Alaia Skyhawk: The time-setting of this should be obvious. Someone requested this one, so here it is. Enjoy :)

On a side-note, with regards to that job interview I was prepping for on Wednesday and Thursday... I GOT THE JOB! (skips off cheerfully) ^_^

Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians, the Guardians of Childhood, or any related characters etc. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes.

~(-)~

Chapter : Snow Princess

How many times had she sat here like this? Gazing down at a village below, at the people going about their daily lives. How many years had she endured this lonely existence? Too many to count, when you had no one to speak with to aid in the tracking of time.

How long ago since the day she'd received this kimono as a gift from her husband-to-be? Long enough that by now, even with the protection of her powers, it was tattered and frayed. Barely above what would be called rags. But he was long gone, her family were long gone. Even the village where she had been born and raised was gone. Destroyed by bandits that unknown number of years ago. But while all physical trace of her distant history was gone from the lives of mortals, there was no escaping from the memories.

Nor from the desperation and guilt that prevented her from fading away.

She drew her knees up under her chin, wrapping her arms around them. Rocking back and forth ever so slightly in distress. That distress chilling the air, enough that the snow in her vicinity became immune to the spring thaw that was slowly melting the rest of the snow on the mountain slopes around her. Her icy blue eyes, no longer the deep brown she'd been born with, gazing almost blankly down to the valley below. That lonely stare framed by the matted and tangled tresses of her black hair.

'Vengeful ghost', 'murderous spectre', 'evil spirit', that was what mortals saw her as. Ever since the tragedy that broke her heart and courage, an event that followed shortly after her own mortal demise.

She'd known the dangers of winter, of the sometimes layers of ice hidden beneath the covering of snow. But still she'd gone out to the river, enjoying the sunlight dazzling of the pristine snow. She'd foolishly gone too close to the banks, near a waterfall whose mist had glazed the surrounding area with ice before its own flow had been encased in a sheath of crystal clarity. She'd stepped through the loose powder across the top of the flat rocks at the edge of the pool, she'd slipped and fell, and landed among the smaller rocks in the shallow water at the edge of the pool below.

Oh the relief when she'd opened her eyes and realised she was alive... Oh the terror when she then realised she couldn't move. That she couldn't feel her body, or the bone-biting cold she should have felt from being laid out in that shallow water. All she'd been able to do was lie there, helpless, with the minutes ticking by. Mercifully spared the pain of the cold and her injuries, yet unable to escape the roiling fear as a terrible lethargy gradually crept over her until at last she fell unconscious...

And then she'd woken once again, her eyes catching on a glimpse of the moon just above the daylight horizon, and immediately she'd known something had changed. That she could feel once again, but instead of being painful the cold was comfortable. That she could move again, and the bones that had surely been broken were now mended. And then the voice had come, whispering as if from that moon.

'You are Yuki no Hime.'

She'd shakily risen to her feet, staring up at that pale sphere in the sky.

"But that's not my name. My name is Takara."

'Your life as Takara has ended. You are Yuki no Hime, now. Seek out others like yourself, and they will teach you all you need to know.'

And then had followed nothing but silence from that kindly male voice. She needed nothing more to be said to know she had died, and had been chosen to come back. Indeed she'd actually been joyful.

Long had her village held rumours and stories of the 'Princess of Snow', a kind maiden who watched over winter travellers within the valley. It was a barely spoken myth, a tale that had first arisen during her childhood, and now she had been chosen to be that maiden!

Her elation had sent her racing back to the village, intent on telling her family the good news... But then reality had set in. No one could see her, no one could hear her, and she could touch no one. She was but a spirit among the living, who had not yet learnt to see her.

What followed was her greatest mistake. Instead of seeking advice from other immortals first, she attempted to contact her family before they'd had time to grieve. They had discovered a shred of her kimono caught on a branch among the rocks at the waterfall, and assumed her body to have been carried away by the river. She was dead, they knew she was dead, but they had no body to pay respects to. By moving things in their presence, and trying to write them messages, she proved she was still with them. But they did not interpret it in the way she'd hoped.

They believed her to be the angry ghost of their daughter, seeking revenge for not being respectfully laid to rest. Any notes she wrote were hastily burned without ever being read for fear of curses. Any object moved in their presence would send them scurrying from the room and running for the village's tiny shrine.

The events came to their conclusion when the local priest declared he lacked the skill to send her spirit to the other side. And so, in the depths of winter, her father had set off for the town in the next valley to seek the aid of a more powerful priest.

He didn't even make it out of the valley, before he was hit and buried by the blizzard that killed him.

He was found two months later, just before the start of spring, by the group of village men who set out to search for him when he failed to return.

The villagers blamed his death on the 'vengeful spirit' he'd been seeking help to deal with. Thus while his wife and son grieved for him, all mention of 'Takara' became taboo. It became believed that mentioning that name would bring her restless spirit down on them, and so they created a new name for her.

Yuki-onna, the Snow Woman. A spirit who, if encountered during winter travel, would lead the travellers to their deaths.

Yuki, racked by guilt and driven by grief of her own, tried to show them she wasn't what they said she was. She tried to lead travellers to safety, she tried to show people she was actually the Snow Princess. But while she had no true believers, before long there were enough partial believers in 'Yuki-onna', that her powers increased and took a shift in a direction not of her choosing.

Instead of being the one to shape her Legend, it had begun to shape her.

Years had passed, decades, and through it all she wanted only to make up for those who had died to her mistakes. To atone for that, and for her father. To do something to make up for the grief and pain she'd caused her family. But every time she tried, her Legend grew darker. For every time she tried, her powers slipped further and further from her control.

She'd been immortal for over a century before she encountered another of her kind, due to her own distress causing her to hide from the world during Spring, Summer, and Autumn. The encounter was not a good one. For in her surprise and fright at the unexpected contact, the first time she'd met someone who could see or hear her in all those years, the tenuous hold on her powers proved her downfall.

She'd flinched, her power had lashed out, and the immortal had been covered and trapped in ice. That he'd been strong enough to begin breaking himself out was one thing. That she'd been too terrified of retaliation to risk staying until he had, meant she never found out if he'd taken it as the accident it was.

And so began her reputation among the Immortals as well.

Which brought her to the present day, sitting among the melting snow, clinging to the view of people for as long as she could before necessity would have her hide away from the short-tempered Ariko, the Spirit of Spring. Yearning to go to the people in the village below, desperate for an end to her loneliness. But time and fear had built a wall between her and those people, one she dare not cross or risk harming them.

Just as she was trapped in this existence. Refusing to fade away until she'd atoned for the past, but unable to atone for it because she was too scared of hurting more people when she tried to help them.

The winds blew by her, swirling around for a moment as though taking an interest, then proceeding onwards towards the village. The mountain silence broken by nothing but that wind and the occasional echo of melting snow dropping from a ledge or bough. Or so she thought, until she realised a new sound was present.

The gentle flap of a cloak in the wind, and it was close.

She turned sharply to look in that direction, eyes wide, and she flinched the moment she saw the white-haired man sat on the nearby rock. Her fright sending a burst of uncontrolled power out towards the cause of that fright. It swept over the ground between them, and over him, coating both with a thick layer of ice. Yet unlike any immortal before now, who either took several hours to break free or had to wait for a thaw or rescue, this immortal simply shrugged. Shaking himself a little, while the ice coating him crumbled and fell away. He then yawned, not concerned in the slightest by the incident, and glanced at her.

She stared at him from behind a veil of tangled black hair, her eyes widening further in horrified realisation of who he was.

"The Spirit of Winter!"

She jumped to her feet and tried to flee, her powers freezing solid everything around the two of them, but Jack Frost grabbed her. His grasp firm and inescapable as she tugged against it, frantic as she then felt herself being dragged.

Mountain air and winds were replaced by sudden stillness and the hush of a large, frigid cavern. The 'presence' of the place's power, telling her more surely than words that he'd just brought her to the Sanctuary of Winter. She was trapped in the heart of his domain, with no idea how to get out.

He let go of her, to which she then dropped to her knees and cowered on the icy floor, babbling in terror. Panic filling her every thought.

"Please don't hurt me! I didn't mean to try freeze you, I swear! Just let me go! I promise, I won't trouble anyone ever again! I'll find a cave, and stay in it, and never come out! Just please let me go!"

She clasped her arms over her head as if to hide from his gaze, trembling violently in anticipation of punishment. Barely aware of when he walked away briskly, although most definitely aware when he returned moments later at the same swift pace.

She flinched, throwing up her hands as though to ward him off. But instead of encountering a person and clothing, something furry was thrust at her. Her fingers closing on that fur in reflex, before she opened her eyes to look at what she now held.

The sprite blinked at her with its wide seal-like eyes, then grinned at her in the most adorable fashion. It then began to chatter excitedly in whatever language it was that the sprites used, while around a dozen more sprites came over and gathered around. Their cheerful attention, with no fear of who she was if they even knew that... It touched something inside her that had remained untended for far too long.

She settled herself cross-legged on the floor, and the sprites jostled with each other to gain a coveted position in her lap. Each and every one of them revelling in the attention as she began to pet them, the most hesitant and yet happy of smiles slowly lightly up her face.

She became aware of nothing else but the sprites. Never noticing the giant white stag that placed himself nearby to observe her for a time. Her world had shrunk down to these friendly creatures that giggled and chattered around her. Fussing over her, and some even tugging in query at her tangled hair.

When she noticed that, and saw three of them were bouncing up and down around a fourth one eagerly holding a comb, she smiled.

"You can tidy my hair, if you want."

They didn't need telling twice, for within moments there were as many sprites jostling around behind her for a turn with the comb, as there were those competing for a chance to sit in her lap. Their antics drew from her a sound she'd not made in a very long time.

She laughed, a bright peal of happy laughter. The sound of it pleasing the sprites no end, for they knew they were the cause of her smile. Shortly after that, another sprite arrived carrying lengths of white ribbon, which were again held up in query until she happily gave permission for them to decorate her hair.

She lost all track of the time, even forgetting how she'd gotten here or that she was in the Sanctuary of Winter. Thus she had no way of knowing it was a full two days before the sprites decided it was time for her to see Jack again.

They ushered her to her feet, urging her to follow them with their chattering and bouncing. The plaza and adjacent palace were sight enough to make her pause fearfully, but in the face of their insistence she followed them inside. Through the grand entrance hallway, onwards to at door at the very far end.

The chamber beyond was nothing that she could have imagined. Her gasp at the sight of the dawn/day/dusk/night views that the surrounding sphere of Ice Mirrors showed, echoing softly within the vaulted room. She didn't immediately notice Jack watching her from the spire in the centre, but when she did he set aside his book and flew down to her.

When he landed in the space the sprites cleared for him, just a few feet away from her, she averted her gaze and stared down at her feet uncertainly. While she couldn't see his face, she could hear the smile in his tone.

"Hey now, there's no need to be nervous. I never had any intention of harming you, it was just that you panicked... My sprites like you, and they're a good judge of character. Welcome to the Winter Sanctuary, Yuki-onna."

She raised her head to regard him, still uncertain.

"Why did you bring me here?"

Jack balanced his staff on his shoulder, and sighed.

"I was told about someone, so terribly lonely, who kept harming people by accident in her desperation for contact with others... You're an Immortal, and nothing can change that. The kind of contact you seem to want with humans, hasn't been possible for you... But that doesn't mean you have to be alone."

He closed the distance between them, and put a hand on her shoulder before she had time to flinch away from him. "I can put some control on your power to freeze things, so that it no longer slips free when you don't mean for it to. I can also offer you a home here."

She felt like her heart had stopped, a well of hope beginning to form deep inside her. Would he really?

"You'd do that for me?"

Jack nodded, his expression wry.

"I've even thought of a job for you... My Winter Sprites like to go exploring the snowy places of the world, riding on the winds to get there, but they also have a habit of not returning when they should. They like you, and I can see that you like them, so how about it? Would you like to serve me as a Lieutenant, and help me by making sure the sprites return here for the times between Southern and Northern Winters?"

This time it wasn't just her heart, because for a moment even thought stopped. Had he just said that? Had he really just asked her to be a Lieutenant? Or was her mind playing tricks on her?

She dropped to her knees, her legs giving way from the surprise. Several of the sprites crooned at her in concern and patted her on the arms to comfort her. A few of them were even looking at her hopefully, bounding up and down chattering in a fashion that could only be interpreted as 'Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease say yes!'

Would they be doing that if Jack hadn't just asked that?

She glanced up at him, her gaze flicking between them and Jack, who was still watching her.

"Do you really mean it? This isn't some cruel joke, to taunt me like so many other Immortals have done?"

Jack held out his staff and touched the tip of it to her shoulder.

"Swear to serve me as a Lieutenant of Winter, and find out."

Yuki-onna looked into his unwavering gaze, and then she took a deep and shuddering breath. Finding out it was true, was worth the risk of it not being. She'd known more joy since arriving at this Sanctuary, than she'd known in the entirety of the time since she'd become immortal. To walk away from that without seeing if she could stay? Never...

"I... I swear to serve you, the Spirit of Winter, as your Lieutenant."

Jack smiled warmly.

"Then I accept your vow, Lady Yuki."

She felt the rush of strength flow into her from where his staff touched her shoulder, followed by a momentary flicker of her own fear at losing control of it, before another firm presence also settled inside her. She sent her senses inwards, towards that unstable and unpredictable core that had been her power before now, and found a calm pool of strength. And with it came a sense of surety in her power, like she at last had real control.

This was real... This was real!

"I..." She looked at him, breathless due to the surge of hope in her, realising something. Feeling almost a sense of deja-vu. "You called me 'Lady Yuki'. But, that's not my name."

Jack chuckled.

"You act more like a young girl than a 'woman', so 'snow woman' didn't really seem a fitting name for you... Lady Yuki, 'Lady Snow', fits much better." He pulled her to her feet. "You're a Lieutenant of Winter now, which means you can 'reinvent' yourself. It's a fresh start, and a chance to be free of the chains that your Legend had become. Now you can teach people to believe in the new you, the you that can guide travellers to safety in blizzards, without fearing that being close to them will only hasten their end."

Yuki wanted to cry. She was so happy she wanted to cry. She was free of her Legend. She was free to be what she'd wanted to be, before her mistakes sent her down a path not of her choosing.

She barely heard him when he asked her to entertain the sprites for a while, so that he could arrange somewhere for her to stay. She was too busy remembering all the dreams she'd held when the Man in the Moon had given her the name Yuki no Hime, the Snow Princess. Did Jack know how close to her true name he'd come when he called her Lady Yuki? Probably not, but at the same time it was so perfect that it felt like fate.

And if things already felt perfect, they went beyond that when he came and took her to the newly-built Lieutenants' Residence. Her room, the walls decorated with frost-patterns of bamboo and flowers, had her laughing in delight. And then came the final gift of the day; a white kimono with a pattern of blue snowflakes.

This time she did cry from joy, causing Jack to look rather awkward until he resorted to pushing a sprite into her grasp.

She stared at it for a moment, then at him, and burst out laughing. She had lost her family a long time ago, but now she was certain she'd found a new one. And with their support, she knew she'd at last be able to make up for her mistakes. There was no more need for guilt. Not with the brotherly presence of Jack to guide her through.

She was once again the Snow Princess, whose Legend had faded away long ago behind the shadow of Yuki-onna. And now, with time, that Legend would live again.

~(-)~

Alaia Skyhawk: And there you have it, Yuki's backstory and recruitment from her point of view. And for those wondering, her mortal name, Takara, means 'Treasure'. I thought it fitting given her "Snow Princess" title :)