A Rise of the Guardians / Guardians of Childhood Fanfic
By Sakura Martinez
Author's Notes:
If you guys have been following me on Tumblr (sakuramartinezfanfics) then you would know I've struggled to keep this part of the story a single chapter. Unfortunately, after reaching 15k words and still counting, I gave up and decided to release it in three parts. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this. I'm going to try to update again tomorrow (or on Monday).
Also, that Tumblrlog I'm using (sakuramartinezfanfics) is where I'll be posting news, special chapters, edited chapters, and maybe even posting early releases of chapters in. So, if you would rather not wait that long for stuff to be posted. Go there, and maybe follow me there too. :D
That's all for now. Don't forget to review if you have time. :)
Dream on; Fly on!
Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or the Guardians of Childhood series. It would have been awesome if I did, but I don't. Those belong to William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation.
Summary: Pitch's parting words to Jack and the other Guardians of Childhood during the Battle of Belief held a clear message: The Guardians may have won the battle, but the war was far from over. Now, Pitch is rallying the forces of darkness, calling to arms a dark and sinister group: The Fright Knights. The battle to end the war is underway, but are the Guardians ready?
Rise of the Fright Knights
Chapter Thirty-Six
Katherine's Story, Part One
They could not have travelled any slower. At least, that was what Jack Frost felt, even though they were actually moving quite fast. He wanted to get to Punjam Hy Loo and Toothiana's Palace as quickly as possible. With how impatient he was being, one would have thought he was the Toothfairy.
It made Toothiana laugh, catching the attention of the Guardian of Fun and the Winter King.
"What's so funny?" Jack asked, his brow furrowed yet his bright, blue eyes looked at her with a mixture of confusion and excitement, as if someone was about to invite him to some fun and maybe cause a little bit of trouble along the way.
"And I thought I was the one who was worried," Toothiana said. "If I didn't know where we were going, I would have thought we're being summoned to your kingdom."
The spark that was in Jack's eyes disappeared as he argued weakly, "I don't have a kingdom."
"I think the spirits currently residing in and around the Ice Palace would disagree," The Queen of the Toothfairies said. When Jack didn't speak up, nor showed any signs that he heard her, Toothiana took a quick look at him. He had a stone-cold expression on his face. She ventured into guessing what he was thinking. "Please tell me you're not thinking of ditching your kingdom in hopes of having someone else take over the responsibility given to you."
When Jack kept his silence, Toothiana knew she had guessed correctly.
"Jack…" the way she called his name had a note of warning and exasperation in them. "We've been through this. How many times do we have to tell you that no one else will come along who is better suited to be the Winter King than you?"
Jack, once again, didn't answer. Although he could have enumerated a list of winter spirits, snow creatures, and other denizens of the kingdom of ice who could've been a better fit. Heck, he could even nominate Phil. The Yeti had a lot more patience and was more responsible than him.
He didn't know how long he had been lost in thought, but the next time Toothiana spoke, it surprised him so much that he almost dropped his staff—which earned him a raised eyebrow from the Guardian of Memories.
"You know," Toothiana began as she turned her face upfront. "I'm starting to wonder how Pitch is going to use this against you."
That made Jack's frown even more prominent.
"What do you mean?" he asked. "Use what, exactly?"
For a moment, Jack wondered if Toothiana had meant the moment that they were together. He panicked at the thought, and pondered on the possibility that he might have let something slip. He couldn't remember it, which made him all the more worried.
He was saved from all his worrying when Toothiana clarified her statement.
"Your fear of the crown," she said, as if they were talking about nothing more than the weather being sunny. "You're not really afraid of responsibility, per se. I mean, I think you really were, at first. But now, you've embraced being a Guardian and doing a great job of it…which, by the way, you shied away from in the beginning…"
"Only because I didn't really think the Man in the Moon made the right choice with me," Jack interjected. "Besides, I'm not afraid of this crown."
"Oh?" the way she said it sounded as though she was challenging Jack to prove her wrong. "Then what is it? Why are you shying away from it?"
"What is with all these questions, Tooth?" Jack asked, hoping to dodge them all as he stopped in front of her, Nightlight's staff once again knocking on his head. Although, he was genuinely curious when he asked, "Why are you so keen on this?"
"No reason other than thinking it's best for you," Toothiana replied. "Of course, knowing you, you would probably never settle down in the Ice Palace if you finally do decide to take charge. Not that I would want you to. You would be the Winter King who comes and goes with the season…or something to that effect."
"Don't I get to have a say in this?" Jack couldn't help but chuckling, forgetting the fact that he wasn't really up to the job. In contrast to him, Toothiana was becoming more and more excited. "The next thing you're going to say is that we form an alliance between our kingdoms, or something."
"Why? Is that a bad idea?" The quick question, not to mention the expression of worry on Toothiana's face, surprised Jack. He wasn't expecting that to be the response she gave him.
"I didn't mean it like that," Jack quickly assured Toothiana it was not. "It's just like you're planning on waging a war against some kingdom or another. I mean, why would you even need an alliance?" A sudden thought surged in the forefront of Jack's mind as he quickly asked, "Wait, you're not in some sort of trouble are you? Apart from anything and everything related to that Maharaja…?"
"Of course not!" Toothiana had to quell the urge to roll her eyes. She didn't want Jack taking it the wrong way. "Alliances aren't just useful during times of war, Jack. A healthy relationship between two kingdoms can foster growth for both. Besides, who knows the old Winter King may have enemies of his own who would take this opportunity to wage war against your kingdom."
That got Jack thinking. In truth, he knew nothing about the kingdom that was entrusted to him. He didn't know whom the Winter King had dealings with, who he was allied with. It gave him another fuel to question why everyone he knew seemed to think he was the best bet for the crown. He was clueless about it all. It didn't make sense.
Shaking his head, Jack managed to dodge Nightlight's staff before it could clobber him in the head again. He glared at the offending item before turning back to Toothiana.
"Let's leave this discussion here for now," Jack said. Toothiana looked like she was about to argue, and so Jack put his hand up and added, "I have a lot of things I don't know about, Tooth. Especially when it comes to running things. I'm not like you, or North, or Bunnymund. You three are like natural born leaders. I'm more suited to the job of a court jester than a king, if I'm being honest. And if I really am going to respect the Winter King's wishes, I'm going to have to really work on it. But that will come after we've sorted out this whole mess with Pitch. For now, I'm not even thinking about everything that has to do with the crown. For the moment, until after Pitch is dealt with, I'm just going to be Jack Frost, the Guardian of Fun, okay?"
Jack sounded like he was genuinely asking for Tooth's permission. He was.
The Guardian of Memories looked at him intently, searching for any sign that he was just saying those things to escape from the responsibility he now bore. There weren't any. His words rang true. Though she was uncertain why he was asking her if it was okay—because, really, if you think about it, it was not for her to decide, nor should her words have any weight on the matter. But, looking at Jack, it, apparently does.
"Alright," she conceded. After all, what else could she say when he looked at her like that?
Jack smiled. It was a smile that was more than just relief. He released a breath Tooth didn't notice he was holding, and closed his eyes.
"Alright, we've wasted enough time. Let's hurry on to your place, Tooth." And that was all Jack had to say about that as he took her hand and whistled for the Wind to carry them as fast as it could. He laughed as Toothiana tried very hard not to scream at the speed by which they now traveled.
It was a homecoming unlike anything Toothiana had ever experienced before. And that was saying something.
The Mini Fairies quickly converged on their queen, and it didn't take long for her to quickly be enveloped by all of them. Jack was lucky to be able to jump out of the way. He was certain he was going to be latched into as well.
He laughed at Toothiana's inability to get her Mini Fairies to behave. No matter how many times the Queen of the Toothfairies had assured him that she wasn't worried about anything and that everything was fine, the way the Mini Fairies were acting told him otherwise.
Of course, it also told him how greatly they had missed her and were just as worried about her as she was of them.
Figuring it was going to take a while before Toothiana could extract herself from them and get them back to order, Jack decided to check up on Jackie and spend time with him.
He found the little boy in the room Toothiana had been given him. Jackie was frowning and so deep in thought, it made Jack chuckle as he moved to sit beside the young boy. It took a while for Jackie to notice he was no longer alone, which only served to amuse Jack Frost even more.
"Jack!" Jackie squealed in delight when he noticed the Guardian sitting beside him. "You're back!"
"Well, it certainly took you a while to notice," Jack laughed as he hugged the little boy back. "So, what were you thinking so hard about that you didn't even notice me?"
"Sorry," Jackie looked at the Guardian sheepishly for a moment before bowing his head so low that his chin touched his chest. He had that scrunched up, thoughtful-look on his face once more. "I looked around the Palace…because Queen Toothiana said I could."
"Yeah?" Jack asked. "Did you find anything interesting?"
"Uh-huh…" Jackie didn't sound so excited about it, which made Jack wonder if he got in trouble. Sure enough, the young Bennett said, "But Baby Tooth ended up getting mad."
Baby Tooth? Mad? Jack thought to himself. That's a rare occasion…
"Okay…why did she get mad? Did you do something wrong?" Jack's tone was gentle. He didn't want the kid to think he was accusing him.
"Well…" Jackie looked abashed. "I may have…But I don't really see what the big deal is. It's just a room with paintings and small, beautiful boxes."
"Small, beautiful boxes?" Another crease in his brow appeared. But he shook his head, "What, exactly, did you do to make Baby Tooth mad?"
"There was this room," Jackie began, wringing his fingers. He was nervous. He didn't want Jack to be mad with him too. "Baby Tooth said I'm not allowed to go inside. But then something came up and I thought I'd get to see the Queen's treasure. So I snuck in. She found me when I was in this room with the beautiful boxes and she got really upset. I'm scared, Jack."
"Scared?" Jack wasn't expecting the young boy to look up at him with watery eyes and voice trembling. "Of what?"
Jackie looked away. "That Queen Toothiana might be angry at me. I'm sure she already knows. Baby Tooth isn't going to keep that a secret from her…even if she could. That was why I was thinking really hard of a way to apologize. I don't want Queen Toothiana mad."
The Guardian of Fun was silent as he looked gently at his charge for a little while. He had always known that the little boy loved Toothiana dearly. Whenever he visits them, the first question he would always ask was the whereabouts of the Guardian of Memories.
Wishing to ease the worry that Toothiana might not be pleased, Jack pushed himself up and told Jackie, "I can go talk to her, if you want."
Jackie's eyes became wide as saucers as he looked at him. "You would do that? For me?"
Jack ruffled Jackie's hair and laughed, "Of course. You should know by now, kiddo. I'm willing to do anything for your family."
Jack was leaning on one of the pillars by the center of the palace, where the giant coin dispensing mechanism was, watching Toothiana instruct her Mini Fairies on various things. He had his hand on Nightlight's staff to keep it from hitting things, most specially his head. It was clear that something had happened on her absence that had caused some problems for the job the Mini Fairies were supposed to be doing. The Guardian of Fun wondered if Jackie was the cause of that as well.
Toothiana didn't notice Jack, and he didn't let his presence be known. And as impossible as it might sound, not even the Mini Fairies noticed him. They were all just so busy.
He watched Toothiana giving orders. She was so good at getting the Mini Fairies in line, so good at handling them. He wanted to learn how to do that to the people of the kingdom that was now his to oversee. He wanted someone to teach him. Of course, Jack Frost knew that the bond between Toothiana and her Mini Fairies had something to do with the way they followed her orders and how well she run the Tooth Palace. But Jack also knew that all the Mini Fairies had personalities of their own. They can decide for themselves, and Tooth would never—not in a million or billion years—force them to do something they would not want.
There was something else to the relationship between the Queen of the Toothfairies and her Mini Fairies. There was love, and respect. Mutual love and respect. And a whole lot of patience, restraint, calm, and understanding.
He was so fixated with his awe that he momentarily forgot his place and suddenly surprised Toothiana when he blurted out loudly, "Queen Toothiana, you are incredible."
"Jack!" Tooth exclaimed, almost dropping the clipboard she had been holding.
Every head turned in his direction. Jack then pushed himself from the pillar and quickly strode over to the Guardian of Memories. His strides were as purposeful as they have been, confident even.
"You are really, really incredible!" Jack repeated, his voice was louder than it had been before he was standing an arm's length away from Toothiana.
Jack was looking at Toothiana with so much sincerity and awe as he said those words that they effectively made her blush. Jack had told her she was a lot of things before, but never had he truly looked so in awe. She searched his eyes, wondering what it was, exactly, he was referring. But before she could find her answer, the Mini Fairies who were surrounding her swooned and fainted. That effectively halted whatever was going through her mind, and quickly wiped the blush from her face.
"Jack…" Tooth said exasperated, as she looked down on the Mini Fairies who had fainted. "Please tell me you need something other than the satisfaction of rendering my girls unconscious…again."
Jack looked at the knocked-out fairies and smiled sheepishly, "Sorry. I didn't mean to do that. It's just…you're—"
"—incredible," Tooth finished with a roll of her eye. Tooth clapped her hands twice and the Mini Fairies slowly began to regain consciousness. "What is it really?"
"I meant what I said, Tooh," Jack said, he sounded so excited. "I mean, I always knew you were incredible, and I always knew how well you handled the Mini Fairies. I just…you have to teach me."
"What?" That got Toothiana to divert her attention from the groggy Mini Fairies and back to Jack.
"How to do that," Jack replied. "After Pitch is dealt with. Right now, though…your biggest fan is worried that you might be angry with him."
"What are you talking about?" another question from the Queen.
"Jackie." Jack replied a matter-of-factly just as Baby Tooth appeared from wherever it was Toothiana had asked her to go to.
Baby Tooth perked up and quickly flew to Jack, giving his face as much of a hug as she could. Jack chuckled and ran a hand on the Mini Fairy's head, which only served to give him another chirp of approval.
"Ah, Baby Tooth, just the Mini Fairy I needed to see." Jack said. His words was returned with a quizzical look, not only from the Mini Fairy in question, but Toothiana as well. "Jackie was telling me about this room that he stumbled into that got you angry…" then he flashed Tooth a smiled and added, "Which is also the reason the little kid is sulking in his room, worried that her Majesty might be angry with him."
Jack really didn't expect what Tooth or Baby Tooth would say apart from Tooth telling him that she wasn't angry with Jackie. He figured that Tooth would then come with him to Jackie's room and she would explain to the little boy why Baby Tooth acted the way she did. Maybe she will even tell the young Bennett that it was wrong to sneak into places he shouldn't. Jack didn't even know what the deal with this room and those boxes was about.
What Jack hadn't predicted was Toothiana looking at Baby Tooth for an explanation. She never does that, not in the longest time Jack had known her.
"What is he talking about, Baby Tooth?" Toothiana asked, her eyebrows were raised.
'Um…' Baby Tooth didn't know how to begin. She had been extremely careful to skirt around the feelings and the thoughts she had about that event. It wasn't just because she knew the Queen would be upset with her if she knew, but also because she didn't want to have to have to tell the Queen the extent of what that little mishap the other Mini Fairies had tumbled in was.
"Baby Tooth," there was a warning in the Queen's tone.
'I'm sorry,' Baby Tooth sighed before she apologized. There was no hiding it now. 'Jackie was asking us to give him an extensive tour of the palace, we complied…and then he saw the room. I tried to make sure that he wouldn't get in, but he slipped from right under us when I was busy fixing a problem with a tooth being wrongly catalogued. I know I should've told you, but…"
"You didn't want to get the rest of your sisters in trouble," Toothiana nodded, understanding where Baby Tooth was coming from. "But you shouldn't have kept that from me, Baby Tooth. Now, tell me the truth, did Jackie touch anything?"
The Mini Fairy shook her head, she looked even more abashed now than she was before. 'No. I managed to stop Jackie before he did.'
"Well, that's a relief at least. And the tooth?"
'Properly catalogued now,' Baby Tooth chirped. It was something she was proud of. After all, it wasn't easy to fix such a problem as that.
Toothiana nodded and sighed with relief. She had been worried that Jackie might have done something irreparable.
Jack had been watching the two and he had no idea what they were talking about. He could only understand Toothiana's side of the conversation.
"So…" Jack spoke up. He had no intention of surprising anyone, especially Toothiana, but with the way she flinched made Jack think that the Queen of the Toothfairies had forgotten he was around. "Sorry. What's going on?"
Baby Tooth looked at Toothiana. They exchanged a look that confused the Guardian of Fun, before Toothiana said, "Will you go to Jackie and make sure he's alright? I'll take Jack with me."
Baby Tooth nodded, understanding the hidden instruction that she was also being asked to make sure the young Bennett doesn't wander off to places he shouldn't be wandering off to.
When Baby Tooth had flown off, Jack shook his head and said, "Now I really have no idea what's happening. Is Jackie in some sort of trouble? Is Baby Tooth?"
"Relax, Jack," She placed a hand on his shoulder. He did. "Fortunately, Jackie didn't do anything problematic. Neither did Baby Tooth."
"Okay," Jack was still clueless about what was going on. But if Toothiana didn't want to talk about it, he certainly wouldn't want to force her to. "So, I guess we'll be heading to the Pole now?"
"Not yet," Toothiana replied, and she began walking, motioning for Jack to follow her. "Since we're already here—and since I am pretty sure you are itching to know what all that was about—I might as well show you."
"Show me what?"
"One of the many secrets of Punjam Hy Loo."
There was something about the hallway that kept Jack breaking his silence, even when he had a dozen questions running through his mind. There was something that was stopping him from speaking. He didn't know if it was the beautiful murals on the wall, or the long lines of Memory Boxes that accentuated it. All he could hear was the quick beating of Toothiana's wings, his breath, heartbeat, and footsteps as they went deeper and deeper, passing through long hallways and twisting staircases.
Soon, Jack and Toothiana ended up in an empty room, with a painting of the two girls—one with leafy-green hair and the other auburn. Near those two massive murals were glass cases. Both of them had boxes.
The small boxes Jackie was talking about, it didn't take long for Jack to realize that he was in the room Jackie had snuck into.
Pulling his eyes away from the boxes, the Guardian of Fun looked at the paintings of the two girls. He didn't know who they were, but the green-haired one looked oddly familiar. For some strange and currently-inexplicable reason, Jack felt as if she had met him before.
Toothiana watched Jack. Apart from North, none of the other Guardians knew about the items that were stored in that room. Both of them had promised to keep it a secret. And now, here she was with Jack Frost, her mind made up to share the secret with him.
The secret, in and of itself, wasn't dangerous. And keeping it from the other Guardians didn't necessarily mean they did not trust them. Had the items in question not been within the Guardian of Memories' realm, she was certain North would have kept her in the dark as well.
"Are you going to tell me what we're doing here…and where we are?" Jack asked, snapping Toothiana from her thoughts.
Toothiana bit her lip and pushed a feather from her head back. She didn't know how to begin. Or who to begin with. Jack saved her from having to choose, though.
"Is that her?" Jack asked, nodding at the portrait of the auburn-haired girl. "Katherine?"
There was a heartbeat of silence, a slow release of breath, followed by, "Yes."
Jack jumped up and allowed the Wind to carry him close to Katherine's portrait, but not close enough to the glass case in front of it. He didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that Toothiana will not like it if something were to happen to those cases and boxes.
"I can see why Nightlight fell for her," Jack said a moment later, still staring at the girl's portrait. "She's pretty."
Jack's words got Toothiana to straighten and freeze up. She knew he meant nothing by it and was simply stating an observation. At least, she hoped that was the case. She didn't want to think that Katherine—a girl was important to the Guardians a long time ago; who was a friend—would end up being a competition.
Stop it. Toothiana shook her head. Don't be ridiculous.
"Tooth?" Toothiana didn't know how long she was out of it, but when she came to, Jack was mere inches from her face. He looked worried. "Are you alright?"
"Y-Yes," she breathed.
That answer seemed to be enough for Jack. He pulled back and smiled. "Good. I lost you for a moment."
"S-Sorry," She pushed a feather back. "I was just thinking."
Jack nodded in understanding, though Toothiana was pretty sure he didn't understand where her thoughts had brought her at all.
"So, will I finally get to know who this Katherine is?" Jack asked. He really was curious about the little girl, and about the Guardian who had left his staff for him—the staff which had been vibrating in his hand so strongly ever since they had entered the room.
"I suppose so," Toothiana replied. She then walked towards the glass case near Katherine's mural. "I could tell you all I know about her, but that would not be enough. I only knew her for a short while, and to be honest, my first meeting with her is not some memory that I enjoy reliving."
Jack didn't say anything, though he found it hard to believe what his friend had said. His silence was invitation enough for Toothiana to keep on talking.
"She's much closer to North than anybody else. She was his first believer. She saw goodness in the feared ruffian that even North couldn't believe he had. And she had saved him so many times. And although I can keep on telling you these things, I suppose it is better to just show you." As soon as saying those words, Tooth touched the glass case and it disappeared as though it was a bubble that had been popped. She then opened the small boxes and as Jack peered in, he saw that there was two golden containers inside. Both of them looked old.
Toothiana took the golden container in her hand. There was a faint glow that affirmed Jack's guess as to what the container was and what it held. There was a moment when Jack felt like he didn't want to know Katherine's story the way Toothiana was allowing him to learn it. It seems too personal. It didn't seem right that someone other than the Toothfairy would be privy to use her teeth to learn of her memories.
Toothiana sensed Jack's hesitation. It was endearing to think that he didn't feel comfortable about the whole thing. If he had, Toothiana wouldn't know what to think. It had always been her rule to keep the memories of a child a secret; to not allow anyone—save for the child himself, or herself—to see the memories contained within each teeth. She was glad she was breaking that long serving rule for someone who wasn't haughty.
"It's okay," she said as she took Jack's hand into her own and smiled gently at him. She waited for him to look at her and tell her he was ready. When he finally did, nodding at her to go on, Toothiana placed both of their hands atop the golden container.
It was as quick as a blink, or a heartbeat, before a bright light engulfed them and Jack saw fragments of Katherine's memories.