Family, Souls, and Secrets

by animefan021513

After being walked through, Jack returns to his pond, but when he does there's a beautiful woman standing there. Mother Nature. She offers him a home and place to hone his powers. What will it be like living there? What people will he meet? What kind of relationships will blossom while he's there? How is he connected to Bunny's youngest brother? Read and Find out!

5. 1726

"Do my eyes deceive me, or could that possibly be Jack Frost walking into my kitchen!? Someone grab me a calendar! On this day, July 10th, 1726, Jack Frost has walked into a kitchen!" Mother Nature was spinning around dramatically as I walked into the large kitchen. She was wearing a yellow sundress that had green butterflies on it, no shoes, her hair was up in a beautiful double braid, and the apron she wore was as black as her hair, or would be, if it didn't have flour all over it. "Bram...Nimbus...do you see him, or is it merely an apparition!?"

"I believe it must be an apparition, Mother, but then why am I seeing it too!?" Bram joked.

"Perhaps he's lost." Nimbus commented with a sly smirk as he kneaded some dough.

"You know...I can leave." I laughed out as I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, c'mon, don't be like that, Jack." Nimbus commented. "What brings you to the kitchen?"

"I...I wanted to learn how to cook. Well...I wanted to learn how to cook more than just soup..."

"I must be ill...or my ears need to be checked." Mother Nature said in an honestly shocked tone as she stared at me with wide storm gray eyes that looked like pure silver in the light she stood in while in front of the kitchen window. "You want to learn how to cook?"

"Is that alright?"

"Y-Yes!" She shouted in excitement. "Um...let's see...Nimbus just got done forming the bread and right now he's working on the three different types of pasta we'll be having...um...Bram is working on the cheeses and fruits. Oh! I know what you can help me with! I need to cut and cook the steak and chicken. It'll be a lot, but with your help, it shouldn't be an issue."

"Alright, tell me what to do." I walked over towards where she was at, and I noticed she was standing in front of a cutting board. She taught me which way to cut it, and how to hold my other hand, but when I went to try I nicked my thumb. "Shit!" I shouted as I held onto my thumb and went to the small water well that was built into the kitchen. I pulled up some water and grabbed a rag, and started slowly washing the blood off while applying pressure every now and then. "Sorry..."

"No...it's alright...I just didn't know you could or would ever cuss." She threw away the steak I bled on, and wiped her hands on her apron.

"Not cuss? You should hear him when we're sparring!" Bram threw his head back as he belted out a laugh. "The man has a fouler mouth than Isla!"

"Yeah, no kidding." Nimbus agreed with a slight chuckle.

"Alright, now...you didn't have to mention that." I laughed out. I looked at my thumb and it was still bleeding. "Ugh! It's never going to stop at this rate." I touched two fingers to the cut and created a patch of ice, but what happened underneath the ice left me gaping in shock.

"Jack, are you alright?" Mother Nature asked with pure concern in her voice, and I briefly looked up at her before looking at my hand again.

"I um...I'm healing...look." I moved my thumb to Mother Nature and her eyes went even wider than my own.

"Remarkable. It's regenerative ice!"

"What ice?" I blinked at her in shock as she still looked at my hand.

"Regenerative...Adara has the same ability with her fire, and her body is naturally resistant so rather than getting burned she can sear a wound close and it won't leave so much as a mark on her, but it will leave a VERY faint scar. It only works on her though. It must be the same for you."

"Okay, that would've been nice to know when that ocean spirit decided to impale me."

"It would've, but you would've still had to wait for me to get all of the shards out and reverse the enchantments that were going through your bloodstream." She quickly moved back to the counter to grab something, but slipped and I caught her, with her face landing in my chest.

"Uh..." I dumbly started as I felt my cheeks begin to warm. I helped her up, and noticed her cheeks were a bit pink. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah...I slipped on some of the water that spilled." I was still holding her elbows to try and keep her steady, but my hands felt so warm where they were at, I didn't want to let go.

Once I thought she was steady I slowly moved my hands to hers and helped her to where she was trying to go. "Better now?"

"M-Much...thank you." She told me as she tucked a stray hair back behind her ear.

"You're quite welcome." I told her as I allowed my hands to fall from hers. I looked over to Bram and Nimbus who were smirking at each other. "Oh, and what is that look for you two?" I asked as I grabbed my staff. "Don't make me freeze your faces like that."

"Oh, no reason. We um..." Nimbus started with an amused expression. "...didn't know...Mother would still be so clumsy. She's usually very graceful in the kitchen, but she used to be very clumsy."

"Is that so?" I asked in a mischievous tone as I gave a side glance to Mother Nature who was then glaring at Nimbus.

"Oh, you...! just hurry up with the bread and pasta."

As I saw the tinge of pink on her face I let out a quick chuckle before quickly tapping Nimbus and Bram and pointing at Mother Nature. "Do my eyes deceive me, or could that possibly be a blush on the ever powerful Mother Nature! Bram...Nimbus...do you see it, or is it merely a mirage!?"

Bram gave a wicked smile with mischievous eyes, and I had to stifle a laugh that wanted to escape. "I believe it must be a mirage, Jack, but then why am I seeing it too!?"

"Perhaps she is feverish!" Nimbus feigned concern as he started to laugh while kneading the dough some more.

"I swear! The three of you are so childish!" She growled out as she grabbed another piece of steak and placed it on the cutting board she just cleaned off.

"HA!" I shouted. "Says the woman who had a VERY similar conversation with Nimbus and Bram before I cut my finger!"

"Seems like your words came to bite you on the ass huh, Mother?" Nimbus chuckled out.

She rolled her eyes with the corner of her mouth turning up into a half smile as she shook her head. Then, she turned to look at me, and I found myself giving her a soft smile. "Care to try again?"

"Yes, actually. Maybe this time I can avoid my hand."

"Maybe..." She hummed and showed me how to do it once again, and I actually managed to get it right. "Good! Now you're going to do that to the rest of the steak. There's four more. I'll cut up the chicken. Sound fair?"

"Yeah, that sounds fair." I gave her a quick smile before finishing up the steak I was already working on. We worked on our separate things in silence for the next two hours, and I heard Nimbus let out a sigh. "You alright there, Nimbus?"

"Yeah, I finally finished making the different types of pasta, now all that's left is to cook it."

"Huh...well, I just finished the last steak. Perhaps we can help each other."

"You go help Nimbus, I got the steaks." Mother Nature told me and she grabbed my cutting board.

"Okay." I walked over to where a flour covered Nimbus was standing. "So what do we do?"

"Well, first...I've already got everything prepared pretty much...all that's left is putting it in hot water. To do that, we're going to need to get the fireplace going or you'll need to find Adara..."

"I heard my name." Adara chimed as she walked through the door, and I heard a bellowing laugh come from Nimbus and Bram.

"Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear!" Bram cackled out.

"Don't make me roast your wings." She told him as she sent a false scowl at him, placing her hands on her hips. "I was coming down here anyway. What can I help with? I hear we're going to have a special guest joining us this evening."

"We are!" Mother Nature beamed. "Oh, and you can help Nimbus and Jack with the pasta. They need boiling water."

"Oh, it's a good thing I wasn't far behind then." Mesi giggled as she walked in.

"And I find myself ever thankful this is the biggest kitchen in existence." Nimbus grinned. "We need you to be water into three large pots, and we'll need Adara to heat them up to boiling level. It's a good thing there's three ovens, and six fire places."

"Yes, well...for a castle as large as mine and for how many I feed...it's necessary." Mother Nature commented as she finished up the last of the chicken.

I watched as Mesi moved over to the three pots Nimbus had ready and she placed her hands on either side of the pot, and I smirked as it filled up with water. "You know, there are so many pranks we could play with that power of yours."

"Ah, Jack is feeling childish today." Mesi hummed with an amused smile as she moved to the next pot while Nimbus took the first one to the fire place, and she repeated the action on the second and third ones, and afterwards, Nimbus would move them to the different fireplaces.

"Just for a little bit." I told her as I watched Adara heat up the pots.

"Alright, Jack...you have to be careful in putting the pasta in. Adara made it boiling."

"Got it." I told him as I picked up a plate of pasta and headed for the second pot while he went for the first. "So how do I do this?"

"You're going to pour it in carefully but at the same time your going to try and rake it in there."

"Okay...like this?" I asked him as I tipped the plate and used my fingers to pull the pasta into the pot.

"Exactly! Now, there's two large plates of pasta for each pot, and then we wait by and stir them every now and then so it doesn't stick to the bottom."

"What about the bread?" I asked carefully as I looked at the six large loaves of bread.

"I'll get that." Mesi piped up and went to grab the first two loaves of bread. "Adara, can you start the logs in the oven?"

"Sure!" Adara lit the logs to an almost full blaze and Mesi pushed the pan into the oven, but then quickly pulled her hand back when the pan was a little more than half way through.

"What's wrong!?" I asked as I rushed to her while Adara push the pan the rest of the way through.

"I burned my wrist."

"Oh..." I breathed out, and by pure instinct I grabbed her arm just behind the quickly reddening wrist and I had to admit, the burn was pretty bad. I hovered my hand over it, and focused on how I healed myself earlier, and I felt my magic come into contact with her wrist. Once I was satisfied that I did something I pulled my hands away from her arm and watched her examine her wrist with widened eyes. "Is it alright now?"

"Y-Yeah! It's...the burn is disappearing!"

"I'd let that stay on there until it's gone." Mother Nature mentioned as she got the last of the chicken into one of the other ovens. "Turns out Jack has regenerative ice, but I think the one he can use for others is limited to burns."

"Wow! That's amazing!" Adara squealed as she helped get the rest of the pasta into the third pot.

"Thank you. So, who's the special guest?" I asked as I walked over to Mother Nature.

"I think I've told you a little bit about him. He's called the Sandman, but most everyone calls him Sandy. I've known him a long time, and every now and then he'll stop for a visit. Today is one such day. Oh...is this going to be your first time meeting him?"

"Should be...I've never met him before...isn't he one of the Guardians?"

"Yes, he is, but while he's here we don't talk about him being a Guardian. He comes to visit and take a break from being a Guardian. When he takes breaks like this, Manny takes over and gives the children sweet dreams in his stead."

"Got it...so don't ask about him being a Guardian."

"No...but if he brings it up to you...it should be okay."

"Huh...when will he get here?"

"More than likely once we set the table. He's a pretty punctual person. Has to be if he's to deliver dreams to children."

"That makes sense I suppose."

"Good, now help me prepare the rest of dinner."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

It was me, Mother Nature, Nimbus, Bram, Adara, Isla, Mesi, Abungu, Summer, Autumn, and Flora in the dining hall as usual, and we had just set the last plate of food onto the large dining table, and sure enough Mother Nature was right, and there was a knock at the door. "Alright everyone, he's here." Mother Nature said with a pleasant smile as she went to the door and opened it. I followed them all and was the last to the door, but I made it just in time to see a man just under four feet tall walk in wearing a robe that seemed to be made of sand and he had sunset colored eyes, and had spiky golden hair that seemed to glitter almost. "Good to see you, Sandy." Mother Nature told him, and he summoned a cloud that I'm assuming was made of sand by the way it looked, and he floated up to wrap his arms around her.

"How have ya been, Sandy?" Nimbus asked as he crossed his arms with a polite smile.

Sandy immediately conjured symbols, but I could also hear a voice seep into my mind. "I've been great, I've delivered a lot of dreams, and there was even a child that dreamed about me! It was nice to see, but I kind of wish I was taller in the child's dream."

Nimbus let out a sigh and shook his head. "One day, Sandy...one day I'll understand those symbols of yours."

"Um...how could you not understand that?" I asked, and immediately gained the stairs of everyone, including Sandy's.

His eyes widened and he seemed to nearly stagger back. He then quickly conjured a sand cloud and floated towards me and looked me in the eyes. Then, without symbols, I heard his voice again. 'You look awfully familiar to me...'

"I don't see how I would look familiar. This is the first time I'm meeting you."

Apparently I had something wrong, because his sand cloud vanished underneath him and he landed on his butt, staring up at me in complete and utter shock. "SANDY!?" Mother Nature shouted with a tone of worry.

He quickly turned around to Mother Nature and the symbols went flying again. "He can understand me! He can hear my thoughts, and he can understand me! I merely thought that he looked familiar and he answered me saying that this is the first time he's meeting me! He understands me!"

"J-Jack? Can you come here?" Mother Nature questioned carefully with a curious gaze. I did as I asked and walked up to her. "Okay...I want you to face the dining room door, and I'm going to whisper questions into Sandy's ear and have him answer them using only his thoughts...I want you to say what you hear, okay? No one else is allowed to speak or so much as even gasp."

"Yes, Mother." The others agreed.

"As you wish." I told her as I faced the door.

She must've asked her question to him, because I heard his voice. 'Ugh! Elves!'

I couldn't help the giggle that left my lips. "Ugh! Elves!" I repeated, still facing the door.

'G-Gold obviously...'

"Gold Obviously..." I cleared my throat and held up a hand. "However...he stuttered a bit at the word Gold."

'Manta rays.'

"Manta rays."

'Googies.'

"Googies."

'Jane.'

"Jane."

"A-Alright, J-Jack...you can turn around now." I did as she asked and quickly noticed everyone's extremely confused and astounded expressions.

"Um...I take it...not everyone can hear his voice..."

"Y-You hear his voice!?" Mother Nature questioned as her eyes seemed to grow wider.

"Well, yeah. That's why I didn't know how they didn't know what he said earlier. Sounded clear as day to me."

"What did he say?" Nimbus inquired with a curiously risen brow.

"He said, 'I've been great, I've delivered a lot of dreams, and there was even a child that dreamed about me! It was nice to see, but I kind of wish I was taller in the child's dream.' And then you told him you would understand his symbols someday."

"Th-That's exactly r-right."

"Yeah, I know it's right, because I heard it...so can someone tell me the answer to my question?"

"Well..." Mother Nature started. "No..." She answered with a slight tilt of her head. "No one else can understand him like you were just able to."

After taking in her words, I walked up to Sandy who seemed to still be staring at me in shock. "I'm sorry if I bothered you any. I hadn't meant to."

His eyes widened even further if possible and he conjured his sand cloud again and met my eyes once more. "You didn't upset me...but you DO look familiar..."

"Trust me, we haven't met. I think you would remember me rudely reading your mind." I let out a light chuckle and he seemed to relax.

"You're right. Never mind then."

"Oh, before I forget. My name is Jack Frost. I'm Mother Nature's General of Winter."

"Ah...and I'll keep that information completely to myself and if anyone asks, I don't know."

"What? Why?"

"Well..." Summer started. "...typically Mother is the one that introduces us. Until then...it's up to everyone to either assume, or for them to just not know."

I crossed my arms and gave Mother Nature a mischievous glance to the side. "Is that so?" I smirked and turned to face her. "Fourteen years of being your General and I had no idea. I think that deserves another sparring match. Hey, Nimbus?" I looked over to Nimbus who was giving a wicked grin at the three of us.

"The score of sparring match is Jack thirty-seven and Mother thirty-three."

"Ooo...perhaps not then. Wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of your friend." I turned around and noticed that Sandy was looking back and forth between us, but I chose to ignore it for now as she rolled her eyes at me with an honest and amused smile. "Say, what were those questions you asked him anyway?"

She gave a slight chuckle and waved for the others to sit where they wanted to. "In order they were, 'What is your least favorite helper creature?' Then, 'What's you're favorite color?' After that was, 'What is your favorite animal?' Then, 'What does Bunny call the eggs he paints?' And Finally, 'What is my middle name?'

"Your middle name is Jane?"

Everyone's eyes widened again, and I was starting to feel uncomfortable with all of the eye widening, but then I heard Sandy's voice. 'Don't react, but they're reacting that way because you were able to say her middle name without any repercussions, which means she trusts you a great deal. I'll explain later if you like.'

"You were able to say Mother's middle name." Bram stated in shock.

"I'm sorry...is that a bad thing?" I then turned to face Sandy and noticed a knowing if not amused smile.

'Clever way to directly ask me to continue.' He told me with his thoughts, which sounded like an echo of his voice. Then, his symbols started floating. "Names are important. You can always say a portion of a spirits name...like they can all call me Sandman or Sandy, but it's not my name. You can call Nimbus by his name, but it's not his full name. You see...we can only give our names to those we trust absolutely everything with, and that's ALWAYS including trusting them with our life. Now, don't take any offense that the other spirits haven't given you their name, because if it's given and is later used against them...it can kill both spirits. Names are extremely important. They are who we are and they hold what we feel, our life, our wishes, hopes, dreams, and memories. If someone knows your name, it means you've entrusted all of that to them, trusting them to never harm it or use it against you."

"Oh...I think I understand now." I turned to face Mother Nature and gave an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I won't ever use it unless you trust me with your name."

"Thank you, but I can't give you my permission for my name right now."

"I understand. Now, to get off this wonderful topic. Let's eat."

"I'd like to sit next to Jack if that's alright, Mother Nature. It'll be nice to have another person to talk to."

She smiled and nodded her head as she stood to gather food onto her plate. "Sit wherever you you like, Sandy."

We all sat down and filled our plates. On my side it was Flora, Adara, Abungu, Nimbus, me, and then Sandy. On Mother Natures side, it was Isla, Mesi, Bram, Summer, Mother Nature, and Autumn. "So, Sandy...I think it's unfair that I got to know some things about you, but you didn't get to learn anything about me."

"Is that so? Does this mean you'll let me ask you questions?" He asked as he finished a strawberry, and I noticed he stopped using his symbols around me. I looked over to the others and they sent amused smiles as they could somehow tell that we were having a conversation, and quickly accepted it as the new normal.

"Whatever you like."

"Careful with your words, Jack..." He sent a mischievous glance my way. "...I may think you mean that."

"Ask me whatever you like." I repeated with my own mischievous expression.

To anyone else he would've silently chuckled, but to me it was a deep and highly amused chuckle. "Very well then...let's start with a simple one. What's your favorite color?"

"Sapphire blue, but I also really like ice blue."

"Hmm, I can see it. What's your favorite food?"

"Hmm...I think I would have to say Nimbus's cooked beef mixed with carrots, potatoes, and cabbage. He mixes it in one pot and leaves it in there for practically forever, but it tastes really good when it's done."

"Why, thank you, Jack. Now I have something to hold over your head."

I rolled my eyes and looked at his smug grin. "Uh huh...and just how many things do I have over you?"

His eyes widened briefly and he instantly smiled and put an arm around me. "Jack! Buddy! My best friend! Ya know I was kidding, right?"

"Uh huh..." I nodded my head with a smirk. "Sure you were." I turned back to Sandy who was even more amused at this point while everyone was laughing at Nimbus's reaction. "What else?"

"Hmm..." He chuckled out. "...so...you've told me your name and by the look of you, you can use winter magic. What all can you do?"

"What all can I do with my powers?" I asked carefully, and then I heard Summer chuckle slightly.

"Kick Mother's ass and make her look like a fool in a sparring match for one." Summer laughed out, but then I summoned heavy snow that built itself on his head and shoulders. He placed his knife and fork on his plate and let out a sigh as he crossed his arms. "Not funny."

"Neither was what you said. That was wrong, and hurtful. Apologize to her, and I'll remove the snow."

He looked at me and then at Mother Nature and nodded his head. "It was very wrong of me. I'm truly sorry, Mother."

"It's alright. It is the truth after all. Especially with the first sparring match." She smiled and looked at me. "Jack, remove the snow."

I waved my staff and the snow lifted off of his body and faded into the invisible barrier on the floor. "Summer, you shouldn't talk about her like that. You're even further behind in sparring matches against her than she is with me. Sparring isn't about making someone look foolish, it's about learning and getting better with your skills and powers."

"I understand...I'm sorry, Jack."

"It's alright, just as long as you don't say anything like that again." I turned back to Sandy and he looked at me with a stunned expression, and then at Mother Nature. I looked at her and noticed the slight smile on her face as she continued eating.

"Yeah..." She started after taking a bite of some pasta. "...he can make it snow in the castle. I still haven't figured that one out, but at moments like that, I can't say that I mind."

"Well, that's certainly surprising. Hmm...well, as a sort of meeting present and congratulations on being able to somehow keep up with Mother Nature...AND thoroughly scold one of her children..." I looked at him and he let out a stream of dream sand.

"Whoa! Sandy are you serious!?" Mesi questioned, and from behind me I heard her stand up and place her hands on the table.

"Very."

"What will it do?'

"Well, when you touch it I'll tell you. Mostly it shows dreams, but sometimes it can show what someone considers to be their most important memory."

I nodded my head and stood from my chair. The sand followed me and was now level with my chest. I reached out to touch it, and dolphins erupted from it. "Dolphins." I instantly looked at Nimbus when I heard him drop his fork and watched as he covered his hand over his mouth and tears began to form.

"A memory...AND a dream. How unique. What's this a memory of?"

"It was my first time out of the domain, and Nimbus was taking me, showing me the world...we crossed the ocean, and I noticed the dolphins in the water. He convinced some of them to race with us, but I was apparently too close to the ocean water, and one of the spirits of the ocean speared me in the side."

"I fail to see how this is an important memory or a good dream." He told me with a worried expression as the dolphin continued to swim around me.

"Well, Nimbus, Abungu, Isla, Mesi, Adara, Bram, Autumn, Summer, Flora, and I were all in my room afterwards and they were all worried about me. We um...agreed to look after one another. They were all incredibly worried about me. It was one of my best memories since being here, and I sometimes dream about the conversation happening again." I turned around to face Nimbus and gave him a reassuring smile. "It's a good memory, Nimbus."

He dropped his hand slowly and gave a small appreciative smile as he quickly nodded his head. "It is."

"I'd say." Abungu chimed in with a smile.

"Well, I'd say that's a good memory and dream indeed. You treasure these nine spirits, don't you?" He asked me as the sand disappeared and we made our way back to our chairs.

I looked at them and nodded my head. "I do."

"Hmm...you're a good person Jack Frost."

"I try to be."

"If you had to try you wouldn't have this many people care for you. You're naturally good. After this, if you ever see me, and feel up for a race or a game, I'd love to be part of it." He smiled at me just before going back to his plate.

"You're on, Sandy." I laughed out before going back to my own plate.