Chapter 13: Peter Cottontail Hopping Down the Bunny Trail
Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or Rise of the Guardians, or any of the other shows mentioned in this story. Disney and DreamWorks own it.
A changing was upon us. The first time it was noticed was on one of the numerous visits Pitch gave us. Jack and I were cooped up in the library, like we often did in the winter. Less people had problems because less people could even make it here to debate on. Less people also could get from place to place to steal and rob each other blind. It worked quite well for the royalty. In our time spent on ourselves, we would read book after book in hopes of gaining some explanation of what was happening to Jack.
He tossed a book to me. I slid it across the table back to him. He again tossed it my way, hitting me flat in the chest. "This is serious," I hissed.
"I'm serious when I say we've been through our entire selection and I'm bored." He huffed, nudging me with his foot. I sighed and repositioned my feet as far from his as I could get. Again, he kicked my seat, scooting me back. I groaned and moved tables, to which he only followed.
"Cut it out!"
"Make me," he hissed. I closed my book patiently, pretending to be the good little girl. When he wasn't looking, I beamed it at his face. Expecting it to hit him, I was quite surprised when it stopped in midair inches from his nose. Jack had a hand up, beginning to shield his precious face. Looking closer, we found that it wasn't just stopped; it was frozen solid.
"My, my, my, we have a surprise," sung the voice of the devil. "I see somebody has fallen into the lake one too many times."
Jack, still confused about his hands, stood from his chair. "What do you want, Pitch?"
He shrugged, dropping to the ground from a beam on the ceiling. As the two old brothers faced off I hurriedly lit each torch. "I come here for a warning. Jack Frost, you will have absolutely no control of your powers. The high possibility of harming somebody is too much to bear. Your wife's life – your baby's life is at stake every second you grow stronger."
"And you grow weaker," he hissed. I glanced over my shoulder and could see the fear in his eyes.
"Not at all," Pitch laughed. He flung dust into the air, letting it swirl into shapes or fearsome creatures. "Elsa is a good source for my food, which you feed. Thank you by the way!" He blew a kiss my way and in a wave, all the torches I had just lit extinguished. I groaned and stomped toward him, relighting one torch and putting it behind my back.
"You'll never win. I'll die before I sleep with the likes of you," I stabbed the torch into his chest. It mainly just dissolved, but I could see the black particles in his face fall to the ground. It didn't kill him – we couldn't be that lucky – but it did get him away long enough for Jack and I to light the rest of the torches. That would keep him away.
Jack and I rushed to the table where we previously sat, staring at the book in awe. I grabbed his hands, examining them. They were perfectly normal, except for the part where they felt like ice. "You have actual powers," I muttered. "Try freezing this pen!"
He took it in his hands, closing his eyes and focusing. Jack's frown grew upon his lips as he sighed with defeat. I took in my hands, twirling it about before throwing it with dead accuracy at Jack. This time, he reached out towards it. A thin layer of ice spread upon the palm of his hand and the pen ran into that. We both looked at it with awe. "This is amazing!" Jack exclaimed.
"It seems to be only in defense." I noted. Jack tried to freeze the chair. It didn't work. We decided to do a little test with it. I threw pen after pen, however with each pen his ice grew less and less protective until…
"Ow!" He yelled. The pen had stabbed him in the shoulder. "How do you throw so hard?" Ignoring his complaining as he took the pen out of his shoulder, I paced the floor.
"This isn't good. These powers are so weak! If that's it, we are screwed! But if you gain more power, you could kill us!" I bit my nails and continued to ramble. "Does Pitch want those powers? How could you even transfer them? Oh, the townspeople! What will they think? How will they react? How-Jack!"
I turned around to find Jack pointing a finger at tuffs of his hair that stuck up. Each time, it frosted over a bit. He had the silliest grin on his face while he should be worried to death! "Huh? What?"
"Your powers, Jack!" I screeched.
"Right," he put his hand down. "What about them?" I groaned. "Stop worrying. They aren't dangerous!"
"Yet," I hissed.
"This is exactly what Pitch was talking about," Jack growled, standing to full height. I never noticed how tall he was before. I barely reached his shoulders and that was on my best days. It was suddenly intimidating now. His eyes locked with mine, causing me to instinctively shrink away. My mind wouldn't stop conjuring up ideas of what could occur with his powers. "Do you fear me?"
"Honestly, Jack, I do," I frowned. "You are so unpredictable: a crazy drunk, a possessed guy, foolish, and you aren't even human!" I took a step closer, putting on a determined-not-to-concede look. So maybe I was exaggerating on my fear. I just wanted to get him off his high horse.
"Me?" Jack sputtered. "My dad died, not my fault, I'm funny, and…oh yeah, not my fault!" He held himself so highly, though I supposed I shouldn't fault him for…any of it. The foolishness was, sadly, part of his personality.
"I need to know more. I'm tied into your powers at some length," I sighed. "What if I have to die to give them to you?" It was a thought that occurred to me late one night. We didn't know what would happen if we jumped in the ice together. He could get all my powers. In a way, that made sense. If I died beside him purposely my powers would transfer to the closest person.
"Then we'll find more," Jack sighed. My eyes trembled, sure that was the only way. I was a human girl. As if he could read my thoughts, his strikingly blue eyes spoke to me. "If that's the case, nobody is going into that ice."
I took a shuddering breath and, unconsciously, leaned forward. Jack wrapped his arms around me and I had to admit it felt nice. Funny Jack was a person who could help out in the small stressful decisions, like when to have my sister return without angering my parents, but in life or death moments he pissed me off. At least he wasn't always so lighthearted. He knew pain, more than me. He was deep enough to understand.
The second change occurred the late night when Astrid and Hiccup bid us a farewell, leaving the castle utterly empty besides the ruling two. When a girl is pregnant, she gets…urges, okay? I am still totally embarrassed for my behavior. It was not the type you see from the normal queen.
Jack and I were settling in for the night. It had been about two weeks since he fell through the ice and turned cold everywhere. We were reading like crazy trying to find information and had little time for our personal lives.
"That book is crap," Jack fumed over a detailed book that resulted in his untimely death. "I don't want to be the 'ice keeper of the underworld.'" His frown was so serious. I didn't take many myths into consideration, but he did.
"Poor baby," I pouted as I walked to my dresser. It was then. I was going to pull out a random nightgown as I had grown custom to the short, lacy, frilly things they called gowns here, but then an idea occurred to me. I sought out the black one, a favorite of Jack, and twirled it in my hand. When he came out of the bathroom, he jumped on the bed, exhausted. "Jack, I have another theory." It was so stupid of me. I should have just out and said I wanted to fuck. Instead, I decided to play a stupid seduction technique.
"And I just love hearing your theories," Jack said sarcastically. I frowned. "Tell me." I stood by his bedside, close to his laid out form.
"It's something I noticed a while ago. I think it has to do with the baby. I talked to Tooth and she agreed with me," I began. Then I outright said it. "My boobs are bigger." Commence eyebrows shooting to the sky, please. His face was priceless.
"I-wo…can I see?" Jack stuttered. It was a true statement. The maids had fumbled around making me a whole new set of lingerie and corsets. I nodded deftly and turned around so he could undo my dress. Most nights I did it myself in the bathroom with much struggle. Now the dress slid easily off me. I was about to turn around when he started undoing my corset. My heart pulsed. When it was finally off, Jack spun me around, keeping his hands at my waist. I looked just above his head, feeling most awkward. "Uh…um, yeah. They're bigger."
I put a faint smile on my lips with force. "Uh, thanks," I muttered. I turned to leave but his hands stayed on my hips. "Jack?"
"Yes," he said firmly, eyes still glued to my breasts. "Right, er, you know, the bathroom is kind of silly. You should just dress here." His eyes twinkled in delight. Well my plan seemed to be working. I nodded and slowly slipped on the skimpy little clothing. Just to ensure he was in the mood, I decided to crawl over his body to get to my side. I barely made it across his body before he spun me onto my back, pinning me at the waist. Our lips locked onto each other's without hesitation. "I saw right through your little move," Jack moaned into my lips. The coldness of his entire body pressed to mine was invigorating. Every little touch was so much more acute to me.
"I-," I gasped, breaking away. Jack grinned and pecked my lips before kissing down my neck.
I'd save you the juicy details. After all our desperation built up over the weak, we had a lot to cover in one little night. However, a new discovery was in the making. As he placed his member on the outside of my opening, a shiver ran through my spine. I shook it off, but when he entered, I shrieked as loud as I did the first night. Coldness enveloped me. It was everywhere, all starting in my vagina.
Jack knew the difference between my painful cry and pleasurable one well – don't ask. He didn't pull out in fear of hurting me. Hovering over my body, not daring to move an inch, he asked, "What? What happened?"
"You," I breathed deeply. I moved my hips slightly, trying to see if I could get used to it. I wasn't sure. "You're freezing." Jack got the whole picture then. He saw I needed a minute and simply stayed quiet. I was shocked at how long he could hold his body up all on his arms.
However, he grew impatient. "Elsa, this can't be good," Jack sighed. He flung the covers aside, peering between our bodies. "Oh fuck."
"What?" I asked and craned my neck upward, only to bump into Jack's. I groaned and fell back on the bed. The coldness was spreading it felt like.
"I don't mean to alarm you, baby," Jack whispered. "But there's actual frost spreading down your thighs." I wanted to faint. "I have an idea." He slowly started to move in and out. It wasn't helping but it wasn't hurting. I nodded, closing my eyes to let him know it was okay. As he sped up, heat was produced between our bodies. But by the time he was finished, I was so focused on the cold that I didn't get any pleasure out of it. Jack fell against me and I was reminded again of the coldness. It had struck deep within my soul, not just on the outskirts of my body.
"Now this," I sat up, straddling his waist, "will be a problem."
Jack panted, holding up a finger to catch his breath. He had no problem getting a rise out of that. "Did it hurt?" I shook my head. "That was the best sex I've ever had. Shit." I blushed, feeling oddly used. It most likely had something more to do with the fact that his dick was now an ice sculpture rather than my big boobs, however he did come to those as well. I rolled my eyes. Finally, Jack opened his eyes and sat up a bit. His hands rested on the lower part of my back as I pouted, slowly going south. "Don't worry. I have other methods, Els."
"But fucking used to be fun," I whined. Jack looked insulted. I was quick to patch it up. "No, I mean – look, I love you Jack but you are freezing and-,"
"What did you just say?" A huge ass grin appeared on his face. My mouth hung open midsentence.
"That we can't have sex," I groaned.
"No," Jack pestered, wagging his finger at me. He rolled us over so he was pinning me down. I sighed, crossing my arms and looking up at him. "You said you loved me."
"Did I?" I said, my voice rising in pitch. I hadn't even noticed. Did I love him? No, I told myself, not really. It just slipped out in the heat of the moment.
"You did," Jack nodded, kissing my forehead. "So, pray tell, do you?" My eyes went wide. The only real love I knew in my life was for Anna. If anything happened to her, I couldn't cope with it. Obviously, I didn't rely on her for sex either and never thought of her in that way. Jack, on the other hand, was my source of sex and fun, also a lot of debate. "Let me phrase it this way. What would you do if I died?"
It wasn't an 'if' kind of question. I truly thought he died in that ice two weeks ago. I answered him honestly even though it was an embarrassing answer. "I'd cry. And I – let's not think about this." I wouldn't be able to rule the kingdom without him, much the same if switched around. Also, I didn't know how long I could hold out on Pitch.
"Exactly," Jack randomly kissed my lips. We never had random kisses. If we kissed, we were having sex. "You can't stand the thought of losing me." I punched his shoulder. "Hey, it's no skin off my back to admit it. I love Elsa the ice queen!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. I cringed. "Can you admit to it knowing I love you?"
"No," I stuck out my tongue. Gazing at his frowning form, I realized I probably did love him. He was one of the most attractive men I had ever seen. Jack was funny and genuinely cared for his country and people, along with being a family man. He helped me stand up to my parents even in the face of demise of his. "I'm sorry Jack, I simply can't love you."
Then there was the other side of him. The side where he got carried away resulted in something that could only break my heart if I did love him. The side where he wasn't human and could do things and feel things humans couldn't scared me. Overall, we simply didn't have time for love. It was that simple; we weren't naive.
The last noticeable change didn't occur to Jack. It occurred in our relatives. We were in a meeting, deciding how to end the war with the Japanese, when Tooth and Claus interrupted. Since the wedding of their daughter, they had so much time to themselves. While Rapunzel and Flynn were still being treated as children, they were doing that in Flynn's kingdom. "Jack, Elsa, Pitch has struck again."
We followed them to the guard's training facilities to find every recruit dead by fault of suicide. "Why on earth would they all kill themselves?" I gasped, checking their pulses. They were most certainly gone.
"Fear. They no like Pitch fear," Claus said in his heavy accent. My face sagged, looking up at the concerned people.
"We have to do something," I hissed. It had been nearly two months since Pitch saved my life. In that time, my stomach had grown and winter had progressed. "He will stop at nothing." Nobody wanted to say aloud in the unluckiness that Pitch was lurking in the shadows, but we knew that sooner or later, Pitch could strike on our friends. I felt that need to boot Astrid back to her land and delay Anna's arrival. Still there were many people around to be hurt.
"We want private meeting. Midnight," Claus hissed, though it echoed throughout the room. Tooth then hissed that it should be an hour before. Jack and I, of course, agreed, but we wondered. What could they know that we didn't?
So we snuck out of the castle unnoticed together and headed to our favorite meet up spot. Instead of going all the way back to the spot we shared our first kiss, we decided to simply meet up in the almost-cave that had two entrances, with a frozen waterfall covering it. Once inside, we were in our own world. Tooth and Claus appeared out of nowhere. Literally, I was pretty sure there was no back entrance to the cave, but we didn't have time to question it.
"What is it?" Jack asked. Tooth looked to Claus.
His expression was oddly serious. "It's about Pitch."
"No," Jack muttered. "I thought it was about your pet yeti Chuck." I elbowed him. "What do you know?"
Tooth glanced worriedly between Claus and Jack. She began. "He is only growing stronger. This isn't just about you two or your country." I was puzzled as to why she spoke as if it wasn't her country, as if she wasn't a citizen here. "It's something much bigger."
"Prophecy tells all. Pitch rise and we fall," Claus nodded.
"Who is 'we'?" I asked.
"The guardians," Tooth wrung her hands, as if she was speaking too much. We were about to question them when a rumbled under our feet started. The tremor grew bigger and Tooth pushed us aside just in time for a hole the size of Claus' body o open up and out jumped…a kangaroo. It stood taller than Jack but shorter than Claus. His ears were like a rabbit but proportional to his size. With a little armor over his body, the rest was covered in fur. "Bunnymund!"
"Ah, big Bunny," Claus patted the large animal on the back. Blinking, I realized that scene actually happened. "Good. Explain."
"What is that thing?" I shrieked and shrunk back into Jack, who then stumbled and fell.
"What an asset…" the thing they addressed as a bunny muttered. How could he be a bunny? This guy had an Australian accent, which only assured my guess that he was indeed a kangaroo. "Seriously, she's the size of a toothpick. I could squash her in one-."
"You just scared her," Tooth hissed.
"What's he doing here?" Jack asked, helping me up.
"We are the remaining Guardians," the thing stepped forward, looking me up and down. He experimentally tried lifting up my dress, for which I yelped and kicked him. He cringed.
"Forget the kangaroo," Jack exclaimed. "Tell us about Pitch!"
"Hey mister ice cube," shoved Bunnymund. "I'm a rabbit." Jack shrugged and backed up, keeping the small smile on his face. He inched towards me.
"Peter Cottontail," I hissed. Jack chuckled and slung an arm around me in approval. The fella was all but hopping with anger. Jack started humming the familiar tune.
"Let's ditch them. Who needs ice anyway?" Bunnymund spat.
"Now don't be jealous, Bunny," Tooth chided. She sighed. "Bunnymund has been doing some recon on Pitch. He knows a lot about your past."
"Between Jack and Pitch?" I asked. She confirmed it. Sighing, I looked to the tall figure. The guy didn't seem happy about it but finally he did agree to explain.
"We were all brought into the Guardian clan by the big guy in the sky, Mr. Moon," he began. I felt Jack's body tighten around me. It was odd. Since he said he loved me aloud, he's been clingier and touchier, always hugging me and kissing me at random. I let it slide figuring nothing of it. After all, there wasn't much of me that he hadn't touched. "At the delicate age of nine, Pitch was subconsciously an evil child. Jack, a snarky six year old, was his enemy. Pitch lived with his older sister and she decided to have Jack's family over for dinner in their large mansion. While his sister went to bring out the dinner in the kitchen, a fire struck. In order to buy time, Jack closed the door leading to the hall that went to the kitchen where the fire was coming from, trapping Pitch's sister inside. Pitch listened in horror at the pounding on the door made from the trapped girl who burned alive, but he couldn't do a thing. The door was bolted shut. Thankfully, the somehow 'brilliant' Jack found a way out and he led the way with Pitch alongside, the family a ways behind.
"Pitch was still grieving over murdered sister. He wanted Jack to burn with her, but he was also cunning. He knew if Jack burned so did he. Instead, he settled for letting the child lose exactly what he did: his only family. Just as they escape, Jack held the door for his family to leave, but Pitch, ever so strong, shoved him aside and locked the door. Jack's family died that night."
Neither of us knew what to think. It couldn't have been true. I saw Jack's dad and brother, Kristoff. They were his family, not these people in the story. Jack, however, felt the story enter his bones with disgust. His hands were shaking and it wasn't even over.
Bunnymund continued on with a deep breath. "According to Pitch's journals, Moon had overseen all of it, watching as the two orphans fought each other. He transformed himself into a human person and stopped both children. Much like Tooth does with teeth, he collected all of the memories of the children and locked them away, but at the same time swiping their minds clean of every little detail. He let their personalities stay, but the kids forgot their childhood. Instead, Moon replaced them with fake memories, the same ones Jack remembers today."
"You're lying!" Jack snarled. "Nobody would do something like that!"
"J-Jack," Tooth inched forward. "He's telling the truth. This much we know. We were told to make lives twined in with your memory. We didn't know why, just that you were important."
Jack stumbled backwards, separating himself from us all. "Are you saying my childhood is fake? My dad? My nonexistent mom? What about your kid, Tooth?"
She looked ashamed now. Claus spoke up. "She not ours." My jaw dropped. These people…if what they spoke were true… Even if it had good intensions, how could you simply steal a child's beginning memories? Why?
"We," Tooth motioned between herself and the big Russian guy, "aren't even married. Rapunzel isn't our biological daughter, but we love the orphan just the same."
"Stop!" Jack shouted. "This is ridiculous."
"I'm not done, mate," Bunnymund sighed regretfully. "Moon spared your lives. Pitch would kill Jack and then he would die of hunger weeks later. They are you memories. Once you turn into a full Guardian, you get them back. I already spoke to the big guy."
My anger pulsed. I wasn't sure if it was even a good idea for him to get his memories back. "Don't you have any idea as to what this will do to Jack? He'll have two different childhoods!"
"My dad didn't lie to me," Jack stuttered. If I believed anything, it was that Moon definitely kept things from him. I wasn't sure if this story was all true, but I did know Jack didn't have the same childhood he thought he had. These people didn't even realize what they did was bad.
"Jack," Tooth crooned and tried to comfort the bottled up guy. He shook her hand off his shoulder faster than lightening. I was afraid he was about to hurt her.
"Don't." He growled and stormed off. I watched in agony as he tore through the snow faster than lightening. He released a yell and kicked the ground. In a flash of powder, all the snow turned to hard ice. Jack thought nothing of it and ran off faster. I wanted to go after him but nothing could comfort the guy, not even me.
"You!" I seethed. "You people did this to him! How could you do that? It's not humane at all! Guardians my ass-,"
Being lifted into the air from my shoulders abruptly silenced me. I looked up to see Claus' frowning face. "Girl, hush."
"We protect the kids, not the guardians," Bunnymund snorted. I jumped down and wanted to kick the horrid creature. These people thought they did Jack a favor. That's what irked me the most. They didn't care to apologies or even tell it in a more sympathetic way.
"He was a kid!" I hissed. I looked at the big, guilt-filled soviet guy. "Claus knows!"
"My name's not Claus," he admitted, rubbing his arm. I groaned and fell to the ground in exhaustion. "It is North, little lady."
"Perfect," I muttered. "Who are you people?" My eyes met each of theirs. They held a glint of glee that seemed oddly suppressed. Something held back their full emotions.
"Don't you recognize us, sweet heart?" Bunny snorted. He held his arms out to Tooth and North. With a grin, Tooth slowly shifted until she was no longer the Tooth I knew and loved. Her pixie features were there, but she no longer stood; proportional to her human size, hummingbird wings of multiple colors kept her hovering. Her outfit was the definition of colorful and even extended to her face.
North took less time to change as he only had to done his Santa-resembling outfit, though there were major tweaks. With his bare arms bulging, I saw he held pictures on them… No, I wouldn't ask. "Recognize us yet?" North chuckled, his laugh resembling…
"Santa?" I snorted. As a child, I didn't believe much folklore. "The tooth fairy? And what? Was I correct, Peter Cottontail?" I racked my mind for any more tales I was told. The only one I enjoyed was about this guy who had powers over a certain season, but it was all forgotten now.
"Easter Bunny," Bunnymund hissed. "She's as bad as Frost!"
"Oh, there's one more," Tooth fluttered to me. "Sandy the sand man. That's why we're here."
"Why?" I asked.
"He missing," North huffed. A sandman went missing. Splendid.
A/N: So was the last chapter just bad? There was barely four reviews, guys. I hope you like this better. Please, tell me what you think is bad if you don't like it. The way the plot is going? What?
To Gracieloveme: The whole instant pregnant thing was a mistake on my part. I was wondering when somebody would notice actually. And about the Frozen universe, honestly I never loved that universe. I never loved the Rise of the Guardians universe either. So this is my little mix of it. I would go back to the light version of this, but then the plot wouldn't work and would be worthless. I can't stand to write just a bunch of nothing. Sorry :/
Please review, follow, PM, or favorite. It makes things so much easier to write! Btw, I have officially broken the writers block…just in time for finals.