Chapter 11

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(Elsa's POV)

I was walking through the workshop when I suddenly heard; "

Why are those blue? They need to be red!"

*Yeti noises*

"Now!" North commanded.

The clunk of boots grew softer as he walked away. When all was quiet I poked my head around the door to see a distraught yeti amidst a mountain of blue robots. I slowly entered the room and inspected the toys. The yeti, who had sadly begun painting all the robots red, was startled by my presence. He dropped the paint tin, but I caught it. I then sat down and helped the yeti paint. He was confused at first, but as they say, 'never look a gift horse in the mouth.' So he accepted my help without further question.

I became so absorbed with paining that I didn't even notice when North came back into the room.

"I see you help Phil. Very good of you." North boomed from behind me.

Before I had time to respond he sat down and grabbed a brush as well.

"Your helping has inspired me to do so as well." North explained merrily.

*Happy yeti noises*

The minutes ticked by until North broke the silence. I couldn't tell if he was talking to Phil, me or himself. But he wasn't looking for a response from anyone, he just talked and it's not like I could do anything but listen.

"Centers are a funny thing. Take me for example; on surface I am big and intimidating. But when you go deeper you see jolly, mysterious, fearless, caring, and finally wonder. Different people may see different layers, but they are all one and the same. Sometimes we choose to reveal different layers to different people. And the closer you get to the center, the more vulnerable you feel."

Just then some elves came running in, their bells jingling and jangling like mad. The first one stopped suddenly, causing all the elves behind him to crash into each other and topple over. They scrambled to their feet and eagerly held up a plate of cookies. The cookies looked a mess. They were burnt around the edges and while some had chocolate chips in them, other were filled with...Well whatever it was it definitely wasn't chocolate chips.

"Uhh, thank you." North plastered on a smile and gingerly took the cookies. "Run along now, don't you have some 'toys' to make?"

When they were gone, North quickly chucked the cookies out the nearest window. Turning to me he said, "They think they are helping but don't actually do much. Still, it makes their little hearts happy to be of use."

He then cleared his throat and, addressing no one in particular, continued his story.

"Now the center itself is a funny thing. It defines who one is, yet is the part hardly ever seen. To know one's center is to be secure in oneself. Your center can guard you against whatever life may throw at you. But at the same time, you must be careful to protect it. For it is vulnerable, and to lose it is to have your very soul ripped out."

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--Pitch's Lair--

Pitch was still angry but had calmed down enough to think rationally. His henchmen had been called back and stood rigidly at the back of the room while Pitch ranted.

"When I get my hands on those Guardians, they will pay! I will punish them for ruining my plan. I'll destroy them so utterly that no one will even remember that they ever existed! I'll crush that fairy's wings so she'll never fly again! I'll smash their workshop to pieces. I'll bring so much fear that all dream sand in the world will become nightmare sand, and that stupid sandman will turn into another me!"

"Uh sir. How would that even work? I mean-"

"DON'T INTERRUPT ME WHEN I'M PLOTTING, YOU FOOL!"

It was times like these that the henchmen wondered if it was all worth it. Was the promise of power when Pitch won really enough to make up for the risk of being killed by one of Pitch's tantrums? And so, with Pitch blocking the door, they got to spend the next few hours contemplating that very question. Pitch could be a very sore loser.

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(Jack's POV) 

Stupid Jania, stupid North, stupid swamp! Why did North want some stupid leaf? And why did it have to only grow in the stinkiest swamp in the world. If I wasn't immortal, I'm sure I would've died from the smell alone. At least I only had one item left. It was- UNICORN HAIR! If I survived this, I was never doing an errand for North ever again!

Most people think that unicorns are pure and sweet, but nothing could be further from the truth. They were the embodiment of 'looks can be deceiving.' They were beautiful and sparkly sure, but inside they were horrible monsters! They'd gouge anything or anyone who wasn't a unicorn without a second's hesitation. Those horns could do some serious damage. They were slightly more amiable with girls for some reason. And I was not one, nor was I about to pretend to be. Unfortunately, it seemed like my only option was to fight them.

I was hiding in the bushes on the edge of a clearing. Inside the clearing were three unicorns. As one of the unicorns wandered towards my bush, I crouched ready to spring. I had my staff in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. Hopefully I could just cut off a piece of its mane and fly away before it even knew I had been there. It got closer and closer, and I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I saw my chance and leapt from the bushes towards the unicorn. I reached out to grab it mane...and missed. The unicorn had turned away but my momentum kept me moving forward. I tried to stop myself but instead tripped and fell flat on my face. 

Lying on the ground, I turned to get up, and saw three unicorns staring down at me angrily. 

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