Part of the Ice Kingdom arc. Only one more after that.


Jamie dashed up the stone stairs leading up from the guest rooms, not bothering to wait for Sophie. She'd join him soon enough. He was too excited to sit around waiting even a moment for his sister. He didn't really know why, how the penguins would really improve his ice skating experience. Maybe it was because it was such an unlikely thing to do or maybe it was the memory of a lone penguin on an ice platform in the Caribbean Sea, a grinning winter spirit sitting beside it, waving at him. Whatever it was, it filled him with a childish delight that had been all too absent from his life these past few years.

On the ground floor of the Tower of Sleep, sprites were trying to coax some penguins outside and onto the ice. They seemed to get along well. He wondered if it was because they were nature spirits or the birds had simply gotten used to them. His musing were interrupted by Sophie storming into the room and almost crashing into him.

"Watch it!"

"Don't just stand there!"

"I was only catching my breath."

"You need to exercise more."

"Hey there, kids, no need to fight. I brought lunch," Jack interrupted, raising two sandwiches like a peace offering. "Egg salad for Sophie and spicy capicollo for Jamie. Will that do?"

Sophie laughed.

"You know very well it's my favorite."

Jamie was a bit more surprised. The spicy capicollo sandwich was something Ashley had introduced him to. It had quickly become his favorite. He hadn't expected Jack to keep such a close eye on them after they stopped believing. He took a bite from it. It was a bit chilled, but it tasted just like he liked it.

"It's perfect."

"It taste like mom's egg salad."

"Of course it does, I watched her make it often enough."

"You know," Sophie said, "it's kind of creepy that you can watch people when they have no idea you're there."

Jack blinked at her.

"Er... I guess it is. Are you coming to skate, or what?"

Jamie took large bites out of his sandwich as he walked out of the tower, barely chewing before swallowing. He was done eating by the time they reached the ice. The sprites had managed to get most of the penguins on the ice and were now running around them, laughing. Jamie grinned and sat down in the snow to take off his boots and pull his skates on. Sophie shoved the remainder of her sandwich in her mouth and did the same.

The siblings were soon skating on the rink in the center of the Ice Kingdom, years of practice making it easy to avoid crashing into any sprite or waddling bird. The penguins shuffled around a little nervously at first, but Jack would have none of that. A wave of his staff sent snowflakes all around, landing on everyone's nose or beak before dissolving into a blue glow.

"Cheer up!"

Jamie laughed as the birds started to slide around on the ice, chasing each others around. The Guardian of Fun threw a snowball into the crowd, hitting a sprite on the chest and knocking him down. A penguin crashed into him and Sophie had to veer around to avoid falling over them. After that, snowballs started to fly from everywhere and Jamie couldn't stop laughing. It was a free-for-all and even Jack didn't come out of it without getting hit a few times.

By the time things quieted down, hours later, Jamie had crashed into a pile of snow without being quite sure how it happened other than the vague memory of tripping over something while trying to avoid a projectile and sliding across the ice until he reached the snow border. His clothes were soaked and he was shivering, but he hadn't even realized he was cold before now. He spotted Sophie a little farther, shaking snow out of her coat. Jack ran across the ice, laughing, and skid to a halt in front of him, offering him his hand.

"You two go get dry while I make dinner. I'll get you when it's ready."

"Are you always the one cooking?" Jamie asked, taking the offered hand.

"We don't eat often, unless there's guests. Icing Sugar does most of the cooking, but you two look like you could use a warm meal and I'm not letting the sprites use the stove. It's dangerous for winter spirits."

"Even you?"

"I've fought Pitch, I can handle a stove."

With that, Jack turned around and flew to the Tower of Relaxation. Sophie joined him, rubbing her arms, her hair plastered to her head. She still had a big grin on her face.

"I could use some time by the fire."

Jamie nodded and skated to where they had left their mercifully dry boots. He pulled off his skates and his wet socks and shoved his feet into the warm footwear. He was chilled, but it was the good kind of chill. The one that came from not wanting to go back inside where it's warm because he was having too much fun. Still, he let out a sigh of relief when they reached the guest area. Jamie let his coat fall on the ground and sat in front of the fire, not bothering yet with getting to his room and changing into dry clothes. Sophie sat next to him, a sad smile on her face.

"Why did we ever stopped doing that?" she asked him. "We used to play in the snow all day. We had fun. Being adults shouldn't keep us from having fun. We had such a great time today."

"If you ever want to come over and throw a snowball at me, you're welcome. We can play outside until our hands are too numb to move and huddle inside with a hot cocoa afterward. Just like we used to."

"I'm sure Jade would love that. Do you think we can drag Ashley in a snowball fight?"

"We can sure try."


"So, are you two hungry?"

"Starving," Jamie said, standing up.

Sophie and him had time to change by now and had been sitting on the couches, chatting about their amazing day. They followed Jack to the Tower of Relaxation, where a few sprites already sat at the dining table, with more coming in. The table was filled with food, mostly fruits, sliced vegetables with dips, cold cut meat, salads and other food that didn't required cooking. Some rolls had been stuffed with leftover egg salad and, at one end, a pot had been placed on a tick cloth, steam rising from it. Jack sat at that end of the table, took off his cloak, threw it over the back of the chair and gestured at the two seats on each side of him. Sitting down, Jamie could smell the wonderful sent rising from the pot.

"What's that?"

"Yeti stew."

"Y-Yeti stew?"

Jack laughed.

"Don't worry, there's no yeti in it. It's their specialty. I never tasted it myself, but North always said it was delicious."

Most of the sprites were there, now. Jamie recognized the one sitting on the other end of the table, across from Jack, as the same who had first run to them when they first arrived. Three chairs remained empty but, counting the sprites present, Jamie realized that only one was missing. Hush. Jack looked a little sad, but he smiled at Jamie and Sophie.

"So, you've met all of my little helpers, but I never formally introduced all of you. Let's fix that. Sprites of the Ice Kingdom, these are my good friends, Jamie and Sophie."

The sprites nodded, waved and murmured in their languages, smiling at the two of them. Jamie smiled back, feeling a little intimidated at having all of them stare at him with those large frosty blue eyes. Sophie's own smile was warm, the same smile as when she looked at small children or kittens.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you," she said.

"Jamie, Sophie," Jack continued, "you know some of them already, but let me introduce everyone anyway. This, across the table, is Wynt. On the left, you have Breeze, Arctica, Jackie, Derzan and Icing Sugar. On the right, Hail, Sparkling Ice, Wuff, Richard, Minty Fresh and Polar."

Jack didn't comment on Hush's absence, instead telling them to dig in. Jamie didn't need to be told twice. He lifted the cover of the pot in front of him, enjoying the way the wonderful-smelling steam rose from it. The sprites seemed torn between leaning away from the heat or forward to smell it better. Jamie ladled a good portion into a bowl while Sophie grabbed some of the egg salad rolls. He filled another bowl for her too, handing it to her before tasting his own.

The stew was thick, tasty and, most importantly, warm. It was exactly what he needed after spending most of the day in the cold. He could feel it's warmth in his stomach, heating him from the inside. He took a second, larger spoonful.

"This is delicious. You have to teach me how to cook that."

"Jamie fancy himself a cook."

"I know."

"Oh, right. You creepily watch us."

"Sophie's just jealous because she can't make anything more complex than a grilled cheese sandwich."

Sophie glared. Jack grinned, biting into an apple. The sprites were chattering, throwing frequent glances their way. Wynt seemed to be leading the conversation, but it was a chaotic mess of sound that Jamie couldn't begin to understand. Jack lounged in his chair, gazing at all of them with a content smile on his lips.

Some time after the meal started, while Sophie was trying to speak with Breeze despite the language barrier, Jamie saw something moving from the corner of his eyes. He turned to see the missing sprite trying to sneak in unnoticed. Hush's eyes widened when he was spotted and he froze in his tracks. Jamie thought for a moment that he might run.

"Hush. You're here just in time, we were almost out of blueberries," Jack said casually before turning his attention elsewhere, as if Hush's arrival was no big deal. Jamie got the hint and stopped staring at the timid sprite. Wynt took the bowl of blueberries and emptied it on the plate in front of the free chair next to him and everyone returned to their normal conversation, letting the late arrival make his way to his chair without anyone paying him too much attention.

"So, where did you guys met?" Jamie asked Jack.

"Oh, here and there. Many of them lived here in Antarctica. I came here often, before I became a Guardian. I met Wynt near the North Pole after getting kicked out of North's workshop for the fifth time."

Jack laughed at the memory. Jamie and Sophie stared at him, shocked.

"North kicked you out?" Sophie asked.

"North didn't even know I was there. It was Phil, the yeti, who kept catching me when I tried to sneak in. It was a game and, somewhere along the way, I forgot I was trying to get inside. It was more about seeing how long it would take him to find me."

Jamie listened with rapt attention. Jack didn't often talk about himself and especially not about his life before becoming a Guardian. He knew the Spirit of Winter had been around for a little over three centuries and had spent most of that time alone, but he didn't know much else. Not how he spent that time, how he kept his smile. Jack was in a nostalgic mood, tonight, and Jamie took advantage of that to ask questions.

Jack told them stories, about how he met the other sprites, about children, about playing pranks on Bunny. A small smile stayed on his lips through the evening, nothing like the crooked grin Jamie was more familiar with. It was different from the uncertain smile that he had sometime seen, in the first years he had known him and more recently, since he had started to believe again. This smile was older, more mature, less hurt. Jamie wondered if Jack had ever really stopped to think about the good times he had before becoming a Guardian before now.

The evening seemed to go in a blink. He had not realized how late it was until Jack told him. He had forgotten how late the sun set this far south in summer. But it was dark outside, now, and the moon shone, so bright, it's light piercing the wall of ice to bathe the dining room in a silver glow. Some of the sprites had fallen asleep in their chairs. Jack stood and picked up his cloak again.

"Time for bed, kids. Let me walk you to back to your rooms."

Now that he was aware of the time, Jamie yawned. It had been a long day, filled with excitements and he was eager to curl up in bed. He didn't want to wake up to late tomorrow, after all. They walked back to the Tower of Sleep together in silence, Jack fidgeting with the edge of his cloak like he was nervous about something.

"Jack, are you all right?" Sophie asked when they were back in the guest area.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You two should go sleep, I have a surprise for you tomorrow."

Jack gave them a strained smile and Jamie felt like that surprise wasn't something the Guardian was really looking forward to.

"What kind of surprise?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it? I'll send someone to get you for breakfast. Now, are you going to sleep or do you need me to tuck you in?"

Sophie placed a hand on the Guardian's shoulder.

"You know you don't have to do anything for us that you don't want to, right? We're your guests, here."

"I know. But it's not only for you. Don't worry, just go sleep. You'll understand tomorrow."

Sophie hesitated a moment, but nodded.

"If you say so. Good night, Jack. Night, Jamie."

Jamie didn't leave right away when Sophie did. Jack frowned at him.

"Jamie..."

"I just have a question."

"Let's hear it."

Jamie shuffled in place a little, embarrassed.

"You see... I made things really awkward with Ashley before I left. I was... overly vague and I'm not sure how much she believed what I told her, even if it was true. I said I was visiting a friend called Jack, but I wouldn't say more about that."

"It would have been better to give her some details, even if they weren't strictly true. To let her sleep easy. It's not like you're doing anything wrong."

"That's what I'm thinking, now. So, since she won't believe it if I said my friend's name is Jack Frost, what surname should I give you?"

"You could chose whatever name you want, it's not like I'm going to contradict you."

"I know, but it would feel weird to just give you a name."

Jack laughed and ruffled his hair.

"You could go with Overland. It was my name when I was human."

"You used to be human?" Jamie asked, his eyes widening. "I thought you were some kind of nature spirit."

"I was and I am. But let's keep that story for another day, all right? It's late and you should be sleeping."

"All right. But don't think I'll forget."

"I know you won't."

"Good night, Jack."

"Sleep well."


Just a little note, since I know not everyone is clear on how much Jamie knew about Jack's past, you can find that info in Always Believe. That's pretty much all he knows.

I'm still hesitating about the next arc I want to write, but not about whether or not I'll write it. I'm just not sure if I should post it here or as a separate story. It would work as a self-contained story and I wouldn't have to worry about the Winter Child continuity. It would end up being a less complex story, which is both good and bad. But I'm mostly worried it might get too long for this short story collection. And maybe too dark (but it should stay within my T rating, if I don't push things too far).