Author's Note: So, this story wouldn't leave me alone. I kept thinking of what would happen if the Guardians met a spirit that was an actual child. Would they be super protective of her? Or would they tend to write her off as just another child and ignore her like they did Jack Frost? My take on this is also that Jack died before he was 18, so he is still technically a child. Be forewarned, this chapter came out very angsty. In this story, Jack uses his mischief making as a cover for how he really feels, so at times he might seem a bit timid. But who doesn't love a Jack Frost that needs comforting? Also, Pitch won't be super evil in this. He'll be evil, but not like.. killing children evil. Even he has his limits. I'm planning on taking this story through the movie, but changing things up a bit. I haven't decided all what I'm going to do yet, so if you have any ideas, review! I think after I get through the movie plot, I'll just have this be random drabbles until I run out of ideas.

I don't tend to plan my stories ahead of time, so if you want to see something, let me know! Also, there won't be any pairings in this, since I see the Guardians as one big family. Not that I'm against pairings, it's just this story won't have any. At least for now. I might change my mind later.

Chapter One: 1968

It started with a gentle snow fall. It didn't seem like much and it didn't really bother the kids looking for Easter eggs. A few even laughed and opened their mouths to let a few flakes fall on their tongues.

No one really paid much mind to the small girl in a ragged pink dress. She wasn't with any particular group of kids looking for eggs. Her dress was in varying shades of pink as it was more patches than anything else. Her curly, brown hair fell a few inches past her shoulders and was pulled back from her face by a frayed, pink ribbon. She shivered as a cold breeze cut through her. She hadn't thought to grab her coat, and even though it was thin, it could have offered her at least some protection from the plummeting temperature.

She looked around and smiled as she spotted a bit of color by a bush. She immediately ran over and picked up the Easter egg she had found. It was painted with a beautiful spring scene that had many different colors for the various flowers that were on it. She carefully tucked the egg in her pocket to eat later. She wandered further away from the kids and towards a forest. Would the Easter Bunny hide eggs there?

With a glance back, she silently made her way into the forest. She didn't want anyone following her as she wanted the eggs all to herself. She smiled a little as she imagined walking home with her pockets filled with eggs.

Her smile grew a little wider as she spotted an egg a little ways in. She raced to it, her flat shoes crunching in the snow. Her breath could be seen as she bent and picked up the egg. This one had a picture of a basket of eggs on it, and she giggled at the sight. The Easter Bunny was so silly! Her gray eyes sparkled in a way that they hadn't for the last six months as she tucked this egg into her pocket with the other one. She vaguely felt that it was wrong to be so happy after.. after what had happened.

Her smile faded as the memories threatened to surface, only to have it come back as she spotted an egg a little further in to the wood. This one had many colorful stripes on it. She carefully picked it up and tucked in to her pocket with the others as she hardly noticed that her fingers were turning a little red from the cold.

She wandered even further in and searched everywhere for more eggs, but couldn't find any. Maybe the Easter Bunny didn't want kids to wander deep in to the woods.

It was only then that she noticed the snow was falling harder and the wind was harsher and colder. With a shiver, she turned to head back, only to discover her footprints were already covered with snow and she was surrounded by tall trees.

Her eyes widened with fear as she realized she had no idea on how to get back. She started walking fast in a direction and then broke into a run. Tears clouded her vision and with a startled cry, her foot got caught on a tree root and she fell.

For a moment she lay in the snow, which was already a couple inches deep. She felt it soaking into her dress and forced herself to sit up. Her ankle throbbed and when she tried to stand on it, she fell again.

As she sat in the cold snow, shivers wracked her body as her wet dress clung to her, making her feel even colder. She felt some lumps in her pockets and pulled out the three eggs she had collected. Her eyes widened in realization as she stared at the eggs. The Easter Bunny! Maybe he was still in the area, hiding eggs for kids or at least making sure they got home safely. She took a deep breath and called as loud as she could.

"Easter Bunny! HELP!"

Unknown to the lost child, the Easter Bunny was too busy tracking down one winter spirit. His long ears twitched in irritation as he finally caught sight of the blue hoodie in all that snow.

Said spirit's eyes widened as he took in the sight of the enraged Pooka.

"FROST!" Bunny shouted, as he grabbed the winter spirit's hood to prevent him from escaping. He failed to notice the flinch from the sudden contact and ignored the blue eyes widening in fright.

"Look what yeh did! Easter is ruined! My eggs are all covered in snow and the kids had ta go inside ta get out of the cold! Do yeh think it's funny ta ruin my special day?!" He gave Jack a hard shake as his green eyes glared at the young spirit. "Do ya?!"

Jack held his staff closer to himself as he trembled slightly. He had never seen Bunny so angry before. He looked away from the green eyes that were glaring daggers at him and looked down, letting his mop of white hair cover his face. His hoodie would be up right now if Bunny wasn't still holding onto it.

"..I.. I.. didn't mean to.." the spirit said hesitantly as the wind swirled snow around them. Even after over two hundred years, his control wasn't perfect. He had gotten over excited at giving the kids one last snow fall and hadn't stopped to think what day it was.

That excitement had channeled into his powers and the storm had quickly gotten out of control. By the time Jack had realized his mistake, it was too late.

"Didn't mean ta?!" Bunny let go of him, looking disgusted. "Just.. go. Get out of here! Yer a bloody menace!"

Looking stricken, Jack took off, letting the wind carry him. If he had thought to stop by his lake, he might have heard a child's voice calling for help, coming from the woods that surrounded it.

Several hours later the darkness was descending on the woods as the sun set. In the gathering darkness of the clearing the child was in, a tall figure stepped out of the shadows. His skin was gray and his hair was as dark as the shadows surrounding him.

His cold gaze looked around for the large amount of fear that drew him to this spot. He was in the area anyway, as a fight between a certain winter spirit and Easter Bunny caught his attention.

The winter child radiated such delicious amounts of fear. Even the accursed Pooka was afraid. Afraid for his eggs. Afraid that the children in this part of the world would stop believing. the boy was so scared of him too. Scared that the Easter Bunny now hated him. Afraid to hear that anger and note of disappointment again.

Ah, it was glorious.

His gaze swept around the clearing once more and paused as he saw something pink in the snow by a tree. He silently made his way toward it as he kept his gaze on it. He stopped suddenly as he realized what he was seeing and the fear that was emanating from it.

Daddy will be mad if I don't come home. Am I going to sleep forever like Mommy did? I don't want to!

A child. He was looking at a child who was freezing to death in the snow. She was terrified because she was dying and didn't understand.

An odd expression crossed Pitch's face. Sure he loved fear and giving nightmares, but this was a different kind of fear. This was the kind of fear that chilled even his insides. This was the kind of fear he dreaded seeing.

He knelt down by her in the snow and gently brushed the snow away from her face. Her eyes fluttered open at his touch and he saw dull gray eyes staring at him, the life in them almost gone.

"..Who.. you..?" she whispered groggily at him and he felt a pang at her spike of fear.

"A friend," he answered her softly. It would do no good to explain who he really was.

Her eyes started to flutter closed as the full moon began to rise.

"..'M sleepy.." she mumbled. Apparently she could no longer feel the biting cold.

"Then sleep," he told her.

She made a small, frightened noise as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

"..D-daddy.." her voice was barely more than a whisper now.

Pitch knew that she wasn't concerned for her father, she was afraid of him. Afraid of his temper. She was afraid that if she fell asleep in the woods, her farther would come find her and it wouldn't be pretty.

Pitch clenched his hands into fists. The Guardians were supposed to protect children and here is one freezing to death, overlooked because that wretched Pooka was more concerned over some eggs!

"He won't find you," Pitch assured her, wondering what the hell he was doing. But as he looked at the child freezing in the snow, he knew why he was being so kind to her. No one deserved to die alone.

"Sleep," he told her as he brushed her hair away from her face, "I'll stay with you."

The child's eyes closed again and she relaxed against the tree she was leaning against. The last thing she heard was the soft sounds of a man humming.

Pitch hummed softly, an old, forgotten tune. He stopped as he heard the child give one last sigh and stopped breathing. He rose to his feet and glared at the moon, as if daring it to do something.

"So," he said heatedly, his voice filled with hatred, "you'll just sit there and watch as a child dies-"

He stopped abruptly as the full moon gave off a tremendous glow. The rays of moonlight filtered down through the trees and bathed the girl in their silvery glow.

Pitch stared with his mouth slightly open as the girl's curly, brown hair became richer, like the color of good earth. Her skin was pale as ever, but took on a healthier glow and was less like the pale skin of death.

Suddenly the child gave a huge gasp and sat bolt upright. Her eyes which were once gray, were now a deep green. The deep green of a forest's leaves, of a meadow full of long grass.

They stared up in wonder at the moon, which whispered almost smugly to her. (Pitch was sure it was smug, as if the Man in the Moon were gloating at him.)

Lillian, Child of Spring.

There was a disbelieving snort and green eyes snapped suddenly to gold as Lillian found herself looking at a gray skinned man dressed in all black. As they stared at each other she finally spoke.

"Who are you?"

Author's Note: So ends the first chapter! It came out a lot more angsty than I was imagining and then Pitch just had to show up and show he's not all evilness. So what do you guys think? Let me know how you feel the formatting is. I am currently writing the story by hand and then typing it up on the computer, so my paragraphs tend to look a lot longer on paper than they do on the computer. Remember, if you have any special requests for the story, just let me know! Oh, and expect slow updates. I'll try for at least once a weekend, but it depends on what's going on during the week.