Don't You Ever Forget About Me

Chapter 1

Prologue

"Jack, read me a story!"

Jack chuckled at the four year old as she skipped over to the little pink bookshelf across from her bed. It was fifteen minutes after nine; nearly an hour past Sophie's bedtime, but the winter spirit had promised the blonde-headed little munchkin that he would come to see her before she went to sleep.

Most would call it unusual for Jack to be back in Burgess, Michigan in the middle of June, being the spirit of winter and all, but he didn't see any harm in visiting the kids while they were on summer vacation. He even rushed through his work in the places in the world that were actually expecting the gift of snow, just to hang out with Jamie and Sophie before they fell asleep. And either way, Burgess was the closest thing Jack had to a home (and Jamie and Sophie the closest thing to a family), so he usually ended up back there by the end of day anyway. He didn't see any harm in showing up a bit early.

Jack watched as Sophie pulled out nearly every book that lined the pink-painted shelves, barely looking over the covers before she lost interest and tossed the paper adventures behind her. Jack was sure that her mother wasn't going to be too happy about the mess she'd have to clean up in the morning.

"Oooh," the four year-old cooed, holding up what looked to be a picture book. She sprung up to her feet and skipped over to Jack, waving the fairy tale above her head, "read me this one," she grinned up at him, giggling.

Sophie sat the little book on Jack's lap, and climbed up next to him on the bed, box springs squeaking as she did so. Jack looked the cover over, and his stomach began to flutter when he realized what she had picked out.

The illustration was all too familiar; a tall stone tower shot up towards the sky, a waterfall of gold cascading from the highest window, and a too-handsome prince stood at structure's base, fingers tangled in blonde silk.

Without even reading the title, he knew whose story was bound between the covers.

Rapunzel.

It had been a long, long time since that name had crossed his mind.

Jack stayed silent for a moment, almost overwhelmed by the wave of emotions that washed over him. It had been so long. He hadn't thought about her in years. It was like he had forgotten about the first light to fill his darkness.

And it hurt.

"Jack?" Sophie tugged on the sleeve of his blue hoodie, ice crystals tickling her face as they fell from the weathered cotton, "are you gonna read it?"

Jack shuddered as he was suddenly pulled back to the real world. He chuckled to himself, trying to regain his composure, and turned to face the little girl.

Who was he to deny a child a fairy tale? Maybe it was time to share the story he kept to himself for hundreds of years.

Maybe it'd make the hurt go away.

"Hey...can you keep a secret?" Jack whispered to her. Sophie's eyes lit up and she nodded wildly at the idea of being the keeper of a hushed tale. He chuckled at the look on her face and front tooth-less grin, "okay. But you gotta cross your heart."

Sophie did as she was instructed, hastily drawing an X shape over the center of her chest, "what is it, Jack?" she asked, struggling to hold in her excitement. She practically hopped in place on the bed.

"Well..." he paused, not sure how the little girl would react to what he was about to tell her, "Jamie wasn't the first person to see me."

Sophie's mouth fell open in shock, and Jack laughed. Even if it was hard sometimes, there was a reason he loved his job, "really?" she breathed.

Nodding, Jack replied, "Yes, really. You wanna know who the first person to see me was?" he held up the book, and pointed to the girl who stood at the window of the stone tower, "Rapunzel was."

Jack wouldn't have thought it possible, but Sophie's eyes grew even wider, "Rapunzel was real? And you knew her?"

"Of course she was real!" Jack exclaimed, making gestures with his free hand as he spoke, "where do you think they got the idea for the story from?" he paused, and sighed, suddenly feeling solemn as the memories once again crept back into his head. He shook the feeling off, remembering that he was talking to a little girl, and needed to keep things light, "Rapunzel was really special."

"Was she pretty?" Sophie questioned eagerly.

"Pretty?" Jack scoffed, smirking, "Rapunzel was more than pretty. She was beautiful," his smirk softened into a smile, as an image of her slowing found its way through the fog to the forefront of his mind. Had it not have been for the ice that pumped through his veins, his cheeks would have flushed at the thought of the softest, sweetest girl he had ever known in his life.

Sophie tugged on his sleeve again, "Jack, tell me about Rapunzel."

No one would have ever expected the spirit of winter to smile so warmly down at the child by his side. He patted the top of her head, "Okay. I'll tell you Rapunzel's story. Her real story. Not the made up one that you read in the books about her," he tossed the picture book down to the floor with the other unappealing stories.

Jack couldn't believe what he was about to do. He was about to tell someone, for the first time, about the girl he'd found in the tower, all those years ago. Even if some parts of the story hurt to remember, he was going to let it out.

And somehow, it felt good.

It was time.

((AN: Hey everyone! This is my first story to be posted here on fan fiction. Sophie is a bit older in this, but it really won't affect the story too much as she won't be appearing again until the last chapter. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed this little prologue, and I promise that the next installment will be longer.

All reviews, faves, and follows are greatly appreciated~3 tell me anything you think I should improve on or got wrong!

~Brandy))