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With the coming of full on morning, pancakes were made and passed around like presents at the banquet table. The sugar brought a vast amount of energy to me and I found myself yearning for activities. After, I was given a fresh set of clothes and a chance at a long shower. The long-sleeve white shirt was a bit long, reaching just past my knuckles, but the dark pants fit well. I was also given an olive zipper hoodie should I choose to venture outdoors. It wasn't heavy enough, but it would do for the stables, certainly! I tied the hoodie around my waist and felt almost like a real person again. I had yet to let go of my wolf.

Jack was quick to make good on his promise then and pulled me to the atrium to play games. It took quite a while for him to coax me into playing with things I didn't think I should. Baby Tooth flitted around Jack's ear, squeaking with delight whenever he concocted a game for her to play as well. Tooth watched from the floor above, joined by North and Sandy. I saw no sign of Bunny and tried not to feel disappointed that he didn't want to join in, too.

Laughter burst from me as Jack made something akin to a rollercoaster of ice. Using sleds the yetis had made, we raced around the atrium, each vying for the winning spot. After our fifth race, Sandy joined in as well. He brought to life a plane of sand and pulled a pair of sand-goggles over his eyes before hopping in and giving us his thumbs up. I giggled while Jack put his 'serious' face on and Baby Tooth took a tighter grip on his hood.

"On your marks, get set, go!" Tooth shouted from above, her chiming voice filling the room with its musical quality. I pushed off the ice, determined to win this round. On all three sides, there were all kinds of cheap shots in an effort to get the upper hand, though it was all in fun and games. Sandy ended up winning, but I came in close second! Jack had been thrown off course by a well dropped ball of sand from above. The yetis didn't seem to mind that we'd taken over the workshop and some even tried to step onto the icy path and slide as well.

"Now what?" I asked Jack, eyes brighter than they'd ever been before. He was the King of Fun.

The other Guardians filtered out to tend to other duties while he pursed his lips with consideration. "How good is your throwing arm?" Jack asked, blue eyes dancing with mischief. Without waiting for a reply – which was good, because I honestly had no idea – he tugged on my arm and we headed for outside. He stopped at the door to fetch a thick coat for me and held it out for my arms. I grinned, recalling my parents doing the same. After untying my new hoodie and zipping it up, I let him help me get the coat on. I thanked him even as he fitted a hat snugly over my head to cover my ears. He held out a pair of socks and boots for me that I quickly slipped on. "Perfect! You look ready for some snowballs!"

When he opened the door, wind blasted in my face and stole my breath away. It returned quickly enough as I gave an excited whoop of laughter and charged into the snow. I kicked at the tall white mounds, sending snow back up into the air to fall like mini bombs into the untouched areas. Jack ran along the top of the snow, not falling through the crusted top of the snow like I did with each step. He used his staff to make a line of snowballs before picking one up and throwing it for me. My eyes widened before I ducked, laughter spilling out. "Not fair, I wasn't ready!" I told him, protecting my wolf from the snow.

"You sure? You looked ready to me!"

"Jack!" I laughed, my voice having a small whine to it.

"Alright, alright!" he conceded with a broad grin. "Ready now?!"

Indeed I was and watched as my snowball pelted him in the face unawares. He blinked in shock while I covered my mouth and snickered. "I wasn't ready!" he mimicked before an all-out war began. In the end, we lay in the snow. My face was red with exertion and his seemed otherwise unchanged. While I caught my breath, Jack sat up to sculpt something out of snow. I rolled to my side to watch and grinned when I saw he was making me a snow wolf. He then put his hands around it and closed his eyes in concentration.

It sprang to life, blue ice crystals forming its pelt. The wolf shook out its crystalline fur before raising its head to howl. "It's beautiful!" I told him, amazed at the skill. I reached my hand to pet the now panting creature and laughed when it licked my hand with a cold tongue. I held up my stuffed wolf for Jack's creation to sniff at when there was a loud bellow from inside the workshop and the wolf dissolved away as Jack's concentration broke.

"JACK!"

The pair of us looked up, laughter draining from our eyes. We exchanged a look before rushing inside. Jack went on ahead as I paused to strip away my snow-crusted coat, boots, and socks. Back in bare feet and my olive hoodie, I scrambled to catch up. North's voice had sounded desperate and I didn't like imagining what might have happened. I ran through the main atrium, eyes searching out any sign of the Guardians. I didn't see anyone, but heard voices through an open doorway on the second floor. Scrambling up a set of stairs, even winded as I was, I reached the top and raced through the doorway. I nearly tripped over my own feet when I saw him.

The giant glimmering globe had only flickered in my view for a moment before I saw the danger. Passed the tense line of Guardians stood Pitch. In his hands, he gripped a black sand scythe and beneath his heel was Bunny, the weapon touching his throat.

"So you do have her," Pitch all but cooed. I shivered in response to the sound of his voice even as North threw a hand out to block me from his view.

"You can't have her," North snarled.

"Bunny," I whispered, my eyes for him now that North had effectively blocked my view from Pitch. I clung tightly to my wolf.

Those large ears caught my voice and he gave a smile. "Sorry, little Sheila. We shouldn't have failed you the first time. We won't this time." His eyes held such kindness that I wondered where it had been hiding all this time. Had it been himself he was so angry with before?

"You have a choice, Guardians! It's your Guardian of Hope! Or her!" Pitch snarled.

Jack took an angry step forward, his staff held at the ready. "You've made deals before and I recall you not following through regardless."

"I guess that just means you'll have to trust me," Pitch said with a smile.

Bunny for me? No, I couldn't accept that! He was important to the whole world! I wasn't really important to anyone anymore. With Pitch around to remind me, I remembered why I'd avoided getting close in the first place. I wasn't worthy. I certainly wasn't worthy of this sacrifice.

"Wait!" I cried, squeezing between North and Sandy to stand unsteadily in front of them. "If I go with you, you'll let him go?"

His smile curled up and curdled the contents of my belly with terror. I wanted to shrink away and hide from him, but Bunny needed help.

"No! Yer just a little ankle biter. It's alright. We can –"

"Shut up!" Pitch demanded, grinding his heel harder to Bunny's back. I flinched at the strength of his voice. Bunny looked up fearlessly, craning his neck around as best he could. I was afraid for him. I had no doubt in the sharpness of the weapon at his throat.

"Will you let him go?!" I asked with raised voice to hide the quavering. My insides felt like jelly at the thought of being any closer than this, but I knew it was up to me. I could only hide from darkness for so long.

Pitch smiled at me. It wasn't at all like the smiles I'd come across while I was here. By now, I realized that this was not at all a dream. This was real and happening. That I couldn't write it all away as fantasy made my decision that much harder. If I gave myself up to him, there'd be no coming back. He'd find some place where the Guardians could never find me again. I would never know happiness again. I suppose that's why I made up my mind. I would give up everything to preserve the happiness I'd found with them. They worked for all children, not just for me. And everyone needed hope. Bunny was vital to the children of the world. And it was time for me to grow up.

"Yes."

At his answer, I stepped forward while every bit of my being begged me to stay still. Behind me, North, Tooth, and Jack made to argue while Bunny started as well. "It's okay," I assured them. I wished I could tell them I wasn't afraid, but I didn't want to lie and they'd know it. Pitch reached his hand out for me and before I could chicken out, I placed mine in his. He yanked me to his side, the scythe now at my throat as he stepped off Bunnymund.

"Don't get any ideas or she'll be dead and you'll have failed her in every possible way rather than in most," Pitch threatened.

Their faces looked so tortured that I wanted to look away. "I'll be okay," I told them, doing my best to smile, though I felt tears stinging at my eyes again. "I'll be okay." I repeated it for myself, as well as them.

A screaming neigh had me trembling in his grasp and I jolted when the nightmare appeared at my side to snort on my arm. Pitch lifted me around my waist to place me astride the black sand animal before leaping up behind me. "Say goodbye," he whispered in my ear. The first tear fell then, but he gave the horse a powerful kick that sent us hurtling through the window before I had time to say a single word. I looked back under his arm to see my friends with slumped shoulders. They looked utterly defeated. It would be okay, though. They would continue protecting the children of the world. I wasn't worthy of their protection.

The wind was brutal and cold. Without my jacket, my teeth were soon chattering as the nightmare galloped across the sky. "You made the right decision," Pitch told me, his hand brushing across my cheek softly. "We're going home."