Innocent Chaos (an RotG Fanfiction)

Chapter 9: North

While Tooth was watching over Jack, Scarlett decided to fly off and be by herself for a while. She liked being alone, and preferred it to being around people when her mind was confused like it was now. She still didn't know why the roses were trying to drag her underground now, but hadn't tried when she was human. At least other things made more sense now.

"Come home, child," she sang, wondering if singing the words that the roses sang would help her make better sense of them. Or maybe someone would hear her, understand what the words meant, and tell her about it. "Join the ones who you've forgotten. Join the ones who you cast aside. Join the ones who you doubted... Yes, come back, child. Now that you are free, you can return... Come, child. Return to those you left." She landed in a sparse "forest". It was night, and she could clearly see the array of glittering stars above her. "Join the ones who you've forgotten..."

"Join the ones who you cast aside," voices joined in her song, and Scarlett immediately lost contact with what was going on. She had been put into a trance by roses once more; these were behind an unusually thick tree, where she hadn't seen them. "Join the ones who you doubted." A sleigh flew overhead as the roses' vines started crawled toward Scarlett and up her legs. "Return to those you left." The sleigh landed a few yards away, and a plump man hopped off it. "Come, child." The man grabbed Scarlett's waist and yanked her from the roses' grip, then carried her to his sleigh. However, the roses were still singing to her, so she wasn't out of her trance just yet. "Join the ones who you once called your friends. Join the ones who you've forgotten."

The roses continued to sing as North tried to wake her, so he couldn't succeed. Panicking, he took out a snowglobe, whispered into it, and then threw it onto the ground. He then rushed Scarlett through to the other side, and, when the portal closed up behind him, she awoke.

"Are you okay?" North asked her. "What happened? Vines were grabbing you!"

"It must've been the roses again...," she muttered, for this was something she could be confident about. "Whenever I get too close to them, they hypnotize me and try to pull me underground. Apparently, they would talk and sing to me and such in my past life, too, but they didn't attack me like they do now. I don't know why. Do you have any ideas?"

"Hm," North mumbled, and set her down. "I can't think of anything."

"What were you doing out tonight?" Scarlett then asked.

"Delivering presents," North responded.

"But...it's not Christmas Eve, is it?" Scarlett questioned.

"No," North replied, "but you told Bunny and I to be nice, and so I am. People like it when I give them presents." Scarlett looked around. North had teleported them amid a bunch of chaos. There were exhausted-looking Yetis and elves everywhere, the former quickly making toys and the latter making some random creations. Scarlett looked back at North and noticed that he looked pretty worn-out as well. Bags drooped under his eyes, although immortals like them didn't need to sleep. Delivering presents all the time was clearly taking a lot out of North.

"You should rest," Scarlett told him. "And they need to rest, too." She gestured to all the creatures in the workshop.

"Okay, five minute break!" North shouted to everyone. They all looked relieved and dropped to the floor to nap right where they were standing. Scarlett once again felt guilty for everything she had caused. North was sure to go right back to delivering presents once she left. He, too, was lying on the floor, resting, although his eyes were open.

Scarlett backed out of his field of vision and then quietly snuck away. She didn't feel comfortable here and wanted to leave. Maybe, Tooth would have some ideas on how to become more confident quicker, so that she could release everyone from the influence of her powers as soon as possible.

She also kind of wondered how Pitch and Sandy's fight was going, if it was still going on, but she wasn't sure if she actually wanted to know. It might cause her to feel more guilt, if something bad had happened.  

(A/N: All follows, votes, and comments are appreciated. :)

I will upload a chapter every week unless otherwise stated.

I also posted this fanfiction on DeviantArt and Quotev under accounts of the same username as the one I have on this website.

Disclaimer: I don't own "Rise of the Guardians" (© DreamWorks Animation) or the Guardians of Childhood series (© William Joyce) that it was based off of.)