CHAPTER 18-The Spirit of Winter

The light grew fainter, more bearable for the sister to look at without being blinded by it. Anna shivered, having felt a sudden rush of coldness but couldn't find the indication for it.

"Anna?" Elsa asked, noticing her sister's shiver.

Before Anna could say anything, the ground below them suddenly vanished; it felt like as though they were floating underwater, and the light above was being filtered through a vision of water. Coldness wrapped around them like a weightless blanket.

The light above focused its shine between the sisters catching their attention. Something bellow them was floating, slowly beginning to rise towards the light. It was Jack. Despite their dull vision of him, it seems as though his hair was faintly shimmering in the ray, and it looks as though he was sound asleep. But by this time, Elsa and Anna knew better. Jack is about to begin a new life.

His voice was much different to when the other young Guardians were telling their story. His voice was calm and low, and there was a sort of emptiness in his tone, as though he was at a loss—and yet, there was a hint of wonder, as if he was seeing the world for the very first time. "Darkness…That's the first I remembered…It was dark, it was cold…and I was scared…But then, then I saw the moon." There was a slight movement from Jack, his eyes struggling to open like a new born child.

The sisters were lifted up out the water; they passed through a thick layer of ice that was filtering Manny's ray, while seconds later, Jack's body follows them, but with the surface of the ice slowly cracking open for him. When Jack was brought to the surface, he gasped upon his first breath of air; taking in deeper ones as he breaths in more and more, refilling his lungs with the taste of it. "It's was so big—and it was so bright. It seemed to—chase the darkness away…"

Manny lifted him higher and higher into the sky with the sisters right beside him, until there was a change in his eyes "And when it did…I wasn't scared anymore…For why I was there, and what I was meant to do…That I never know…And a part of me wondered if I ever will."

When Manny sense Jack's fears fading away, he gently placed him on top of the ice between the sisters; Elsa and Anna were placed slightly apart from each other. His clothes were similar to the ones he wore now, though the only changes were the colors, mainly consisting of brown and faded white, and the frost on the edges of his poncho has yet to form fully.

Elsa and Anna watched him tenderly, as Jack examined himself the best he could without the aid of a mirror. They felt a strange comforted feeling when he looked at the moon, a slight smile touching his face. There was wonder and awe plastered in his eyes, and his smile widen when he started exploring his new environment. In the process of it, Jack's foot touched something, getting his attention.

It was his staff, but the sisters had to wonder how Jack really got it. For it couldn't have been coincidently there all that time. Was it left for him just like Merida's bow, and Hiccup's and Toothless' grave goods?

When they saw Jack was just touching it with his toes, experimenting at how frost was appearing at the slightest touch from him, it struck them that Jack doesn't recognized the staff being his. That, or perhaps it really didn't belong to him during his mortal life; Manny could've have gifted it to him for all they know.

When Jack took hold of it in his hand, the frost spread upon the staff. It thickened and glowed—surprising him, making him dropped the bottom end of it. When it hit the ice, the surface was covered in a beautiful frost pattern. This was the first time the sisters have seen Jack's work in detail, it greatly differs from Elsa's; it looked so natural, more nature-like compared to Elsa's geometric patterns.

Having discovered this, magical staff, it was obvious that Jack was getting excited. He takes it over towards some of the trees near the frozen lake, and then he lightly taps one of them. Frosts appeared in lovely patterns once more, spreading all over the tree. His excitement grew. Jack taps another tree beside the earlier one; the frost came and spread again. Seeing such magic, Jack started running, slipping and sliding, spinning all around on the frozen lake while trailing the staff behind him in random direction.

Overcome with excitement herself, Anna follows after Jack, laughing alongside him as he plays around with the magic staff. Meanwhile, Elsa stood just off to the side, with her focus solely on Jack. Watching him having fun with the newly found magic right-off the bat, it sent a bitter pain stinging in Elsa's heart. If she had to be honest with herself, she was rather jealous of Jack. Elsa thought he would've been a bit frighten by the discovery of magic, even Merida and Hiccup was when they awoke to their new life, finding magic powers. But Jack, he was only startled for a second…

In addition to the ice magic, surprised, Jack was suddenly blown high up into the air by the wind. Somehow he managed to stabilize himself, looking down to see the full extension of his work on the lake. But just as suddenly as he was carried by the wind, the currents ceased, dropping Jack out of the sky. Elsa and Anna gasped as they watched him fell, nearly shrieking to go and catch him. However, after hitting a few branches, Jack managed to cling tightly onto one to stop his fall. It looked painful, and his position was rather uncomfortable, but he only grains and laughed it off.

His attention quickly snaps into the distance when he saw patches of light, as well as hearing music. Jack saw that there was a village not too far away, and he wanted to get over there as soon as he can, so what better way to do it then to test out his new flight magic? It was understandable that for his first time flying, his flight was going to be unsteady and clumsy. He bob and weaved in jerking like motions, and a few times, he ended up dropping from the sky, just barely hitting the treetops before the wind catches him again.

Jack's excitement didn't falter even when he reached the village. He did his best to get the attention of the people there, but to him for some strange reason, they gave him none. It didn't struck Jack why that may be, until a boy ran right through him. The transparency was a terrible shock to Jack, and it only grew as he calls for someone to answer him, but they only pass right through him. Not knowing what else to do, Jack slowly made his way back to the lake, with the occasional hurtful look whenever he looks back towards the village. "…Unlike the others, when I first awoke as Jack Frost, I had no memories of who I was. No family, no friends, I didn't even know where my home was…All I knew back then, was that my name was Jack Frost. How did I know that..? Because the moon told me so…That was all he ever told me…And that, was a long time ago.

From there, the sisters saw a few short memories of Jack as he spent years, centuries exploring the world, and the abilities of his winter magic. They even saw how he met the other Guardians, along with other Beings…including Pitch. When North had told them how one of the young Guardians have had occasional encounters with Pitch, they now know that that Guardian was Jack. In his memories, they saw how he would ruin some of Pitches small schemes when the Nightmare King would scare lost travelers at night, especially during winter times when the snow slows them down, or traps them, forcing the humans to spend the night outside.

When it came to the memories of fighting Pitch, Jack didn't spend too much time on any of them…Except for a particular one…