A/N: As we go along, I hope to make Idas character development go along smoothly, not just… abrupt.
The second chapter didn't count because he was asleep.
In this Tree, there were flowers wherever you looked. It wasn't just that they simply grew from theTree. It was the fact that when the Tree became injured in some way, the Cupids best response was to plant flowers and vegetables and fruits there.
They found that this worked during the time of Amadeus, whom was always running around trying to make the Tree like him (spoiler, the Tree adored him, and mourned over his passing the longest).
Now Roman, Idas oldest brother, tended to these plants, letting his children help him whenever they were visiting from their mother.
The party behind Ida began to fade, growing quiet as he rounded a corner and began taking steps up a winding staircase.
"It's not fair," he said as he slid a hand over the banister. "He knew Mother was right there, so he just- ugh!"
The Tree gave a sympathetic creak, which made Ida sigh.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be unloading my burdens into you."
He listened for some form of communication, but it seemed that the Tree was distracted. Ida decided to keep going up the stairs; after all, his favorite balcony area was coming up, and he would like to spend some time alone.
Before he touched the handle of the door, the Tree gave him a warning that there was someone there.
"Do you know who?" Ida looked up at the curved ceiling, where multiple roots of the Tree grew.
They remained silent.
"Thank you anyway." He nodded, opening the door and stepping out into the fresh air.
From this height, Ida could see the entirety of Valentines Village. It's why it was his favorite spot, after all. Being able to peer down into the streets without anyone spotting you was a great way to pass the time if you wished to be alone, but not sit in silence.
His Mother told him before that his many-greats grandmother, Juliet, used to spend much of her time here, just before being bonded and running away until the passing of her father.
The person who occupied the area now was Roman, Idas oldest- and only- brother.
"Roman? I didn't expect to see you here! I thought you were at Halloweentown." Ida rushed over and hugged his brother, getting one in return that nearly cracked his back.
The two laughed as Ida let out a wheeze and Roman set him down.
"Things came up, and the Tree needed me to take a look at some of our roses." Roman motioned to his tools with a large hedge clipper, towards the large rose bush that grew there.
Ida walked over to the roses, kneeling down. "What's wrong with them?"
"Nothing too big. They honestly just need a bit of rain and some pruning and they'll be good as new."
Roman folded his arms over his chest as he explained, a bit of pride in his voice as he spoke.
"They're not going to change colors again?" Ida smirked, laughing as he danced out of reach from Romans hand, which was trying to smack him.
"That was one time; I can list plenty of times you've messed up!"
"Sure you can."
"Ida-"
"Okay, okay. Let's not fight. I've done enough of that today. And I'm sure I'm still recovering from the high magic pressure that I've gotten from it." Ida motioned for Roman to 'calm down', brushing his hair back from his face.
Roman raised a brow, grabbing Idas arm and pinching Idas arm. Indeed, the area that the magic ran to stayed raised for a good thirty seconds before returning to normal. Consider a pop bottle- when shaken, the pressure remains until opened. A similar event occurs with the Cupids.
"Who were you fighting with? I thought you got along with everyone." Roman sat on the bench that swayed in the breeze, grabbing onto the chain.
Ida chose to do the same, rolling his eyes and laying his legs across Romans in order to trap him. "Jack fucking Frost."
"Ah, of course. How could I forget my brothers poor, poor, ruined Valentines Day-"
"He was so damn rude, Roman!" Ida smacked his arm, earning one in return.
"How?" the older man chuckled, watching as Ida folded his arms and grew huffy with him. "I can't imagine him being purposefully rude to you."
"Oh, bull! First, he comes and visits for tea. Tea with Mother!"
"Was Mum there?"
"Yes, she always has tea with Mother, you know this."
"Just clarifying." Roman smirked, swinging their bench slowly.
"He then, like an idiot, tries to leave, despite the Tree being in their 'murder everyone I don't know' stage."
"Oh, how dare he. I imagine you let him walk?"
Ida rubbed the bridge of his nose. "No. If I did, everyone would hate me for letting a Guardian get killed!"
"That doesn't seem right. We're on a contract with the Guardians that we won't interfere with their business if they won't interfere with ours."
He was very confused, deciding to gently pat his brothers leg, seeing how agitated the younger was getting.
"We do, but I can't just let the Tree murder him."
Roman gave a chuckle, making Ida practically bristle up in anger.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Well…. i think your habit of caring for others is getting in the way of actually hating Frost."
Ida opened his mouth, closed it again, took a deep breath, and considered his words.
"Kinda?... I hate him, that much I know, I just." Ida rubbed his eyes, sighing. "I can't let him die, I'd be no better than Heartbreak."
"You're nothing like Heartbreak, dude. If there's one thing I know about you, it's that you don't like the thought of people being sad if you're the cause of it."
"I know!" Ida turned a bit pink, fiddling with the tailcoats of his vest. "I just hate how smug he seemed just now!"
"What did he do now?" Roman shoved Idas legs off, standing up to tend to the Trees flowers.
"He got me cornered and basically demanded an invitation to my Bonding Ceremony!" Ida glared at his coattails, pretending that they were the cause of his misfortune.
"Well-" Roman tsked, considering his next words carefully. "The galas gonna be rather large. Many people will be there. Honestly, I don't see it as an issue. If anything, he might leave you alone again after this."
Ida remained silent, considering his next move. Yes, he could throw a fit about it, but honestly, what was the point?
No one would take him seriously, especially considering the reason he'd come to hate the spirit.
Or at least, the reason he'd told everyone. It was so easy, simplifying the story, but it made him seem like he couldn't handle the smallest of things.
Finally, he sighed, "alright."
"Alright?" His brother smirked, cutting off a piece of the roses.
"I won't be against the idea, but I certainly won't be happy about it."
"I'm sure."
"I'll complain all the time." He warned. "Every time I see you."
"I'm sure you will." Roman hummed, taking up a watering pail and carefully running it over the roses.
"You're not even listening to me." Ida said this deadpan, his eyes falling half-mast as he sat up.
"I am indeed not listening anymore." Roman chuckled.
"Why not?" Ida folded his arms, glaring at his brothers back. "I'm the baby of the family, you should respect me more."
They both almost laughed, but kept a straight face.
"Well, I'm waiting for you to realize that you still need to go do your chores before you plan for said bonding ceremony."
Idas eyes grew wide, and he let out a string of curses as he jolted from the swinging seat.
Roman finally laughed as he heard the balcony door slam.
Ida hurried down the hallway, making the necessary turns as he ran down his list of chores.
Clean the spring, get his laundry, put it away, then go help the villagers with their issues that they needed help with.
It shouldn't take more than a few hours, Ida considered, but nonetheless, he wanted to be able to get them done on time.
Of course, he considered his first chore to be the most important….
The cleaning supplies, a rag and a pail, rested in his hand.
The hallways were becoming darker, and the light began to fade away, replacing itself with a soft, pink glow.
Ida felt the familiar feeling of fear latch into his chest.
He'd always hated cleaning the spring; he had ever since he was a child.
His mothers had told him that he wasn't the only one, that it was usually aggressive towards cleaning- or, really anything that was unrelated to healing others. His pace slowed, his free hand beginning to run along the wall. It began to change from marble to wood, quickly becoming a wall of twisted roots and vines.
The Tree remained deadly quiet, allowing Ida to relax his nerves as he approached the door to the spring. He gently touched the familiar gold doorknob, gripping it after a brief moment.
He opened the door, hearing the soft creak that refused to let itself be fixed.
The spring was large.
It held a substance that was a pale, milky white color. It shimmered with gold flecks, showing that the spring was moving in circles, a never ending current flowing through it with no source.
Ida felt as if his knees were going to knock together if he kept standing at the door. He took a deep breath, straightening his back and heading towards the spring.
"Alright. We do this every week… just let me give you a proper cleaning today, please?"
The springs current increased, waves splashing angrily against the edges.
"You know it's good for you, a-and I'm not taking no for an answer!" Ida bit back the whimper he had as he grabbed his rag and waded into the spring.
He almost immediately went under, the spring angrily trying to redirect him to the exit. He quickly grabbed the edge, holding on tightly as he produced the rag from his pocket.
"Alright, lets get this over with…"
It took two hours just to get the spring clean.
It fought against Ida at every change it got, and more than once, Ida ended up soaked from head to toe, withholding fury at the spring.
Now he stood triumphantly on the edge of the spring, still wet but proud nonetheless.
"See, was that so horrible?" He went over to the closet that held towels, rags, soaps, salts, and everything one could wish for in a bathroom.
Pulling out a towel, he dried himself off, knowing he shouldn't bother with his clothes. That was something he'd have to deal with in his room.
"Now I'm gonna go take a bath. Something that appreciates being cleaned!"
The spring merely gave a gurgle, letting Ida whirl around with a flick of his tail and storming out.
The Cupid walked along the halls, feeling relieved as he stepped back into the bright corridors. The oppressive air fell away, allowing Idas posture to become better.
The windows he passed faced the gardens down below. He gave a brief smile, reaching the door to his room. He happily walked into it, immediately yanking off vest and shirt, allowing them to fall to the floor and kicking them over to his hamper.
Now that he was alone, he began to speak out loud to himself, his mind drifting back to a more important matter than the cleaning of the spring; his Bonding Ball.
It went by so many names that he gave up on calling it anything other than his Bonding Moment to friends and family.
He knew his mothers called it a Bonding Gala, while his twin called it a Bonding Cycle.
His hands massaged his scalp as he moved to the dresser, glancing into the mirror before he snatched his hairbrush and tried to comb out the knots that had entwined themselves into his hair.
"Okay, okay. So. Wardrobe will of course have a vest." He said this as he puffed out his chest, then smirked as he passed by the mirror, setting his brush down.
He kicked a towel up and snatched it from the air. "Gold will be the colors this time. Gold and white, maybe. I'll have to be careful around the red wine." He laughed to himself.
He then pulled a face. "But Frost will be there too. So I should-" he paused, eyes going wide as he turned his head to stare at the hoodie that had been laundered.
The blue hoodie still had the frost lacing the edges, somehow. Fainter, yes, but still there. It was folded neatly, and perched on the edge of his bed, along with his other clean clothes. He frowned, going over and picking it up.
The hoodie unfurled, showing Ida that it was a size bigger than him. The sleeves were large and puffy, much like the style of shirts that Ida liked to wear. The fabric, in Idas hands, was smooth and felt warm, even without wearing it. He ran his thumb over a frosted part of the hoodie, and was unsurprised when he felt the shock of cold that came with it.
The hood wasn't as large as the sleeves, but considering how little Ida had seen Jack wear the hood bit (ignoring the fact that Ida hadn't seen Jack in quite a bit of time, which he enjoyed) wasn't a huge issue.
The bottom of the hoodie, when compared to Idas torso, fell to his middle thigh.
Ida realized that he'd been staring at the hoodie in his hands for quite a while, and turned a soft pink. He went to his wardrobe and grabbed a hanger, putting the hoodie onto it and stuffing it back into the wardrobe.
He slammed the doors closed and hurried himself over to the bathroom, quickly snatching a different shirt and vest.
"It's a nice hoodie, but the person it belongs to is a pain." He gritted his teeth, picking up a toothbrush and toothpaste as he made his way to the bath.
Jack slowly twirled his staff, the wood tapping him ever so slightly as it came back around.
He rested atop an abandoned castle, the once-grand structure now in ruins. For reasons unknown to him, he felt annoyance with the debris of what one were riches.
He did feel a bit better about the ruins, however, and being able to perch atop them and stare down at the destruction. Their meaning.
He shook his head and lifted his face to view the courtyard below. The Villagers were happily chatting with one another, showing love and affection at every turn.
It almost made him feel as if he were missing out on some fun.
Upon landing onto the ground, he was greeted by several villagers, all of whom seemed happy to see him.
"A nice party going on here! What's the special occasion?" He already knew, of course. He'd just been invited to it.
"We're making this area nice so that we can host a festival!" A small child beamed up at Jack, and he couldn't help but notice that she had pink hair.
A quick glance around revealed that many of the villagers had strangely-colored hair, the most common being white or downright solid red.
"What kind of festival? Can you tell me what it's like?"
The child was more than happy to talk his ear off, going on about how they would be having baked goods, dressing up, how there'd be dancing and fun.
"This sounds amazing!" He overreacted first her entertainment. "What kinda food is there gonna be?"
"Well," the small child continued, Jack helping her move a rather heavy-looking basket of seeds over to an empty field. "There's gonna be scones, and donuts, and noodles, chocolate cake and strawberries, and the Prince Idas favorite!"
"Prince Ida?" He chuckled, never quite getting over the fact that these villagers looked up to the family so much.
"Not a human prince, though." The child mused. "I heard those kinda princes are awful to the people they're supposed to help."
"Yeah, they are. That's why it's always weird hearing you all call Ida a Prince."
"Well he protects us, just like his ancestors did, and just like his mommas do. We wanna thank him."
Now Jack took note of something he hadn't before- what was Ida protecting these villagers from?
"Can you tell me why he needs to protect you?" He tilted his head, using his staff as a thing to lean on.
"Well we gotta plant these seeds while we do." She pointed are the basket and then the field.
He nodded, walking with her and making holes in the ground as she talked.
"Ya notice how I gots these lines on my fingers?" She lifted her hands to show him, watching him nod slowly.
"Those are my joints. They're like a dolls, kinda."
"Okay, so you're a precious resource to something?"
She shook her head. "Nope! We're really fragile- literally!"
They both laughed, then calmed themselves as they went and planted the seeds into the holes they'd made.
"We, us villagers that is, we're like porcelain dolls. Ya notice how Idas kinda like us?"
"Yeah, but he's more dragon-like. And I heard about Juliet already."
"Yeah. He's as fragile as we are."
"So why is he protecting you if he might get hurt too?"
Jack felt as if the situation was familiar, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. The little girl took some time to answer, instead using her apron to hold seeds as she went to the new holes Jack was planting.
"Well, he wants to." She shrugged. "I tried asking him too, and he just looked at me for a while before sayin he'd kill anyone that tried to hurt me."
"He didn't answer your question." Jack snickered.
"I know!" The little girl puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "But that's all he'd say. I guess he wants to, but if he stops one day, we won't be mad. His brother did it so he could be with his kids."
"And what exactly is trying to break you all, even? You're breakable, yeah, but I'm sure Ida isn't spending his time looking out for anyone about to break themselves."
"true." She giggled. "Well, I didn't see it myself, but my papa said that there's a bunch of mean people that come around and try to steal villagers. They take them away and never come back…"
The little girls eyes became downcast, and for a brief moment, Jack could see his little sister. His mouth thinned into a line as he knelt in front of her.
"Did… someone vanish?"
She nodded again, looking up at him. "My sister… she was out collecting and then… Ida came flying by. I though it was for something else, but then his moms and his sisters came around too…. and before I knew it-"
She began openly sobbing, and Jack felt guilty for having pushed. He set Twiner down as he pulled her into a hug, the little girl giving it her all as she sobbed into his shoulder.
He picked up Twiner again and went back to the village, finding her mother and apologizing for upsetting her.
"It's okay." The woman was older, signs of grey showing in her hair. She patted his shoulder. "You couldn't have known, and we Cupids, well… we hold onto feelings. We feel them much more than humans did."
He didn't bother to correct her that he wasn't human anymore, instead watching as she wandered to her husband.
The two retreated to their home, leaving Jack to stand in the square and wish he could help in some way.
The other villagers bustled around, chatting about news and people. A hot topic was the Bonding Ball that was going to occur in 'just three nights time'!
Jack gave a brief shiver, the wind beginning to pick up and usher him towards the other activities that were nearby.
He chuckled a bit and allowed himself to be pushed.
After all, he had a few days to kill before he'd need to get ready for the ball.