Author's Note: December tenth, tenth, tenth! Only fifteen more days until Christmas! *Blows party horn* WOO!
Okay, I have no idea if "a'carolling" is even a word (it sounds like one, and if it isn't one, it totally should be), but it sounded fitting for this chapter, so I used it. XD I hope you guys enjoy this chapter of "That Time of Year!" =D
Chapter Ten: Out We Go A'Caroling
December Tenth
Caroling was one of Jack's all-time favorite things about the yuletide season. The sound of melodious voices united as one echoing above the rooftops, walking from door to door bring festive Christmas songs to different people always made Jack feel merry. The winter spirit often followed groups of carolers around town, singing along with them even though they couldn't hear him. It almost made Jack feel like he was invisible, unheard, and alone while he sang Christmas songs with carolers.
Jack didn't have the best voice, but he didn't care. He sang to his heart's content. He sang until his throat ran dry. Jack hadn't gone one Christmas without going caroling, even all the way back when he was mortal and still lived with his family and sister. Jack loved Christmas carols, and he wasn't going to go one Christmas without caroling.
What was very special about this year's Christmas was that Jack wasn't spending it by himself. He had the Guardians now, and he was a Guardian too. He didn't go unseen or unheard anymore, and he wasn't alone. Sure, not all of the children could see and hear him, and Jack wasn't on good terms with most immortals yet, but the winter spirit was content with what he had. And now that Jack wasn't alone anymore, he could ask the Guardians if they wanted to join him caroling around town, even if not everyone would be able to hear them, but Jack was slightly nervous about asking the Guardians this, which was why he was thrilled when Jamie asked him if he wanted to join him and the other kids caroling around their neighborhood. Jack immediately said yes.
"Awesome!" said Jamie with a smile. "And it would be super cool if the other Guardians would come too. Even though the adults can see you, most kids can, and I think kids would be super excited that the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and Jack Frost came to sing Christmas songs at their front doors."
Jack ruffled Jamie's hair. "I'll ask if the other's want to tag along if they're not busy." The winter spirit had been planning on asking them about caroling anyway. Jack needed a distraction from the lingering worry about the approaching Christmas party, and he wanted to have some fun with the other Guardians this Christmas season.
Jamie was bouncing with elation. "This is gonna be so cool!"
Jack chuckled. "Don't get your hopes too high, kiddo. They might not be able to come, but I'm pretty sure they will. Bunny especially. He'll do anything for Sophie."
Jamie snickered and waved cheerfully as Jack flew out the window and toward Santoff Claussen. Jack was looking forward to caroling with Jamie and the other children. He had a long list of Christmas songs formulating in his head as he flew through the open window and into the Globe Room. Jack was glad to find that the Guardians were there. Sandy was drinking multiple cups of eggnog, Tooth was chirping with her fairies why flossing was crucial for healthy teeth, and North and Bunny were arguing about their holidays, as usual.
"North! Ya can't just say somethin' like that and walk away!" Bunny shouted as he followed the Russian around.
North shook his head. "My friend, you are in denial, so I will let you go through five stages of acceptance," he smiled impishly. "Christmas is better than Easter."
Bunny's brow furrowed. "That ain't bloody true!"
"Hey, guys!" Jack greeted happily as he landed lightly on his feet. The winter spirit slung his staff over his shoulder and shoved a hand in his pocket. "What's going on?"
"North and Bunny are arguing about Christmas and Easter again," said Tooth. The Tooth Fairy fluttered up to Jack and pried his mouth open. Toothiana hummed in satisfaction. "No cavities! After the large amount of Christmas cookies you ate, I thought you'd at least get one or two."
Tooth pulled her fingers out of Jack's mouth and Jack shifted his jaw around. Tooth had a firm grip when it came to examining teeth, and the winter spirit knew that he would never get used to her peeking around his mouth. Out of all of the most interesting and mystical things in the world, Tooth chose teeth.
"How many cookies did ya exactly eat, mate?" asked Bunny, turning from North to Jack.
Jack rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed. He hadn't told the other Guardians about his overconsumption of Christmas cookies, and he wasn't planning to. Now that the winter spirit looked back on it, he did eat a precarious number of cookies. North's cookies were extremely hard to resist.
"Um…half a jar or more?" said Jack. He shrugged. "I was kind of eating more than I was counting—"
North patted Jack's shoulder. "That just means you vere enjoying cookies!"
"But North," said Tooth. "Eating that many cookies is bad for teeth hygiene! If Jack was a regular mortal, he would've gotten a lot of cavities! There's too much sugar, too much risk for Jack's pearly whites."
North waved his hand dismissively. "But there iz no trouble in eating cookies."
Tooth's feathers ruffled. "There is if they're being eaten too much!"
Bunny crossed his arms, a smirk of amusement on his face as he watched the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus argue about cookies and teeth. "Well, at least he isn't braggin' about Christmas bein' better than Easter."
Jack shook his head, a smile crawling onto his face. "We're so weird."
Sandy floated up to the two and created the word "weird" over his head and an "er" after it. "We're weirder than weird."
Jack perched on top of his staff and looked out to the Workshop. Things were busy as usual, and toys were being made at an even pace. Yetis were running around carrying completed dollhouses and elves were carrying cookies and old Christmas ornaments. A few of the elves were trying to be helpful. Jack saw Dingle and his troupe of elves deliver toy parts to a table.
"So, what are you guys doing here anyway?" asked Jack, preparing himself to ask the veteran Guardians about going caroling with him, Jamie, and his friends.
Tooth smiled. "We just wanted to spend some time with each other. North's made a lot of toys ahead of schedule, so he's kind of on a day off."
North nodded. "Toothy iz right! Today, you have me all to yourselves."
"We were waiting for you to come so we could come up with something to do together," Tooth said. Her wings fluttered enthusiastically. "I was thinking that we could find something new for you to wear at the Christmas party."
Jack nearly fell off of his staff. Once he regained his normal composure, he said, "What's wrong with my usual clothes? I was just going to go like this."
"There isn't anything wrong with them," said Tooth as she and her fairies fluttered over. "But you're going to want to wear something a little bit more formal than your everyday clothes."
Jack frowned. He wasn't a fan of wearing formal, fancy clothing. Jack preferred simple clothes, like his hoodie, pants, and no shoes. Jack hoped that he wouldn't have to wear shoes. He did not want to wear shoes.
"But the party isn't until the twenty-fourth," said Bunny. "Which is why I suggested that we sit down by the fireplace and talk."
"About what?" asked North. "How Christmas is better than Easter?"
Bunny's ears twitched in irritation. "No. Just about stuff. Whatever comes ta mind."
"But vhy stay inside vhen it iz so nice out?" asked North. "Ve could go and take ride on the sleigh!"
Bunny stiffened at the mention of flying on the sleigh, which he considered as a flying death trap. Jack snickered at the Pooka's expression.
"What's wrong, Kangaroo? Are you scared?" Jack teased playfully.
"I'm not scared," Bunny responded quickly. "I just don't want ta ride it."
"Because you're scared," said Jack with a smirk.
"I'm not bloody scared!"
"You can hold my hand if you want to!"
"Hush up, Frostbite!"
Jack laughed and the other Guardians couldn't help but let out short bouts of laughter. Bunny crossed his arms and huffed.
"I just don't want ta ride the sleigh. I can disagree ta an idea if I want ta," said Bunny. He paused and then added, "I'm not scared."
Jack decided to let Bunny have the last word and turned to Sandy. "What do you think we should do, Sandy?"
Sandy smiled and dreamsand swirled over his head, creating the image of all of the Guardians sleeping on a couch.
"Ya want us ta bloody sleep? Seriously?" exclaimed Bunny.
Sandy shrugged. Jack should've seen that the Sandman would suggest something calm like sleeping. The veteran Guardians began to quarrel amongst themselves about what to do together for the day.
"We should go out on sleigh! Iz perfect flying weather!" bellowed North.
"No, we're not goin' on that flyin' death trap," protested Bunny. "We can just stay inside where we're warm and on solid ground—"
"No, no, no, we should find a nice outfit for Jack to wear! The party is coming up and he needs something nice on when his Guardianship gets announced!" argued Tooth. Her fairies chirped beside her in agreement. "See? Even my fairies agree!"
Sandy shook his head and put up the word "SLEEP" over his head using his dreamsand. The Guardians began to overlap each other, and Sandy's dreamsand was spiraling over his head like a whirlwind.
Jack sighed. He leapt down from his staff and said, "Hey!"
The Guardians stopped arguing and turned to the young winter spirit.
"I have an idea on what we can do," he said. The winter spirit rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, if you guys aren't up for it then that's fine too—"
"What's your idea, Jack?" asked Tooth.
"If it involves getting into North's sleigh, then my answer is no," said Bunny with a flick of one of his ears.
"But sleigh is completely safe!" said North. "I don't know vhy you are scared of it."
"I'm not scared!" yelled Bunny.
"Sure…"
"I'm not!"
"Guys!" intervened Tooth. The Tooth Fairy gestured to the Guardian of Fun. "Jack is about to tell us his idea."
"Oh, sorry, moy mal'chik," said North. "Go ahead."
Jack smiled and shifted nervously. "Well, I wanted to ask you guys this earlier, but Jamie kind of beat me to it. Anyway, he and the other kiddos are going caroling and…and he wanted to know if all of us could join them." There was a short bout of silence and Jack said, "It's totally fine if you guys don't want to—"
"We didn't say we didn't want to go caroling," said Tooth. She smiled. "I think that's a great idea! Caroling with the kids. It'll be fun!"
"I vill have to warm up, but I think it vill be fun as well," said North.
Sandy couldn't talk, but he was old enough to know several different Christmas songs. The Sandman nodded enthusiastically at the idea.
Bunny tapped his foot, still thinking. He hadn't responded and the Guardians were waiting for an answer from him. Jack had never heard Bunny sing, and to be frank, he thought that the Pooka would just spend time with Sophie the entire time. The winter spirit didn't even know if Bunny could sing a note, but he didn't care if the Guardians could sing or not. He just wanted to spend time with them. Jack chewed his lower lip. Would Bunny even want to come?
After some time, Bunny sighed and shook his head, a small smile on his face. "If all of ya are goin,' I guess I have ta tag along."
Jack smiled and let out a laugh while the other Guardians cheered. The Guardians of Childhood were going to go caroling, and if there was one thing that Jack knew, it was that this was going to be fun.
…
Jack waited on his tree branch patiently. The other Guardians hadn't arrived yet and Jack looked up in the sky. It was getting late, and they were due to meet Jamie and his friends at the Bennet household in a couple of minutes. Jack looked up into the sky. The sleigh wasn't anywhere in sight.
The winter spirit guessed that Bunny and North must have gotten into an argument whether to take the sleigh or not. Jack didn't know why Bunny did not like the sleigh. Jack had thought that North's transport would be old and rickety. He was proved wrong when the reindeer pulled out a giant, North-made contraption that was the exact opposite of what the legends stated.
Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light and a rainbow-colored portal appeared on the surface of Jack's frozen lake. The winter spirit flew down from his branch and walked over to see the Big Four tumble out of the portal and crash into the snow. Jack stepped out of the way.
"Glad you guys could finally make it," said the winter spirit. "What took you so long?"
Tooth fluttered out of the heap and stretched her wings. "Bunny didn't want to ride the sleigh," she said.
"So ve took magic portal," North said.
"I said we could just take my tunnels," Bunny grumbled. "But North insisted on takin' the portals. Oh moon, the world is spinn'..."
"You vill be fine," said North as if traveling through a portal was something that he did every day, which was true. "Dizziness vill vear off…eventually."
"I am never trustin' any mode of transportation that ya provide again," said Bunny as he stood up shakily. The Pooka did his best to shake out the vertigo.
"So! Where do we go?" asked Tooth as she looked around.
"Jamie said that he and the others will be here right about—" Jack cut himself off when he heard Jamie and his friends' voices not too far from his lake. The winter spirit smiled. "Now."
"Jack!" Jamie called from a few ways away. The young boy ran to the lake and slipped on the ice. Sophie giggled.
"You fell!" she squealed with laughter.
"Come on, Sophie. Don't be mean," said Pippa, but she was holding back laughter as well.
"So, me slipping on ice is more exciting than having the Guardians standing right in front of you?" asked Jamie as he pulled himself up.
Sophie was jumping up and down, pointing to Bunny happily. "Bunny, Bunny, Bunny!"
"Nope, the Guardians are cooler," stated Cupcake as she looked at the group with a smile. "Hey, guys."
Tooth waved. "Hi! It's nice to see you all!"
Sophie tackled Bunny in a hug and Jack high-fived each of the kids. They asked various questions to North about how things were going in the Workshop? Have things been going smoothly since Pitch attacked? And were they on the Naughty List or the Nice List?
"Things are going fine," said North. He patted Jack on the back. "Jack has been helping me."
Jack felt a flutter of pride. "Well, I didn't help with everything…"
Bunny snorted incredulously. "Seriously, mate? Ya've been workin' yer butt off with North in the Workshop. I haven't seen ya workin' so hard since, well, ever."
Tooth nodded. "You've been helping North out a lot. You've kept the elves under and helped organize things in the Workshop."
Sandy conjured up the image of Jack flying back and forth from Santoff Claussen. "You've stopped by every day."
Jack smiled sheepishly. "I don't think I've stopped by every day…"
"Oh, you have," said North. "Phil has even started keeping track."
"Wow, that's so cool, Jack!" exclaimed Jamie. "I wish I could work in the Workshop."
The other kids agreed, saying how it would be nice to have an excuse to get out of school to work with North and the many yetis and elves in the Workshop. North laughed.
"Vorking in Vorkshop is a lot of vork," said North. "And besides, you vant to be home vith your families celebrating Christmas, da?"
"He has a point there," said Claude.
"Still, I think it would be pretty fun to work in the Workshop," said Pippa brightly. "But North does make a pretty good point. I wouldn't want to miss spending Christmas with my family."
Jack smiled. He wouldn't want to miss spending Christmas with his family either. Especially since he hadn't spent Christmas with anyone in a long, long time.
"Anyway, we should probably get moving," said Jamie as he led the Guardians and his friends away from the lake and onto the sidewalk that led to the neighborhood. "I have an entire list of Christmas songs that we can sing."
"I picked some of them myself!" Sophie said proudly from Bunny's shoulders.
"Yes, Sophie did pick some of them, which is why they're so short," said Jamie.
"Hey!"
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Jamie said. He handed Jack the list. "We tried not to come up with so many so you guys could add what you wanted.
Jack's cerulean eyes skimmed over the list of songs. He recognized a lot of them. He sang several of them back when he was still human, and several warm memories flickered through his mind. Memories of him and his sister marching through the small colonial town of Burgess to fetch some milk, singing festive songs at the top of their lungs, not caring if anyone had the audacity to stare. Memories of him and his family walking from door to door, singing together in melodious harmony. Jack smiled softly. He missed his family, but he wasn't going to let that take the fun out of the night.
"Oh, wow, I remember most of these!" Tooth said as she looked over Jack's shoulders. Baby Tooth and two other mini fairies peeked at the list as well, twittering happily. One fairy pointed to a song and chirped. Tooth shook her head. "No, this isn't the teeth version. It's the regular one."
"There's a teeth version of 'Jingle Bells?'" asked Caleb.
Tooth nodded. "Yes! My fairies sing it all the time. It got stuck in my head for quite a while."
"I remember that," said North. "Fairies chirping left and right about teeth jingling like bells."
Jack laughed. "That must have been interesting."
"Can we start caroling now?" asked Sophie. The youngest of the group had been trying her very best to be patient, but she really wanted to start caroling.
"And remember, not everyone can see you, but most kids can," said Jamie.
"Imagine the looks on their faces when they see the Guardians of Childhood are caroling with us," Pippa said with a smile. "The number one Christmas wish for all children is about to come true for most of the ones in our neighborhood!"
And so, the large group began to walk toward the first house, which was Jamie and Sophie's. Jack looked at Jamie, confused.
"Mom wanted to get a video of us singing," said Jamie with a roll of his eyes. "She insisted that she get to hear us first."
"Well, then we got to give her a show!" said Jack. He waved his staff, creating a light snowfall just where he, the Guardians, and the others were standing. Sophie giggled when a snowflake nipped at her nose.
"That's never going to get old," said Monty.
Jamie rang the doorbell as if he were visiting the house for the first time. "Mom! We're here to sing for you!"
Jack flipped out the list again. "What song are we singing first?"
"Mom has too many favorites," said Jamie with a shrug. "So…the first three?"
"Sounds better than standing here waiting for your mom to make a song decision," said Cupcake. "Everyone, get your vocal cords ready!"
Jamie's mother opened the door with a wide smile on her face. The Guardians went unseen, but Jack hardly noticed it. "You guys came to sing for me?"
"Yeah, because you asked," Jamie said with a smirk.
Sacha laughed. "Okay. let me get my camera and then you guys can start." She looked up into the sky. "Huh, another snow shower? The forecast said it was going to be clear for the rest of the night."
The kids giggled and the Guardians smiled at each other. If only adults knew who was behind all of the blizzards and snow days.
Jamie's mother soon returned with a camera and began filming the kids (and, unknowingly, the Guardians) singing the first three Christmas songs on the top of the list, which were all classics. "Deck the Halls," "Carol of the Bells," and "Little Drummer Boy." Jack had much more fun than he thought he would. It had been a long time since he had last sung something and singing with the Guardians and his friends made the winter spirit feel as if he were back with his family in colonial Burgess singing songs together like they used to.
If only Mary could see me now, thought Jack as he, the Guardians, and the kids moved on to the next house. Jack found that all of the worries about the upcoming Christmas party slipped his mind as he and his friends went from house to house, singing different Christmas songs and carols. Sometimes, one of them would trip up on the lyrics, but no one seemed to mind. The caroling session was for fun. To put everyone into a Christmas-y, festive mood.
The winter spirit discovered that the other Guardians didn't have bad singing voices. North was really good with the lyrics when it came to the older songs and could hit every single low note possible. Tooth's voice was smooth and melodious, and her singing voice reminded Jack of his own mother's. She sang a lot and was one of the best singer's Jack ever knew. Although, he didn't really know that many great singers back when he was still human.
Sandy couldn't sing since he was silent all the time, but he tried to put on somewhat of a show using his dreamsand. Kids who could see the Guardians would point in awe at the golden Christmas shapes laced through the air, but adults would see nothing but the night sky.
And Bunny. Bunny didn't have a bad voice at all. Sure, it wasn't the best singing voice in the world, but it wasn't horrible either. Sophie clapped for Bunny every time they finished a song, claiming that he was the best singer in the world.
"Sophie, we're standing right here," said Jamie.
"You're all good singers too," Sophie said. "Bunny is the best bunny singer."
"Why, thank ya, Sophie," said Bunny with a proud smile, and that made everyone laugh.
As long as the night seemed, it went rather fast for the Guardians and the children. Jack left snow at every place they stopped, and the Guardians got to meet several different children. And Pippa was right, a lot of the kids were surprised to find the Guardians of Childhood standing at their doors. Several of them exclaimed to their parents that they were there, but the adults didn't see them at all. Not all of the kids that appeared at the door with their parents didn't see Jack, but the winter spirit didn't mind, or he didn't notice. He was having way too much fun to feel upset.
All too soon though, the caroling ended. The kids were due to head home and none of them wanted to deal with overly worried parents. The Guardians walked each of the children back to their homes; Sophie and Jamie's place being the last stop.
"That was so fun!" exclaimed Jamie. "We should do this every year! It could be a little tradition!"
"We could have a caroling group name," said Sophie. The little girl thought for a moment. "Sophie and the Carolers."
"Why is your name first?" asked Jamie.
"Because I'm the littlest," said Sophie as if it were obvious.
"But why can't you include all of us?" asked Jamie.
Sophie paused and then said, "Okay. We can be Bunny and Sophie and the Carolers."
Jamie was about to speak and then he shook his head. "Never mind…"
Jack chuckled at the small sibling argument. He and his sister never argued much, and when they did, it was about little things like who was better at cooking or if the moon was really made of cheese.
Once the Guardians and the Bennett children arrived at the front door, the Guardians gave their final farewells. Jack had to help pry Sophie off of Bunny's neck, but the blonde girl eventually let go and took her brother's hand and walked inside. Jamie waved one last time and then entered into the warmth of their house.
"That was so fun!" said Tooth happily as the Guardians began to make their way back to Jack's lake. "And it would be amazing if we could do this every year, but our jobs have to get done."
Jack nodded. "Although, it would be pretty nice if we were able to pull this off every single year."
"And children vere so happy to see us," said North with a smile. "I say that this night vent very well."
All of the Guardians agreed, and Jack had had a blast. He wished the night could've gone longer, but he knew that the kids would eventually have to go home, and he and the Guardians would have to get back to work. Still, Jack couldn't help but feel a little sad that the caroling was over. But maybe if the Guardians had the time next year, they could go caroling with the kids again.
Jack's lake reflected the moonlight that was shining down upon it. Jack almost felt as if the Man in the Moon was watching him and the other Guardians. The winter spirit found himself looking toward the direction to Pitch's lair and felt the vaguest feeling of pity. Jack pursed his lips as he thought for a moment.
"Hey, guys? Do you think we have time for one last stop?" asked Jack. The Guardians looked at each other in slight bemusement and looked back at Jack.
"Well, sure," said Tooth. "But where are we going?"
Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "Now, don't freak out, but…I think we should stop at Pitch's place."
And, as the winter spirit expected, the Guardians immediately protested.
"Are ya nuts?!" burst out Bunny. "Why in the world would ya want ta stop at Pitch's?"
"I have to agree vith Bunny," said North with a nod. "Iz best if ve leave Pitch alone."
"Exactly," said Jack. The Guardians stopped. "Pitch is alone. I know he's been a real jerk to the kids and he's the Boogeyman for crying out loud, but he deserves at least some kind of Christmas cheer." The winter spirit faced each of the Guardians. "I know what it feels like to be alone for special things like this. I think Pitch deserves a little something."
The Guardians were still skeptical about the idea. Pitch had hurt the children; he had hurt them! The Nightmare King had plagued the children with horrific nightmares for three nights on end. He deserved to be sealed up in his lair with nothing but the shadows to keep him company, but Jack had a point. No one deserved to be alone, especially around Christmas. And even if they didn't want to get close to Pitch, they could at least stop by and sing a carol or two.
"I can't believe I'm saying this," said Tooth slowly. She turned to her fellow Guardians. "But Jack's right. Even though Pitch has hurt us, it must be somewhat lonely down in his lair."
North ran a hand through his beard. "And it iz Christmastime…"
Bunny shook his head. "We aren't actually goin' with this, are we?"
"I don't see the harm in it," said Tooth. "We could just step in, sing a song, and then leave."
"And Pitch is too weak to attack anyway," added Jack.
Sandy gave an approving nod. As the master of the realm of dreams, the Sandman knew that Pitch didn't have enough nightmare sand to spare for a fight.
North clapped his hands vigorously. "All right! Ve go to Pitch's lair!"
Bunny sighed. "I guess we're doin' this. But if that bloody ratbag tries anythin'..."
North shook his head. "Vhy are rabbits always so nervous?"
"I'm not nervous!" Bunny frowned. "I'm bein' cautious."
"We'll be fine, Bunny," said Tooth reassuringly. She looked up into the sky. "We should probably go right now. Sandy and I have to get started on our jobs soon."
The Guardians each entered the surrounded, wooded area around Jack's lake. North stopped the winter spirit and Jack turned to face him.
"Jack, this iz very kind gesture," said North. "I am proud of you."
Jack smiled. "Thanks, North."
The ex-Cossack smiled back and patted the winter boy on his back. The two followed the other Guardians as they headed to Pitch's lair."
…
Pitch Black was not expecting this at all.
The Boogeyman had seen and done many things, so he wasn't so easily surprised as most people were. But what Pitch wasn't expecting was to sense the presence of all five of the Guardians of Childhood in his own lair.
What did they want? To gloat about their victory? Pitch growled as he stood up from his throne and sunk into the shadows. From his dark hiding place, he could see the Guardians standing out against the dark, gloomy atmosphere of his lair. Pitch sneered in disdain when he saw Jack among them. He couldn't believe that the young winter spirit had managed to get inducted into the Guardians.
Pitch watched as Jack stepped in front of the group, a cheerful smile on his face. He cupped a hand against his mouth and called, "Hey, Pitch! We know you're in here, and you're probably hiding, but we just came to sing you a song!"
Sing me a song? What? thought Pitch and utter bemusement. Pitch then realized that the Guardians were caroling. The Boogeyman frowned. He did not like carolers, but a part of him was curious to see how the Guardians would perform.
Blast, this was probably the Frost boy's idea, thought Pitch. He watched as the Guardians got into position with Jack standing in front of them like a conductor.
"This one is one of my favorites," said Jack to Pitch, even though he couldn't see him. The winter spirit waved his staff vigorously and said, "A one, two, three, go!"
And the Guardians began to sing (with the exception of Sandy of course. The Sandman was simply adding effect with his dreamsand) "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." Pitch had to admit, the Guardians weren't that bad. Jack dramatically waved his hand, conducting the group and singing along, and the Guardians had to keep themselves from laughing with Jack's every funny encouraging comment.
"Come on! I can't hear you!" jived Jack playfully. "Is that the best you guys got?!"
The Guardians sang louder, and Jack nodded satisfied, and he even began dancing along. "That's more I like it," said the winter spirit with a smile.
Pitch watched the little show, half of him felt irritated that his enemies had shown up, but the other half felt slightly…touched. Pitch shocked himself with the feeling.
What's wrong with you? Touched? By the Guardians of Childhood? Pitch shook this feeling out and continued to watch the little show. The Guardians soon finished and even though there was no applause, Jack shouted, "Thank you! Thank you very much! You all are an amazing audience!" The winter spirit bowed and turned to the Guardians, who each gave him an affectionate touch as they left the Boogeyman's lair. Pitch stepped out of the shadows once he knew they were gone and walked to where the Guardians had previously been standing. He couldn't believe that after everything, they had stopped by to sing him a carol.
"It was probably out of pity," Pitch mumbled to himself. A shiny glint caught his eye and Pitch looked down at feet. Sitting before him was a silver wrapped present. Pitch tentatively picked it up and looked at the tag that read: To: Pitch Black From: Jack Frost. Happy Holidays!
Pitch didn't know why the Guardians stopped by. Nor did he know why Jack gave him a present. But what he did know was that he was going to open it. Out of curiosity, of course.
And as Pitch peeled away at the silver wrapping paper, he couldn't repress a small smile.
Author's Note: Even though Pitch did do all of that bad stuff, I think he deserves at least a little bit of Christmas cheer. =) Now I can't get the image of the Guardians caroling out of my head. XD I had so much fun writing this chapter, and I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did writing it! =D
Until the next chapter!
-BeyondTheMoon1203
