Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me.

When Jack came to the light was dimmer, and he was back his room. He was lying in his bed, with blankets piled on top of him. As he was pulled into full awareness, he noticed he was sweating. He tried to shove the blankets off, but found he couldn't feel his arms, much less move them. Panicking, he opened his mouth to yell for help, but he was unable to make a sound. He attempted to move every part of his body, but the only parts that would respond were his eyes and mouth.

He was saved from his internal anxiety when Mrs. Overland entered the room, carrying a small bowl and cloth. She sat at a chair Jack hadn't noticed was right next to the bed, and dipped the cloth in the bowl, then laid the cloth on his forehead. It was cold, and it was a relief from the burning inside him (he questioned the sense in using blankets to keep him warm and a cold cloth to cool him down, but he wasn't exactly a doctor, so it wasn't like he'd know).

He looked at her, and noticed that she somehow looked more tired than before. She noticed him looking and started.

"You're awake!"

Jack blinked at her.

For a second, Mrs. Overland looked like she was about to cry. Instead, she sharply slapped his head. "What did I say about doing something rash?" She scolded.

Jack tried to convey 'sorry' and 'to not?' at the same time with his expression.

Mrs. Overland hummed, but her face softened. "I don't know what exactly you did, or what you were trying to accomplish, but you gave Emma quite the fright when she came home and saw you lying on the floor." She took the cloth off his forehead and dunked it in the bowl again, then replaced it. "You scared me too, when she woke me up."

Noticing Jack's alarmed countenance, she quickly said, "You look normal again."

Jack relaxed; he didn't want Emma to see him as he had been.

"What did you do, anyway?" Mrs. Overland looked at him expectantly, but Jack didn't even try to respond. "You're being awfully quiet."

Jack opened his mouth again, but was unable to speak once again. He closed it, frowning. Mrs. Overland looked at him sympathetically, but didn't comment. She replaced the cloth again, and pulled some of the top blankets off the bed.

"I hope you don't mind; we took some of the blankets from Emma's bed and she's going to need them tonight."

She exited the room, and Jack was left alone with his thoughts.

…

It was hours later when feeling had come back into his limbs, and Emma was asleep in her bed across the room, since Jack had happily been deemed 'not contagious' by Mrs. Overland. It took him a few tries, but Jack was eventually able to sit up in bed. His eyes darted around the room, searching just in case the darkness from his dream was there with him. It seemed a silly thought, now that the light of the waxing moon poured into the room, but it had been a very realistic fear last night.

Emma's soft snores broke him from his haunting thoughts. When she had come into the room she had been ecstatic to see him, and had hugged him tightly before bouncing into bed. One last glance at her peaceful, sleeping form and Jack was reassured enough to fall asleep.

He was strapped to a wooden pole, and there were many figures milling about, and placing bundles of wood around him. He struggled against the ropes that held him, knowing what was happening.

They were going to burn him.

Dry leaves were added, pine cones, and thick branches. They were stacked up, surrounding him. The figures that moved around gained faces that were angry, or fearful. They were familiar faces, and he realised it was the other families in town. He spotted Mary the housekeeper, her face hard. He saw Seth the dishwasher and Sam carrying more wood to add to the pile that encircled him. Molly the laundry girl grabbed the hands of her two younger sisters and pulled them away, casting a terrified glance back at him. Jane and Rebecca, Emma's two friends, sneered at him. Adam, the other dishwasher, was trying to light a fire to a sturdy piece of wood, trying to create a torch. Mrs. Bennett tucked her children behind her. Various people that he knew, and were friends with, scowled or cowered, and everyone added dry material to the pile he was in the middle of. The only faces that portrayed a different expression were those of the foreigners. They radiated smugness, and he knew immediately that they were the reason he was in this situation, tied up and about to be burned.

Mr. Herke stepped forwards, a torch in his hand, and shouted, "No longer will we let this monster infest our town!"

He was answered by roars of approval from the crowd. He lifted the torch high, then brought it down on the edge of the pile.

The dry leaves caught fire first, then the pine cones. It spread to the twigs, and hungrily ate away at the large branches. It crept towards him, and he was reminded of darkness for a second (a crazy thought, the flames were anything but dark), impending doom creeping towards him. There was a moment that seemed to last an eternity, just before the fire would engulf him. In that single, crystal clear moment, he saw her.

She stood away from the fire, and did not participate in the cheers of the others. Her eyes were disappointed. She wrapped her arms around herself and turned away, her posture portraying fright and disgust.

Emma shouldn't be afraid of me, he thought, just as the flames touched his clothes.

It was the last coherent thought he had before the deluge of fire washed over him, and his screams filled the air.

North was surprised to see Jack at the counter the next morning, looking a little more tired and pale than usual, but otherwise normal.

"Greetings!" he boomed, a large smile on his lips. "Heard from sister you were sick, am glad you are better now."

Jack looked down and muttered a thank you.

North hesitated, then placed a simple breakfast order. It would be better to talk to Jack with the others, and also when Jack was not working. He chuckled internally; no, it would not do for other people to overhear this particular conversation.

Jack exhaled when Nick walked away. After that nightmare there was no way he was going to draw attention to himself around those four. All he had to do was avoid them until they left town. It would be easy.

He sighed, who was he kidding? There was no way they would just leave him alone, not after all the interest they'd shown in him.

Methodically Jack took the food Nick had ordered to his table, and noticed with dread the other three had joined the bearded man. Jack was all smiles and politeness on the outside, and he desperately hoped the foreigners wouldn't notice the nervousness he felt was so obvious around them.

"So, how much longer will you be in town?" he asked, with what he hoped was a casual tone.

"We're hoping only a few more days," Tiana said, her usual cheery smile gracing her lips.

"Ah!" Nick exclaimed, staring directly into Jack's eyes (Jack hoped the man didn't notice how he broke eye contact immediately). "We have business to attend to, and then we will be on our way."

Suppressing a shiver, Jack excused himself quickly. He really hoped the 'business' they were referring to didn't involve burning him. What he really needed, Jack decided, was a way to leave town quickly. As he wandered back to the counter and gave the orders of the other three to the cook, he tried to think of a good reason to leave. Drumming his fingers against the counter, he sighed. Burgess was a fairly self-sufficient town. The soil was good for growing crops, there were two clean water sources, the forest provided wood, and the landscape was ideal for animals; which were, of course, the reasons a town had been built here. There was trading with other small towns for nicer fabrics, metals, and other things that weren't nearby, so there wasn't much reason to go anywhere, except perhaps to visit relatives in another town.

Other Stuff! He could journey out to refill the bottle of Other Stuff! That would not only solve the predicament of running out of it, but also take him away from the danger that Sandy, Tiana, Nick, and Aster posed. All he had to do was ask Mrs. Overland.

That in mind, he brought the rest of the food to the table in a considerably lighter mood.

Jack was just exiting the Inn, shift finished early afternoon, when he heard someone approach him. Turning around, he saw that it was several someones, and none of them were a welcome sight. Nick was in the lead, walking determinedly, while Tiana, Aster, and Sandy followed. Tiana was characteristically bubbly, bouncing as she walked. Aster, predictably, was grumpy (Jack rarely saw him as anything but), and Sandy was serene. Jack turned his head forwards again, hoping they hadn't noticed him looking.

Don't talk to me don't talk to me don'ttalktome-

"Jack! Wanted to talk to you!"

Great.

He felt a large hand grab his shoulder and forcibly steer him towards the woods.

"Whoa, what are you-?"

"Relax, mate. We figured we'd talk by the river." Aster was the only one in front of him, while the others were beside him. Aster sounded pleased with the little ambush. "The rest o' the world might be frozen, but it ain't."

Jack huffed. "Well, how do you know I don't have other things to do?"

He saw Sandy waving in his peripheral vision, and turned his head to see what the little man wanted. Sandy held up a small piece of paper. Taking the paper, Jack saw that it read: 'You got out earlier than usual, so I'm sure you have extra time. And we really do just want to talk.'

Jack couldn't logically come up with a counter argument, so he allowed himself to be pushed along; despite the bad feeling he had about this.

The river was surrounded by untouched snow, though the river itself was still moving on its course. When Nick let go of his shoulder, Jack whirled around to face him. "What did you want to talk about that requires being in a secluded area in the woods?" he demanded.

"Not much," Aster said, shifting uncomfortably in the snow. "Just-"

"Just wanted to ask your opinion of magic." Nick interrupted cheerfully.

Jack's eyes widened. "Magic?" he repeated uncertainly. He gathered his wits, certain he would have to outsmart the group so as to avoid ending up with the fate he had recieved in his most recent nightmare.

"Yeas," Tiana said delicately. "More specifically your views on the laws surrounding it, and the prosecution of some," she hesitated "non-human creatures."

Well. That was not quite what he had been expecting. "The laws are fair," he said automatically. "There are few magic users left, given that most counties have sub-laws that ban magic completely within their borders, though I have heard of a few places that welcome them."

Sandy held up a larger piece of paper that read 'We have traveled through some of them. There is even a small number of magic-only communities.'

Jack nodded slowly. "Well the law is right to allow them to practice their craft. Magic is dangerous, but I suppose it has its uses."

Nick laughed. "'Has its uses'? You make it seem as though it can be used for pain or practicality only! What about using it to enchant toys, or-"

Aster clapped a hand over Nick's mouth. "That's gettin' a bit off topic, don't you think?" He removed his hand when Nick nodded.

"Yes, but what about magic creatures?" Tiana asked eagerly, and Jack sense that this was what they most wanted to hear him talk about.

Jack looked up, trying to recall the different creatures he was taught, that everyone is taught when they're young. "If I remember correctly, pookas all died out during the war, which is a shame because I heard they were mostly peaceful, deadly if attacked, but peaceful enough that they weren't dangerous.

"Goblins are nasty from what I recall. We've never had any in Burgess, at least not in my lifetime, but there was an infestation a few years ago a couple towns over." Jack shuddered. "There was a story that they hate all other species and try to leave people disabled, not killed.

"I think trolls are… not exactly the smartest, but have brute strength. Giants are a legend, nobody has seen one for ages so they're probably all dead." He could feel the eyes of the others on him, but he stubbornly kept his gaze to the sky. "The idea of dryads is sort of creepy. They could potentially be any tree or bush, though I'm almost positive there's a way to tell. The same goes for naiads.

"I think dwarves like mining but stay out of everything. Shooting Stars are rare; I remember hearing that there've only ever been five living ones at a time. They're okay, I guess, though I'm not exactly certain what they do. Witches don't really count as magic users, I don't think, because witches have definitely been outlawed. Real witches, anyway. There might be some charm witches and cauldron witches, but legitimate witches? Dark magic, but dead." Jack finally brought his gaze back to earth, and to the faces of those who had dragged him out here.

Tiana seemed almost reluctant to say something, but when it was clear he was done talking she asked; "What about fey?"

What about fey indeed. Jack felt a shiver run up his spine at the mention of them. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to block the images of frost on the floorboards from his mind. "Fey were by far the most dangerous," he said, ice in his tone as he opened his eyes. "They cared for nobody, not even their own kind. They killed without mercy, and happily from what the stories say. They would magically persuade people to do things they would never normally do. They used glamours to blend in and get what they wanted from humans, and all other species." There was a growing fury in his voice, and a few small flakes had begun to drift from the sky. "Half of the fey were drunk most of the time and ate people, burned towns, or turned people into various animals! They did whatever they wanted and hurt a lot of species, and were the main cause of the war! It's a good thing iron shatters their illusions and harms them, otherwise we'd never be rid of them!"

Panting slightly from his rant, Jack leaned against one of the nearby trees. For almost a full minute the only sound was the water running along the riverbed. Nick chose to break the silence first.

"That is…" he stroked his beard. "Quite the passionate response."

"You sound like-" Tiana broke off and walked away.

Jack looked after her curiously, remembering his suspicions about her specifically. Were they true?

Aster shifted uncomfortably. "The sheila was probably gonna say that you sounded like they'd done something to you personally. She took that hard because…" He glanced around, as though looking for inspiration. Sandy signed something to him, and Jack suspected it was more than just suggesting how to phrase the words. Nodding, Aster said, "She had someone go after her because they thought she was fey and…"

"She does not like strong opinions of them?" Nick tried. Jack raised his eyebrows and filed that away, but nodded.

"Well, tell her I said sorry, but I really do have to go now." Jack edged away from the remaining members of the group, and, pretending not to notice the glances they exchanged, he darted away once he was out of their sight. When he was safely within sight of his house, he took a deep breath in and exhaled heavily after holding it for a few seconds. Trying to calm his racing heartbeat, he pulled out his flask and took a drink, ignoring the burn that seemed to accompany every sip had taken since he drank a good portion of Other Stuff undiluted.

Now I really want to leave this town before they catch me, he thought, entering the house.

Knocking gently on the door, Sandy entered room 14 to find Tooth sprawled on her bed, looking around listlessly.

"We aren't all bad…" she whispered, looking at him with amethyst eyes that sparkled with unshed tears.

Sandy gave her a small hug and helped her lie down. He pulled the blankets over her and stroked her hair. Frowning thoughtfully, he directed some of his sand to retrieve a small box that North had given him. It was made by fairies (one of the branches of fey that generally kept to themselves), but North had added a few extra enchantments over it. Cracking the lid, the glowing golden sand swirled around the object that was carved on the inside of the box, activating its magic. Soft music began to play, the sound of a single, finely tuned violin and the soft trickle of water pouring out of the small container. Smiling, Sandy set the box beside Tooth and put her to sleep with his sand. He then walked into room 15, where North and Bunny were in fierce discussion.

"What could 'e be?"

"Magic user?"

"Nah, this town's laws allow 'em. The whacker wouldn't bother to hide if 'e was."

"None would make sense! Either he does not fit them or speaks disapprovingly of them!"

Sandy waved his hand for their attention, but was ignored.

"It ain't like he mentioned all of them."

"Alchemist, maybe?"

"Does 'e really seem the sort?"

Sandy picked up a nearby wooden ball with a few painted markings on it.

"He must practise magic in some way; otherwise we would not be here!"

"Too right!"

Sandy threw the ball with accuracy, knocking Bunny over. The markings must have been magic. Oops.

Once Bunny was back on his feet (though rubbing his forehead), Sandy flashed symbols at them. The spark image from the morning before, a human figure, a human figure waving its arms around (clearly going on some sort of tirade), a human figure talking to another before suddenly changing and attacking the other, and the spark image repeated. Letting his symbols dissipate, Sandy looked at the others expectantly.

After a long moment, North said; "You think he's fey? After that outburst?"

"You're off your rocker, mate." Bunny said when Sandy nodded.

Sandy shrugged, but pinned them with a glare that told them to consider it, and returned to room 14.

Bunny rubbed his face. "D'ya think 'e was just being a show pony with that rant? Trying to convince us 'e hates fey to throw us off?

"Could be," North said, after a lengthy pause. "I will take first patrol, you take morning. We spare Toothie and Sandy tonight, yes?"

"Sounds like a plan." Bunny muttered (though it wouldn't have mattered, as North had already left the room).

A/N: First semester has begun, beware of slower updates. I'm going to get right to reviews, then an extra message.

WinterCrystal1009: That works too. No problem!

Guest: This chapter is pretty intense.

IReviewThings: These kinds of answers? (insert some kind of smirking face here)

MagicWarriorDragon: ;)

I'm the lonely life: Buckle up! Now that you've joined, there's no escaping... especially since I love writing cliffhangers.

Mikayla elwood: Yes, there used to be another chapter, but it was the wrong one so it isn't there right now. That was a mistake on my part. Glad you liked it, and here's that update!

And for the purple hippocampus, Serami Nefera, Brenne, and KorrieChan, I won't be answering your reviews this round because they applied to the other chapter, and I've spoiled enough with that accident. But a lot of people wondered about this world, so if you're curious I'm going to explain it a bit.

The world is a blend of early 1700's America, modern times, and some sort of magical place inside my head that took inspiration from every fantasy book I've ever read (aka made up). As far as the 'magic creatures' thing goes, they are based off other things (books), but certain tenancies/properties/elements of them are different than what you may have seen because this is an Au and I'm doing what I want (I'm mostly kidding, it's for the plot). More should be revealed eventually but I wanted to clear that up.

Big thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited. *covers face with hands* Again, really sorry about the mix up in chapters last time, especially to anyone who read the wrong version and now has spoilers. (More thanks to the purple hippocampus, Serami Nefera, Brenne, and KorrieChan, because without your reviews I probably wouldn't have noticed something was wrong.)

Until next time!