Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome back to "The Winter Child!" =D This is the last part to this arc, so I hope you guys enjoy it. ^u^
~ LXXVII ~
Losing You, Past Seven
With the battle supposedly ended
And with the dust finally settled
The Guardians made their way home
With Jack in tow
...
North had been in many serious situations. Sometimes, he didn't even take them seriously. Once, back in his thieving career, he had been herded into a corner by Russian law. Weapons of all kinds were pointed at him, but he simply snatched a sandwich from a nearby table, picked up a cutlery knife, and fought against them all…while eating.
Still, North always found a way out of those situations, and the Guardians had witnessed it on numerous occasions. But Tooth, Aster, or Sandy knew if North could find his way out of this.
They waited outside the rubble. Waited for someone, something, some sign to tell them that North was alright. But the longer they stayed, the more silent things became. North didn't emerge from anywhere. The Wind circled forlornly.
Jack twitched in Aster's arms, his face twisted in agony. They had to dose him with dreamland to calm him down, but it was clear that his sleep was anything but restful. The snow sprite mumbled North's name over and over again as he slept. Tooth knelt down beside him and placed a hand on his forehead.
"If we stay too long, Pitch might find us," she said, her voice taut. Sandy and Aster could tell that she was holding back tears. "We need to get him back to the village."
Aster nodded slowly, but his eyes were still locked on the fallen cave before them. "Yes…yes you're right."
His voice was far more solemn than usual, and Tooth and Sandy knew why. As much as the two argued, North and Aster were good friends. And though he never admitted it, Aster did view North, Tooth, Sandy, and Jack as family. He had lost his own to Pitch years ago. So losing North to him as well felt as if he were reliving that horror all over again.
Aster wasn't extremely expressive. He had a bad habit of keeping his feelings to himself until he couldn't any longer. And he was doing that right now. Tooth and Sandy were too feeble to comfort him, and they didn't have the words to solace Aster either.
They had lost their closest friend in battle. Comfort was something that none of them wanted right now.
The three sat for a few moments more. Then, they collected their things in stood up. Jack groaned at the sudden movement, and Aster tried to be as gentle with him as possible. The Guardians took one last look at the cave and then began to make their way back to the border.
"What are we going to tell him?" Tooth whispered, her eyes landing on Jack.
Aster held the boy closer. "He already knows," he said. "We'll just…have ta help him accept it."
"But you saw how he reacted earlier," Tooth said. "What if that happens again when he wakes up?"
"We'll just have to be there for him when he wakes up," Aster replied. Tooth's eyes watered, and she wiped her tears away. Watching Jack suffer was just as painful for her, as it was for all the Guardians.
Slowly, they made their way toward the border. The air had stilled and the skies were beginning to darken. It was almost twilight when the Guardians found themselves in the spot they had emerged from. Aster shifted Jack in his arms and looked up at TOoth and Sandy.
"Are ya two ready?" he asked.
Sandy's glow was dim, and Tooth's feathers were wilted. They nodded, though neither looked ready.
Aster nodded, and he was about to slam his foot against the ground when, suddenly, his ears caught the sound of something nearby. He lifted his head and looked down the way he came, his left ear twitching like mad.
"Moon above…"
"Aster? What's wrong?" asked Tooth She drew her swords. "Is it Pitch?"
"No, worse," Aster said, a smile crawling onto his face. Confused, Tooth and Sandy looked in the direction he faced.
They gasped.
There, beaten and bruised and his coat torn in several places, was none other than Nicholas St. North.
…
He relieved everything in just one nightmare.
The arguement, the walk in the woods. But this time, the Fearlings possessed him right then and there. They forced him to Darksualth, where Pitch was waiting for him with open arms, telling him that he was to be his Darkling Prince.
They attached hundreds of villages. Destroyed thousands. And all the while, the Guardians still searched for him. When they did finally encounter, they were horrified. But none were as horrified as North.
Jack told him that Pitch promised everything he ever wanted. That he had, in every way, treated him better than North had ever done. He was allowed to reach his full potential without being held back. In fact, the destruction of Lunslruna was only the beginning.
Their fight after his speech was brutal and bloody. In no time, Jack had disabled Tooth, Sandy, and Bunny. North was last, but the ex-Cossack looked more furious than he was disappointed. Jack was about to deliver the final blow when North spat, "I wish I had never found you."
Whatever control Pitch had over Jack suddenly snapped, and all around him was ice and snow. But before he could tell North had he had come to, the ex-Cossack impaled him with his sword.
…
Jack screamed as he awoke from his nightmare. He was warm and his head pounded with a migraine. All was dark, and the snow sprite couldn't recall what had happened before this. He thrashed and jerked until a strong but gentle arm held him in place.
"Jack…Jack, shhh, Jack, moy mal'chik, you're alright, it's okay…"
Jack's stopped struggling and he looked around. It was still dark until beside him, a candle was lit. The snow sprite looked up; North was there. Jack stared at him with wide eyes.
"N-N-North?" he whispered. His eyes filled with tears. "B-But, I thought…I-I thought you were—!"
North pulled Jack into a hug, and he began to cry. He shook with sobs, and North rubbed his back. "It's okay, moy mal'chik, I'm here…"
Jack shook his head. "I-I'm so sorry!" he hiccuped. "I-I'm sorry for the way I-I yelled at you a-and…y-you're right. I-I'm not ready to be on my own. I-I do, I really, really need you—"
"Oh, Jack…I should be the one apologizing," North murmured, running his hand through the snow sprite's hair. "I've been so protective of you since the beginning. I shouldn't have held on so tight. Where ever you go, I might not be able to follow, but whatever you do with your life, it will be great."
"I…I forgive you," said Jack. He sniffed and he leaned against North. "C-Could…could you stay here for a while?" he asked softly.
North smiled. "Of course."
And the two fell asleep in each other's embrace, with the moon shining down on them both.
Author's Note: I wanted to end with some sweet father/son fluff. =3 Ahhhh, I love these two so much. QwQ
Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!
Until the next chapter!
~BeyondTheMoon1203
