Chapter One

(Sophie)

I heaved a great sigh as I dropped my bag on the floor and flopped back on my well-worn couch. As rewarding as my job as the fourth grade teacher was, it was also extremely exhausting.

Still, three years ago I could barely even have hoped my life would be this perfect. Which was ironic in a way. My boyfriend was the Guardian of Hope, after all.

The thought still sent butterflies tickling my stomach after all this time. Not only did Bunnymund love me, but we were somehow making our relationship work. Between his job as the Easter Bunny and mine as a teacher, never mind him being, well, him, and me being me. Then add the fact we were trying to keep everyone else in the dark, and well, things could have went south pretty easily.

But our relative distance and sometimes long intervals between seeing one another only seemed to make the time we did spend together more special, and more than a bit thrilling.

It wasn't for the fact we were ashamed of our feelings that we hadn't told anyone. Far from it, in fact. The reason we were keeping it a secret from my brothers and the other Guardians was because we worried about their reaction, but in different ways.

To our knowledge, nothing like this had ever happened before. Children knew of the Guardians and legends, of course. After all, that was the source of their power and even their existence. But they never knew the people and creatures themselves. And likewise, none of them really knew any child in particular.

At least, not until Jamie became Jack's first believer.

We knew a lot of them were still on the fence of children, who were now adults, being so familiar with the fable world. What would their reaction be finding out what had developed between us.

Of course, our discretion made thing rather awkward when Jack and Jamie tried to get us to confess to one another. Awkward and more than a little hilarious when they were dropping broad hints and we tried to play clueless. More than once I had to storm out of the room, pretending to be mad or embarrassed when in reality I just needed to hide until I could control my laughter. And I knew Bunny did the same when he abruptly made an exit into one of his tunnels.

I opened my eyes and looked out my apartment window into the dark sky. Winter was fast approaching, the sun had set despite it barely being seven. My co-workers complained bitterly of the approaching season, none of them looking forward to the magnificent winters Burgess had every year, I was more like our students and grew more excited as the last of the leaves fell. Understandably, winter competed with spring as my favorite season I loved snowdays, building snowmen with my nephew and niece, snow ball fights with both of my brothers, and just watching big fluffy white flakes fall slowly while being huddled indoors with a hot cup of cocoa. It was so much fun going ice skating on Jack's lake, and watching the beautiful patterns form on the windows and trees.

Sure, ice made it tricky to drive, but for me, everything else winter brought made up for its few downsides.

Plus, the stars always seemed brighter in the winter. From my spot on my couch, I had a perfect view of the night sky through my windows. There was one star that always attracted my eye. It was one of the brighter stars, it's light a very pale shade of blue. Silly as it was, I had claimed it in my mind as my wishing star. Whenever life got hard, or when I was anxious, or even when I was excited, I made a wish on it. After all, Jack Frost was my brother, who knew if the stories about wishing on a star could be true?

I leaned forward, my eyes closing as I whispered the old nursery rhyme: "Star light, star bright, the first star I see tonight; I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight." I wanted this happiness to last. Everything was so good right now, I never wanted it to end.

I opened my eyes, and frowned when the bright star was no longer there. What had been the brightest star in the sky since I moved into the apartment over five years ago was just...gone.

"Do not fret, child. Not many wish upon me anymore, my presence won't be missed."

I jumped and spun around, only to see a tiny, dark-skinned woman floating behind me, traditional blue fairy wings beating softly to keep her aloft, her ball-gown like dress the same color as her wings. Her hair was the same color of the moon, and was pulled into an elaborate braid that fell around bare shoulders. She smiled softly at me. "Hello Sophie. I've been eagerly waiting for the day I could finally meet you."

"Um, thank you?" I started out, my mind still trying to process the surprised. Here I thought I had met all of the legends from Chronos to Jack Skellington. Who was she, and why was she here? "I'm sorry, but I don't think we've met…" I paused for a moment, my tired brain finally making the connections. My hands jumped to my mouth in surprise. "You're- you're the wishing star!"

"Wishanna Star," she acknowledged with a slight nod. " I am not surprised you have not heard of me. A few hundred years ago I had hundreds of thousands of children whispering their wishes to me every night. Now only a few dozen. But you…" she whizzed about me, as if appraising me for something. "Even though you didn't believe in me, you believed in the power of wishing, of having hope even when things were grim." Wishanna paused in front of me, her eyes turning out to be a bluish purple like the twilight sky. "I have listened to wishes you made in your heart everyday, fueled by that rare eternal belief you share with your family. I have wanted to meet you for a long time, to tell you thank you for returning my diminishing power to me."

I felt my cheeks warm at the praise, and smiled in slight embarrassment, "Oh, well, you're...welcome? But, why haven't I heard of you before?"

Wishanna's expression became slightly sad as she buzzed past me and looked through my window, this time at the full moon that was just starting to rise above the skyline. "Unfortunately, I'm like Tsar Lunar. I tend to stay to myself, and rarely descend to earth. Even my peers barely know of me. But they know of you Sophie, even Tsar tells me stories of you. He does see all, you know." She glanced at me with a secretive smile on her face. "Even in small apartments and the Pooka's Warren."

This time my face felt hot enough to light the knew? Well, I would always talk to him, but I never really thought he was listening. He had the whole world of children to look out after, why pay attention to me? Especially now that I was grown.

Wishanna chuckled slightly behind a small hand."Relax, my dear. The love spun between you is something rare and beautiful. Cupid himself will curse the fact he neglected to nurture the bond between you and Bunnymund."

"Cupid knew?" I asked cautiously. I knew the Legend was both the cause of most childhood crushes and the rare lifetime love that grew from it. But I never given any thought he had known the affection I had tried to hide most of my life.

Wishanna nodded her head, "As I said, the love between you is rare and beautiful. Many could see your bond, but could not believe it could be anything more than platonic. He knows the heart as no one else can, and could see the truth. However, he was worried, as you are, about everyone else's reaction. So instead of tending to the budding seedling, he left it alone and attempted to wish it would wither. But wishes don't work like that. One, Manny and myself had high hopes for the pair of you, and two, wishing can't do any harm." Her lips quirked, her eyes taking an almost sad look. "You'd do well to remember that."

"Okay…?" I frowned, slightly confused. There was no way I could remember all of my wishes I had made through the years, but I was certain I never wanted anyone harmed.

My confusion only deepened when she twirled her hand and with a flash of light a small pendant hovered in the space between us. It was a soft blue crystal in the shape of a multi point star, slightly smaller than the palm of my hand. A very fine golden chain hung from it with a elaborate clasp securing it.

"For you, my dear," she offered, letting it fall into my open hand. Her head tilted as she looked expectantly at me. "Do you know what this is?"

The crystal was warm in my hands, a soft glow coming from it's center. For some reason the color and clarity of the crystal was familiar, but I couldn't place where from. It certainly wasn't like any of the gemstone I had seen before."No, I don't," I admitted, looking up at the fairy.

"You might have heard it called as a moonshard," the name did seem familiar, but nothing more. "Every Guardian and Legend has one," she continued, "and what they are is the belief in them. You see, when a child believes, a special magic is created. This magic is drawn to the Legend, and over time it coalesces and forms a crystal. But, this moonshard is special. This isn't belief from thousands of children."

I frowned, "It isn't?"

She shook her head slightly, her dusk-colored eyes focusing on the pendant."No, this is the belief, hope, and wishes of one child, gathered her entire life. This is the belief her family and friends have in her, the hope and love a certain Guardian holds for her." She touched the pendant with her hands, and something resonated as if someone had touched my heart. Realization struck me as her eyes met mine. Surely...surely I was misunderstanding her. This couldn't be what I thought it was!

Her words proved me wrong. "Tsar and I have been collecting it since your first visit to the Warren. Tsar could tell even then that there was something special about it. About you. And he was right, it has been little over twenty years since that day, and I have never seen a crystal grow so fast. Even Jack Frost's moonshard is little bigger after twenty years of being a Guardian, and almost three hundred years of being a Legend."

"But I-I'm no one," I protested weakly, focusing on the crystal. Why would people believe in me? Hope in me?

Wishanna flew up close to my face, her eyes narrowed. "You are far more than you realize, Sophie. The moment your brother started believing in Frost, your family became very important. The two of you have revitalized the belief of the whole planet; not only of the children in us, but us in the children. We had gotten so used to our duty we forgot why we became us. Despite the taboo Frost and Bunnymund broke bringing you into our world, seeing you and interacting with the children who believe in us has renewed us."

Her words shook me. I had never thought myself as important, a little different and unique, yes. But important? Special? Hardly! However, before I could reply, the lights of the lamps flickered off, leaving the apartment is darkness except the soft glow from Wishanna and the crystal in my hand. "Such a touching scene," a silk-like voice echoed out the darkness, bringing with it memories of some of the darkest moments of my life. "You always were one for dramatics and long speeches, Wishanna."

"Pitchiner," Wishanna accused, pulling a small fairy wand from somewhere. Her expression transformed into one seen many times on the Guardians' face when faced with the Nightmare King. "There is no fear here for you to feed upon. Leave us."

"How can you know?" Pitch scoffed, still hiding in the shadows that twisted around us. "You can only embolden hope and strengthen courage in those who wish it." The shadows grouped together and moved alongside the wall, almost like a ghost lurking in the corners of a haunted home. The thought made an unconscious shiver of fear trace along my spine. "There is fear here. For all her belief, fear and doubt still exists in sweet Sophie's heart. And in yours as well, Wishanna." Pitch cuckled slightly before carrying on in an amused tone. "Why else would you be here, trying to rally the troops, as it were, if you didn't fear the encroaching darkness?"

"The Ancients beat it before, we can do it again," she stated boldly, their words confusing me. I unconsciously gripped the moonshard tighter, trying to beat back the fear that was in my heart. I tried to remember what the others had told me, never be afraid of Pitch. Because it's when you fear him that he had power. But having the Nightmare King in my apartment was far different than seeing him fleetingly in the darker moments of my life. The rare time I had ever seen him truley, I had always been under the guard of the Guardians. My belief in them always overpowered any fear Pitch caused. I wished they were here.

Pitch stepped out of the shadows, his skin nearly pale as the moon, but darkened as to not reflect any light. He towered over the both of us, his silver-gold eyes holding a sinister light to them. "They were the Ancients. Spread across the universe with magic and numbers far more than this one tiny little planet. We destroyed the Golden Age despite your best attempts, what makes you think you can stop us now?"