Elsa woke up. All the memories from yesterday night flooded back into her head. She was hoping it was all a dream.

"Good, you're finally awake." Anna, Elsa's sixteen-year-old sister said. They've been living alone together since their mother died, less than a year ago. It was about the time Elsa just turned seventeen. The Arens family personally knew the mayor of Burgess so she pulled some strings and now she and Anna live alone in their own apartment.

"Today is the first day of college, you don't want to be late," Anna said stuffing Elsa's face with cereal.

"Thanks, Anna but I think I'm okay." Elsa laughed. She took the bowl of cereal Anna was feeding her. Her classes start at 11:00 a.m. so she was fine, considering it was only 7:15 a.m.

"Have you ever seen something that no one else could?" Elsa asked changing the conversation. She was still thinking about last night. Jack's concealed laugh made her angry. It's not funny that she's crazy for seeing things.

"Yeah! I know what you mean. Like one time Mama Odie's window was down and you know, she's blind. What was seen that day cannot be unseen." Anna said. She covered her face with her hands, clearly trying to cover the images that flooded her mind but Elsa could tell that didn't work.

"No, like- like ghosts? Have you ever seen a ghost?" Elsa stuttered. She obviously sounded crazy, even to her own ears.

"No, I've never seen a ghost." Anna said changing her tone of voice. Which was strange, Elsa thought. She normally would have joked about the situation.

"Elsa, come home right after your classes end," Anna said in a pleading way.

"Why? What's going on?" Elsa could tell her sister wasn't saying everything.

"No, I'll explain to you when you get home. Okay, I'll see you later." Anna shouted as she rushed out of the apartment. Her right hand slinging her backpack over her shoulder as she left.

Elsa was left alone for the rest of the morning.

Sitting in class, Elsa couldn't stop thinking about the events of last night. Great, first day of classes and I can't even focus. She miserably thought to herself.

Her attention shifted from the chalkboard to the black blur that swung passed the door. Just in the back left of the professor. She was debating whether or not to go down and see what it was. Maybe if she checked and it was nothing she could convince herself she was fine.

She got up from her chair in the middle of the auditorium. "Excuse me." She said a few times before she finally got to the stairs. She noted to herself to never sit in the middle of the auditorium ever again.

"Ms. Arens, is there anything you would like to tell the class since you so kindly decided to get up and interrupt?" Professor Ymza said.

"Can I use the washroom?" Elsa said so low she was surprised Professor Yzma replied with, "Very well."

Elsa quickly rushed out of the room to find Jack. He was leaning against a wall outside the door. His arms were crossed and he was in his usual black attire. His golden weapons were out, strapped to his belt but this time they weren't glowing. He was carelessly playing with the throwing knife that was in his hand. He looked like a serial killer, Elsa thought.

"Why can I see you and no one else can't?" Elsa said. She was seriously scared now. Was he following her?

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." He said.

He had this look on his comfortable brown eyes that she couldn't read, eyeing her from toe to head as he turned to her. It made her feel extremely uncomfortable and almost naked. She wanted to cover herself up more. Who did he think he was, Elsa thought.

"I want you to see the Rock Trolls," he said. "They'll know what it is."

"The rock who?" she replied, trying to make her voice sound more annoyed than it was, "I'm not going anywhere with you, you're a murderer."

He smiled. "Being a murderer consists of killing a human. Does it not?" She hadn't noticed before in the dark room of the Janitor's closet, but Jack was extremely attractive. His messy brown hair flew all over his face. He continued looking at her with his chocolate brown eyes while she stayed silent. She had no idea what he was talking about.

"Well, he wasn't a human. It was a Nightmare." he said almost bitterly.

Elsa wanted to slap the smirk right off his face. It wasn't a smile like he was crazy but a smile like I know more than you do.

She felt her phone vibrate. She checked the message from Anna. Don't come home. But Anna told her to come home after school. Elsa felt it in her bones, something was clearly wrong.

Why? she typed back.

"Is everything okay?" Jack was still there, she almost forgot about him entirely.

"My sister-" she took her phone out and called but it went straight to voicemail. She dialed the number a few more times but with no luck she took off in a sprint.

"What the hell?" She heard Jack say before she left.

She sprinted down the street, running so fast she turned a ten-minute walk into a two-minute run. When she finally arrived home, she was panting. She sprinted up the stairs and ran to the door.

The door was wide open which worried Elsa. She walked into the apartment. Everything was wrecked. Papers fluttered all over the floor. There were claw marks on the couch cushions with stuffing pieces everywhere. All the picture frames that used to be above the T.V were now scattered all over the floor. Bits and pieces of glass everywhere. The room was bright because the curtains were pulled from the window. It looked like someone was putting up a fight in the room.

"Anna!" Elsa half shouted. She didn't want to scare the neighbors even though she was frightened herself. She ran into their shared bedroom. It was strangely untouched. When she went back to the living room someone was picking up a picture frame.

"Oh my god. Gothel, thank god it's you." Elsa said. Relief filled her entire body, Gothel was their neighbor. Anna and Elsa went to her if they ever needed anything. "I just came home and the house was like this. I think Anna was attacked." Tears threatened to spill down Elsa's eyes.

"Oh dear. That's not good." Gothel said. She sounded different than usual, almost out of the conversation. Gothel stepped up to Elsa and gave her a hug.

"We need to call the police. We need to tell someone." Elsa exasperated. She pushed Gothel off of her and took her cellphone out. She began dialing when she heard Gothel make a noise. It almost sounded like a gurgling noise. When she looked up Gothel's eyes were different. The whole eye was black, along with the whites. Elsa took a step back, glass cutting into the soles of her shoes. She was frightened.

Claws began growing out of Gothel's fingertips and she grew two feet taller than she already was. Her back started to arch in an arched shape and her hair began falling out to reveal pointed ears and a bald head. Her teeth turned black and each and every tooth started changing into a sharp point. Elsa tried to scream but Gothel (or what was once Gothel) attacked her.

Elsa was underneath Gothel's heavy body, trying to push her off. Gothel leaned in, clearly about to bite Elsa but before she could, Elsa grabbed a picture frame that was behind her head and put it between Gothel's jaw.

Gothel got up off Elsa and was clawing at it. Elsa was getting ready to run but Gothel slashed her claws right into Elsa's left shoulder leaving a bloody gash through her shirt.

Luckily, her body felt numb, probably from the adrenaline, Elsa thought, so the scratch didn't hurt. She was about to run out the door but she felt like she was going to faint. Her vision blurred completely until all she was seeing was blobs and light.

She saw a glowing object then a black blob. Someone caught her before she fell.

She blanked in and out of the moment but before fell away completely, she heard, "-not even a thank you, I just saved your life."

"What are we going to do with her?" Elsa heard someone say. It sounded like a girl who was panicking.

"Mom is going to kill us. Jack, why did you have to bring her here?"

"She has nightmare poison in her blood. If I left her she would have died. Hiccup I'm sure your parents would understand."

Elsa was hearing all these voices speak at once but she was still in a sleep-like state with her eyes closed. She felt like she was rested on a bed but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't wake up. She felt excruciating pain on her left shoulder right before she fell asleep again.

"She has to be a Guardian Jack, only Guardians can see other Guardians when they're hidden from sight." A girl said.

"It's impossible. She has no family history of being a Guardian. The way she reacted when she saw us, was as if she's never seen any part of our world before."

"Well, maybe, you know, she was made a Guardian."

"No Punz. You don't just become a Guardian, you're born into it by blood. You know this."

"Well the Man in the Moon-"

"Does not exist. Have you ever seen him before? No. No one has in the entire existence of Guardians because he does not exist. He's just a children's story they tell the younger Guardians to make sure they behave."

"Why are you so sur-"

"Ey! Lads! The girl's wakin' up."

Elsa opened her eyes. She was inside a large room that had multiple beds laid out in a line against the wall. Each bed was untouched with clean white sheets on it. Medical tools were next to each bed.

"Where am I?" The words barely came out of her mouth. It was as if she just woke up from sleeping for days.

"You're in the infirmary. That was a nasty scratch you had there on your arm. Jack had to bring you here so I could heal you." Rapunzel said. She was standing up along with Jack on the edge of the bed. Merida was sitting on the seat beside the bed and Hiccup was nowhere in sight.

"Gothel, what happened to her?" Elsa said. Her head hurt when she tried to sit up so she just stayed on the bed.

"That thing you called Gothel was a nightmare. I killed her." Jack said like it was normal that he just killed Elsa's neighbor. The sound of his stern voice made her headache harsher.

Elsa didn't say anything. The only emotion she felt was shock. She still didn't know what was going on but she was scared to say anything to these crazy murderers.

Rapunzel moved to where Merida was sitting and pulled her out of the seat. "Okay, out out out, I have to check to see if she needs more healing." Rapunzel said as she pushed Jack and Merida out the large wooden door. The building had a strange Victorian feel, Elsa observed.

"But I brought her here, I should stay to make sure she's alright." Jack argued then looked Elsa directly in the eyes as if he were waiting for her response.

Elsa didn't respond. She didn't know what to say.

"Ouch, the lass don't want ye here either." Merida snorted.

Jack glared at Merida before giving Rapunzel a look that Elsa thought said take care of her. Then they left.

"Sorry about that, you must be scared." Rapunzel said.

"My sister, Anna-" Elsa said in realization.

"No we didn't find her, Jack went searching yesterday." Rapunzel cut her off, as she took off the bandages on Elsa's shoulder.

"Yesterday?" Elsa had a mini heart attack. "How long have I been asleep?"

Rapunzel gave Elsa a reassuring look. "Jack brought you in yesterday night, you were in awful shape. You're much better now thanks to my handy work." Rapunzel smiled like she was proud of finishing a project, after receiving a high grade.

"What happened to me? It was just a scratch." Elsa said.

"You had nightmare poison in your blood. That stuff can kill humans almost instantly. Guardians can heal from it, though if it's not that bad of a wound." Rapunzel said. She looked like she was deep in thought. "I have to do some finishing touches." Rapunzel said as she put her hands directly on Elsa's wound.

A horrible sensation made its way through Elsa's whole body. She hissed at Rapunzel, accidentally.

Rapunzel started to sing something that sounded like a chant. It was so low that Elsa couldn't hear the words. Rapunzel's hair started to glow, amazing Elsa. By the time she was finished singing, Elsa's wound was almost gone.

"How did you do that? Who are you people?" Elsa said. She shifted away from Rapunzel, as far as she could on the small bed, fear filling her veins.

"Guardians, we're Guardians. The world is more than just what you were raised to believe. There are fairies, mermaids, witches, Guardians, and Nightmares. We live in your world but you can't see us. Well, humans can't see us, we don't know what you are."

"How did you become a Guardian? Can all of them do that glowing magic you did with your hair?" Elsa asked. She was beginning to get curious. She felt a deep feeling of betrayal at the world, her whole life was a lie, the world around her was not real.

"No, every Guardian is different. It's not magic, it's a gift." Rapunzel said to Elsa as if this was basic knowledge everyone should know. "Like Merida, she can hit the bullseye on every target, every time, no matter what obstacle. And my brother, Hiccup, he can talk to animals. Jack can fly. And I can heal."

Elsa stared at Rapunzel. "I still don't understand, why can't humans see you?" She said. She was beginning to get frustrated. This was like learning a whole new language.

"Okay let me tell you a story, maybe that'll help you understand better." Rapunzel said to Elsa as if she were a child.

"Legends of our people say that many centuries ago, all of mankind were slaves to the Nightmares. They would feed on us whenever they pleased and kill us for sport. Then, the Man in the Moon decided that he was going to put an end to this. So he picked certain human families, many different families all over the world and gifted them with the powers protect humans against the Nightmares. Those families would live on and pass down their Guardian blood through each generation. The Guardians were stronger, faster, more enhanced human beings. They had the ability to hide or glamor themselves from other humans to protect them. And each of them has a special gift." Rapunzel said. Her eyes had a spark of excitement in them.

"All of that is true except the Man in the Moon part. No one has ever seen him before. All the Guardians think that it's a made up part of the story to tell the young Guardians." Rapunzel said to Elsa.

Elsa's mouth was wide open. She's never heard anything like this before in her entire life.

"Okay, now that we're done here and you're all healed up, let me show you around." Rapunzel got up from the chair looking excited. She took Elsa's arm and pulled her out of the bed dragging her out of the room.

They were walking through a Victorian styled hallway, no real lights on the walls but instead the hallway was lit with a path of torches. The whole building was huge, Elsa thought, she would obviously get lost if it weren't for Rapunzel leading her.

"Where are we?" Elsa asked. She was amazed. This place looked like the inside of a castle.

"Oh, we're in the east wing, that's where the infirmary, kitchen, and library are. We're going to the practice room now." Rapunzel said. She was walking so quickly that Elsa had to jog to keep up.

"No, like where are we? Like this building." Elsa said. She was beginning to question Rapunzel's general knowledge.

"We're in the institute. You know that abandoned school building on Hawthorne Street?" Rapunzel asked.

"You mean that dump? This can't be the same building." Elsa said shocked. She almost thought Rapunzel was lying. "Nobody has gone in it for years."

"It looks like a dump on the outside but only to humans, it helps keep them out. It's a glamor." Rapunzel said.

Rapunzel stopped walking in front of a room with large double doors. The doors looked like they could fit a car through them.

"Okay this is the first practice room, there's like ten other practice rooms but we don't bother with them because we like this one."

They entered a room that was about the size of Elsa's old high school gym. It was huge. One wall had a bunch of rocks which Elsa assumed was for rock climbing. While another wall had all sorts of targets. There was a shelf in the left corner with so many kinds of weapons, Elsa couldn't recognize more than half of them. There were ropes and ladders hanging from the ceiling and monkey bars with a huge net under it.

Merida was on the other side of the gym practicing her target shooting. Rapunzel was right, Elsa thought. Merida never missed a single target even when the distance was almost fifty meters.

"Merida! Come with us, I'm showing Elsa around the institute." Elsa looked at Rapunzel. Not once did Elsa mention what her name was.

"How did you know my name?" Elsa asked.

"Well that day we saw you at the Ballroom, Jack did some digging up on you. We needed to find out who you were and why you could see us. That's why he went back for you." Rapunzel said.

Merida approached them putting her bow on her back. "Elsa, we haven't officially met. The name's Merida, but you can call me Mer." Merida reached her hand forward.

Elsa took it. "Thanks, but I have to go now." Elsa took a step back turning to Rapunzel, "Thank you for all your help with healing me but I need to talk to the police about my sister."

"You're not going to find your sister if you ask the police for their help." Elsa turned her head to the door of the practice room. Hiccup was standing there leaning against it. "A Nightmare took your sister. When Jack and I went back to your house we found traces of Nightmares all over. You're really not going to find your sister if you go to the police. Your best chance is with us." He didn't sound pleased about the situation but Elsa was grateful for his honesty.

Merida was the first to speak, "Hiccs how are we supposed to find Elsa's sister, we don't know anything about her or why they took her or if she's even dea-" Merida cut herself short when she saw Elsa's face.

"Dead. She's not dead. I know she's not. Jack mentioned the Trolls or something. Can we go to them?" Elsa said.

"HE WHAT?" Hiccup shouted. "No way in hell are we going to the Rock Trolls."

"Same, they're so scary." Rapunzel shivered. "They freak me out."

"I'll take her, it's the best chance she's got, but only if she's okay with it." Jack walked into the practice room. Elsa noticed that these people come out of nowhere. She still felt better seeing him since he was the one who brought her here.

"Yes, I'll go. Anything for Anna." Elsa said bravely, although she had no idea what she was getting herself into. "Wait, what exactly do the Rock Trolls do?" Elsa asked.

"They go deep within your mind and uncover the very thoughts you never knew you possessed." Rapunzel said. Everyone except Jack shivered to that.

"We'll go tonight then." Jack said. His snow white teeth showed from the smirk on his face. "It's a mission."

"Oh no. No more missions until our parents get back. We are probably all grounded for the rest of our lives because you brought a human here." Hiccup gestured Elsa. "They will not be pleased if they find out you caused her death too." What he said was not reassuring Elsa at all.

"Not if they knew the reason we were doing all this." Jack continued to smirk. "Your parents would understand. Plus it's our responsibility to take care of any and all Guardians if they come our way."

"You don't even know if she is a Guardian." Hiccup was turning red. "Fine, you take her. But I will have no part in this." And at that, Hiccup left the room.

Jack turned to Elsa, "Rapunzel will take you to her room to give you new clothes. You can't go in that." Elsa was still wearing the ripped shirt from yesterday.

"Meet me at the main stairs in half an hour."

Elsa was sitting on Rapunzel's king sized bed. Rapunzel was throwing clothes from her closet all over the floor.

"Rapunzel you really don't have to do that. I'm fine with what I'm wearing now." Elsa said shyly.

Rapunzel stopped what she was doing and gave Elsa a look like she just said the craziest thing ever. "Are you serious? In those rags? No, I'm giving you something to wear whether you like it or not."

"Oh here, this is perfect." Rapunzel threw a black tank top and a blue skirt on the bed. "Change into them, I promise I won't look." Rapunzel said. Elsa was beginning to like Rapunzel's mature childlike behavior. It reminded her of Anna.

As Elsa was changing into her clothes, she thought about Jack. Were Rapunzel and Jack a thing? Frustration filled her body. It doesn't matter if they were a thing, she thought, Anna is the only one who matter's right now.

"So, is it just you four who live here?" Elsa asked. She might as well use the time she had with Rapunzel to get to know more about them.

"Nope, Merida's parents and her three younger brothers live here. Same with my parents, who are also Hiccup's parents, but you already knew that. They're all out of town right now on official Guardian business." Rapunzel said.

"What about Jack's family?" Elsa asked.

But instead of a reply from Rapunzel, there were a few moments of painfully awkward silence between the girls.

"They're dead. They died when he was ten after a Nightmare attack. Our dads were best friends so we adopted him. He's a part of our family."

Elsa didn't know what to say.

"My father died when I was too young to remember him and my mom died last year." Elsa shared.

Rapunzel looked sad. "I'm so sorry."

Elsa never understood why people said sorry over things that weren't their fault but she still replied, "Thanks."

After a few moments of silence, Rapunzel hopped out of her bed. "Okay, are you ready to go see the Rock Trolls?"

"Yes."

No.