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Chapter Two: Revelation

"Are the days of winter sunshine just as sad for you, too? When it is misty, in the evenings, and I am out walking by myself, it seems to me that the rain is falling through my heart and causing it to crumble into ruins."
― Gustave Flaubert

Jackie sat quietly on a boulder – one of the few that circled her lake. Her legs were crossed, and her wooden staff lay on her lap. Her hands were absolutely still, and her blue hood was up.

If anyone could see the winter sprite (and actually knew the girl's mannerisms), they would immediately know something was wrong. Jackie was almost never still, and if that was combined with her hood – even worse.

"I can't believe it . . ." Jackie sighed. The sun was beginning to sink over the horizon, and she could almost see the moon. "Could this day get any worse?"

Her heart was aching – aching for love. She had been alone for so long with no one to care for her, and had only really experienced cruelty at the spirits that could see her.

When the pond was bathed in darkness, Jackie called for Wind and flew off to see Jamie. Peering into Jamie's room, upside-down, she watched the little boy jump around his room excitedly.

"It was awesome!" Jamie cheered enthusiastically. "So then I was flying down this hill, and it was like whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, through these cars . . ."

So Jamie was recounting his sledding adventure to Sophie. Huh. Well, he did tell Sophie practically everything that happened every day. Jackie thought it was kinda sweet how devoted and caring the boy was to his sister.

". . . and then the sled hit this thing, and then – then it was like, way up in the air, and then BAM! The sofa hit me."

"Wow," Sophie breathed, staring at her brother with awe.

"And see, my tooth came out!" Jamie's last words were a bit muffled, due to the fact that he had stuck his finger in his mouth to show Sophie the gap between his teeth.

Sophie giggled.

"All right, you," his mother said, already finished straightening up her son's room. "Tooth under your pillow?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," Jamie said determinedly, examining the flashlight next to his bed.

"Now, don't stay up trying to see her," his mother warned. "Or she won't come."

"But I can do it this time!" he insisted. Turning to his sister, Jamie asked, "You wanna help me, Soph? We can hide and see the Tooth Fairy!"

"Hide, hide, hide, hide, hide," Sophie agreed, before she was swept up into her mother's arms.

"Uh-uh," Mrs. Bennett tutted. "Straight to bed now, mister."

That statement was met with a groan from the ten-year-old. "Mom."

Jackie watched the family moment sadly, feeling somewhat bittersweet. It was the perfect family . . . yet it was something that the winter sprite could never have or be a part of. As a result of her fluctuating emotions, frost designs began to bloom on Jamie's window. Jackie glared at the offending ice. Why could they be seen . . . but not her?

Jackie flipped right-side-up and slowly walked across the Bennett's roof. A look of self-loathing was on her face. "If there's something I'm doing wrong," she whispered into the silent darkness, "can you just tell me what it is?" The girl turned and leaned on her staff, giving the Man in the Moon a pleading gaze. "Because I've tried everything," Jackie continued, "and no one ever sees me!"

She glared at the white disc in the sky. "You put me here," she said, her voice breaking. "The least you could do is tell me why." She kept looking, staring, hoping – hoping for an answer.

When no response came, the winter sprite turned away, feeling defeated. She flew off the roof and landed on nearby electrical wires, her feet freezing the areas she touched. She dejectedly (and somewhat vindictively, though she would never admit it) tapped a neighboring wire with her staff, swiping it forward to elongate the frost.

The night sky was then lit up with glowing strands of golden sand. Jackie gazed in wonder at the sight and pulled off her hood to get a better view. "Right on time, Sandman," she murmured, running along the wire. Jackie jumped up and ran her fingers through the dreamsand, laughing as a golden dolphin appeared. The dream animal flipped in the air and chittered playfully to the girl before becoming sand once again.

Meanwhile, Cupcake was contentedly dreaming away. She subconsciously hugged her stuffed toy closer and snuggled deeper into her blankets, smiling in her sleep.

She used to be someone Jamie and his friends feared, but after they began playing earlier that day – they realized that Cupcake was actually really sweet and kind under that tough demeanor, and that she absolutely adored unicorns.

But in the warm, pastel-pink room, the shadows began to grow – revealing a tall man with malevolent golden eyes, gray skin, and a sinister grin. "Oh, I thought I heard the clippity-clop of a unicorn," the man said, a slight British accent in his speech. "What an adorable dream! And look at her, precious child. So sweet, and full of hope and wonder," he said with a scathing tone. "But why, there's only one thing missing – a touch of fear."

The man laughed maliciously as he poked the golden dream with his finger, corrupting it . . . and turning it pitch black.

Cupcake whimpered, her pleasant dream being transformed into something more sinister.

"That never gets old," Pitch said, sighing. He cradled the nightmare sand close, willing it to take shape. "Feel your fear. Come on. Come on, that's right. Yes, what a pretty little Nightmare," he said, grasping the onyx horse. "Now," he commanded, "I want you to go tell the others that the wait is over!"

The Nightmare shot out of the window and flew into the night, whinnying as it went.

Pitch Black was then outside, a wicked smirk on his face. "Now, don't look at me like that, old friend," he said to the Man in the Moon, not unlike a certain winter sprite ten minutes prior. Pitch watched the black sand and Nightmares stream over the moon with satisfaction. "You knew this day would come. My Nightmares are finally ready."

And after a beat –

"Are your Guardians?"

Jackie was still standing on the wires, watching wistfully as the golden dreamsand began to fade away. As she was about to take another step forward, a dark blur shot in front of her.

"Whoa!" she yelped, almost losing her balance. Staring in the direction the blur had gone, Jackie hesitated for a moment before shooting after it. She landed on a tree branch, her blue eyes squinted as she tried to catch another glimpse at whatever had tripped her. The wind began to blow in a certain direction, so Jackie went that way, somehow managing to set off a car alarm.

Weird. So inanimate objects could feel her, but unbelievers can't? Ugh, the injustice of it all!

She leapt over rooftops before settling down in an alleyway. Staff raised in defense , Jackie moved forward, eyeing her surroundings for anything that moved.

"Hello, mate."

Jackie froze. Oh, no. No, no, no. It couldn't be him. Quickly flipping her hood up, she whipped around and spotted a tall figure casually flicking around a boomerang.

"Been a long time," Bunnymund continued. "Blizzard of '68, Ah believe."

Neither of them could forget that day – both for different reasons.

"Easter Sunday, wasn't it?" Bunny said, pointing his boomerang at the winter sprite.

"Bunny!" Jackie said playfully. In truth, she was actually scared out of her mind, but she hoped that she successfully covered it up. "You're not still mad about that, are you?" She avoided meeting his eyes, lest he figure out her fear.

"Yes," he said shortly. "But this is about something else," he went on, examining his boomerang. A pause. "Fellas?"

Jackie's eyes narrowed. Who . . . ?

Then her eyes widened as quickly as they narrowed. "Hey! Put me down!" she yelled, as she was lifted up in the air by two pairs of furry arms. She twisted in their grasp, her hood slipping off in the struggle. Her protests were cut short, though, when they shoved her in a sack.

Bunny watched with amusement as the pesky spirit of winter was lifted bodily by the yetis and hurled in the bag. One of the yetis shook a snow globe portal and threw it on the ground, where it burst into a swirl of light. It looked at Bunnymund and gestured to the portal, clearly asking whether the Pooka would come along.

"Me?" Bunny chuckled. "Not on yer nelly. See ya back at the Pole." The Guardian of Hope then tapped his foot twice on the asphalt, making a hole appear in the ground. He jumped into the tunnels, a much, much better form of transportation than portals, and definitely the sleigh.

He smirked as he shot through the tunnels, thinking of how irritated Jack Frost would be during his travels. Not happy, Bunny mused.

Jackie was terrified. She yelled and fought continuously during her time in the dark sack, an unknown memory flitting across her mind. Jackie felt a momentary feeling of weightlessness, but then a hard landing, her bones feeling jarred.

She lifted her head, disoriented, as two pairs of clueless (but excited) brown eyes peered at her from the top of the bag.

"Hey! There he is!" Looking around for the source of the voice, Jackie spotted a large man with a white beard looking eagerly at her. "Jack Frost!"

Jackie was now half-way out of the red bag. "Wow . . ." she said, gazing around the room. "You gotta be kidding me. Hey, hey, put me down," she demanded of the yetis that had suddenly picked her up. Jackie stretched her limbs, a nagging thought at the back of her mind.

"I hope the yetis treated you well," North said.

Jackie flipped up her staff with her foot and caught it in her hands. "Oh, yeah, I love being shoved in a sack and tossed through a magic portal," she said sarcastically.

"Oh, good!" North replied, smiling. "Dat vas my idea."

Jackie blinked. Did the guy not understand sarcasm? The nagging thought was now itching at her. What was it?

"There he is!"

Oh . . . North had referred to her as a "he."

Did the people of the spiritual realm really think that Jackie was a guy?

"You know Bunny, obviously," North said, looking at the overgrown rabbit.

"Obviously," Jackie repeated, glaring in Bunnymund's direction.

"And the Tooth Fairy!"

Jackie barely had time to see the woman before she flitted up into Jackie's face. "Hello, Jack," she chirped. "I've heard a lot about you, and your teeth!"

Jackie was rattled. "Uh, my what?" The feathered woman was a biiit too close for the winter sprite to feel comfortable.

"Open up!" Tooth demanded. "Are they really as white as they say?" Jackie barely had time to answer before her mouth was pried open by a pair of surprisingly strong hands. Gasping, the Tooth Fairy let go and said, "Yes! Oh . . . they really do sparkle like freshly fallen snow!"

"'Anks?" Jackie tried to say.

A couple of the mini-fairies began twittering in adoration.

"And Sandman," North finished. No response. "Sandy? Sandy? Sandy, WAKE UP!"

The small golden man awoke with a sleepy smile.

"Hey," Jackie then cut in, "anyone wanna tell me why I'm here? You're like, 'the Big Four!' and you're not exactly making the greatest first impression on me."

Sandy raised a finger and began making a whirl of sand images above his head. Jackie squinted in confusion as she tried to figure put the complex movements. A moon, a snowflake, a . . . a man? "That's not really helping," Jackie said, "but thanks, little man."

Turning on her bare heel, Jackie said, "I must've done something really bad to get you four together." Casually freezing a passing elf, she said innocently, "Am I on the naughty list?"

"On naughty list?" North chuckled. "You hold the record. But no matter, we overlook. Now we are wiping clean the slate," he said, brushing off the tattoo that said NAUGHTY.

Well, that was nice to know, Jackie pondered. Guess all the trouble I've caused shot me straight up the list. But there was still something bothering her. "How come?" she asked suspiciously.

"Good question," Bunny muttered.

"How come?" North said loudly. "I tell you how come! Because now, you are Guardian!" The bearded man raised up both his arms and the yetis behind him raised up torches.

Oh, no. Guardian? Her? Uh, no. No way. Jackie began to back slowly away. She was beginning to feel too suffocated here.

The elves played a triumphant tune on their trumpets. It was too loud, too many people around her . . . ! Tooth's mini-fairies brought forward a flower necklace, making Jackie reach up to her throat protectively. The gift Emma gave her two-hundred-twenty-five years ago was irreplaceable.

"What are you doing?" Jackie tried to avoid the offending piece of jewelry, but stumbled into a yeti, who held her tight. "Get off me!"

Being held was such a foreign concept to her. Wind was different, though. Her comforting, cool embrace reminded Jackie that she was still there. But Wind still couldn't compare to an actual, real live person's embrace . . . though it was an abominable snowman holding her.

"This is the best part!" North bellowed cheerfully, seemingly oblivious to the winter child's terror.

The flames from the torches were swinging much too close for comfort. Jackie swerved her way around them, because fire + winter being = danger. The yetis pushed the girl back into the circle, where an elf pointed to a pair of blue shoes with a bell on the tip.

Jackie wanted to scream. These people – these strangers! – were invading too much of her space, shattering her ideals, and she released all that pent-up energy in a blast of ice from her staff.

The music stopped abruptly, and the Guardians were staring at Jackie with flabbergasted expressions. "What makes you think I wanna be a Guardian?" she demanded. "You guys barely know me – in fact, you don't know me at all! You don't even –" Know that I'm a girl, Jackie finished sadly in her head.

North began laughing loudly, looking at the other three Guardians as if he was encouraging them to laugh as well. "Of course you do!" North said, his eyes twinkling merrily. "Music!"

"No music!" Jackie said, shooting the idea down immediately. "This is all very flattering," she drawled, "but, ah . . . you don't want me. Just admit it! Why wait three hundred years before contacting me?"

Jackie meandered over to a table and leaped up on top of it. "Besides," she said, "you're all 'hard work and deadlines!' and I'm . . . snowballs and fun times." She dropped and sat down, wrapping her legs around her staff. "I'm not a Guardian."

"Yeah, that's exactly what Ah said!" Bunny said, looking at North pointedly.

"Jack," Tooth said gently, fluttering over to the winter sprite, "I don't think you understand what it is we do." Jackie flinched and leaned slightly away from the feathered woman's touch, but the Tooth Fairy didn't seem to notice. Flying up higher to the Globe, Tooth said, "Each one of those lights is a child."

"A child who believes," North continued. "And good or bad, naughty or nice, we protect them."

Jackie tried to respond, "Then where were you four when I was younger?" but Tooth was examining her teeth again, so it sounded somewhat like unintelligible gibberish.

"Tooth!" North reprimanded. "Fingers out of mouth."

The fairy in question smiled sheepishly. "Oh, sorry. They're beautiful," she said, laying a hand on Jackie's shoulder.

"Okay, no more wishy-washy," North commanded, pacing. "Pitch is out there, doing who know what!"

Jackie had to stifle a laugh. "You – you mean the Boogeyman?"

"Yes!" came the serious response from North. "When Pitch threatens us, he threatens them as well." North pointed at the Globe – or more accurately, the pinpricks of light.

Jackie was having no more of this. "All the more reason to pick someone more qualified!" she snapped, refusing to face them. She knew it was childish, but . . . damn it, she was a kid too!

"Pick?" North asked, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You think we pick? No, you were chosen. Like we were all chosen, by Man in Moon."

Jackie froze. "What?" She turned to look at them, a disbelieving expression on her face.

"Last night, Jack," Tooth chipped in softly, "he chose you."

"Maybe," Bunnymund mumbled, arms crossed.

Choosing to ignore the previous statement said by a certain rabbit, Jackie said, "Man in the Moon . . . he talks to you?" And after the thousands of fruitless attempts to get a simple response out the guy . . .

"You see, you cannot say no," North said, his voice quieter. "It is destiny."

"But – but why wouldn't he tell me that himself?" Jackie ran a hand through her hair, stopping when she reached her shoulders. "After three hundred years, this is his answer? To spend eternity like you guys, cooped up in some – some hideout thinking of new ways to bribe kids? No, no," she concluded. "That's not for me!" she yelled at the sky, before glancing back at the Guardians and saying, "No offense."

Bunnymund raised an eyebrow. "How – how is that not offensive?" he demanded, walking closer to Jackie, though she was already walking away again. "You know," he said, chuckling, "I think we just dodged a bullet, here! I mean, what's this clown know about bringing joy to children anyway?"

Jackie stopped. "Ya ever hear of a 'snow day'?" she asked, turning around. "I know it's no hard-boiled egg," she said sarcastically, "but kids like what I do."

"But none of them believe in you," Bunnymund said, a dangerous tone in his voice. The Pooka straightened up to his full height – a good foot-and-a-half above the girl. "You see, you're invisible, mate. It's like you don't even exist."

Jackie glared hard at the Guardian of Hope, trying to fight back the tears welling in her eyes. Tooth seemed to notice though, and stated firmly, "Bunny! Enough."

Discreetly wiping away the moisture in her eyes with her sleeve, Jackie said, almost sounding bored, "No, the kangaroo's right."

"The what? Ah'm not a kangaroo, mate," Bunnymund said, his green eyes hard.

"Oh, and this whole time I thought you were," Jackie shot back, still feeling hurt from the Pooka's previous words. "If you're not a kangaroo, what are you?" She leaned in challengingly.

"Ah'm a bunny," he said, accepting the challenge. "The Easter Bunny. People believe in me."

Jackie refused to break eye contact, even though her vision was getting strangely foggy again. Out of the corner of her eye, though, she saw the Sandman nervously tap North's leg.

"Jack," the Cossack said abruptly, "walk with me."

"Bunny," Tooth scolded, "that was too much, even for you!" The violet-eyed fairy was staring reproachfully at him.

"The little bugger was askin' for it," he defended. "Like Ah said earlier, he's irresponsible and selfish. What was MiM thinkin'?"

Sandy made a flurry of snowflakes, and then a clock turning counter-clockwise.

Tooth sighed. "Sandy's right, you know. You can't let one little action from long ago cloud your judgment of Jack."

Bunny scowled. "I was close to losing believers that day! That boy's nothing but trouble."

Tooth's warm eyes became icy, her persona slipping into the warrior queen that she was. "Just try, Aster. Maybe you'll get to know him better."

Bunny became thoughtful when he heard her call him "Aster." Tooth almost never called Bunny by his real name . . . "Fine," he grumbled, "I'll try to be nicer to the bloke."

Tooth smiled. "Thank you, Bunny." Then her eyes widened, her head tilted as she heard something that only she could hear. "That was just my fairies," she relayed, biting her lip. "My Palace is under attack!"

"We'll come with you, sheila," Bunny said immediately. Sandy nodded an affirmative, punching his palm with a tough expression.

Tooth flew higher to the window. "No, I'll go first. You just get Jack and North."

Bunny watched Tooth depart, before racing to North's office. Something was definitely up.

"It's nothing personal, North," Jackie said as the two of them went down the elevator. "But what you all do, it's just not my thing."

"Man in Moon says it is your thing. We will see." North went faster through the workshop, making various adjustments in the yetis work.

"Hey, slow down!" Jackie called, looking around. "I've been trying to bust in here for years – I want a good look."

"What do you mean, 'bust in'?" North said suspiciously, looking over his shoulder.

"Oh, don't worry, I never got past the yetis," she said casually. The yeti behind her made the "I'm watching you" sign and punched his palm threateningly, but Jackie knew that he was just teasing. "Oh, hey, Phil!" she chirped cheerfully, waving.

"Where do you think I got my hoodie from?" Jackie said innocently.

North didn't reply, only commanding, "Keep up, Jack, keep up!"

Jackie, she thought. Why did the whole spiritual world think that she was a guy? Just because Jokul Frosti was a man in Nordic Mythology didn't mean that she was. She sighed. I guess "Jack Frost" just sounds better. I'll have to tell them I'm a girl eventually.

Jackie supposed it was the short hair, and the lack of curves. Her silvery-white hair barely brushed her shoulders, and her bangs made it hard to see her blue eyes clearly. Jackie sighed again, before looking around the workshop with renewed interest. Yetis were fiddling with toys, examining them at all possible angles. "Whoa!" Jackie ducked before a plane could bonk her on the head.

"I always thought the elves made the toys," she commented, looking at all the furry creatures.

"We just let them believe that," North whispered conspiratorially behind his hand before making a right.

Jackie glanced at the elves that were present, and suppressed a smirk. The clueless little elves were just electrocuting themselves with Christmas lights and chowing down on cookies.

"Very nice," North lied with a smile. "Keep up good work." The man wrapped an arm around Jackie's narrow shoulders and pulled her forward.

As they walked, North declared to a yeti, "I don't like it. Paint it red!"

The yeti in question protested before groaning at the large stack of toys that it had to repaint.

North kept walking with long strides, so it was difficult for the significantly smaller girl to catch up. He then opened a door to a large room with huge blocks of ice and a wooden bookshelf filled with books, obviously, and other interesting-looking trinkets.

"Fruitcake?" he offered, taking the platter from an elf.

Man, those things are everywhere! Jackie thought. "Uh, no, thanks."

North tossed the cake in a corner, where over-eager elves began scooping it up. "Now, we get down to tacks of brass," he said, cracking his knuckles.

Jackie's eyes narrowed. "Tacks of . . ." She then flinched as the door behind her slammed with a loud bang and locked itself tight. Jackie attempted to curl in on herself as North came closer, looking threatening.

"Who are you, Jack Frost? What is your center?" he asked, poking his finger at her chest. Jackie pressed harder against the door to avoid being touched . . . there. But she couldn't blame him – only Wind knew the fact that "Jack" was actually female.

Let's see, Jackie thought sarcastically, I'm a winter spirit, about three hundred years old, I look seventeen, and, oh yeah – I'm a girl.

Instead, she stammered out, "My center?"

"If Man in Moon chose you to be a Guardian, you must have something very special inside," North concluded, his finger now in front of Jackie's face. He stepped back, stroking his long beard thoughtfully. He smiled, and reached over to something on the bookshelf. "Here we go. This is how you see me, no?" he asked, holding out the matryoshka doll out to Jack. "Very big, intimidating . . ."

Jackie eased herself off the door and examined the doll North was holding.

"But if you get to know me a little . . . well, go on." He tossed the nesting doll at Jackie, who caught it. She set her staff against the table and opened the doll. Jackie stared at the inside before saying slowly, "You are downright . . . jolly?"

"But not just jolly! I am also mysterious . . . fearless . . . and caring!" Jackie was opening the rest of the dolls as North spoke. "And at my center –"

Jackie poured the last figure into North's hand and blinked. "There's a tiny, wooden baby," she deadpanned, rubbing her forehead tiredly.

"Look closer," North instructed. "What do you see?"

Jackie picked it up, trying to pull information from thin air. "I – I – You have big eyes," she offered lamely.

North smiled. "Yes! Big eyes, very big, because they are full of wonder." North seized Jack's shoulders, then walked deeper into his office, gesturing to his prototypes. Jackie smiled at his enthusiasm. "That is my center. It is what I was born with. Big eyes that have always seen the wonder in everything. Eyes that see lights in the trees and magic in the air . . . This wonder is what I put into the world, and what I protect in children."

They were now out of North's workshop, staring at the magic that was all around them. "It is what makes me a Guardian." He turned to face Jackie. "It is my center. What is yours?"

Jackie averted her gaze and looked at the doll instead. "I don't know." But North simply put his hand over hers and closed her fingers over the figurine.

"Keep it, until you do know . . . Jacqueline."

Jackie looked up in shock, but then spied Tooth shooting past the window. Bunny and Sandy then appeared, the former saying, "We have a problem, mate. Trouble at the Tooth Palace."

Oh my goodness, North knows! How? That will be answered soon.

Leave any comments on the story below, and I'll see you soon!