Surprisingly, Mother Nature was able to regulate the temperature around her so that they could walk through any section of the castle. Jack looked back to see that the handmaidens were still walking behind them, not even flinching as they went through each of the sections of the seasons. Throughout it all, Mother Nature had used small talk to keep both May and Jack occupied. Jack's replies were halfhearted as he looked around in confusion at the castle.
Everything was so sectioned off. There was no connections to the other seasons, save the inner chamber, and the season spirits in each of the sections stared at them in wonder as they walked like it was the first time they had seen another seasonal. It was bizarre in a way. It wasn't like all seasonals liked each other, but they still interacted every now and then. It was normal for seasons to speak to each other and even invite other seasonals to events as long as they weren't their polar. But this castle didn't seem to agree.
Talayeh stuck to Treddian's side as they walked ahead of the group. They whispered to each other and occasionally glanced back at the 3 of them with looks of worry. Jack started to grow nervous as they continued to walk. Both of them were acting weird and apprehensive about the women next to him. He had learned over the years to trust their judgement about spirits, seeing that they had been around for millenniums and had more knowledge about the Spirit World than anyone he knew. He peeked over the other side of Mother Nature to see that even May had a look of confusion and worry on her face. So she had picked up on the tense mood as well.
They were about halfway through the fall section when Mother Nature finally seemed to speak about something of substance. "So Jack, I am still a little shocked to know that you are a Guardian. I would have never guessed that they Guardians would let in a seasonal, let alone the Spirit of Winter. How did that happen?"
Jack turned his attention back to her and gave her a charming smile. "Well, they weren't fully aware of my position in the Seasonal Community until after they had accepted me in. And that was due to a rather intense battle with Pitch Black that I was involved in. But I have been accepted as a Guardian and have been balancing my duties to each rather well."
"And what of the rule stating that you cannot be a part of two different groups and serve on the council? Is there an equal balance of power in favor of winter now?"
Jack let out a small chuckle and shook his head. "No, that problem handled itself with little conflict. Ms. Sun has been a part of the Greek Parthenon for some time now and has been holding back her powers in order to keep the balance. Now, we are both free to have our two groups without any consequences." He anwered calmly. Jack was now extremely grateful for Tooth's lessons on manners.
Mother Nature pursed her lips. "Do you enjoy being a Guardian?"
Jack's smile widened. "Yes, I do. It is a nice change of pace to be helpful and beneficial towards the mortals rather than just being a symbol of pain and death. I have enjoyed the Guardians company immensely over the past couple of months."
"But where are your loyalties? To the Guardians or to the Seasons?"
Jack faced forward as the approached the doorway back to the inner chamber. "To the Seasons of course. I am the Spirit of Winter first, and will do anything to make sure that the Seasonal Community is kept safe." The feeling of guilt wormed its way through Jack's stomach. He felt bad for having to say it, but he was in a situation where any other answer would be catastrophic.
Mother Nature nodded at his response and released both of their arms as soon as they entered the chamber. Facing the 4 of them, she wore an expression of seriousness.
"I must say Talayeh, I am impressed with your council. You did well in your leadership. They are a very…interesting group, but one that works." She announced. Talayeh kept a neutral expression but nodded in appreciation.
"Thank you, Madam. This council has been the most efficient one in my entire existence. The entire community is very balanced and thriving right now."
Mother Nature smiled slowly at all of them, but it held no warm. It was conniving and held the promise of a dark twist. "Yes, I would agree, but there is a small problem. Just a tiny one that can be fixed of everyone agrees to it."
Talayeh stepped forward, effectively putting herself between the rest of them and Mother Nature. "And what is this problem you speak of?"
"Well, you see, it is more of a tradition than a problem. And you know how I am about traditions. They preserve the culture of our community." She stated, pacing slightly. "Tradition states, that the Strong Polars were to be female and the Soft Polars were to be male. To try and deter anything like the Polar Tragedy from happening again and to make things more stable. Of course, I know that it doesn't really stop anything like that from happening since seasonals have a taste for all genders, but it just became tradition. And I am deeply saddened to see this tradition being broken right now because of your new recruits."
Talayeh froze slightly at that response while Jack's mind whirled at the implication. Did she want him to step down from his position? Because of his gender? That was crazy. He was chosen by the Winter Court, even if it was a joke. This couldn't be a valid reason for making him step down.
"Some would say that this council is more effective because of us ignoring that rule. We treat each other with more openness and less hostility than our predecessors. And both Jack and May were chosen by their respective Courts. The Courts knew the tradition and chose to ignore it. So I did as well. They both serve their people wonderfully." Talayeh reasoned. Mother Nature shook her head.
"Oh, I am not saying anything bad about them or their ethics. In fact, I still want them to serve on the Council. And they both agreed they would do whatever it took to ensure the safety and happiness of the community." She paused and looked at both May and Jack. "Is that true? You would do anything?"
May immediately nodded her head. "Of course. I would give and do anything you asked in order to help my Court and the community in general."
Her gaze shifted to Jack. He kept his face neutral. "I would give up my life if it meant ensuring the wishes of the Winter Court and the community."
"Good. Then I will fix the slight problem right now." Mother Nature grinned at the two of them. Immediately, Talayeh pitched forward to stop her, but the being of Earth had already snapped her fingers. Jack's vision blurred and he felt a wave of powerful magic hit him before he blacked out.
Ok, so I don't even know where to begin to apologize. I haven't updated in over 6 months and I am so upset with myself. Like, this is terrible of me. I am so sorry, but I kinda fell out of the fandom and joined a bunch of new ones and it wasn't until today that I checked my incomplete folder that I found this again and kinda just died from sadness. So, I am going to try and continue it. I have no clue if I am going to be regular with my updates like I was when this first happened. I am in my senior year of high school and it's really crazy and I barely have any time to myself. Honestly, I don't even know how many of you are still reading this. But I am going to post up to chapter 12 and if I don't get that big of a response back, then I will know that the fandom died off. Once again, I am really sorry and if you are all still there, here are my deepest apologies. That's all I have to say. Ciao snowflakes….