FLASHBACKS will be signaled.

THIS INCLUDES MATERIAL FROM WILLIAM JOYCE'S THE GUARDIANS OF CHILDHOOD HE OWNS THE CHARACTERS AND SERIES, NOT ME!

Officer Z. Dias punched the red button on the recording device that sat between him and Rhys Archer. The convict's dark hair was disheveled at odd angles and light bags hung from his eyes. The sleep in the cell had obviously not been a comfortable one, and his blue dress shirt had a patchwork of wrinkles on it. Despite that, however, Rhys' gaze was as cool as ever, and he was showing no telltale signs of guilt. That didn't stop Officer Adrian from glowering at him from the corner to watch his every move. Minerva, the lawyer assigned to Rhys, simply held her hands in her lap and kept her chin high.

"You claim that you are not guilty of the assault and theft of Ana Punjam, yes?"

Minerva turned to her client, but he had already nodded in confirmation.

Dias sighed and shifted in his seat. "I guess we may as well start from the beginning...Where were you on the evening of Saturday, November 24th, between the times of seven and eight P.M.?"

"I was at my home."

"What were you doing?"

Rhys raised and lowered one shoulder. "Reading. Watching TV. Just things to pass the time."

"Do you have any proof of that?"

"No."

"So you are saying that you were at your home from seven to eight P.M., and although you have no proof, you do swear that."

"Yes, officer."

Dias raised an eyebrow for one moment. "You're surprisingly benign for someone who's being accused for a serious crime."

In a nonchalant voice, Rhys replied, "I have nothing to be guilty of."

"Then how do you explain Miss Punjam's pendant being found on your person?"

"The pendant was found in my coat pocket. Naturally, I've been wearing a coat to fight off the cold weather, but I do remove it when I am indoors. Such as The Clover or the library. Someone had to have put the pendant in my pocket when I was not looking."

Dias nodded slowly, considering. "It's possible. But it's also possible that you're lying, even if you swear you're not. Either way, we don't have evidence of either case. But if your assumption is correct, where have you been since Saturday other than your home?"

Rhys paused to think about it. Despite Minerva's gentle reminder that he didn't have to answer that, he did. "The Clover and the library. I also went to the grocery, but I didn't remove my coat then."

Dias nodded yet again and folds his fingers together. "Here's how this is going to work. Miss Punjam has 72 hours to file charges against you. If she doesn't in that time period, then you are allowed to leave. Whichever way, we will continue to search for evidence regarding whether or not it was you. Of course, if Miss Punjam does file charges, then you will be given a trial and your guilt or innocence will be determined by evidence."

With that, the recorder is shut off.

"Okay…You're the Tooth Fairy. Nicholas is Santa Claus. Mr. Mansnoozie is the Sandman, and Aster is the Easter Bunny?"

Tooth nodded in confirmation and took another bite of her croissant. They were sitting in Ambrosia, Burgess' bakery/patisserie, the one with the macarons that Tooth adored. For the otherwise rustic town, Ambrosia was particularly elegant, with warm browns and whites and silvers. Nevertheless, it still had a sort of old-fashioned feel to it. The door had a small bell at the top, the bread was baked within three brick ovens that could be seen from the front, and the furniture was constructed of wood and leather. Children were often found staring at the decadent sweets in the glass display beside the counter. If Tooth had enough spare time, she found herself occasionally sitting at a table, reading a book and sipping on tea. Well, that was if Dem, the owner, wasn't screaming at the workers. That woman was sugar and fire, really.

Diamond twirled her water in her glass as she continued, "And you were all sent here because the Bogeyman—Mr. Kozmotis—erased your memories and turned you into humans. Jamie is the only one that remembers because he went through a magic portal."

"Yeah. And the new guy in town, Jackson, is Jack Frost and he's the one that saved him."

Diamond is stopped from immediately responding when Dem's voice screeches from the kitchens. "CARMEN! WHERE. ARE. MY. MACARONS?!"

"Does anyone believe him?"

Tooth clicked her tongue as she evaluated her words. "I honestly don't think anyone believes him, but…well, for one thing, we don't want to upset him. And, it's kind of peculiar how he knows stuff that he shouldn't. Like, I have this birthmark on my arm, right? I always cover it up and Jamie has never seen it. Well, he told me that in the past life, I was cut on the arm, and when he pointed where, it was exactly where my birthmark was."

Diamond's eyes went wide at that, but it took her ten seconds until she swallowed a bite of her Panini and respond. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Whoa."

"Yeah."

"Geez…so when—"

"THERE IS MORE FLOUR ON THE FLOOR THAN IN THE BOWL, DEION."

"…so when did he start talking about this?"

Tooth picked at a crumb absentmindedly. "Since the day that I met him, I think. It kind of freaked me out—I didn't know him, I only knew of him, but that didn't stop him from hugging me right there."

Diamond shrugged and gave the brunette a coy smile. With a sparkle in her eye, she asked, "So what if he is right?"

"Then I will drop to my knees and apologize for ever doubting him." Tooth said this with a smirk. "But that will never happen because that would be—"

She instantly stopped herself when the bell rang and Miranda Bennett herself walked into the patisserie. The mother of two shivered and shook the flakes of ice from her shoulders. Now, luckily, it didn't turn into the kind of scenario where Tooth didn't notice her and ended up saying something mean about Miranda's son that she overheard. As a matter of fact, Tooth wasn't going to say anything cruel—she was simply going to say "because that would be impossible." Still, even kind words about Jamie piqued Miranda's attention instantaneously. Not that Tooth could blame her. Even the most mature adults could be heard badmouthing "that crazy Bennett boy."

Diamond, who had her back to the front door (the patisserie was designed so that there were two window tables beside the entrance), turned to see what had caused Tooth to stop. When she did, she spun back around fast enough to give herself whiplash.

Miranda greeted Dem at the register and recited her order for a baguette and a few apple tarts. Dem's sugary beam jarringly twisted into a stern frown as she barked to the back, "MARIE! THE BAGUETTES! HURRY UP!" She stormed to the back with her voice still at a high volume. Miranda visibly sighed.

Tooth wasn't going to duck her head, cover her face with one hand, and stare out the window until Miranda left. But, if she was perfectly honest, she did somewhat hope that Miranda wouldn't notice her. Their conversation at the hospital ended on a bit of a sour note. If Miranda did notice her, Tooth expected her to simply look away.

Well, Miranda did notice her, and instead gave the teenager an awkward smile and a wave. Tooth mimicked the gesture stiffly. Diamond, who had met Miranda several times when she dropped Jamie off at for his sessions, gave a much more casual greeting.

To Tooth's surprise, Miranda craned her neck over the counter to see if Dem was coming and approached their table. Tooth sat straighter and glanced down at her chest to see if she had croissant crumbs on her shirt.

Miranda gave the girls another smile, but before she can speak, Dem's voice once again screeches, causing all three of them to flinch. "I'M NOT DORA THE EXPLORER, MARTIN! I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU PUT THE ÉCLAIRS!"

Miranda clicked her tongue and plastered a smile on her face. Dem's voice continued to scream in the background. "Good morning, ladies."

The two girls repeated the greeting just as awkwardly.

"So are you two here on your lunch break?"

Diamond nodded, her chandelier earrings swaying at the movement. "Mm-hm. What about you?"

"Oh, I'm just picking up a few things for dinner tonight. You know how much Sophie and Jamie love the food here."

Tooth knew that. She also knew that apple tarts were Jamie's absolute favorite treat, and she wondered whether Miranda chose them intentionally because of that. Probably. Probably not.

Tooth sat upright when Miranda turned to her. "How have you been holding up?"

"I'm fine. Just…still trying to wrap my head around everything. The police don't know enough yet, but even if it does turn out to be Rhys, it's not like I can afford to press charges, you know?"

Miranda's look was one of sympathy, which Tooth was not at all used to seeing. "Yeah, I know. I can't really help out with money, but I have a friend who's a lawyer. Maybe I can ask her to help out?"

Tooth almost stuttered. That was a first. Before Miranda visited her at the hospital, she and Tooth scarcely spoke to each other. When they did, it was either about Tooth encouraging Jamie's ideas or slightly bitter small talk. Maybe she was exaggerating this. It was the decent thing to do, right? Miranda was offering assistance, not a million dollars. "That would be great. Thank you."

"What's going on with you?" asked Diamond. "How are things at the post office?"

Miranda rolled her chocolate brown eyes with a sigh. "Boring as ever. But the other day, I was taking care of the packages, and one of them started vibrating like crazy. It was for Nicholas, so I called him…"

Tooth's mind drowned out Miranda's words as her eyes focused on the brunet sitting at a far table. She, Diamond, and Miranda weren't the only people in the patisserie. She spotted a few other students from the college, a child or two, and others. Some were eating lunch, some were snacking on treats, and others were reading or using computers as they drank either tea or coffee. But it was the brunet, the one with the cobalt hoodie and pale skin, that she was focusing on.

She glanced between Jackson and Miranda as she chewed on her lower lip. Neither had noticed the other, but if either one of them turned around, they would. She doubted Jackson would start a conversation—Tooth didn't know him very well at all, but she knew that he really didn't want to anger Miranda. It was her that Tooth wasn't sure about. Maybe she would notice him and pretend that she hadn't. Maybe she'd apologize. Maybe she'd once again remind him that he was to stay away from her son at all costs.

"Well, I'll see you two later." Tooth's head instantly snapped back to Miranda. "Tooth, I'll talk to that friend of mine tonight, okay? Have a nice day."

Diamond told a polite goodbye, but Tooth was too busy holding her breath. Miranda headed back to the counter and took her paper bag of goods. She thanked Dem and turned to the doors with her eyes on her wristwatch. She never took notice of Jackson, and it seemed that he never took notice of her.

She let out a sigh of relief. No sooner did she do that than Jackson stood from his seat to toss his napkin into the trash bin. He caught sight of her, looking somewhat surprised, and she waved to him. "Hey."

"Hi." He walked to their table with a somewhat crooked grin on his face. He turned to Diamond with his eyes narrowed thoughtfully and raised a finger. "Um…I know it's some kind of gemstone. Ruby?"

"Diamond." She extended a hand to him, her skin peachy compared to Jackson's. "And you are Jackson. I've heard talk about you."

Jackson crossed his arms over his chest and looked up at the ceiling with a faux look of concentration. With a click of a tongue, he mused, "Let me think who could have possibly been talking about me."

"Him. And Tooth."

Tooth immediately waved her hands and shook her head. Way to throw her under the bus! "Only in passing, I swear."

Jackson and Diamond both chuckled at her embarrassment. Tooth giggled herself but nevertheless tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. Why the heck was she getting shy around the guy whose mouth she had pried open to observe his teeth?

Their giggling came to an abrupt stop when Dem's voice once again sounded from the back. "WHY DO YOU HAVE SO MUCH FLOUR ON YOU? YOU LOOK LIKE THE PILLSBURY DOUGH BOY."

The three of them exchanged small talk, nothing more than friendly chitchat. Jackson updated them on working with Aster (they were apparently still on 'okay at best' terms), they discussed Tooth's situation with Rhys, Diamond's issues at the office, and other little things such as that. Eventually, however, Diamond announced that it was time to head back to the college.

As Diamond and Tooth were heading for the car, the door to Ambrosia opened. "Tooth! Wait a second!"

Tooth turned to face Jackson as he trotted to her. He extended a tin box to her, and judging by the picture on the front—Santa Claus, in a circle of holly, smiling at her with rosy red cheeks and bright blue eyes—it was from Nicholas. She curiously popped the lid off to peek inside. There was a small pile of cookies, each one about as big as her hand. She sighed. Nicholas was an excellent cook, but gosh if he didn't make excessive quantities of food.

"Wonderful," Tooth smiled up at Jackson and tucked the box underneath her arm. "I'll just put this with the other forty-six."

Jackson chuckled at that, but Tooth's smile faltered. "That's not an exaggeration."

His smile fell in place of a frown and a raised eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Wow."

"Hmm…"

Tooth nodded to Jackson's hoodie. The blue fabric faded at the cuffs and neck, and the hood was a light gray. She was used to seeing the teenager in browns and grays, and frankly, it looked somewhat familiar to her. "What's with the hoodie?"

Jackson clicked his tongue and stretched it out by the hem. It fit pretty snuggly on his frame, so it didn't move very much. "A little birdie told me to get something like this via paper."

"Already? He's more interested in you than I thought…"

Jackson cocked his head to the side. She had to have heard about the—what, four?—times that Jamie had snuck away to see him, much to his mother's fury. "Really?"

"Well…" Tooth cleared her throat inelegantly and gestured a small finger to the multicolored pieces of her hair. "I was going to get my hair streaked to begin with, but Jamie told me to get these colors."

Jackson only hummed again. Gosh, Tooth hated getting into these situations, where she didn't know what to say. Wait, why did she need to say anything? She had to go back—

"Do you really think that Rhys did it?"

Tooth subconsciously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. With a made a sort of frustrated growl at the back of her throat. "I don't know. I mean, he had my pendant. But why would he steal it? We just had an actual conversation yesterday. And why would he point the finger at Mr. Kozmotis? Did he blackmail him to do it? Does Rhys have something against him? I just…I'm going to let the police figure all of this out before I come to anything."

Jackson's eyebrow quirked up again. "What did you guys talk about?"

"All things considered, it was kind of…weird. He asked me if my pendant was the only thing that was stolen…maybe he was just trying to make himself come off as innocent…then he asked me if I believed any of Jamie's stories."

"Jamie's stories?"

"Tooth!" Diamond's pale blonde head poked up over the hood of the car to call to her friend. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, just a second," replied Tooth. She turned back to Jackson. "Yeah. I don't know why, and he walked off before I could say anything. Anyways, I'll talk to you later, okay? I need to get going."

Jackson waved goodbye to her as she bounded off for the car. Still, all he could muster was a momentary smirk.

None of this was piecing together. Rhys stole Tooth's pendant, supposedly. Then he shifted the focus to Mr. Kozmotis. Why? Plus, instead of telling the police, he told him, Nicholas, and Aster…And then he talked to Tooth about it, for reasons unknown. Jamie's stories had no place in this, he was sure, but then why did he bring it up, anyway? His head was hurting just thinking about all of this. Maybe Nicholas would figure this out.

FLASHBACK

"I can't."

"It's easy!" Jamie pushed forward once again, gliding across the ice with his arms extended beside him. The blades of the skates made soft scratching sounds on the surface. He completed a full circle, then a figure eight, all while glancing to the stands at the Guardian who watched him with unsure eyes. "It's like walking without picking up your feet!"

Toothiana continued to frown as she watched Jamie. With some begging from Jamie, Toothiana phasing through the walls to investigate possible security officials, and unlocking the door, they had entered the Crockett ice rink. It was a large area, more than forty feet long, surrounded by walls of plastic and empty stands. The ice shimmered underneath the heavy lights, and the only sound to be heard was that of the blades on the ice. It was strangely relaxing, if not a bit eerie.

It would probably be more relaxing if Toothiana wasn't being pressured by Jamie to join him. Toothiana had no problem with walking—it wasn't as if Jamie was being rude or inconsiderate. It's just that, when you spend days upon weeks upon months upon years without your feet ever touching the ground, you kind of get used to the feeling of your legs dangling limply underneath you. And, to be utterly honest, Toothiana has never gone ice-skating a day in her life. There was no such thing when she wasn't a Guardian and she had reasons to never do it later.

"Come on, I'll help you."

She had hardly noticed Jack walk up to her with a pair of small white skates in one hand. Large amethyst eyes glanced between the bladed boots and the white-haired boy holding them. With one hand at her chin, Toothiana slowly murmured, "I don't know…"

Jack chuckled, but his voice was surprisingly comforting when he said, "I won't let you fall."

He flippantly gestured to one of the seats with his free hand. Toothiana hesitated for one more moment, but finally gave in with a sort of committal groan. Gosh darn Jack and his baby blue puppy dog eyes…!

She sat down, her wings fluttering to a stop and resting against her back. Jack knelt before her and helped her place her feet into the skates, and both of them realize just how small her feet were. He laced them up, too, which was unnecessary but sweet. Finally, he held out his hands to her, pale and thin. She held up her hands, paused to glance up at him and catch his reassuring smirk, and placed her palms in his. Even her hands were incredibly little.

Toothiana took a deep breath and pushed herself forward, fell back down when her legs didn't respond, and pushed herself forward again. For a second, they awkwardly stood there with their hands together and her knees buckled. With some soft instructions from Jack, she straightened her legs until she had found her center of gravity. One wobbly step after another, they made their way to the rink.

Jack glided backwards and pulled the fairy with him. Once they were on the ice, he stood behind her held up her forearms, the feathers so soft and delicate he was surprised that they didn't fall from her skin when touched.

"Okay, like Jamie said—it's like walking without picking up your feet. So just push one foot forward with me. One, two, three…"

Jack's bare foot slid forward easily, but Toothiana didn't fare so well. She pushed a little too hard, and her foot pushed out from underneath her. She squeaked at the same time that Jack's hands went underneath her arms to keep her upright. Several times, Tooth attempted to get back on balance, only for her feet to betray her. They buckled and crossed and spread, and at one point, she would have done a split if Jack's hands didn't catch hers at the last second. All the while, Jamie sat cross-legged on the ice, trying not to choke on his own laughter.

Eventually, Jack sternly commanded, "Stop." The Tooth Fairy did as she was told and froze with both legs crossed at the knees. Jack lifted her to her feet and ever-so-slowly pulled away. He sighed in relief when she didn't collapse instantaneously.

He positioned himself so that his chest was almost against her wings. He placed one pale hand on her side and took her hand with the other. Toothiana's belly swarmed with butterflies, and she felt her muscles tighten. Jack, meanwhile, was awkwardly shifting about, trying to keep himself from awkwardly clearing his throat while also trying not to press against her wings or get his feet tangled in her tail feathers.

"Okay, now I'm going to lead you. Slow and steady."

Toothiana nodded and her head feathers brushing against the cold fabric of his hoodie. Jack's bare foot slid forward again, and with a little push on her side, Toothiana copied his movements. She managed not to flail this time, so Jack repeated the movement with his other foot. They soon managed a rhythm with their feet. Right foot, pause, left foot, pause, right foot again. Jack's hold on her became looser and he began to fall back bit by bit. Toothiana was shortly skating on her own, but with Jack beside her and close enough to catch her if she faltered.

"You got it?"

"Yeah," she laughed. When the corner of the rink approached, she took one long stride at the turn. She smiled at Jack with a look that just screamed 'Did you see that?!' Then her thrilled grin fell to a confused one, and as her large eyes flickered from Jack to the ice, she questioned, "How are you doing that?"

Jack was skating backwards—heck, he wasn't even skating, he was as barefoot as ever—with such ease and effortlessness it looked secondhand to him. With his staff left in the stands, he had both of his hands stuffed into the pocket of his hoodie. But he only stared back at her with a bemused grin. "Doing what?"

"That!" Tooth nodded to his feet.

Jack held up his hands defensively. "This is just natural to me."

"Skating barefoot backwards on ice without looking behind you is natural?" Tooth said this with what could have been a raised eyebrow, if she had any.

"Mm-hm. And so is this…"

He span around on the ice, hands still in his hoodie pocket, and lifted one foot from the ice. He glided like this for a moment, glancing back at Toothiana to see her still observing him. Suddenly, he jumped into the air, spinning like a top, and landed back down on one foot a moment later. He winked at Toothiana with a smirk.

Toothiana was impressed, undoubtedly, but still called, "Showoff!"

Jamie slid up to her then with a hand held out for her. Toothiana curtsied to him, giggling as she took his hand in hers. They were like that for a time—Jamie and Toothiana skating hand-in-hand as Jack went around and around the rink, doing expert tricks with incredible ease. Jamie and Toothiana lightheartedly scolded Jack when he swept a bit too closely by them. When Toothiana successfully circled around Jamie with one hand in his, Jack cheered from the other side of the rink. Toothiana's skate unfortunately hit a small patch of dry ice, but just as she tumbled forward, Jack skimmed in at the last second and caught her hands.

Jack laughed as she straightened herself. As he pulled her with him, he reminded her in a low voice, "I told you I wouldn't let you fall."

Toothiana smiled back at him a bit shyly. Not a moment after their strides fell in line, a voice, far too deep to be Jamie's, called out, "Hey, kid! What are you doing here?!"

All three of them immediately stopped their skating and turned to the entrance of the building. They could make out a silhouette and a flashlight, and they heard the faint jingle of keys.

Jack leaned closer to Toothiana to whisper, "I thought you said there weren't any security guards?"

"There wasn't…in here."

The guard began to shuffle down the steps, approaching the rink. "How did you get in?! Where are your parents?!"

Of course, being an adult, he couldn't see Jack or Toothiana—all he saw was Jamie staring up at him like a deer caught in headlights. Jack's eyes momentarily flickered from the guard to his staff, resting in the stands. He murmured instructions to Toothiana, who nodded without ever taking her eyes off of the approaching guard.

The guard made a sound that was something of a cross between a gasp and a "Huh?" The boy that had just been on the ice was suddenly flying in the air. All he couldwas gawk as the kid levitated from the ice like something straight out of a horror movie. His body was sideways and his legs were bent as if he were being carried—which he was. Although the guard couldn't see it, Toothiana was carrying Jamie in her arms as she flew for the other exit. Meanwhile, Jack had shot across the ice to the edge of the rink.

By the time the guard gathered his senses and ran forward, Toothiana had set Jamie down and knelt before the door.

Uh-oh, she thought. This door wasn't like the other one, with a piece of metal that she could just turn. This one required a key, something that she didn't have.

"Toooooooooth…" Jamie patted her shoulder in a 'hurry up!' gesture. His head turned from her to the guard so fast that it was a surprise he didn't get whiplash. The guard was now in one of the little strip of walkway between the two halves of the stands.

He wasn't there for long, however. Jack had already gotten his staff, and while remaining entirely unseen, he had landed in front of him. Jack smirked as he wound up his staff like a baseball bat and swung it. The guard let out a strangled cry as he was suddenly thrown into the rink. He slid across the surface like a fallen bug, his arms and legs wiggling. Jamie snorted a laugh in the midst of his panic. Toothiana, meanwhile, was trying to press her weight against the knob in an attempt to break it off.

Jack glided over to the guard and knelt next to him as he tried to pull himself to his feet. His fingers passed through the man's clothes and flesh, but they touched the ring of keys at his hip. The guard momentarily stopped his flailing to goggle at the keys as they levitated from his body. Jack turned to go back through the exit, but stopped with a grin on his face. He turned back to the man, who was now crouched down, attempting to stand. Jack tapped the end of his staff on the ice, and blue frost shot out like veins. They went underneath the man, and before he knew it, the guard was going left and right across the rink, spinning and zigzagging.

Jack laughed loudly as he leapt to the others. He tapped Toothiana (who had both her feet against the door as she tried to pull the knob off) on the shoulder and jingled the keys in front of her. Toothiana's wings came to life once again as she stepped back. Jack knelt in front of the knob and began to put key after key into the lock. "No…No…not that one…I bet it's this—nope, not that one, either…"

Jamie and Toothiana both grew anxious as they turned back to the guard. The little trick that Jack had played on him had worn off, and he was crawling for the exit on the other side of the rink. He pulled himself to his feet and darted towards them, red-faced and seething. "Jaaaaaack…" both of them whined.

When the guard was only fifteen steps away from them, Jack finally found the right key and turned the lock. In an instant, Jack had thrown the door open and Toothiana had picked up Jamie once again.

The guard skidded to halt as the boy went flying into the night. He stared in awe as the boy lifted higher and higher into the air, his silhouette lined in moonlight, giggling and laughing and never looking back at him. Meanwhile, Toothiana, Jack, and Jamie were laughing themselves senseless, and Toothiana sputtered out, "I can't believe we just did that!"

List of mythological beings already listed:

Baby New Year

The Bogeyman

Cupid

Easter Bunny

Fae (Faries)

The Fates

Father Time

The Groundhog

Jack Frost

The Leprechaun

Mother Goose

Mother Nature

Oberon

Puck

Sandman

Santa Claus

Stingy Jack/The Pumpkin King/The Great Pumpkin

Tooth Fairy

Titania

Wild Hunt

If you would like to expand the list, please do so.