Anime: And here's the official chapter one of Frozen Butterfly Wings! Since there were more than two reviews, we're gonna torture the good doctor!
Jehu: Finally!
Aster: Before that, we'd like to that the people who made this possible. Thank you to LadyRavenCrow, Scorpiofreak and a Guest who did not reveal a name but they know who they are! Thank you for your kind words!
Jaden: Now?
Jack: As much as I want to, not yet. There is Jalice in this fic and the guardians will show up. You'll know it when you see it, of course! Anime died trying to write that part. She is terrible at writing romance scenes. Give her other genres and she might excel (except comedy) but her romance is terrible!
Alice: One of us is already in love with the other. You'll see who it is. This chapter might go well with Invisible by Big Time Rush, the song Anime was listening to when writing this. Check it out. Anime kept imagining Jack singing it to Alice as she heard it.
Haou: Now?
Anime: Yes!
Aster: Okay, because I'm joining in with the Bumby torture, I'll quickly say the disclaimer. Rise of the Guardians and the Alice video games are not owned by Anime. She only owns me. Okay, let's do this!
Anime: *grabbing a knife* Don't worry. Chopping off your fingers won't be that painful . . . Just kidding. It shall hurt. A lot.
**Edited April 2019 and May 2020**
~~~FBW~~~
1: It's All Fun And Games . . .
December 24, 1957
A lone boy walked over the rooftops of a small city. He paused, twirling a wooden staff that looked like a shepherd's staff. The action caused a small patch of ice to form on the roof of the house. He chuckled, jumping over the ice before the wind picked him up mid-flight to the next house.
The white-haired boy in the blue hoodie paused, watching the golden sand of the Sandman illuminate the night sky. It was a beautiful display, one that never failed to entertain him. He grinned, sitting down on a chimney. It was just a few minutes before midnight, so he was going to see Santa Claus tonight as well.
He then saw a strange figure walking on the rooftops. A figure he'd never seen before.
The boy frowned, standing up and trying to see the mysterious figure better. He jumped again, flying closer to the person. When he was finally in a reasonable distance to that unfamiliar figure, he saw it was a young woman. The moonlight and the light from the golden sand illuminated her beautiful, youthful face.
As he was about to land, the girl's gaze moved and the two locked eyes. The boy felt trapped in the girl's gaze, eyes wide and unable to look away. The girl tilted her head, observing him with those beautiful green eyes.
"Who are you?"
The boy couldn't answer the girl's question, face burning for some reason. He didn't know what to say to this girl. The girl, perceptive as she was, was unable to see the small blush that formed on the boy's pale skin.
She walked closer to him, "I asked a question. It's impolite to not answer."
"I'm. . ."
At that moment, the two heard the sound of bells. The girl looked up to see Santa Claus pass by in his red sleigh, ready to deliver presents to the slumbering children. The boy, embarrassed by his actions, decided to take his leave from the beautiful girl.
She turned just as the boy jumped away and allowed the wind to take him away. She frowned, "Strange fellow."
The two spirits were unaware that the encounter between them would lead to a series of events that no one would have been able to predict.
~~~FBW~~~
December 11, 2014
It was regular in the North Pole. A calm, relaxing day, a time when the snowstorm had finally cleared away. Snowflakes fell from the sky, their slow descent making them look graceful to anyone who was watching the scene. The wind blew softly, a gentle breeze that would make anyone relax.
It was the epitome of calm-.
"FROSTBITE!"
Until it was interrupted by the piercing scream of E. Aster Bunnymund, otherwise known as the Easter Bunny. This scream was followed by the laughing of the wild and crazy winter spirit whose center was fun. This spirit – nicknamed Frostbite by the Easter Bunny and also going by the names Father Frost, Old Man Winter and even Jokul Frosti – was Jackson Overland Frost, most commonly known as Jack Frost.
Jack Frost was the youngest guardian in age and looks. He looked forever eighteen even though he was over three hundred years old. He had white hair that was like freshly fallen snow, striking blue eyes and pale skin.
He was tall and slim and wore a blue hooded sweater with frost collecting around the ring of the collar and trousers bound with lighter material starting from the knee down to the rather tattered and frayed bottom. He was barefooted, although that didn't seem to bother him as much. On one of his hands, he carried his magical staff that resembles a shepherd's crook.
"What's wrong? Can't catch me?" Jack taunted Bunny from his perch high above the ground and far from Bunny's reach.
Bunny was about six to seven feet tall with grayish-blue fur, flower-like imprints on both his forehead and shoulders and bright green eyes. He was wearing leather bracers set with orange stones, a single-strap holster with which he carried his boomerangs and leather wrappings on his feet. All in all, the Pooka looked dangerous and tough. Only the winter spirit dared to insult him.
"Why don't you come down here, eh? Bet you won't be acting so tough then." Bunny shot back, speaking with an Australian accent. Jack raised one eyebrow and placed a hand under his chin as if he was thinking about it.
Suddenly, he grinned, "Sorry but I've got stuff to do."
Bunny growled, "Alice! Mind getting Frostbite down from there?"
At the name, Jack paused. He turned to the young woman that was sitting down and playing with some of Santa's elves. The excitable elves were presenting to her the toys they had "made". She actually expressed excitement, much to the delight of the elves who were usually ignored. When Bunny had called her name, she had immediately looked up.
Just by looking at her showed that Alice was a deadly beauty.
Alice Liddell was a beautiful girl with a healthy complexion, although she was paler than a typical human. Her eyes were brilliant green and had dark hair with a red tinge to it. She was wearing makeup which consisted of black eyeliner with dark pink eye shadow and peach lipstick. She was shorter than most humans, a difference to the large Bunny and lanky Jack.
She wore around her neck a silver necklace with an omega and wore a simple navy-blue dress with short puffy sleeves and a fanned-out skirt that is cut to mid-leg. She also wore a simple white apron over her dress with black-and-white stocking underneath, and black and knee-high boots which were secured with silver buckles.
Alice knew her center, unlike Jack, who'd struggled to find it. The strong spirit's center was creativity, a center that suited the spirit. For her strength and center, she'd been expected to be chosen as a Guardian when Pitch first rose to power two years ago. To everyone's shock, Man in the Moon had chosen Jack Frost instead. Alice, surprisingly, had not been resentful. She had even warmed up to Jack before anyone else.
Alice looked up at Jack, their eyes meeting. Green and blue. Opposite colors that clashed every time they met. Jack refused to lose eye contact with the creative spirit, staring at her as if to issue a challenge. She accepted. She did not move from her spot, instead looking at Jack with mild interest.
Alice was someone Jack hardly knew, despite their initial encounter in 1957 and other brief encounters throughout the decades. According to Tooth, she and the other Guardians had met Alice during the Victorian Era. Alice had been chosen by the Man on the Moon to become a spirit. She had not died, like Jack had, to become an immortal spirit and was taken in by the Guardians.
When Jack had become a Guardian two years ago, he had been embarrassed and shocked to see the beautiful girl from that winter night in 1957. That day, he had finally learned the name of the spirit he'd seen by chance, but he had wanted to know more. Jack tried everything to figure out the solemn spirit but to no avail. She was hard to read.
Jack did know one thing: he and Alice were complete opposites. Blue and green. White and black. Laid-back and serious. Lazy and responsible. Expressive and solemn. Cold and hot.
He had nothing in common in Alice, unless he counted the fact that they were both spirits protecting children and their centers – fun and creativity – were almost connected. Other than that, he found nothing else that he and the headstrong Alice Liddell shared.
And yet Jack couldn't help his feelings. He always wanted to be near her. He wanted to know that girl he'd met under the light of the Dreamsand and the moonlight. To this day, he had yet to make any progress.
"Will you get down from there or shall I have to get up to get you, Jackson?" Alice asked. Her English accent made her voice sound powerful and slightly eerie. It was a power that only she seemed to use.
Jack tensed, especially when Alice had called him by his complete first name. No one called him by his full name, preferring to use his shortened first name. Alice was, of course, the only exception. Days like this, Jack wished he hadn't told her his full name when they had met.
Alice stood, the elves moving away. She patted one in the head and then jumped. And not one of those simple jumps. Alice was a potent jumper. Unlike Jack, Alice did not need the help of the wind for the extra boost.
She landed on top of the globe that showed several golden lights, each representing a child that believed in the Guardians. Jack gulped, watching those serious green eyes focused on him. He felt trapped in her gaze. What was that phrase again? Ah, he felt like a deer caught in headlights. He didn't dare break eye contact.
Alice walked forward and Jack flew down, not wanting to know what she'd do to him if she had managed to catch him.
When he touched the ground, he looked up to see the young woman watching him with a small smirk. She floated to the ground gracefully, "Tell me, Frost, what was that? Running away from me? And here I thought you were someone fearless, considering you fought the Nightmare King. I suppose I was mistaken with my assumption."
Jack's cheeks flushed bright from Alice's words. Jack didn't understand why the words of this spirit meant so much to him but they did. And the power those words had on him was something that Jack felt scared of. But at the same time, Jack did not hate Alice. No, he couldn't hate her. No, quite the opposite. He actually-
"Can you believe it?!" A voice cried out, startling Jack out of his thoughts, "Christmas is in about two weeks already! Isn't anyone excited?!"
Toothiana, the Tooth Fairy most commonly known by the Guardians as just Tooth, flew down to greet them, followed by Sandy, and North.
The arrival of the other Guardians dispersed the tense atmosphere between the two youngest spirits in the room, much to Jack's delight. He probably wouldn't have been able to take Alice's cold, calculated gaze any longer.
Tooth was an avian hybrid and had tan skin with violet eyes. Instead of hair, she had feathers that made a curved upward style. Her entire body was covered in mini feather and had golden bracelets and anklets around her wrists and ankles. She had gold feather on either side of her head for earrings and had long, drapery feathers that started on her waist line and ended at her knees, making it look like a dress.
Despite the fact that her visible age was around fifteen or seventeen, she was older than the mountains but younger than the wind. This baffled Jack somewhat, as she was quite energetic for being an ancient being, the third eldest among the Guardians. As she zipped around the room, she gave out orders to some of her mini fairies. One of them was Baby Tooth, a fairy that often followed her around and was good friends with Jack.
Tooth stopped in front of Alice, "Isn't it fantastic! We've had more believers than last year! I kept thinking that my wings were going to fall off with how much work I did!"
"Charming." Alice muttered.
Alice turned to look at the globe. Since the incident with Pitch two years ago, the Guardians had carefully monitored the children. They became more involved in their duties. As a result, more children spotted the Guardians and their belief grew. The globe was covered in beautiful lights, a bright reminder of their work.
Tooth nodded and flew to the globe, "So many children believing! It just makes you so ecstatic! You have some followers too, Jack! Can you believe it? More children are believing in you!"
Sandy was smiling, floating next to Jack. Sanderson Mansnoozie was a short and squat individual, garbed in an outfit made of his Dreamsand appearing as a night robe. His hair was vaguely clownish and glittered like his own sand. His hair was golden and short, styled into five points, with golden brown eyes and tiny feet that really didn't match up with the rest of his body.
North patted Alice's head, making her look up at the large man towering over her. He smiled when their eyes made contact, "It's a time to be jolly, Alice. Smile for us, please! Your smiles are a treat for all of us! Can't you at least give me one? It would really make my day."
Nicholas St. North – often called North, Santa Claus, Father Christmas or Nick St. North – was an immense man. He was tall, buff and a little rotund. He had bright blue eyes, thick black eyebrows, and a long white beard and mustache. He was wearing his complete outfit that day: a black fur hat, a long red coat with a black fur trim and a red plaid shirt. Although you couldn't see them, Jack knew he had the words "naughty" and "nice" tattooed on each forearm respectively.
Alice patted one of his arms, "Another time, North. How is your progress so far?"
He continued smiling at her, despite the fact that she was not giving him one back, "We're having excellent progress, Alice. Your designs for some of the new toys are magnificent! The yetis and the elves love them. We have some left over. I might keep them."
Alice briefly smiled but that smile did not go unnoticed by the jolly man. North hugged her, taking her by surprise, "That's our Alice we know and love! Your smiles are the best! They're nice and warm. You'd probably even warm our Jack's heart with one of them!"
Jack tried not to blush by North's comment. However, he still felt his traitorous cheeks heating up at North's words. He coughed, covering most of his red face with his hands. The fact that he was paler than normal did not help his situation. Oh, how he wished he could keep his reactions under control!
"What is the matter, Jackson? Are you alright?" Alice asked.
Of course, it was her calling to him. She was the only one to ever call him that, the others just calling him Jack, and the only one to speak so proper despite that the time period was different. But she was different. Jack knew she was different since the moment he had seen her in that fateful Christmas of 1957.
"I'm alright." Jack lied to her.
He was afraid of his feelings, afraid of her rejection. He hardly had a good relationship with her. He was afraid that they'd lose whatever they had if he told her how he felt. Jack was afraid of her reaction. How would she react if he told her those three powerful words? What face would Alice make at his confession?
"Are ya sure, Frostbite?" Bunny asked, taking a good look at him. This only made Jack's cheeks turn a darker shade, making the winter spirit wish he was anywhere but there.
"You look really flustered. Ya can't possibly have a fever so that's out as a possibility. . . Are ya sure you're okay?"
Jack nodded at Bunny's question, making the others to continue looking at him. Much to his embarrassment, Alice was watching him with that calm, cold and calculating gaze. Those beautiful green eyes that had ensnared him with their beauty and now he couldn't tear his gaze from them.
My heart's pounding, like it's about to burst, Jack thought. He felt Alice's eyes continuing to watch him and it caused his heart to pound faster.
Please, he told Alice in his mind even though she could hear him, stop it. Don't you see what you're doing to me? If you don't stop, my heart will burst. If you don't stop, then I won't be able to stop those words from leaving my mouth . . .
There was a sudden loud sound coming from a window, sounding as if someone was pounding on the windows in an attempt to get in. All of them turned to it, suddenly very quiet. The Guardians and Alice all made eye contact with each other, silently communicating. Their communication had greatly improved these days.
Both Jack and Alice rushed to the window, Jack holding his staff while Alice materialized the Vorpal Blade from the air, brandishing it. North and Bunny pulled out their weapons, slowly approaching the window. Tooth and Sandy, meanwhile, hung back but were ready to rush forward to help.
The sounds resumed before stopping again. Then, a pained voice that soundly oddly like a teenager's came from behind the window, "Guardians, are you in there? Please, help me. Help, please. I . . . I need help . . ."
Jack turned to the rest of the Guardians, who were warily watching the window. Now that they were paying more attention, they could see a dark silhouette. Judging from their expressions, they did not recognize the voice.
Jack whispered to Alice, "What do you think? Should we let him in or not? The others don't seem to recognize him."
Alice turned to him, an action that didn't cause Jack to blush due to the situation. She seemed to debate their course of action for a while. Finally, she spoke, "We let him in. If he tries anything. . ."
She motioned at her gleaming blade that still had blood from her past victims in it, "I'll just cut them down with the Vorpal Blade."
The pounding seemed to turn softer, as if the boy was losing the strength to do it. The voice had stopped speaking. Jack approached the window. With a quick glance at Alice who nodded, Jack opened the window. He and the others were shocked when a small figure began to collapse on him.
"Whoa!" Jack cried out in surprise.
He managed to grab the falling boy, holding him upright by grabbing onto his thin shoulders. They both stumbled a bit, due to the sudden weight Jack had to hold onto. Jack regained his balance after a few moments. Jack looked down to see weary brown eyes looking up at him.
"F-F-Father . . . Frost?" The boy asked, glancing at him, "Father Frost . . . Is that you?"
Now that was a nickname Jack had not heard in centuries. He assessed the boy closely, trying to figure out who this young spirit that appeared in the window was.
The boy looked to be around sixteen with brown hair with the tips of his hair changing colors rapidly. It almost made Jack's head spin when he tried to focus on one color. The boy was paler than Jack, but Jack knew it wasn't his original skin tone judging by his sickly complexion. Jack was surprised that the boy was warm despite that he had been outside in the cold.
The young boy was wearing a red hoodie similar in style to Jack's except it was red with black designs on it, had black trousers that reached up to about six inches above the knees, allowing some of his pale skin to show. He was also barefoot, much like Jack, and it didn't appear like the cold bothered him.
He was similar in a lot of ways to Jack. Eerily so. Jack brushed it away immediately to address the strange spirit.
"Are you okay?" Jack asked.
The boy shook his head and that's when Jack noticed one of the boy's hands covering his stomach. The pale hand was red. Jack's eyes widened as he realized what the red liquid was.
Jack looked up at North, "He's injured! We have to take him to the infirmary now!"
Tooth quickly flew away to prepare to help the injured boy, Sandy following after her in search of the healing supplies. Jack shook the boy, "Hang on, okay? You're gonna be alright. We'll take care of you. Hey, hey, kid. Don't fall asleep yet, okay? Hey, come on, stay awake. Now, tell me your name."
"A-Aster." The boy coughed out, looking at Jack's eyes. He chuckled, a laugh without mirth, "My adrenaline. It's gone. I used it up. . . It must have exhausted me. Then there's the curse. . ."
"Aster, right?" Jack asked as Aster's eyes started to close.
When Jack started talking, however, his eyes opened. What surprised Jack the most was that his eyes had changed from brown to light blue. He didn't have the time to dwell on that. He was too distracted trying to keep Aster from passing out.
"Aster, talk to me. Do you have a family? How are they? How do they look like?"
"My family . . .?" Aster asked, his eyes looking a little glazed and his eyes turned navy blue. Not only that but Jack noticed that the tips of his brown hair had turned navy blue as well. What was with this boy's strange hair?
"My family . . . I had a mother and father. I was going to have a younger sibling A little baby sister. I was excited. I was going to be a big brother. But they're all gone. Mother. Father. My unborn sister. Gone. I want to see them again."
Jack's eyes softened, remembering his own family that he lost the day he died. Aster stared at Jack's face, smiling sadly at him. For some reason, Aster's gaze made Jack's heart ache. He couldn't stand to see the boy in such despair. And he didn't understand why he was being this affected by the stranger.
"Jack Frost, it's nice to see you. I. . ." Aster weakly hugged Jack, burying his face on his chest.
He started sobbing as Jack held him. The winter spirit was unsure of how to comfort the younger spirit. All he did was return the boy's embrace. Aster just started sobbing harder, fingers clutching the fabric of Jack's hoodie.
"I was so scared. . ." Aster sobbed, "I thought that I . . ." He dissolved into sobs again, "I thought that- that he was gonna . . . that he was going to . . . he was-. It's my fault. I'm sorry."
"Aster, what do you mean?"
Aster went limp in Jack's arms and Jack felt himself panicking despite himself. He was still unsure why he was reacting like this to a boy he had only just met.
He began to shake Aster's shoulders, "Hey! Aster! Aster!"
"Give him to me, Jack." Bunny called out.
A part of Jack didn't want to. He wanted to continue holding onto Aster and try to take care of him. He squashed the feeling down. He couldn't help Aster if he didn't allow the rest of the Guardians help Aster with his injury.
Just as Jack passed the limp Aster to Bunny, Aster's brown hair suddenly underwent a transformation. It occurred slowly, the roots of his hair slowly turning white and traveling until it reached the tips of his hair. White, the same shade as Jack's own hair.
"How does he do that? His ever-changing hair and eyes, I mean." Jack asked aloud as Bunny adjusted the boy in his arms.
Bunny didn't answer as the two walked towards the infirmary where the others waited. Jack was unsure the other Guardian was going to answer his question at first.
However, the Pooka looked down at the unconscious boy as they walked and spoke, "I don't know. In all of my years of being a Guardian, I've never met this spirit. He must be a new spirit that was recently chosen by the Man in the Moon. And, like this, he kinda looks like you."
Bunny and Jack made it to the extra room, where North, Tooth, Alice and Sandy were waiting. Bunny placed Aster on the bed, "We have to check his injury . . . Remove his hoodie. We have to see the damage he has. That is a lot of blood."
Tooth nodded and removed Aster's red jacket. She passed it to Jack, "Give that to the Yetis so they can mend it and clean it."
"Got it."
Tooth looked at Jack a little closely, "I suggest you do the same too. You have Aster's blood on your jacket as well. If you don't clean it, it'll stain and will be hard to get rid of."
"Right." Jack mumbled, staring at the boy.
Aster's exposed chest was pale white except in his stomach, where blood remained. There was also black lines that seemed to what was causing the problem. Strangely enough were the two things in his thin wrists. He had black swirls around his left wrist that looked similar to Pitch's sand while his right wrist had golden swirls that looked, oddly enough, like Sandy's Dreamsand.
North stared at that, "This is strange . . ."
Alice began cleaning the blood Aster had. She turned to Bunny, her expression reminding Jack of ice, "Pass me the bandages, will you? And alcohol, please. This wound looks as if it might get infected if it isn't treated right."
"I think it's already infected."
Alice shook her head, "That is not infection."
The way Alice looked like right now made Jack's heart skip a beat. She looked so calm despite the fact that she was in a very difficult situation. Jack liked that about her. Her calmness. She probably wouldn't believe him if Jack told her that she looked beautiful, despite the fact that her hands were covered in Aster's blood.
As Alice worked her magic, Jack decided to get the boy's sweater cleaned and mended. It vaguely reminded Jack of his own sweater, despite the fact that it seemed to be made of a different fabric. Jack handed it to the yetis before inspecting his own sweater that had a red spot on it.
Jack stared at the spot for a long time and then at the room where Aster was asleep, his wound being taken care of. For a brief moment, Jack saw himself in that bed. But then that moment ended and he saw Aster again.
"Where did you come from?" Jack wondered.
~~~FBW~~~
**EDIT: Updated dialogue, removal of Invisible lyrics, added beginning scene, years finally given, timeline updated, Alice's center changed from courage to creativity/creation, Alice is no longer addressed as "British".**
Anime: Awww! Jack is in love with Alice already! But is Alice in love with him? And Aster has made it to the guardians! Yes!
Jehu: *wearing bloody clothing* All of Bumby's fingers are gone. Shall we put alcohol on the stubs to make him suffer?
Anime: Yup!
Jaden: Anime is really proud that this fic is popular! More popular than when Dueling Legend, L!f3 and PokeFailure (Demon's fic) first came out. That's really sad ... Oh well. We don't mind. Read and review! Torturing Bumby is fun! We're also gonna chop his toes too and yank out his teeth and burn his hair and mutilate his body with a bunch of wounds and then throw alcohol-.
Anime: Whoa, who told you all of these torture methods? Who corrupted my sweet and innocent little boy Jaden Yuki?
Jehu: Me!
Sora: How could you? *chases Jehu with a flaming chainsaw*
Jack: So I'm the lovesick one in this fic?
Anime: Alice is tougher than you, Jack. You would probably fall in love first. It's reasonable. I think. I just think it would look more reasonable if Jack fell in love first than Alice falling in love with him first. Is it reasonable?
Alice: It is.
Aster: Until next time!
~~~~Comment section~~~~
LadyRavenCrow: It is a good prologue, I was waiting for Jack and Alice but okay, it was a good start please follow!
Anime: Well, I was planning on writing them in it but I wanted to introduce Aster and Black Ruins into the story as they're part of the plot. Aster's role is going to be very important in the story. And I needed to see if people would like it.
Scorpiofreak: Good start so far. This is interesting. Though I'm a little confused with all of Aster's hair and eye color changing, but I'm sure you'll explain that later on. Can't wait to see how this plays out. Update soon. ;)
Anime: Thank you for flattering me! You're so nice! And yes, I'll explain why Aster's hair and eyes keep changing color. He does have a "true form" but that'll be revealed towards the climax or ending of this story. That's going to be a mystery!
Guest: Cool another Ice Tea story! Can't wait to read the next chapter!
Anime: So nice! I'm glad that you ship Ice Tea! We need more shippers for this wonderful couple! You should check out the videos on YouTube on this pairing! They're so beautiful! Is this chapter satisfying enough for you?