The Wandering Flame
Chapter 3-Wonder In The Cold
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, ROTG doesn't belong to me. Maybe North will surprise me next Christmas, who knows.
Recap: 'He said no words, but Jack was mad at himself, and whoever decided to take Anna away from him and her family. Had he come back sooner, perhaps she'd still be alive. The Spirit of Winter sent more blasts skyward, cursing the consequences or if the citizens grew alarmed. He needed to vent, and then...
Then, he needed to forget Anna. Because if he kept remembering her, he'd only feel further turmoil.'
Terms:
rebenok: [ree-BYOH-nuhk] What I hope means 'child' in Russian. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me. I am obviously not knowledgeable of the language.
150 Years Later-Summer Spirit's POV
I wandered around the Earth for decades, learning what I could from each place I visited. I managed to get some new clothes from a place called India, where the people were darker in skin tone and draped in layers of fine silk and other pretty materials. The first time I went there was 100 years ago, when summer was needed, but...well, they were in the middle of a revolution or something. Now it wasn't so bad.
They wore jewelry excessively, but the way they wore it was so beautiful. Silver and gold bangles and bracelets jingled on their wrists and ankles with dangling long earrings. Sparkling necklaces and brooches shone proudly on their person, and some even had a gem in the middle of their foreheads or just red dots, which I discovered were called 'tilakas', or 'tilaks' for short.
I felt out of place with my fair skin and fiery appearance. The markets were especially crowded, where endless amounts of the populace went to purchase all sorts of things.
However, several other parts of India that I visited were not as fortunate or abundant in resources. Their clothing was more simple, and though some still wore jewelry, it wasn't in copious amounts or as high in quality. As terribly as I felt for them, it was a natural occurrence in the world. Not everyone could be wealthy, after all.
I found it fun to hop onto the backs of massive grey animals they called 'elephants'. They were beautiful in their own way, with long sturdy trunks for noses, sharp ivory tusks, and a high intelligence. Sometimes I liked to think they were aware of my presence.
The clothes I nabbed guiltily were simple, colored an olive green lined with gold and some red consisting of trousers and a long loose tunic. They were nice but not flashy or constricting, so I went with it. I then left to explore other parts of the world that required my services.
Asia was very interesting as I left India to travel to Nepal, where women wore frilly-laced dresses and huge skirts. They'd been having some...issues as of late, so I always made my trips quick. It was a rather interesting place, though.
I found myself becoming drawn to the varying styles of outfits around the world, wishing I could take an outfit from each country I visited. Sometimes I did, but my hiding place in Brazil was getting harder to maintain as humans continued to populate the Earth at an alarming rate. They kept consuming more and more land for themselves, uncaring for the other poor creatures trying to survive in the harshness of Mother Nature.
China, despite its various flaws, was lovely. I loved their food, especially the cakes and dumplings (even though I'm a spirit without a need for food, I can still indulge in the pleasantries from time to time), their festivals that were always filled with so much laughter, food and beautiful lit lanterns, and the ruqun dresses that were so elegant but flowing at the same time.
Naturally, I "borrowed" one. I also "borrowed" a kimono from Japan, who were coming along quite well in advances in technology and weapons. The katana always intrigued me; it was such a remarkable sword.
That was when I became interested in 'battle', 'martial arts', and 'swordsmanship', as they were called. At first I wondered if people could see a levitating sword if I picked one up, but apparently it just vanishes with the rest of me. Thankfully I'm unable to hurt any of the humans with it. I learned the art of swordsmanship through various countries over the years with many different blades and even beyond that to staves like my own or throwing knives.
I learned many styles and forms of martial arts as well, though even 150 years could not make me a master by any means. Mostly because even though I practiced whenever I could, I still had a duty to uphold. It was irritating that I was still so mannerly and responsible even when I was trying to rebel.
Japanese food was always pretty heavy on seafood, but they came up with really creative ways to eat it. I also loved walking underneath the rows of endless cherry blossom trees that were native to the region. The soft cerise petals were so beautiful in the springtime I always anticipated my next arrival to bring my warmth so they could begin to blossom not long after.
If only there was a Spirit of Spring to lessen my workload...
Greece was very interesting. They believed in several different spirits and gods, though the old ones like the ones for seasons, unfortunately, weren't believed in anymore. I did find out however that the Summer goddess in their culture was named Theros, so I adopted the name and shortened it to Rose.
It was better than 'Spirit of Summer'.
Over the century and a half after I awoke, I found myself loathing the Man on the Moon more and more. He never spoke to me, and never answered my questions. He didn't even tell me my name. I had to name myself.
I had to discover the world myself, without any proper guidance. Even if people could walk right through me, it didn't mean animals could. Apparently, for some reason, humans were the only ones that could not acknowledge my existence. Unfortunately, the 'cool-looking' ones as some people put it were always the more dangerous ones.
Lions, tigers, cheetahs, panthers...at times pandas scared me, especially when I found a cub by its lonesome. They were just so cute, though! Oh, and snakes...ugh, I steered clear of them after I got bitten. Thankfully it was non-poisonous. Could I die twice? Had I even died? It seemed like it when I woke up.
At this point, adding another 5 years, I had explored pretty much every country and piece of land on Earth, except Greenland, the Arctic, and the North and South Poles. I decided to try it, even though something within me had me avoiding those places for the longest time. They hadn't needed my fire or warmth, after all. I wasn't to interfere on that level, else it could become catastrophic.
Even though I wasn't immune to the cold, I wanted to see a place with such a vast expanse of wintry air and blasting snow. I loved it-I loved everything about winter. The chill in the air, the icicles that formed at freezing temperatures and solidified lakes, and of course the white flakes that came from the sky. Sometimes it snowed out of nowhere, like someone just caused it to magically appear even though I knew from my two centuries of life that there wasn't enough precipitation in the sky.
I summoned the wind to take me to the North Pole. I'd heard the myths and legends of 'Santa Claus', the one who delivered presents to everyone who was good for the year on December 25th. It was quite a feat to give children presents all around the world in one day. If he was believed in and real, maybe he could help me become believed in. He was rumored to be kind and wise, after all.
When I reached the North Pole, I noticed the extreme drop in temperature. But even though I was freezing, probably slowly to death (if that was possible), it was breathtaking.
No cities, no people ignorant of my existence, just a beautiful expanse of snow and thick ice. Further on I saw creatures I'd only heard of: Polar bears, ringed seals, arctic foxes...
The air was so crisp and fresh, I wanted to stay here forever. But I felt my body temperature dropping rapidly, prompting me to keep exercising and using my fire powers to keep warm. However, even those were beginning to fail me as glaciers became increasingly prominent.
Eventually, when I thought I was never going to make it, I saw buildings lit with beautiful strings of lights built right into a massive glacier formation. They were practically mountains, with a halo of the northern lights shining above it. Since it just screamed magic, I headed there to the best of my abilities.
Just as I made it to the entrance of the gigantic building/factory, my knees buckled beneath me, sending me crashing into the snow. The jolt of cold was like a slap in the face, though at this point I was too tired to care. I didn't even know I could get tired, much less frostbite or a dwindling spark. My eyes lazily roamed upward to see some kind of white-furred humanoid creature dashing towards me, with shouts filling the air as I lost myself to the pull of darkness.
With North
He furrowed his thick eyebrows as he mulled over the naughty and nice lists, calling out orders occasionally to his elf "workers" and yetis. There seemed to be a spike in naughty children this year.
North muttered something in Russian, jotting down some notes before standing abruptly from behind his desk, the legs of the chair screeching against the floor. He stretched his limbs and cracked his back from the hours he'd spent hunched over the lists.
"Ahh, time for break. Cookies-where are my cookies?" His thick Russian accent caused his tongue to roll over certain letters as his strong voice rumbled, causing a few elves to nearly trip over themselves to give him a platter of soft warm cookies.
"There they are!" He grinned, munching on the cookies as he exited his office, walking around his cavernous workshop filed with magical snow, flying toys and working yetis.
As he began to pass by a yeti painting some trains, he found he didn't like how brightly yellow it was. "I don't like it, paint it green!"
The yeti sputtered in disbelief, looking over to the dozens of already yellow trains, then proceeded to slam his massive head onto the table. A few elves were entangled in strings of light and covered under other miscellaneous items again, though they looked to him for his approval of their 'hard work'.
He beamed, using an overly approving tone. "Very nice, keep up good work!"
They cheered, happily continuing with their goofing off. This was why he hired the yetis.
North inspected the flying toy planes and dolls another yeti with dark fur was working on, grinning at the progress. "I like it, very good! It is wonderful! The children will love it!"
Then he heard the chaos up ahead and increased his speed to investigate the situation. A white-furred yeti named Claude was hurrying over to him spouting incomprehensible gibberish with a girl limp in his furry arms.
"Claude, what is the meaning of this? Who is that girl?" Santa questioned, handing off his plate of cookies to a few unfortunate elves.
The yeti started to explain as North swallowed, staring at the girl in concern. She didn't seem human, judging by the intricate flame staff gripped tightly in one of her hands and her oddly colored hair. Plus she didn't look like she was from India, yet she was wearing a salwar kameez.
"Alright alright, explain slowly. Take her to office!" The Guardian of Wonder ordered, fast-walking with Claude to swing open the door to his private office forcefully.
"Set her down there. Get me hot chocolate and blankets!"
The frustratingly clumsy and nearly incompetent elves dashed off to retrieve what he barked out as the man himself loomed over the girl. Her lips were an alarming blue, and her fingers were tinged with purple as she was placed on a couch that was immediately pushed over to the fireplace.
She was lucky she hadn't lost any fingers or toes to frostbite.
Claude finished explaining the situation as North stroked his silvery-white beard, subtly pulling out crumbs from the cookies he'd consumed earlier. Why would a girl such as this risk so much just to see if she could visit his workshop?
"Thank you Claude, get back to work. I will take it from here."
The yeti nodded, glancing at the girl worriedly before exiting the office. North held one of her hands, attempting to warm her up even if by a little despite the fireplace. She needed more heat. A light bulb went off in his head as he hastily searched for his red coat.
Muttering Russian again, he finally remembered he'd hung it up on a hook draped with various bobbles, snatching it from its place and covering the poor girl with it. Its size easily consumed her body as a little color returned to her flushed cheeks.
North rubbed his temples, sitting beside her as the hot chocolate and blankets finally arrived. The elves scurried off to who knew where, as Santa Claus gently placed the thick blankets onto her.
He stroked his beard again, lost in thought.
"What are you doing in workshop?" The towering man murmured, trying to solve this mystery.
It seemed he would not be receiving any answers until she awoke. Which was shockingly sooner than he expected. And by sooner, he meant half an hour.
Her eyes finally fluttered open to reveal irises of an intriguing gold with ruby chips. Definitely not human. Then who was she?
The girl glanced around slowly, her movements groggy and uncertain. "Where...am I? Is this where I go when I die?"
North couldn't help but laugh at her comment, startling her by his sudden outburst. "No, far from it rebenok. You are in my office!"
Her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "In...your office? Then...you must be..."
He folded his arms, revealing his tat-sleeves with 'naughty' and 'nice' on his arms. "Yes, I am Santa Claus! But call me North."
She tried to stand, but was still too weak to do so. He rushed over to her side, kneeling to keep her on the couch. "No, do not move yet. You still too cold."
The girl frowned, though complied with his words. North stood erect, staring down at her in sudden seriousness. "Now young lady, what are you doing here? Who are you?"
A thought then occurred to him as he slapped a large hand to his forehead. "Oh! I almost forgot hot chocolate! Wait just a moment, this will warm you up."
He handed her the steaming mug of the chocolaty drink. She took it after a few seconds, looking at the substance carefully. "...What is it?"
North nearly did a double-take. "Why, it's best drink in world! Hot chocolate!"
The girl bashfully glanced away. "I've never had it before..."
Deciding she was not a threat, at least from what his belly could tell him, North grinned merrily. "Then it will be first try! Go ahead, try it!"
Hesitantly she sipped from the mug, her uniquely colored eyes lighting up in surprise and awe. "It's delicious! I love it!"
Santa let out a bellowing laugh, one that did not frighten her, but caused her smile to broaden. "That's good, that's good. Drink while it's hot, it will warm insides."
Eagerly she agreed, drinking more of the sweet hot beverage. North then grew serious again, repeating his previously stated questions. "Okay young lady, time for answers to questions. Why are you here in workshop? Who are you?"
"I...I'm not sure who I am," She began, her voice soft and barely audible. "I named myself after the Summer Spirit in Greece, though I shortened it to Rose..."
"Summer Spirit?" North raised a busy brow.
"Yes. That was all I was told, that I am the Spirit of Summer with the power of thaw and flame. My staff was the only thing I woke up with aside from the clothes I had on at the time. Now I just...wander around, doing my job. I was hoping that...that visiting you could help me become believed in. People walk straight through me like I'm just...like I'm just air! I don't know what to do..."
North hummed to himself, pacing a little as his boots clanked against the floor. Rose watched him with rising anticipation, clutching the blankets and coat in nervousness.
"I don't think I can help you." The Guardian of Wonder answered sadly, pity shining in his bright baby blue eyes.
This time Rose forced herself up, careful not to spill the hot chocolate as her free hand clutched his coat that was still wrapped around her person. "What?! But why not? Please, I need your help! I don't know what else I can do!"
With great care, the bearded man guided her around by the elbow, showing her the interior of the office. Ice was part of the walls with multi-lit windows that filtered in the bright daylight.
Ice sculptures were scattered around, as were multiple types of toys and inventions. A shelf here, a hook there. Yet it all seemed so...wonderful. Rose was in awe of the place.
"This is just office. I might not be able to help you with people believing in you, but I can help you believe in self, and in Man on Moon. He gave you this purpose for reason."
She scowled, the action marring her features as he led her out of the office. "The Man on the Moon turned my life into this nightmare. I've always been alone, just wandering the Earth trying to figure out who I am. How can I believe in such a horrid person? I have no memories, not even a name to call myself by. Was I someone else before? Or was I created? From what I can gather, it's the for...mer..."
Rose trailed off as soon as they stepped outside North's office. She gaped in disbelief at the number of flying, beautifully made turtles so advanced in technology it was like she'd stepped into a fairy tale. A mechanical flying jellyfish floated about above them, a glowing balloon, soaring miniature airplanes...
Astonishment left the spirit mute.
"Everyone calls me Santa Claus, the jolly man in a red suit that gives presents. But it's so much more than that," North explained, beaming at her reaction. "I give ideas, I give joy, I give wonder! And it is what I was made to do, what I have done for so long I can't remember when I started! I see the wonder in the air, in everything eyes can see, and I protect that wonder. Man on Moon has reason for everything. You will learn, in time, what that is."
She stood frozen, just watching the magic before her eyes. It was like excitement and childish wonder had bloomed inside of her, sending her into such a state of euphoria that unknowingly her lips curved into a wide smile as she forgot why she was here in the first place.
"Rose, in time I think you will be believed in. But for now, believe in self and Man on Moon. He knows what he is doing, and you should follow whatever you feel you were born to do. Can you do that?"
He looked down at her with a hand on her shoulder, grabbing her attention from his many inventions. She locked eyes with him, seeing the vast wisdom in his eyes and the kindness he so openly displayed to her.
Gradually, she nodded. "Yes...I think I can. When I came here, I just wanted someone to solve my own problems for me. But now...now, I want to be able to know who I am without the aid of anyone. I want to see the world with new eyes and to believe in myself for once. Thank you...North."
North grinned, bending down to her level as she was so much shorter than himself. "Sometimes we look for things we want, and end up with what we needed. You are a brave girl, and I see you are determined too, if you are crazy enough to come here when you are Spirit of Summer. Do me favor, and don't risk yourself like this again, hm?"
Another nod. "Yes, sir."
The Russian chuckled, ruffling her head of long golden red hair. "Good girl."
As she smiled up at him, she felt something within her change. She felt lighter, happier. Perhaps she could make children, at least, believe in her. She was set on doing so, and would refuse to give up after that.
She just expected advice, but instead was shown wonder and magic, and the ability to enjoy one's purpose to the fullest. She'd become giddy for the first time in the past century, elated at the marvels revealed to her.
That was the day Rose the Spirit of Summer started to believe in herself.
A/N: And there you have it! She met North! Next is another time skip, which is actually when the movie and this fanfic begin to coincide. Hope North wasn't out of character...I tried to balance him out, but it's been so long since I've seen ROTG, I needed a refresher. Review, favorite and follow! They inspire me to write even more!