*runs in with arms full of papers, hair a mess and limbs flailing*

I'M HERE!

Oh boy, I cannot tell you how amazing it is that I actually am able to get this chapter up today. I wrote the majority of it TODAY. ABOUT AN HOUR AGO.

Sigh, I've been really busy this week if you couldn't tell from the whole screaming thing. Between homework, pep rally, being one of the main people working on the 10th grade hallway for said pep rally [which our so-called "Sophomore Advisor" did not bother helping us with, I might add DX I mean come on, we're a bunch of 15 year olds and you told us to decorate an entire hallway with minimal supervision. THAT'LL END WELL], AND homecoming tonight...well, let's just say I'm glad I have something for you guys, even if it's another short explain-y one. Don't worry though, we'll be back to the action soon enough!

ANYway, sorry for the ranting, and since I didn't properly welcome you guys at first...welcome back to more Running for Life!

You know the drill; review time! Huge thanks go to Nekohime1, Brenne, readwithcats, BooksAreMedicine (She's a tough one, that's for sure :), laurcuna, Randomly Talented, lazig33 (Still can't believe you made an account, but thanks...mother...XD), Guest, .mira, baileymermaid95 (Wow, thanks! I have always found it cool that, since these characters only appear in one movie [not counting the books, of course], you can kind of take their characters in any direction you want, and in an AU, you can do that even more! Glad you like what I've done here!), and WickedInk (You'll see!)!

With all that done, nothing left to do but move on to the chapter!

Chapter 16: Only More Questions

The scar across his chest was a long one, and the wound it had formed from had been deep. He had possessed that scar for a total of six years; he had gotten it at some point during the fire, he knew.

The curious part?

He could not remember how he had come to bear the awful thing

Though in color, the mark was nearly as pale as his own skin, it somehow stood out greatly amongst the other scars on his chest.

For one, there was its size and long, curved shape. While the other scars were the product of a scratch or slash from a dagger, that one in particular seemed like it was initially supposed to be a stab wound, but forcefully dragged through the rest of his body,

Amazingly, however, every one of his internal organs seemed to be present and completely intact. He couldn't even begin to explain it, and so he ignored it, hoping that he would not live to regret his choice.

At times, he could feel the scar twinge, but it was never enough to truly bother him. Most of the time, he simply forgot about it and went about his business.

But it was still there.

The crescent on his chest may never have been a cause for immediate concern, but it sometimes lurked at the back of his mind, sowing uncertainty and reaping worry.

However, there was nothing he could do about it, and so he had always let the matter drop and fade away.

()()()()

At first, Jack found it difficult to decide how much the Guardians should know about who Olivia was to him. They can obviously tell that I know her, regardless of whatever Jamie might have said, he thought, gazing emotionlessly up at North, who was flanked by the other three immortals. He may not have explicitly told them that Olivia's my sister, so if I need to, I might still have a chance to lie.

"What exactly did Jamie tell you?" Jack asked carefully, unconsciously shifting so that he stood just in front of his sister.

"Only that ya know her," Aster replied, a decidedly suspicious aura to his tone. There was a long moment of silence before the Pooka spoke up again, eyes narrowed. "Well? Out with it, Frostbite. How do ya know the kid?"

It more so sounds like you're asking me, 'What did you do to hurt her in the past?', rabbit, Jack thought amusedly. Funny, I thought you said that I'm 'not a bad kid'. I suppose old habits die hard, hm?

Jack took another few moments to figure out how to craft his response. Eventually, he reluctantly acknowledged that, despite his personal reasons for withholding information, it might be better to let the Guardians know exactly what the Nightmare King had done. Perhaps they might even be able to help figure out his reason for turning or killing snow sprites. If they care enough, that is.

All at once, Jack became acutely aware of the fact that ever pair of eyes in the room sans his own rested upon him. Taking a deep breath to calm his sudden nerves, the boy stepped forward and said evenly, "She is my sister."

It was Toothiana who finally broke the thick silence. "Your...sister? I thought you said your family was...?" She trailed off with a deep, concerned frown.

"I thought so too," Jack replied dully. "As it turns out, however, one of my family members is still alive somehow."

Aster still appeared skeptical. "That so?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. "Then why'd ya think she was dead?"

"Only because I watched helplessly while she was captured by an angry mob of humans as my village burned to the ground," the young sprite deadpanned flatly.

The room fell into silence.

"...tell us what happened," North finally said, though not unkindly.

Sandy let out a small puff of air at the bluntness of the other Guardian's words. He held his small hands out in a comforting gesture, his eyes telling Jack that he did not have to explain if he so wished.

Jack sighed slightly and shook his head. "No," he said wearily. "I...suppose it is your right to know. It involved the Nightmare King, after all."

Ignoring the way the four immortals instantly snapped to attention, Jack proceeded to relay the information that Olivia, who was currently hiding behind her brother, had given him. He was careful with his words, however, tactfully not mentioning the more personal details, such as the odd circumstances of Jack's escape from the burning village.

The last thing I need is for them to be even more interested in me, he thought. I may have joined up with them for the time being, but it is just as Aster said. I'll never be an official Guardian, and I'll never trust those four.

"But...that doesn't make any sense!" Tooth was saying, wringing her hands as the feathers on the crown of her head ruffled with the shock of the revelation. "What could Pitch possibly have against snow sprites? Yes, he's the Nightmare King, but still...why would he go through all of this trouble?"

"Yeah, and why would humans help him out?" Aster growled, clenching his fists. "And why would he even need them ta in the first place? Crikey, none of this is addin' up!"

"I can't answer most of those questions," Jack put in, pausing in the pacing he had fallen into. "But 'tis possible that the humans aiding him did not know they were serving the Nightmare King himself. Like Olivia said, only this Onyx woman was ever present. She could have portrayed herself as...some kind of benevolent doctor or something, trying to 'save' snow sprite children before they were 'corrupted'. I wouldn't be surprised." He ended his last sentence with a scoff.

"However…" the sprite continued, frowning at the ground. "That still doesn't explain why the humans ever wanted to get rid of us in the first place. Sure, there were people who didn't like us; every species has its racists, after all, but how did it come to the point where they were willing to take part in genocide and child experimentation?"

Jack was lost in his thoughts for only a second longer before finally noticing the thick silence the room had fallen into. Upon looking up, he saw the Guardians all looking at him, unreadable expressions on every one of their faces. Unconsciously, he was aware of Olivia pulling close and hiding behind him, unnerved by the intensity of their stares.

"...yes?" he prompted, once it was clear that none of the immortals was going to speak up without an invitation.

"Jack…" North began, then trailed off, words fading out with a sigh. He tried again a moment later. "Jack, I...I think it is time you know what happened to put snow sprites in current position."

The boy was somewhat sure that his mouth had fallen open, but with his whole body feeling as numb as it did, he wasn't quite sure. He's not serious...is he…? Jack couldn't help but think. Am I...finally getting answers?

"Livi," he said stiffly once he had found his voice. "Go out in the hall with Jamie." Judging by the Guardian's solemn expressions and tones, this wasn't something either of them would be happy to hear. If he could, he wanted to save his sister from having to listen.

"But-"

"Now, Liv. And don't tell him what's going on."

After a moment's hesitation, Olivia crept out from behind her brother and slipped out the door into the hallway. Before she closed the door, the occupants of the room could hear Jamie as he greeted her. Once it was shut again, however, the children's voices were completely blocked out, assuring Jack and the Guardians that they had been correct in assuming they could speak freely with no worry of being overheard.

"Tell me," was all Jack needed to say.

As Aster and North-and Sandy, of course-stayed silent, Toothiana was the one to begin speaking.

"Well, Jack…" she said hesitantly, violet eyes refusing to meet his azure ones. "A little over six years ago, there were these...attacks."

"Attacks," Jack repeated, a thoughtful expression on his pale face. "I feel as though you've mentioned them before, but offered no explanation. Go on."

Tooth nodded and continued. "The attacks were on many villages throughout Iskald, all of them in areas where only humans lived. However...it was clear that whoever the attackers were, they were not human. There were traces of magic everywhere, not to mention the heavy snowfall that practically drowned each area. And...well, what race does that point to?"

"Snow sprites," Jack answered evenly, dark eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. "I don't recall hearing anything about these attacks...then again I suppose I was only eleven at the time." He cocked his head, the hidden tip of one ear twitching moderately. "I understand why the humans would be upset and angry, but why would that make them despise our entire race? Surely that could understand that not all of us were murderers...right?"

North heaved a heavy sigh. "You would be right normally," he said with a nod. "But there were...rumors. Rumors that everyone believed, rumors that, now, I see are not true."

"What were the rumors?"

"That the lot of ya were demons," Aster put in, arms crossed and eyebrow raised. "That ya were raised ta hate everyone who wasn't a sprite, that ya'd kill anythin' warm-blooded. But the kicker? Everyone thought ya sprites were plannin' on overthrowin' the Tsar and knockin' humans down a peg."

"What?" Jack asked in surprise, eyebrows shooting up beneath his bangs. "Why would we do that? Granted...I used to hear some other sprites say that they wished we were in charge, but it was far from the popular opinion! What does it matter what species the person on top is, so long as they don't persecute the rest of us? And the Tsar never did anything to harm us in particular, so why would they believe that we…?" His voice trailed off, expression falling into a confused frown.

"Admittedly, we don't know how the rumors spread…" Toothiana said slowly, chewing on her lower lip. "But we...regret to say that, for a time, we believed them."

"Of course you did," Jack groaned, rubbing his forehead.

"Outhear us, Jack," North cut in, holding hands up and apparently not noticing Jack's look of confusion.

"It's 'hear us out', ya gumby," Aster growled, rolling eyes. "Ya and expressions, I swear…"

North only shrugged. "Is what I said. Anyway, just listen to us, Jack. You have to understand; is our job to protect children of the tsardom, as well as tsardom itself. And when it seemed like snow sprites were wiping out full villages...we had to take rumors seriously."

Though he hid it well, Jack felt sick.

Wiping out full villages… he thought, drawing his cloak around him out of habit. Who would do something like that? And why? I always thought snow sprites were relatively peaceful as a whole...after all, we usually choose not to participate in wars, and though we all learn basic defense, we don't really know how to fight properly…

"I understand," he said at last, voice sounding strained and unnatural. "I understand why you had to take things seriously. What I don't quite get is why everyone else felt the need to."

Sandy, who, because of his muteness, had not joined in the conversation thus far, suddenly raised his hand, a gentle look in his topaz eyes. He formed a few images above his head, images that, after some thought was put into it, Jack took to mean something along the lines of, Fear can do extraordinary things, and not in a good way.

Suddenly it hit him.

"Fear," Jack said softly, sapphire eyes drifting in and out of focus as he stared at the wall in thought. "Fear." He turned to stare at each of the four Guardians before breathing, "The Nightmare King. He...he framed us! I don't know how, but he must have…"

Jack quickly began pacing once again, a light layer of frost dusting the floor where he stepped. "The only question besides the 'how' is the 'why'..." he murmured, eyes narrowed. "Why would he want us all dead or turned human? Why did he bother going through all the trouble? Why was I able to get away and never run into anyone working for him again for six full years?"

Then, silently, Did any others manage to get away? Or am I the only true snow sprite left alive…?

Like I said, kind of short and explain-y [and also question-y...the question mark], but I hope you guys enjoyed all the same, and I promise I'll try to make a longer, more exciting chapter to give you guys next week!

'Til then, Sapphire316, out.