Chapter 8

Five weeks after Jack Frost got most of his memories back and Katherine noticed the sparkles, Mr. Qwery woke with a gasp that toppled him off the fireplace mantle. Before he hit the floor however he awkwardly flew to land on the kitchen counter that ended with his face slammed into the granite.

A sharp intake of breathe and a swear made him regain his footing quickly. However the sight before him made him relax. "Katherine! Oh thank goodness. What happened?"

Mr. Qwery was not inquiring after the hot tea that tumbled out of her mug onto her fingers, that cause her to run to the tap and run cold water over her slight burns. Mr. Qwerty was referring to the events that made him dormant, encased in Pitch Black's sand for who knows how many years.

Mr. Qwery lifted off and flew around the kitchen enjoying the way the air felt between his book pages. He went to land on Katherine's forearm as he always did when he went for a landing. He had to bank sharply when Kailash almost nipped him on his book cover who came to see what the commotion was.

"Kailash! What is wrong with you and and Katherine you didn't answer my question. What happened after Pitch Black somehow came back to life and paralyzed me in his black sand? I don't know who started the process but whoever it was must have been a strong believer in you Katherine."

Mr. Qwerty had landed back on the mantle above the fireplace, as he eyed his friend Kailash warily who was still standing guard over Katherine ready to attack.

"Katherine? Are you alright?" For Katherine was starting at him like an owl, like the ones Ombric used to have back in the day not blinking, her gray eyes wide with something. Not wonder that's for sure. Surprise maybe?

"Who are you?" Katherine breathed, her morning tea forgotten. Dimly she was glad for the day off of work, she wouldn't be able to concentrate otherwise.

Mr. Qwerty blinked at the question. "Who am I?" He repeated back to her incredible disbelief laced through the sentence. "I'm your friend, I, I." He for once sputtered lost for words. For a book that is filled with words that was something.

"You don't remember? Anything?" He asked as he cautiously flew to the kitchen countertop once more and thankfully didn't land on his face again.

Katherine refilled her mug and after taking a sip, gray eyes dancing in amusement, leaned against the opposite countertop. "All I know is my favorite book butterfly came to life this morning." she spared a glance to Kailash who was eating the breakfast she provided before she started her tea. "Also Kailash doesn't think you are a threat anymore."

Mr. Qwerty visibly deflated, pulling his book cover wings in, to make himself smaller. "Oh. Than before I tell you my story, what exactly do you remember?"

Katherine thought or at least distracted herself from the question by eyeing her outfit. Dark blue jeans with a cream sleeveless v necked shirt that had dark green flying books on it. Her feet had soft tan moccasins on them. At least she knew why the shirt had to be bought now she mused as she watched the book butterfly that was once her statue of Mr. Qwery fly around the house on a self tour.

Finally she answered the question once Mr. Qwerty finish snooping around, setting her empty mug in the sink. "Nothing. I woke up 300 years ago with only Kailash, you as a black statue and some ice crystal earrings to my name. I knew the names of you and Kailash and myself. I had a knack of telling stories, with a keen sense of writing and oral and written tales I remembered after hearing only once. I discovered by accident when I was in Russia about oh ten years after I woke up that I could age myself up to 25, and only 25. I was frightened enough to revert back to the age I woke up as, 12.

Thankfully no one has found out about this ability. The only thing I know about my family is my parents died in a snowstorm. I was taken in by some kind people and once I hit the age of maturity I left because I did not want to be paired off like a brood mare for hire. I've been traveling all over since. Sometimes I stayed long enough to get an education. I have several Master degrees in different types of literature from different countries from around the world.

As for romantic entanglements, nothing lasted long. I was never truly imitate with any of the men I dated. Close but nothing past a certain point. So to answer your question, I know nothing and I'm alone besides you and Kailash."

Katherine shrugged and then frowned. She never talked to anyone about herself. It was easier that way when she had to leave after a few years. She wondered why she was pouring out her heart to a flying book butterfly. His eyes behind his cute little glasses were warm and concerned.

Mr. Qwerty was torn from crying and being relived. Crying because Katherine thought she was alone for 300 years and how did that even happened? Relieved because as Katherine spoke he could tell that her words were being written in his pages. He was thankful that someone out there believed in her enough to have her Mother Goose abilities active. She hadn't faded away. He hoped that the mythosphere hadn't either.

"What happened to the guardians?! Tooth, Sandy, Bunnymund? Ombric, Nick? Jack?"

As Mr. Qwerty spoke, different sorts of warmth filled her with different feelings of love. The names of Tooth, Sandy and Bunnymund filled her with the soft glow of friendships that was forged through pain, tears and blood but laced with strong friendships that could never die. She caught glimpses of speckled wings, soft fur and golden sand in her memory. But nothing more.

The names of Ombric and Nick gave her the same strong bonds of friendship but they were a deeper sort, the love of family, of a loving father with a soft beard that tickled her when she hugged him, who spend time with her. A brother who protected her, a twinkle in his eyes and a booming laugh. They were brother and sister, Katherine knew this and was each others first friends. Firm forever friends. But nothing more.

But Jack, the name Jack was precious to her. Her face burned bright red, and a strong flush of emotion went through her at the only fuzzy memory she had of him. She was standing next to her bed glaring him. Jack had a cocky smirk on his face, she was mad at him for something but she was distracted by his shirtless chest and his ice blue eyes that twinkled up at her. He was causally laying down, his hand reaching for hers, his bare feet sticking out of his worn tattered brown pants. The memory ended as he tugged her hand.

"Katherine? Are you ok? You're all bright red? If you are thinking about human stuff, I never understood it. I mean it's in my book pages way too much, but I don't think I'll ever understand it. Katherine?"

A honk of laughter from Kailash startled her out of her thoughts. The tea she had must have been getting to her she muttered as she went to the bathroom. She ignored her laughing goose and a puzzled Mr. Qwerty as she left.

"Kailash, you remember right?" Mr. Qwerty ask.

Kailash honked something.

"That was one time, and only one time. How would I know that Katherine and Jack were up to naked human stuff?" Mr. Qwerty huffed, flapping his wings in irritation and then almost dropped to the floor in shock as Kailash honked something else, trying to get rid of the human memory that suddenly entered her brain. There are things she didn't want to know about her mother, thank you very much.

"What do you mean most of my pages are completely blank?! I" Mr. Qwerty couldn't remember past a certain point of his past. What he had was a few pages with really tiny writings. Mostly the adventures of the guardians and the tales that Katherine collected before she lost her memory.

"This isn't good."

**

Pitch Black smiled as he flicked a finger at the guards that were still guarding a empty tree house after 300 years. The guards screamed in agony as his fearlings tore them to pieces. Without their Lady Goose to help direct the battle, her tree house was ripe for the picking. It took him too long to hunt down the place. The weak werewolf lord helped him speed up the process tremendously.

His face was drawn back in a wicked smirk as he strolled through Katherine's Ganderly, her Raconturk fighting vigilantly but without the Lady to help them well they crumbled like a book that hadn't been touched in centuries into dust.

Pitch Black was stopped short from reaching his goal when a group of Raconturk guards gathered in front of Katherine's grand library. Their faces set. They wouldn't go down easily.

"Step away from my mother's library you jerk." a young male voice called out behind him, causing him to freeze in shock, while another young female voice groaned. "Odo! Really?!"

"What Jac? We need to distract him somehow."

"We also need to get away, little brother."

"Details. We'll be fine. Eppp!"

Pitch Black flung sand behind and before him, catching the guards before they could use their battle words.

He turned slowly around and eyed in completed shock at the two kids he found. Enough shock for the two young children to get away. Odo seemed to control ice that held back his corrupted sand, while Jac, well she had a quill pen in her hands that glowed bright blue as she quickly sketched a door that opened into a forest that seemed really familiar.

Pitch Black's mouth was still open when his army gathered around him. He snapped his mouth shut and gestured towards the fading door. "Follow them and then report back. Meanwhile I'll be browsing the library. Don't disturb me. At all." He paused. "Unless you find my daughter and other half. Then you can disturb me. Bring them here. I have need of them."

**

Odo laughed out loud as he tumbled down the snowy bank to land on his back. "Well that was fun."

Jac sniffed as she worked hard to get rid of the door before anyone followed him. She slapped her quill feather and quickly erased the door. Fortunately for her she missed a spot and a fearling got through which she didn't notice as she erase the spot she missed.

"That was not fun. At all. You were reckless. Very reckless. I don't even know where we are, you were so reckless."

Odo winkled his nose at his older bossier sibling, trying to tame his wild red hair out of his blue eyes. "It's find. I think I know where we are. I do wonder why we appeared in mom's house instead of with Mr. Qwerty. Oh I think I see lights that way! Let's go!" Odo hummed a happy tune as he trampled through the snow.

Jac stomped behind him, gripping all the way. Her long white hair up in a braid while her grey eyes watched everything, her quill pen ready for anything.

**

The fearling watched them go and then aimed for the most frightened presence it could find. It had work to do for it's master.