Author's Note: Okay, this is the chapter where I gain a lot of subscribers because it's so unbelievably sick, or where I lose a lot of subscribers... because it's so unbelievably sick. After officially publishing this, Karma is going to get back at me for putting Jack through such horrid, traumatic events. Also, I've been asking my parents for a Wacom Tablet for the past four years and they still just completely ignore me when I bring it up. Are they really that expensive or are my parents just flat out frickin lazy? It's time to take matters into my own hands…
As soon as the first dreadful memory ended, another began in its place; and with it, a strong pang of guilt that nearly knocked the breath out of North. It was as if Jack's entire life was put up on display: a heart-wrenching, suspenseful movie that the Guardians not only opted to watch, but had neglected to tell Jack that he would be the one of the live stars under the spotlight. It was a lot to take in, knowing that the Guardian of Wonder himself urged Jack into enduring these events all over again. Slowly, North shook his head. He sighed deeply. Perhaps this seemed like a good idea at the time because it was rushed, and they were willing to try just about anything at this point; but the more he thought about it, the more the idea seemed rash and careless. Sure, watching the memories would no doubt give them a general idea as to how the Disconnection was occurring (as if the first memory didn't already). But if the cause of the Disconnection was really because Jack had relived his memories in the first place, then… wouldn't reliving them twice just make matters twice as worse?
It depended entirely on just how bad the memories were-
"Nicholas?" Tooth gently cooed, flying beside him and resting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"
North barely nodded. Toothiana looked around at the shocked and devastated faces of those around her, and hid her own the best she could.
"I…" she cleared her throat. "I guess it's safe to say that we were all unprepared for that memory. And as much as we didn't like the way children were treated in that era, that's just how the times were. So, let's all just keep that in mind and… and hold true until the end." A look of slight unease was quickly overshadowed by that of a powerful determination. "For Jack."
A long silence crept in. After the words sank in for a few moments, the Guardians looked at each other and nodded briskly.
"You're right, Sheila." Bunny said sternly, his expression deep in thought.
He was about to say something else, but their attention was drawn from their conversation to their new surroundings as they reappeared in another memory.
The dark night sky hung over the little town of early Burgess, its full moon shining down upon it as if intentionally trying to pull their attention to the little dirt clearing. It was just bordering the outskirts of the village, where a few cheap cottages resided here and there, and just bordering the edge of the woods, where a tree or two stood lonely compared to the crowded ones behind it. There weren't too many people out and about at this time, save for the few in the clearing.
In said dirt clearing, there were two bonfires, one of which where Jack's father was again talking with Father John of the church, both of their backs turned away from Jack's mother and two other women at the opposite fire. A little ways in the woods, the guardians could make out four small silhouettes jumping and playing around.
They turned to Abraham's conversation.
"An' I know it ain't right, Father." The man said with a steady, emotionless voice. "But it's hard enough as it is, 'specially in this small of a town, ya know? I went 'n told my wife that we oughtta just go up to Abelton and leave 'em at the orphanage. Or better yet, sell 'em to a noble, make some profit off the brat."
Their actions were all simultaneous. Tooth's fists clenched. Bunny sounded a throaty snarl. Sandy's eyes filled with rage. North cracked his knuckles; all habitual traits that came to life when anyone who spoke about a child – their Jack, for that matter – as if they were simply cattle to be traded and sold.
"I understand where your uneasiness comes from, Mr. Overland," Father John nodded with a wise tone of voice, his beefy hands fiddling with a stick off of the ground.
"I also know how hard it must be for you - a strong and well-respected man, constantly put to shame by such an indecent son." He chuckled lightheartedly. "How you've managed to put up with him this far is truly impressive – a sign of a patient and kindhearted father.
"However, as good as your ideas may seem, I'm sure that Abelton doesn't need any more homeless children, and the nobles have all the servants they need, I can assure you."
"Then what on earth am I gonna do with it, Father?" Abraham spat with an impatient scowl. "She won't let me get rid of 'em."
"Since when did you let a woman order you around, Abe?" Father retorted antagonistically, before taking in a deep sigh and clasping his hands together tightly.
"Look at it this way, Abraham. I know of your families instabilities and hardships right now. And yes, to top it all off, you've been burdened with Jackson. But instead of trying to get rid of all of these unfortunate happenings, why not try and make the most of them? Don't want a repeat of Marshall, now do we?"
The guardians paused and looked at each other briefly, before the priest began talking again.
"Jackson is capable of being a workhand, isn't he? Couldn't he possibly make you some money? A shepherd, perhaps?"
"I've considered sendin' him down to see Joseph, but Jack's always aworkin' at home with his mother."
"The stupid woman can do the house work by herself. What about education? Aren't you going to send him to the schoolhouse?"
"Can't afford to, Father." Abraham shook his head. "Can barely afford keepin m'wife and I afloat."
Father John stopped twirling the stick around and looked off into the distance, his face contorted with intense concentration as well as sweat. After a few uneasy moments, he spoke up.
"Well, Abraham, I'm not much of a teacher myself, but I do know that in order to be a good priest, the least I could do is teach the people the word of God; it's important that everyone, regardless of age, be taught the loving ways of our good Lord and become his very children. That's why I established the church after all. So I'll make you a deal…"
Father John gestured to Abraham with the stick determinedly.
"I'll grant young Jackson private lessons and bible study free of charge, as well as basic reading and writing, but under a few conditions."
Abraham rubbed his oily face and leaned forward slightly.
"Now, I ain't got no money, Father."
"These conditions have nothing to do with currency, Abraham." Father said sternly. "But I do require discretion concerning whom you tell of these, uh… unconventional circumstances."
"Uhh, don't think I quite understand."
"Do not tell anyone else what I am about to tell you."
"Yes, Father."
"Good. Now, firstly, Jack is to attend the public bible lessons as well as the private ones. Second, he's to come to the church at least once every few days…"
These conditions went on and on: Jack had to read the bible thrice a day, he had to pray when he woke and before he ate and before he went to bed, he had to help Father John clean the church, he had to regularly confess his sins; but when it came to the last condition, the priest grew rather anxious. He looked over his shoulder to ensure that no one was eavesdropping, and nervously glanced to and fro. When he tried to say it audibly for Abraham, he found that he couldn't, so he resided with leaning forward and whispering it into Abe's ear. None of the Guardians could hear just what it was that Father John said.
"I don't like this at all," Bunny muttered.
Abraham nodded lightly. "Do what you want with em, Father."
"So we have an agreement then?" Father John said optimistically. "If you permit that he fulfills all of the conditions, I'll grant him an education, and then your future will be looking that much brighter." He stuck out his pudgy hand to his companion, the other hand still fiddling with the branch. Abraham shook it.
"Can't thank you 'nough, Father."
"God bless you, Abraham."
Just at that moment, the four little figures erupted from the woods, each with a long tree branch in their hands.
"That's not playin' fair! Margot's cheatin'! She done went struck me in the face!" Marshall shouted angrily as he ran out of the woods, his black mop of hair flopping around here and there like the tree branch he was using as a makeshift sword.
"Margot, you're not supposed to actually hit us, it's pretend! We're not really knights!" Felicity caught up behind him, struggling to flee with ladylike grace as she was being pursued. She'd been disarmed a while ago.
"That's right, keep running you mangy cowards! Our kingdom don't fall easy!" Margot cried boldly, her torn dress almost in as bad condition as her hair. Her strong makeshift sword looked as if it'd dealt several cruel blows upon her opponents – which, as expected, she had been capable of doing. She bolted after the two "knights" who had been so shamefully defeated.
Jack was the last one to come out of the woods.
He was gallantly riding his noble steed, a small dog who was chasing after a biscuit tied to the end of Jack's sword, which was dangling in front of the pup, and it looked more like a dog-fishing rod than a proud general salute.
"Onward, men!" young Jack shouted. "Leave no survivors! Hyaa!"
In an undeniably cute and very clumsy movement, Jack tumbled off of the dog and lunged for his mother, clutching her arm and burying his face into her soft dress.
"Mama! You're on my side, right?" he exclaimed boldly, making the other women sitting around the fire giggle. "B'cause if you're not, you're a bad guy. And bad guys never win."
Upon noticing Jackson, Father John snapped the stick he'd been fiddling with in half.
Jack's mother gently pried Jack off of her and calmly tilted his face up so that she could see his eyes.
There were still vivid marks and dark bruises from where Abraham had struck him multiple times, and it startled the Guardians to see how many there were just on his face alone. Jack, however, looked as if he were on top of the world. Despite his injuries, he was still the victorious king of a mighty kingdom, aiming to rule the land and turn it into a fantastic realm for him and his mother to live in happily ever after together. As long as he was in his own world, he was fine.
"Jackson, you really shouldn't be running around this late. We've got lots of work to do tomorrow." His mother said calmly. Margot, Marshall, and Felicity all regrouped around the fire as Jack spoke.
"Aww, but mama! Look at all the land we still haven't gotted!"
His mother sighed and a happy look filled her bright features. "The correct term is gotten, Jack. And what makes you think that all that land can be yours?" She gestured to the woods behind the village.
Jack looked down at his feet, thinking of a proper response. Then, he looked up with a childish grin on his face. "Well, you said anything's possible, mama… right?"
"Yes, Jack."
With an ecstatic smile, Jack nodded and looked up to the starry sky, where he finally lost his train of thought (which just happened to be world domination). Then, without warning, he ran over into a vacant clearing just left of the fire and marveled at the stars. The other children quickly followed suit.
"Ooh, ooh! Look up there, you guys! My big sister used to tell me about those!" Jack said happily, jumping up and down as he tried desperately to reach the glowing orbs in the sky without much success.
"Alice?" Marshall inquired, staring up at the stars as well. "Oh. I miss her."
"She's up there, Marshall!" Jack shouted ecstatically, his voice full of optimism. "She told me j'st before she passed! She's up there!" he paused upon realizing he didn't know her exact location. "…somewhere."
"Is she still pretty?" Felicity wondered as she recalled just what Jack's older sister used to look like.
"Prettier than you, I'd reckon." Margot snickered snidely.
Jack, however, was not paying attention to the side conversations that his other friends found themselves in. He was still completely ensnared with the stars.
"She's, uhm… she's one a those sparkly things!" he exclaimed, not remembering the name for the stars that were hung in the sky like distant candles. "They're called, uh…. angels! Yes, those are angels! When I grow up, I wanna be an angel." Again, he was drawn completely to them. "…Just look at 'em, guys…"
Marshall gasped and brought his hands to his mouth as if realizing something.
"No! You can't be an angel, Jack! You'd hafta be dead ta be one."
Jack remained unphased. "But they're so nice and bright. They make the dark less scary," he turned back and looked at Marshall. "Don't you think?"
"Well, yeah, but…" For a moment or two, Marshall was at a loss for words. Death wasn't an easy subject, especially when his best friend just basically admitted that death would not change his decision of becoming an angel. A slight look of fear crossed his face, but it was quickly replaced with that of a strong and unbeatable determination.
"…fine! Then I wanna be one with you too!"
"We'll all be angels!" Felicity said happily, pulling all of her friends into a large hug.
The Guardians smiled and laughed happily as the hugging group slowly toppled over into a mass of tangled children.
"Well," Toothiana spoke, "It's glad to know that Jackson had lots of friends when he was a child."
Bunnymund scratched behind his ear with one of his feet. "Who was it that they were talkin 'bout? I didn't even know he had an older sistah."
"Ah, yes," North nodded solemnly. "Alicia Overland, or Alice for short. She was only on naughty list for one year because she and baby brother started a food fight on Christmas Eve. Should've known that it would be our Jack though, haha!"
Sandy wildly waved his hands and when he had everyone's attention, put a sand question mark up in the air. What happened to her?
North's face quickly changed from jolly to grim. "It is not pleasant tale to tell… Alicia was playing outside by the lake on the winter of her 15th birthday, and… she tripped and fell through the ice. The cold water should have killed her, but she crawled out of lake, towards house, and got lost in the woods. She must have been crawling around aimlessly until… six days had passed. And by the time the villagers found her, she had passed."
Another mournful silence took over, and Bunny's ears gradually went limp in a sign of sadness. He looked up to North. "How did you know about…?"
The Guardian of wonder stared at the ground.
"…Alicia's favorite holiday was Christmas…"
"Jack!"
Both the Guardians and Jack froze at the sound of his father's booming voice calling for him. Slowly, he turned and saw that the man hadn't moved from his spot; Jackson, however, feared for the worst.
"C'mere." Was all his father said after that. Jack's hands slightly trembled, and he looked back to his friends for reassurance. They, too, were scared for him, but all knew very well that disobedience would only make matters even worse. Therefore, they all nodded and urged him along, which seemed to give Jack enough of a confidence boost to walk over to his father without shaking like a leaf.
"Yes, pa?"
Abraham gestured to the man sitting beside him.
"Father John and I had a discussion 'bout your education, boy. Now startin' tonight, he's gonna take you home for a few days every week. He's givin you free lessons, ya hear?"
Jack briskly nodded. "Y-yes pa."
Abraham scoffed. "Go now."
"Yes, pa." Jack stammered, despite the sickening sense of dread boiling in his stomach.
Father John stood up and reached his hand out for Jack to take hold to. Young Jackson nervously did the same, turning back to look at his friends who were still standing in the clearing. Marshall made a funny face in a desperate attempt to make him laugh. Margot shot him two thumbs up to make him feel more comfortable. Felicity waved him goodbye politely, to let him know that this goodbye only meant they'd see each other soon enough. And although the bad feeling was still present in his stomach, his friends made him feel a little bit better.
"Hello, Jack." Father John said calmly, turning Jack's attention from his friends to the man holding his hand. "We're just going to do some private bible study, just the two of us, see. You'll better understand God's will this way, my son."
"We're not goin to the church for bible studyin' no more?" Jack asked curiously, his beady brown eyes full of both fear and anticipation, though fear outweighed the latter.
Father John harshly backhanded Jack's face and yanked him back up onto his feet roughly.
"Don't question your father." He said angrily. "Only obey him."
"Good night, Father John." Jack muttered quietly.
An hour or so passed since they arrived at Father John's house, and in that short period of time Jack was taught the basic principles of the alphabet as well as some insight into the bible and just who God was; apparently, He was an all knowing and powerful omniscience that created the very earth and the human beings he was interacting with. Father John said something about God having made mistakes in the past, but around this time, Jack could no longer focus on the lesson. He couldn't get his mind off of the sickening feeling of anxiety in his stomach. Afterward, they ate their supper, and Father John sent Jack into the bath to clean himself from all the dirt and grime he acquired playing with his friends. Now it was roughly eleven o clock, and Jack only managed to stay awake out of pure fear, despite him being warm and cozy in a small bed across the room set up just for him.
Father John, who was writing something vigorously with a quill and ink, looked up from his bedside desk and shot him a menacing look.
"What an ungrateful little bastard you are, Jackson Overland. Aren't you going to thank me for your lessons earlier tonight?"
He flinched at the harshness of the man's words, and quickly corrected his mistake. "Th-thank you for the lessons, Father John." Father John's merciless expression didn't change in the slightest, and it sent chills down Jack's spine. But after a long and uneasy silence, he set his quill pen down on the desk and huffed, almost as if he were annoyed.
"…Give your Father a goodnight hug, boy. And then we will pray."
Tentatively, Jack crept out of his small bed and slowly made his way towards the Father, who knelt down to accept the hug. Very carefully, as if at any moment Father might attack him or hit him as his real father would usually do, Jack lifted his arms and weakly wrapped them around Father's neck. He softly placed his cheek against the Father's shoulder and whispered again, "Goodnight, Father John. Thank you for the lessons."
Father smiled. He wound his large arms around Jack's tiny torso and hugged back – needless to say, Jack was surprised. It was, at first, a very gentle and kind sort of hug, as if Father John actually cared for him. It was a protective and affectionate gesture from what the Guardians could make of it.
And then its form changed from fatherly to malevolent, and Father's arms, much like a vice, squeezed Jack's ribs and crushed them with enough force to break them. "You're so frail, Jackson Overland," he stated plainly, as if he were captivated in some sort of hypnotic trance.
Jack flinched as the air was forcefully expelled from his lungs. Goodnight hug indeed. He began to panic when, along with an inconceivable amount of pain beginning to spread from his chest throughout his entire upper body, he found it extremely difficult to take in a breath. "Ah! F-Father John, you're h-" Jack wheezed feebly as he attempted to push himself away from him. "Yer 'urtin' me, Fa- 'ey, stop it!"
Father released him. When Jack drew back and stared up at him, the priest leaned forward and placed a light goodnight peck on his forehead, to which Jack had no choice but to accept. With that, Father granted him with another on his cheek. And another on his other cheek. And another on his ear, and another on his quivering jaw.
The goodnight kiss on his neck, however, was vastly different from the ones he'd previously received.
It was as if the kiss had been put in slow motion, and it was very wet, like the village dog was lapping syrup off of his neck. Suddenly uncomfortable with Father's goodnight kisses, Jack slowly backed away and began to walk back over to his bed, looking down all the while to avoid eye contact. He was not expecting Father to grab his arm and violently tug him back to where he was standing so that he could resume his kiss. Jack found himself once again with Father's saliva covered lips upon his neck, so much like a frothing hungry animal that it made Jack sick. And he could no longer pull away, his arm held in place by the priests' death grip as he made a meal of Jack.
He whimpered. "F-Father, no more, please." And quickly added, "'M tired," to disguise his fear with a polite excuse.
Father snarled. It was such a primal, animalistic noise that Jack literally froze with fear. The barbaric noise returned again, like a loud damp trilling or a muffled echoing growl, only with a lower, more vicious tone.
Bunny silently noted to never, ever growl in such a way at or around Jack Frost ever again.
In an unexplainable fit of rage, Father John tore himself from the boy and grabbed a fistful of Jack's hair, using it to lead him over to a portion of the wall between a dresser and the bed before violently slamming him up against it. Jack couldn't so much as utter a syllable before his eyelids fluttered and he almost wound up unconscious, teetering between the two as if he couldn't decide which state he'd be better off in at this point.
He finally came to when that gross wet feeling returned on the same spot of his neck, and he shot open his eyes to see that his wrists were pinned above him by one of Father John's meaty hands.
"L-let go of me, Father!" Jack said with a quivering voice, weakly tugging against his captor. "Let me-" his plea was cut off when Father John's mouth slammed against his, shoving his tongue into Jack's mouth and sucking greedily on his tongue.
Jack tried to scream. The Guardians could hear it. But when he did, Father John's kiss grew deeper, tasting the dinner they had a few hours before once more. He tried to turn his head away, but Father's other hand pulled his hair and held him in place. The disgusting smell of sweat and bad breath filled Jack's nostrils, and he felt like he was going to be sick. When Father John broke off the kiss and began gnawing and sucking on the other side of Jack's neck, Jack gasped and spoke out.
"Father! Father please, no more, please no more! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll be good! I'll be good! Please no more!" he pleaded, his voice distraught and fearful.
His futile pleas turned into shrill screams of terror when Father began to tear off his clothing.
Now, although it might've seemed like it, Toothiana wasn't the crying type. Sure, she was passionate and slightly overdramatic, but she was more or less a role model; not only for the children around the world, but for her fairies. She was one, as you witnessed earlier, for giving determined speeches and encouraging words of empowerment. Revealing weakness wasn't on her nice list.
She never intended to be a hypocrite.
So when her devastated, piercing shriek sounded and she dove for the boy that wasn't really before her, the Guardians could only pull her back and try their best to shush her.
Tooth was definitely one for advice – but in this certain predicament, living up to it seemed a little more difficult.
"Jack! NO! Don't you touch him!" she hollered, ferociously tugging against Bunny's grip as she tried to protect her Jack.
"Sheila, stop! He's not really there! It's already happened!" Bunnymund reasoned, and Tooth slightly relaxed. By this time, a waterfall of tears had escaped her eyes, and she allowed herself to slunk to the floor, clutching her chest as she sobbed.
The other Guardians did their best not to cry, which was made a great deal easier when this unbearable portion of the memories was skipped entirely. Nicholas helped Tooth up and hugged her comfortingly.
"Hold true until the end, Toothiana." North spoke solemly. He turned to the other Guardians, all awestruck and so full of angst and shame that they didn't want to watch the rest of the memories anymore.
But they held true.
It was morning now, and Jack's friends were standing in front of the priests house, eagerly waiting for their companion to return. Abraham was there as well, determined to see whether or not the deal he made was following through smoothly.
When Jack and the priest finally stepped out the door, Marshall was the first one to him. He ran up and skidded to a halt in front of his best friend, still covered with dirt and wearing the same clothes, a broad smile on his face.
"Hi Jack!" he exclaimed excitedly.
As if it were the last thing he was expecting, Jackson flinched violently and tumbled backward, wincing when he collided with the ground, and struggled to get back up on his feet, failing with every desperate attempt. He grimaced in pain at every sudden move he made, which unfortunately was often, as Jack found himself twitching and wincing frequently after the bible lesson with Father John. Abraham scoffed impatiently as Jack tried to stand up weakly.
Margot shot Jack a concerned look and wrung her hands together worriedly. "…Jack?"
Abraham roughly lifted Jack up and set him on his feet. "How was your bible study?"
Jack was shaking. "…I-it was… g-good, Pa." he refused to look him in the eye.
"Aren't you going to tell Father John thank you?"
Jack turned to face Father John, who had a smug, knowing grin on his face that only the Guardians could decipher; it made them sick.
"…th-than…"
Abraham angrily smacked the back of Jack's head, which would've sent him tumbling down the stairs had Marshall not been there to help steady him back upright.
"Speak up boy!" his dad demanded harshly. "Do not disrespect your Father!"
"Thank y-you, Father John!" the small, hoarse voice quickly responded fearfully.
Still holding Jack steady (as he was struggling to hold himself up at this point) Marshall glared holes into Abraham's cold eyes. Marshall sneered at the heartless man.
"Hey!" Marshall shouted assertively. "Don't you hit him like that! He didn't do nothin' wrong, boy!" he scolded boldly, something only someone as brave and protective as Marshall would do.
"Marshall!" Margot flicked his ear with an impatient look on her face. "You can't just call Jack's father names and tell him what to do, stupid!"
"What? He deserves it! An' I can say what I please!"
By this time, however, Abraham and Father John were already walking into the house. He hadn't heard Marshall's small voice at all, as he was eager to discuss the impact of Jack's education might have of Abraham's financial life, as well as his private one. Jack's trio of friends all turned to Jack inquisitively.
"Jack, are you alright? You look really…" Felicity softly asked the cowering boy still leaning on Marshall for support.
"Messed up." Margot finished bluntly. "Jack, you look really messed up. Did you catch a cold?"
Jack's bottom lip quivered lightly, as if he were about to cry – and he did, the tears slowly streaming down his bruised and battered cheeks like rain rolling down glass.
"Jack?" Marshall lovingly wiped away some of his tears, something an older brother would do. "Don't cry Jack, Margot was just bein' an idiot. Ya know she was jus' playin. Why are you crying?"
As if he were scared of his own friends, Jack pushed himself off of Marshall, scrambled down the stairs and ran into the woods, wailing loudly for his mother. His friends pursued.
It didn't take too long to reach his house, which was conveniently located deep enough in the woods to discourage pursuers (except for friends, of course) but not too deep to get lost in before reaching the house. His mother was outside hanging the clothes on a clothesline calmly when Jack burst towards her, his arms outstretched and his voice desperate.
"Mama! Mama!"
The young mother whirled around just in time for her son to rocket into her leg and bury his tearstained face into her dress.
"Jack!" she exclaimed, looking down on him with a look of fear and surprise. "Are-are you okay, darling? Wha-what is it? What happened to you?"
Jack clutched onto his mother and opted to never let go.
"I don't wanna go back there, mama!" He cried desperately, his face contorted with grief. "Don't make me go back there, mama!"
She knelt down and gently took him into her arms, caressing him and wiping the tears from his eyes. "Come here, baby. I know you've got it hard, just like your mama. Those ugly men, why, they'll beat us black and blue until we're nothing but pulp."
"But why, mama?!"
"The world is an amazing place, however, there is more evil in it than good." Her face fell to the ground. "You and I, Jack, we're just broken pieces of the same puzzle. We're not quite sure if we fit in here…"
Suddenly, her face was full of optimism. "But if we stay strong together, we'll go places, I'm sure of it."
Jackson looked up to his mother curiously. "Like where, mama?" He sniffled.
She grinned widely.
"Why, we could go anywhere we want to, baby. We could travel the world, we could live anywhere we please. Why, we could even have impossible adventures with the Guardians of Childhood if we wanted to!"
The Guardians all gasped at once when they heard their names, as they were not accustomed to adults believing of their existence.
"Who're they, mama?" Jack asked hoarsely.
"Jack!? Where'd ya run off to?"
Finally, the tacky trio of children burst out of the woods, all gasping for breath, one in particular not stopping until he made it all the way to Jack.
"Jack?" Marshall called out, not wasting a moment and running up to gently hug his best friend.
Felicity shuffled forward shyly. "W-we were worried for you,"
His mother nodded. "I think we all were. Are you the friends he's always going off about?"
"I reckon one a us is!" Margot exclaimed giddily, gesturing to herself in an over-exaggerated manner. "I'm Margot Fonteyn, from Abelton, j-just down the way!"
Felicity curtsied. "How do you do, ma'am? I am Felicity Hetsrood. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"She also goes by Floozy." Margot snickered.
Marshall scuffled forward, rubbing his chest awkwardly upon realizing he was the only one there that was not fully dressed, and didn't have a home. "Well, I'm, um... I don't live in Abelton or Burgess… I'm-"
"I know perfectly well who you are, Marshall." His mother said in a knowing way, kneeling down and kissing his forehead. "More than you will ever, ever know."
"Mamaaa!"
And this sounded like Jack. Not the terrified Jack, not the Jack who was afraid of another beating or worse. It was their Jack, eager and excited to hear a story from his mother. "Who're the Gardens of Childhood?"
"Well, come on inside, the lot of you. We'll light a fire, we'll get Marshall a bath and a shirt, and I'll tell you guys all about them."
A/N: Heheheh, yeaaahhh… (dodges pitchforks) I WARNED YOU LONG AGO OKAY. The next one will be up sometime during the summer, cuz guess who has finals until the end of May? B(