Jack Frost has gone.
Exactly fifty years after the Guardians' showdown with the shadow manipulating Pitch Black, the Winter Spirit has disappeared.
The remaining four Guardians called upon the Man in the Moon for help. He warned them that there was...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"I have a feeling that my method on the other two will not work as well as you," Mother Nature comments softly, watching the red head in front of her. Merida shrugs her shoulders, not looking at her. "I don't think it will work on me at all." "Why ever not?" "I.. never mind," Merida sighs. I'm not like the others. I don't have magic hair, or a dragon, or powers. I don't think I'm Autumn. They killed the wrong person. "But you are Autumn, my dear girl. Tell me. What season is it currently?" "Autumn?" Merida raises an eyebrow. "Ah, right. And how do you know?" She fell silent, frowning slightly to herself. "When you left, it was Summer. The passage of time is difficult to track at the North Pole. How were you to know this?" After a while of allowing Merida to realise what she'd just say, she continued. "As I was saying. I can sense that you are more of a seeing is believing person. Luckily, as you just said, it is Autumn. You needn't imagine anything." She places her hand on her shoulder, and the Workshop greenhouse vanishes, replaced by an orchard. A path stretches out through the centre, surrounded by trees with leaves of reds and oranges and yellows and browns. A slight wind weaved through Merida's hair, and causes leaves to lift from their stalks and drift to the ground. A squirrel pauses on a branch, looking down at them, before scampering back into the tree. She glances around wordlessly, the slightest of smiles on her face. Mother Nature smiles noticing her expression. "I want you to look at the wind. Watch how the air blows through the trees, and how the leaves drift up and down. Imagine the energy of the air flow-" "The energy of the air? Air doesn't have energy, well not really anyway." Merida frowns. She sighs slightly, "Alright, fine. Just imagine the air inside of you." "Oxygen doesn't stay in our system for too long. It's converted into carbon dioxide through respiration," She puts her arms on her hips. "Since when did you know biology?" Mother Nature asks, but a smile is playing at her lips. She's not irritated in the slightest, no. More... proud. "Just because I'm a princess, doesn't mean I don't understand the human anatomy." Merida, on the other hand, does sound irritated. Or rather, impatient. "I know that. However, we must focus on the task at hand." "Discover powers, save Elsa, stop Pitch?" "You missed out young Jack Frost, my dear." "Did I?" She rolls her eyes slightly. Mother Nature watches her thoughtfully, before beckoning her towards a bench and sitting down. Merida glances at it before doing the same, her eyes darting about for a moment before focusing on the immortal before her. "I see that young Jack is not in your mindset," She murmurs thoughtfully. "He's not a priority, no." "And you disagree with the Guardians' choice to focus on him?" "Naturally. Pitch is the bad guy, after all." Mother Nature pauses, giving her a strange look before turning towards the scene of trees. "Something is unsettling you." "What?" "You are in a disagreement with everything I say." "It's just opinions?" "No, it isn't my dear. Something is bothering you. And we shall sit here until you speak about it." Merida huffs and lowers her gaze to the ground. "I'm fine," she insists. No reply comes, and Mother Nature just sits there with her hands placed pleasantly on her lap. Seconds stretch into minutes. Minutes seem to stretch into hours. The sky begins darkening, and the sun begins gradually setting. "Alright, fine," Merida groans, getting to her feet. "I.. I'm afraid. No. I'm terrified. I don't understand half of the things going on around me. I don't understand Pitch Black, or immortals, or powers, or physical representations of the seasons, or a magical fairy, or a winter spirit that's been turned evil. I just feel so.. powerless. I want to go home." The red-head turns away, and ducked her head, tears brimming in her eyes. "I'm sorry." The woman stands up, and pulls the girl into a hug. "Oh, dear child. It's alright. Don't apologise. You've been flung into a world you are unfamiliar with, and the weight of it has been lowered onto your shoulders. I wish we didn't have to bestow such pressure on the group of you," She murmurs, running a hand through her curls. Merida allows a tear to escape her eye, standing in Mother Nature's arms for a little while, allowing herself time to compose herself. The world around them fades to black, and they appear once more in a different place. Only this one was all to familiar. Her parents' bedroom. It looked the same as usual - the fireplace was lit, the bed covered in a beautiful green duvet, a glass of water on her mother's side. Only, on the wall was a painting of herself, and sat on the bed was a weeping mother. Merida is released from the immortal's hold, and bites her lip upon seeing her parent in that state. "Oh, mom." She whispers, watching the woman in front of her. Then she walks forward, sitting on the bed besides her. She wraps her arms around Eleanor, and whilst theoretically the mother shall never feel her daughter again, Mother Nature does on occasion work a miracle. The Queen calms, and wipes her tears away. The faintest of smiles grows on her lips, and four words escape them - such a small number, with such a great meaning. "I love you, Merida." "I love you too, mother," She whispers, before standing. A wind begins to dance around the room, swirling around the three of them. One of Merida's hands moves to the glass on the side. The water lifts from it, forming a slight bubble above her hand. Her other goes to the fireplace. A small flame then flickers in her palm. And Merida smiles. For the first time in a while, a genuine smile is on her face. Nature smiles back at her.
WHOOO I DONE LOL YOU GOT SO TROLLED ! I bet you thought I wasn't going to update today, well, ha! Proved you wrong! Totally did it on purpose!! (Sorry had a busy day ;) ). I still have just under two hours to spare!! Don't judge me!! Also if you're confused on what just happened: Merida's main power is elemental control, so that's fire 🔥, water 💧, air 🌫 and earth🌍 (though her earth is less planty and less healy that Rapunzel's.) Hope you enjoyed this chapter, because it was a tough one to write! - Wolfie xx
