helloooo

so; vanish and unnamed christmas cookie kid will be added. why not amiright.

anyways, enjoy the chapter!

please review!

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Instead of using the shadows like she normally would, Elizabeth decided to just walk around. Get a better handling on her surroundings. But, here's the thing; this place was huge and a maze, with so many rooms that she could hardly think of what could be behind the doors. It almost made her dizzy.

What also made her dizzy is something slamming into her and knocking her promptly to the floor.

"Oh my goodness! I'm-" Dazed, Elizabeth blinked up to see Toothiana. Tooth paused her sentence, a grip in her chest as she awkwardly settled to the floor. Her awkwardness made Elizabeth's own grow.

"Sorry," Elizabeth offered, dusting her shirt off as a way to distract herself. "I should've been paying attention."

"No, no, it was my fault, I was the one flying around like crazy." Tooth waved it off with a nervous laugh, and Elizabeth took notice that she never looked her in the eye.

"Um. Did I do something wrong?" Before, she remembered, Tooth didn't want to talk to her, or at least, brushed her off. Why? Was it because of who her father was? That thought made her anxiety grow. Even when she thought back on it, Elizabeth was aware that Toothiana was incredibly kind, so to see her so awkward in her presence made Elizabeth feel...really bad.

"Huh?" Her feathers fluffed up in surprise, violet eyes wide. "Oh, no, you didn't do anything." Oh, Vanish would be so angry like Tooth had been when she realized she had nieces. Vanish didn't even know about Kira being alive!

That silence grew again. Elizabeth almost wanted to huff in frustration. "Okay." She muttered. "Then...why do you look like you want to get away from me?" She was such a people pleaser and she knew that; how could she not be? And sometimes, when people weren't being straightforward with her like she is now, she can't help but get a little tense.

Tooth didn't know how to respond. She must've been so little when she died. Swallowing thickly, Tooth managed to say, "Do you know who I am?"

Elizabeth's warm grey eyes clouded in confusion, very unsure of what she was implying. "You're the Tooth Fairy...?"

"No, do you know who I am to you? Or your sister?"

"My sister?" Elizabeth responded, surprised at the mention of her. Tooth watched as she saw her put a guard on. "How did you know...?"

"He never told you about me? Makes sense, he did try to stop the Guardians. And...no I wont mention that." Tooth sighed, shaking her head, "He always hated me."

"Who? My father?"

"Yes." Tooth eased up a little, after all, this was her niece. "Elizabeth, do you remember anything about your mother?"

"My mother? No, not really, she died when I was-"

"A baby, I know." Tooth flinched, not wanting to hear more. The ache of her sister hurt her chest.

Elizabeth's face grew a little warm, feeling like she was caged and vulnerable. "Why are you asking me these...strangely personal questions."

"To put it simply," wringing her hands, she blurted out, "I'm your aunt."

A few seconds of silence, before Elizabeth gave a tiny snort, as if she was trying not to laugh. "What? Wouldn't I look like you? My mother wasn't a...or...I'm so sorry, are there more of you?"

"Technically my mother was a Sister of Flight." Tooth explained. "My father, however, was a normal man. My sister, your mother, was my older half sister."

Elizabeth found it hard to believe her. She doesn't remember what her mother looks like, but surely she wasn't related to the Guardian of Memories. That was simply ridiculous.

However...the look in Tooth's eyes told her otherwise. Doubt began to creep into her chest. It...It would explain her stand-offishness earlier. She didn't know much about her mother, it couldn't be out of the realm of possibility...that...

Oh.

Elizabeth took a step back, a wave of this feeling washing over that she couldn't explain, but it was gross. Cold pinpricks rattled the back of her brain and her throat closed. Her fingers began to ache like they do when she was incredibly nervous. Finally, she managed to speak despite the growing nausea, "Wait. You're serious? You're my...my aunt?"

Tooth nodded, because she didn't know what to say.

"But...But you never said anything before? Why'd you wait until now to tell me?" Honestly, now that this information settled a tiny bit, Elizabeth felt a little angry. She had an aunt that she had no clue about for-what? Hundreds of years? And no one ever thought to tell her? What even? "You knew about my sister!"

"I didn't know you existed," Tooth admitted, "And with Kira-I thought she was dead with your mother for the longest time. When I saw her again, I didn't...I didn't react properly, a-and even then she never knew who I was!"

"What? How could she not know who you were if your our aunt?" She questioned, face hardening in such a similar way that Mithra did it hurt her even more. "Even then; why would you think Kira was dead?" Why was talking to Tooth produce more questions than answers? Oh, how she wished she was still with Jack. Elizabeth really didn't want to deal with this.

Tooth, at the same time, was struggling to think of a correct response to her. But it was difficult! Anything she could say would probably be waved off by Pitch if he was questioned about it. "Well...um...When your mother died, I couldn't-...I know your father doesn't tell you a lot of what he did-"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing, nothing." She paused, noticing the same overwhelmed look Mithra would get. Her facial expressions were so like her mothers... "It just...um, wasn't a good time. Your father and I never got along, and I blamed him for what happened-"

"What happened?" She cut off again, "What happened occurred three years ago. That's not a good excuse! I've been alive longer then that!"

...Right, Toothiana. Of course Pitch would shelter her to the point where the only bad thing he done was from only three years ago. How was she going to explain this to her? "No, I, um. We just had a...big fight? Yeah. And...well...the whole incident three years ago...I just couldn't. But I would've if I'd known!"

Elizabeth sighed, moving away from Tooth some more when she tried to put her hand on her shoulder. Maybe if she wasn't feeling overwhelmed she would've questioned her further but right now she simply wasn't feeling it. "...This is too much right now." And to think, she felt guilty about going to her place and feeling like she was responsible for harming her fairies! Oh, her mind was swimming, she wanted to pass out. Elizabeth wasn't good at handling this weighted information.

"I understand." She responded as she retracted her hand. "But if you have any questions, I'll try to answer as best as I can. I do want to make up for lost time."

...Tempting.

As Elizabeth stood there, thinking her words over, she decided that it...does seem kind of nice. I mean, she didn't know anything as it is. Maybe...this could be okay? Would her father mind? Who was she kidding, if she wanted to learn about her own mother, she would make that decision herself. So with that, Elizabeth muttered, "...When I, uh, let this settle...Could you tell me about my mom?" Shyly, she glanced back up. "Dad wouldn't tell me much, Kira knows so little. I...I would really like to know more. If that's okay?"

Hearing that made Tooth smile so genuinely, any remaining doubt Elizabeth had washed away. "Of course! I would really like that." Tooth fluttered slightly, glancing around. "I'll, uhm, let you go now."

"Wait!" She blurted, grabbing Tooth's arm. "Is there anything else I should know before I go?"

There were many things she could tell her! How she had a whole extended family, the stories she could tell of her mother, and mayybee what Pitch really did during those times. "Honestly, I would tell you more." She said, "But I don't think you can handle it right now."

Elizabeth didn't know how to respond, but Tooth had promised to tell her more later, so she guessed she could wait, right? Elizabeth nodded, and Tooth flew away, leaving the former to stand on the hall. Then the weight of their conversation hit her yet again, only this time with more force; as if her body was saying hey! Did you realize how crazy that was? Though a part of her couldn't wait to hear more. She didn't know her mother had a sister! And it was Toothiana, of all people! She could finally learn more about her mom, so while weird, it was a pretty good conversation!

She was too busy to notice that she was about to walk right into someone until she did. It was large but soft, and it threw her back a little. "Oh, I'm-" She paused when she realized it was none other than Nicholas St. North.

Now, when she first met the Guardians, it was fine. She had Jack with her, and she did try to explain that she wasn't her dad. However, by herself? Oh, she was terrified.

"Ah, Elizabeth!" North greeted, not seeing how her light grey skin went even paler. North was a large, intimidating guy, she'd admit. Her father's enemy. He could crush her with one step if he'd wanted too.

"Hello." Elizabeth managed to say, a little more wobbly than she anticipated, making her cheeks glow.

North picked up on this fairly easy. He was once the Bandit King, after all! He could tell when one was scared. Also, this was his niece, he didn't want her scared of him. "Oh! Are you alright?"

She didn't know how to respond. She must've been stuck back to her conversation with her father, and blurted out, "Hey, I'm sorry about what my Dad did years ago." And after those words left her mouth she wanted to vomit.

Apparently North wasn't expecting those words either, because he stared down at her for a moment with a frown and eyebrows furrowed. After a few seconds, though, he gave a warm smile which did make her feel better. "Ah, we know. We do not blame you. All in past, no?"

Swallowing thickly, she nodded. "Yeah."

"You seem like good kid," He patted her on the back, the force making her lurch forward. "Jack does not trust many. You knew him before, no?" Tooth had told him she doesn't know who they were, so North wouldn't mention that he was her uncle until Elizabeth herself mentioned it. Tooth's sisters are a sensitive topic to her, and he would tread carefully.

"B-Before he died?" She asked, and he nodded. "Oh! Yeah, I did."

"His memories aren't working," North noted, "Tooth doesn't know why but I say 'It takes time!'" He laughed, and she did the same only hers was more awkward.

"W-Well, we actually tried working on that." Elizabeth admitted, somewhat wishing she was back in the room with Jack. She wasn't used to others. "I figured that since we, yknow, knew each other, it would work."

"Did it?"

She made a gesture that said ehhh, kinda. "It didn't go exactly as planned. It wasn't the memory he wanted."

"Was not what he wanted?" He questioned, "Why, any memory would be good!"

"...Yeah, it would. It was something really sad, I guess." She muttered, looking away. North couldn't deny this was a little awkward. How would you hold up a conversation with someone when you know something about them they don't? "I'm sorry," She said suddenly, turning her attention back to him. "I got sidetracked. Uhm. If you don't mind, I left Jack waiting..." She hinted, and he didn't want her to stay if she clearly didn't want too.

"Of course!" He smiled, understanding, "Best not to keep him waiting, da?"

She assumed that meant yes, and nodded clumsily with a tiny grin. "Haha, yeah...well, it, uh, was nice speaking with you." Elizabeth began to worm her way out of the conversation bubble she seemed trapped in, and with a small wave, she left before North could try and say anything more.

She let out the air she was holding in when she rounded the corner. She kept her pace fast, unnoticable, but kept her idea of not going into her shadows.

Then she saw Bunny.

Okay, who was messing with her? Seriously, who?

Bunny appeared very blunt and had a slight attitude, in her opinion. She didn't know much about him (well, like most of the Guardians). He was tall but shorter than North, but that was probably because of his ears. She didn't notice she was about to run right into a decorative vase, and fumbled with it so it didn't hit the ground. Moon-forbid she break one of North's possessions. Unfortunately, Bunny noticed her. Fantastic.

The most interaction she had with him outside their initial meeting was when Jack was with her and they were pranking him. That eased her a smidge, however Jack wasn't here. "Elizabeth." He acknowledged with a nod. She returned that small nod.

"H-Hello." Elizabeth set the vase back in its stand with some struggle-it was as big as her torso and probably just as heavy. "How are you?"

"I'm good, and yourself?"

She wasn't expecting him to be...nice to her. "Oh! I'm...fine. I suppose. Just busy."

"Busy eh? I understand." He nodded, and she realized he was painting an egg. Did he...Did he always do that? "I was thinkin' about it...but remember when we first met?"

A cold chill ran down her spine. "Yeah?"

"I wanted to apologize, about, y'know, callin' you your Dad." He washed his paintbrush as her head wrapped around his words. Apologizing? Oh. "However I knew you were spendin' time with Frostbite so I could never find the chance too. So, I'm sorry."

"Oh." She muttered, chest squeezing. "Well, thank you." The tip of her foot moved to make a circle into the carpet. "I'm sorry about pranking you."

Bunny stifled a laugh. "Jack likes to do those, so I wasn't very surprised. I appreciate it, though." He eyed her for a second, and as he dipped his paintbrush into some lilac paint, he said, "You aren't very much like your dad, personality wise, y'know."

"Yeah." She muttered. Her father definitely liked the spotlight whereas she was more introverted, clearly.

"Plus, he wouldn't apologize for anything he's done."

She opened her mouth to argue, but then thought about it. Did he apologize to them? Obviously not, as Bunny was mentioning it. "Oh. Yeah, I'm sorry about that. The whole thing from three years ago."

"You don't need to apologize, you didn't do anything, right?"

"Well...no, I didn't."

Bunny set the egg down, which had spouted feet. Feet! She would've stared had Bunny not turned to her fully. "You're a pacifist, ain't ya'?" She nodded. For the most part, she was. She felt sometimes, if it was needed, fighting could help. But she didn't want to explain it to him, she was already feeling a little uneasy. And for Bunny, he figured that she would be. Elizabeth seemed like a people-pleaser, which was sad to think about. It was no doubt caused by Pitch. In fact, did he even concern himself about the actions of what he did? He had three daughters to think about! Granted, his eldest...disappeared. But he still had two, from what Tooth had told him. It made him a little angry.

Then something popped into her head. "Hey, um...did you ever speak to him before?"

"Sorry?"

"Like, Jack." She fumbled. "Did you ever speak to him before he became a Guardian?" She remembered now; he mentioned not a lot of people spoke to him. Did they? Oh, she should've asked Tooth and North!

Bunny wasn't expecting that question. Bashful, he looked around the room while she waited patiently. "Ah...Not really."

"Oh." She muttered, "He mentioned it before. I was just curious."

Bunny fought the urge to wince. "...Yeah. We'd known he was a troublemaker, and we were to busy with other things-"

"Its okay, you can say it was my father." She cut, sounding a little annoyed. "Actually, I have another question, if you don't mind?" He nodded, now feeling a little unsure.

"What all has my dad done? I thought it was only the battle three years ago, but I guess I'm missing more."

...That's all she knew? That's all she knew? ...Really?

His expression must've shown what he was feeling, because her own face twisted. "What?"

"Eh. Its a long story. Are you sure you wanna know?"

Did she? Or did she want to live in ignorant bliss?

...yes and no.

But if it was something important, she wanted to be aware! So, she nodded.

Bunny pursed his lips, still feeling a little unsure, but she said yes. He gently set the egg down.

"Well, it all started long ago with the Golden Age."

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.woop. the golden age.

also, the next chapter will focus on the events of the first four books! some things will be tweaked to fit the story, mostly with tooth's book, but it still works!

anyways, thanks for reading!

more reviews equals more, faster chapters!

love you all and see you in the next one!