Chapter 5

(Rapunzel's POV)

I felt my eyes bulge. JACK GUARDIAN FROST.

Wow. I kind of like the name. It sounds so….. cool.

We broke apart from our trance and walked to Jack in a daze. We found him slouched on the floor with a book lying on his lap. His eyes were wide as if in shock and he just stared ahead. He looked so scared and confused we decided to break it to him slowly. We were whispering to each other as we looked at him.

As we neared him, he broke from his daydream and looked at us with his eyes both a mixture of confusion and fear.

"Did you notice anything different?" He asked us as each of us took a spot across him.

"What do you mean?" I asked him. "Is there something out of place?"

"Think back," Jack said. "Since science class…."

"Hmm.." Hiccup replied. "Well, we went to science class, went out, met Astrid, and then went for ice cream."

"Exactly. We went for ice cream." Jack said and then turned to me. "And what did we have for lunch?"

"We had burgers and-" I stopped. He was right. I remember going to Dairy Queen for ice cream, and it was morning. How did it get to lunch time? I looked around at my friends and saw their faces light up with realization. Plus, Dairy Queen does not have ice cream.

"You're right," Merida spoke. "We only had science class and it only took about an hour."

Jack nodded. "There's something going on here. Someone did this." He got up and started pacing. "Someone wants this-intended for this to happen. Someone switched the time and place, but what for? And Who?" He stopped and looked at us. "Did you guys find something?"

We looked at each other. I took a deep breath and turned to Jack.

"Jack," I asked. "Is your full name Jack Guardian Frost?"

He turned to me, frowning. "Yes. Yes it-" he stopped abruptly as his handsome face dawned with realization. "Wait," He frowned again. "you don't really think that I have the staff, do you?"

Hiccup stood up and walked to his friend. "Do you have any sort of staff at home?" he asked Jack. "Anything at all? Any sticks or something?"

Jack shook his head. "Nothing."

Suddenly, something popped in my mind. "Let's go to your house, Jack. Are your parents home?"

Jack tilted his head to one side, thinking. "Well, my mom is home, but not my Dad."

Merida looked at me and I knew that she knew what we were going to do.

Merida stood up, seeming satisfied. "Perfect," she said, smiling. "Let's go."

(Jack's POV)

We drove in silence. The girls sat on the back seat of my car and Hiccup was on my right side. The girls had left their car at Merida's house and we drove in my car. It was too much trouble taking two cars. As we got in and started our drive, I was surprised to see both girls so calm in the back seat. Many of the girls I've met would have squealed in delight because of the low rumbling of the car or the plush cushions. But then again they aren't like most girls I've met. Just when I was about to ask, Hiccup spoke.

"So, uh, I noticed this isn't the first time for you girls to ride in a car this good?" he asked them.

"No, not really," Rapunzel replied. "Merida's car is similar to this so it's not a first time." I looked at the rear view mirror to catch her beautiful smile. Merida was silent most of the time. Hiccup, Rapunzel and I chatted as we wound through the narrow road outside of the small town.

"Where's your house located in?" Rapunzel asked me and I couldn't help smiling.

"We live out in the countryside." I replied.

"So is it, like, a farm?" Rapunzel asked, her green eyes wide.

Both Hiccup and I laughed. "You'll see."

In no time at all, we reached my house. Rapunzel's eyes widened and I couldn't help the pride growing in my chest.

"Wow," She said, breathless. "This isn't a house, it's a mansion!"

I laughed. "Alright, let's get in. My mom probably has the cookies ready."

The moment my parents moved here to America, they've been looking for the "perfect" house. They searched in town, but they weren't satisfied because it was too small, too dirty, or too "neighbor-y." That's not even a word. But what my parents want, they get. So they met with this Australian guy whose accent is probably fake. He said he was an architect and designed houses that were "perfect." He showed my parents the latest design and poof! Here it is. I'll describe it for you.

The mansion was four stories high. A lot of the walls are made of glass. When you enter through the giant glass doors, you will come across brown wooden floor with a table in the middle with flowers on it. It's sort of like the lobby in a hotel. The rest of the house was lined with carpet except for the kitchen, dining room, the bathrooms, and our indoor swimming pool. Everything in that mansion was modern. It's not like the old mansions you picture in your brains that's made of rocks. Every single design was modern.

Anyway, we parked right outside of my house and a young man walked towards us. I got out of the car and tossed him the keys. "Park it with the rest," I told him. "I won't need it. Bring out the Nissan." He nodded and got in to drive it away.

I looked at Merida. She looked like she's been visiting mansions every day. She probably lives in one. I smiled and shook my head. These two best friends are full of mysteries.

As we entered through the giant doors, my butler, Sandy, came and took our jackets. His golden hair was neatly combed, as usual. He wore jeans and a shirt, his casual look. He only wore his uniform when there are guests.

Wait, oops. I guess I didn't call to tell him.

"Hi, I'm Rapunzel." Rapunzel said, as she took her hand out for him to shake. Sandy politely took her hand in his and shook. Rapunzel waited expectantly and I almost laughed.

"Sandy doesn't talk," I explained.

"Then how does he talk to you?" Rapunzel asked.

"Most of the time he acts it out, sometimes he writes it."

"Writes it?"

Sandy pulled out the notebook he always carried with him and wrote; That's right!

"It's kind of hard for him because he is the Frosts' most loyal butler." Hiccup said.

Rapunzel's big eyes widened further. I can't help feeling her eyeballs were going to pop out any minute now.

"You have a butler?" She greatly emphasized the word 'butler'.

"Yeah, we do," I replied. "Sandy never talks, yet there's something about him that's golden." I said, winking at Sandy. He winked back, his golden eyes smiling.

We continued walking and met up with my Mom at her study room. Her study room was also covered in carpet and two leather sofas sat at the side of her cozy office. Her built in bookshelves didn't have a lot of books since she kept most her books inside her kindle. At the far end of the room was my Mom's desk. She sat behind it, typing on her Mac book computer. Her brown hair was tied up in a bun and loose strands hung around her Irish-like features. She wore fitting designer jeans and a green blouse. Her brown eyes were entirely focused on the computer when we walked in.

She raised her soft eyes towards us and smiled. "Hello, Jack. Welcome home, son." She gracefully stood up and came around her desk to hug me. I hugged her back.

"Hi," I replied. "Mom."

She pulled away and hugged Hiccup next. "You seem to have grown handsomer, Hiccup." She smiled up at him.

"I always do, Mrs. Frost." Hiccup replied, grinning.

Then she turned to the girls. "To whom do I have the honor of meeting beautiful girls like you?"

Rapunzel laughed and took her hand in hers. "I'm Rapunzel, a friend of Jack's"

My Mom raised her eyebrows and Rapunzel quickly added, "And Hiccup's. We just met today, uh, at school." She stammered, blushing.

My Mom nodded and then turned to Merida. "And you are?"

Merida smiled and shook her hand. "I'm Merida; I'm a friend of the three of them."

She gestured towards the three of us.

"Well it's great to meet you," She turned to me. "I didn't expect you to be home so early, though."

I checked my watch. "Oh wow. It's only eleven thirty in the morning," I looked at the others quizzically. They looked at me the same.

(Merida's POV)

Wow. But we just had lunch, right? It was twelve something when we had lunch. It took us two hours in the library, and about twenty minutes to drive to Jack's house. It should be about three in the afternoon by now. Ever since we met each other and found out about the email, things have gotten weird.

To answer the awkward look Jack's Mom was giving us, I replied for them. "We, um, are taking the rest of the week off because of this, uh, experiment we're doing."

"Oh." Mrs. Frost replied. "What is this experiment about?"

"Ummm…" I tried to sound casual. "It's about, uh.."

"Sticks," Rapunzel interrupted. "We are supposed to observe special kinds of sticks and try to figure out how old they are."

She's a good liar. She never lies but when she does, it's very convincing.

"So we were wondering if you have any sticks that are special." Hiccup asked nervously.

Mrs. Frost's expression quickly changed.

"What are you talking about?" Her voice sounded neutral. "I'm sure there are some sticks that you will be able to find at the backyard."

She looked away. "Why did you kids come here, anyway?" Her voice sounded far and distant. "Don't you have sticks in your neighborhoods?"

"The teacher said something about it being special, supposedly." I replied. "She said it was a certain kind of wood and it's not supposed to be any ordinary stick." I tried to keep my voice even, "Presumably a staff."

Mrs. Frost whipped her head to face us. "You kids know something, don't you?"

"Um… yes… we know something." Hiccup chuckled.

"Don't try joking with me, Hiccup. I know that you know what I mean." Mrs. Frost's voice was cold. "What do you know about the Guardians?"

"Not much," I answered truthfully. "But someone told us about the staff and that it belonged to a Guardian. And your maiden name is Guardian, right?"

Mrs. Frost paled. "He told you, didn't he?" her lips trembled. "I should have known Hiccup would do something like that."

Hiccup blinked, "Excuse me? Me?"

"Not you," she replied. "Your grandfather. You are Hiccup the third, yes? Your grandfather was Hiccup the first."

"Oh." Hiccup frowned.

"Is there something you're hiding from me, Mom?" Jack asked.

Mrs. Frost looked up at him. Even at five feet eight, she still looked small compared to Jack's six feet three build.

"We don't have much time," she said hastily, guiding us out the door and down the hall. "I'll explain once we've got the staff."

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked as we were hustled through the kitchen. "What do you mean we don't have much time?"

Mrs. Frost waved away her son's questions. "Right now, we have to hope that the staff will respond to Jack."

"What do you mean will respond to Jack?" Rapunzel asked. "It's just a staff."

We were lead to the fridge where Mrs. Frost pulled on a ketchup bottle and a door opened at the back of the fridge. My eyes widened. This adventure could be interesting.

"It's not just an ordinary staff," Mrs. Frost replied after a while of walking through dark passages. She finally stopped and pressed a brick on her side. It was pitch black by the way, and I kept bumping someone. The passage was narrow so we walked in a single file, with Jack behind me.

A door creaked open and we entered.

"Who on earth kept bumping me?" Hiccup grunted.

"I did," I replied and he looked at me. "Got a problem with that?"

He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Jack and Rapunzel's gasp.

I whipped my head back to look behind him and there, in the middle of this small and barren room, lay the staff.

One end of the staff was curved and the staff pretty much looked like trash to me.

"Where's the staff?" Hiccup asked.

I hit him in the back of the head. "It's right there you idiot."

"Ow!" He yelped, rubbing the back of his head. "Sometimes I wonder if you're a girl or an elephant with a brain the size of a peanut."

I glared at him and Mrs. Frost strode between us, breaking the argument. She slowly walked up to the staff and gently held it. Bits of spider webs clung to it and it was covered in dust. She walked back towards us and handed to Jack. Then the most amazing thing happened.

The moment it touched Jack's hand, it glowed blue. The temperature in the room quickly changed. It was freezing suddenly, yet there was also something warm that enveloped us.

"It responds to its true master, a Guardian." Mrs. Frost said, wonder in her eyes. "I haven't seen this glow since your father touched it, which was many, many years ago."

Jack's face was transfixed unto the staff. His eyes started to glow into something bright blue.

Mrs. Frost looked at his eyes and quickly gestured for us to come nearer. "Look at his eyes only when you have listened to my instructions," She said hastily. "Go to the Dragon's Keep and stay there for a few days. I will send someone after you soon. Then she turned to Jack, careful not to look in his eyes. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I will do everything I can to bring you back safe."

Then she turned to us. She had tears in her eyes. "Go," her voice broke and she sobbed. "look in his eyes and remember what I have told you!" we nodded and looked. His eyes were getting brighter and brighter. Then deep inside me I heard a voice that beckoned me closer. I realized it was the staff. We all inched closer and closer, mesmerized by Jack's eyes and the power of the staff. We reached forward and our fingers got closer and closer to the staff.

Our fingers finally made contact with the staff and suddenly everything went black.