Author's Note: Sorry about the delay! I've been pretty busy with school. But I'll try to consistently publish a new chapter once a week ^_^ I do not own ROTG, just my OC
Amberlynn sat contentedly in the same meadow she helped Bunny restore, lying down underneath a single eucalyptus tree. While Amberlynn has helped Bunny keep the meadow from once again becoming a forest by burning away any saplings they encounter early on, he insisted they let one tree grow for her to use as shelter for any time she has future assignments in Australia. I know Mother Nature said to do this tomorrow, she thought, but I'm beat…and freezing! Let the Aussies have a heat wave tonight!
No sooner did the summer spirit get settled in at the base of the trunk—in the middle of providing a small portion of the region satisfactory warmth—than did she hear the faintest sound of footprints. An intruder was here, but not just any intruder. Even without turning her head she recognized the King of Nightmares himself.
"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," she muttered loudly enough to be heard. Though she still remained focused on the task at hand, she heard him stop in his tracks and humorlessly chuckle.
"So much for the seasonal spirits remaining a neutral party," Pitch Black sighed in mock disappointment. "Are you here to start another raging fire across the outback, Amberlynn Sommers? Oh, my dear fearlings loved how long the memories haunted you all those years ago! Please, don't let me stand in your way."
"Bite me, Black!" she snapped, whipping her head in his direction. Realizing she wasn't about to warm up the area to her liking any time soon, she stood up off the ground as she taunted, "I hope yer precious fearlings enjoyed getting their fill of fears from what doesn't come even remotely close to scaring me anymore. Although, fat lot of good it did yer sorry arse. Last time I checked, you took a royal beating from the Guardians fairly recently, did you not? What a pity! And after all that hard work you did to ensure…"
Pitch sent a shadow to forcefully shove her back against the trunk of the tree, momentarily knocking the wind out of her. Keeping her restrained, he placed his hands against the trunk on either side of her, his long, gray face mere inches away from her pale, freckled, pointed one. His eyes, which were normally silver with hints of gold speckled across them, went completely silver as he hissed, "Let us be clear about one thing, Sommers. Anyone who allies themselves with the Guardians becomes an immediate enemy of mine, especially when they have no reason to put themselves in the middle of a fight that remains between us. Now—while I admit it has been a bit…time-consuming to defeat all the Guardians at once, especially since Frost joined—you, my dear, are no Guardian."
As if on cue, she could see nightmares and fearlings slowly approaching from behind. They all stood in a semicircle around the tree, awaiting orders from Pitch. He continued, "I could send my wonderful creations upon you immediately and completely envelop you in the darkness should you be so foolish as to cross me. Is that what you really want?"
Nothing. Not a single hint of fear radiated from Amberlynn Sommers. If that concerned or worried Pitch, he didn't show it. She grinned a wide, devilish smirk as she asked, "If you're done monologuing, may I have a word now?"
Not hiding his amusement, he chuckled and replied, "By all means, milady. What could you possibly know to make you so cocky in this present state."
"Well, for starters," she explained, "Yer flaw in this attempt at intimidation. Ye forget that though I am indeed a summer spirit, I can literally create fire out of thin air. And do you know what else fire can be used for besides warmth?" She emitted just small enough of a flame to dissipate the shadows that bound her and teased, "Just call me yer little light in the darkness."
With a simple toss behind her head, she threw a ball of fire in the direction of a charging fearling, disintegrating it upon touch. "And the darkness has not overcome it."
Within milliseconds, the Nightmare King has finally processed what just happened, and summoned his scythe in action. Spirit against spirit plus fearlings plus nightmares. Even counting there to be fewer than 10 total, something about this just didn't quite seem fair to Amberlynn. I should really have evened the odds for him and tied one hand behind my back. One by one, while dodging Pitch's swings, she shot his creatures.
After another shot, she shouted, "This one's for trying to hurt Bunny." Another. "That was for attacking me." And yet another. "This one's for assuming I actually cared about your petty squabble with the Guardians!"
Wait, she really was a neutral party? Pitch wondered. If she doesn't care, then why is she—after the last of his nightmares was killed, she acrobatically jumped over Pitch, grabbed hold of the scythe mid-air, and burned it in her hand.
"And that," she sighed after the fight. "Was for interrupting my work in the first place to cause trouble. Had you waited for a second like a normal spirit, I would have told you a couple things. First of all, I couldn't care less about what sort of quarrel you have with the Guardians or vice versa. If you lot can't deal with your own personal vendettas without other spirits getting involved, then I think that's more telling of your character, wouldn't you agree? Bunnymund is a good friend of mine, nothing more. Even he learned that if he tries to rope me into anything related to the Guardians or against you…well, I don't take too kindly to being dragged to places—or events for that matter—that I've no business or desire to attend to."
"And what was the second thing you wished to tell me?" Pitch asked. Though he was annoyed by being interrupted during his original mission, he had to admit that Amberlynn made it a much more fun challenge. After all, he wouldn't want things to be too easy. Where's the fun in that?
Thinking about it for a second, Amberlynn remembered and replied, "Oh! I wanted to tell you Bunnymund's not home. Hasn't been for over a week. Out doing some Guardian-who-knows-what, I presume."
Looks like somebody screwed up, haven't you, Pitch? Both the summer spirit and Nightmare King thought simultaneously: Amberlynn in annoyance (but slightly amused nonetheless) and Pitch in bitterness. Though he never let his poker face slip, he said, "Well, it seems I must be departing now, then. It was quite the honorable, and dare I say, impressive skirmish, Sommers. You are quite the worthy opponent."
"Though not enemy, I'm sure," she replied. "And if you can promise me I won't be seeing your face for a long while, then I won't inform Mother Nature you just attacked one of her own." While she knew many of the elder spirits had great respect for Mother Nature, if Amberlynn didn't know any better, she almost thought she could see Pitch's eye twitch at the mention of her name. Upon his immediate disappearance from the outback, Amberlynn settled herself back into the slight nook at the base of the tree before finishing her task so she could take a long-overdue nap.