Stealing a Princess (A Rise of the Guardians Fanfiction)

History

She flipped the page, sighing in disappointment upon finding no more to read. Brushing a stray curl away from her face, she leaned back in her comfortable chair, stretching her arms above her head. The rustle of fabric against skin made her raise her head to see Imogen, standing in front of her with her arms crossed.

She wore a determined expression on her face. Tooth silently wondered what Imogen could possibly want with her when she had specifically asked her not to disturb her reading.

“King North has arrived.” The disdain was obvious in her voice. Imogen didn’t get along well with North, as Tooth was sure she had yet to forgive him about the time Tooth had convinced North to bring her out to the market. That was a long time ago.

She recalled that day fondly, remembering getting lost in the throng of strangers tripping over somebody’s wares, and getting scolded thoroughly by her mother after she had been found happily chatting with a jewel merchant, who had found her and offered her a snack.

Granted, the food could have been poisoned, which was one of the things her mother had scolded her for, but the food hadn’t been, and she had had fun.

Tooth remembered Uncle North, a giant of a man in his own right, being ferociously berated by her mother, who, despite being almost half his size, still managed to make him look chastised and remorseful.

Uncle North! She sprinted through the halls, clutching her skirts in an attempt to keep from tripping. She flung open the doors to the dining hall and launched herself at the big man, making him taking a step back.

North chuckled at her enthusiastic greeting, squeezing her in return. Pulling back from their embrace, North held Tooth at arm’s length as if inspecting her.

“You’ve grown, Little Bird,” he said in his jovial, rumbling tone. North’s words were spoken in the accent of his home country, and due to his frequent visits, Tooth had learned to understand North’s way of speaking, though others did not.

Seeing him, unharmed from the war made her smile even wider as she hopped down and wrapped her arms around his waist. She could feel the warm fur lining of North’s favorite red coat against her cheek as she told him about her day and how Sandy and Imogen were doing.

Sandy and North were old friends. They had met a long time ago, before Tooth had been born and North had had to take over his kingdom. They had been teenagers, she had been told, and North had been visiting their kingdom in the place of his father. Sandy had told her of their first meeting, where he had accidently dropped a book on North’s boot. ‘It had been one of those old, thick, tomes, too!’ Sandy had laughed merrily and soundlessly while telling her about their friendship.

Tooth remembered first meeting North. When she had first been introduced to him, she had been afraid of him and his height. “You were a wee little duckling back then, Little Bird! Only up to my knee, you were!” Uncle North had told her after she had gotten more comfortable around him. It had taken her a while to, though now she knew him as a kind, grandfatherly man who loved his subjects and treated everyone with respect.

There was something about North that drew people to him. The three of them had spent many a day laughing and drinking tea in the library, telling jokes and out riding in the woods. He had a great sense of humor, although Tooth didn’t understand his particular sense of humor very well.

Smiling happily, she took one of North’s large hands, callused from years of sword fighting in both of hers and dragged him to the library, laughing as he stumbled on the thick woolen carpet.

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North chuckled jovially as he relived past times with Sandy, his old friend. They both laughed as he retold the story of the day he had finally gotten Tooth to tell him her name.