Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail or Rise of the Guardians
Snow was on the ground in the forest as Zeref frowned, shivering slightly from the cold. He was dressed plainly, in a loose-fitting black shirt covered with a white coat. His pants were just as dark as his shirt, with boots keeping his feet warm in the weather. He did not like going out in the cold, but it was a necessary act. He had to gather fire wood, or else he would be sleeping in the snow tonight.
With wood in his arms, Zeref paused and glanced through the trees towards a clearing. Two children seemed to be playing, oblivious to the somewhat warmer than usual weather for the time of year. There may have been snow on the ground, but the sun gave a bit of warmth to the area that was not common for winter. While Zeref was still shivering from the temperature, the snow was dying away, drops of slush falling from trees as it began to melt.
The lake the children were skiing on appeared to be holding up for the most part, but Zeref knew it would not last much longer. He stepped somewhat closer, frowning as he quietly observed them. He would not make it soon enough, he noted. The ice was cracking, and the brunette girl was frozen in fear. The elder boy, with eyes just as brown as hers, seemed to be trying to calm her. A smile was on his face, which made Zeref pause in return. Few would smile when facing death, not even Zeref would do so.
Closing his eyes, Zeref saw another face in his mind. An old man, towering over him with a gleeful smile on his face. The man's stubbly beard had kept Zeref's focus, similar to his own father's facial hair. A knife had been in the man's grip. Flinching, Zeref shook his head and returned his focus to the children before him instead.
"…we're going to play hopscotch, like we do…" the male was saying, making Zeref frown. The brunette boy stood taller, grinning as he demonstrated his game and hopped along the ice. It was quite a strange plan, but Zeref's eyes widened as he realized what the boy had done. This Jack, as the girl had called him, was not as blind as he appeared. By placing himself closer to a fallen tree branch, he now had a tool to help his sister.
Zeref's feet crunched against the snow, pressing his palm to the trunk of one of the nearby trees as he leaned around it for a better view. As expected, his walk had taken too long to truly save either of them, but the boy's plan did miracles. He threw the girl into the snow bank by Zeref's side. With the girl unaware of his presence, he watched her grin triumphantly back at her brother for a brief moment. That was before the cracks deepened from the stress Jack had just put on them, finally giving away to the weight of the boy's body. He fell through, a splash of water just barely touching the surface of the mostly frozen pond.
"Jack!" the girl cried, rising to her feet with her brown eyes wide. Zeref had moved closer and was by her side, hearing just how loud her shout was. Her feet seemed frozen to the ground for a moment, before she took a deep breath and began to move forward. "Hold on, I'm coming for you, Jack!"
"No, it is too late." Zeref stated calmly, making the girl jump back in surprise. Her eyes were still wide and panicked, but seeing Zeref seemed to put some form of hope in her.
"What—never mind, please, help my brother! We were…we were just trying to play, and he….Jack, he…" he sobs made her break off, as she pointed towards the hole in the ice.
Nodding, Zeref's small frown broke apart as he sighed deeply. "Yes, I was here and saw him fall. Now, he will drown beneath the frozen surface of the water. Even if we did manage to pull him free, the cold water clinging to his skin would slowly ebb away at his life, leaving him with a much slower and more painful end. Leaving him in the water is truly the more merciful thing to do." he explained.
He was not surprised when the girl slapped him, her hand moving quickly and making his cheek sting. "No! How could you say that? Don't you feel anything?" she questioned.
Zeref let his chin fall to his chest, his hair dangling in his eyes. He did care, but that was the problem. He had avoided caring for life, but he always saw beauty in it regardless. Zeref's care for living things was what brought him so much pain. "I…I never claimed to be unaffected by this event. I am simply analyzing Jack's situation."
A shaky breath seemed to rock her shoulders, her legs finally giving out as she collapsed into the snow once more. "No…Jack can't be…he was protecting me! And you…who are you anyway? Why are you here?"
Looking away, Zeref hesitated to give her his name. Children always treated him differently when they learned who he was. In fact, everyone did, now that he thought about it. "I…my name is Zeref." he replied quietly.
Gasping, the girl's brown eyes went wide at the sight of him. "Zeref…you're the…the orphan that my parents talked about…" she looked frightened, her eyes wide as she scooted back in the snow, leaving a shallow trail where she moved.
There was a distant look in Zeref's eyes, and a slight glint of moisture as he turned back to face her. "Yes, I likely am. I'm certain you've heard the story, a robbery gone wrong. My parents…they died right before my eyes." he stated quietly. "Tragedies like these always alter a person. Once you've seen death firsthand, you will never be the same."
"I…" the girl hesitated, glancing towards the pond where Jack had fallen. "Maybe you are right…" she whispered. Tears were still falling down her cheeks, but her brown eyes focused on Zeref once more. "I'm Emily, Emily Overland. It is nice to meet you, Zeref."
Shaking her hand, Zeref helped pull the girl to her feet. "Life and death, it is an endless cycle. Learn to accept that all things eventually perish, it will be what helps you accept events such as these."
"Is that…did it work for you?" Emily asked quietly, her small hand still in his own. She was likely about eleven, if he had to guess, about six years younger than himself.
Pulling her through the trees and ignoring his original task, Zeref focused on helping this child. "In a way, I suppose. My situation differed from yours…." his voice trailed off, uncertain of how much she had heard about his past. Gazing at her, he could see the slight tension in her shoulders. He felt her tug at her hand gently, trying to put some space between them even as they walked. "The man that robbed and killed my parents…found and tried to kill me."
"I know, you don't have to explain." Emily stated softly.
He could hear the slight tremor in her voice, the fear of learning details on just how someone could become a murderer. Zeref knew just how valuable life was, after losing the two people he cared about more than anyone else in the world. Watching one man do it, however, had led to a different emotion than sorrow in his heart. Rage filled him; with every fiber of his being he hated that man. With tears in his eyes, he had grabbed the knife in the man's hand by the blade when he attacked, shocking the older man and allowing Zeref to pull it free. Once he was armed, the rest had been simple.
The robbery had occurred nearly eight years ago, but the memories never faded from Zeref's mind. "Coping with the guilt of what I had done….keeping that in mind did help. Taking away a life is unforgivable, but in some cases, life must be stolen away. All living things give their lives in an endless cycle, allowing new life to be born from their dying energy. There is a beauty in it, I suppose, though it takes time to understand and see such things."
Emily sniffled, wiping at her nose before shaking her head. "I…I don't want beauty." she stated quietly. "I..I just want Jack…he always played games, and it may have gotten annoying but….he made me smile and laugh. I…I want my brother…please…"
He wished he could help her, he truly did. The sun was setting, and a bright full moon was beginning to rise into the sky. "Emily, do head my advice. Death is always a part of life, even if it hurts us to accept it." he told her, keeping his distance this time. "Your brother is gone, that is all there is to it. You are alive, so keep moving forward, and learn to smile for yourself."
He felt the girl shove him harshly, glaring at him with tears still streaming down her face. "You're mean! Stop saying…stop saying he's…we could have saved him…why wouldn't you even try? Jack's gone, and I let you talk me out of saving him!"
This child was becoming irrational. He knew how the guilt felt; blaming yourself for the ending of anyone's life was not pleasant. Emily's shoulders shook, her body collapsing on the ground in her sobs. Leaning forward, Zeref began to pick the exhausted child up into his arms. She weakly fought back against him, kicking out her legs and smacking his chest. Her strength was gone, though, and she seemed to have used the last of her energy with her last shout towards Zeref.
Returning to Burgess, Zeref observed the small homes with a frown. He had heard of the Overlands, but there home was a bit isolated compared to those of others. He had to push past most of the homes he had grown accustomed to avoiding to reach it. People watched as he walked through the streets, a few of them whispering as they recognized Zeref, the orphaned child that killed his parents' killer. They kept their distance as if he carried the plague, though Zeref had grown used to such actions.
With his head still down, Zeref finally managed to arrive at Emily's home. Gently, he knocked on the door and placed her body on the porch. Her parents would find her, and perhaps she could give them the news in a better way than he could. While death may have claimed her brother's life, it was her family that would help her recover from such an action. He stepped off into the darkness of the night, turning back just once to see Emily's small body tightly gripped by her mother. The woman was stroking Emily's hair, turning away and moving back inside of her home with wide eyes.
Smiling lightly, Zeref turned to return. Maybe he had not helped Emily, but he knew he had at least brought her to a place where help could be found. He wandered back into the nearby forest, finding a spot under the stars to lean back and rest. The moon shone brightly above him, and for a brief moment, the light of it seemed to capture his entire attention span. The brightness seemed to encompass the entire sky, shining down on Zeref and energizing his body unlike anything else in the world. Reaching upwards towards the light, Zeref almost felt as if he could speak to the moon itself, a man resting within that would answer his prayers. His mouth opened slightly to speak, but no words came out. The feeling gradually began to fade, his arm falling behind his head as he frowned up at the sky. Grim Reaper. A voice seemed to echo in his mind for a brief moment, but Zeref closed his eyes and decided he had only imagined those words. His exhaustion was gone, but the moon still stared back at him, as if pleading with him to ask it a question.
I've been trying to get back into writing for ROTG for a while now, but my ideas always seem to end half-way through. This is a crossover I thought of a while ago, and it has been sitting on my computer for a long time, waiting for me to find some inspiration to finish it. I can't guarantee I'll think of an actual ending for this...but ideas are welcome! I do have a little bit planned out, but for now I'll end it here so I can try and come up with a more finite plan. Reviews with suggestions and feedback will help keep me inspired to continue, for those interested in more!
