“I’m a Guardian?” you questioned. This made you quite furious, for you had no say in the matter. Besides, how did this Man in the Moon even choose you? Did he have some sort of Goblet of Fire with a bunch of candidates in it? Maybe, possibly, there was some Barty Crouch Jr. that snuck your name in and the Man in the Moon pulled your name out by some sheer bad luck. You were going to give this Barty Crouch Jr. guy a talking to when you found him. “No, no, no! I refuse to be a Guardian! You can’t make me!”

“You must be Guardian!” said North. “Manny chose you!”

“I don’t care if he did! I live in the land of the free and the home of the brave! ‘Murica!” You crossed your arms over your chest. “And besides, I have friends, family, sports, school, and a blog to run. I can’t leave all those things behind just so I can do whatever it is you guys do. Besides, I probably would suck at being a Guardian.”

“You were chosen, so there must be something that Man in Moon sees in you,” explained North.

“Ah, just let her go. She’s just a spoiled, selfish little brat. She doesn’t have what it takes to be a Guardian,” said Bunnymund. Jack looked as if he were about to give him a piece of his mind and was about to say something, but Tooth beat him to it.

“Bunny! Don’t say that!” scolded Tooth. You shook your head.

“No, no. Mr. Kangaroo has a point. It is totally selfish of me to not want to have no communication with the people I know and love and then watch them die in front of me as I stay forever young.”

It was silent as you and Bunnymund stared each other down. North broke the silence by putting a hand on your shoulder and beckoning you to follow him. The two of you then walked off to some sort of elevator. You stepped inside and you both went up to the workshop section of the palace.

“Come, little one. Follow me,” said North. You followed behind him, but you got sidetracked by the sight of the yetis making toys and the elves being foolish. One elf was trying to eat tinsel, while another was tangled in some Christmas lights. You laughed at them before North came back and retrieved you.

You went to North’s office. There were numerous well-made ice sculptures scattered everywhere. You found them to be rather beautiful and were fascinated by them. You were pulled out of your thoughts when the door slammed behind you. You jumped in surprise.

“So, you do not want to be Guardian?” asked North as he crossed his arms. You saw that he had tattoos that read “Naughty” on one arm and “Nice” on the other. You wondered what Mrs. Claus thought of that and were curious if she approved of it.

“No, I don’t. I don’t want to leave my friends and family.”

“Hm. I can understand that. Is that the only reason?”

“Well… no, it’s not the only reason. But my family and friends are the main reason why I don’t want to join you guys.”

“What’s the other reason?”

“… I…” You paused. “I just don’t want to screw things up and let you all down.”
North rested a hand on your shoulder. “I can assure you that you won’t disappoint us. Man in Moon sees something special in you. If he didn’t think you were capable of becoming a Guardian, he wouldn’t have chosen you.”

“I guess you have a point, but… what is it that he sees in me?”

“That is for you to find out, little one.” North smiled at you, and you found yourself smiling back at him. Just then, you heard a commotion going on outside. The two of you left the office and found strings of black sand weaving throughout the workshop, knocking over toys and tripping yetis.

“Pitch is here,” mumbled North. You gave him a confused look.

“Who?”

“The Boogeyman.”

“Oh. Well shoot.”

You then went down the elevator to return to the Globe Room to reunite with the other Guardians. They were staring up angrily at the Globe of Belief that was now covered in black sand at a tall man on top of the globe with grey skin, black hair that appeared to be slicked back, and a black cloak. He had the same golden eyes that were in your nightmare. You figured this was Boogeyman, for there was tension in the room and no one seemed very fond of his presence. He also had the same black sand from the workshop.

“What do you want, Pitch?” shouted Jack as he pointed his staff at the man.

“Can’t I say hello to you all? I missed you while I was gone and recovering from our last confrontation. I see that you’re now with those weirdos,” answered Pitch. His attention wavered to you and he smirked. “And who’s this I see? Is she supposed to be a new recruit?”

“You stay away from her!”

“Oh, but of course. I’ll leave her alone for now. But remember that I am watching you from the shadows, and I will get my revenge.”

And with that statement hanging in the air, Pitch vanished.