Chapter Ten:
Easter is about new beginnings, new life. Easter is about hope.
Even though she didn't want to admit it, Rina still remembered the first signs of Lyndi drifting away form her. Be it a change of wardrobe, the people she hung out with or how she began criticizing every little thing Rina did, the girl remembered everything because whatever Lyndi did or said during her "transformation", as Rina began to call it, it made Rina feel just a little bit smaller standing when she was with her.
One of the first signs of Lyndi's change happened on Easter Sunday.
Back when they were younger, Rina and Lyndi used to spend Easter Sunday together. Even when they were kids, Lyndi didn't really believe in the Easter Bunny but she still went on Easter Egg Hunts to humor Rina and hang out with her other friends for the day. She even had her own basket even though Rina was the one who looked for all the eggs.
Most of the time, the eggs Rina found went into Lyndi's basket because Lyndi didn't want to be empty handed by the end of the day.
"Look, Lyndi! I found a blue one!" Rina chirped showing the egg she found under the bush to Lyndi, an excited grin gracing her lips. It was almost lunchtime and the girls had spent most of their morning walking around the park, together with the other children in the village, looking for the eggs the Easter Bunny hid. Granted he hid them quite well this year, Rina still tried her best to find them.
"Isn't it pretty?" The girl cooed, marveling at her latest find. The basket by her feet was nearly filled to the brim with all the eggs she found.
"Uhuh, very nice, Rina."
"But you didn't even look at it," Rina pouted, knitting her brows together.
Lyndi was sitting on the bench with a couple of other girls in their batch. None of them had Easter baskets with them and it didn't look like they were going to go hunting either. In fact, they were wearing clothes that looked far too old for them and jewelry that looked absolutely priceless. Not fit for children their age.
"Lyndi, look! It's really pretty!" Rina urged, nearly shoving the egg in Lyndi's face, trying to get her attention.
The girls Lyndi was with giggled at Rina's antics and Lyndi rolled her eyes in exasperation. She glanced over at Rina. The latter was wearing her favorite Easter jumper with tights and boots and her hair was standing all over the place. It even had some twigs and leaves in it from when she crawled under one of the bushes to get a yellow egg. Lyndi then looked at the egg Rina was holding and snorted.
"It's just a blue egg, Rina," She said, giving a look to her friends who laughed. Rina's grin slowly turned into a frown. "Nothing special."
"But it's blue!" Blue was her absolute favorite color in the entire world.
"There's a load of blue eggs in your basket, darling," One of Lyndi's friends giggled, feigning a British accent. Rina looked at her oddly. The way the girl spoke offended Rina in a way. Her tone was snobbish and mocking.
"Who is this girl, Lyndi?" Another asked, looking Rina up and down and smirking at the girl's appearance. She wondered how anyone could leave his or her house dressed like that. "She your little cousin or something?"
"Well–" Lyndi began to say, an embarrass blush forming on her cheeks. She didn't want them to know who Rina was to her. It was too embarrassing.
"I'm her best friend!" Rina said proudly, interrupting Lyndi. She placed the blue egg in her basket and lifted it off the ground. "We go Easter Egg Hunting every year, right Lyndi?"
The girls began laughing once more and commented on how cute Rina was. Rina looked over at them and wondered why they sounded so sinister even though the words that escaped their lips sounded like compliments. She looked over to Lyndi, wondering if she would help her look for more eggs or at least accompany her but the latter just frowned at Rina.
"I didn't know you went Easter Egg Hunting, Lyn," One of the girls chuckled under her breath, brushing her hair behind her ear to reveal a glimmering diamond stud. "That so…adorable."
"I don't." Lyndi said stiffly, standing up from the bench and patting down her new sequined skirt. The other girls stood up as well. Rina saw that some of them were wearing high-heeled shoes. It looked painful. "And it's not adorable, it's childish." She added, looking pointedly at Rina.
Rina felt herself shrink under Lyndi's gaze and she bit down on her lip nervously. Lyndi never seemed to have a problem with Easter Egg Hunting before. In fact, Lyndi's favorite part of Easter was eating the sweets at the end of the day. Rina reminded her of that and Lyndi's friends laughed again.
Lyndi's ears turned red with what looked to be anger and humiliation.
"Chocolate and candies will go straight to my thighs," she said, gesturing to her legs, which were exposed due to the length of her skirt. Rina wrinkled her nose. "You may not have a problem with it but I do. No man would like a girl with thunder thighs."
"And think about what they would do to your teeth!" A girl gasped, placing her hand on her cheek. Rina saw that her nails were painted a bright pink. "I wouldn't want to get ghastly braces."
"We also don't want chocolate sticking to our teeth! Remember what happened last time? I was so embarrassed I could just die!" Another exclaimed, eyes wide.
"But it's just for one day…" Rina mumbled, feeling quite foolish for trying to reason with the girls. Why wasn't Lyndi on her side anymore? What happened?
"It doesn't matter, Rina. Easter Egg Hunting is for kids. The girls and I are heading over to my house to watch movies. You want to come with?" Lyndi asked, placing her hands on her hips and cocking her brow at Rina. The girl noticed that Lyndi's eyebrows were thinner than before and wondered what she did to them. "Surely you rather watch a movie than collect those stupid eggs."
Rina licked her lips and ran her hand through her hair. She looked away from Lyndi and the girls' gaze and watched several kids run around the park, hunting for eggs with their friends. They looked so happy and Rina felt a pang of jealousy. At least they were having fun and not being attacked by the life-sized Barbie dolls. Lyndi cleared her throat and Rina turned her attention back to her best friend. An uneasy smiled formed on her lips and she took a step back away from them.
"Gee, Lyndi, that sounds awfully fun," Rina began, taking another step back. "But I think I'm going to stick back for another hour or two. There's still more eggs to find after all."
"Whatever," Lyndi shrugged, flipped her hair over her shoulder and turned to leave the park. The other girls quickly followed, leaving Rina alone. The girl watched her best friend leave and tried to ignore the very loud conversation she was having with the others. Unfortunately for her, it was hard to do since she heard her name being mentioned followed by laughter.
Once the girls turned a corner, Rina was able to move away from her spot.
The girl's brows knitted together and she walked around the park with a heavy heart. The morning seemed to be going so well but once Lyndi met up with those girls, she seemed to forget that Rina was there. It seemed like it was such a bother to acknowledge her talking. Rina didn't like being ignored by Lyndi but when the girls started talking, it seemed like being ignored was a better option.
"Whoa!" a young boy gasped, drawing Rina away from her thoughts. She looked down to see a little boy with unkempt brown hair and brown eyes as well. He had a round face and looked to be a few years younger than Rina. She recognized him as the boy living next door to her house. His name, unfortunately, escaped her.
"That's a lotta eggs you got there! How were you able to find them all?"
"Oh, I'm just lucky I guess," Rina grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of her head.
"That's amazing," The boy breathed out, eyes wide. "You think you can help me?" He then gestured to the basket in his hands and Rina saw that the boy only had five Easter Eggs in it.
"That would be great! I need a hunting buddy," Rina giggled, holding out her hand to the boy. "I'm Rina, by the way, Rina Snowe."
"Jamie Bennett," the boy told her, shaking her hand before dragging her off. "Come on! Before all the eggs run out!"
It was after the Boogeyman's attack where the Guardians found themselves back in the Globe Room at the North Pole, mourning the loss of their beloved Sandman. It was a solemn ceremony and Tooth knelt down to place the final candle to complete the circle surrounding Sandy's empty spot on the floor. The three Guardians, North, Tooth and Bunny, held hands, each having sad and heart broken looks in their eyes, while the elves bobbed their heads slowly to make the bells at the tip of their hats chime. Behind them stood the yetis. Even they were miserable at the news. They loved that little man and the dreams he gave them every night.
Without Sandy, who knows what would happen to the children once they closed their eyes at night?
Jack Frost sat against a window far from the ceremony. His hood covered his head and he used his finger to draw the Sandman on a frosted window. He let out a sigh when he finished. The Winter Spirit bit his lip and heard someone approach. It was none other than Nicholas St. North. The ceremony had ended just moments ago.
"Are you all right?" North asked the boy.
"I just wish I could've done something," Jack replied softly. He believed that it was his fault. If he hadn't convinced Sandy to come with him, then maybe, just maybe, he would still be with them.
North was taken back by what the Winter Spirit said. "Done something? Jack, you stood up to Pitch. You saved us."
"But Sandy wo–"
"Would be proud of what you did," North interrupted Jack, not wanting the boy to blame himself. If there was anyone to blame, it would be the Nightmare King.
Jack looked at the much older man and let out a sigh, nodding his head. North took this opportunity to tell Jack that no matter who he was in his past life, he is a Guardian in his life now.
"But how can I know who I am until I know who I was?"
"You will," North said to the boy, placing his hands on his large stomach. "I feel it in my belly."
This seemed to assure Jack for he followed North towards the Globe of Belief. Tooth and Bunny were standing in front of the Globe, watching the lights rapidly go out across the continents. The Tooth Fairy's brows knitted together in worry.
"Hey, buck up, ya sad sacks!" The Easter Bunny said, determined not to let all the lights disappear. "We can still turn this around! Easter's tomorrow! I need your help. I say we put out all the stops, and we get those little lights flickering again!"
"Sophie! Come back!" Rina called out to the girl, trying her best to keep up with the tot. She and Sophie had fallen through the magic portal and soon found themselves in a place that looked nothing like earth. Rina was absolutely amazed by the area and it didn't take long before Sophie decided to explore.
The land the magic portal took them to was grassy, colorful and it didn't look the least bit familiar. It looked like something that came out of storybook. Upon arriving, Rina marveled at the scenery, taking it all in, when Sophie suddenly ran away from her. The tot had found little eggs with legs (Rina was in awe) running around and she simply had to chase them.
After all, you don't see eggs walking around everyday. The eggs Sophie saw everyday were legless, in her refrigerator and she had them for breakfast.
When Rina finally caught up with Sophie, the little girl had several eggs in her arms.
"Look! Eggs!" Sophie grinned up at Rina, holding out the eggs she collected. The eggs took this as an opportunity to jump out of Sophie's arms and run away.
"Sophie! Please don't run!" Rina ran a hand through her hair and sighed in frustration before letting a small smile grace her lips, watching Sophie follow the eggs into a tunnel. It was tiring, trying to catch up with her, but Rina couldn't lie. She was having fun even though she was just following Sophie around to make sure she didn't hurt herself. "Legs, don't fail me now." She then muttered to herself, jogging into the tunnel.
The tunnel was dark, other than the light at the end, and Rina folded her arms behind her back, slowing down her pace. Surely a beautiful and wondrous place like this wouldn't bring any harm to the tot, right? When she thought about it, Sophie would most likely get hurt by tripping over her own two feet. The eggs looked harmless, seeming to be afraid of Sophie, and the large egg like structures Rina passed by just moments ago didn't look dangerous at all. They appeared to have smiling faces engraved on their surface and Rina took that as a good sign. She thought about turning back to appreciate what she saw before entering the tunnel when she heard the sounds of people charging.
"What is SHE doing HERE?" Someone yelled at the other end of the tunnel, making Rina run. Had Sophie gotten into trouble? When she was about to exit the tunnel, she caught sight of who were standing just outside of it. Hiding in the shadows, she blinked her eyes several times to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
Standing in front of Sophie was the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus along with two yetis and elves. Rina felt her heart skip a beat when she saw that they were holding out weapons. She then saw Jack Frost standing with them, lowering his staff, and Rina felt her cheeks flush, remembering the dream. Trying her best to push the thought away, the girl decided to think about what she should say. After all, her idols were awake and moving now and she had no idea what to say or do.
What do you say to someone who many told you didn't exist?
Rina watched as North's brows shot up at Bunny's question. He felt around his coat only to discover that his pocket was empty. "Snow Globe?" he suggested.
"Crikey!" Bunny exclaimed. "Somebody do something!"
"Don't look at me," Said Jack. "I'm invisible remember?"
Rina furrowed her brows and decided that it was time to make her presence known when another flood of white eggs came through the tunnel, picking her off her feet and bringing her out the tunnel. It felt weird being carried by a bunch of eggs and Rina squirmed uncomfortably. The eggs suddenly disappeared from under her and Rina fell on the grass with a thump. She groaned.
"Rina?" Jack asked, raising his brow at her while the Guardians looked at her in shock. How many children went through the magic portal?
"There's a bigger version of her!" Bunny sighed, running his paw down his face in exasperation. Rina bit back a laugh. This wasn't the first time someone compared her to Sophie.
"Err – Hi," Rina mumbled, running a hand through her hair, nervously. So much for making a good impression in front of them… The girl only succeeded in appearing sheepish.
"What are you doing here?" The Winter Spirit asked her, holding out a hand for her to take. Rina gratefully took it and was shocked at how easily Jack pulled her back to her feet. She smiled at him in thanks and dusted off the dirt on her jumper. When she turned to look back at the Guardians, they continued to stare at her with shock and confusion.
"Jack?" Rina asked in a quiet tone, taking a step closer to the Winter Spirit. "Are they who I think they are?"
"I told you they were real, didn't I?" Jack smirked, nudging Rina with his elbow. The girl frowned at him and nudged him back. "Well, you know who they are," The Winter Spirit began, gesturing to the Guardians with his staff. He then wrapped his arm around Rina's shoulders. "Guys, this is Rina Snowe, your number one fan."
Hello! Here's Chapter 10 for all of you! I hope you guys enjoyed it :)
Sorry for the... three day absence?
I was a little busy with school and I also had some difficulty writing this Chapter for some reason.
I hope it was satisfactory...
ANYWAY, I forgot to mention this in the previous Chapter but I would like the thank my good friend RenakhiteInk for suggesting the name "Irina".
Also, hmm... I suddenly lost my train of thought.
Oh well.
Just in case you didn't get it, the first part of this Chapter is sort of like a flashback...
yeah. okay. I'm being awkward now.
Thanks for taking the time to read this fic!
ALSO, thank you so much for all the reviews, favorites and follows! I really appreciate them!
Sorry I couldn't thank you all personally because I really can't find the time. It sucks but that's life...
Sorry also for any typos or grammatical errors. I try my best to avoid them but... you know.
Stay tuned for the next chapter
and
I only own what I own!