''Jack?''
''Yes, princess?''
The redheaded five-year-old snorted. ''Don't call me a princess!'' Jack chuckled and replied, ''Yeah, whatever.'' The little girl yawned as the spirit put her to her huge bed. ''Can you tell me a story? I don't want to sleep, yet!'' Jack sighed and sat on her bed. ''Okay, but I don't have any stories to tell, so, what about a legend? The legend of the four seasons?'' Merida squealed with happiness ''Yes! Please, Jack, tell it!''
''Alright, but you have to promise me that you'll sleep after the legend finishes. Okay?'' asked Jack, smiling warmly at the little girl. ''Okay!'' the little princess replied happily. ''Let' start, then.'' He tickled her tummy a little before he began to tell the legend.
''Once upon a time, there were four spirits who controlled four different seasons.''
''Do they have names?'' Merida interrupted. ''No, the legend doesn't say anything about it. And don't interrupt before the story finishes.'' ''Okay.'' Merida closed her eyes as Sandman's dream sand entered the room through the window, circling the little girl's head. ''Those seasons were Spring,'' A small part of the sand became a young girl with very long hair, who was standing on a giant flower and singing, ''Summer,'' another amount of sand became a girl with fiery hair with a bow and arrows, ''Fall,'' a skinny, short boy appeared with a huge dragon near him, ''and Winter.'' Finally, another skinny boy appeared, he was carrying a crooked staff with him. Jack's eyes widened as he thought the figure looked similar to him, but he shrugged it off and continued.
''Those four spirits were chosen by Man in the Moon to control the seasons and protect the children.'' The four teens were now looking at a full moon made of sand, and a shadow appeared behind them, watching them closely. ''They were protecting children from nightmares and bad feelings like jealousy, anger, frustrasion and fear. Instead, they brought happiness, courage, imagination and fun.'' The girl with the long hair spun around and the children around her were jumping happily. The girl with the fiery hair was protecting a few children from an unknown person. The short, crippled boy was drawing something and his dragon was looking curiously at him, and when he was finished, he showed it to other children, who looked like they suddenly had an idea, then started drawing. The tall boy was having a snowball fight with some kids, laughing happily with them.
''The spirits could only be seen the children who believe in them, and for a long time, children believed in them and trusted them. But later,'' The children around the spirits quickly ran away in fear, leaving the worried spirits behind. Then, some part of the sand became a tall, skinny man with spiky hair. ''the Nightmare King came, and he made the children forget about their guardians by using fear.'' Merida winced a little when she saw the Nightmare King, but she relaxed when the guardians surrounded the King.
''The Nightmare King, also called Pitch Black, used children against them. A guardian looses a big part of their powers if they loose their believers.'' Sand-Pitch grows stronger and gets taller as the guardians fall on their knees in pain, the girl with the long hair looses a big part of her hair, the fiery-haired girl looses her bow, the skinny boy looses his dragon and the tall boy looses his staff. Merida's face becomes sad and she starts to breath faster, Jack doesn't notice a part of the sand is becoming darker, and Pitch gets stronger.
''Pitch tried to use the guardians' fears against them.'' All of the guardians looked desperate and they were nearly laying on the ground, and the sand got a little darker. ''But the guardians faced their fears.'' Some more dream sand comes through the window and surrounds the dark send, making it disappear and Merida becomes more comfortable. The guardians hold each others' hand, standing once again and making Pitch back down a little. ''The guardians of Summer and Winter decided to do something which will be the end of Pitch, but also the end of themselves.'' The fiery-haired girl got her bow back and held the tall boy's hand, who had his staff back. The long haired girl had gained her hair back, so did the boy get his dragon, and they tried to stop the two spirits.
''Fire and Ice can become powerful if the unite, but they'll destroy each other in the end.'' The fiery-haired girl and the tall boy still held each others' hands and they both flew above Pitch. The girl created a fire ball and the boy created a ball made of ice. Those balls are their hearts, little Merida realized. She continued dreaming in sadness as the two spirits' hearts united and locked Pitch away.
''They sacrificed themselves to lock Pitch away for a long while, and their sacrifice was worth it.'' The remaining girl and the boy hugged each other, crying, as the children around them jumped around in happiness, unaware of what's going on. ''The spirits of Spring and Fall used their powers to strenghten the lock Summer and Winter put. With that, they disappeared, too.'' The sand becomes a trapped Pitch, and children play happily around him. ''Before the other two spirits disappeared, Pitch swore that he would be back for revenge.''
Little Merida smiled and muttered a 'thank you' through her closed eyes. Jack smiled back and covered her with some blankets, and before he could go away, Merida opened one of het turquiose eyes sleepily, ''Jack?'' Jack sighed and looked at her, ''Merida, you promised that-'' ''I'm gonna keep that promise.'' Merida cut him off. ''I just wanna tell you something... If Pitch comes back, I promise I'll never stop believing in you. But can you promise me that you won't leave me alone when he comes?'' Merida asks, her voice breaking slowly.
Jack smiled happily, some tears filled his eyes and walked towards Merida. ''I promise Merida. Goodnight, princess.'' Jack kisseed the little girl's forehead and he walked towards the window. ''I'll never leave you alone. And thank you...for believing in me...'' With a teary smile, he jumped out of the window, and he let the wind carry him towards his next destination.
...
What he didn't notice was two cold, golden eyes, watching little Merida closely within the shadows.