A cherry blossom floated through the air, dancing in the imaginary wind kicked up by the whim of a bored man. Usagi sighed from where she was trying to sew a new kimono. "Máni," she murmured, "I thought that you were going to say hello to Jack Frost tonight."

The older man, white haired and white skinned, smiled with white teeth. "I am. But I am concerned with something that I have seen."

Usagi put her sewing to the side. "What is it?"

"Pitch Black has brought the Night Mares back under his control," Máni answered. "But his ire isn't directed at the children of the world. Only at Jack. Revenge is on the wind."

Usagi cast a glance at the myriad reflecting pools set up around the cherry grove. "The Mare Crisium was that chatty today?"

"I saw it in the Oceanus Procellarum."

Usagi gasped, her long white ears whipping through the air. "That bad?" she breathed.

"Yes," Máni murmured, walking to the reflecting pool closest to where he stood. He gazed into it as he gestured to his mate. Usagi rose from her seat beside the Mare Serenitatis with grace and approached. She placed her hand into his before taking a look into the pool.

Jack Frost lay on the ground, black streaks snaking beneath his skin along his veins. His usually white hair was smudged with black. A shadow, a very recognizable shadow, loomed over his prone body. Moreover, the image zoomed out to show another body in the same horrible repose. The child Usagi knew as the Last Light, Jamie, was in his bed, black veins turning his skin into a terrifying parody of marble. Grains of black surrounded a hand print on the young boy's face.

Usagi looked up at Máni. "Is this what I think it is?"

"It seems that Pitch has stumbled upon a new use for his Black Sands. He's discovered how to truly weaponize them against children," he answered. "I'm afraid that it's time to gift our newest Guardian."

"Do you think he will appreciate it? His aspect is Fun and Games. That is not necessarily something that lends itself to offensive power." Usagi bit her lip. "To take his childhood . . ."

Máni sighed and looked up to the domed sky. Stars stretched over the cherry grove strewn with pools of clear water. He looked to the trees dancing with the wind his mind created. "It has been centuries since we've truly had a Guardian's War, but it is not unheard of. And as the Oceanus has shown me, Pitch's newest weapon makes Jack much too vulnerable as he is. We must give him his twenty-first year. The Black Sands can only harm those whose who are children still. Even as a Guardian Jack is not safe."

"But his aspect –"

Máni laughed. "Fun is not something that only a child may have. Hope . . . Memories . . . Wonder . . . Dreams . . . Imagination . . . All of these things we protect in the children of the world, but we do so as favored uncles and aunts to mankind's young. Is it not possible for one of those uncles to be a young one who enjoys playing with his nieces and nephews?"

The woman shook her head, tugging at her ears. "I guess you're right. Jack is wise beyond one who has sixteen years. I guess he wouldn't lose his aspect if you gave him those last five years."

Máni nodded. "Call up the Ice Sprites. It's time they met their new lord. In the meantime, I have to see a fairy godmother."

The castle was a huge blue monstrosity in Máni's opinion. The various spires and turrets stabbed into the sky with jaunty certainty. As he approached the garden side of the structure, he heard the sounds of female singing.

"Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo

Put 'em together and what have you got

bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"

"Ho the castle!" he called.

From behind a gorgeous rose bush, a matronly woman with grey hair appeared. She was dressed for gardening in an old dress some nowhere color between blue and grey. "Ah! It has been quite a while Máni!"

"It is a pleasure to see you again Fairy Godmother," he said. "I have a favor to ask."

"Of course! Please, come in, come in!" The Fairy Godmother swept into the castle through the front doors, throwing them open with a wave of her hand. "What can I do for you dear boy?"

Máni smiled. If any of his Guardians could hear how she spoke to him. But he was aware that he was relatively young with fewer realms under his purview. The Fairy Godmother was five times older than he was and watched over twice as many worlds. She was old, she was powerful, and she was a force to be reckoned with.

Good thing she loved a happily ever after.

"The realm in which I live," he began, "Has a certain threat brewing. One of my dark ones has found a way to weaponize his Black Sands into something truly deadly. I've racked my mind for a solution, but I believe the magic I seek is beyond my ken. I was wondering if you might be able to help me."

The Fairy Godmother nodded. "Let me see." She led him into a library. She bustled about, pulling books and tapping her chin with her wand. "Let me see."

She pulled a book and gestured to Máni. "What does this Sand do normally?"

"It basis for a creature called a Night Mare, but he's changed them into something deadly."

The Fairy Godmother's head snapped up, her eyes narrowing. "Deadly in what way?"

Máni showed her rather than explain. As the Fairy Godmother examined it, her brow furrowed. "I recognize this magic, but that's impossible. It's a corruption of Maleficent's Sleeping Spell."

The Man showed his surprise. "I knew this was magic outside of my experience, but I didn't think you'd recognize it straight away."

She smiled. "Maleficent gave me and my three fellow fairies, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, fits and starts trying to head her off at the pass. We almost didn't make it. I can spot magic with her stamp on it from a mile away." She turned back to the shelf and pulled down a tome. "But I don't recognize the particular corruption."

She perused the book she'd taken, her lips pursed. Máni was patient, waiting for her to come to whatever conclusion she needed. Finally, she snapped the book shut. "Well, I don't have the answers for you here, but I think I may know of who to ask. The corruption is actually a blending of two separate magics – Maleficent's dark magic and a particular brand of witchery practiced by the Rock Trolls of Arendelle. Old Pabbie should have an answer for you."

Máni nodded. "Thank you."

"But I should warn you," the Fairy Godmother spoke up, "Pabbie is libel to ask for a trade when it comes to magic." She led him to a full-length mirror. She murmured, "Arendelle."

In the mirror, rolling hills covered in snow appeared. A little jewel of a port city also appeared, and the Fairy Godmother smiled. "I'll take you." She held out her hand and Máni took it. They stepped through the mirror, and found themselves in a circular amphitheater-like clearing peppered with medium-sized boulders.

That moved.

The Rock Trolls rolled and unfurled. They crowded around the two newcomers, and Máni couldn't help but marvel at the various little people who surrounded him. One in particular, a grizzled older male, caught his eye. "You must be Pabbie."

The troll chuckled. "Why yes I am. And who might you be?"

The albino man bowed from the waist. "I am Máni, the Man in the Moon, Watcher of the Dreaming Worlds."

Pabbie nodded respectfully. "It is a pleasure, I'm sure. What can I do for you?"

Máni quickly ran through the problem, and when asked showed the elder troll the images the Oceanus Procellarum had given him. The troll only took a moment. "The spell that corrupted Maleficent's is a geas we sometimes place on young trolls to ensure that they don't go rolling off downhill while they're sleeping until they learn better. Mixed with the Sleeping Spell, it would do what you believe. However, it's not a death spell. It will just trap them in sleep."

The Man in the Moon breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm still glad that I have taken the proper precautions with my Guardians."

"Oh?" Pabbie asked.

"The newest one, the Guardian of Fun, he was still young. I made the decision to give him the years he would need to avoid being caught by the spell."

The old troll nodded, but Máni didn't miss the sly look in his eyes. "I can give you the way to break the spell, but I would ask something of you in return."

"Told you," the Fairy Godmother murmured out of the corner of her mouth.

Máni merely sighed. "I am willing to bargain if it protects the children of the Dreaming Worlds."

Pabbie shook his head. "No, no! I will give it to you no matter what, but you can help me as I help you."

"Yes?"

The elder troll pointed to the port. "The queen of this land is a woman sorely in need of levity. She has her sister and our own Kristoff to help her, but I would ask for you to loan us your Guardian of Fun for a few days. Let him gift her with a few smiles."

"I cannot agree to that," the Man in the Moon said. "We must ask Jack Frost."

Pabbie nodded. "Then before you go back, know this, a woman's magic wove the basis of both spells, magic born of vengeance and magic born of love. A woman's magic will break it."