Chapter 1
A child looks out her window in Maine late at night, and she sees Amaryllis, Azaleas, Cherry blossoms and Calla lilies growing. Little does this child know that these flowers were grown by magic.
Calla Lilly, the planter of these flowers, was currently bringing Spring to New England. Calla has brown hair she wears in a side braid, hazel eyes, glasses, a pinkish creamish knee-length dress, fair skin, a dogwood necklace, blue and purple butterfly wings and black ballet shoes. She is a butterfly-human hybrid and the Guardian of Beauty.
Calla suddenly stops what she's doing when she sees the Northern Lights – the signal that she's needed at the North Pole. Fluttering her butterfly wings, Calla flies off to the North Pole.
~.~
Calla shivers as she enters North's workshop, and turns to North.
"I was in the middle of spreading Spring to New England, so this better be important." Calla says.
"This better be good, North." Bunnymund, Calla's partner in Spring and in life, says. The two Spring spirits join each other at the fireplace, warming themselves.
The Sandman and the Tooth Fairy soon join them.
"Sandy, thank you for coming." North says. Sandy communicates through sand glyphs that he was busy doing a lot of work bringing dreams to children all over the world.
"I know, I know, but I obviously wouldn't have called you all here unless it was serious." Sandy, Calla, Bunny, Tooth and North reach the center of the room.
"The Boogie Man was here – at the Pole." The Guardians look at North in disbelief.
"Pitch? Pitch Black? Here?!" Tooth exclaims.
"Yes. There was black sand covering the globe." North says.
"What do you mean black sand?" Calla asks.
"And then a shadow!" North continues.
"Hold on, hold on, I thought you said you saw Pitch." Bunny says.
"Well, ah, not exactly…"
"'Not exactly'? Can you believe this guy?" Bunny asks.
Sandy forms a Dreamsand question mark above his head.
"Yeah, you said it, Sandy." Bunny says, before going to back to painting an Easter egg.
"North! You said you'd contact me if your plants were dying!" Calla says, bringing life back to a pot of lilies.
"Is too cold for your Spring flowers! Why not bring in Winter flowers?" North asks.
"First of all, it's not too cold in the workshop. And second, I don't do winter flowers. Pansies, Violets and Honeyworts, I don't do. Hyacinths, Irises, Gardenias, and, my namesake, Calla lilies, I do."
"No matter what you grow, is still flower." North says. Calla groans and rolls her eyes.
"I know the feeling, sheila." Bunny tells Calla.
"Look, Pitch is up to something very bad. I feel it, in my belly." North says.
"Hang on, hang on, you mean to say, you summoned us here three days before Easter because of your belly? Mate, if we did this to you three days before Christmas…"
"Bunny, Easter and Spring are not Christmas." North grabs Bunny's egg, walking off.
"Here we go." Bunny starts.
"You know, North, without Spring and Easter, your holiday wouldn't even exist." Calla says.
"Actually, without my holiday, Easter would not exist."
Calla and Bunny look at each other, but stay silent. North did have a point.
"North, we don't have time for this. I've still got two million eggs to finish up." Bunny says.
"And I've got the rest of the Americas to spread Spring to." Calla adds.
"No matter how much you paint, is still egg."
"Look, mate, I'm dealing with perishables. Right. You've got all year to prepare." Bunny says.
Suddenly, Sandy spots the Moon.
"Why are rabbits always so nervous?" North inquires.
"And why are you always such a blowhard?" Bunny asks.
Meanwhile, Tooth is instructing her fairies to pick up teeth.
"Tooth, can't you see we're trying to argue?" North asks.
"Sorry, not all of us get to work one night a year. Am I right, Sandy? Calla?" Calla nods in agreement, then goes back to bringing life back to North's dying plants. Sandy tries to signal the others with a golden arrow that is pointing toward the Moon, but no one notices.
"Come on, mate. Pitch went out with the Dark Ages. We made sure of that – remember?" Bunny asks.
"I know it was him. We have serious situation!"
"Well, I've got a serious situation with some eggs."
"Hey, I interrupt the 'we work so hard once a year club' but could we concentrate on the matter -"
Sandy, not able to take being ignore anymore, grabs one of North's elves by his hat, and vigorously shakes its bell. The other Guardians finally notice and Sandy points up, a crescent moon forming above his head. The others turn to see the beam of moonlight as it goes to the circle between them.
"Aah! Man in Moon! Sandy, why didn't you say something?" North says. Dreamsand smoke shoots out of Sandy's ears.
"It's been a long time, old friend! At least two years since Calla was chosen! What is big news?" North asks.
The moonlight darkens, revealing the silhouette of Pitch. The Guardians look on, stunned.
"It is Pitch." Calla and Bunnymund say in unison, glancing at each other.
Pitch had been present when Becky – as Calla was known before she was chosen – killed herself. He had seen the fear in Becky's classmates' and teachers' eyes, and even in the Guardians' eyes as they watched on, unable to do anything to help Becky, Bunny even going as far as going up on to the roof after her. When the Guardians – and Pitch – had seen that Becky was gone, the Moon – as it was still pretty early – shone its light on Becky, and all the Guardians – good and bad – knew that Becky had been chosen as a new Guardian. When the crowd left, the Guardians stayed put as Becky transformed from a self-thought ugly, physically, mentally and emotionally broken and scarred girl who only saw the beauty in others but never in herself, to a girl who – with time and a bit of help from the Guardians – sees the beauty not only still in others, but now also in herself.
"Manny, what must we do?" North asks, bringing Calla out of her memories.
The moonbeams shine onto a section of the floor, rising up a pedestal.
"Uh, guys, you know what this means?" Tooth asks.
"He's choosing a new Guardian." North says, awed.
"What? Why?" Bunny asks.
"Must be big deal. Manny thinks we need help! Ah, no offense to you, Calla." North says.
"None taken."
"Since when do we need help? Calla's the newest addition, and we don't need any more new Guardians. She's still getting used to the idea of being one of us." Bunny says.
"Maybe that's why we need help. Calla is still getting used to idea of being Guardian."
"I wonder who it's gonna be!" Tooth says.
A Dreamsand Four-Leaf clover appears over Sandy's head.
"Maybe the Leprechaun?" Tooth asks.
"Please not the Groundhog, please not the Groundhog." Bunny says.
The pedestal reveals…