Chapter 4: Decision

They landed on a hard wooden floorboard, surrounded by clusters of pine trees and little elves with pointy little red hats dashing to and fro around their feet. Bianca was surprised the fortress was comfortably warm despite the cold, biting weather outside. The place felt homey and cheerful as she watched in amazement big, furry creatures tinkering, painting and wrapping toys of all shapes and sizes. She noticed from the corner of her eye Jack mischievously hiding a toy from one of the yetis as the creature had his back turned the other way around.

She rolled her eyes, even as she suppressed a chuckle when the yeti twisted back to find the doll he was wrapping on the table missing. Bianca tried to cover her amusement with a cough when she saw Jack winking at her across the room. With a huff, she glared at him, trying to convey through her eyes to give the yeti back his toy. Even if it was funny…

He just smiled innocently at her as he juggled the doll between his hands before laughing loudly as the poor yeti bumped his head while looking for said doll under the table.

"Jack, I think you've had enough fun already. Why don't you give the yeti his doll back?"

Bianca jumped, startled by the voice that suddenly sounded behind her. Turning, she came face to face (or face to huge stomach) with the intimidating stature of Nicholas St. North, Father Christmas or most commonly known as Santa Claus. He was so tall, Bianca barely reached his chest and his rolled up sleeves displayed his enormous arms tattooed with the words Naughty on one arm and Nice on the other. Bianca gulped, suddenly feeling rather small and thought again whether or not she could really go through with her plan.

"North! How you doing, big guy?" Jack exclaimed as he threw the doll towards the dumbfounded yeti as his missing doll suddenly landed on the table.

"Jack, it's so good to see you again." North instantly had a huge smile on his face, blue eyes twinkling merrily as he grasped Jack in a big hug. Bianca smiled when she heard Jack sputter, "too tight!" before he gladly fell out of the big man's embrace.

"Sandy! How are you, my friend?" North said as he grinned down at the small guardian who showed signs of pleasantries as well.

"And who's this little fella you brought here?"

Bianca tensed up as North's attention switched on her. He regarded her with a curious look, hands stroking his long, white mustache as he circled around her.

"Who are you? I've never seen the likes of you before. You're not a Guardian obviously or Manny would have told us about you but you're not a human either." His voice was wondering as he gazed with his big, blue eyes at Bianca intensely, seemingly fascinated with this new being in front of him.

"North, stop inspecting her. You're scaring the poor child." Jack mockingly said from somewhere near the banister.

That shook Bianca out of her stupor as she whirled around furiously to glare at Jack. "I am not scared, Frost. You should know that by now."

"Then what's with the stiff look? Loosen up a little will yeah?" Jack laughed as he walked towards her and patted her shoulder. The cold from his hand mingled with the heat on Bianca's shoulder and produced small amounts of steam in the air by contact. That wasn't the only thing she felt at his touch though.

"Oh, just shut up, Frost."

"Make me, Summers"

Bianca grimaced. "Could you have thought of a more horrible comeback? That was so cliché."

"You know you like it." Jack retorted teasingly with a smirk, ice blue eyes connecting with her own.

A hearty, bellowing laugh broke through their bickering as they simultaneously stared at North who was eyeing them with a great amount of amusement on his warm face.

"Ah, Jack, you should have told me you were bringing you're girlfriend along; I would have prepared a grand party for this." North said merrily at the stunned pair.

"What?!" Bianca shrieked, shaking her head rapidly from left to right. She ignored Sandy quietly chuckling to himself on the sidelines.

Jack cackled uproariously as North's words finally sunk in, hands clutching his staff tightly for support as his body shook with uncontrollable laughter, not helping Bianca denying the falsely formulated opinion at all. "No, no, no, no," Bianca repeated, "we are not a couple."

"Not a couple? But you were just flirting seconds ago." North said enthusiastically, not believing her at all. Bianca gaped at the man's strange view of arguing as flirting.

Jack, still chuckling, said. "Big guy, I think you got a wrong perception between the difference of flirting and bickering. Because if that's what it looks like, then Bunny and I would have been great friends decades ago."

Bianca found herself nodding at Jack's words, seemingly hesitant to agree with anything he says. "Yeah, and I just met him twice. I barely know the guy."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, knowing a guy at a first glance means you barely know him and what were those endearing terms you loved throwing at me again? Insufferable, idiotic, careless, childish—"

Bianca interrupted irritably, "Those were just based on observation, prat, and really who wouldn't know the immortal being opposite to your own powers?"

"Apparently, I do since I never heard of you until two days ago." Jack replied sarcastically. Bianca tried not to let his words affect her but it left an unpleasant sting spreading throughout her belly. Besides, it was her fault anyway that she wanted to be hidden away from the other guardians or from anyone else really, happy to watch the world move on without the knowledge of her existence. She had her father, Pitch, anyway. Who is not really a great role model to be left alone with now that I think about it…

North's scoffing broke Bianca from her reverie, "Oh, kids these days. Always so blind, right Sandy?" Sandy gave a knowing nod back to him.

Jack snorted. "What are you guys talking about?"

North said, "Nothing, nothing just sharing an observation. Now! What is it that you have come along here for? I can tell it's not for snacks and tea?"

"No, it isn't." Bianca finally found her voice again, "It's about Pitch."

Suddenly, the mood in the atmosphere went from gloriously jolly to downright moody.

North drew his bushy eyebrows together. "Oh, the boogeyman. What about him?"

This is it. Bianca gathered her courage together to say what she needed to say. This is for you, dad. "I want to know his life story, before he was Pitch Black and what turned him to be the man he is now."

"You've got be kidding me." Jack chortled for which Bianca glared at him for. "Pitch has always been Pitch, the symbol of nightmares and glooms and all that. Why the hell would you want to know more about him?"

"Because," Bianca replied through gritted teeth. "I think we can sav-….stop him once and for all." I hope they didn't notice my slip. They'd never help me if they knew my whole plan was to save Pitch.

North made a contemplative sound. "And why do you say that, girl? Pitch has never been stopped, even before I became guardian."

"And that's why we need to know his full story." Bianca said, "I mean, you Guardians weren't Guardians you're whole lives right? You were human beings before this and I know Pitch was once one too. If we find the source of all the badness and evilness inside him, then maybe we can take it out of him and end him for good." Bianca didn't like how she used the 'end him for good' part in her mini-speech there, but hopefully it got the guys hooked to help her.

Bianca didn't notice that during her speech, the moon above slowly revealed itself from the sea of clouds it was hidden from and illuminated a light upon her that got the Guardians gaping disbelievingly at her.

When she noticed their reactions, she snapped. "What?" Have I said something wrong? Were they not convinced enough?

North cleared his throat purposely before glancing at the moon, seeming to have an intense conversation with it before looking back at Bianca.

"I think," He started with a grave voice, "we need to call the others. This is a very important announcement indeed."