Prologue
Everything that night went by in such a blur, yet his face was so clear in my eyes.
What was it about that boy? Was it that he was right there? Was it because he seemed to be my only hope? Was it because I believed in him more than I believed in the situation going on?
I really had no idea what was going on that night. It was Christmas night. I had a fantastic time with my parents. We weren't a very wealthy family, but we were all so happy together. I even saw Santa. We had a lovely dinner, and we fell asleep all together in front of the small candle light. I just don't understand why it was our house those men chose to be victim of the worst Christmas you could possibly imagine.
My mother was the first to wake. She let out a blood-curtailing scream that practically burst my young eardrums. She couldn't speak, but we saw with our own eyes the two men in black hoods and ski masks. They each held a silver pistol. One aimed at my mother's skull, and one at my mine.
"Merry Christmas," the one by my mother chuckled. His voice was raspy and it gave me the chills. My gray eyes wandered from pistol to pistol. I whined and tears started welling up in my eyes.
"So, who's it gonna be, Pops?" The other man asked. "You're loving wife, or your precious little daughter?" His smirk was ruthless and inhuman. Tears rolled down my cheeks while my mom shivered. She hummed almost silently a song I knew so well. My father stood perfectly calm, but I could tell he shared our terror. He shook his head and he dropped it to his chest. He lifted it back up. His eyes glittered with tears that were held firmly into his head.
"Please," he started. His voice was slightly shaky, but fixed it. "Take my life. Leave my family alone. I'm begging you." One small tear strayed down his face. The two men exchanged an icy glance and grinned. The pistol on my forehead shifted to the right where my dad sat. I sniffed loudly and cried. I looked over to my mother. The pistol was still planted in her forehead. I stood up quickly and started running toward the men as the bullets passed through their minds with a deafening gunshot.
"MOMMY! DADDY!" I screamed from the pain in my heart. I looked to them. They lay in a vibrant pool of crimson blood. My mother was gone, but my father's empty eyes were open with a little sparkle of life still left in them.
"Amberlynn," he started weakly. "Love you." His eyes stood open as I store into them. I screamed bloody murder as the men charged at me. I squirmed through the two and ran through the door.
My body was suddenly full of energy as I bounded through the heavy snow. My feet stung from the coldness. I didn't have a pair of shoes, and even if I did I wouldn't have enough time to grab them. I breathed heavily as I scurried through the forest, making sure I wasn't caught. I made it farther and farther into the forest. I grew weaker and weaker every step I took. I turned around to make sure I wasn't being followed and sure enough, I was alone. I was frightened as I continued to walk into the dark. I never liked the dark and still don't. My mother always told me she sung when she was scared. With that thought. I closed my eyes gently and opened my lips to sing the song I knew so well.
"Dancing bears
Painted wings
Things I almost remember,
And a song someone sings
once upon a December."
I took in a weak breath of the cool air. It stung my throat, but I continued to sing my song.
"Someone holds me safe and warm,
horses prance through a silver storm,
Figures dancing gracefully,
across my memory."
Images of my parents flashed through my mind. Tears fell from my eyes and my voice shook as I sung.
"Someone holds me safe and warm,
horses prance through a silver storm,
Figures dancing gracefully,
across my memory."
My heartbeat weakened and my steps slowed down.
"Far away, long ago
things I yern to remember
and a song someone sings
Once upon a December."
I stopped walking and I looked to the sky. I wanted to see my mom and my dad. I took in one last breath and finished the song.
"And a song someone sings
Once upon a December"
I dropped to my knees and dropped to the ground quickly, too fragile to do anything to stop myself from falling. My gray eyes opened slightly and I closed them. I just wanted to lay there and peacefully rest for eternity. The faint sound of footsteps through the snow was so sensitive to my ears. My eyes fluttered open. I saw a figure in the distance. Was it one of those burglars? I gasped loudly and sat up I wanted to run, but I only backed away. I hit a tree and I couldn't move any farther. I whined from the pain. For some reason, I wasn't afraid. I was startled, but not afraid. The figure came closer and closer and my eyes took in the boy's appearance and voice.
"What have we here?" He said to himself. His hair was snow-white and his eyes were an icy color. They were focused carefully on me. His skin was pale with a bit of pink-tinted in his cheeks and nose. His face was quite welcoming to me. His deep blue hoodie was covered in snow and his brown pants were tattered and worn out. He held a large staff in his right hand. I knew who this boy was from stories. I have seen all of the guardians, but never him.
"Y-You are," I stuttered, lifting my index finger and pointing it toward him. Confusion masked his face. He turned around, as if to check if someone was there. He turned back to look at me. "Jack Frost," I finished. "You can see me?" The boy asked calmly. "Y-Yeah," I whispered. I didn't have much strength left in my body to even speak.
Frost looked at me for a moment. He looked me up and down and smiled kindly. "Well that makes my job a lot easier now, doesn't it?" He laughed lightly. He casually walked over to me and knelt beside me. "So what's a little girl like yourself doing out here all by herself?"
"I-My p-parents…" The tears started coming again. I looked to the ground to hide my face. I didn't want to cry in front of one of the greatest people I had heard about. Changing the subject, he looked at my feet.
"What about your shoes? You got your pajamas on. Why are you running around out here with no shoes on?"
"I don't own any shoes."
"What is your name?" Jack Frost asked after a silent minute.
"Amberlynn"
"Ok then, Amberlynn," he started. "Do me a favor and put these on." With that, he kicked off a pair of brown moccasins that were on his feet. I looked up at him curiously. I looked back down to his feet, bare in the snow. They didn't even twitch from the freezing air and snow. I looked at the shoes that stood out against the snow. I looked back up at him.
"B-But don't you-"
"I don't need 'em!" He said with a smile. "Consider this a Christmas gift."
I was truly grateful for such a great gift. It was the greatest gift I had ever received. For the first time that night, I actually smiled.
"Thank you," I whispered. I reached for the warm-looking moccasins and slipped them onto my feet. Left foot first, then right. They were quite big as expected and they slipped off of my feet easily. But still, they kept me warm.
I can't tell you how much that made my night. Just a simple little task such as that made me feel at home. Jack Frost brought me to a nice little home with a mother and a son. The new woman I am supposed to call "mom" now is named Claire Laine. Her blonde locks fell down her back perfectly and her blue eyes always greeted me. Her son is daring and respectful. His shaggy blonde hair always covers his emerald-green eyes. I never had a sibling, and Mark is still is a great little brother.
Jack Frost still comes during the winter and he pays us a little visit. Although Mark and I are the only ones who can see him in my family. That devious snowmaker is always trying to scare us! He enjoys it so much! That's the part that scares me! We usually have good old snowball fights so I can get back at him, but usually I have no luck there either.
I mean, who do I really think I am trying to beat the creator of snow at his own game?