. The leaves danced along with the wind. And then there was a strange scraping sound that was coming from the Guardian of Fun himself.
'What is he doing?' Toothiana wondered as she levitated a little bit higher.
She was so focused on getting a look past Jack's shoulders and what he was busying himself with, that she failed to notice a branch overhead until her head had hit it.
The noise caused by Tooth's head hitting the tree, and the cry of pain that she failed to keep herself from making, alerted Jack to her presence.
"Tooth?"
"O-Oh, Jack," Tooth feigned surprise at seeing her fellow Guardian. "What are you doing out here?"
"I should be asking you the same thing," Jack answered as he pocketed something inside his hoody.
"Just, you know, doing my rounds," Toothiana lied, giggling as she hoped Jack would buy it.
He didn't.
"Out here? In the middle of nowhere?" Jack smirked when Tooth began to look flustered. "Did Baby Tooth tell you?"
If it had been anyone else, Tooth would have kept on lying. But it was Jack Frost. And she had learned early on that when it comes to him, she was a pretty bad liar. He could easily tell if she was telling the truth or not.
"My Mini Fairies hinted on...something," Toothiana admitted. "They said you were 'enjoying music'. I didn't know you like music."
"Ah, well..." Jack looked away with a small smile on his face. "I just thought I'd give it a try. My sister...I remember she had a beautiful voice. She could out-sing even the older and more experienced bards and performers that visit our village."
'Wait, is this what Baby Tooth and the other Mini Fairies meant? Jack sings?'
"I can't sing to save my life, though." Jack laughed. "Well, maybe I could to cause a distraction or render someone deaf."
The moment Jack said those words, Toothiana knew that hearing him sing was out of the question.
"I can play this, though." Jack finished as he fished the item he had pocketed minutes before and showed it to the Queen of the Toothfairies.
It was a pan pipe that looked as though it has seen better days.
"I got it from Bunnymund," Jack explained as Tooth gently took the instrument from his hand and inspected it. "He gave it to me to try to get me to leave him alone. I don't think he actually thought it was going to work. It was the Wind who taught me how to play it."
"You're messing with me, aren't you?" Tooth found it hard to believe that Jack would actually enjoy an activity that didn't involve pranks or snow.
"No," Jack looked incredulously at her, as if that was the most ridiculous thing the Guardian of Memory had ever said. "Why would I? You know I never pull a prank on you."
That was true. Jack had pranked every single other Guardian except for her. She didn't know if it was because Jack hadn't come up with the perfect prank yet, or if he found her much more intimidating than North, Bunnymund, or Sandy. She hoped not, because she wasn't...unless she was in an extremely bad mood.
Jack took Toothiana's silence as her disbelief in his words. Which left him with no other choice. He didn't want her to think he was lying to her.
"Alright," Jack sighed. "I was hoping to save this for when I'm already really good with it. But since it appears like you need proof..."
Before Tooth could correct him and tell him that wasn't what she was thinking, Jack had already pressed the pan pipe to his mouth and had begun playing.
Toothiana had lived a long life, she had witnessed the rise and fall of empires, and had seen the world change and transform. She had lived so long that she, herself, had changed as well. But in all the years she had been the Queen of the Toothfairies and the Guardian of Memories, she had never heard a more beautiful music as the one being played for her.
It was a beautiful melody. It was flowing and soft, and told of stories and things that only music can. And although Jack had only started to learn to play the pan pipe, his heartfelt performance outweighed the sharp notes that sometimes sneaked in his performance.
And the way he looked while performing? Tooth had never seen a more beautiful sight. She blushed furiously just thinking that. Thankfully, Jack had his eyes closed as he performed.
Music has a way of showing and speak a person's heart. And as Jack played the song he, himself, had written, he hoped Toothiana would be able to see and hear what his heart wants to tell her.
'I am always going to be here.'
'I will always have your back.'
'Thank you for believing in me.'
'I will make you proud.'
He let his song tell that and more. Someday, though, Jack knew that he would have to actually have the courage to say, with his own words, what he had always wanted to tell her.