A/N:Holla Readers! Here's another chapter! And warning, there is death in this chapter, but I promise none of you will be mad. I hope. Anyway, thank you all who are still staying with me, favoriting, and following. To those who reviewed:
Tessdev: It is winding down, hopefully.
AyameKitsune: Thank you for reviewing every chapter. You're a trooper!
Thank you two SOOOO much! Much love. Anyway, please read and REVIEW. It really makes my day and I would like you all to know how I did with Sandy's character and his relationship with Emily. But most of all, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own ROTG or The Guardians of Childhood! But I would love to!
Sandy
I have been a friend of Emily's for a long time. She was stubborn, unpredictable, and sadly, wary of people. After her father became the Nightmare King and disregarded her for power, she became extremely careful to trust anyone. The only people she truly trusted was her creations and the seasonal spirits. They were her friends when she was human and they stayed with her. While I care deeply for Jack, I wish it wasn't them. I wish Emily didn't learn the cruelty of her friends. I wish I didn't have to see her heart break once again. But I'm just the Sandman, I create dreams. I don't grant wishes. We were hidden behind a wall of moss that Emily had created as a cover. With a gust of hot wind, the seasonal spirits appeared. I jumped at Tooth and North's loud gasp. I turned to them quickly and put my finger over my lips, glaring at them. Bunny did it from behind them as well. They nodded sheepishly.
"Hey Emily." Fauna sang weakly. I turned back to see the seasonal spirits shuffle in and take a seat in Emily's meeting room couch. A flash of hurt went through her eyes. The seasonal spirits looked, worse for wear. Fauna's hair was tousled and her hand was bruised and there were ice burns on her hands. Kimba had a deep cut on her cheek and bruises on her right side. Atius had a black eye and his hands were also bruised and had ice burns over his knuckles. Their clothes were torn. If I didn't know of Jack's condition, I would've thought that they were just in a losing battle. I had to admit, to leave the seasonal spirits like this, on his own and already injured, was pretty impressive.
"What happened?" Emily asked with a neutral tone. The girls looked at Atius. He tsked and began to pout.
"That winter thing happened Em. It's a Guardian now and thinks it can pick a fight with whoever it wants." A flash of rage coursed through me. First he called Jack a thing. Second, he dare use Emily's nickname as he lied to her face. "Did you know it was a Guardian?" Atius stared at her with angry and hurt eyes.
"I did." Emily sighed. Atius stood up.
"What?" Then he winced and sat back down. I chuckled at Emily's eye twitched. Her eye twitched when she was keeping in an eye roll. Her lip twitched when she was holding in a smirk. She thought she was great at hiding her emotions, but she always had her little tells. "You knew. You knew! Why would you betray us like that?" Even now, as Atius accused her, I could tell that despite her seemingly obvious anger, her fisted trembling hands told the truth to her sadness.
"I did not betray anyone." She seethed. "Moon told me that a new Guardian was created, but he had seasonal powers. So I left him alone and ordered you to do the same. We stay out of their business, they stay out of ours." Emily stated. I was proud of her. Usually, she was more, emotionally when she was sad. She would quickly react in anger at anything. Now, she was calm, collected. While I was barely able to restrain myself from crushing the pest.
"Really now? Then why does that thing, always interfere with our seasons, Em?" Atius challenged with a raised eyebrow. I think I'm going to kill him.
"What do you mean interfere?" Emily turned around to avoid them seeing her stare at us.
"Like that Sandguy interferes with us." Atius smirked playfully as he quickly appeared behind Emily. Emily blushed but stayed composed.
"This is not the time Atius." She ordered. Atius smirk grew as he floated back to his seat. I swear I am going to kill that conceited, conniving, cruel, selfish-
"Mate, you're red." Bunnymund whispered in my ear fearfully. My face was hot and I realized the sand blowing out of my ears like steam. I took a deep breath and gave Bunny a thankful nod. Whenever it comes to Emily, I tend to get a little more emotional than usual. I focused back on Atius's biased story.
"So Fauna comes to me all distraught about the storm and the family that got hurt. So I decided that we should confront him, thinking that he doesn't know the rules. But when I do he wants to fight, for fun." Atius uses air quotes around fun. I heard Bunny restrain a struggling and cursing Tooth. "And here we are a few hours later." Atius huffed. Emily was biting the inside of her cheek, trying not to glance at us. She probably could feel the tense atmosphere radiating from us and she was worried about her friends. As much as she appeared not to care, her heart was more sensitive than most.
"Did you, fight back?" Emily asked carefully. Atius didn't notice. He was too sure that Emily believed him. I couldn't wait to see his face when she revealed us.
"Yeah, but then he hid like a coward when we did. We barely even hurt him, some Guardian." I heard Tooth struggle more as Bunny's grip on her tightened. I glanced back to see that despite his hold on Tooth, he wanted to be the one doing what she was doing. North was also staring daggers, his body taut and ready for war. The last time I saw him like that was the night his little brother died. It was not a good night. If I didn't kill Atius, the others definitely would.
"What do you mean barely hurt him?" I have to admit, Emily has always been great at acting.
"He hit us and when Kimba defended us with a ball of fire it singed him a bit. It only singed his clothes and he cries like a kid. Maybe he really deserves to be a Guardian of children if he's going to act like one." Atius scoffed.
"Yeah, what a baby." Kimba laughed, then winced sharply. Fauna just nodded along. I saw Emily's eyes widen a bit and her fist tremble. My heart broke. She hoped they wouldn't lie to her, hoped it wasn't true, and now her hope was broken. I glanced back at Bunny once more. The dimming of his eyes and the way his eyebrows furrowed told me that he saw it too.
"That's what happened?" Emily asked quietly. Atius looked at her.
"Yes. What else would've happened?" Atius asked nonchalantly. Emily turned back to them, her eyes hard and walls up.
"Kimba didn't step on his back, with her flaming foot?" Atius's eyes widened slightly. "Fauna didn't try to hold him down as he tried to escape? You didn't call him a dog, or try to suffocate him?" Emily stood ramrod straight, hair billowing behind her like a spider's web in a breeze.
"Why would you say that, Em? You know me better than that." Atius narrowed his eyes. Emily didn't take the bait.
"Answer the question, Atius." She commanded. The tension behind me calmed some. Mother Nature's fury was scarier than anyone else's. Although, Atius was stupidly brave. He stood up and crossed his arms.
"No, Emily. We did not step on his back, or hold him down, or try to suffocate him. Now if he or the other Guardians think I called him a dog, well as they say, if the shoe fits." The girls nodded as they scooted together behind him on the couch.
"You can show yourselves now." The moss moved and before I could even blink, Tooth was already in front of Atius. She kneed him in the stomach sending him to his knees.
"Sheila!" Bunny yelled as he jumped to restrain her again. Tooth began to go for Kimba, when Bunny reached her.
"YOU LYING MONSTERS!" Tooth screamed at them as she fought against Bunny. The girls cowered away from the raging Tooth. "HOW DARE YOU! I'LL SEND YOU ALL BACK TO-"
"TOOTH!" Mother Nature roared. Everything in the room froze. "Stand down." She ordered. Tooth glared at Emily, but she did as Emily said. Emily looked at a groaning Atius.
"Atius, can you stand?" Atius nodded and stood up facing Emily. Then she slapped him across the face, and he fell to the couch. I couldn't help the smirk that came on my face.
"Emily?" Atius looked at her in pain and confusion. I reveled in it.
"Why did you lie?" Emily asked coldly. It hurt me that she was using that tone of voice, but I was so happy to finally see a flash of fear in Atius's eyes.
"I would never lie to you! Did you stop to think that they're just covering for their own? Don't let them tear us apart, Em." That got to me. I lassoed him and pulled him to my face. His eyes widened and he began to shake. I squeezed the lasso tighter around him. He began to wheeze. Was it cruel? Yes, but, I hated the fact that he hurt Jack, then he lied about hurting Jack to Emily's face, and then he had the nerve to call her Em. He was lucky he wasn't already dead.
"Sandy," Emily called gentle. I looked up at her. Her mouth was still set in a stern line but she had an appreciative gaze. I released Atius, letting him drop to the ground. I smiled at everyone innocently and backed into the background. The awkward stares and silence was worth the flash of amusement in Emily's eyes. She turned her focus on a gasping Atius.
"See," Atius pointed at me, panting. "He tried to kill me!" Emily rolled her eyes.
"Sandman is the oldest of all of us. If he wanted to kill you, you would've already been dead." Atius shut his trap. Emily walked to Atius and guided the Wind to take him back to his seat on the couch.
"Now tell me." Emily commanded. Her pupils grew smaller, thin like a predators as Atius' eyes dilated and his body went ramrod straight. I sighed as Emily's eyes hardened as she glared at the three of them. " All of you." I felt the others straighten by me too, when the two seasonal spirits did. "Why did you hurt Jack Frost? Fauna you first." Fauna fidgeted under Emily's glare, but she broke quickly.
"He was trying to take my faeries!" Fauna cried defensively. "He wanted to give the back to Tooth. But why should she have them. She has Jack as a dog. She doesn't need them! Plus, with him out of the way, I can rule longer and there will be more life and-"
"Silence!" Emily yelled. Fauna cowered and whimpered into herself. It was so odd to hear such cruel words from such a feminine spirit. I could feel Tooth's seething hate next to me. "Kimba." Emily glared at Kimba next. She tried to hold on, fight Emily's power, but as Emily stare bore into Kimba, I could see her begin to sweat.
"Atius told me to do it!" Kimba fidgeted and gestured wildly. "I automatically didn't like him, but Atius hated him. So I reasoned that it must be because Jack was a nuisance. I mean, all he leaves are disasters and catastrophes. Then suddenly he does one right thing and then he's a Guardian. He kills children! He wasn't and never will be Guardian material! He isn't even a true seasonal spirit. What's the point of his existence?" We all had to hold Tooth back as she attempted to tackle Kimba. I was in charge of gagging her mouth as she spewed out curses in Prakrit. Emily ignored Tooth and moved on to Atius. They just stood there glaring at each other. Until Atius began to cackle.
"You want to know why I loathe that sorry excuse of existence?" He sneered. Emily just stood still and glared at Atius. "Because I heard you and Moon talking. I heard that he, a small little nobody was going to take the place of my father and get a higher honour than me. That the Creator created him for that. Then when I met him, he was just this scrawny kid, with barely any understanding of his power and with this cute little fun boy act going on. I don't hate Jack Frost. I loathe him. I despise every breath he takes, I hated how he stopped crying when I beat him. I detest how he could still joke after every insult. Then he, helps to stop Pitch. He gets chosen, and you don't bat an eye!" Atius is full on screaming, and even I step back. "I deserved that spot! You know that! I trained everyday to show you and Moon who I could be. But you let Moon chose Jack Frost. I was trying to show you, to show you all, even the Creator, that you all made a mistake. I was the better spirit. I was the true Guardian. And you could punish me all you want, but now you all know that Jack Frost can never be a Guardian." Silence fell over the room as Emily looked down. She stepped back slowly and turned around. I felt the sinister air around her grow. I let go of Tooth's gag, but even she was silent. Emily prowled to her throne and began dragging a finger along the top. Cold, biting ice cracked along the trail her finger drew.
"Do any of you remember dying?" She asked wistfully. The girls shook their heads but Atius was still simmering in his rage.
"We didn't." He spat. Emily let out a dark chuckle.
"That's right. None of us did. Not a single, one." Emily tapped the chair and the top half was covered in ice. And before I could even blink, she was in front of Atius, golden eyes burning. She lifted him up in the air by his throat. Ice began spreading like cracks against his neck were here fingers were. "So if you deserve to be a Guardian, let me show what it takes!" Ice began to slowly spread over Atius. He squirmed and clawed at Emily but, she still kept her hold.
"Emily, Em," Aticus' cries were cut of as water began spewing from his mouth. I realized that she wasn't just freezing him to death, she was drowning him as well. I stood mortified as Atius struggled to breathe and cry out. I watched as a smile that reminded me of Pitch grew on her face. I glanced to see everyone's expressions of horror. Although I did notice that Bunny and North held a glimmer of realization in their eyes. I thought back, to what Emily said. Let me show you what it takes. You don't know. Then it hit me. Jack died, and now Emily was putting Atius through the same experience. My emotions were jumbled and scrambled, but the changing color of Atius' skin reminded me of the situation at hand. I went to Emily and pulled on her dress. She snarled at me, her eyes glowing like burning stars. I sanded to her to put him down. She stared at me, trying to intimidate me, but I didn't let her. She gave a final growl and dropped Atius. I nodded and walked back to the others. I turned around to watch Atius gasping for breath. Kimba was by his side. Making sure he was alright. The menacing atmosphere lessened a bit before Emily talked again.
"Fools!" Her yell made the seasons focus on her once again. "If Jack Frost isn't an elemental spirit, he does not have full power over winter. I do!" Her voice boomed around the cave, shaking everything. "If you have a problem with winter you should have come to me!" Emily's breathing became a bit shallower and her eyes watered. I wanted to comfort her, but I knew now wasn't the time. "And you think he doesn't blame himself enough for those deaths. You don't think I feel every drop of blood he willingly spills on the earth, in shame, hatred, and guilt." I saw Emily's shoulders shake as she held in a sob. "You dare think he is a waste of existence. You dare judge him when you do not know him." Emily seethed at them. She wasn't talking to seasonal spirits, she was talking to her friends. "What has happened to you all?" There was no answer. The seasonal spirits all looked away from her. Emily sighed and looked away from them. "As Mother Nature my position will remain neutral." Her voice was cold and distant. "For your crimes against the Guardian spirit Jack Frost, Guardian of Fun, you will be judged by the Moon and the Creator." Suddenly, a breeze entered the cave.
"Emily, please!" The seasonal spirits cried. A tear fell from Emily's eye. A Moon beam shined down upon it. The beam hit the pleading and crying seasonal spirits. A whisper reverberated in the cave.
"Your pride has hardened your heart. Therefore, you shall be hardened into to stone." Instantly the seasonal spirits were turned into stone, their faces frozen in desperation. The breeze became a loud wind, swirling around the stone spirits turning them into sand, and blowing them away. Once they were gone, a deafening silence overcame us. Emily stood there, shoulders trembling.
"Emily," Tooth said softly as she approached her.
"Go." Emily's voice trembled, making me stand straighter. The ground trembled with her.
"Emily," Tooth took another step forward.
"I said, GO!" Emily turned and screamed at Tooth. Tooth jumped back and as things begin flying around wildly.
"Vorkshop!" North said loudly as he crashed a snowglobe. Bunny grabbed an awestruck Tooth and pulled her through the portal. North looked back at me. "Vill you be alright?" I nodded and gave him a thumbs up. He looked warily behind me. I rolled my eyes and pushed him in. The portal and him were gone in an instant. I stood, shielded from Emily's flying debris. When she realized that I wasn't leaving she collapsed to the ground, along with everything else controlled by her wind. Her sobs broke my heart. I quickly went over and hugged her. She clung to me as her sobs rattled her and everything around her except me. The last time I saw her like this, she figured out that her father was leaving her for power. It was then that I realized, she would never be the little girl that dreamed on shooting stars anymore. What's worse is that for a spirit, a loss like that isn't temporal. She will never see her friends as long as she lives, which could be for the next millennia. She was going to be alone. I held her wracking body as the seconds turned to minutes, which turned to hours, which turned to days. Emily sobbed for three days straight before it quieted to silent tears. Through it all, I just held her.
"You can leave, Sanderson." Emily's rough muffled voice tickled my neck. She pushed herself from me. "I know you must go." She grimaced and stretched her throat. "We can't let everyone have bad dreams because I'm a mess. I'm always a mess." She chuckled darkly. I frowned at her and shook my head. She rolled her eyes. "I'll be alright. I'm a big girl now." She smirked. I rose my eyebrows and made a swirl of sand under us. She looked down. "Sandy…" I smirked at Emily's wariness. Before she could say anything, I lifted us and flew us out of the cave.
It always made me proud to see people admire my work. No matter how many times people see my dust, each time they stare at it in awe. Even now, with Emily riding with me, her hands gliding through the sand, her gold eyes sparkled with awe. She seemed to have forgotten about her loss just for a bit. Soon I could feel her enter a deep sleep. As she was sleeping I sent her the stories she would tell me of her and her friends. I may not have liked who they became, but the were some of Emily's best human memories. After a day of her sleeping I got used to the silence.
"Did you know," Emily's empty voice made me jump, fumbling the dream I was forming. I looked back to her. She was sitting up and waving her hands through the sand aimlessly, a distant gaze in her eyes. "That I can feel everything that lands on the earth. I feel it as if it landed on my skin. But, like everything else, I numbed it. I didn't care." Then she gripped some in a fist. "But no matter how hard I try, there's always something that hurts." She gritted out, her hands tightening.
I didn't see the powerful spirit known for her unpredictable nature and cold hearted neutrality. I saw the little girl that rode on my star. I shifted some of the sand in front of her to look like Jack, and some to look like Atius.
"Both." She whispered. Although she began to caress Jack's figure. "The first time I felt him, it was a cold day. I felt the bitterness in my bones. I was use to that omen. Something was going to happen. I felt the thump of the body, but I tried not to care, Then I felt it. The first drop of blood. The hurt, the loneliness, and God, that guilt." The wind started to pick up around us. Tears were flowing from her eyes. I stopped making dreams and approached her, but she didn't move. Her hands were trembling around Jack's sand figure, eyes distant. "It weighed down on me, suffocating me." She was breathing heavily, I went to her, touching her arm, her shoulder, moving the sand around her. There was no response. "The blood just ran down me. I felt it, I knew it." Emily finally moved to look at me, guilt and pain in her eyes. "I knew his pain, but I did nothing. I did nothing with every drop. And I did nothing when I figured Atius was abusing his power." I mentally sighed. So that was the problem. She knew what was going on.
The Jack figurine encouraged her to explain. Emily glanced to me with a raised eyebrow and I gave her a small shrug. Showing off was a bit habit. Emily shook her head as she sighed.
"Atius was getting stronger with the weakening Winter King, his father. This meant a transference of powers. So Atius was gaining the Winter King's power. Atius had been so aggressive and so active. I couldn't control him, but then he stopped. He was calmer and more relaxed, but there was an arrogance to him that wasn't there before. Honestly, at times he reminded me of my father." Emily began to rub her arms and I patted her knees. She gave me a small smile. "Although it was the increase of that slick feeling of loneliness and guilt that made me wonder." Emily went back to caressing the Jack figure. "Each time I felt that, Atius would seem more confident, like a conqueror." Emily began biting her lip. "When my father began rising to power, when I was left alone, the other kids would pick on me." I bit my cheek. Part of me hated hearing how she was treated as a human, but I was glad she trusted me with that knowledge. "Don't worry, it wasn't the children's taunts or beatings that hurt. It was the adults who turned their heads." Emily gripped her hands to her chest. "That left scars. That pushed me to not care. It pushed me to do the same to someone else." Tears fell from her distant eyes.
I swiped the Jack figure. Emily jumped and focused on me. I sanded to her each Guardian doing their job, ignoring Jack, and leaving him alone. Then I let it all fade away. I pointed to her and to me. I sanded a clock that went backwards but shook my head no. I formed the current image of Jack in a hospital bed, me by his side. Then I wiped it all away and pointed to her.
"You're right." She sighed. "But would he even want my help? After a while, I didn't want or need anyone's help." I stepped back from her and crossed my arms. I was not buying it. We glared at each other for a while but she groaned in frustration and laid her head back. "Ugh! It's been like 600 years since we met and I still can't win a stare down with you." I couldn't help but be smug. Winning stare downs was my specialty. "Will you go with me?" Once again, Emily was the little girl I had met long ago, scared and unsure. "Both he and I would probably be more comfortable with you in the room." She said as she began picking at her grassy dress. I put a hand on her shoulder and nodded.
We fell into a comfortable silence as I went back to work. Dawn began seeping through the night, signaling my break. With Emily still with me, I molded the sand into a plane, with us in it. We flew to North Pole. I did some loops just to hear Emily squeal in joy. When North's workshop was in sight I could feel the presence of the other Guardians there. Even Jack's presence was active. I could feel Emily tense up. I got rid of the plane and she joined me to float into the globe room. Inside the Workshop, elves were stumbling about and Yetis were walking around them, focused on their work. It was pretty normal. Except for the thick atmosphere and the apprehensive Tooth flying about ordering her fairies about.
"Second premolar, Mumbai, India. Lateral incisor, Helena, Montana. Central, Sandy! Emily!" Tooth smiled at them, her wings slowing down to a gentle flutter. She drifted in front of Emily. "How are you-" Emily rose her hand, any traces of the vulnerable moments we had were gone.
"You don't have to worry about me. I should have seen this coming." Emily spoke regally, her hands crossed in front of her. Tooth attempted to say something, but shut her mouth. "Plus, I came to apologize to you all."
"Then I'll get the others." Tooth quickly flew back to Jack's room. Sandy watched Emily as she rolled her shoulders back. I patted her hand, hoping to calm her nerves. She smiled down at me. Though her tension came back when Bunny bounded into the room, followed by Tooth and North.
"Emily." Bunny said in surprise. North froze in shock too.
"Hello Bunnymund. Hello Nicholas." Emily nodded to the two formally. She sighed and stood straight. "I came to apologize for the actions of the seasonal spirits and turning a blind eye to it. I should have gotten involved." Emily's voice was distant and forced, almost robotic. I watched as the others processed what she said. Tooth was biting her lip, probably keeping her anger in. North crossed his arms above his chest, simply observing Emily. Bunny on the other hand looked down and began rubbing his digits, or was it fingers, together.
"You hinted at something in the cave." Bunny stated. Emily froze, panic flashing through her eyes. "Was it true?" Bunny looked up to gaze at Emily. Usually, Emily was good at keeping her emotions in check under pressure, but now, with everyone gazing intently at her, she bit her lip and looked down in shame. Bunny sighed and let his head drop down. Tooth gasped as her eyes watered. The only thing that changed in North was his somber expression. Jack had died. He became who he was through death, and he was only a teenager. A shiver went through me as I realized that Jack died as a teenager. He didn't live a full life like we did. Emily cleared her throat, gaining back everyone's attention.
"How is he?" She asked quietly, her eyes avoiding everyone's. Bunny fisted his hands, a fire starting in his eyes.
"How do you think?" Bunny spat. Emily winced and stepped back. "He's still runnin' a fever." Bunny's voice was growing in volume, his body tightening, as if to attack. "The foot mark in the middle of his back is a third degree burn, so that's still raw and tender. The ribs Pitch broke ain't gettin' better." Emily winced at the mention of her father. "Not to mention the other bones your charges broke and-" As soon as Bunny stepped forward to Emily, I went in front of her and North stepped up to grab his shoulder.
"That's enough, Aster." North commanded. Bunny glared at Emily, but backed down. Emily was still looking away, and I could feel her tremble slightly behind me. "Emily," North's calm voice and my nudging finally got Emily to look up. "Bleeding has stopped and his body is healing. He vill be fine." Bunny scoffed and North sent him a glare.
"Come on mate. You heard him." Bunny shot at North.
"He said he will be fine." North stated harshly. Bunny scoffed loudly and gestured to Jack's room wildly.
"Yeah, he's been saying that this whole time! And I know that you heard him say it's nothing he hasn't dealt with before!" North grew silent but his glare intensified. " Everytime we try to talk to him, he keeps brushing it off like it was some fight he lost! He's refusing to see that he is a victim an-"
"It makes him weak." Emily whispered. I looked to her. She was wringing her hands, her gaze distant. "If he admits that he is a victim, he admits he's weak." Silence enveloped the room at Emily's confession. I saw it in her eyes, the fight to cry out for help or to keep fighting. It was the same look in Jack's eyes in his most vulnerable moments. Her gaze refocused on us. "I would like to talk to Jack."