The Sandman had died at one in the morning. And here we all were, only four hours later, greiving at the Pole. We had a quiet memorial-type service near the Globe. Tooth and I both broke down crying towards the end, and even 'nerves of steel' Bunny's eyes got a little misty.
It was only two days until Easter, and North had a hunch that we could defeat Pitch by making this Easter Sunday the greatest Easter Egg hunt any child will ever have. While the three of them discussed plans, I wandered of towards the workshop. It didn't fill me with whimsical joy anymore, it was more like the happy, brightly colored toys were mocking Sandy's death. Sandy had just died. Everything should be cold and gray.
But I knew that was just the greif. If the yetis didn't make enough happy, colorful toys, the children would definatly be overrun by Pitch's Nightmares. Eventualy, I found the yetis brak room. It had a hot cocoa dispenser on one on the tables. I took two cups, and put a shot of peppermint in mine, but left the other plain. Thanking the yetis, I continued to wander.
Pretty soon after, I saw a little frost trail leading down one of the hallways. As, I walked down it, I found myself in an enourmus library. The walls were lined with bookshelves, and a labyarinth of them stood in the middle. I followed the path that had frost along it, knowing where it would lead me.
"I just felt like there was something else I could do." I heard Jack's voice.
"Jack, there was nothing you could do," I heard from around the corner. It was North's voice. I stayed put, cluthing my cocoas.
"But Sandy-" Jack started.
"Sandy would have wanted you to help the children." North finished. There was silence for a while after that. North came around the corner and put his hand on my shoulder, then whispered.
"Your turn."
I nodded, took a deep breath, and walked out from behind my corner. Jack was sitting on a window sill, looking at the Actric sunrise.
"Hey," I said, sitting on the other end of the sill.
"Hey," he answered.
"I brought you a cocoa." I said, thrusting the cup forwards.
"Thanks," he accepted the cocoa. We sat in silence for a while.
"North's right you know." I said, sipping my cocoa.
"But Sandy's gone," he stated.
"And we couldn't do anything, Jack. If antone could have done something, it would have been me. I was right there with him. You have no idea how bad I feel. And I've only known him for three days!" I said. Jack didn't say anything for a while.
"Ashllyn, do you ever get that feeling that you've just failed at everthing you've ever tried to do?" he asked.
"Yeah. like every time I try to make a friend. Or try to sled. Or try to play dogeball in gym." I answered with a slight smile. Jack laughed, and his laugh, like every time I heard it, made me relax and made me feel like everything was going to be okay.
"You have friends! Like Tooth, and Bunny, and North, and me, and... and Sandy. And after all this, we can still have that sled lesson. But I can't help you with that dodgeball thing."
We both laughed, and I finally understood that old saying, 'laughter is the best medicine.'
"We probably should go meet the others to talk about Easter." I said, helping him off the sill. We walked through the workshop, and back to where the Guardians were gathered.
"Good, you two here. We must hurry to the Warren!" North said upon our arrival "Prepare the sleigh!" he called to the yetis. Bunny hopped in front of him.
"Oh, no, mate. My warren, my rules. Ha ha, buckle up!" Bunny said evily, tapping his foot on the ground.
"Sastakovitch!" North cursed in Russian as a tunnnel opened up underneath us, along with a pair of yetis and an elf. We slipped and slid in a mossy tunnel. Jack was laughing like he was having a great time, North was screaming, and Bunny was smirking. At the end of the tunnel, a light shone, wich was really strange seeing as we were at least ten feet underground. When the tunnel ended, it dumped us into somwhere I had only ever read about or seen in books.
Somewhere I never thought I would see if I stayed in my little village.
Sorry if I spelled sastakovitch wrong, but I couldn't find the transcript or a quote to get the correct spelling.
As always, questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions go in the box below!