Chapter 7 - Fiery Little Thing.

Jack took a moment to stand in shock as he stared at her. With her legs hooked around the wooden bar, she reminded Jack of a monkey. Heck, he could even picture the tail if he looked at her long enough. This was really her. In front of him was the girl he had heard so much, and yet still so little about. Still holding his staff. Right.

"Hey, mind if I have that back?" he tried, motioning to his staff and holding out a hand for it. The girl frowned, looking from him to the staff, then looking back at him,

"I do mind." Jack frowned slightly at her, before his eyes widened in shock when she seemed to completely relax, letting her legs unwrap from the thick wooden bar, dropping herself towards the floor.

It was with a shout that Jack started forward, intent on at least breaking her fall, before she twisted in the air, landing perfectly on her feet, raising her head to glare at him again, "Guardians should know they're not welcome here!" and that was the end of Jack's own staff being poked into his chest whist the bizarre accent buzzed round him. He felt like half of him was missing without it, wanting to just reach it out and take it back. But that could backfire if she decided to bring up some of the dead. So…let's try this approach:

"How do you know I'm a Guardian?"

"The power flow around you. Only guardians have that sort of energy. But you're none of the ones I've seen before…so who ARE you?" and we were back to his question.

Jack rubbed a hand through the back of his hair, "my name's Jack Frost, and-"

"Jack…Jack FROST? Bringer of snowfalls, creator of winters, Jack Frost?" what the…? Why was she angry again? He took a step back with a wince as the girl's grip on his staff tightened and she practically shouted at him, "You're the one who ruined all my pumpkins with your infernal cold weather! I worked for weeks to have them all ready in time and you went and ruined them the second I'd gotten them placed!" she was an inch away from him now, a good few inches shorter than him but by no means any less fierce for it. Jack was…almost frightened.

He tried to raise his hands in the gesture of surrender, but had barely started moving them when she seemed to realise something and move back, "how did you get here? No ones powers work inside my realm, I designed it that way. Who brought you here?"

"Look would you let me talk for a sec? I'll explain" the girl blinked, then leaned back from him, holding the staff behind her and oh Jack wanted it back…focus. Now she was quiet, Jack took a moment to look at her. Her pumpkin orange hair was messily pulled over one shoulder in a waving pony tail. She was shorter than Jack – not by much, but enough to be obvious. 5ft 3, 5ft 4 maybe? but what he had not been expecting was for her to be so…young. She was definitely young, small and fairly skinny in stature, there was no way she could have been more than fourteen. Although...Celtic-born girl, less to eat, people didn't develop as well…it made sense if Jack thought about it. Maybe she was older.

A hard jab in the shoulder brought him back from his little world of staring at the child in front of him. For that was what she was. There was no other word for it. A frown was placed on the pale face as she looked at him, "you said you'd explain. I don't think staring at me counts."

Jack nodded, "Right. Right. Well, look I'm not here because I want to hurt you-"

"As if you could" she mumbled. Jack decided to ignore that comment,

"I heard about you from some friends of mine-"

"You mean the other guardians?" her frown became a full-on glare as Jack reached out and clasped his hand over her mouth, yellow eyes blinking in surprise as he began talking fast,

"And I wanted to meet you in person to see what sort of a person you really are. I'm not here to hurt you or tease you or blame you for anything you've done because I wasn't here to know!" her eyes widened, Jack slowly taking his hand from her mouth before her face contorted in anger and malice,

"How do you know there's anything to blame me for anyway? If you really wanted to know me, you would have come without any preconceptions to prejudice you! Instead you walk in here knowing only what the so-called 'Guardians' have told you because you just want to see if I'm really the dangerous little apprentice of nightmares they all saw me as!" She was practically screaming at him now, her grip on his staff almost shattering. Jack could feel the wood creaking under her fingers, genuinely fearing for it. It felt like that hand was constricting around his heart. He tried to reach out but she simply stepped back.

Jack was contemplating grabbing his staff from her, even if it meant tackling her to the floor, before the little girl's eyes went wide and her face flushed red. Jack looked at her for a moment before realising what was wrong. He was standing in a girl's bedroom. With said girl in only a pair of sleep shorts and a vest. It was with a shriek like a harpy and a pair of hands stronger than they should have been pushing him towards the door that he was exiled from the room.

And she still had his staff. Damn…

He tried to be patient as he heard her tumbling about her room from the other side of the door. Thinking over what he had just heard, what he had just seen. She was a child. Younger than Jack, it was impossible that she was eighteen or older. She seemed to be holding a grudge, that was for sure, and five hundred years was a long time to hold it.

"What do you think then?" a voice said softly. He turned, seeing Sally standing a few steps down. She was smiling softly, and Jack couldn't help but smile back,

"She's definitely a little wild, isn't she?"

Sally gave a small chuckle, "yes, I suppose you could say that. Of course, she's always a little on the irritable side when she first wakes up. Wait until you see her begin to work. She's so focused and happy." Her voice seemed to become saddened, "sometimes it seems like the only time it is." Jack understood what she meant,

"I'm not gonna give up on her. I'll try and be a friend to her. I think you're right, no mater what she says, she wants someone to talk to." Sally nodded,

"Perhaps for now you should go and wait by the main room, the torches will lead you. I'll try and get your staff back from Hallow." Sally gave a soft giggle, "but I hope you're ready to play 'catch', it's her favourite game"

Jack had a feeling he was going to like Hallow. Once he really got to know her, at least.

Chapter 7 for you guys. a little shorter than some of my other chapters but not by much. And just a warning, school starts back up for me tomorrow and whilst I plan to write a few chapters ahead (chapter 8 is already 1/3 done) so as not to leave you all waiting for too long, but school has to come first for me. I do check my e-mails every day though, so if you think I'm waiting too long between chapters you can leave a review or send me a PM saying so.

The other Guardians will begin to come back into this a little later on, but for now, Jack and Hallow are staying in her world until she's ready to leave.