Ash finally finished tucking the two kids into bed. Just as she was about to leave to let them sleep, Grey stopped her by asking a question.
"Can you tell us a story?"
"I suppose, what do you want to hear about? I could tell you about Old Man Winter, or Santa Claus? Or maybe about Jack Frost." She suggested, stepping over to tell Them a bedtime story. Jack's ears immediately perked up at the mention of his name. 'Wonder What she's going to say about me...' He thought to himself.
"Tell us about Jack Frost!" Grey demanded excitedly.
"Okay. Well, a long time ago, there was no cold weather. There was no such thing as a white Christmas. There was no snow, or cold, or frost. There was only Spring, Summer, and Fall." She paused, letting the idea sink in.
"Oh, come on! I'm not THAT old!" He snorted, smiling at the thus-far absurdity of the story.
"Then, along came a boy named Jack. His full name was Jackson, but no one ever called him that," she added, smiling at Grey. "He got bored with the idea that the weather was always the same - no true deviations from the heat. Only sun, clouds, and rain. He also had a little sister named Alicen," Ash stopped to touch the little girl's head. "One day, while he was out with his little sister, showing off his skill at climbing trees and hanging upside-down, he noticed something in the tree. He reached for it and grabbed it. As he did, he lost his grip on the tree... and fell." She paused dramatically.
"Hey!" Jack protested indignantly. "I never fall out of trees! Ever!" But of course, the story went on.
"However, because of this magical staff that he picked up, the wind picked him up an kept him from crashing to the ground. 'You have a magic stick!' his little sister told him. 'Sticks are for magicians - I have a staff,' He said, boasting his chest out and trying to look majestic." The little kids laughed as Jack performed what Ash was saying. "Then he decided to find out what other powers the staff gave him. He drug it on the ground, as he ran around his sister with his bare feet. Something neither of them had ever seen before appeared on the ground: it was ice! His sister giggled with delight, and jack ran around creating patterns and pictures until everything was cover with ice. His sister tried to run after him on this new mysterious substance, and fell." Jack froze, ending his performance suddenly. 'Is she going to tell them... No, she can't know that. Is... Is She going to make my sister die?' He wondered, feeling a deep cut being torn open in his mind. She went on.
"Luckily for her, she had a good big brother who cared about her and saved her from falling through the ice. Eventually, this boy became known as Jack Frost. He's the reason we get snow days off from school. He created winter, along with Old Man Winter of course. He's why you can draw on the frosty windows in the mornings." She says with a smile.
Having completed her story, she leaned forward to kiss their foreheads, and told them to sleep well and have good dreams. She stood to leave, but
Grey stopped her. "Hey Ash?"
"Hmm?" Ash turned.
"Who's your favorite guardian?"
Jack Frost leaned in, curious, though expecting a stereo-typical answer like Santa Clause. Girls usually chose the Easter Bunny.
"Guardian? Where'd you hear that term?" Ash asked in a mild mixture of Intrigue and amusement.
"Well, they... They guard stuff. Like... Like memories. And childhood," replied Ali.
Ash laughed. It reminded Jack of small silver bells. "Well, I guess I don't know who you call guardians, but... My favorite is Jack Frost."
Jack looked surprised, and burst out, "What? Why?" But of course, no answer came.
A moment of silence hung there, so after turning to glance at Jack, Grey inquired, "how come?"
"Well... He's an orphan, like us. He doesn't have parents. And he's not some old guy, or a pathetic little bunny -" To the part about Bunny Jack almost cracked up laughing - "He's just about my age. And besides, he reminds me of you, Greyson. Fun, if not a little bit moody, and a good big brother."
Grey nodded and turned in his bed to go to sleep.
Ash shut the lights out as she left, stepping through Jack as she did. She paused outside the door and sighed. "I wish I could still believe in such childish notions," she said to herself. "I wish I had someone to comfort me and tell me these stories as I went to sleep." Her voice lowered to just above a breath. Jack could tell she had tears in her eyes. She stepped back to her room and fell onto her bed, hugging her jack-dragon.
"At least I have you, Jack," she murmured into the big dragon plush. Jack Frost didn't know what she was thinking about... But it made her cry. He knew she wasn't a child anymore, but pity overwhelmed him.
He felt like he should be protecting her.
A/N: Don't worry! The action is coming soon! This is still in the exposition stage of things, we're introducing the characters and setting. If you're here for romance, you're probably in the wrong place. As of right now, you're not going to get any. Sorry, but I'm the author, so what I say goes... Do let me know what you think so far, and if you have any ideas run them by me! I may just like them! :)