Sophie tossed and turned, trying to sleep. Everything was irritating her, keeping her awake- the glow of the streetlights outlining the blinds over her window, the constant dull ache in her shoulder, the cold making her shiver and the music floating around in her head. She couldn't stop thinking about what had happened, even though it had been two days ago now. She could see Jack's face behind her eyelids every time she closed them. Why had he had to fly away so quickly? She felt as though she's been given a glimpse of his world, been shown magic and fantasy, and then told that she couldn't have it.
With a sigh, Sophie flung the covers off her and lifted the blinds, gasping at the sight before her. It was snowing. Fluffy white flakes danced in the light of the moon, floating like feathers to the ground, where they rested on the grass, each individual snowflake building up the winter scene. Laughing faintly to herself, Sophie opened the window, feeling the chilly night press against her face. She stuck her arm out of the window, and the snow tickled her hand, cold as ice. Hope jumped in Sophie's heart. Was Jack out there? Had he come back?
As if in answer, a mischievous laugh pealed out in the winter air. Jack hovered in front of the window, a joyful glint in his eyes, his hair rippling in the wind.
"Jack!" Sophie could barely keep her voice down to a whisper in her excitement. "Where did you go? I was beginning to think I dreamed the whole thing!"
Jack flew closer and sat down on the windowsill, his bare feet dangling over empty space. "Sorry about that. I had something to sort out." He looked tired, but perhaps Sophie was imagining it. After all, she'd only seen him for a few minutes before. Suddenly, Sophie was jerked out of her thoughts by cold, wet snow hitting her in the face, knocking her backwards.
"Hey!" she spluttered, wiping away the snow with her hand. Jack laughed, and Sophie glared, but she was unable to control her smile. "Not fair! There's no snow here for me to get you back."
Before she could react, Jack grabbed Sophie in his arms and floated out through the window, landing in the snow-covered back garden. Sophie squealed as her bare feet touched the icy ground.
"There. Go on, then. Get me back." Jack stood and spread his arms, grinning.
Sophie scooped up a handful of snow, flinging it at Jack, but he dodged with ease. As he leapt away, his staff scraped the snow, creating instant, perfectly round snowballs. He grabbed them and hurled them one at a time, scoring a direct hit with each one.
For the next several minutes, the two leapt around in the snow, throwing snowballs and laughing with sheer joy, all troubles forgotten. Occasionally Jack would let Sophie's snowballs hit their target, but by the end of the war, he was the clear winner. Laughing and panting with exhaustion, Sophie collapsed in the snow.
"I give up," she giggled. "You're the Snowball King."
Jack sat down nearby. "That's right. And don't ever forget it."
After a moment of silence, you spoke again. "Jack, why did you have to fly off so quickly the other day? When you saw the Northern Lights… You flew towards them. Why?"
Jack sighed, running his hand through the snow, letting it fall through his fingers like sand. "North wanted all the Guardians to meet together."
"North?"
"Better known as Santa."
Sophie blinked. She believed in Jack Frost, but Santa? Surely even she, as childish as she was, was too old to believe in Santa. 'Are you serious?"
He nodded. And for once, he didn't seem to be joking. "It was so great, seeing them all again. Even Bunny, though he's a pain at times."
"Wait… Bunny? And, seeing who?" Sophie gave him a confused look.
"You know, the Easter Bunny. And the Sandman, and the Tooth Fairy."
Sophie shook her head. "No way. They don't exist. You're messing with me, right?"
"Nope. It's true." Jack glanced over at her. "I can show you, if you want. But you have to believe in them. Trust me."