In his room, Jack was leaning against the wall while staring out the window. Birds flew by as they tweeted their songs of praise. But his eyes held worry. Usually they held some kind of fun adventure or a spark of hope and love, but not today. And because of this, frost started to form on the wall he was leaning against.
He could feel the air getting colder and looked at the wall, seeing what was going on and quickly tried his best to calm down. Somehow, it just made it worse. North had walked in at this exact moment and saw the frost from his son, immediately rushing to his side and placing his hands on his shoulders.
"Jack, calm down," He began, "breathe."
"I'm trying, dad!" Jack yelled in return as the frost spread a bit more. "But with the potential idea and threat of...HIM coming back, it's hard to do so."
North sighed at this comment. "I know son," He stated. "But he was banished a long time ago. I'm sure if he had come back, Tooth would tell us."
"Or Bunny," Jack added with a scoff. Sure he knew Tooth and Bunny, two of his father's loyal assistants, since he was just a toddler of two. But when it came to making sure their kingdom was safe, they had dropped the ball a few times. His own personal assistant of Sandy was more helpful in that than the other two. And Sandy was a mute.
North moved to the seat by the window and sat down, looking up at his son now. "Your mother fought hard to keep him away," He told with a grin. "She didn't want our son, the future king, to be burdened by this."
"I know," Jack answered with a sigh. "But at what cost?" He pushed himself away from the window and walked up to his bed. He sat down and put his face in his hands.
North sighed again at this. "Jack, relax," He said. "We're in Enchancia now! Pitch doesn't know of this kingdom! We're safe."
"But what if he finds out about this place, dad!?" Jack retorted, looking up now. "Then we're putting the Enchancian Royal Family at risk!"
"Jack," North started, only to get interrupted by his son again.
"And even if the stories are true," Jack began, "I can't bare the thought of Princess Sofia getting hurt! Or, anyone in this kingdom for that matter."
North just looked surprised at this comment. Usually he would have to force his son to at least go on one date with a princess he picked out for him. How was it different now?
"Really?" He asked, making Jack look up from the tops of his eyes. "You just met Princess Sofia and you're already worried about her safety?" This made Jack sigh in return.
"I don't know why I'm worried about her more, I just...am," The young prince retorted. Which was the truth. He had just met her and for some reason, felt something tug his heart towards her more than to Princess Amber. It was weird to say the least. It was almost like the moment his eyes met hers, something clicked inside him, and now he can't stop worrying if their kingdom's number one enemy would show up and harm her. He wanted to make sure she was safe.
North just nodded in response, a smirk on his face. "Could it be," He began, gaining Jack's attention once more, "that maybe you've already found Winterveil's future queen?" At this, the prince gave his father a serious look, one that almost made him look half guilty and half serious about the situation. But it didn't help that a shade of pink rose to his cheeks.
"This is no time to talk about me finding our next queen, dad!" He yelled in return.
Sofia was laying on her bed in her room after meeting the King and Prince of Winterveil, with a pillow on her chest and her gaze at the ceiling. Her mind was going 2-40, telling her anxious thoughts about the ball and attending it with Prince Jack.
"Me?" She spoke finally, mainly to herself. "Having Prince Jack escort me to the ball?"
At this moment, James had walked in after having been walking from his room. He saw Sofia on her bed with worry in her eyes, which also made him worry, too.
"Sof," He spoke up, "you okay?" This got Sofia's attention and made her look over at her door. Seeing her step-brother made her tiny smile spread on her pink lips.
"I'm fine," She began as she sat up, "just worrying if I'll make a mistake in front of Prince Jack."
"You won't make a mistake," James retorted. "You haven't since you became a Guardian of the Ever-Realm."
"True," Sofia sighed out. "But I'm not that 8-year-old anymore! I'm 15 now! I'm just starting to learn what a teenage princess is supposed to represent!" James just sighed in return before he walked up to his step-sister, and sat down next to her on the bed.
"What if he doesn't like me?" Sofia asked with worry as she was absent mindedly playing with her amulet.
"Now that's a nonsense statement," James yelled. "Everyone loves you, Sofia! Don't go there."
"Well, I've went there," Sofia stated with a scoff. "It was kind of hard not to."
"Sof," The young prince started as he took Sofia's hands into his, giving them a slight squeeze for comfort. "Even though you weren't born a princess, you have made a tremendous mark on the royal world."
"I have?" Sofia asked with curiosity.
"Yeah!" James exclaimed. "You have shown Amber what a true princess should act like! You've shown kindness to commoners when they need a hand!" Sofia grinned at those statements. "You're a remarkable princess, Sofia, whether it's in your blood or not. I'm proud to call you my sister."
"You mean all that?"
"Of course!" James retorted. "And if I think all this, then so will Prince Jack." Sofia smiles wide as she gives James a hug, the blond prince returning it without a second thought.
"Thanks, James," She said. "I needed to hear that."
The night came quickly, a bit too quickly. The moon shined through the trees of the Enchancian Forest, giving the earth nice warm tones. The rocks sparkled from some spring water splashing on them, and the sound of a foot dragging on the ground could be heard. There, a man with gray skin and slicked back black hair was limping through the brush while his gold eyes held anger in them.
He stopped after a moment and leaned up against the tree was at, letting his heavy breathing calm down a bit. From his spot, however, he could see the tallest tower of the Enchancian Castle. The moon lit it up nicely, letting it shine against the navy sky.
And with this in his sights...he smirked.
