Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome back to "The Winter Child!" =D Mann, I can't believe next week is the last week of school! I swear, it feels like we JUST STARED..time really does fly, huh? ='D
Anyway, down below is the next part of Losing You, so I'll let ya'll get to it, haha. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! =D
~ LXXIII ~
Losing You, Part Three
Perhaps he had been acting overprotective
Perhaps he shouldn't have said no
But North didn't want anything to happen to Jack
And nor did he want to let him go
...
It had been a few hours since their argument. And there was still no sign of Jack.
Night had fallen upon Santoff Classuen, and North was beginning to grow worried. Well, he was already worried the moment Jack stormed out of his house and left, but now, that worry had increased tenfold. If Jack was alone by himself out there (and, more frighteningly, without his staff), he was an easy target for any one of Pitch's Fearlings that could be roaming nearby.
Though there hadn't been any sign of the Boogeyman in a while, North was still wary after his attempt to capture Jack. Jack seemed to have moved on from the Fearling's possession of him, but North had grown even more cautious of where Jack was going, and what he was doing. But, if you were a close friend of North's, you wouldn't have seen a difference between then and now.
And speaking of close friends, North had told the other Guardians about what had happened between him and Jack. North and Jack were very close and argued rarely. So hearing of this fierce argument made Tooth, Aster, and Sandy feel rather surprised.
North explained what Jack had told him about the offered trip to Lunslruna Capitol. All the Guardians knew of the snow sprite's struggle to find something that the wanted to do for the rest. When Jack was young, each of them had taken turns showing the boy what each of them did in their lives, hoping that he'd find inspiration in one of their jobs. But in the end, Jack felt inspired only to become a Guardian. He was six years old then, so the Guardians weren't so sure Jack's interests lay now. So it wasn't much of a surprise for Sascha's offer to have appealed to him so much.
Aster could already foresee what happened next. "Ya told 'im he couldn't go, didn't ya?"
North sighed. "I did. But only because I don't want him to get hurt or mistreated. But Jack insisted, I sort of snapped, he snapped back, and well…you can see that is not here right now."
"Do you know where he went?" Tooth asked at the same time Sandy put up a question mark and snowflake.
North shook his head. "No…and I might just go after him."
"But before ya do that," said Aster, stepping forward. "It's about time we knocked some sense into ya."
North's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?" he asked.
Aster nearly laughed. "Mate, we all know the real reason why ya didn't let Frostbite go."
North was confused, so Tooth added. "We know you only want to protect him, but…don't you think you should loosen the strings a little?" said Tooth.
"Sheila, he's terrible with expressions," stated Aster.
"I am not," North said with a frown. "I understood that one just fine."
Aster's ears twitched and Tooth continued. "North, this trip probably meant a lot to Jack. He's never been outside of Santoff Claussen before, and he might find a path for his future. It's a wonderful opportunity—"
"Are you saying that I should've let him go? By himself, alone?" North asked.
"No, no!" Tooth said quickly. "It's just…ah…I mean…um…maybe?"
Sandy facepalmed and Aster rolled his eyes.
"Alright, yer done," Aster cut in gently pushing Tooth aside. He looked North straight in the eyes, and North couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by Pooka's sharp glare. "Remember when I first asked ya about sendin' Jack ta school? Ya said ya didn't think he was ready when the ankle-biter was already comfortable interactin' with people."
North huffed. "That's different."
"Is it?" questioned Aster. "Remember all that time ya spent keepin' him hidden in the house? Remember how far ya went ta protect him when the village found out about him? And what about that little incident with the Fearlings and the woods? Or, more recently, the kit bein' possessed by one and then ya groundin' 'im afterward?"
"Jack left—alone, and he took this sleigh! Are you saying I shouldn't have punished him?"
"No," said Aster. "I'm saying that all of Jack's actions have one thing in common. He only did what he did because he feels that yer restraining him."
"Restraining him?" North repeated. "I let Jack do whatever he wants as long as it's reasonable…and within bounds."
"But that's not the point," Aster responded. "If you had let Jack go out earlier, he wouldn't have gotten so antsy ta go out into the woods. If he hadn't felt like you'd say no to him leavin' the village for a bit to get ya birthday gift, he wouldn't have ventured out on his own."
Aster stood in front of North, his arms crossed and eyes sharp. North always knew him to be imposing, but with him sitting down and Aster standing before him, North could see where that came from.
Aster's expression softened. "Mate, ya haven't let Frostbite out of yer sight ever since he was a kit. We all know ya want ta protect him, but how is he ever going ta get the chance to prove himself without him feelin' like he has to sneak around ya ta do it?"
North let Aster's words sink in, and every event he mentioned came flooding back to mind. When told that Jack was offered a spot in school, North's immediate response was no since he thought he wasn't ready. But really, he didn't want to let Jack out of his sight. If he was at school, how would he protect him?
The woods incident. Jack had been within the village for so long that he began to crave adventure. But whenever he asked if they could head outside of the village for a while, North said no. Why? Because he didn't want Pitch to get his hands on him.
The drowning event. When Jack admitted that he was out looking for the material to make a birthday present for North, he was briefly touched. But he was still upset with Jack for leaving, and he should've told him first before he had gone to leave…
But would he have said yes?
No…No, I wouldn't.
Ever since Jack's baby years, he kept him hidden from the world, thinking that he was protecting him. It wasn't until the village suddenly found out that pushed North to allow Jack to step out in public. The young snow sprite was loved by many, but the unconscious fear of him ever being hurt for who he was sat in the back of North's mind ever since then. He had done anything—everything, he could to protect Jack when really, he was protecting himself from losing him. And holding Jack back from what he wanted to do or who he wanted to be.
North knew that he could sometimes be overprotective (okay, he was overprotective, but he'd never admit that in front of Aster). It was just that Jack was his son. Even though they weren't blood related, North loved him as much as any father would. And, just like any father, he didn't want to let him go. He sometimes viewed Jack as the baby boy he had found in the woods all those years ago. But Jack was seventeen now, and he needed to start making his own path. Making his own choices.
Choices that North couldn't decide for him.
"We all know how much you care for him, North," said Tooth softly. "But maybe it's time to start letting Jack—"
There was a knock at the door, which diverted everyone's attention. It was late, so North couldn't possibly know who would come to his house at this hour. He walked over and pulled the door open, finding Katherine standing on the other side.
"Oh, hello North," she said kindly. "I just came over to see if Jack made it home alright."
"Did he come to see you?" asked North.
Katherine nodded. "He came to me looking for advice. He told me what happened, and he said he'd come back here to apologize. Is everything resolved between you two?"
"Jack hasn't come back yet," said Tooth, hovering behind North. Her feathers began to twitch. "What time was it when he came to you?"
Katherine's expression slipped into one of concern. "...About an hour ago."
Worry seeped in. North's expression grew worrisome, and he turned to the Guardians standing behind him. The trio was just as concerned as he was.
No one knew where Jack was or if he was alright.
…
He woke up surrounded by darkness. He couldn't see, couldn't move, couldn't hear anything. It was an abyss of blackness, a pool of perpetual darkness. His breaths came out in small puffs of air. It was then that he noticed he was shivering.
Then, he heard the sobbing. It was quiet at first but then grew louder until they were high-pitched wails that tore at his heart. He blinked, and all of a sudden, a young woman was seated before him. Her skin was pale. Her hair was as white as the snow. Her blue eyes were red and puffy.
A snow sprite.
The woman's form was wracked with cries, and he felt himself begin to cry too. He wanted to ask if she was alright, what was wrong, try to help her…but he was stuck. Chained by an invisible force.
A pillar of darkness rose before the woman. He caught the amber eyes flickering within the mass. He panicked, and he jerked and twisted, wanting desperately to warn the woman before fate took place. He willed his mouth to open, but it wouldn't budge as if it were sealed with glue.
Her eyes peeked through her hair, but before she noticed him, the Fearlings shot forward and seized her. Her screams shook his soul. Then, she was gone. She was one of them now.
The Fearlings backed into the shadows. He trembling, hoping he was safe.
Mere seconds had passed when shadows came back for him.
And soon, Jack found himself screaming too.
Author's Note: Poor Jack. ='D (But his troubles aren't over yet, MWHAHA-)
*Ahem*, anyway...Thank you guys so much for reading, and I hope to see you all in the next chapter! =D
Until the next chapter!
~BeyondTheMoon1203
