I am extremely excited to write this as I think Jack has a lot emotionally going on, and I plan to exploit that! My main focus is defiantly characterization so read with a critical mind!
I am also a university student so update will be sporadic, but I'll try my best!
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters except for my own
Song of Chapter: Hello - Evanescence
Chapter One: The Mystery of Eloni Harland
Jack stood eerily still on a tree branch. This particular branch was a favorite of his: sturdy, high up the tree, and perfect for sitting. The tree itself was nestled in a quiet forest a couple kilometers away from the nearest town, a town too small to have any real hustle. Only a soft glow emanated from it in the distance. Crouching down to a sitting position, Jack let his long legs dangle beneath him. A cool wind greeted his face with familiarity, the only constant companion in this cold and silent world.
Twirling his fingers mindlessly, the snow from a nearby branch lifted up, and wrapped around Jack's fingers like a snake before falling to the ground below. Always the same, Jack thought. Every day had become a repetitive routine: wake up; paint the nearest city's windows with delicate patterns; blanket the roads and sidewalks with snow, undisturbed by mortal feet; blow gentile winds across fields of white. And most importantly, bring smiles to the children of the world. He was good at that. But as much joy as it brought him, it also hurt him.
He was alone. And forever would be.
Jack kicked at the empty air in frustration, angry at his isolation. How could he be charged to bring joy to children if he couldn't have joy himself? What was immortality worth if you had to spend it alone? He longed for a conversation with the kind baker in the small, simple town nearby. Or to greet the old lady who ordered a decaf coffee every morning from the local cafe. He wanted to go to the town's pond designated as the hockey rink during winter and laugh with all the local boys at a joke he told. But as invisible as the winter winds he created, he remained unseen.
It was his curse.
It used to never bother him. His first two hundred years as a winter spirit brought him freedom. No rules to abide by or expectations to live up to. He went by his own jurisdiction, never penalized for it. But come the twentieth century, something had changed. He started to notice families bonding over simple things, brothers and sisters jokingly teasing one another, and couples holding their loved one's hands only for the basic need to be close to one another.
He wanted to know that touch. To hold someone's hand he loved dearly and to never want to let go. Staring down at his pale fingers, Jack clenched them tightly as if willing another hand to appear and take his in comfort. But the night remained empty. Kicking off the branch in frustration, Jack lifted himself into the night air with no particular place in mind. Anywhere but here.
He caught a fast blowing wind further up in the sky and rode it for a long while. The landscape slowly changed from rural to urbanized as he neared a commercialized city close to a mountain range. The sound of traffic greeted his ears as he got close to the downtown area. The roads were slick with snow that had melted from the sun early in the day. Pedestrians picked their way through puddles, being careful not to slip and adjusted their scarves as Jack summoned a cold wind.
Landing on the sidewalk of a major road, Jack stared at the passer-byers who walked hurriedly towards their warm homes, unaware of the jealous winter spirit standing so close to them. He could feel their heat radiating off them and longed for it. Although the cold did not bother him, heat tantalized him; almost like an addictive perfume. But no matter how much he tried to bring himself close to warmth, it never settled on his skin or remained. It repelled against him like water to oil.
Running a hand through his messy, white hair, Jack let out a sigh and continued his way down the sidewalk. He dragged his staff lazily against shop windows creating complicated designs of frost as he passed when something caught his attention. It was a girl running down the street across from him. Her copper hair set her apart from the other people she ran past, grumbling at her disturbing force in the winding down city. Her green jack clung tightly to her body, a pink scarf adorning her neck. She panted heavily as she stumbled down the street, her pace too fast to keep sturdy on the ice. She was now parallel to Jack when she let out a quiet yelp as she lost her footing, landing heavily on her front.
A sickening crunch sounded as her head connected with the cement walk. The girl allowed herself a small whimper before gingerly moving to the side of the walk closest to the building. A cut had split open on the right side of her forehead, trailing a thin line of blood down the side of her face.
"Shit," she said as she brought her hand to her forehead, smearing the blood. No one else seemed compelled to help the girl. If anything she had earned a couple glares from strangers as if saying 'it's your own fault for running.'
The girl moved along the building on her hands and knees until she was by the entry door to a Starbucks. Grabbing onto the handle, she slowly hoisted herself up, wobbling a bit from her head injury. Once she had steadied herself, the girl gave a quick look behind at the street she had run down. Apparently satisfied at what she saw, the girl continued moving leaning on anything for support.
Jack stood where he was as the girl continued on, knowing there was nothing he could do to aid her. It was part of his curse. How could you aid someone when they couldn't even see you? Quickening her pace as fast as she dared, the girl pulled herself down the street but stopping suddenly when she heard a name called behind her. "Eloni Harland, Stop!" The colour drained out of her face making her white as a ghost compared to the bright red blood staining her hair and cheek.
"No, no, no," she whispered moving even faster now. "Just go away. Please go away," she huffed under her breath.
Behind her ran a tall slender figure wearing a long red jacket, straight hair reaching down to his shoulder blades. "Eloni Harland, you must come with me at once!"
The girl Jack now supposed to be Eloni turned around viscously from ahead. "Get away from me!" she yelled with vigour.
It seemed now that the other pedestrians were becoming concerned with this girl and her pursuer. People had stopped in their tracks to watch as the girl pulled herself frantically down the street. Jack tightened his fists, wishing he could knock out the bastard who was terrorizing the girl. The air seemed to drop in temperature around him as his anger rose.
"Miss, is everything alright?" an older man in his sixties asked as he approached the girl.
She looked between the old man and the one pursuing her from behind, now a couple blocks away. "No, there's nothing you can do," she breathed and pushed off the wall with more strength. The old man stood confused and frightened at the distraught girl, but was useless to her.
"Please, we can help!" the man yelled, but she was already around the corner and into an ally. Mystified, the man and the crowd who had assembled to watch the girl dispersed with sad shakes of their heads. Now fully devoted into this case with interest, Jack took off after the girl, following her into the ally.
She seemed to have lost her stamina and had fallen to her hands and knees, inching her way further into the ally. Soft sobs caught at her throat as her breathing hardened. "No, no, no," she kept mumbling over and over again. Jack cautioned his way toward her like a person would a cornered dog. Completely useless, he told himself, but it seemed wrong to do anything else. Upon reaching a dingy safety ladder at the side of the ally, the girl pulled herself up slowly, staggered and sank back to the ground.
No longer hesitant, Jack raced to her side. Whether it was from exhaustion or loss of blood, the girl had fallen into unconsciousness. Reaching out a hand to touch her swollen, bloodied face, Jack stopped himself. What was he doing? He had no part interacting with the mortal world except to dig winter's teeth into it. Before he could do anything else, Jack heard his name be called.
It was so shocking and foreign to hear it on anyone's lips; Jack reeled back from the girl and scrambled to a standing position.
"Jack Frost, back away from the girl." The figure who had chased her had finally caught up and stood tall in the entry of the ally, intimidating. "She is none of your concern. Return to whatever business you were doing before."
Shock had run its course through his body, but now astonishment held him in his place. "How... how can you... you can see me?" For a tender second, a small flame erupted in Jack's chest at the thought of being seen. Had somehow his curse been broken? Was he no longer alone in this world?
The man advanced forward, pulling out a small crimson bag from his coat pocket. A small emblem tied to the bag caught what poor lighting there was in the ally. It was a red leaf with a delicate vine wrapped around it. The symbol of the Autumn Court.
"You're not human," Jack breathed, and whatever flame of hope he had escaped with his breath.
"I am an elf of the Autumn Court, and this girl is in my custody. Be gone winter spirit. Your presence is not welcome here." Moving forward, the tall elf motioned to the unconscious girl as he spoke. His long auburn hair hung beside his perfect face, his gold eyes intense as they dared Jack to question his authority.
Removing his eyes from the elf to the girl, Jack dug his heels into the ground. "And what do you intend to do with her?"
"That is between the Lady of Autumn and the girl. Be gone spirit." The elf held out the small bag he drew earlier. Digging his left hand into it, the elf pulled out a fistful of dried leaves. Crunching them to small pieces, the elf released his grip and blew the remains to his side. As soon as the leaves left his hand, they took life of their own and swirled in a violent motion forming a portal. Stowing the bag back in his pocket, the elf knelt down and tentatively picked up the girl. "Goodbye Jack Frost." Without a further glance the elf moved into the swirling portal and was gone as quickly as he had appeared, taking the girl with him.
For two minutes, Jack stood dumbly in the ally. The girl was mortal, he was sure of that. He could always tell by their warmth. It radiated off them like an aura. But what business did she have with Lady Autumn? Collecting his thoughts, Jack picked up his staff from the ground, not realizing he had dropped it in the first place. The girl was a mystery. But there was no way of solving it. It just wasn't his business.
Jack meandered out of the ally and walked aimlessly down the street. His mind replayed the scene over and over again. Elves were attendants of the Autumn Court and invisible to mortals like Jack was. How could she have seen the elf then? If she could see the elf, did that mean she could see Jack too? The idea was overwhelming to him. Were there adults who could see Immortals? Was that why she was being chased?
Jack laughed to himself at the absurdity of it. Three hundred years he had been around. Three hundred long years and this was the first time he'd met anyone with the ability to see? It was cruel and unfair; as if the universe was playing some great cosmic joke on him. But nobody was laughing.
In some cruel way, in the midst of civilization, Jack felt more alone than ever.
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And there is the first chapter! I think it turned out decent but it's up to the readers to decide that! So please R+R!
I have no idea when I'll next update as the life of a university student is chaotic. But this project is dear to me so I will work on it as often as I can!
Until next time!