Hello! This is my first fanfic on this site, so I hope you guys enjoy! The song of the chapter is Soldier, Poet, King by The Oh Hellos. I reccomend you go check it out or listen to it while reading the Prologue :) Have a fantastic day!

As two children tucked themselves into bed in their warm cabin room with a sigh on their lips, one with brown hair and hazel eyes asked,
"Sis, who's 'Marley Autumn?'"
"Well... He's like Jack Frost!"
The brown-haired boy tugged his cover over him, making sure his arms were securely under his blanket as if he were in a cocoon.
"So he makes blizzards and snow storms and can fly..?"
"No dummy! His last name is Autumn. But he can fly too."
As his sister was about to flick the switch on their lamp to turn the light off, she paused, a bright smile on her face. She relaxed in her bed and got into a comfortable position.
"Do you want me to tell you about 'Marley Autumn?'"
She knew the answer.
"Yes! Yes!" Her brother whisper screamed.

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"Once upon a time, there was a young boy with glasses, pale skin, muddy brown eyes, and blonde hair. He lived in a town not far from where we are right now and always carried an apple or tangerine in his pocket. Although he wasn't very social and didn't have a ton of friends, he always had his older brother by his side.
"One day, while they were walking down a slightly leafy road in August, the boy thought he heard someone calling for help. He looked around, then at his brother, and asked
'Hey, did you hear that?'
'..Uh, hear what?'
They both listened.
'There! Right there. I'm gonna check it out.'
He started jogging in the direction of the voice as his brother yelled after him. He looked around and started calling whoever was crying for help. He reached the edge of the road and looked down into the foggy, dark, and deep abyss. He remembered how his parents had told him to be cautious at the edge of the road since the town hadn't yet installed railings. He heard the person again, but they sounded in more agonizing pain this time. He instinctively took a small step forward without thinking, his conscious desperately wanting to help this mystery person in danger. This small step is what led to his gruesome downfall."

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"That sounds awful! What kind of story just ends like that?"
The brown-haired boy looked so disappointed as he reached for the lamp to turn it off.
"Would you let me finish?"
He could hear the pure annoyance in his sister's voice from his interrupting. He chuckled, embarrassed.
"S-Sorry, continue."

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"The boy slipped and slid down the steep cliff into the fog, screaming as his back hit rocks and sharp sticks and twigs. He soon started tumbling head over heels as the abyss continued on for what seemed like forever. By this time, his face and body were stained with bruises that felt like tiny hearts beating all over his body. At the end of his treacherous fall, his head hit a large rock, knocking the last bit of oxygen and life out of him.."

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"As he watched his life flash before his eyes for the last time, he felt something drawing him back. He started to gain consciousness, a blurry one at that bu-
WAIT.
What was that?
Did you see that?
Tell me you did!
As he woke up, he saw the slightest flash of blue go by in the corner of his eye. When he finally understood what was happening and remembered what had happened before, he shot up, taking in multiple deep and ragged breaths. He looked to his right, only to see everything around him had turned to snow. The shape of a cross, however, was in the snow.
He yelled, 'JACK FROST!'
He listened intently as his voice echoed and bounced off the pine trees and ground. He was quivering, his nose a bright red from the cold. He stood up, did a quick "thank you" prayer, and started running around looking for the supposed 'Jack Frost.'
'JACK!'
Nothing.
'JACK FROST I KNOW YOU HELPED IN SAVING ME!'
After a few minutes, he gave up. He sat down in the snow and started to think about the mysteriousness of him being brought back to life.
'I'm sure I was dead..'
He started. He looked down to the right of him, only to see his brother's ring. Both of them had made friendship rings for each other when they were younger, and they always wore them. They never took them off.
'How did this get here..?'
He picked it up, admiring its bright bronze color and its engravings. He then put it in his coat pocket and stood up, taking in his surroundings. He thought maybe he could climb up the mountain, but it was obvious that was not possible, so he went around and started climbing a more gradual slope. He saw his older brother crying, sitting and leaning against a tree.
'M-Marshall! H-Hey, it's okay! I'm fine, and-'
He tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but the hand only went through him. He screamed...
'Hey kid, he can only see you if he believes in you.'

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"Wow! That sounds awesome! Who was the person who spoke to him?"
His sister laughed and said,
"I don't think it's my place to tell you the rest of the story; I think you should ask Marley."
"But Marley isn't here."
"A part of him is always everywhere. You just have to know how to reach him."
And with that, she turned the lamp off, rolled onto her side under her covers, and fell asleep. Her brother, however, was not satisfied with that ending and stayed up all night, thinking about how he would reach Marley Autumn.

(Last Edited: 12-7-2022)