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Chatper twelve: To burn again
"Am I creepy enough to crawl under your skin?
If yes, then when I knock please let me come in
Am I hollow enough to give you the cool chills?
If yes, then I'm here to do it for my own thrills
Am I dark enough to make you wanna wear black?
If yes, then let me drive my nails in your back
Am I twisted enough to make you lock me away?
If yes, then I'll beg from you, please let me stay
Am I fun enough to make you wanna come down?
If yes, then let's go out and paint the whole town
Are you honest, cause that's what I truly long
If yes, then please let me finally know what's wrong
Do you trust me, cause you're the only one I trust
If yes, then lets pretend it's love and not lust
Do you hear me when I cry alone in the night?
If yes, then promise me that we will never fight
Am I the one that can heal all of your old scars?
If yes, then please heal mine before it goes too far
Am I creepy enough to crawl under your skin?
If yes, then I'm waiting here for you to let me in"
-Am I Creepy Enough? By Triin Kann, poemhunter
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Everyone knew of how his family was slaughtered, burnt to a crisp. But no one really knew how, or why, or when. Not only that, but no one knew why a winter spirit, alone and invisible for hundreds of years (now boarding on the first thousand) would have a family in the first place…well, at least, to those humans who knew he was a spirit, this was a mystery (but, seeing as that was only two and a half—Mrs. Bennett had an inkling he wasn't as human as he appeared—this wasn't very much anyway).
Alright, so maybe saying no one is a little to encompassing, for the Guardians knew, as they always did, the answers to the mysteries surrounding Jack…alright, so maybe only Sandy knew all the answers, but the others knew most…ish.
Nonetheless, the Guardians knew why Jack had a family, and Sandy knew why it was destroyed.
But The Songstress, well, she knew everything, and with a laugh, a twirl, a dance, she'd freely give away any info to those who'd lend an ear to the cries of caves and the whispers of the dancing wind. And so, the voice of the wind, The Songstress, she'd sing a song, weaving Jack's tale into small twisters of leaves, a brushing of hair, a light, light kiss before she'd dance off into the distance, leaving only bits and pieces.
Jack, well, he had made a wish, after the killing of his love, his heart, his soul, he had begged MiM to allow him to stay by Jamie's side, "I'll continue to bring winter, I'll stay a Guardian, I'll do anything, anything, just, please, let me stay near Jamie, please."
MiM had granted this wish, allowed it, but under one condition, to kill for any reason, under possession or no (though he did not say it at the time, The Songstress huffed), would eradicate Jack's rights to be a Guardian (usually, The Voice noted, the Guardians got away with unintentionally killing thousands, but they usually got a small slap on the wrists for an intentional kill, and then a whopping punishment for the second…though, with Jack, it seemed they'd skip the whole wrist slapping, not that she minded, she rubbed her wrists as the memory of those rusty chains surfaced, but she was sure Jack would have…if Jamie hadn't been involved).
Jack had lasted through several hundred years, watching his love die over and over again, and watching him struggle. If it had been anyone else, The Songstress was certain they would have broken and interfered, pushed their way back into their loves life, long before the winter spirit snapped. But, she supposed, even the Easter Kangaroo (oh how she loved tauntingly whispering of nothing yet absolutely everything in the rabbits ear, oh so low, so all he heard was a constant buzzing) snapped at the death of poor, poor Sophie. Ah, how he went into a rampage, eggs scattering and cowering and Sandy forcefully having to hold him down as Tooth soothingly spoke, North prepared to destroy any attempts at escape.
Yes, both Jack and Bunnymund broke, but only Bunny had the others to console him, Jack only had the wind, The Voice, but even they could do little. And so the rage of Old winter consumed him, whirling up from the dark depths of Jamie's wounded heart as the child, in his innocence, wished for those responsible to pay, pay, pay. And Jack, broken, sad, lonely Jack, he had no strength to deny such a request; such a pained, heartfelt request so full of sorrow and tears. Make them pay.
Jack killed, and thus, MiM took back his helping hand.
"If you wish to stay by Jamie's side, then you must kill him, the one who hides in the recesses of your heart"
No longer was MiM willing to help, but he was forgiving, and he was willing to allow others to help.
"To stay by his side?" Jack had brokenly whispered, blood coated hair covering his eyes, "I want him to see me again, I want to be able to wipe those tears off his face, to make him smile, I want…I want…"
The Songstress wasn't the only one who knew what the boy truly wanted. But, she grudgingly gave, it was Tooth, the ever mother figure, who stepped up with a plan.
"MiM will no longer help you, in other words, you can no longer be a Guardian," with a gulp she continued past tears, "after this meeting, you will no longer be able to set foot in the North Pole or go to any of our homes."
Such was the punishment of breaking an agreement with MiM.
"However, I do recall seeing a spell somewhere that would create a barrier of sorts."
"Barrier?"
A nod was his answer, "this barrier will be able to make people within a certain area see you, of course, this will be forcefully altering their perspective on the world, and will thus cause some abnormalities to occur within their minds, but these abnormalities tend to work for the best…"
"Dark magic," North whispered, "but might work."
"However," Tooth continued after being prompted by Sandy, "this spell will take a while to cast and take effect, meanwhile, we can ground you."
"Ground?"
"It means," Bunnymund spoke up, "that we take a human family and tie ya to 'em."
In other words, The Songstress laughed, twirling about in the air above Jack's head, while Jack waited for the spell to take effect, he'd have to disguise himself as part of a human family. The difference between these spells, of course, was the fact that one simply altered memories to a certain extent, allowing for Jack's sudden appearance to go unnoticed, however, this did not alter people's perspectives, so if Jack did anything out of the ordinary, he was doomed.
But Jack took to the family chosen quite nicely, in fact he had eventually began to actually think of them as family. The happy chirps of his newest little sister distracting him from the absence of Baby Tooth (who had been forbidden to see him) and the laughter of his new parents pushing the pain of past events to the far corners of his mind.
Of course, Jack never let up on his job, he still brought winter, but he had mastered the art of doing it from afar, sending clouds to do his bidding while having the hidden help of The Songstress as she laughingly sung songs of cheerful winters and painful ones alike.
Yet the happiness did not last long, and, either by a grand stroke of luck, or by a play of irony, the disaster occurred the day the spell was finally set.
Not many people know why the house caught on fire, nor do many know why a fiery tornado struck that house alone. But Sandy and The Songstress knew, and perhaps MiM, though he'd never tell.
Jack…well, Jack didn't quite remember, but the howls sent shivers down his spine.
Loup was always looking for a time to strike back against the Winter Bringer who brought about the death of his family, about the death of himself, and what better way than to kill the new family Jack held so very, very near?
Yet the wolf spirit hadn't expected the retaliation, the gusts of angry wind, the cries of deep, dark, dank caves echoing throughout the world, and the sudden appearance of a red eyed Jack as he sent the wolf flying through trees and drowning in the sea.
No, Loup hadn't expected that, but, then again, that hadn't been Jack, but the uncontrollable anger of Old winter, for Jack, the ever trickster, would have made him pay in a far more…permanent and….painful manner.
Yes, though Loup hadn't expected it, with a sadistic grin, blood—on fire, always on fire—dripping from his lips and burning the grass bellow, Jack had, at that time, been weak, and with this new found knowledge, hiding in the forest, Loup built up his strength and planned.
The Winter Bringer would pay, he would, he'd feel the wrath of spring, of wolves that had been chased down and slaughtered for their fur and meat.
The winter was always cold, the people complained. The crops never grew, the food never lasted, the water too frozen, the fireplace never with enough wood. Yes, people, humans, they always complained about winter.
And so the wolves suffered…
And so, Loup thought with a sinister grin as he marched towards the house Jack was currently residing, will winter.
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A/N: I am so very thankful so many of you have stayed with me. I know my writing can be rather confusing, and I'm not the best at explaining things. So I'm really, really grateful for all of you actually dealing with it. Also, to answer some questions, yes, I'm planning for the story to have a happy ending; it's just going to be a rather bumpy road. That, and I'm not very good in the actual physical aspect of relationships, as you can see by Snowy Hearts, so I might just leave it off with a kiss and maybe some hugs…though, if I get enough request's, I might try to go further, but this story isn't really in that realm anyway…
