Alaia Skyhawk: Prepare for smiles and fluff :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians, the Guardians of Childhood, or any related characters etc. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes.
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Chapter 68: Reunion of Belief
Pale, cold hands tugged at the collar of the crisp new shirt, before moving on to pluck at a front held closed by snowflake-shaped buttons. They then began to check the close-fitting grey trousers that were briefly replacing the usual tattered brown ones, before returning upwards to tug at the hem of the smart midnight-blue jacket.
Seeming to be satisfied that his clothing was tidy and not somehow on backwards, Jack now began to check his hair despite the fact it looked the way it always did. And yet today he seemed to be obsessive about looking 'just right', to the point he was failing to keep track of the time. A fact evidenced when the door of his room opened and a certain Pooka peered in.
Bunny stood there staring for a moment, before he shook his head in exasperation and stalked over to drag Jack away from the mirror.
"You look fine, Snowflake. Tonight is a family reunion for the Bennetts, not a court case. Stop acting like you're about to be put on trial."
Jack tried to dig his heels in, a rather futile effort on a floor made of ice. In the end he used his staff to lift up off the floor and allow himself to be reluctantly towed.
"I'm just nervous, all right? It's been almost sixty years since the last time Andrew's sister Mary was able to see me, and almost as long since their brother Callum last did. Besides Andrew's branch of the family, none of the others coming tonight except David's brother Ian have ever seen me."
Bunny glanced at him, still walking towards the Ice Palace's entrance.
"That didn't seem to bother you five months ago? In fact you were downright itching for tonight to come."
"Yeah well, that was five months ago."
Jack fell into step beside Bunny as soon as the Pooka let go of him, the two of them entering the burrow the latter of them created just outside the palace doors. That was a new rule Jack had made, to make sure he wasn't disturbed while doing frostdust distribution or sleeping. Portals of any kind to reach his sanctuary, had to open at the plaza and nowhere else. This being due to North using a snow-globe to arrive at the Hall of Mirrors, resulting in him getting a blot of frostdust to the face and left in a fit of chuckling that lasted half an hour.
The two of them came out of the burrow in the Workshop, where the other three Guardians were stood waiting and ready to go.
After pausing to pet Baby Tooth when she whizzed over to greet him, Jack glanced at his peers looking a little bemused.
"Ok, Craig, David, and Andrew have planned this whole thing out. You guys are to stay in one of the small lounges at the lodge until after everyone in the family are able to see me. That way, we hope to avoid any incidents of 'ghosts' and panic and all that awkward stuff."
North shrugged cheerfully, even as the rest of them nodded.
"Sounds like plan to me." He brandished a small yet bulging sack. "And once we can come in, I have some early Christmas presents for children."
Tooth glanced at him, amused.
"Isn't that preferential treatment?"
The Russian huffed, although he was still smiling.
"Bah! No rule says we can't have favourites. They only children for so long, and we owe the Bennett family big time for help Jamie gave us. I couldn't just give gifts to him and sister, and not the other children who will be there too."
Sandy gave him a playful nudge, before he then looked at Jack and drew a string of symbols. Upon interpreting them, the Guardian of Fun nodded. The good natured teasing among them had served to ease his nerves a little.
"You're right, we should get going." He conjured a large ice mirror, which in turn shimmered then showed a view of a modest, cosy lounge area. He gestured to it with a grin. "After you."
The five of them and Baby Tooth stepped through, at which point Jack slipped out through the lounge door to go in search of Andrew. Part of him wished he could have had his Lieutenants here as well, but even having all the Guardians there was going to push it for this first reunion. He could always introduce them to full family at the next one.
Jack found Andrew in the lodge's kitchen, the eighty-year-old supervising his daughter-in-law and grand-daughter in law as they unpacked various foil platters of finger-food that had been brought with them for the occasion. He smiled when he saw Jack, and gestured for him to come in.
"There you are, I was starting to wonder." He looked him up and down. "And smartly dressed you are too... Will those clothes survive fun and games with the children?"
Jack blinked then burst out laughing at the question, before tugging on the lapel of his jacket.
"Ombric and Katherine made them, so I'm pretty sure they'll stand up to more punishment than the games I could get up to inside the lodge." His smile faltered a little, and he sighed. "So, when do we get started with the re-introductions? North and the others are waiting in the lounge at the end of the hallway."
Laura came over and laid a hand on his shoulder, smiling supportively.
"Callum, Mary, and Ian are in the lounge two doors up from the one where you left North and the others. They think they're going to help bring a special surprise into the main hall for everyone. Which actually isn't far from the truth. You're going to be a very big and very surprise. And before you ask, Jamie and Sophie have already 'primed' all their cousins with stories about you. They'll see you when you enter the room."
Andrew chose that moment to get to his feet, stiff with age and yet he still walked towards Jack with a lilt in his step. A quick stop at the door of the main hall, to signal to David and Craig that they were needed, was then followed by the four of them heading to the lounge where three old acquaintances of Jack's were waiting.
Callum, Mary, and Ian looked over from where they sat talking when the door opened. The two elderly and late-middle-aged family members rising to their feet with a smile.
Mary hastened over to her brother, pulling Andrew into a hug.
"Ah there you are. I was beginning to think you were hiding from me." She turned to David next, Jack hastily stepping out of her path as she moved on to hug her nephew and grand-nephew. "It's wonderful to see you both, too."
Ian came over and slapped his brother on the arm, grinning as Callum joined them.
"It's been a while. Hard to believe it's been over thirty years since I moved away from Burgess. This lodge has barely changed a bit, and the town hasn't much either. The kids here still obsessed with all those 'Jack Frost' stories and games?" He paused wistfully. "Man I remember those. The things we thought up as kids. I tried showing my kids those games when they were that age, but somehow theirs never seemed a 'real' as ours did."
David glanced at Jack, who took that prompting to blow some frostdust over everyone, and then he nudged his brother.
"Ian, do you remember the Blizzard of '68? Do you remember how we spent almost all of the three days after it happened, sat in that room in the basement with all the pictures of Jack?"
Ian frowned a bit in confusion, then thoughtfulness.
"Now that you mention it, yeah. Even our parents were down there with us, which is stupid because why would they sit in the basement with us waiting for Jack Frost to come home?"
He blinked, staying silent for several seconds, as he puzzled over why he'd said 'come home'. It was then that Jack peered over Andrew's shoulder, and waved with a tentative smile.
"Long time no see?"
Ian jolted, turning his head sharply, and then memories clicked into place and his expression changed to an exultant grin.
"Uncle Jack!"
As if the sixty-year-old's lunge towards the unseen guest were the catalyst, Mary and Callum both blinked as well until they too called out in surprise and joy.
"Jack!"
"Is that really you, Jack?!"
The Spirit of Winter found himself buffeted by hugs on three sides, grinning like an idiot and loving every second of it.
"It sure is! This is going to be such a party! There's so much news for you to hear!"
Mary glanced at her brother in query, and Andrew explained.
"Remember how Jack was waiting for the time he could be believed in everywhere and not just Burgess? Well that time came back at Easter, but it was too late to hold a reunion then. So we saved it for close to Christmas instead. Jack's brought some friends, as a special surprise for the children."
Mary raised her eyebrows, while beside her Ian prodded his uncle on the shoulder.
"I know you too well. What's the surprise?"
Filled to the brim with happiness, Jack chuckled and answered slyly.
"Oh, I don't know... Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman are all here to give them a special pre-Christmas visit. North even brought presents, and I have a hunch that Bunny will rustle up some eggs from somewhere rather than be out-done by him."
Mary gasped even as Callum exclaimed.
"All the Guardians are here to see the children?"
Jack winked.
"The first of what I hope will be many regular outings by them. They've stayed cooped up in their home bases for far too long. They need to get out more."
Craig clapped his hands to get their attention, before inclining his head towards the door.
"Well, seeing as memories have been nudged, shall we move on to the harder part? Convincing the kids that Jack and the Guardians are real won't be hard, they probably all believe already, but their parents and grandparents are going to be tough."
Jack's smile faded a little.
"Have all of them heard of me?"
Callum nodded, as did Ian and Mary as she spoke.
"You were such a big part of our childhoods, that we couldn't help but make stories of you a big part of theirs. I daresay that, if we had not been living outside of your Range of Belief, they would have been able to see you. Even so, they're going to take considerable evidence before they believe now."
Jack frowned a little, mulling it over before his sly smile returned.
"I think I have something in mind that will work."
They all glanced at one another, nodding in agreement before heading out of the lounge. In the main hall, laughter and giggling filled the air from the six children who were running around. Their parents and grandparents sat over by the tables where Laura and Marie were now removing plastic wrap from the platters of food.
Jamie turned the moment he heard the squeak of the door's hinges, his face breaking out into a grin when he spotted his favourite relative.
"Uncle Jack!" He turned to his sister and cousins. "Guys! Jack Frost is here! Our Uncle Jack is here!"
Five more sets of eyes looked towards the door, where Jack had already blown out frostdust across the entire room as he stepped away from Andrew and the others. He then waved.
"Hi kids? Ready to have some fun?"
"U'cle Jack!"
Sophie's squeal of excitement as she charged over, triggered a similar stampede from the other youngsters. Meanwhile the adults, Jena, Timothy, Lisa, Bethany, Harry, Helen, Sarah, Edward, and Tristan, stared in surprise and confusion as their children and grandchildren swarmed around someone that they themselves couldn't see.
It was Ian's wife who looked towards her husband in search of an explanation.
"Ian, what's going on? Jack Frost? He's just a story."
Ian smiled over at her, even as the 'imaginary' Jack picked up Sophie and swung the giggling three-year-old round and round... That is, to the non-believing adults, she looked like she was floating in mid-air with nothing holding her up.
"He's real, Jena, and he's here. The Best Uncle Ever, as I knew him when I was a kid."
Jack set Sophie down before grabbing his staff, a sharp swing of it sending a gust up wind up to the ceiling before with a soft poof a gentle snowfall began to fall all across the room. Just like the one he'd caused in Jamie's bedroom back at Easter. And if the eye-widening response from the other adults wasn't enough to show the possibility sinking in, Jack then grinned wickedly and did something that should have been, but was not, expected.
He pelted all nine adults with snowballs, hitting the younger ones hard enough that Tristan fell off his chair.
Laura gaped in stunned horror at the sight of her nine spluttering relatives, before she faced Jack and called out in reprimand.
"Jack Frost, that was completely uncalled for!"
Jack continued to grin, totally unrepentant, and pointed at his 'victims'.
"It worked, didn't it?"
Jena and the others were all staring at him, eyes wide with surprise that was rapidly giving way to curiosity and wonder. Adult scepticisms had be pushed aside by the power in the snowballs, and a childlike yearning for discovery and believe had replaced it.
All nine of them came over, even as he picked up Harry and Helen's daughter Lisa to give her a turn at being swung around.
It was Edward who plucked up the nerve to reach out and touch Jack on the shoulder, at which point he sharply pulled his hand back.
"You're really real... and you're cold."
Jack started at him then snorted with laughter.
"Um, Spirit of Winter? Being cold is part of the job description." He glanced over to Andrew. "I think you'd best take over now and explain the full story. I'll take the kids to see the rest of the Guardians."
One of the boys, Simon, tugged on Jack's sleeve.
"Who are the Guardians?"
Jack crouched down so he was eye-level with the youngest of the kids.
"They're my friends, and they've come here especially. Santa has brought some early Christmas presents for you all, because you're all on the Nice List, and I think the Easter Bunny will have some eggs too." He winked. "But remember you're going to have to brush your teeth really well tonight before you go to bed, or the Tooth Fairy will nag me for letting you eat sweets. I think the Sandman is going to do a picture-show for you too."
"Santa is here?"
"And the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny?"
"And the Sandman?"
"Really?"
Jack nodded as they began to bounce with excitement.
"Yep! So if you come with me, I'll show you where they are."
As he ushered the six children out of the room, Jack chuckled to himself as he heard one startled 'Santa Claus is real too?' before the door closed. He was still chuckling when he reached the end of the hallway and opened the lounge door, at which point six under-tens spotted and then rushed up to the four Guardians inside the room.
Tooth actually fluttered up to the ceiling in surprise before drifting down again when North enthusiastically held up the sack of presents he had. That immediately gained the Russian the children's undivided attention, as gasps of wonder and delight soon filled the room along with the sounds of tearing paper. Each of the boys got an exquisitely crafted wooden train each, with engines that magically puffed steam and pulled them along. The girls got a beautiful little carriage each, complete with hug-friendly princess dolls and mechanical horses that like the steam engines would pull the vehicles once wound up.
Jack seated himself in a chair to watch the scene, wearing a soft smile of contentment at how much of a natural North was with the kids... The Russian had gotten over the awkwardness he'd displayed with Sophie at the Warren. The Guardian of Fun continued to watch as North then sat each child on his knee and asked them what they'd like for Christmas, before Bunny then came forward with a basket of eggs he'd obviously dashed to the Warren to get.
Some of them were painted, but six of them were plain, and in the bottom of the basket were brushes and paint. It took very little prompting to get the children sat around one of the tables and start painting, with Tooth and Baby Tooth fluttering from one child to another to help or give suggestions, or even just to tuck an errant strand of hair behind a child's ear before it could end up dipped in paint.
Sandy glided over and settled into the chair beside Jack's, glancing at his fellow Guardian with a knowing smile. Jack chuckled at that, gesturing to the kids and other Guardians as he silently made a remark using frostdust symbols.
'Getting the hang of it, aren't they?'
Sandy grinned, replying.
'I don't think you'll need to prompt them to visit children again.'
Jack shook with unvoiced laugher.
'Nope, they're enjoying this way too much to never do it again.'
Sandy pointed, eyebrows raised.
'You going to join in?'
Jack sighed in contentment again and shook his head.
'Nah, the kids and their families will be in Burgess until after Christmas. I've got plenty of time to hang out with them and have snowball fights.'
There was a comfortable pause, before Sandy glanced at him again.
'How did the adults take the introduction to you?'
Jack's expression became wry.
'Pretty good. Andrew, David, and Craig will be explaining everything to them now... But I think Laura will give me a lecture in the morning.'
Sandy blinked, drawing a question mark?
'About what?'
'Pelting unsuspecting non-believers with snowballs.'
Sandy's mouth opened in a silent 'ah', before he wagged a finger at Jack in mock reprimand. It was then that they were interrupted by the sound of Tooth bursting out laughing. The reason quickly apparent as Bunny raised his head in reaction, revealing to everyone in the room that Sophie had somehow managed to paint half of one of his ears pink while he was distracted.
Jack and Sandy glanced at each other before starting to laugh silently. Neither doubted that, when Craig or one of the others came to tell them they could all go to the main hall, tonight's party was going to be one they'll always remember.
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Alaia Skyhawk: Hehe, I loved writing that bit with Sandy and Jack at the end. The two of them sitting down and having a chat without any of the other's noticing. And Sophie painting Bunny's ear pink, heheheheh! :D
And also, I've been asked by AngelPhoenix422 to draw attention to some petitions for a sequel to ROTG. If you go to their profile, they have a 'story' containing links to some of them :)