Hey, guys! Welcome back to Becoming a Guardian! Got a new arc for you guys today - but first, let's take care of reviews!

Thanks so much to BeyondTheMoon1203 (Thank you! I've always loved writing North and Jack with a father/son relationship - poor Jack really needs that sort of familial love, haha), Snowy Monday (x3) (Aw, thanks! This is definitely the story I let myself have the most fun with in terms of writing style, haha XD I'm glad you like it!), Guest (That really means a lot to me to hear, and I'm very glad you're in a better place than you were back then. Thank you as well, both for reading and for leaving that review. It's an honor to know that my writing meant that much to you, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy :), and ElenielOffline (Thank you! College has certainly been rough on my writing schedule, that's for sure, haha, but I think I've been able to figure out a better system for myself! Thank you very much, and I'm glad you've been enjoying!) for reviewing!

With that, on with the chapter!

~ Spellbreaker, Part One ~

I sometimes wonder if the universe is out to get me.

And I don't mean that in an overdramatic, angsty teen kind of way (although I guess you could call me an overdramatic, angsty teen in some cases…but I'd prefer it if you didn't). I mean it in a, "Jack Frost can never have a break in his life, not even when some things start going right, he absolutely must stay completely miserable all the time" sort of way.

I guess I should probably explain that.

Well, long story short, even though I've been starting to feel a lot more comfortable around the Guardians, and I've been thinking that I'm finally adjusting to my life changing for the better…I've started having nightmares again. And not the usual "drowning and loneliness" nightmares either. Instead, I've developed a new recurring nighttime terror.

It's about the curse.

The curse Cerelia warned me about. The curse that supposedly affects all winter spirits and ends up turning us as cruel and cold as Old Man Winter was. The curse that was ultimately the cause of everything I ever suffered at the hands of other spirits.

Yeah. That curse.

The nightmare itself isn't overly complicated…in fact, I bet you can already guess what it's about. It's always just…me, but it's not really me. I'm not in control of myself. I'm just a spectator, watching my own shell of a body from a distance. I always have gray eyes and a frozen heart.

There's always blood on my hands.

You get the idea, I think.

The problem is, I don't know if this is just because I've been stressing about the curse, and the nightmares are just my brain trying to process everything while I'm asleep, or if it's actually a sign of the curse itself progressing. I'd like to think it's the former, but…the nightmares have been slipping past the dreamsand I've been sprinkling over my eyes every time I try to sleep. As far as I'm aware, that's not supposed to happen.

So I'm thinking this is a problem.

As such, I don't think I have any other choice - I have to go seek out Cerelia and talk to her again. Out of all of the other Seasonals, I think she's my best bet at getting proper answers. Eliana's too fiery to reason with (literally and metaphorically), and Silas, while he's a little bit more amicable than the other two, is more likely to be evasive and avoid confrontation with me if he's on his own.

Cerelia and I aren't exactly on the best of terms, but to some extent, we understand each other. She knows that I won't give up on this, and I now know what her motives are. Ultimately, our goals are the same - we both don't want the effects of this damned curse to hurt any more people.

I can work with that.

Admittedly, though, I've still been nervous enough about this to procrastinate trying to find her. Up until recently, she's never really been on my side for…well, anything. I always thought she'd sooner kill me than listen to reason, and even though I now know that's not necessarily true, it's still hard to shake that instinct. As such, I've been reluctant to actually go and seek her out for days now.

Turns out, though, that doesn't matter. Cerelia finds me first.

She finds me in Alaska, watching over a snowfall I've just started up. It's no blizzard, so the Wind doesn't stop me from hearing her approaching behind me, but just for fun, I don't acknowledge her right away. She and the others have caused me pain enough over the years…why not let her shiver for a bit?

So I'm petty, sue me.

"F-Frost," she calls out to me. I think she's trying to preserve her dignity as much as possible, but I can still hear her teeth chattering.

I don't bother responding.

"Frost!"

Nope. Not turning around. And for good measure, I let the Wind give a particularly frigid gust over the top of the hill we're standing on.

"J-Jack Frost, you turn around right now!" she hisses, marching closer to me. "I know you can hear me!"

Finally, I glance behind me, then lazily turn on my heel to face her. Cerelia's clothes are practically coated with snow, and she's actively holding her long hair away from her face in one clenched fist to prevent the Wind from whipping it about in a black tornado. Her other arm is wrapped around herself in a feeble attempt to keep in a bit more warmth. Though she's shivering profusely, the fire in her glare could probably give Eliana a run for her money.

Really, it's an amusing sight.

"Well, would you look at that," I chuckle, unable to resist the urge for further sarcasm. "A spring spirit, trespassing in winter. Isn't this typically the sort of thing you and the others would launch an attack against me over? Maybe I should return the favor."

"Kn-Knock it off, Frost," she retorts bitterly. "W-We need to talk."

"Huh, for once, I actually agree." I lean on my staff slightly, lifting an eyebrow. "Though I'm guessing you'd prefer to talk somewhere…warmer?"

She rolls her eyes, still managing to look haughty despite her shivering. "W-What could've ever g-given you that idea?"

"I wonder." I shake my head. "In any case…if I'm being honest, I've been wanting to talk to you too." I pause for a moment to think. "Well…not wanting, exactly. It's more so something I feel like I need to do. Think of it as you being…a necessary evil."

Am I just pissing her off on purpose now? Yes.

Is it fun? Yes.

Is it wasting time?

…maybe.

And, judging by her sharp glare, she agrees with that much.

"Alright, fine," I finally concede, lifting my hands in surrender. "Let's get out of here. I seriously do need to talk to you."

Without another word between us, we leave the area and head southeast, flying with our respective Winds (there's a Wind for each season, though the winter Wind is obviously the best). Though, for my own sake, I make the executive decision to stop before we stray into northern California, lest we end up going too far south for my cold-blooded self.

Granted, I'm sure she's not the biggest fan of blistering heat either, her being of a milder season and all, but I wouldn't put it past her to get revenge on me by dragging me all the way down to the Equator.

Instead, we touch down in a wooded area currently experiencing comfortably cool weather - a good middle ground for both of us. Not looking at me, Cerelia takes a moment to irritably brush the last of the half-melted snow off of her clothing and out of her hair. It doesn't really help, given the fact that she's already practically soaked, but she gives cleaning up and recovering her dignity her best shot, I guess.

I don't bother trying to hide my smirk.

"Alright," she finally huffs, pointedly ignoring my smug expression. "That's…marginally better. Now…I'm assuming we're here to talk about the same thing, Frost?"

I nod. "Reasonable assumption. And if that 'thing' happens to be the curse, then…you'd be right."

"Mhm…I thought as much." Her green eyes narrow slightly as she studies my blue ones - likely checking for any signs that they're going to turn gray. Once she's apparently satisfied, she continues speaking. "Though the question is…why do you want to talk to me about it? I was under the impression that your approach to the whole situation was simply to ignore it and hope it would go away. Why the change of heart? Did something…happen, perhaps?"

"Well…" I run a hand through my hair, looking up at the sky. "Sort of. But…not exactly? Honestly, I'm not sure if it means anything, but I have been having, uh…less than pleasant dreams about the whole thing. I didn't know if that was some sort of 'sign' or whatever, so I figured I'd have to just ask."

She arches an eyebrow, though, considering she's not immediately staring at me in horror as though I'm about to turn evil any second, I'm assuming that's not a terrible sign.

"Interesting…" she muses, looking me over. "Truthfully, I don't know. I've personally never heard of that happening before a winter spirit turns, but then, they're usually not so…talkative during that time. Of course, it doesn't exactly sound like a good sign, but so long as none of your dreams are bleeding over into reality, you should be alright for now."

"Well that's…vaguely comforting," I respond uncertainly. "Glad it's not an omen of imminent disaster or anything…though I guess that brings us to another point. Why did you want to talk to me about it? You asked me the same thing, but you never gave me your reasoning."

Cerelia shrugs, not looking directly at me. "It's nothing complicated. I've just been…thinking, is all."

My eyebrows lift. "About…?"

"The curse, obviously. I was thinking that…after all this time, you still haven't succumbed to it. At first, I thought that was a result of our own tactics. It made sense at the time…keeping you weak was the only strategy we hadn't tried before, and the only one that seemed to work. But after what you said about being human in the past…" She frowns. "There's something different about you, Frost. And while I'm still not convinced that you're completely immune to the effects of the curse, you're at least different enough to resist it better than anyone else has before."

Even though I can sort of see where this is going, I decide to ask anyway. "And your point is…?"

"My point, Frost," she answers. "Is that you might be our best chance at breaking this curse."

To be continued next time!

'Til then, Sapphire316 out.