Secret of Frost and Moon

Defiance

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Alaia Skyhawk: I'm back, and here's the next chapter :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians, the Guardians of Childhood, or any related characters etc. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes.

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Chapter 99: Defiance

The day had come for the start of the spring semester, and on this particular day it also began with Alicia practically glaring at the pencil roughly six inches from her nose on her desk. Her mouth set in a frown, her eyes narrowed in intense concentration... And Sophie in the background grinning in amusement.

Sophie chuckled, shaking her head.

"You're trying too hard. You'll never move something with belief if you tense up like that."

"But I moved it half an inch yesterday, and now I can't move it at all!"

"And I've only been teaching you this for ten days. The fact you've moved it even that much in that amount of time, is quite frankly impressive."

Alicia sat upright from her hunched position, and slumped backwards in her chair with defeat. Although admittedly it was more exaggerated theatrics than actual defeat.

"I get the theory, I understand how you've explained it, so why is it so hard?"

Sophie stared at her, eyebrows raised, for several seconds. She then chuckled again.

"It's hard because you're trying too hard. Stop thinking like an adult about it, and think like a kid who trusts their belief completely. You have to learn to put yourself into that frame of mind, just in the back of your mind and nowhere else, so you don't actually start to act like a hyper little kid. That's the hardest part. Once you have it mastered, the rest will become a lot easier."

Alicia turned her head to look at her, still slumped in the chair.

"Given that I wholeheartedly believe in Santa Claus and co, I didn't think it would be that difficult."

Sophie grinned.

"Ah, but there's a difference between thinking you're thinking like a kid, and actually doing it. You've got to learn how to turn off your adult tendency to try and rationalise everything. Kids act and believe on impulse and instinct. They don't have adult cares slowing their thoughts down."

Alicia regarded her in bemusement, heaving a big sigh and adjusting her position on the chair. She then glanced at the offending pencil she'd spent most of the pre-breakfast and post-breakfast free time glaring at. Deciding to ignore it for now, and yet she flicked a hand at it as she got up. More random idle gesture than real effort.

The pencil visibly moved a full inch across the surface, gaining enough momentum to roll a short way afterwards even after the pushing force stopped. Alicia gaped at it, looked at her hand, and then turned to face Sophie.

Her room mate was laughing in triumph.

"See? You wanted to shove it because you were annoyed, and you did it on impulse. An act of temper reminiscent of the kind that is a small child throwing a toy in protest."

Alicia heaved another sigh.

"Great, I can only move it when I think like a three-year-old."

Sophie got up, collecting her rucksack and slinging it over her back.

"Only in the back of your mind, to be open to the right kind of innocent faith. The power of Belief can be forced with sheer raw will, but that will only result in dark ends. The last known wielder of that sort of power was the Boogeyman, and he was not a nice person."