Luck's Always to Blame
Author's Note: Dudes. If you haven't read the books, go read them NOW. Like, RIGHT NOW. It doesn't matter if it's in the kid's section, just suck it up and grab 'em, 'cause they're GREAT.
North: See? This is what you wanted.
Me: Shut up. Thank you to Aqua, 21SidraCire (Pitch wants to rule the world with his fear; Sam simply brings it into the world to magnify the effects of the Guardians. It's a little complicated, it'll be explained), Luna (awwww, thanks :3), Maddie, Jinxed dragonfly (um... is Sam from anything besides Luna's story?), Ekaterina (I made a Nightmare Before Chris-oh would you look at that!), Ash (yeah, I hope you like Gumlee :3), Anime Girl (thank you, I got the last author's not idea from my sister :) ), Dragoneisha (I like vocabulary. I get lots of good words from there :}), kittykat2892, N3v3rm0r311949 (if that username is an Edgar Allen Poe reference you are my new favorite), amore1993 (I read that and laughed, 'cause her eyes are genuinely emeralds when she gets curious XD), skylaeatpie (yeah, you got an account :D And I've actually got plenty of OCs, probably more than I should XD), and Oluhasuu for reviewing!
Disclaimer: I don't own ROTG.
Chapter 8
"Usually there's stairs," Jack said with a smirk as he helped Lucky off the ground. Much to her annoyance, she seemed utterly unable to stay up after being shot through any sort of magical teleport. It was probably the shoes... she'd get more practical attire later.
"She must be pretty preoccupied today," Jester sighed, hands behind his head as he kicked the skateboard that he'd picked up not long ago. The elves probably knocked it down again while doing nothing. "I wonder what she's thinking about."
"It's okay girls, I'm here now!" Tooth was preoccupied, too. Her mini-fairies were flitting about frantically, some already crying on the floor. The yetis were making sharp turns to avoid stepping on them, running into each other in the process.
Eventually, Tooth was able to get her mini-fairies to calm down. This had taken her full concentration, and basically eliminated all focus on anything else. That's why her jaw nearly dropped when she turned around. North was still engrossed in his train, in the exact same position he had been before (the train set itself being awe-inducing enough.) Lucky and Bunnymund were having a battle with their cards and boomerang, and Jester, Jack, and Sandy were trying to coax a blinked-out light in Ireland back to life.
"I don't think that's how it works," Tooth murmured. Suddenly, seeing where the child stopped believing, she gasped and flew into the air. "Hey, why don't I take you to see Oo-"
"I'll take 'em," Bunny said suddenly, ears shooting up. Letting his guard down, one of Lucky's cards smashed into his chest, but he got right back up.
"It's okay," Tooth insisted. "The fairies are fine now. I can-"
"They'll 'ave nervous breakdowns again. I'll take 'em."
"Who're you talkin' about?" Lucky asked, grinning mischeviously.
"The Leprechaun Queen," Tooth answered.
"I met her the first time I went to Ireland," Jack said, jumping off Sandy's sand cloud. "Isn't that the one that you keep thinking will be the next Guardian?" The golden man nodded eagerly.
"I'll take 'em, Tooth," Bunnymund assured. He tapped his foot against the ground and a large tunnel appeared. "Hop in. C'mon."
"I'll pass," Jester said, backing away towards the door. "She's mad at me. See, I put this bug in this farmer's field as a prank, and... she's mad at me."
"Isn't everyone?" Lucky asked with a smirk.
"Touche. But she's nice. Have fun!" With that, Jester darted out the door.
"I am going to kick him out when you leave," North bellowed.
"That's cool!" Jack answered, taking one step in the hole. "Bye!" Lucky jumped in after him, and finally Bunny closed it with his exit.
They were in a forested area when they came out, but on a path with a pasture behind them. Jack managed to catch Lucky, both staying upright with the former's staff lodged firmly in the ground. Bunnymund exited the tunnel smiling.
"Hurry up, ya slowpokes!" he said eagerly, turning and hopping down the path. His cottontail wiggled ecstatically, a potentially embarassing fact that did not escape Jack's observant eyes. They continued down the path, and Lucky couldn't help but admire how green it was, even greener than her eyes when she was curious.
Green is curious.
They eventually came to a copse in the trees, an unnatural but beautiful arch of willowy branches marking its entrance. There was a large rock at the far edge, and the ground was speckled with pink and blue wildflowers. Upon entering, the three heard a note being played somewhere in the distance (Jack jumped about three feet, making him and Bunny equal in embarassing discoveries.) Exactly two steps in, a small girl jumped out from behind a bush (Jack controlled himself.) She giggled a little bit, a giggle that sounded like tiny bells, before snapping and making a miniature fiddle appear in her small, pale hands.
"What's she doing?" Jack whispered to Bunny.
"Shut up ya wanker, it's 'bout to start!" Before he could ask what "it" was, the leprechaun started playing the fiddle, faster than and better than any mortal could. Lucky's eyes went gold as she became giddy, the music making everyone happy. Four other leprechauns, two little redheaded girls and two brunette boys, danced out onto the rock and began to a complex four-hand jig, almost skipping off the rock multiple times but always staying on. Five more leprechauns, four girls and one boy, shooed the smaller ones off the stage and began to do an even more complicated reel, forming shapes with every step. The fiddling, which had grown so fast that the girl playing's hand was nothing more than a blur, reached a high note and all the leprechauns happily skipped off stage, joining the Guardians (who were epically failing at trying to mimic the dances.) Seeing this, Bunny's face lit up and he hopped even higher than before.
On her toes in ancient-looking hard shoes, the Leprechaun Queen appeared, intense red curls bouncing with each step. She was taller than the rest, as tall as Lucky and a bit shorter than Jack and Bunny. She wore a green dress that easily blended in with the forest behind them, opaque black tights clinging to her tiny, rapidly moving legs. Her dance was the most complex of all, so shockingly fast that Jack and Lucky stopped and gawked. Each step made a loud, delightful clack noise, and and small green eyes crinkled as her pink, heart-shaped lips smiled ecstatically, as if this was the only thing she ever wanted to do.
The music stopped abruptly, and all the little leprechauns joined their queen on the monolithic rock as the Guardians clapped. The Leprechaun Queen murmured something and they all bowed, pointing one toe and flicking it upwards before lowering themselves respectfully.
"Prepare somethin' for their travels," the tall (in comparison) redhead ordered her little subjects, who readily complied. She smiled at her guests again, clicking across the rocks and hopping off in front of them. "Hey, Bunnymund! How ya doin'?"
"Good." Jack and Lucky's heads snapped in his direction. He was no longer the giddy schoolboy he was before; his arms were crossed and he looked as calm as could be. Lucky gasped and smiled, turning to Jack to see if he was thinking what she was. From the blank look on his face, he wasn't.
"An' Jack Frost! Where ya been? Ireland hasn't gotten a good cold spell for awhile."
"I decided not to be too hard on you this past century," he said with a grin. Her green eyes finally wandered to Lucky, and upon seeing her her face lit up like a child.
"Lady Luck! Why haven't ya come to see me yet?"
"I've never really left Vegas," Lucky admitted sheepishly.
"Well I'm glad ya finally came to your senses! I'm Oonagh(1), the Leprechaun Queen." Without waiting, Oonagh grabbed Lucky's hand and shook it fervently. "I've been waitin'. The Man in the Moon told me when he made ya, and I've been patient."
"I'm glad someone was so excited to know of my existence," she said quietly, grinning.
"Oh, you have no idea! It's important for spirits ta know each other, 'specially for me. Now c'mon, I want ya ta see my castle."
"You live in a castle?" Lucky asked, memories of her human childhood when she dreamed of living in castles and being a princess.
"O' course! I'm a queen, after all. Where's my little darlins'?" As if this were some sort of signal, the leprechauns scurried from the bushes and motioned for them to follow them. Though the vegetation upon leaving the forest was even thicker than before, all the viridian leaves seem to bow to the Leprechaun Queen, respectfully making a path. Still, the branches and shrubbery scraped at Jack's bare ankles, and the castle blended in so well that he almost stubbed his toe on the mossy, decrepit stone.
It was an ancient castle, rather small with ivy as its mortar. The rock that held it together looked as if they had been there since the beginning of time, and eroding ever since. Jack became increasingly happy that he hadn't run into the rickety castle, for if he had it was in danger of toppling over. All but one tower had been destroyed, and other parts of the ceiling and wall were missing as well. He could see a staircase spiralling towards the sky, nothing to stop it except for the lack of further building. The two teenagers glanced at each other; obviously, this archaic structure was not what the wannabe princess had been expecting.
"C'mon," Oonagh said with a smile. "We don' bite." And then she stepped over a crumbling wall and into her home. There wasn't even a door. Just an opening in the wall. Jack was thankful Jester hadn't come, because he probably wouldn't have been able to keep his laughter in. "Girls! Where are ya?"
All the other leprechauns scurried from some other room (with a door), working together to hold bowls and bottles and a low table. It was set up almost as rapidly as their dance, and the Guardians found themselves being seated. Bunny was set up next to Oonagh, much to a couple of the girl leprechauns' delight. A number of Irish dishes were in front of them, steaming and smelling exotic and homey at the same time.
"Ya can take anythin' ya want," Oonagh said after a moment of the Guardians drooling at the pleasant smell. They took her up on this offer, and the younger ones realizing that they hadn't eaten in a century or two.
"Oonagh's one of the oldest spirits," Bunnymund explained as he spooned out some stew.
"Really?" Jack asked, examining her young face. It was older than him, probably 26 or 27.
"Don' forget powerful," she added mischviously.
"That's right. She's on par with us Guardians."
"Then why are we Guardians and not you?" Lucky prodded with a smile before taking a bite of some sort of lamb dish, which melted in her mouth. Oonagh cringed.
"It's a bit of a long story."
"What's this?" Jack asked, holding a bottle with no label. Before the Leprechaun Queen could answer, he put it to his lips, taking a swig. He spit it up almost immediately, cringing.
"Whiskey," she replied, grabbing another bottle and chugging it. When she set it down, absolutely nothing about her regal appearance or demeanor had changed.
"Really now?" Lucky grabbed the neck of another bottle, taking a cautious sip. Oh... so that's what it tastes like. "Not bad." A wooden cup was placed in front of her, and she eagerly filled it. Oonagh looked on, worried.
"That may be a bit much, darlin'."
"Nah. I'm a hundred and five, I can do this!" Bunny literally facepalmed, and Oonagh cringed as the girl took a long sip. Jack, seeming to take this as a challenge, poured himself a cup and did the same.
"This won't end well," Bunny stated, pouring himself a cup as well and sipping it sparingly.
"That was a bad idea," Oonagh moaned, looking at the passed out forms of Jack and Lucky across the table. Her head was in her hands, but even Bunny couldn't help but snicker at the sight. "O' course they can't hold their liquor like us! Why didn' ya stop 'em, Bunny?"
"Because now that white-haired anklebiter will think twice 'fore he pranks me!" the Guardian of Hope said with a laugh, stashing a notebook that he'd written all the embarassing things the young spirit had said in his belt. Just a couple of the scribblings included a tale of Jamie's deceased cat and a very guilty Jack, a confession of love to at least three girls in Burgess, and a story about a cactus that Bunny still didn't quite understand.
"That's not very nice, Bunny."
"Neither is 'e!" Oonagh sighed, getting up from her seat on the stone to check on the two teens. She snapped in front of their faces. Nothing happened.
"Perhaps it's time ta go back ta me orgins," she said with a smirk. The same grin from before broke through Bunny's hard face, and he kicked all the dishes off the table without hesitation. Oonagh laughed (a surprisingly masculine sound) and hopped on the table. Then, without music and with Bunny as her only conscious audience, she began to dance.
This wasn't like the last dance, the one on the rock with all her little leprechaun subjects. Somehow, this managed to be much faster, and systematically unsystematic. The table rumbled and scraped as she pounded it with her hard shoes. Bunny was clapping, completely off rhythm with his laughter burying the sound, but that only added to the dance's chaotic, wonderful feel. To top it off, green dust twisted and swerved from her feet, pulsing every time her shoes resonated through the hall with a clack. The dust seemed to dance itself, until finally, it came underneath Lucky and Jack's noses. The two woke with a start, their eyes tired and surprised at the same time. Oonagh danced for a moment more before taking a bow to a confused Jack and Lucky.
"A dance that can cure hangover," Oonagh explained as she stepped off the battered table. "One o' the most important spells I've learned."
"That's what it's like to get jazzed(2)?" Lucky asked, rubbing her head. "Why on earth did Mother like it so much?"
"This is the cure?" asked Jack, his voice muffled since he hadn't bothered to keep his head up.
"It'll go away in a minute, stop whinin'," Bunnymund said with a smirk. "Those little leprechauns could do better than that!"
"How're you okay?" the Winter Spirit demanded, poking his head up.
"I've been alive fer longer than you can think of, mate. If E. Aster Bunnymund can't 'old some liquor, 'e can't do much."
"I'm sorry," Oonagh apologized. "I shoulda stopped ya."
"Not your fault," Lucky replied, stretching. "I'm starting to feel better." In a softer voice, she murmured: "Why? Why would she do that to herself?"
"What 'bout Jack?" the Leprechaun Queen prodded, nodding in the whitette's direction. His head was still on the table.
"Oh, he's just being dramatic," Lucky, completely okay now, said with a wave of her hand. "Come on, buddy. No need for that." Jack released a muffled sigh and sat up. He didn't look much better.
"I think I need a bit more than a hangover dance to cure me," he mumbled.
"Oh, darlin', you should go on home!" Oonagh stated, standing up. "It doesn' always work."
"Good to know."
"Well, we'll see you," Lucky said, grabbing Jack by the arm and wrapping her's around his waist supportively. "Don't want Jack to pass out. Who knows what the leprechaun girls'll do to him!" Indeed, the leprechaun girls were standing on the stairs, giggling at hungover Jack. Oonagh shot them a glare, and they were gone in a second. Upon looking down again, she saw Bunny sitting at the table, completely content.
"Aren' ya goin' ta go with 'em?" she asked.
"What? Oh, yeah. I 'spose we'll go." Somewhat irritated, Bunny got up and hopped onto the grass, where Lucky was holding onto Jack and waiting.
"Beannacht." Lucky assumed this meant bye. Bunnymund mumbled a goodbye, not looking her in the eye. With a tap of his foot, the tunnels to the center of the Earth opened up and swallowed them, much too fast for them to get a good final look at the Leprechaun Queen.
Author's Note: 1- name of the fairy queen in Irish legend 2- drunk
In case you were wondering, I knew those dances because I actually do Irish dance. Granted, I haven't done it for that long, so all those leprechauns are a billion times better than me XD Thanks to Aqua for helping me with my Irish accent.
My sister's horse in Skyrim is named Frost and it keeps throwing me off -_- HOLY CRAP SLENDY'S IN THE LABYRINTH!
Thanks for reading and please review!
