It was a wonderful day for Ariadne because guess what? This wonderful day that was highly regaled in most parts of the world, the day that would make people swoon in hopes of finding a young man for them, and young lovers to spend the day together was finally here! With a gigantic smile on her face, the young strawberry blonde skipped over to breakfast, eager for a healthy meal to start the day.

Her mother and father, both prestigious dentists in the city of Burgess were reading dissected parts of the newspaper. The kitchen, as usual, flowed with the aroma of a wonderful meal slowly brewing in hopes to get eaten. As a general rule, it was Ariadne's father that cooked for the family. One would shudder in fear if they ever witnessed Ariadne's mother undertake the impossible feat of providing for her family.

"Salutations, dear," her mother smiled gently as she placed her newspaper on the table. Gesturing her daughter to the empty spot opposite of her, Ariadne willingly sat down as she gazed down at the fallen paper.

"Mommy, what does salutations mean? Why did you put the paper on the table? Why do people celebrate love today? What does it mean to fall in love? Why—" The strawberry blonde was stopped from continuing her little interrogation by her father.

"Slow down, sugar."

His daughter glowered at him for a few seconds before letting it disappear into a faint smile. Her whole family knew that she hated being compared to the bane of a tooth's existence.

"You're a bit too young to get yourself in love," he said gruffly as he continued his little rant. He was a burly man, with a greying beard and broad shoulders. He appeared to be around six feet and he was ill tempered enough to prove his toughness. Although he displayed cold reactions to most people, his heart was clearly in the right place. "Besides, bring one of those hooligans home and I'll show'em what it means to get my girl."

Even though the last part was muttered, Ariadne's mother was not hard of hearing and gave her husband a fake stink eye. Laughing quietly, she smacked her husband with a rolled up newspaper and passed a plate filled with salad to her daughter.

"Better hurry up, sugar," she called out teasingly. "We need to get there on time and you want to be the first to give them their gifts, right?"
The six year old nodded eagerly as she speared her lettuce with much gusto.


"I don't know, hon," Ariadne's father shook his head grimly. "I still think that we should move her to another daycare. One where she wouldn't grow up with all those gremlins," he growled. He held a pile of paperwork in his hands as he glared at the offensive literature. "And since when did Mariana Mendoza need a filling? She's been doing great job lately."

"Look, I think that growing up with boys is a wonderful idea," Ariadne's mother exclaimed as she twisted her mahogany hair into an elegant bun. "She gets to learn how to be independent, to be a leader, and how to influence the opposite gender!" At her husband's glare, she hastily added," Not in that way!"

"I don't like it, I don't like it all," he grumbled as he placed the papers into his briefcase. "That Russian boy looks like a Communist—and did you see what he did with that toys of his! He carved them with his own knife! He's going to be a murderer one day! And that stupid redneck Australian is going to teach her slang, that we might lose contact with one another! And when that happens when might end up as a stupid redneck with no morals! And don't get me started on that Frost boy! Look at his family! A bunch of thieves that—"

"Yes, yes! We heard about it in all the papers!" Sapphire eyes sparkled with tremendous fury that the greying man almost faltered in his provocative stance. "Just because his parents were not always on the right side of the train tracks, doesn't mean he inherited their lunacy!" She took deep breath before she advanced on her attack on her hot-tempered spouse. "And Nikolai is going to be an entrepreneur one day! Don't you see? He has a wonderful future ahead of him."

"I'm sorry, but," his arms were about to embrace wife when she was abruptly shrugged aside as she turned on him.

"Was I finished? Dearie?" Her eyes seemed to glow with the force of a million suns and then some. "And that Australian redneck has suck artistic talent that I do NOT doubt he will have a magnificent career at what he does best!"

"But," he started weakly. "Ariadne is open to all their perversions and—"

"Have you not learned from what I have told you?" She yelled exasperatedly as she started to pack up for her workday. "Our daughter and her friends are too young to be thinking these things, the Frosts' affair with the law is not our concern, AND Mariana Mendoza was scheduled for two months now." She pushed a few strands of hair from her face as she waited for her daughter to come down the stairs.

"Right sorry," he muttered softly as he went outside to start the car.


The battlefield was ready.

All the frivolous things that the boys had planted were now ready to be harvested and the benefits reaped.

And when the fairy tale princess walked in the classroom with a nasty pout on her face, the trio advanced into the fight of their lives.

"Well comrades, I better welcome Ariadne," Nikolai bellowed cheerfully as he skipped across the room. In his arms was the neatly wrapped up present—just for her. Little did he know that his 'comrades' were merely his adversaries in their quest to follow along with the holiday.

"Ah, no you don't," Joey muttered as he successfully blocked the young Russian from talking to Ariadne. Like Nikolai, he grasped an offering in his small hands, but it was a far outcry from the red and green ensemble. Instead, he had a basket filled with colorful eggs that matched the color scheme of the day. "Besides, Nik, aren't ya a bit too old for 'er?"

The reply that came back to the Australian was that of a sneer.

"Are you not a bit too young for her?"

"'ey! At least we're the same age!"

"Well, my present is better than your!"

"Don't count to the conversation and I'm better than ya!"

"Disagree."

"Nuh-uh."

"Uh-huh."

"Nuh-uh."

A sudden urgent tug at both of the boys' shoulders caused them to acknowledge the presence of their mute teacher.

"Mornin' Sandy," Joey started as he greeted him with a fake smile. "Can you tell Nik here that his present sucks?"

"Nyet," Nikolai called out as he butted in on the conversation. "Joey's basket is nothing to compare to mine," he boasted proudly.

As Sandy was about to use gestures and bits of sign language to convey his opinion on the matter, Joey just HAD to add more to defend his case.

"It's colorful, you can play with it, and you don't 'ave t' throw it away!" Due to his heated temperament, his accent that he inherited from his parents was coming full force.

"You get full pleasure from ripping paper—"

However, as much as Nikolai would continue on in his argument, two people laughing caught his attention. Ahem, excuse me. I mean two little kids who were enjoying each other's company without the other two boys interrupting. Like two hyenas going after a deer, the two boys raced over their in time to see Jack give Ariadne a rose in a flower pot.

"My sister made me do it," he muttered softly as he touched the petals gently. "She said something to do with being earthy, being safe to the environment, and all that. So… wouldyouliketobemyvalentine?"

Ariadne, being the expert on people talking fast—she was one of those people—she immediately understood what the brunette had told her.

"Sorry, Jack," she softly admonished as she stroked the beautiful red petals lovingly. "I'm already someone's valentine~!"

All three of the young lads' hearts dropped to the floor as they heard he distressing news.

"WHAT?"

Ariadne looked confused as she saw their over-dramatic expressions filled up their faces.

"I'm Mr. Pitch's valentine for the day! Also, I got treats for all of us and—"

"Crud. How did ya become Pitch's valentine?" Joey asked maliciously. So, he went through all this trouble… only to come out as a loser.

"Well…"

And the flashback sequence began.


Pitch sat on his comfy chair that reminded him of good ol' England. In this case, it was a chair that smelled of tea, looked frumpy yet regal at the same time, and was very stiff to the touch for other people. He was home alone, which was no surprise, and his cold was no better than yesterday evening. In other words, he was not going to babysit the brats today! He hacked up some vile phlegm before taking a sip of his tea. He definitely wasn't going to babysit tomorrow.

Now, outside of his house was his neighbors, the Anjanas, who were one his most trusted confidantes—albeit reluctantly on his part—were getting ready to depart on their way to the daycare and jobs when they decided to check up on him.

"Blimey, and I thought my parents were nosey," he muttered distastefully as he cowered in his black bathrobes.

One of his charges, Ariadne, smiled up at him as she gazed around his kitchen in awe. Even though she had been in his house many times, she always seemed to get a kick out of it.

"Can it Pitch before I sic my daughter on you," Mr. Anjanas smirked playfully.

"Oh no," Pitch groaned sarcastically. "Wouldn't want her to inspect my teeth to death."

"So, how are you doing?" Ariadne's mother fretted as she brewed tea for him. "Do you need someone to—"

"Angelica, I am fine, my job will be fine, and my tea is fine. There is nothing you can do that will make me feel happier than I already am." He rolled his eyes to show that he was in great health… not.

"But mommy!" Ariadne squealed. Pitch flinched at the pitch—no pun intended—that her voice miraculously cam to be. "What about Valentine's Day! He needs a valentine!"

"I celebrate Singles Awareness Day, thank you very much," Pitch grumbled as he turned towards the doorway. "Seeing that you have no business here, then you can all—"

"Mr. Pitch! Mr. Pitch! Be my valentine!" The fairy princess squealed happily as she held up a paper with a cheesy love poem on it…in a shape of a tooth. At least it was not decayed or anything.

Exasperated that he had to entertain guests when he wasn't feeling well, had to put up with Sandy's antics on the phone, and the fact that he was SINGLE… How could he refuse a little girl's wish?

Mr. Anjanas slit his throat with his finger as he stared the Brit down.

"Fine."


The boys stared in awe at her before looking down at their gifts for her.

"I don't suppose that you could, you know…" Jack stared crestfallen at the floor.

"Not my style, but er…" Joey desperately stared at his basket as if it was the most awesome thing in the world.

"Would you like to be our valentine too?" Nikolai was the only one to actually look dead straight into the girl's eyes.

One heartbeat.

Two heartbeats.

Three—

"Of course!"


Sanderson sat on the floor looking bored. Valentine's Day, huh? Why can't dear Ariadne make him her valentine as well?

Well, it was one thing that made it quite clear that day; Sandy was forever alone.


The anjanas are fairies that are part human and bird or fish. They are described as peaceful and good-natured.

I would also like to dedicate this chapter to Exitjodyrae for being the first to review and guessing correctly half of what I was going to do. So, congrats~!

Oh, and about Jack Frost's parents; remember the original story, Old School Christmas? Not all components of my daycare series are going to be cute fluff and whatnot. So far, we have Pitch's past, but what about the others? If you want to read more about these ideas stay tuned for March... of the Leprechauns.