Chapter 7: Flurries
Eyes fluttering, Jacqueline woke up, stretching and yawning. She sat up in the bed, licking her lips and yawning once more. Rolling her shoulders, she moved her currently brown hair out of her face and took a good look at the room she had been shown to for her stay.
She and Jack had gotten back yesterday just in time for dinner. They had done a bit of catching up amongst themselves, accepting an invite from Santa and Mrs. Claus—Carol, Jacqueline reminded herself—for dessert afterwards, which had been lovely. The Elves made the best cakes and the hot cocoa up North was to die for, and Carol was very sweet. Jack and Santa had spent most of the time roasting one another, and Jacqueline had enjoyed it immensely.
It was after dessert that Jacqueline had been shown to her room, which was…very Christmassy, she was realizing this morning.
She hadn't paid much mind to it yesterday because the linens on the bed had made her a very happy camper. A large light blue duvet covered the bed, the white and blue sheets smelling like fresh laundry, complete with a very warm and fuzzy polyester blanket at the end of the bed. Jacqueline had thrown on pyjamas and burrowed into the blankets instantly, falling asleep soon after.
Making a mental note to thank Elle and Bernard for the choice linens (positive they were behind it), Jacqueline ran her fingers through her hair, tendrils of frost freezing the straight strands into waves she liked to call curls. She hugged her legs and surveyed the room, her usual white waves now cascading down her back.
The walls were green, with warm red trim and golden baseboards, as was tradition with most of the accommodations at the North Pole. Perfectly acceptable for the denizens of the Pole, but not quite a winter sprite's style. On the plus side, the window was large and bright, though the view of the snowy forest off in the distance behind the Workshop was presently covered by thick red and gold curtains. The wooden furniture was a light pine; Jacqueline thought it was quite nice, actually!
The upholstery, however, was…not as nice. It balanced the room enough, in shades of red and gold, but reeked of cinnamon and made her head hurt when she looked at the room all in one go.
Glancing down at her hands, she wiggled her fingers. "Hmm."
She glanced back up at the reds and greens of her room. Eyes lighting up, she hopped out of bed.
Her bare feet hit the warm floor with a dull thud. Breathing in, she linked her fingers together, pushing them outwards and cracking her knuckles with several satisfying snaps. Unlinking her hands, she shook them out, then brought them back together. She took another deep breath, concentrating hard as frost began to pour out of her cupped palms.
A dense cloud of icy magic pooled at her feet, cascading over itself, cloudy blob into cloudy blob, pushing forward and spreading across the room. It crept up on the furniture, crawling up the walls and hugging the drapes until every single surface was obscured. With a grin, Jacqueline dropped her hands, thrusting them out on either side. The frost sunk down, clinging to the surfaces oh so tight until it seemed to absorb into them, the walls changing from green to light blue, the red and gold transforming into shinning hues of white.
With a wave of her palm, the curtains were thrown back, the frosty magic following the threads and turning them blue. They tied themselves off to the sides magically, the wintry light pouring in. With another wave of her palm, the frost coating the floor and hugging the surfaces rushed along the upholstery of the furniture, weaving into the fibres and turning them different shades of blue as well.
A wave here, a wave there, and boom! Goodbye Christmas, hello winter.
The magic settled, a few snowflakes falling from the ceiling. Jacqueline put her hands on her hips and grinned. "I am so glad that worked," she said, with a satisfied inhale, nose immediately wrinkling.
"Why does it still smell like cinnamon?" she thought out loud. It wasn't a bad scent, really. Not usually. But at the North Pole, it smelt a little too much like potpourri, and was everywhere. It made her nauseous; she had no idea how the Elves lived with it.
Following the scent to a set of shelves, Jacqueline aha-d, finding a scented candle and a small pot of potpourri.
"There're the culprits," she murmured, freezing the potpourri solid and putting a lid on the candle. She grabbed the candle carefully, peering at the label: gingerbread and cinnamon sticks.
No wonder it was a lot, she thought, placing the sealed candle back on the shelf gently. She moved over to the window, opening it as wide as it would go to let in the chilly (and fresh) breeze. She inhaled the clean air deeply, exhaling with a smile. "What a view," she murmured, admiring the snowy landscape outside.
"Good morning! Cocoa is here!" said a voice, the door opening. "Oh! You've redecorated! It looks lovely."
"The red and green was hurting my eyes," Jacqueline said, turning away from the window. A few stray tendrils of frost nudged at her feet. Whoops. She guided them to a few missed spots. "I hope that's okay."
"Jacqueline, this is the North Pole," Judy said, pouring a mug of hot chocolate and handing it to her. "Of course it's okay."
Jacqueline took the warm mug Judy offered and sat cross-legged on one of the sofas. "Thanks," she said, taking a sip. Her eyes widened. The flavours? The rich chocolatey taste? It was excellent! "Mmm! This is really good!"
"It's my classic recipe. I can leave you the pot, if you'd like."
"That's really sweet, but no need. I'm headed into town for breakfast today, and I'm sure there're other people who'd love to have this delightful blend first thing in the morning," Jacqueline said, taking another sip. "Mm, don't worry about Jack, either," she said, waving her hand as she placed the mug down on the low table in front of the little sofa. "I'm dragging him into town with me."
Picking up the tray and making to leave, Judy glanced at the clock on the mantle and laughed. "Good luck getting him up. He lounges," she said, heading out. "If there's anything you need don't hesitate to let me know! And I mean anything," she said with a very earnest look.
"Of course. Thank you," Jacqueline said, sipping the hot chocolate.
"You're welcome," Judy said. "And good luck today! I expect the two of you will need it," she added, closing the door behind her.
"Will we ever," Jacqueline said with a sigh, as the door clicked shut.
Placing the mug back down, Jacqueline got up and padded over to the closet. She frowned at her dress. She hadn't expected to be staying up at the Pole, to be quite honest. She had magicked over her pyjamas last night, but that was it. Now she was wishing she had thought to do the same with her work clothes.
"I'll just pop off later today to grab them," she decided, throwing off her white pyjamas and taking her dress off of the hanger. It was a lot of effort to magic over her clothes. It would be easier to poof home and pack a proper bag at some point today, instead of wasting so much energy to bring the items to her.
Heading to the bathroom, she ransacked the cupboards, locating some unopened toothbrushes and fresh toothpaste. She briefly debated using the toothpaste to somehow alleviate the sickeningly sweet smell that remained, but decided against it. That'd be silly. And besides, this was the North Pole. There was no shortage of scented candles in the shops in town. Maybe there was one that smelt like the bakery. That'd be a nice smell to have hanging around. Cake and chocolate and cupcakes...
Stomach growling, sweet tooth beginning to gnaw at her, Jacqueline hurried up, patting down her pockets until she found a hair tie. Throwing it up, she looked at her reflection, frowning thoughtfully. Her hand hovered in front of the icicles that hugged her bodice, defying the laws of physics to cling to her shape exactly. Decision made, her hand shot out, glowing, and the icicles popped right off of her dress. With a twirl of her finger, they crumpled up into an icy snowball. Shoving her hand towards the bathtub, the snow shot towards it, landing in the tub with a porcelain thunk.
She looked back at her reflection. That would have to do for now. Work clothes would be ideal, but Jacqueline could work with what she had. Happy to be rid of the formal look, she nodded at her reflection.
"Alright, Jacqueline. Big day! Big day with the big brother! That's frostbitten weird," she said, her hands falling off her hips, briefly slumping forward. She glanced back at her reflection; she did not look confident. "Deep breaths!" Jacqueline said, springing up. "We will get used to it! We'll figure this out," she said, pointing at her reflection confidently. She pointed back, just as confident. "Great. Let's go wake the abominable snowman and start...figuring out this whole freezer burn. Thing."
With a brief look at her hands and a determined nod, she slid out of her room, marching down the hall towards Jack's.
The crowd roared.
There were cheers, shouts, and screams of delight! People were stomping on the risers as Jack gave bow, after bow, after bow! The spotlight was warm, the mic comfortable in his hand. They were begging for an encore, Jack playing the modest card and waving them away (having several tunes primed and ready to belt regardless). Their cheers intensified! The stomping became loud as could be, almost deafening.
Really deafening, actually. And closer than he thought.
He swung about, casting his gaze backstage. The doors out to the tour bus were shut tightly, but something was hitting them. Hard. Pounding them with enough force, they were pushing the door out of the frame in quite the cartoonish fashion.
"Do you mind?" he said. "I'm about to start an encore!"
"An encore? What the fro—OH. Are you still sleeping?!"
Sleeping? Why would he be sleeping at a time like this? With a crowd as lively as this?
The roaring came to a stop.
He whipped around. The people were quiet. Frozen; stock still. The once lively crowd looked fake, now. They started falling through the risers, the risers disappearing as the people drifted into nothingness, floating down, down, down, like a piece of paper gently sliding off a desk, caught in the breeze from the desk fan that worked overtime to cool the tiny office space. Above him, the spotlight glowed brighter, and brighter; he tried to shield his eyes, blinking ferociously, trying to see but unable to look clearly it was so bright, shutting his eyes tightly in the hopes of being able to reopen them and see the crowd once more—
Daylight.
He found daylight, instead.
It tickled his eyelids, his vision reddish. He opened his eyes, disgruntled.
He had been asleep.
"Do you have any idea what time it is?!" he shouted at the door, the same time the person on the other side said the exact same thing.
"Yes! Do you?" he replied, hearing an echo from outside the door. "Stop copying me!" he shouted.
"No, YOU!" she shouted back through the door. "Get your slushy behind out of bed!"
Wait. Jacqueline?
He squinted as he recalled the events of the day before.
Right! Jacqueline was here! With him! Because he was...ah, right. He was powerless. And stuck at the North Pole. Which was melting! And he couldn't do anything about it, on account of being powerless! Leaving the Council no choice but to initiate the Legate Law, having his own Legate, his little sister, come to his rescue.
How embarrassing, he thought to himself, throwing himself back down into the pillows. "Go away!" he shouted.
"And do what?!"
"Bother someone else! I'm sure Ellington would love your company! And you know, Bernard could use a good early morning bother. Amongst other things," Jack scoffed.
"Okay, see, here's the thing. Bernard and Elle's magic is working fine! They're not the ones whose LEGATE has been CALLED IN on OFFICIAL DUTIES!"
"Meh meh meh LEGATE meh meh meh OFFICIAL DUTIES bleh bleh bleh, that's what YOU sound like!"
"...I want to be angry but that was scary good," Jacqueline remarked from the other side of the door. "The parts that were words, at least."
"I know," he said, smug. "I am a sprite of many talents! A Jack of all trades, if you will."
"Yeah, yeah, you're the goddess's gift to magibean kind," she shot back, the eye roll practically audible. "Seriously. We need to get moving, Jack! I'm hungry," she said, leaning on the door with enough force for a full body knock.
"Then go eat breakfast and come grab me after I have mine, here, in the comfort of my room, " he said, throwing his head under the pillow.
"We regret to inform you that breakfast is being served elsewhere today," Jacqueline said from the other side of the door, sounding a little too smug for Jack's liking. He pulled himself out from under the pillow.
"What have you done?"
"I cancelled breakfast!"
"You did WHAT?" Jack grabbed the nearest, firmest throw pillow, launching it at the door. It hit with a fluffy thunk, landing on the floor in a heap.
"Did you just throw a pillow at me?"
"Are you a door?"
"I hate that you keep making Dad jokes."
"What does that even mean?!"
"Are you a door? Oh PLEASE! There's no need to be so literal! I'm on the other SIDE of the door, we both know that! Geez Jack, if I wanted to hear bad Dad jokes, I would've followed Blaise around all day instead of coming up here to help you. Which, by the way, is why I can't just go away. I'm here to help you," she said, gently. "So get your rear in gear and get MOVING so we can figure this sleet OUT!" she finished, gentleness out the window.
Jack's small chuckle stopped abruptly. Powerless and breakfast-less. Frostbite.
"Maybe you should get your sleet together! Cancelling breakfasts all willy-nilly, it is TOO early for this," he said, grabbing another pillow and hiding under it again.
"It's nine AM!"
"Exactly!"
"Don't make me go in there, Jack."
"I'd like to see you try," he replied, snuggling deeper into the blankets and securing his pillow. The door was locked. He was safe to lounge about. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in, and out.
It was quiet. Too quiet.
Had she given up?
Jack frowned. That didn't seem like something she would do. Wasn't very Frost of her. Granted! He barely knew what she was like now, but based on the conversation they had just had? She wouldn't give up that easily. Cracking open an eye, Jack nearly screamed when a pair of almost matching blue eyes were staring right back at him.
Jacqueline leaned back, eyebrow raised.
"Do you mind?!" Jack said, pulling the blanket up over his chest. "Don't you know what privacy is?"
"I think the question you want to ask is do I care about privacy. Given the current circumstances? No, not really. And you're wearing a shirt! Calm down, and let's get going," she said, hopping off the raised platform his bed was on and gesturing towards the door, exasperated.
Jack hmphed, buried his head under the pillow once more, and flipped away from his sister. He listened as Jacqueline sighed, her footsteps sounding farther away. He smirked. Success! But wait, was that—yep. The metallic click of her footsteps walking closer. She stopped. Jack didn't need to open his eyes to know she was facing him again.
She poked his cheek.
He ignored it.
She did it again. And again. And again.
"What," he snapped, eyes opening.
"Burritos, Jack."
And before Jack could process the thought of a tasty breakfast burrito, he felt himself rolling off of his bed, now completely wrapped in the comforter and sheet. He hit the ground with a dull thud, and realized that yes, he had, in fact, become a burrito of blankets. Blanket burrito? Yeah, that sounded right. He had become a blanket burrito.
"Burrito Jack!" Jacqueline said with a grin, hopping down again and rounding the corner. She crossed her arms with a satisfied smirk, watching him kick at the blankets as he tried to free himself.
"Well that was rude," Jack said, escape attempts unsuccessful so far. Where were his limbs at? "I think I may have broken something!"
"Oh, you precious, fragile, creature," she said, saccharine, fingers on her chin.
"The sympathy is appreciated in this truly trying time," he said, choosing to ignore the sarcasm. "Alright, you win! I yield. I'm up and awake and bruised on top of all that so I may as well get dressed. And get breakfast. Lady knows what your empty stomach will put me through if we let this continue."
"Oh, good! Because I'm starving and haven't actually tried the Grille in person! Elle usually picks up take out for us," she said, hopping down from the raised portion of the room that the bed and en-suite were on, landing right onto what looked to be the softest couch in the room.
"You know, we could've just gone to the kitchens. Or you could've just had breakfast without me."
Jacqueline flushed a bit. "I was just thinking that maybe going to a place for like, a sit down meal with you would be a nice thing to do," she said with a shrug, looking away.
Jack smiled. "Wow. That's sweet! It almost makes up for the GIANT bruise right on my a—"
"I get it, you're fragile, stop it," Jacqueline said.
"Do I detect a hint of laughter in your voice?"
A giggle escaped before she could cover her mouth with her hands. "No," she claimed, muffled.
"Sure, Jacqueline," Jack said, finally freeing himself from the burrito. He wrapped the blankets around his waist and trudged into the bathroom, yawning very loudly for dramatic effect.
"Oh my gods. You're just as bad as Fiera, honestly."
"Thank you," Jack said.
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I take them as I go."
A snort. "Anyway. We've got quite the itinerary today! I really want to go to the Grille for breakfast! Their take-out is delicious, and thinking of it fresh?" her stomach growled audibly.
"They do have excellent pancakes," Jack said between brushing and rinsing his mouth.
"Super fluffy, or so I've been told. Then after a nice breakfast, we'll figure out where to start with figuring out all that," she said, gesturing to all of Jack as he left the bathroom and went into the closet.
"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Jack asked, as he got dressed.
"No idea! I'm hoping it comes to me over breakfast. I was thinking maybe we start by seeing exactly what you can do right now?"
"Literally nothing," Jack said helpfully, sliding his arms into his jacket sleeves.
"Something might still be working, though!"
Jack stepped out of the closet and served Jacqueline with a very doubtful look.
"Okay well we won't get anything done with that attitude, Frosty." Jacqueline hopped up, grabbing the doorknob. "Shall we?"
Jack smiled. Frosty, huh? "After you, Slushy," he replied, with a devious grin.
"Slushy? Really?"
"Frosty? Really?"
Jacqueline blew a raspberry.
Jack grinned. At least some good was coming out of this freezer burn.
Town was already a bustle this morning, though Jacqueline was sure that the elves had been up for much longer. She admired their up-at-sunrise work ethic, wondering if they ever slept. Jack was fairly certain they didn't, and told her as much.
"That's why Bernard is always so grumpy," he said. "He's constantly in need of a nap."
Jacqueline had laughed at that.
They approached the café, fairly chipper all things considered. Jacqueline had only been to the Pole a few times, usually due to a self-inflicted duty to fix Jack's shenanigans. Lately she'd been coming by more, since, you know, her best friend lived here. Even then, she had never really been able to really be excited about visiting the North Pole, given that the risk of running into Jack was high, and she had not wanted to run said risk.
But now, with Jack strolling behind her, Jacqueline was finally able to enjoy it, and was giddy with excitement. The magic of the place couldn't escape you, even when you were a nineteen-hundred-year-old sprite who'd seen her fair share of magical things. The spirit was high and so was the cheer. She laughed when they got to the café. The chairs were so small.
"Patio or inside?" Jack asked. Jacqueline responded by sitting down in the too small chair, glancing at the to scale menus on the table, and laughing even harder.
"Oh my gods oh my gods I feel like a giant! Haha. Ah. Whew." She leaned back in her chair, staring up at the Dome and frowning. Despite the high spirits and gorgeous colours back on the Dome, there was something...different this time around. Something off.
"You can feel it, can't you?" Jack said, seated and buried in a menu.
"Is that what that is?"
Jack placed the menu down and looked up as well. "Sturdy, but there's still a bit of a drip."
"Like a tap that isn't fully closed."
"Exactly."
"What're we looking at?" A new voice spoke. Both sprites jumped, startled out of their stupor.
"Just the Dome," Jacqueline said, recovering fast. She cleared her throat.
"I have your usual, Mr. Frost," The elf said, placing a drink in front of Jack. "And you must be Jacqueline! Right?"
"Yes," she said, thinking loudly about how obvious it was considering who was sitting across from her and their resemblance.
Jack choked on his drink. Don't make me laugh mid drink, he thought at Jacqueline.
I do what I want, she thought back. "The one and only," she said to the elf, hoping to lighten the mood. He was a rather small elf, holding a small tray with one drink on it now, a notepad beside it. He had brown hair and brown eyes and looked more than a little nervous, prompting Jacqueline to attempt to lighten the mood.
"It's nice to meet you! My name is Kasper! I just started working here a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to make sure it was you, so that uh, your uh, order went to the right...you." The elf finished, wincing.
Jack and Jacqueline shared a look.
"Right! Here's your cocoa, Miss Frost! Unless you want something else, I can go back and—"
"Oh, no! No need. Cocoa is perfect. Thanks, Kasper."
"You're welcome! I hope it tastes alright! I made it myself. I mean, I'm no Judy, but..." he trailed off and shrugged.
Jacqueline took a sip. "It's really very good! Rich and very chocolatey."
"Th-thank you!" He said, a very big smile on his face.
"Uh. You're welcome," Jacqueline said, a little bit weirded out at this point.
"How about some pancakes?" Jack finally said.
"Oh! Right! Yes, of course! Lena makes the best pancakes; I'll go grab two of her fluffiest stacks for you two!" Kasper said, rushing into the café.
"Wait, you forgot your notepad!" Jacqueline shouted, picking it up and waving it in the air. The elf was long gone.
"He'll be back," Jack said, over his cocoacinno. "You can give it to him then."
"He was a bit...odd, don't you think?" she asked, dropping the notebook back onto the tray.
Jack raised an eyebrow over his cup. Gulping, he placed the cup down. "Jacqueline. He's part of a race of fae that look like children and make toys for a living," he replied, fixing a cuff link. "They're all a bit odd."
Kasper gulped. Putting in the order for the pancake stacks, he excused himself to the back. Splashing some water on his face, he took a breather; composed himself. Looked left, looked right. Coast clear, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial.
It was three quarters full, the inside dark green, swirling and glittering. The Man had given it to him, instructing him to find whatever beverage Jacqueline was drinking, whatever she may be eating, either of them, and add the liquid to it. He had been very specific about it. The who and the what and the when.
A thought sprang into his head.
Curt. Harsh. Not his own.
Well? Has it been done?
The Man.
Y-yes sir, he thought, hoping that was how it worked. I put it in her drink, like you explained.
Good.
The Man's thought left his head. He shivered; it felt odd, the presence receding as fast as it had arrived. His mind took a minute to catch up, filling in the empty space it had cleared for The Man with his usual worried thoughts. He felt yucky. This was wrong.
But if he didn't...
He clenched his fist around the vial, shoving it back into his pocket.
"For Polly," he whispered.
The bell dinged, startling Kasper right out of his thoughts. Two stacks of pancakes appeared on the counter top, steam wafting up into the air. Grabbing a fresh tray, he placed the stacks on it, taking a deep breath and heading back out to the patio. The window framed the siblings perfectly. Jacqueline talking. Animated, energetic; hands flying all over the place. Jack leaning forward, the hint of a smile on his face as he listened intently, nodding along as she went on.
Whatever he was helping The Man accomplish, he hoped it worked.
For his sake...her sake...and their sake.
Noon rolled around and with it, first lunch. Typically, a third or more of the elves would take first lunch in the kitchens. They'd pile together and eat their meals with gusto, sharing snacks and talking about the morning excitedly. They'd lend a hand to the kitchen staff if they needed it, filling them in with what had happened out in the Shop so far, an in turn learning what had gone on behind the scenes so far. The air would be filled with the loud hum of excited chatter, laughter; elves standing on benches, trading gingersnaps for sugar cookies, and so on.
But this afternoon, the kitchens (aside from the kitchen staff) were empty. There was no loud din; the clattering pots weren't muffled by the sheer amount of bodies buzzing about. They echoed through an empty lunchroom. The department lounges were empty as well. The Christmas music echoed through mostly empty halls. Bernard wasn't even around, a sure sign that something was up.
Out in the courtyard though, a huge crowd had formed. Elves sat on the steps, in the snow, sandwiches in hand. Some stood while others sat; some were eating lunch at the Grille. All of them were watching the activity going on in the centre of the courtyard, the chatter here today, bets being tossed back in forth in lieu of the usual cookie exchange, eyes trained on the middle of the Square.
It was there that Jacqueline stood, her feet spread apart, arms crossed. She looked perplexed; perhaps a bit frustrated as well. Her hair was in a very messy bun now, and her long sleeves were creased as though she kept rolling them up, and they kept falling back down. Behind her was the table they had had breakfast at, cleared but for two large waters. Jack's suit jacket hung forgotten on the chair. He himself stood beside Jacqueline, shirtsleeves rolled up, suspenders down, and a fierce look of concentration on his face. Across from them, a decent distance away, was a tall pile of snow. Jacqueline had thrown it together to use as a target.
Unfortunately, not much had hit it.
"Okay, one last time, I promise. Let's see snowballs again."
Jack formed a fist, willing a snowball to appear and sighing when he opened it up and was met with nothing but a light dusting of snow in his palm, mimicking the lines at the base of his fingers.
"Nope."
"Okay, icicles, let's try that again!"
Jack made to throw a dart, but the icicle didn't appear and nor did it go flying. His hand maybe looked a little icier. He shook it off, shaking his head. "Nothing."
"Let's try a snowman?"
"Really, Jacqueline?"
She shrugged, looking a little bit helpless.
"Alright, fine. But nothing's going to happen, we both know that." He stretched out his hand and twirled it in an attempt to conjure some snow and form a snowman. It went about as well as Jack expected. A light dusting fluttered down from his palm, landing gently on the thick packing snow below it.
"I think it moved this time! Look, it looks kind of round...ish."
"Jacqueline, don't patronize me. You know what it's supposed to look like!"
"Okay, okay, chill!"
"I'd LOVE to chill! I invented it! But I literally cannot!"
Jacqueline sighed sadly. "I know. I'm sorry." She paused for a moment, thoughtful. "Let's try something safe and familiar. Frost breath?"
He inhaled deeply, and could feel his face getting cold. He exhaled, aiming for a big swath of frost, only to be met by a small poof of cold air that was only just at the freezing point.
"You know—"
"Don't say a word. Not a single word, please."
Jacqueline put her hands up. "Alright, alright."
This had been the scene all morning. Jacqueline's first idea was to see where Jack's power levels were at. Her thought was that, seeing as how he could still walk on any surface, maybe his magic wasn't quite gone! Maybe it was just. Blocked, or something. So they set up the targeting range and got to work. Jacqueline would get Jack to try a move, he'd do it, and almost nothing would happen. Maybe a small ice piece would appear, only to immediately turn to snow and drift off in midair. Or maybe the snowman lump, as Jacqueline pointed out. But they were all pathetic attempts! Jack had created the abominable snowman, for frosts sake! This was abhorrent compared to the things he had done. Could do. And to add insult to injury, a crowd had been milling about all day. Small, at first; a smattering of elves, here and there. But now that lunchtime had rolled around, and they hadn't gone far from the Grille, the crowd was huge!
Jack sighed, moving to sit in his chair and promptly falling down into the snow. He glanced behind him; the chairs and table were...farther than he recalled.
He sighed, crossing his arms. "Of course! To add insult to injury!"
"Or injury to insult," Jacqueline offered, unhelpfully.
Jack growled, falling back slowly until he lay in the snow, pouting angrily.
"We're getting nowhere with this," he huffed.
"Well, it's a start," Jacqueline squatted by his head, looking at him quizzically. "We know that they're not gone gone! That's something. And we haven't even tried external magic yet. We've been focusing on conjuring! Maybe we'll have better luck with manipulation?"
"How long have we been doing this now?" Jack asked loudly, annoyed.
"About three and a half hours, if you wanna include the practise outside of lunch time," came a shout from the crowd.
"Thanks, Bernard!" Jacqueline shouted back.
"Here's here too?"
Jacqueline nodded.
"Oh, great. Don't you have a job to do, bean pole?" Jack shouted now, throwing his arm over his eyes.
"I'm doing my job! Head elf. Supervising," he said, grinning and shifting his weight. The elves nearest to him giggled. Jacqueline snorted. Jack let out a groan that very nearly sounded like a fake sob.
"So this is where everyone disappeared to! I was wondering why the lunchrooms were so empty."
"Hi Elle," Bernard said with a grin as she pushed through the crowd, appearing at Bernard's side and doing a double take.
She laughed. "Really B? You too? I thought you were going to take care of this," she teased.
"I had every intention of dispersing the crowd. Got a bit distracted watching. Realized it was first lunch and thought ah, what the heck! We don't often get treats like this legendary demonstration of power—"
"Thank you, Bernard!" Jack said from the floor, cutting him off. Beside him, Jacqueline covered her mouth with a hand, doing her best (no really! her best! honest!) to stifle her laughter. Glancing between the amused head elf, and her just as unamused brother, and back, her eyes settled on the elf that now stood beside B-Man.
Elle had to stifle her own laugh as she watched her friend finally notice her arrival. She could see her loading! She waved, hiding a bit of a cheeky smile.
"Oh! Elle!" Jacqueline shouted, springing up.
"Jacqueline!" Elle shouted back, bracing as she watched her friend hop around Jack and race towards her.
"Elle!" Jacqueline shouted, waving and beelining her way.
"Jacquie!" Elle replied, bracing for impact as the sprite slammed into her, the pair almost falling over as they hugged.
Jack's heart dropped. He knew they were friends; he was acutely aware of it. Elle had the privilege of seeing Jacqueline on a day to day basis if she wanted to throughout the year, (and after the whole watch debacle was more than happy to remind Jack about this fact every so often). But seeing it now? In person? He had this feeling that the pair of them ganging up on him would be an experience he'd be subject to very, very soon. "Spectacular," he said, dryly.
"I told you I knew her," Elle said over her friend's shoulder, the two girls hugging each other very tightly.
"You never shut up about it," Jack scoffed, the snow beside him hovering before being flung right at his face. His arm shot up, blocking it.
"Ha! Missed me!"
"That's okay, I'm sure Jacqueline will make up for that," Elle said. "Already has, I'll bet."
Jacqueline snorted. "Have I ever," she said, squishing Elle. "It's nice to see you!"
"It's nice to see you!" Elle replied, squishing her friend one last time before pulling out of the hug. "You know, FINALLY. Since you've been here for like a whole day now! I was wondering when you'd drop me a line."
"Yesterday didn't count?"
"No, because I dropped you the line," she teased.
"Good point," Jacqueline replied, thoughtful. "Sorry, kid. I've had a busy morning," Jacqueline added, sheepish.
"I noticed," Elle said, glancing around at the crowd, eyes settling on Bernard. She quirked an eyebrow. He chuckled.
"Alright elves, I think that's more than enough," Bernard said, stepping out of the crowd and into the centre.
A collective awwh of disappointment rang out through the crowd.
"I know, I know. Let's let the pair of them have a peaceful lunch, yeah? And you guys should all go enjoy lunch too!" Bernard said, shooing the elves towards the Workshop. "There we go. Clear on out, that's it. We're clogging up a main artery here, elves!" he finished, the crowd moving right along and dispersing so fast, it was like they were never there.
Bernard watched them leave with a smile and an encouraging nod. He glanced over at Elle, raising an eyebrow. She nodded and waved. Bernard nodded in kind, following behind them, at ease.
"Do you mean to tell me he could've done that the entire time?!" Jack asked, appalled.
"Probably," Elle said with a shrug.
"Unbelievable!" Jack said, throwing his arms up in the air, still on the floor.
"It's so weird watching you two do that, do you know that?" Jacqueline said, watching Bernard as he headed into the Shop with one last wave over his shoulder. "Like, I can tell you guys just had a full-on mental conversation, because I saw it, but didn't hear it. Unnerving as frost."
Elle laughed. "Looks like now you can give us a taste of our own medicine," Elle said, pointing at Jack with her chin. Jacqueline laughed.
"You know, Ellington, you also could've come out here and taken care of the munchkins."
Elle's brow furrowed for a second. "Wait, you mean disperse the crowd myself?"
"Uh, yeah."
She snorted. "Munchkins. Be nice, Jack!
"That is nice," he assured her.
Elle rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I could've sent them on their way. But Bernard said he'd handle it, so I left it to him. I actually thought he had sent them on their way already. I think he's been getting a real kick out of the whole situation."
"I NOTICED," Jack shouted, disgruntled.
Elle and Jacqueline glanced at each other, snickering upon eye contact.
"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, you two."
"We will, thank you," Jacqueline said with a grin, surveying her brother, hands on her hips.
"We'll see who's laughing when I'm back in shape. I'm keeping a tally, you know."
"Sure you are," Jacqueline replied, head tilted.
"It's interesting. I figured B would get a few laughs out of the whole situation. But he seems to really be enjoying it. Or at least finding it very entertaining," Elle pondered.
"Oh! That's probably because of the Clifton Manor incident," Jacqueline realized.
"The what?"
"Well it was more of a lodge, but it was pertaining to the Clifton's Manor. I didn't think he meant it at the time, since I was having a rough night and we were in a tight spot, but I guess he was serious," Jacqueline said, thoughtful.
Both Jack and Elle gave her a confused look.
"It's a long story," Jacqueline said, sitting down in the snow.
"One you can tell me all about over cocoa and coffee!" Elle plunked down in the snow beside her. "Since, you know, you've been in town for a whole day and not once did you say hello!"
"You could've shot me a line again," Jacqueline said, poking Elle's forehead.
"I did!" Elle said, rubbing the spot. "Just after breakfast, in fact. Did you not hear me?"
Jacqueline blanked out for a moment. "I guess not. I mean, I was a little preoccupied," she said, gesturing at Jack and the targets on the other end of the square. "Man's out here just being the worst at his job and I have to..." Jacqueline frowned, trailing off.
"I'm doing what I can!" Jack protested. "Which isn't MUCH, admittedly, but at least I'm trying!"
She didn't reply; she was staring off into the distance, squinting.
"Jacqueline?"
She frowned, her brow wrinkling.
"You okay, snow buddy?"
"Hmm? What? Oh! Yeah, sorry, I'm fine. Peachy keen and such. Sorry, Jack. I didn't mean to..." She blinked, frowning once more.
"Jacquie?"
"Hi, yes, sorry. Thanks for the blankets, by the way!" she said, as though nothing odd had just happened.
"You're welcome! I thought you'd like the blue sets better. They're also engineered to stay cooler, which I knew you'd appreciate. The fuzzy blanket was B's idea."
"I'll have to tell him thanks later," Jacqueline mused. She straightened up suddenly, looking concerned. "Sorry Jack, did you say something?"
"Uh, yeah! You were being a little mean back there, don't you think?"
"No, I mean like. Not out loud. Like, mentally."
"Nnnope," he replied. "I've been silent as a cold winter morning up there."
"Really?" Jacqueline asked. She looked perplexed.
"Yes, really." Jack pushed himself up on his elbows, staring at his sister. "Are you okay?"
"I think so," she said, a hand gently holding her temple. "Maybe it is break time," she thought out loud.
"How has it been going out here?" Elle asked.
"You haven't been watching?" Jack asked. "Wow. Shocker," he said, throwing himself back into the snow.
"Nah. I've been a bit preoccupied all day, to be honest, and B was keeping a close watch anyway. It must be going well since you two have managed to distract almost the entire workforce today—even him!"
"Oh no it's-it's going great," Jack said. "Absolutely fantastic, thanks."
Jacqueline sighed. "It goes…slowly," she said, picking up snow and sprinkling it on Jack's face.
"Don't do that," he said, spitting out snow.
"I do what I want," she replied, chipper.
"Well, it's almost third lunch. I'm heading off on my break, and I think I may just have to steal Jacqueline for a bit."
"PLEASE do," Jack said. "She's an AWFUL bother."
"Excuse you, I am a delight!"
Elle laughed. "Care to join me?" she asked her friend, offering her hand.
Jacqueline happily took Elle's hand and pulled herself up, dress swishing. She smoothed it down. "That does sound good. Not for too long, though. We've barely made a dent over here and I—" she cut off abruptly, looking annoyed. "Really, Jack?"
"What!? What did I do?"
"I...nothing, I think. I." Jacqueline looked perplexed. "I thought I heard..." She slowly spun around, frowning. "You didn't think anything, either?" She asked, offering Jack a hand.
"Nothing that would've gotten that reaction," Jack said, taking her hand and popping back up, dusting the snow off his pants. "I was actually thinking really loudly that you should go on off with Ellington and show her what a delight you are," he continued, grabbing his suit jacket and throwing it over his shoulder. "It is lunchtime, after all, and we saw how you were this morning on an empty stomach. Hate to have that happen again. Go grab some sandwiches or wraps, or whatever, a nice warm cocoacinno...I have a tab at almost every eatery here, you can just throw it on there," Jack finished. "And I'd take that offer, if I were you. It's limited time only." He really wanted a break and was willing to do anything, even let Jacqueline and Elle run up his tab, if he could just have a nice sit for a moment with a warm cocoacinno of his own.
"Alright, alright, I'll go. You can go enjoy a break, too, Jack. You don't have to keep messing with me. It's fine," Jacqueline said with a small (slightly concerned) smile.
"I'm not messing with you, Jacqueline. I mean it, please, run up my tab if it means I can catch my breath for just a moment."
"No, I mean the thoughts and stuff you keep sending my way! We already talked about all this and you should know that if you wanted to go over it again, you could just ask, you don't have to be so cryptic—"
"Jacqueline." Jack sounded serious now, concern lining his features. Elle frowned, staring intently at Jacqueline. "I'm not thinking anything like that at all right now."
"But then...if you're not...then who's..." Jacqueline frowned, closed her eyes and rubbed them. When she opened them, she looked frightened. "What? This isn't..." she whirled around. "They're mine?!" she closed her eyes again, doubling over and holding her head. "No!"
"Jacqueline?" Elle asked, concerned.
"Slushy? You there?"
Jacqueline shot up, whipping around fast enough the stir the northern winds, her skirt billowing briefly as she levelled a cold, icy glare right at her brother.
"I don't think you should've said that," Elle said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back with her.
"I said it this morning and she was fine with it!"
Her gaze softened; she closed her eyes once more, her face turning a bit red. "Get out of my head!" Jacqueline yelled, and her arm shot up, palm open. The target wall exploded, the snow thrusting forwards and shoving Elle and Jack a few feet back. They tumbled into a snowbank, the stream of snow Jacqueline had sent their way flying over their heads.
"What is happening?!"
"Funny you should ask, because I was about to ask you the same thing," Elle said, sitting up and straining her ears.
"What, do you think I had something to do with this?"
She rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant! You've spent the entire day with her, Jack! You know what she's been doing today so maybe you have an idea of what the elf is going on right now," Elle said, flipping over and peering over the snowbank.
"She spent the entire morning drilling me! That's all we've been doing! Nothing strange or fishy or out of the ordinary happened," Jack said, gently pushing Elle behind him as they watched Jacqueline. "Not that I know what her ordinary is," he said, guiltily as he watched his sister closely over the snowbank.
She seemed to be struggling. Her eyes were closed, lines in her brow; she held her head, teeth gritted.
"Definitely not this," Elle confirmed. "I'll try our connection, see if I can get through to her there.".
Jack did the same. He reached out to the light blue thread, only to find it...not blocked, but...obscured? Something seemed to be covering it, something...viscous. Ew.
"Any luck?" he asked Elle out loud.
"I can't find our link," Elle replied, panicked.
Jacqueline let out a scream of frustration. Around her, the snow billowed out, drifting in the air. She stood in a defensive pose, looking around, squinting every so often. She looked like she was following something, her eyes flicking back and forth around her. Elle peeped out from behind the snowbank, watching Jacqueline carefully.
"Stop! Moving!" She shouted. Elle gasped, ducking as several hard-packed snowballs flew over her head. They could hear the thunk as the snowballs hit the buildings around them. She whipped around, watching as they stuck to the brick. She turned back to Jack, hair flying. "What is happening?!"
"I don't know! but I'm going to give it another go," Jack said, hopping out of the snowbank. "Stay back!" He barked at Elle, watching as Jacqueline staggered her way to the centre of the square, eyes darting around wildly.
"Jacqueline!"
She held her head, shutting her eyes tight.
"Talk to us, please. What's going on? How can we help you?!" He said. Please Jacqueline, he thought at her, we can talk about this!
But as the words sought out their connection, they hit the weird, gooey blockage, and stopped. Dissipating on his end of the connection without so much as making a dent.
"Get OUT of my HEAD!" Jacqueline shouted once more. She threw her hands out, the ground beneath her rippling. Another shock wave of snow billowed out from around her; bigger. Stronger. Going and going and going, encroaching on the storefronts threateningly.
The elves in the square didn't hesitate. They booked it, abandoning carts of bouncy balls, toys, and decorations on the street. The wave of snow went under the carts, toppling them over and spilling the contents all over the square. Bouncy balls went flying, teddy bears soared above them, ornaments shattering as they hit the ground. Jacqueline closed her eyes again and held her head, one hand shooting out and launching icicle after icicle into the air as she spun around.
The shock wave of snow hit the buildings hard. Glass cracked; tables and chairs toppled over, wood chipping as it hit the ground.
Elle shot up, ferrying elves away from the scene. "We need to do something! But what?"
"I don't know!" Jack said, panicked. "I can't get through to her at all!"
"You couldn't either?!"
Jack shook his head. "No! It got. It's goopey!"
"Goopey?!"
"Yes!"
Elle shook her head, focusing on the situation at hand. "We need to get help," she said. "Who should I get?!"
"I don't know! Carol? Bernard? Santa? Someone good in a crisis! A medic, maybe?! Just, go get help, and stay safe! I'll take care of things here!"
Elle nodded, running towards the Workshop doors as Jack called out to his sister. "Jacqueline! What are you doing?"
Jacqueline turned around. She locked eyes with her brother and glared. He almost stepped back. Her gaze softened briefly, her eyes shutting tightly once more. Suddenly she screamed in frustration, snowballs springing up around her and flying his way. Jack caught every other one—an impressive feat, considering the power levels he was currently at. The ones he didn't catch interrupted him as he tried to speak.
"Jacqueline—ah—please, talk to me! It's like you just said—bleh—we can talk it out! It's okay! Ack! Snow! Snow in my mouth!"
"You want to TALK about it?" Jacqueline shouted, glaring right at him. "TALK?!" she asked again. Her breath caught in her throat; she stepped back, blinking rapidly, trying to put space between her and her brother. "No! No, I don't want to do this, not like this, I—ARGH!"
Snow went flying; Elle looked over worriedly, as she ferried the elves towards the Workshop doors, making sure everyone got in before her. She glanced back, watching as Jack tried to get closer to Jacqueline. Progress was slow, but he was doing it. Ushering the last few elves in, she stopped the last one in.
"That's everyone?"
"Left out here, yeah! Coast is clear, Elle."
"Perfect. When you get in, grab some friends, and see if you can get Carol or Santa or Bernard, and someone from medical. Whatever's going on with Jacqueline is...it's not right. Something's hurting her."
"You got it, boss!" the elf said with a cheeky salute, rushing in and pulling his friends along.
With one last glance around the square, and a brief mental sweep to be sure, Elle closed the doors, running back towards the sprites. The last few snowballs heading towards Jack stopped abruptly, an invisible force smashing them into the ground.
Jack glanced over his shoulder as Elle reappeared. "Help is on the way," she said, stopping beside him. "Until then, I'll have to do."
"Thanks for that," Jack said, nodding at the smashed snowballs.
"Least I can do. So, what's the plan?"
"I'm winging it," Jack admitted.
That checks out, Elle thought, stopping another few snowballs. "Jacquie!" she shouted, the sprite pausing. "Please, tell us what's going on! We're here for you!"
"We both are," Jack said, taking another step forward. He reached out, cautiously. "Please. Let us help you. Let me help you."
Her breathing sped up. She stepped back. "Leave...Me...ALONE!"
Her hands flew back and up, over her head. Palms outstretched, she hissed. Above her, a cloud of frost began to take shape, a huge swath of ice and frost and snow bubbling above her.
Jack's eyes went wide. He knew what was coming.
"Get down!" He shouted, shoving Elle down as Jacqueline let go, the super charged attack flying through the air.
Elle fell face first into the snow, flipping over just in time to see the snowy bits billow well above her head. In front of her, Jack stood his ground, hands above his face, taking the attack head on. It split as it hit his forearms, the ferocious blow turning into gentle snow-filled winds as it passed around him.
He moved forwards, ignoring the sting of the fractals that managed to scratch his face, not stopping until he was right in front of Jacqueline. He reached out, finally, gently grabbing her shoulder.
"It's okay," he said. "I've got you. I'm here."
Her arms fell; her breathing began to slow. Her hands moved up to her head, fingers pressed onto her temples as the last of the snowy blast slowed to a stop, snowflakes gently billowing up and out into the air. She opened her eyes; her shoulders sagged. She looked relieved.
"Jack."
"It's okay. I've got you."
She exhaled, grabbing his arms. Then she began to sway. Back and forth, until she teetered well to the right and slumped down, unconscious, right into Jack's arms.
A/N-It took me 6 years but I FINALLY found the PERFECT WAY to write/have Jacqueline's little attacks go. I'm SO EXCITED for you guys to see the other ones! And to write the final one now that I've fixed this up :D
Yes, these two will head back to Crystal Springs! I believe they arrive in Chapter 11 or 12 (I rearranged some events but it's either the end of Chp 11 or start of Chp 12. I know they are 100 percent in Crystal Springs by Chapter 12!) As usual, please drop a line and leave a review! Tell me anything! Fave parts, likes, dislikes, hopes, dreams, aspirations, thoughts about what's next! Have a question? Ask away! I'll answer and I crave human contact so like. Go crazy, loves!