The days passed slowly, and the Guardians went about their business. To most they appeared unfazed by the warning that Fable issued, but in their heads her words were playing over and over again. Like a skipping record 'Pitch not entirely vanquished.'

Fable seemed to be the only one acting on her words. The next morning, bright and early, she set out from her library, in several different locations. You see, her domain moved across the globe, occupying several different buildings in several different cities. It never stopped moving, unless told otherwise, and whenever she sensed the very subtle shake of the floor, she left, unseen and unheeded by the world, except, perhaps by the spare few that had come to her for stories, safety, and advice.

Yet again, the knowledge spirit felt the tremble of the floors, and yet again she set off into the world. This time into the icy streets of New York City, bundled up against the cold, a total of three books written by one, Meredith Ann Pierce, tucked safely in the folds of her worn black pea coat. Fable found herself mixing with the hustle and bustle of the foot traffic, sometimes feeling her own sense of non existence in the eyes of the mortals as they walked right through her. She knew exactly where she needed to go, that being a small one bedroom apartment at the edge of the Bronx. Upon arrival, Fable found the child she was searching for. The kid was no older than thirteen.

Pitiful flakes of snow were starting to fall, and Fable caught the subtle shiver of the girl. Approaching the bench, she pulled out the books she was protecting against the ice and cold. Gently, she tapped the books against the girl's head, causing said child to jump and spin on the spot. "Hello Lydia."

Doe brown eyes seemed to overflow with happy tears and Fable found herself flat her back, breath being squeezed from her as little twig arms clutched her in a tight hug "Aunty Gemma!"

For a moment, Fable found she was overwhelmed. She hadn't felt this kind of a hug in so long. Returning the hug, the knowledge spirit got to her feet, the little girl holding fast to her. Finally, she was released and was given the chance to look over the petite red head. "It's been so long, where have you been!? I tried to find your store, but it was gone."

Knurled hand stroked Lydia's hair, and green eyes looked up into one golden eye, the other fogged over with apparent blindness. Taking a knee, Fable smiled kindly to the child. "You had no need of me; you've grown in these last three years. Become stronger, and surer."

This did nothing but make Lydia more upset. "B-but, I've missed your stories, the one about the girl who beat Spring Heeled Jack."

Taking a seat on the park bench, Fable patted the spot next to her. "I know my big sprite, but you can't spend your life listening to an old woman ramble. Now, how has school been?"

Lydia sat beside her, leaning against her like the old times. "It's been alright, they've stopped teasing me you know."

Fable nodded her satisfaction "Good, good, and what of the fiend at the window?"

For a moment, the girl stiffened, but burst in a fit of the giggles. "I opened the window and let him in…."

The spirit couldn't wait to hear this. "And?"

Lydia looked up at her, green eyes sparkling with pride. Suddenly, the girl was on her feet, reenacting her heroic deeds. "I hit him on the head with my brother's baseball bat, and I said 'have at thee demon of the roofs!' Just like what Felicity said in your story!"

Fable couldn't hold back anymore and began to laugh. "Ha! You…. You hit him with a baseball bat eh? Ha, ha, oh my heart, that is brilliant sprite!"

Red hair went flying as Lydia nodded. "Yeah, then he seemed kinda stunned and then I took another swing, got his legs that time, then…then I told him I wasn't afraid of him. And, and he stared at me for the longest time, and I had the bat ready. Then, he took off out the window muttering and stuff!"

Fable couldn't be more proud of Lydia than she was now. Leaning forward, she cupped the child's cheek gently. "You did very well sprite, you are truly a hero, better than Felicity."

Lydia's smile was so large it could have overtaken her face like that. She had truly grown into a beautiful and strong young woman. Remembering her gift, Fable took her hand away and grabbed for the books. "I brought you something sprite. An early Christmas gift, if you will."

The child giggled with excitement and took the books gently. Reading the titles to herself and then out loud "'The DarkAngel,' 'The Gathering of the Gargoyles,' and 'Pearl Soul of the World' by Meredith Ann Pierce."

Nodding, Fable explained her gift. "All three books are the tale of a brave young woman named Ariel, at first she is afraid and weak, but through her adventures and because of the depth of her love for friends, she finds an inner strength."

While Lydia studied the cover picture, Fable stood and knelt in front of the child. "Lydia, I need you to listen to me."

The girl looked up, catching the serious tone in the supposed old woman's voice. "I did not come back to just give you gifts, I came here to tell you that things, things aren't going to always be friendly. Bad things are happening right now, things I am not at liberty to discuss, though is hurts my old heart that I can't tell you."

There was a pause, Fable took a breath and continued. "Something is going happen, and things are going to get scary, not just for you, but for others as well. I need you to be strong ok?"

She could see the worry and fear in the child's eyes. Fable gave her a reassuring smile. "I know you'll be strong? You stood up to the Roof Walker; you can stand up to anything. Promise me that you will believe in me, believe in the story about Felicity, and believe in yourself and your strength."

Slowly, Lydia nodded and returned the smile, the bravery shinned in her eyes like the sun. "I promise Aunty."

Fable nodded, and pulled her into a hug. "Good girl, now I have to go ok."

Lydia did not cry and attempt to follow her; instead she stayed at the bench and cracked open one her books and began to drink in the words. Fable knew she would be ok, she was prepared for Pitch's return, and if he came for her again, and Fable was…detained, she knew her little sprite would be ok. The knowledge spirit looked into the gray skies, catching the faint wisp of Aurora Borealis, more commonly called the Northern Lights by the non scientific mortals. Oh yes, she could see North's call to gather the Guardians, all spirits could. Something was happening, and she had a feeling she knew.

Fable was correct in her assumptions. Pitch was well and truly making himself, known to the Guardians, though from what the five felt, him revealing himself had been unintentional. Sandman had been the one to see him, in the room of, not a child, but a teenager. From what Sandman had seen, he was collecting the unfortunate's nightmares, which seemed a far cry blacker than the sand taken from the fear of children. If anything, it was as if the sand he collected was the absence of light itself.

North had a time of trying to understand with his friend was saying when he came to the Pole, frantic pictures flashing over his head, going a mile a minute. After a good hour, and Sandman taking a moment to breath, North got the storied and called upon his fellows to gather.

After relaying Sandy's story, the Guardians fell quiet. Bunnymund was the first to break the silence. "Shelia was tellin the truth."

Jack cut in from his place at the window. "That doesn't prove anything."

"Oh bite ya bum Snow Globe!"

"Don't tell me to shut it Cotton Ball!"

Ignoring the scrap between Bunny and Jack, North stroked his beard. "What we do now? Pitch appears stronger that before, this very bad."

Tooth glanced up at the Moon outside the work shop. "Has he said anything?"

North shook his head. "Manny says nothing."

Sandman floated over to the North, above his head was the image of a woman. Upon closer inspection, they all recognized it as Fable. Another person appeared, judging by the crook the person carried, it was easy to deduce that it was Jack. Now he was falling to his knees, hands in the praying the position, begging for something from Fable.

Nodding, North turned to the Guardians at large. "We apologize to Fable first, perhaps she know something about Pitch that we don't. Jack, Bunny, you go get her now!"

Jack glared "Why do I have to apologize?"

Bunny tapped the floor and opened one of his portals "Because you were a jerk and nothin more temptin to her than seeing you beggin for forgiveness. Hop along mate!"

That said, down the hole Bunny went, and begrudgingly, Jack followed suit. When the pair reached the entrance to Fable's domain, they found themselves in what appeared to be London, England. Jack took in the surroundings. "I thought the place was in Portland, Oregon."

Chuckling, Bunnymund went up to the door, and opened it. "It was, and is, Shelia's a bit of a drifter, an so is her library."

Shrugging, Jack followed Bunny through the door. The interior had not changed, despite what it looked like on the outside. Once the door shut, they traveled further and further into the library. Soon they found themselves being greeted by a book which was titled 'The Art of Courtly Love' by Andreas Capellanus. Like the book Jack had seen before, it was moving about on spindly legs. Upon seeing Bunny and Jack, it bowed to them and walked almost gracefully (it attempted graceful) down the passage, further into the domain. The two weren't really sure what to do, until the book stopped and turned to 'look' at them, it appeared to be waiting.

Jack really wasn't sure what to make of this, so he looked to Bunny, who merely shrugged as if he saw this kind of thing on a regular basis. "Afta you mate."

Taking up his staff and resting it on his shoulder, Jack took the lead and followed the book which now appeared to be nancing down the aisle. After a good five minutes or so, the book stopped, bowed to the pair once more and leapt onto a shelf, finding a place among its fellows. The winter spirit wasn't sure where to go from there, that is, until Bunny gave him a nudge and indicated that he direct his attention to what lay ahead.

There was a large table that took up a great deal of space at the end of the passage, and sitting on the table top was Fable. She appeared to be holding a tome of sorts. It looked both very old and burnt. All her focus seemed to be zeroed in on it, her fingers gently running over the crisped pages. Taking in the rest of the knowledge spirit's appearance, Jack and Bunny noticed that her glasses were bigger than necessary, and magnified her eyes to the point where they looked like two polished gold coins. Her hair was also pulled into a very prim and proper bun, keeping any stray curls from cluttering her vision. "You two gonna explain why you're back, because the suspense is well and truly killing me."

Before he could so much as speak, Jack found himself being pushed toward the table. Looking over his shoulder, he gave Bunnymund a glare that would, if possible freeze hell over. The bunny matched the look with a 'apologize now, or I'll kick you to death' look. In all this, Fable didn't so much as spare them a glance. "So, what're you working on?"

At this, Fable rolled her eyes, attention still on the book. "Eating a pizza Frost Bite, what does it look like I'm doing?"

Finally, she directed her attention to Jack, finding him at a loss. "I'm repairing some books that some religious nutters fed to a bon fire."

Shaking her head and returning to work, she muttered. "Manny as my witness, his head is as thick as permafrost."

She was seriously asking for it, Jack was ready to put this entire place into a second ice age, but a look from Bunnymund subdued all apocalyptic intentions. Swallowing his pride, Frost made for the table, and took a seat next to Fable "Listen Bookworm."

The knowledge spirit refused to give him any form of her attention "Alright, Fable I wanted to ask you something."

Putting the book down gently Fable finally looked at him, magnified eyes, tight bun, and all. Jack just couldn't resist. "I wanted to ask you to take off your glasses, shake your hair out of that bun, look at me and say 'do you know what the penalty is for an overdue library book is Mr. Frost?"

Her eyes narrowed, but to his utter amazement, Fable began to remove her glasses, setting them on the table along with the book. Next she proceeded to pull her hair out of the bun, tossing the wild curls from her face. Leaning closer to Jack, she gave him what could only be described as a very dangerous and somehow seductive look. The winter spirit actually found that he was pulling away from her. "Do you know what the penalty is for an overdue book Mr. Frost?"

She practically a part of him now, Fable had all but shattered the ideal of personal space. Jack finally found his voice. "No?"

Fable smiled and her eyes traveled up his body, finally meeting his eyes. Leaning in ever closer, her lips were a mere hair's breathe from his ear. "I'll have to confiscate your corneas."

Quick as a wink, she pushed Jack off the table, resulting in him hitting the ground rather painfully. Looking down at him from her position on the table, Fable had adopted an un-amused look. "Hmm, yes naughty librarian jokes…. How bloody original you are frost for brains."

Jumping off the table, Fable walked up to Bunnymund. "Let me guess, Pitch showed himself didn't he?"

Bunny nodded. "And you and Mr. Suave over there were sent to collect me?"

Yet another nod, "He was also supposed to apologize to ya."

Fable chuckled, and looked over at Jack who had picked himself up off the ground. "Oh, I think I've wounded his pride enough to suffice for an apology."

Oh, he so desperately wanted to turn her into an ice sculpture. She knew it too, which made it all the worse. Giving him a wink, Fable looked back at Bunny. "I need to grab a few things before we go, feel free to peruse the books while you wait."

Jack would definitely 'peruse' the books…. More like freeze them. But Fable turned and glared at him. "Harm any of my books Jack Frost and I will put you in a world of hurt."

Author's Note: Well Fable is the lil devil ain't she. Anyway, phew! This is probably gonna be my longest chapter ever. I really wanted to show Fable interacting with a child, I felt it would reveal a lot about her as a character and someone who may have been considered over Jack for the Guardianship. I figured this was the best way to show it. Also, I would like to thank imaninja41

She was kind enough to give me one of her ideas, that being the Sexy librarian bit. Though I modified it from what she originally wrote in one of her reviews. I loved the idea and I made sure it got in. So thank you dearest Imaninja41 for your input, it came out great.

So I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and to my readers of "Voices" bear with me, I hit a sort of road block creativity wise, and this fic is sucking in a ton of attention. This one involves a lot of research on my part.