Okay, I know I'm supposed to be working on Water Drops, and I'm really sorry it's taken so long to update, but inspiration struck and I just had to start writing this. I noticed that not many people have written stories like this, so I thought I would add mine to the bunch. I would like to apologize in advance for my inability to write Bunny's accent. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, it all belongs to Dreamworks.

Flee looked out the window blankly, immersed in her own thoughts. It had been a year since her brother had died, but the pain of loss was as strong as the moment he went through the ice. Christmas was the next day, but that would not bring her any comfort. It would be their first Christmas without Jack, and the thought weighed heavily on the hearts of the small, broken family. Jack had always been their ray of sunshine, the one who could bring a smile to their faces no matter the circumstances. Without him, it almost felt wrong to smile and have fun.

The young girl sighed as she watched the delicate snowflakes fall peacefully, as if they were unaware of the great loss that had befallen the world only a year before. Flee allowed a small smile to grace her face at the memory of her brother laughing and running through the snow, not a care in the world aside from making people smile.

"Flee, honey, it's getting late. You'd better go to bed so Santa can come," Mrs. Overland said, forcing a smile on her face and trying to sound excited for her daughter as she walked into the room.

Catherine Overland had been devastated when she found out her only son had drowned and she had never fully gotten over the loss. After her husband had been taken by pneumonia, Jack had been the one to lift the family up and take some of the weight off of her shoulders. He took over his father's job as a shepherd to make sure they always had food on the table and her helped look after his sister, making sure she was happy and full of hope. He told her stories of the Guardians of Childhood, making sure she took care of her teeth and helping her find every Easter egg. But most importantly, he kept them all believing that things would get better and helping them find something to smile about. When he passed, she felt the weight of the world fall on her shoulders once again, adding to the weight of her grief. They were able to scrape by with her washing clothes around the village and watching over the village children. Even so, she often felt as though things would never get better and that she would never truly smile again. She loved her daughter, but Flee had closed herself off from the world, trapped in her own realm of guilt and despair. The most they could ever do was lend each other their strength.

"Okay, Mom," Flee said, pulling away from her thoughts.

Flee quickly prepared for bed, and after bidding her mother goodnight, she headed to bed. She noted not for the first time how empty and cold the bed seemed without her brother lying right beside her. With tears gathering in her eyes, she allowed herself to be pulled into the realm of dreams as golden sand swirled around her head, taking the shape of a young boy and girl playing in the snow.

The sound of hooves echoed in the night, though there was no one awake to hear it. A large man with tattoos and a long beard entered the houses silently, smiling at the thought of the joy and wonder the children would feel when they woke. He took care in leaving the best presents he could, especially for the young girl mourning her lost brother. As he left the girls house, he tripped slightly, not noticing a beautiful glass ball fall out of his coat…

The morning sun shone on the brown haired girl, pulling her from her sleep. She sat up, rubbing the Sandman's sand from her eyes. She sighed sadly, thinking of what the day would bring. She would be forced to put a smile on her face so that none of the visiting relatives would worry about her, all the while screaming internally at the unfairness of the world.

She slowly got out of her bed and got dressed, preparing herself to go downstairs and face her family. As she entered the living room, she was greeted by people that she barely knew and who treated her like glass that would shatter at any second. Still, she smiled and talked with them as they ate breakfast, before they all went to open presents, the children squealing and shouting excitedly. At least, all the children but Flee. Instead, she quietly opened her presents, thanking those who had given them to her before placing the gifts back in their boxes.

The day went by slowly, but finally their guests departed to return to their own homes. Flee sat wearily in her chair by the window, gazing out at the snow and once more losing herself in thought.

Catherine began sweeping the living room, cleaning up the crumbs and pine needles that had fallen on the floor around the Christmas tree. Leaning down to pick a loose piece of paper, she noticed something shiny on the ground under the tree. She reached underneath the tree and pulled out a glass ball with detailed patterns painted on.

"Flee, dear, I believe you missed one of your presents from Santa," the mother said as she walked over to her daughter.

Flee turned and gently took the strange looking orb from her mother. Looking at it, her thoughts wandered back to Jack. I missed him so much today. I wish he were still here. I want that more than anything I've ever wanted before. I just want to see him one, so I could tell him how much I love him. A single tear slid down her face as she whispered her brother's name.

"Jack."

The mysterious ball vibrated slightly, and Flee looked at it, startled. A picture of her brother formed as she stared in wonder.

"Mother," she said, standing to show her mother the magical sight before her.

However, as she kept her eyes on the picture of her brother, she tripped, causing her to release the glass ball. The glass shattered and formed a portal of swirling colors. She heard her mother gasp but paid it no mind as she stood and walked toward the portal. She distantly heard her mother scream, "Flee, no!" but she continued anyway. The young girl felt her mother's hand grab her shoulder just as she stepped through, her vision becoming merely a swirl of colors. She suddenly felt the ground meet her knees and heard her mother land behind her. She tried to stand but froze when she heard a familiar voice.

"Flee? Mom?"

Flee slowly turned her head, meeting the eyes of her dead brother.

The Guardians were just sitting down to have their monthly meeting when a portal suddenly opened beside them.

"What's going on?" Jack asked no one in particular as they turned their attention to the swirling vortex of colors.

"I have no idea," Tooth said quietly, slowing her energetic buzzing as she looked on.

Before another word could be said, two figures tumbled out of the portal. One was a young girl, looking to be nine or ten years old. The other was a woman who looked to be the girl's mother. Both had chocolate brown hair and eyes. As the girl tried to get to her feet, Jack let out a gasp, hardly daring to believe his eyes. Even so, he choked out, "Flee? Mom?"

The girl froze before slowly looking in his direction. Jack stood, ignoring the gasps coming from his fellow Guardians. The girl met his eyes, suddenly looking very close to tears. Jack was sure he looked the same. The young woman looked up after regaining her balance and gasped, a hand coming to her mouth as tears started to trickle down her face.

"Jack?" she whispered, eyes full of hope and fear.

At his nod, the woman ran to him and wrapped her arms around his skinny frame tightly, sobbing desperately. Jack hugged her back, his own tears beginning to fall.

"My precious baby, you're okay. You're okay," The mysterious woman sobbed, clinging to her son as if her life depended on it, whispering sweet nothings to reassure both the boy and herself.

"Yeah, I'm okay. How are you here?" Jack whispered back, pulling from the hug slightly to look at her face.

"I don't know, and I don't care. As long as you're here, we could be dead for all I cared."

Catherine pulled him back into the hug, never wanting to let him go. Jack returned the hug, but looked over her shoulder to the young girl still sitting on her knees, looking scared.

"Flee?" Jack called out, carefully pulling away from his mother.

The girl slowly rose, her eyes never leaving his small form.

"Jack? Is it really you?" her voice shook with emotion, clearly trying to contain her tears.

"Yeah, sweetheart. It's really me."

Jack suddenly felt the brunette run into him full force, knocking him to the ground. He laughed, holding his sister tightly as she cried into his chest. The girl suddenly started hitting his chest, though not enough to really hurt.

"You jerk! I thought you were dead! Where have you been for the last year?! I needed you!" She sobbed, finally stopping her abuse upon his torso, instead settling for squeezing the life out of him in a bone-crushing hug.

"It's a long story, baby- wait, did you say a year?" Jack asked, confused.

"Yes! It's been a whole year! Where have you been?!" Flee screamed, finally lifting her tear-stained face to look at her brother. "And why do you look so different?! What happened to your hair and eyes?!"

Jack gently picked her up and walked over to his mother, pulling her into a one armed hug.

"Like I said, it's a long story."

A cough behind them drew their attention to four very confused looking Guardians.

"I'm sure it's one we'd all like to hear, frostbite," Bunny said, sounding frustrated at not knowing what was going on.

Flee's eyes widened and she looked to her brother.

"Are those the Guardians?" she whispered.

Jack simply smiled and nodded, watching her face transform into one of amazement. Catherine's face mirrored her daughter's as she looked from Jack to the Guardians and back again.

"Guys, this is my sister, Flee, and this is my mother, Catherine," Jack stated as he led his mother and carried his sister over to the table.

The Guardians looked amazed and confused at the same time, before Tooth suddenly squealed and pulled Flee's mouth open.

"Oh, my gosh! Her teeth are just as white as yours, Jack!"

Jack laughed as his sister got a very confused and slightly frightened look on her face.

"Flee, this is the Tooth Fairy, or just Tooth," Jack introduced her, smiling at the wonder painted on his sister's face.

He then pointed to the other Guardians as he introduced them.

"This is Santa Clause, but we call him North. That's the Sandman, or Sandy for short. And that's the Easter Bunny, or just Bunny."

Jack sat down at the table along with his mother, still holding his sister.

"Well, I guess I should start with the day I fell in the lake."

That's it for the first chapter. I hope you guys like it so far. As usual, please no cursing in the comments and constructive criticism is welcome. God bless!