A/N I'm back! Did you guys miss me? I hope so, cuz I've got another chapter for you! Consider it my Christmas present to you, unless of course I write another one before. I'm so excited about Christmas! Love it, it's def my fave holiday.
The pond is gorgeous, a shining oval of ice surrounded by green pine trees and freshly fallen snow. It's in a park not far from where the girl lives, maybe an eight minute walk. I hope the beauty all around and the memories connected to this place will help give the girl some joy to brighten her day.
The girl's walk is slowing as she and the boy get closer to the pond, like she's afraid to get to close. The boy pulls her to the very edge and steps out onto the ice.
"What are you doing?" The girl asks, confused.
"I'm skating, what else?" The boy answers, letting go of her hand so he can move around the pond, "Come join me."
"I don't have any skates, and neither do you!" The girl snaps.
I sigh; this girl is just determined to stay gloomy. I can sense that she wants to, she's just afraid that being happy will betray her mother. That with her death not that long ago, being happy will be like the girl never truly loved her mother.
"You don't need any," the boy says, coming over to her again, "Please?"
He takes her hands and smiles again, his eyes begging the girl to let go of her worries and join him in some mindless fun. I whisper words of encouragement to the girl, letting her know that her mother would want her to be happy. She looks torn but my words soon take effect.
"Alright," she relents, stepping out onto the ice, "Let's skate."
I smile as I watch the two teens slide around on the ice, laughing and playing around like they have no cares in the world. I snap my fingers and some green dust begins to encircle them, protecting their joy for as long as it can. It feels good to be able to help the girl forget her sorrows for just a bit, to be able to bring some light into her otherwise gloomy life.
This part of the job is the best, the knowledge that I just made someone's life better. This is what makes me get up after only three hours of sleep; this is what fuels me on even when I feel joy becoming less of a need in the modern world. It's mortals like that girl who are open to joy that make my job worth doing.
I turn away from the pond and start walking back through the town, taking time to enjoy it. Mortal children of all ages litter the yards on either side of me, playing in the snow and having a wonderful time. I blow green dust on them to make sure they enjoy this snowy day to the fullest, smiling at the joy they're producing.
I walk over to a small group of ten year olds who are building a snowman. They're trying to make it bigger than the snowman built by the older teens but they can't quite manage it. I giggle as I watch them unsuccessfully try to lift the huge middle ball onto the bottom one. Taking pity on them, I help them lift the mountain of rolled snow on top of the other.
"We did it!" The kids scream, laughing and hugging one another like they were given a million bucks.
"You're welcome," I say, grinning ear to ear at their delight.
I sprinkle each of them with green dust, escalating their happiness. They excitedly start rolling the snow for the snowman's head and I turn away to leave. The wind is pulling at me again, promising someone else who needs my help. I don't really want to leave this quant, happy town, but I know I've got a job to do.
I'm just about to let the wind take control when something hits me hard on the back of the head. Surprised and startled, I fall forward into the snow, getting a mouthful of cold wetness. Sitting up slowly, I reach back and rub my head, feeling for a knot. I don't feel any mark, but my head is ringing a bit from the force of the impact.
"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Comes a yell from above me.
I look up in surprise and see a human form fly directly over me. I turn around and watch it land, getting a better view. It's a boy in his late teens with windblown snow white hair; a dark blue hoodie covered in frost, brown pants that look like they are hundreds of years old, and pale skin. He's also barefoot and holding a staff that's covered in frost as well.
Unfortunately I know exactly who it is. Jack Frost, Spirit of Winter.
I'm a bit annoyed that he chucked an ice ball at me but I don't make a big deal about it because I don't want to be noticed. I don't want to be recognized as another Spirit, I like being able to do my job without other Spirits interfering. I admit, I don't look like a mortal but Jack Frost is probably too stupid to tell the difference…that's what I'm hoping anyway.
He throws a couple of snowballs that explode in the kids' faces, releasing a blue dust that seems to put them under some sort of spell. The kids go crazy, throwing snowballs and ice balls while Jack Frost urges them on, laughing. I'm slowly inching away when a golden flash above Jack Frost's shoulder catches my eye.
It's a Caladium, one of my puppy-like helpers. Great, I think to myself, I'm basically encouraging Jack Frost to kill kids with snowballs because it makes him happy. It's always nice to know you're the source for your own pain but I guess that's how my job works. Bringing joy to people, even Spirits who's idea of joy is inflicting pain on other Spirits.
Then Jack Frost catches sight of me as I try to get away from the snowball fight. I'm a bit caught off guard by how blue his eyes are, I've never seen such a vivid blue before. The fact that he is also extremely attractive doesn't help my concentration and I trip, falling backwards into the snow. He takes this moment to form another ice ball in his hands and my stomach drops. It looks like I'm about to get hit by another one which isn't cool at all, no pun intended.
"I thought I hit you," he says, more to himself then me, "Why aren't you joining in?"
He breathes on the ice ball; giving it it's magical blue dust power to put mortals under the spell of Winter.
"You sure are one weirdly dressed teen girl," Jack Frost says before throwing the ball at me.
Something inside me snaps and I act without thinking. I snap my fingers and the ice ball melts in midair, inches from my face, the water falling to the ground. Again, Springtime powers come in handy although I have to admit I've never had to use them in this way before.
"I am not a teen girl!" I snap, "And I don't appreciate you chunking snowballs at me either!"
The look on his face is priceless. It's a mixture of shock, confusion, and maybe a little bit of awe but then I could be seeing things when it comes to the last one. I'm angry at myself for letting another Spirit, especially one like Jack Frost, know that I exist. If I had just left right after taking care of the girl at the pond, this wouldn't have happened. But no, I had to walk around and enjoy the town.
I'm mentally calling myself every kind of name I can think of while Jack Frost manages to get composed. He gives me an amused smile that nearly stops my heart (how on earth does he make his smile so…dazzling? Why on earth am I suddenly weak in the knees?) and leans against his staff.
"I see I've stumbled onto a fellow Sprit," he says, "Name's Jack Frost, Spirit of Winter, if that wasn't obvious."
I debate whether to tell him my name or just dash off and pretend like it never happened. It's tempting to just try and run away, but there's always the chance that Jack Frost would come after me. And what if he went and told the other Spirits that there was a new girl on the loose? And what if they came looking for me? That seems like way more problems than just coming clean to only one Spirit, even if that Spirit is Jack Frost.
"Bliss," I sigh, "My name's Bliss."
Jack Frost raises an eyebrow.
"Spirit of…?" He asks, but doesn't wait for an answer, "Or do you not know? Did the Man in the Moon forget to give his newest Spirit her duty?"
The bitterness in his voice surprises me. What could Jack Frost have against the Man in the Moon? I'm also a bit amused that he thinks I'm a new Spirit when I've actually been here about a hundred times longer than he has. But then, I haven't let any the Spirits know about me so I can't say I'm surprised.
"No," I say, "I was given a duty and-"
"Let me guess," he says, interrupting me, "You're the Spirit of Killjoy, right? That's why you destroyed my perfectly good snowball."
I frown at the grin he's sporting. Honestly. It might make him look stunning (where did that thought come from?) but the fact that he just insulted me makes me a bit angry.
"I'm not the Spirit of Killjoy!" I say, trying to keep my temper controlled. To be honest I didn't even know I had one, it's not like I have a lot of people in my existence I can get mad at.
"Ooohhh," Jack Frost says, "You've got a bit of an attitude."
"I do no-" I try to deny it, making my voice civil but I'm interrupted for the second time.
"Nothing wrong with having attitude," he says conversationally, "I have one so I've been told. And if I have one, then it must be a good thing. Be grateful you're lucky enough to have one, people without it are boring. What Spirit are you again?"
I pinch the bridge of my nose and tell myself not to overact. From the grin on his face I know he's doing this on purpose, he's trying to get under my skin. I can't give in and let him bother me, I can't let him win. I must stay cool and act like it isn't annoying me at all, even though I want to bang his head against a wall.
"I'm the Spirit of Joy and Springtime," I say proudly.
I'm not expecting him to bust out laughing. I narrow my eyes and grit my teeth as he bends over, laughing like a hyena and leaning heavily on his staff. I'm tempted to shove him to the ground and beat him with his own staff. The thought surprises me; I never realized I was so violent.
"Are you kidding?" He asks, standing up straight but still chuckling, "You? The Spirit of Joy? Man, the Man in the Moon should have just left you unmade. You don't seem very joyful."
"It's hard to be joyful around a joy sucker like you," I snap.
He raises his eyebrows and takes a step towards me. I back up two, barely managing to stay upright. He has a staff, I'm defenseless. I want to be a safe distance away in case he wants to beat the daylights out of me; the farther away I am the faster I can run in the opposite direction.
"For your information," he says, "I'm the person who really brings joy to mortals. You see these kids?"
He waves his hand at all the children having a snowball fight next to us.
"They're having fun. They're happy. They're joyful," he stresses the last word, "Winter makes people happy, not Spring. Don't even try to chase it away with your 'oh so joyful' warmth."
"I've been chasing Winter away with warmth longer then you've been alive!" I tell him.
Jack Frost looks confused; apparently I just robbed him of words again. Me and my big mouth, why couldn't I just have let it go? I could have just said, "See you later" and been gone. But no, I had to try and be a smart-alec and all it did was get me into trouble.
"Excuse me?" He asks, "I thought you were new."
"If you had stopped interrupting," I say, "You would have heard me say that I wasn't. I've been around for thousands of years, I am the first Spirit."
After a few moments of shocked silence, his humor resurfaces.
"Gee whiz Grandma," he mocks, "Is it safe for you to be out in this weather?"
I glare at him; the whole grandma thing was a low blow.
"Don't worry sonny," I smile, "The weather will soon change."
His blue eyes are sparkling with mischief, making them shine like two stars. I refuse to look him in the eye because I'm afraid I might never look away. How is he doing this to me? What exactly is this?
His answering smile is full of a challenge, and I wince at the thought that I might have just created a monster. I don't have time for childish pranks and it looks like that might be what he's planning. Or at least something along those lines.
"We'll see," he says, smiling smugly, "But I think this Winter might be one that no one will ever forget, they'll be talking about it long into your precious Springtime."
He winks at me, making my heart flutter to my extreme annoyance, then jumps into the air and flies away. I mutter some rude names for him under my breath before letting the wind carry me away to where I'm needed. Jack Frost is a pain in the butt, a pain I don't need.
What did I get myself into, telling him who I was? What had I been thinking?
Yeah, that's a rather long chapter. The longest so far actually. And yes, Jack is finally in the story! Did you think he entered the story in a good day? To be honest I laughed while writing it. Haha! Did you laugh? Review and let me know what you thought!
~Sunshine