The five Guardians stood silently around the bed where the sleeping girl tossed and turned. Despite Sandy's best efforts, the girl seemed to be having nothing but nightmares. It worried them all. They all wanted answers, but none of them were sure about what sort of answers they would receive. Sandy tried again to turn the dark nightmare to a happy dream. A girl chased a kite laughing. But soon enough, the sand turned dark and it was Pitch chasing the girl. Sandy blew sand from his ears in frustration.
Now that he finally had a moment to look the girl over adequately, Jack found himself unable to look away from the beautiful thing. Her hair was a lovely brown, that had flushed gold once they had gotten her out of the shadows. The sun had cast the lovely highlights that must have been acquired from years spent in the sun. The slight freckles on her cheeks and nose confirmed his suspicion that she had in fact been brought to the lair from the world above. Despite the adorable freckles, her skin was nearly as pale as Jack's, save for the bruises and cuts that marred her skin. Once again the winter spirit wondered how long she was kept in darkness.
Tooth was trying to keep back tears as she watched Sandy desperately keep the girl in a good dream. How long had Pitch tortured the girl to make it so that there was no subject that would yield a happy response in her mind? She noticed the way the girl would clench her hands, and every now and then would bite her chapped lips. She was still absolutely aghast at the state the girl had been reduced to.
"I wonder what her name is?" Jack whispered, catching everyone off guard. No one had spoken since they had returned to the North Pole. They'd been watching quietly while the girl slept almost an hour now, and no words had been said. She was amazing yet heartbreaking at the same time. No one knew what to say. Bunny looked from the girl to Jack then back to the girl.
"Did she say anything to ya when ya found her?"
"Just asked us for help." Tooth asked, her voice cracking.
"Why would Pitch keep girl locked up?" North wondered aloud. "And how long has girl suffered?" He added when no one answered. But still not one could respond to his question. No one knew, and no one wanted to be the one who woke the girl to ask.
Suddenly though none of them had to be the one. The girl shot up, jolted by the ending of yet another dream turned nightmare. She looked around, very confused, at the five curious faces surrounding her. Obviously whatever she'd been through had left such an impression on her that she didn't even trust people who showed her kindness. She brought her knees to her chest and tried to be small.
"It's okay, we're your friends." Tooth said comfortingly.
"Don't worry, Pitch isn't here." Bunny added. The girl flinched at his name, but noticeably relaxed at the assurance that her tormentor wasn't present. The girl simply stared back at them, the way they were staring at her. Curious, but hesitant to ask anything. Finally Jack stepped up, taking a seat next to her. She looked wary of him, but did not recline away.
"What's your name?" he asked her. She looked confused. "Do you...have a name?" Both Tooth and Bunny gave him a look, and North playfully smacked him over the head.
"Of course she'd got a name." Bunny rolled his eyes. They all looked back at the girl, but she seemed equally as curious to learn about this name of hers.
"Name?" she asked quietly. Jack felt a shiver go down his spine at that voice. Haunted by pain and fear, but still beautiful.
"Ya. You know, my name is Bunny. That's Sandy, Tooth, North, and that little show pony is Jack Frost." Bunny made the introductions, then they all looked at her for her name. She shrugged.
"Pitch called me Little One sometimes." She offered. They all flinched.
"But...don't you remember what you were called before Pitch?" Tooth asked. The girl crinkled her eyebrows.
"Before Pitch? I don't remember before Pitch." They all recoiled.
"But that's impossible. At most he's kept you there for three years. Before that I would have been able to find you the first time I went to his lair." Jack protested.
"682 days." She said simply. No one knew what to make of it. She gently pulled up the sleeve of the dress to reveal hundreds of tiny black lines, seemingly made from a charcoal stick. "I made one for every morning. Sometimes I wasn't sure if it was morning or not, but Pitch was always happy to tell me how long I had been his prisoner." She explained quietly, running her finger over a group of the lines. They all smudged together. "Eventually it started to blend. Morning and night, entire months faded into one. But I made a mark every morning." Tooth couldn't contain herself anymore. She ran from the room sobbing. North too looked severely disturbed, but he held himself together.
"Two years? He kept you captive two years." Bunny growled. The girl flinched at the ferocity in his tone. He sounded angry with her. "I'm gunna kill him." Bunny continued.
"Calm down Bunny." North hissed with a concerned look at the girl.
"So you don't remember anything before his lair?" Jack demanded, still amazed at how it could be.
"Sometimes, when he let me sleep without nightmares, I could hear a song. I think it was my mother, but that's all I ever remembered about her." She whispered.
"He's gunna pay for this." Bunny insisted.
"North." Jack finally got tired of the pookah upsetting the girl. North nodded and pulled Bunny out of the room, shutting the door in his face. Bunny vented a little to the closed door, but then left to find Tooth. "I'm sorry about Bunny. He has anger issues when it comes to Pitch." Jack sighed. She shrugged, evidently she didn't blame him for hating Pitch.
"I don't want to go back to Pitch." The girl suddenly started sobbing.
"Sweetheart, we're not going to let him anywhere near you!" North shook his head. The girl too shook her head.
"Pitch knew you would come looking in his lair. He told me so. But he also seemed sure that I would only escape him for a little while. He assured me it was only temporary." She started all out crying at this point, terrified at the prospect of returning to her little prison. Sandy could feel the dear radiating off the poor thing, and it made him wary. If she kept up with such a violent fit, Pitch was sure to be drawn to her suffering. He wouldn't be able to keep himself away. So he gently put a reassuring hand on the girls shoulder, and she immediately ceased her crying. A sudden peace settled over her, but the underlying fear was still there.
"We're not going to let anything happen to you. I promise." Jack agreed with North, putting a hand on the girls shoulder. She calmed down the rest of the way and looked between the remaining three Guardians.
"I...I want a name." She decided suddenly. They looked between each other, trying to think of what to say. Finally Jack spoke up.
"You have a name. You just don't remember it." He shook his head sadly.
"If I don't remember it, is it really mine?" They all kinda shrugged at this. "Can...can you give me a name. Until I remember my own?" She asked softly. They all looked at each other for a moment. Then, North smiled.
"I bet Man in Moon would know!" he walked happily to the window to the room, flung it open, and looked up at the full moon with glee. "Manny!" He shouted happily at the moon. He stepped back allowing a moonbeam to fall into the room.
They all waited, the girl thinking that they were acting somewhat absurd, for the Man in the Moon to reply. To her great amazement, the stretch of moonlight moved across the floor, forming a persons shadow on the opposite wall. She simply gaped as her nodded to each of them. Then, using some sort of magic, the mans shadow wrote a single name on the wall and slunk back out of the room. The name was still shining white and silver on the wall.
Larrin.
Sandy wandered off to get Bunny and Tooth while Jack and North stayed with Larrin. She was starting to feel better already. She felt more safe and warm. She liked the cheery way North spoke, and the cute way Jack's eyes would sparkle. Soon enough she felt comfortable with them. She was even willing to rest.
They left her alone and after a quick paper airplane of golden sand from Sandy, she fell asleep. Little did she know what would await her in her slumber.