We've all heard the tales of our childhood heros. Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Toothfairy, Mr. Sandman, and Jack Frost. These are the Guardians of Childhood. But seventeen year old Anara Rose knows that there is one more Guardian who is more than wh...
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Christmas approached faster than anyone anticipated, even the Guardians. I had seen Jack hanging around more often, particularly near Jamie's house, which meant I ran into him quite a few times while babysitting the Bennetts. He had explained that North and the other members of the Big Four were hard at work preparing for the coming holidays. I had yet to formally meet the other Guardians, but everything Jack told me about them made them seem larger than life and absolutely wonderful. Jamie knew that I was still spending time with Pitch, though he hadn't seemed to tell Jack because the Guardian of Fun never questioned me about the Nightmare King.
Speaking of the devil, Pitch had been in a foul mood for most of the month. Clearly, he did not care for Christmas. The thought of that was unsurprising, but it still managed to sadden me. I wished Pitch could enjoy the festivities of the season, even if they seemed trivial at times. When I had inquired about Pitch's opinion of the holiday, he simply shrugged and scoffed. "Persuading children to behave by reserving a day to give them gifts and threatening to take them away if they do something their parents view as wrong is hardly something to celebrate," He told me. "Christmas is about more than presents, Pitch. It's about being with our loved ones and celebrating the fact that we are all together. It's about wonder and hope and all the positive things in our lives. It reminds people that even in the coldest of the seasons, there is still warmth to be found," I explained. Pitch shook his head, definitely not buying my attempt to persuade him. At least I tried....I breathed out softly.
A few days later, I had almost finished helping my mother decorate our home for the holiday, both of us working on the last touch. Our eight foot tall christmas tree was standing in the center of our living room, waiting to be decorated. Boxes of ornaments and ribbon and lights littered the couches and carpet. Artemis and Aphrodite watched me lazily, lying on the floor together in front of the roaring fireplace, the shadows of the flames dancing across their fur. My mom and I were flitting between the living room and kitchen, checking on the sugar cookies in the oven and trying to string the tangled multi-colored lights around the wide branches. Pitch slid out of the corner of the room, slinking over to sit in a chair. Though I could not acknowledge his presence verbally, I gave a short nod and smiled at him. He returned the gaze evenly, crossing one long leg over the other and leaning back in the chair. My mom and I exchanged jokes and sang along to the Christmas songs on the radio, wrapping a deep purple ribbon and sparkling gold tinsel around the tree. I could feel Pitch's eyes on me; he was staring at me for one reason or another.
