Merida

"Gah, Angus! What're yah doing now?" I yank on the reins fierce as I can, but the horse charges ahead like a raft in the white waters all the same. "Angus!" The horse ignores me again, running farther and farther into the woods, away from the trail of the beast that I have been hunting for weeks. "Yah daffy horse! Turn around!"

Suddenly, ahead of me, I can see a glowing, blue orb that floats just above the ground. A will-o'-the-wisp is leading Angus on this strange path, and just as we get close, the wisp disappears, only to reappear a few feet away. Then Angus bucks like a bull and throws me to the ground, and my blasted, unruly hair tangles in a bush. I spit curses and struggle to untangle my hair as a low chuckle sounds behind me. Just as I jerk the last locks of hair from the bush, I draw my blade and turn to face my foe with a fierce battle cry. The blade meets wood with a sharp clank.

"Whoa, whoa, Princess! Calm down!" The bizarre creature pushes his boomerang forward a bit more, trying to put more distance between himself and Merida's sword. "I'm a friend."

My sneer melts a bit. "You're… you're a rabbit." I lower the blade a little, but not enough to make the beast feel comfortable. He might be the very thing that I'm after.

"Yes, I'm Bunny, the Easter Bunny, Guardian of Hope. I have been sent by Santa Claus, Guardian of Wonder, to retrieve you for a very important mission." Bunny rolls his eyes. Bet that sounded better in his head.

I cock an eyebrow. "You're a rabbit on a mission from Santa?" My blade meets this beast's hairy chin. "How about that?"

"Yes, I'm a rabbit!" He throws his arms in the air, frustration pulsing through him like boiling water. I should be painting eggs now, not horsing around with some mangy haired princess who takes way too much delight in gallivanting through the forest. "Look, you need to come with me. Now." He taps his foot on the ground twice, and to my surprise, a hole appears.

"Wait, where do you think we are going? I have to get back to my family!" I begin to back away, keeping my blade up. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Are you daft?"

Bunny grunts and grabs the shoulder of my dress. "Oh no you don't, Princess. You're coming with me." He tosses me into the whole and jumps in after.

Hiccup

The world around me spins and the clouds blend in a fluffy, white blur. I pull up, angling my "foot" to shift out of the downward spiral just as Toothless is about to crash into the water. We just barely graze the white foam as Toothless blasts forward and up again. I throw my arms into the air above me. "Alright, boy! That was great!" Toothless shakes his head and warbles. He's seemed skittish all day. I run a hand over his scaly head. "It's alright, boy. We'll head home now if you want. No more searching today. I know you must be tired."

Berk has been a jumpy place ever since the attack by Drago Bludvist, we've all been on edge about the mysterious dragon that keeps burning down buildings. I'm not sure whether it's a dragon or not. Missing animals and burnt houses don't lie, but nobody has seen the dragon responsible. I still can't believe that any of our dragons would do something like that. So in order to solve the mystery, Toothless and I have been in search of a rogue dragon, leaving my mom and Astrid in charge of the village while I'm gone.

As we're flying home, Toothless slows and jerks his head in either direction. "Bud, what's up? Is it another dragon?" Toothless lets out a low growl and tilts his head for a sharp left turn, and I deliver, trusting his instincts.

Suddenly, from out of a cloud, a colorful and very oddly shaped dragon flies into our path. I yank back and stop Toothless. We hover in the air as the bizarre dragon stares us down, but I begin to realize, this is no dragon. It's a flying woman cloaked in feathers and not my mother this time. "Who… who are you?" Toothless continues a guttural growl at the creature. "Can you talk?"

Tooth smiles. "Hello, Hiccup. My name is Toothiana, and I'm the Guardian of Memories. You and your friend here have to come with me now. There is a big problem, and we think that you can help us to solve it."

I squint at this oddly named and oddly dressed woman, if one could call her that. She certainly looks nothing like the women of Berk. "How can I trust you? You just popped out of a cloud."

Tooth smiles. "Because I bet you're wondering what attacked your village, Hiccup. The Guardians can help you find the dragon and make sure it never attacks again. Please, come with me." She holds out a hand to Hiccup.

For a moment, I consider going with her, but I slowly come to realize that I never told her my name. "Wait, wait, wait. How do you know my name? How do you know about my village?" I groan. Great this fairy, goddess thing is what attacked Berk. We got beat up by an overgrown pixie. Oh Mom will love this. "Why are you here exactly?"

Tooth's face grows very serious. "I'm here to bring you to the North Pole, and you will come."

"Frankly, I don't like the way that sounds." Then to Toothless, "Alright, boy. Let's get out of here. I think we've heard enough of this." Toothless is about to fly away when dozens of little creatures, miniatures of Toothiana, swarm us, dragging me and Toothless towards the bird lady. "No! Oh no please! If I get tossed out of the sky by a bunch of fairies then my Mom will disown me!"

Tooth chuckles and pulls one of North's snow globes from her bag. "We're going to the North Pole! I thought a little boy like you would be thrilled!" Tooth thinks she hears some return comment about being twenty, but twenty is nothing when you're hundreds of years old.

Rapunzel

"How did you find me?" Something in my stomach lurches. I've said that before, and it lead me on the most wonderful journey. But where am I now? Right back where I started, that's where.

The little intruder stares down the frying pan and shakes his head. He certainly doesn't look like an assassin, but looks can be deceiving. He backs away, hands held high. A crescent moon appears above his head, and he points to my star charts on the ceiling.

"You're from the stars?" I lower the frying pan a little as my arm starts to ache from holding it up. I'm not used to wielding a weapon anymore, even a pan. "Can't you speak?"

The adorable little man shakes his head but points to papers and pencils splayed across my desk. I nod, giving him permission. He scribbles down a few sentences and then folds the paper into an airplane. With a gentle toss, the plane flies across the room and lands at the princess's feet. I gingerly unfold the paper and read it.

My name is Sand Man.

I am the Guardian of Dreams.

The Man in the Moon, who gave you your hair the second time, sent me to find you.

The Guardians need your help.

I look up as a jolt of memory sends my heart beating faster the Maximus can run. "The Guardians? My parents told me stories..." I grab an old satchel from a chair beside my desk. "What do I need to bring?"

Sandy starts to form objects above his head, and I scurry around to find them all. Finally when both of us are satisfied with the contents of the satchel, Sand Man begins to form a golden airplane from his sand, I hope the princess isn't afraid of heights. What a bother that would be. But anyone who lives this high up must not mind the altitude. I don my cloak and am about to hop in when I remember something. Sand Man turns to see if I'm ready, but something in my countenance must stop him before my words can.

"Wait, can I leave a message for my parents? They send a servant with supplies every week. He'll be here sometime tomorrow. They'll worry if they don't hear from me." I twiddle my fingers through my thick hair, something I'm glad to have back if just to be able to keep my hands busy with something since I don't paint much anymore.

Sand Man bites his lip but, to my relief, nods. After all, it only makes sense. He is already asking so much of her. I quickly create an explanation for my absence, seal it with my signet ring in the shape of the flower that originally gave me my power, and set it beside the entrance. Then with a blast of sand, the windows open and we soar off into the falling sunset.

Jack

"Mommy, who makes the snow?"

My heart flutters like a startled hummingbird in a cage. Could this child be one? A new light that can see me? I watch as this woman holds a piece of my fate on her lips. Will she say, "Jack Frost"? or will she write me off as everyone else does?

"Jack Frost makes the snow, honey. He visits every morning when it's cold and leaves frost on the grass, and on special occasions, he brings snow."

A cry escapes my lips and I leap for joy, bounding off the window and flying around the giant pine nearby a few times before I have the restraint to counter the mounting joy that is building inside my chest. I manage to settle down onto the window again and listen to the child's reply. "Can I write Jack Frost a letter, like for Santa?" The young girl points to her Christmas list that her mother holds.

The mother smiles tenderly and a twinge of pain shoots into my heart. I used to have a mother like that. "What for?"

"To ask for more snow!" The child looks longingly at the window and a surprised look comes over her face like a shimmering veil. "Oh, Mommy!"

I put a finger over my lips as the mom turns to see what her excited daughter is pointing at. Of course, the mother looks right through me, a sensation that I will never quite grow used to, but the toddler mimics Jack's movement and nods. After her mother leaves, the little girl insists that I stay a while and talk to her. "You can fly?" Her eyes grow even wider.

"Yeah, kid, I fly everywhere! Don't you?" I give the little girl a wink.

She giggles and covers her mouth with her tiny, white hands. "No, but I do other things that you can do." I squint at her with my usual cocky smile. The little girl recognizes the disbelief. "It's true! I can make snowballs and snowmen and snow angels just like you!"

I slide little Elsa back under the covers, shaking my head all the time. "That's pretty amazing, Princess, but you need to rest. And if you do, I promise to bring you plenty of snow tomorrow, ok?"

Elsa nods. "And I'll show you what I can do." She grins and lays her head down on the pillow. "You'll love it."

My fingers stroke the little girl's hair as she falls ever-so-softly asleep. "I'm sure I will, kid." With that, I slip out the window and into the well-lit night. The Man in the Moon is shining brightly down on me. "I know that look. What do you want?" I lean my weight against the staff in my hand and peer up at the silver orb.

"Jack." I nearly jump out of my skin, but North catches me before I tumble off of the roof. "Where are you going?" North chuckles and slaps me on the back. Pain shoots through my shoulder, still injured from a practice fight with one of the yeti's. "How's that shoulder of yours?"

"Hey, North," I mumble, rubbing the shoulder in question. "I'm guessing," I glace up at the moon, "he sent you to find me. What's up now? Bunny mad cuz I snowed on his parade? Tooth needs some help with her pond freezing over again? It's Bunny, isn't it?" A moan mixed with laughter rises out of my chest. "I couldn't resist!"

North's face grows serious. "Jack, it's Pitch. He's back."

My stomach does a double-back flip and collides with my lungs, but now is not the time for me to throw up. I haven't told the other Guardians about the reoccurring nightmares about the imminent return of Pitch Black for fear that they would think I can't handle fighting off Pitch again, but after all of the drama of the fight from 5 years ago, how could anyone be up for another go at Pitch? Before I can stop it, a shudder racks my body as if I've suddenly been tossed into an icy lake, and North doesn't let it go without a comment. "I've already sent Babytooth to warn Jamie and his friends. They'll be fine; you know that. You won't have to worry about them."

I feel quite selfish. For a moment, I didn't even think of Jamie and the others, my fan group that work endlessly to spread the word about me, but now that I realize what this comment truly means, my head spins. But I trust North and the Guardians. They'll take care of the kids, not that they need it. "Thanks, North. I appreciate it." I shove the hand that doesn't hold the staff through my hair and then into my pocket to hide how badly it shakes. "Where are we going?"

"The Pole. Your new team will be waiting." North bursts into laughter at the sight of my shocked expression. "What? Do you think that you'll do this solo? Not a chance!" North shakes a snow globe and mutters, "North Pole."

I turn to walk away. "No way, North. I'm not working with some newbies. Call me when you decide to let me work with the professionals."

But North grabs my hood and tosses me into the portal. "Of course you are coming! Everyone is waiting!"