EDIT 2: (11/5/17) THIS IS PROBABLY A LITTLE OBVIOUS ATM BUT I AM NOT GOING TO BE REWRITING THIS FIC. I'M REALLY SORRY, BUT I'VE MOVED ON FROM ROTG AND AND AM STARTING FRESH AND WRITING FIC SOMEWHERE ELSE. AGAIN, I'M REALLY SORRY IF YOU WERE HOPING FOR A REWRITE, BUT I DON'T THINK I'D BE ABLE TO DO A VERY GOOD JOB IF I TRIED NOW.

A/N: (Edit: 1/5/16) Oh, goodness, is it 2016 already? But hello, lovelies, I think I'll be editing these chapters as soon as possible because I'm a little embarrassed at the style of my writing a year ago. This chapter isn't currently updated yet, but I promise I'll be getting around to it soon. :)

"I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again."
― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

Chapter One: Cold Hands, Warm Heart

Darkness. That's the first thing I remember. There was really no other feeling.

It was dark . . . and it was cold . . . and I was scared.

But then – then I saw the moon.

It was so big and so bright – it was like it chased the darkness away.

A young girl broke the surface of the ice. Gasping for air, the girl's bright blue eyes widened as she glimpsed the light of the moon. Her form floated steadily in the moonbeam . . .

And when it did, I wasn't scared anymore.

. . . before alighting gently on the frozen lake and refreezing the blemish on the ice.

Why I was there and what I was meant to do, I've never known.

The girl examined her pale hands with wonder, before staring back up at the moon with a somber expression.

And part of me wonders if I ever will. It makes me kind of sad, not knowing my place in this world.

She walked carefully on the ice, laughing softly to herself as she momentarily lost her balance. She gazed at her surroundings, and then tripped over a staff lying innocently on the ground. Eyeing the staff suspiciously, the girl poked it with her toe and quickly pulled her foot back when a thin layer of frost bloomed from the spot she touched. She leaned down and picked it up, a shocked expression forming on her face as the staff was covered in a thicker layer.

The tip of her staff nudged the frozen pond, and frost ferns laced the surface – making her shock morph into delight. With an experimental prod, frost slowly formed on the nearest tree. She ran her fingers over the design, her mouth open in awe. Her smile growing, she poked the tree next to it. Almost exploding with joy, she raced back to her lake and swiped her staff over the ice, her laughter growing as she spun around. When she neared the lakebed, a sudden gust of wind blew her small body into the air.

"Whoa!"

Waving her arms and legs around in order to gain a semblance of balance in the air, she gazed at the rapidly-spreading frost on her lake with a smile. But then the wind ceased to support her, making the girl gracelessly tumble back to earth. She gripped a tree limb tightly, still winded from her fall. Once the shock wore off, she began laughing softly to herself.

Then her eyes narrowed in curiosity at some lights in the distance. She crouched on the branch and stared at the glow for a heartbeat – before once again summoning the wind to fly off in that direction.

The girl brought a flurry of snowflakes with the wind to the small, night-bathed town. She unceremoniously landed on the earthen ground (she really needed to practice her flying), tripping over her brown cloak and staff. Though she wondered how no one noticed her less-than-perfect landing, she shrugged it off, choosing to explore the place that had caught her attention. Laughing happily, she waved at a woman passing by. The girl skipped over to another passerby, a man this time, saying hello. Her eyes flickered to a small brunette girl, who seemed to be pleading with someone, before deciding to greet others.

"Ma'am," she said in acknowledgement, dipping down in a surprisingly habitual curtsy. She then spotted a boy running in her direction. "Oh, uh, excuse me," she said with a polite smile, "could you tell me where I am?" She crouched down to better meet the boy's eyes, but then jerked up with a strangled gasp.

The boy had run through her.

The girl was rooted to her position with shock. She yelped as two more people passed through her, shuddering at the horrible empty feeling they had given her. She turned slowly around, realizing that none of the villagers had seen her, and that she was alone. The small girl she had seen earlier was gone, too.

"Hello?!" she called out again, but this time in desperation. She whirled around continuously, filled to the brim with pure anxiety.

My name . . . is Jacqueline Frost. How do I know that? The moon told me so.

But that was all he ever told me.

And that was a long, long time ago.

Five years had passed since Jackie was born.

She did explore most of the world (she remembered being delighted discovering a land of ice and snow at the bottom of the world), but she preferred to stay in Burgess, where her pond was. Jackie would never admit this, but the main reason she stayed by her lake was because of her regular visitor – the same brunette girl she glimpsed on the day of her birth.

The girl often made her way down the well-beaten path to the pond and talk to a "Jackie." Though Jackie knew that the Jackie Emma was talking about wasn't her, she would pretend.

Pretend that she was Emma's Jackie.

"Hi, Jackie," Emma would begin as she always did. "It's your birthday today. You would've been twenty-two. If you're an angel now, I hope you're here, listening."

"I'm not quite an angel," Jackie replied, smiling gently, "but I'm here for you." Jackie would always sit next to her and listen to the girl's problems, a silent and invisible listener.

Of course, Emma gave no sign that she heard the winter sprite.

"I didn't have enough money to buy you a present on your eighteenth birthday – to celebrate your coming of age – but I saved up for years to get you something really nice." Emma's warm, but sad brown eyes grew watery. "I wish that you were here to get it from me properly, though."

Jackie watched in curiosity as Emma pulled out a fine silver chain with a snowflake pendant.

"You were born on the winter solstice, Jackie," Emma continued with a small laugh. "And as we grew older, your favorite season was always winter – though you loved when Easter came around. That was your favorite holiday. When I was younger, you would drag me around the fields, hoping to get a glimpse of the Easter Bunny."

Emma stood up and pulled her woolen cloak tighter around her skinny body. "I'll leave your present here for you, Jackie. I hope that you get it, wherever you are." She kissed the snowflake softly and carefully set the necklace down on the frozen earth. "I love you, Jackie!" Emma sobbed, the tears now falling freely down her face.

The girl quickly sprinted away, not knowing that a lonely winter child also lay crying next to the frozen lake, clutching a silver snowflake to her chest.

-oOo-

It had been fifty-five years since Jackie was born. Emma was now sixty-eight years old, and she was dying.

Jackie was sitting quietly next to the sleeping woman, watching the shaky rise and fall of her chest. She gave a start as Emma's brown eyes fluttered open, a hacking cough seizing her body. "I'm not young anymore, Jackie," she whispered in the darkness, "but at least I'm leaving behind a family. Jack's wife is expecting her third child, and I'm sad that I'll never get to meet my newest grandchild."

"I bet he or she will be beautiful," Jackie whispered, touching the silver snowflake around her neck.

Emma's head turned. She had a faraway expression on her wrinkled face. Her long brown hair had been steadily streaked with silver as she aged, but her eyes never changed. "Jackie," she said, smiling.

"You – you can see me?" The winter child hardly dared to hope.

But Emma simply closed her eyes, and Jackie felt numbed as the older woman's spirit passed on, and Jackie was left alone again.

It was 1968. Two-hundred-fifty-six years had passed since Jackie's birth (not that she was counting or anything), and she was lying on her lake, staring at the moon. It was full tonight – just like it was when she rose out of the lake.

"I still don't know why I'm here," Jackie whispered softly, half to herself and half to the shining white disc in the sky. "Will I ever know?"

This was one of the few occasions the mischievous winter child had her down moments. Jackie Frost often doubted herself, and the main reason she made trouble for the other spirits was to know that she still existed.

Probably why Juliana doesn't like me much, Jackie mused, clutching her staff closer. After all, the spirit of summer was Jackie's seasonal counterpart.

Jacob, or Jake, as Jackie liked to call him, tolerated Jackie well enough, but got a bit annoyed at the teen for the occasional snow showers. The autumn spirit did put a lot of effort into painting the leaves, and sometimes let Jackie help when it was a busy season.

But Jasmine, the spirit of spring, was really the one who Jackie feared the most. Jackie never liked thinking about her.

Jackie curled up on the ice, trying to suppress a shudder and not think about murderous green eyes.

-oOo-

The next day was Easter Sunday.

Jackie had always liked the season, and cheerfully watched the kids scurry around joyfully and search for eggs. She had never met the famous Easter Bunny, but had caught glimpses of him setting down his hand-painted eggs for the children to find.

Today, Jackie was feeling brave enough to introduce herself. She would never admit this to anyone (though there was no one who would willingly talk to her), but she was rather shy at times. For years she had watched the Guardian of Hope on Easter, and she would usually help the kids find the eggs by blowing the wind in their direction.

The winter sprite flew around the town of Burgess, sending down a light snowfall for the kids to enjoy. They liked the challenge of searching of Easter eggs in the snow, and always had snowball fights after the hunts. The inhabitants of Burgess never gave a second thought to why there was an annual snowfall on Easter, but as long as no one got hurt – they didn't really care.

Jackie laughed exuberantly, her blue hood slipping off her head. Jackie's old clothes had been torn by an . . . unwelcome visit by Jasmine about a hundred years ago. Since then, she'd been wearing an oversized blue hoodie given to her by the yetis the last time she tried to break in Santoff Claussen.

Oh, Phil . . . Jackie smiled at the thought of the yeti. Sure, he was big and scary-looking, but he was really a big softie on the inside. The times she attempted to bust in began to be like a game for the two of them – how long could Jackie go without being caught?

Jackie scanned the ground below, and smirked as she spotted the Easter Bunny sprinting around the bushes, a basket hanging on his arm. She saw some kids close by, and began to set down a light snowfall. Swooping down, Jackie yelled, "Come on, guys! This way!" Jackie, assisted by Wind and some snowflakes, led the children to where some eggs were hiding.

Jackie had never felt this happy in a long time. Though she knew that none of the kids could see her, she still felt proud that she could help them anyway. Pretty soon, that "light snow" that the winter sprite had meant to send down turned into something much larger – something that became more difficult to get a handle on.

The kids were long gone, already feeling the chill in the air.

Nevertheless, Jackie was panicking. "Stop! I didn't want this much snow!" Her element refused to listen to her, and instead grew into a snowstorm. "Please!" Jackie flipped up her hood and closed her eyes, trying to suck the magic back into her core.

The effort exhausted the girl, though, and she passed out on the snow-covered grass, a small patch of green around her.

"Get up!"

Jackie jolted awake. She wasn't even aware that she had fallen asleep. Rubbing cloudy blue eyes, she yawned. "Hello?"

"Yeah, you! Get up, ya drongo!"

Jackie slowly stood up, her staff clutched tightly in her hands. Her hood was still up, only revealing bright blue eyes and a few strands of silvery-white hair. She squinted in the swirling snow, trying to see who was talking to her.

Annoyed green eyes stared back. For a split second, Jackie thought that it was Jasmine Breeze, here to yell at her, or – or worse. But the figure in front of Jackie was much, much taller than the spring spirit. The teen barely came up to his chest.

"Wow . . ." Jackie breathed. "You're the Easter Bunny."

"Damn right, Ah am!" seethed the Guardian of Hope. "Who are ya, and what're ya doin', spreadin' snow on my holiday?"

Jackie's eyes widened. "Oh, um, I'm Jack Frost. I always do this in Burgess. I guess you weren't here when I've been –"

"Save it, Frost." he growled. "I don't want to ever see you on Easter again. Your 'fun' is makin' me lose believers."

Jackie stepped back, and held her staff closer. Her blue eyes were filled with hurt. "I'm – I'm sorry . . ."

"Get out."

Jackie's eyes welled with tears. She took a few more steps back until she turned around and sprinted away, calling Wind to bring her to Antarctica.

44 years later . . .

North's workshop was nestled in the snowy cliffs of the North Pole. Better known as Santoff Claussen, the building had been there for centuries, and it was the place where wonder was created.

The large man was currently carving prototypes for toys that he would have the yetis make. A large block of ice was on his table, and as he walked over to his shelf for more supplies, he called out, "Still waiting for cookies!"

A cluster of elves in the corner looked up guiltily, and scurried over to North with a tray of partially licked treats. Music was playing in the background, and the Guardian of Wonder was merrily singing along as he carved minute details into the block of ice.

When North finished, he gently blew the excess ice off the train prototype and set it down on a track. He watched with joy as the train moved around and began to take to the air. Reaching down to pluck a cookie from the tray, he popped it in his mouth, saying, "Finally!"

North sang exuberantly, watching in pride as the small ice train flew around his workshop before –

CRASH.

"Galgaburga!"

"AHH!" North yelled, gesturing wildly to the smashed prototype.

The yeti who barged in yelled back, holding its furry hands to its equally furry face.

"How many times have I told you to KNOCK?" North bellowed with anger.

The yeti simply flung its arms in a random direction, babbling.

North's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What? The Globe?" The Globe of Believers was what told the Guardians how many children believed in them, and if that was threatened . . .

The Russian pulled out his sword and quickly made his way toward the Globe Room. He impatiently stormed his way through the elves milling about, saying, "Shoo, shoo with your pointy heads. Why are you always under boot?"

He stood in front of the Globe, watching in horror as large groups of believers began to swiftly disappear. "What is this . . .?" Looking closer, he told the yetis, "Check the axis. Is rotation off?"

But then a shadow of black sand began to ominously swirl around the Globe, and took the form of someone North thought he'd never see again. "Can it be?" Narrowing his eyes, North proclaimed, "Dingle, make preparations. We are going to have company."

North grasped a handle, twisted, and pressed down. Iridescent lights began glowing on the Globe and spiraled upwards. The Northern Lights then expanded in the sky and spread in five directions, calling the rest of the Guardians.

Toothiana, or Tooth as she was known to her fellow Guardians, was busy chattering instructions to her little helpers when the Lights appeared in the sky.

"Eighteen central incisors. Moscow, sector nine. Twenty-two incisors, eighteen premolars." The Tooth Fairy's mind was always on hyper-drive, quickly sensing whenever a child put a tooth under their pillow. She was also one of the busiest Guardians, working every day, 24/7, like Sandy.

Turning to another group of her "daughters," as Tooth affectionately called them, she relayed, "Uh, oh, heavy rain advisory." Rain always made it hard for her helpers to fly. It made their wings too wet, and they had to wait hours before taking off again. But she did admire their determination. Some of her fairies had learned to dodge the falling drops. "Des Moines, we've got a cusped at 23 Maple. Head out!"

Gently taking a small tooth from one of her fairies, she squealed, "Wait! It's her first tooth. Have you ever seen a more adorable lateral incisor in all of your life? Look how she flossed!" She looked around at the rest of her fairies joyfully, her feathers puffing out in excitement.

Some of her daughters then chirped in her ear, drawing her attention to the sky. Tooth gasped, then took off to the North Pole, a small group of her fairies flying after her.

My fellow Guardians, it is our job to watch over the children of the world . . .

Golden sand swirled gently around the young boy's head, and created a pleasant dream of playing soccer.

. . . and keep them safe. To bring them wonder, hopes, and dreams. So I have called all of you here for one reason and one reason only.

Sandy stood on his golden cloud of dream sand, watching shining tendrils float to the homes of children and give them dreams. He twirled around, shooting the sand in various directions. Then the Sandman stared in bewilderment as he glimpsed the Northern Lights shining brightly in the night sky.

The children are in danger.

With a determined look, Sandy lifted his hands up, transforming his sand cloud into a golden plane. Adjusting his goggles, he drove the vehicle up north.

An enemy we have kept at bay for centuries has finally decided to strike back.

A gray blur shot through the tunnels, quickly making his way to the North Pole.

We alone can stop him.

Long gray ears poked out of the tunnel opening, and E. Aster Bunnymund heroically leaped out . . . before curling in on himself and grumbling, "Oh, it's freezin'!" Groaning, the Easter Bunny sprinted through the snow, squeaking, "Oh, I can't feel my feet! I can't feel my feet!"

In the workshop, North was offering an irate Bunnymund cookies and eggnog while Sandy flew around the Globe.

"This better be good, North," the rabbit warned.

Ignoring the Pooka, North spread his arms and said, "Sandy, thank you for coming." Sandy made a symbol above his head, and North responded, "I know, I know, but I wouldn't have called you all here unless it was serious."

Behind them, the ever vigilant Tooth Fairy was still giving her helpers directions. But at hearing North speak, she whispered, "Shh."

Having his audience's attention, North finally burst out with his news. "The Boogeyman was here! At the Pole!" He pointed at the floor for emphasis.

Tooth nervously hovered around. "Pitch? Pitch Black? Here?"

North walked forward. "Yes." Making gestures to go along with his words, North continued, "There was black sand covering the Globe."

Bunny leaped up next to North, a half-painted egg in one paw and a paintbrush in the other. "What – what do ya mean, 'black sand'?"

"And then a shadow!" exclaimed North, as if Bunny had never spoken at all.

"Hold on, hold on," Bunny interrupted in a disbelieving tone, "I thought you said you saw Pitch."

"Well, uh, not exactly," the Russian said, scratching his head sheepishly.

Bunny's expression became skeptical. "'Not exactly'? Can you believe this guy?"

Sandy shrugged, a golden question mark forming above his head.

Bunny snorted. "Yeah. You said it, Sandy."

"Look," North said, trying to get back the spotlight, "he is up to something very bad. I can feel it . . . in my belly!" He grabbed his stomach for effect, and Tooth's group of fairies flew down to inspect it.

Bunnymund was incredulous. "Wait, wait, wait. You say you've summoned me here three days before Easter, because of your belly?" He stuck his tip of his paintbrush in North's face accusingly."Mate, if Ah did this to ya three days before Christmas –"

"Ah, but Bunny, Easter is not Christmas," North said, plucking the egg from the Pooka's paw.

"North, I don't have time for this!" Bunny said, frustrated. "I've still got two million eggs to finish up!"

Sandy, however, had noticed something the arguing Guardians didn't. The full moon was shining from the skylight, sending down a moonbeam.

"No matter how much you paint, is still egg," North chuckled.

Grabbing the egg back, Bunny shot back, "Look mate, I'm dealing with perishables! You've got all year to prepare!"

Trying to get his friends' attention, Sandy frantically gestured up to the sky.

"Why are rabbits always so nervous?" North commented, tapping the egg.

Bunny scowled. "Why are you always such a blowhard?"

Sandy made a golden sand flag above his head, still trying to get the Guardians' attention. Nothing seemed to work whenever North and Bunny started their arguing about who's holiday's better.

". . . sector nine. Five canines, two molars, and fourteen incisors. Is that all in one house?" Tooth exclaimed to her fairies.

"Tooth!" North cut in. "Can't you see that we're trying to argue here?"

"Sorry!" Tooth said sarcastically, bringing her hands up. "Not all of us get to work one night a year. Am I right, Sandy?"

Sandy nodded eagerly, a golden arrow pointing up to the moon.

Tooth's face took on a look of realization before giving her fairies more instructions. "San Diego, sector 2 . . ."

Bunnymund shrugged. "Come on, mate. Pitch went out with the Dark Ages. We made sure he did."

"I know he was here," North insisted. "We are in very serious situation."

"Well, I've got a serious situation with some eggs."

Sandy was scowling now. The short golden man then picked up an elf, and shook it around, the ringing bell attracting the Guardians' attention. Dropping the elf, Sandy made a moon symbol above his head, and then pointed to the sky.

"Ah!" North exclaimed, looking in the sky. "Man in Moon! Sandy, why didn't you say something?"

The Guardian of Dreams was annoyed. He scowled harder, and sand blew out of his ears in frustration. It was at times like this he hated being silent all the time.

North continued his conversation with the moon. "It's been a long time, old friend! What is big news?"

Man in the Moon sent down a huge, glowing moonbeam down onto the symbols of the Guardians. A shadow formed into the figure of Pitch Black himself.

"It is Pitch," Bunny said, looking at North.

In response, North patted his belly with a smug look. Told you so. Looking back up, North said, "Manny, what must we do?"

The moonbeam's glow seemed to strengthen. It shifted to the center of the symbols, and the Guardian's Crystal was lifted from the ground. The light hit the crystal, and the light refracted in various directions.

"Uh, guys, do you know what this means?" Tooth asked with barely concealed excitement.

"He's choosing a new Guardian . . ." North said, eyes widening.

"What? Why?" Bunny asked, surprised.

The refracted light began shimmering on the floor. "Must be big deal," North murmured. "Manny thinks we need help."

"Since when do we need help?" Bunny asked, his annoyance clearly showing.

"I wonder who it's gonna be!" Tooth said, enthusiastic. "Maybe the Leprechaun?" she suggested, after seeing Sandy make a four-leaf clover symbol above his head.

"Please not the Groundhog, please not the Groundhog," Bunny chanted under his breath.

The magic above the crystal was slowly forming into MiM's choice, until a teenager with a hoodie and a shepherd's crook appeared.

"Jack Frost," North said, a surprised expression on his face.

The fairies present sighed and swooned in the air.

"I take it back," Bunny said quickly. "The Groundhog's fine." He still hadn't forgotten the Blizzard of '68, and that boy who caused it.

Tooth had a dreamy expression on her face, but then jumped in the air and said, "Well, um, as long as he helps to – to, uh, protect the children. Right?" She looked at her fairies for confirmation.

"Jack Frost?" Bunny exploded. "He doesn't care about children! All he does is freeze water pipes and mess with my egg hunts!" Well, he didn't really know if the kid froze water pipes, but the egg hunts . . . "All right? He's an irresponsible, selfish –"

"Guardian," North said, staring the figure with a contemplating expression.

"Jack Frost is many things," Bunny ranted, "but he is not a Guardian!"

Ice, seemingly appearing from nowhere, quickly spread around the streets and sidewalks. It made one boy's tongue stick to the water fountain, and froze a goldfish in its bowl. It was Jackie Frost, doing her thing. The trail of ice led around the city – along the sides of buildings, over clotheslines . . . until it stopped at a laughing young girl with white hair and blue eyes hanging off a spire.

"Now that was fun," she proclaimed. "Hey, Wind! Take me home!" Jackie whooped with joy as she soared through the clouds, snowflakes swirling around her.

Above the town of Burgess, Jackie yelled, "Snow day!" She swooped down to Main Street, laughing and icing everything she came in contact with. Jackie flew up, standing on her staff like a surfboard, enjoying the ride all the way. She would never get over how amazing the power of flight was. "Yeah!"

She skated around the pond, her balance a lot better compared to three hundred years ago. Jackie slipped by Jamie Bennett, Wind plucking the book he was holding out of his hands.

"Whoa! Whoa!" he yelled, trying to grasp back the book. It landed on the ground, its cover bearing the title Mysterious Times: They're Out There!

Jackie stopped for a moment to look over the cover. "Oh, that looks interesting," she commented. "Good book?" Jackie knew that Jamie had a thing for fantasy, and that he believed in all the Guardians. But that made it hurt more because he couldn't see her.

Jamie rushed over and picked up his book, dusting it off. Claude and Caleb then ran by, cheering, "Snow day!" Caleb nudged the brunette, making him grin.

Jackie did a mock-bow. "You're welcome!" she called.

Jamie hurried after the twins. "Hey guys, wait up! Are you guys coming to the egg hunt Sunday?"

"Yeah," Claude said. "Free candy!"

The friends began making their way down the trail and to Jamie's house. "I hope we can find all the eggs with all this snow!" Caleb replied.

Jamie had his nose in his book again. "It says here that they found Bigfoot hair samples and DNA in Michigan! That's like, super-close!" he said, jumping up and down with excitement.

"Here we go again . . ."

Jackie was walking on the Bennetts' fence, her staff resting on her shoulder.

"You saw the video too, Claude," Jamie insisted. "He's out there."

"That's what you said about aliens," the boy replied, shoving his twin playfully.

"And the Easter Bunny," Caleb added.

"The Easter Bunny is real," Jamie said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, he's real, all right," Jackie remarked, a slightly bitter undertone to her voice. "Real annoying, real grumpy, and really full of himself."

"Come on, you guys will believe anything," Caleb scoffed.

"Easter Bunny!" Sophie, Jamie's little sister announced happily. "Hop, hop, hop!" She jumped down the steps, but Abbey, the dog, knocked her over. "Ow!"

"Mom," Jamie sighed, "Sophie fell again." It was a regular occurrence at the Bennett household.

"You okay, Soph?" Mrs. Bennett asked, leaning down to comfort her youngest. "Jamie, hat," she continued, walking after her son. "We don't want Jack Frost nipping at your nose."

"Who's Jack Frost?" Jamie said skeptically, pushing up his hat out of his eyes.

"No one, honey," his mother responded, walking back. "It's just an expression."

Jackie, who had been listening on the fence, scowled. "Hey!" She leaped gracefully down from the fence and scooped up a pile of snow. Being a winter sprite, her season never bothered her. "'Who's Jack Frost?'" she repeated, a mischievous smirk appearing on her face. "I think it's more 'Who's Jacqueline Frost.'"

Jackie formed her snowball and blew on it, infusing the snow with her magic. Carefully aiming, she threw it, the snowball hitting Jamie square in the back. "Perfect."

A fine mist of blue magic sprayed in front of his eyes. "Okay," Jamie demanded, grinning, "who threw that?"

Jackie flew over, saying, "Well, it wasn't Bigfoot, kiddo."

Receiving no response, Jamie chose to throw snowballs at Monty, who landed face-first in the snow, and at Pippa, who landed on her bottom. "Jamie Bennett, no fair!" she yelled, looking at him angrily.

"You struck first!" he defended, laughing.

The twins were then hit by Jackie, who yelled, "Free-for-all!" The rest of the kids eagerly began their snowball fight, Jamie using his sled as a makeshift shield. Nevertheless, the boy was still hit a few times.

"All right, who needs ammo?" Jackie shouted, using her staff to quickly form snowballs. The kids never figured out how snowballs suddenly appeared on the ground, but they shrugged it off, assuming that some of their friends had made them.

In her excitement, Pippa didn't aim for anyone with her snowball, but just threw it randomly. As a result, the slushy ball of snow hit Cupcake in the back of the head. The larger girl slowly turned around, growling.

"Crud," Pippa whispered fearfully, "I hit Cupcake."

Monty pointed immediately at Pippa. "She hit Cupcake."

Claude cringed, his voice raising an octave. "You hit Cupcake?"

Jamie attempted to hide under his sled, shrinking when the girl came close.

Cupcake was furious. Her face was a picture of pure rage, her hands shaking –

SPLAT.

"Oh . . ."

"Did you throw that?"

"Nope, wasn't me!"

The kids began quickly denying it, trying to pin the blame on at least someone.

Jackie was balanced on the curve of her staff, a grin on her face. Her body language proving that, in fact, it was she who had thrown the snowball.

Not that anyone could see her, though.

The magic that had affected Jamie prior was now affecting Cupcake. She let out a short burst of laughter, and then erupted into a laughing fit. She began chasing the rest of the kids playfully, who were running away to avoid being tagged.

Jamie, who was at the head of the line, slipped on a patch of ice created by Jackie. "Ooh, a little slippery!" Jackie said.

Jamie then soared over a snowbank and landed in the road. His friends were shouting worried cries, but the boy had no control over where he was going.

Jackie was a bit worried as well. She didn't mean for Jamie to land in the road, just around the field once or twice. But she knew she couldn't let the boy get hurt. And maybe I'll finally gain a believer,she thought hopefully.

She curved the ice so Jamie wouldn't get hit by any cars, saying, "Don't worry, Jamie, I gotcha!" Jackie wanted to get Jamie out of the road as soon as possible. "Hold on, it's gonna be all right!" She led Jamie over a dirt hill, and then to the sidewalk.

"Hold up! No, no, no, no!" Jamie screamed.

"There you go," Jackie sighed in relief, as she spotted a way back to the snowy field.

Jamie began laughing, as the traffic, trouble and fear was left behind. There were no more cars in the way, so Jamie could enjoy the ride better.

"Uh, oh," Jackie murmured, as a plow came into view. She made a ramp to shoot Jamie into the air, and he screamed in exhilaration as he soared on his sled. He landed in a fluffy snowbank, and feebly stirred before jumping up and yelling how amazing the sled ride was.

As the adrenaline faded from her body, Jackie realized how fun that actually was. Maybe Jamie will realize exactly how he managed that sled ride, she thought.

"Did you guys see that?" he asked his concerned friends. "It was amazing! I did a jump, and then I slid under a –" But Jamie never got to finish his sentence as the couch from the earlier furniture truck slammed into him.

Jackie cringed. "Whoops."

"Oh . . ." came the sympathetic murmur.

Jamie's hand shot up from behind the pink couch, triumphantly holding up a small, white object. "Cool, a tooth!" he said, standing up.

"Oh, dude, that means cash!"

"Tooth Fairy cash!"

"Oh, no . . ." Jackie sighed. Now any explanation of the freak sledding ride would be wiped away by Jamie's excitement for the Tooth Fairy. Or at least, her fairies.

"Oh, you lucky bum!"

"I gotta put this under my pillow!" Jamie said, holding it protectively.

"Oh, wait a minute," Jackie called desperately. "Come on. Hold on, hold on." Moving closer, she continued, "What about all the fun we just had? That wasn't the Tooth Fairy – that was me!" She flew in front of the group. "What's a girl gotta do to get some attention around here?"

But when Jamie walked through her . . . she gasped, already feeling the empty feeling inside.

A/N: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this! As you have seen, I've made Jack a girl. I've read so many fics like this, and I thought I'd try my hand at one of these.

Frosted Ferns is basically going to follow the same plot as Rise of the Guardians, but with some changes that I can hopefully make. I'm going to try to put some more "bonding" moments between Jackie and the Guardians, and maybe give them a backstory. I feel like their relationship was just so rushed during the movie, but it was still pretty sweet.

Leave any comments in the review bin down there, and I'll see ya soon!