— Fairyland Palace —
As the Midsummer Celebration began, King Oberon and Queen Titania, dressed in all their golden crowns and robes of splendour, stood in the middle of the palace's main hall, also used as the ballroom, surrounded by fairies, their frog footmen and a few guests from some of the other kingdoms in the Magical Realm.
Every summer, Fairyland would hold a national ceremony to celebrate their prosperity in the Magical Realm. Since its founding, it had grown into one of the more powerful states, slowly expanding into the wildernesses and peacefully integrating smaller kingdoms and treating their populations well, such as the Frog Duchies, whose frog inhabitants now served as the footmen and workers of Fairyland.
Queen Titania soon cleared her throat before beginning her new speech.
"Greetings, Fairies and other friends alike. Today, we gather you all for our annual midsummer festival to celebrate the success we had in being one of the most powerful and influential kingdoms in the magical realm. What puts us above the others, especially the warlords, is that we grew without harming others, and as such paid for it with strength and power among the rest of the realm. Now, we stand here, with all the other creatures we have treated like equals, and celebrate 1000 years of peace and unity across the magic realm!"
With this speech, everyone cheered, joined by the orchestra of frog footmen, conducted by Melodie the Music Fairy to play a lively waltz.
Meanwhile, in the crowd, was Ruby the Red Fairy, the leader of the Rainbow Fairies, looking at the fairies dancing and enjoying themselves with satisfaction. As one of the older fairies, she didn't have much energy to join them, but she was glad they were able to enjoy the party while she couldn't.
"Man, you just wanna love those dudes, don't you?" Izzy the Indigo Fairy said, lounging near Ruby with a cup of blackcurrant punch in her hand.
"I suppose so," Ruby said, a calm, yet satisfied expression on her face. "After all the good they have done to Fairyland, they definitely earned this celebration."
"Yeah," Izzy scratched the back of her head, "They're our heroes. Oh look!" She suddenly pointed ahead, much to Ruby's interest. "I think Amber's tryna dance or… whatever that is."
And indeed, it didn't look like dancing. The Orange Fairy appeared to be doing cartwheels and backflips in mid-air, using her wings to sustain herself. The only other fairies watching were Saskia the Salsa Fairy, who was laughing to herself, and Gemma the Gymnastics Fairy, who seemed to be confused by what Amber was trying to do.
"I know," Ruby said. "Amber has proven time and time again that she is not a good dancer."
"Hey, don't say that!" Izzy protested. "She may not be the best, but she's still trying!"
"I can appreciate that. Determination is more valuable than skill." Ruby calmly replied.
"Anyways, Good luck. I'm gonna dance with Heather now," Izzy said, waving a saluting gesture before flying off, leaving Ruby alone again.
Wondering what she could do, Ruby then fluttered to see her younger sister, Sky, who was talking to Fern and Saffron.
"Oh, Big sister Ruby!" Sky said, turning to face her older sister on her sudden arrival. "We were just talking about how we could spend the midsummer festival!"
"Can I join in the conversation? I too have no clue as to what to do."
"Of course you can!" Sky replied enthusiastically, a contrast to her usual shy self. Clearly she found safety and assurance within her older sister. "You are always welcome to talk to us. You're our leader, after all."
A rested smile formed on Ruby's lips, her collected, respectful manner continuing to show. "So what ideas do you have?"
"Well, I suggest we first go to the garden to admire the Petal Fairies' works for the festival, and then we come back with the others to do the final act," Fern replied.
"Wait, what act?" Sky curiously asked.
"You know, the thing we do every midsummer festival!" Saffron responded.
"Oh, that! I'm sorry for asking, I just…. umm…" Sky twiddled her fingers trying to hide her embarrassment at forgetting such a common thing among the other Rainbow Fairies. "Y-yeah, we can do that!"
"Well, I'm thinking about… well, I don't have much to think about. I suppose I can stay with you two so we can do things together?" Saffron continued.
"If that's what you want, then yes, you can join our plans," Ruby calmly responded. "I've already decided on dancing with my younger sister."
"Can I join your dance? Everyone else is dancing except me. Makes me feel rather lonely," Saffron asked.
"Why wouldn't we?" Was Sky's response.
"Thanks," Saffron said. "I guess that's what it feels like when you're with Ruby."
"I couldn't agree more," Sky piped up, now very excited. "She always helps us out!"
Ruby was starting to feel quite uncomfortable at this point. While she didn't mind the adoration her 6 sisters (though to be honest, Sky was her only biological sister) gave her, she always felt that she was being held up to a standard too high. "Can you please stop idolising me? I am old and hard-working, but I am also a fairy like you all," she sternly asked.
"As if you don't do all the work for us and the Queen," Saffron snarked. "Even now, you sent most of the invitations for the Midsummer Festival when she tasked us all to do it."
"Mhm, I remember who we sent letters to. And we did send letters to everyone…. did we?" Sky asked Ruby, starting to fall back into her shy, nervous shell.
Ruby paused. She and her sisters had sent them all, right? So why did it feel like they forgot someone?
No no no, they sent letters to everyone! The Rainbow Fairies had been working high and low to send all the invitations to everyone they could think of. Surely they hadn't missed out on a single person, and even if they did, it wouldn't do much damage! Right?
As the train of nervous thoughts flooded through Ruby's head over the certainty of if they had really done the task Oberon and Titania had set for them, she was snapped out of it when Saffron finally spoke up.
"I don't think you should worry much, Sky. Besides, it's not like it'll really do much to Fairyland," she said. Ruby would have felt relieved, but that doubt still lingered in her head. She decided to agree with Saffron so she could reassure herself.
"Yes, Sky," Ruby followed along. "I don't think you should worry about this right now. Even if it did happen, it's too late to rectify it."
"Anything wrong, sister?" Sky showed concern with the level of uncertainty Ruby said those words in.
"Please, ever since we brought that up, you've been quite scared," Fern continued.
"…..It's nothing, I promise you," Ruby replied. "Let's just get this over with and ignore the potential mistakes."
"If that's what you want, then yeah, let's go ahead with our plans," Fern said.
After this awkward conversation, the four continued to enjoy the midsummer festival the way they wanted to. Fern went around to the garden and reviewed the Petal Fairies' presentations, giving all of them a 10/10. Meanwhile, Ruby and Sky danced with each other in the ballroom, with Saffron witnessing the whole thing with her eyes. Seeing the two sisters dancing together was honestly the best part of this festival for her. She just wished there was something she could use to capture those moments forever.
Soon enough, it was nearly time for the festival to end. As a sort of final celebration, the Rainbow Fairies were to perform one final act to celebrate Fairyland's prosperity and unity - forming a rainbow at the front of the castle. Most of the guests had left to the front gardens, with the King and Queen in front of them. And in their very front were the Rainbow Fairies themselves, all in a line appropriate to where the colours of the Rainbow would be, with Ruby facing the Queen and Heather being the furthest from the crowd.
"Are you all ready for this?" Ruby said. "This is the 1000th festival, we must make a good performance."
Amber smirked. "Ready as I've ever been."
But before they could ready their wands and wings to pull off this move, a cold, sharp breeze rushed across Fairyland, its effects being felt on everyone. And it was then that Ruby's fears, as well as those of the other Rainbow Fairies, returned in full force.
"Oh dear, it seems there's been a rather unnatural decrease in temperature," King Oberon announced. "But no worries, it doesn't seem to be that big of a problem-"
And another sharp breeze immediately proved him wrong, pushing him and Titania back as the other guests tried to resist themselves to this painfully cold atmosphere. If the first draft was a warning, the second one was an attack. Frost had begun to form on the plants from how cold the temperature was getting, and the radiance of the sky was covered up by dreary grey clouds as thunderstorms could be heard raging. The orchestra was forced to stop playing as the chill ravaged through all of Fairyland.
Meanwhile, the Rainbow Fairies were left disoriented, feeling scared and confused. They turned to each other, trying to huddle together to survive the cold.
"Wh-why is it so cold?" Sky stuttered.
"Oh… oh no." Ruby could only gaze in pure, abject horror upon realising the worst possible thing that could have happened. "We have bad news, everyone…"
But before the others could question her, a third, much more fierce attack pushed the Rainbow Fairies back to a hedge behind them as a wave of snow and ice rushed over their field and a thick mist covered the air. This attack left the Rainbow Fairies severely disoriented, trying their best to recover and get out of the branches and leaves of the bush. The icy blast, however, was aimed towards the crowd who were initially going to watch them, and while several of the guests retreated in fear, King Oberon and Queen Titania were able to resist the breeze and stand tall, casting a magic shield that was able to block the worst effects of the blast.
As the snow and mist cleared, the royal couple were able to see who was responsible for this cold attack. It was a pale, spindly man whose skin had a light blue tint to it, as if he was made up of ice. He had ice-blue hair and a beard sharp as icicles, and his hands were, like the rest of his body, slender and sharp; where there would be fingernails there were icicle-like claws which could easily tear through human flesh. He wore black robes tinted with light blue near its ends, robes which nearly covered his whole body save for his head and his hands. Speaking of hands, his right one was holding a long, black wooden stick that reached the floor, at its top was a blue crystal emitting a misty, magical light. His eyes were hollow save for two blue pinpricks, and his mouth was bare, revealing his gritting sharp teeth which, once again, resembled icicles. While he was commonly seen in a bad mood, this one was different. Here, he felt enraged.
Oberon and Titania recognised him Frost. The current ruler of the Ice Empire. If anything, this fierce warlock might as well be the antithesis of everything Fairyland stood for. Whereas Fairyland was built mainly on peace and unity with the other nations of the magical realm, the Ice Empire grew from violent invasions and the brutal subjugation of lesser realms who failed to fight against their forces. Not too long ago, he had set his sights on Fairyland and conducted a brutal invasion which the fairies, with aid from several other kingdoms, barely managed to repel. Eventually, a treaty was signed in which Jack would not attack Fairyland under the deal that he would be invited to their 1000th midsummer festival.
And he wasn't.
In a desperate attempt to save Fairyland, Queen Titania greeted the Ice Warlord. "Good evening, Jack Frost! Have you come to joi-"
"Silence," Jack Frost rudely cut her off, aiming his staff towards the couple as a threat, "You had the chance to greet me long ago!"
"Oh right, I see. We apologise for not inviting you earlier," King Oberon said. "If you want, you can join the festival right-"
Jack Frost sarcastically laughed, unable to take in the foolishness of the royal couple. "You want me to join your stupid celebration NOW? When it's nearly the end?"
At that point, Titania dropped her cheerful demeanour and sighed. "What do you want, then?"
"We had a deal," Jack said. "Remember what happened last time?"
"We know your invasion very well," Titania replied. "You thought it would be okay to invade us for your own ends."
"If you remembered my special military operation into your pathetic kingdom, you should've also remembered the deal you made so I wouldn't attack again," Jack Frost angrily said.
King Oberon cringed slightly at Jack's strange euphemism to describe his invasion, but was able to respond regardless. "I see. If I recall, you said you wanted us to invite you to our 1000th midsummer festival, did you?"
"Yes, you got it correct," the winter warlord nonchalantly replied. "And did you keep up your end of the bargain?" He pointed his sharp finger at the couple.
"We didn't, unfortunately," Titania solemnly replied. With how much damage Jack Frost had done just by coming in, she couldn't bear to say anything else lest he respond with more violence.
"As I thought," Jack Frost said, now preparing for his attack. "Now, who was in charge of sending the invitations? I have somethingspecialfor them." His mouth slowly twisted into a sadistic grin.
"We were, sir." Ruby said, having gotten out of the hedge and brushed off all the snow. The other Rainbow Fairies huddled behind them, too scared to face the Ice Lord, and even Ruby felt unsettled by how Jack Frost practically towered over her.
"You seven… you must be the ones who do the dirty work for those demented fools," Jack Frost said, having turned to face them. Izzy tried to speak up against this disrespect towards the king and queen, only for Heather to shush her.
Jack then eyed Ruby. "You, in red."
"It's Ruby, excuse me." Ruby was able to keep most of her composure as Jack Frost's glowing blue eyes stared down at her.
"You must be their leader, right?"
"Obviously," Ruby's voice trembled slightly.
"And you were the one responsible for writing the invitations and sending them to everyone needed?"
"Yes, we were."
"THEN WHY WASN'T I INVITED!?"
In an instant, Jack Frost immediately pulled Ruby to his grip by dragging her with his magic, his sharp, icy fingers uncomfortably wrapped around her neck. The other Rainbow Fairies and the crowd were shocked by this sudden act of violence as the Red Fairy struggled to get out of his grip.
"RUBY!" Sky shouted in anguish.
"O-oh my god! I knew he was crazy, but not like this!" Izzy's laid-back attitude was shredded for pure horror and fear.
"ANSWER ME, YOU WORTHLESS WRETCH!" Jack Frost shouted, his booming voice causing Ruby's face to screw up in pain. "WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU COULD JUST LEAVE ME OUT?!"
"P-please, you d-didn't need to do this…" Ruby whimpered, struggling to breathe as the merciless grip on her neck grew tighter. "It was j-just a mistake…"
But before Jack Frost could respond, he was stroked in the back twice. They were ultimately harmless, serving as simple warning shots to stop him from doing any more action towards her. He turned to see Titania with her wand aimed towards him, now having a completely stern look on her face.
"Jack Frost, you have taken this too far. This was just an honest mistake, and yet you're reacting with extreme violence," she said. "Let Ruby go and leave Fairyland immediately. I will not repeat this."
All Jack Frost did was laugh. "Do you really think that will stop me?" He threw Ruby away, and she had a rough landing near her associates as they came to check on her. "You had a chance to prevent this, and you 'forgot' it. Well I won't tolerate this! YOU WILL PAY!"
With that, Jack Frost buffeted a clump of snow towards the king and queen, temporarily stalling them and leaving them unable to prevent him from doing what he wanted to do next.
"This land has always been a pathetic, deluded place for the weak fools," Jack Frost declared. "It's time someone came in to make it a better place."
He turned back to the Rainbow Fairies, who at this point were scared for their lives, even Ruby. "Now, you seven were the ones responsible for this crime, and you will face the consequences!"
"Wh-what's he going to do?" Heather asked.
"I don't know," was all Ruby could muster.
Soon, the Icy Warlord raised his staff, the crystal at the end beginning to glow even brighter. While the others were initially confused, Ruby and Sky looked in horror as they realised what he was was casting a spell.
Cold winds blow and thick ice forms,
I will conjure up this terrible storm.
To the seven corners of the mortal world
These damned fairies will be hurled!
I curse every part of Fairyland
With a frosty wave of my icy hand.
From now and always, from this fateful day,
Fairyland will forever be cold and grey!
"M-mortal world? What's that?" Sky asked, worried.
"Something really dangerous, I suppose," Heather responded, clearly afraid of what he was going to do.
But before any more questions could be asked, the Rainbow Fairies started to panic as the mist began to grow thicker around them, turning grey and cold and swirling around. Soon, they were stuck in a violent tornado (named as such due to it being formed on land - in reality, it looked and acted more like a hurricane), shrieking and crying as they desperately tried to escape to no avail to the sound of Jack Frost's laughter that grew louder and more deranged the bigger the tornado got.
Then, he outstretched his arm towards the darkened sky, and the tornado went into that direction, taking the Rainbow Fairies with it.
When Titania and Oberon fully recovered from the ice blast, it was too late. Jack Frost had already flung the seven fairies out of reach, laughing maniacally at his success.
Enraged, Oberon summoned an axe he could hold with both hands and swung it at Jack, who blocked it with his staff. "WHERE ARE THEY?!" He shouted.
"Hahahahaha, HAHAHAHAHAHA! They're gone, forever exiled!" Jack Frost said, murderous glee painted on his face.
"Not if I can do anything about it! You will not tear apart Fairyland as long as we're around!" Titania then retorted, before shooting Jack Frost twice in the chest with her wand, temporarily stunning him, and raising it to the air, casting her own spell.
May this pot at the end of the Rainbow appear
To keep our Rainbow Fairies safe and near
To Rainspell Island they must go
Until we meet again at the end of the Rainbow!
As the Rainbow Fairies continued tumbling and spinning, desperately trying to escape the hurricane-like tornado as it went higher and higher into the sky. However, the winds were too strong to resist, and it was getting increasingly difficult to see out of it. Any time a fairy tried to use their wings to fly out, they would be dragged back in, and their wands were unable to penetrate the strong magic used to create this storm, not to mention how the coldness of it was slowly causing them to become weaker.
Soon, Heather, trapped in the spiral bands of the tornado, spotted a black cauldron flying out from one of the clouds, coming towards their direction with the open end facing them. "Guys, we're being saved!" She bellowed in hope.
"What are you talking about? I can't see a thing in this deadly twister!" Izzy said, still trapped in the frigid eye.
Before long, the pot smashed itself into the tornado, successfully dissipating it and managing to catch all seven Rainbow Fairies in its interior. Now free from the deadly grip, they all huddled up to each other, in surprise and reassurance.
"OH MY GOD! Oh my… god… we're free! WE'RE FREE!" Izzy exclaimed, trying to release all the relief she had.
"It's the pot-at-the-end-of-the-rainbow!" Fern discovered, also with excitement. "The Queen has saved us!"
"I'm not sure about that, though," Ruby said, still rather wary. "I'm not sure if this pot can keep us in for long, especially with how fierce Jack Frost has been."
"Yeah," Amber added. "I'm getting pretty claustrophobic in here."
Despite their doubts and fears, they still managed to keep themselves collected and gripped onto the bottom of the pot for their lives as it traversed the skies and transcended the boundaries between the magical world and the mortal one.
Jack Frost looked at the pot from afar, frustrated that Titania and Oberon still managed to find a way to sabotage his plans.
"This is your final warning," Titania demanded. "Whatever harm you intend to cause, we can easily stop it. Leave the kingdom and never come back."
Jack Frost turned to face them, smirking. "It doesn't matter, I still got them far away. And look what it's done to you oh so colourful land!" He smugly said, mockery tinting his words.
The Royal Couple looked around in horror to see that, indeed, without the presence of the Rainbow Fairies, the once vibrant and colourful castle had indeed been reduced to a grey, soulless mush, devoid of the life and power it once had. Instead of the warmth of the midsummer, there was now a cold, repressive chill. The crowd had been evacuated to escape any danger Jack Frost would cause, the foreign guests having hastily returned to their own kingdoms.
"You see how WEAK you are, how HELPLESS you are! Your 'PrOsPeRoUs kInGdOm' is now a dull world, waiting to be taken over by me!" The Winter Warlock gloated, as Oberon and Titania looked with pure uncertainty. "And now… it is time to succeed where I failed last time."
With this, he fired a giant laser of icy magic from his wand, aiming directly towards the couple. Oberon was able to dodge, but the sheer force of the attacks got Titania and pushed her back, ice shards impaled in her abdomen as she struggled to get back up.
"How DARE YOU strike my beloved!" Oberon charged forward with his axe, intending to smash Jack Frost's skull in with it. However, Jack Frost summoned a large ice sword which he used to parry his strikes, and locked the two into a duel. Meanwhile, Titania was left trying to recover, slowly pulling the ice shards out as blood leaked from her wounds.
"This kingdom will fall soon. Even if you defeat me, I've still cast the Rainbow Fairies afar," Jack Frost said, trying to catch Oberon off guard.
"You will never take our land! You failed once, what makes you think you can take it again?" Oberon said in response to what he considered blasphemy.
"The fact that you have only grown your nation with peace, and you needed outer allies to help you last time," Jack said, aiming for Oberon's chest, which he easily deflected with his axe. "You always were defenceless."
"Do you really think that was the case?" Oberon asked furiously. "If we were really helpless, then that means I wouldn't be able to do THIS!"
With that, Oberon swung his axe at Jack in rage, and it sliced off his left arm below the elbow. However, the winter warlock was able to use his icy powers to reattach it.
"You think that cutting me up will kill me? HAH! What a fool!" Jack Frost gloated once again, clearly enjoying taunting his enemies. "My powers make me immortal!"
"Now, dodge this!"
From that warning, Jack Frost slammed his sword to the ground below Oberon, the icy aura from it causing ice spikes to summon and rise up. This tripped Oberon's footing, and he fell to the ground, dropping the axe.
Jack Frost looked at the defeated King Oberon trying to get up, his crown having fallen out of his head by gravity. Admiring his handiwork, he walked closer to him, pointing his sword towards his neck below the bushy beard. Oberon could feel the icy-cold aura of it near him, and he could even feel frost forming on the hairs closest to the ice blade.
"Goodbye," he said in a taunting manner, but before he could strike the downed king, a magical blast pushed him away, saving Oberon from certain death. The fairy king looked to see his wife, having healed herself of the wounds, wielding her wand to strike Jack Frost away in a desperate act to save her husband.
"You're not taking my husband, and you're NEVER taking this kingdom! If you won't leave, I'll make you leave," She said, her cool having given away for pure anger. "You're a violent warlord, and you'll fall like one!"
"Always willing to talk me down, huh?" Jack Frost replied, still smarting from the attack. "You think I'm not deserving of respect just because I take things by force. Is that why you didn't invite me to your little celebration?"
"For the second time, this was an honest mistake. And with how badly you're taking it, you've squandered any chance for reconciliation."
"So this is how it's going to be?" Jack Frost slowly got up, readying his sword for a charge attack. "Then so be it."
But he wasn't able to attack. Horrible burning pain split throughout his body when he tried to move, and he saw smoke coming from scorched, cauterised wounds all over his icy body, growing larger by the passing second. He realised that Titania's blast was a burning blast intended to melt him, and it was clearly succeeding in it. He needed to retreat back to his kingdom to fully recover.
Titania had made good on her threat to force him out of Fairyland.
"You're a clever lady," he grudgingly complimented, "But that doesn't mean I'll be back soon. And when you see me again, Iwillhave my way."
And with that threat, he vanished in an icy mist, taking solace in the fact that while he failed to conquer Fairyland again, he still managed to exile their most important fairies and plunge it into chaos.
"Well that finally got him away," Oberon remarked, having retrieved his crown and gotten up.
"We shouldn't celebrate so early, my love," Titania said, still solemn. "We need to find the Rainbow Fairies and return them to Fairyland. That way, we can fully undo all the damage he's already done."
"Hopefully that pot of yours should make the mission easier," Oberon told her. "Say, where's it heading to?"
"It will land in Rainspell Island," Titania replied. "That island is the gateway between our world and the mortal one."
"Ah, the mortal world," Oberon reminisced. "We haven't been there for quite a long time. Last time we were there, their inhabitants were still in quaint, wooden homes!"
It had been quite a long time before the human world and the magical realm interacted with each other. The latest they did, up until now, was a time in which Titania and Oberon themselves were children, and Titania's parents were the ones on the throne. They would send small groups of fairies to explore the mortal world to see if they could contact them, only to stop doing so when the groups turned back disgusted and traumatised by man's savagery and barbarism. For reference, they explored when it was still the Middle Ages in the human world, between the Gregorian years of 400 and 1300, and stopped sending them after that time period.
"And the expedition before that, they had just managed to start cultivating the land," Titania sternly added, placing a hand on her husband's shoulder. "We really shouldn't underestimate the human race and their capability to develop their world."
"Developing or not, they were both unaware of our presence," Oberon added. "What makes you think they would now?"
"Hmm, you're right," Titania replied. "Only a small port was made on the coast of Rainspell the last time I visited it."
"With that backdrop, we could send an expedition to that island, retrieve the pot and the fairies, and Jack Frost's attack is easily for naught!" Oberon then said, hopeful that the job would have easily been finished.
"I can only hope," Titania replied forlornly, wary of what could lie ahead. Mainly because if Jack Frost found out, he'd do everything to sabotage it, but also because of what dangers could pose a threat to the fairies in the human world.
The couple went back inside to their dreary palace to plan their rescue.