As the last remnants of black sand swirled around my body I found my eyes opening, dry from being closed for so long. The sand collapsed from its giant swirl into a nice compact cloak which shifted about my body despite the lack of wind in the cave I was in. Power flooded my veins as I stood up for the first time in what had to be months, making me gasp with the force of it. I shakily placed a hand on the wall beside me, willing myself not to fall as I continued walking to the exit. The sand's presence was a good omen. It likely meant that the Boogey Man had met his well-deserved end. However, the fact that he had been able to steal my sand to begin with was great cause for worry. Something even darker than Pitch had to have interfered to tip the balance in such a dramatic way. As the sun's rays lit my face for the first time in months, I stepped away from the wall, standing straight. I would have to warn the Guardians.
My metal heels clicked harshly against the stone floors of the Guardian's Quarters in the North Pole. I was in no mood to be bothered by any interruptions and the dark, sand-made cloak which pooled around my feet made this obvious, swirling dangerously around the floor as my pace increased. I had to see the Old Man as quickly as possible to give the Guardians ample time to prepare. This did not prevent my small frown when I noticed how lax the security was though. The Yeti's which normally ran the place were nowhere to be found. The silence was also rather disturbing to me and I narrowed my eyes, hoping that I wasn't too late. I made my way to what I knew to be the largest room of the Workshop before I pushed open the large doors that stood in my way with a flip of my hand, making the sand swell up and do it for me. I was nearly caught off guard by the noise that suddenly assaulted my ears.
The Yetis were running around frantically, fixing toys and placing them in their proper areas which such speed and precision that it was near dizzying. Elves were running this way and that, ultimately being unproductive. However, despite all of this commotion, the big man himself was nowhere to be seen. Impatience swelled within me, causing me to release a sigh. Then I clapped my hands, causing the black sand to swell up into the sky and explode like fireworks, sending small bits of dust floating back down to the ground where they eventually found their way to my cloak. Everything became silent as their eyes flew to me, wide with something akin to fear. "Where's the Old Man?"
Almost all of the elves immediately began to swarm around me, jumping up and down in order to get my attention. One just stood further away, rolling his eyes at all the commotion and it brought a crooked smile onto my face. It was nice to know that some things never changed. I squatted down to their level, fixing serious eyes on them. "Elves it is important that we find Santa as soon as we can. I have to talk to him about a matter of utmost importance." Once I finished talking, they all ran around, some running into each other, in order to find him. After a few seconds had passed, most of them were already gone, and I gave a half smile knowing that that they would probably be useless. Then I looked to the Yetis who were so accustomed to interruptions of this sort that they had resumed their making toys. I stood up straight, turning on my heel with the intent to find the Old Man myself. However, I was stopped by a pair of hard blue eyes that glared down at me from a pale face.
"And who're you? I've only seen one person with that type of sand, and he isn't you." I knew he was talking about Pitch, but I lifted an eyebrow, fully intending to ignore the boy simply because I could. However, when he leaned down, bringing his face closer to mine I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes. Two could play in the intimidation game. As his cold blue eyes glared into my own silver ones I caught a flicker of something for a second and I found myself wanting to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. However, I retained my poker face and poked him on the chest roughly with one finger.
"The question is, who are you? With that crook you'd think you were a shepherd." At my retort his eyes widened and he took a step back, cracking a smile. He swung his stick around a bit before he stilled it, still smiling down at me.
" I've never heard that one before. Quite entertaining, though." Here he paused and stopped smiling, looking down at me seriously for a moment. "You know the elves aren't going to be able to find him right?" He chuckled when I nodded my head. "Good. The name's Jack Frost." He gave a little flourish which caused me to lift an eyebrow in response.
"Adrasteia. " I began to tap my foot impatiently as I averted my eyes from his barefoot form. I looked up through my bangs at the ceiling before blowing out a stream of air. "You wouldn't happen to know where the Old Man is would you? I've got some bad news that can't wait." I heard two heavy foot steps behind me and I spun around, just soon enough to see the Russian man stop moving.
"I'm not old man you happen to be searching for right?" His thickly accented voice made me smile despite the news that I had to bring. "I was afraid of that. What is it you are needing of me?" I frowned again as the situation again dawned on me.
"You'll need to call the other three guardians. I fear She has returned to destroy the balance." The large man's eyes widened, questioning me silently. I gave a curt nod of my head. " I've reason to believe that She interfered with Pitch to shift the balance towards the dark. This can only mean one thing: She is back." This got the large man moving quickly, and he set about making the northern lights appear, summoning the Guardians.
Everyone was there in a matter of minutes, making me lift an eyebrow in an impressed manner. Then I looked around the group, frowning when I noticed that Jack was still there. "Is the shepherd allowed to stay?" Bunnymund looked at me, a confused expression on his face.
"Who's this shepherd you're talking' about?" I inclined my head to Jack who was busy looking at me with a raised eyebrow, once again spinning his stick around. As he realized who I was talking about, his ears perked up. "You mean that guy? He's more like the boy who cried wolf." A smirk lifted the corner of his pale lips, at the Easter Bunny's comment and he stopped twirling his stick around long enough to cross his arms, lifting his head slightly to implement the smile.
"That's not even-", he was cut off as Toothania pulled open his mouth, inspecting his teeth. She gushed for a moment before catching herself and apologizing, flitting around excitedly. She suddenly clasped her hands in front of her chest and flew to me, eyes shining brightly.
"Rachael, are your teeth still are nice as they were before? " She was about to pull my mouth open as well when I leaned away, slightly concerned. Then I shot her a smile, showing her that my teeth still looked exactly the same. "Such nice teeth. Yours might be almost as nice as Jack's…." She trailed off as her eyes widened, proof that she was remembering the situation. Then she moved backwards, chattering to her fairies for a moment before she turned back to me. "I thought you would have known by now but Jack is the next Guardian. Where have you been?" I closed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest as I planned my response to her last question. Taking a deep breath I began.
"I haven't been awake in a while. I'm not certain the exact amount of time as I don't know the today's date, but-" Jack cut me off swiftly.
"It's December 22." Another smile greeted my glare as my silver eyes clashed with his ice blue orbs.
"…Thanks." He merely lifted his eyebrow at my sarcasm. "Continuing on from where I left off, it's been seven months since I was last awake. The last time I was, Pitch came to me and suggested I rise against you with him. When I rejected his offer, he stole my sand from me, leaving me in an unconscious state until my sand returned this morning." Everyone's eyes widened, and they looked at me with a pity in their eyes that I didn't want. I continued on, voice empty of any emotion. "There's only one person who knows how to undo the work of the Man in the Moon, and I believe that She attempted to ruin the balance between the light and the dark. She is coming back." North's eyes narrowed as he brought one hand up to scratch his chin.
"What reason would she have to do that? The Guardians have done nothing to incur her wrath. She must be after something…" He trailed off as he thought more, pacing a bit in a short line. Tooth began to flit around more, a worried expression on her face. Bunnymund was busy assessing the situation much in the same way as I was, eyes flitting back and forth from person to person.
"Wait, who's this she everyone's talking about? What's going on?" Jack's voice interrupted the silence that followed North's pacing. Still, no one talked. "Guys, if you want me to be a Guardian you're going to have to tell me this stuff." Bunnymund sighed, his ears tilting slightly before he shot Frost an irritated look.
"All you need to know is that she's an evil witch that quite possibly wants to destroy the world."Jack spun around, a smirk on his face as he stuffed his staffless hand into the pocket of his dark blue jacket. Then he sauntered away, shooting a look over his shoulder.
"St. Nick and I will leave you to it. We've got too much on our plates bringing Christmas to the world and all." I narrowed my eyes at him before I turned away, crossing my arms over my chest and allowing a smirk to appear on my face.
"My has the quality of the Guardians fallen. To think that the Man in the Moon would allow such a coward to become a Guardian." They boys footsteps faltered before they stopped completely. I continued on, sighing in mock disappointment. "Maybe I should just take his place. After all, I do protect the balance which is so vital to your little group." Before I knew it, Jack was in the center of our little group, sharp blue eyes sparkling dangerously. I chose to ignore him, instead turning to look for Sandy so that we might catch up. He was standing a bit away from the rest of the group, distracting a Yeti from doing its work. "Sandy." The pictures above his head stopped as he as he turned to look at me, a smile instantly brightening his chubby face.
He made his way over to me quickly, instantly beginning to talk to me through the use of his sand. It moved rapidly, but I communicated with him often enough that I could take his pace in stride. The pictures manly detailed what Pitch had been using my sand for while I was unconscious and it made my blood boil. By the time he had gotten to the part where he himself had been swallowed by Pitch's sand, my fists were clenched and my sand was moving about my body in a chaotic manner. I turned around to Nick with measured slowness, trying to quell the anger within me.
"Where is he?" My voice was near a whisper but that did nothing to contain the deadly intent held within my words. The other Guardians looked at me with worried expressions held on their faces. I could tell the Old Man was going to try and stop me so I lifted a hand to stop him. "I will not allow him to defile my dreams in such a manner!" My voice was as sharp as my eyes. "Now tell me, where is he?" There was again silence over our little group and I closed my eyes even as the sand began to swirl around in the air angrily.
"If you are talking about Pitch, I know where he is." My eyelids flicked open to reveal almost glowing silver orbs as Jack completed his sentence. A wicked smile stretched wide across my face before I answered him, malice not quite hidden in my tone.
"Then please take me to him. I must teach him a few things about nightmares."