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Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Rise of the Guardians'
You Believe?
Twelve Years Later…
A silver haired young man with brilliant blue eyes sat on the wind unseen to all but some young, believing eyes. Casually, he drifted over to a bare tree and gently landed on a low branch. Letting one leg dangle over the edge, he propped the other on the limb and rested his hooked staff over his knee. With lazy movements, he twirled his staff and watched as the ground below him became encrusted with ice.
A dejected sigh caught his ear and pulled him from the cold. Jumping to a crouch with his staff tight in hand, he looked down as two women walked underneath him. He leaned forward to catch wisps of their conversation.
"—he still insists that Santa's real," a woman bundled in a blue coat complained.
"How old is he now, seven?" her blond companion attempted to sooth her.
"Eight! Nine in a few months."
"Really? Susan stopped believing when she turned eight. Actually," the blond paused a moment, "I think it was earlier than that."
"Why do we tell them such things in the first place? They stop believing too early: it saddens us. They keep believing too long: it scares us," the bundled woman sighed as she rubbed a gloved hand to her temple.
"I don't know, Karen. I really don't. It's always been unnecessary childish fantasies to me," her companion scoffed.
The young man sighed as the female voices drifted away from him. He had no desire to hear the end of that conversation.
What happened when people grew older?
What made them stop believing?
Even Jamie, the blue-eyed man pondered, has doubts now. After everything, he now doubts me. What did I do wrong?
Shaking these thoughts from his head, he stood up and whispered, "C'mon wind." Stepping off the branch, he let the wind carry his body to leave the dark thoughts below.
Marie sat up and let the covers slip off her shoulders, sacrificing her bare skin to the numbing cold. Goosebumps flowered up her arms as the air nipped at her skin. With a wide yawn, she pulled her mass of black curls on top of her head and wrapped a tie around it. Rubbing the stiffness out of her neck, she pulled her sock clad feet from the covers and placed them on the carpeted floor. Her bright green eyes glanced over to her roommate still sound asleep; her covers drawn up to her chin. Smirking at her inability to wake up, Marie stood and walked to the window at the head of her bed.
Tentatively, the awake young woman grasped the gossamer curtain between her fingers and pulled it back to reveal warm sunlight glistening off the pure white, freshly fallen snow. Her lips pulled back into a bright smile. Her eyes flew around the now white campus, absorbing the stillness. Quickly drawing the green orbs away from the white, she turned to the sleeping form and whispered, "Laura. Laura, wake up. It snowed."
The bundled frame shifted and hissed, "Tell it to someone who cares, Marie."
The standing woman rolled her eyes and dashed to the shared closet. Slipping on a light jacket over her tank top and boots over her sock clad feet, Marie rushed out of the room and down the stairs. She threw the door open and stopped. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and embraced the pins that the air poked into her lungs. Reopening her eyes she stared in silent wonder at the peacefulness before her. With a smile dancing across her lips and slight regret in her heart, she took the first step and ruined the perfect snow.
Slowly she made her way down one of the many paths that weaved in and out of the buildings on campus. When she spotted an old gnarled and bent oak tree her smile grew as she picked up her pace towards it. As she got closer she noticed that the small stone bench that was tucked away amongst the roots was free of snow. With a skip in her step, she pranced towards it. The dark haired woman wrapped her jacket around her tighter and sat down on the chilled bench. Pulling her hood up, she laid down on the unforgiving stone and propped her feet up—knees high on the air—and curled her hands under her head. Taking another deep breath of the crisp air, she covered her emerald eyes with creamy lids.
Marie didn't know how long she laid there in peace before she heard a rustling that drew her from her introverted thoughts to the outside world. Gleefully she opened her eyes in hopes of spying a bird or a squirrel in the net of branches entwined above her head. However, she was quite surprised then when her green eyes met a pair of crystal blue ones staring at her from a low branch above her head.
The young woman gave out a startled yelp and tried to sit up but landed face first into the snow. Pushing herself onto her knees, she brushed the chilled powder off her body as her bright eyes searched the tree for what she was certain she saw. But her desperate eyes turned up an empty search: all she managed to see where bare branches, intertwined within each other in an elaborate pattern and highlighted with snow. With a dejected sigh she pulled herself back onto the bench.
She could've sworn she'd seen him. Marie had only seen him once before in her life—a fleeting moment at a young age—but she knew him. She knew that frosted, blue sweater. She knew that hooked staff. She knew that silver hair. She knew him so well that there was no doubt in her mind that she had seen Jack Frost.
And now she knew those crystal blue eyes.
The black haired woman bit her lip as she felt her heart sink. He had been there. He had to have known that she saw him.
So why didn't he stay?
Marie sighed and slumped back onto the bench. So is the curse of believing in childhood fantasies, she mused. So many years had passed and each year she had tried to convince herself out of believing, but she couldn't do it.
It made her feel incomplete.
It made her feel like she was lying to herself.
Ever since she was seven and saw him for the first time, she couldn't stop believing in him, and if he was real, then wouldn't the others also be?
The young woman groaned and rubbed her chilled hands across her face. Shivering from the contact, she thought, I'm going to have to go back in soon. I can't stay out much longer dressed like this. But first…
Marie jumped up and walked from the roots of the tree. Once she felt safe that she was free from their potential prodding, she laid back into the snow and spread her limbs out. The numbing cold enveloped her and the snow created a soft bed. A peaceful sigh passed her lips as she closed her eyes and began to push her arms up and down while drawing her legs together and apart.
Quickly, she allowed the familiar motions to put her in a trance as memories of other snowfalls flickered through her mind. She had always loved the snow: so bright, so peaceful, and so much potential for being great fun.
Her father had loved winter too. And after he died when she was five, it was the only connection she had to a distant, shadowy memory. She couldn't allow herself to do anything but believe, even if others didn't understand.
Marie's thoughts were interrupted when a something chilled and wet landed on her nose. Rubbing it off with her jacketed arm, she opened her eyes and stared up into the falling snow. Her lips stretched into a smile as she imagined herself flying through the white flurries, away from everything.
Away from fears.
Away from loneliness.
Away from life.
"Thank you," she whispered as she closed her eyes again, hoping that he would be able to hear her.
"No problem," a light, rich voice replied.
The snow dusted woman's eyes sprang open, bright green irises searching. Green slowly connected with blue. The young woman sat up and tilted her body to look at the lithe young man who was perched on a low branch of the tree above her head. Unconsciously, her jaw unhinged as she stared up at a handsome, angular face with a strong jaw, thin lips, a small, gently curving nose and clear blue eyes framed by silver hair that fell effortlessly over his brow. His slender legs were bent as he sat back on his heels and his long-fingered hands held his staff possessively.
As Marie's mind began to catch up, she shut her mouth with a clack and swallowed. Licking her dry lips, she whispered in a voice breathless with wonder, "Jack Frost."
The young man's eyes widened as he heard his name spill from her lips. His head tilted as his fingers tightened around the staff. He leaned down and asked in disbelief, "Did she just say my name?"
The black haired woman simply nodded, not trusting her voice.
"Wait," he choked out, "can you see me?"
The young woman with her black hair pulled back allowing a few gentle wisps to brush against her creamy face nodded. Her brilliant green eyes never left his face.
She can see me?
She can see me!
The blue-eyed man let out a laugh of joy and jumped off the branch. He twisted in the air effortlessly and landed softly in front of the lightly dressed woman, his lips pulled back in a wide smile. He planted his hooked staff in the snow and grasped it as he crouched down to look the young woman in the eye.
"You can see me! Do you know what that means?"
She pursed her lips and shook her head slowly, eyes unchanging.
"You believe in me!" he exclaimed around bubbling laughter. "You believe in me! That means—That means I did something right. I did it right…" he trailed off.
But.
If I did this right.
If she still believes in me.
Then Jamie…
I did something wrong with Jamie.
What didn't I do?
Where did I mess up?
Jack was broken from his thoughts when smooth fingers gently brushed against his cheek. He shook his head and looked into the emerald eyes staring at him.
"You're really here," she stated in wonder as her other hand came up and she pressed her palm against his cheek. She gave a breathy laugh as her lips began to quirk upwards. "You're really here. Jack Frost."
His chest swelled with pride as he heard his name fall from her tongue. "Yeah," he replied, nodding.
The young woman laughed, a cloud of fog passing her lips. She withdrew her hands and clasped them together, pressing them to her lips. Breathing on them, she said through a smile, "You're skin is so cold."
He shrugged. "Tends to be the case."
She lowered her hands to her lap and cocked her head to the side, studying him for a moment. Just as he began to shift with discomfort, she whispered in amazement, "After so many years, I'm finally meeting you."
His eyes squinted and his brow pulled together in thought. Noticing his confusion, she was quick to explain. "When I was seven, I saw you outside my window. It was only for a few seconds because when I looked back you were gone. I couldn't not believe in you since then. And, I've always hoped to see you again." Her smile widened as she laughed, "And here you are!"
Jack felt the corner of his mouth twitch upwards in response to her joy. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Marie," she said simply, offering her hand to him.
After a moment of puzzlement, he grasped it and asked one more question, a mischievous smirk playing across his lips, "Well, Marie, how would you like to have some fun?"
