~Belief – The Story of the Frost Family~
"Jack…?! Jack?!" The little girl peered through the ice, scared to approach the edge of the gaping hole that had swallowed her brother. "JACK!" She screamed desperately, scratching at the ice with her fingers, unable to save her brother who was surely drowning or slowly freezing to death. She was hyperventilating, her warmed breath meeting the air to form little puffs of white mist. She hoped and prayed that he was okay; that his head would pop up out of the water and he would be smile and crack a joke just like he always did. She thought that she wouldn't even mind him playing tricks on her anymore if he would just come back.
Tears streamed down her face, hitting the fragile ice and freezing immediately. She stared up at the moon, that dark sentinel being the only thing to see her in her sadness. She silently pleaded to the celestial light to save her brother, the pleas turning to accusations at that cold thing watching her when he still didn't return. She sat there, praying and crying for hours, knowing in her heart that he wasn't coming back.
At last, unable to cry anymore, she carefully removed her skates and tip-toed off the ice, involuntarily remembering how her brother used to run lightly on his feet, always refusing to wear shoes. She walked quietly back to her house, her own feet quickly freezing from the cold, reminding her that her brother was similarly frozen under that lake, unable to escape the chill.
The girl pushed the door open with her free hand, walking over and collapsing in front of the small fireplace. Her mother, noticing the silence of the normally very bright and happy girl, rushed to her side.
"Honey?" She placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "What's wrong?" She glanced over at the door. "Where's Jack?" The little, fragile girl next to her burst into tears again, throwing herself into her mother's arms. Her mother knew something was terribly wrong—the realization settled heavily into her chest. "Honey... what happened?" The girl's large tear-stained eyes looked up into her face.
"Jack… he… he…" Her mother gently stroked her hair, trying to calm her down as her own fear grew. "He fell… through the i-ice." The girl choked out the words, quickly following them with furious sobs, burying her head in her mother's chest. Her mother stared down at her, unable to comprehend what she had just heard. Tears welled in her eyes as well, and she hugged the girl tightly.
Just then, the girl's father walked into the room, and seeing the spectacle, he walked over to embrace his wife and daughter.
"What's happened?" He asked, searching his wife's face for some answer.
"Jack… he fell through the ice." Her face contorted from her sadness as her husband stared with disbelief.
"Well, let's go! We can save him!" He jumped up, turning towards the door, but the hand of his wife clutching his sleeve made him pause. She shook her head sadly.
"It's too late. He's gone." Her husband looked down at her, knowing she was right but not wanting to accept it. He stood there for a moment, the tears rising in his eyes, before silently turning and going into the small kitchen. He slowly pulled out the somewhat expensive can of powdered chocolate they had been saving as a Christmas surprise for Jack, examining it sadly. He warmed some milk and poured it into four glasses, adding the chocolate and a drop of mint extract. He stirred them all up and carried them into the living room on a tray. His wife and daughter looked up as he entered the room, looking sadly at the tray of drinks. He set the drinks on the floor and handed one to each of them.
"Careful sweety, it's hot." He warned his daughter softly. They all sat together next to the fire, sipping the drink that used to be Jack's favorite, shedding tears for their lost son and brother. The fourth drink sat untouched on the hearth, kept warm through the night by the flickering flames.
The boy heaved a huge breath as soon as his head emerged from the ice, his chest heaving and his body continuing to float upwards as he fought the tiredness in his eyes. He looked around in confusion, his eyes finally lighting upon the moon which loomed ominously over him.
Your name is Jack Frost. A voice spoke into his mind.
But… who am I? Who is Jack Frost? He enquired of the moon. Only silence answered him. He slowly descended back to the earth, his foot brushing against a large branch. Examining it, he poked it with his toe, his eyes widening when the touch resulted in a blue light…
The girl sat at her window, looking out at the moon. Her parents had put her to bed hours ago, but she couldn't sleep. Her missing brother plagued her thoughts. It was then that she heard the laughter.
It was quiet at first, but got steadily louder, as though the source was moving closer to her. She quietly opened the window so her parents wouldn't hear, and stuck her head outside. A flying boy suddenly appeared, falling and stumbling to the ground on the other side of their small village. She was afraid he was hurt, but he jumped up and was laughing again in just a few seconds. She saw the white hair first, but when she really looked at him, her eyes widened with shock.
"Jack…?" She whispered in wonderment. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but a voice appeared in her head and caused her to stop. Her eyes snapped up towards the moon.
Stay silent, child. He is a guardian now. The voice spoke softly.
But… what does that mean? Her question was met with silence. She looked back at the boy stumbling his way through the square, trying to talk to people, and she understood.
"They can't see you, brother, but I can. I'll always believe in you." She smiled softly to herself. She closed her window, knowing she shouldn't let him see her watching him. She lay down in her bed, pulling the blankets up to her chin, and slowly drifted off to sleep, knowing that her prayers had been answered.
Author's Note:
It bothered me that we never know what happened to Jack Frost's family after his sister saw him "die," so I came up with this idea for what happened. Hope you guys like it.
-Dante
Edit note:
It's come to my attention that Jack's sister was actually never named, and so I changed the story to reflect that. I was initially confused by the credits from the film, which listed voice actor Olivia Mattingly as "Pippa/Jack's Sister". I thought they were naming his sister since they never said her name in the film, but the voice actor actually voiced two parts, Pippa being Jamie's friend. Someone with some of the official books mentioned it to me, so I decided to fix it. Sorry if it confused people.