Hey guys! As promised, I have returned with Chapter 26 of Running For Life! Last update of 2016, wow...it's been quite the year, haha.
Anywho, you know the drill! Review time! Thanks so much to Brenne, Ravenclaw667, jackandelsaforever101, BooksAreMedicine (There can indeed!), gammathetaalpha (Thank you!), Scout (Wow, I'm impressed, and thank you so much! I hope you did well on your finals! :D), WickedInk, Nekohime1 (Oh, good to see you back! Hope you enjoy!), readwithcats, OneWhoDreamz, Serami Nefera, Yukomin, Aekidna, and rwbygirl!
Hope you guys all had a fantastic Christmas, Hanukkah, or whatever other holiday you might celebrate, and I wish you a Happy New Year too!
That being said, on with the chapter!
Chapter 26: Human Kindness
He knew the stories.
He knew that the members of the Nightmare Army lurked in the dark.
He knew that they would love nothing more than to snatch a lonely boy such as himself, torturing him with his own fears and sucking him dry of any shred of happiness that may have somehow survived the fire.
He knew that, with every passing night that he slept alone, outside in the darkness, he was tempting fate, and risking being attacked by one of those creatures.
Yet for six years, he had never so much as seen one Nightmare approach.
His sleep was anything but peaceful, but it was often uninterrupted by outside forces. The only things that caused him to wake, screams piercing the still night air and spooking his horse, were the nightmares of his own mind, not the beasts that walked the earth.
He knew not why the equine creatures left him alone; perhaps the rumors that they roamed the woods at night were simply that: rumors. He had heard tell of humans swearing to have seen amber eyes peering out at them through the thick cloak of darkness, or that their parents, grandparents, aunts, or uncles had ventured into the forest alone after sunset and had never returned, or at the very least come back jaded, or even insane.
The stories were often wild, tales that he couldn't find himself very willing to believe. However, every now and again, there was one extremely realistic account that he couldn't ignore the plausibility of. These particular stories lacked a sense of mystical exaggeration, and were plainly told without need for theatrics. They simply described a chill, or a sense of fear, or the sound of bushes rustling.
Though he had never experienced the presence of a Nightmare himself, he couldn't deny that the aforementioned claims made the most sense of them all. Still, he told himself that, if he hadn't run into a single one over the years, there must be something off within the popular lore.
It would only be much, much later that he realized that the silver glow he occasionally saw as he let his eyelids close for the night came, not from the moon, but from the scar on his chest.
()()()()
Jack did not have much time to consider the information Sandy had just provided him with, for Simon awoke shortly afterwards. Much convincing was needed, but Jack finally managed to get the Guardians to leave him alone with the archer so that the two could speak. The two stood in silence for a long moment before Jack finally broke it.
"Were you aware of your surroundings?" he asked. "When you were possessed. Do you know what happened during that time?"
Simon was slow to respond, but eventually nodded. "Yes," he said. "I...could see what that demon saw. I was still present in my body, after all…"
Jack nodded. "So you saw its attempt to kill me."
"Yes."
Another long silence passed.
"Simon...do you know why that arrow failed to kill me?"
The man shook his head. "No...I don't." He frowned. "So...why are you still alive? I saw where that arrow struck...it went directly through your heart. Your chest should have sprayed blood, you should have died. But...none of that came to pass. Why?"
"Because I have protection," Jack responded promptly. "Protection from the Nightmare King and his minions. The Tsar gave me a mark on my chest six years ago that prevents any of them from landing a fatal blow on me on...what we assume is three occasions. Sandy let me know all this, and shortly before I returned to speak with you, he also told me that, as long as I bear this mark, I will be hidden from Nightmares and the like. They cannot track me even by the scent of my fear, for it is concealed; the only way they should happen across me is by accident."
Simon frowned, confusion in his features. "Then how was the Fearling that possessed me able to find you?"
"Because of Onyx, ally to the Nightmare King," was the boy's reply. "Though she did not possess you, she still knew what I was, and where I was. I don't know what the Nightmare Army has against snow sprites over any other race...but she wanted to have me killed. So she sent a human, one who had reason to despise me, to get the job done, quickly and simply."
Simon's green eyes narrowed considerably. "Are you accusing me of working with the Nightma-"
"No," the young sprite interrupted. "'Twas not my intention at all. I'm merely suggesting that Onyx set you on the right path to find me, while letting you think you were blazing your own trail. I don't know how she did it, but I have no doubt in my mind that she's capable of it. Now...I'm assuming she was certain that you would kill me, Simon, but soon saw that you were having second thoughts about following through. So, as a last resort, she sent a random Fearling to possess you and make sure I ended up dead. Unbeknownst to her, though, a Fearling can't kill me as I am now. However, a human can."
The archer's already present frown deepened. "Why are you explaining all of this to me…?" he asked slowly, though he already seemed to realize where the conversation was going.
"Because I would like to know something," Jack told him. "'Tis your desire to get your revenge on me for taking your arm from you, is it not? You came here to kill me. Now that you've heard my piece and are able to speak for yourself...do you plan to end my life?"
For a time, Simon did not respond. Then, he heaved a sigh. "...no," he finally said. "I will not kill you."
Jack nodded. I'm not surprised, he thought. With the way he looked at me once he realized my age...I doubt he'd be willing to kill me, even if I am a snow sprite.
"I...am sorry," the archer continued, looking down and letting his red bangs fall across his eyes. "I had not realized your youth before. Though you are a snow sprite...I cannot kill a child such as yourself."
"I'm not a child," was Jack's immediate response. "Not anymore." He sighed slightly and looked the one-armed archer in the eye. "Look at me, Simon. I may be physically young, but I am far from innocent with the things I've seen, and the things I've done. Don't misunderstand me; I'm grateful for your allowing me to live. But I'd like you to know just what you're doing when you-"
"Enough."
Jack blinked in surprise as Simon interrupted him, their gazes locking together. The boy found himself taking a step back, unsure how to respond to the intensity in the man's voice.
"If you're trying to get me to kill you...don't," he said. "Because I've already told you; I will not."
"Then what will you do?" Jack asked, a slight frown on his face.
Simon shook his head. "Go home, I suppose." He was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Ah...your name is Jack, right?"
Jack nodded. "Yes."
Simon nodded as well. "Jack. If what you say is true...and snow sprites are not in fact demons...then why does the entirety of Soluna make them out to be?"
"Because of the Nightmare King," the winter boy replied. "He caused the rumors to circulate, and must have orchestrated snow sprite attacks on human villages. I'm not entirely sure how...perhaps Fearlings possessed a few of us and caused them to strike...but I know that it was his involvement that made us the hated race we are today."
The archer gave a thoughtful nod, a ghost of a frown on his face. After a brief moment, he shook his head. "I see. Well, Jack, I...can never forgive you for taking my left arm. And make no mistake, we are far from friends." He nodded. "But I hope that we can part ways with a mutual sort of respect for each other."
"We can," Jack told him, surprised to find that he was indeed telling Simon the truth. He sincerely regretted robbing the archer of one of his limbs, and could honestly say that he commended him for strongly carrying on. He particularly held the fact that he had devised a method for one-armed archery in high regard.
"Good. Then I suppose today, I shall take my leave of this place and head for home." Simon turned and began to walk away, but faltered and faced Jack once more. "And...Jack."
"Yes?"
"If I can find a way to convince the people I know that snow sprites are not the evil monsters they think them to be...then I shall."
Jack blinked in surprise as the archer left the room. He then found himself giving a slight smile. Hm...perhaps all humans aren't quite as set in their ways as I've believed them to be.
()()()()
The day after Simon left to return home was to be the day when the Guardians and Jack would finally move on from the Thener household. Though many dangers lay outside the walls of the town, the boy could honestly say he was grateful to leave. He often felt restless staying in one place for too long, and was willing to risk a bit of danger in order to get a change of surroundings.
All five of them thanked Laura Thener for allowing them to stay in her home, to which she replied that it was no problem at all. "You kept the town safe during both attacks, and quelled the people's fears afterwards," she said with a smile. "Offering you shelter was the least I could do."
Once the Guardians had thanked her again and then moved on to make sure all of their supplies were in order, Jack lingered to speak with Laura a bit longer. "Listen," he said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "I...I wanted to thank you a bit more. Not just for letting us stay here, but also for-"
"Taking care of your sister?"
Jack blinked. "Er...yes," he said. The boy gulped nervously. "I'm...grateful that...well, her um, last month was spent in the care of, ah...a kind woman such as yourself." Jackson Frost, I swear, if you let a tear fall…
To his surprise, Laura did not simply nod and say, "You're welcome". Instead, she stepped forward and hugged him. Jack found himself stiffening, unsure of how to react.
After a moment, the woman pulled back and nodded at him. "You're very welcome," she told him gently.
Jack was decidedly extremely confused. "Hang on, what...what was that about? I would have thought I'm the last person you'd ever think of hugging, seeing as I…" He trailed off, leaving the words unsaid. Seeing as I murdered your husband…
Laura nodded. "It's true that you killed my husband...but as I told you before, I will not hold a grudge against you. You saved my daughter, my niece, my nephew, me...you've helped us despite everything. And for that, I thank you."
Jack swallowed, not sure of whether or not he should take that thanks with a grain of salt. In the end, he simply smiled and nodded. "...you're very welcome," he said, mimicking her earlier words. She nodded back, mirroring his smile, and soon proceeded to walk away, leaving Jack to his own thoughts.
Amazing… he thought. I've never been forgiven like this before...perhaps all it takes is a little time for a "demon" to receive a bit of human kindness… Shaking his head in disbelief, he began to walk towards the door to go outside to Zephyr, but a young voice behind him stopped him in his tracks.
"You're leaving…?" Jamie asked quietly.
Jack turned, looking at the younger boy with raised eyebrows. He nodded. "Yes...we need to move on from here if we're ever going to stop the Nightmare King."
Jamie nodded in understanding at this, but he still seemed nervous. "But...what if the Nightmares come back? If they attack again, I don't think we can-"
"Hey, hey," Jack interrupted, kneeling down to the child's level. "Listen to me, Jamie. You have nothing to worry about."
He knew that it was unlikely that the Nightmares would return, considering the girl they had come for was dead. In addition to this, he highly doubted that Onyx would think him idiotic enough to stay in the same area after an attempted assassination. After all, the Fearling who had possessed Simon had not lasted long enough to report back to her about the Tsar's protective mark; as far as she knew, he had been able to evade the Nightmare Army for six years purely because of his own skill and wit, without any help from foreign magic.
"But seriously, Jack, what if they-!?"
"Jamie," Jack said in a gentle tone he hadn't known he was capable of. "They won't come back, that I promise you. And even if they do…" He gave a slight chuckle. "Well, you still have that plank of wood, don't you?"
To his relief, Jamie echoed the small laugh and nodded. "Yeah. Though I should probably find something easier to use, like you said…"
Jack smiled and ruffled the younger boy's hair fondly. "You do that. Although I doubt you'll have to use it, kid. After all, we're going to beat back the Nightmare King once and for all, alright?"
Jamie nodded and returned the smile after a moment, but first looked somewhat surprised, and it took Jack a moment to figure out why. He blinked in surprise as well at his change in demeanor. With a start, Jack realized that he was acting like an older brother again, and serving as the cause of even more surprise was the fact that he didn't mind this.
The sprite began silently pondering how he could have so quickly fallen back into this role with a child he had only spoken to on a few occasions, but was abruptly interrupted when Jamie surged forward and wrapped his arms around the older boy. "Goodbye, Jack," he said, voice a little muffled. "Thank you for helping us…"
Jack once again went stiff at the sudden contact, but this time managed to calm himself down enough to actually return the hug, albeit loosely. "Er...goodbye, Jamie," he said. "And...you're welcome."
Well...they're clearly not afraid of me… Jack thought dazedly as he pulled away, nodded at Jamie, then turned to walk out the door. I never thought...I never dreamed that a human wouldn't mind hugging me, knowing full well what I am, let alone two of them in rapid succession. Laura was very kind to me throughout our stay there, despite knowing my lack of control was responsible for the death of her husband, leaving her a widow and her daughter fatherless...even Simon, who lost an arm because of me, offered to do what he could to lessen the circulations of the awful rumors pertaining to my race, and he hardly needed any convincing.
Jack frowned, walking over to Zephyr, running his fingers through the stallion's white mane. Zephyr nuzzled him in return, and the sprite closed his eyes, resting his forehead on the side of his horse's neck.
And Jamie...somehow he reminds me of Olivia...and the way I felt obligated to protect him and Sophie, it was almost like...almost like I was a Guardian. His frown deepened. No, I'm not a Guardian. I never will be. Still...perhaps acting like one isn't such a bad thing.
This thought swirling around in his mind, Jack shook his head and mounted Zephyr, only partially acknowledging the Guardians calling out to him that they would leave at that moment. "Alright, Zeph," he whispered. "Time to go."
Ah, finally on the move once more! Welp! I hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll see you next week...well, actually wait I'm gonna be cool and say something else.
See you next year for Chapter 27! Cool, right? Riiiiiiight?
...okay I'll stop trying to be clever and just do the outro already.
For now, Sapphire316, out.