Jack woke around eight. He walked over to Krystall's bed and saw that she was still sleeping peacefully.
He was grateful for that since she told him about having nightmares. May have been what he told her or just his presence in general that allowed her to sleep through the night.
He quietly left the room to check on his charge's parents.
The man was asleep on the couch, and the TV was still on.
Jack forced cold air on the man, and he shivered, pulling the blanket upward in his sleep. Jack smirked.
He went to the Master bedroom and saw that the woman was awake, looking out the window.
He quickly but carefully closed the door before the woman could believe the door opened on its own.
Jack went back to Krystall's room so as not to worry her if she awoke, believing he left without a word.
She woke up a little past 9:30, and he was there by her side to greet her.
"Good morning, kiddo," he said with a smile. "Looks like you had a good sleep."
"I dreamt I was living in an igloo."
Jack chuckled, "You did, huh?"
"I did," She answered happily. "It was somewhere at the North Pole."
Jack's smile widened, "Was it near Santa's workshop?"
She shook her head, no.
"You were there. You built the igloo for me."
"Did I make it well?"
"It was big. You can stand up in it. You can make anything!"
"Will, almost," He sat on the edge of her bed, now. "I've never, actually, made an igloo before." He ruffled up her hair, "But today's going to change that."
Krystall jumped on her bed in happiness, "Yay!"
Jack quickly stood up, holding her arms to make sure she wouldn't fall off.
"Careful! Careful!"
She only laughed, jumping one last time before landing on her knees on the bed.
He shook his head and laughed.
Suddenly, the door opened, and the two looked to see who it was.
It was the mother, and Jack could now see her face clearly. The bandage on her forehead went from her eyebrow to almost touching her hairline. He even saw a small bruise on the cheekbone, on the same side.
"Who are you talking to, sweetheart?"
Jack told Krystall, "Just tell her you're talking to your imaginary friend."
She smiled and answered her, "I'm talking to my imaginary friend."
"Oh?" her mom asked, with a smile. "What's their name?"
"His name is Jack."
Her mom walked in, stopping at her bed. "Hello, Jack," she said, looking beside her daughter.
He had since moved to the end of the bed, and Krystall redirected her mom to that spot.
"He's over there," she pointed.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Hello, Jack," she repeated. "I'm Krystall's mom."
"He says hello. And he knows who you are."
Krystall crawled to where Jack was, then turned toward her mom as she sat on the end of the bed. "He's been here since last night. He says he's my Guardian, and he also checked to see if you were okay."
"That's very sweet of you, Jack. Thank you." Her smile was soft, her eyes glistened.
She hugged her daughter. "I'm so happy you found a Guardian Angel. And I do hope he does protect you for as long as possible."
"I will! I promise you that!" Jack moved again, this time to stand beside the mother, now.
"He says, he promises he will," she told her mom.
Her mom hugged her tighter, then pulling away, her hands resting on Krystall's arms, said, "Come on. I'll make you some breakfast."
"Pancakes?"
"Pancakes it is," Her mom smiled.
"Can I play outside while you cook the food?"
"You can, but you go potty first, then we have to get you into some warm clothes. Okay?"
"Okay."
Krystall was now in pink winter boots, blue jeans, a fuzzy white long-sleeve shirt, purple gloves, and a thick pink jacket that had Tinker Bell on the back with the character's name on the right sleeve.
"I see Tinker Bell is your favorite character, huh?" Jack asked as they found a good spot to play in in the backyard.
"Yes," She smiled!
"What do you like about that character?"
"She can make stuff out of anything and fly using pixie dust."
She looked at him then, "Can you fly?"
"Yep. It's one of the perks of being a Winter Sprite." He showed her by hovering five feet off the ground. "No pixie dust needed," he grinned.
She smiled broadly. "I wish I can fly."
He landed back on his feet and looked around to be sure no one was nearby. When he saw the coast was clear, he said, "Well, no flying right now, but hovering is just the same."
Jack stepped closer to her. He had his staff balance on his right foot and cross to lean against his left shoulder. "Take my hands," he then told her.
She did, then she was lifted ten feet off the ground.
"This is fun!"
"I'm not only a Guardian who watches over kids. I'm also the Guardian of Fun."
Krystall's huge smile maintained, and when they landed back on the ground, she gave him a bear hug. Well, around his legs, anyway.
"Whoa!" Jack nearly lost his balance. And not too long after, he hugged her back with a smile.
"Can we build the igloo now?" she asked in anticipation as she looked up while still embracing him.
Smiling, he said, "Let's build that igloo."
She sat down on her knees in the fluffy white, while Jack used the curved end of his staff to create more snow in a good-sized pile.
"Your stick has magic?"
"No," he answered. "I just use it as a conduit to channel my powers."
"What's a con-du-it?"
Jack smiled and answered, "Conduits are anything that allows powers, or electricity, let's say, to flow through them.
"So, for me, it helps focus my powers to where I want them to go or what I want them to do." He put his head to the side as he added, "I can use my powers without it, but I just prefer the staff."
"Can I hold it?"
Krystall was still sitting on the ground as he placed his wooden staff into her hands. "It has a little bit of weight to it, but it won't be too much for you."
"The white stuff disappeared when you let go."
He made a silent laugh, then began to arrange the snow in a circle and pat them down to their right specs.
Krystall sat Jack's staff down between them to help him build the igloo.
They got to the second layer before she was called back in by her mom.
"We'll finish this after breakfast," Jack told Krystall as he helped her to her feet.
"Okay," she answered, smiling again.
Before she was to head back inside, Jack wiped the snow off of her pants.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Daddy would have been mad if I went into the house dirty."
Jack pursed his lips. "What exactly does he do if you go into the house dirty?"
"He would yell and spank me."
"What!?" He took a breath and thought to himself, doesn't he even know that she's just a kid? Ugh! This bastard's really getting under my skin!
"You're cleaned. He shouldn't be mad about that now." He took her hand, and they began to walk to the backdoor.
They were only fifteen feet when the door flung open, and the man stormed out, grabbing Krystall by the arm.
She screamed in fear and pain.
"You were called back inside," her dad yelled!
"I was coming back inside," she cried!
"Don't smart-mouth me, or I'll smack you!"
"Hey!" Jack wished he could be heard. "Does it look like she was still playing? She was nearing the door!"
He had to hurry in before he was closed out of the house. Why is he always mad about everything?
"What's going on?" The mom asked as she rushed to her daughter's side. "What did she do?"
"I was bringing her back inside."
"You don't need to yank her arm!" She gently pulled Krystall to her. Her daughter clutched in fear of being hit by her dad. "Are you always trying to break her bones?"
"That happened only once," the man yelled!
"What!?" Jack was pissed now.
"It should have never happened to begin with," the wife still yelled!
"You used to know what love was," she told him, "Now you have forgotten what it is."
"It's called tough love."
"She doesn't need your kind of tough love!"
Krystall's mom walked her daughter to the small dining room. "Try to eat your food before it gets cold," She brushed her fingers through her kid's hair; her daughter only nodded.
Her mom hung her jacket on the back of the chair with her gloves put into the pockets of it.
Krystall picked up a piece of pancake; the food already cut up into pieces.
Her mom went into the kitchen, which was in the same space as the dining room, to get her own plate of food.
"You okay?" Jack asked as he rubbed the arm her dad grabbed.
She nodded, his cold touch relaxing her now sore arm.
"I wish your mom would just leave your dad," he said. "It's not safe for either of you to stay here." He still rubbed her arm, "I know it's hard for you to comprehend this because you're so young, but I just want you to be safe. To go someplace where your dad can't hurt you anymore."
She looked up at Jack and asked, "Where would daddy go?"
"What was that, honey?" Her mom asked, putting syrup on her pancakes at the kitchen counter.
"Jack said we should go someplace safe."
Jack saw the look on the woman's face, and he was curious about what she would say.
But she didn't say a word. All she did was give the face of sorrow and a forced smile.
Thanks for your reviews sparklehannah! Actually, because Krystall is so young, she's able to see all Sprites. Just like in the movie where Sophie was able to see Jack-hence he was able to hold her to take her home-when no one else could see him. Because little kids brains are still developing, they can see what others can't-even before understanding what believing in something is.
I'm glad you're enjoying this story!
Thank you to the rest of you who are following this fic! I would love to hear from you!