A/N: I got the second chapter done a lot faster than anticipated! I am impressed with myself! This chapter isn't really plot-heavy, but I do need to introduce my character as who she's going to be known as, at least by the other Guardians, for the rest of the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything other than the laptop I used to write this. Rise of the Guardians and all music that Melody sings or plays belong to their original owners.

Chapter 1: The Awakening

She awoke to an ache in her head. She drew herself into a sitting position and brought her hand up, momentarily startled by the action, since one of the last things she remember was that she had been bound. But the ache in her head soon dominated her thoughts. There was a small lump of scar tissue, and she could remember something being pressed to her temple, but that memory was still somewhat blurry.

She allowed her hand to travel down over her face and sucked in a shocked breath when she felt her own lips, since another of the last things she remembered was her mouth being secured shut in preparation for torture of the vilest sort.

When she looked down, she gasped again. She vaguely remembered that she had been violated, but she knew that the men had left her body uncovered. Now she was clothed in a flowing dress made of fine white silk and covered by another, thinner layer of the same material. The skirt cut off just above the knees with two tresses of the thin silk hanging off of the sides, but the sleeves were long and they hung down from her wrists. She also noticed that she was barefooted.

She stood up and walked to a mirror on the wall so that she could examine herself properly. Along with the dress, a forest green cloak was draped about her shoulders. She felt a slight relief go through her when she saw that a violin was strapped to her back, and its bow hung like a sword at her side. She had never counted herself as truly beautiful, but looking at herself now, she thought that she looked like a woodland sprite.

A shaft of moonlight entered through the window, and she found herself drawn to it. "Melody." It called to her.

Melody. A name that was completely unfamiliar to her, yet it was also a name that she knew like the back of her own hand, for she instinctively knew that it was hers.

When she reached the window, the beam intensified and memories came rushing back. She gasped, overwhelmed, at the images and sounds that invaded her mind. She heard her own muffled screams and sobs through the tape over her mouth, felt the agony again as the men violated her, and saw the taller of the two men smirk as he pulled the trigger of his gun, allowing his bullet to tear its way through her skull.

But most of all, she remembered Laurel.

She remembered comforting her sister when she was scared or sad, playing or laughing with Laurel during outings in the park… And she remembered that she had helped Laurel escape just before the nightmare began.

And so she wept. Wept for her innocence, so brutally ripped from her; for her life, so mercilessly ended; but most of all, she wept out of anxiety, anxiety for her sister. Had Laurel made it to safety?

But suddenly, the moon wiped her tears away. "Dry your tears, Melody, my child."

Melody nodded grimly. She pulled her violin onto her shoulder and began to play. She remembered that the name of the piece was "Transcendence," a piece she felt was appropriate, for she knew she had to rise up from the ashes of the trauma which she had just experienced.

The new spirit was almost startled into stopping when she saw that she was dancing among the rooftops, carried by the very notes she was weaving out of the instrument. When she finished playing, she alighted on one of the rooftops. She had no idea where she was or how far from her home she had come, but at the moment she didn't care. She sat down, drew one of her knees up and wrapped her cloak around herself. Melody knew that the moon had told her not to weep, but she couldn't help but let the tears flow from her eyes.

After they had made sure Laurel was safe with the police officer, the Guardians regrouped up at North's workshop. Even though they had done their job and made sure that no harm came to the child, they still felt horrible that Laurel had lost her last family member.

"I feel so bad for her," Jack said. He was leaning on his staff and looking down. All the other Guardians shared his sentiment, and they knew that Laurel's scream would haunt them for a long time to come.

"We did everything we could while respecting Aria's wishes." Tooth tried to comfort him. "But still, you're right. Aria was still a child, and yet we could do nothing only because she had asked us to protect Laurel no matter what happened."

"You're not really helping, Shelia." Bunny said. The Guardian of Hope didn't look very hopeful; he looked as weary and depressed as the rest of them.

North was about to make some sort of comment, but Sandy burst in suddenly, pointing madly towards the window. The five looked in awe as the Man in the Moon summoned up the crystal, indicating that he had chosen a sixth Guardian.

"Another Guardian?" North asked. "This soon after battle with Pitch?"

"Who is it this time?!" Tooth gasped. The other four rolled their eyes half-heartedly, since they all knew that Tooth was going to be excited no matter who it was.

The mist and moonlight swirled up from the crystal taking the form of a young girl playing a violin. She had long hair, a seemingly fair complexion, and was dressed like some sort of fairy creature. Her eyes were closed and she was just in the act of drawing out the last note of a violin piece.

"Melody," came the voice of the Man in the Moon.

"YES!" Tooth cheered. "I'm not the only female Guardian anymore!"

"She must be new immortal." North interjected. Sandy formed the image of someone with a walking stick. Bunny interpreted this to mean, "Or maybe she's a wanderer." Sandy nodded eagerly, showing Bunny that the Guardian of Hope had correctly guessed what the Guardian of Dreams was thinking.

"I've never heard of her before," Tooth said. "And, North, I think she would have come under your radar as well, and, judging from the looks on all your faces, this is the first time all of you have heard of her."

"Well, new immortal or not, she's a Guardian now." Jack said. "And we should probably figure out a way to bring her here… and definitely NOT giving her the same 'escort' I was given. We're going to need her to trust us, and shoving her in a sack is going to do exactly the opposite, especially if she's a new immortal."

"Well, then, why don't you go and talk to 'er, mate?" Bunny retorted. "Since you're the most recent, well, second most recent to join our ranks, she might be willing to talk to you. Besides, you out of all of us know what it's like to be invisible, so you might be able to convince 'er."

"Thank you very much for bringing up painful memories." Jack muttered, which prompted both Tooth and Sandy to glare at Bunnymund. "But, why not? I will go." Jack committed himself to the task. "Maybe she'll be convinced with a snowball fight."

A/N: Thank you for reading. Melody plays "Transcendence" by Lindsey Stirling. Go look the song up online, I wish I had half that violinist's talent!