"Help! Someone help me!"
I peeled my head up off the ground and wiped snow from my face. When my vision finally stopped spinning, I could see Aila. She was still wrapped in dreamsand, hobbling away.
For a moment, my scrambled brain almost thought it was amusing. Stubborn as always.
Then Jack muttered, "Uh, Sandy… she's trying to get away."
I put a hand up and straightened my collar, trying to stifle the anxiety crawling up my throat. I caught up to Aila, who was slowly staggering through the forest, and hovered next to her. Her hair was matted, and there was mud on her cheek, but her green eyes glowered.
For a split second, she glared at me, and then she set her determined gaze forward. "I don't know who you are," she snarled. "But you have no right to take me from my home, drag me to… wherever we are—"
"You got this Sandy?" Jack called.
I nodded, and Aila spun around to Jack. "What nerve!" she huffed. "I will not be treated like this! I'm leaving right now."
I raised an eyebrow. Finally, I moved in front of her and crossed my arms. She stumbled to a stop inches from my face and narrowed her eyes.
"Get out of my way." she snarled.
I lifted my palm to my mouth and blew on it. Dreamsand burst into her face.
She staggered backwards, coughing, "Hey! What… what…" She trailed off, then tipped over. I caught her before she could hit the ground, then slowly lowered her to rest on the dirt.
And then my face was inches from hers for just a moment.
I could see her laying beside me in bed, red hair knotted from sleep, her face gentle, eyes shut and jaw relaxed.
A gust of cold wind snapped me back to reality. It stirred up snow from the trees, and the flakes glittered in the sunrise as they drifted past. I stayed hunched over like that for a spell, searching her face. Then, my brow furrowed. I pried myself away.
Jack appeared by my side. He stared over my shoulder at Alia. "Well… where to next?"
I blinked hard and shook my head before facing him. A sand image of a yeti appeared over my head.
Jack puffed up his cheeks and let out a sigh. "Something tells me North isn't gonna be too happy to see us… is he?"
. . .
Jack hesitated at North's door and pursed his lips. He glanced up at Sandy, who was carrying unconscious Aila behind them on a dreamsand cloud.
"Who's gonna be the one to knock?" Jack smirked.
Sandy arched one eyebrow in an unamused expression.
Jack lifted his hand, but suddenly, the door swung open to reveal North glaring down his broad chest at them.
"Sandy, Jack! Where have you been?" he scolded. "We've been searching everywhere..." He trailed off as his eyes found Aila.
"Sandy…" he whispered in disbelief. He stepped out of the way so the two could enter, then forced the door shut against the whipping wind. "Is that…"
Sandy nodded. Tooth appeared next to him, and Jack suddenly noticed Bunny was there too, staring at Aila with a confused tilt to his head.
"Come here, Sandy…" Tooth suggested gently, resting a hand on his back. She ushered him down the hall. "Let's find a place where she can lie down."
That left Jack, Bunny, and North alone in the foyer.
North ran his fingers over his scalp and shook his head. "Oh, Sandy… Manny isn't going to be happy about this…"
"Why would he do this?" Bunny asked with a shake of his head. "He should know it's against the rules."
Finally, Jack butted in, "Ok, guys… can someone please explain to me what is going on? Who is that woman? And what rules are you talking about?"
North and Bunny exchanged a glance.
"Her name is Aila Galloway," North replied. "She's Sandy's wife."
For a moment, the three stared at each other in silence.
"You're kidding right?" Jack chuckled. "Wife? Sandy has a wife? Since when!?"
"Before he became the Sandman, during his life as a human."
"That can't be," Jack insisted. "She has no idea who he is."
"That, Jack, would not be confusing if you had read the rules, which I'm assuming you didn't," Bunny chimed in.
"Rules? What rules?"
"You know, that huge book of rules you had to sign to become a Guardian?"
North stepped in, "The rules state that once you become a Guardian, anyone you knew in your past life will forget you ever existed. And the rules say a Guardian is not allowed to contact people from their past life under any circumstances. Sandy could lose his position as a Guardian because of this."
"What?! Why?"
"It's Manny's way of protecting regular people and souls," North gestured to the Man in the Moon.
"Well that's sure doing a great job," Jack guffawed sarcastically. "We had to kidnap Aila because Pitch is after her!"
He expected surprise from the other two Guardians, but instead, they just exchanged a worried glance.
"You did hear me, right?" Jack asked. "I just said Pitch is back."
"We know, Jack," North sighed. "He was here, and he stole some of my portal globes."
"Now we know what he was using them for," Bunny grunted.
"What is he up to?" Jack pressed. "Why does he want Aila?"
North shrugged helplessly. "We don't know. But if he's looking for her, she is in grave danger."
Sandy
Tooth and I took Aila into one of North's guest rooms, and I gently laid her on the bed. We just stood there, and I could feel Tooth's sympathetic eyes boring into me. There was a moment when all we could do was stare.
Even asleep, Aila had a certain grace about her… yes, her hair was knotted and teased, and yes, there was still mud streaked over the hem of her dark green dress and smudged across her pale cheek… but the way she so peacefully rested on the bed, her eyes shut ever so delicately and stomach gently rising and falling with her breath… for a moment, I almost forgot where I was. For a moment, I was human again, and I was waiting eagerly for her to wake up so I could hear about her dreams.
Tooth clicked her tongue. "Let me go get you something to drink." And just like that, she disappeared out of the room.
I sighed and finally pried my eyes away from Aila. I couldn't keep staring at her. It would just make it worse…
I rubbed my face and turned my back from the bed. My eyes were burning. I was so tired...
"Here you go."
Tooth appeared in the doorway and gently handed me a little glass of eggnog. I barely glanced down at it, and she pursed her lips.
"Sandy…" she hesitated. "Why… Why did you bring her here?"
I closed my eyes and gave my head a small shake, trying to chase away the exhaustion. A dreamsand sculpture of Pitch appeared over my head.
Tooth furrowed her brow. "Pitch? What do you mean?"
I pointed to Aila.
"Does Pitch… Does Pitch want her? Why?"
I pursed my lips and didn't answer.
Tooth let out a sigh, and I could see her expression grow taut. "Sandy… I know this is hard for you," she murmured. There was a long pause, and then she lowered her voice, "You know… I have your memories… and she's in them. If you showed her…"
I immediately shook my head.
She nodded and her eyes fell towards the ground. "Right, right… you're right…"
There was a long moment where she just watched me with her brown turned in sympathy, like she was racking her brain for a way to make it better. Puffing out a sigh, she patted my shoulder and stood. "Come on, let's go talk to the others. We'll figure this out."
I forced myself to turn away from Aila.
Aila
Light began to filter into my eyes. I groaned and rolled onto my other side. As usual, the brutal sun was already turning my room into a sauna… What I wouldn't give to live in a colder area.
But then, my body began to wake up, and I realized I was freezing. Everything began to feel unfamiliar… The bed was just a little too soft, the blankets a little too heavy, and there was an odd scent of cinnamon floating in the air.
My eyes snapped open. I leaped upright.
I was not in my house. I was in a strange room, laying on a strange bed, under a strange green and red quilt, next to a giant window revealing a neverending snowy wasteland.
"By crivvens...where am I?" I murmured to myself, hugging the blankets tighter.
The events of the past day rushed back immediately. My hands flew up over my mouth, and I gasped. I had been kidnapped!
In a moment of panic, I scrambled at the window, looking for a latch so I could escape. Then, I saw my reflection. My eyes snapped down to my hands as realization dawned on me. For a moment, I almost didn't believe it. I leaped out of the bed and grabbed the mirror on the dresser, scanning over my entire body.
The cursed aura of colors encasing my body, a sneering reminder I was imprisoned, was gone. I stumbled back a few steps. That could only mean one thing…. A smile appeared on my face.
I wasn't on the Isle of Stranded Souls anymore.
Before I had time to celebrate, the mumble of chatter from another room drew my attention. I strained, holding my breath to try and hear. There were multiple voices not too far off… a couple of men and a woman by the sound of it. I recognised the sound of one of my kidnappers, the young adult with striking white hair who kept opening portals.
I thought I heard my name, and curiosity took over. I slipped out of the blankets and crept to the door, which was already cracked open so I could peer around the bend.
I could just barely see the back of one of them, a woman covered in colorful feathers with fluttering wings keeping her hovering off the ground.
"I say we call for Manny now and explain," the Russian voice insisted.
Another spoke right over him, "Are you kidding me? What would we even say?" he grew quieter. "Sandy, no matter how you look at it, you still broke the rules, mate."
Someone else stepped backwards into my view— the wee golden man with the crazy hair. He shook his head, staring at the ground, and the arguing started up again around him.
As I watched, he ran a hand through his hair and stumbled. He looked ready to pass out. For a split second, I thought I saw his eyes flick towards me. I ducked back into the room.
As quickly and quietly as possible, I leaped up onto the bed, grumbling under my breath frantically, and fumbled with the latch on the windows. They flopped open, and a cold gust of wind battered me. I stepped out, gasping when I sunk into knee-deep snow. For once, the heat on the Isle didn't sound so terrible.
I trudged on, trying to ignore the freezing bite at my bare legs. Outside, I managed to get a better look at where I was. The building, which was a massive semicircle with a giant antenna and multiple towers poking towards the sky, was built into the sheer side of a mountain of ice. As I glanced around, there seemed to be only one way down, which was a long path framed by torches and leading across a bridge of ice down into a dark tunnel.
I gathered up my skirts and pushed on, until I finally stumbled out of the trenches of snow onto the beaten pathway. The bridge was just ahead. When I glanced down over the cliff edge, the massive drop into a black abyss made me dizzy.
An echoing BANG rang out behind me.
I whipped around, and the golden man was there. He had just climbed out the window, and the wind had slammed it shut behind him. He winced when he caught my eye.
I took off running down the path and onto the bridge. The heel of one of my shoes slipped, and my leg was ripped out from under me. I began sliding down the path with a scream. I launched right over the ledge.
My stomach shot into my throat. I clenched my eyes shut, bracing myself to collide with the ground.
But I never did. Instead, I began to slow down. I dared to blink my eyes open and immediately drew back. There was a net of strange, golden sparkles weaving itself underneath me. The net slowed me to a stop, then heaved me back up.
I was gently rested down on the other side of the bridge, and the golden sparkles disappeared.
The man floated towards me, his hands clasped together and expression full of concern.
An odd sensation passed through me. For a moment, I thought I had to have met him before, because there was something very familiar in the way he carried himself. I couldn't quite place it… something to do with the expression on his face, or the bouncy sort of way he walked…
He dared a step closer, and I recoiled, preparing to run again.
Laughter split through the silence. It echoed right in my ear, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. When I spun around, there was nobody there. The disembodied cackling reverberated through the tunnel. Shadows bounced unnaturally over the walls and ceiling. A face appeared on the wall. I gasped.
The eerie silhouette stared down at me, and then it suddenly stepped out of the ice and became the same ashy grey man who'd been at the Isle. A grin curled up the sides of his angular face. My heart began to pound.
Adrenaline took over. I threw myself to my feet, practically careening head over heels, and hurtled into the tunnel. As I delved deeper into the mountain side, the air grew frigid, and thick darkness shrouded me. Everything glowed blue, and torches flashed by.
A shadow whipped past me. The ashy man seemed to simply appear, stepping right out of the wall yet again and planting himself directly in front of me. I skidded on the ice. My back slammed against the ground with a teeth-rattling jolt. Ignoring the pain, I scrambled backwards.
"Back off!" I screamed.
The man grinned with his jagged teeth, and his yellow eyes flashed. He grabbed the collar of my shirt and hauled me off the ground.
Just before he could speak, something over my head caught his attention. His eyes flicked up past me. There was a momentary flash of fear in his face, and then it was covered with that wicked smile. He straightened up and opened his arms. "Sandy!"
I followed his gaze to see the golden man standing behind me with his arms crossed and a fierce expression on his face. He took a step closer, but the villain yanked me around so my back was pressed against his frigid body. I felt the cold, sharp edge of a blade press against my neck.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him slip his grey hand into the folds of his robe, and he pulled out a snow globe. He began to whisper into it, and that was when my brain screamed, He's distracted! Now!
Before he could get a word out of his mouth, I bashed my elbow into his gut with all the strength I could muster.
The knife just barely sliced the fragile skin along the collarbone, and I sucked in a sharp breath. The globe dropped to the ground. A swirling portal opened up.
The grey man growled, shooting me a furious glare. I just began to turn, but he snatched my wrist tightly. He leaped backwards into the portal.
I screamed and lurched forward. My fingertips just brushed against the hand of the golden man, and then his face disappeared in a flash of light.
