Chapter 7: Flurries
Jacqueline woke up the next day, stretching and yawning. She licked her lips and yawned once more, sitting up in her bed. Rolling her shoulders, she moved her currently brown hair out of her face and took a good, hard look at the room she had been given for her stay.
She and Jack had gotten back yesterday just in time for dinner. They had done a bit of catching up and joined Santa and Mrs. Claus—Carol, Jacqueline reminded herself—for dessert afterwards, which was nice. The Elves made the best cakes and the hot cocoa up North was to die for.
It was after dessert that Jacqueline had been shown to her room, which was…very Christmassy, she was realizing this morning.
The walls were green, with warm red trim and golden baseboards, which was nice for the general populous of the north pole, but wasn't really Jacqueline's preferred colour scheme. The window was large and bright, the view of the snowy forest off in the distance behind the Workshop covered by thick red and gold curtains. The wooden furniture was a light pine, which was nice. Jacqueline could deal with it well enough.
The upholstery, however, was…not as nice. It balanced the room enough, in shades of red and gold, but reeked of cinnamon and made her head hurt when she looked at the general scheme of the room. She hadn't paid much mind yesterday because the linens on the bed had made her a very happy camper. A large light blue duvet covered the bed, the white and blue sheets smelling like fresh laundry (and not cinnamon), complete with a very warm and fuzzy polyester blanket at the end of the bed. Jacqueline had thrown on pajamas and burrowed into the blankets instantly, falling asleep soon after and not paying any mind to her room until this morning.
Making a mental note to thank Elle and Bernard for the choice linens (because she was positive it was them behind it), Jacqueline ran her fingers through her hair, tendrils of frost freezing the strands into curls. She hugged her legs and surveyed the room, her usual white curls now cascading down her back.
She looked down at her hands and wiggled her fingers. "Hmm." She glanced back up at the reds and greens of her room. "Well...it's worth a shot. Looks like we're doing some redecorating," she said, hopping out of bed.
Her bare feet hit the warm floor with a dull thud. Breathing in, she linked her fingers together, cracking her knuckles. Then she cupped her hands together, and with another deep breath and a look of concentration, frost began to pour out of her cupped hands and spread around the room. It settled on the walls, turning the green to light blue, the red and gold to white. The rest of the winter magic settled all over the room and stopped, waiting for Jacqueline's guidance.
With a wave of her palm, the curtains were thrown back, the frosty magic following the threads and turning them blue. With another wave of her palm, the frost coating the floor rushed to the upholstery of the furniture, turning the fibres different shades of blue as well.
The magic settled, a few snowflakes falling from the ceiling. Jacqueline put her hands on her hips and grinned. "It worked!" She took a deep breath in, her nostrils accosted with the scent of the room.
"Why does it still smell like cinnamon?" she thought out loud, nose wrinkled. It wasn't a bad scent, really. But for some odd reason, at the North Pole, it was everywhere and made you sick after a while. She had no idea how the Elves lived with it.
Following the scent to a set of shelves, Jacqueline aha-d, finding a scented candle and a small pot of potpourri.
"There're the culprits," she murmured, freezing the potpourri and putting a lid on the candle. She moved over to the window, cracking it open to let in the chilly (and fresh) breeze. She inhaled the fresh air deeply, exhaling with a smile. "What a view," she murmured, admiring the snowy landscape outside.
"Cocoa is here!" said a voice, the door opening. "Oh! You've redecorated! It looks lovely."
"The red and green was hurting my eyes," Jacqueline said, turning away from the window. A few stray tendrils of frost nudged at her feet. Whoops. She guided them to a few missed spots. "I hope that it's okay."
"Jacqueline, this is the North Pole," Judy said, pouring a mug of hot chocolate and handing it to her. "Of course it's okay."
Jacqueline took the warm mug Judy offered and sat cross-legged on one of the sofas. "Thanks," she said, taking a sip. Her eyes widened. The flavours? The rich chocolatey taste? It was excellent! "Mmm! This is really good!"
"It's my classic recipe. I can leave you the pot, if you'd like."
"Oh thank you, but that's alright! I'm headed into town for breakfast today, so don't worry about myself. Or Jack, for that matter. I'm dragging him with me."
Picking up the tray and making to leave, Judy glanced at the clock on the mantle and laughed. "Good luck getting him up. He sleeps like a log," she said, heading out. "If there's anything you need don't hesitate to let me know! And I mean anything," she said with a very earnest look.
"Of course. Thank you," Jacqueline said, sipping the hot chocolate.
"You're welcome," Judy said. "And good luck today! I expect the two of you might need it," she added, closing the door behind her.
"Will we ever," Jacqueline said with a sigh, as the door clicked shut.
Placing the mug down, Jacqueline got up and padded over to the closet. She frowned at her dress—she hadn't expected to be staying up at the Pole, to be quite honest. She had magicked over her pyjamas and now was beginning to wish she had thought to do the same to her work clothes.
"I'll just pop off later today to grab them," she decided, throwing off her white pyjamas and taking her dress off of the hanger. It was a lot of effort to magic over her clothes. It would be easier to poof home and pack a proper bag instead of wasting so much energy to bring items to her.
She headed to the bathroom and did her morning routine, putting up her hair and debating if it would be worth it to waste her toothpaste just to help get rid of that smell that was all too slowly ebbing out of her room. Deciding that the mess she would have to clean after wouldn't be worth it, and that toothpaste was important, and that she could probably just buy a better scented candle instead, she sighed.
"No more procrastinating Jacqueline," she said to her reflection. "Time to go wake him up and start…figuring out this whole freezer burn thing." With a brief look at her hands and a determined nod, she left her room and headed towards Jack's.
Oh. That's where the loud thunking had been coming from.
Jack sighed, shoving his head under his pillow. He had been having such a good dream! He was performing in front of a stadium audience and the applause! The cheers! The crowd had been roaring! And thunking!
But then the thunking had gone on through his next set and started drowning out the other noises and Jack was rudely deposited back into this plane of existence. And there was that annoying knocking again!
"Go away!" Jack shouted, throwing the pillow at the door.
"Did you just throw a pillow at me?"
"Are you a door?"
"I hate that you keep making Dad jokes."
"What does that even mean?!"
"Are you a door? Oh PLEASE! There's no need to be so literal! I'm on the other SIDE of the door, we both know that! Geez Jack, if I wanted to hear bad jokes, I would've followed Blaise around all day instead of coming up here to help you. Which, by the way, is why I can't just go away. C'mon Jack, we've gotta get your sleet together."
Jack's small chuckle stopped abruptly. Right. He was powerless. Frostbite.
"Maybe you should get your sleet together! It's too early for this," he said, grabbing another pillow and hiding under it again.
"It's nine AM!"
"Exactly!"
"Don't make me go in there, Jack."
"I'd like to see you try," he replied, snuggling deeper into the blankets and securing his pillow. The door was locked. He was safe to sleep in. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in.
A few moments went by. It was quiet.
Had she finally decided to leave him alone? Jack frowned. That didn't seem like something she would do. Granted! He barely knew what she was like now, but based on the conversation they had just had? She wouldn't give up that easily. It wasn't very Frost of her.
He cracked open an eye and nearly screamed when identical blue eyes were staring right back at him. Jacqueline leaned back, eyebrow raised.
"Do you mind?!" Jack said, pulling the blanket up over his chest. Impressive, really, considering how bundled he had already been. "Don't you know what privacy is?"
"I think the question you want to ask is do I care about privacy. Given the current circumstances? No, not really. C'mon, get up we gotta figure out how to figure this out!"
Jack hmphed, buried his head under the pillow once more, and flipped away from his sister. He listened as Jacqueline sighed, her footsteps sounding farther away. He smirked. Success! But wait, was that—yep. Her footsteps walking closer. She stopped. Jack didn't need to open his eyes to know she was facing him again.
She poked his cheek.
"What."
"Burrito Jack."
And before Jack could process the thought of a tasty breakfast burrito, he felt himself rolling off of his bed, now completely wrapped in the comforter and sheet. He hit the ground with a dull thud, and realized that yes, he had in fact become a burrito of blankets. Blanket burrito? Yeah, that sounded right. He had become a blanket burrito.
"Well that was rude," Jack began, trying to kick himself free. Where were his limbs at? "I think I may have broken something!"
"You precious, fragile, creature."
"Thank you," he said, choosing to ignore the sarcasm. "Now shoo, I'm up and awake and bruised on top of all that so I may as well get dressed."
"Oh, good! Because I'm starving and was waiting for you to go get breakfast. I've heard good things about the Grille," she said, hopping down from the raised portion of the room that the bed and ensuite were on, and right onto what looked to be the softest couch in the room.
"You know, we could've just gone to the kitchens. Or you could've had breakfast without me."
Jacqueline flushed a bit. "I just thought it'd be nice to go to a place for breakfast with you."
Jack smiled. "Wow. That's sweet! It almost makes up for the GIANT bruise right on my—"
"I get it, you're fragile, stop it," Jacqueline said.
"Do I detect a hint of laughter in your voice?"
She let a giggle escape before covering her mouth with her hands. "Mo," she said, muffled.
"Hmm," Jack said, finally freeing himself from the burrito. "Sure, Jacqueline."
He wrapped the blankets around his waist and trudged into the bathroom, yawning very loudly for dramatic effect.
"Oh my gods, you're just as bad as Fiera, honestly."
"Thank you," Jack said.
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I take them as I go."
A snort. "Anyway. We've got quite the itinerary today! I really want to go to the Grille for breakfast. I've heard really good things about it and it's not too far off."
"They have excellent pancakes," Jack said between brushing and rinsing his mouth.
"Super fluffy, or so I've heard! Then after a nice breakfast, we'll figure out where to start with figuring all that," she said, gesturing to all of Jack as he left the bathroom and went into the closet, "Out."
"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Jack asked, as he got dressed.
"No idea! I'm hoping it comes to me over breakfast. Hopefully. I was thinking maybe we start by seeing exactly what you can do right now?"
"Literally nothing," Jack said helpfully, sliding his arms into his jacket sleeves.
"Something might still be working, though!"
Jack stepped out of the closet and served Jacqueline with a very doubtful look.
"Okay well we won't get anything done with that attitude, Frosty." Jacqueline hopped up, grabbing the doorknob. "Shall we?"
Jack smiled. Frosty, huh? "After you, Slushy," he replied, with a devious grin.
"Slushy? Really?"
"Frosty? Really?"
Jacqueline blew a raspberry.
Jack grinned. At least some good was coming out of this freezer burn.
Town was already a bustle this morning, though Jacqueline was sure that the elves had been up for much longer. She admired their up-at-sunrise work ethic, wondering if they ever slept. Jack was fairly certain they didn't, and told her as much.
"You see, that's why Bernard is always so grumpy. He constantly needs a nap."
Jacqueline had laughed at that.
They approached the café, fairly chipper all things considered. Jacqueline had only been to the Pole a few times, usually due to a self-inflicted duty to fix Jack's shenanigans. Off duty, she never really had been able to be excited about being there because she was too concerned with making sure she wouldn't run into Jack.
But now, with Jack strolling behind her, Jacqueline was finally able to enjoy it, and got giddy with excitement. The magic of the place couldn't escape you, even when you were a nineteen-hundred-year-old sprite. The spirit was high and so was the cheer. She laughed when they got to the café. The chairs were so small.
"Patio or inside?" Jack asked. Jacqueline responded by sitting down in the too small chair, and laughing even harder.
"Oh my gods oh my gods I feel like a giant! Haha. Ah. Whew." She leant back in her chair, staring up at the Dome and frowning. Despite the high spirits and gorgeous colours back on the Dome, there was something...different this time around. Something off.
"You can feel it now, can't you?" Jack said, buried in a menu.
"Is that what that is?"
Jack placed the menu down and looked up as well. "Sturdy, but there's still a bit of a drip."
"Like a tap that isn't fully closed."
"Exactly."
"What're we looking at?" Said a new voice. Both sprites jumped, startled out of their stupor.
"Just the Dome," Jacqueline said, recovering fast. She cleared her throat.
"I have your usual, Mr. Frost," The elf said, placing a drink in front of Jack. "And you must be Jacqueline, right?"
"Yes," she said, thinking about how obvious it was considering who was sitting across from her and their resemblance.
Jack choked on his drink. Don't make me laugh mid drink, he thought at Jacqueline.
I do what I want, she thought back. "The one and only," she said to the elf, hoping to lighten the mood. He was a rather small elf, holding a small tray with one drink on it now, a notepad beside it. He had brown hair and brown eyes and looked more than a little nervous—which had prompted Jacqueline to lighten the mood.
"Great! My name is Kasper, I just started working here a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to make sure it was you, so that uh, your uh, order went to the right...you." The elf finished.
Jack and Jacqueline shared a look.
"Right! Here's your cocoa, Miss Frost!"
"Uh, thank you."
"You're welcome! I hope it tastes alright, I made it myself. I mean, I'm no Judy, but..." he trailed off and shrugged.
Jacqueline took a sip. "It's really very good! Rich and very chocolatey."
"Th-thank you!" He said, a very big smile on his face.
"Uh. You're welcome," Jacqueline said, a little bit weirded out at this point.
"How about some pancakes?" Jack finally said.
"Hmm? Oh! Right! Yes, of course! Lena makes the best pancakes; I'll go grab two of her fluffiest stacks for you two!" Kasper rushed into the café.
"Wait, you forgot your notepad!" Jacqueline shouted. But he was long gone into the building.
"He'll be back," Jack said, over his cocoacinno. "You can give it to him then."
"He was a bit...odd, don't you think?"
"Jacqueline, he's part of a race of fae that look like children and make toys for a living. They're all a bit odd."
Kasper gulped, putting in the order for two stacks of fresh pancakes and then excusing himself to the back. Making sure his coworkers weren't looking, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial.
It was three quarters full, the inside dark green, swirling and glittering. The Man had given it to him, instructing him to find whatever beverage Jacqueline was drinking, and pour it in. He had been very specific about it. This much and only her beverage and no others.
Did you do it, a curt voice in his head asked, startling him.
Y-yes sir, he thought, hoping that was how it worked. I gave her the potion in her breakfast cocoa.
Excellent. The voice disappeared after that.
Shivering, Kasper answered the call for the pancakes and brought them outside.
He hoped this plan worked. For his sake...and for hers.
Noon rolled around and with it, first lunch. Typically, a third or more of the elves would take first lunch in the kitchens. They'd pile together and eat their lunches, lend a hand to the kitchen staff, swap stories about the day, that sort of thing.
But this afternoon, the kitchens (aside from the kitchen staff) were empty. The department lounges were empty as well. The Christmas music echoed through mostly empty halls. Bernard wasn't even around, a sure sign that something was up.
Out in the courtyard however, a huge crowd had formed. Elves sat on the steps, in the snow, sandwiches in hand. Some stood while others sat; some were eating lunch at the Grille. All of them were watching the entertainment that had sprung up in the center of the courtyard.
In the middle of the crowd stood Jacqueline, with her feet spread and arms crossed. She looked perplexed, perhaps a bit frustrated as well. Her hair was in a very messy bun now, and her long sleeves were creased as though she kept rolling them up, and they kept falling back down. Behind her was the table they had had breakfast at, cleared but for two large water bottles. Jack's suit jacket hung forgotten on the chair. He himself stood beside Jacqueline, shirtsleeves rolled up, suspenders down, and a fierce look of concentration on his face. Across from them, a decent distance away, was a tall pile of snow. Jacqueline had thrown it together to use as a target.
Needless to say, not much had hit it.
"Okay, one last time, I promise. Let's see snowballs again."
Jack formed a fist, willing for a snowball to appear and sighed when he opened it up and was met with nothing but a light dusting of snow in his palm.
"Okay, icicles, let's try that again!"
Jack made to throw a dart, but the icicle didn't appear and nor did it go flying. His hand maybe looked a little icier. He shook it off, shaking his head. "Nothing again! No surprise there."
"Let's try a snowman?"
"Really, Jacqueline?"
She shrugged, looking a little bit helpless.
"Alright, fine. But nothing's going to happen, we both know that." He stretched out his hand and twirled it in an attempt to move the snow into a snowman. It went about as well as Jack expected.
"I think the snow moved this time! Look, it even looks...bumpier."
"Jacqueline, don't patronize me. You know what it's supposed to look like!"
"Okay, okay, chill! Let's try something safe and familiar. Frost breath?"
He inhaled deeply, and could feel his face getting cold. He exhaled, hoping for that big swath of frost only to be met by cold air that was only just at the freezing point.
"You know—"
"Don't say a word. Not a single word, please."
Jacqueline put her hands up. "Alright, alright."
This had been the scene all morning. Jacqueline's first idea was to see where Jack's power levels were at. Her thought was that, seeing as how he could still walk on any surface, maybe his magic wasn't quite gone! Maybe it was just. Blocked, or something. So they set up the targeting range and got to work. Jacqueline would get Jack to try a move, he'd do it, and almost nothing would happen. Maybe a small ice piece would appear, only to immediately turn to snow and drift off in midair. Or maybe the snowman lump, as Jacqueline pointed out. But they were all pathetic attempts! Jack had created the abominable snowman, for frosts sake! This was abhorrent compared to the things he had done. Could do. And to add insult to injury, a crowd had been milling about all day. Small, at first; a smattering of elves, here and there. But now that lunchtime had rolled around, and they hadn't gone far from the Grille, the crowd was huge!
Jack sat in the snow, crossed his arms, and fell back, pouting. Jacqueline squatted by his head, looking at him quizzically.
"We're getting nowhere with this."
"Well, it's a start. We know they're not gone gone, they're just...barely there."
"How long have we been doing this now?" Jack asked, frowning.
"About three and a half hours, if you wanna include the practise outside of lunch time!" Came a shout from the crowd.
"Thanks, Bernard!" Jacqueline shouted back.
"Here's here too?"
Jacqueline nodded.
"Oh, great. Don't you have a job to do, bean pole?" Jack shouted now, throwing his arm over his eyes.
"I'm doing my job! Head elf. Supervising," he said, grinning and shifting his weight. The elves nearest to him giggled.
Jack let out a groan that very nearly sounded like a fake sob.
"Aha! So this is where everyone disappeared to! No wonder the lunch rooms are so empty."
"Hi Elle," Bernard said with a grin as she pushed through the crowd, appearing at Bernard's side and doing a double take.
She laughed. "Really B? You too?"
"I originally came out here to disperse the crowd, but then I realized it was first lunch, and honestly? This went from concerning to really entertaining really fast."
"Thank you, Bernard!" Jack said from the floor.
"Anytime!"
Beside her brother, Jacqueline laughed. Then she looked up. A grin nearly split her face in half.
"Elle!" She shouted, springing up.
"Jacquie!" Elle shouted back.
"Elle!" Jacqueline was waving happily, stepping around Jack.
"Jacquie!" Elle replied, rushing over. The two friends slammed into each other.
"Oh right. They're friends," Jack said, his heart dropping.
"I told you I knew her," Elle said over her friend's shoulder, the two girls hugging each other very tightly.
"Alright everyone, that's the end of lunchtime entertainment. Can we clear out please? We're clogging up a main artery here!"
The elves aww'd, but listened nonetheless, dispersing with Bernard following close behind. He glanced over at Elle, an eyebrow raised. She nodded and waved, and Bernard nodded, heading back inside as well.
"It's so weird watching you two do that, do you know that? Like I can tell you guys just had a full-on mental conversation, because I saw it, but didn't hear it."
"Couldn't he have done that earlier?" Jack asked, still on the ground.
"Disperse the crowd?" Elle clarified.
"Duh."
"He's been watching all day. Partially because he was concerned it would be a repeat of yesterday, but mostly because he thought it was hilarious watching you get bossed around by Jacqueline."
"Oh! That's probably because of the Clifton Manor incident!"
"The what?"
"Well it was more of a lodge, but it was pertaining to the Clifton's Manor. I didn't think he meant it at the time, since I was having a rough night and we were in a tight spot, but I guess he was serious," Jacqueline said, thoughtful.
Both Jack and Elle gave her a confused look.
"It's a long story," Jacqueline said, sitting down in the snow.
"One you can tell me all about over cocoa and coffee!" Elle plunked down in the snow beside her. "You've been in town for a whole day and not once did you say hello!"
"You could've shot me a line," Jacqueline said, tapping Elle's head.
"I did! Just after breakfast, in fact. Did you not hear me?"
Jacqueline blanked out for a moment. "Apparently not. I mean, I was a little preoccupied," she said, gesturing at Jack and the targets on the other end of the square. "Maybe that's why..." She trailed off, looking in the distance. She squinted.
"You okay, snow buddy?"
"Hmm? What? Oh! Yeah, sorry, I'm fine. Peachy keen and such." She turned her attention back to Elle. "Thank you for the blankets, by the way."
"You're welcome! I thought you'd like the blue sets better. They're also cooler, which I knew you'd appreciate. The fuzzy blanket was B's idea."
"I'll have to tell him thanks later," Jacqueline mussed. "Sorry Jack, did you say something?"
"Nnnope," he replied. "I've been laying here, silent as a cold winter morning."
"Really?" Jacqueline asked. She looked perplexed.
"Yes, really." Jack pushed himself up on his elbows, staring at his sister. "You okay?"
"I think so. Maybe it is break time," she thought out loud.
"How has it been going out here?" Elle asked.
"You haven't been watching?" Jack asked. "Wow. Shocker," he said, throwing himself back into the snow.
"Oh, here and there. I've been a bit preoccupied all day, to be honest, and B was keeping a close watch anyway. It must be going well since you two have managed to distract almost the entire workforce today—even him!"
"Oh no it's-it's going great," Jack said. "Absolutely fantastic, thanks."
Jacqueline sighed. "It goes…slowly," she said, picking up snow and sprinkling it on Jack's face.
"Don't do that," he said, spitting out snow.
"Well, I'm on lunch, and I think it's about time you two took a break," Elle said, hopping up. She offered a hand to Jacqueline. "Care to join me?"
Jacqueline happily took Elle's hand and pulled herself up, dress swishing. She smoothed it down. "That does sound good. Though I really think Jack and I should focus on figuring this—hey now Jack, there is no need to say stuff like that!"
"I'm sorry? I didn't say anything!"
"You didn't?" Jacqueline looked perplexed. "But I thought I heard..." She slowly spun around, frowning. "You didn't think anything, either?" She asked, offering Jack a hand.
"Nothing that would've gotten that reaction. I was actually thinking really loudly that you should go catch up with Elle now! Take your time, really," Jack said, grabbing her hand and pulling himself up. He dusted off his pants and grabbed his suit jacket, throwing it over his shoulder. "It is lunchtime, after all. Go grab some sandwiches or wraps, or whatever, a nice warm cocoacinno...I have a tab at almost every eatery here, you can just throw it on there," Jack finished. "And I'd take that offer, if I were you." He really wanted a break and was willing to do anything, even let Jacqueline and Elle run up his tab, if he could just have a nice sit for a moment and a warm cocoacinno of his own.
"Alright, alright, we can go on break, as long as you stop messing with me," Jacqueline said, with a small smile.
"I'm not messing with you Jacqueline! I mean it, please, run up my tab if it means I can catch my breath for just a moment."
"No, I mean the thoughts and stuff you keep sending my way! We already talked about all this and you should know if you wanted to go over it again, you could just ask, you don't have to be so cryptic—"
"Jacqueline." Jack sounded serious now, and looked very concerned. Elle frowned, staring intently at Jacqueline. "I'm not thinking anything like that at all right now."
"But then...if you're not...then who's..." Jacqueline frowned, closed her eyes and rubbed them. When she opened them, she looked frightened. "What? This isn't...where am I..." she whirled around.
"Jacqueline?" Elle asked, concerned.
"Yo! Slushy, you there?"
Jacqueline turned at that, and glared at Jack with ice cold eyes. "You!" She shouted, jumping back.
"I don't think you should've said that," Elle said, grabbing his arm and taking two steps back.
"I said it this morning and she was fine with it!"
"Get out of my head!" Jacqueline yelled, and her arm shot up, palm open. The target wall exploded, the snow thrusting forwards and shoving Elle and Jack a few feet back. They tumbled into a snowbank and stayed down, the stream of snow Jacqueline had sent their way flying over their heads.
"What is happening?!"
"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing."
"What, you think I had something to do with this?"
"You have spent the entire day with her!"
"You saw how badly she was drilling me! When would I have had the opportunity to do whatever this is to her? Ou, there's a good counter—I literally have no idea what's happening right now, and don't you think I'd have to know what I did do in order to have done it?"
"Could you have been any wordier?!" Elle said. "I'll try our connection, see if I can get through to her there."
Elle peeked up once the snow cleared and stared at Jacqueline. She was in a defensive pose, looking around as though she was following something that was fast moving.
"Stop! Moving!" She shouted. Elle gasped and went back down, several hard-packed snowballs going over her head. They could hear the thunk as the snowballs hit the buildings around them.
"So how did that work for you?" Jack asked.
"I couldn't find our link," Elle said, panicky. "What's going on?"
"Let me give it a go," Jack said. He hopped out of the snowbank and saw Jacqueline, now in the centre of the square. Elle stood up as well, still in the snowbank.
Jacqueline held her head, and shut her eyes tight.
"Jacqueline! Talk to us, please. What's going on? We just want to help you!" He said. Please Jacqueline, he thought at her, we can talk about this!
He almost made it. Almost. But as he sought out their connection, he came across a wall of fog.
"Get out of my head!" Jacqueline shouted once more. She threw her hands out and with a shout, there was a ripple beneath her. Suddenly, a shock wave of snow billowed out from around her and kept on going.
The elves in the square didn't hesitate. They booked it, abandoning carts of bouncy balls, toys, and decorations on the street. The snow wave went under the carts, toppling them over and launching the contents all over the square. Bouncy balls went flying, teddy bears launched into the air, ornaments shattering as they hit the ground. Jacqueline closed her eyes again and held her head, one hand shooting out and launching icicle after icicle into the air as she spun around.
The shock wave of snow hit the buildings hard. Glass cracked; tables and chairs toppled over, wood chipping as it hit the ground.
"We need to get help," Elle said.
"Go grab someone, anyone! I'll see if I can get to her. Or distract her, whichever happens first!"
"You couldn't get through either?"
Jack shook his head, ducking as some stray ice flew right over them. "Go get help! I'll see what I can do here!"
Elle nodded, and immediately ran towards the Workshop doors as Jack called out to his sister. "Jacqueline! What are you doing?"
Jacqueline turned around. She locked eyes with her brother, glared, and unleashed a torrent of snowballs. Jack caught every other one—an impressive feat, considering the power levels he was currently at. The ones he didn't catch interrupted him as he tried to speak. "Jacqueline—ah—please, talk to me! It's like you just said—bleh—we can talk about this! Ack! Snow in my mouth!"
Elle, meanwhile, skirted around Jacqueline and to the Workshop doors, ushering everyone inside. She stopped one of the last elves in.
"I need you to grab Santa and Bernard, and maybe a nurse or doctor. Something's wrong with Jacqueline."
"On it!" The elf said, rushing in.
There were a few more stragglers and, once Elle was positively certain everyone was out of the line of fire, she rushed back towards the fighting siblings.
"Help should be here shortly," Elle said.
"Why didn't you head in?"
"Because I couldn't really help Jacqueline by hiding inside," Elle snapped, as Jack took another snowball to the face. "Or you by proxy, I guess."
"Leave. Me. ALONE!" Jacqueline shouted. She moved her hands back and over her head.
Jack's eyes went wide. He recognized this move. "Get down!" He shouted, shoving Elle down as Jacqueline conjured a huge swath of ice and frost and snow. She let it go; it flew well above Elle's head, since she had been so rudely thrown to the ground.
Jack took it head on. He put his arms up in front of his face and, ignoring the pain of the small particles scratching his face, headed right towards Jacqueline.
She held her head, eyes shut tight. The last of the snowy blast drifted off and Jacqueline opened her eyes. She looked relieved.
Then she began to sway. Back and forth, until she teetered well to the right and fell down, unconscious, right into Jack's arms.
A/N-It took me 6 years but I FINALLY found the PERFECT WAY to write/have Jacqueline's little attacks go. I'm SO EXCITED for you guys to see the other ones! And to write the final one now that I've fixed this up :D
Yes, these two will head back to Crystal Springs! I believe they arrive in Chapter 11 or 12 (I rearranged some events but it's either the end of Chp 11 or start of Chp 12. I know they are 100 percent in Crystal Springs by Chapter 12!) As usual, please drop a line and leave a review! Tell me anything! Fave parts, likes, dislikes, hopes, dreams, aspirations, thoughts about what's next! Have a question? Ask away! I'll answer and I crave human contact so like. Go crazy, loves!
