Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians.

A Child's Greatest Sacrifice

Every Immortal had to sacrifice something to become what they were, even the Guardians.

North once had a family. A rather large, mostly unrelated family, but a family none the less. They were as close as brothers and sisters, braving the world together and learning new tricks as they traveled. North was their leader, their elder brother, their protector. He was the one who guided them to be who they were.

It was that same family, the one who he had grown to love and care for with all of his heart, that he had been forced to sacrifice to become and Immortal. It was an exchange of power, one thing led to another, and the Man in the Moon chose him because of how he saw the world, because of the wonder inside of him. As an Immortal he was no longer permitted to stay with his family at all times and, eventually, they grew old and died. He never forgot them. But it was ok, because now he protected the entire world, just like he once protected them.

Tooth's sacrifice was also one of family, though they had left her long before she had ever become an Immortal. She was the last of a dead race of warriors, the blood of royals running through her. Her crown meant nothing without her people there to see her, but in her heart she held their memories.

The Man in the Moon chose her because that reason. The memories that she held were precious, and helped her go on even in the most despairing of times. He granted her the ability to the same for others, using the teeth as memory collectors as storing them away for just the right time. Yes, she had lost her family, her people, and her throne, but she had gained so much more; she now had the ability to help those in need by reminding them of the good times.

Sandy was a bit different from the other Guardians. He had been Immortal from the moment that the he had formed from the dust of a shooting star. He had never had parents, or anyone to look after him. His purpose was to protect, guard, and guide, just as it had always been. One earth he did it through dreams. His sacrifice was never truly knowing was it was like to be a child, for he had been protected like he now protected others.

E. Aster Bunnymund's past was tragic and dark. His home planet was destroyed by Pitch before the Nightmare King had been locked away on Earth, never to terrorize the stars again. Bunnymund had been the only survivor of a once proud and intelligent people. He was the only one who was able to carry the final light, the hope of his people, to safety and to keep Pitch from destroying it.

He had sacrificed the one home that he had always known, and then came to earth to continue the fight against Pitch forever more, as well as to bring Hope to a new people, just beginning to develop on the fledgling planet.

Out of all of the Guardians, however, it was not any of the original four who had made the largest sacrifice. It was the newest, most secretive of them all that carried that burden. And unlike them, it had not been his choice to become an Immortal.

Jack Frost was a child at heart, and thanks to his sacrifice he would always be.

Before he became Jack Frost he was not someone who had a tragic past like Bunnymund. He had never fought alongside a pirate family. He did not have royal blood to make him stand out. He didn't even have any powers when he was still human.

All he'd had were his parents and his little sister in a small, nameless village in colonial America. His family was not well off, they were not fighters, and there was nothing special about them. They were just like every other family in the area, just trying to survive the cold, harsh winter.

The Man in the Moon saw something in the boy though, something that drove the darkness away and put fun in its place. He saw a boy who could do something that all of the other Guardians couldn't do.

He saw a child who was willing to sacrifice everything for the other children.

When Jackson Overland died and became Jack Frost, he lost so much more then all of the other Guardians. He lost his family, a family who would never know what really happened to him. He lost the closeness that came with companionship; who wants to be around a Winter Spirit when they are just so cold? He lost his memories of his life before, only regaining them after the gravestones of his family, if there ever where any, had been worn down to stumps of rock or rotting wood turned to dust.

He lost the choice to see them again. As an Immortal, he would never move on with them past the veil. He lost the chance to say good-by.

Jack Frost had sacrificed so much, and yet gained so little of it back, and the sad part of it?

The other Guardians would never know, because they never bothered to ask.

And that was how he liked it.

Jackson Overland had given his life, sacrificed his solid footing on the cracking ice, so that his younger sister would be able to make it home to their parents. She would continue on, even after he had left.

Jackson Overland had died, so that Jack Frost could continue to do what he did best, protecting the children.

This is a little one shot that hit me in the head really hard. It's not much but I do hope that it was enlightening.

Review and tell me what you thought of it!

Oh, and is anyone else having a problem with half of their account not working? I can see reviews, favorites, and follows, and my own stories (minus the amount of views to said stories) but everything else seems to be unresponsive.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.