Act I.Dare to Hope (A ROTG/GOC Fanfiction)

.Chapter XVIII.

It was actually eerie to find Death onboard,and even more sudden when she had offered the Guardians a chance to be her ally.And that brings us to her,Lady Death facing the five Guardians,a newspaper in her hold.Apparently they were in a private room where private meetings were held when necessary.It was about the children,their believers,and that was very necessary to the Guardians.Despite Aster's futile attempts to reject the offer and see the problem themselves,Lady Death had interrupted him with a cold,echoing voice,"Why if I told you...the children are in danger?"She questioned him,her hooded robe swaying in the wind which was much akin to a poncho,"The way that you 'solve' your problem about Pitch caused a eruption in the balance!".This time,it sounded more like a hiss without aggression.She threw the newspaper into North's arms,causing a gasp from Toothiana.

Apparently in America,a boy around 10 had lost his tooth in a thorn bush and got injured.A shocking discovery for the Guardians,"How much longer must this happen before you notice...?"Ernaline said calmly,his eyes narrowing onto the frozen Pooka before continuing,"I have no concern about your beings,Guardians,but I do still have feelings for your children."Jack looked at the newspaper before his eyes widen in shock and looking at his peers.Ernaline pitied the boy for being a new Guardian,but Sandy was looking at Ernaline,as if he could remember something from the past.Something familiar.

"This is why I am offering a chance to be my ally temporarily until we resolve this problem,"Ernaline explained,her voice now calm as she looked at her Chinese fingernails guards but before North could reply she cut him off,"I'll let you think about it."She left the room silently,not wanting another look at the Guardians and ignoring Aster's protests.

There was a cry admitted from Toothiana,"Oh,the children!".North was shocked in silence,trying to think what was causing the children to do so,and why.The Sandman was thinking deeply,hadn't he seen Lady Death,or Ernaline's face before?A face from a very long,long time ago shrouded in an air of sorrow and longing,and blurred Sandy's view of her.Aster was yelling at nobody in particular saying,"I bet that sheila' doin' it,someway er other!","We all know that's blood true,mate.",and finally,"I mean we' know nothin' bout her."That seemed to shocked Sandy into silence,his eyes as wide as saucer as he remembered one name.Ernaline Pryrius.

He knew her,

And she was the friend of Kozmotis Pitchner,

Pitch Black.

At the same time,Jack asked,

"Who's that?"
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During Vitreous' time at The Chamber Of Secrets,he discovered that he wasn't the only one to challenge Adryris and was chained to eternity,and that was the day The God King stopped pestering him with touches here and there.He met Letholdus and Rideous,who he played chess or some sort of other games with them.It was boring for Vitreous but for the two,it felt like hell.Letholdus was a knight,sent from a faraway kingdom that was an enemy of Adryris,one of the few that was not conquered by The God King.Rideous was an archer,his family slain by Adryris and he wanted to avenged him.The knight was tall,slim,but not as swift as Vitreous while Rideous was like the common warrior the gladiator had seen at home.Strong,tall,and buff,certainly a warrior.

He was curious,and used his voice for once to questioned them about the world,what had changed and what had not.During the time he was stuck,apparently a part of Adryris' army had fled and turned into rogues,supplying the opposite side.He was not surprised at all,he just sat there,silently trying to find a way out of this prison.Letholdus and Rideous did,promising they would save Vitreous,that never happen though.He was still curious,did they succeed?Or were they slain together?But for now on Earth,he was very sure they were gone.A shame they couldn't join him to see the wonders of the next age.
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The Winter King,Whittaker sat in his room,which was practically filled with ice and snow,running his hair through his assistant's alabaster white hair,which the ice has melted to the point that he could feel the soft hair.Hailstorm was like an adoptive son to him,a reminder of his godson,both happy and sad.The assistant's hair was combed in a tidy way,his face relaxed in a slumber he hasn't have in a while.Humming a tune,he brushed white locks from Hailstorm's face,a smile tugging his lips as he remembered a certain memory.

While Nightlight was laughing silently as Gladius tried to fix a toy,certainly not a skill he had.As gears flew out of the toy,the scientist panicked more as seconds passed by."Oh dear!Fixing or making a toy is really not as easy as I thought,"Gladius said flustered,a blush spreading across his face,"Perhaps the next time,I'll try again."Nightlight only nodded and look into the crib where his dear friend was,Tsar,but still a mischievous smile still lingered on his face.Whittaker had seen it all by accident and kept it a secret and never uttered a word to anybody else about the incident.Certainly an interesting fact he'd learnt about Gladius.

He missed the old times,but for now,Tsar could only be an observer from faraway.There wee even embarrassing moments for Whittaker,especially with socialization,not a very delightful thing to do with other people he didn't know or trust.He especially hated parties,he despised them!For the most ridiculous reason,he couldn't dance at all,his clumsiness was like a mule flailing all its limbs.When Tsarina and Tsar took notice of that,the young prince's parents taught him how to dance.

"One,two,three...yes,that's it,"

Those were the words he kept on hearing as Tsarina guided him to dance,she was just so graceful unlike him,flailing his arms around or panicking when he got the wrong steps.Occasionally,he would step on Tsarina's shoes,which he apologized quickly in a panicked state.Gladuis had always teased him for not being able to dance,a skill that he had seen in every Constellation and nobles,but Whittaker was the first noble he'd ever seen that couldn't dance.In the end,he did started to dance gracefully,however he still despised parties they would organize once in a while.

In fact,the first time he met Tsar,Tsarina and Nightlight was at a ball.His former assistant had pleaded to him to accompany to him to the ball so he wouldn't be alone,and he did.Not long after he made friends with the Lunanoff family,they gifted him with a finely tailored cloak,he remember it was as dark as space,with jewels that twinkle like stars.The dark blue silk was embellish with silver embroidery,frost patterns that climbed like vines until the middle.The collar and hem were also decorated with laces that looked like frost,he was grateful for it.He still have it today,a reminder of the Lunanoff family,a memory that is carved into his mind forever.

"I'm sorry I can't watch over your child,

Or guide him away from harm,

I can't make him happy,I can't cheer him up,I'm sorry I can't even encourage him,

I can't guard his hopes and dreams with my life,

I know he's all that we have,

B u t  I ' m  s o  s o r r y  I  c a n ' t ."

"I  j u s t  c a n ' t,"

"F o r  t h a t , I ' m  s o r r y ."

Written on  Thursday,31 of May
Word count:1060 (not counting this)