Whoa you guys are so awesome! I have never before reached the triple digits in reviews! Do you know how excited I am? Super excited! Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed! Lots of love to you all!
Just a quick note on this chapter, I know thunder storms never happen in the winter time and such but this is fanfiction and as a fellow writer/reader like the rest of you I can do whatever I want. (Besides if y'all have been reading and following this then I know you're going to like it anyways regardless) Also I have barely any idea what North's back story is as I have yet to read the books so please don't be mean if I get something wrong or whatever. Anyways on with the next chapter!
Thunder and lightning storms were not common in the North Pole but they did happen on the rarest occasion and unfortunately… this was one of those nights.
The workshop was quiet with the occasional jingle of a snoring elf's hat and a few sleepy grumbles from a few yetis somewhere in their sleeping quarters. There was a slight flurry outside as the wind blew lightly with a faint echo and flakes of snow blew in the wind though both not by a certain winter spirits doing. In fact, both the Guardian of Wonder and the Guardian of Fun were fast asleep in their beds. North lay in his bed slightly upright with his hands folded comfortably on his belly and quiet snores escaping him every once in a while. Within Jack's room, Jack lay on his side buried within the cool white covers with the top of his white haired head (and possibly the tips of his ears if someone were to look close enough) only visible through the top of the covers. The winter spirit's staff leaned against the end bedpost and his blue hoodie lay draped across the post. A young grey wolf, Pippa, had managed to wedge herself against Jack's back as she lay curled and relaxed next to him.
Jack's breathing was even and calm as he slept and the slight flurry outside his window did not seem to bother him at the least. In his sleeping state, the winter spirit did not take any notice as the wind began to gradually pick up and the once starry white clouded night began to look dark. Pippa on the other hand noticed the change as her ears perked up and her groggy eyes opened as she lifted her head and her nose twitched as if sniffing the air for a moment.
That's when it happened… BOOM!
The white covers seemed to jump from the sound as Jack sleepily poked his head out from under the covers, one hand rubbing his eyes as he attempted to figure out what had just happened. "Hmmm? Wha…" Jack muttered as he pushed himself up just enough to support himself with his elbow. The covers had managed to slide down from his head and shoulders revealing a loose white t-shirt with blue trimmings which he wore as a night shirt along with his usual brown pants. Pippa let out one quiet whine as she rested her head against Jack's side and Jack stroked her head. He glanced at the window and noticed the quickened pace of the wind, its echoes louder than it was before. "Just the wind…" Jack said tiredly as he lay back down.
It only lasted a short moment before it happened again, this time much louder than the last. BOOM! CRACK!
Jack yelped as he shot straight up, his heart suddenly pounding as he swiftly looked at the window with wide eyes. Another one sounded but it seemed farther off yet still enough to make Jack flinch and Pippa whined as she crawled onto Jack's lap. The winter spirit wrapped his arms around the young wolf, not knowing if whether the comfort was for him or her but at the moment he did not care.
The loud sound cracked and boomed again and this time a streak of light flashed outside the window for a split second before disappearing making Jack gasp and he inched a little deeper into the covers. Again the sound and flash of light appeared in a deadly performance and Jack had decided that he could not take anymore! In almost an instant, Jack dove under the covers head first along with Pippa as the two huddled beneath the covers, Jack's breath shaky as he attempted (and failed) to calm himself down. A series of loud, thundering cracks and booms echoed through the skies and Jack desperately covered his ears with his hands in attempt to block out the sound but to no avail as Pippa whined next to him.
It had to stop. Why wouldn't it stop?
Jack squeezed his eyes shut in a desperate attempt to block out the terrifying sound but the storm raged on with no mercy. The shaking winter spirit couldn't hear the slight creak of his bedroom door opening over the crashing sound outside. "Jack?" A voice asked and Jack cautiously peeked out from under the covers, his head at the end of the bed as he lifted the covers with one hand making his face visible.
North's large figure was somewhat visible in the shadows and with another flash from outside the window he caught full sight of the jolly man for a split second before he was a shadow again. North held a small brass candle holder with a lit candle in his hand while the other hand had pushed the door open. "Jack, are you alright?" North asked as he spotted a pair of blue eyes peek out from under the covers at the end of the bed. At the sound of North's voice, Pippa had also begun to peek out from beside Jack yet her ears perked up at the jolly man.
"Um…" Jack stuttered, "I, uh… y-yeah fine. T-totally fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Y-yeah, why n-not?"
Another clap sounded loudly followed by a split second flash of bright light and Jack flinched as he ducked his head back under the covers. North sighed as he stepped forward into the room, setting the candle and holder on a nearby table stand as he made his way over to the bed and with one hand lifted the edge of the covers to reveal Jack's ducked head with his hands over his ears. Jack slowly lifted his head to look up at North and when he did he almost immediately hung it back down almost as if in shame.
"Jack, it is alright," North said, "Come out from there."
"North, I'm-"
Jack was cut off from yet another loud clap and with an unwilling yelp, the boy shot out from under the seemingly protection of the covers and into North's already open arms. North held the immortal boy close to him as Jack's hands clung onto the jolly man's clothes with all his might. "Easy now, Jack," North said calmly, "It is just thunder and some lightning. Nothing to fear."
North's words were soon lost as the thunder and lightning continued loudly outside and at the sound, Jack noticeably flinched and began to slightly shake and North rubbed the winter spirit's back in hopes of comforting him. Then, North got an idea. He had no need to use that old tactic since long before he became a guardian, almost since his first teen years. Now with a shaking and visibly frightened child in his arms, there was good reason to bring it back.
"Come with me, Jack," North said as the immortal boy was set down on his feet yet he still would not let go of North's shirt, "I think I have something that will help."
Jack at first opened his mouth to object but then he realized the situation he was in and he was clinging to North like he was the last being on earth so he remained silent and instead nodded. Jack let North unlatch his hands from North's shirt and the jolly man placed a hand gently on Jack's back guiding the winter spirit to the door. Thunder echoed through Jack's ears and he jumped at the sound but North's hand rubbed his back making the boy feel slightly better but unfortunately it didn't last. As they neared the door, North picked up the candle and candle holder with his free hand, the small orange flame flickering with the movement yet not daring to go out any time soon.
North then looked over his shoulder to the bed, "Are you coming, little one?"
From the bed, Pippa immediately perked up as she jumped down from the bed and hurried over to North who let the way out of the room with the small glow of the candle to light the way. As they wandered down the halls, the sound of the thunder began to ever so slightly fade but Jack still flinched from time to time and he glanced around his surroundings, searching for where the sound had come from. North kept his hand placed on Jack's back to assure the winter spirit that he was still there and not alone. North did not know if Jack had ever witnessed a thunder and lightning storm before but judging from his actions just moments ago in his room, North doubted that Jack had seen these storms often and concluded that this was rather new for the boy and definitely frightening.
Soon, they reached the doors of the library and North removed his hand from Jack's back in order to push open one of the doors and he gently ushered the winter spirit and the young wolf inside. The door closed silently behind them as North then wandered over to one of the bookshelves and began searching through the shelves. The size of the library and large doors had reduced the thunder to a faint echo making it a little easier for Jack as he remained standing near the doors while North searched the shelves.
"North?" Jack said, "What are we doing here?"
"You will see," North replied, "Ah, here it is!"
North plucked a book off of the shelf and sauntered over to one of the large comfy chairs and sat down, placing the candle holder on the stand next to the chair. North beckoned to Jack and the boy obeyed as he wandered over and Pippa rushed ahead of him, determined to get to North as she curled up against the jolly man's leg earning a chuckle from North. Once Jack had reached the chair, North patted his knee and for a moment Jack just stared at the jolly man but he walked forward and instead perched himself atop of the arm rest.
North just simply shrugged as he opened the book, "When I was very young, my papa would read to me during a storm so I would not be afraid-"
"I'm not afraid." Jack said.
"I did not say you were, but let us try this out for tonight. Will make time pass as storm passes, yes?"
"… Okay."
"I think you will like this story I picked out, is part of Russian history and one of my favorites."
Jack just fell silent as he leaned back against the chair and North turned to the first page, reading aloud. "The year was 1917 and the Russian czar and his family were celebrating the 300th anniversary of Romanov's dynasty…"
Jack silently sighed as he failed to see the reason behind all of this but he remained sitting and listened to the story, beginning to get slightly intrigued as his eyes brows frowned in interest.
"Everything was perfect and the little Princess Anastasia was the most beautiful star, but the little girl was very sad, because her grandma, the Dowager Empress Marie, was going back to Paris. The Empress knew that and gave a special gift to Anastasia, it was a music box that played their music," North paused for a short moment as he turned his head to glance over at Jack, "Do you know the song?"
Jack shook his head and North lifted the book to show him as the winter spirit leaned forward in order to read the lyrics of the song. On the wind, 'cross the sea. Hear this song and remember. Soon you'll be home with me. Once upon a December. Jack found himself liking the words to the song and North lowered the book back down so as to continue reading and Jack leaned forward a little more and attempted to follow along with North.
"Words were written on the key to the music box: "Together in Paris". It would be a wonderful dream to both of them, but it didn't come true, because a nightmare named Rasputin arrived in the palace and brought with him the shadow of the revolution.Rasputin wanted revenge and cursed all the royal family, but-"
"Wait," Jack said, "Who's this Rasputin guy? Is he kind of like a spirit or legend?"
"Somewhat, but you will need to listen to find out, yes?"
"Sorry, go ahead."
North lightly smiled as Jack settled on the arm rest sliding forward to get a better view with his arms around his knees and his chin propped up on top of his knees, his eyes trained on the book in North's hands. "But his plans did not work out as planned, for he had previously sold his soul to the devil as a price to pay for a powerful weapon. Rasputin planned to use this weapon to destroy the Romanov line forever. People ran to escape the palace but few were successful. But thanks to Dimitri, a kitchen boy, he helped Empress Marie and Anastasia to escape from the palace. Rasputin went after them but was unsuccessful as Rasputin disappeared under the cold waters of Volga River while the Princess fell from her grandma's grasp, lying on the ground, separated from Marie who was going to Paris."
Jack's eyes widened before he even knew it had happened, "Just like that? That can't be the end!"
"It is not the end," North said, "The story gets much better. Would you like to hear it?"
Jack was quiet for a brief moment before nodding and North cleared his throat before continuing. As he read Jack began to move closer to North, getting more absorbed into the story as it progressed.
"Ten years had passed. Russia was a new and sad country, but Russians said that things could be better: "Princess Anastasia maybe still alive"- they sang along the streets. In another part of the country, an orphan named Anya was leaving the orphanage where she was brought up. This eighteen-year-old girl decided to look for her past for she could not remember her own,following her dreams with only a necklace which she always had and a puppy called Pooka that appeared on her way, showing her which path was the right. The path that would take her to Paris, on a great adventure."
The story progressed with grand adventures and with each passing minute, Jack was more and more intrigued as he inched closer to North until he was finally sitting on the jolly man's lap, the winter spirit's small frame only being able to fit on one knee. North could not hide the smile across his face as he read to the immortal child curled up on his lap, the boy immersed in the story with wide eyes and complete interest.
Every once in a while Jack would ask a certain question about the story and North would patiently answer so long as it did not already contribute to the story. North even noticed that the thunder had become even quieter, hardly audible within the workshop let alone the library. Jack had not noticed any of the changes and North took this as a good sign in many ways. It meant that they had found a way to help Jack cope with thunder and lightning storms and it also meant that Jack had complete trust in North to make him feel safe. The immortal boy had started out with keeping his distance on the arm rest and was now settled on the jolly man's lap as if he always belonged there.
As the story began to near its end, North caught sight of Jack yawning though the winter spirit tried to hide it yet he failed. North managed to glance down at his feet and discovered that Pippa had long ago fallen asleep at his feet and Jack was slowly drifting off as well though he fought to stay awake for the sake of finishing the story.
"She doesn't get hurt trying to defeat Rasputin, does she?" Jack sleepily asked as one hand subconsciously rubbed his eye, fighting sleep.
"I do not believe so, but let us finish and find out." North answered and he continued with the last part of the story.
"The death seemed to be right to the brave girl, but Dimitri came back on the right time and saved Anastasia. That was the end of Rasputin's revenge. The Princess, at last, destroyed the monster that killed her family, the Romanovs.But it's not the end of the story. Knowing her past and having her family's love, Anastasia left Paris. It was the beginning of a new journey to the Russian Princess, because she had chosen Dimitri's love."
North finally closed the book and with sleepy but bewildered eyes, Jack looked up at the jolly man, "Is that the end?"
North chuckled, "The story itself deems it not over but for tonight it is. I believe it is time for you to go back to bed. Don't you think?"
Jack shrugged, "I guess so… Wait, what about the storm?"
"What storm? It was over in the middle of the story."
"… Oh."
North chuckled as Jack slid off North's lap and he bent to pick up the sleepy wolf pup before North stood from his seat. They both left the library with Pippa in Jack's arms as they walked back down the now finally quiet hallways of the workshop and once again reached their rooms.
North led Jack to the winter spirit's room as he pushed open the door and stood aside to let Jack and Pippa inside. Jack wandered over to his bed, placing Pippa on the bed and beginning to pull back the covers for himself. North wandered in behind Jack as he took the covers from Jack and the immortal boy crawled into the bed, much too tired to argue and North placed the covers over the boy.
"Hey North," Jack quietly said, "… Thanks for the story."
"Anytime, Jack," North replied and the jolly man thought for a moment. North placed his hand on the top of Jack's head, smoothing down a few strands of snow-white hair. "If there is ever a thunder storm, Jack, you are always welcome to come to me anytime and I will gladly read any story for you."
"What if you're not around? What then?"
"Then… take any story and read it. Out loud if you like. A story will always distract you from the worst of any storm… Now, it is time to go to sleep. Goodnight, Jack."
"Goodnight, North."
North turned and headed for the door as Jack settled into his pillow and covers and was soon asleep as North stepped out and quietly closed the door.
Another successful chapter done! Does anyone recognize the story I used? It is 'Anastasia' and just for the sake of the story and because 'Anastasia' is the only Russian story I know plus I really enjoy the movie itself. Hope y'all liked it and keep an eye out for the next chapter!
