Hello everyone! Here's chapter six! Please enjoy and review.
The Guardians (and Joy), lined up outside facing towering peaks of ice. Jack was sketching something in the snow with his staff. He touched down on the ground and got a look of concentration on his face. From the snow a dog sled with 8 huskies came to life. The dogs seemed just as excited as the reindeer prancing next to them.
"You've been practicing," North said. Jack smiled, proud with his creation.
"Your turn, Joy," Jack said. Joy smiled, excitement lighting up her whole face. She reached into her pouch and pulled out a large handful if sugar. She flung it into the air and the others watched in surprise as a pure white stallion formed out of it. Joy hopped on, obviously at ease with the large horse. She giggled quietly.
"Sandy taught me," she explained. The Sandman gave her a thumbs up.
"Good. We're all ready. On your mark, Phil," North said. The yeti lifted up a large checkered flag and waved it enthusiastically. They were all off, North taking the lead with Bunny and Jack hot on his tail.
Joy was having the time of her life, the wind ripping at her hair, her long braids flying behind her. She quickly passed Tooth and was gaining on Jack. He threw a snowball behind him that hit her horse in the chest. Her steed faltered for a moment, but the snow quickly mixed with the sugar making the horse go even faster than before. Jack laughed and sped his hounds on faster.
"Come on wind! Take me home!"
"Not today Frost!" Joy yelled back at him.
"You both have to catch me first!" North called. He too was having the time of his life. Bunny only made time for a derisive snort, putting the rest of his efforts towards winning. He couldn't wait to wipe that smirk off of the little imp's face.
The group raced toward the ice caves growing nearer with each bound. They all sped inside being mindful of the slippery floor and the frightening chasms. One of the challenges of these caves though was that they branched off in all directions and no single one led to the outside. Rather quickly, the Guardians lost sight of each other. Occasionally they caught a glimpse of someone through a thin wall, but mostly it was dead silent.
Joy's horse galloped through the cold passageways, looking for the quickest way out. Eventually though they came to a dead end.
Shoot, she thought and began to turn around, but her path was blocked suddenly by a storming cyclone of... darkness. Black sand swirled around and licked at the walls, threatening to make the cave collapse. Joy had heard tale of Pitch- everyone had- but seeing something like this, face to face, was simply terrifying.
As quickly as the cyclone had start, it whipped away, leaving a tall, well-built boy standing there. He had light brown hair with streaks of black in it and looked to be about 18. His clothes were old and he looked bedraggled and tired. He looked up at Joy and smiled faintly, but sadly. His eyes though, his eyes were what really caught her attention. Deep green, but filled with so much sadness. And because she was empathic she could literally feel the misery and loneliness flowing from this person.
"Hello," she said uncertainly. "Are you alright?" He shrugged.
"Not really. Doesn't matter though," he said. She could almost sense... amusement in his voice.
"Why not? I'm sure I can help." Now he really did sound amused.
"You always used to say that," he said. Then his voice grew angry. "You always thought you could fix everything with just some kind words, a hug, and some sugar." The amusement was gone and now he sounded sudden change in emotions was like a punch to the gut and Joy had to step back.
"What do you mean?" she asked carefully. He laughed and that was what really scared her. No joy in it at all; it was filled with fake happiness like he was trying to have the time of his life, but really just wanted to curl up and cry.
"Oh, if only you knew," he said and then sobered up. "Pitch has it out for you Joy, and the Frost boy too. And guess what?" He pointed to himself and leaned in as if it were a secret. "I'm his new weapon." The cyclone began to whip up again and envelop the boy, who was smiling.
"It was great seeing you Joy!" Joy's horse reared, nearly dumping her off. Not really knowing why and only wanting to help, Joy threw some sugar into the growing twister.
"What's your name?" she called. Then the tornado stopped. It was too late and the boy was gone.
The sun was setting by the time Joy found her way out. It was obvious she had lost the race, but she didn't care. She was preoccupied with boy she had seen. Looking back on it she swore he looked familiar. Where had she seen him before?
"Joy!" She looked up and saw Jack hovering there. He flew down and landed beside her. "There you are! I've be- uh, I mean we've been worried sick!" Joy smiled at what he'd almost said. It disappeared quickly though as she thought of the boy in the caves.
"Sorry. I got lost in the caves. Who won?" He looked at her skeptically.
"Are you sure you're alright?" She laughed, trying to ease his worry.
"I'm fine, Jack. Honestly. Come on, they're probably waiting for us." They flew back to the pole, revelling in the cold evening air and flurries of snow.
"There they are!" North shouted. The two teenagers landed on the balcony in front of him. "Come in, come in! It's time for presents now." North led them back to he living room where the rest of the Guardians were gathered.
"For the record, Sandy won." Bunnymund said grumpishly.
"There you are Joy! Where have you been?" Tooth asked. Joy related to them how she had gotten lost, but left out the part with the boy. It was Christmas and she didn't want to ruin it.
"Well I'm glad you're alright." Toothiana replied. Baby Tooth squeaked an agreement. During this exchange, North had stood up and started handing out packages of various sizes, his eyes gleaming like a two-year-old's.
"What are you waiting for? Open them! Open them!" he shouted. No one protested. This was Santa's holiday after all. The floor was soon covered in a sea of wrapping paper and ribbons and bows.
"No way," Jack said, his voice rising above the others. Everyone turned to look at him. In his hand he held a staff, just like his own, but made out of candy cane.
"No way!" Jack jumped up and tapped the wall with his new staff. Frost shot from the end of it, covering part of the wall in a beautiful star design. Joy got up to look closer. Something looked different about this frost… She wiped some of it away with her finger and then stuck it in her mouth.
"It's sugar!" she cried, pleasantly surprised. Soon everyone was trying some and North was looking extremely pleased with himself.
"What did you get, Joy?" Jack asked. Joy finished unwrapping hers and then opened the box. Her jaw dropped open. Jack leaned over her shoulder to get a better look.
"Shoes," he said, almost sounding disappointed. They were bright yellow converse with white laces. Joy pulled them out and put them on excitedly. They fit her perfectly! She stood up and was amazed to see them start to change colors; yellow, to pink, to purple and back. The others were amazed, except for North who started laughing.
"So, how do you like them?" he asked eagerly. Joy was lost for words.
"I love them! Where did you find them?"
"Find them?! I made them! They change colors with your mood, in case you were wondering." Joy looked down at them and saw they were glowing a bright yellow. She gave North a hug.
"Thank you." He patted her back.
"The pleasure's all mine. Now, what else did everyone get?" They went around showing off their gifts. Tooth had gotten a beautiful necklace from North, an intricately carved wooden box from Jack, and some (sugar free) candy floss from Joy. Bunny had gotten a fancy new boomerang from North and a small, kangaroo punching action figure from Joy. North had gotten a new hat from Joy, some large chocolate eggs from Bunny, and his teeth from Tooth. Sandy had also given everyone a small bag of sand, good for one perfect dream. Joy had gotten him a pillow and Jack had some cartoon drawings from Jamie for him. Everyone was tired now and no one really wanted to clean up, so they sat around and talked or played with their new things. Jack came over and sat by Joy. He handed her a package.
"This is for you," he said kind of shyly. She took it and handed him one back.
"And this one's for you." They opened them at the same time and both pairs of eyes grew wide. Joy held a beautiful cream colored jacket. It was soft and the inside was fuzzy. She put her hand to her mouth.
"Oh, Jack!" She threw her arms around him and gave him a big hug, which he returned.
He pulled back to look at his gift. It was a digital camera and a pair of fingerless blue gloves.
"This is perfect! Where'd you get it?"
"A lot of friends chipped in, Jamie included." She looked aroudn at them all. "In fact all of these gifts came from children. I didn't pick them out." Everyone turned to look at her when she said this. "I asked some of my friends from around the world what would be good gifts for you, and they supplied them. I hope you like them."
"They're perfect, Joy," Tooth said. "Here. These are for you too. Maybe they can help you get your memories back." She handed Joy a glittering half cylinder with her picture on the end. Joy smiled.
"Thanks." This had been the best Christmas ever.
But it wasn't over yet. As things quieted down and the Guardians started to head off to bed, Jack approached Joy who was sitting on the couch looking at the small set of teeth, not entirely sure if she wanted to open them or not.
"Come on. I have something I want to show you." Joy looked up at him and then set the box on the couch. She'd worry about that later. Jack grabbed her hand and pulled her through the workshop, running and flying, until they came to the top of a very steep staircase. At the top there was an intricately carved door made of ice. Jack pushed it open and stepped outside on to a large balcony. Joy was glad she had grabbed her new jacket before she came up here. It was freezing! They stepped into the cold night air and looked up. A half moon shone near the top of the sky. Millions of stars glittered around it. But the greatest thing was the aurora borealis. Pink and green and yellow and every color in between swirled through the night air, like scarves billowing in the wind.
"It's beautiful." Joy had never been this far north before and it was her first time seeing the lights. While Joy marvelled at the beauty of it all, Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out an iPod that Jamie had given him for his birthday. He extended an ear bud to Joy. She took it carefully and stuck it in her ear. A soft waltz began to play. Jack extended his hand with a smile.
"Shall we?" Joy smiled back and took his hand.
"Of course." They started to dance on the balcony. Joy kept looking at her feet to make sure she didn't mess up. Jack tapped her chin with his fingers.
"My eyes are up here you know." Joy blushed and a tiny smile played on her lips. Joy stopped looking at her feet and enjoyed the moment. Jack was a surprisingly good dancer and led well. The waltz ended and another one started. Soon they grew tired of dancing on the balcony and flew up a little ways. Before they knew it they were in the middle of the lights. Neither had any idea how long they were up there, turning and twirling under the stars. Long after the songs ended they kept going, dipping and spinning and not really dancing the conventional waltz anymore. They laughed and they talked through the night, even as the stars started to burn out and the lights began to fade. Joy wound up back in Jack's arms and they just stood there swaying for a while.
"Jack?" Joy said. He looked down at her.
"Thanks," she said. He smiled.
"No problem."
"I have one more gift for you though. Close your eyes." He looked a little surprised and wary, but he closed his eyes. Joy leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips. His eyes flew open, but he didn't pull back. In fact, he leaned forward and kissed her right back.
:D I'm really happy with how I ended this chapter. What did you guys think? Please review and if you have any editing tips for the dance scene, those would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!