WHAT I COULDN'T BEAR

Wahoo! My second Rise of the Guardians fanfic! :D

Before anything else, just in case anyone has read my first ROTG fanfic, this is NOT the sequel I promised I would someday write (and I do very much intend to write it :P), this is a different one, and this one WILL be shonenai/yaoi (boyxboy), so in case you don't enjoy that, fair warning :)

This will be eventual JackRabbit, but with bits of BlackIce throughout...can't say how much as of yet, have to wait and see :P

Ok, so this first chapter is a bit more of a prologue, so if the situation seems a bit strange...don't worry, that was on purpose and all will be explained later :P

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of The Guardians or any of its characters, only this fanfiction.

Chapter 1: Beyond Reach

They were too noisy; one could hardly blame them for the disgruntled sounds of boredom, but their complaints had grown no less annoying over time than they had been the first time.

Still, despite the irritation, it wasn't the quiet distaste of his so called guards that had woken him, but the silence that filled the background.

Unlike them, it was too quiet here. Yes, as he'd repeated to himself over and over, that was to be expected in a place like this, whose few occupants were about as exciting as the ashes of a fire long died out…

…but sheesh! The groaning earth around him was livelier than anything with a conscious thought here!

Gritting his teeth in annoyance, he unwillingly tore himself from the peace and comfort of rest, and forced his eyes open.

Hm, strange. Despite the less than pleasant awakening, he felt better rested than normal…

…clearly, he'd felt merciful enough to leave him alone this time.

"About time…" He grumbled as he shifted his body.

It had been forever since he'd been allowed to sleep without disturbance!

He stared to the ceiling above; a rocky surface hidden beneath an ever renewing cover of ice, just like the rest of his…room…

Angered at daring to refer to it in such a way, he yanked himself up off the bed, his bare feet quickly finding the ground.

It was warm, as always; he'd long stopped seeing the point in trying to frost it when it just kept melting so quickly.

He stretched, more for something to do rather than out of actual need. His foot slid to the side to hook around his one companion in this place;

Yes, he was going to call it a companion, who was there to care?

He kicked the staff lightly forward from where it had been leaning against the bed, and easily caught it in his hand.

These little actions; stretching, making a trick of picking up his staff…things that should've been done without thought…

…sometimes they seemed like his only comfort left.

"Well good morning to you to, lame heads!"

Lame heads? Oh for the love of…! Even his insults and taunts were starting to suffer!

It made him want to whine and sulk.

Regardless, the dark creatures outside glared between the beams of frost covered rock that rose between the ceiling and ground at the entrance of his…quarters…?

…eh, it was better than a more personal title like his "room".

"Oh, sorry. Good afternoon? Midday? Wait wait…I'm gonna go with midnight…I'm being a night owl again aren't I?" He joked half-heartedly as he held his staff over his shoulder and walked out between the bars, "But I guess you guys wouldn't know, I mean who can tell in a place with no clocks that never sees a spark of day light, am I right?"

They looked as ticked off as normal by his cockiness. They were always forced to baby sit him whilst he slept, but they couldn't touch him without order, even as he stood right there mocking them.

Hey, wasn't his fault the bars were so spaced out that they only made it look like a cage…

Cage! Yes! That was the word. He tipped his hat to his brain for deciding to wake up.

"So, any chance of grub today guys? And don't worry, I'm not picky, just hungry."

He walked a few steps away, before turning back to them, already expecting the expression he was sent before he saw it.

"Ok ok, I'll go find something myself then…" he brushed his fingers through his hair casually, giving a playful grin that he knew was a dark version of what it had once been, "…and while I'm at it, I'll even go see what time of day it is!"

It never failed. The prankster knew these creatures were way too serious to take a joke. Sheesh, they were worse than…

'Crud, idiot! Don't go there…don't go there…'

The dark figures shrieked in disapproval, moving to stop him.

They barely avoided the staff that swung out to point at them menacingly. Their now angry captive turned to face them, sapphire gems darkened by the rage burning in his chest.

They didn't need to know that his anger wasn't directed at them, only that they'd feel it if they pushed their luck.

"You wanna know what happened to the last nightmare that tried to stop me having what shred of fun I can in this place?" He whispered as cold as the element of his nature, "…I froze it where it stood, and pushed it off the cliff to smash on the ground far below. Must've taken at least thirty seconds before I heard the shatter…"

Ok, so all he'd actually done was freeze the nightmare's hoofs to the ground and frost its mouth shut. Though he was a prankster, it had never been in his nature to lie, but after all this time down here, he just didn't care. Besides, the fib did its job…surprisingly…as he saw both nightmares shift uncomfortably. He'd figured they'd be aware that in return for protection from their fury, he was also banned from harming them.

But hey, who was he to argue with a successful bluff?

He lowered his staff a little, but glared ruefully at the nightmares.

"Don't think I won't do it again either."

The slightly more aggressive of the two gave a deep, threatening sound.

"Uh uh uh…" He waved his staff as he raised his eyebrows casually, "Mind your manners. I also happened to over-hear what your master told you all those months ago…" He ran his fingers through his hair smoothly as his voice dropped to imitate the one from memory, "…not a hair on his head, unless I say so."

Now that really seemed to concern the nightmares. The second one even backed off a little, looking to its friend, who just glared furiously.

The boy stood tall, giving a sharp, cocky tilt of his head in response to them getting the message.

"You should be happy. You were told to keep an eye on me whilst I was asleep. I'm awake now, which means you're off duty…"

With a smooth flick of his wrist, his staff came forward, momentarily shining a fierce, stunning blue. Spikes of ice burst free of the ground, creating a small but lethal barrier between the two parties.

"Don't forget where you came from…" He whispered darkly as he peered over his work, "…I may not have created you, but I gave up some pretty damn good dreams so you could be!"

Turning sharply, he tapped his staff upon the ground. Glowing again, a thin sheet of ice spread down the slope before him, which he gladly…and quite gracefully…slid down.

He followed the cliff face around until a ledge veering off to the left appeared. He directed the ice over it, making it extend a few metres over the dark chasm below. Even as his road ended though, he wasn't afraid. He flipped through the air, feeling a weak gust rise to give him a quick boost to safety upon the opposite side of the chasm.

Now away from his painful guards, the silence truly sang its deafening song.

Raising his hood over his head, he took in the sheer size of the chasm. A world all of its own it almost seemed, even though it wasn't that far below the surface; A world of rock, darkness, silence and…at least where ever he'd been…ice.

Here and there, lamps hung from the walls…for his sake more than anything.

Tsk, oh how thoughtful…not!

He scowled ruefully at the pathetic orbs of orange, existing only to stop him going blind in this place. After all, everything…or everyone…else, preferred the darkness. He found himself raising his staff as he had many a time before, ready to smash the mocking light. And like many a time before, he quickly forced himself to drop his arm. Like it or not, he needed the light.

Glancing cautiously over his shoulder, he began to run, not deterred by the narrowness of the ledge. He made his way past obstacles he'd memorized by now, each step picking up speed, almost leading him to glide.

He breathed in deeply, and his heart jumped in excitement as the air wasn't so stale now. He smirked as he past the last lamp, unlit from a lack of maintenance; he wasn't expected to be here after all.

Around the corner he ran, inhaling another dose of the cleaner air…

…and there it was.

He couldn't stop the genuine smile. About ten metres down, the path turned another corner, and he could see even from this distance that the lighting was much brighter; a gentle iridescence only one thing could ever bring.

He ran down the path, almost laughing in joy; the sun…the sun was out! Just beyond the corner, the surface opened to provide a natural light and ventilation system…

…and, a passage between worlds.

Five metres…four…three…two…one…

His hand grabbed the corner to swing around, when a sharp twinge stopped him dead.

The pants of excitement changed to anxiety as his hand slid up to hold his shoulder.

'What am I doing?'

He knew better than this…he knew WAY better!

Terrified by the thought starting to rise, he looked to the corner desperately, and tried again. But whether the twinges were real, or he'd just grown too used to expecting them, the warning couldn't be ignored.

'What's more important to you?'

He growled at the words that hissed through his memory.

"Come on!" he yelled as he rested his back against the rock wall.

His face wove through a muddle of emotions; Rage, nervousness, longing, rebellious consideration, shame, sadness, pure distaste…

…and finally settled on dismay.

He couldn't do it…he just couldn't.

He gave a pained sound, his eyes shutting and his teeth gritting as he slid to sit down against the wall.

How many times was he going to put himself through this? Sure maybe if he was just to peer at the sunlight, or even bathe in it from within the chasm, it would be ok…

…but could he be taunted by that display of freedom and not take it?

"No chance…" He whispered.

He would run without question…

…and that was NO option.

The face of his bane flashed through his mind, making his emotions all flare up in one deadly concoction inside his chest.

His face contorted in fury, he threw back his head and let out a scream that filled every last inch of the chasm. He cared not who or what heard it…in fact, perhaps part of him wanted all to hear…to know his hate and disgust for all of this.

The sound travelled around the corner, echoing and making the escape through the surface he denied himself. It seemed it planned to bathe within the sunlight in his place.

Except it wasn't…as he believed…the sun that witnessed the cry of desperation…

…just its gentle, but equally magnificent counter-part.

Wow, now that was short for one of MY chapters! XD But, pretty good length for a prologue I guess :)

I actually have written the drafts for the next couple of chapters as well, and it seems non of them are going to be as long as chapters I normally write...weird...kinda hope that changes later on :P

Anyway, I'll apologise as I always do for any spelling and grammar mistakes. As I said, the next couple of draft chapters are done, so hopefully the next chapter won't be long away (that won't last forever though...I've got a LONG way to go with this story...lol, I just couldn't resist posting what I'd done any longer :P).

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

Will update asap!