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I could feel my mouth hanging open. My mind raced, powered by my heartbeat in my ears. I couldn't believe it. Here in my house. In my room! Right in front of me stood Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and Sandman. Well, Sandman and Tooth Fairy weren't standing. Sandman was floating and Tooth Fairy fluttered her wings. Oh my god! My vision began to darken and the world began to move around me. Sensing the oncoming faint, and fearing it would wake me from a dream, I took some deep breaths. Was starstruck the right word? Perhaps just bewildered? Or confused? Probably confused.
"We were told you were beginning to stop believing," Santa said with a thick Russian accent. Russian would not have been my first guess, but really what else could he have been?
"Uh..." I wanted to say something, anything, but couldn't get the words out.
"Why are you here?" I eventually managed. I couldn't help but mentally praise myself for saying something. I mean, the Guardians were in my room! Unfortunate that speaking and comprehension are not one and the same.
"We're going to help you believe," Tooth Fairy said. I realised the window was open and I was freezing. A shiver tingled up my spine and I could feel the goose bumps forming on my arms and chest. Though I didn't physically feel cold. Not at this moment anyway. I think the goosebumps were from my nervousness too. But the Guardians thought otherwise to my not being cold.
"Oh! You're cold!" Tooth said, rushing (and flying) to my closet to grab a jacket out for me. She searched for a moment or so, frantically might I add, before she found my warmest jacket; a khaki pattern with fluff around the rim of the hood. She handed it to me with a smile and I took it, hardly feeling it was real. She really didn't look like what I had expected. I thought she would be a person with wings. A typical book-style fairy. But no; she was a multi-coloured, human sized hummingbird-woman without a beak. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of purple and her eyelashes were as long as her little finger. Bunny, on the other hand, looked like a tough guy with his belt crossing over his chest which I noticed held two boomerangs on his back. He was a lot taller than I had expected. Sandy looked like he was made out of golden sand that almost glittered. He was only three feet tall too. Santa probably looked the most typical with his red clothing with white fur around the rims. I noticed the beginning of a tattoo creeping up both of his arms, but they were covered by his sleeves, so I couldn't really see them.
I got a fright when a little hummingbird looking thing flew in: like a miniature version of Tooth Fairy. She made what sounded like a chirping-squeak sound, communicating with Tooth Fairy.
"Excellent! Belle, this is Baby Tooth!" Tooth introduced to me. The little fairy smiled at me and nodded before flying out the window and disappearing.
"Baby Tooth?" I asked.
"Yes! They collect the teeth," she replied.
"I thought you did," I questioned.
"No! Too many teeth for just me! I manage them all. Tell them where to go," Tooth smiled.
"How many are there?" I asked.
"Hundreds," Bunny interrupted. Wow! Hundreds of tooth fairies?!
"That was my little sister's tooth she just collected, wasn't it?"
"Yes. It was," Tooth replied, smiling.
"So... you said you're going to help me believe. Now that I've met you, I'm pretty sure I'm always going to believe now," I half chuckled.
"We didn't just come here so you would believe in us..." Bunny began.
"Then why did you come here?" I asked.
"To help you believe in yourself," Santa finished.
y6Jack's POV
I could only sit there and listen. I knew that I could've asked the other Guardians to tell Belle I was real. But I wanted to be the one to help her believe in me. To help her see me. Instead of her just finding out. I mean, she might not believe Jamie, but if the Guardians told her, she would almost instantly believe. And I didn't want that. I wanted to work for it. To earn it.
So sitting there, I listened to everything they said. Even that cheesy line North said about wanting to help Belle believe in herself. That was one of the main points of this whole thing, but it sounded so much less cheesy in my head. He pulled it off pretty well though. Twice, Bunny looked back to me. I don't know why though.
"And how do you expect to make me believe in myself?" Belle asked after a moment of hesitation. Tooth fluttered over to Belle's closet again and pulled out black military boots.
"Why do I need these?" Belle asked, curiously, looking at and grabbing the shoes Tooth held out for her.
"We're goin' somewhere," Bunny said with his obvious Australian accent, crossing his arms. I sat up a little straighter. I was really excited to see Belle's reaction. She chuckled nervously, slipping on the shoes. I couldn't help but watch her as she did it too. So delicately, as if the shoes were a living thing she needed to care for.
"It kind of sounds like you're kidnapping me," she awkwardly rubbed her arm and half smiled. Almost uncomfortably, she stood before us, unsure of what would become of her and what would happen. She was slightly scared by what we were going to show her.
"The Guardians would never, they're too strict," I chuckled. I only spoke out of habit as I tend to make fun of the other Guardians every now and then. I felt like someone was going to say something, revealing that I was real.
"Right. Not here. Sorry," I shrugged as the Guardians turned to look at me, gazing at me like I was an idiot, especially Bunny. I threw my hands up in surrender, as if apologising, before putting my hands back on my staff.
"What are you looking at?" Belle asked, searching through me to see if there was anything there that they might have been looking at. To be honest, it hurt how she could just look straight through me without the slightest care. I wanted to be looked at the way she looked at Jamie, the way she looked at the other Guardians; like I was important to her.
"Nothing..." Bunny said.
"Oh. Okay then... So where are we going?" she asked, nervous still.
"We'll show you. But you have to know, that no other mortal has ever gone to these places we're taking you to," North began.
"Except Jamie's little sister who went to the Warren after stealing your stupid snow globe..." Bunny added, a hint of anger in his voice. I don't know why he was angry about that. He enjoyed those hours Sophie was with us in the Warren. I suppose it wasn't that a human had gone to his home, it was more that an unknown person had invaded it without his being aware. It made him feel vulnerable I guess.
"Aunt Sophie has been to where you're taking me?!" Belle almost squealed before realising she had to be quiet.
"Yeah. What's happened to the little squirt?" Bunny asked.
"Married with two sons. One's eight the other's eleven," Belle replied. It was so hard to believe that little Sophie was married with kids! Last time I saw her, she was chasing Easter eggs around the Warren! Wow. I suddenly regretted not coming sooner. I should have visited ten, maybe twenty years ago. But I guess there's nothing I can do about it now.
"So, you ready?" Bunny asked. I couldn't tell if he was asking North or Belle. North searched his pockets and Belle zipped up her jacket.
"I guess," Belle shrugged, standing, brushing down her jeans, just like her father had.
North pulled the glass, snow-filled ball out of the pocket of his jacket. Here we go.
Belle's POV
I just watched as Santa reached into the inside pocket of his thick woolen jacket and pulled out a beautiful crystal ball full of what looked to be snow. I had seen too much snow today. But I guess a little glass ball wasn't that bad. Everyone had been looking behind them a minute ago like something had just caught their attention. So of course I asked what they were staring at, thinking there was something on my wall. But they brushed it off as if it had never happened. I didn't give it a second thought.
Santa whispered something to the ball as if he was talking to a tiny person. Within that second, the snow inside the ball swirled around and produced what looked to be a castle or something. I didn't really have time to look at it very well because he threw it against the wall with a small smashing sound. I jumped a little in shock, understandably. I was amazed to see what looked to be a portal opening! Something I had read in books and seen in movies! I never thought it would be real! An actual portal! It shone pastel shades of green, blue, pink and purple swirling themselves around each other to form a circle shaped spiral.
"Oh my god..." I mumbled speechlessly. A portal. I took a hesitant step towards it, curious as to where it would take me and what it would feel like to go through.
"Where does it lead to?" I asked, taking a quick glance over to the Guardians, who were obviously relishing in my joy and curiosity.
"You shall see. Go on," Santa said. Why did he sound Russian? And Bunny Australian? Then again, not ever Guardian could have an American accent, so I suppose different accents were to be expected. I didn't really want to be the first one to go through the portal to be honest. I didn't know where it lead to or what could happen to me if I went through. I was scared and excited and wasn't quite sure what to do.
"Belle?" I heard a sleepy voice say. I spun around and saw Ciara standing at my door, watching. I quickly got up and rushed over to her as she rubbed her sleepy eyes. I bent down beside her and tried to block out her view of the Guardians.
"Santa?" she asked. I sighed. Dammit. She also noticed the portal. Great. I couldn't take her with me. I didn't know if it was safe.
"Ciara... These are Santa, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny and Sandman," I hesitantly introduced.
"Hello," she yawned, covering her mouth.
"Now Ciara, I'm going to go away with them for a while okay?" I said, looking her dead in the eyes.
"Why?" she asked, still tired. I didn't really know how to answer that.
"Uh..."
"She'll tell you all about it when she gets back," Tooth covered for me. I just smiled and nodded at Ciara.
"Okay. I love you Belle," Ciara said, giving me a hug.
"I love you too. And don't forget to tell dad that I'm with the Guardians," I squeezed. She nodded into my shoulder, smiled, turned and walked out the door. That was a lot easier to handle then I thought it was going to be. I thought she would have squealed and ran to them or just stopped and stared. But she was very calm, though I put that to being tired.
"She's so much like her Aunt," Bunny smiled.
"She's lovely," Tooth said. I looked over to where she had left and smiled.
"Yeah. She really is," I said. I then took a deep breath and turned to the Guardians.
"I'm ready," I said, bracing myself. Santa smiled. He was first through the portal, then Sandy. Tooth grabbed my hand and helped me through. As I neared the portal, it felt like I was being sucked in, like a vacuum. I looked worried over to Tooth who floated a little higher than me. She smiled to try and make me feel more comfortable. It worked a little. I tried to smile back and stopped right in front of the portal. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and stepped into it. Colours flashed behind my eyelids and my insides flipped. Being dragged by my feet for a second or so as I dared not let go of Tooth's hand. Then the colours abruptly stopped and I felt warm all of a sudden. Noises filled my head. Train toots, wheels rolling, plane engines rolling, things flying past me. The smell of gingerbread wafted up my nose and teased my senses. Where am I?
That's when I opened my eyes. Oh my god.
Santa's workshop. It was so incredible! Multiple storeys with toys flying around, being built. Not by elves! Which I thought would happen. No! There were yetis! Yetis building the toys! It was like a wooden castle in here! Outside the windows were mountains of snow! I wasn't near home anymore. No way. I was in the North Pole.
"North, do you really think it was a good idea to bring her here?" Bunny asked Santa. Wait. They call him North? Well I guess that makes sense considering how he lives in the North Pole. But goodness! There were little elves walking around, standing only a foot tall, though their pointy hats with the bells on the end took up a third of that. I couldn't help but giggle and do a little spin excitedly.
"Of course! Look at her!" North replied. And then I turned to the middle of the building. The object all of the floors surrounded. A giant globe? It slowly rotated and I noticed there were tiny lights all over it, shining and glowing amongst the textured surface of the globe. I walked over to the edge of the floor we were on and just stared at the lights.
"What are the lights for?" I asked.
"Each light represents a child who believes in us. Each child we protect," North replied.
"Am... am I on there?" I asked, gesturing to the globe while turning to look at the Guardians.
"As long as you believe, we can protect you," Bunny added. So I would be. Then everything hit me. Everything my dad said was true. That means that Jack... No. If he's real, I want him to prove it to me. Show me. And he wasn't here. If he was a Guardian, he would be here... wouldn't he?
"So... I'm here to believe." I smiled to them.
"You aren't just here to believe in us remember, but so you can believe in yourself," Tooth reminded me. Believe in myself?
"What do you mean by that?" I questioned.
"Belle Bennett is more than just girl. She is inspiration. A kind heart with an angels touch. Smart, caring, considerate. We all have a centre. Mine is wonder. I see the wonder in everything! Sandy's is dreams. Helping each child to discover their own. Bunny gives hope. Tooth's is memories, so they can see the good times. What is your centre Belle Bennett?" North asked.
"My centre? I... I don't know," I replied, looking at the ground for a moment.
"That's what we want to help you find out," Tooth said, fluttering closer.
"How?"
"You'll see. But for now, you must be tired..."
"I heard this voice today..." I interrupted North, quite randomly really. I don't know why it popped into my head, but I couldn't stop the words from escaping my lips.
"Voice?" Bunny questioned. They all seemed surprised at my sudden statement.
"Yeah. Well, it's only happened once, but I heard this guy, talking to me..."
Jack's POV
We were at the Pole and I couldn't help but smile as Belle spun around, enjoying herself. Then after a minute or two of talking, North suggested that Belle go to bed.
"I heard this voice today..." she interrupted. I just froze. What? Was she talking about me?
"Voice?" Bunny asked, taking a quick glance over to me. Had she heard me?
"It's only happened once, but I heard this guy, talking to me... Like when I got home today, I heard someone say my sister was cute..." She was talking about me! She had heard me! Yes! I knew it! I wanted to jump and fly around the pole. I was so excited I couldn't stand being stuck to the spot. But for some reason I was. I couldn't move.
"And when I was walking home today, I... I'm gonna sound so weird, but a couple times it felt like all of the air had been sucked out of me. And when I walked up to my room, I felt a zapping pain in my chest... Is something wrong with me?" she asked.
"She heard me. She felt it when she walked through me! That zapping pain, I felt that too!" I exclaimed. But just like the other times, she couldn't hear me. I need to seriously remember that she can't see me. But the other Guardians understood and immediately understood what Belle was talking about.
"No. Nothing's wrong with you. Maybe you just need some rest..." North began. They knew she had heard me on at least two occasions, but they didn't know why she could hear me then and not now. Neither did I. No one knew why she was able to only hear me sometimes, and to feel it when she goes through me. No one had ever felt that before. I had never felt something that strong before. Sure it made my chest tighten when someone went through me, but it had never felt like that.
"Also, I think the moon talked to me twice. I know that sounds stupid but..."
"The moon? He... talked to you?" Bunny asked. Why had the man in the moon talked to Belle? He'd never talked to a human before... Belle just nodded.
"What did he say?" Tooth asked.
"He didn't say much. Only two words; at separate times. The first time he said 'search'. Then, a year later, he said 'Jack'." Jack... As in me?
"I didn't even know the moon could talk. I must be going crazy. I just thought that because you are considered to be mythical or magical or something, that you might be able to explain something else magical. But you're right. I should go to bed. I'll figure it out tomorrow," she smiled. North took off his jacket and Belle stared at his tattoos up and down his arms of his naughty and nice list.
"And I'll ask you about those tomorrow too," she added. Belle stretched and yawned. Her eyes drooped and she almost passed out. She took a step and her knees buckled and collapsed beneath her. Bunny caught her though. Honestly, I wanted to be the one to catch her. But I couldn't. Obviously.
"I'll take you to bed," Bunny said. I wanted to take her to bed. Not because I thought she was beautiful or anyhting! Just because it was my idea to bring her here. Okay, so maybe it was partially because I thought she was beautiful. But that's not the point! Belle nodded in agreement and Bunny picked her up bridal style. The moment he did, she curled up to his chest and fell asleep.
"Bunny... uh... can I take her?" I asked. He shrugged.
"Sure," he replied. I walked up and took her off him. She was so light. She moaned slightly and cuddled up to me. God she was beautiful. It was difficult to hold her and my staff, but I managed. I smiled down to her, noticing every little detail in her face. The way her rosy lips sat slightly parted, the way cheeks were now brushed with pink, her dark eyelashes and how long they were, the way her hair draped over her face so delicately. She was breathtaking.
"She must be exhausted," Tooth said, smiling.
"You should have seen her today walking against the wind. She fought so hard to get home," I said, still looking at Belle.
"She's beautiful. Don't you think Jack?" Tooth asked. They are so going to tease me for my answer, I just know it.
"Yeah," I said, smiling up at them. They all smiled back and North led me to where Belle would sleep. A small room with a single bed and a large round window looking to the mountains. With wooden floors and walls and furniture, it was classic cottage style. The only decoration in the room was a white rose sitting in a vase full of water on the bedside table. North left me to help Belle.
I carried her over to the bed and used the tip of my staff to carry the sheets to one end so I could put her under them. Carefully, I put Belle down. She refused to let go of my neck. I tried to wedge her hands off my neck, but she pulled me and I fell. On top of her. With my face inches from hers. Oh my god. I could hardly breathe. Like all of the air had been sucked out of me. Then her hands fell from around my neck. But I somehow couldn't bring myself to move. I just couldn't. I was frozen solid to the spot. My chest tightened and I could hardly breathe.
I eventually forced myself to stand up. I took off her shoes and manoeuvred her jacket off before dragging the sheets over her. My heart was still recovering from having stopped. Being that close to her put me into such a state of shock that my hands were trembling. Taking a deep breath, I allowed myself to calm down before I went to leave. I turned and began to walk out of the room but froze. Should I? I hastily turned back to her and leant in, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Her skin was so warm under my cold lips. My lips tingled and became warm from her touch. I lingered for a moment before pulling away and looking to the rose. I tapped the vase and the floral frost pattern spread, making the vase look nicer. I smiled at it before walking out the door, holding my staff, closing it behind me.
Belle's POV
My eyes hastily fluttered open and I saw I was in a bed. My cheek felt cold and I noticed a white rose sitting on the bedside table next to me. The vase had a beautiful floral pattern made of frost. I looked over and saw the door closing, before clicking shut. I was too weak and too tired to do anything, so I drifted off to sleep again.