Movie: Klaus 2019 (Netflix). Crossover/fusion with Rise of the Guardians

Chapter 1: Memories of the Past

The battle with Pitch had taken its toll. Just as Tooth's palaces had begun to crumble from the children's disbelief, the North Pole had taken quite a bit of damage, too. The yeti were hard at work on the repairs, but the entire mailing system was down. That was not good. Children did not write letters to Santa all year round, but once November finally came, they'd be stuck without a proper system to collect the mail.

North nodded to Phil, and stepped into the elevator, taking it up to the top floor. The doors opened, revealing a lobby and two long hallways. The one on the right led the guest bedrooms, which included special rooms for each of the Guardians. The yeti were still working on the finishing touches to Jack's room, which was at the farthest end of the hall. There was a special seal on the door to keep the winter wind out of the main area, as their newest Guardian had a tendency to forget to close the windows.

The hefty man took the hall on the left, walking at a slower, and less jolly pace than he normally would have. His body still ached from the loss of magic, but that would eventually pass. Soon he would be back to his old self again.

He passed several doors, which had been closed and sealed since they'd finished building the North Pole many years before. They were the first rooms he'd considered, but the last to be added when he'd drawn up the blueprints. They were a false sense of hope and security, a memory of what he'd lost — a memory of what he'd never had.

The doorway next to his personal rooms remained closed and silent, even as he gave in to the urge to press his large hand against the wood. He couldn't bear to open it. He knew that every piece of furniture would be untouched, magically guarded against dust and rot. The room would be perfect and sterile and empty. Just as it had always been.

Sighing, North turned away from the door, and slipped into his own chambers. A large bed took up the middle of the room, along with basic necessities like a cabinet of drawers, and a large walk-in closet. The door to his private study was open, letting in the light from the gilded window. A bathroom, furnished with a large tub and a shower-head, was in another room. North did not spend a great deal of time in his chambers, but there were nights when he found himself retiring early, eager for his own company.

The guardian of wonder found his feet moving, as if of their own accord. He stopped in front of the dresser, his gentle blue eyes landing on the photographs staring back at him. In the first, his late wife, Lydia, held his hands, and they were smiling as they waited for the photographer to take the picture. It was the only picture he had of her, and that made it one of his most precious possessions.

His gaze flickered to the other photograph, this one containing the figures of two men and a little Saami girl with blond hair. Yes, he had other photographs of Jesper, his wife, Ava, and their children, but this photo of just him and the postman, along with sweet little Márgu, was the one he held most dear to his heart. Along with his departed wife, they felt like his true family.

Between the photographs sat a familiar blue cap, and he had the sudden urge to touch it again. As he took it down from its resting place, he ran his fingers over the soft fabric, marveling at how well it had withstood the test of time. "We're having trouble with our mail, old friend. I bet you'd know what to do." North took a heavy seat on the bed, contemplating the cap in his hands. He could still remember the last time he saw the cap's owner. It was on a Christmas Eve that seemed so long ago. Jesper had reached the ripe old age of 72. He'd barely been able to keep his eyes open when Klaus had appeared. Yes, Klaus, not North. That was the last time anyone had used his true name.

Klaus had gotten down on one knee, taking his friend's lanky hand into his own. Jesper's hair had been fully white by that point, and he was fond of wearing his postman's hat. He always joked that he had taken to wearing it to cover the bald spot on the top of his head. As they sat there on that cold, Christmas Eve night, Jesper whispered his name one last time. Klaus, in turn, had held his hand as the life drifted from his aged body. The postman's once expressive eyes had turned blank and empty, staring half-lidded at him until the bigger man reached out and closed his eyelids with the gentlest of gestures.

Unable to stop himself, Klaus had leaned forward, sweeping the cap off of Jesper's head, so that he could press his lips to his soft forehead as he silently whispered his final goodbyes. His heart still ached for the love that he had lost that day. A love that he had never had the courage to voice aloud.

"And then I stole his cap," the guardian whispered, laying back onto his red sheets. "I stole his cap, just as he stole my heart all those many years ago." Klaus didn't even realize he was slowly drifting off to sleep, his fingers loosening on the cap as it rested on his chest.

As he slept, a single moonbeam shot down from the sky toward his window. It swept through the smallest of cracks, and into his study, before bouncing around his darkened bedroom. Joyously, it surged around the cap, causing it to glow a pale blue. Tugging it ever so gently, the moonbeam shot off with its prize, and proceeded to unlatch the window in the study. With a barely audible giggle, the moonbeam surged out the window, too focused on the cap within its grasp to remember that closing a window is a common practice among the people of Earth. The Man in the Moon beckoned it onward toward a small town — a town named: Smeerensburg.

Note: This movie is amazing! And given my love for the Rise of the Guardians, it was only natural that I found myself writing a crossover/fusion. Definitely planning on North being more like the Klaus in the movie, rather than ROTG Russian North.

Jesper's on his way, and I've added a little twist to make this story a bit more entertaining.