AUTHOR'S NOTE: OH MY GOSH IT HAS BEEN SO LONG SINCE I UPDATED I AM SO SORRY I SUCK SO MUCH PLEASE DON'T KILL ME.
Seriously, I am so so so so sorry that this took so long. This past few months have been really hectic and I have had literally no time for writing. I promise this story is still a top priority of mine; I haven't abandoned you!
I hope this chapter makes up for the unintentional hiatus...please review and let me know if you liked it!
This chapter is dedicated to Alysiana and TheInkBender.
DISCLAIMER: Rise of the Guardians is owned by Dreamworks. I own Annabelle, Fawn, Oliver and the robins.
Chapter 6 - Appreciation
We spent the rest of the night at the hideout, talking and playing with the robins when they flew through to see what the noise was about. I eventually fell asleep in the early hours of the morning, and woke up around four hours later to find that Jack had carried me to my bed and was snoozing in the chair next to me.
I smiled as I watched him sleep. He looked so peaceful... It was the least stressed I'd seen him in a while. Not having the heart to wake him up I slipped out of the room as quietly as possible, managing to hold in a giggle when he let out a small snore.
I pottered about in the kitchen, deciding to make a yummy breakfast for Jack. I knew he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast the previous day, and Jack was practically a stomach on legs so he'd be needing a big meal.
I chomped on an apple while frying some eggs and bacon for him. While they were cooking I made him some toast and buttered it. I arranged it nicely on a tray, with a glass of orange juice, and carried it through to the bedroom.
Jack was still fast asleep. I rolled my eyes as I sat the tray down on my bedside table and sat on the bed beside Jack's chair. I was about to shake him awake when he moaned softly. I thought that meant he was waking up so I sat back, but he didn't. Instead, he moaned again, this time actually saying something.
"Anna..."
My face burned bright red. What on earth was he dreaming about!?
I stood up, intending to run through to the bathroom and splash my face with water, but before I could escape from this rather embarrassing situation, Nibbles shot through the door and whammed himself into a lamp, causing it to crash to the ground.
The noise made Jack wake up and he jumped out of his seat, grabbing his staff incase it was Fawn or Oliver. When he saw that it was only me and Nibbles in the room he relaxed and flopped back down into the chair.
"Morning," he smiled.
I was about to reply like normal when I remembered him saying my name in his sleep. My blushed flared back up and I avoided his gaze.
"...Morning! How'd you sleep?" I asked, my overly-chirpy voice totally giving the game away that something wasn't right.
Of course Jack noticed. "Anna?" he frowned. "What's wrong?"
I forced myself to look up and I shook my head. "Nothing, honest," I smiled before picking up the tray and passing it to him.
"You made me breakfast?" he grinned.
I nodded, smiling. "I figured you'd be pretty hungry since you hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday."
Jack looked like he was about to deny it but his stomach let out a huge rumble. He sighed before grinning again.
"Okay, guilty as charged," he said, holding out his hands for the tray. "Food please!"
I passed him the tray and he happily began to munch on the bacon. I sat back down on the bed.
"Did you sleep alright?" he asked me between mouthfuls.
I nodded. "What time did I fall asleep?" I asked.
"Hmm...around three I think?"
I nodded again. "Thanks for bringing me through here."
He smiled. "No problem."
I blushed a tiny bit. "Um...did you sleep well?"
Jack's eyes widened slightly and he looked down. "Um...yeah, I suppose."
I bit my lip so I wouldn't laugh. "...Dream of anything in particular?"
His head shot up and he looked straight at me, his face turning red. "W...why do you ask?"
I shrugged, not even trying to stop myself from giggling now. "Well...you might have been speaking a bit in your sleep..."
Jack nearly choked on his orange juice, his face now bright crimson. I stood up to run to the bathroom before I wet myself with laughter.
"It...it wasn't anything weird!" he called after me. "I swear!"
"Sure, whatever you say Jack!" I shouted back before closing the bedroom door and running to the bathroom before I collapsed in a heap of giggles on the floor.
When I emerged back out from the bathroom I was still giggling. I walked to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water and try to calm down a bit.
"What's so funny?"
I whirled around, quickly grabbing my staff which was propped up against one of the kitchen counters.
"What're you doing here?"
Fawn smiled slightly, holding her hands up. "I come in peace, I swear," she said, sounding genuine. I lowered my staff but didn't let go of it.
"What're you doing here?" I repeated.
Fawn wrung her hands together, looking sheepishly down at the floor. "I wanted to make sure you were okay...after what Oliver did."
I gritted my teeth. "Don't pretend to care," I snarled. "You're in this together with Oliver."
She shook her head. "I never knew he was going to do that, I swear."
I narrowed my eyes, still not trusting her even though she sounded like she was telling the truth. "Well I wasn't okay. I collapsed up at the Pole. I've never felt pain like that before."
She sighed and looked down. "I am sorry, believe me. I know what it feels like."
"No you don't," I scoffed. "This was much worse than the regular pain we feel when the seasons change."
"I still know what it feels like," she insisted. "Jack sent snowstorms for revenge, right? How do you think that made me feel?"
I sighed. "...I didn't ask him to do that, I promise. If nothing else I gave him a right telling off when I found out."
She smiled. "I don't doubt it."
She sat down at the table and let out a huge sigh. "Why're we fighting Anna? I don't have any problems with you."
I sat across from her. "Me neither, personally. But you are quite cruel to Jack."
She groaned. "I know that...but I can't help it. It's like I can't control my tongue when he's around. I just have to say mean things."
I frowned. "That doesn't sound like the Polar thing Bunny and North told me about. Oliver and I are Polars but I can at least act civil around him."
She looked down. "That's the thing though. It's more than just Polar Opposites with me and Jack."
"Oh yeah..." I remembered. "Bunny mentioned something about you two having a history, but that Jack couldn't remember it."
"That sounds about right," Fawn nodded. "I know it's not Jack's fault that he doesn't know; that much I'll give him. But I can't tell you before he finds out."
I nodded. "Of course. I understand. But how are you going to be able to tell him if you can't be within a mile of him without insulting him?"
She shrugged. "I'll figure it out..."
I suddenly heard movement from the bedroom. Startled, I stood up.
"You'd better go," I told her. "Jack'll be coming through just now."
She raised an eyebrow as she stood up. "Stay the night did he?"
I rolled my eyes at her. "Nothing like that you idiot."
She grinned as she walked over to the tunnel that led out of the hideout. "See you later Anna," she smiled before she took off.
Fawn had literally just left when Jack walked through, carrying his now empty tray.
"Who were you talking to?" he asked, his face still a little red.
"Just Rudi," I lied, nodding over at him. He'd been standing on the kitchen counter this whole time. I sent him a pleading look and he nodded slightly. He would keep the secret.
FAWN'S POV
I thought about my conversation with Anna for the whole flight back to Ireland, where Oliver lived. I felt bad about not being able to tell her about my connection to Jack, but I really couldn't. I had to tell Jack first.
Jack... Just the thought of his name was enough to make my blood boil. He was just such a pain! He was cheeky, immature, and he always just messed around. Guardian of Fun my ass. He didn't deserve to be Guardian of anything. He was too much of a kid himself to have the duty of protecting children.
I sat down on the branch of a high tree to calm myself down and to think. Oliver had teased me once, saying that I was jealous of Jack becoming a Guardian. This was a while before Anna became one too. I had denied it at the time, but now...
I sighed to myself. Maybe Oliver was right. Maybe I am jealous. I would never admit it to anyone though...
All of us spirits want to protect people, especially kids. Children are like lights in the world. They're still innocent when they're young. They've not had the chance to be corrupted by the dark ways of the world yet, and it's out job to keep those lights burning for as long as possible, before evil like Pitch or Jacobi snuffs it out and they stop believing in Santa Claus and fairies and magic. Some people's lights stay burning right up until adulthood, but that's very rare. But we still have to protect children as best we can, even us spirits who aren't Guardians, like me and Oliver.
It's the hardest for us though. Children never see us. We're completely invisible. We aren't known like Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny or the Sandman. More children now are even believing in Jack Frost and the fairy at the bottom of the garden. But not me and Oliver. Us Spirits of the Seasons are still unknown.
I think that's why I maybe am jealous of Jack, and Anna too. Kids see them. They can smile and laugh with them, and they get to see the children getting excited over seeing the Guardians who protect them.
I want to be appreciated too. Everybody everywhere will always want someone to pat them on the back and say "good job," even if they don't admit it. It's no different for me.
I clenched my fist, remembered the whole reason I hated Jack in the first place.
"One day..." I muttered under my breath. "One day, I'll tell him why.
OLIVER'S POV
My hideout was a hole. Literally, you got to it through a hole in the ground. Come to think of it, it's actually quite a bit like Pitch's hideout, which some would say is fitting.
Winter may be the coldest season, but people say that I'm the coldest spirit. It's true I suppose. Jack's fun and cheerful because he brings snow days and other things which make children smile. Anna - as much as I hate to admit it - brings life back into the world, and makes it so that children can go outside to play again. That's why she's always so bright and happy. Fawn brings sunshine and warmer weather, which is why she's usually such a warm person (unless she's around Jack).
But me? I just bring rain and kill all the plants. It used to be that children enjoyed autumn. They'd run about and jump in leaf piles and go looking for mushroom and berries in the forest. Back then, I was a much happier person. But now, kids don't want to be out when the weather is miserable. They'd rather stay inside on their computers or playing video games or watching stupid videos of dancing cats on the internet. I swear, my life went downhill the day YouTube was created.
Just like how if children stop believing in the Guardians they start to become weak and loose their powers, if children don't enjoy a season and stay inside all the time, whoever it was that's in charge of that season starts to turn...well, like me.
Autumn is an essential part of the cycle. We can't just skip autumn and go straight from summer to winter; it just wouldn't work. So I just have to put up with the fact that kids don't enjoy autumn anymore. It's not like I can change that. I can't take all their laptops and phones away from them, now can I?
Fawn dropped down into the hideout and I greeted her with a small smile. Fawn was the only person who seemed to actually understand me. Sure, Jack and I got on alright (or at least we used to. After that little stunt I pulled with the plants I highly doubt he'll be speaking to me in a civilised manner again) but Fawn was the only person I would really class as a friend.
"Where were you?" I asked.
She sighed. "Don't freak. I went to see Anna."
I glared at her. "Traitor."
She snorted. "Hardly. I just went to make sure you hadn't accidentally killed her or something."
I rolled my eyes. "Well, don't go getting too close to her," I warned.
Fawn sat down on a chair near me. "Oli, I was already friends with Annabelle before all this started. It's like you and Jack. I haven't got anything against Anna."
"But you hate Jack, right?"
She nodded. "Oh yeah. Can't stand the guy."
"And that's not just because of the Polar thing, correct?" I clarified. "You had some sort of history with him?"
Fawn looked down, clenching her fist, and nodded. I knew that there was something there; Fawn had told me that much. I didn't, however, know what it was as she hadn't told me.
I sat down opposite her. "Annabelle and I were never going to get along because we're complete opposites. But other than that, we don't have a backstory. I know you don't want to tell me what your connection to Jack is, and that's fine, but I want to be able to help you."
Fawn looked worried. I leaned forward and took hold of her hands, squeezing them.
"Fawn, I know you like Anna, but think about it. With this disagreement now among the four of us, whose side is Anna more likely to take?" I asked her.
After a few moments of silence, Fawn sighed and answered, "Jack," in a resigned voice.
"Exactly," I replied. "No doubt Jack will want to get back at me for what I did to Anna. I need you to help me make sure he can't do that."
Fawn started to grin. "Kicking Frostie's butt? Count me in!"
I chuckled and squeezed her hand again. "And...if Anna is with him?"
Fawn looked down for a moment before looking back up at me. "I won't hurt her," she said, "but I will make sure she's distracted."
I smiled. "Thank you Fawn."
She smiled back, but it was a bit half-hearted. I sighed. Part of me doubted if Fawn would really be able to do this...was her hatred for Jack strong enough that she'd completely betray Anna?
