Up in the heights of a beautiful mountain range, surrounded by a soft morning mist, the building they called the Tooth Palace shimmered in the fiery sunrise.

I leaned a bit closer to the edge of the dreamsand cloud to peer down at the pillars and platforms made of colorful tiles.

Little creatures that looked like hummingbirds were zipping around everywhere. One approached me and hovered for a moment. Up close, I could see it was actually more like a tiny person covered in colorful feathers. A fairy. She squeaked in surprise when she saw me, sent a stunned glance at the Sandman, then sped off to find a group of other fairies. They whispered fervently amongst each other, and I saw a couple glance my way.

I turned back to Sandman, about to question the behavior, but I wavered when I saw his brow knotted with anxiety. His hands were tightly folded, knuckles white.

We landed on a large platform, and I immediately felt wary of the... eccentric pair which greeted us: a bulky man in red with a long, white beard, and a notably tall, blue-grey bunny who was impatiently tapping his foot against the ground.

Sandman's book, The Guardians of Childhood, popped in my mind. These had to be the other Guardians, the Guardian of Hope and the Guardian of Wonder.

Jack Frost and the Tooth Fairy immediately strolled towards them. Sandman turned to me and offered a hand to help me off the cloud.

I hesitated a moment, eyes still trained on the strangers, but took his hand and stepped onto the platform. The cloud disintegrated.

The Guardian of Wonder immediately approached me. "Aila, is wonderful to properly meet you! I am Santa Claus, but most call me North," he introduced himself in a thick Russian accent. He jutted his arm out towards me.

I warily shook his hand. "You know my name?" I remarked suspiciously.

His eyes widened. "Ah, well, yes. Jack told us," he guestered to Frost.

The Guardian of Hope stepped up next, his arms crossed. He sent a nervous glance up at the sky, but North elbowed him. He cleared his throat, then shook my hand. "G'day, sheila. Name's Bunnymund."

"Aila Galloway," I replied.

With introductions finished, Sandman approached the others with a dreamsand question mark above his head.

North and the Tooth Fairy exchanged an uneasy glance, and then North set a comforting hand on Sandman's shoulder (though his hand was nearly the same size as him and almost knocked him out of the sky).

"We will find your memories, Sandy," North butted in. "Come, we have something to show you."

The group headed in another direction. Sandman, noticing I didn't move, glanced back and waited for me to follow.

I gulped, then shook my head. "I—I'll stay here… I'm feeling rather… airsick… you know, the best way to treat air sickness is by avoiding sudden movement an—and breathing… and it helps to look at the horizo—" I trailed to a stop, noticing I was mumbling so quickly he probably couldn't understand anything I was saying.

Sure enough, he was staring at me with a quizzical and concerned expression, though I almost thought I saw the hints of a grin pulling up the corner of his mouth. North called for him again.

I cleared my throat and brushed off my dress. "Just go. I'll be fine"

He glanced back and forth once, but then finally nodded. He reluctantly hopped off to join the others.

I waited there for a minute, waving and trying my best to give him a natural smile. Finally, they disappeared onto a platform high above my head

I puffed out my cheeks in relief, and then took a good look around me. The palace was obviously made for someone who could fly. Each column floated completely isolated, and there was almost no way for me to get to another.

I circled the perimeter of the platform, racking my brain and grumbling to myself. Just as I considered climbing down and making the jump onto the next platform, a tiny fairy zoomed by.

As I watched, the fairy came to a halt beside the wall and pressed her palm into a tile with a child's face on it. The tile popped open, and a long cylinder extended outwards. The fairy placed a small tooth inside, then pushed it shut.

I rushed over. "Excuse me?"

The fairy jumped when she saw me.

"I need to find my memories. Can you help me?" I barely finished the sentence before the fairy sped away.

Luckily, a large group of them were headed this way now, carrying teeth to add to their collection.

"Hello?" I called. "Please, can any of you help me find my memories?"

Still, none of them responded.

"Please! I need your help! This is urgent!"

They all just flew by. I grunted and stomped my foot in frustration.

"Are you looking for something?"

A chill ran up my spine.

I twirled around, but nobody was there. "Who's there?" I called, although I already had a sneaking suspicion.

"Pity, I thought you'd recognise me," the low voice rattled through the palace.

"Well maybe I would if I could see you."

"My, my. You do have quite an unruly tongue," The voice finally came into focus. I spun around, and Pitch Black was standing there, hands folded and eyes narrowed.

I immediately opened my mouth, ready to yell.

"You don't want to do that," Pitch replied calmly.

"I know who you are," I said. "So yes, I think I do."

"I know what you're looking for."

I paused now. Pitch grinned. He took a step closer, and I took a few back. He moved one hand into his robe and revealed it again holding one of the memory cylinders. On the side was a painted image of a young girl covered in freckles with wavy red hair.

I automatically stumbled forward, but recoiled.

"You hesitate?" Pitch observed. He flipped the cylinder in the air and caught it. "If I'm not mistaken, you do not have much time, do you?"

I clenched my fists. "What do you want?"

Pitch sneered at me for a moment, then he began to brush his finger over my memory cylinder. "Come with me."

"Come with you?" I immediately scoffed. "Bolt ya rocket."

Pitch returned my memories into his robe. "Have it your way." He began to turn.

My heart thumped. I glanced over my shoulder, wondering if the Guardians were watching. The palace was oddly empty, and even the little fairies seemed to have disappeared. I drew in a shaking breath. "Wait!"

Pitch paused. He cast a glance over his shoulder.

"Wait…" my voice cracked. I cleared my throat. "I'll come with you."

A wicked grin peeled across his face, and I felt my stomach churn. He stepped to the side and guestered to the ground. The tile floor caved in, crumbling into a dark tunnel.

There was a split second where I wondered whether or not this had been a good idea. I glanced at Pitch, still holding out my memories like bait. I didn't have much of a choice.

I took a deep breath and jumped down.


Sandy

I stooped down and rubbed my finger against the tile. When I turned my hand over, it was covered in black grit.

North was bent over the empty, hexagon shaped hole in the column where my memories had been stored. He scratched his beard. Bunny paced behind him, and Tooth and Jack were whispering amongst themselves.

"What is he up to now?" North grunted.

"Aila, Sandy's memories…" Jack mumbled. "There has to be some connection."

North yanked out his sword and swung it a bit too close to Bunny. "I say we have no time to lose. We should bring the fight to him before he has the chance to do something drastic."

"Tell me you're dreaming, mate." Bunny scoffed.

At this point, I blocked them out. I glanced back inside the empty chasm my memories should have been inside.

How had Pitch gotten to the palace? He must have somehow made one of his tunnels. And why would he only steal my memories?

There was only one true answer… he was specifically targeting me. But was it only revenge he was after? What did that have to do with Aila?

A sudden thought made my heart leap into my throat. Had he taken Aila's memories? But why would he do that? Her memories were—

A tiny fairy zipped up to me, twittering frantically and waving her arms. She pointed, then pulled on my sleeve. I followed her to peer over the edge of the platform.

The palace below us was completely empty. Fear clenched my heart.

I leaped down and floated onto the platform where I left Aila, thousands of thoughts flooding my brain.

There was no sign of her. I circled the platform, even jumped to a few other surrounding areas, but she was gone. She had simply disappeared. Except, I had a hunch I knew exactly where she was.

My heart began to hammer against my chest. I ran my fingers over my scalp. The fairy appeared by my side again. She chirped, then pointed to the other Guardians. Before she could dart to them, I skidded in front of her, waving my hands.

She eyed me quizzically, but I was looking past her… at the moon, which was now disappearing in the rays of the rising sun. I pressed my finger to my lips and shushed.

She squinted at me suspiciously, but she didn't argue. She fluttered off to join a group of other fairies. They began to chatter, and a few glanced up at me.

I gulped hard, knowing it was only a matter of time before the fairies decided to share the news. Which meant I had to leave as soon as possible.

I shut my eyes for a moment, pursed my lips, and took a deep breath. I surged into the sky, alone.


Aila

I plunged through suffocating darkness for what felt like an eternity. As seconds passed, my heart began to pound. I couldn't tell what way was up or down or whether my eyes were even open. The fear began to overwhelm me. I clawed out into the emptiness for anything I could cling to.

I slammed into something solid. I grappled for a hold, but everything crumbled away like dirt. I tilted backwards and screamed as I plummeted again.

Light opened up. I tumbled straight through the hole. Again, I collided with the ground. For a moment, I just laid there, gasping for air. I pressed my forehead against the cold stone, trying to stop the spinning in my head.

There were footsteps beside my ear. I leaned up onto my knees. I was in a massive cave full of miss-matched stairs with sinister cages dangling from the ceiling. There were only a few streaks of gray light filtering from above, and a dank smell wafted through the chilly, stagnant air.

A shadow moved beside me. I whirled around, and Pitch was standing there, my memories clenched in his fist.

I forced myself to my feet, struggling not to stumble forward. "Give me them." I demanded.

Pitch glanced up at me distastefully. He raised his eyebrow. I clenched my teeth and felt a spark of fear. "Give it to me," I repeated harshly.

He rolled his eyes, then threw the cylinder. I scrambled to catch it.

It was cold to the touch, and much lighter than I expected. I turned it over to see diamond patterns. There was one large, blue diamond in the center.

"To open your memories, all you have to do is touch your finger to the blue diamond," Pitch instructed in a bored tone, like he was reciting an instruction manual. "Then everything will be revealed to you, and you will never be lost again."

His voice faded. My heart was suddenly pounding, and I felt light headed as I stared down at the cylinder. I had been waiting so long, and now all the answers were in my hand… my memories… but was I prepared to finally see them?

I lifted my hand, hesitated just a moment, and then pressed my finger into the blue diamond.

There was a long moment of silence.

I furrowed my brow and touched it again. And again, harder. And again, even harder.

Finally, I dropped the cylinder by my side and cried out. I rounded on Pitch. "Why isn't it working!?"

"Well it's not my fault!" Pitch exclaimed, placing his hands over his chest defensively.

"Then why isn't it working?"

Pitch released a deep sigh. "You will see."

I barely had a chance to think over what he said before he grabbed my shoulders.

"Hey!" I shouted, thrashing.

He shoved me, and the room whirled. I collapsed to my knees, and the floor rocked underneath me. When things came back into focus, I was high above Pitch, surrounded by bars. I was inside a hanging prison cell.

I lurched to my feet, and the entire cage swayed. I threw myself against the bars. "Let me out!"

Pitch turned and sauntered off in the opposite direction. He waved over his shoulder. "I will see you soon."

I shouted a few more times, but he was gone. I crumpled back down to my knees and desperately began searching. There had to be something… something I could pick the lock with or even use to saw at the bars. But even if there was anything useful nearby, it was so dark I could barely see. I reached out to feel the floor, but then hesitated. My memories were still clenched in my hand. I flipped the cylinder around.

There had to be something I was doing wrong. They were definitely mine; the face painted on the side was undeniably me. I touched each finger to the blue diamond, then my whole palm. I even tried the green diamonds in the corners. Nothing worked.

Tears began to burn in my eyes. Everything was right there in front of me… my lifetime was in my hands.

I dug my fingers into the side of the cylinder. The lid popped open, and I peeled it away. There was a pink filling inside, but it was empty. There were only hollow, tooth shaped holes.

At that very moment, my form began to waver. I screamed.