A/N : I was hoping to update faster but as usual, life and work kept me busy, ugh. Sorryyyyyyyyy! Hope you like this chapter, it's short but I got the idea shortly after I started the Memories-arc. Manny surely must have had more reasons for choosing Jack than mentioned in the movie.
Miss Lib93 : Thanks for all the reviews! I'm really happy when people also comment on my older chapters and not only the new ones. ^_^
Never did I have such a moral conflict when choosing a new spirit. Not because I wasn't sure about him being the right choice, on the contrary, I was completely convinced he would prove to be worthy of this new position. But he was so young. In fact, he was the youngest human ever to be turned into a spirit.
I already noticed his positive energy when he was a toddler and with every passing year he showed what a cheerful and caring person he was. Back then I started to ponder about the possibility of him becoming a spirit in the future. When he was older. I hadn't been certain about it yet. A center of fun didn't guarantee he would be able to deal with all the hardships life was going to throw at him. So I waited and kept watching.
Until that fateful day when his father died. After this tragic incident he showed that he indeed had the strength and faith to go on and pull his loved ones out of the emotional pit they threatened to drown in. He suffered and still managed to look on the bright side, if just for the sake of his family. And all this at such a young age.
I saw how much the children admired him and how sincere and open-minded he was around them. I heard the rumors of the adults concerning his "immature", how they called it, behaviour. I felt that it deeply troubled him, even if he tried his best to conceal it. And yet, he remained true to himself.
Up to that point he had shown every requirement a decent spirit should have. Except one. Courage. But he quickly changed that and continued to impress me. I witnessed his unhesitating intervention when a boy of the village was threatened by wolves, how he saved his life and how humble he acted about all the praise he got from the settlers afterwards. Most people would have bragged and let themselves be celebrated, but not him. Yes, he was perfect for the job I had in mind for him.
Old Man Winter had recently forced me to depose him from his position. A great number of centuries of solitude and coldness had literally frozen his heart. He had turned bitter and as time went by his anger at the world increased until it had taken on a dramatic scale. Every winter brought more deadly blizzards and lower temperatures than ever before, resulting in countless victims. When he continued his blind rage even after I had warned him of the consequences his ruthless behaviour would bring, I had no other choice. No longer would I watch how he murdered innocent people. I took away his powers and turned him back into a mortal. Only a few years later he died alone in the wilderness, where he had lived alone. Spirit or mortal, he still hated the human race, in fact I think he hated every living being and refused to seek anyone's company up to his death.
Back then when I had chosen him I had been certain that a man like him wouldn't dissappoint me. He attained an old age already, a grandfather, but was still healthy and strong. Seven decades had led to a massive amount of experience and he had proven on innumerable occasions that he was able to deal with every situation, no matter how challenging it was.
But apparently that hadn't been enough. His heart and soul hadn't been pure enough to keep the coldness from the outside to reach his center inside. He had failed.
The next Spirit of Winter had to be kind-hearted to the core. He had to have a warm heart to compensate the coldness around him. He had to love humans and animals and have the natural urge to protect them.
My search for this special person had lasted several years already, which was not very long for an immortal entitiy like me. But when one of the four seasons is missing a responsible spirit then every year is a year too much. Mother Nature had assumed responsibility for the winter, emphasizing that this was only a temporary solution and I had to find a replacement for the old man as soon as possible. She had a whole planet to tend to and the additional task of controling a whole season was something even she wouldn't manage to do forever.
So I was relieved beyond imagination when I had found him. If only he hadn't been so young. I didn't want to burden someone of that age with the responsibility and hardships of a life as spirit. But he was the right one for the job, so I was going to talk to Mother Nature and ask for more time. Maybe 10 years, it would be feasible for her and allow him to grow up and gather more experience.
But life rarely sticks with the plan.
I only noticed what was going on down there on the frozen pond when destiny had already struck. He had saved his sister from breaking through the ice and fallen into the freezing water himself. Time was pressing, I had to make a decision. He was still young, maybe too young for what was awating him as an immortal? Should I allow his tragic fate and look for another human to take Old Man Winter's place? But I doubted anyone else would be as suitable for the job as him. No, he was the one, there was no doubt about it.
When I had finally made up my mind the poor boy had already drowned. Although I never had to do it before, I knew I could revive people as long as their death happened less than 24 hours ago. Which led to another decision, namely whether to restore his memory or not.
If he remembered who he was he would immediately hurry back to his family and be crestfallen to realize that he was invisible to his mother, his sister and anyone else. Then there were two options.
Either he would somehow manage to let them believe in him and see him, which would result in him staying with them as long as they lived. I was convinced he would never leave their side, he loved them too much and would protect them, even if they were the only people on Earth who knew he still existed. He would watch them grow old while he remained eternally young and eventually would have to witness their death, only to realize he was all alone later on. It would break his heart and I wasn't sure how he would deal with a life of solitude if he knew what it was like to have a family, a home and to be loved.
If his attempts to make them see him were fruitless he would stay with them anyway and suffer each time they walked right through him.
No matter which of the two scenarios would happen, both would most likely have him ignore the obligation he was imposed with, namely control winter, and end with heartache. It would make it all even harder for him, immortality was a blessing and a curse at the same time.
No, erasing his memory was the only right thing to do. He could start anew. He would only know this new life, would accept it and make the best of it. It wouldn't be easy but easier if he only knew it that way. I kept justifying my decision to none other than myself, being fully aware of the impact it would have on him. I had never taken someone's memory…but then again, I had never brought someone back from the dead either. The boy was already something special, unique in every aspect. Maybe I would even turn him into a guardian someday, if he proved he was worthy of it. He had what it took, I could feel it.
But one thing at a time.
I gazed down at the lifeless form who was surrounded by icy water and complete darkness. My light reached out and engulfed him. I changed his brunette hair into a silvery white, his chocolate brown eyes to cerulean blue and his skin to a paler tone to make his appearance fit his new role as the Spirit of Winter.
Life was breathed into him and slowly his eyes fluttered open. I could feel how scared he was. Being surrounded by cold and darkness surely wasn't the most comfortable situation to wake up in. To show him he was safe I intensified my light and gently lifted him up until he had emerged from the lake and was floating in the air. He stared at me, confused, curious and then a most tender smile graced his face. He knew that I had brought him here and meant no harm.
Carefully I lowered him until his feet touched the ice he had just broken through, which froze as soon as he had touched it.
And then I whispered his name.
Jack Frost.
A/N : What would you like me to write next? Something happy, funny, angsty, sad? Let me know! :)
