Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you have all been waiting for is here! The thing that many of you have been longing to see for so long has arrived. Yes, my dear readers, this chapter is finally the chapter where Jack meets... *drumroll* Cupid!
Nah, I'm just kidding. Mike Stamford is not making an appearance in this fic.
I know a lot of you have been waiting patiently for this particular chapter, and I have finally come to deliver. Am I going to somehow screw it up and make it awful after getting everyone to hope that it's going to be absolutely amazing? Yeah, probably. But still, you're here now, so all I can do is ask you to sit back, relax and enjoy the chapter!
Key:
Memories/Manny talking
Normal
Jack's thoughts
Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians (if I did there would be a sequel by now), Tangled, Brave or How To Train Your Dragon
Silence hung in the room for a few seconds before Jack sighed in boredom. "Are we not getting a next memory? Are we just going to stand here for the rest of eternity? Well, I suppose it means we'll find out if spirits can starve to death. That's if we don't die of dehydration first, of course."
"Jack?"
"Yeah, Punz?"
"Shut up."
"Oh come on! You can't possibly expect me to just stand here quietly when there's nothing going on. I'm telling you Punz, I'll die of boredom if I don't-"
"WHAT?!"
To say that Jack was angry was the underestimation of the century. He'd thought that the guardians would have picked up the hint after knowing him for this long, but apparently not.
It was just after Christmas and North was spending his time relaxing for a week before he got everyone back to work again. That meant Jack could hang out at the pole and spare even more time with North than normal. His fifth year anniversary of becoming a guardian was approaching, and some part of Jack was extremely surprised that he'd managed to keep his place for nearly five years.
And then North said something that he really shouldn't have.
At that moment the man in question was waving his arms frantically, trying to get the winter spirit to calm down, but Jack didn't listen. He was livid and in no mood to be reasoned with. If North thought he was going to get away with this, then he was sorely mistaken.
"So let me get this straight." Jack said, his voice dangerously low. The temperature dropped at least four degrees and North took a step back. "You're telling me that there are three new spirits around, and not only did you not tell me, but you also didn't bother to greet them, make sure they were okay or get in contact with them at all?"
"Well, yes, but-"
"ARE YOU CRAZY? What in the world made you think that it was a good idea to leave three new spirits on their own?! How long have you known that they've been around, anyway?"
"A month, but-"
"A MONTH?!" Jack shrieked. "They've been alone for at least a month? That's not good enough, North. For all we know, they could have been around for much longer. What if they don't know what to do? What if Manny hasn't told them anything? What if they're alone out there, frightened and confused?"
"Jack, I am sure that they have someone with them who is teaching them everything."
"No! No, North! Don't you dare pull that card on me, because you and I both know it won't work! What if there isn't someone there for them, teaching them everything they need to know? What if they were just dumped here like I was?"
"Jack, you worry too much. I am sure that they are fine."
"That's not a risk I'm willing to take. I would rather go to help them out and make a fool of myself by finding out that they've already got help than to ignore it and hope someone else is taking care of it, leaving them alone. No one deserves to be alone, North. No one. Isolation is a fate I wouldn't wish on anyone. Not even Pitch."
North hesitated and reached out a hand. "Jack, listen to me..."
Jack chuckled darkly. "No, North. You can listen to me. Let me tell you exactly what I'm going to do. Whether you like it or not, I am going to find these spirits and make sure they're okay. If they're not, I'm going to bring them all back to the pole to take care of them, keep them safe and explain everything to them. And should that happen there had better be three extra rooms for them to stay in. I honestly couldn't care less what you think about the matter. I don't care if these spirits are on the Nice List, Naughty List or the Deserves To Be Tied To A Pole, Fed Prunes And Burnt To Death List. I won't let them be alone."
"Jack, please think this through." North begged. "I'm sure Manny will take care of them."
"Again, that's not a risk I'm going to take. I couldn't care less if Manny himself dropped in front of me and ordered me to leave them be or I'd get stripped from my guardian title and branded as a criminal. What kind of guardian would I be if I just left them to suffer? No, I won't let that happen."
With that, Jack leapt into the air and flew out of the window, mentally asking the wind to take him to the first new spirit. You idiot. If the guardians weren't going to kick you out before, they definitely will now. Who do you thihk you are, talking to North like that?
Jack almost groaned in irritation and chose to ignore the voice. Now wasn't the time. He had a spirit to greet. It would hurt if he got kicked out of the group for being so rude, true, but at least he would be content with the knowledge that he had at least looked out for three new spirits. He wasn't going to let any newcomers run the risk of being forced into isolation like he had. He would protect as many as he could from that horrible fate, no matter what it cost him.
"And that was the day North not only found out about Jack's temper, but also about how stubborn he can be when he sets his mind to something."
"Ah, it makes him a good worker when he wants to be. And he would not be Jack if he was not stubborn."
The first place the wind took him was a forest in Germany, and for a moment Jack wondered why, of all places, he'd been taken to a seemingly empty forest, the only signs of life being the wild animals slowly emerging from hibernation. Jack couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at the heat of spring and he wrapped his arms around himself, trying to regain some of the cold he felt his body had lost.
As Jack quietly crept around the forest, staff in hand, he heard a sudden rustling to his left and spun to face the sound, eyes scanning everything that was in his sight. The sound was too loud to be a normal animal like a squirrel, but there were no bushes small enough to conceal a person or spirit.
The trees, however, looked more than capable of sheltering an army or so. A spirit wouldn't have a problem hiding in those.
"I know you're there." Jack said quietly, feeling as if he was dealing with a frightened animal. "That sounds horribly cliché, I know, but it's true. I do know you're there in the trees. So there's no point in hiding really, is there?"
More rustling. Jack took that as an encouragement. "Will you come out? I'd like to be able to talk to you properly, not just talking through some leaves to you."
A figure dropped out of the tree, although they were still mainly concealed by the shadows so Jack couldn't make out much. Slowly, hesitantly, the spirit began to creep forward, and Jack felt his jaw practically drop to the ground.
A girl stepped in front of him, someone who couldn't be much older than eighteen, one hand clutching a frying pan. Her feet were as bare as his own, and although her pink dress wasn't exactly modern, she was definitely a new spirit, otherwise Jack would have heard about her before, so she must have come from somewhere that was still having trouble keeping up with the times (said places were often hidden enough that no one knew where they were, but they would be discovered if one learnt how to look properly). But that wasn't what shocked Jack. What shocked him was her hair. And boy was there a lot of hair. It trailed on the ground after her and some of it was even still up in the tree from where she'd been hiding. Surely no human being could have hair that long.
Still, Jack cleared his throat and grinned at the girl slightly. "That's better. That's quite a lot of hair you've got there."
The girl gripped her frying pan tighter and stepped towards him cautiously. "Who are you? How did you know I exist? How did you find me?"
Jack took a step back, raising his hands slightly. "Whoa, calm down. No need to swing the frying pan at me, I'm not gonna hurt you." The girl relaxed a bit, and Jack slowly lowered his hands. "My name is Jack Frost, the spirit of winter. Sorry I couldn't get here sooner, but Manny doesn't really like talking to me, so I only recently found out you existed, and even then it was only because the wind told."
The girl's eyes furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean the wind told you? And who's Manny?"
Ah. So not as clear on the spirit world as she could be. Well, Jack would fix that soon enough. "Manny is just short for the Man in the Moon. You'll get used to that term often enough. And, well, I guess the wind didn't tell me exactly. But I do understand what the wind is trying to tell me, and you'll be amazed how far voices can be carried when the wind can be bothered."
The girl narrowed her eyes at him in distrust. "Why are you here? Why didn't you come here sooner?"
"Like I said, Manny doesn't exactly like talking to me, especially to keep me on top of stuff. But I came as soon as I found out, I swear it." Jack took a cautious step closer. "I've come to help you. You know, with getting used to this life and everything. I didn't know if someone was already helping you, so I decided to just make sure."
The girl stared at him for a moment longer before she nodded in acceptance and lowered her frying pan. "Okay. I – I believe you."
Jack sighed slightly in relief. "Great. Okay, so before I start explaining everything, I just need to know one thing. Do you, uh, happen to remember any past life you might have had, or how you ended up here? I mean, because I think there are sometimes difficulties with those memories getting through every now and then, and I just wanted to make sure-"
The girl interrupted him from his rambling. "Yes, I do remember my past life."
"Do you want to tell me?"
The girl hesitated for a moment. "I – I guess so. Well, I was the princess of my kingdom, Corona, but there was an... incident. People started to invade my kingdom, claiming that it was time we all moved on from our "old-fashioned" lives and started to live in the twenty first century properly. We managed to chase them out, but we lost so many lives... I would have saved them, but I didn't have my hair at that moment in time, so I couldn't. I – my husband was one of the many that died in the battle, and my parents were barely alive. But there was one thing that happened that my kingdom found to be a miracle. Everyone in the kingdom was physically hurt in some way, everyone except for the children. I'd managed to take them into the forest and hide them underground, away from the fighting."
"Hold on a second. You saved the children from getting hurt and killed? Out of curiosity, why?"
"I didn't want any of them to get hurt. They're just children, after all. So I decided to help them. I know a few secret places for them, places almost no one else knew about, so I knew that I could hide them there without them being found. When the battle was over and I returned with the children, there was a moonbeam shining on the ground. Then I heard a voice, telling me that I had done a good job protecting the children, and that he wanted me to take on the role as the spirit of spring with the promise that I would get my hair back. At first I was worried, but when he mentioned that I could help control the season and protect people from it getting out of control, I accepted. The next thing I knew I woke up here, with all of my hair back in place and completely invisible. That was when the moon explained to me that I couldn't be seen unless people believed that I existed. He told me not to worry, though, because there would be someone on the way to help me."
Jack nodded. Another seasonal spirit? Wow, didn't think I'd ever find any spirit with a similar job to me. Maybe I can convince her that I'm not all death and destruction like most spirits think I am. "Well, I'm glad that you made it your priority to save the children, Miss... uh..."
"Rapunzel." The girl smiled. "Call me Rapunzel."
"Rapunzel, huh? Well, Rapunzel, I think that it was a very brave thing you did. How did you get them to follow you, anyway?"
"I told them that we were going to go out to the forest and collect some things from the forest. I've always been interested in art, and I wanted the children to at least have a go at learning, so I do this kind of thing regularly with them. They trusted me, so I could lead them to safety for a while."
"Well, Punzie," Jack smirked, his grin growing even wider when she returned the smile at the nickname. "I think that was a great idea. Very imaginative, I must say. Don't let go of that imagination, you hear?"
Rapunzel smiled back more, albeit cautiously. That caution will hopefully change in time. "I won't, don't worry Jack."
"Wait a sec, you mentioned getting your hair back. Did you seriously have this much hair when you were human as well?"
Rapunzel nodded. "It's a long story, you see-"
"Yeah, I'm afraid we might not have time for that right now. You see, there are two other spirits that are new to this world, and I need to check on them and make sure they're okay."
Rapunzel seemed to deflate. "Oh, okay then."
Jack couldn't stand the disappointed look on her face. He hated disappointing people. "Hey, don't be like that. It's just that I'm sure you all have backstories to tell and it just seems easier to tell them all at once, especially if we're gonna be friends. Tell you what, you can come with me to get the other two, okay?"
Rapunzel considered the offer for a moment. "Okay."
"YES! Past me knows how it's done!"
"Rapunzel, what are you on about?"
"We did the thing from The Fault In Our Stars!"
Merida stared at her for a second before backing away slowly. "You're crazy."
"Hey!"
"Great!" Jack smiled. "Let's go, then."
He was just about to leap into the air when a hand grabbed his sleeve. "Wait! I – I can't come. I can't fly."
"Not a problem. Here, climb onto my back and I'll fly you there."
"Are you sure?" Rapunzel looked at him nervously. "I mean, no offence, but you don't seem very strong – that is, I mean to say I might be too heavy for you to carry me, I'm not implying-!"
"Hey, calm down, no offence taken." Jack soothed. "It'll be fine, see? I'm stronger than I look, and so long as I hold onto my staff and you hold onto me, the wind can carry us both."
Rapunzel hesitated for a moment before she nodded in agreement and climbed onto Jack's back. Jack had to admit, she was a bit heavier than he was used to, but he carried Jamie around all the time, so he was sure it would be fine. And he'd had plenty of practice with his younger sister when he was human, too, so he was sure he could carry her to wherever it was the wind wanted to take him next.
He was dropped off in Scotland next (in an area that also had yet to move on into the twenty first century properly), which Jack found to be extremely unfair due to how hot it was. As he dropped to the ground – letting Rapunzel climb off of him – he couldn't help but wipe his brow with a hand, hoping it would cool him slightly. Manny, he hated hot places. But he would rather suffer the consequences of being in the warm for too long than leave a spirit to suffer at the hands of isolation.
"You okay?"
Jack blinked in surprise at the question (and even more so at the concern he heard in there) before he sent a reassuring smile towards Rapunzel. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little too hot for me is all."
Rapunzel continued to look at him. "You mentioned being a winter spirit, right? Then surely this place can't be comfortable for you, it feels like the middle of summer. Even I find it a little warm, and I'm not the one dressed up in a hoodie. Are you sure you won't melt?"
"I'll be fine, Punzie. I might feel a little off afterwards, but it's nothing I can't handle." That was the understatement of the year at the least (his body was going to punish him heavily for staying in a place so hot for so long afterwards) but he didn't want to worry Rapunzel, so it was just easier to say he was fine.
The girl didn't look convinced, but she let it drop, and the two of them went to search for the other spirit.
At least, they were until an arrow shot right past them, narrowly missing Rapunzel's face.
"That nearly gave me a heart attack, Merida!"
"You would have survived."
"Hey!" Jack spun around in the direction the arrow had come from. "What do you think you're-"
Another arrow was shot in his direction, one that Jack barely managed to dodge. "Hey! I'm talking to you, whoever you are! There's no need to shoot at us!" Manny, if this was one of the other spirits who were attacking him because he had a new spirit to protect to get back at him for something stupid-
But instead, an extremely unfamiliar voice appeared, one Jack had definitely never heard before, and with a Scottish accent so heavy that Jack almost couldn't understand what was being said. "Who are you, and what do you think you're doing here?"
Rapunzel had her frying pan out again (when did she put it away? And where the hell had she put it?) and was pointing it in the direction the voice was coming from. Rather ineffectively, to be honest, considering the fact that Jack was in front of her with his own staff raised, determined to defend the new spirit at all costs. He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Look, unlike you, we don't actually want any trouble here. We're just looking for a new spirit. Is that a problem?"
There was a slight pause before the voice came again. "That's it? You're just here for a new spirit? You're not here for anything else?"
"What else is there for us to take? This place is deserted and boring."
"Hey! Don't talk about my homeland like that!" A third arrow whizzed in in their direction, but before anyone could step out of the way or Rapunzel could hit it with her frying pan, the arrow was covered in ice and dropped to the floor, useless. Jack casually walked over to it and picked it up, twirling it between his fingers. "Now that we've hopefully taken care of that, I think it's time that we actually stopped fighting and actually talked for a moment."
"And that was the last time Jack ever said something like that to Merida."
"Shut up, Hiccup, it's not my fault if she can be annoying."
"Hey!"
The other person apparently hesitated since there was a pause, but slowly a figure came forward from behind some rocks. Wild, red hair flew everywhere, uncontrollable curls left completely untamed. A long, blue dress clothed the figure, but it was comfortable enough to move around freely in it (well, as freely as a dress can provide). A bow was held in one hand, and a bag of arrows was slung across one shoulder. The voice that came from the figure was confident, matching the very rebellious stance the girl was emitting. "I am Merida, spirit of summer."
Jack's brow furrowed for a moment before he suddenly understood. Of course. I've never heard of her before, so she must be the new spirit I'm looking for. Well, it makes sense for the spirit of summer to have a fiery temper, I guess.
"Ha ha. You're hilarious, Jack Frost."
"I know, right?"
Jack smiled slightly. "Well, Merida, I'm Jack Frost, spirit of winter. Nice to meet you, even if it was a little heated."
"You're not funny in the slightest."
"On the contrary, I'm absolutely hilarious. I could be a comedian for all you know."
"I think the world will burn up before you become a comedian."
"Well you'll be right at home then, won't you?"
"Can't say the same for you, Frosty."
"Okay, for one, I'm not a snowman. I don't know why people insist on calling me that. I'm much cooler than he is. Pun intended. Secondly, believe it or not, I didn't come here to start a fight. I'm not stupid enough to do something like that in a place where I'm at an extreme disadvantage."
"Well you certainly look stupid enough to do that."
"Now Merida, I'm not a mirror, and my ice isn't effective enough to act like one properly so there's no need to pretend just to insult yourself. That sort of thing isn't healthy, you know."
"That's rather hypocritical of you, don't you think Jack?"
"Shut up. Merida didn't need to know that."
Merida huffed in annoyance at the quick response. "Well? You came here for a reason, so spit it out."
Jack stayed patient. "I heard that there were three new spirits here, so I decided to visit them to help them get settled in and teach them anything they might need to know."
"Please, I don't need help from a brain frozen winter spirit like you." Merida sneered. "Now get out of here. You're not wanted."
For a second Jack felt a stab of pain at the words, but he pushed it back and ignored it. He'd heard the same phrase a million times now, there was no need for it to hurt.
Rapunzel, however, found that comment harsh enough to make her step in. "Hey, there's no need to be like that! Jack just came to help, no need to get so defensive."
"I'm not defensive!"
"Leave it, Punz." Jack muttered to the blond. "Well, if you really don't need my help, then I guess there's no reason for me to stay any longer than I have to. You obviously have everything under control. Did the moon tell you everything? He must have done, otherwise you would need my help. But in that case, I guess we'll just leave now. No need for us to be somewhere we're not wanted, especially if you know so much that you're perfectly fine with being all alone."
"Nice to know that you would have just left me on my own forever."
"Don't be stupid, Merida. I wouldn't have left you on your own forever, just long enough to knock some common sense into you. Even if you never saw sense, I would have at least made sure you weren't alone."
Jack spun around and started to walk away, Rapunzel scrambling after him in confusion, and couldn't hold back a smirk at Merida's next words. "Hey, wait! You can't just leave me here like this!"
Jack stopped and looked at her. "Why not? You've obviously got everything under control, so there's no reason for us to stay here. Have fun on your own, Merida. Come on, Rapunzel."
"You can't just order her around like that!"
"Something you want to say, Merida? You keep stalling us from leaving."
Merida hesitated for a moment, and Jack turned to leave for a third time. "Alright, alright! Don't leave me here on my own."
"Really? Seems odd since you were ordering us to leave a few minutes ago."
"I know, I know. Just shut up for a minute!" Merida sighed. "Look, I have no way to get out of Scotland, alright? When the moon turned me into a spirit, he didn't give me any way to leave except for on foot. That takes too long. How am I supposed to spread summer if I can't even get to the places that need summer?"
"Why Merida, getting bored of Scotland? And to think you were so defensive of it a second ago." Jack teased.
"Shut it, Frosty!" Merida snapped. "I haven't figured out about my powers enough to get out of here. The moon told me I had to find out about them and learn to control them without his guidance. I've had to warm Scotland up more than usual, and it's putting a strain on me for not spreading summer properly!"
So the other seasonals feel pain from containing their powers for too long as well? Dammit, I should have gotten here sooner! I could have helped them.
"Alright, hot head, calm down for just a minute. I'm sure we can figure something out. I'll get you out of here on one condition. Me and Rapunzel still have another new spirit to find and talk to, so you need to come with us for that, and then after we are all going to the pole to teach you guys as much as we can about being a spirit, which will probably include getting the three of you some believers, and try and see if we can discover some of these powers."
"That's two conditions at the least."
"Two then. Take it or leave it."
For a moment Merida looked like she was going to refuse, clearly not thrilled with the idea of having to spend more time with the winter spirit than necessary with only a spring spirit to keep them from murdering each other, but eventually she nodded and walked towards the two, trying to ignore the triumphant smirk on Jack's face.
"How are we gonna carry her?" Rapunzel suddenly asked. "You can't carry both of us on your back, and you need to hold your staff in one hand."
"One of you will have to hang from my staff, the other one can go on my back. Punzie, with that amount of hair, I think you should hang from my staff. It will give some of your hair a place to go, so it hopefully won't have as much of a risk of getting tangled in trees. Merida, you're gonna have to go on my back."
"Are you crazy? I'm not climbing onto your back!"
"We don't have time to sort anything else out, because I would like to get out of here before I die thank you very much. Don't think I want to carry you, because I don't. You think I want to have a heavy summer spirit clinging to my back? I don't. It will be uncomfortable and awkward, but unless you can come up with a better idea then this is what we have to go with, so shut up and get on!"
"Is there any way this could get any worse?" Merida grumbled, reluctantly climbing onto Jack's back and clinging to his shoulders. "Surely you're too weak to carry both me and Goldie over there."
"Her name is Rapunzel. So long as you're both holding onto me, and I'm holding my staff, the wind can pick us all up. And for the record, it could be worse, because I could be carrying you in my arms. I'd shut up and count yourself lucky now if I were you."
"Well you're not me."
"You have no idea how glad I am about that."
The majority of the flight was spent in silence aside from the usual comment that Jack and Merida flung at each other, and it thankfully wasn't long before they arrived at their next destination. Jack couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the area. Of course. He should have known that the three new spirits would all come from places that were still stuck somewhere in history. Although in Berk's defense, they were only a small island and had didn't exactly get into contact with the "mainland" as they called it. Plus, the island was infested with dragons, so Jack couldn't exactly blame them for keeping to themselves, even if it did mean they missed out on the majority of things going on in the twenty first century. I wonder how this new spirit is going to react to Merida. From what I've heard, where she lives, they're still the kind of people that fight of vikings.
The three were about to land to look for the new spirit when a strange ball of heat raced past them, causing the wind to fling Jack away. Even so, the heat blazed across his face before it was gone a second later. Jack turned in the direction the fireball came from when the wind yet again flung him out of the way of another one, barely making it in time.
"Watch what's going on, Frosty!" Merida hissed. "You're going to get us killed!"
"Well excuse me for not knowing that I was going to be attacked by fire when I came to visit!" Jack snapped back. "I'm starting to sense a theme here, being attacked by random spirits when I'm just trying to be nice and help."
"You know what, Frosty? You're starting to become a real pain in the-"
"As amusing and interesting as this argument is, can you two have it later? Preferably when we're not being attacked?" Rapunzel yelled up at them. "Because I don't know about you, but I don't want to be fried, thank you very much."
Jack rolled his eyes and dodged another attack. "Whoa, hey, calm down! We're not here to hurt you, we just want to help!"
"Well, Icicle here does, I don't actually care what the hell happens to you-"
"Merida, can you keep your mouth shut for five minutes while I talk to this guy?!"
"That depends, what are you going to do if I don't?"
Jack turned his head towards her and glared. "I'm more than willing to help you, but I can take advantage of your lack of knowledge about your powers and freeze your mouth shut forever just as easily. Not to mention, I can just leave you on Berk forever and let you suffer without being to get off. Now shut up and let me try and deal with this!"
"Notice how the key word is try." Merida mumbled, but she reluctantly obeyed and shut up.
"Never thought you'd take orders from Jack, Merida."
"Bunny, if you don't shut up, there is nothing Jack will be able to say or do to stop me from sticking you in an oven and cooking you until you are roast Easter Kangaroo for next Christmas."
Jack knew he didn't have much time. The wind couldn't keep them safe from fireballs forever, and with three people in one spot, they were too big a target. Plus, they had to keep an eye out everywhere in the air. So he made his decision and he made it quickly. Without a second thought he dove towards the ground, ignoring Rapunzel's shriek of fear and Merida's yelling. He didn't care about what they thought. He'd pulled this trick off a million times before and there was no way the wind would fail him this one time.
At the last second Jack pulled up just enough so that he could land properly. Almost immediately Rapunzel detached her hair from his staff while Merida almost threw herself off of his back. She turned to glare at him. "Are you crazy? You nearly killed us!"
"Okay, first of all, I've pulled that trick a million times, so you were perfectly safe. Secondly, would you rather be in the air where you can be attacked in all directions and still not find your attacker, or be on the ground where you don't have to look beneath you and have a better chance of finding whoever is trying to knock you out of the sky?"
"Oh, and I suppose you would know?"
"As a matter of fact, yes, I would." Manny, I can't even count the number of times someone has attacked me when I've been out flying.
Merida flinched at the thought.
Merida would have replied with some kind of sarcastic comment had it not been for their attacker, who landed in front of them. Jack's jaw would have dropped at the sight had it not been for the fact that he knew dragons existed. But still, this was an odd sight.
A black dragon had landed in front of them, pupils just black slits in a sea of green glaring at the three of them. On top of the dragon sat a boy, although how old he was, Jack couldn't tell. Brown hair lay flat and limp on his head, in complete contrast to Merida's untamed curls, with only a green shirt and a fur vest covering his torso.
Jack raised his hands up in surrender. "Okay, can we all just calm down here? Hot head over there might want to murder everything she sees, but that's not actually why we're here. However, if you keep attacking us I'm not sure can keep her under control."
"Hey! Don't talk about me as if I'm an animal, you talking snowball!"
Jack ignored the insult. "Now, you have two options here. You can either stop the dragon from trying to burn us so that we can help you, or you can encourage it and be left to figure everything out on your own. And trust me, that is not a pleasant option."
"He." The boy corrected automatically. "My dragon is a he."
"He, it, whatever." Merida snorted, only to be shushed by Jack.
"I never did understand why you just accepted me correcting you instead of having a reaction similar to Merida."
"Because I know how much I hate it when people call my staff a stick or a twig, and it's not even alive. So who am I to judge?"
"Fair point."
The boy looked at them for a moment before he slowly slid off of the dragon. "Okay. What do you mean by help me?"
"Well, I wasn't sure if anyone else had already gotten here and beat me to the punch, but I wanted to make sure. I'm here to help you understand the life of a spirit, as well as help you figure out as much of your powers as you can. Someone already doing that for you?"
The boy shook his head. "The moon told me that my duty would be to bring autumn to the world, and that I can't be seen by or touch humans, but that's about it."
"Yeah, that seems like something Manny would do. Do you remember a past life, or anything like that?"
"Yeah. The moon made me a spirit as soon as he could after I brought understanding between the dragons and my village. Something about other people needing the acceptance that I can encourage."
Jack nodded. "Okay, fair enough. So here's what we're gonna do. These two also need everything explained to them, and it would waste too much time to repeat everything over and over again. So instead, I'm going to take you all to the pole and we'll talk more there. You three can explain your backstories and then we'll get to work on discovering more about your powers and how to get you some believers. Do you think you can take one of the girls on your dragon?"
"Toothless. His name is Toothless. And yeah, I think so."
"Toothless? What kind of a name is Toothless?" Merida snorted. "We can see his teeth quite plainly, thank you very much!"
"His teeth are retractable." The boy explained patiently. "He'll put them away if you stop being so aggressive and come and say hi."
Merida scoffed again, but Jack pushed her in the dragon's direction. "You might as well. I most certainly don't want to carry you again. And it means if he fries anyone, it will be you."
"Thanks a lot."
"Oh please, you're a summer spirit. You should be fine with the heat."
Merida glared at him, but reluctantly turned to the dragon and his rider. Slowly, she approached the dragon, stopping every now and then but never backing a way. She cautiously held out a hand, encouraged by a nod from the boy, and placed it gently on the dragon's snout.
Immediately the dragon seemed to relax under her touch, no longer deeming her as a threat, and allowed the summer spirit to continue petting him. Merida stared at the dragon, transfixed and awed at the magnificent creature in front of her, and continued to run her hand over the dark scales, fascinated. "Wow."
"Yes, wow." The boy smirked. "Does this mean you want to come with me on Toothless?"
"Ride on the back of a dragon?" Merida asked, excitement leaking into her voice. "Of course!"
Jack smirked and let Rapunzel climb onto his back. "Great. So are we going then? Do you know the way to the pole, err..."
"Hiccup." The boy supplied helpfully. "My name is Hiccup."
Jack couldn't contain the snort of amusement, and Merida smirked from her place behind Hiccup (when had they climbed onto that dragon, anyway?). "What kind of a name is Hiccup?"
"It's not the worst where I come from. For some reason, vikings believe that a hideous name will frighten off gnomes and trolls. As far as I'm concerned, I got it easy."
"Well, Hic, just follow me, and we should be at the pole in no time." Jack grinned, leaping into the air with Hiccup following behind. They ignored Merida's whoops of delight as the four of them headed towards the pole, where North was waiting for the winter spirit to return.
The four of them didn't know that they would soon become best friends. They didn't know that within a year they would be accepted as part of Jack's strange but loving family. And they certainly didn't know that when the next threat to the world came only three months later, the moon would choose them to stand by Jack's side as the guardians of imagination, determination and acceptance.
The scene swirled before it faded to black, and Manny's voice once again rung through the room. "Guardians, you have now seen all that me and Jack wish for you to see, and now I'm afraid I must take you back to the workshop. I hope you will all remember everything you have learned about your winter spirit and put together any final pieces that need fitting."
And with that, the small room the eight had been in slowly faded from view forever.
Wow, I didn't expect this chapter to be this long. Well, hopefully the length makes up for the wait, guys!
Okay, just a quick note from me before I go. In this fanfic, How To Train Your Dragon 2 hasn't happened for two very simple reasons. One, the sequel hadn't yet been released in the cinema when I started writing this fic all the way back in 2013 (wow, I can't believe it's been so long) so it kind of made more sense to me if I just stuck with my original timeline. Two, I kind of prefer the first one, but literally only because I only saw the second film when we got it on DVD. So, yeah, sorry HTTYD2 fans, but you get young, dorky Hiccup instead of older, more mature Hiccup.
Also, before anyone asks about my choice of guardian titles, let me explain. North said that guardians each have a centre that represents what they protect in children, and as much as Merida may have earned the title, I really don't think that many children are going to have much bravery in them. Many, however, have a very large imagination, which is what Rapunzel represents, and (especially in this universe) can be very accepting, for example, believing in things like the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny without questioning how they can exist. This acceptance is what Hiccup represents. As for Merida, I probably could have come up with something better, but sleep (and yes, a little bit of laziness) got in the way, so I just stuck her with determination and moved on. My excuse? Some kids can be pretty damn determined to get what they want, okay?
So, yeah, here is the end of my extremely long author's note. Remember, please leave a review, and note that if there is anything you want me to add in during the whole "back to the workshop" scene in the next chapter, please let me hear it in the aforementioned review. Thank you so much, and goodbye until the next (and last) chapter!