Chapter Five- Alone
It had taken forever to sort the sleigh out. Not only was it stuck in a snow drift, but several pesky branches had stubbornly lodged themselves into the ground and around the sleigh. Added to that Jack couldn't ask the wind to help without his staff, and the only person who could was Adrianne. But nobody wanted to wake the sleeping spirit girl.
Bunny couldn't help but be alarmed at the girl's pale and cold skin, even if Jack had reassured them that she was of winter. She curled up as she slept, snuggling further into the snow and bunching it between her fists. Where she laid her hands intricate frost patterns adorned the snow.
Typically it was only after the heavy work was finished that she stirred. Jack was at her side in an instant, having watched over her while she slept. He beamed as she blinked open her eyes and groggily pushed herself up.
"Where am I?" Jack grinned at her sheepishly. "We uh sort of crash landed."
"Yeah, now thanks to North and that bloody sleigh, my paws are frozen."
"Who's Nor- oh no wait- He's Santa isn't he? And you're the..." She struggled, trying to clutch onto a long forgotten memory. "The Easter bunny. Yes!" Bunny gave a small smile in being recognized- in truth he was delighted. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree as she flitted around, her feet only just skimming the ground. The Pooka gave Jack a cautionary look after spying him watching Adrianne play with the wind with barely concealed sorrow and a pinch of jealosy. "You're the tooth fairy! And you're the sandman." They both grinned at her. "Thank you. You sent me some really nice dreams." Sandy made a little bow in acknowledgement.
...
How he missed the wind! The whispers that brushed his skin, lifted his spirit and spoke into his mind, telling him that he would never be alone, and the wind would always be his friend. The wind was a good friend. It had got Jack out of more fixes than he could remember and was always ready to play. The wind was never busy. The wind never got mad at him, and he never got mad at he wind. It was company when he was alone, and made him laugh when all he wanted to do was cry. He loved the wind. And he felt bereft without it.
The wind and him were very similar. Both roamed where they pleased and could not be held in one place for long. Both had no-one other but each other for company.
Jack jumped as he felt Adrianne's hand slip into his, and they rose into the air, their feet hovering above the ground. He smiled at her thoughtfulness.
As usual Bunny interrupted.
"Hey frostbite?" Jack and Adrianne's heads turned towards the sound. "Yes?" they answered in unison, before sharing a mischievous look. Jack saw Bunny comically baulk as the thought of two tricksters took hold.
"You." He pointed at Adrianne. "Me?" She repeated, pretending to be surprised. She dangled the bait, and Jack leapt for it. "No Ree, I think he wants me." He said in a mock serious tone, frowning with the parody of concern. Adrianne raised her eyebrows slightly at the impromptu nickname.
"No, actually mate, I do want her." Bunny interrupted, already exasperated." Jack followed his gaze to Tooth who was behind them, silently sniggering at the pairs antics.
"Oh her!"
"N-"
"Tooth! Bunny wants to ask you something." Tooth smiled weakly and raised her head before dissolving into another fit of silent giggles as Bunny stamped his foot childishly before realizing what he had done, and angered further.
Beside him Jack felt Adrianne relax, and she rolled her eyes.
"What is it Bunny?" Bunny let out a poof of air, relieved that he was talking to the right person.
"Frosty here said that you could set fire to stuff. Could you light a fire, because my feet are bloody freezing?!"
"Sure. But you'll have to gather the branches." She gestured to herself, a movement that also lowered her and Jack to the ground. Jack pouted- he was having fun! All he wanted to do was fly high into the sky, but that would have to wait.
"I'll only freeze them." Bunnymund nodded and set out to find some firewood. When he brought them too her however, she was not able to light them, as she had before.
"I-I don't understand! I was able to do this really well when fighting by the lake, and I knew exactly how to do it."
Bunny walked off, all hopes of warm feet gone until they reached the pole. Adrianne looked at her hands and then at Jack, who shrugged. But try as she might she could not get the flames to form.
...
By the time they had actually reached the pole it was an hour past dawn. It had been calming, Adrianne decided, not alarming when the beautiful colors streaked across the sky. But when they reached Santoff Clausen, she was spell bound. The settlement seem to grow from the snow, the wooden buildings placed precariously on the mountains edge. Merry little streams of smoke trickled out of the multiple chimneys and brushed past them as they began their descent, bringing with them the smell of spices, cinnamon, gingerbread and a lot of cookies. It smelt wonderful. The thing that really caught her attention was the huge gleaming gold dome with the spire perched on top.
The sleigh came to a bumpy stop, and no sooner than Adrianne stepped out of the sleigh she collapsed head first into the snow, her body so exhausted that it was unable to support her weight. Allowing Jack to use her as a conduit was tiring, but the adrenaline of the moment allowed her to get through it. But now, after sitting still in the sleigh, there was nothing to stop the nights work from catching up to her.
"She's used too much energy tonight." She heard Jack mutter. She heard the fast bating of Tooth's wings and knew it was her who had scooped Adrianne up. She was vaguely conscious when she felt soft circles being rubbed into her temples. As they moved into a warmer area which was obviously North's home she felt that she should thank him, but couldn't find the energy to open her mouth.
...
Jack had finally finished relating the whole story to them, the girl who had died earlier in the day, Pitch turning up, her 'birth' and the fight. The guardians (minus Tooth, who was with Adrianne) stared at him awestruck.
"She used herself... as a conduit?"Bunny asked hoarsely.
"Yeah." Jack wasn't entirely sure why they were making such a big deal about it. Sandy threw up some images.
No wonder she's tired, it should have killed her, doing that for so long.
"What?!" Jack couldn't grasp it- using her as a conduit had worked almost as well as his staff had.
"Spirits with broken or missing conduits have tried it, but never succeeded, or pulled through alive." North explained.
"Wow." And for once, the white haired spirit was speechless. Not for long though. "She wasn't even tired."
"The adrenaline must of helped though mate." Bunny pointed out.
Sandy once again gave his silent input. Still shouldn't be possible to do it for that long.
"And there's something else." Jack began worriedly. "When she was fighting, she could shoot fire, but later in the woods she could not. Oh and has anyone told her that she's a guardian yet?"
...
"Who are you all Tooth?" Adrianne muttered through the thick haze.
"You know who we are." Adrianne shook her head almost imperceptibly.
"No I mean, who are you together?"
"We're the guardians sweetie." Tooth said, stroking Adrianne's hair as she laid her on the bed of the guest bedroom.
"What do guardians do?" She sat up, suddenly far more attentive.
"We protect the children of the world. You're one of us now." Tooth smiled, resting her hand on Adrianne's shoulder.
"Because I helped Jack?" She inquired, curious. Tooth shook her head, laying her down again.
"You were chosen, by the Man in the moon. All we can do is make it official."
"Oh. It's a bit soon isn't it?" Adrianne was unwittingly straying into dangerous waters.
"I suppose so." Tooth replied hurriedly, a little flustered. Adrianne picked up on the change, and narrowed her eyes slightly.
"How old was Jack when he was chosen?" Tooth squirmed uncomfortably as Adrianne rose slowly. She looked menacing, alert and sceptical.
"300 years old." Came the timid reply, barely audible. Adrianne clenched her fists.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" She prompted, her voice dripping with danger.
Thank goodness Pitch didn't get his hands into this one, Tooth thought as she trembled. Her, a fully fledged guardian trembling in the face of a child. A child who was very dangerous, and very angry. Tooth cleared her throat.
"300 years old."
"And all of you had nothing to do with him until then." The silence told her all she needed to know. "Who did he have?" Adrianne asked, not wanting the answer. Tooth gulped, and decided on the truth.
"Nobody."
Adrianne closed her eyes, and took several deep theraputic breaths. Then, in a scarily calm way, she opened the door and left the room, visibly shaking. Tooth was frozen to the spot (not literally), unable to move.
But Adrianne didn't care about the distress she'd caused the fairy. How dare they leave him alone for 300 years, and then pretended they protected children? It was unthinkable. Adrianne could feel the anger and energy build beneath her skin, and knew she needed to get away before she caused too much damage. But the quickest way out was the large window in the room where the other guardians were conversing...
"Adrianne?" She ignored North and carried on walking towards the window, mantaining a bubble of calm.
"Frostbite?" The australian's voice almost popped her bubble, but she kept going, almost there...
"Ree?"
It popped.
"YOU LEFT HIM ALONE FOR 300 YEARS!" The other guardians were flung back by the power of her yell, the room temperature dropping rapidly. The guardians were shocked, and speechless, staring at her with their mouths open. Except for Jack who just looked at the ground.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT LONLINESS DOES TO A PERSON?" Tears were flowing down all the faces in the room now, and the blizzard forming outside was rattling the window panes. Nobody was sure if it was Adrianne, or Jack or both.
Adrianne shook with fury.
"You are immortals, and you protect the children of the world." She closed her eyes breifly, and opened the window. A huge pile of snow blew in, and landed on Bunny's feet. Adrianne didn't care. She continued in a broken voice, laced with sadness. Compared to the roar she had first let out, this was softer, almost a whisper.
"But you didn't protect your own."
And with that, she lept out of the window, letting the wind take her to who knows where.
Well actually, I know where, but you'll find out later! Thank for the lovely reveiws I've had, and I hope for more! Sorry if the chapters are getting longer and longer...