Chapter 20: Breaking the Chains

The next day dawned bright and snowy in Crystal Springs. And after the busy fast paced chaotic few days they had had, every single Frost was more than happy to have a leisurely wake up on this cozy, quiet, Sunday morning.

Winter was up first. She sat in the sunroom, watching the sun rise and the snow flurry by happily. Blaise joined her moments later, the pair enjoying a rare moment of silence with one another, until explosions from upstairs tickled their ears. Wordlessly, the pair got up (Blaise, ever the gentleman, offering Winter his hand and walking out with her). They headed into the kitchen arm in arm, starting their breakfast prep, happily working alongside one another as they had for as long as Jack had been alive.

The kids trickled in slowly once the smell of eggs began wafting up the stairs. The Twins were, of course, first down (post-explosions), their usual hyper active selves. They had lots to say as they talked over one another in the kitchen, happy little campers sitting on the island, soot on their faces scrubbed off in passing by Winter.

Jack strolled in not long after, completely at ease sans blazer and vest, suspenders at his sides. He had slept quite well, and had woken up earlier than expected. Freeze drying hadn't taken too long, and he found that for once, he wasn't exhausted post-morning routine. That was promising. Whistling a tune, he cracked open the ice box, pulling out a couple of odds and ends.

"Cocoacinnos anyone?"

"I'll have one!" Fiera shouted, hand flying up in the air.

"No you will not," Blaise said confidently. "The last thing you need is caffeine, Fiera."

She pouted, crossing her arms. "One day I will have a caffeinated beverage, and then you'll SEE."

"See what?" Fino asked.

"I don't know! But you'll see!"

Fino smirked, grinning when the last few colours on his Rubik's cube lined up. "Sure, Fiera. Whatever you say," he said, plonking the cube down successfully.

The breakfast prep continued. Tasked with setting the table, the twins hopped off of their stools, grabbing the plates and cutlery as Winter brought over the freshly made omelettes. Two small steaming cups slid down the table, perched happily on their saucers. They stopped right in front of Fino and Fiera's plates.

"Jack. That better not have been the sound of two tiny cocoacinnos making their way to two tiny sprites," Blaise warned.

"Oh, absolutely not! I would never," he replied, winking at the twins.

"Yes!" Fiera said quietly, high fiving Fino.

Whatever happens after they ingest those drinks is on you, Jack. Winter warned.

He replied with a smirk, just happy to be able to hear her in his head once again.

Finally, as Blaise put the last of the eggy delights on the table, Jacqueline trudged into the kitchen, looking disgruntled. Still in her pyjamas and bundled in an oversized sweatshirt, she slid into her seat, throwing her head down in her arms just below her plate.

"Rough night?" Blaise asked, sitting down.

"Eh."

Jack slid around Jacqueline's seat, placing a saucer and cup down in front of her before sitting at his own place, crossing one leg over the other. She popped her head up, peeking at the chocolatey beverage. Thanks, she thought at him, grabbing the cup happily and taking a content sip.

Jack smiled fondly at her. I've got your back, he thought her way.

I know, she thought back.

Ready for this?

Why do you think I look like a trash goblin? She stifled a yawn, taking another sip of her drink. Tried my best to try and remember. It did not go well. Xander's gonna kill me when he realizes I did not get a good night's sleep.

Jack chuckled. He watched his Legate chug the hot drink in one go, wiping her mouth on her sweater. His eyes roamed down the table to his mother, who was stealing the scrambled eggs right off of Blaise's plate while he helped himself to the bacon, hair gently simmering, unaware of the robbery happening right before his eyes. On his right, Fiera slurped her tiny cocoacinno, laughing when she realized she had a whipped cream moustache. Fino snorted, giving himself a matching one and nudging his twin. The pair of them burst into laughter, Fiera nearly falling off of her chair.

This is on you, Winter thought, folding her hands over her fork and serving Jack a very stern glare.

If we're REALLY going to play that game, you and dad MADE them so...

Jack left the thought hanging, smug until Winter replied without skipping a single beat, We most certainly did. Now it was her turn to be smug, practically eating Blaise up with her eyes.

Blaise noticed, his hair going from a simmer to a roar as he returned the favour in kind with a cheeky grin.

"I just want one breakfast," Jacqueline said, "Where you two DON'T."

Fino sighed, shaking his head. "Can't have soot in Frost Manor."

Bouncing off the walls half an hour later, Fino and Fiera booked it outside. Fiera had loudly declared that sitting around the table talking after breakfast was "dumb boring adult stuff" and said a hike would be way more fun. Fino had agreed. In fact, he had agreed so intensely, he was already halfway out the door when Fiera said "hike".

Moments after they left, all three remaining Frosts turned to look at Jacqueline expectantly. She did not say anything; she thought that if she opened her mouth, breakfast would come right back up. She fidgeted in her chair, picking at the cuffs of her sweater.

It was Winter who broke the ice.

"Where to start?"

"I really don't know," Jacqueline shrugged, averting any and all eye contact.

"We'll start somewhere easy." Blaise reached into his jacket, pulling out a worn piece of paper. "We'll start with what we know. What you know, specifically, that you already told us when you wrote."

"Sure." Jacqueline threaded a finger under the collar of her sweater, stretching it away from her neck.

"It's a starting point, at the very least," Blaise shook out the letter, scanning the words carefully. "You weren't sure what was happening exactly, but you knew that you were blacking out, forgetting short stretches of time in which you had apparently caused a decent bit of a mess."

"That's about it, yeah. And everyone was calling them like, storms, or like, meltdowns, or even panics…but I don't call them that at all. I've been calling them blackouts because I don't remember what the frost I did during them. One minute, I'd be chatting with Elle or Jack or just, you know, minding my own business, and the next, I'd wake up on the floor, ears ringing, surrounded by a big, huge mess that was obviously sprite made." Jacqueline sighed. "I don't know why they were happening, and when I tried to remember, my head would hurt. A lot."

A pen scratched against paper in the thoughtful silence.

"They happened twice. And I can't think of anything both times had in common that would give any kind of hint about what was happening. That's why I haven't really talked about them," Jacqueline frowned, rubbing the back of her neck. "I've got no idea where to even begin because I have literally nothing to go on."

"Santa thought she was freezing over, can you believe it?" Jack scoffed.

"Well that's just rude," Winter said.

"And presumptuous," Blaise added. "We can rule that out completely."

"But we've barely gotten into it!"

Jack looked at his sister, appalled. "What, you actually agree with Santa?

"Well...no. But like. What if he was onto something?"

"He wasn't," Jack said, stern enough to give Blaise a run for his money. "He thought that because I had thawed, given the Legate thing, you'd have to be frozen now."

"...that makes no sense," Jacqueline sounded absolutely perplexed. "I mean, I can see his logic but...what? I'm next in line for your title, not your exact opposite for some weird, bigger purpose."

"That's what I thought, too," Jack took a sip of his hot bevvy. He glanced over the top of his cup at Jacqueline, who still looked thoughtful.

You're not really considering it, are you?

She shook her head. No. I was just thinking about...something. Never mind. Don't worry about it, she thought, waving it away.

Well now I'm worried, Jack thought, keeping that one to himself (mostly).

"Your heart isn't hardening, Jacqueline," Winter said, squeezing the sprite's hand. "I'd notice it if you were."

"I know," Jacqueline replied, in such a way that Winter was fairly certain that she did, in fact, know.

"Let's take these from the top," Blaise suggested, shifting in his seat. "Make a bit of a timeline. Run through them as best as we can given what we know."

"Which is not a lot."

"Well hold on now, snow angel. Combined, we may know more than we think. Let's give it a go, yeah?"

The snowy sprites all shared a look before nodding in agreement.

"Great. The first time it happened, Jacqueline. What did you do beforehand?"

"Well," Jacqueline paused for thought. "The first one was the day after I arrived. Jack and I had breakfast in town. Then we got to work trying to see what the extent of the freezer burn was. A few hours went by, lunch came around, Elle came by to say hi, we chatted for a bit, and then I woke up on the floor."

"Surrounded by a mess?"

Jacqueline nodded.

"Hmm." Blaise tapped his chin, thoughtful.

Winter paused her note taking, head tilted as she frowned in thought. "What happened between Elle arriving, and your sister waking up?"

"Well," Jack began, hands folded, twiddling his thumbs. "We were taking a break, thank the springs. It was interesting, actually. Ellington said she had been dropping Jacqueline a line, you know, telepathically, but she hadn't replied."

"I hadn't heard it. At all."

"And you were saying something," Jack continued, sliding forward in his seat. "You kept thinking that I was thinking at you? And it didn't sound pleasant."

Jacqueline shook her head. "It didn't. I, um, tried very hard last night to see if I could remember, and it was nauseating. For real. But, um, what I could like. What I could sort of remember, was…bad thoughts," she said quietly, frowning down at her cup.

"Oh dear," Winter said.

"It was like there was something just making me like, bring up all the really nasty thoughts I've ever had about…things," she said, eyes flicking to the side. "And I got really, really angry about it and tried to shut them up and—" she hissed, suddenly; a sharp intake of breath, her hands flying up to her temples.

All three chairs scraped the floor. Winter was at Jacqueline's side in an instant. Both Blaise and Jack hovered at opposite ends of the table, sharing a look.

Jack glanced down to Winter's notepad, and back up to Blaise. He nodded, sliding it towards himself and continuing where Winter had left off.

"Shh, it's okay, dear. You don't have to go any further. Deep breaths," Winter soothed, rubbing Jacqueline's arm. "There you go."

Jacqueline breathed deeply, leaning into her mother's side. Winter gently exhaled, a puff of frosty air caressing Jacqueline's head. She looked relieved. "But there was one more thing," Jacqueline said, hoarse. She frowned in thought, squinting down at the table. "I think I was seeing something, or someone? Where they shouldn't be?" She rubbed her temples, lips curling into a frustrated frown. "I—I can't remember. Frostbite!"

"It's okay sweetheart! You don't need to go any further. Don't stress yourself out," Winter pulled her in close, kissing the top of her head.

"You're doing more than enough," Blaise added, the notepad gently sliding back to Winter. "Please take it easy, Jacqueline.

"I can fill in the blanks," Jack offered, hoping she could feel the comfort he was trying to give to her over their connection.

Jacqueline nodded, pulling her legs up on the seat and hugging them. "Thanks," she murmured, resting her head against her knees.

The two men sat back down quietly, watching Jacqueline carefully. Winter gave her one last gentle squeeze before sitting back down delicately, pulling the notepad back towards her while keeping a wary eye on her daughter. She went to grab the pen, but it danced away from her, apparently wanting to write the notes itself.

"So what happened on the outside?" Blaise asked Jack.

"Jacqueline kept telling me to stop messing around, that uh, we had already talked about what she was hearing and we could just talk again. But I wasn't thinking anything in her general direction. Silent as the grave over here," Jack said, uncrossing and recrossing his leg. "She blinked, and then suddenly it was like she was…somewhere else entirely."

The pen was moving fast across the paper of its own accord as Winter watched Jacqueline carefully. She popped her head up, watching Jack intently and very curiously.

"We tried to bring her back to this plane of existence, but most of our attempts were met with. Well. A very snowy resistance. Quite literally. Snow was flying, ice was flying, Elle and I nearly went flying—" Jack cut off abruptly as he met his sister's gaze. She winced, horrified. "Should I tone it down a notch?"

"No, it's fine. I'm just. Mortified. I can't believe I did that to you guys!"

"It's okay, darling," Winter said. "It seems as though it wasn't your fault. By the sounds of it, you were somewhere else entirely, and whatever you were seeing was reflected back in real time at the Pole. I wonder if perhaps, you were in the mindscape?"

"Oh soot, good point," Blaise said, glancing at the notepad to make sure the pen was getting everything down.

"I can't remember. But it does seem kind of mindscape-y, talking about it now," Jacqueline grabbed her cup, frowning down at it.

"Pass it down," Blaise said.

The cup slid down the table, stopping in Blaise's hand. He cupped it, his hands glowing until steam was rising from it again. The cup slid back down, Jacqueline picking it up with a happy little smile.

"Thanks Dad."

"Anytime," Blaise said, grabbing the cup Winter had nudged his way sneakily and doing much the same.

"Whatever the case," Jack pipped up, shaking his head when Blaise gestured to his mug, "she was fighting. Big time. And I'd even go so far to say she was winning."

"That's my baby!"

"Mo-om!"

Blaise exhaled, leaning back in his seat thoughtfully. "Blank mind…retreating into the mindscape…fighting something off…"

It was peculiar. As he thought, Blaise very briefly winced and grimaced; he shivered for a moment, his brow furrowing for the briefest of seconds. It wasn't noticeable; not by the two younger sprites, at the very least. It didn't last long enough for either of them to pick up on it. But for someone who had known Blaise for nearly six thousand five-hundred years, and had spent at least eighty percent of that time with him, it was very noticeable.

And it gave Winter cause for concern.

"Blaise dear?"

"Hmm?" Blaise looked up, hand holding his chin.

"All right?"

"Yeah, I'm—" he cleared his throat, sitting up. "I'm fine. What happened next?" he asked Jack, continuing as though nothing had happened.

"Uh," Jack said, sharing a quick look of did I miss something? With his sister. She shrugged. He continued on. "Neither Elle or I could get through to Jacqueline via mindscape connection. She fought harder and harder, until finally, she summoned a giant snow squall and snapped out of it. Closed her eyes, opened them, looked relieved, and promptly passed out."

"And then I woke up seconds later, using Jack as an armrest."

"And you remember nothing in between that?" Blaise asked.

"No," Jacqueline said, dejected. "Nothing. It's just, BLANK, and when I try to remember," her eyes looked watery, "it hurts. My ears ring, my head throbs. And I think...it's not that I don't want to remember. I can't remember. Like something is stopping me from remembering what happened, full stop."

"And the second one?" Winter asked.

"Same pattern," Jack spoke up. "I didn't see it start, though. Elle was with her."

"We went for breakfast, had cocoa and coffee and such. Threw it on Jack's tab—"

"You did what?"

"You said we could!"

"I know what I said! I don't care about that. I care that I didn't settle the tab before we left, because SOMEONE didn't tell me."

"Well I'm SORRY for being a bit preoccupied with THIS," Jacqueline said, gesturing to her head.

"I have a reputation up there that I am trying very hard to keep intact and—"

"Kids," Blaise warned, silencing Jack mid rant.

"We know this situation is…challenging," Winter said. "But that's no reason to be doing whatever this is." She wiggled her fingers in a general snowy-kid direction, one eyebrow cocked bemusedly.

"Right."

"Yeah Jack. Get it together, dude."

"Good. Now then," Winter paused, stopping Jack's snowball before it could hit Jacqueline, "Let's focus up. Jacqueline. You had breakfast, then what?"

"I was walking Elle back to the shop, and it happened again. I heard the negative thoughts again. They were worse, this time. Um. They…" she sighed, looking anywhere but Jack. "It was stuff about Jack. When he. Left. When I was little. And I tried to tell it otherwise! I tried to remind myself that even though he was very late," she said, glaring in his direction.

"Jacqueline," Blaise warned.

"DESPITE the tardiness, he was back, and we were talking, and we were going to work through it together!" she said with a soft smile. It immediately fell. "But it didn't work. At least, I don't think it did. It hurts to think past that point," she sighed, dropping her head back on her knees.

I'm sorry, Jack thought at her.

I know, she replied.

"So presumably, after that, you popped back into your mindscape, or wherever you were dealing with these intrusive thoughts, and another blackout happened."

Jacqueline nodded. "But there was a new thing, this time. Something Elle noticed."

The pen stopped scrawling for a moment. "Oh?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding once more. "Elle heard something. Someone. Another voice. Inside my head. She couldn't get through again, but she could hear someone else there and it wasn't Jack."

Blaise covered his nose and mouth now, his brow furrowed very deeply as he thought.

"She fought it off again," Jack said, leaning forward in his seat. "And she put up one hell of a fight."

"Aww, thanks Jack," she said with a little sideways smile. "Shame it destroyed the entire Workshop."

"It did what?" Winter asked, the pen stopping once more.

"It wasn't that bad," Jack said. "I've seen worse. I've done worse."

"I don't need to know these things, Jack," Blaise said, Winter humming in agreement.

"I'm just saying! It wasn't destroyed. Bernard and Elle got things running in no time at all. Oh! It did take longer for her to come around that time, though."

"It did?" she asked, quizzically.

Jack nodded. "Five minutes. Time before that? Seconds. This time? Minutes."

"That's important. Underline that one, please," Winter said to the pen, which proceeded to scratch back in forth in a straight line multiple times.

"After that one," Jacqueline said, holding her head with one hand, the other hand clutching the handle of her mug so hard, her knuckles were white, "we went home. I didn't leave the Workshop at all; not until we left to come here. And it hasn't happened since we got here!" she perked up. "So…that's probably good, right?"

"Probably, yes," Winter said. "But even still, we want to make sure we can get to the bottom of these blackouts. That way if you have to go back, you'll know how to handle them if they happen."

"Well, we have a good foundation here," Blaise said, skimming the notes. "This is a very good start! I can already rule out hypnotism."

"Hypnotism?!"

"I beg your pardon?!"

"Why not?"

"Well, Jack," Blaise began, shifting back in his chair and crossing one leg over the other, hands clasped against his chest. "When hypnotized, a person under the influence wouldn't do something while hypnotized that they wouldn't do normally. Normally, Jacqueline doesn't toss her loved ones into snowbanks without asking them first, and nor does she go around destroying workplaces unless they really deserve it."

"I do occasionally really want to toss Jack in a snowbank," she admitted.

"Oh please," Jack scoffed. "I'd have you thrown into the snowbank before you could say little flurry."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Is it?"

"There's a time and a place, kids," Blaise reminded them.

"Rain cheque," Jacqueline said, Jack nodding in agreement.

"Oh dear," Winter said, burying her face in her cup.

Blaise snorted, continuing unabashed. "When hypnotized, you have made the conscious decision to trust the hypnotist to put you into a light trance. You are conscious, but your subconsciousness is foremost. You can recall old memories, you speak the truth…but you never, ever, ever have to answer to anyone or do anything because you've been told. That is more along the lines of mind control."

"Mind control?" Jacqueline asked, blanching.

Blaise nodded. "Textbook mind control. You haven't angered any casters lately, have you, Jacqueline?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no!"

"Jack?"

"Recently? No."

"Good enough for me," Blaise replied.

"And have you, Dad?"

"What?"

"Have you angered any casters recently?"

"Jack!"

"What, Mom? It's a serious question! I mean look at me! Blaise pissed off his brother and I got cursed because of it. What if this is like that? What if one of you angered someone and now they're using Jacqueline for a little spot of vengeance?"

"That'd be cold," Blaise said.

"But plausible," Winter mused after a moment, Blaise nodding in agreement.

"Well? Have you guys?!" Jacqueline asked, frazzled.

"Not that I'm aware of," Winter said. "Besides, magibeans know not to mess with me and incur my wrath. I kill crops. And I quite enjoy doing so," she finished on a chipper note.

"Who don't I anger during an average work day?" Blaise said with a wry smirk. "Even then, I don't work closely with any powerful casters that I've upset recently. They know not to mess with me because my wife kills crops on purpose."

"I am famine incarnate," Winter joked, with a wry smile of her own.

"Well, I guess we can rule that out then," Jacqueline said with a sigh.

"I wouldn't," Jack said.

"Nor would I," Blaise agreed. "Even if it's not a vengeance thing, all signs point to someone exerting their magical influence over your own. To what end? Frost if I know. But we can work towards that. I think what we want to do first is narrow down the medium."

"The medium?" Jacqueline asked, squeaky.

"Oh yeah! There's tons of ways to magically control someone. Potions, spells, objects—you haven't gotten any strange gifts recently, have you?"

"No!"

"So probably not objects, then."

Jacqueline let out a frustrated sigh. "Look. I haven't had any strange substances. Nobody has given me any weird jewellery. I don't have any glyphs or runes or sigils hanging out anywhere that weren't there before I left for the Pole. My room there was standard issue! I had to frost it up a bit just to make it comfortable and less harsh on the eyes. Aside from what I've already told you guys, I've got nothing!" She said, exasperated, hands out in front of her. "Absolutely nothing," she sighed, dropping her head in her hands.

Winter and Blaise shared a concerned look. Jack cleared his throat.

"I think we've done enough for today," he said, getting up. "Mom? Dad?"

"Oh yeah, this is plenty," Blaise said confidently, Winter nodding along with him.

"Great! That's just. Great. So maybe, rather than drilling Jacqueline and triggering her headache, we stop here for today?"

"I'd love that," Jacqueline admitted, revealing her pouty face. "Look, Mom, Dad. Thank you for encouraging me to chat about the blackouts. I'm glad I did, and I promise, I won't avoid them anymore. Unless you guys ask questions that make the headache come back, because ah, frost that! Anyway, I appreciate the help. I'm sorry I don't have anything else for you to use in the search for whatever the frost this sleet is."

"That's okay, sweetheart! You gave us a lot more than you needed to. Go get some rest, alright?" Blaise said, soft. "We can take it from here and start putting some theories together, seeing what's viable. What's not. There's a lot to go through, now."

"I know," Jacqueline said with a sigh. "I hope we can figure these out before we have to head back."

Winter got up, pulling Jacqueline into a hug. "Don't worry, Jacqueline. It's going to be okay. Your father, brother and I will do everything in our power to get to the bottom of these blackouts. Don't try to remember again, alright? Be kind to yourself."

"And if anything comes to you naturally," Blaise emphasized, "let one of us know, alright?"

Jacqueline nodded. "It's just…what if it happens again before we figure it out? What then?"

"I would do everything in my power to keep you safe, Jacqueline," Jack admitted, surprising everyone at the table with his ferocity—including himself.

"Oh!" Jacqueline exclaimed.

"We all would," Blaise added, unable to keep the pride out of his voice.

"Now then, I think the two of you can be excused from the table," Winter said, waving her hand. "Someone gave the Twins caffeine, and that someone is going to go out and make sure they don't set the trails on fire. The last thing we need is a group of angry forest dwellers on our front porch," she finished, serving Jack with a pointed look over the rim of her mug.

"Okay, fine," Jack said. "But Jacqueline's coming with me."

"What? No fair! I didn't give them caffeine, you did!"

"And I haven't been on any of the trails in centuries. You're coming with me, and if you don't I'll abuse my power and make it a Legendary request."

"You wouldn't," Jacqueline shot up, eyes narrowed.

"You know I would."

Jacqueline tossed her head back very over dramatically with an unnecessarily loud, "UGH. FINE." She straightened up, pouting intensifying. "I'll go, but I'm going to complain the ENTIRE time."

"I wouldn't expect anything less!" Jack shouted after her, as she marched upstairs to get dressed. He looked back at his parents. They were both staring at him with knowing smiles.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing, dear," Winter said, fondly.

"It's just nice to see you being protective of your sister. And supportive. We've missed it," Blaise admitted.

"Oh," Jack said, flushing. He cleared his throat. "Well I. You know. She—I—" he shrugged.

Winter giggled, hand over her mouth. "We know, Jack," she said, Blaise nodding.

"Alright slush for brains," Jacqueline's voice drifted from down the hallway. "Let's head out and grab the lava brains."

"We'll see you guys later," Jack said, heading out with a wave.

"Be safe!" Winter shouted.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Blaise shouted.

"Well THAT'S a low bar," Jack shouted back, the door closing on Jacqueline cackling.

Blaise frowned, his hair flickering as he turned to his wife. "Is forty-four hundred too old to be grounded by your parents?"

Winter laughed. "Perhaps a bit past the mark, yes. Everything alright, Blaise dear?"

"Oh, I'm fine."

"Are you quite sure? Don't think I didn't miss that little shiver and shake," Winter said, equal parts knowing and concerned.

Blaise sighed, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. His hair dimmed.

"There was something about those blackouts, when I brought them down to those three simple factors, that had me…" he wrinkled his nose distastefully, frowning. "My heckles were raised. Heebies were jeebied. Seemed familiar. In a very bad way. Did not like that. Can't fathom why. You know, aside from my little girl being magically influenced against her will."

"Oh," Winter said, rubbing her husband's arm. "It'll be okay, dear. We'll figure it out. She fought off whatever it was both times; she's as strong as you are."

Blaise smiled. "And as determined as you."

"We will figure it out," Winter reassured her husband, confidently.

"That we will. Now then," Blaise said, hair cracking back to life. "Fino and Fiera are running up the mountains, and Jack and Jacqueline are in pursuit. I think it's safe to say we'll have the house to ourselves for a little while…" Blaise said with a suggestive smile.

"Well then." Winter shimmied a little closer, leaning into Blaise's ear and whispering. "Shall we start digging into this old magic?"

"Absolutely! I'll get the chalkboard," Blaise said.

"I'll get the chalk! Library?"

"Library! Cocoa?"

"Cocoa. And gingersnaps!"

"Delicious!"

"Ten minutes?"

"Ten minutes," Blaise agreed, both parents shooting out of their seats and heading in different directions, determined to get to the bottom of things.

Elsewhere in Crystal Springs, the old, dead forest looked maybe a bit brighter than it would if it was the dead of night. The castle stood lonely and silent, a few bricks crumbling from the ramparts. They had not seen the sole of a soldier's boot for near five thousand years, and it showed.

Inside the castle, The Man hummed to himself, walking towards his study with a steaming mug of something hot. There was no discernible smell; it was just hot. He sipped, humming happily, as he entered the commandeered parlour and poured the rest of the mug into a smaller cauldron sitting on top of his usual vat. It was filled with a shiny, gold, liquid that had the consistency of molasses. The liquid sparked as the hot stuff hit it; the glow turned purple.

"Promising," he said to himself, throwing the mug against the wall behind him. It shattered, the porcelain nearly disintegrating on impact with the stone walls. Still humming, The Man walked around the cauldron, pulling one hand out from behind his back. He made a loose fist; in a swirl of fire, his staff appeared.

Positioning himself on the scary side of the cauldron, very much on purpose, he spread his legs apart and gripped the golden staff tightly between both fists. He slammed it onto the floor. The red oval stone glowed, hovering between the crest it rested in.

The Man's voice grew deep and echoey as he uttered the spell; the staff crackled and sparked, and on the other side of his vat of lava, a whirl of fire appeared. It whooshed downwards and dissipated, revealing a very startled elf, holding tight to a teddy bear and a small package.

"What in the blazes is all of that?"

"I was just. I...sorry, I wasn't ready to be. To be." He gestured to the ground below him. "Here."

The Man blinked, unamused. "No matter. Did you get the item I requested?"

The elf nodded. "I did! Here you go," he said, reaching into his vest pocket (teddy crammed under his arm) and passing The Man the vial. "There's a couple. Definitely hairs. For-for sure."

"Let's test that, shall we?"

Eagerly The Man grabbed the vial out of the elf's hand. He cracked it open; with a wiggle of his finger, one single hair flew out and hovered. He squinted at it. He mumbled under his breath, drawing a shape in the air.

The hair glowed.

The Man grinned.

"Excellent." He moved his finger in an arc through the air; the hair followed, hovering above the vat and falling when he snapped his fingers.

There was a tinkling sound. The mixture turned green.

"It's working!" The Man couldn't help but say, gleefully.

"Great! That's. That's, amazing, sir. Since-since it's working. Can I see Polly please."

The Man looked at the elf, eyebrow raised.

"Uh, please, sir," he said, sheepish.

"I suppose so. You did, after all, get what I asked you to."

His hands started to glow, a deep, fiery red. He grasped his staff, smacked it down onto the ground, and two fiery motes appeared on either side of the elf.

"Flame monsters!" Kasper shouted, jumping back and holding the bear very, very far away from them.

"They prefer to be called motes," The Man clarified, the motes hissing and cracking. "Take him to the girl, motes."

And with an angry hiss and a pop, they started forward, Kasper following behind them closely with one, last nervous look back at the man. He stood over his cauldron, grinning like a madman.

Kasper gulped, and, facing forward, told himself to be brave as the motes led him towards Polly.

The motes led him through a maze of hallways, twisting and turning. They went up a grand staircase, to the left, up a less grand staircase and down a cold hallway. Black sheets covered ancient tapestries and furnishings, a cold draft blowing through the corridor, making little ghosts of the bottoms of the sheets. Dust floated about, illuminated by the light that drifted in through the large window covered by thick, dull red drapery. The corded strings hung limp; the ends frayed.

They walked down the corridor, lined with suits of armour, Kasper shivering. If it wasn't for the fear and the cold, he could almost imagine what this castle would've been like in it's heyday. Probably lots of staff; maybe kings and queens and princes and princesses! And very fancy nobles, all over the place in the most colourful dresses and coats—he stifled a laugh. He sounded like Polly. He hopped she was picturing all sorts of stories as she stayed here. Was trapped here. Stuck here.

Finally, after what seemed like FOREVER, they stopped in front of a red and brown panelled door.

Beside him, the motes hissed and popped; one of them shaped their little flame mitt into a key, unlocking the door and swinging it open.

"I can go in?"

They screeched at him; he jumped back, hands up in surrender, the package and teddy falling into the room. "Okay, okay! I'm going. See? I'm in." The door slammed shut in his face, the lock clicking.

Kasper gulped, carefully turning away from the door and taking in the room.

It was a room. Which was surprising. He was expecting a dungeon. But I guess that would've been downstairs, he thought.

It was a nice room, too. Not too big, but not super tiny. The bed was a HUGE four poster, in the middle of the room across from a fire place. The fire roared, the room toasty. There was a small closet on one side, and a small sort of bathroom on the other side. A water closet, if Kasper remembered correctly.

"Polly?" he asked into the room. "Are you there?"

There was a shuffle. Two bright eyes peeked out from under the bed.

"Kasper?!"

"Polly!"

She grinned, pulling herself out from under and running full speed at Kasper, the two slamming right into each other and falling over with identical oofs. They rubbed their noses; noticed each other doing the same thing, and laughed.

"Polly I'm so, so sorry, I was so worried I didn't mean to let the flame monsters get you and I had no idea where The Man was keeping you and I'm so glad you're SAFE and—comfortable? Apparently?" He asked, looking around the room as he got up, dusting off his pants.

Polly giggled on the ground, before standing up and smoothing out her skirt. "It's definitely better than a dungeon! But not by much. The sheets smell old and there isn't really anything I've found to make it NOT stinky."

"Well, I brought you some stuff," Kasper said, looking around for the bundle.

"Aww, is that my baby blanket?"

"Yep! It missed you," Kasper said, throwing it onto the bed and unbundling it. "Hopefully it's better than these sheets."

"And Dalia!"

"Well, Dalia Two," Kasper said. "She got hurt trying to protect you when the motes came, so I fixed up a new one for you."

"Oh! You did so good on the stitching!"

"I learnt from the best," Kasper said with a sheepish grin, pulling off his hat.

She laughed, placing the teddy on the bed and hugging her brother properly.

"I've missed you," she said, letting go all too soon. "It's lonely here. I've tried to keep myself busy but the view is icky and there's only so many princess stories you can imagine before you realize wow, being trapped in a castle SUCKS. What's going on?"

Kasper sighed, sitting on the surprisingly comfortable mattress. "There's this Man. He's a real baddie, Polly. I dunno why he targeted us, or how he even managed to because he's just as much a prisoner here as you are. I just know that he's keeping you here to make sure I do things for him."

"Do things?" She asked, hopping up beside him. "Is he making you make toys? Is he gonna take over Christmas?!"

"No, no! Nothing like that. I think it's a lot bigger than us. And ancient. Especially if the castle is anything to go by. It's OLD."

"And drafty. But comfortable enough. I have my toothbrush and hair brush and clothes and I am eating, they feed me," she said, reassuring Kasper. "It's a little burnt sometimes, but I'm not starving. But boy could I go for a snicker-doodle."

"Good thing I brought some with me!"

Polly squealed in delight when she noticed the packaged cookies. "Yay! And is that my sewing kit?"

"Yeah, I thought it may help you pass the time. I wanted to bring more but I didn't know when he'd bring me back, so," Kasper shrugged. "I threw in a couple of your projects."

"I'm gonna embroider the tinsel out of everything in here," she said, gleefully.

Kasper laughed, relieved. "I'm glad you're safe."

"Yeah, I'm okay. The man you're talking about? I haven't seen him. I only see those flame monsters. Motes?"

"The Man says that they prefer to be called motes."

"Motes. Weird," Polly said. "What's his deal? You said he's trapped, too?"

"I-I think so. I wasn't sure until last night when he summoned me. He needed me to get him an ingredient for some kind of potion that he couldn't get."

"What was it?"

"One of Santa's hairs."

"Ew. Did you do it?"

"I did. He said if I did, I'd get to see you, and I couldn't pass up that chance! When they took you, I went to the EPD and the head elves and Santa and everything, but nobody could find you! I tried to see if we could get ELFS involved, but they couldn't find you, either! And nobody really took me seriously when I told them about the flame m-uh, motes. When I finished all that, The Man brought me here. And he told me he had you, and that as long as I did what he asked you'd be safe."

"How did he know?"

"I think he's got like a crystal ball kinda thing, where he can see everything. Except it's a giant tub of lava."

"No wonder it smells like rotten eggs around here some days. Why didn't you say no?"

Kasper looked helpless. "I didn't think I could!"

"Of course you could've!"

"Polly, he said he had you and I didn't know where you were! He's a really scary dude! He shoots fire! From his palms! And can do all sorts of weird spells. He can pull a staff right out of his hands. OUT of his HANDS!"

"Oh! He's a Warlock?"

"Or he's a sprite. Cause the fire."

"A warlock sprite? Huh. What does a warlock sprite want with two little elves?"

"Access to the North Pole. He's kinda obsessed with Jack Frost. I think."

"Jack?!"

"Yeah. He's mentioned him off hand a few times, and oh! You weren't there! Well, you know how it was getting warm? And the Dome was melty?"

"Yeah?"

"Turns out Jack has no powers anymore. So they called in his Legate!"

"Really?! And I'm missing it?! Legates are so cool, Kasper! Sighting one is like, a big deal," she said, stringing thread onto her needle and picking at the pillowcase.

"Big enough that even The Man wanted to know."

"Especially Jack's! They're never in the same spot, and now you're telling me they're BOTH at HOME?!"

"Well, their home now. They left partway through the week. The Man was really upset about it."

"Why?"

"Well, when the Legate arrived, he asked me to give her some kind of potion. And I think he's using it to control her?"

"Okay, you need to take this from the top. We've only got like five minutes, but this doesn't sound good, Kasper."

Kasper threw himself back on the bed. "I know! I know."

"It's okay! Deep breaths. Then tell me what's happening."

And so, with a nod and a quick run through of the twelve days of Christmas, Kasper launched into his tale as calm as could be. When he finally finished, it was silent for a moment.

"Yeah, none of that sounds good."

"I know."

"Can't you tell someone?!"

"No!"

"Not even Santa? Or Bernard?"

"He'll know, Pols. He'll KNOW! And what if he hurts you? Or the other elves? They're all our family. I don't wanna see any of them get barbecued by an on-fire lunatic."

"But it isn't fair to you! Maybe we could take him?"

"Polly, he shoots FIRE out of his FISTS."

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that…"

"I never will," Kasper said, traumatized.

"It's okay. Once this is over we'll talk to a psychiatrist."

"Maybe we can escape now?" Kasper said. "Maybe I can grab you and we can run away really fast, and hide in the forest!"

"I don't think that's the best idea," Polly said, putting her needle down. The outline of a pink flower now rested on top of the pillowcase. "I'm fine, but not at my best. And The Man is scary; and if he can make those little flame monsters, I bet he can make big ones too. No. You need to tell someone."

"I need to keep you safe! I can't do that if I tell other people! Then they'll all be in danger, and you'll be hurt!"

"And if you keep this up, a whole other brother is gonna see his sister get hurt!"

Kasper leaned back, shocked. "Oh. I hadn't thought about it like that."

"You should tell someone, Kasper. I'll be okay, I promise!" Polly said. The lock in the door lit up; crackling and snarling tickling their ears. Quickly she grabbed her brother's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I promise. I'll be okay. Get help, Kasper. For me and you and everyone else. I don't know what this man is doing but it doesn't sound good! Tell someone," she begged, as the door thrust open and the flaming monsters came in. "Please."

And with one last squeeze, Polly let go, hopping over the bed.

"Polly, wait! No, no, no there's no way that was ten minutes! Please just give us a few more!" Kasper begged, as Polly slid off the bed on the other side. He tried to reach for her; but as he reached out, so did the motes.

"Kasper, don't! Burns hurt!"

He stopped.

"Go. I'll be okay. I'm safe. I love you," she said.

Kasper felt his face heat up. His eyes began to tickle; a tear fell down his cheek. "I love you too, Pols. I'll figure something out. I promise."

"Good. I know you'll do the right thing."

And with that, she slid under the bed, gone again. The motes flanked him, glaring up at him, sparking threateningly.

"Okay, okay! I'm going," he said, hands up in the air. "I'm coming with you peacefully."

They started forward. He followed. The door slammed shut behind him, the force rattling the suits of armour and stirring dust up in the hall, that drifted up and up before settling somewhere new, the abandoned castle once again quiet in the forest.

It had been boiling for about an hour now.

That was all it needed to do before he sprinkled in the last ingredient: exploding powder.

With a pop, the cork came out and was lost with the rest of the junk littering the floor of the room. Carefully, he tilted the vial over the small cauldron, gently tapping it and sprinkling the explosive powder into the mixture.

Tiny pebbles hit the green mixture, landing with tiny pops. Bubbles formed, exploding at the top as the colour shifted from a pale green to an acidic green reminiscent of arsenic. The ground shook; a large beam of light shot out from the pot. The Man shielded his eyes, waiting for it to clear, along with the ringing in his ears. When it did, he peered over into his small pot.

The mixture was now dark. And hissing.

"Excellent," he said, picking up the book of potions and spells from one of the side tables. He scanned the directions once more, making sure they had been followed perfectly (of course they had, he excelled at this). Double and triple checking until he was sure, The Man tossed the book aside, summoning his staff and standing over the pot.

He planted his feet solidly in the ground, spreading his arms open wide. He drew a thread of magic and focused on the bubbling mixture, uttering the words he had so carefully memorized.

"Apokal… yptoun… tet alysydia!" he shouted. The language rolled off of his tongue, each word holding a heavy magical weight to it that physically pressed down on The Man's very person until he dipped the bottom of his staff into the pot.

The mixture shot out of the pot in four steady streams, the magic flowing from his staff into the pot. Thin tendrils encircled his wrists and ankles, revealing the shape of dark metal cuffs. Cuffs that The Man was more than happy to be able to finally see. Especially when he noticed the chips, burns, scorches, and various bits of damage to them. He had made a mark, all seventy-two times. He grinned, the mixture turning gold and coating the chains.

"Yes…Yes!"

He watched with glee as the golden mixture spread down from the manacles, revealing the chains that had magically and invisibly tethered him to the castle for the thousands of years he had been stuck in it. Forced to watch what should have been his castle slowly crumble and waste away around him. Just like his chance to be King. All of it, crumbling away to nothingness with him inside. It was a cruel, cruel punishment.

He never thought his brother capable of something that harsh, that tailor-made for the offender.

The chains now shone with a golden glow, quickly turning green again. Cracks and snaps filled the room; all at once, the metal shards went flying. The chains were no more.

The Man hissed as the cold air hit his raw wrists. Gently rubbing them (and thinking of several potent salves that would help the red skin heal in time for his arrival) he listened as far off in the castle, the magical base that held the chains shattered. The sound rang throughout the empty halls, the echo lasting a fair while before silence reigned supreme.

The only sound now was his breathing. He began to chuckle; then chortle. Soon enough his laughter was loud and maniacal, as the realization of his new found freedom hit him. He had done it!

Or had he?

It would be right up his brother's alley to merely trick him into thinking he was free, like some kind of childhood prank. Gods above, how he had hated those pranks.

Well, there was only one way to find out if it was true or not!

He left the room. He shoved the doors open, the red wood slamming on the stone walls. He walked down the empty corridor until he got to the great hall and grand entrance. Spiderwebs wavered in the draft he stirred up. The sound of the clinking chains that he had grown so accustomed to no longer ringing in his ears.

The large doors were just ahead.

He rushed forward, placing his hands on the doors. This was too easy! Despite his skepticism, he pushed forward, undoing the locks and cracking them open.

The hinges creaked, a tiny sliver of light casting itself across the stone anteroom. He braced, waiting to be yanked back—but the yank never came. He stood now in the full moonlight, the cold winter wind ruffling his old furs.

He stepped outside.

"Goddess of the Springs, it worked. I'm free. Finally free of those BLASTED chains!"

He laughed, a low, menacing belly laugh, as he rushed across the drawbridge and to the large stone gates blocking the castle from the outside world. He made it to the gate and reached out.

The shock itself was fast. The tingling feeling however, lingered. He fell to the ground and gazed above him, his body shuddering as the magical electricity coursed through him. "Is that a repelling forcefield?"

A flame from his hand flew upwards, stopping fairly high up. A ripple danced across the sky. The Man laughed.

"Outstanding, oh brother of mine! Truly. Getting castors involved? Please. No match for a warlock like me," he said with a smirk, staring up at the clear nighttime sky. "I can break through this in an instant; it's baby work. But of course it is, isn't it? You never did bother to learn more than the advanced warlock arts, did you?" Mouth closed, he laughed, looking up at the nighttime sky. Clouds sailed by, obscuring the twilight every so often. Faint colours splotched the skyline, the sun just below the horizon.

He inhaled the fresh air, deeply. Held it. Exhaled.

"Free at last," he said, as clouds sailed in the sky, an owl hooting somewhere in the distance. Chuckling under his breath, he got up, turning on his heel and strolling leisurely back towards the castle.

Freeing himself from his cell was only the beginning. There was still much to do to have everything come together the way he had planned. Forcefields to break. Lady only knew how many other enchantments were laced on the grounds. He needed to prepare; to train, to brush up on all the magics. But this. This was a good, successful first step.

This was only the beginning.

A/N-And Chapter 20! Sorry for the delay, fiance and I went on an evening adventure and after getting home far later than anticipated, I passed out on the couch for two hours. Crystal Springs FACT of the day: If a Legendary figure initiates a Legendary request, their Legate is required to help! So you can see Jacqueline's dismay at Jack abusing his power there lmao. I promise, she'll get a good night's rest! Xander will NOT be breaking into Frost Manor with a bag of sleep dust that has her name on it!

Anyway, this chapter was edited December 3rd, 2022 (and tidied up October 19th, 2023!). I'm quite happy with it! The Man is a bit more...silly this time around, but I think it's because on occasion I imagine him having Jeff Goldblum vibes? I think that's leaking out a bit. Regardless, I mclove him (the man, that is), and it is SO bleeding obvi who he is I am CONVINCED but I STILL REFUSE to use his name until the most dramatic time. It's what he would've wanted :). and the spell means like, break the chains or something. Idk. I wrote it in 2015 with my ancient greek textbook, and I failed ancient greek, so you can see where that's going.

OH! And when the cold front gets to the trails, Fino is standing there watching Fiera tumble through the trees like fucking Tarzan. He's like "I've been watching her for twenty minutes. It's riveting. She's going to hit that tree. Just wait and see." And the cold front shrugs and does and sure enough she hits the tree, bemoans it all the way home (Jack has to carry her bc she's being a very dramatic hoe and Fino and Jacqueline yelled NOT IT and Jack is only JUST getting indoctrinated to the sibling shenanigans and rituals) and promptly crashes when he drops her on the couch. Fino is weirdly calm. Jack does not learn his lesson and gives them caffeine again, I am sure.

And on that fun little bonus bit! Thank you for coming, thank you for staying, thank you for reading the show! I've got a new scene or two to add to the next two chapters, so we may be a hot minute on updates while I tetris the next one. But THREE MORE LEFT TO TIDY, THEN FRESH CONTENT! And the climax is shaping up to be CHEF'S KISS, SNOWFLAKES! AH!

Thank you for reading, and thank you for reviewing (also please do that! I wanna know what you all THINK and LIKE and are ENJOYING). Have a LOVELY rest of the weekend! :)