A/N: Annnd the terrible author is back with yet another story that will never be finished, though this chapter could stand alone as a oneshot. Another ROTG fic!

If you guys have read my other ROTG work "The Babysitter," you should be somewhat familiar with my OC, Brooke. Like I have mentioned before, I'm fond of my OCs and she evidently doesn't seem to be going away soon, so here she is in a totally different setting:

Colonial times.

I'm horrible with historical fiction, but I thought I'd give it a shot because it just sounds so interesting to me and I jump at the chance to write some brother/sister stuff with Jack and his little sister, whom I have named Jill. (The fandom seems to universally accept the name Emma for her though. *sobs*)

Here's the gist: it won't be written the way I usually write chapter stories. They'll be more like a collection of drabbles that are connected by a plot that is seemingly vague until you put all the pieces together. The chapters will be shorter than normal, around 1,000-2,000 words. Don't worry, there's a plot, but the chapters may deviate from the central story into little missing moments and things like that.

This is set in an an AU where Jack never becomes Jack Frost.

Mom's going to kill me when she finds out about this, Jack thought, chuckling inwardly. But at least Jill was fine, and that was all that mattered.

It almost seemed like a miracle. Jill had been in danger of falling through the ice, but somehow Jack had managed to save her. Honestly, it was a blur; the only thing the teenager was thinking of was keeping his sister out of harm's way. Add a bit of hopscotch, and voila. Mission accomplished.

They were both lying on their stomachs now, and Jill looked at him gleefully. He'd done it! She struggled to get up on the ice while wearing the skates, but she managed to stand up. Jack was about to get up as well, but a voice behind him caused him to pause.

"No—wait!"

He had never heard that voice before, and as far as Jack could tell, Jill didn't recognize who it was either. She looked just as confused as he was. It took him a few seconds to process that the voice was in fact female, given his prior bewilderment.

Beneath him, the ice protested against his weight, and Jack began to panic. The person must've noticed, because her voice again told him, "Stay calm, just...just lie flat."

At this point, Jack saw a figure come into his line of sight from the left: a teenage girl. The first thing he noticed was her short, curly hair that bounced as she moved. She hurried to the pond and stepped softly onto the ice, hesitant and first. When she found it safe, she made her way over to the middle. The girl slipped in her hurry, right before getting to Jill, and Jack would've laughed if he weren't about to sink to his death. She picked up Jack's staff and turned to Jill.

Because he hadn't much other choice, Jack obeyed her orders, lowering slowly and prostrating on the surface. The ice quieted a little, and Jack was a tad more at ease.

The girl with the curly hair spoke in a soothing tone to Jill. "Hello little miss, would you like to help me?" she asked politely, holding out her hand.

Jill's eyes went to Jack uncertainly, and the girl followed her gaze, turning her head and allowing Jack a good look at her face.

She had gray eyes and fair skin, though her cheeks were tinged pink from the cold. Her brown hair was falling a bit in front of her face. She seemed oddly calm; the puffs of mist emitting from her mouth came out in a slow, steady rhythm with her breathing.

Turning back to Jill, she laughed. It was a brief chuckle, but it effectively broke the tension in the air. Jill looked up at her inquisitively. The older girl smiled warmly, hand still outstretched slightly.

"Come on," she coaxed. "I'd imagine he's cold waiting on the ice for so long."

Jill looked up at her. "Okay," the young girl said firmly, eyebrows knitting together in determination as she took the older girl's hand. Jack felt pride swell in his chest. His sister had always been a strong girl, but it was the first time he had seen her be strong for his sake. If Jack were to really die then, he would've died happy.

Smiling, the older girl said, "Here's what we'll do..."

She was remarkably adept at giving instructions: in a few seconds she had Jill positioned in front of her, both of them holding the curved end of the staff out in Jack's direction.

"Now, we're just going to pull him off of there," the stranger instructed. "Steady okay? Like tug-of-war, almost."

Jack caught onto her idea and gripped the staff end with both hands. Unfortunately his movement caused the ice to crack even more, so Jill and the other girl hastened to pull him in. Together, the two girls counted, "One, two, three!"

With a final tug, they awkwardly reeled Jack's body in across the slick surface and back onto thicker ice. The force almost caused Jill to fall down; the friction between Jack and the ice was greater than they imagined. Once he got the momentum, Jack slid well across the pond. Jack glanced up at the girl as he pressed his palms down to stop himself. Her breathing had become heavier, but she nodded, assuring him it was safe. Slowly and carefully, Jack stood up. The ice didn't groan, and he sighed in relief.

The next moment, Jill had come over and wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight hug. He ran a hand over her hair. She was giggling happily, and Jack couldn't help but smile too. When he lifted his head, he saw the girl standing a just little ways off, regarding them cautiously. She saw him looking and walked over to them, handing the staff to Jack. "I believe this is yours, sir."

Jack reached with one hand and took the staff, Jill still clinging to him.

"Your tummy's cold, Jack," she said, laughing.

Jack chuckled at his sister, but his eyes shifted back to the girl who had just saved his life.

"Thank you," he told her, not knowing what else to say.

She became nervous under his gaze and tucked a curl behind her ear, clearing her throat. "Well, you did such a great job saving your sister, and I can't imagine she would want to return home without you." Once she met his eyes, she gave him a small smile and shrugged lightly.

"You saw that?" Jack asked, eyebrows rising. He started to feel somewhat self-conscious, considering his mistake nearly lead to his death. It was slightly embarrassing.

The girl mistook his expression for suspicion. "I was only passing through the woods, I promise." She tried to change the subject. "My name is Brooke, by the way."

Jack grinned, hoping to get the stranger to relax. "Jackson. But most people just call me Jack. And this is Jill."

He gestured to his kid sister, who waved sheepishly. "Thank you for helping my brother," she told Brooke sincerely.

Brooke's eyes softened. "Of course, little miss," she replied. "Let's just hope he won't need my help very often in the future."

The three of them laughed. Then, Brooke noticed Jack's bare feet and pointed. "Aren't you cold?"

Jack and Jill looked down at his feet. The teenage boy wiggled his toes. "It's not so bad," he admitted. He wasn't trying to be tough or anything. Maybe he was still in shock.

Jill detached herself from her brother as he went to pick up his skates, tying the laces and hanging them over his shoulder.

"Jack doesn't like to wear shoes," Jill announced. "He's always barefoot, even though mama and papa says he shouldn't be."

"Well, not always," Jack corrected her quickly. "My boots are right there by the bank." He hoped Brooke wouldn't think him crazy, but she just gave him an understanding smile.

They moved off of the ice and onto the grass. Jill removed her skates and replaced them with her leather boots. Jack slipped his boots on too. They were newer, only a few months old and despite the snow they kept his feet well warm.

After trying to figure out who she was, Jack decided that he had never seen her before in his life; he would have definitely remembered a girl whose hair curled in such a way. The curls weren't uniform-they were actually somewhat messy-and they only hung down to the nape of Brooke's neck. No other person in Burgess had curly hair like that.

"There has to be some way we can repay you," Jack said, looking thoughtful.

"Oh, it's fine—" Brooke started, but she was soon cut off.

"How about you have dinner with us?" Jack suggested, and Jill clapped excitedly.

"Please, Brooke?" she pleaded with large eyes.

To say the least, Brooke was taken aback by the offer. As much as she wanted to accept, she had to tell them no politely. They seemed like nice people, but her father would be worried (and later furious) if she returned late. Of course, the siblings didn't know that.

"I—" she took a moment to recollect her thoughts. "Isn't it quite dangerous to invite a stranger into your home?"

Jack and Jill both laughed, and for a second Brooke was worried that she had said something horribly naïve

"I owe you my life," Jack countered. "And I'm very good at repaying my debts, you know. I like a clean record."

Brooke shook her head, but the smile was still on her face. "Consider this, then: I, your debtor, declare that you owe me nothing, so your record is still clean."

For now, Jack would let her win with that argument. He put his hands up in surrender, which seemed satisfactory to Brooke. She bent down and ruffled Jill's hair. "Goodbye, little miss." Brooke straightened up and looked briefly at Jack. "I'll be seeing you then." She turned to leave, but Jack stopped her.

"Hold on, though," he said. When she faced him again, she saw his eyebrows were knit together. "So...where will you go?" He couldn't imagine she was really alone, but no one else was around and it didn't seem right to leave her.

To Jack's surprise, Brooke flashed a grin at them, distracting Jack from his worries.

"I'll be fine," Brooke told them. "I actually don't live far from this pond.

She turned on her heel and walked away, disappearing behind the trees. The siblings watched her go, and when she was gone, Jack felt Jill tugging on the edge of his shirt.

"We should go, too," the young girl said. "Mama will have dinner soon and I'm hungry."

Jack nodded in agreement. The two of them walked back to town hand in hand, Jill swinging her skates back in forth in her other hand. She started humming a chipper tune, momentarily distracting them from the dire situation of the recent events. But on the walk back, Jack's mind still wandered.

What if he had died? Jack vaguely wondered how cold it would've been had he sunk into the water, to feel the heat drain from his body and be surrounded in total darkness. How long would it have taken him to freeze?

A chill ran up his spine, but feeling his sister's warm little hand in his own brought him back to reality. Jack snuck a glance at Jill, who was still in a cheery mood, and he silently thanked the heavens he was still around to see his little sister smile.

A/N: Gosh it's so cliche...but I hope you guys can stick around long enough for later chapters, which I'm more confident about updating since the installments could be anything as long as it's set in this fic's universe and timeline. I tend to have less writer's block that way. I may not even have them updated in chronological order. Whoops.

Hope to be back soon!

-Chrys