Withing the depths of the Black Forest, hidden amongst the leaf barren trees, a diamond shaped clearing lay untouched by the winter. Lush, soft grass shifted by a warm, gentle breeze. At each corner of of the diamond stood a tree of a different color. An almond tree in full bloom, a cherry-blossom tree with ever-falling petals, a giant beech tree, and a pine tree that towered over the rest of the trees. At the center of the clearing stood a tall, slender, fair-skinned woman. Her hair was tucked into the gold circlet on her head, the miniature horns of a woodland stag sprouting from the center. Her long, white dress creased in lace waves around her legs, hugging her waist, and exposing her bare arms. Around her wrists, gold vines crawled up to her elbows. She sighed, a gentle breeze blowing at the loose strands of hair that curled beside her ear.
"Late as always," she muttered to herself, a thick French accent coating her voice. As she said it, a heavy gust of wind ruffled her dress. She looked up towards the night sky and smiled.
"Helios!" she exclaimed happily. The summer spirit flew through the sky, landing on one knee like a superhero.
"Just because you're early, doesn't mean we're late, Nymph." Helios teased her, hints of Nigeria tickling his voice. The dark-skinned man was dressed in a black dashiki and long coat to match. The collar, sleeves, and front of the coat were lined with white, tribal blocks. A silver belt strapped around his chest held a long sword at his back. His eyes matched his long, golden hair, braided tightly to his scalp and down his back. The two spirits hugged each other tightly.
"It has been such a long time." Nymph regarded Helios warmly, her cheeks blushed.
"Come on, Nymph. We meet three times a year every year!"
"Yes but this particular winter has been…" the smile fell from her face, replaced with a twitch of irritation. "Overstayed."
"Yeah… Jack has been having his fun this year hasn't he? Ambrose told me he made it start snowing in the middle of October."
Nymph shook her head. "He has no boundaries. Perhaps if he actually decided to show up to one of the gatherings he would be able to take his duties as the winter season more seriously. But of course, now because he is a guardian he has even more excuses to throw his responsibilities." She crossed her arms. Helios put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a soft gaze. Nymph exhaled and relaxed.
"I won't pretend and say that I like everything that he does. But it can't be helped. It is like you said. He's a guardian now. He has other responsibilities besides the winter, and neither of us know whether that is a change for the better or worse."
Minutes passed while the two spirits carried on chatting when Nymph suddenly stopped mid-word. Helios watched her, confused.
"Nymph?"
"Where is Ambrose?" she asked, noting the spirit's absence. "She's never usually so late, I hope nothing happened to her."
"I don't think anything bad could have happened. She's powerful and strong. She hasn't fallen in any fight yet." Yet as he said it, Helios' hand touched the tip of his sword by his left leg.
"HELIOS!"
The two spirits whirled around in alarm, Helios' long sword in his hand. Ambrose shot down from the sky and landed hard on her feet, shaking the ground below them. Nymph and Helios stared in shock, not at her, but at the battered up winter spirit hanging off of her shoulder. As Ambrose lowered Jack to the ground, Helios rushed forward, sheathing his sword. Jack's breathing came out in short, painful breaths.
"What happened to him?!" Helios questioned, beginning to rub his hands together. A faint glow rose from his fingers. Ambrose helped Jack stay seated up as Helios pressed his palms to the frozen boy's shoulder blades. Jack exhaled as the warmth coursed through his body. He could feel his wounds beginning to mend.
"I'm not entirely sure. When I found him he was caught in a fight with this… thing. I don't even know what it was." Ambrose spoke, keeping her eyes trained on Jack. Helios bit his lip.
"He's scratched up bad. I can fix him, but not everything."
While all of this was happening, Nymph was frozen where she stood. A look of disgust had crawled onto her face. At the silence of the other spirits, she couldn't help herself and bit her lip.
"What are you doing here?" She muttered almost angrily. Ambrose and Helios both glanced up at her.
"Nymph take it easy-"
"Why did you come here?" Nymph demanded, ignoring the fall spirit.
Jack closed his eyes and exhaled heavily. "I… I need your help."
Nymph stared at him baffled. An exasperated laugh burst from her lips."You want our help?" She threw her hands in the air and placed them on her hips. "After centuries of neglect to us, never once coming to the gatherings, playing in your winter wonderlands and ruining both spring and fall more times than I can count on both hands!"
Jack glanced at the ground, taking each accusation after the next. It hurt to hear it, but they were all true and having Nymph spew her anger out all at once was the only way Jack would be able to say anything at all. "I know, and… I'm sorry-"
"Menteur!" Nymph shouted in Frankish. "Tricheur, puéril, sangsue égoïste!" With each curse, she stepped closer and closer to him until she was only an arm's reach away.
"Nymph!" Ambrose finally shouted. "Back off! He's here for our help after something almost killed him!"
"So what?!" She shouted back. "That is nothing compared to destruction he has caused!"
"Everyone makes mistakes, Nymph. I'm sure Jack never meant any of it out of harm."
"Mon dieu, Ambrose! You cannot be serious! Years of first springs ruined! Plants that have died from sudden cold fronts, starved animals who come out of hibernation only to find that nothing is there, children and adults who were unprepared for the sudden drop of tempurature and died!" Huffing and out of breath, she straitened and crossed her arms. She looked back at Jack as if he were a rat. "Why should I help you after all of that?"
The four spirits grew quiet. Helios continued to heal Jack in silence. Ambrose, now standing, clutched fists at her sides and glared in Nymph's direction. Jack stared at his crook in the grass and wrapped his fingers around it. He took it up, and with a grunt, leaned on it to get to his feet. Helios back up with concern, knowing that Jack still carried damage with him.
"I'm not asking for me," Jack started, directing his answer at everyone. "I'm asking for everyone. All the children of the world, the guardians, even for you. This is something that could destroy everything."
"What's happened?" Ambrose asked, crossing her arms.
"It wasn't until now that I really understood it. But something has been stealing dreams."
Helios and Ambrose exchanged glances. Even Nymph turned her head to listen over her shoulder. Jack explained the events that had taken place. His strange dream, the black feather, and then the battle with the vulture. "The guardians seem to think that it's Pitch's fault. That he's the reason that dreams are missing."
"I wouldn't be surprised." Helios nodded. "This is exactly the type of thing he would do."
"But it isn't." Ambrose cut in. "Pitch Black is responsible for nightmares. He invades the dreams of children and turns them bad. What good would it do if there weren't any dreams to begin with?"
"That's what I thought too." said Jack. "I came here to ask if you knew anything about it, which is when I found the vulture. It had to have been the cause, but I had never seen anything like it before. Cloaked in black, hunched over, huge claws like needles. And it had giant, black wings covered in the same kind of feathers as the one I found when I woke up."
"Something so powerful it has the ability to affect even the guardians." Helios muttered.
A silence rose amongst the spirits as they fell into deep thought. Ambrose began fingering her hair out of nervous habit, sectioning it by color.
"Moissonneur de Mort."
The spirits all glanced at Nymph, who still stood with her back to them. Ambrose furrowed her brows.
"The Grim Reaper?" She questioned for clarity.
"I thought he only dealt with passing souls. How could he be connected to all this?" Helios asked. Jack was surprised. With all the myths, legends, and stories that he had met throughout his life as a spirit, he had never thought that the grim reaper was real. Nymph hugged her arms and spoke to the grass.
"In Frankia, dreams were symbolic of a child's adolescence. They symbolized life and growth. Youth and happiness. Of course, there were times where children would not have dreams. That was normal. As children grew older, they began to have less and less dreams. Their dreams would become more tied to reality. Their dreams would repeat. That was how things were meant to be. It became troublesome when young children stopped having dreams for multiple nights in a row.
"A child who stops dreaming all together can mean one of two things. The first of the two is early maturity. It was not uncommon in Frankia that children would have to grow up quickly in order to support their families. To help take care of those around them. To survive."
"What about the second one?" Asked Jack. There was a long pause of silence. Nymph was biting down on her bottom lip and her gaze at the ground was angry. Jack figured she was going to ignore him, or even snap at him. To his surprise, Nymph stared at him dead in the eyes.
"It meant that the child was fated to die. That Moissonneur de Mort was looking after their soul, slowly pulling them out of their bodies. Taking his curved blade, and cutting it out of their hearts."
A shiver went down Jack's spine. He felt his knees start to wobble and was grateful when Helios helped him back to the ground. The summer spirit rubbed his hands together and once again pressed them to Jack's back. Ambrose broke the silence.
"If this is true, and it really is the grim reaper, then what are we supposed to do? The grim reaper is the bridge between life and death. He guides souls to the afterlife. We can't just remove him from the picture."
"But one way or the other," Nymph began. "He must be dealt with. If Moissonneur de Mort is truly the cause, then there will be more bodies of children than actual children. He must be stopped." She changed her gaze from Ambrose to Jack. The winter spirit stayed on the ground, his strength slowly returning. Still, he looked terrible. Nymph gracefully knelt on her knees and folded her hands in her laugh. She chewed her lip before meeting Jack's eyes. The two stared at one another, Jack catching the reflection of blossoming tulips in Nymph's shimmering green eyes. He sighed.
"Nymph…" He tried to begin, but the spring spirit held up a hand to stop him. She brushed a hair away from her face.
"I cannot forgive you for the things you have done in the past, Jack Frost." She clenched her hands. "You have hurt me, and I will not forget it. But," she suddenly took the frozen boy's hand, gripping it tightly. "I believe that you can put a stop to the madness that is happening. I know you will find moissonneur de mort and end the world's suffering. I don't know if I could ever befriend you, Jack Frost. But I believe in you."
