I realize that I am a horrible human being to have not updated for so long and I am sorry for the wait. I will try and update more regularly, and hopefully you can find it in yourselves to forgive me. So without further adieu here is chapter 9.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of The Guardians or any of it's characters.

I do own Amora Summer though.


Amora walked slowly towards the room she dreaded entering. She took the longest route possible and still she arrived too soon. She took a deep breath before entering. Slowly she pushed open the heavy doors and journeyed into the darkened room.

She did not need the light from the hallway to guide her; she deftly maneuvered the landscape following the dirt trail, created by her own feet treading over the grass, she stopped at the edge of a giant pond that resided in the middle of the room. The door shut with a loud thud behind her and the light was gone.

Amora sunk to her knees and felt the sobs threatening to escape. The cool dirt beneath her was damp from the water, she could practically feel it staining her dress, but she didn't care. She reached forward blindly in the darkness and rested her palm on the surface of the water. A quiet voice spoke to her.

"What troubles you my child?" the voice asked. Though the words seemed to hang in the air, they were only clear in Amora's mind.

"I long to feel that which I give." She thought back. A familiar warmth spread over her as the voice soothed her.

"I am so sorry that it was you who was chosen for this fate, I believe that no one else is more deserving of my blessing than you my dear Amora."

"Nearly 5000 years I've lived like this." She thought, sniffing quietly in a failed attempt to hold back her tears. "I have begged the man in the moon to let me feel, but all I end up with is pain. I want to know love more than ever before." Her silent request was obvious to the spirit inhabiting the pond.

"I'm sorry my dear, but it is not my destiny to take away your curse."

"Please Aphrodite, please." The passion behind her words almost caused her to speak them out loud. She was met with only silence. Her audience with the goddess was over. She withdrew her hand from the water and hung her head. She closed her eyes, determined to not let any more tears fall.

The blinding light the enveloped the room was not a surprise to her. She waited a moment before opening her eyes. The bark of the trees was lit with a pure white light that was reminiscent of moonlight. Her arrows hung from the trees like leaves. All she had to do was dip the tips in the pool to enchant them.

There was a soft thud behind her. She quickly got to her feet, wiping away the traitorous tears that had fallen onto her cheeks and looked around.

"Jack!?" she said with a confusing mix of anger and joy. He looked up at her sheepishly; it was clear on his face that he knew he wasn't supposed to be there. "What are you doing here?" she asked him. He floated back onto his feet and held his staff behind his back.

"The guardians are worried about you." He said "I'm worried about you" is what he thought. Her face fell slightly at his explanation.

"oh" was all she said.

Jack could hear the disappointment in her voice. He looked at his feet and began drawing patterns with frost.

The silence between them was full of unsaid proclamations and missed opportunities. Jack opened his mouth but there were no words. The snowballs he felt every time she was around intensified until he wondered if there was a blizzard building in his stomach. He felt the need, now more than ever before, to reach out and hold her. Her puffy red eyes had not gone unnoticed by him. He didn't care if she would burn his skin, he would gladly take that pain any day. All he wanted was to hold her and tell her everything was going to be all right. He wanted to run his fingers through her wild curls and caress her pink stained cheeks.

"Well I'm fine." Amora said, after what felt like hours of tense silence. "You can tell the other guardians not to worry." Her voice was weak and breathy, like she had just gotten the wind knocked out of her.

Her voice pulled Jack from his thoughts. He cleared his throat and nodded. He left the indoor forest and slowly drifted down the hallway, careful not to touch anything. He eventually found his way back to the runway. The doves had all disappeared, leaving the long stretch of marble open and unattended. He was about to take off when he heard something behind him.

"Jack!" He heard Amora call from inside, "Jack, wait!" her voice was getting closer. He stopped and turned around just in time to see her coming towards him. She stopped short when she reached him. Closer than what would have been considered appropriate. He could feel the heat radiating from her body, and he was sure she could feel the coolness of his skin. She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes.

"I'm sorry" she said, "but Doubt is not someone that I can fight." Her bright green eyes begged him to understand.

"Maybe not alone, but with the other guardians, there's no way we could lose." She gave him a small smile that did not reach her eyes. She placed her hands on his chest, steam rose from their contact, but Jack did not even flinch.

"Just promise me that you'll be careful." She would not meet his eyes when she said this.

Jack gave her an easy smirk, "When am I not." For a moment Amora laughed a true laugh, it extended to all of her features and rang out into the air. Her joy went as quickly as it had come. Her face fell and when she finally met his eyes, Jack could see the worry deeply seeded in her mind. Her eyes were deep and pleading. His face became serious as he pulled her into his embrace. The heat of her exposed skin was scalding against his; the steam that rose from their embrace was thick and hot.

She buried her face into his chest and he rested his chin on her head. Her hair smelt of summer and roses. He took this as an opportunity to plant a soft kiss on top of her head.

Amora tightened her grip on his sweatshirt before he released her. Her face had turned red from contact with Jack, conveniently and effectively hiding her blush.

"Alright Frosty," she said patting his chest and taking a step back, ending their tender moment. "Go kick Doubt's ass" she said punching him lightly in the arm.

"As you wish m'lady" Jack said giving an over exaggerated bow. He then turned around and began his flight back to the North Pole where he was sure the other guardians would be waiting impatiently for news of any kind.

Amora watched Jack until he was just a speck on the horizon. She let out a soft sigh and allowed herself to be happy. She giggled and flew up to her room before she allowed reality to sink back in.

Doubt was out there. He was back and the guardians were going to fight him. How did you fight something that had no physical form? It would be like trying to fight the wind.

All this worrying was exhausting to Amora and when she lied down on her bed she was over powered by an unexpected wave of fatigue that slowly carried her off to sleep.


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