"Hey Ivan!" yelled Evangeline from outside my bedroom door, waking me up. "Wake up! We're going ice skating with the villagers and we're building snowmen today! And we have to help set up the Christmas decorations!"
I groaned, rolling over in bed and grabbing my pillow and putting it over my face. As much as I really wanted to get up and get ready to spend more time with my family, I couldn't. I was so tired. I couldn't get any sleep last night. I kept dreaming of Pitch's black sand and his glowing eyes. Every time I'd try to go back to sleep, that's all I kept seeing so I stayed up 'till about a few hours ago. I was finally starting to get some sleep until Evangeline woke me up.
I removed the pillow from my face. "I'll be there soon!" I yelled.
"Okay!" she yelled back and I listened as her footsteps ran next door to her room and the door closed.
"Can I just sleep for a few more hours? Maybe a few days?" I said to myself. My eyes were so heavy I could hardly keep them open. Finally, I closed them and went back to sleep. I was sleeping so well until I heard a couple knocks at the door. My eyes sprang open and I quickly sat up in bed.
"Hey, it's just me." Dad said, peeking in.
"Hey dad." I yawned. "How are you this morning? What time is it?" I rubbed the back of my hair and then put my hand up against my cheek, trying to hold my head up.
"I'm doing pretty well." He said, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. "And it's not really morning now. It's noon."
"What?" I practically yelled.
"Yeah it's 1:30." He said to me. I was so surprised I slept till this time. The latest I've ever woken up was 11 a.m. I never got up this late. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes. I glanced out the window where the sun was high in the sky.
"Why didn't anyone try to wake me up again?" I asked. "Evangeline told me to wake up but that was hours ago. I thought maybe one of you would try to wake me up a little bit after she tried to."
"Well, your mother came to check up on you and she told us that you were sleeping so soundly that she just couldn't bear to wake you up and it's a good thing that she didn't because you don't look like you got a lot of sleep last night. You even have some bags under your eyes." He said, nodding at me.
"Yeah, I just couldn't sleep at all last night." I said to him.
"How come?" He asked me.
I was wanted to tell him about my dream but then I remembered the promise I made with Pitch; That I'd never tell mom and dad about him. If I were to even mention the black sand I saw in my dream, they'd start to worry and probably not even let me out of their sight. They'd alert the guardians and they'd go and find him.
"I was still so excited from yesterday that I just couldn't fall asleep. It's been a very long time since we've all spent time together and we had so much fun I was just so overjoyed that it just took over me and I really couldn't stop thinking of it and the plans that we had for today." I smiled at him. He chuckled.
"Even I'm still excited from yesterday. I'm really glad we got to spend time together as a family yesterday too." He said to me. "Oh and it's so nice to actually have a couple of days off." He said, stretching himself and falling back down on my bed. I laughed.
"Being a guardian sure can tire you out. Especially when you've been one for so many years." He said to me.
"Hey dad, can I ask you something?" I asked him. He looked over and nodded his head at me. "Why did you decide to become a guardian dad?"
"To tell you the truth, I actually really didn't want to to begin with." He said to me.
"Why?" I asked.
"Well, like you and your sister know, I was around for over 300 years before I was offered the chance to become a guardian, well actually, more like being stuffed into a magic sack and tossed through a magic portal offer." He said, grinning from ear to ear at the memory. We both laughed.
"Anyway, I really didn't want to become one because I just considered the thought of it really boring and because I felt resent for not being believed in." He looked over, remembering everything from all those years. I really couldn't imagine what it must be like to not have anyone see, touch, hear, or believe in you for so many years.
"But North convinced me to help aid them. Pitch, I'm sure you know him," He continued, making my heart stop and hold my breath when he said his name., "he had started to spread fear, mostly all due to the resentment he held for no one believing in him, and that feeling, I actually understood very well."
I glanced over at him. I wanted to tell him about my dream but I knew I couldn't so I just sat still and continued to listen to him.
"He ended up making the children stop believing in Tooth, Bunny, and North. He killed Sandy but he came back in the end. But during the time that Sandy was gone, the other three grew weak because no one believed in them. That's the bad thing about being a guardian; that if a certain number of children stop believing in you, you start to grow weak and so do your powers. I was still able to fight for I was the only one still strong enough and because I still wasn't a guardian. During that time, I met a child named Jamie, your uncle Jamie." He said, glancing up at me. "And I helped him believe in the guardians and he was the very first person to see me. To actually believe in me." He smiled.
"Jamie also convinced his friends to believe and the guardians managed to gain their powers back and we all ended up defeating Pitch in the end. Then, I finally accepted my place as a Guardian. The Guardian of Fun." He held up a hand and formed a snowflake from his fingertips. He slightly waved his hand and the snowflake flew all over the room. It kept flying until it ended up landing on my nose. I felt a little tingly, then all of a sudden, I wasn't tired anymore. I was full of energy and I was ready to roll.
"Now," he said, holding his head up to look at me. "Are you ready to go have some fun with us?" He asked. I smiled and nodded my head.
"Alrighty then!" He said, jumping up from the bed. "I'll tell everyone you're awake now and we'll wait for you downstairs alright?"
"Sure dad! I'll be right there!" I said to him. He smiled and left the room. I immediately jumped from the bed and ran over to my wardrobe and opened it up. I looked around until I found an outfit for the day. When I took it out I felt a chill run up my spine.
"Ivan." A voice whispered in my ear. I quickly spun around but there was nothing behind me. I glanced around my room but I was alone. The voice I heard sounded just like Pitch.
"Stop it." I told myself. "You're still tired and you're just hearing things."
I went ahead and put my clothes on and stepped outside my room. I quickly ran down the corridor and ran down the stairs. Then, I went into the main room where everyone else was sitting around the fireplace.
"Hey everyone!" I said with glee. "Sorry I'm late."
"Well it's about time you decided to join us." Evangeline in an annoyed tone, glaring at me. I stuck my tongue out at her.
"Good day to you aunt Anna and uncle Kristoff." I said, nodding my head at them.
"Good day to you too sweetie!" aunt Anna beamed at me. She had Alma sitting on the floor in front of her as she braided her hair.
"Hey Ivan! You feeling okay?" Alma asked me.
"Yeah, I'm feeling fine. I just couldn't sleep last night that's why I was so late in waking up." I explained to her.
"I'm glad your dad went to wake you up or you would've slept the whole day." Mom chuckled. I blushed with embarrassment.
"Yeah I'm glad he did too." I said, rubbing the back of my head sheepishly.
"Well alright now that Ivan is up, let's go!" Dad exclaimed, helping mom up from her seat. Everyone quickly stood up from their seats and we all followed mom and dad outside the castle. We went out past the gates and towards the center of the village where the villagers were putting up their decorations around their houses and some had just finished putting up the Christmas tree. Christmas was now almost two weeks away and the villagers were so anxious and excited to start getting ready that mom and dad decided to bring all of us to help decorate.
"Okay everyone pick a section they want to help out and let's start decorating!" Dad said, motioning all around us.
We all separated, Alma and Evangeline helping the children put up the decorations around their houses. Aunt and Uncle went and helped direct the villagers and guests, who were visiting Arendelle for the season, in where to go and what to do. Brock, instead of helping out, ran off with the other boys to play. I went ahead and stuck with mom and dad to help decorate the Christmas tree. Now, this wasn't your average six foot Christmas tree you'd have in your living room. This was a thirty-foot tree that the village men, along with uncle, went in search of.
Three hours passed and we helped decorate, played in the snow, had snowball fights, built snowmen and forts, and had tons of fun during those hours. As we were putting the finishing touches on the Christmas tree, many of the villagers and the guests gathered around in awe to watch us finish up. I reached into the sack to pull out the finishing touch, the golden, crystal star for the top of the Christmas tree. I walked forward towards my mom and dad, who were almost done putting up the last of the decorations, holding the star in my hand.
As I waited for mom and dad to finish, I looked down at it and saw a dark spot on it. I held it up so I could get a closer look. Maybe it was a smudge. I tried to scratch it off but it didn't disappear. I held it up closer and saw that the dark spot was swirling around. It grew bigger and suddenly, a pair of glowing eyes, one's that I recognized too well, appeared in the dark spot.
Frightened, I dropped the star and watched it fall and hit the ground, shattering into pieces. Everyone and everything around me grew quiet and I felt all eyes on me. My mouth was open and my eyes were wide, staring down at the broken pieces. I felt a sick feeling in my stomach along with fear.
"Ivan? Are you alright?" I heard mom say to me, coming into my view. I slowly moved to look at her. She and dad were looking at me worriedly.
"I-I am." I said. I looked back down at the broken pieces, the dark spot gone. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to drop it!" I exclaimed, bending down to pick up the pieces. I shakenly grabbed at the pieces, feeling their sharp edges cutting my skin. I watched as blood started to come out from the cuts. Anyone would've stopped once they saw that they had cut themselves, but for some reason, I couldn't
"Ivan stop! You're cutting yourself." Dad yelled, bending down to grab my hands, to stop me from cutting myself even more.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" I repeated over and over, holding dad's hand against me. I had slumped over and dad's arms were the only thing keeping me up and from hitting the floor. I saw my blood all over the sleeves of his hoodie. My eyes rolled around, looking at everyone as they watched us in shock. Some had back away while others stepped forward, wanting to help. Aunt Anna and uncle Kristoff had stepped forward and were watching us with concern. Brock, Alma, and Evangeline looked at us scared from where they stood. Mom was bent down in front of me, her hand on my cheek.
"Ivan, what's wrong? Answer me!" She said, scared.
I started shaking. I heard the villagers gasp and I looked up to see that it had started to snow down hard it and was swirling fast all around us. The wind blew forcefully, causing the villagers to cover their faces, reach out for others in the fear that they were going to be blown away, and for the tree to start swaying. Some of the ropes that were attached to the tree started to snap off the knobs they were attached to. The men ran forward, grabbing the ropes and pulled back to keep the tree from going over. I could hear some of them screaming. The whole place started to spin and my vision suddenly blurred.
"Ivan! Stop!" I heard Evangeline shout out at me.
No matter what, I couldn't. My whole body continued to shake and I could hardly see anything now.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." I said one last time as I closed my eyes, the sound of the wind and screams were the last things I heard, followed by Pitch's voice saying my name.
"Ivan…"