A/N: Hi guys! Wow, the support on this fic is just overwhelming! Thank you so much! So sorry for the late update. Schoolwork. Internet problems. You know how it is. Okay so, here's Chapter Three! If you have any questions about the story, don't hesitate to ask! Anyway, here it is! Enjoy!
"There, you got it!" Jack encourages Elsa as she goes over to one of the trees and slowly covers each leaf in a layer of frost. They had been training for about three hours now, and they had gone over to a deep forest where Elsa had frosted almost every tree in sight.
Jack had told her about how she can control it. "Just think about happy things," he had said. She thought about her sister and her mom, who are far away from her now, but she still hopes that she can be with them again one day. She hasn't remembered another memory about them yet—and, believe her, she tried. She even forced her brain to try and remember something, anything about those two girls she reminisced about. But nothing. Nothing happened. That little memory, however, gave Elsa control. It gave her something to withdraw from. With practically no memory from her past, she used what little bit of connection she could muster so she could gain control over her powers. So now, every time she feels her powers overwhelming her, she just thinks about how her little sister's eyes gleamed with wonder as her mother told them about Jack Frost's powers, how their mother's words softly caressed them, comforting them with every syllable, and how she herself felt astounded with the story, because it gave her effervescent hope.
She smiled as the frost slowly spreads over the stems and the leaves and the trunk itself. This time, she could really control it. No more cowering in fear every time her powers struck something accidentally. No more keeping all of her strength inside her. Now, it's time to let go.
"Thank you." She said over to Jack, who was beside her. He smiled back.
On their way back to Santa's workshop, Jack told her everything about him. About how he died rescuing his sister; about how he had no problem over his powers once he started, but he didn't have any flashbacks from his past unlike her (Maybe that was the catch, Elsa thought. You get control, but nothing to withdraw from.)He told her about his adventures, always making sure the kids were happy. He told her about how he wasn't believed in for the last 300 years, but when he got together with the other guardians, little by little, the children believed in him. He told her about how they fought Pitch Black, and how they thought it was over but it definitely wasn't. According to him, Pitch had sent another army of nightmares along The Sandman's path, and that was how they knew he was back in the game.
"It's really crazy," he laughed, which made Elsa smile as well, even though deep inside she's frightened about Pitch Black's abilities. "I mean, North and the other guys thought we were done once and for all. But no, he just had to come back and ruin everything."
"What are the other guardians like?" she asked curiously, her arms folded across her stomach regally, almost queen-like.
"Well, there's the Tooth Fairy, or Tooth, for short. She's pretty cool—has a thing about teeth though. The Sandman—Sandy is pretty awesome. He doesn't talk, but he can communicate in a way that's kind of hard to explain. He's a real ass-kicker too. But don't even get me started with the Easter Bunny…"
They kept walking until they've reached the workshop, and Elsa began calling Santa 'North' instead of Santa, which was good because calling him Santa made her feel childish and unprofessional.
"Took you forever to teach a girl a few tricks, eh?" she heard a voice, coming from the inside of the workshop. Jack walked past her, and started talking to him. It looked like they were arguing.
Finally, the figure stepped forward and it was—a bunny. The Easter Bunny. He was definitely bigger than she'd imagined.
"Oi, you're the new guardian!" he exclaimed. He had an Australian accent for some reason, and he had on a holster, which held boomerangs. He was quite the character.
"Pleased to meet you," Elsa responded, smiling politely. He ushered her in, telling her all about how she should stay away from Jack Frost ("he's the real trickster, too. You should just hang around with me; I'll show you the way.") Jack however, did not seem to mind his incessant insults. He even had some of his own.
With a smirk, he added, "Says the six-foot tall kangaroo who hides his eggs in ridiculous places every year so the kids would have a hard time looking for them."
That went on for a while.
Inside the workshop, Elsa also met the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman. Tooth looked like a hummingbird humanoid; her wardrobe all bright colors and vibrant shades.
And Jack was right—she did have a thing with teeth.
"Ooh, finally! A girl guardian! Come here, we're going to be best of friends, I just know it!" she had exclaimed as she flew over to her in a daze, her little fairy wings fluttering and buzzing.
Tooth pried Elsa's mouth open with one of her slender fingernails, inspecting her teeth carefully.
She let her fingers drop from Elsa's mouth, a giddy smile plastered across her face. "Oh, they are perfect! Good job!"
A little bit dazed, Elsa smiled politely at Tooth, maintaining her regal and composed aura despite Tooth's wackiness.
The Sandman was on the verge of sleepiness when she met him, with his eyeballs drooping about in their sockets. But he was still cheerful nonetheless.
He could produce some sort of golden, glittering sand from his fingertips, and through that way he somehow told her that he was happy she was now a guardian. Elsa smiled back, saying thank-you. She was glad that she was being accepted for who she is—in fact, they love her for who she is. She felt very welcomed; she felt at peace with them.
"Alright, people!" North walked in the room, clapping his hands in an authoritative manner, his little elves following him in. A yeti was behind him too, its thick legs shuffling roughly along the mahogany floor.
"So, Elsa, have you made decision yet?" he asked her, smiling as if he was just so sure that she would say yes.
Calmly, she nodded, her eyes aglow with agreement and satisfaction. North flashed a wide grin and clapped his hands again. Dramatic music bellowed from the elves' trumpets, their pointy hats jingling along the tune. More yetis piled in, all of them prancing around Elsa in jolly circles.
Again, some elves handed North the book from before, and he opened it up swiftly, eyes eager, hands tingling. "Will you, Elsa the Snow Queen, vow to watch over the children of the world? To guard them with your life, their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams. For they are that we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be."
Smiling from ear to ear, Elsa said, "I shall."
The trumpets played another triumphant song, all of them smiling and cheering. All of the guardians were, too, even the almost-asleep Sandman. Jack looked at her from the far end of the room where he was leaning against his staff. He looked proud of her, and Elsa smiled back, her eyes a sparkling thank-you.
North picked her up and hugged him tight to his chest. With his enormous figure, he easily held Elsa tight and firm and squished, and she laughed even though some of her bones were being crushed. Finally, he dropped her down with a thud, her feet hitting the round roughly, her long gown draping across the floors.
"Congratulations, Elsa. You are truly guardian now." He congratulated, still looking overwhelmed with happiness, before leading her into a room that had yetis operating on a control panel, pushing buttons and sliding screens. In the very center of the room stood a huge globe replica, but this one was different. It had thousands of bright lights on every country; every continent. They looked like stars to her; shining and shining. To her, it symbolized hope.
"These lights," North gestured, "Are all of the children in the world who believes. In one of us or all of us—it does not matter. All that matters is that they believe, and it is our job to protect them."
Elsa was very fascinated in all of this. She was fascinated with the lights; with the believing children who were like little pillars of hope, holding the guardians up like banners against evil forces. She was fascinated in the guardians—how were they doing before she had met them? Did all of them also have some sort of special power? Do they remember anything from their pasts?
But Elsa had no time in pondering over these questions. She had a job to do; to protect the children. Because from now on, she will be Elsa the Snow Queen, one of the several guardians that watch over the children of the world, protecting them from fear and sadness, and instead replacing their hearts and dreams with hope and innocence.