Hey guys, so... This chapter is a descriptive chapter more than anything, but around the end of this chapter, when Kathryn and Jack are talking, and he asks her a question, I need you to remember her answer. Her reply is something that's going to basically bring the story's beginning and end together, and make the story so much better. So I need you to remember what she says to Jack's last question.
Bunnymund had told me to rest before dinner. It had been a long day, and according to North and Bunnymund, I needed to sleep. They figured I would be tired.
He told me that one of them would come get me for dinner.
I knew that I was supposed to be resting, just as Zero was, but I couldn't. It was night time. I've always had a hyperactive brain at night, or at all times, so it was always difficult for me to rest or take naps. I guess you could say I had minor ADD. The one benefit to my powers is I don't actually need to sleep, because I can enter a waking meditative state to regain strength.
For me, there was just always something worth thinking about.
But I do get tired easily. Zero's life-force is technically tied to mine, since he was a ghost from my own spirit, so we were very similar. Zero can't be out for more than a few hours, because he needs to rest, and I can't control him for more than a few hours without rest. Just having my dog here, with me, exhausts me.
The sun is another thing that exhausts me. That's why I usually stay in the catacombs during the day. I always just assumed it was because my uncle was the Man in the Moon, so I'd get stronger at night.
During the night, I feel free. While the world slept, the most amazing things happen. I like the night. Without the dark, we'd never see the stars. In the latest hours on night, people are willing to pour their heart and soul out to anyone who would listen to them. The night has a strange, but wonderful, effect on people.
I was once told; dreams don't have to exist while the sun's down and your eyes are closed.
My thoughts drifted towards the cold wall, and then to Jack. I thought about how we were going to be left behind tonight, together. I thought of my apology to him.
That weighted on my shoulders like a block of lead. Something is going to go wrong. Something is going to go bad. It can't be that easy. Nothing is ever easy.
I looked around my room. After they showed me the room, and explained that I should stay here until they sort out things, I had immediately memorized every part of my room.
Earlier, North explained how he had five, now six, rooms at the Pole for when the Guardians had to stay at the Pole. They were charmed to always be suited for the person staying there, and the Guardians only used them when something big was happening and they had to stay together. We were all here now, because I was new and they had Pitch to worry about. Each room was square, with one bed and a window.
My room, in my opinion, was amazing. My room was white and black for the most part. The only light in my room came from a big crystal chandelier, which had immediately reminded me of the chandelier from the Palais Garnier. The crystals gave off a white glow, since the light reflected from the constant view of the moon. The room was pretty basic, but yet elegant and pretty.
I didn't care much though, it's not like I was planning on staying long.
The door to my room was black, gold and silver. It was black for the most part, with a gold trim and a silver design. When you walked in, it seemed like night, no matter what time of day it was. Everything had that beautiful glow that a full moon would give a forest after a snowfall.
The bed was connected to the wall, and had white and silver sheets, with white and gold pillows. The pillows were fully white, with a golden greek design on the edges. The blanket looked to be pure white, but when you moved, silver would glimmer through the plain color.
In the far left corner of the room, connected to the wall and the bed was a closet. Not for hanging clothes or anything. It was literally just an empty room with a wooden floor and wooden planks for walls. I had created a life-like skeleton and hung it from the ceiling, just for a laugh whenever I thought of skeletons in the closet.
In the center of the white walls, was a charmed window. North told me through the window I could see whatever my mind wanted to see most. Through the window, it would always be night. The window itself had a thin black woven trim, with a small design on the corners with black and silver, and on the top middle of the window was another design. It was two black weeping willow trees on either side, and then in the center was a black pumpkin patch. One bigger pumpkin stood out from the rest, and it was bright orange.
I knew that North thought that taking care of graveyards was my 'job', like it was for Jack to make snow and screw up people's plans, Sandy to give dreams, Tooth to collect teeth, et cetera, but no, I just thought that graveyards were nice. It was a quiet place to go.
On the right wall, and on the wall that the door was in, was a giant bookshelf built-in to the wall. I had to admit, there were some good books there. Books from ancient Roman and Greek philosophers, my favorite ghost stories, and so many more.
The walls were all white, except for the silver greek design at the top and bottom. The floor was all black and marble, with gold greek design around the edges. Grass sprouted up from the edges between the walls and the floor, which I didn't necessarily understand, but it looked nice.
The ceiling was also black, but when it was actually night time, the stars directly above me would appear on the ceiling.
The wall closest to my bed, the one I lay up against, was cold to the touch. I knew that was Jack's room. Bunnymund had told me he doesn't use it a lot though.
Frostbite doesn't like to stick around for long. 'Spirit of Winter, a free spirit. He only uses the room if there's a reason to stay. North has the Pole, I have the Warren, Tooth had the Tooth Palace, Sandy has the Dream Palace, and you have the Palais. Jack doesn't like to stay somewhere for too long, and since he controls the snow, when he has to he stays here. He had told me.
I knew what it was like to be a free spirit. I was one, but I always had to return to the Palais Garnier, because the Man in the Moon said that was where I belonged. I was almost a bit sad, and a bit jealous that Jack could go anywhere he pleased.
I quietly sang a song that the pumpkins in my tunnels had once sung to me. I had no idea where they learned it, but one day they just began singing it.
My pumpkins were charmed to talk to me, sing me songs, or to scare away trespassers. They also got tired quickly, so when nobody was in my tunnels, they would sleep.
I lay on my stomach in the bed, with my white sheets nestled around me on my lower back. I twirled my fingertips against a blade of grass on the floor.
I then closed my eyes and concentrated. "Yala onna..." I whispered.
That was something I never understood. There was a language stuck into my brain, for as long as I could remember, that didn't actual seem like a real language. Nobody knew it. I understood it, as if it were my native tongue. But I knew it wasn't. My native tongue was french, and I learned English when I was really young. But sometimes I'd slip into the other language, without even noticing, and it was difficult to switch back.
I heard a hiss, and I opened my eyes. I smiled. The grass slowly turned into a dark green-ish black snake, and slithered up my arm.
That had been one of the powers I had that I wasn't really good enough to say it was officially a power. It was kinda too witchy to be a power anyway.
The snakes ruby-red eyes met mine, and it hissed at me. Everyone hail the Pumpkin Queen, it had said. I could completely understand it.
"Hey buddy..." I said quietly. It tilted its head, and then suddenly turned back into a blade of grass, fluttering to the ground.
"Damnit," I grunted. "I gotta keep working on that..."
Someone knocked on my door loudly, and as a force of habit, I rolled over on my back, and disappeared into the shadows of the wall. The door opened slightly.
"Kathryn," a voice said, slightly annoyed.
Jack.
Of course they'd send him to get me.
He poked his head into my room and grunted. "Come'on Kathryn. I know you don't like me, and you know you're not my favorite person in the word, but North said I gotta look after you." Jack said.
I grumbled, my staff appearing in my hands. I reappeared inches from his face. "I didn't say you had to look after me, Jack. I can look after myself." I spat. "Auta miqula orqu."
I walked past him, and he followed me towards the dining room.
. . .
The Dining Room was huge, and away from the workshop. I almost felt like it was a new place.
It was so amazing that I stopped, and the only thing that brought me out of my amazement was when Jack came up behind me. He put his hand on my lower back, almost to usher me forward.
But then he leaned forward. He whispered into my ear. "Auta miqula orgu? Ha! Lasta lalaithamin." he said.
I turned around so quickly I nearly pushed him down. I stared up at him in shock. "Lle... Lle... urm.. ahh..." I struggled to change back to English. "Y-You can understand me?"
He smiled, actually nicely. "I can understand more than you would expect - like learning to understand your native tongue." he said.
"That's not my native tongue!" I defended. I didn't like it when they just assumed it. I didn't even know where it was from. "I don't even know where I learned it."
"The Man in the Moon said he taught you it. He taught me bits and pieces." he said.
He then walked past me, going to his seat. I looked at the table.
It was long, and stretched out for most of the room, but everyone still sat decently close together. There were six throne-like chairs, each specialized to the person sitting there. The only common thing was that they all had gold on it somewhere.
At the head of the table, closest to the fireplace, was North's seat. It was the stereotypical Santa's chair that you would see in malls during Christmas. It was a big red chair, with a gold button-like design around the edges of the red and the green cushions. Little presents lay around the bottom.
Tooth sat next to North. Her chair was light pink, with gold and blue diamond designs, just like the Tooth Palace. It had two pillars on either side, designed to look like teeth.
Sandy's chair was golden, and seemed to be made from his dream sand. The chair shifted so much, I couldn't even describe what it looked like. He sat next to Tooth.
Bunny's chair reminded me of a cobblestone path. It was green, with gray cushions that looked rock solid. The chair morphed into grass on the top, with, of course, golden easter eggs hidden in it. He sat at the other head of the table.
So Jack and I sat on the other side, next to each other.
Jack's chair was probably the plainest here. It was plain white, and had light blue icicles hanging from it. His chair was sparkly, like fresh snow, so it had all the metallic colors in it. Gold, silver, you name it. It was very plain and simple.
He sat down, and looked back at me, almost to say Stop standing there like an idiot. Come on.
My chair, in my opinion, was the coolest. It was a black chair, with the cushions having thin black and white stripes. The two sides of the chair twirled up into black spirals, with a gold stripe running through each twirl. Two glowing jack-o-lanterns sat at the points of the sides. Spider webs hund between the two spirals, and it had a similar design to the window in my room. I looked at the pumpkins.
All hail the Pumpkin Queen... I thought, and I grinned.
I went over to my chair, and when I sat down, I realized my chair was designed to have a big back. It was almost as big as North's chair. I felt like a child sitting at the adults table for the first time. Small and unimportant.
"Hello Kathryn," Tooth chirped. "Did you take a nap or anything?"
I shook my head, and some of my hair fell next top my face. I tucked it behind my ear delicately. "I couldn't," I said. "I think too much."
Jack hadn't even looked at me once he had sat down. I glanced in his direction a few times, but he would just stare at his feet or straight ahead. He didn't speak at all, to anyone.
The Yeti's came in and brought a waiter's cart filled with food. They placed the food in front of everyone, and one of them grumbled at Jack.
I glanced over at him, like I was expecting him to look back and explain something to me, but he smirked at the Yeti.
"Hey Phil." he said.
When my food was placed in front of me, I almost cried. At the Palais Garnier, ALL the food was croissants, buns, escargo, salad, and everything up that alley.
Rich people food. I remembered someone who had worked there had called it that.
And they gave me rare steak with what smelled like pumpkin hot chocolate.
My favorite.
I looked over at Jack again, and saw he had pizza and what looked like hot chocolate. I figured everyone ate their favorite food, or something like that, because North was eating fruit cake and peppermint soup.
I ate with my hands, since it wasn't like I was trying to impress any of them. Plus, that was how I always ate.
Jack laughed at me. Not to make fun of me or anything, just a genuine laugh. It was nice to hear. He had a cute laugh. Wait, did I just think that? I questioned myself.
I shook my head, running my fingers through my hair. "Jeez Kathryn, you look like you haven't eaten meat in years." he laughed.
I paused and smiled back at him. "If you eat bread, salad, and snails for 3000 years, you'd have the same reaction." I replied.
He raised an eyebrow. "What?" I said innocently. "People in France actually eat snails. Did you think that was a myth or something?"
He chuckled and nodded. North and Tooth caught my eye, and I noticed they both were smiling. Then I realized something else.
This was the first time since they brought me here that I talked to Jack without arguing.
After dinner, I followed everyone into another room, which led us to the room with the Globe of Believing Children, to say goodbye to the four Guardians for the night.
"Okay, so we're going to go out now. Try not to kill each other, please?" Bunnymund joked.
I smiled, feeling my fangs brush against my lips. "I'll try, but I don't know about him." I replied, motioning to Jack. He laughed.
. . .
After Tooth, Bunnymund, North and Sandy had left, Kathryn immediately had gone to her room. She hadn't talked to me since.
I figured I should check on her, to make sure she's okay or whatnot, so I quietly floated out of my room, to hers.
Before I even opened the door I could hear her.
Her voice was like a cool breeze. I couldn't exactly hear the words, but the song sounded plaintive and bittersweet. It was slow and peaceful, but it sounded sad.
"Home is behind.. the world ahead... and there are many paths to tred... Through shadow... To the edge of night... Until the stars are all aligned... Mist and shadow... cloud and shade... All shall fade... all shall... fade." she sang quietly.
Her words seemed to put me in a trance. She sounded like she was walking around the room, not flying. I hadn't realized how long I had been standing there until the door flew open and Zero barked at me.
"It's not nice to listen in." she said with a slight tone of anger.
I looked passed her, and saw that a few books were missing from the shelf, and there was a small bag sitting on her bed. She was packing.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
She turned on her heel, her leg going through Zero. He didn't seem to mind, as he reformed and brushed against her leg. She shot me a look. "None of your business." she replied.
I followed her into the room. "Well, it kinda is. North said I had to make sure you were okay at all times." I said.
She laughed dryly. "Well, I'm fine. I'm going to Vancouver." she said. "Happy now?"
"Why Vancouver?" I asked. She slung her bag over her shoulder.
"Zero told me I died." she said simply. I raised an eyebrow.
"What?" I said.
"I'm running late and if it'll get you to shut up... You can come with me." she said, biting her lip.
Before I could say another word, she laced her fingers between mine. My hand tingled at the sudden contact. I was a bit surprised to find that her hands were just as cold as mine.
She walked both of us towards the window. She looked at her other arm, and I realized she had written stuff all over her arm. The view from the window sudden shifted, and Kathryn looked at Zero.
"Zero, stay." she said. The little white ghost dog sat and wagged his tail. Kathryn smiled.
Then she pulled me into the window.
. . .
Jack and Kathryn were sitting up in a giant oak tree. "Where are we?" he asked. He looked around. They were in a graveyard.
She gave him a look. "I've already told you. We're in Vancouver." she said.
The air was cool and damp. You could smell the woods, and especially the oak tree. They was some snow, but surprisingly not a lot for the early months of winter in Canada.
He looked at her, and he was a bit surprised, because her appearance had changed.
She had pale blue eyes and pouty lips. She had long dark hair. She was tanned and tall, with two leather cuff bracelets and a big blue ring. She wore skinny jeans and a white button up shirt that she had tucked in. She wore a black jacket with big brass buttons and cuffs, and a brown fringed bag hung from her shoulder. She had a tattoo on her hand. She wore small cowboy boots. She had dream catcher earrings in, and a bead necklace.
He gave her a look, but she didn't notice. "Okay, I need you to stay here and don't say a word. I will only be a minute." she said. Even her voice had changed.
She hopped down, and she completely disappeared. Jack then saw a little girl walk silently through the little paths in the graveyard to the headstone underneath the tree he was in.
Jack tilted his head and looked at Kathryn, who was crouched behind the tree. She was see-through, like a ghost.
The little girl had brown and blond hair that went down to her shoulders, and she was tanned. She had light green eyes, and wore a light green necklace to match. She had on a white tank top, and a white see-through button up shirt that she had pushed the sleeves up around her elbows. She also was wearing jeans and cowboy boots with rhinestones around the top. Her belt had a big clip. She had the same tattoo as Kathryn did on her hand, on her shoulder.
Jack tilted his head and moved slightly to watch from a better view. The girl placed a blood-red rose on the gravestone underneath the tree. It was beautiful.
"I love you..." the little girl whispered.
"Hi Autumn." Kathryn said quietly and calmly, stepping out from behind the tree. She crouched down to the girls height.
The little girl gasped and ran forward to hug her, but Kathryn took a step back. She laughed and smiled. "Sorry kiddo, I don't think hugs really work." she said.
The little girl nodded. "Kristina? Is it really you?" she asked.
Kathryn nodded. "In the flesh! Well, not really... In the spirit!" she said poking the girls belly, and the little girl let out a small giggle.
Jack assumed that if Kathryn wanted, as a 'ghost', she could touch someone, only if she wanted. But if they wanted to touch her, they would go through her.
Kathryn gingerly placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Autumn, I love you so much, but I will be gone for a bit okay?" she said.
"What? Where are you going?" she asked.
"Somewhere I can be free. A better place, Autumn." Kathryn said. "I just wanted to come and say goodbye."
Autumn looked at Kathryn dead in the eye, and for a second, Jack wondered what Kathryn was going to do next. "When will you be back?" Autumn asked.
She chuckled. "I don't know, to tell you the truth." she replied.
"Will you visit?" Autumn asked.
Kathryn glanced up at the winter spirit looking down at her. He had a look on his face she couldn't read, and it was beginning to snow softly. "I can't promise anything, but I'll try. I will try my hardest." she said.
"Okay..." Autumn said, a little disappointed.
Jack and Kathryn heard a bark in the distance, and they both knew it was Zero. Autumn didn't seem to notice. "Autumn, I have to go now. I love you." she said. "Tell mom and dad I love them."
"I love you too, Kristina." Autumn said.
A call rang out in the distance, around the edges of the parking lot. "Autumn! We have to go now sweetheart! It's getting cold!"
As Autumn turned to leave, Kathryn grabbed her arm, and for a moment, she sounded like Kathryn again. "Wait," she said. She held out her hand.
A little silver necklace was in her palm. It was about the same size as her locket, but instead of black it was silver. On the locket, was a picture of a white stallion, turning and galloping. Kathryn clicked the necklace open, and Jack saw there was a small note in it.
"I wanted to give you this." Kathryn said. She closed the necklace again, and gently put it over Autumn's head. "Keep it close. Because as long as that is close, I'll be close too."
Autumn smiled. She ran off, and Kathryn turned back into Kathryn. Once Autumn was out of sight, in a swirling flash, Kathryn turned back into herself. Zero then arrived, barking and wagging his tail. He brushed himself up against her legs, and she picked him up.
"I told you to stay." she scolded, but she kept smiling.
Jack hopped down from the tree, and made his way over to Kathryn and Zero. "How do you plan on getting back to the Pole?" was the first thing Jack asked.
Kathryn smiled, and Zero tucked himself up between Kathryn and her dark green cloak that had appeared. It was loose and long, and covered a decent amount of her. The late autumn evening was getting cold, but Jack didn't mind. When she reached her hand out, the cloak pushed back enough he could see Zero's face sticking out. Kathryn laced her cold fingers around Jack's once again.
Jack felt a tug on his back. It was like a giant hand was pushing him forward. Then he looked around them. It was dark, and it was like the three of them were traveling at light speed, always just keeping ahead of the rising sun. He started to feel dizzy and tired.
And then it all stopped.
The dizziness, the tiredness, the tugging sensation, it was all gone. He realized they were standing just outside the Pole, on the balcony near Tooth's room that she used if she needed to go back to the Tooth Palace.
He looked at her with a million questions floating through his head, but they all disappeared when he saw her. Kathryn rubbed her eyes tiredly, and leaned against Zero. She yawned and when she tried to take a step, she stumbled.
She fell, and Jack caught her. "S-Sorry." she muttered. "I'm not too good at travelling through the shadows with another person yet. It wipes me out."
He chuckled. "S'okay. I got you." he said, wrapping his arms around her. He got that same tingly feeling on his hands and forearms, but he ignored it.
He wondered why she didn't take out her staff, but he didn't question her about it. She was probably too tired to take it out, or she simply had forgotten about it.
They both walked to the little hallway, in front of both of their doors. Kathryn leaned up against the thick railing, eventually hopping up and sitting on it. Jack shrugged, and sat next to her.
. . .
Kathryn and I sat up on the railing in front of our doors. She had convinced me to face the opposite direction, overlooking the entire workshop.
With out feet dangling and our arms locked out straight, we sat up on the railing and talked. She told me about that girl, Autumn, and what had happened to her sister. Her sister had died in a car accident with a drunk driver a few weeks ago.
"Why were you learning that language from the Man in the Moon?" she asked after a while.
I tilted my head. "What?" I questioned.
"Earlier. You told me that the Man in the Moon was teaching you to speak my native tongue." she said, doing air quotes on the last part.
I shrugged. "He told me it would do me some good to learn a bit about you. You're a very weird girl, Kathryn Greene." I said. She smiled.
"That's how I like it." she replied, and I laughed.
She yawned, and before I could react, she had tucked her head into the crook of my neck. I didn't say anything. I didn't dare move her, because no matter how weird or stupid it sounded, it felt right having her next to me. Like this was how it should be.
We talked a bit more. She talked about her life before we brought her here, in the Palais Garnier, and I talked about the Guardians.
When I realized she didn't know the stories about Sandy or Tooth or Bunnymund, I told her about those. She listened attentively. I quickly learned how great of a listener she was, and how great of a person Kathryn was to talk too. She listened quietly while you talked, and only speak when she needed.
I made a joke, and Kathryn laughed - a clear, happy sound that made my heart go ka-pump.
As if she realized she was laughing, she quieted and brushed some of her hair behind her ear. Her pale white cheeks turned a light shade of red.
"Why do you always keep your hair in a bun?" I asked.
She shrugged. "I don't like having my hair down. It gets in my face too much." she replied. "Plus, I'm so fidgety some times my hair down would just annoy me."
"Most of its out of your bun anyway." I pointed out.
She bit her lip, then reached up to her hair. She took her hair down, and her long cinnamon-brown colored hair fell around her shoulders.
"Woah..." I accidentally murmured, and my cheeks turned a brighter shade than Kathryn's had been.
I'll admit, Kathryn was beautiful. Annoyingly beautiful. With her hair down, she looked even better. I was glad when Zero appeared and barked at her, pawing at her leg.
She giggled, picking up the dog. "What? You don't like that I'm giving attention to Jack?" she laughed.
Zero happily licked Kathryn's face, then proudly nestled himself between us. We laughed.
. . .
As the two floated towards their bedrooms, they both continued talking as friends. After a while, Kathryn joked and said that if the Guardians thought they didn't hate each other, they'd think they both were brainwashed or something.
Zero tiredly flew through the door, and Kathryn opened the door. Right before she went in, Jack looked at her. "Back at the graveyard, I wanted to ask you. Do you do that to everyone?" Jack asked.
"What?" she said, turning and standing in the doorway.
"Do you do that to everyone?" he repeated. "Like, becoming the ghost of one of their loved ones."
She paused. "No," she replied simply, after a moment. "I just don't think it's fair to have a love one taken from you, without being able to do something about it, or say goodbye."