Pitchiner narrowed his eyes, concentrating on the sketch he was working on. His artistic abilities were seriously rusty….but even before his stint as the Nightmare King he had only been good enough to impress a little girl. With a sigh he dropped both the book and his hands into his lap and reclined on his bed, closing his eyes.

He had awoken to the soothing golden light of a noon day sun streaming through the window. Finding himself unable to fall back asleep, he instead rummaged around the room looking for something to do. In all honesty, what he had actually wanted to do was traverse the stairs and watch the fairy at work, but he knew if she found him in the square she would throttle him for leaving the tower. He was still injured after all. So instead, the general settled with the pencil and leather bound sketching book he had found in the bedside table.

Kozmotis opened his eyes again, lifting the paper and gazing at it sadly. It wasn't exactlywhat it had looked like in the past, but it was close enough.

A tiny sound caused him to glace over to the bedside table. He jumped slightly, not expecting to see the tiny fairy standing there. She was tapping a foot, crossed arms, gazing at him.

"My apologies…you startled me…" He trailed off, realizing exactly which fairy he was talking to. It wasn't hard to recognize the tiny birth marks under her right eye. Baby Tooth only raised an eyebrow.

In one swift movement he swung himself off the bed and knelt painfully before her. "It's obvious that you don't trust me, and I don't blame you; but regardless, you have my sincerest apologies for what happened in the past, my dear." He bowed his head and shut his eyes before looking up at her. "I pray that I did not hurt you…."

Baby Tooth looked taken aback, hands held in front of her until finally she chirped and shook her head.

"Thank the heavens…" With a grimace he straightened and sat back down on the bed. Experimentally, he ran his hands along his leg; it didn't hurt anymore without actually aggravating it. In fact, the ribs he thought he had broken seemed to have stopped being painful all together.

The tiny fairy flitted from the night stand to the bed, landing on the sketch book and cocking her head to the side in curiosity. She looked up at him, chirping.

"Ah yes," Slowly he picked up the book, giving her enough time to take flight, and examined the page. "I fear that I am not very good. I've lost my touch." He smiled at Baby Tooth who was fluttering beside him staring at the page.

She looked up at him questioningly, flitting over to point at one of the drawings and chirped. He nodded at her. "I looked a lot nobler back then than I do now, I must admit." The tiny fairy nodded at this, causing the general to laugh.

"What are you guys up to in here?"

Both the general and fairy looked up to see Toothiana alight on the windowsill and hop into the room. Pitchiner slowly closed the book, resting it in his lap. "I hope you don't mind…" he looked down at it. "I took the initiative to amuse myself."

Tooth smiled. "Of course! I didn't even remember that that existed." The fairy queen's eyes moved to Baby Tooth. "I told you he was a good guy now." The tiny fairy shot the general an apologetic look and darted out the window.

"She has been yammering at me all day about how she didn't trust you. You changed THAT fast." The fairy sat down beside Kozmotis and held a hand out, motioning to the book. "May I see?"

Embarrassed, the general handed the fairy the book, looking down at his hands when she opened it.

Tooth sucked in a tiny breath when she saw the drawings. It was easy to assume that these were sketches of the general's past uniform. The elegant lines on the page depicted both an intricate military uniform as well as an impressive suit of armor.

Eyes wide Tooth flipped the pages which contained more close up looks at the attire. "These…..were yours….?" She spoke softly, trying to imagine the man sitting beside her adorned in one of these outfits.

"They were indeed." The general watched her flip the pages. "Like I told your little one, I looked a lot more honorable back then than I do now."

"These are amazing…I would never have thought you an artist…." She glanced up from the page to Kozmotis.
Their eyes met and he quickly looked down. "I'm no artist…And even if I had been, the majority of my talent was lost to the Nightmare King. I'm very out of practice."

The fairy shook her head in disbelief and spoke softly. "You really do think so little of yourself…"

Neither said anything for a couple of minutes as Tooth flipped the pages in awe. Finally the general spoke, breaking the silence. "I was wondering….." he tailed off as the fairy looked up at him. "Well….I wore that uniform for such a long time that….I don't think that I would be comfortable in anything else….…I'm not sure how to ask this…."

Tooth furrowed her brow. "mmhmm?"

"Well, I would assume that North has the capability to make something like that in his workshop…"

"So you want me to ask him…Of course!" The fairy jumped up. It was hard not to be excited. If North agreed, which she assumed he would, she would get to actually see The General in his golden age attire. "I'll go now!" As she reached the window she turned to him again. "I should have asked before….how are your injuries doing…?"

"Mostly healed actually, the worst is still my leg."

"Alright, I'll be back soon enough." She then fluttered out the window leaving the general to his thoughts once more. Their scheduled meet with the guardians was for tomorrow, she had wanted to wait until he was well enough. It looked like he would be.

….

"Toothy! What brings you to North Pole!?" North's cheerful face greeted her when she fluttered into his office. "I thought I wouldn't be seeing you until tomorrow!"

The fairy smiled at the man. He had obviously gotten over the guilt that had plagued him. The other day when she had come to talk about Kozmotis and the guardians he was still moping. It was good to have him back to normal. "Well, it's actually a request from Kozmotis…" Hovering forward she handed him the leather-bound book.

The Russians eyes widened in awe when he saw what the pages contained. "These look like illustrations from history books…" he looked up at her. "Where did you get this?"

"Kozmotis drew them…" She hovered beside the man so she could look down at the drawings. "They were his uniforms from back then and he….wanted to know if you could recreate them."

North's eyes twinkled as he snapped the book shut with one hand. Nonchalantly he tossed it to a passing elf who then scrambled out of the room. "Give yetis a couple hours. They will be just as grand as they were in the past."

…
The two guardians passed the time chatting in North's office, and soft knock on the door caused them both to turn. A young woman stood in the entrance. She wore a long and flowing dress, dark green at the bottom that faded into white at the top. Her long, dark brown hair was wavy and reached almost past her waist. Tiny white butterfly's fluttered in the air around her. "I'm sorry for intruding but…I have to talk to you, North…and you must be Toothiana…."

The Russian furrowed his brow, about to speak when recognition fell over him. "Mother Nature!? What brings you to North Pole, eh?" He stepped over to her, arms spread wide. "I barely recognized you! It's been such long time!"

"Indeed it has." The woman stepped forward; her bare feet could be seen from under her dress.

Tooth surveyed the scene with a smile. Of course she had heard of Mother Nature before, but this was the first time she had the pleasure of meeting her. Although….there was something familiar about that slightly accented voice she couldn't put her finger on.

Hovering over she held out her hand. "It's very nice to meet you." The woman took it daintily, giving it a gentle shake before stepping gracefully into the office.

"Although it is an honor to see you again, North, and to meet you Toothiana, I fear I'm here on business." Her delicate features suddenly became solemn as she looked at them both.

"Business? What would that be?" North crossed his arms, concerned.

"Fear." Mother Nature bit her lip, voice containing sadness. "For a couple days now the world is unbalanced. There hasn't been enough fear, but in turn and oddly enough, it has become darker." She frowned when the guardians exchanged a look. "You know what's causing this…"

"It's Pitch." North sat down as Mother Nature nodded solemnly.

"I thought it might be…." Her words were quiet. "What happened…?"

Tooth spoke up first, hovering closer to the young woman. "He's regained his memory. He's no longer the Nightmare King."

With wide, bright green eyes the young woman stared at Tooth, her mouth slightly open in shock. "W-what?" With a tiny breath she rushed forward, taking the fairy by the shoulders. "You must take me to him."

Startled by Mother Nature's sudden reaction, she nodded, wide eyes. The young woman's expression was haunted. What was going on here? "O-okay, he's at my palace…" She glanced at North who only shrugged. "I was just waiting for-" She was cut off when a yeti hustled into the room, shoving a heavy sack into her hands.

"Ah! Like I said, it only took them couple hours." He beamed as he patted Tooth on the shoulder.

"Well, I have what I came for…" She adjusted her hold on the bag. This must be one of North's special ones….The ones he used for gifts. Whatever was placed in the bag seemed smaller on that outside than it actually was on the inside. "Thank you again, North."

"Not a problem." His words were barely heard as the dark haired woman led her out by her hand. Her eyes full of hope.

"Did you know him?" The fairy asked as she threw the snow globe and the portal appeared.

"I do. From a long time ago…" It was a short answer but laced with sadness. Tooth was going to push for an explanation but the woman stepped through the portal. Gripping the modestly heavy bag she followed. Who was the Kozmotis to her? Did she know the general, or the Nightmare king?

As she appeared in the main square she was met by the impatient form of Mother Nature. She's acting almost like a child…. Tooth fluttered towards the guest tower, the young woman right on her heels.

…..

Koztomis has just closed his eyes when he heard the footsteps on the stairs. Frowning, he slid off the bed to sit on the side. Tooth wouldn't be climbing the stairs, unless she had someone with her…. He stood, golden eyes fixed on the doorway. He was surprised when he saw Tooth emerge. Then who was…

The general's mouth fell open when he saw the young woman step from behind the fairy. This woman was the spitting image of his daughter. She was much older, but he would recognize that face anywhere. But….then there was the fact that it actually being her was impossible.

The young woman's green eyes took in his appearance as she slowly took a step closer to him. She spoke then, her voice both very quiet and cautious. "Daddy?"

Pitchner's breath caught in his throat, his heart all but stopping. Slowly he took a step forward; hand's reaching out as if in a trance. "Katarina…" When his legs gave out he didn't even feel his knees hit the ground, or the pain from his leg.

The young woman stepped forward, green eyes wide. "Is it really…"

Tears started streaming down the generals face when she stepped close enough to touch her hand. Even though a smile spread across his face a sob still escaped. Neither knew if he pulled her down or if she collapsed but suddenly the two were both kneeling, embracing as if it were the end of the world. The general buried his face in her shoulder, his tears wetting her dress.

Mother Nature wrapped her arms tightly around her father's lithe body like she had as a child. When she had stepped into the room she didn't know what to expect. It was odd seeing him now, like she had in the previous hundreds of years he was the Nightmare King and not her father. Expect he remembers…..

The two sat like that for a while, Tooth hovering, and quite thoroughly shocked, in the corner. It was Kozmotis to break the silence first. "You've grown up so much…How is this possible…If you're a spirit…."

Mother Nature pulled away slightly, gripping the man's shoulders. "Shhh, Daddy…I lived a good life. This was my choice and I never have and never will regret it." She leaned her forehead on his, shutting her eyes. "Except….It was so hard…knowing that you were out there….Seeing you and having you not remember me…"
A sob escaped the general as he pulled his daughter close once again. "I'm so sorry, I failed you…I'm so sorry…" He repeated the whispered words over and over as he held her, rocking her like a child and stroking her hair. "I'm here now…I remember…my beautiful girl…."

Eventually the general pulled away, stood, and pulled Katarina to her feet as well. Eyes still glassy with tears he set himself down on the bed, inviting her to join him with a smile. "Sit with me Kitty…"

"Daddy…" She grinned at him. Oh HEAVENS did she hate that pet name when she was a kid, but never again….Not when it was her father speaking it.
She gracefully set herself down, looking up at him. "I'm so glad your back…"

"As am I…." He picked up her hand, his gray skin dark against her porcelain white. "I've missed a lot…Now….Tell me about your life…"

AUTHORS NOTE:

So I have no idea what his daughters real name is or even if she has one. I DID do my research on the matter and found nothing so...I named her.

Anyway, my apologies for the delay with this chapter. I started it, scrapped it. Started it again, scrapped it again. Guess the third times the charm. I honestly wasn't sure WHAT to do with this chapter and even now I don't like it a whole lot...

I also got super distracted making an animation of the general. hehe...yeah...

So like always, I'll try to get the next chapter finished in the next three days or so. But they're crazy busy so I'm not sure how much I'll actually get done.

And as always, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO MY REVIEWERS. Each and every one of your comments brings a smile to my face and makes me want to continue. :3

One last thing - to 'pixie fang' about her question: "how would Baby Tooth would react" I hope that was adequate enough for you! I liked the idea so I added it :3

Laterz!