Giving Way to the Light

Chapter Four

Everything hurt. My mouth hurt, my head hurt, my wing hurt, my chest hurt. Even the thought of moving was painful. I should have known I would feel ten times worse in the morning, but there's no way I could do anything yesterday as exhausted as I'd been.

Back in Halloween Town, I had a whole library on spells. One of the shelves was dedicated completely to just healing spells. It had been so long since I had browsed in my library though, that I couldn't remember very many of them, but I did know how to regrow teeth. Heaven knows that I'd lost enough of them in my brawls over the years.

"Dentes abiit, Nunc edepol recreat," I groaned. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the gaps of swollen gums where my teeth were now missing started to heat up. Soon it was like someone had stuck little embers in my mouth, burning away at the sensitive tissue. I resisted the urge to bite the inside of my cheek or grind my teeth until the burning gave way to a tingly numbing sensation.

I felt another headache coming on and I realized the first thing I should have done was check for the signs of a concussion. Oops.

To late, I was already asleep again.

It was broad daylight when Bunny and the yeti showed up back at Christopher Robin's house. Presumably, Christopher was at school and his parents at work, so Bunny didn't even think to look there.

"Come on fellas," Bunny said to the two yeti that were accompanying him— big red sack and all. "He can't have gotten too far. Not with that limp wing."

They found the driveway Reaper had crash landed in and started from there. A small dried up puddle of blood stained rocks there, and Bunny felt the smallest twinge of guilt upon seeing it, but he stubbornly pushed the feeling away again.

They followed the trail into the woods, and before much longer they found a black clad figure draped across the rocks like yesterday's laundry.

Bunny shared a look with the closest yeti— Phil he thinks, but he's not really sure. They all look the same to him. As they slowly approached the unmoving black mass, Bunny became more and more aware of how small the bloke actually was.

"Ey, mate. Up an' at 'em!" Bunny said prodding Reaper with his foot. He didn't move. Bunny tried again. "Yah alrigh' there, mate?" Still nothing.

"Oi, Reaper. Your bein' called by the Man in the Moon. Get up." He still didn't move. He was as limp as a slice of salami. Both the yeti crowded in close behind him, big red sack still in hand.

"Not now fellas, there's somethin' wrong with 'im." The yeti gave disappointed groans, and Bunny stepped closer. He reached for the deep hood and hesitated. Honestly, he didn't know what to expect. A skull? He gathered up all his courage and pulled the hood away.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw next.

It was a young, incredibly human looking woman.

I really needed to stop waking up like this. Splitting headache, nausea, aching teeth (but at least they were there), and absolutely no idea where I was in the slightest.

I wasn't in my Halloween Town palace, or in a tree, or on a pile of boulders. I certainly wasn't in that bear thicket I accidentally fell asleep in last year. I was... warm, and safe. The air smelled like cookies and candy canes. I was wrapped in a kitten soft, thick, blanket on a marshmallow plush bed; an actual bed. Not a rock or a tree branch. 

The light behind my eyelids was prying at me, pestering me to wake up. There was the quiet murmuring of voices,  but they were muffled; probably in the next room over. I'm actually inside a building! Did Jack find me? Or was it Christopher Robin? Goodness I hoped not; just the sight of me like this could probably give him nightmares (without the help of Pitch). Definitely couldn't have been one of the Draculas; they can't be out during the day. Maybe a passing witch or goblin.

Whoever had found me had thoughtfully reset my wing so that it was back in it's socket and only slightly sore. They had also wrapped it and laid me down on my stomach, not my back, so as not to injure it further. They had also taken great care to make sure the pillows were arranged in a way that they would not accidentally smother me while I was sleeping.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and took in the almost too bright bedroom. The walls were painted a charming lime green color, and the bed had red pillows, red sheets, and a thick red fleece blanket. There was a peppermint air freshener in the corner and a... Christmas tree in another. Christmas wreaths and garland hung by on the walls, and they looked like real pine, meaning they were replaced regularly...

Was I... at the North Pole? There was no other explanation. Where else would I find a Christmas themed room in March? The real question was, how did I get here?

I pushed myself into a push up position. My ribs were sore, but I'd definitely felt worse. The voices in the hall had stopped and I strained to hear anyone. Their silhouettes were still visible under the door. The crystal doorknob turned and I jumped to my feet, ready to fight for my life. Jolly old man or not, I had never met Santa Claus. The Easter Bunny had been downright awful so I wasn't leaving anything to chance.

It wasn't him who walked through the door though. There was a hummingbird-like woman and a small crowd of festive elves, followed by none other than Peter Cottontail himself.

I snarled at him like a wild dog, almost passing out again when I grew back my sharp fangs, and unfurling my wings to make myself appear bigger than I really was. Or, at least, I tried to. One of them was still stuck to my back, but I made sure to fluff up the one I had available extra big to make up for it.

All of them skidded to a stop. The hummingbird lady gasped in surprise, and forgot to flap her wings for a moment, and the elves scrabbled back out of the room, tripping and tumbling over each other in an almost comical chorus of jingling bells.

 After that, no one moved; not even Bunny. They both stared at me, waiting for me to make the first move. They had no weapons drawn, no boomerangs or egg grenades visible. After several tense moments, and no signs of aggression, I slowly folded my wing neatly behind me, retracted my fangs, and eyed them wearily.  

"Does anyone want to tell me why I'm here?" I asked finally. Bird woman gave me a small forced smile.

"Well, Bunny found you when you were hurt and brought you here to the North Pole."

I gave said rabbit a withering look. "Did he mention the fact that he's the one who did this to me?"

If I didn't know any better, I would have thought I saw him flinch.

"I reset your wing for you," she said. "Heaven knows I've had to do it enough times for my little fairies. Your wings are quite a bit bigger though, so I had a bit of help from the yeti."

I wasn't sure what yeti she was referring to, as I hadn't seen any myself in several years, but I didn't much feel like asking.

"Would it, maybe, be okay if I... look at your teeth?"

I just stared at her. She wanted to see my teeth? Through all the tension in the room, that's all she wanted? It almost made me want to laugh, but I didn't.

"Sure..." I said finally. Immediately she was way up in my face, effectively popping my space bubble, and tilting my head back and jaw open to get a better view.

"Oh they're beautiful!" She cried. "How do you keep them so white? Where did the fangs go? Can you make them come back whenever you want them to? Does it damage your teeth at all? What do you eat? What-"

"Toothy!" Boomed a deep voice from the doorway. "Fingers out of mouth! Let her breathe."

Tooth let go of me and gave me an apologetic smile. "Sorry. They're so beautiful! Keep flossing!"

I looked at the door and there was the big man himself. Nicholas St. North, old Chris Kringle, Big Shot Guardian of Wonder.

Santa Claus.

  ****I DO NOT OWN DREAMWORKS, RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, DISNEY, WINNIE THE POOH, SLENDERMAN, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA OR ANYTHING ELSE!!!!! JUST THE STORY PLOT! ****

Last Edited 2/28/19