Not as Black and White as it Seems [PitchxElsa]

~~Chapter 2~~

On the other part of the forest that night, the trolls have been busier more than they usually were. Oh, they exist just as the sun and the moon does. Unlike the guardians, they were very shy creatures to the extent that the guardians themselves are scarcely aware of their existence and only knew that they preferred to stay within forest grounds. They arranged everything in the forest, from the pebbles under your feet to the coal and diamonds you mine below. They were the masters of mineral and yielders of the night sky. They help the animals, sometimes people, in their time of needs and help trees grow strong and tall. What you’ve known of trolls from stories are not real, well most of them. In contrast of what you might have heard, they are not vile, disgusting, stupid, grotesque nor cannibal beings. Rather, they are jolly, helpful, caring, wise and loveable fellows who took care of the woods. You see them too, although you’re not aware of them. They are the boulders you see in the woods. Like any other mystical beings they roam around at night for the same reason all enchanted beings do, to hide from the humans. They come in a variety of sizes: small, big, medium and heavy, really heavy. As nocturnal creatures, they naturally are asleep in the morning and awake at night. That’s why no matter what you do to them, they are not able to move and hit you in the head for stepping on their backs.

They were also beings of ancient, born when the world was still young. As beings that old, they knew so many things. They were wise and knowledgeable. They witnessed great many things, events that even the oldest records and historians weren’t able to tell or are aware of. Yet they were not immortal. Just like the guardians, their existence depended on something and that was the forest. As long as the forest they were made to protect exists, so will they. Women trolls wore red or pink crystals while male trolls wore blue or green, but only one troll wore the yellow ones because only the king of trolls had the right to wear them. These crystals glow whenever they speak.

Pabbie, the troll king, stood at the ledge of the base of the mountain that overlooks the the 'Valley of the Living Rocks', the troll’s home. His green moss-made cape swayed at the breeze gentle fingers along with his lion-like mane. He watched as some trolls went to plant seeds and sproutlings, some created different kinds of stones and gold and giving them to the moles to hide underneath the earth and the young ones practiced their magic. Scratching his stone-skinned cheeks, his ear-hair tickling his stone round earlobes as he continued to listen to the howl of the wind that brought him different stories to different events, memorizing every detail as he undoubtedly would write it a little later. “Hehehe…. It has been quite a while since you left that place.” He said with a kind, scratchy voice as he felt the cold presence behind him drew nearer. “So. How are things?”

“Not good.” It replied. With a friendly smile in the old troll’s lips he turned to the visitor as it wobbled towards him because of how short his legs were contrasting his big, round, snow-made body. “It’s getting the worse each day. The humans aren’t of any help either.”

 The old troll chuckled mirthlessly as he surveyed the three of the many bald spots of the forest. “They are becoming more aggressive and violent creatures as centuries pass.” He turned to his friend and patted his back. “Please thank her majesty for her help.”

The other gave a jolly laugh as his stick hands wrested on the troll’s mushroom sprouting back. “You know she would do anything for you guys, especially you. You’re like a father to her and she can’t say no to you, ‘member?” His tone became serious as he remembered the real reason he came here. “I thought it would be different. I thought that she would be different. But history keeps on repeating itself again and again.”

Sighing, the troll leaned to his wooden staff as he reminisces of the past. “No. She is different.” The snow turned to him with knitted brows in confusion. “She will be the one who will fulfill the prophecy.” He turned to his companion with dead serious eyes. “She will be the end.”

The look of dread painted his face as he understood what the ancient being meant. “No. Not her. Please not her.” He pleaded more to himself than the troll before him. He had wished for the end a million times, but now that it came and knowing that it was her that would end with this, it all seems meaningless. But he knew it was true. Deep within himself he knew it to be true, but it did not stop him to doubt. “And what makes you so sure of this.”

“For the wind has given me news. It seemed the wheels of fate had begun turning on us.” The troll’s grip on his staff tightened, his tone was grim and absolute. “He has already sent word to his chosen ones. All we need is to wait.”

“He? Who’s he?”

He chuckled and ruffled the stick hair of his companion. “He’s a friend. He calls himself the ‘Man In the Moon’.”

Streaks of colorful lights lit up in the sky very late at night. The North Pole was cold with winds raging, the very reason why Jack Frost arrived far earlier than the others. North had called on all the guardians, the northern lights danced above his workshop until the last guardian had arrived.

The main hall was littered with desert-and-chocolate serving elves and big, hairy Big Foots managing the control panels of the big, round globe with little lights decorating it. Tooth has been flying to-and-fro, barking cities after cities to her babytooths. Bunnymund on the other hand kept complaining to Sandman how his feet hurt and frozen solid to which his companion suggested he were shoes or mittens to his feet. While big ol’ Saint Nick was running a hole on the ground, oblivious to the world around him. And the winter prankster, even though he knows how serious the matter is, never passes a good opportunity to cause a little bit of mischief.

The clicking of his boots became a rhythm that helps him think cautiously. The Man In the Moon had called on his attention, although he tried talking to him, he wouldn’t say anything. And when he tries to put it aside, the he kept calling on him. So he thought that if the guardians were assembled maybe, just maybe, he would then reveal what he had in mind. But was it necessary? Was it wise to call on everyone for a simple- “FROGSONTHEBENCH!!!”

“Waaahhh!!!” the winter spirit caught him off guard and slipped on a little puddle of chocolate spill landing his butt on an innocent elf that was just about to clean it up. The poor elf tried to get out of the way at the last minute but got caught. The impact was great that the elf threw the rag he was holding to another elf’s face that was holding a tray fresh batch of cookies. The rag slapped the elf’s face so hard that he was knocked over and threw the tray up into the air. Tooth was busy barking orders that she hadn’t noticed a silver tray coming at her until it was on her face and she was lying flat on the ground. The five little fairies were so shocked that they weren’t able to dodge cookies that, based on their size, were heavy as hell. Unfortunately, the elf with the rag on his face was near the Sandman that he knocked him over causing him to spill the little yellow man’s mug of hot coco on the rabbit’s freezing foot resulting for him to jump up and down while holding his foot up screaming: “My foot! My Foot! My bloody, big foot!” which caused another disaster because a big foot heard him and thought the rabbit was making fun of him which made him very angry and throwing an elf that was just passing by directly at the bunny’s mouth while he complained in Yeti language.

The youngest guardian just laughed at the fiasco he caused and watched Bunny tearing throats with a yeti while North tries to calm everyone down.

“What are ya lookin’ at me like that for? He started it.” Bunny complained to North in his Australian accent. “He just threw me an elf with no reason.”

The Russian in a red jumpsuit stared at the Yeti with an eyebrow arched in suspicion. It grumbled something and Saint Nick turned back to his fellow guardian. “Danny said he heard ya’ sayin’ ‘bloody big foot’. It’s not nice.”

“It was an expression.” The pooka pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried control his temper. “Okay. Know what. I’m just gonna say sorry ‘kay. Didn’t mean to upset ya’.” Then the Yeti grumbled and scratched the back of his head and turned away to go back to his station.

“Danny says. It’s okay, he’s sorry too. Although, he meant to throw toy in your mouth so you choke.” The bearded man laughed as he patted the bunny’s back in good nature.

“And I thought rabbit’s feet are lucky.” Jack snickered, and with the pooka’s big ears, he heard everything the white haired boy said.

“What did you say, mate?” he said with annoyance in his voice and a fierce glare to match. His face an inch away from his. “Wanna say that to my face.”

The white haired teenager pulled back, swatting his hand on invisible flies. “Oh God. Gee, man. Not that close. Your breath smells like skunk’s butt. Would it kill you to brush your teeth once a century?”

“All right, you two. Break it up.” The bearded guardian appeared between them, his huge body acting as a wall between the two.

“Whooo…. I was a bit woozy there.” The feathered woman popped up with her fairies smiling like nothing happened. “So.” Her hands folded neatly together while her wings kept her afloat. “What’s up?”

Sandy nodded and a question mark appeared above his head.

“Yeah. What’s the meeting all about?” Jack said while he sat at the railing near the globe. “We came as soon as we saw the lights.”

“Is this about Pitch?” Bunnymund whispered cautiously, but everyone heard him because everyone in the room stood still.

 “I do not know.” He walked as he stroked his beard. “Man In Moon acting weird, won’t say. That is why I called you.” Gesturing to the guardians in the room, his voice came at a high pitch as he ended his sentence.

There was silence, as if on cue the lights dimmed and the celling opened, letting the light of the moon in and illuminate the room. Slowly, shadow started to form inside the round patch of light on the ground. A few seconds later, the shadows formed a giant, intricate-designed snowflake.

“So this is how you got warned about Pitch.” Jack whispered to the little, yellow man standing beside him but got shushed out by everyone.

The snowflake got smaller and moved up but stayed within the circle of light. Then a figure soon appeared, a figure of a woman with hands held outwards, spirals coming out of her hands. Then the shadows changed and turned to a figure everyone knew of. “Pitch Black.” Tooth voiced out her suspicion and not one of them disagreed with her. But it did not stop there, the figures changed back to the woman and the snowflake. It gradually changed, on the woman’s hand the spirals became crooked and edgy, on her neck were like sharp spikes and lines that resembled a structure of a snowflake coming out of the figure until the some of it were sticking out of the head.  The snowflake above the figure’s head grew and grew until it looked like different kinds of snowflakes put together in one snowflake. The guardians understood, Pitch would corrupt her and become evil like him.

North’s face was scrunched up in worry, thinking a war was upon them again. He looked up with reluctant eyes. “What must we do?” he asked the Man In the Moon.

The shadows shifted again, this time the woman appeared. The only thing shown was her upper body and she was not alone. In front of her was a shadow resembling that of Jack frost. Everyone looked at each other with wide and confused eyes that soon fell on Jack. Out of thin air, an hourglass appeared in the middle of the shadows. Before they could ask anything more, the moonlight faded and the lights went back on.

“Woah.” The winter spirit leaned his head against his wooden staff that was planted on the ground and held it tightly. Still staring at the ground where the moonlight was once was with unease. “That was mind blowing.” He turned to his friends. “Anyone got an idea who was that.”

Sandy was the first one to raise his hand and images started to pop up on top of his head. First it was an image of the snowflake the saw, then a crown, then a mountain and the last one was an image of a country from a world map.

“Her? That can’t be. She’s a mortal. She could be dead by now.” Bunnymund reasoned out.

“Or not.” North countered. “She could still be alive. She is only one we know like Jack.” He gestured to the confused winter spirit.

Raising his hand he tried to butt in the argument that had seemed to begin between the rabbit and the old man. “Ah. Hello, excuse me?” He waved his hand while the other held his wooden staff. “Hey, guys! GUYS! GUYS!!!” That caught their attention. “Who’s what and who’s who?”

All of them looked at each other. Tooth flew forward, her hands folded on her chest like in a prayer. “See Jack, there have been…. Stories… Stories of someone, other than you, that could do what you do. Control the frost and snow.” She took in a deep breath. “They call her the ‘Snow Queen’ and she lives in some mountain. Rumors have it, from beings like us,” She gestured to herself and to the others.  “that she lives in the Northern ice peaked mountain in Norway in a place that used to be called Arendelle, alone.”

“She is mysterious, as she is elusive.” Bunny interjected. “Not one of us has seen her for centuries. Sure we saw her as a kid, but when a war started over there centuries ago, we never saw her again.”

“Or even heard of her again.” North slapped the winter spirit’s back. “Then, slowly stories of snow queen went about the humans. We don’t know if is true, But we soon find out.” The old man smiled an encouraging smile at the boy and went to pick up the small hourglass. Intriguingly, the sand on top was not flowing down as fast as it should be. “We need to hurry, Man In Moon gave us limited time.” He lifted one meaty finger in the air as he turned and prepare to leave. “Remember. Pitch is out there, do not approach her alone. You find her, contact everyone and wait for the others to arrive. We don’t know what dangers we might bump into.” He turned to Tooth with serious eyes. “Tooth, could you spare each of us a babytooth so we could contact each other.” Toothiana looked at each of the babytooth with her, all of them nod in determination. She looked back to North and nodded, each of the babytooth went straight for Jack. They were arguing who would go with him, pulling each other’s wing while Jack tried to break off the fight. The other guardians just watched the scene dumbfounded. “Well…. That was unexpected.” The big, round man looked up to the winged guardian who was currently blushing in embarrassment. “Tooth, would you mind?”

This caught the attention of the tooth fairy and she whistled one loud and long note that immediately stopped the fight and for the little fairies to fall in line. One by one, Toothiana designated each fairy to a guardian. With that done, the guardians went their separate ways to look for this mysterious snow queen, but one thing was on the young Frost’s mind: How come they were the same? And what does the Man In the Moon’s plan for them both?