Rise of the Guardians 2: Return of the Nightmare King

Getting the Gang Back Together

                                                                                      Tooth's P.O.V

Everything ached. My bones, muscles, and even my wings were sore. My fractured ribs were healing well and the cuts and bruises I had were slowly fading away. My feet hurt from walking so much, since I usually used my wings to get around. Last night had been a bit of a rough sleep. I had slipped in and out of consciousness, worrying about the kids and Angela. She still hadn't come out of her room ever since Pitch visited to reveal the truth about her parents. I also was concerned about Angela and Jack's friendship. I didn't want them to grow apart, especially now. He was a guardian of children, he shouldn't have yelled at her like that. But I shouldn't be thinking about this too much. They would make up...eventually and we needed to focus on the problem at hand.

I finally opened my eyes, expecting the sun to hit my face. I frowned as I remembered Pitch's nightmare clouds had shrouded the world in eternal darkness. I sat up and slowly stretched my arms. I winced as slight pain shot through my body. My ribs weren't quite healed, but it was less painful than when they first fractured. I sat crossed legged with the sheets covering my legs and my feathers ruffled slightly. I suddenly remembered what happened last night with Jack. He kissed me on the cheek! I felt my face grow hot at the thought and I giggled. Maybe he returned my feelings! It was possible, but I shouldn't get my hopes up. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and got out of bed. I smoothed down my feathers and checked myself in the small mirror. I think I looked good enough, despite some feathers missing.

I opened the door to reveal that all the other Guardians except Sandy were sitting in the large living room. They all had a cup of hot chocolate in their hands. Well, Bunny had a small dish full of hot chocolate due to his size. I smiled and sat down next to Jack on the couch. "Good morning guys," I greeted, "how is everyone feeling today?"

"I feel better than a couple days ago," Jack said, "I still feel some pain, but I think I'll be back to my old self soon." He gave me a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. That was then I noticed all of them looked solemn and tired.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Worry bubbled in my chest as I started thinking of possibilities. Did Angela leave in the middle of the night? Did Pitch somehow injure someone?

"We lost a believer last night," North said sadly, "It's not Angela since her light is currently in the North Pole. However, the believer lived in Burgess."

I instantly thought of Jamie and I glanced at Jack. He wasn't meeting my eyes, instead fiddling with his staff. I could tell he was worried, though. I looked back at North, "well shouldn't we go check who it is? I mean, we don't know unless we see who it is right? Besides, it could be one of the others and not...Jamie." I tried reassuring everyone, but the mood didn't change.

"That's the problem Tooth," Jack's voice was a little hoarse, like he was holding back tears. "Burgess is crawling with Nightmares. There's no way we can fight them off in the condition we're in. Besides, I don't know if I want to know who it is."

"Well we have to do something!" I stood up and clenched my fists. "I'm tired of sitting around and waiting for something to happen, just like you said Jack. I'm tired of worrying and constantly on the run from Pitch and his Nightmares! We need believers and we just lost one of the few children who still believe in us. I haven't seen my home or my fairies since we got captured. If we can at least go visit Burgess safely, then I suggest we give it a shot." I glared at all of them, daring them to challenge me. It was true, I missed my palace. I missed Baby Tooth and I didn't even know if any of my fairies were alive. Many kids needed their memories to remind them of happier times, especially now. I was too focused on Angela and escaping Pitch that I never took the time to realize that I was terribly homesick.