I thank you all for putting up with me. Thank you. Enjoy the new chapter, it was previously a lot different but also immature...

Chapter 3: A helping hand from Death

Aki missed Jack, ever since the other had been locked up in Antarctica. It had been years already, how much he couldn't tell. As a spirit of death, you didn't keep track of time. Death was there, every second.

The dark immortal stood before a nervous guard, the entrance to the prison just behind the other sprite's back. He should have known they wouldn't let him enter. The council of seasons had forbidden any immortal to visit the beings encarcered here. Nobody would dare to cross the council on this, in fear of their combined wrath, should they dare to.

Aki tapped his foot on the frozen ground, frowning at the guard. He wasn't very patient in all matters concerning his partner, Jack Frost.

"This is stupid. I went to Mother Nature herself, asking permission to go and see Jack Frost. Look, that's her signature on this!"

He held out the letter, detailing his request and the permission to visit Jack, her flowing signature beneath. The guard squinted at the letter suspiciously.

"That could be a fake. There was never permission granted for anybody." The guard told him.

"I'm on a deadline here, if you know what I mean." he said, only half joking. He hadn't been allowed much time from his job, the Morrigan already giving him more favours than anyone else. He didn't like this blatant favouritism of hers, but in this case, he couldn't feel bad if it meant he got to see Jack.

Before the guard could utter another word, maybe even tell him to just go, a summer spirit appeared in a flash of light. Correction: The summer spirit.

Summer Heat was known for her wonderful summers and famous around the seasonals for being the most powerful of summer spirits. As the wielder of her season, she was part of the council. She had a friendly helpful smile on her face as she looked at him, golden hair framing her face and her sunflower dress swaying in the arctic wind. He knew it was fake. She was as power hungry as a starved wolf was hungry for a piece of meat, and she had no inhibitions in getting what she wanted.

"So she granted you your wish after grovelling up to her on your knees, I heard."

"Shut up, Heat." He hissed, barely containing himself.

"What's the matter, death child? I only asked a question." She said it, like she hadn't been insulting him a second before. Then she fixed the guard with her cold eyes, which were an unnatural cold grey for a summer spirit. The guard stood suddenly straighter, a blush forming on his cheeks for being the centre of attention of the legendary Summer Heat. It was disgusting to watch.

"It's real. You can let him go in."

The guard bowed to her murmuring: "Of course, my lady. I trust your words.", and opened the portal. A long and narrow tunnel went inside the ice, deeper and deeper, from what he could see. This was it, the eternal prison of ice and darkness, serving as the ultimate punishment for a seasonal spirit who was guilty of murdering another spirit. Jack was down there. He shivered, not liking the thought of going underground, but he would endure, for Jack.

Summer vanished in a flash of light and it was only him and the guard, again. The guard didn't stop him from going inside this time. His footsteps echoed around him and the only light source came from the ice itself, where it was enchanted in some places. He came to an abyss, where the glowing ice was only sparely and stopped.

The black haired teen could see the cells which held the imprisoned spirits. There weren't many, maybe seven or eight, if he counted the huddled forms. The air was even colder than before if that was even possible. These temperatures would even affect spirits. He looked around, hoping to see a familiar mop of white hair. The last used cell proved to be the one he'd looked for. Dirty white wings could be seen huddled into a ball around the spirit.

Aki approached the winter spirit, passing through a thick wall of powerful magic that prevented the prisoners from breaking out. He would be able to leave again, because Mother Nature was the one controlling these wards.

"Jack." Aki called the other's name to get his attention. The form uncurled, feathers bent and broken on several points. They would need attending to, if Jack wanted to fly again.

Jack was a sad sight to see. His eyes glowed an electrical shade of ice blue in the near darkness, but they looked broken. The black haired teen rushed to the spirit's side and hugged him. He nearly broke down in front of the tortured winter spirit, but reminded himself to show strength for him. "I missed you." He whispered. The other didn'T say anything, probably too shocked to be spoken to in so long, to be hugged, to feel another's warmth.

The touch starved winter spirit held onto the grim reaper tightly, after noticing it wasn't just a figment of his imagination. Aki was really here!

Tears flowed freely down the winter's face, wetting the cloak and soaking it, but Aki didn't mind. He was glad to have his winter back, if just for now.

The guardians flew with the sleigh to the southern pole. Bunny looked pale and tried very hard not to think about the fact that he was flying in a contraption pulled by reindeers. Yeah, safe and nothing to worry at all, he said to himself. It's just an over a Millennia old sleigh made from painted wood. His face went green and he felt like he was going to throw up his stomach's contents.

They saw the portal to the ice caverns already open and worried. Was there a break out? North was the first out to ask the bored looking guard.

"A break out? No, no. Just this death child getting permission to visit, is all. I didn't believe it at first. No one ever visits these."

Toothiana was first in telling the guard their reason for visiting themselves. The guard looked surprised.

"Well, it must be his lucky day then. First a visit, and now this. If I were you, I would be careful though. He is a murderer, even if the man in the moon says he can help you. Be cautious and never let him out of sight!" the guard cautioned them.

All four went inside, the guards words making them uneasy.

Aki heard footsteps approaching Jack's cell and tightened his hold on the thin form of his winter. He buried his nose in the white locks, not caring about the guards seeing. He would cherish these moments he'd been granted, even if they need to forcefully remove him fom Jack. There was no guarantee he would see Jack again. Jack, who had been silent the whole time, crying into his cloak and holding onto him like he was the spirit's anchor.

It wasn't any guard, but the four Guardians of childhood. He hadn't expected them to come. He wondered for their reason to be here. He watched them from his position beside Jack, protective but open to what they had to say.

North and the other guardians looked at the child. He may be a spirit of winter, but he was still a teenager, a child in their eyes and it hurt to see him this way, all beaten up, broken. They could understand the protectiveness of the grim reaper by his side.

"He looks so….young! North, he can't be a killer! He's a child!" Tooth exclaimed.

"He's immortal like us. Appearances don't matter, Tooth." Bunny said softly, but he didn't seem to believe the murderer story either, if his softened gaze was any indication. "Let's get him out of here. I'm freezing my ears off."

The other three nodded in assent. The grim reaper stood up and took the winter spirit into his arms, mindful of the wings. His own raven feathered ones stood proud at his sides, ready to defend the treasure in his arms.

North deactivated the barrier that held the winter spirit in his cell with a crystal from Mother Nature. Wordlessly, the grim stepped trough. Together they went outside again. It was then that the grim said something.

"Thank you for getting him out of there." His eyes told them of his gratitude. "Please, call me Aki."