"Must you always summon me in the middle of a snowstorm?" Jack Frost perched on top of the globe. He flashed a smile at the fairies flitting around Toothiana; his grin growing as several fairies fell to the ground. Toothiana leveled a glare at him and bent to prod her fallen fairies.

"What snow storm?" Bunny's left ear twitched. "Please tell me there's not a snowstorm?"

"Don't worry about it," Jack waved Bunny away." Now why am I here?"

North began to walk around the globe, "you're one of us now. When we have important guardian business you have to come."

"Hey mate, you better have been kidding about that snowstorm."

"I'm the guardian of fun. Meetings weren't in the job description" Jack jumped down, landing behind North. "But, if I must attend, let's try to make this as quickly as possible. I'm hoping for a whole week of school." He glanced over his shoulder at Bunny, "my current record is four days and a late start."

"Oy, that's not funny. I know you know what time of year it is. Even you aren't that dense."

"Lighten up Bunny; it's just a bit of snow. Kids love snow and they adore getting time off school."

"I'll give you a hint. Next Sunday is very important; millions of kids having loads of fun." The twitching had intensified and now was joined by a tapping foot. "I thought that was your specialty."

In the corner of his eye Jack could see flashes of gold. He should have turned and tried to discern what Sandy was saying, but instead he pretended to think. "God, this coming Sunday…? Are you sure there's something special happening? Now the Thursday after next is important. It's international strawberry shortcake day. I love strawberry shortcakes."

"You're joking right?"

"No, I'm 100-well 34% sure that it's international strawberry shortcake day. There's a chance that the day may be in honor of children's show Strawberry Shortcake. I'm not actually that familiar with her."

"Easter. It's Easter!" Bunny's twitch had worsened. His entire body was taut, only Tooth's fairies kept him from leaping towards Jack. "I won't have another one of your freak blizzards ruining my holiday. I have spent months making sure that everything goes perfectly. You'll not mess this up just so you can beat some stupid record."

"That's enough." Tooth stood between them, her golden feather quivering with frustration. "I swear you two can't even be in the same room." She turned back towards Sandy. "Go on."

Sandy smiled at Tooth and gestured Bunny and Jack to come closer. Golden strands of sand fell from his fingers and danced across the floor. Jack held his breath. He would never admit it, but Sandy's magic was more beautiful than anything Jack had ever seen, even frost. A miniature world rose off the floor. The surface of the globe rippled as continents rose above ocean. They land became clear, mountains formed and rivers cut through the countries. Jack frowned, the globe in front of him was clear and pristine, but it was not the world he'd spent hundreds years flying over.

"What's going on? Where is this place?" Jack looked up. The other guardians were shocked, but none of their faces reflected his confusion.

"Why is Quaya contacting us? What did they want" Tooth looked genuinely terrified. "Is something wrong? Is it the trolls?"

"Trolls!" Jack shouted. "Guys, what are you talking about?"

Tooth glanced at Sandy. "We told him, right?" Sandy shrugged.

Bunny laughed. "I keep forgetting how new you are."

"This isn't funny. What haven't you told me?"

"This is Quaya." North gestured at Sandy's globe. "It's one of the worlds that we're connected to."

"Wait," Jack tried not to let his confusion show. "Other worlds you mean like Jupiter? Are there troll aliens running about in space?"

Tooth shook her head, "they're more like parallel worlds."

"Are we the guardians of these worlds too?"

"Please mate, you can barely handle one world."

North gave a pointed glare, but Bunny just rolled his eyes. "These worlds all have different systems of magic. Here we have the guardians; we work with belief and our centers. In Quaya magic revolves around nature. It draws its power from elements. Magic is largely restricted to magical creatures, such as trolls or fairies; however it has been known to pass onto a person when they possess a magical object, a flower per se."

"Okay," Jack rubbed his forehead. Other worlds, strange magic; he'd known this guardian thing was a bad idea. "How do we know about these worlds? Can we—you know—actually go there?"

North stepped into a moonbeam streaming down from a window. "Different world, different places, same moon." Of course, it was always the man in the moon. "If Manny wishes he can carry messages between worlds. He can even transport people if necessary."

Bunny huffed. "Lovely geography lesson, but I want to know what was so urgent that you had to gather us. Quaya isn't exactly under our jurisdiction."

North began to pace. "Manny has brought a message from the trolls. Apparently there's a young sorceress in their land, their queen actually, and she needs our help. They wouldn't have contacted us, but they've reached their last straw. Last year trhye believed she's finally shaken her worries, but since then she has continued to close herself off. It appears as if she still lives in fear." North coughed and looked around nervously. "One of them had a premonition. He believes it's possible that Pitch may try to target her."

"Pitch? We already fought him. We beat him." Jack didn't want to go through that hassle again.

Tooth nodded thoughtfully. "It makes sense. He can't get power here, so he'll try to world hop-find better targets."

"Wouldn't he need Manny to hop?" This world thing was confusing enough without them changing the rules on him.

Bunny's face darkened. "It wouldn't be the first time."

"We don't know anything. You're just being conspiratorial." Tooth's voice was the sharpest Jack had heard.

"Either way the trolls are requesting assistance. They want us to send a guardian." North was glancing at his hands. Jack thought he saw something, guilt perhaps?

"Don't look at me. I'm far too busy. Maybe after next week, but even then I got loads of clean up."

"Actually Manny already knows who he's going to send." Okay, now Jack knew North looked guilty. Why would he be looking so guilty? Unless…

"No. No way," Bunny had reached the same conclusion. "You can't send the kid. He'll mess everything up. He's going to plunge the kingdom into eternal winter."

"It is an odd request." Tooth looked concerned. "If Pitch is involved… we can't send him in alone."

"Excuse you." Jack glared at them. They meant well, but he was a guardian. Manny had chosen him for a reason. "Remember last summer, me fighting Pitch. I'll give you a hint, I took care of myself. I'm not a child anymore."

"Oh, Jack." He tried to ignore the pity in her eyes. "We're not looking down on you."

"Well," Bunny drawled.

"Shut it Bunny." Tooth sent a glare at the mangy kangaroo. Stupid Aussie.

Sandy patted his arm and then turned to North. A snowflake appeared above his head quickly followed by a question mark.

"That's right." Jack nodded approvingly at Sandy. "Good question. How are you guys going to have winter without me?"

Bunny snorted. "We had to spend thousands of years without you. I'm sure we'll manage." Bunny's smirk grew. "That wasn't actually what Sandy wanted to know, if you're such an adult you should know better"

Jack glared at Bunny and then glanced at Sandy who shrugged apologetically. He let out an internal groan. How did all the other guardians understand each other so well? Teamwork wasn't his thing.

"Addressing Sandy's question," North began speaking once more. "Jack's powers will change. From what Manny's said you should still have powers, but they will simply be the elemental powers of wind and cold. It is also possible that your appearance will change."

"What do you mean?" Jack was more nervous than he would care to admit. He really loved his face.

"You won't be a guardian anymore, so you may appear human." North coughed again. "There's also a chance that you'll lose your immortality. Only temporarily!" North tried to cut off the Tooth's protests. "If you're not willing to do it, I understand. I'm sure one of us can go instead.

"Well," Jack pretended to consider. The decision was easy; he loved adventure far too much to pass up the chance to see a new world. "I suppose if you're sure you can get on without me. Don't worry, Bunny, I'll make sure to come back before next Easter." He gave a saucy wink, "Finally going to beat that record." He turned to North, "When can I leave?"

North looked surprise at his enthusiasm he was. "You can leave whenever you're ready."

"Let's get the show on the road then. If I do really well I can finish up in a week, come back for Easter. I know Bunny would miss me too much," Bunny grunted and looked away.

"Are you sure?" Tooth's expression was kind, but Jack still saw the pity in her eyes.

"Let's go."

"Wait. You really meant now?" Bunny almost looked concerned. He'd been hanging out with Tooth too much.

"Yeah, what's the use in waiting?"

"If you're sure," North looked unsure, but he turned towards the moon. "Man in the moon. Jack Frost has accepted the trolls request and is prepared to travel. Uh…Step here." North moved back and pointed to the mosaic where he had been standing.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Jack stepped onto the mosaic. "You have done this be-" Jack words were pulled out of his mouth as the breath was pulled out of his lungs. He bent in half, trying to get some, any air. He was being pulled in every direction his very matter disintegrating. He saw was baby tooth's worried expression just before his eyes fuzzed over. The last thing he saw was the unease and distrust etched onto the guardians faces.

Jack gasped for air. He was lying on a thick layer of moss. Running his fingers through the soft material, he noticed something was missing. His staff, where had it gone? He had still been holding it when he left. Right? He stood up scanning the area. He was in some kind of meadow covered in boulders. He paced through them scanning for his staff. It had to be here somewhere. He spotted the familiar shaft of wood, running to get it. He slid slightly, staining his trousers.

He ran his fingers across the length of the wood. It responded to his touch, humming contentedly. When he reached the end, he frowned. There was no hook in the wood. It was his staff, that much was certain, but its shape had changed. He peered around, yes the terrain could have been from his world, but there was something in the air, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on. "What the heck is this place?"

The rocks began to shake.

…..

Elsa threw open her balcony doors and stepped into the night air. Winter was close. She could feel it curling around the wind, ushering animals into their burrows and convincing flowers to close their petals. Now it drifted through her hair, teasing strands out of her bun. It preferred when she wore a braid; more hair to play with. Unfortunately braids were unladylike and Elsa couldn't afford to disobey decorum, not in her already precarious position.

Still there was no one around. Unless someone braved the freckle current and sharp rocks, they couldn't approach this side of the castle. She let her hair down. The wind reacted immediately diving into her hair and lifting strands up, one by one.

She could feel her power reacting to the wind and the promise of winter it carried. The air around her grew colder and frost began to trace around her feet. She took a deep breath. This was not the time. She had to control her powers. So instead of playing, she turned away and walked off the balcony, shutting the door behind her. She had to get back to work; a queen had no time for fun.

She walked back to the corner of her room, where the servants had placed her desk. It wasn't quite as big as the one in her office, but it could still fit so many papers. So very many boring official papers about things nobody cared about. Nobody except her. If she ignored them, would anyone really notice?

Elsa sunk into the chair with a sigh. She was being ridiculous; the forms came from varying sects of the government all necessary for a fully functioning government. Taxes, foreign affairs, pardons: they were all necessary, just so very dull.

Letting out a long breath, Elsa picked up a letter from Weaselton. Ever since the Dukes misdemeanors, the king had been writing letter upon letter of apologies. She'd let him stew for a month, but in the end the Duke hadn't really done anything wrong. He'd sent his men after her, but he had good reason to. She was a threat to the kingdom. Had anyone else tried to launch an eternal winter Elsa would've reacted in a similar manner.

So she'd forgiven him, reached out and started up trade relations. The kingdom needed to trade. Unfortunately the King didn't understand that trade was all she wanted. His recent letters had been getting all too friendly with repeated mentions of a certain younger son.

"Elsa!" Anna's voice cut through Elsa's somber mood.

"There you are. I swear you work all day." Anna skipped into the room, swinging herself onto Elsa's desk. She had a bright smile, but Elsa could read the concern in her eyes.

"I enjoy working." She ignored Anna's skeptical glance. "Besides I have to." Elsa smiled. "I have a pretty important job."

"Please, it's not like being queen is that important. My wedding is of vital importance." Anna joked, brushing off the fate of thousands with a wave of her hand, "You promised to help with the planning and I know you need a break."

"How much planning is there really? Just get a white dress and set up some flowers. How about lilies? You're dress can be fitted with a poufy bottom. There planning done."

"Come on Elsa." Anna gave a pout. When Elsa ignored her she slammed a pile of paper on the desk. "Here are my ideas. There are dresses, floral arrangements and a guest list. Please. I've narrowed it down to these. Kristoff and I agree that we'd be fine with anything from this stack."

"Wait. You've narrowed it down to this. How many did you have before?"

"Almost five hundred,"

"Seriously, how many?"

"Almost five hundred,"

Elsa laughed. "How long have you been planning this?"

Anna's silence was enough of a reply. They both knew Anna had had far too much time alone.

Anna tried to pretend Elsa had never ignored her. She never blamed Elsa, but Elsa knew the thought was there: if Elsa had been there would Anna only have three hundred wedding ideas? If Elsa had opened the door, would Anna have known love? Would she have been less desperate for affection? Would she have ignored Hans?

Anna coughed, "So where are yours?"

"My…"

"Plans, your wedding plans."

"I don't have any." Elsa forced a smile. "I'm far too busy for courtships and weddings."

"Tell that to the Prince of Weaselton, I'm sure he has plenty." Anna dodged Elsa's pillow and skipped out of the room. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

An involuntary smile curled over Elsa's lips, only to die when she looked back at the wedding plans. Why hadn't she thought about her own wedding? She had never been a romantic, but that wasn't it. Her parents had never mentioned matrimony.

Elsa's stomach chilled and she fought the frost that began to coat the papers. Her parents thought she would never marry. Did they plan to keep her locked in the palace until she was a matron? Worse yet, had they believed that she would never make it to her wedding? A wind began to ruffle through the papers and snow dusted her shoulders. They had loved her, they just didn't know better. They had loved her.

The wind threw a trade agreement across the room.

Elsa clutched the documents; Anna, think of Anna. Anna and Kristoff happily married. She'd have lots of nieces and nephews who all loved her. She'd have a family full of light and warmth.

They're not your family. They'll never be your family.

Be quiet.