A New Guardian

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It was the Dream Sand rope tugging on Sandy's arm that interrupted our hug.

I pulled away from the hug and looked up at Pitch. The Dream Sand tied around his wrist had him suspended in the air. The Dream Sand rope itself was as straight as a pole.

Sandy also looked up at the Dream Sand rope and tugged on it. Pitch let out a yell and was slammed into the ground, knocking him out instantly. Soon after, a few golden butterflies began fluttering in a circle above Pitch's head.

I winced as I stood up. I know he deserved it but that looked like it hurt, even if there was a layer of snow to break his fall.

Something behind me caught Sandy's eye, causing a smile to break out across his face. Sandy began jumping up and down in joy. I looked over my right shoulder as the others gathered around Sandy.

"Sandy!" Tooth exclaimed excitedly.

North let out a joyful laugh and lifted Sandy up into the air, who slowly floated back down to the ground.

"Mate, you are a sight for sore eyes!" Bunny commented as Sandy landed back on the ground.

Sandy smiled and summoned a cloud of Dream Sand to form beneath his feet as he rose into the air, floating higher and higher until he was almost three to four stories high. Sandy glanced down at his hands before shooting streams of Dream Sand in every direction.

The Dream Sand floated and twirled gracefully towards various windows and passed through with ease. As each stream of Dream Sand disappeared into windows and over buildings into the distance, I could feel a small spark of belief within me as a child began to believe again.

As Sandy released stream after stream of Dream Sand, they eventually began to transform into various different things that children love, like animals whether they be living, extinct or mythical.

Out of nowhere, one of Pitch's Nightmares came charging through the snow with its sights set on the girl with short spiky hair in a pink nightdress.

However, rather than running or looking scared, she turned her body completely to the Nightmare and gave it an unimpressed look.

The Nightmare screeched to a halt, mere inches from the girl's face. The girl in the pink nightdress lifted her hand and gently tapped the Nightmare's nose, causing it to turn into Dream Sand and transform into a unicorn. The girl's face lit up as she jumped in excitement. The Dream Sand Unicorn nuzzled it's face against the girl's, before cantering on to fulfil another child's dream.

A tremendous thud shook the ground as a huge mass of Dream Sand transformed into a life size Brontosaurus. North let out a cheerful laugh as the Dream Sand dinosaur passed by.

My Tiger ears, claws and tail disappeared and a pair of Robin wings took its place on my back. Willow dug her claws into my shoulder as I took to the sky. I flew straight up and around the long neck of the Brontosaurus before hovering beside it's head.

I would love to bring the dinosaurs back, but there are enough movies out there to show why that would be a bad idea. Also even before Pitch attacked us, I wasn't powerful enough to bring back any extinct creatures. Not that I've tried or anything...

A squadron of Dream Sand Manta-rays swam over my head gracefully through the air. As the Manta-rays were swimming, a pod of Dream Sand Dolphins cut across their path, dove down past the powerlines and weaved around the children.

I dove down with the Dolphins and landed as the Dream Sand Dolphins began to swim parallel to the ground. With a mere thought, my wings disappeared. Willow retracted her claws and resettled herself on my shoulder.

As the Dream Sand Dolphins swam up and away from the children, Dream Sand snowflakes floated down upon Jamie's friends as they cheered and laughed.

A school of Dream Sand fish swam around Jamie, who stared in awe at the fish as they floated in front of him. The brunet boy had a wide grin across his face as he lifted his hand, hoping to pet the fish. Before he could do this however, a snowball hit his back with a loud thud.

I winced for a second time this evening.

Jamie looked up and around and spotted Jack, who threw a snowball up into the air and caught it again with a smile. Jamie's face slowly broke into a smile before he let out a laugh and scooped up a snowball.

He threw the snowball towards his friends and hit the blond kid in the face, knocking him on his behind.

I, yet again, winced.

Instantaneously, a snowball fight ensued. The kids around Jamie's blond friend picked up snowballs and threw them back at Jamie and the girl in the beanie. I couldn't help but laugh as the snowball fight escalated.

Sandy eventually descended and saluted Jack and North, who were standing off to the side of the snowball fight.

Pitch wasn't going to stay asleep forever so we may as well make the most of this moment.

I couldn't stop the small smile from spreading across my face as I reached up and gently removed Willow from my shoulder. I crouched down and placed Willow in the snow.

Willows nose began twitching as she immediately started hopping around in the snow. As she jumped, she twisted her body slightly in the air before landing and instantly doing it again.

I couldn't help but smile at Willow's binky jumps. I loved it when she did that.

Her burst of happy energy was cut short, however, when a snowball hit Willow directly in the chest. She let out a squeak as it hit her midair and knocked her back a metre.

I gasped and whipped around to see the two twin boys standing about six metres back.

The boy in the beanie had his hands to his mouth, trying to hold back a guilty laugh and the boy in the orange top had his arms wrapped around his stomach as he laughed.

"That was so mean!" I called out to them as I scooped up a handful of snow, moulded it into a ball and threw it at the two of them.

My aim has never been the best. I don't even know why I threw that snowball knowing my aim was poor.

The snowball soared over the two boys' heads, travelled through the air and hit North in the back of the head with a dreaded BOOF!

I gasped yet again and my eyes widened as I froze in shock, guilt and fear.

The twins turned and clocked where the snowball had landed.

North whipped around to look behind him and find the culprit. His eyes landed on Claude, Caleb, myself and a random elf standing between the twins. This elf had a snowball in his hand.

I was going to be on the naughty list for life.

"Ooohhh." The twins pointed at the elf standing between them; I hastily followed their lead and also pointed at the elf. The elf looked at the twins then back up at North, his hand lowering.

There was a tense moment, before North burst out laughing, "You're all on naughty list," North bent down and scooped up a large handful of snow.

"Bunny, think fast!" North hurled the snowball in his hand directly towards Bunny.

Bunny looked over at the sound of his name and less than half a second later, North's snow ball smacked him in the face and knocked him to the ground.

Bunny sat up and shook the snow off of his face with a smile.

I felt Willow's claws dig into my leg as she climbed up to my left shoulder. Once she was settled, she rubbed her cheek against mine.

I closed my eyes and smiled as I brought my hand up and gently scratched her ears.

"You dare have fun in my presence?! I am the Boogeyman!"

My head whipped round at the sound of the Nightmare King's voice shouting above the playful shouts and laughter.

My eyes landed on Pitch who had awoken from his Dream Sand induced sleep. With his entire body shaking in rage, he began to make his way towards the kids who seemed oblivious of Pitch's presence.

"And you will fear me!" Pitch attempted to lunge at Jamie with his hands outstretched, almost as if he was going to grab him by the throat.

I pulled my knife from my holster and prepared to fight the man yet again.

Before Pitch or us Guardians could do anything, Jamie ran straight through The Nightmare King with no fear in his eyes.

"No! Oh... No..." Pitch said under his breath. He looked up at us, horrified.

Whilst the kids carried on playing, those of us that could still see Pitch looked on, awaiting his next move. I tightened my grip on my knife.

After a few tense seconds, Pitch turned and ran away towards the forest behind him.

"Where does he think he's going?" I asked rhetorically. Willow lifted her paws as if to say 'who knows?'

North pulled a snow globe from his pocket and gave it a shake. "It's time to finish this," He stated. North brought the snow globe up to his mouth. "Take us to Pitch."

He threw the snow globe to the ground and it opened up into light blue and pink portal. A faint image of a frozen lake could be seen within the portal.

North stepped towards the portal and walked through it. Bunny followed, then Tooth, then Sandy, then Jack and I.

There was a second of rapid spinning and it felt like I was being squeezed through a thin tube. As quickly as it started, it stopped, and we were standing on a large, frozen lake.

North was standing in front of Jack and I with Bunny and Tooth on his right and Sandy on his left; Jack and I joined Sandy.

I looked in front of us and saw Pitch running towards us. He was looking over his shoulder, most likely to see if we were following him.

Sorry, Pitch. We are one step ahead of you... literally.

Pitch was so distracted that he ran directly into North's chest with solid thud, slipped on the ice and fell backwards.

"Oh, ouch," I laughed.

Pitch looked up at us and saw North smiling down at him.

"Leaving the party so soon?" North asked, sarcasm lacing his voice, which was honestly surprising because there have been multiple occasions when my sarcastic comments flew right over his head.

Tooth flew forward and hovered in front of Pitch, "You didn't even say goodbye."

A high pitched ringing sound resonated around the area as Tooth flicked a small object towards Pitch and it landed in his right hand. Pitch looked down at the object; it was an American quarter.

"A quarter?" Pitch scoffed. He looked up at the Tooth Fairy when BLAM! A fist punched him right in the jaw and a single tooth flew from his mouth and went skittering along the ice.

I unintentionally let out an audible snicker before covering my hand with my mouth to suppress the laughter. It's a serious moment, Lily. Serious. Be serious. I'm super serious.

Pitch recovered from the shock and put his hand up to his mouth, feeling where his tooth should be before looking up at Tooth in disbelief.

"And that's for my fairies," Tooth said in a falsely sweet tone with a smile.

"You can't get rid of me! Not forever!" Pitch yelled frantically as he scrambled to his feet and turned to face us.

"There will always be fear!" Pitch stated with a matter-of-fact tone like he'd just presented us with the ultimate argument.

"So what?" North threw up his hand in dismissal, then held up one finger, "As long as one child believes, we will be here to fight fear!"

Pitch looked unimpressed, smug even.

"Really? Then what are they doing here?" Pitch gestures to the surrounding forest. Hundreds of Nightmares stalked towards the pond, neighing menacingly.

Strange thing though, I'm not scared. I've got no reason to be. None of the other Guardians were showing any signs of fear. They seemed at ease. Bunny even had a small smile on his face.

"They can't be my Nightmares, I'm not afraid," North chuckled before turning to Jack and I, then turned back towards Pitch and crossed his arms over his chest.

They smell Pitch's fear.

"Oh, Pitch. Don't be nervous. It only riles them up more. They smell fear, you know," I smiled before winking at Pitch.

Pitch's eyes widened with terror and realisation as the Nightmares around us began making their way towards their creator.

As Pitch turned and started running with a yell of fear, the Nightmares sprinted past us and began chasing Pitch.

"Ahhh, no....AAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

The Nightmare King attempted to get away but he couldn't get his footing on the ice.

He faltered and was swept up by the stampede of Nightmares. The Nightmares transformed into simple streaks of black as they made contact with Pitch and lifted him into the air, resembling a black cloud.

Pitch could be heard grunting and yelling as he attempted to escape his Nightmares.

Eventually, Pitch disappeared from sight and only his voice could be heard reverberating around the forest.

"No, no, nooooooo!" The voice of the Nightmare King grew fainter and fainter until there was nothing but the sound of the leaves rustling in the early morning breeze.

I tilted my head back and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath and released it before looking back down at the woods that Pitch was just dragged into.

It's all good. The Nightmare King is gone. We're good now.

Willow stood on her hind legs on my shoulder and fell forwards. My eyes widened in panic as I put my hands beneath her to stop her from falling.

Willow landed in my hands with a squeak before rolling onto her back with a content sigh.

I smiled and adjusted her so that she was resting against my chest and sitting on my right arm. I stroked her cheek with my thumb before turning my head to my right and noticed the others had moved away and had begun walking towards Jack.

With Willow still propped against my chest and on my right arm, I turned around and began walking over to North's left side.

Jack had his back to us and was staring up at the moon, which was pale and faint in the early morning sky.

A giggle and a laugh from Tooth drew Jack's attention to us as Tooth went flying in to give Jack a hug. Tooth practically lifted Jack into the air as they embraced.

Tooth giggled again recoiling with giddy embarrassment as Baby Tooth let out a squeak.

Jack chuckled before gently patting Baby Tooth's face with his finger.

As Tooth and Baby Tooth flew back and hovered beside me, North took a step forwards towards Jack.

"Are you ready now, Jack?" North asked, "To make it official."

Oh, yeah, Jack's still not taken his Guardian oath. Well, here's a better place to do it. On a quiet, frozen pond in the early morning light rather than with multiple trumpets and drums and poi sticks and weird shoes that the elves present you with.

Speaking of the elves, a few of them had made their way to the pond and one had a trumpet. The trumpet elf began sternly hitting the instrument against his palm.

"Then is time you take Oath," North stated as a Yeti handed him the book with the letter 'G' on it. North licked his finger before turning a few pages of the book.

So gross. Why is it only old people that lick their finger to turn a page when they're reading something?

"Will you, Jack Frost...vow to watch over the children of the world?" North read.

Jamie and his friends, along with the rest of the elves, yetis and many of the Easter eggs and Sentinel eggs began making their way across the frozen pond.

"To guard them with your life - their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams? For they are all that we have, all that we are and all that we will ever be."

A sharp pain shot through my neck. My smile melted from my face and a small grimace replaced it. I brought my left hand up to the back of my neck and began rubbing and massaging it.

In the back of my head, I sensed an... energy. A dark energy. It felt like a bubble of pressure growing at the base of my skull.

Pitch. Was it Pitch?!

I looked over my shoulder to where Pitch was dragged by his Nightmare army and scanned the threshold of the forest.

Trees, trees, bushes and the occasional flower. Nothing out of the ordinary.

That can't be though... I can feel something. I can sense it.

The ache in my neck suddenly lessened. I lowered my hand in confusion. That feeling in my head though, the dark energy, was still there.

"I will."

My head whipped back to face Jack again at his voice.

Wait... was I the only one that felt that? Didn't...? No one felt anything?

I looked over at Sandy and Bunny, who would be the ones to most likely feel what I felt.

Sandy looked on at Jack with a proud smile on his face, as did Bunny. They were both completely at ease.

"Then congratulations, Jack Frost - for you are now and forevermore... a Guardian," North bowed and smiled at Jack after closing the book.

Jamie and his friends erupt in a cheer along with the Yetis, Elves and the Sentinel and Easter eggs.

Jack couldn't stop the toothy grin from spreading across his face.

"Yippa!" North laughed.

"Yeah! Wooo! Good job, mate. Good job!" Bunny cheered.

This isn't right. How did they not... feel... hear?

North walked up to Jack and picked him up.

"Klasno!" North kissed Jack on both his cheeks before setting him down again.

North let out a jolly laugh as Jack smiled up at him.

"That's my boy! Woo!" Bunny cheered again for Jack.

I looked back over my shoulder to the place that I sensed the dark energy to be. Still nothing. I hugged Willow close to me.

I would brush it off as nothing, but that energy- that pain... Why does it feel so familiar...? Like I'd felt it before.

"Keep it together, girls," Tooth's voice resounded, along with the squeaks of her Baby Teeth.

Goosebumps began to appear on my arms, legs and the back of my neck. However, they weren't from the cold.

I looked down at Willow, hoping that she sensed or heard what I did. She looked up at me with bright, happy eyes and twitched her nose.

Nothing. I was the only one that could sense a dark energy.

"You guys, look!" One of the kids called out.

My attention perked up. Did someone see something? Was it Pitch?

The sound of bells and the whooshing of wind resonated from the air above our heads. I looked up as North's sleigh soared through the sky before turning downwards for landing.

A tie-dyed elf ran and grabbed an Easter Egg from the path of the skis of the sleigh as it glided across the icy lake.

The kids ran up voicing their excitement and awe to North's sleigh as it slowed to a stop.

Okay. So it was only me who sensed something.

The bubble of pressure in my head grew stronger and a spark of pain started up again in my neck. I gasped quietly at the sudden pain and brought my hand up to the back of my neck again.

I turned fully towards the forest and prepared to will my Phoenix wings and talons again.

I scanned the forest again, looking for anything I might have missed or that just appeared.

Still nothing. Nothing that I could see anyway.

BOOM!

My eyes widened as my hand wrapped around the handle of my knife and ripped it from my holster. Willow dropped to the floor with a squeak.

I held it out as I spun to see what had made the noise.

Dream Sand began to slowly fall down upon the lake like golden snow.

A Dream Sand firework. It was a Dream Sand firework.

My heart began pounding against my rib cage as I turned back towards the forest.

There was something there. I couldn't see it it, but I felt it. I know there's something there.

The bubble of pressure in my head began to grow until it filled my entire head and my ears began ringing loudly.

I raised my both of my hands and covered my ears. The ringing grew louder until it was all I could hear.

I squeezed my eyes shut as the pain grew stronger and the pressure grew immense. My head felt like it was about to implode.

"Lily?"

At the sound of a voice, the pain and the pressure immediately dissipated. I let out a shaky sigh in relief and slowly opened my eyes.

I looked to where I sensed the dark presence only to see nothing strange yet again. Just the same forest as before.

"Hey?" A slight weight suddenly landed on my shoulder.

My stomach dropped as I lowered my hands and looked up at the source of the voice.

It was only Bunny; he was holding a worried Willow in his free paw.

It was only now I realised how fast my heart was beating and how badly my hands were shaking.

"You alrigh'?" Bunny asked, crouching down to my height.

Should I tell him? I know he'd believe me what with Pitch having just been here. I don't think it is Pitch though. It can't be... This didn't feel like him.

No. No, I won't tell anyone. Not until I can be sure. Maybe I could try telling The Man in the Moon?

"I'm fine." My voice came out small and almost terrified.

"You sure about that?" Bunny eyebrows furrowed slightly and his ears were turned towards me. The way he asked made it sound like he was looking for a specific answer.

He knew something was up. He had enhanced hearing so he could probably hear my heart racing from a mile away.

I looked away and nodded. I don't know enough to tell anyone yet.

I reached out and took Willow from Bunny's paw. As I hugged Willow to my chest, I moved around Bunny and began walking towards North's sleigh.

As I made my way to North's sleigh, I looked down at Willow. She looked up at me with that same worried look and crawled out of my arms. Willow crawled up my arm and onto my shoulder, snuggling her face into my hair.

I eventually got to the sleigh; North, Tooth and Sandy were already inside.

Willow hopped from my shoulder and landed on the wing of the sleigh. She jumped up into the sleigh and into Sandy's arms, who hugged her with a smile.

I smiled at the action as Bunny appeared next to me and gently ruffled my hair.

"C' mon. Up ya get," He said to me as he climbed up into the sleigh.

The pain was gone. The presence was gone. Maybe it was a one time thing?

I climbed up onto the wing of the sleigh and took a couple of steps forward to climb into the sleigh.

The pain in my neck and the pressure in my head reappeared tenfold. The dark presence felt stronger than ever. An echoing sound bounced off of the walls of my skull.

"You will not escape me again, Tiger Lily. You should have stayed dead."

Then, as quickly as it started, it disappeared. The pressure in my head disappated and the pain faded. The presence, however, that remained.

Someone was here. At the edge of the forest. I could feel them.

The terror coursing through my veins had me frozen in place. I couldn't look at the presence.

I shakily climbed over the barrier and into the sleigh. I sat down next to Sandy on his left; he still had Willow in his arms.

I rested my hands on my knees and closed my eyes. I could still feel that presence, but I didn't want to look. I didn't want to see what would be staring back at me.

I took a deep breath and opened my eyes, keeping my head facing forward. Willow crawled over Sandy's lap and hopped over onto my thighs. I hugged Willow to my chest once again.

The sleigh tilted slightly to the left as Jack stepped onto the wing. Are we leaving now?

My question was answered as North picked up the reins and whipped them.

"Hyah!" North yelled. The sleigh lurched forward as the reindeer began to run. The sleigh moved faster and faster until it gradually began to tilt upwards.

I closed my eyes and began to concentrate on the presence; it still felt evil and I could feel the malicious intent practically radiating from it.

The sleigh tilted upwards and the wind blew through my hair as the sleigh lifted from the ground and took off into the sky.

As we drew further and further away from the lake, the cheering and goodbyes of the children grew quieter and quieter.

As well as the dark presence. It kept fading and fading until it was completely gone. Almost as if it wasn't there in the first place.

I opened my eyes and saw the bright sky, the pale and large moon gazing upon North's sleigh.

The others showed no sign that they sensed something was wrong. If The Man in the Moon hadn't sensed anything and told them, maybe it really was nothing? I was the Guardian of Imagination, so maybe it was just that... my imagination?

My jaw unclenched and my shoulders relaxed as I sat Willow down on my lap.

Jack made his way past Sandy and I, flashing us a snow white smile. I quickly gave him a smile, albeit a fake one, but a smile nonetheless.

Once Jack had gotten to the back of the sleigh and got settled, I faced the front again and my fake smile immediately dropped.

That voice... it wasn't Pitch. It definitely wasn't The Man in the Moon. It was a woman's voice. It sounded strong and smooth...

What did it mean by escape?

What did it mean by again?

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