Woah, guys! The feedback I've had on this has been pretty astounding! Seriously, this was not supposed to be a real story, it was originally a middle-of-the-night drabble on my iPod! I haven't even done any revisions (I'm serious, it's utter crap, why don't you guys believe me, I will never understand). But, in comparison, this chapter is pretty hardcore. Hope y'all like it! It feels kind of nice to finally update.
Chapter 3
"Welcome to the Slytherin common room! I'm sure you all will love it here. We are the best house after all." A prefect with red-blonde hair winked at the group of first-years. Jack Frost looked down at his classmates surrounding him, quite literally because they were all eleven-year-olds who were a good foot shorter than him. He shifted impatiently. The prefects had practically stopped them inside the doorway and he was eager to actually see this room they were talking about. As of now, all he could see were the silver lamps hanging from the ceiling and the greenish glow that permeated the dim room.
The prefect continued talking as she beamed at them. "Contrary to popular belief, we Slytherins are not all a bunch of backstabbing a-" she was interrupted by a white-blonde girl, who put a hand on the redhead's shoulder and stepped between her and the students.
"Ooookay, thanks for that, Kim! I bet you all want to see the dormitories, don't you? As you may have heard, all your things have been placed next to your bed. Right this way; ladies on the right, gentlemen, to your left…"
Jack no longer heard what the girl was saying. but he didn't notice. He had stopped dead shortly after moving into the room, and some of the first-years accidentally bumped into him. Jack took no notice A tingling numbness had begun to settle on his back as he stared at the straight ahead.
The entire wall in front of him was made of transparent glass that curved backward into hallways on either side. This pane of glass was what separated him from a deep green void of crushing nothingness. From the other side of the spacious room it pressed on him, limitless, powerful, dark, unforgiving, paralyzing in its enormity. Faint beams of light permeated it from above, illuminating tall, dark shapes that swayed with slow, eerie grace, and glinting off tiny particles that drifted, lost and weightless to be swallowed by the darkness.
The view from the bottom of the Black Lake was all too familiar. He remembered that day. Remembered every second of it, every single agonizing moment as frigid water filled his lungs, every second of the crushing fear that filled him when he had woken up in the dark and cold so many years ago.
Jack tore his eyes away and stared down at his hands, his skin pale in the sickly light that filtered through the room. He took a slow, deep breath, eyes drifting closed. It's just a window, Jack. You're immortal, a little water behind some magic glass is not gonna hurt you. Slowly, the sounds of the other students reached him from the dormitories and he let his shoulders relax. He glanced over to one of the hallways. The girl had said the boys were on the left, right?
He hurried into the dormitories, relief filling him when he saw that the walls were made of plain stone covered in tapestries and paintings. He spotted the chest North had given him at the foot of one of the beds and opened it, pulling his hoodie over his head and tossing his robes on the bed. He pulled on the hem of the sweatshirt, a small smile crossing his face as threads of ice formed on the fabric. That was much better.
Jack looked around the dormitory. It was a nice, well-kept room, but he couldn't feel comfortable there, at least not right now. He was still a little shaken, and this place... it brought back bad memories. The whole day had been pretty overwhelming. The day had held everything from getting in trouble on the first day of school to lost and then tardy to the Sorting ceremony. But it was all so... different. He couldn't remember the last time he had gone a whole twenty-four hours without instigating a single snowball fight, blizzard or snow day. What's more, he had never attended much school even when he was human, and definitely never something this… big. Being around so many adults and rules and schedules was strange. Authority wasn't something he generally cared for, or listened to for that matter. But, for the sake of the Guardians, he'd try not to get into too much trouble.
Some things he would have to get used to, others he never would, but right now he needed some fresh air. And he had just remembered, there was someone he needed to talk to anyway.
Far above Jack, voices wove like tendrils of mist through the dead trees of the forbidden forest.
The clearing was painted in ghostly gray, the trees pale stone columns in a graveyard. A girl dressed in a white nightgown stood in the center and curled her bare toes into the cold black earth, breaking the monochrome around her with hair that flowed on the ground like a river of gold.
She rubbed her arms and shivered; the air was dead here, like the whole forest had been smothered into silence. She was afraid, but she stood still and waited, like she had been told. Everything would be okay if she just did what she was told.
A chuckle echoed through the stillness, cold, deep and feminine. Rapunzel gasped and shrunk back as a cloaked figure stepped out from the mist at the foot of the trees. "There you are, darling. I was beginning to get impatient..." The end of the sentence was higher, slightly reprimanding, yet still held an air of smooth detachment. Skeletal hands emerged and drew back the cloak, revealing a mane of dark hair woven with gray.
Rapunzel let out her breath, a relieved smile crossing her face. "Mother, it's you." Her expression darkened when she saw the sunken cheeks and pale, thin features. "Mother, are you alright? You look-"
The woman stepped close to her and ran a hand through the golden hair. "A long while without your company, my dear. Sing for me, will you, Flower?"
"Of course, Mother."
Rapunzel closed her eyes as she began the song she she hand sang almost every day of her life. Even without looking, she could see the gold light that began to touch the corners of the dark clearing. As the last words were extinguished once again by the choking silence, she heard Mother Gothel sigh quietly behind her.
"That is so much better, though your singing is in desperate need of some work, Child." Her mother, now tall and youthful, stood and pinched Rapunzel's cheek. "Only joking, pumpkin," she cooed.
Rapunzel stared after her with a frown, but it vanished as she scrambled to her feet. "So, Mother, I had my first day of school today!"
Mother Gothel stood several paces away with her back turned. She ran a finger through her black curls and said absently, "Oh, did you now?"
Rapunzel moved to stand in front of her. "Yes! I've been sorted into Ravenclaw House, and it looks amazing! To get into the common room there's this eagle knocker, and you have to-"
Gothel wagged a finger. "No, no, that letter said Ravenclaw is for…"
"Cleverness, wit, wisdom, talent, and creativity." Rapunzel chimed.
The older woman waved a hand as she began to walk. "Ah, yes that was it. Anyway, like I said, that can't possibly be you."
Rapunzel skipped a little to catch up. "But the Sorting Hat is never wrong-"
"Ah, so you trust in the word of a hat now. I can see where the cleverness, wit and wisdom came from, then. You must be so proud."
Rapunzel stopped short. "Oh."
The dark haired woman paused in her stride and put a hand on the girl's arm. "I just don't think you belong here, Rapunzel. We can find another place, sheltered and beautiful just like your tower. The ruffians were close to finding you, they could have followed us."
Rapunzel pulled away. "What better place to be than here? Hogwarts is the safest place… probably ever. It's magically protected- nobody can get to me here. Plus, if I learn magic, I can protect myself if-"
"Rapunzel, a cheap parlor trick is not going to save you from the plague, or a band of cutthroats. You should stay with your mother, where it's safe."
Rapunzel stepped back. "It's safe here, I'm certain. Just let me stay, and if I don't like it, we can go far away, anywhere you want. I promise."
Mother Gothel stared at her with calculating green eyes. "Remember that this is your choice, Rapunzel," she said, her voice slow.
Rapunzel searched the woman's face, then studied the ground for a few moments. She looked up again, a small fire of determination in her eyes. "I'm sure, Mother. I'll be safe here, and I'll see you often, like we promised."
Gothel sighed, her face softening. She stepped forward and pulled Rapunzel into a hug. "I love you very much, dear."
The girl smiled and closed her eyes. "I love you more."
"I love you most…." Gothel's green eyes narrowed as she looked over Rapunzel's shoulder toward where, beyond the trees, Hogwarts Castle stood.
AHAHA Look at that stuff that resembles a subplot/plot! Oooohhh I wonder what will happen? Anyway, If you haven't sorta inferred, Tangled has not happened yet. It happens after Hoggywog, but ROTG, HTTYD and Brave have happened already. Indeed.
Also I made quite a few references to Jack's backstory in this chappie, so if you haven't seen the Rise of the Guardians FREAKING GO WATCH IT YOU DEPRIVED CHILD.
Extra love to you all,
inabox
