Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians

Chapter 3- This Is Halloween

'Tender lumplings everywhere; Life's no fun without a good scare; That's our job, but we're not mean; In our town of Halloween'- This is Halloween, Tim Burton

'…Ridiculous…'

'In this town…we call home…everyone hail to the…pumpkin song'

I snickered as I continued to orchestrate some twenty Wisps into singing 'This is Halloween'. At least what I could remember of it.

'La la-la…la,la la…la la la la'

I cringed a bit (it sounded kind of off), but continued nonetheless. Mainly because it annoyed Willie.

I had made a lot of re-arrangements to the house I woke up in (that I now called Hallow's Hollow). Or rather my faithful Wisp-ers had, I told them where to move stuff.

The Wisp-ers main function was to help me spread holiday fear in the hearts of children worldwide. It wasn't as sadistic as it sounded…then again after 20 years of doing this, my views are a bit skewered.

Anyway, the Wisp-ers were pretty cool and each had their own personality.

The best part – they were shape shifters.

How is that relevant you may ask?

Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies, Ghosts, Scary-Fairies, Trolls, Goblins and most other things that go bump in the night – the Wisp-ers were probably them, at least they were on Halloween.

And I was their Commander in Chief.

I spent all year working on inventive ways to scare children. My favourite targets were the kids in their late teens, most of whom had convinced themselves that they were too big to believe in ghosts and ghouls. They were of the firm belief that they could not be scared and of course that Halloween was for 'babies' and 'wimps' and (my personal favourite) 'weirdos'.

It was entertaining to prove them wrong.

I personally couldn't wait for cameras to be made so that I could video tape some of the reactions.

I could touch human things, so it wouldn't be that hard for me to get my hands on one.

A sardonic smile graced my lips at that.

I could touch human things, just not humans. They just saw straight through me, they walked straight through me on numerous occasions too.

They didn't believe in me apparently.

And just maybe that made me a bit vindictive now and again, so much so that I may do some scaring outside of Halloween.

But no one's died yet (…I think) so it's all in good fun.

'…Stop thinking…'

I paused, noticing that all had gone silent and the Wisps around me were just floating there.

I looked at Willie and watched in fascination as she floated there resembling close to a dark-purple flame.

Willie was my bonded. She was my second-in-command i.e. the one who kept me accountable for every single task that I had to do as it regarded All Hallows Eve.

Whenever I don't keep potent thoughts or feeling under wraps, well my mood is reflected by Willie. Thus far she's changed into some really interesting colours and shades of colours.

I tried to smile, but I felt it came out more crooked than anything.

"Right," I said as I cleared my throat and went back to orchestrating the other Wisps. I needed to focus.

'This is Halloween…Halloween…Halloween…'

Halloween was the day after tomorrow after all.

I had forgone my usual apparel for a simple white crop top and a white mid-thigh flare skirt with black trimmings hanging from the waist of the skirt. I also wore a pair of black-feathered wings and black knee-high boots for added effect.

Tonight was the night after all.

'…Ready yet…?' Willie asked impatiently.

Most of my Wisps had already gone out, ushering in All Hallow's Eve.

There were thousands of them, enough to move and act and scare thousands of cities across the globe. They were amazing.

As for what I did on Halloween. I honestly didn't have to do much.

I just went and oversaw Halloween in particular places.

My favourite was in Mexico.

Viva El Dia de los Muertos!

And no the irony of that statement is not lost on me. Either way the three-day celebration was my sort of scene.

I twirled on spot and Willie shifted into a giant, dark blue wolf. I hopped unto her back, giddy for the night ahead.

I clutched onto her thick mane and braced myself. In mere seconds Willie leapt into the night sky.

It was really interesting to see how Halloween was celebrated in different places. The different cultures with their different people and foods and customs – it was wonderful – seeing the unique ways in which people celebrate Halloween.

Like I find it touching how people in places like Austria lit lamps as a way to welcome the dead souls back to Earth, even though it was just for the night or how in Belgium they left candles burning all night in honour of the memories of relatives no longer with them.

There was Trick or Treating of course – people and kids going door to door for candy (and money). There were treasure hunts, many a games to be played and of course the carving of Pumpkins.

But Halloween wasn't something superficial. It wasn't just a by-product of a corporate nation.

It was more than that.

Lanterns and wreaths, food and photographs decorated grave sides, bonfires were lit, stories were told – stories of horror yes, but there were stories of love and light and laughter and happiness.

Halloween was a celebration – a celebration of both Life and Death. Halloween makes it blatant to me – the fragile yet necessary balance that exists between the two. One could not exist without the other – just as the Sun and the Moon, just as Light and Darkness.

Death and Life – that is Halloween.

And yet…Even so…I couldn't help but wonder (always)…about something else that Halloween makes apparent to me…

– What of those whom stood in between Life and Death?

What of those…who were like me?

When it was finally time for me to call it a night, I was in a particularly sombre mood. I gazed at the moon intently from my position on Willie's wolf back.

"I am the shadow on the moon at night," I began to sing. The Moon – when would it speak to me again? Would it ever speak to me again?

"I am the shadow on the moon at night," I repeated, "Filling your dreams to the brim with fright."

…Wait.

I frowned at what I had just sung. That…hadn't feel too right to say.

'…It's been a…long night…' Willie suddenly spoke. She was most likely tired of my sombre mood and was attempting to steer my thoughts in a different direction.

I welcomed the distraction.

It had been quite the night and after a long night of scare-directing, it felt good to return to my own haunt.

The town that I lived in – James Town – apparently my abode was considered the scariest place to be during Halloween.

I took pride in that reputation – considering the lengths that I went to in order to scare whichever poor unfortunate soul wandered into my house.

Though they never really did wander. The persons – usually teens – who entered did so because either they were dared, or their pride was on the line. Either way it was entertainment to me.

But recently, I had to admit that the entertainment was getting a bit dull. I mean, was just overseeing Halloween all I had been…reborn for?

It was fun, don't mistake me, and I would forever get a thrill out of scaring persons (that had no doubt been ingrained in the very core of my new being) but…that feeling of…more had been niggling at me very often.

I currently sat on Willie as she zoomed and danced across the night's sky. I opened my mouth, about to verbalize my thoughts (even though, technically I didn't have to since Willie and I were sort of mentally linked).

"What the what?!" I shrieked instead as Willie and I were suddenly assaulted by a wild torrent of ice and cold.

I clutched onto Willie's fur, because we were after all, in mid-air. I couldn't fly on my own (then again I haven't really tried to) and I didn't want to fall.

Airy, bell-like laughter rang throughout the night air.

I quickly gained my bearings and I swirled my head around to see if I could spot the source of the laughter.

I saw nothing, until I glanced downwards and I just caught a flash of white disappearing within the darkness of the forest below me.

…Was that?

A gentle breeze suddenly rose up around me and I felt as if tendrils of air were brushing against my skin.

My eyes fluttered closed as I inhaled crisp, cool currents of air.

"Wind," I mumbled unconsciously.

My eyes slowly opened and I gazed below me once more, this time more intently.

Because where there was Wind there was –

"…Jack Frost."

Word Count: 1456

A/N: Hola, it has been a while since I last updated this fic. I initially wanted to write a lot more for this chapter, but the ideas just weren't forthcoming. The length is not nearly as long as I hoped it would be, but it is what it is. The chapters will become more detailed as the story progresses.

What do you think of Haley though? What do you think of the Wisp-ers?

With that out of the way– Happy Holidays to you everyone! Stay safe, stay healthy and know that you are loved!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed!

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

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