Jack Frost, the Guardian of Winter, was gliding through the air with a broad grin tugging at his lips, enjoying the feel of the cold winter wind snapping against his face and ruffling his hair. Strings of laughter escaped him as he flew in circle in the sky, soaring in the thin like an arrow. Winter had only just begun, and oh, he loved the feel of it already. It wasn't freezing, but the cold was enough to give people a nip as a sign of the season's arrival. The air was crisp and brought a wonderful wintery scent to his nose. Snow had coated the ground with a thin layer of pure white, clinging onto branches and leaves. It wasn't very thick, but it was enough to have a fun snowball fight with your friends, and that was exactly what the mischievous and playful guardian had just done.
Five years had passed since the defeat of Pitch Black; everything had been going peacefully for the guardians since then. No boogeyman to mess up with children's dreams, darken the sky or ruin the happiness of this world – everything seemed perfect. And Jack loved it. He loved his new job, too. Sure, protecting the children wasn't the easiest thing to do, and he could get pretty busy when winter came, but being the bringer of winter, to him, was the greatest pleasure of his life, for it had long become his nature, a part of him that could never be replaced. Besides, it was fun, and even when winter had ended, he wouldn't be alone anymore. He had friends now – friends who loved and believed in him, and would never leave his side, no matter what.
He had just visited Jamie and his friends. The boy had grown so much for the past five years, but the playfulness had not yet left him. They had become great friends since then, and they still were. Every now and then, Jack would come and pay him and the others a little visit, to play a small game in the snow and have some childhood fun, or simply just for a talk and some bonding time. Jack was playful, yes – it was his nature – but, having lived in this world for three hundred years, he could be considered wise and reliable, and the children often sought advice in him whenever they felt lost. And of course, being a guardian of children, and after all, his duty was to look after them, he always offered his help.
This time was one of the times like that – no, it had been way harder than other times, something even the winter guardian himself had never experienced in his immortal life. Jack had made his way to Burgess, expecting to see a Jamie looking at him with happy, beckoning brown eyes and a childish grin, but instead he found a crestfallen and frustrated fifteen-year-old sitting at the window with hunched shoulders. When Jack asked the boy what had happened, it turned out that the girl he liked at school had turned him down, rather harshly actually, when he confessed his feelings to her. And poor Jack had to find a way to wipe that lovelorn Jamie Bennette away and bring happy, playful Jamie back. It took a while, with some snowballs and old friends, but it did the trick.
Jack had stayed with the children – no, the teenagers – for about another half and hour or so before departing once again. A sad thought suddenly crossed his mind that made his face crease in a frown.
The children he'd got to know for the past five years were all growing up.
His work for the day had been done, leaving Jack with nothing more to do, and he began thinking about what had came to him. True, they had grown up and become less playful and childish than five years ago, which saddened him a little, but he was also happy, happy that they had grown into wonderful teenagers, and on their way to being great young adults. But soon, like a blink of an eye, they would no longer be little children running up to him and giggling excitedly upon seeing him, but fully grown and responsible adults pursuing their dreams and ambitions or building a family of their own. The thought saddened him, but Jack reassured himself that they would become kind and good people for this world. It was natural for humans to grow... and die.
Jack shook his head, mentally scolding himself for his stupidity. It was no time to think of such things. Children couldn't be children forever; he had to let them go, let them grow up and face the wonderful world laid before them, to live the lives that were beckoning for them. Besides, it wasn't like they would stop believing in him when they'd grown. And he would never be alone. He knew that, because he would always have his friends.
Speaking of whom, Jack's thought wandered back to his group, wondering what they were up to at the mean time. He playfully rested his staff on his shoulder and tucked a hand in his pocket while still floating in midair. It had been a few months since he paid Bunny's warren a visit. It would be fun to mess up on Bunny again. He never grew tired of that.
Just before he was about to head for Australia, a strong gust of wind came swirling around him, trapping him in place. And it was freezing cold; he could feel the coldness biting into his skin and chilling him to the core. That made no sense! He was a spirit of winter, he never felt cold, and he controlled winds. Yet this time, wind was not only disobeying him, but also controlling him.
"What the- Hey!" Jack shouted in surprise as it began dragging him away. He struggled to get out, but it only made the wind strengthen its already strong grip that it almost crushed him.
"Let me go!" he grunted, trying to wiggle out of it once more, but suddenly his arms were bent and trapped to his back violently, and the wind began pulling him away by his wrists.
"Hey, where are you taking me! Wind, stop!" he commanded, but it did not listen. Instead, it sped up and dragged him away in a blinding speed. Just before the guardian opened his mouth to argue, a flash of light suddenly tore the air in front of them apart to reveal a portal, and he was immediately thrown into it.
North, the guardian of wonder and also leader of the guardians, whistled merrily to himself as he and his assistants – the yetis – worked with the presents for children all over the world. It was only the beginning of winter, but Christmas would come faster than they thought, so they'd better get started.
He walked through the halls of his workshop, inspecting the works of the yetis, nodding with satisfaction as he saw that the toys were being made correctly and the presents were being wrapped neatly, yelling at the huge, hairy beasts when they did something wrong. It was strange to see such two opposite personalities existing in one same person, but, well, North was just like that.
When he reached the globe room to have a look at the globe, which was still full of glittering golden lights, three portals suddenly appeared before him, and his fellow guardians, Tooth and Bunny, stumbled out of them and landed on the ground harshly with a loud thud, while Sandy rolled out of his portal like a ball.
"Tooth, Bunny?" the large man stared at them, eyes wide in surprise.
Sandy was the first one to manage to stand. Bunny grunted and rose from the ground, muttering a few curses under his breath while rubbing his head, then helped Tooth up, which she returned with a weak smile and a quiet thank. Obviously she was still recovering from the fall earlier. That was going to leave a nasty bruise on her arm – if she could bruise at all.
"Oy, mate," Bunny turned to North with an angry glare, "Is it really necessary to toss us into a portal without a warning? You could always send the Northern Lights to alarm us or tell the yetis to fetch us, no need to throw us into a hole in the air like a rucksack!"
Sandy, who seemed to know about what was going on, shook his head in denial and tried to tell Bunny something by conjuring up images by golden sand, but no one noticed the poor little guy.
"What are you talking about, Bunny?" North raised his eyes brows in shock, completely confused of what the Easter Bunny was rambling about. "What happened?"
Sandy was about to speak, but Tooth beat him to it.
"I think we should be the one asking the question," she flared in anger. "I have to collect teeth, you know? There are millions, billions of children out there! I don't have the luxury to sit back and enjoy for the whole year only to be busy for one day!" She suddenly paused and cleared her throat, realising that she'd lost her temper. "What Bunny and I meant was we were wondering why you sent us here so urgently and so... well, suddenly. Normally, you would just give us a signal to summon us."
Sandy slapped his forehead with his palm and sighed in defeat.
"What? No, no, I didn't summon you!" North shook his head. "What on earth are you two rambling about? I've got work to do; it's almost Christmas. Is this some kind of a joke?"
Suddenly, there was a rip in the air above them and a screaming Jack fell out of it. He was tossed to a column, hiting his head, and fell onto the ground hard on his back, his staff being throwned to the side.
"What the hell?!" the winter guardian groaned and attempted to stand up, but failed miserably. Tooth gasped. She and Sandy immediately rushed to his side to aid their friend. Jack grunted in pain and muttered thanks to them. Once he had managed to straighten himself up and retrieved his staff, Jack leaned one of his sides against the column where he'd hit and panted heavily.
"What the hell, North?" he exclaimed, obviously angry. "What is all this 'commanding the wind to betray on its own master and throwing your friend into the portal' about? Ow, my back! Damn it, Nicholas St. North, why couldn't you just give me a simple sign? I have eyes, you know!"
"What is everybody talking about?" North growled frustratedly. "Why are you all here? I didn't call any of you! Don't you have your own work to do?"
Sandy was creating images above his head again, desperate to gain his friends' attention, but his efforts were vain.
"Wait, hang on a second – what?" Bunny interrupted, waving his hand and unintentionally dissipating Sandy's images, causing the other guardian to groan in frustration. "What do you mean you didn't call for us?"
"I meant I did not call of any single one of you!" North yelled.
"So who did?" Tooth asked.
And as she had just finished her question, the temperature in the workshop suddenly dropped dramatically. Frost began to form and cover all the floors before it started crawling up the walls and columns, coating every inch of the place in a sheer layer of ice. Every single object was perfectly and completely frozen just in a matter of minutes.
"This isn't me," Jack muttered, his brows furrowing in confusion and stun.
"What is this?" North frowned. His eyes flew wide and a sharp gasp of shock escaped him as realisation dawned on him. "It cannot be."
"Oh North, is it really what I think it is?" Tooth said, as much astonished as the guardian of wonder was.
"Oh, no," Bunny's jaw dropped as he saw a blizzard forming just above the globe.
"What's going on?" Jack asked warily, gripping the wooden staff tightly in his hands as he braced himself for what might be to come. He had no idea what was happening, but he assumed that it was no good, as it was clearly written on the other guardians' faces – they were all afraid of whatever that brought this strange occurrence.
Jack saw the familiar flash of light appear at the heart of the storm. Then it died down, as fast as it came. The temperature in the room quickly crawled back to its normal state within seconds. Every speck of ice and snow in the whole workshop vanished into the air, leaving no sign of what happened, which made him extremely shock. He could control ice and snow at his will easily as breathing itself, but never before had he managed to undo his own magic.
He looked around, and eyes flew wide open as he saw the figure of someone standing – or rather floating – atop the giant globe in the center of the chamber. It was a girl, looking no older than him, perhaps even a year of two younger – in appearance, of course – with a slender and petite form. She dressed in an old-fashioned outfit, which consisted of a silver-coloured shirt with sleeves rolled up past her elbows under a storm grey vest, a pair of black breeches that travelled all the way down her long, slender legs until they were tucked carefully into her boots. A dagger was strapped to her belt at her left hip. A silver necklace hung loosely around her neck, with the pendant of a tiny snowflake resting in the crook of the crescent nestling on her chest.
Jack felt himself gaping at her. She was incomparably beautiful, and though in men's clothing, she still appeared as radiant as the glow of the full winter moon. Her alabaster skin looked as though it had been blessed by snow itself; her platinum blonde hair was as smooth as the finest silk in the world, framing her divine face and flowing down her back until her slender waist in cascading waves, and the lush colour that graced her lips could have brought all the roses on this earth to shame. But her eyes were a complete contrast to the beauty that could be compared to the sun of hers – they were blue and deep as the heart of the ocean, sparkling like the stars that reign the sky, but cold and frigid like a bitter bite of the winter wind.
A smirk cracked at the girl's lips as she looked down upon the group of guardians below her, but it never reached her eyes.
"Hello, everyone," she greeted with a voice Jack thought would be angelic if it didn't bear such bitterness and disgust. "Miss me?"
"Hello, Elsa. It's been a while," North replied while trying his best to sound polite and not snarl at the girl.
"Indeed it has," Elsa grinned. "How long has it been, three decades, or even more? I can't remember. And if I recall correctly, SantaClaus," she sneered, "you look just as awful as you were thirty years ago. You didn't loose any pound, did you? Do tell me. How did you manage to slide through all those narrowed chimneys? I'm surprised that they hadn't crushed you."
Jack cringed. This girl looked to be cold, but she did have some fire in her. Who was she? How come that the guardians knew about her but he did not? Why did they never tell her about this particular Elsa? She didn't seem to favour the guardians, and they didn't seem to be very fond of her. This made Jack wonder if she was a friend or a foe, and he was even more curios of who this girl might be.
North didn't answer the girl. Instead he gritted his teeth and glared at Elsa in anger. The girl must have noticed it, and she smiled triumphantly before shifting her eyes toward Tooth.
"Ah, Toothiana, my dear," she said with a sweet tone that was no doubt entirely faked. "Still flying about and collecting teeth? Why don't you just try to suck out memories from children's brains instead of collecting their garbages? You are putting yourself so lowly, you know that?"
Tooth, too, remained silent and tried to show no anger, but it seemed to even please the girl more. She chuckled and turned to Bunny, who was already scowling and growling at her.
"You've left us in peace for the past thirty-two years, so why dragging your ass back here to disgrace this place with your presence once more? Why don't you return to whatever filthy holes you've been hiding and get out of our sight?" he spat angrily.
"Temper, temper," she shook her head, smirking at him. "There's no need to bark; you know that I am no stranger. And trying to get rid of me so easily? That's no way to treat your superior, you know? I'm disappointed that I am not welcomed properly this time I return." Her eyes turned to Sandy, and a warm smile – a real smile – broke out her lips.
"Ah, Sandy," she beamed. "Hello, my old friend. It's been quite a while. I would be lying if I said I hadn't been missing your presence at the Grand Library and all the games of chess we'd shared. I trust that you have been doing well?"
Sandy smiled softly at her and bowed respectfully to the girl, which she kindly returned with a swift but polite nod of her head. Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise at this. Of all the guardians, she only seemed to favour the guardian of dreams, even respect him. This girl was downright sassy and arrogant. And here Jack thought he was the worst.
"What do you want with us this time, Elsa? Was it you who dragged all of us here?" Tooth demanded.
"If not me, then who else could have done it?" Elsa shrugged, her smirk growing wider. "Did you enjoy your trip?"
"Enjoy?!" Bunny practically shouted. "How could we possibly enjoy ourselves when we were roughly tossed into a portal like a sack of potatoes? That was abduction! You'd better have a good reason for kidnapping us and dragging us all the way here to the pole, princess!"
"Wait, princess?" Jack asked, but he was completely ignored.
"Indeed I have, and you should listen to it carefully," Elsa said as she straightened herself, her expression suddenly becoming stoic and serious, head held high and proud. "I summoned you all here on behalf of Tsar Lunar, the Man in the Moon, King of the Stars, Emperor of the Galaxy, to inform you of an important matter, and to warn you of an upcoming danger." Jack frowned in both surprise and confusion – he had no idea Manny held so many titles, and he was confused why Manny did not inform them himself like he always did, but instead sent this rude, brash girl here to do so.
"The Lord of Darkness has returned," Elsa announced gravely.
Shocked gasps escaped people in the room. The elves cowered in fear and the yetis recoiled. The guardians glanced at each other, fear written on their eyes. Jack cocked an eyebrow.
"The Lord of Darkness?" he asked curiously.
"It's Pitch's proper title," Tooth explained to him in a whispering voice.
"Tsar Lunar has instructed strictly that you five must be prepared, for you will again have to stand against the Lord of Darkness. But beware, for this time he has strengthened himself, and the battle approaching us will not be easy," Elsa continued, her tone strict and formal. Jack wondered why she kept addressing Manny as Tsar Lunar.
"As long as we have each other and hope, we can defeat anything!" Bunny confidently said. "We've defeated Pitch once. We can do it again."
"Pitch has never been actually defeated; you simply managed to chase him away temporarily and force him to stay quiet for a short time," Elsa countered. "And now he has returned, seeking vengeance upon those who had won over him and once again plotting to create a world of eternal darkness."
She held her head high and inhaled a deep breah. "This time, when the Lord of Darkness strikes," the girl breathed a heavy sigh, "I will stand by you guardians and fight alongside you against him."
"What?" Bunny wondered aloud, quirking his eyebrows and narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her. He suddenly roared in laughter. "You are joining us?" the Easter Bunny smirked up at the platinum blonde haired girl. "I think I might very well have misheard you. You are no longer that coward, then? So, after nearly a hundred and fifty years, you've finally managed to crawl out of your shell and face up to your responsibility? Or was it your dear old daddy who has succeeded in convincing his little spoiled brat to grow up?" Bunny sneered.
"Watch your tonge, Edward Aster Bunnymund!" Elsa seethed, her teeth gritted in anger and frost crawling at her fingertips. "Do not think that I am merely a bystander who would contentedly sit still and watch the world I have striven so hard to protect sink into darkness, or a puppet for my father and the court to pull the strings whenever want to. Believe me when I say that I would rather commit suicide than work alongside you scums and idiots, but unfortunately, the situation left me no choice."
"Really now, Elsa?" the guardian of hope continued to question her. "I thought you'd never stand against Pitch?"
"This has nothing to do with Tsar Lunar or the Shadow Lord. It is not an easy decision to make, but it is my decision. I cannot, and will not stand by when all humanity are in grave danger. I do not wish to stand against him. I had hoped that this day would never come, but at times like this, I need to push aside my own feelings and do what is right for the sakes of all."
"But how do we know that you are not an ally of the boogeyman?" Jack blurted out, and he regretted dearly the moment the words left his mouth as he saw the shocked, frightened looks his friends tossed at his side and the cold glare of her piercing into him like the blade of a knife.
"So this is the newest member His Majesty has chosen to add to this group?" she inquired, her voice sending chills down his spine. "I have heard about you, Jackson Overland – or should I call Jack Frost now. Honestly, I've expected you to be more... respectful. Do you know, Frost, that it is very rude to interrupt people when they are speaking?"
All of a sudden, he was lifted off the ground by the wind, a shocked gasp escaping him. He attempted to struggle, but found out that he could not move.
"Elsa, no," North said, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible, holding his hands out toward her. "Drop the boy down, Elsa. He has done nothing wrong."
A wicked smirk crawled on her lips. "As you wish," she shrugged, waving her hand. Jack was instantly released, but unfortunately, he was thrown backwards roughly into the wall behind him.
"Elsa Maria Lunanoff!" North scolded, like a father would his child.
"What?" Elsa smiled innocently and shrugged. "I dropped him, just like you asked."
"I did not mean literally!" he angrily shouted. "You will need to work on that attitude of yours, young lady!"
"Oh, dear. What a terrible person I am! Do forgive me, North, for being in such a sour mood after having a fight with my brother," she replied brashly before flashing a glance to see Jack, who had managed to push himself onto his feet once again, with a little help from the yeti nearby.
Elsa once again addressed the guardians. "There still are a few matters I need to attend to, and I must speak to the court to inform them of this situation. I will return within the matter of three days. I will try my best to acquire more information about whatever the Shadow Lord is scheming. During the time I'm gone, prepare yourselves for the battle, because, like what I have told you before, it wouldn't be an easy one."
Wind began to rise and whipped in the air, her long, snow white hair fluttered in the strong gust. Everyone had to brace themselves in order not to be blown up. Snow that came out of nowhere crept up her legs and swirled around her until it had concealed her entire body. The same flash of blue light appeared, and when it vanished, everything was gone, including the girl with ice cold eyes.