Hello! Thought I should upload a second chapter right away so there is more to read :) I hope you are enjoying the story so far, and thank you for reading.
Chapter 2
Cupid threw open the double doors of Nicholas St. North's (also known as the famed Santa Clause) workshop, stomping in like a child. The yetis stared at her in confusion, thought quickly resumed their work when they saw the look on her face. She looked like she was about to have a tantrum. The elves scurried out of her way, cowering under the tables. Cupid reached North's study, throwing open the door in anger. A light shattering sound could be heard, but she ignored it, walking into the room. North was clutching his head in annoyance.
"I just finished building that!" He exclaimed, his Russian accent echoing off of the walls. Cupid ignored his protests, and placed a hand on her hip.
"North, has Manny talked to you lately?" She asked, pursing her cherry lips. North cocked his head, thinking.
"Not really. Last time was a couple months ago." He concluded. Cupid's face re-gained it's normal, perfect porcelain color.
"Are you sure? Nothing out of the ordinary? Nothing special going on?" She asked, raising a nicely shaped eyebrow. North shrugged his shoulders.
"No, nothing. Why do you ask?" He questioned, furrowing his thick brows in confusion. Cupid huffed, recalling the annoying incident.
"Just some... plain girl. It was nothing." Cupid said, a little too quickly for North's liking. He concluded that Cupid obviously had a problem with this girl she was talking about. He backed away from Cupid, sitting down in his comfy office chair.
"Cupid, what happened with this girl you speak of?" He asked, confusion and interest written on his face. He wondered why Cupid thought Manny might have said something, maybe about this girl? He didn't know. Cupid sighed, rolling her eyes.
"She was just a plain girl, nothing special about her. I was just doing my job to spread love," she lied, keeping the information about her acts of comedy a secret, "and she rejected my Love Dust. That's all. I was just wondering if I should keep an eye on her or something." Cupid summed up, tapping her foot. She didn't want to talk about that girl anymore. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she had a nagging feeling that there was something different about her, that placed her from the rest. She didn't like that one bit. North's eyes widened in curiosity, also baffled that someone actually rejected Cupid's Love Dust. Humans shouldn't be able to do that. He quickly stood up, walking towards the door of his study.
"I will ask Man In Moon. Now off you go, I have work to do." North said, dismissing Cupid. She huffed in annoyance, hating the fact North just dismissed her like that. She thought of herself above everyone else, and didn't think she should be treated that way. But, being the stubborn person she is, she just stuck her nose in the air and left.
North walked down the hallways of his workshop, his large boots pounding the ground. He walked into the globe room, heading straight for the opening in the room's roof. It was made specially for The Man In The Moon, so he would be able to talk to North. Lucky, it was nighttime, and North had a great view of Manny from his globe room.
"Man In Moon, how are you?" North greeted, his face beaming at his friend. Manny silently greeted him back, which only North received. "Manny, Cupid came to me worried about some girl. She was asking if you had talked to me recently." North said to the moon, his usually jolly face showing signs of seriousness. Manny waited, questioning why Cupid was worried about someone. North, receiving Manny's quiet confusion, continued. "She told me that the girl rejected Love Dust. Manny, I have never heard of a human doing that, is there a reason for this?" North questioned, looking at the moon expectingly. Suddenly, Manny began speaking.
"There is a reason..." Manny whispered softly. North's demeanor instantly changed to one of seriousness and determination.
"What is the reason?" North questioned, wanting to find answers. He was worried the children were in danger.
"She is to become a Guardian..." The moon said quietly. North's eyes widened, and he smiled brightly.
"That is wonderful!" He exclaimed. Then, he suddenly turned serious once more. "Manny, is something threatening the children? Why else would we need another Guardian?" He questioned anxiously.
"There is a threat rising..." The Man In The Moon started, his voice whispering through the wind, "It will not be expected, and only she can defeat it..." North stiffened, his worries confirmed.
"When will she become a Guardian?" He asked, with a hint of sadness. In order to become a Guardian, one must first become a spirit. That requires, to put it bluntly, dying.
"Soon... sooner than I had hoped... but she will be needed sooner than I had thought..." Manny explained. North nodded in understanding.
"What will this girl become? Why can only she defeat the threat?" He asked, multiple thoughts running through his head. He wasn't sure if the fact that this girl was the only person who could defeat the unknown threat should worry him more than he already was.
"You will know in time..." The Moon whispered, seemingly quieter than before. North recognized this as his friend's departure.
"Alright... We will do everything in our power to help her." He stated determinedly, referring to his fellow Guardians. Manny did not reply, but seemed to shine brighter for a second in a way of acknowledgment.
After mulling this new information over, North determinedly strode over to a set of controls. He pulled a large switch, releasing the northern lights into the sky. If there was a new threat rising, and this girl was the only one who could stop it, he and the other Guardians would do everything in their power to help in any way that they could. He waited anxiously for the other Guardians to arrive, already trying to imagine what kind of danger was rising. Soon enough, a quick flutter of wings could be heard as well as a soft voice making commands to her helpers. Tooth flew into the room, giving a few more orders before rushing over to North.
"North, the children, are they alright?" She asked worriedly. North's eyes reflected her nervousness, and he answered solemnly.
"Yes. At least, they will be." He answered, causing Tooth to tilt her head to the side, her eyebrow quirking.
"What do you mean by that?" She questioned, seeming a little less nervous.
"I have news from Manny that there is a rising threat to the children. It is not here yet, but it will be, soon." He explained, Tooth nodding in affirmation. She was about to ask what Manny had said to North when she noticed something in her peripheral vision.
"Sandy!" She greeted, turning towards the respected Guardian. He smiled warmly, lowering from the dream sand cloud he used to travel there and floated a foot off of the ground. He quickly made a question mark symbol above his head, turning to North.
"I will explain once we are all here." He answered, not wanting to repeat himself four times over. It seemed that he wouldn't have to wait long as the air turned noticeably colder. The doors burst open, Jack zooming in. He stopped short, facing the door with a smug look. Only a few seconds after, a large bunny raced in the room. When he stopped, he sent a glare at the winter spirit.
"Beat you here, Cottontail. You're loosing your edge." Jack commented lightly, swinging his staff around in pride. Bunny looked agitated, and crossed his arms.
"Thats because you- I was just-" He huffed. "This isn't even about us! We are here for the children. North, whats happening." He turned to the man. North beckoned them all to come closer. The Guardians formed a semi circle around North, anxious to hear the reason he had called them all there.
"There is a threat rising. A threat to the children. Manny has just told me." He said, giving the moon a glance. The Guardians looked worried, each giving each other small glances of concern.
"Is it Pitch?" Jack asked, shocked at the thought of the Nightmare King recovering so soon after his last defeat. North shook his head.
"No, it is not." He said simply. Everyone was quiet for a moment, waiting for him to continue. When he remained silent, Bunny raised his hands in exasperation.
"Then who is it?!" He asked incredulously. North shrugged, his eyes showing worry and fatigue.
"I don't know. Manny did not say." He spoke flatly. The spirits held confusion on their features.
"If we don't know who it is, why did you call us here?" Jack asked.
"Manny has told me that there will be a new Guardian." North announced calmly. The spirits' eyes widened. Tooth looked excited, always welcome to a new team member. Sandy looked content, knowing that whoever it was must play a big part in stopping this new threat. Jack seemed curious, him being the most recent Guardian, and Bunny looked simply annoyed.
"Another Guardian?! We only recently got Snowflake here, how bad can this threat be?" He exclaimed. He was never really excited about new spirits becoming Guardians.
"Bad enough to appoint a new Guardian." Tooth said worriedly. If they needed a new spirit to help them, that meant this new threat was too powerful for them to take on alone, and this thought frightened her.
"So, who is it gonna be?" Bunny asked, wanting to know sooner than later. The Guardians looked expectantly at North, assuming it would be a spirit they had met. Or better yet, assuming they would already be a spirit. North's demeanor turned serious, and the Guardians waited patiently for him to speak.
"They… uh… have not been re-born yet." He said solemnly. The room was silent. Several moments passed, each Guardian trying to register what North had just relayed to them. Tooth brought a hand up to her open mouth, her jaw having dropped in shock. Sandy dropped slowly to the ground, his eyes wide. Bunny instantly felt bad for acting annoyed about the situation. Jack felt his stomach drop in shock. They all stood stiffly, none of them yet breaking the silence.
"So… you mean…" Jack trailed off, looking at North. The older Guardian nodded his head slowly.
"Yes. The new Guardian will have to cross over soon. This means the threat will be powerful. It also means we must do everything we can to help this new Guardian." North said purposefully. The spirits changed their demeanor, each of them standing up a little straighter. Determination covered their features. Whatever it takes, they were going to stop this threat.
…
Carys breathed heavily, taking a moment to rest after practicing her dance routine over and over again. Her feet ached, the muscles clenching painfully as she practiced a few specific parts of the dance that were more difficult. By the time she had finished her practice, it was getting dark out, and the sun was retreating slowly over the mountains surrounding the valley she lived in. Carys pulled on a loose hoodie, not bothering to change out of her ballet outfit. She pulled her thick strawberry blonde hair out of its bun, letting if fall to the middle of her back. She replaced her ballet slippers with thin vans, and packed them away in her bag. She walked out of the studio, trailing her hand over the balancing rail as she left. She absolutely loved ballet. She loved twirling gracefully across wooden floors, she loved leaping across stages, and she loved fluidly moving with graceful music. The feeling couldn't be describe with any other word except magical. She smiled softly at the thought of it as she exited the studio, shutting off the lights before she closed and locked the door. She had been dancing at that studio her whole life, and had grown up knowing the owner. An old woman, Meredith, who was a child dancer. She had taken a fondness to Carys, and when she was old enough, was trusted with a set of keys to the studio so she could practice late.
Carys walked towards her car, her keys jingling lightly in her hand. She opened the car and slipped in, quickly bringing the engine to life and pulling away from the curb. She drove home with purpose, thinking about the party she was attending a little later that night. It was an end of the year party at one of her classmate's house. Most of her friends were going, and had insisted that she come. On a normal occasion, she would have politely declined. But, because it was the end of her senior year, she thought "why not?".
Getting closer to her house, Carys was unaware of the spirit who was following her. Cupid flew steadily a little ways behind the car, trying to keep her distance. She couldn't get the stupid girl off of her mind, getting increasingly annoying with the fact that she had rejected her love dust. Cupid's face held a grumpy pout, trying to figure out what was so special about this specific girl. 'I mean, she's not even that good looking!' She tried to reason with herself. Although she would never admit it, she did take note of the girl's large sapphire eyes and luscious hair. She didn't want to believe that there was anything special with her. She was just a normal girl. A normal, absolutely plain girl. 'She is… right?' Cupid thought, conflicted with her opinions on the girl. She shook her head, continuing to follow Carys but continuously reminding herself of the "indisputable fact" that the girl was plain and boring and insignificant.