Eleventh chapter of this story.
Okay, i got the chapter done, and i'm posting it now, because you seriously have to read it...
"Jack, you alright there mate?" Bunny asked and looked at Jack. He'd been staring at the spot that Tempora had been standing in for a few minutes. He looked at Bunny and nodded.
"I'm fine, I just…"
"Was that really…" Jack looked at Rose who still sat on her knees.
"Rose… Rose are you alright?" he asked and walked over to her.
"Was that… Tempora?" she asked and looked at Jack.
"It was… that's why you're in danger…" he said and got down in front of her.
"She looked so… dark…" Rose said and shivered.
"Pitch did something to her"
"Jack, she might not know our real names, you know" Bunny said and walked over to Rose.
"I do… Tempe told me them… you're E. Aster Bunnymund… and Pitch is the boogeyman…"
"Your sister knew our names? She must really like her stories then" Bunny said and Rose nodded.
"She did… I miss her…" Rose hugged herself and shivered again.
"Rose, you have to believe me when I say, that she misses you just as much, okay?" Jack said and Rose looked at him. Then she looked down again.
"Why would Pitch want anything to do with her… her powers wouldn't make people believe in him… and even though people would be scared… it wouldn't help him…" Rose shook and closed her eyes.
"Rose… how much do you know about our world?" Bunny asked and she looked at him.
"I know everything my sister did… she always told me that I was a very special case… I never really knew why until a few days before her death…"
"Why? What happened?" Bunny asked and she looked into the sky. It was dark and thunder rumbled in the distance.
"I saw something… a spirit… one I didn't even know…"
"You saw a spirit, you didn't know? How can you see a spirit you don't believe in?" Bunny sounded confused and Rose looked back down.
"I don't know… I guess, with all my sister's stories… I just started believed in spirits existing… I have no explanation as to how that can be… neither did she"
"Tell me something, who is your sister? You called her Tempe"
"Her name is Temperance…" Rose said and sighed. She got up and looked at her knees "I'm gonna catch a cold… aren't I?" she asked and looked at Jack.
"Maybe, if you don't hurry inside anyway…" he said and she smiled.
"Hang on! I wanna know how a human can know so much about us" Bunny said and stomped his foot.
"Well, living three times does provide with a certain amount of knowledge" Jack said and Bunny looked confused for a moment, then Jack could almost hear it click in his brain.
"You mean to tell me this is Tempora's sister?!" he yelled and Rose looked utterly confused.
"Huh?!" she said and looked at Jack "explain" she said and Jack sighed.
"It's a long story Kiddo…" he said and she growled.
"Well I wanna know how come my sister can be Tempora when Tempora's over 300 hundred years old!" she crossed her arms and pouted.
"Then let me explain, dear child" they all spun around and looked at Seraphina who smiled gently at Rose.
"Wauw" she said in astonishment.
"Maybe we should have this conversation another place?" Seraphina asked and they all just nodded. She looked horrible, just as Tempora had. Her skin had become slightly grey and the bags under her eyes took away the youthful beauty she'd held before "then let's get going" she smiled and looked at Bunny "Bunnymund" she said and he opened a tunnel.
"So, are you okay little one?" Seraphina asked and looked at Rose. She seemed a little uncomfortable, sitting next to North.
"I'm fine… just confused is all…" she said and looked up at North.
"What?" he asked and she looked away.
"I just thought your beard would be fluffier is all…" she said and North looked at her.
"Hey, wait a minute… you're the girl who always sends thank you letters to the Yeti's!" he said and she giggled "why you do that?"
"She even knows that its yeti's that make the toys?" Bunny said and sighed "crikey…"
"I send them letters because it must feel awful to know that elves get all the credit" she said and smiled.
"They like your letters very much" he said and she giggled.
"Rose" Seraphina said and Rose turned her attention back to her.
"Yes?" she said.
"What do you know about the relations between Tempora and Pitch?"
"Well… I don't know that much actually… she always kept a level of secrecy about that… all I know is, that she is your adoptive daughter and through that connection… she's Pitch's granddaughter"
"Huh?" Jack said and looked at Seraphina "I would qualify that as important information" Seraphina sighed.
"I know jack, but it's a long story, which starts in the golden ages, so just let it be, okay?" she said and looked back at Rose "do you have any theories on why he would do anything to Tempora?"
"Hang on! I wanna know something too you know!" Rose said and looked around "My sister, Temperance, is Tempora, right?" she asked and they all nodded "how is that even possible?!"
"It's-" Seraphina started.
"Something I want to know! And I won't say anything until you explain" she said and they all looked at her "yeah, sis taught me to bargain!" she looked around at the others.
"Well… okay then. You know the story behind Tempora, right?"
"I do, Tempe told me"
"Then you know how it happened. 300 years ago, Tempora was a human, just like Jack was" Seraphina said and continued "then she was attacked by a bear, killed and Revived by the man in the moon"
"But why would he revive her? Doesn't he only revive those who do something to deserve it?" she asked and Seraphina sighed.
"She did something to deserve it. Believe she did"
"But when?" Rose asked and leaned forward.
"Right before she died…"
"How?" Rose fell of the couch she was sitting on and squatted closer to Seraphina on her knees.
"Let's just show her mom" Night said and Day nodded.
"Yeah, it would make everything a lot easier!"
"Very well then. Girls, get the thingy and let the show begin" Seraphina said and the two girls flew off. Seraphina looked at Jack and smiled "this will also show you something that might help you" she said and Jack got confused.
"What do you mean?" he asked and the two girls came in with a mirror.
"There are more than one way to see memories Jack. My two daughters can look back into the past with this mirror, and show it two whoever looks at it. You and Rose will be the first to look into it for a hundred years" she said and sighed "I used to look into it every day… looking at the past can be very lovely… but it can also hurt you when you get back…" she said and touched it lightly. It started shining and Jack walked in front of it. He could laughter from it and walked closer.
"Walk into it, that way you get the best view" Seraphina said and Jack walked in. suddenly he found himself in the woods of Burgess during spring and the laughter sounded louder.
"Come out, come out Jackson!" he turned around and almost dropped his staff.
"Tempe?" he said to himself and the girl giggled.
"You can't hide from me forever!" she yelled and looked around. The hair and face was right, but the colors were off.
"This is from when Tempora was human" Rose whispered in awe and gawked around "she looks just like my sister" she said and the girl laughed again.
"Come on Jackson! You know I'll find you at some point!" she giggled and looked around. Then a branch snapped somewhere and Jack feared what it might be. She whipped around and laughed a bit.
"Found you!" she yelled and ran towards the sound. Then a familiar face popped up and laughed.
"You haven't caught me yet!" he yelled and ran away from her.
"Hold on… That's me!" Jack yelled and Rose gawked.
"I'm way faster than you! So you might as well give up now!" Tempe yelled and giggled. Jackson was doing a very good job avoiding her, but in the end she caught him.
"Wow!" she yelled and tumbled on top of him. They both laughed and Jack felt his chest becoming lighter and his stomach tickled.
"Do you remember any of this?" Rose asked and he shook his head.
"No… it's like I'm seeing this for the first time…" he said and Tempe chuckled loudly. She looked at Jack and smiled.
"Got you" she said and smiled at him. Jackson smiled back ad sighed. They had somehow ended up with Tempe between Jackson's legs. She lied down with an elbow on each of him.
"Got me…" he looked at the sky and smiled. Tempe laid her head on his chest and sighed in content. Then something else approached and the two looked its way.
"Jack? Jack are you here?" a young voice sounded and Jack recognized it. Then his sister appeared from the bushes and the two quickly got away from each other "what were you two doing?"
"Playing tag!" Tempe said in a high pitched voice and blushed.
"Yeah!" Jackson chimed in and scratched the back of his head.
"Who won?"
"I did of course!" Tempe said and giggled "but I should get home now… it's getting late" she said and started walking "see you guys tomorrow!" she said and waved.
"Well you two looked like you were getting along just fine" Rose said and poked Jack in the side with her elbow. Jack just looked at the scene playing out, feeling things he hadn't felt in 300 years. Then a loud snap brought him out of his trance like state. A growl confirmed his thoughts and the bear came into sight.
"Jack…" his sister said and held tightly onto her brother's shirt.
"Don't worry… I'll get you out of this" he said and the bear roared, making his sister scream. The bear walked towards them with loud thumps and Jackson looked like he didn't know what to do. But Jack knew what might happen and looked at Rose.
"You might wanna look away in a minute…" he said and she looked up at him. Then the bear stopped up and looked around.
"Over here you big stupid animal!" Tempe yelled and a thump could be heard. She was throwing rocks on the bear, drawing it's attention away. The bear looked at her and growled "yeah that's right you big ugly brute!" she yelled and it turned around and started walking towards her.
"Tempest! What are you doing?!" Jackson yelled and looked at her.
"Saving you! What else does it look like idiot?!" she yelled and the bear started walking faster "didn't think of that…" she said and started running away.
"Tempest!" Jackson yelled and ran after, his sister following "no, you stay here! Climb into a tree, now!" he said and the sister did what he said. He ran after her and Jack followed.
"Tempest!" Jackson yelled again. Then he saw her tumble over a root, the bear finally catching her "Tempest no!" he yelled and she looked at him. She looked scared and Jack noticed that the face was the exact same Tempora had made in Burgess.
"Jack…" she said and the bear raised its paw and slashed her. She screamed and Rose hid herself behind Jack. It seemed like the bear lost interest in her already there, and just walked away. The worst thing was, she wasn't entirely dead yet, still gasping for air. The Bear had sliced her throat.
"Tempest no!" Jackson yelled and ran over to her "no, no, no, no, no!" he said and looked her over.
"Ja…ack…son" she said and he looked at her.
"Tempest, Tempest don't you dare…"
"Jack-son… I… I… loh… ve… I lohve…" she said and out a hand for his face. He took it and was trying to find a way to stop the bleeding.
"Tempest, Tempest just… just hold on, okay?" he said and she looked him in the eyes.
"Ja-ack-son… I… loh…ve… yo… u…so… mu…ch" she managed to say before her hand became limp. Her head fell to her side and Jackson looked at her with horror.
"No… no!" he yelled and a white light blinded Jack and Rose. When they opened their eyes again, they stood in the same place, only it was autumn this time. Jack looked around and saw himself standing by a stone. It didn't look like a grave stone, but there was text engraved on it.
"This is that grave out by the lake!" Rose said and looked around "so its Tempe's grave…"
"I'm trying to listen…" Jack said and walked closer to his human self.
"… Really sorry I couldn't do anything Tempest" he said and wiped away a tear "I'm so sorry…" he sat down and sighed "it's getting lonely without you… at first, the empty space surrounding me wasn't so bad… but it is now… I see everyone in the village, having someone they walk around with, hand in hand you know. I always thought that would be us one day… I never got around telling you that… did I?"
"I can't really describe how it is you're missing… I mean, I still play around with my sister and our friends, so I'm not lonely or anything… not at day anyway. In the evenings, it's different. Since we're neighbors… I could always talk to you from my window. Sometimes you even told me stories when I couldn't sleep. The mornings are bad too. I ever noticed, but the smile you always gave me in the mornings, they were really cheery, you know?" he buried his head in his knees and chuckled "god, I'm such an idiot right now" he said and stood up "but I guess… what I really wanted to say was…" he took a deep breath and Jack heard something and turned around.
"No way…" he said and Rose looked too.
"Tempora" she said and Tempora walked closer. She looked at Jack and her eyes became wide with sadness.
"Jack…" she said and reached out her hand.
"I really miss you Tempest" he said and she walked closer to him.
"Jack I'm right-" she reached for his cape and her hand went right through him "here…" she said with horror and looked at her hands "No…" she looked up at Jack and tears welled up in both their eyes.
End of Chapter
I know, I know, death scene is cliché much? yes, it is.
But I wanted the scene to be like that, so deal with it.
And the little scene afterwards has a picture posted on my DA account, so check it out if you want to, it was drawn before i wrote this Chapter, so Jack accidently calls Tempora 'Temperance' instead of Tempest.
and i wrote Jackson when it was Human Jack (except in the last scene) and Jack when it was Jack Frost