OOOOOO-KAAAAAAAAY, you awesome nerds, let me explain a few things before we get started here! For those who don't already know this about me, I am HUUUUGE on Celtic myths and legends, especially Scottish ones. One of my favorite stories from the Scottish borders is the story of Tam Lin (also known as Tam Lyn, Tamlane, Tamlin, Tomlin, Tam Lien, Tam-a-Line, and/or Tam Lane). It is told in the form of a ballad, and there are many variations in the details from one version to the next.

Basically, the story goes that this girl named Janet picks a wild rose at a place called Carterhaugh (a.k.a. Carter Hall; and yes, this is a real place in Scotland), and a changeling man, Tam Lin, appears saying that the rose is his, which Janet argues with on the grounds that the land belongs to her father. So they do the nasty, Janet gets knocked up, goes back to see Tam again, and he's all, "Okay, so the Faerie Queen is gonna sacrifice me to hell tonight, you gotta save me if you want me in this kid's life," and Janet, who is in love with him, is like, "Okay, I can totally do that, just tell me what needs to be done." Anyway, long story short, Janet follows the instructions he gives her, and he becomes mortal again, and the version of the song I'm familiar with doesn't say what happens after that, but I guess they like live happily ever after with their baby or something, I dunno.

AAAAAAAANYWAAAAAAAY...I lost my inspiration on the story I was writing where Jack and Elsa got kidnapped by Hans' older brothers, so I deleted that story and decided that THIS will be the end of that trilogy, instead, and in case you haven't figured it out by my rambling about the Tam Lin story, yes, that does play a part in this fic, though I took some creative liberties with the traditional tale to create...well...just start reading, you'll see soon enough. :)

Enjoy, and please remember to review if you like it and want me to continue!

DISCLAIMER: If you recognize a character's name and/or the name of a location/thing from a movie, then I have no claim to ownership over said person/location/thing. I also do not own Tam, Janet, or Nicnevan, I'm just borrowing them from Celtic lore. I DO, however, own Dom, Noemi, and Delia! :D

Fifteen-year-old Delia went hiking up the North Mountain wearing jeans, her snow boots, a long-sleeve shirt under a t-shirt, a pair of gloves, and a fleece jacket. Dom and Noemi had fallen behind somewhat because they were so caught up in their argument, but Delia could still hear them nattering at each other. Unlike most people would have been, she wasn't annoyed by their constant chatter—by that point in her life, she was just used to it, so it really wasn't much more than just idle background noise to her.

"Oh my God, Noemi, just admit that you're wrong and move on with your life already!" Dom said particularly loudly.
"Why should I admit to being wrong when I'm not, dumbass? That would just be a stupid thing to do!" Noemi countered.

"Yeah, well your face is stupid!"
"Oh, real good comeback there, Dom, so original and mature."

Dom groaned dramatically.

"What's even the point of this, Delia, why are you dragging us out here with you?" he demanded.

Delia stopped walking and rolled her eyes.

"Because," she said, "your mom wanted you gone for a while and I got put in charge of distracting you, so come on."

"But did we have to bring her with us?!"
"You would've been bored if we didn't, and you know it, so don't even try to pretend otherwise."

"Why, God?!" Dom cried, tilting his face to the heavens and falling on his knees. "Why do you punish me so?! What have I done to warrant this?! I'm a good boy, I don't deserve this torment!"

"What are you complaining about now?" Noemi demanded.
"I'm the only boy in our generation!" Dom said. "I'm surrounded by females! And estrogen!"

Delia rolled her eyes again. She enjoyed hanging out with her fourth cousins, she really did. But seventeen-year-old Dominic could just be so unnecessarily over-dramatic, and Noemi, who was the same age as Dom, was just the opposite; because of their different personalities, the two of them tended to clash fairly often. Delia was the youngest of the three, and, oddly enough, also the most mature. She was an only child, as were both Dom and Noemi, so they were each the closest thing that the other two had to siblings. Dom was descended from one of Delia's great-great-aunts, and Noemi was descended from the other one. Delia herself was the great-great-granddaughter of King Nikolaus of Arendelle, which meant that she was next in line for the throne after her father either died or stepped down, and because she had no siblings to be in line after her, Dom was set to inherit the throne after Delia, and Noemi after Dom.

But that was, of course, a long ways off.

"Dom!" Delia called over her shoulder. "You wanna meet Marshmallow?"

Dom stopped with his wailing and lamenting mid-syllable to blink at her past the golden-blond hair that was falling in his face.

"You mean that imaginary snow golem friend of yours?" Noemi asked.
"He's not imaginary!" Delia said. "He's real, and I'll prove it to you, follow me!"

Dom and Noemi looked at each other, and the former shrugged, then got up off his knees and began following the girls further up the mountain. They walked in relative silence with only the occasional scuffle between Dom and Noemi until they came to the palace made of pure ice that sat at the top of the mountain and that had been there for as long as anyone could remember. There were legends about how it had gotten there, but nobody knew the truth, and since it sat empty, nobody knew who or what had occupied it, if indeed it had ever been occupied at all. Delia had been going there in secret ever since she was eleven and had befriended the massive snow golem that guarded the place, which had told her his name was Marshmallow and that he had been created by a woman that he referred to simply as "Mom," who had apparently gone away along with Marshmallow's big brother (whose name he said was Olaf) quite some time ago and never returned.

When they reached the ice palace, Delia looked around for Marshmallow, but saw no sign of him.

"Well?" Dom said. "If he's real, then where is he?"
"I don't know," Delia replied. "Maybe he's inside. Let's go check."

So she led her two older cousins up the steps leading to the doors of the palace and dragged one of them open enough for herself and her companions to be able to get inside. They went into the main foyer, and Noemi drew in a sharp breath.

"Wow," she said, "this place is beautiful!"
"For once, I actually agree with you," Dom remarked.

"Marshmallow!" Delia called. "Marshie, are you here? It's me, Delia! I brought my cousins for you to meet!"

"Hi!" a voice said.

Dom and the girls turned. Standing in a doorway was a snowman that was about two-and-a-half feet tall, around the size of a toddler, with a grin on its face and a perpetually snowing little cloud over its head.

"I'm Olaf," it said, "and I like warm hugs!"

Delia blinked.

"Olaf?" she echoed. "Wait a minute, are you...are you Marshmallow's big brother?"

The snowman nodded. "Yeah," he said, "that's what he calls me."
"When he said you were his big brother, I imagined you'd be...well...bigger."

"I was made before he was," Olaf said, "that's why I'm the big brother."
"Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense. My name is Delia, and that's Dom and Noemi. Nice to finally meet you, Olaf."

"Nice to meet you, too!"

"What," Dom said, "exactly are you, anyway?"

"I'm—"

"Olaf?" a voice called. "Olaf, who are you talking to in there?"

Up at the top of the main staircase, a young woman appeared. She was very pale and had platinum blonde hair that hung over her shoulder in a thick braid with little snowflakes sparkling in it, and she was wearing an ice blue tea-length dress with semi-transparent off-shoulder butterfly sleeves and a high collar with snowflake patterns on it, and her high heels looked like they were made of crystal—or ice. There was a pendant of some sort hanging around her neck, and something sparkled on one of her fingers when the light hit it at the right angle; probably a ring, Delia figured.

The woman froze when she saw Dom and the girls, her blue eyes going wide with surprise. She blinked several times, then walked up to the railing and rested her hands on it.

"Who are you three?" she asked.

"We...um..."

Seeing that Delia was at a loss for words, Dom quickly stepped forward to stand beside the younger of his two cousins.

"Dominic Lyng of Arendelle, at your service, ma'am!" he said, sweeping into a deep, dramatic bow. "And my lovely cousins-to-the-fourth-degree, Delia Frost and Noemi Myhr! Who might we have the pleasure of meeting on this fine day?"

The woman gave him a funny look.

"Elsa," she said finally. "My name is Elsa."
"Elsa! What a pretty name! We're terribly sorry for—"

"Hey, princess, what's—Oh. Um...okay then."

The newcomer was a young man with silver hair and dark eyebrows. He was barefoot, wearing simple brown pants and a navy blue hoodie with frost in certain places.

"What's, uh...What's going on here?" he asked.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Elsa said.

"Did I hear someone say that someone's last name is Frost?"
"I said that!" Dom exclaimed. "Yeah, it's Delia's last name."

"Delia?"

Dom pointed at the girl in question, who gave a nervous wave.

"Frost is kind of a...an unusual name, don't you think, Jack?" Elsa remarked.
"Yeah," the young man replied, "I have to agree with you on that. Wonder how she ended up with it."

"Frost has been my family's name for the last several generations or so," Delia said. "I think it came from my great-great...great...grandparents...? That sounds right."
"Um, our great-great-great-grandparents, you mean," Dom interjected. "Noemi and I are descended from them, too, dummy. The only reason our name isn't Frost is because we descend from their daughters, not their son like you."

"Technicalities, Dom, now shut up," Noemi said.

"Jack, Elsa!" Olaf cried. "She looks a lot like Clara, did you notice that?"
"She looks a lot like both Claras, actually," Jack said. "With some of Klaus thrown in."

"Klaus? That was my great-great-grandfather's name," Delia said.

"Was it really?"

"Well, it was his nickname. Short for Nikolaus."

"And let me guess, he was the king?"

"How...How did you—"

"Believe it or not," Elsa said, a sad look coming across her face, "Klaus was our son."

There were a few beats of silence.

"I'm sorry," Noemi said finally, "what did you just say?"
"How are you guys still alive?" Dom asked in disbelief.

"Immortality," Jack said simply.
"That's impossible!" Noemi exclaimed.

"No such thing in our experience."
"What exactly are you?" Delia asked.

"Guardians," Elsa said. "We, along with several others, protect the world's children from darkness. We were called together for this job by the Man in the Moon. But we can't be seen by people who don't believe in us, so you three obviously believe. Anyway, we...Jack is the Guardian of Fun, and I'm the Guardian of Love."

"I'm also the Spirit of Winter," Jack added. "My other job is to bring snow and stuff to whatever parts of the world are experiencing winter at any given time. Ever heard of Jack Frost, the guy who nips at your nose? Yeah, I'm that guy."

There was a long pause.

Right as Noemi was opening her mouth to speak, Olaf suddenly cried out, "Look!"

Everyone turned to see what he was pointing at, only to find that the Northern Lights were visible outside.

"You like the Lights, huh, Olaf?" Delia said.

"He does," Jack interjected, "but that's not why he pointed them out. They're a signal that we need to go meet with the other Guardians."

"It might be an emergency, we should go as fast as possible," Elsa said.

"Let me get my staff and we'll head out."

Jack turned and vanished back the way he'd come, returning a moment later with what looked like a shepard's staff. He and Elsa went to one of the windows, and she wrapped her arms around his neck from behind.

"You three should go home," Elsa said. "At least for now. If you absolutely want to come back, do it tomorrow. Right now, we have a job to do."

"Hold on tight, princess," Jack said.

Before Dom or either of the girls could react or question the pair, Jack's feet lifted off the ground, and he went flying out the window with Elsa on his back.

"Popsicles better be here soon," Bunnymund grumbled.
"Oh, be patient, Bunny, I'm sure they're almost here," Toothiana said.

As if on cue, the window blew open in gust of wintery air, and Jack came swooping in carrying Elsa piggyback-style.

"Hi, guys!" the Winter Spirit said cheerfully as Elsa dropped onto the floor.

"Good, you're here!" Bunny exclaimed. "Now we can finally get started!"

"What's going on?" Elsa asked.

"Don't know yet," North said. "Manny wanted us together, so—Ah-ha!"

"What? What's—Woah!"

Jack leapt off of the patterned section of floor hiding the Guardian Stone right as it began to open up.

"Yay!" Makenzie cried. "This is so exciting, I won't be the rookie anymore!"
"You're hardly a rookie by this point, 'Kenz, but you're right, it is exciting!" Tooth agreed.

Bunny began his customary chant of "Please not the Groundhog" as the Stone rose up and a beam of moonlight shone down on it.

The form it showed was unmistakably that of a young man, probably not much older than Jack had been when he'd died, and everyone stared at it in silence.

"Who is that?" Elsa asked.
"I...don't...know," Bunny said.
"I don't recognize it, either," North added.

They looked at Sandy, but he shrugged and shook his head, then they turned to Tooth, who just said, "Beats me."
"Well, come on, guys, let's figure this out!" Jack said. "We can't bring the guy here unless we know who he is!"

Makenzie, meanwhile, was staring very intently at the figure.

"I...I think I know who that is," she said suddenly, and everyone turned to look at her in surprise.

"You do?" Bunny asked.

"Yeah. I think I recognize him from when I was in Scotland once. His name is...um...Tom something? No, wait, I remember now, it's Tam Lyn! He's some...Scottish faerie or changeling or something, I don't really know. He lives at a place called, uh...Carter...Carterhaugh."

"Excellent!" North said. "Yetis! Get the sack!"

Jack and Makenzie, both being acquainted with the sack, exchanged a look with each other, and the former sighed and shook his head.

Within thirty minutes after the yetis left, a portal opened in the room, and they returned with the sack moving around and making muffled noise. One of them undid the rope keeping it closed, and the other held it open as a rumpled mess of a person came tumbling out.

"Och!" the newcomer cried. "What's th' big idea, kidnappin' me like that? Ah was in th' middle ay—"

He stopped short as he lifted his head and was met with the sight of Bunnymund standing there with his arms crossed. He stared at the giant rabbit with wide green eyes, strands of shoulder-length black hair falling in his face. He was wearing a traditional Scottish tunic that was a beautiful shade of emerald green. With this, he also wore a kilt, the tartan pattern of which was one that Jack recognized from one of his visits to Scotland and that he knew was called the "Rose Hunting" tartan, along with high socks in black, purple, and gray argyle, black leather shoes in a style that looked to be centuries old, and a plain brown cloak to top everything off.

"This is the new Guardian?" Bunny said. "He sure don't look like much if you ask me."

"Guardian? What are ye—"

"You're Tam Lyn?" Jack asked.

The young man frowned and got up, brushing his hair out of his face.

"Nae," he said sarcastically, "Aam Finn bloody Mac Coul."

He huffed and crossed his arms.

"Ay course I'm Tam Lyn," he said, his accent suddenly not quite as thick. "Who else would I be? I know about the lot of ye. An' I want nothin' tae do with ye, ye hear? I got troubles of my own, don't need tae get mixed up in yers, too."

"Still being chased by that crazy lady, huh, Tam?" Makenzie said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

He turned to face her and blinked in surprise.

"Makenzie Harrison," he said. "I'll be damned. Didn't expect tae see ye here."
"Glad you remember me, buddy. Seriously, though, you still running from that woman?"

"'That woman' is one ay th' most dangerous creatures there is, Makenzie. I'll never be free of her."

"You've been reduced to so much less than what Janet would've wanted for you, Tammie."

"Dorn't call me that, and dorn't talk about Janet, ye hear?! Ever!"

"Still sensitive about her, I see."

Makenzie sighed and shook her head sadly.

"Who's Janet?" Jack asked.

Tam's face hardened.

"Nobody," he said. "Just a lass I used tae know."
"You loved her," Elsa said quietly, "didn't you?"

He blinked in surprise at the Snow Queen.

"How did ye—"

"I'm the Guardian of Love," she said. "Part of what that involves is being able to sense the love and compassion in people, and knowing who it is they care about the most. Just like how Makenzie, as the Guardian of Joy, can sense what brings a person the most happiness."

"I wonder what Tam's center is," Tooth said as Baby Tooth perched on her shoulder.
"Wait, wait," Tam said, holding his hands up. "What are ye talkin' about, I'm nae one of ye."

"No, not yet," Jack agreed, "but the Man in the Moon chose you as the next Guardian, which is why you were brought here."

Tam sighed heavily, his shoulders visibly dropping.

"As if my life wasn't complicated enough already," he muttered.

There was a long, drawn-out pause while Tam stood there with his head hung and his hands on his hips, chewing his lower lip thoughtfully and mulling things over. Finally, he let out another sigh, crossing his arms and lifting his head to look at Makenzie.

"Alrecht," he said, "I'll at least consider joinin' yer group, if nothin' else."

"Yay!" Tooth cried, clapping in delight.

"But," Tam continued, and she stopped. "Th' lot of ye have tae help me with sommat while I does my considerin', ye hear? If ye can help me pull this off and I decide that th' pros outweigh th' cons, I'll join ye. But if we fail, then ye can all kiss me goodbye, ye got that?"

"How about you tell us what you want us to do before we commit, mate?" Bunny said.

Tam looked around at each and every one of them, a serious expression on his face.

"Like Makenzie mentioned earlier," he said, "there's someone who's after me. Has been for centuries now, ever since I escaped her durin' th' time of the ancient Celts. I need ye tae help me be free of her once an' for all."

"Tell us about her so we know what we're up against," Elsa said.

"Th' Queen of Elphame, as we call her in Scotland. In short, th' Faerie Queen. She's known by many names—Queen Mab, Morgan le Fey, L'Awnnawnshee, Titania, and so on and so forth. In Scotland, her name is Nicnevan, which is th' name that she gave tae me when I first met her all those centuries ago. I used tae be a mortal knight, ye see. I was Thomas Munro, th' grandson of th' Laird of Foulis. Fell off my horse one day, I did, and Nicnevan, she scooped me right up and took me back tae the Other World with her. Every seven years, on Samhain Eve, th' night that th' modern world calls Halloween, she must pay a tithe tae Hell. Ye ever heard of th' Wild Hunt of Celtic myth an' legend? She leads it. For seven years, she kept me in th' Other World with her, and eventually, it hit me—I was meant tae be th' tithe come time for th' next one.

"But I met a mortal girl who had plucked a rose at Carterhaugh—Janet. Th' traditional story they tell about me says that she and I had a tryst and she got with child, but that part is nae true. It was innocent, what Janet and I had. She kept comin' back and pickin' roses tae summon me, and over time, we fell in love. Finally, I told Janet my story, and she was horrified at th' prospect of losin' me when I was given as th' tithe. Begged me tae tell her how she could help. So I went back to Nicnevan's court an' found out there was a way. Next time I met with Janet, I gave her instructions on what tae do if she wanted truly wanted tae help an' have me as her own. She followed those instructions perfectly, couldn't have done it better myself if I'd tried. Nicnevan, she was furious that I had been stolen from her before she could tithe me. I was safe from her, for a while. Janet and I eventually got married, had a family."

"I'm guessing your happiness didn't last," Jack said, "did it?"

"...Nae. Nae, it didn't."
"So what happened then?"

Tam sighed and shook his head.

"Janet died peacefully in her sleep. I'd been agin' along with her over th' years, but th' day after her funeral rites were performed, I woke up and found that I'd reverted back tae th' age I was when I met her an' she rescued me—Just imagine, bein' seventy-some-odd years of age, then wakin' up one mornin' and findin' that ye're right back tae nineteen again! I knew I couldn't stay. People would ask questions that I wouldn't be able tae right properly answer. So ye know what I did? I fled. Like a coward. Left my children an' grandchildren behind, didn't even leave a note or anythin', just up an' vanished. Never saw any of my family again after that. An' then, one day, 'bout a year after Janet's passin', Nicnevan appeared before me, an' I knew she was out for revenge, that she wouldn't rest until she'd gotten it. I've been on th' run from her ever since, tryin' to avoid gettin' recaptured, because I know that if she gets her hands on me again, I'll become the tithe tae Hell, an' this time, there won't be anyone tae rescue me. I've been all over Scotland a million times over tryin' to escape from her. Been all over Ireland, Wales, most of England, an' other parts of the ancient Celtic world, too. But somehow, I always find myself back at Carterhaugh come th' anniversary of Janet's death. Right back at that patch of wild roses where it all started all that time ago. Seems like no matter where I go or what I do, though, Nicnevan always manages tae catch up an' find me. Used tae be it would happen right when I thought I was finally safe. But I don't think that anymore. I've learned by now that I will never be safe."

"You will be with us," Makenzie said, "that's a promise."

"Yeah!" Tooth agreed. "We defeated the Boogeyman, and Baba Yaga and Koschei the Deathless! If we can do that, I'm sure we can handle this Faerie Queen, too! Besides, how hard can it be with seven against one?"

"She's bloody powerful," Tam said. "Be careful sayin' things like that, drannd-eun nighean."
Tooth frowned in confusion. "What? What'd he say? Did he just call me a name or something?"

"'Tis Scots-Gaelic, means 'hummingbird girl,' that's all," Tam explained.

"Oh, hey, I actually kinda like that, neat!"

"We will help you," North said, "and then, you will become Guardian."

"We'll see," Tam replied.

There was a pause, and then Tam managed a smile.

"In th' meantime," he said, "I don't know all yer names, only Makenzie's. Mind makin' introductions, sùbh-làir?"

"What does that mean?" Tooth asked eagerly.

"I know that one," Makenzie said. "It means 'strawberry,' which is what he called me when we first met on account of me being a strawberry-blonde. Anyway, I'll make the introductions since I'm kind of the mutual friend between Tam and the rest of you guys. Okay, Tam, so the big guy over there is Nicholas St. North, also known as Santa Claus. We call him North. He looks big and tough, but I promise, he's nothing but a giant Russian teddy bear. And that right there is Sanderson Mansnoozie, the Sandman, whose nickname is Sandy. He doesn't talk, he communicates with pictures made out of Dreamsand that he creates over his head. And the hummingbird girl is Toothiana, the Tooth Fairy, who we call Tooth, and the miniature version of her that's with her is Baby Tooth, one of her Mini Fairies. Then the giant rabbit is the Easter Bunny, E. Aster Bunnymund. Jack likes to call him a kangaroo because he's Australian, the two of them have kind of a frienemies love-hate relationship with each other. And speaking of Jack, that's him right there! Jack Frost, the Spirit of Winter! And last but not least is Jack's wife Elsa, the Snow Queen. They've been together for over a century, which I think is pretty awesome, considering some people these days can't even make it an entire month, you know? So yeah, that's everyone. Hopefully you'll get to meet Olaf at some point, he's pretty awesome, too. It's too bad that you won't get to meet Elsa's sister and her husband, they were great, but...they were mortal, so..."

There was a pause while the Guardians all took a moment to remember Jack and Elsa's family and how wonderful they had been.

"Hey," Jack said suddenly, "I just had an idea. What if Elsa and I took Tam back home with us to try and hide him from this Faerie Queen?"

"You mean let him stay in the ice palace with you guys?" Tooth asked.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean. That is, if it's alright with Elsa and Tam, of course."

"I'm fine with it," Elsa said. "How about it, Tam? Feel like staying with a couple of frozen-temperature nutjobs?"

Tam considered for a moment, then shrugged. "I've done stranger things," he said, "so why not?"
"We'll need a snowglobe to get back since I can't carry both of you at the same time," Jack remarked.

"Already have one ready for you, Jack!" North said, holding out the object in question.

"Thanks, North," Jack replied as he took it.

"Oh, and by the way, Tam," Elsa said, "when we get there, if at any point you see a huge golem, don't freak out, it's just Marshmallow. I created him as a bodyguard of sorts a long time ago, but he only gets violent when he's being attacked or threatened, the rest of the time, he's totally harmless, I promise."

"He calls her Mom," Jack added, "it's pretty dang cute for a giant snow monster."

"Understood," Tam said. "Anything else I should know?"

"Um...Olaf will probably ask you all sorts of questions about yourself, but if he starts to bother you at all, just gently discourage him from whatever he's doing, and he should stop. If he doesn't, come find one of us and we'll talk to him. Is there more, Jack? I feel like I'm forgetting something."

"Dominic and the girls tomorrow."

"Oh, right! We're expecting to possibly have visitors tomorrow, but we don't know for sure if they'll show up, so if they do, just be aware that that's who they are."

"Who are you guys expecting?" Bunny asked. "Everyone you know in Arendelle is dead."

"Long story, tell ya later," Jack replied. "Anyway, I think that's everything, so let's get going, shall we?"

"Alrecht," Tam said. "Lead th' way."

Jack grinned, then threw the snowglobe onto the floor, and it shattered into tiny pieces as a portal opened up. The Winter Spirit took his wife's hand and led her through. Tam glanced around the room one final time, then followed behind them, and once he was gone, the portal closed.

Yes, I'm going to be using Scots-Gaelic in this story as frequently as I can mange to get away with, mwahahahaha! Don't worry, though, Tam will always provide translations, and on the rare occasions when he might not, they will be provided by yours truly at the end of the chapter. :)

Now, REVIEW, OR I'LL SEND NICNEVAN THE PSYCHOTIC FAERIE QUEEN AFTER YOU!