The Elemental's Curse

Hiver

Small, delicate hands moved through the air gracefully, and the water from the nearby river swayed in correspondence. Standing on the edge of the river was an elemental water spirit, Naida. Her sea green dress gently swayed back and forth in the gentle breeze, and her little toes curled into the soft dirt as she concentrated. Her breathing was deep and steady; her eyes were closed tightly.

One snap of the twig and her eyelids shot open. The sea blue pupils looked around her as her hands froze and the water fell back into its natural pattern. The breeze had stopped, as if sensing something wasn't right; it only made her more on edge. She dipped one foot behind her into the river and raised her hands defensively.

A dark chuckle was the last thing she heard before everything went black.

XXX

The Groundhog was not particularly happy about having to standing outside in a outrageous blizzard that was engulfing the workshop he stood in front of. He was sure it was Jack Frost messing with him; he swore he could hear the brat's laughter in the wind. What was worse was that he wasn't even allowed inside until the owner of the grand palace approved an audience with him. Until then, the yetis would just keep on standing there with their arms crossed, glaring.

The door finally opened and the head yeti ordered the others to let Groundhog in.

"Finally," Groundhog muttered before stepping inside and wiping his practically frozen paws on the plush entrance rug. He was given a large mug of hot chocolate and led throughout the workshop until they reached a large wooden door with a fancy 'N' inscribed on it. The yeti nodded to Groundhog, then walked off to return to his duties. Groundhog stood there for a moment, admiring the scenery around him. He'd never actually been here in the hundreds of years that he'd been a spirit.

Finally, he reached out and knock on the door.

"Come in!" a Russian accent boomed from the other side.

Groundhog carefully opened the door and ducked just in time to have a winged train zoom past his head and down the hallway, little puffs of smoke billowing from its engine.

"Dingle!" An elf stood to attention. "Catch that train!"

Dingle ran around Groundhog's feet and wobbled down the hallway after the train, the bell on its hat jingling as it went. Groundhog watched in amusement for a moment before he heard large footsteps coming his way and turned back towards the other occupant of the room.

"Long time no see, comrade," the large Russian man smiled, holding a large plate of freshly baked Christmas cookies. "Please, join me. Have cookie."

"I'll pass, North," Groundhog politely declined. He never imagined the leader of the Guardians of Childhood to be so ... laid-back for someone who looked so intimidating. "I'm actually here to report a concern."

"I'm sorry," North sighing, turning back towards his desk. "But I cannot control what Jack does twenty-four seven. I am not father and he is free to do as he pleases."

"What?" Groundhog replied. "No, North, this isn't about Jack." He paused. "Ok, maybe it is. It's about the elementals as a whole."

"Isn't that something for Mother Nature?" North cocked an eyebrow in curiosity as he sat behind his desk, motioning for Groundhog to sit as well.

"She's never in one place for long," Groundhog retorted, as if completely obvious. "She's too hard to track down. Besides, I wanted you to deliver the message to MiM. Maybe he can figure out what's going on."

North sighed and leaned back in his chair, motioning for Groundhog to begin as he began to gulp down more cookies.

"Now, normally I don't pay attention to elementals," Groundhog began. "But some animals are starting to avoid certain places in the world. At first, I just thought it was overly-excited hunters. Then, I started to hear the rumors. I didn't believe them until yesterday."

"What kind of rumors?" North asked.

"Leprechaun claimed he found one of the air spirits, Anil, in the Sahara," Groundhog explained. "The boy was dead, North. Then Cupid found a fire spirit, a girl named Topaz, lying in the Ozark Mountains in Missouri. She was dead as well." Groundhog paused and took a deep, steady breath to keep his voice from breaking. "And yesterday, I found a water spirit by a river in Asia, sweet little Naida. She had been burned to death, North." He locked his eyes with the other spirit, who was now starting to sit straighter. "We think someone is trying to deliberately kill off the elementals. And who knows when they'll start targeting the four seasonal children."

The color instantly drained from North's face. Jack Frost, the newest and youngest Guardian, was the seasonal spirit of winter. As far as North knew, he was the only cross-spirit to ever be created: a Guardian by MiM, but an elemental by Mother Nature. His spiritual parents was what made him so powerful and in the end, the greatest asset to Pitch's defeat last year.

North stood up and grabbed his swords from their resting stand, rushing towards the Globe Room. Groundhog abandoned his mug and quickly followed, desperately trying to keep up without tripping over the little elves that seemed to appear from every which way. Once they reached the largest room of the workshop, North grabbed a lever and pushed down, sending the Northern Lights out into the sky.

"Oh," Groundhog commented in realization. "I always wondered what magic conjured the Northern Lights."

"They're a call," North simply explained.

"To what?" Groundhog inquired.

"The other Guardians," North answered, watching as the moon began to glow, showing that he saw the lights and was ready for whatever North was concerned about. "They're on their way."