Hey guys, welcome back to Running for Life!

As usual, I'd like to thank all you lovely people for reviewing! This time around, thanks to ystv (Wow, thank you so much! As for inspiration, well...hm, I think it was because I was reading quite a few fantasy books at the time, and I thought, "Why not put the characters from my favorite movie ever into a fantasy-type land?", and it just kind of escalated from there!), SilverSkies1524 (Jack is a sassy one, isn't he? :), 1, Guest, Serami Nefera (You'll see soon enough ;), sunnyflight530, Brenne (You'll see!), Guest, ERIS 25 (You shall see!), Viny, Guest, TreeOfLife1997, Zerocchi, and Guest!

Without further ado, on with the chapter!

Chapter 6: Speaking Without Words

Smoke stung his eyes and throat as he huddled in the corner, trembling and desperately calling out for anyone that may have survived. He knew he shouldn't cry. He knew he should get up, move, run, escape, but he could not bring himself to leave his home behind, even as it burned to the ground.

The little white colt beside him whinnied, wanting to leave this place of horrors but unwilling to leave its friend to die. He held the small horse close to him with one arm, weeping into its mane as he clutched a shepherd's staff tightly with his other pale hand.

He was too young to truly understand the affairs of adults-he had barely reached his eleventh birthday-but he knew that this, this blatant destruction of everything an entire village of people held dear, was wrong. He and the other children had always been raised to respect humans, as there was naught but one difference between them and sprites; the use of winter magic. Despite this, he had always been told that they were equal.

The humans evidently did not share this belief.

Why else would they have come in the night with their torches, killing every being of winter in sight? Why else would they set fire to their home? Why else would they have ordered the mass murder of his people, his friends, his family?

He let out a choked sob as he thought of them. His mother, with her gentle eyes and lilting voice. His father, with his kind grin and fantastic stories. His little sister, only four years old, with her enthusiastic demeanor and endless curiosity.

Though he knew his sister's fate, it mattered not where he had gone; his parents were nowhere to be found.

While his young, stubborn mind clung to the minuscule hope that they were still alive, the crushing reality told him that the only familiar pieces of his now shattered world were the horse and the staff.

He scarcely noticed when the colt spooked and screamed, dancing away from the tall shadow that now cloaked them in its darkness. He forced himself to raise his head, seeing an indistinct figure towering over him. Though the thick, acrid smoke shielded the silhouette's face, its low voice echoed clearly.

"That old man is a fool," the specter breathed to itself. "Not a soul shall stand in my way."

The last thing he saw before the darkness consumed his vision was a silvery, ethereal light that reminded him of the full moon. Then, nothing.

()()()()

Jack couldn't move. His already-pale face was drained of all color and his pupils were heavily dilated from shock. Frost curled from his cross-legged form to extend into spirals on the silver walls, and his hands were clenched so tightly into fists that his nails dug into his palms.

The boy's head pounded as he tried to make sense of the Tsar's words. No matter how he approached it, however, Jack found himself unable to form a coherent thought. Against his will, he felt his slim body rise, hands still locked into place in front of him by the stubborn chains.

Each of the Guardians was staring at him with strange mixtures of shock, awe, horror, disbelief, confusion, and interest. Jack thought he saw Tooth's mouth move, as if she might be speaking, but he wasn't listening. All he could do was stand before them, unseeing eyes focused on nothing in particular as he waited for his conscious thought to return.

Me? A Guardian? he was finally able to think in a clear manner. But why...how...is he really even able to...why would he want me!?

Taking a shaky step back, Jack shook his head, both to clear it and to somehow deny the sudden turn of events. "No, I…" He shook his head again. "There must be...this is a mistake, r-right? I-I'm not...I can't be…" The young sprite trailed off, his owlish eyes and distinct lack of formality in his voice giving the impression that he had never truly grown up since the day he had started running.

Aster scoffed, crossing his arms, but appeared shaken. "Well of course it's a mistake!" he exclaimed stiffly. "Yer a snow sprite, a–"

"Bunny," Tooth chided half-heartedly. "Please, this isn't the time." Her magenta eyes were wide as she fluttered over to the boy. Instinctively, he took a step back.

"G-Get away from me," Jack muttered, glancing around the room, hoping to find an exit. "You're not...I-I mean I can't...you...you never...I…" He stuttered over his words as he continued to back away from the female Guardian. Swirls of frost blossomed from his feet with every step he took, covering every square inch of flooring that could be considered within the near vicinity. Jack's eye twitched as he located the door they had come in from. It stood ajar, just opened enough so that he might slip through and make a run for it.

"Jack-" North began, but the sprite shook his head vehemently. Sandy was preparing a dreamsand ball, most likely for calming purposes, but Jack did not plan to stay long enough to find out.

"N-No," he stammered, clenching his fists around the chain that bound his wrists. "I can't...I won't join you!" He turned away, shaking as he stared at the floor and reached his hands up to pull at his own hair.

Nicholas St. North frowned, brow furrowing as he tried to wrap his mind around the boy's words. "Won't?" he asked curiously. "Why not? You have been chosen to protect all of the children in the land! Why would you not want to-?"

"All," Jack suddenly interrupted. He lifted his head and turned, staring at the red-coated man. "All," he repeated emotionlessly. "All. Don't make me laugh. You say you protect all of the children in this tsardom. And yet I can name a full village worth of children that you neglected." The young sprite's eyes narrowed into blue slits that captivated the very essence of the coldest winter imaginable. "And that's not even a quarter of those that you let die without interfering in the slightest. You are supposed to fight for 'good', and yet you agree to hunt someone who's done nothing to oppose you. Your little organization contains so much corruption, most of which involves attacks on me, and yet you still expect me to join you!?" He laughed coldly, turning away again. "My deepest apologies, but that will never happen. Try not to celebrate too much."

With all that being said, Jack swept out of the audience chamber, leaving the four Guardians wondering if they had only imagined the tears welling in the boy's eyes.

()()()()

Jack screamed in frustration as he banged his own hands against the silvery hallway wall. No matter what he did, the chains around his wrists would not come off. He had tried everything; force, gentleness, wishing, pleading. Nothing worked.

He let out a groan as he leaned against the wall, slowly sliding downwards until he had assumed a sitting position. He rubbed his forehead in exhaustion, wondering how long it would take the Guardians to find him here. Perhaps they wouldn't even try.

If they do come, maybe they won't force me to help them with...whatever the Tsar wants me to help them with, he thought bitterly. Maybe they'll show some mercy and just kill me already. Not that I'd ever believe they would.

Jack suddenly sat straight upright, crystalline eyes widening. "Believe," he whispered to himself. "That's it!"

From the old stories he heard as a child, he knew that the Guardians' immortality was derived from two prime sources. It was initially granted by the moon's power, which was usually channeled by the standing Tsar (That would explain why Tsar Lunar supposedly has the authority to declare me a Guardian...ugh, Jack thought), as they took the Guardian Oath. Then, it was strengthened over the years and maintained by the general public's belief in them. If their very existence was so closely centered around belief, why should this piece of their magic be any different?

Jack was so confident in the accuracy of his theory that he had no problem convincing himself to believe his bindings would simply fall from his wrists. I believe, I believe, I believe, was the mental mantra he kept up as he took a few deep breaths. Sure enough, when he opened his eyes, he saw that the chains had lost some of their luster, and had unlocked themselves. Jack smirked and allowed the formerly enchanted metal to fall to the ground, making obnoxious clanking noises as it went.

With one problem taken care of, Jack felt a little bit better about his current situation, but not by much. He ran his fingers through his shaggy white hair, exhaling heavily. "This doesn't make any sense," he murmured aloud, beginning to pace. "Why would the Tsar pick me of all people as a Guardian? I'm nothing special. Is this why he wanted snow sprites hunted down and captured? But then how did he know he'd find me specifically? Was he after me specifically? How can they expect me to drop everything and just decide to join them? Why are their morals so drastically different than how they're made out to be? Why am I talking to myself?"

The boy shook his head and stood still in the middle of the silvery hall, looking both ways and trying to discern what exactly was down the path he had been heading towards initially. The entire hall was barren, with no defining features to mark specific location. Had it not been for the spikes of ice that had trailed behind him as he moved, Jack realized he would've been hopelessly lost.

Shuddering at the thought, Jack tried to recall how far he had run before attacking the chain problem. Unfortunately, he found himself unable to give even a rough estimate. The cloud of rage, confusion, and terror that had dulled his senses just enough to deny him of the very instincts that would've been most useful to him in a situation such as this one.

"Might as well press on and hope this place isn't designed to be a labyrinth," the sprite mumbled to himself. He took the edges of his cloak into his hands and pulled the brown, slightly frosted fabric around him, more for comfort than for warmth. Jack began to walk down the hallway, leaving a trail of frost behind him that paled in comparison to the terror-induced jagged spikes from before.

The lack of activity in the palace was unsettling, to say the least. Jack realized that he had not seen any signs of life besides the Tsar himself since the guards at the gate had let him and the Guardians in initially. His every sense was on high alert as he made his way through the identical corridors, hoping to come across some sort of open window that he could leave from.

Unfortunately, the hunters had confiscated his staff after they had caught him escaping, and the only windows he could see were too high up to climb to. The lack of shelving or footholds in the polished silvery walls didn't help either.

Hm, I wonder if this entire palace is made of real silver, Jack mused silently. If that's the case, Tsar Lunar's been holding out on us all.

After making a few turns and realizing he had no idea where he was going, Jack was tempted to give up and follow his own trail back to the audience chamber. However, he figured one, two, or even all of the Guardians might still be inside it, waiting for him to return. Going back would imply that he was planning on turning around and accepting the Tsar's decision, and Jack wasn't one for false implications.

The boy sat down on the floor, back against the wall and cloak still tightly wrapped around his slight form. What have I gotten myself into? he thought miserably. First, I'm a member of the most despised species in the tsardom, then after years alone on the run, I'm captured by my childhood heroes, and now I'm expected to suck it up and join them, most likely as their slave. I'm not sure what I did to deserve this, but trouble sure does love me, huh?

Jack was abruptly jolted out of his thoughts by a soft tap on his shoulder. He was standing tall in an instant, jumping several feet away from whoever it was who had approached him. Upon looking down slightly, he saw Sanderson Mansnoozie standing before him. The Sand-Spinner's small, golden palms were raised in what was probably intended to be a comforting gesture.

Jack wasn't impressed.

"What do you want from me?" he growled, allowing a threatening, ice blue aura to envelop his hands. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

Sandy frowned. He lowered his hands slowly and shook his head. In the air above him, a few images made from dreamsand flashed in and out of existence. Jack could only catch a few of them; a snowflake, a capital G, and a rearing horse. The others moved too fast for him to discern their shapes.

His electric blue eyes narrowed into slits. "Fine," he said, voice wavering with fear that he tried so hard to distinguish. "Just kill me then. No need for me to be here if I refuse to become a Guardian, right? So go ahead. I won't fight. If you possessed any mercy, you would slit my throat and let me join my family."

Suddenly, the little color he possessed drained from Jack's face. Noting Sandy's wide-eyed expression, he stuttered, "Ah, um...for-forget I said that. Just do it now; the others don't even have to know. You can just tell them I went off the deep end and killed myself."

The golden man's eyebrows furrowed, and he took a tentative step forward. Jack swallowed nervously, allowing the glow around his hands to fade as he stood up straight, eyes trained on the short Guardian.

To Jack's surprise, instead of trying to carry him off again, Sandy instead took the boy's pale hand and led him back over to the wall where the Sand-Spinner had initially found him. With a slight frown on his face, Jack slowly lowered himself to the floor as Sandy took a seat beside him. "What exactly are you trying to-?"

He went silent as Sandy covered his mouth. A sand knife appeared in the air, followed by a skull and crossbones, then a question mark. The dreamsand faded as Sandy removed his hand, crossing his arms and looking at the boy expectantly.

"What, why do I want you to kill me?" Jack asked frostily, raising an eyebrow. At a nod from the Sand-Spinner, he shrugged. "There's nothing left for me here. I've spent the past six years trying to survive, but all along I've just been kidding myself. 'Tis not worth it. I'm not worth it." He scowled. "Now could you just do it already? You would be doing me a favor. Or is that only more reason for you to refuse?"

Sandy lowered his arms slowly, letting out a silent sigh as he shook his head and placed a small hand on Jack's knee. Another capital "G" appeared over his head, written in an annoyingly familiar curved script. The Guardian crest.

"No," Jack said sharply, startling the golden man. "Can't you Guardians take a hint? I do not want to join you!" Sandy let out another short puff of air as a question mark appeared over his head. The sprite arched a dark eyebrow that greatly contrasted against his pale skin and silver hair. "What have you ever done for me?" he asked, turning away from the Sand-Spinner. "'Tis not like you ever protected me. Why should I feel at all obligated to help you with...whatever you're trying to drag me into?"

Almost immediately, a small golden silhouette materialized before Jack's eyes. It was then joined by another, then another, and then another until there must have been at least 20 sand figures dancing through the air. Based on the structure of their tiny bodies, Jack could easily infer what they were meant to be.

"Children," he said softly, the ice mostly gone from his tone. The boy sighed and ran a hand over his face, stopping to rub his forehead before lowering his arm again. "Look, if you could just hear me out," he murmured, refusing to meet Sandy's eyes. "I'm all for protecting children, really, I am. But…" He had to stop to take a deep breath before continuing. "I'm not sure I like your success rate. If you had asked me to join you six years ago I would've backflipped at the chance. But being on my own for so long has taught me something. You can't rely on fairytales." Before the Sand-Spinner could form another question mark, Jack went on to explain. "You and the others...you were never there. Not for me, nor anyone in my village. Anyone in my entire race, at that. We believed in you, respected you. We told and spread your stories. And yet when we needed the help of a Guardian the most...you would not offer it.

"It sounds petty, I know, but I'm afraid I cannot help it. You are supposed to be the protectors of Soluna, and everyone living here. As a mob from the once-peaceful neighboring human village burnt my home to the ground, you did nothing to help." Jack lifted his gaze from the polished, pristine floor to meet Sandy's wide-eyed stare. "I've lost my faith in you," he intoned. "I now can only trust myself. Thus, I stand alone."

Sandy chewed his lower lip, studying the boy's steely eyes for a long moment before Jack looked down to avoid his gaze. He puffed out a soundless sigh and hung his golden head, his usual glow partially losing its luster. The Guardian laid a hand on Jack's arm, holding tight when the young sprite tried to flinch away. He touched Jack's chin and gently lifted the sprite's head to look at him. When he had Jack's full attention, Sandy proceeded to shake his head and form a plethora of dreamsand images that the albino teenager somehow understood.

I cannot apologize enough for what we have done. I don't know what happened to make the snow sprites such a hated race, but I do know one thing. You will be the one to end that mindset. All you must do is join us, and help us put an end to Pitch Black's malice.

Jack felt dizzy.

He had no clue as to how he had gotten that much information from a few golden pictures, but at present, he did not care. The name Sandy had ended up plainly spelling out for him, Pitch Black, was the name of the Nightmare King, the Guardians' most sworn enemy. And they expected Jack to help them defeat him.

"I-I'm sorry," he stammered, surprised to find that he wasn't lying. "But I don't think I'm cut out for that."

The Sand-Spinner vigorously shook his head, sending specks of golden light flying from his wild hair. He took the boy's hands in his and looked him dead in the eye. One image formed between them. A crescent moon.

Tsar Lunar chose you.

Jack chewed on his bottom lip, eyebrows creased as a large mass of emotions coursed through his system. Anger at the Tsar for not explaining anything. Fear at the thought of facing the most evil being known to Soluna. Sadness at the memories of his destroyed home that had resurfaced. Hope at the thought of possible being able to belo-

No, he interrupted his own thought process. You can't belong, Jack. You're a snow sprite, and...and a criminal at that. Jack's mind turned back to the wallet still clipped to his belt; the one he had stolen from the drunk in the Rusted Bell. He thought of the rest of the money he had taken over the years, putting it towards his own survival. He thought of the various limbs he had been forced to break in order to make escapes from tight situations. He thought of frozen scowls and frostbitten skin. Suddenly he felt ill.

"Then...then he made the wrong choice," Jack said aloud, swallowing heavily before continuing. "I'm no Guardian. Just kill me and find someone who can actually help you."

Dreamsand quite literally spouted from the little golden man's ears, as if to accent Sandy's irritation. Sandy floated upwards, pulling Jack to his feet. The Guardian then began to lead the boy back the way the both of them had come, his grip like a vice on Jack's thin arm.

The young sprite sighed, knowing that words would not sway Sandy any further. He had no choice but to follow and accept his fate-whatever it may be.

Hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you guys next week for Chapter 7!

Until then, Sapphire316, out.