So, I wasn't going to start posting this story until I had a few more chapters written, but it was hard to resist. I'm enjoying writing this story too much. :P

...And I was going to say something else. But I forgot what I was going to say. Hmmm... Yep. That's me for you guys. The space case. Hur dur! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own ROTG. I still can't figure out why we all say this since it should be obvious, but meh. I'm not going to be the odd one out and break tradition. Besides, I sometimes say funny things in the disclaimers, and I'd hate to break THAT tradition! Hehe...

The heart beating in my chest is not my heart. These hands are not my hands. Each breath I take in is not mine. I feel like such a thief, like I'm cheating death somehow. But I didn't mean to do this. Jamie did.

It was all because of a battle I had been in. A battle in which I remember very little, but that seemed to make a much bigger impact on my life than I ever would have given it credit for. A battle in which my life as I knew it would end for good.

Or rather, my life really did end in that battle. It didn't simply change.

How it happened, I can't tell you. My memories toward the end of that life are so muddled that I can't make heads or tails of them and have only the word of the Guardians to rely on, and I'm not entirely sure how trustworthy their memories are of the event considering their poor judgement directly afterwards.

I know that Pitch managed to kill me. I can feel it in my stolen bones. But I now live thanks to a stupid decision on their part. And on Jamie's.

I had known about the spell for a while now due to my having perused some of North's magic books back at the workshop, but I hadn't fully comprehended it then. I never would have expected they would use it on me to keep me from slipping out of this world.

But as soon as I opened my eyes on that fateful day, I realized exactly what had happened. And I wasn't pleased.

My palms began to sweat. I started shaking, and I began to hyperventilate. I grasped at the clothes on my chest, which were in fact not my clothes at all as they were way too small for my body, before I gazed up at the Guardians and croaked out a high-pitched, "Why?"

"We couldn't just let you die, Jack!" I could see the motherly concern on her face battling for dominance with the feeling of guilt, and I turned away, closing my eyes to shut off the reality of the world at present. I didn't want to see it.

"But Jamie has given permission, Jack," said North in an obvious attempt to stand behind Tooth. In another time, I would have joined him in doing so. But this time left me feeling alone and vulnerable. I didn't want to be near him. I didn't want to be near anyone. Keeping my eyes shut to the world, I scooted backward until I ran into a ball of fur.

"You know we wouldn't have used Jamie if we'd had a choice, Mate." Bunny laid his hand on my shoulder. I flinched out of his grasp. "We needed a blood relative for the spell to work, and we didn't have much time to find another one."

I gritted my teeth, then growled under my breath. My fingers worked their way up into my hair with a strong desire to wrench the hair out by the roots and ease my internal turmoil, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It wasn't my hair to pull. "Did it never occur to you that letting a child make this sort of decision might be unethical?"

There was a pause in their speech, but I kept my eyes closed. I had no wish to see how they reacted to each other as they tried to reconcile their guilt over this. I was sure they had started a staring contest among themselves, daring each other to be the one to break the silence first. But none of them dared, as the guilt emanating off of them was enough to make my stomach turn, it was so thick.

A silent voice penetrated my thoughts.

Jack?

I frowned in thought, trying to understand what was happening now. I felt this should be a simple thing to figure out, but everything was too confusing for me to sort out in an instant. It had all happened too quickly for me.

Are you mad at me, Jack?

My frown faded, and I let loose a sigh before running my fingers through my hair, ever so gently. "I'm not mad at you, Jamie."

Then why do you sound so angry?

I hung my head in shame. Jamie was not the one who should be punished for this situation. He had invested all the logic that a ten-year-old could possess into deciding what was the right thing to do. It was the Guardians who knew what would come in the aftermath, and yet they hadn't protected Jamie from making this decision that could very well make his life nearly impossible from now on.

"I'm mad at the Guardians, Jamie. Not you. It wasn't fair of them to ask you to do this. You're way too young to be expected to make such a decision."

But I couldn't just let you die, Jack.

I sighed and hid my face in my hands as I muttered a simple, "I know." And really, I did know. I understood very well what had prompted Jamie's decision. And I understood very well what had prompted the Guardians' decision. I can't say that I wouldn't have been tempted myself if it had been my sister's life on the line, but at least I would have been old enough to fully understand the decision I was making. This was not fair on Jamie, and he had yet to realize this.

"Jamie..." I tried to speak, but my voice cracked. It was hard to listen to myself speak in this high-pitched voice that was most definitely not my own. I was going to have to get used to it, or at least try. And it wasn't going to be easy. I cleared my throat to begin again. "Do you have any idea what was done to you?"

What do you mean?

"I mean that this spell can't be reversed, not without killing both of us. You're stuck with me for the rest of your life."

I don't see a problem with that, Jack. You're my best friend.

"And you're mine too, Jamie." I sighed. "But sooner or later, you're going to understand why having two souls share the same body is generally a bad idea. I'm going to make your life very hard just by being here, and for that I'm so, so sorry."

A couple large paws grasped me under the armpits and lifted me to my feet, then carefully dusted me off. "Not sure what exactly you and Jamie are talking about, but we're sorry too, Mate."

I opened my eyes to see the other Guardians nodding in solemn agreement. They had made a hasty decision to keep me alive, the only decision they were aware of, and they were now having second thoughts. But those second thoughts had come too late. The spell had been cast. Jamie had accepted my soul into his body. There was no way to get me out now without killing Jamie too, and I wasn't willing to do that.

I nodded at the Guardians in solemn acceptance of my fate, knowing that they had meant well even if their decision had been poor in the midst of a crisis. I didn't hate them for this, but it was going to take a while before I was okay with this arrangement. If I ever was. Only time would tell in that regard.

Jamie's mother's voice floated over from somewhere nearby and I twitched, an instinctive reaction built into this body at hearing that voice. I wasn't ready to face her so soon, and I lost my grasp on maintaining control only to be swept under by something else. I lay there in confusion for a moment, only to realize the obvious. Jamie had pulled me back and taken back control for himself. We were sharing the same body. Either one of us could have control. I would have to get used to that.

"I'll talk to you guys later," said Jamie as he waved goodbye to the Guardians. I could still see clearly out of Jamie's eyes even if I was not the one controlling them, and what I saw was a startled look cross the Guardians' faces. They had noticed the change, but they had not been expecting it to happen that suddenly. At least they could tell us apart, I supposed. There was always a silver lining somewhere.

Jamie ran back to his house, past his mom standing on the porch, and pasted a phony smile on his face as he removed his coat and boots before moving toward the dinner table. I knew looking shaken about what had just happened would get his mom asking too many questions that we weren't ready to answer yet, and it seemed he did too. I just hoped we would reach a point of being able to speak of this soon, because I knew we wouldn't be able to hide it for long.

It was only a matter of time before one of us slipped up.

So what did you guys think? Any comments? Thoughts? Anything? My story stats are broken (I don't know if everyone is experiencing this or not) so I can't tell if you guys are reading the story unless you either review, favorite, or follow this story. So please, help me out a bit and find a way to let me know you're reading this if you please. It would really help me out a lot so that I can know how well this story is liked.

Thanks a lot for reading, and take care! I'll try to get the next chapter posted soon. :)