Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome back to "The Winter Child!" =D THis is the last chapter of this arc, and the one right after this one will be the last. =D We're almost done with this story (*le gasp*), just a few more chapters left until the end. ^u^
Anyway, that's all I have to say for now, so I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! =)
~ LXXXIV ~
To the Capitol and Back, Part Seven
The battle was over
At least for the now
They only had a month
To prepare for the worst
...
The excitement of seeing North and Jack return took a while for everyone to get over. The two explained what had happened in Big Root, and explaining what happened to the bear was just as tricky. But everyone was aware of how mad the bear was when it attacked. So Jack's defensive reaction was completely understood.
North and Jack had salvaged Ombric's staff from the tree, which was broken in half. Katherine brushed her fingers over it gently, her eyes rimmed with tears. Old William walked up and gazed at the rod.
"How can this be?" he whispered. Soon, everyone's elation faded, and the Warren seemed to dim as the realization settle that Ombric was, indeed, gone.
Katherine took the two halves, staring at them intently. She wiped her eyes and then got onto her knees, then fit the two halves together, perfectly.
"Katherine, what are you doing?" Jack asked.
"Believing," she replied. And she began to mutter the ancient phrase, "I believe, I believe, I believe." It was their very first lesson in Ombric's classroom: that real magic stemmed from the power of belief. Jack didn't know how he had forgotten it so quickly. The heat of the battle, he assumed.
Everyone followed Katherine's example, and the light utterings of "I believe, I believe, I believe" filled the air. Everyone was desperate to bring Ombric (and even some children, the bear) back. They continued to chant, repeating the phrase again and again until it was a rhythmic hum that reverberated through the underground. A shift took place in the air. Katherine cracked an open and looked down at the staff. It had become whole again.
And when everyone looked up, standing before them was Ombric and the bear, whose coat was now just as white as Ombric's beard. The entire village cheered. Ombric approached Katherine and she smiled wide, handing Ombric his beloved staff.
The wizard nodded gratefully, and he took the item him his hand. Brushing his fingers over the aged wood, he turned to the Guardians and said, "I believe we have some matters to discuss. I have a feeling that there's more to the story than what's at hand."
…
While everyone else settled in their given areas of the Warren to rest, the Guardians, Jack, Katherine, and Ombric found themselves back at the tree in which Katherine had spoken to Jamie earlier. She stayed very close to Ombric, and Jack knew that she was just glad to have him back. He had done the very same when North returned after he had been kidnapped.
They all sat under the tree's shade and North turned to Jack. The snow sprite sighed, and he began.
"We told everyone that after defeating the bear, we picked up your staff halves and came straight here," Jack said. He peered up at everyone through his bangs. "But that's only half true.
"It turns out that a Fearling didn't possess the bear, but something even more powerful…Pitch himself."
Aster's eyes narrowed while Tooth, Sandy's, and Katherine's widened. Ombric and North appeared relatively calm.
"After we defeated the bear, he came out of it," Jack said. His grip on his staff tightened. "He told us that he'd leave Santoff Claussen alone…for a month."
"A bloody month? How's that a break?!" Aster exclaimed.
"I'm assuming there's more to this?" asked Katherine.
North nodded. "Pitch is giving us one month of peace. But after that—"
"He's coming back," Jack finished gravely. "And he's coming back with a vengeance."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" asked Tooth. Her fairies settled on her shoulders, chirping worriedly. "One month is hardly enough time for us to rebuild."
"Or recover," added Sandy, a hammer and wood appearing over his head.
"Then we use this time well," Ombric said sagely, pushing himself up with his staff. He looked around the Warren. "We will take refuge down here for the night, then we'll survey the damage done on the surface."
"And then what?" asked Aster.
"And then we prepare," replied Ombric. And for the first time, the wizard looked just as old as he was. "For whatever darkness Pitch is about to bring."
Author's Note: Yup. An epic battle will be coming up realllll soon. XD
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to see you in the next one! =D
Until the next chapter!
~BeyondTheMoon1203
