From the author to you fabulous reader,

I know I usually post every other day, or so, but this week sort of blew up on my face. I've spent my fair share of all-nighters and have been huddled in a corner, gripping tight to a bottle of vodka for support. It has been a long haul, but thankfully, it is now behind me. Finals are over and I've written vomit in the form of medieval research. It took me a while to recover than I thought it would. I've been curled up on my couch with mugs of spiked hot cocoa and games Mass Effect for comfort. It took me a while longer to get back into the writing spirit.

I hope you all enjoy what I've written!

As a show of good manners, I will work hard on trying to post another chapter tonight; bear with me, though, these things take might come up tomorrow morning.

Also, I cannot promise that I'll be posting often for this next week as I think I will be busy. I'm a big boy now and am actually hosting Christmas at my house this year, so I'll have family to entertain for the rest of the week... My words are positively dripping with a mock joy. Tis the season to be surrounded by ankle biting family members, yeah? Oh wait this is Christmas, my mistake; there's some other reason for celebrating Christmas, right?

-Knock knickity knock knock

Who's there?

Disclaimer

I still don't give a shit-

The festivities went on without a problem, or a hitch. Despite a few glances from other students that went to Jamie's school, or from other, younger, children, the two were left alone—that is, they were left alone with Sophie; though Jamie couldn't bring himself to mind too much. He was simply pleased that Jack had found him and had come to stand with him amongst the festivities and joys. Was it that he had seen the the crowds, or heard the loud noises from the drums, or was it that Jack had come looking for him? Either way, Jamie was pleased; he didn't want to leave the other's side. This excitement over a new relationship was such a great excitement. Jamie wondered if he would ever get used to the knotting feeling in his stomach.

It seemed that Sophie was more concerned with catching up with Jack. The three walked along the streets, stopping on occasion to look into a store window, or listen to a group of carolers. She chatted away and all around assumed she was just talking to Jamie. Jack would laughed and teased her as their conversation flowed, Jamie left to follow and listen politely.

Sometimes, a young child would come up to Jack and tug on his coat. It was astonishing how easy it was for Jack to keep that mischievous wonder in his eye that held all of the attention that children had to give.

He would bend and whisper in their ear and they would laugh and smile and run away. How lucky it must have been to hear the frosted spirit's cool voice and tender words against their warm skin. It was a night of bliss and frolic, and Jack was more than happy to spread that winter charm wherever he went, pressing his pale fingers against the windows, or blowing a dizzying display of snowflakes that dusted the eyes of children all around. He would always do things like that whenever he came, then he'd turn and wink, 'just spreading forth a little winter spirit.'

These were just a few things that Jamie loved about Jack. His job was merely to spread joy, and Jamie admired that.

The streets cleared and the families soon went trudging home, stuffed full of candy and fudge, heads packed tightly with carols and Christmas tales of old. From the silencing distance, Jamie could hear his mother's voice. "Are you kids walking home, or a you coming with us?" she asked. Sophie looked to Jack while Jamie spoke out instantly.

"We'll walk home. Thanks!" he said.

His mom waved and turned, holding her husband close and whispering something in his ear.

Jamie turned to his sister and Jack, and raised an eyebrow at the look in Jack's eye. It was that same look that held his captivation with the spirit for as long as he could remember. Jamie's stomach knotted, glad to be given such a look. Jack puckered his lips in a display of simple appreciation. He nodded his head and stepped forward on the tips of his toes, walking diligently and gracefully on the snow and ice that fluttered out from his steps. "I'll give it to you small town folks. You know how to throw a decent Christmas party," he said in a mockingly respectful tone.

Sophie rolled her eyes; always the one to catch on quickly when insults were being thrown. "Well don't you sound all high and mighty. Fly across the world everyday and see sights we can't imagine. I'm glad our modest display of festivities could please you, oh mighty, frozen prince," she said as she bowed.

Jack laughed and put his hand in his front pocket; he touched something hidden there for a moment, twisting it in his hand. He pulled it out and spun it- a snow-globe. Had Jamie not known better, he would have merely assumed that it was just what it appeared to be, but things where hardly what they first seemed to be with Jack.

Carefully, he twisted the ball in his hand, looking to it for a moment, then back again at the two young mortals. "Do you guys want to see a real Christmas celebration?" he asked as he tossed the snow globe up into the air gently, letting it fall back down into his open palm.

For a moment, Jamie and Sophie turned and looked at each other, each surprised that they had been asked such a question. It was a no brainer, for sure; they turned and with breathless hopes, both nodding, eyes wide and mouths agape.

Of course all of this was too fun for Jack. He stepped off with a skip in his wake and the Bennetts followed him into a secluded alley way. He crouched into the shadows and gave the globe a light toss before smashing against a wall across from them.

In a bright display of snow and wind, a mouth opened. Where the wall was, once shut and solid, a opening onto a winter plain now stood; everything was quiet and still; and perhaps a bit frightening, but thankfully Jamie and Sophie had grown and their fears were not something that would hold them back. Jack motioned for them to follow as he traveled through the magical opening.

In a brief moment, Jamie and Sophie exchanged glanced, but held onto each other's hands and stepped forward, hoping through the portal, each with their eyes shut and their breaths trapped in their mouths.

"You guys act like I took you on a roller coster ride," they heard Jack's voice say.

They opened their eyes and had to keep themselves from responding with too much of a shock. As they turned, they could see off off in the distance a glorious display of lights, jubilant and proud. Off in the middle of what first appeared to be a barren wasteland. All around the city of lights was nothing bust snow mounds and glaciers. Had Jack brought them to the North Pole? He must have!

Jamie looked to his sister; he watched for a moment as the breath left her lips, steaming the air in a visible display of white smoke. She looked to him and her smile was as wide as any perfected doll's. Never before had they been invited to the North Pole; they had seen Santa, talked with him, but they had never actually gone to his workshop.

Jack hoped up and hovered in the air just before them. His smile, like Sophie's, was as wide as ever and his eyes gleamed dangerously. "Coming?" He asked as he brought his nimble fingers to his lips.

Jamie had no time to respond. There was a sound of a whistle emanating from Jack's lips, soft at first, but it grew louder and louder until it shook the very snow that they stood on. The earth gave a shy shutter and the snow shifted, rolling out all around them. It twisted and turned, snaking through the air like some frozen serpent. It danced and jumped and continued like that. The snow was thinking on its own, shaping and mimicking the form of life. The two children pointed and oo'ed and aww'ed; if only to inflate Jack's ego further.

The snowy animals shook, completed in their frozen birth, standing before them in the shape of two very large and very proud reindeer. They shook their white antlers and stomped their icy hooves. The sounds they made, the movements, it was as though the were truly alive. Jack hovered over their antlers and tickled one's nose; it shook its great horned head and sneezed,. Truly they were a sight to behold. Jack's power, his initiative, his imagination; it wondered the children and provided them with a treasurable experience indeed!

On a skip and a hop, Sophie jumped forward and sprung onto one of the creatures, gripping tight to its main and giggling madly. She squirmed and wiggled and Jack snorted, floating down and helping her up into the intricately sculpted saddle upon its back.

She merely egged on his ego by continuing to giggle and situated herself.

Not wanting to embarrass himself, Jamie approached his own wild, frozen steed with a bit more caution and calm. It stamped its hoof and leaned down to stare at him with one frozen, crystal eye. Jack's magic was impressive indeed; it was almost alive, the detail, its fur, its breath. Jamie peered into mirror reflection in the glass of the deer's eye until it blinked, and he jumped back, laughing. Thinking their game fun, the deer knelt into the snow and bowed its head, allowing Jamie access to the frozen throne upon its back. Jamie looked to Sophie who was busy trying to control her deer. Jack followed, making sure she did not fall. They laughed as the deer bound off into the snow piles.

Jamie allowed himself a little giddy laugh and hopped onto the deer that received him gladly and perhaps a bit more willingly than Sophie's deer. He took up the reigns and turned, watching the scene of his sister and his truest friend playing in the pale light of the moon. They had a field of snow to gallop through, at least a few miles to trek before they even reached the border of the city. Jamie urged his snowy animal forward. "Are you guys going to play around in the snow like little children, or are we going to go see Santa?" he yelled out, forgetting almost how to use his voice. The cold bit his tongue and caused him to shut his mouth quickly and smile when the three stopped their joyous frolicking and raised their heads to him.

Jamie moved forward; his deer feeling what he had in mind and growing restless with each passing second. His smile only twisted further. "We have a long way to travel it looks; I wonder who can get there first," he said as he looked out to the vast plains.

Sophie looked for herself and turned her horned steed round. Jack merely floated away, rolling on his back. "I can understand your competition with your sister, but you're essentially challenging the arctic winds, you know that, yeah?"

To this remark, Jamie only rolled his head on his shoulders and shrugged. His deer snorted, bounding forward, prancing in a display of pride in his ability. Jamie patted his white fur and whispered something in his ear. Jack leaned forward, brow furrowed.

"We can show them; can't we, boy?" Jamie asked and the deer shook his head again.

There was a snap of the reins in the cold air that night. Had there been walls around them, the sound surly would have echoed off and bounced back to them; but being out in the harsh open, the sound only traveled out from them, rippling off into the peaceful dark. Jamie's deer burst forward in a sheer display of will and power, raising its strong legs up through the snow piles, lifting it's whole body up out of the snow before landing back down again.

His speed was impressive. Jamie turned to look at Sophie who was standing in the wake of his snowy fury. Snow kicked out from behind his deer and fluttered out into the air. She was calling out something to him, but the wind took her voice elsewhere. He laughed as he caught a sight of Jack's surprise. Snapping his reigns again, ventured off as quick as can be. He laughed and clenched to the saddle with his legs. It was hard to stay balanced, but he would show them. "Ha ha!"

The wind was wonderful; that feel of the cold in his hair. It lapped at his cheeks and bit as lips and nose. He was laughing uncontrollably, giggling for joy. The wind howled in his ears. It tussled his hair and cheered for him; he could almost hear wind calling his name. On forward, faster his deer went until he could hear the sounds of galloping beside him; he turned and caught a glimpse of his sister riding up, catching up to him quickly, determined smile and gleam in the pale of her eye. Jamie egged her on and rode faster towards the city.

There was a gust of wind and a cool nip at the back of their necks. They shuttered and receded down into their coats, casting their eyes upward at the magic boy who made this all possible. He rode along the currents of the air, gliding on his staff like some sailor on the wind's hand. It was a treat just to watch him alone. Never mind the fancy deer and their strong legs, never mind the festive city that lay just before them. The way Jack swerved on the currents, dipping, raising, falling, spinning, laughing. The sound of his voice on the wind. The look on his face, his white teeth that sparkled in the night. Jamie was falling for him; falling into a spiral of emotions that he couldn't begin to understand. He wanted to be with Jack, be his everything, give him everything. The more he saw him in their years of friendship, the more the emotion in his heart grew.

Jack laughed and mocked them, taunting them and urging them forwards, faster through the frosted snow. The air was cold and overly eager to bite and nip, but it was a welcoming feeling, like the touch of Jack's lips on his own. Jamie was racing against him and pressed forth. His deer galloped beautifully through such deep snow. Occasionally, it's hooves would hover off of the ground for a few moments, fluttering in the dry air above, flakes of snow raining down from its hind and legs; it was as though they were flying. Jamie let out a holler of excitement. He raised his face to the darkened sky and twinkling stars and howled, his sister followed his lead and did the same.

Such joy; the whole world could hear them if it merely opened its ears and allowed that sound in. Jack laughed, weaving through the air on his wind, he raised his hands to his to his mouth and let out his own howl. It was ear piercing, loud, and chilling. He grinned and caught Jamie's eye.

Despite the amount of work his heart was doing—what with all of the excitement and vigorous activity with holding onto the galloping deer—Jamie's heart stopped, and his chest clenched. He was stuck, dumbfounded at the look of Jack against the glorious display of stars and distant worlds in the sky. He watched as Jack waved his hand, as though he would dip his finger into paint, and drew dazzling lights across the sky with the brush of his finger. The lights of blue and green hues weaved and waved, shimmering like a great scaly dragon, fat and lazy on a trove of treasure. It snaked around the city of North and nestled over it, wrapping it like a present with a one-of-a-kind-bow. Jamie stared, clinging to his deer's reins as though they were his tether to reality. He feared that if he let go, he would float off and drown in the vast black with thousands upon thousands of stars.

Jack swirled, flying gracefully and spinning round to land in Jamie's saddle. He gripped him tight, holding onto his waste for support as he rode along on Jamie's deer. His cold chin and sweet icy breath tickled at Jamie's cheek. Although his skin was already chilled and perhaps a bid numbed by the Northern winter, he still shuttered against the feel of it. Against the howling wind, against the sound of the hooves in the snow, Jamie could hear Jack's voice, that sweet singing bell alone on a cold winter's night.

"Beautiful."

Jamie wasn't quite sure what it was that Jack was talking about in that moment. Was it the city, the lights in the sky, the stars? He didn't dare ask; he would rather loose himself in his voice and fill his thoughts with that single word that Jack uttered.

He was surrounded by the cold, the snow of the North, the frost spirit at his back, the snowy deer upon which he sat, yet Jamie was satisfied, warm and happy. He closed his eyes as the gates to the enchanted city neared. The deer slowed, and came to a joyous bound, chest heaving heavily, and breath coming out in exasperated puffs.

The guardsmen of the gates stiffened and snarled at Jack, who merely hopped up and perched on the rear end of his snowy creation. He smiled and waved and the great furry beast as they shuffled forward through the snow, grumbling in some language that neither Jamie or Sophie could understand; they were too captivated by the look of the city through the gates: the cobblestone streets, the little shops, toys, candy, bakeries, clothes, shoes, everything. The smell of peppermint and freshly prepared pies emanated out on the cool wind and had both children leaning forward on their saddles.

"Oh come on Phil; I'm a guardian now, can't I come in and see the parade? If you don't, I'm just going to take these guys up to the usual spot and watch from there anyway. May as well let us in since we came all this way," Jack said as he leaned on his staff and flattered the giant. "You're still the greatest guard I know; these are the children that helped out when they could. Don't you think it's the least we could do, show them a good time? You yetis know how to party best after all."

The furry yeti grumbled faster, waving his paws in the air, his eyes wild and wide. He gestured to Jamie, then to Jack, then to the gates, before stomping off and releasing the latch. The iron gates rolled open and allowed the children passage.

Jamie could hardly believe it; he sat on his steed and leaned forward, peering through the rack of impressive antlers. Jack rolled off and stepped forward, gripping the reins of both deer. "Come on, children, North is this way. Now you will see what a real Christmas party is all about."