It's Jackunzel Week and Day 5 is Valentine's Day! Here's my piece for it :) As always, I apologize in advance for any spelling/grammar mistakes!
It was still winter in February, and a cold one at that. It'd been decades since these parts of the world had known such a cold winter. Goosebumps crawled up everyone's arms and the fog from people's breathes filled the air, everyone was wondering when oh when would this brutal winter end.
Rapunzel wasn't particularly surprised or distraught by how cold it was; she couldn't feel it like the humans could. Humans were in pain if they were exposed too it for too long, but Rapunzel felt the coldness like an out of place breeze underwater. Her own skin had the feel of flower petals and her long hair covered her like a thick blanket of sunshine.
But today the Spring spirit wasn't out making flowers bloom, she was looking for someone.
Jack was one of several winter spirits but by far the most mischievous and certainly the one who had the most snow days under his belt. He was sitting precariously on a rooftop freezing the streets in the middle of the day when he smelled fresh lilacs and tulips.
"Rapunzel," He said with a grin, "You're not going to stop my fun are you?"
She shook her head the moment she sat down, "I came to ask you a question."
This was nothing new for them, Rapunzel had only been a spirit for one Spring and unlike her fellow Spring spirits, she never rushed the winter, she only asked questions.
Sometimes the questions made Jack's head spin, especially if she asked them too quickly. Most of the time, however, he loved the melody in her voice when she spoke and better yet, he was happy to have a friend that wasn't deterred by the coldness.
"What's it this time Punz? Snow boots, shovels, why they spill salt all over the streets?" He laughed at the last one. So much salt had gone to waste this winter, he almost felt sorry, almost.
"No," Rapunzel swung her legs over the roof and hummed an unknown tune, in doing so Jack saw flowers sprout from the gaps between her fingers, "I heard some humans talking about something I'd never heard before, at least not that I remember."
Jack laid back and closed his eyes, "You were human." He said softly.
They all were before they were spirits, although most spirits liked to forget that. He wanted to make sure she didn't, he liked her too much to see her become entirely consumed with the spirit world, rather he'd like to see her hold on to humanity even if it had long left her skin and bones.
"Right," She smiled at him and jumped to her feet, she teetered at first and for a moment Jack was afraid, when she nearly fell off he jumped to catch her but she was floating with the wind a second later.
"Come on Jack!" She shouted.
Moments later Jack was at her side, he moved at first in sporadic jumps. Rapunzel looked a bit like an angel in the air, she glided effortlessly but not in a way that felt rushed as it was with Jack, who was a veteran by now. Rapunzel moved through the air like notes on sheet music, it was beautiful to watch and yet, he wondered how she'd gotten so good so fast.
She caught his eyes and smiled again, "I've been flying with the birds in the south," she twirled in the air and then held out her hands just as a bird would. Jack turned himself over and had the wind pull him under her.
They were speeding through the air now. Jack gave her a grin and pushed his hands into his pockets, "I still think I'm faster."
Rapunzel giggled, "I've got more grace!"
He couldn't argue with that, "Touché," He was content with watching her smile but she had already slowed down and did so without warning.
The wind pulled Jack a bit too far and he found himself crashing into the building Rapunzel had stopped at. He started to fall when he felt her arms around him; she had them land gently on the sidewalk below.
"And you said I don't pay enough attention." Her voice was teasing but her eyes were kind.
"Again, touché." He straightened his back and stretched out his arms, being immortal didn't mean being exempt from pain. It was something he had to teach Rapunzel after she'd crash a dozen or so times when she first became a spirit. Unlike other Spring spirits who moved through the rays of sunlight or simply teleported through flowers and trees, Rapunzel was a wind flyer. It was rare in the spirit world as the wind was a spirit in itself and only chose to fly those he liked across the world. Jack had been the first in a long time and not one another spirit had been chosen until Rapunzel had come along.
"Sometimes I think he likes you better," Jack said gesturing to the air.
"I think he likes you plenty." She had a wide smile on her face when she said it, and the wind seemed to agree by blowing her hair back.
Jack cleared his throat, Rapunzel looked beautiful in that moment, although she was always some kind of beautiful every second of the time.
"Well." Jack was about to ask her why she'd brought them here when she pointed ahead of them.
He started to laugh.
Hundreds of red and pink balloons were wrapped around street lamps along with bows of the same colors. The music of Frank Sinatra was playing in the background, Jack almost felt nostalgic having lived through the man's time.
"And so many people are walking around with heart shaped boxes and the flowers," She sounded giddy, "It may not be spring here but they sure do love flowers and they share them with each other, I can hardly believe it Jack!"
Jack leaned against a wall of what he presumed to be a bakery. He could smell fresh loaves of bread and even fresher cakes.
Rapunzel was already spinning in the streets, by the time he blinked she had ran to the floral shop and was inhaling the scent of roses.
"These seem to be a favorite!" She exclaimed.
It made Jack think back to when he first met Rapunzel, a spring ago. She knew the names of flowers but she couldn't recall what a car was or a microwave. It had surprised him at first.
Spirits that are born from death always lose their memories of who they were but they always, always remembered things that they saw and touched and used.
For Rapunzel, that wasn't the case, at least not at first. She didn't know the names of things when he first spoke to her but each day a flood of new memories would come to her, not of what she did in her life but of how things worked. There was a sparkle in her eye when it happened and it made him wonder, if she was trying hard to forget the life she had or did she forget it on purpose to experience everything new again, as if there was something sacred in discovery.
To this day, he didn't know but he prayed it was the latter because it would fit the girl he'd come to know. The former would mean something painful in her past and that was something he'd never wish on her, not as someone as kind as Rapunzel.
"It's Valentine's day." Jack said, she was standing behind a young man and woman, they were sitting on a bench, and they were laughing.
"That sounds familiar." She said; her eyes were fixed on the couple.
"It's a holiday, it's changed a lot over time but in this day in age it's supposed to celebrate love."
Jack had never paid much attention to the holiday despite it being one of several during his reign. It was a day about chocolate and diamonds, kisses and cuddles, not one aspect of it interested him. Although, he did like to watch the snow fall on lovers walking home, and sometimes, he'd bring the snow along himself just to see their lazy smiles.
Still, Valentine's day never interested him.
And yet, it fascinated Rapunzel.
"That's a beautiful idea," She said wistfully. The couple she'd been watching had gotten up and were holding hands, Rapunzel almost swooned.
Jack just shrugged his shoulders.
To Rapunzel, he was sure, it felt like a day where love was in the air and fantasy was limitless. All the greatest love stories felt truer, and the air, despite the freezing temperature was sweet with the sentiments of love. But to Jack it was like every other day.
There was no resentment about it and yet, he couldn't help but causally glance at the cash registers going off every few seconds for cards and packages, of course that was true for many things humans thought were important.
He brushed the hair back from his face; he'd never felt more like a cynic.
"You don't agree?" Rapunzel had been watching Jack's face. Over the course twenty seconds it had changed from confusion to disgust to sorrow and then what looked like complacency.
"I think it's a nice idea." He said truthfully.
They watched couples holding one another, sharing food and kissing here and there. They also saw others who were dashing through the streets with bags on their wrists and cellphones at their ears.
"And her?" Rapunzel pointed to a girl who looked to be about fourteen. She had headphones in her ears and the music was so loud they could hear the muffled tune from several feet away.
She had no bags, nor did she have someone to hold a hand with. She looked at couples from the corner of her eye and both Jack and Rapunzel were sure she'd winced.
"I don't know Punz, she could just be passing through." When he looked to Rapunzel, she had disappeared; by the time he found her again she'd slipped a Rose into the girl's hand.
At first the girl was startled, she started to turn in place, her eyes searched for anyone who could have given her the rose but everyone was too busy with their bags or people to notice her.
After a minute or so the girl shrugged her shoulders, inhaled the scent of the rose and smiled. She walked onward to the crowd of people.
"That was sweet." Jack said; he put a hand on Rapunzel's shoulder. She teetered back again but then closed her eyes, "You know they dance too Jack, I see them dancing with each other," She took his hand, "Will you dance with me?"
Jack held out his free hand to say no but Rapunzel's green eyes had gotten so big, he sighed and nodded instead. It dawned on him this was what she had wanted all along.
They let the wind carry them up, the song The Way You Look Tonight, was playing. It was the perfect tune for them to dance to with its upbeat melody and the subtly feeling of a film noir.
Rapunzel, who had been wearing a dress made entirely of pink flower petals, found herself become red. The frame of her dress changed from pink daisies to the red of the very roses that filled the bouquets on Valentine's Day. Her long golden hair shone brighter than before and then, suddenly, shorted to that of a braid no longer than arm, and a single red rose was tucked on the side of her head.
"You're over doing it Punz." He said with yet another grin, he was enjoying himself more than he thought he would. The wind helped Jack angle himself forward to tip her back.
"It's only once a year isn't it?" She was sure of that.
"You know more than you let on," He had started to lead them into a box step, although Rapunzel was far more bouncy to be kept in a box. She inhaled the scent of a freshly frosted cake; a young woman was holding it below them while snapping her fingers to Frank's voice.
The song had ended and the wind was carrying them off from the reds and pinks. They drifted at first through the air and then they were elevated into the clouds. Rapunzel reached out her hand and Jack took it wordlessly.
"That was lovely." She said, "Let's do it again next year?"
He watched her for a bit before speaking. Her hair rolled down once more and from the wind's breeze, it made the sky look like it was streaked with gold. Her dress changed its petals again, this time to light pink carnations. Her bare feet kicked out from under the dress and she curled into herself as if to feel the warmth of the night, a warmth that wasn't there.
"Sometimes I wonder about being human Jack, like today… I wondered what Valentine's Day was like for me when I was…" She tightened her grip in his hand.
"It takes time for spirits to remember who they used to be." Jack knew that from experience.
"Humans too." Rapunzel was smiling, "If they think too hard, they forget what it's like to feel things as they are, like a child." Her voice trailed off. He wish it hadn't, so few spirits talked like this but he wasn't going to push her. In a way, he already knew what she meant.
The wind eventually slowed down to the point of floating in midair. Their feet slipped onto the frosted grass below.
"Are you going to go?" Jack asked, he was surprised he bothered to ask. Both of them had places to be and things to do. As spirits they never slept and despite it being winter here, it was spring somewhere else, somewhere she needed to be.
"For now," She kissed his cheek but in pulling away, she paused.
"Being spirits isn't always fun, is it Jack?"
He didn't answer her, not because he didn't know but because he never lied to Rapunzel.
"Hmm," She hummed briefly, "At least there are some things I can still do."
Before Jack could ask what those things were, she kissed him. It wasn't brief nor was it long, it was like snow on petals, and it was kind.
He hadn't noticed until she'd moved back but she had been on her toes; that made him smile.
He reached out for her hand, and held it close to his mouth, he blew gently onto her palm and a small iced rose appeared. It twinkled in the moonlight and although it was cold, it radiated warmth, warmth Rapunzel had been searching for in the sky just a few moments ago.
"For the lady," He said.
With that, he let the wind pick him up and saluted her with a cheeky smirk. She was laughing when the wind carried her off in the opposite direction, her fingers wrapped tightly around the rose.
I wanted to say this here because I get asked too often, this piece is a one-shot. That means I will not be adding to it so please, please do not ask me to add another chapter.
If I wanted to add more chapters, I'd mark the piece as "in progress" so pleeeeease don't ask.