Trials of the Moonlight

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Every time she started to feel heavy, he propped her up with his knee. Jack had never held an infant this long in his life, not even Sophie. But he was starting to understand a parents' will to never put their child down so long as their arms were their safe haven. The girl put a piece of his mantle in her mouth; he bundled her up as much as he could to keep her from freezing, but she kept managing to free one arm to try and reach for his tunic, or the pretty, glittering toy around his neck.

This was the last task. Once I finish this, it's over. He was praying hopefully in his head. I can go back to Sophie, give her bear back. Mom will be pissed, but she'll be okay. He wanted to smile at the thought, but he was hyper-focused on his goal. Jack knew he was being followed, but he couldn't see her through all the misty snow in the air. Both the dagger's light and the infant girl in his arms made him feel safe despite it all. She can't see my light. He felt he heard the knife whisper to him. I will hide you from her.

But Amelia was close behind, close enough to know he'd gone deep into the woods. Jack was fast and young, but he was carrying a baby, and one could never outrun a shadow. Even though the snow silenced his footsteps, Amelia was like a wolf hunting a deer by following the scent. Jack was no regular animal being hunted for the slaughter, though, he wasn't slowed down by the snow and sleet... if anything, it gave him an advantage because he created barriers of ice behind him every time he felt she was getting close.

He knew his own body temperature couldn't suffice, but he still pressed the baby to his chest to keep her warm. He felt her shivering and he practically buried her in his cloak. He was so light, so fast... but his breathing was heavy now from carrying the extra weight with him. The blade's light showed him the way to a clearing before going out. Jack ran out of the grove—and his stomach turned.

No. No, no, no!

...

Bunny, Elsa, and Kozmotis all raced to where the Moon had told them to go. Kozmotis could hear the Moon's instructions this once, for it was his flesh and blood they were dealing with. Elsa could keep up with neither a shadow nor a rabbit, so Bunny let her ride on his back as she clung tight to not be thrown off. He was moving so haphazardly that her hair fell from its knot and hung loose.

"Okay, so if the Moon thinks it's either you or your boyfriend—"

"Fiancé!"

"Whatever! How come he just tells you outright what your center is while he leaves Jack guessing? Knowing your center's the most important step to becoming one of us!" He hopped over a large root and snow flung in Elsa's face. She shook her head wildly to get it off. "I warned ya!" He felt himself smirking. Elsa hadn't thought it was anything important when the Moon told North her center, but if it was one of the 'gifts' the Moon gave them, then she'd think they'd know Jack's by now as well!

But even if she wasn't a guardian, Elsa knew she'd been born brave. Never in her life did she cower in adversity. Her truest strength had always lied within herself... as did Bunny's or North's or Tooth's... even Jack's. Was Jack's center snow? That made no sense.

"You might wanna duck!" Bunny warned and Elsa crouched low on his back as he swooped under a low branch. This was the consequence of trying to shorten a day's worth of a trip down to just a few minutes!

Strangely, it was when she perked her head back up that she had an epiphany. She knew Jack's center. She'd known it all along, perhaps from the moment she met him. Indeed, he'd been gifted it the moment he breathed his first. Bunnymund suddenly braked and made snow fly in all directions. Elsa was nearly bucked off from the sudden cessation of movement.