Jack stood outside Alice's door, blue eyes staring nervously at the warm oak that barred him entry from the room. It had been a little over 3 days since the battle with Pitch, and Alice had been held under quarantine for that time, her only visitors Toothiana and Bunnymund, who only left to gather more medical supplies from the Yeti's before vanishing back into the room, her stifled sobs and cries of pain the only sounds coming out of the room.
It was only this morning, that an exhausted Bunnymund and Tooth Fairy quietly exited the room, Alice's voice having long quieted hours before. They quickly reassured them of Alice's stability, and that she was now resting in her room and they could see her if they liked. Bunnymund looked beyond exhausted, his fur looking almost shabby and age seeming to weigh down on him like a lead blanket. Toothiana had quietly led him away from the room, softly but sternly murmuring words of comfort as they went.
Sandy wandered off after the two lovebirds, and North, after giving Jack a knowing look, quickly excused himself, saying he would go to the elves and see if they couldn't whip up a few gingerbread cookies to bring to Alice when she was ready.
Which left Jack standing before the door, trying to swallow down his guilt enough to go inside. Raising a pale hand, he gently rapped his knuckles against the polished wood. "Alice?" He called softly through the wood.
"Come in." Her soft voice answered, muffled by the wood, and knowing what levels her voice could reach, he had no doubt that it wasn't just the wood causing her voice to sound quiet.
He reached down, gently grasping the bronze handle of the door, and allowed it to swing open.
The first thing he couldn't help but notice, was that she looked almost 3 times smaller than she usually did.
Perhaps this was because of the enormous bed she was occupying. Or perhaps because of the myriad of bandages hiding her skin from view. Or perhaps it was because…..she looked tired.
From the first moment he met this strange (on many levels, bizarre) girl, it was almost impossible to not notice her. It was something in her voice, in her body language, her very presence; she gave off an aura of self confidence and strength, making her almost seem bigger than her body could convey.
But now, she looked tired, weary, her skin pale with the effects of corruption, and acidic green eyes almost seemed faded to a pale porcelain green. Alice blinked at the sight of her visitor, and her eyes narrowed slightly in mild irritation as he stood in the door way, not speaking.
"It's rude to stare you know." She said with no real malice in her voice, causing Jack to flinch, realizing he had been doing just that.
"Sorry…." He mumbled, turning to close the door behind him, granting them their privacy. He stepped closer to the bed, trying not to let his hands twist into the wood the way they had for the past few days with worry too obviously.
"How're you feeling?" He asked. At her delicately raised eyebrow, he barely resisted the urge to slap himself in the forehead. "Sorry! Stupid question."
She held up a hand, stopping himself mid-self-derision. "It is a question I expected. It's nothing. I feel…..alright….." She said, looking up at him her expression surprisingly honest along with her words.
"Good. Good. That's….really good…." Jack said, smiling back at her.
It fell silent between them once more.
"Listen, Alice." Jack began. "I wanted to apologize for before. I shouldn't have said all of those things, I was being a complete jerk and I shouldn't have assumed-"
"Jack-"
"And I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I know that life has been really hard for you and I really wasn't the best person chosen to be part of the return committee, and I assumed too much about you -"
"Jack please-"
"And I want to try to start over." He said, looking into her eyes, causing her to blink in surprise. He moved over to her bed side, and sat down beside her on the sheets, her eyes following him in stunned surprise.
"Let's try to get to know each other again. Properly this time." He said, and lightly glanced around, gathering his thoughts once more. "Hi, I'm Jack Frost, and I'm the spirit of Winter. I'm uh, I'm the Guardian of Fun as you might've guessed." He laughed lightly. "I'm the youngest of the Guardians, I joined just last year, before you came along of course. Can I ask your name Miss?" He asked, holding out his hand politely, just as he had seen young gentlemen do all those centuries ago.
Alice stared at him, seeming to be petrified into a statue, her pale pink lips parted in surprise, her eyes almost glassy with startled emotion. Jack waited patiently, blue eyes silently egging her on as she tried to push away whatever dark memories tried to frighten her away from this boy, this young man who was asking her for forgiveness for his mistakes.
Slowly, ever so slowly, her pale hand slid into his, Jack's cool hands brushing the white bandages wrapped thickly around her wrists. "Alice." She murmured, her voice thick and raw as she spoke, her eyes never leaving his. "My name is Alice."
Gently lifting her hand to his lips, he pressed icy lips against her knuckles, before lowering it back down, smiling warmly at her. "Alice….I like that name…."