The quiet that fell between Jack and Bunny as they walked the rest of the way to the dining room was amicable, and neither felt the need to fill it with an awkward recap over what had just occurred in the hallway. Perhaps the comfortable silence was the first hint of a true friendship between the two-now that they had finally unleashed years of pent up aggression. Jack decided he might just be okay with that-after all, there were worse friends to have than a grumpy rabbit.
He had been right about the Yetis...they had put out a full length table full of breakfast goods. Mostly baked, but the scent of bacon and eggs in the air was thick as well. Bunny grabbed a plate. "Gonna get your fill?" He asked.
Jack glanced at the table. To anyone else everything might have looked irresistible, but Jack hadn't exactly been big on food since becoming a winter spirit. He could still enjoy it, but his need for it was gone.
"I guess." He said grudgingly. He didn't bother with a plate, simply grabbing a danish before sitting down at the empty table. Tooth was probably overseeing the last of her nightly duties, and Sandy was likely catching a few more minutes of sleep. As for North...Jack could only wonder where he's stomped off to. He could only hope the older man was in better spirits before Elsa made an appearance-she would be mortified if she found out about what had happened just outside her bedroom door.
Jack frowned, North's words haunting him like a most unwelcome ghost. Their effect had likely done the opposite of what North had hoped, however-instead of deterring him from Elsa, Jack felt a renewed sense of determination to keep her safe...to give her the long and happy life she deserved.
If she'd have him.
"Don't let North get ya down, mate." Bunny's voice broke into his thoughts as he sat next to him, setting a plate full of various pastries and cakes in front of himself. "He just doesn't want you to go through what he went did."
Jack glanced up from Danish he'd been absently picking at. "What do you mean, what he did?" He asked curiously.
"You don't know? Crikey, I thought everyone did." Bunny looked at him incredulously. "Those stories about a Missus Claus had truth to em. North did have a missus once. A mortal missus. It was right in the beginning...right after the Dark Ages. Her name was Mariya and she was the light of this place. Everyone loved her-she was sweet as pie and motherly to everyone who stepped into the palace. And North...well, guess you could say she completed him. They were a team, right up til the end."
Jack's blinked in shock. "The end? What happened to her?"
Bunny finished chewing on a bite of zucchini bread. "It wasn't a tragedy. Mariya lived a long, good life. She was 94 years old, and she died peacefully in her sleep. There wasn't pain or sickness or injury...it was just her time. North still took it hard...it was a lot of years before he could even do his job again. Tooth, Sandy and I...we filled in best we could. He came around eventually... But there's been something missing ever since. A loss like that...well, ya can't really blame him." The rabbit shrugged, a an expression of sad reminiscence on his furry face. "That's why North hoped you'd be with Tooth. She's immortal, and you'd never have to go through what he did. When Elsa came along...I think it scared him. He could see a bit of himself in you and the way you looked at her. It brought him back to that time, and he was scared for you. It ain't that he don't want you happy-it's that he don't want you hurt."
Jack was silent for a long moment, going over the information he'd been given and letting the shock sink deep. It made sense now, why North had been so adamant on keeping he and Elsa apart. The older guardian had suffered the very same loss he'd preached to Jack about...and from the sounds of it, it nearly destroyed him. He was sorry for North, but while he understood North's reasons, it didn't change a thing. "I love her, Bunny." He said finally. He didn't need to say more...those four words summed up everything.
"I know ya do, Mate." The rabbit nodded. "Just...just be careful, yeah? Things are more dangerous than when Missus North walked these halls."
"She'll be safe. I don't care what it takes...I'll make sure if it." Jack said, severity weighing his voice. "I let her go once. I can't do it again."
"Can't say I blame ya." Bunny took a bite of carrot cake, chewing thoughtfully. "She's a gem, that gal. Stubborn, but it looks good on her."
Jack smirked as he reached for the coffee, pouring himself a cup. "Was there ever a Mrs. Bunny?"
Bunny cocked a brow. "Not on your nelly, mate." He said dryly, pouring himself a cup of tea.
There was a hint of something beneath the surface of those words, however. Something that didn't point to truth. "Never? Not in all the years you've been around?"
"Not ever in the years I've been around!" Bunny's voice was just as sharp as his gaze as it darted up to Jack. He seemed to realize his explosion, however, and cleared his throat. "Lookin' like this...bein' a giant rabbit...well, it limits your options. Get it?"
Jack had never considered the fact that there was quite literally no one else like Bunny on the planet. Or how lonely that might be...to know you were alone in your species. "What were you like before? Before you were chosen?"
Bunny was quiet for a long moment, as if he were trying to decide if he was going to say anything at all. And just when Jack thought he wouldn't...he did. "I looked like you. Not all tall and lanky with messed up hair..." Jack smirked at the rabbit's dry humor. "But I was human. Hard to remember these days what I even looked like...but I was 25, and in my prime. Dark hair, tan skin." He raised his cup, a humorless laugh escaping him. "All that's left now is the eyes. They stayed human."
"Why did you agree? To become a guardian?" Jack asked cautiously. He knew if he pushed too much, he'd prompt Bunny into shutting down...and he didn't want that. He was eager to learn about the rabbit.
"You should know by now I didn't have a choice. But even if I had, I wouldn't have changed a thing." Bunny took a sip of his tea. "I didn't have much left, back then. There was a wildfire that went through the bush. Took out my village and just about everyone in it. Parents, siblings, friends...they were all gone. All I had left was hope...Hope that we could rebuild."
"Did you? Rebuild, I mean?" Jack asked.
"Those that were left did. I helped for a while." Bunny set his cup back on the table. "There was a girl back then. A young widow. I was...fond of her. And she was just fond enough of me to let me go, when I got chosen. I went back once, after...but she couldn't see me. And she never did again."
Realization sunk its claws deep into Jack as he stared at the Guardian of Hope. "That's why, isn't it? That's why you went to Elsa. That's the real reason! You understood what it would have been like for me..." Bunny had cloaked his intentions with the premise of ulterior motives, but the groundwork of what he'd done was starkly clear.
"Now you listen here, Frost...you can't prove a goddamn thing..." Bunny began, pointing at him.
"Prove what?" Elsa's voice startled the both of them.
Apparently she had found an escort along the way. She and Sandy were both in the doorway, both looking inquisitive. Jack's jaw went slightly slack at her appearance. Her dress was midnight blue, the icy beadwork shimmering softly in the sunlight. It hugged her hourglass figure just enough to flatter it, and came to an end just below the knee. It's sleeves were long but sheer, also embroidered with glittering crystals. Her hair was free and draped over one creamy shoulder, exposing the graceful line of her neck.
Thoughts of what it would be like to trail his lips against that very spot forced Jack to look away in an effort to keep himself under control. "Uh..."
"Mornin' Queenie." Bunny didn't skip a beat. "Frost over here was just houndin' me about my dislike of heights is all."
Jack's gaze connected with Bunny's, and though it was for but a moment, all that needed to be said was exchanged in that glance. Some secrets are meant to be kept between friends...and so, theirs would always be safe. Because for better or for worse...a threshold had been crossed, and friends they had become.
"Yeah. You should see him in North's sleigh. It's a riot." Jack said with a chuckle.
Sandy was smiling hugely, nodding up at Elsa as if to agree. "How mean, you two! Leave poor Bunny alone!" She exclaimed, adding a little extra theatrics into her humor.
"Yeah. Leave the poor rabbit alone." Bunny grunted, taking another bite.
"Why don't you get something to munch on and join us? The others should be here soon." Jack suggested.
"I'll do that...I'm famished. Lead the way, Sandy." Elsa said to her new escort. Sandy bowed, then reached up and took her hand. As he led her to the treats on the table, Bunny chuckled lowly.
"Girl's got herself a fan club around here." He commented.
"I just wish we were her only fans."
Jack said softly, watching the Queen from across the room as she selected items for her breakfast. Somewhere out there was someone with a far darker interest in her, and the very thought of her in Pitch's mind was enough to make his stomach turn.
"He doesn't stand a chance, mate."
Bunny said, grinning as Tooth and North appeared in the doorway. "I mean...look at the gang we've got." He winked as North sat down, looking at Jack.
"Yes. Quite the gang, alright." He said sternly. "We have our differences at times...but in the end, we are united."
Jack heard his underlying message loud and clear. The morning's event still didn't please him, but North was making it clear he did not want a rift between them. "Yes. United." He agreed with a smile.