Chapter 4

It was a mere matter of weeks after he came across the tower that he started talking to her. He was aware that she couldn't hear him, and yet it still slipped out. He should have known then that there was no turning back. It had been like any other day as far as he could tell. Rapunzel had just finished all of her chores and was now pacing the floor aimlessly.

"So, what should we do today?" she asked Pascal, who was ever at her side.

"Hmm," Jack hummed, leaping casually to the floor and swinging his staff as he walked thoughtfully. "How about painting? Or you could always read - out loud, preferably."

He wasn't surprised to hear himself talking to her, although he was perplexed by how naturally it had come out. Pausing only briefly, he glanced at Rapunzel and let out a light laugh (which could have been directed towards her or himself; he wasn't sure).

Having not heard his earnest question, Rapunzel shifted her weight to think. "Checkers? Or maybe baking?"

At that, Pascal nodded eagerly.

"Eh, close enough," Jack shrugged, willing to go with whatever choice she made (because what else was he to do?). He hadn't witnessed much cooking from Rapunzel, but that which he had was nothing to complain about. Humans had a way of mixing the simplest of things together and making them smell incredible. Jack had never had much of an appetite; eating had always seemed somewhat pointless seeing as he would live on regardless. Even so, when he passed by bakeries or sweet pies on window sills he got the biggest cravings.

Rapunzel scampered about the tower, searching high and low and muttering to herself as she did so (something that Jack was quite certain would never stop amusing him). "Let's see… Flour, sugar, eggs - do we have eggs?"

"On the bottom shelf," Jack answered, spotting it from across the room as she rummaged through the cabinet.

"Oh! There it is. Mother must have misplaced it on accident. I think I've got a special treat to add, too," she said to Pascal, whose gaze seemed to become more attentive at that. "Just watch."

Jack cringed as Rapunzel composed a tipsy stack of household items and balanced on top of it (going so far as to stand on her tiptoes). Surely the slightest gust of wind could knock it over, ending her quest to reach a high shelf with a quite literal bang. Still not tall enough, she dared to lean backwards to grab her hair and swing it up. When he saw her trembling hands he could tell that she was just as unsure about this endeavour as he was. All of that fear seemed to sift through her, however, when a small pot, dragged by her hair, tumbled from the shelf into her hands. Just in time for both of them to sigh in relief, the narrow stack wobbled and shook, and then collapsed beneath her. Jack could only watch in horror Rapunzel tumbled the the ground in a mess of kitchen supplies and hair.

"Rapunzel?" he called weakly and uselessly, having to acknowledge for the first time today that his voice was of no help to her - especially now.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she said, allowing his breathing to steady just slightly. Her body spoke words contrary to her voice, though. A large, dark bruise was already forming around her ankle. Pascal (Jack blessed his little heart) seemed to notice as well and pointed at the swollen blue area, to which Rapunzel responded guiltily. "Alright, I guess that does look kind of bad - but it's nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?" Jack gasped. "Your skin is not supposed to turn that color. Mine? Maybe - but definitely not yours."

"Have you forgotten something…?" Rapunzel smiled down cleverly at Pascal. Without another word, she carefully wrapped her ankle, covering it completely with her golden hair. Perhaps he was completely dense, but Jack hadn't even considered this as an option.

"Wait, so you can heal wounds with-" Rapunzel began to sing. "Well, yeah, I guess that may have been somewhat obvious. Still, you should be more careful!"

Rapunzel's sigh echoed off of the stone floors and walls, scattering the brown powder that had spilled all around her. "I guess I'll have to sweep again. Anyway, Mother brought home this chocolate powder a while ago. Maybe there's still enough here to use."

As it turned out, there was more than enough. The sweet sound of Rapunzel singing combined with the sweet smell of chocolate cake soon filled the tower room.

"Man, Punz, that smells good," Jack said, taking a deep whiff of the aroma. "Care to share?"

She stirred the ingredients as the cooked over the fireplace, humming without care. Although she was completely alone here (as far as she knew) she still got a sneaky smile as she placed the spoon to her mouth and licked of the batter. Clicking her tongue, she paused for a moment, and then nodded in satisfied affirmation.

"Not bad, if I do say so, myself," she admitted, and then left the pan in its place to cook. "And now, we wait."

She seemed just as bored of that idea as Jack was. There had to be something more interesting to do than that. Still, he wondered how Rapunzel could possibly find anything interesting anymore. Being cooped up here all the time, she surely had experienced everything that there was to experience, and everything that she did was a repetition - and he'd thought that his own life was routine; at least he could go out and find new places.

"Actually, I think I'm kind of tired," she said through a yawn. "I think a quick nap is in order."

"Oh, perfect," Jack agreed, "because I think that for me, a quick trip out is in order. If I don't go do something, I'll fall asleep myself."

"Just don't forget to wake me up so I can take the cake out," she told Pascal as she scooped him up and put him on her shoulder.

Jack's eyes widened. "Wait - you can't go to sleep while that thing is baking. Don't leave it on the fire! That's dangerous! Come on - ugh, Pascal! You better wake her up!"

He reminded himself as he crawled through the window that he was putting his trust in a lizard - a clever lizard, yes, but a lizard nonetheless. He'd have to come back and check on her, just for his own peace of mind. If something were to happen, he would feel as if it were his own fault. Right now, though, the smell of fresh air and the sight of a bright blue sky was just too tempting to turn down. Without anymore hesitation, he hopped into the wind's graceful wave and dashed off to find mischief. What he found, rather than a new town, was a pleasant pond that just so happened to be close by. He stuck his toes into the water to find it warm - not that it would stay that way for long. With one large swoop he bounded across the pond, delighted by the sound of crackling ice forming beneath his stride. Turning and flipping and gliding along the way, Jack let out a laughter that rang with freedom. Moments like this were what kept him alive; when the moon again failed to answer him, the wind turned sour and violent, and still not even the most captivating of souls could see him, Jack Frost knew how to have fun.

From some distance away, the sound of young laughter floated through the air as lightly as a snowfall. In spite of the leafy trees' effort to muffle the sound, Jack's attention was caught immediately; if there was anything of the slightest amusement occurring, he wanted to be a part of it. Without fail, he flew off deeper into the forest, following the faint sound until he came across two young boys, each paired with a wooden sword and shield. First, Jack just observed, smiling every once in a while when one of the two did something silly. Somehow, he was reminded of himself. Although he'd had no childhood - nor any true friends at all, really - he felt that he could relate, as if there was a bit of himself in their happy spirits.

The eldest boy feigned a maniacal laugh, cornering the younger against a rock and knocking away the wooden sword. "And now I will defeat you for all time! You will never rise from your-"

"Yes I will!" the younger protested, surprising his friend by advancing forward. "Because I'm a wizard, and I'm going to blow you away with my powers!"

The boy then whirled his arms around, a brave glare weighing on his brow. It was here that Jack saw an opportunity. Nothing happened when the boy thrust his arms out - which, of course, was to be expected by both of them. Neither child could have been more surprised, though, when Jack summoned a massive wind and blew the cold force over them.

"Did you see that?" the youngest screamed, hopping in excitement. "Did you see it? I made the wind blow!"

"How did you do it? Do it again!"

"I told you I'm a wizard! Now run - run for your life!"

Jack kept a close distance as the two took off running, shouting battle cries and squealing over the chilling gale that was at their expense. Although it was the children's laughter that rang through the air, Jack felt certain that he was having as much fun (if not more fun) than they were. All laughter stopped, however, when the boys stumbled across a rocky area with scattered boulders that seemed to block out the sun in a way that was almost unnatural.

"What's that?" the younger gasped, clinging to his brother's side.

The eldest, clearly concerned as well, swallowed. "It's nothing out of the ordinary, Tim."

"But I feel scared."

"Look, l-let's just go."

As they backed away, a spine-chilling hiss rose up from the darkness, seeming to grow with magnitude as all three pairs of eyes widened in fear. The boys turned and ran, but Jack stayed behind. Dropping to the unusually cold ground, he put one foot in front of the other and forced himself towards the horrible sight. As he stepped closer he was filled with the tremendous anxiety that he had felt only a couple of weeks ago. The longer he withstood it, the more difficult it was for him to bear. Suddenly a scream so wretched that it seemed real erupted in the violated barriers of his mind, and images of fire and ashes seemed to fog his view.

"Rapunzel!" he gasped, breaking out of the trance and leaving the darkness behind. He'd lost track of time. What he had just experienced had been terrible, but he'd sworn to come back and check on the tower, and now with the morbid visions he felt almost certain that something had gone wrong. Calling the wind to his aid, Jack leapt into the air and into the forceful current. If something were to happen to Rapunzel, it would be entirely on his shoulders. He couldn't bear that guilt.

From a distance, the tower looked at peace - but Jack wasn't ready to let his guard down yet. Indeed, when he swooped through the open window he found that smoke had overtaken the room, filling even the tiniest cracks in the walls with its poison. The toxic cloud was thick, impairing his vision; the only direction that he knew to go was up - up to Rapunzel's room where she was still asleep.

"Rapunzel!" he called as he tried to find his way. With little success, he flew higher at a frantic pace, bumping his head on what he thought was the ceiling, but quickly realized was the bottom of the upper floor. With no time to spare, he hoisted himself up and thanked the Man in the Moon that the air up here was clearer. As he'd expected, Rapunzel was asleep in her bed with absolutely no idea that her demise awaited hungrily outside the door. "Rapunzel! Wake up!"

He knew that she couldn't hear him, but he needed to save her, lest he sit here and watch her burn to death.

"Punz..." he croaked more weakly, coughing as the contaminated air began to fill his lungs. "Come on!"

What was he to do? How could he possibly save her life when he had no means of waking her to put out the fire? It was an unfair advantage to most things, being Jack Frost, but this was by far the most rotten aspect of life that he'd ever experienced. The one open window in the tower wasn't enough to let the smoke escape; soon they would both suffocate and the flames would spread further than the oven.

The flames, though… I don't need to wake Rapunzel if I can just stop the flames. And what better to put out flames than a little cold, watery snow?

Rapunzel awoke in a fright. The feelings of "dazed" and "confused" were present, but strongly overshadowed by the unsettling certainty that something was wrong. She sat up and swung her legs over the bed, breaking free of her serious thoughts just long enough to wonder if she would ever grow tall enough to reach her feet to the floor. Taking a gentle hop down, Rapunzel looked about the room. Things seemed to be in order; everything looked normal - there was, however, a very odd smell…

The cake! she remembered, everything suddenly falling into place. Full of urgency, she dashed to her bedroom door, yanking along her golden locks with her. The stairway seemed to extend in length simply to daunt her as she hurried to what was certainly a charred mess. She expected a fiery disaster, but found something quite peculiar in its place. Before she had the chance to further investigate, a cry rang through the air.

"Rapunzel, let down your hair!"

With reluctance Rapunzel let go of her curiosity and pulled her mother up into the tower room. After a quick hug, her mother paused and took a long sniff. Feeling, for some reason, as if she had something to hide, Rapunzel backed away towards what should have been a delicious cake.

"Rapunzel, what is that stench?"

"I was - I was baking, Mother," she stammered guiltily, cracking a small smile in the corner of her mouth.

Her mother's face softened. "Oh, darling, you have so many other talents. Perhaps from now on we should stick to those, hm? Yes, very good. Luckily for you, I brought home a hearty dinner for us both."

Rapunzel didn't move. She stood close to the fireplace-oven, still guarding it with her body and wanting to know more about what exactly had happened.

"Well, come along, dear," her mother urged. "Let's not waste our time together."

She nodded to her mother, but took one careful glance over her shoulder. It was clear that there had been ashes and smoke - the wall was stained by them - but they were covered up by some odd layers of ice and water. The cake itself was completely frozen over. As Rapunzel turned and walked away to her mother, she felt sure that the area itself felt strangely cold.

"Coming, Mother."

Satisfied with his day's work, Jack decided that it was time to go. What he could use now, more than ever, was a good night's sleep. Today had been more than interesting - and far more than terrifying. It seemed that he had gotten hardly a moment of peace - but for those brief moments, he was thankful.

The cool wind whispered against his neck as he lingered at the window, putting off his goodbyes as always. He always felt the need to stay just a second longer; he had to be sure that things were well with Rapunzel before he left her. Things seemed just fine tonight - perhaps it was just his relief that he'd been able to put out the fire, but even Gothel seemed more pleasant. The two chatted about the usual things, Rapunzel sang, and the tower grew quieter; there was really no reason to stay now, so Jack turned and hopped from the window, intent on finding a comfy tree to sleep in. However, as his feet familiarized themselves with the prickly grass on the ground, he was reunited for a third time with intense discomfort. Immediately he could sense another presence - that same darkness that seemed determined to catch him wherever he went. Aggravated by the feeling of his own fear, Jack held out his staff defensively, pivoting to assess the perimeter. The darkness closed in on him with pressure so heavy that he could feel it on his skin - so thick that when he whirled around the tower not five feet away was no longer visible. Even the moon was engulfed.

"What are you?" he screamed, swinging his staff futilely. As if in response, thousands of horrid images flooded into his head. He could suddenly feel the chill of every human who had passed through him, and the sickening nausea followed, bringing him to his knees. Every suffocating moment of loneliness and pain returned to his wounded heart. When the first images of Rapunzel showed themselves, he felt comfort as if she might save him. Even in his visions, though, she couldn't see him; she walked right by as if unaware of his agony. More terrible, though, was the place to which she was walking. Jack couldn't clearly make out the location, but one thing was certain to him: she would die. Reliving today's events, he began shouting to her in hopes of preserving her precious life, but again she did not hear him. "No!"

And then, as if it had never happened, the terror was gone. The brightness of the moon had now returned, and Jack found himself exactly where he had been standing before. Still feeling the anxiety of the situation, he glanced around uneasily. It seemed that the presence of unmistakable evil had gone away, and yet he still sensed that he was not alone. Slowly, he turned to face the world behind him.

"Hello there, Jack Frost."

Hello, my beautiful readers! I know it's been a bit of a wait between updates here, but that's mostly to blame on Thanksgiving and time I had to spend with family ("had to spend" makes it sound like a bad thing... It wasn't, really). Anyway, I'm extremely pleased with how this chapter came out. Lots of important things happened here, obviously. Let's see if you guys can name them all. I'd say that there are four important things, three that you all should definitely take notice of.

I also wanted to take a second to apologize for any grammatical mistakes. I've noticed when I look back at old chapters that there are a lot of errors, so I just wanted to acknowledge the fact that most of my writing is done between the hours of 1 and 3 AM, so grammar is...less obvious to me then, unfortunately.

Thank you for reading!
xoxo ZuEra