A/N: So, long story short, I had forgotten that I hadn't updated Wishling here on , while it's up to date on AO3 ;^^ it's not a good excuse, but for the past several months, I've been super distracted, so some things are not easy to keep up. I hope you guys who only follow me on FF will still enjoy these chapters.
The flight to North's workshop went by pretty fast in Jack's opinion. It had perhaps taken half an hour tops, but it felt like only mere minutes, and soon the grand castle itself came into view. As they flew towards it, Sandy sent off a golden dream sand reindeer ahead of them to alert North that they were coming, and Jack braced himself and the little boy in his arms, as the dream sand carpet began to move downward and readied itself for a landing. They ended up settling down at one of the main entrances and Jack quickly jumped to his feet as the carpet dissolved, while Sandy hovered up in the air just as the doors opened, and they were greeted by North coming out, accompanied by two yeti.
"Sandy! Jack!" The large man exclaimed, his arms spread out in a welcoming gesture. "I got your message! Sandy says you found something?" He asked Jack, who nodded as he adjusted the small weight of the little boy in his arms.
Sandy was frowning, and flew up in front of North, waving his arms to get his attention, before making a series of symbols that were too quick for Jack to decipher, finishing with an arrow pointing at Jack and the sleeping little boy. North frowned at first, before his eyes widened at the sight of the child. He muttered something in Russian under his breath, and for a moment, he looked like he was about to say something, but then changed his mind when Sandy gave him a look. Instead, he cleared his throat, looking at the Winter Spirit.
"Jack… is what Sandy says true? You found him in a cave made by Pitch?"
Jack nodded, confused by the reaction. "Pretty much. We were lead there by a small Nightmare, and the kid was there, locked in a cage." He frowned, looking down at the little boy. "Can we talk more inside? I really think we need to get this little fella somewhere warm."
North nodded, stroking his chin with a strange, solemn expression, before he looked to one of the yeti. "Get room ready. You know the one." The yeti gave a garbled objection at first, but a sharp look from North silenced it, before it went back in, shaking its furry head. The Guardian of Wonder motioned for the others to come with him inside, with Sandy following him closely, the two seeming to be in deep conversation of some kind. Jack didn't really pay attention, as he carefully adjusted the little boy in his arms, making certain he was comfortable as he went after North and Sandy. Eventually, they made it to the Globe Room, where North proceeded to take them to one of the alcoves that had a fireplace, as well as some large chairs. Jack sat down in one of them, and focused on getting the little boy settled so that he was nestled comfortably up against him.
North and Sandy were in the meantime still having some kind of discussion, though Sandy's sand symbols were going by too fast for Jack to understand them. And once in a while, North would glance towards Jack and the boy with a strange thoughtful look, as if he couldn't quite believe the sight of the small child. Not that Jack could really blame him. It was a child who had a remarkable resemblance to an enemy that they had defeated only a few months ago.
'What happened to make you look like this?' Jack wondered, as he looked at him. The boy murmured softly in his sleep, curling up closer to Jack.
Well, so long as the poor kid got some much needed sleep.
Jack must have dozed off himself, because he suddenly woke up, blinking wildly. The boy was still asleep in his arms, and someone, perhaps North, had put a blanket over them both. While Jack was a winter spirit, warmth didn't really bother him, so it wasn't because he had been too warm that he had woken up. Instead it must have been the sound of the other, more familiar voices, which were further away, possibly in another of the alcoves. Jack frowned, taking a moment to gently adjust the kid in his arms, while trying to identify the voices.
There was North, no doubt there. Then there was Bunny, who was sounding… concerned? And above it was the familiar twittering of Tooth's fairies and Tooth herself.
North must have informed the other about what was going on, then gotten them pulled away so Jack and the little guy wouldn't get woken up.
Deciding to investigate, Jack carefully got up and made certain the boy was comfortable in the chair, covering him up with the blanket. The winter spirit then frowned, remembering how he had a tear in the back of his pants from the mini nightmare, but decided that he could cover it up with his shirt for now, before grabbing his staff. Once he was certain a yeti would watch over the boy, he set off in a quick trot to where the others were, all the while keeping the back of his hoodie pulled down over the area where the tear was.
He found them, as he had figured he would, in the area almost opposite of the globe. Sandy was watching North, Tooth and Bunny, who looked like they were in the middle of a very intense discussion.
"- I mean, it makes sense in so many ways, with the way we couldn't find him!" Tooth was saying, looking very distressed. "And she – she never came back to see him!"
"Not t' mention a lot of other things." Bunnymund said gruffly, crossing his arms. "Lots o' puzzle pieces are fallin' into place now. All the signs were there too, but we've all been a right bunch o' drongos fer not seein' it before."
"We got distracted in ways we shouldn't have." North agreed, looking very tired and, Jack noticed with slight distress, very, very old.
"Hey guys?" Jack called, making everyone startle slightly, "what's going on?"
"Oh Jack!" Tooth exclaimed, her feathers rising up a bit before she quickly smoothed them down, "you surprised us! Uhm, you were asleep with the little one, and… we didn't want to wake you up, so-" Jack nodded, waving her off with a friendly smile.
"Don't worry about it. Just… have you found out anything? From what I heard, it sounds like you guys might know something?"
The other Guardians were silent at that, looking at one another. North looked saddened, while Sandy and Bunny were both frowning, and Tooth was biting her lower lip, while rubbing her arms as though she was cold.
"… We have an idea, of what is going on." North finally said slowly, "but we won't know for certain until the little one wakes up." He frowned, looking at Jack. "He is safe, yes?"
"He's fine," Jack assured him. "He's still sleeping, so I made sure he was comfortable in the chair. One of the yeti is watching him."
The Russian nodded thoughtfully at that. "Good… Let him sleep. With what he has been through, he needs some good rest." He frowned, looking up at Jack. "In fact, I have an idea. Yeti should be done with preparations now. We have a room he can stay in."
In the short time that he had been a Guardian, Jack had learned that North always did his best to be prepared for things. Apparently, this included having children at his workshop, as was revealed when North lead Jack to a small room. The air was practically thick with magic, which had swept up any dust that had been there, leaving the room sparkling clean. It was only lit by a few lanterns, that were currently dimmed, and by one wall was a bed that was perfect in its size. The covers were freshly prepared and smelled of pinewood and snow, and the bed itself was incredibly soft.
If anything, the poor kid might be getting the best sleep he's had for a long time, Jack thought, as he gently put the child down in the bed and tucked him in. The small boy curled up under the covers, his face scrunching up, but his features soon softened, and he relaxed with a small sigh, staying asleep as Jack carefully tucked him in.
Jack let out a soft breath of air he didn't know he had been holding, and straightened up, before looking to North, who was watching the boy with a strange, solemn expression. The older Guardian then seemed to make a decision with himself, before he nodded at Jack and turned to the yeti that had followed them from the Globe room.
"Keep an eye on him for us, please? Let us know when he wakes up." He asked, and the yeti nodded before grumbling, motioning for Jack and North to get going already and let the child have his rest in peace. Jack found that he couldn't stop looking back towards the little boy as he walked off however, frowning with worry.
He had a feeling there was a lot to learn about this kid.
When the two of them returned to the Globe room, the other Guardians had settled down, each of them sitting with their choice of beverage and snacks that had been brought to them while they waited. Bunny looked up when he heard them approach and got to his feet, frowning.
"So, North." He said, glancing towards Jack and then back to the Guardian of Wonder. "Is it what we think?"
"He still has not woken up," North responded solemnly. "But the magic in the room…" He sighed.
Jack looked back and forth between North and Bunny. "What about what magic?" He asked. "I could sense there was something, but…?"
"Jack…" Tooth interjected carefully. "Have you ever heard of Fearlings?"
When Jack just looked confused, she bit her lower lip in thought.
"They were a kind of fear spirits that were around a long time ago. They were almost wiped out by Light Demons, a very long time ago. Almost… except for one."
Jack frowned, before his eyes widened in realization. It made a lot more sense, especially since Pitch couldn't be seen by ordinary children...
"You mean, that little kid…? Is that why he looks like Pitch? They're related?"
"No, Jack." North rumbled. "We have… other suspicions. But we won't know about them for certain until the boy wakes up." The large man sighed. "There is one part of the story, however. And we believe it is best you are told about it."
"Have a seat, mate." Bunnymund agreed, sitting back down himself. "It's a long one."
Jack nodded, looking around at the others, before he sat down next to Tooth. North sat down in a chair so he was facing them all. Then he took a deep breath, and began.
"It all began a long time ago, when spirits in the world were very young, while the world itself was already very old..."