/ I couldn't have done this. / = Eliza's thoughts.
/ We can talk like this. / = Noir's thoughts.
Laetatio, Lumen, Candidus. = MiM speaking (?)
Salted blue waves licked Eliza's ankles, nipping her skin with cold as it etched its way up her lower leg. Her foot was numb with the coldness of the water, but she didn't really notice. Her pale arms were outstretched over the warm sunny sand, her chocolate (flecked with vanilla) hair sprawled behind her. A simple yellow dress hung on her slender figure, cutting off just below her knees. Either side of a sprinkle of freckles that adorned her little nose were two well positioned emerald eyes, bright with youth.
Eliza smiled as her eyes traced the white puffs suspended in the sky. The clouds looked like all sorts of little objects. There was a UFO and a flower. She could also make out a fish, a snowman and a crescent moon… or at least that's what she liked to think they looked like. There was also a puffy candle and a fluffy tent in the sky. Eliza came down to this hidden beach almost everyday to relax from the responsibilities of life, and on most occasions she cloud watched.
The beach was rather small only about 50 metres long and maybe 40 metres wide. A sheer cliff cut up by the edge of the sand, the only known way in or out of there. On one edge there was a pile of oddly placed rocks, but she didn't question them. On the cliff, little hand holds and foot holds supported anyone coming or leaving, but it wasn't like anyone came there other than Elza.
It was getting dark and late, and Mark, Eliza's dad, would be serving up dinner soon. Reluctantly, Eliza dragged herself from the comfort of the sand and sea, and up the silver cliff. Although the stone was freezing in comparison with the sand, she didn't complain, and slowly pulled herself up the cliff. As she reached the top, she grasped for tufts of grass to help her get onto the meadow. After much effort, she swung her legs onto the grass and ran home, the wind causing her dark hair to whip her face. She didn't care.
Her house wasn't the kind of home most kids her age lived in. In the city, formerly know as Hartland (in the UK) but now known as Jotture, they lived in houses and flats on land, quivering in fear that the government would do something to them. The children when to school until they came of sixteen years of age, of when they got shipped off to work. Eliza lived on the coast, a half an hour horse ride from the city, and her house was suspended above the water by strong wooden beams. It was far enough away for the government to ignore them, but close enough to go into town for essential supplies. It also meant she didn't need to go to school and, although she was only fourteen, she wouldn't have to leave to work. She could just go fishing like her Dad.
Opening the creaky wooden door, she was greeted with a somewhat exotic smell. It annoyed her that she couldn't identify it, but she couldn't deny it smelt divine. Eliza's stomach rumbled like thunder. She padded over to her dad in the small kitchen, who was cooking some meat in a red-brown sauce. It looked kind of weird. the was also preparing rice.
"Chicken curry," he said, mixing the food.
"What?"
"Chicken curry. Picked up the recipe in town today along with the chicken. Smells great, right?"
She nodded at him, taking an audible whiff of it. Eliza looked like a younger female Mark, except his mop was completely brown, and he had a rough scruff of beard clinging to his chin.
She left the kitchen to set the table. Setting it didn't take long, since there was only two people in the family. There used to be four. Her mother Riley died when she was six. Riley Stag had been trading fish in town when a bunch of government goonies snatched her up. She was reported missing and presumed dead. Eliza also had an older brother - Damien Stag. The had moved out to work for the government so the could infiltrate their security and either find or get revenge for their mother. That was two years ago, and the had stopped sending letters six months post joining. Since then, Eliza and her dad fended for themselves in what ever way they could.
Soon dinner was served. Mark dug in, while Eliza was more than a little skeptical. She didn't doubt her dad's cooking or the smell, but she could never be sure. Skewering one with her fork, she slowly elevated it into her mouth. That evening she decided that curry was the best thing since her dad had brought home new clothes for the family. When Damien was still around. Shaking the thought out of her head, Eliza devoured the meal, bloated and tired. Both of them stumbled their way to their bedrooms early.
"G'night."
"Night."
When she led down, she started to notice how dark it was. She was used to it being dark. It was like that since the was born. However, according to crazy great grandmama Sophie's stories, it wasn't always that way. There once were guardians, protectors of dreams, memories, hope, wonder and fun. But then the boogeyman, Pitch Black, ripped them apart. The murdered their last believer and with him, she guardians died, vanishing from existence. The last one standing, Jack Frost, was 'dealt with' quickly. Pitch took over Earth, his minions possessing important world leaders. Pitch himself gained a semi-mortal body by possessing the president of the USA. It's been that way for 60 years. Pitch wasn't stupid and had been keeping an eye on the Bennet family for two generations below her, but the got bored and the doesn't bother them anymore, lucky for Eliza.
The darkness creeped towards the young teenager's bed like a pack of hungry wolves. Eliza's heart pounded in her chest, threatening to jump out without warning. She was scared. No, petrified. She was used to general darkness, not the shadows actually coming at her. Was it because she was one of the only children full of the guardians' qualities? No. It was because the ruler of Jotture, a woman called Onyx, was hungry for fear, and it just so happened Eliza was full of fear right now. As the shadows were forming a circle around her, the unexpected happened. Clouds parted and the moon appeared. It was so big, and so bright. It seemed to chase the darkness away. And she wasn't scared anymore. Eliza smiled at the moon (who seemed to smile back) and tucked herself in. She quickly fell asleep, unaware of the moonlight soaking into her skin, and the words whispered into the night.
Arma, Credite, Leva.
Tribuo, Nix, In perpetuum.
Laetatio, Lumen, Candidus.
Oyasumi.
(Translation (Latin and Japanese):
Protect, Believe, Rise.
Gift, Snow, Forever.
Joy, Light, Bright.
Goodnight.)
Eliza went about the next day as if nothing that night had ever occurred. happened, assuming it was a dream, except for the nagging sense at the back of her mind that it was real. At the same time of day as usual, she made her way down to the hidden beach. It was slightly colder today, and the wind bit at her cheeks. It was too cloudy to cloud watch, so she decided to go exploring instead. On the opposite side of the beach to the odd rocks was meadow that had fallen off of the cliff and formed a pile of meadow.
She sorted through the pile, picking out pretty flowers and making a separate pile for them. Within the pile… she found a stick. It took three hard pulls for the teenager to get the stick out. Now that she looked at it properly, it looked like a staff. It was rather odd to find it there. It didn't look hand made, but it did look suspiciously like a shepherd's staff. It was just the right height for her.
Once again, it started to get dark, so she got up to leave. Suddenly, the odd pile of rocks tumbled away from their usual homes. They had been hiding the entrance/exit of a tunnel. Out stumbled a man, a bit younger than her dad. He made no more than two steps before passing out. Eliza rushed to his side, worried.
The was about 6"4', easily dwarfing Eliza, and had lightly tanned skin. His long, blonde-grey hair was tightly tied into a ponytail, and the had sideburns and a scruff of a beard happening somewhere on his chin. The man was clothed in a cotton shirt which was ripped in multiple place, and dark trousers. On his feet were strong traveling boots. When the collapsed, he had dropped his lance-like wooden staff.
Eliza threw the two staffs up onto the meadow and then, throwing the man over her shoulder, forced her way back up and home. He was surprisingly light for his size. When she arrived home, she dumped the man on the kitchen table and assessed his wounds while calling for her dad. He had multiple deep cuts on his chest, arms, legs, heck, even one on his face! Although her dad was well surprised by this unexpected guest, the helped dress his wounds. Eliza carried him into the spare bedroom for him to rest, and left his staff by his side.
Without warning, a fist sized blue crystal fell out of his pocket and tumbled onto the wooden flooring. As she made contact with the crystal, a sharp coldness filled her hand, then arm, them body. She couldn't let go of the crystal. It seemed to sink into her flesh without an ounce of pain. When the coldness subsided, Eliza prodded the crystal sceptically.
What kind of witchcraft was this?
She quickly ate and went to bed, taking the shepherd's staff with her, in her crystal hand. Eliza didn't notice the wood frosting over. She fell asleep almost instantly.
"Is she awake?"
"No... do you think she'll be OK?"
"I...I don't know"
Muffled voices floated around Eliza's head. Were they talking about her? She forced herself awake, to be met with a pair of worried eyes, one brown and one blue. Her dad and the man. Why were they worried? And why could she feel a faint breeze against her skin? The two moved out of her sight so she could sit up. She was on the meadow, and the flowers within a two metre radius were frozen. Did she do this?
She looked up at the man, frightened.
"What did you do to me?...And who even are you?"
"I'm Noir Hickory. I'm a traveller and part of a rebellion against the Boogeyman. And I didn't do anything to you."
"Well then Noir, why is your damned crystal in my hand?" She lifted her hand to show her palm. Noir's expression flew through surprised Eliza's eyes were wide with fear.
/ No.
I couldn't have.
I have no magic.
He did this to me! /
"What did you do to me?!"
The man seemed fairly worried… and confused.
"Nothing. How could I do this -" He gestured to the frozen meadow, "- when it's coming from you and I have been out cold since until this morning?"
"Explain this then!" she growled, lifting her hand so they could the the sky blue crystal sticking out of her palm. The man seemed surprised, then happy… then sad, then scared, then ecstatic, then worried, and finally settled on a semi-neutral face. The expressions flew by so quickly that Eliza didn't know what to make of them.
"Mark here said that your name is Eliza… could I ask what your full name is? I don't mean to come off as strange."
"Elizabeth...Elizabeth Stag."
His face stayed the same.
"I guess you picked up my crystal after it fell out of my pocket."
"Yeah."
"Well it's a magic rock."
"You don't say."
"It reacts to the one who is worthy of it, and has a guardian item."
"Pffft. Me. Worthy- Wait. Guardian item?"
"The only ones I know others have is a leather gauntlet and a feather. A guardian item is a piece of one of the five guardians that have passed: Nicholas St North, Sanderson McSnoozie, Toothina-"
"- E. Aster Bunnymund and Jack Frost. My crazy great grandmama Sophie told me about them. So I have something that Jack Frost owned or part of him?"
"Yes. If I remember correctly, the had a blue hoodie, a shepherd's staff and -"
"Eliza brought home a shepherd's staff last night." Her dad cut in, wanting to be involved in this madness so the could understand what the hell was going on. Noir nodded.
"That's your guardian item then. Jack Frost's signature staff. Huh."
Eliza realized she was still sitting, as she got up, the wind lifted into the air. Although her dad feared for her safety, panicking, Noir smiled. That was nothing compared to this kids potential.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" she screamed.
/ THIS IS SO AWESOME! / she screamed in her head.
Eventually, the wind dropped. So, Eliza counted her newfound 'powers' on her fingers; Ice magic, Flight, and 'Fun'. Eliza experimented with her magic in her bedroom which was completely frozen. No wonder they had been worried and had moved her outside where she could only do damage to the poor pretty little flowers. The two men discussed the recent surprise privately, against Eliza's protests. She focused on making a snowflake first to distract herself, while holding her new staff. It seemed rather simple since her powers revolved around snow, but it proved harder than it looked, as they are rather delicate. Eventually, she managed to materialise one. It wasn't the best, but it was her first try. Next, she tried making a frost animal on what was left of her window. Crazy great grandmama Sophie said that Jack Frost had made a frost rabbit for her brother, Jamie, before he disappeared. So she envisioned a mighty and proud stag and frosted her best attempt at one on the window. Then she, with much effort, pulled the creature out of the window. It pranced around of icicles for a few minutes before popping, leaving only snow.
Noir and her dad returned.
"How would you like to go on an adventure?"
A pair of shadows emerged from the seaside tunnel. They were wolf like, but stood on their hind legs, and were most definitely sentient. Their red eyes glowed fiercely. They were on a hunt, and they had lost their prey. Master would kill them if they did not return with something useful! The sand in front of them showed signs of their target collapsing… and someone else. They sniffed the tracks. The scent was of fresh snow and berries, a very feminine scent, one of a young woman. So, the target was resting nearby, getting help? It looked like she owned a staff, and that to get him out, she carried the two staffs and the man all the way home, leaving a fairly strong scent. Stupid girl.
Let the hunt commence.
Author's Note: We Believe here :3 Thankyou for reading my story! Really, I feel honoured. :) So have a virtual cookie! (::) Now for explanations that are not in the actual story.
When Pitch took over earth, the wanted to make it feel like the dark ages again, so he renamed many of the places. This is why is sounds more fantasy novel like. Bearing that in mind, I'm not used to writing not from 'I' or 'You' POV, but from 'He/She' POV. Yay challenges! Those wolf-shadows were made by Onyx. YES, Onyx is sentient, he/she was only a nightmare horse because Pitch was still fairly low on power (No fear from adults I guess.)
Also, I am SO SORRY for not updating anything again. I'm such a horrible person DX. I should really update everything else at somepoint… Ah, Oh well. I've been writing this instead of doing my coursework… oops XD
Finnally, if anyone figures out who Noir Hickory really is, I'll give them a sneek peek of the WIP Chapter 2. Clue: He is a CANNON character that wasn't killed/disappeared by the Pitch Black we all know and love ;D
Please ask any questions if you're confused, I don't usually bite!
Other than that, Review, Fav and follow please! ~