A/N: Okay, I will be unavailable tomorrow, so I decided to go ahead and upload this chapter tonight. And I've got some good news for you, though you could probably guess what it is from the chapter title: This chapter is a happy chapter! Yay! Another cliffhanger, unfortunately (I seem to be addicted to cliffhangers in this story, even more than in my Narnia story), but I will update as soon as I can.

Chapter 8: First Believer

Melody was too stunned to answer that simple, three-word question. All she could possibly focus on was the fact that the question was directed at her; Laurel could see her. Well, it didn't really matter that she was too stunned to speak, since Laurel, instead of waiting for an answer, started a whole barrage of questions, firing one question off after the other.

"Are you the spirit who's been haunting my house? How long have you been a spirit? Are you a good spirit? Did you know my sister Aria? What other types of music do you like?"

By now, Melody began to give a stunned laugh. "Slow down! Slow down!" Laurel obligingly stopped rattling off questions and began to look somewhat abashed. Melody was finally able to move, so she walked over to her mortal sister and knelt down in front of her. "One question at a time! First things first, though." The music spirit slowly reached out her hand, with the intent on placing it on Laurel's shoulder. She gasped and pulled her hand away when, instead of passing through, her hand landed solidly on the younger girl's shoulder.

Melody looked up in Laurel's eyes, wonder and joy written on her face. "You believe in me! You – you believe in me!"

Laurel looked extremely confused by this statement. "Of course I-" she broke off when she realized the connotations of that statement and began to look like a kid at Christmas again. "Are you a Guardian?!"

Melody began to look uncomfortable. "You… could say that." At Laurel's silent confusion, Melody elaborated, "I'm Melody, the spirit of music. I've been chosen as a Guardian, but I have not yet taken oath. I just don't think I'm ready. I haven't really been a spirit for very long. You're the first person to believe in me, and I can't even begin to describe how much that means to me."

"You should take oath as soon as possible."

Laurel's quiet statement seemed to be as loud as cannon fire in the room. And she wasn't done yet, either. "I mean it. As soon as we're done talking, you need to go back to the Guardians and tell them that you're ready to take your oath. If you won't do it for yourself, at least do it for my sake."

Melody had been looking down during Laurel's statement, and she remained silent for a while. "You know what, Laurel?" she began, and then she looked up, her eyes shining with tears. "I will. I really will!" She gave a small laugh, but it was slightly choked by a sob. "I had a feeling you would want me to take oath as soon as possible, but I really, truly, and honestly will take oath as soon as we're done here."

"Why did you have that feeling?" Laurel asked, out of polite curiosity.

"I… met your sister, when she died."

"So you do know Aria?" Laurel asked, excited.

Melody decided to draw her sister along for a while before revealing the truth. "Yes. I happened to be in area when those men murdered her. The Guardians are actually looking for those men right now, since they're agents of Pitch Black. Anyway, before she left, Aria and I had a good, long talk. She told me to make sure you were safe no matter what – Oh! And she also wanted me to give something to you."

Melody got up and crossed over to her old jewelry box. She opened it and began searching for the one item that could truly connect her with Laurel no matter the distance, praying that the men hadn't stolen it before they made their escape that night.

Laurel looked worried about having a stranger going through her older sister's jewelry. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Don't worry, little one." Melody smiled, turning to Laurel. "Aria asked me to do this."

Laurel had stiffened. "I don't allow anyone to call me 'little one' anymore. Not since Aria was murdered."

Melody sobered at that. "I'm sorry. I didn't know." She turned back to the jewelry box and nearly screamed her thanks to the moon when she finally saw the treble clef necklace that she had been looking for. She pulled it out and offered it to Laurel.

Laurel backed away in shock. "But that was Aria's favorite necklace; it was the only one that she never let me wear."

"It's because it was her favorite necklace that she wants you to have it now." Melody explained, continuing to hold out the necklace. "But there's one thing that I need to do personally." The hand holding the treble clef symbol glowed and soon, the necklace glowed too. A song sounded in the air, and Melody vocalized along with it. The glow brightened as the music spirit held the final note, and then faded quickly.

As Melody fastened the necklace around Laurel's neck, she explained, "I've just put some of my essence into this necklace. If you ever need me, rub the necklace, and I'll hear your call and come to help. But please remember, I'm not a genie. Only rub the necklace in times of dire need."

Laurel looked at the treble clef now hanging around her neck and nodded solemnly. "I promise."

Mortal and spirit smiled at each other and then Laurel rushed forward and hugged Melody. "It's weird." She whispered. "I only just met you, but I know that I can trust you with my life; and not just because of the fact that you're a Guardian. I feel like I've known you my entire life."

Melody didn't answer, but, after taking a moment to get over her shock at finally being tangible, she wrapped her arms around her sister. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to confess that she was Aria to Laurel, but she knew how she wanted to prove it to her sister, and now, unfortunately, was not the right time. "Maybe because I know your sister?"

"No, that's not it." Laurel explained, with bewilderment in her voice. "It's like – oh I can't explain it, but you just seem so familiar, even though I know I've never seen you before."

"That's not entirely true, Laurel." Melody thought. "You just have never seen me in this form before." But, of course, she couldn't say that to Laurel, at least not just yet. So she had to content herself with holding Laurel even tighter. "Come on." She whispered to the shaking mortal. "Your adopted family is probably worried about you. Let's get you back."

Melody walked next to Laurel during the entire walk back to the Matkins' house. "Listen to your foster siblings." Melody encouraged. "If you're losing your faith in the Guardians, Annabelle and Carter can help you regain it. I won't be able to help you if you can't see me."

Laurel looked stunned. "How do you know the names of the Matkin children? And besides, I never mentioned that I'm losing my belief in the Guardians, at least, not to you."

"I was there in the graveyard." Melody confessed. "I heard you telling Aria that the Matkins had taken you in; that Annabelle and Carter still believe in the Guardians, and you're thankful for that because your faith is starting to waver after your sister's death." When Laurel looked astounded, Melody quickly said, "Remember that you thought you heard a violin and harp playing 'River Flows in You'? That was me playing that song. I was there the entire time."

Laurel looked slightly miffed that the music spirit had listened in to a private conversation, but she was also relieved to know where the music had come from. "Even though I feel like I should be furious at you for eavesdropping on my talk with my sister's ghost, I really need to thank you. I really needed to hear a song like that."

"You're welcome." Melody smiled.

For the rest of the walk, Melody and Laurel talked about trivial things, such as Laurel's previous dog, Alkabink; which types of music Laurel liked listening to; how Laurel was using her summer vacation. It took the entire walk for Laurel to finish talking. She had felt that Melody was hiding something, so Laurel hid the fact that she had started in Tai Kwon Do and fencing the very next day after Aria's funeral.

Melody stopped at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the Matkins' front porch. Laurel stopped at the top of the steps. "Are you going to come in?" she asked.

Melody shrugged. "I could if you really wanted me to." She explained. "I was here earlier and I blessed this house. It's going to be extremely hard for any spirit to enter, unless we're given permission, and evil spirits, such as Pitch Black, can't enter at all. Me, I would have no problem entering since I was the one who put up this barrier. However, I don't think I should go in, at least not just yet. Those men who murdered your sister are still out there. And besides…" she turned away, but looked back after a few steps, "I've got an oath to take."

Laurel smiled and went back inside, disappearing from Melody's sight. Melody waited for a few moments, and then she began laughing with relief. "She believes in me!" the music sprite yelled in joy, raising her hands to the sky in celebration. "She believes in me!"

The sleeves of her dress had fallen down to her shoulders when her arms were first raised, and when Melody returned her arms to her proper positions, she gasped at the glimpse she got before the sleeves fell back down. Just to be sure, she drew back her sleeve and took another look. The smile already on her face grew even wider when she saw that the angry purple bruises had faded to a sickly yellow color. It wasn't much of a change, but it was enough to make her happy.

She willed her guitar to change back into a violin, and her bow reappeared at her side. She began playing "Transcendence" with much more fervor than she had ever played it before. She didn't stop until she reached the North Pole.

"What are you doing here, Melody?" North asked. "What's wrong?"

"Did something happen to Laurel?" Tooth asked, noticing the young spirit's tears.

"Yes." Melody admitted, confusing the other Guardians with her smile. "And, North," Melody continued, turning to the Guardian of Wonder, "The question you should be asking is 'What's right'." She drew back her sleeve and showed them the state of her bruises. "They've faded, see!" Melody exclaimed, without really giving them a chance to truly notice.

Sandy formed a question mark above his head, asking how they could have faded that much in that short a time.

"Because of Laurel." Melody explained, her eyes shining with happy tears. She looked each of her fellow Guardians in the eye before declaring, "She believes in me!"

Tooth let out an excited squeal and North gave Melody another one of his bear hugs, but this time, she didn't squirm away. However, as soon as the jolly Guardian of Wonder had released her, she was immediately caught up in another hug, this one from Jack, him having gotten over his fear of her when she explained her transformation.

"So, how does it feel to be believed in?" he asked her, and she could hear the smile that he was wearing, even if she hadn't seen it moments before being embraced by North.

"I can't even begin to describe it." She whispered back, happily. "And it's even better knowing that my sister is the first person to believe in me."

After a while, all the Guardians had taken their turn congratulating Melody, North once again turned to the big question: "The agents?"

"I think I saw them last night, but they vanished before I could really get a good look." Melody reported. "It's a safe bet that they're probably still out-" She broke off as she felt a tugging feeling in her soul; a cry for help. She looked back at the Guardians, all joy wiped from her face and replaced with utter horror. "They've found Laurel." She gasped. "We need to get there… now."

A/N: Thank you for reading. Hope you liked this chappy. And please remember: Reviews are love!