A Nip of Frost

The cold winter breeze made the little boy shiver slightly, even through the thick layers he wore. He mentally shrugged it off and pulled his coat tight around himself, walking briskly towards the frozen lake. His skates were slung over his left shoulder, bouncing against his thigh with every hurried step.

Unbeknownst to the boy, another youth of around fifteen was watching him, a bored expression etched on his handsome face. Hidden from the sight of prying eyes, he sat on the highest branch of a spruce tree with his back resting against the trunk. His magic staff was placed across his lap, his legs dangling down. With blue eyes as clear as the skies, feathery silver hair and a penchant for mischief, the youth was none other than the winter sprite, Jack Frost.

Jack looked down at the children playing happily in the snow; some making snowman, others having snowball fights. His gaze shifted over to the frozen pond nearby and saw a few others skating. He smiled briefly before letting out a small sigh.

Ever since he was appointed as a Guardian, his physical body has been invisible to humans. Although he did not regret that decision, he missed those times when he could fly about freely in the open, and create ice and snow without anyone knowing he even existed. If he did that now, he would be drawing attention to himself. Jack knew that only children would be able to see him since they believed in him, but he had to adhere the strict rule in which beings like him were not supposed to make themselves known to humans, be it children or not.

Jack was about to fly off when a girl with long, raven hair and pale, pale skin caught his eye. She couldn't be older than sixteen.

The girl was sitting on the park bench, a book lying open in her lap. Jack noticed that she wasn't really paying attention to her book; her gaze was fixed on the children skating around the frozen pond. He didn't understand what it was about the girl, but she intrigued him, like there was some kind of force which made him attracted to her.

He wanted to know why.

He floated to the next nearest tree to catch a closer glimpse of the girl, trying to keep himself hidden.

The girl continued to be transfixed with her surroundings, until she finally gave out a loud sigh and shut her book closed, tucking it inside her knapsack. She stretched a little, nose scrunching up. It vaguely reminded Jack of someone, but he just couldn't put his finger on who.

While Jack was busy searching his hazy memories, the girl got up to leave. By the time Jack realised it, she was already halfway down the first row of houses.

Frowning to himself, Jack flew to the nearest rooftop of the tallest house. I just need to take a closer look at her face.

That was when an idea struck him.

Jack needed to get the girl's beret off her head so that he could see her face and figure out who she was. Unfortunately, he couldn't simply throw a random snowball from above -- that would make the girl suspicious. He decided to call upon the winds to blow her headwear off.

The trickster in him was laughing gleefully, seeing the girl let out a tiny shriek before giving chase to her flown beret. She caught up with it finally, clutching her chest and gasping for breath. Jack got to see her clearly now, and his eyes widened.

She was undeniably a pretty little thing, although her neat hair was now a tangled mess. She pushed it out of her face, before bending down to pick up her beret. When she looked up, Jack caught her ocean-green eyes.

And then it happened.


Jack sat on the fallen timber of an old oak tree, grinning widely and clapping his hands in rhythm. He stole a glance at his younger sister, Sarah, who was seated beside him. She too, was sporting the same expression as his but instead of clapping her hands, she was tapping her feet and bobbing her head joyfully.

The annual Spring Harvest festival had been their village tradition for as long as Jack could remember. It was a celebration of spring, after surviving the harsh, cold winter. The villagers saw it as a new beginning and thus thought it was appropriate to call for some merrymaking.

"Jack, Alaska's looking at you." Sarah nudged her elder brother, smirking knowingly.

Jack stopped what he was doing immediately and shifted his gaze to where Alaska was seated. She was conveniently on the opposite side of the circle, surrounded by her usual group of friends. Jack caught her staring at him and she smiled sheepishly, before turning her head to focus on the crackling embers of the bonfire.

"Jack? Earth to Jack?" Sarah waved her hand in front of her brother, grinning. Jack snapped out of his thoughts and turned to his sister.

"Sorry, Sarah. Were you saying something?"

His sister only giggled, shaking her head fondly. "My silly brother, you're absolutely smitten with her. And in my opinion, I'm pretty sure the feelings' mutual."

"Nah, I don't think so." Jack ran a hand through his chestnut hair, his lips set in a straight line. His happy demeanor had quickly vanished, and Sarah visibly deflated. Jack knew his place in the village, and he knew Alaska was not the kind of girl who would even be remotely interested in him.

He was the village's "jester". Nobody wanted a prankster as a partner. Especially not the village chief's daughter.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for our young 'uns to gather 'round for our annual Youth Dance," the village spokesperson announced. "Come 'round, ye boys and girls! Form two lines, males on me right, females on me left!"

Jack and Sarah stood up and made their way to the assigned rows. But instead of having her older brother as her dance partner like they had done so many times the years before, Sarah hurriedly switched places with Alaska.

"Miss Inwood, my apologies. Could you please dance with my brother in my place? I’m not feeling too well. I think I'll have to sit aside for this," Sarah lied smoothly.

The older girl was indeed surprised, her eyebrows arched up high into her bangs. She recovered quickly, covering her surprise with a beautiful smile.

"It's Alaska, and I would certainly love to dance with your brother, Sarah," she said. The young girl thanked her, waving goodbye.

When Alaska took her place exactly opposite of Jack, the boy was befuddled and astounded, but there was no denying that there was a spark of delight in his hazel eyes. The corners of his lips were slowly curling into an unmistakable grin.

"I hope you don't mind dancing with me, Jack," she said loudly over the crowd of chatty teenagers trying to find a place in the two rows. "Your sister wasn't feeling too well, so I took her place instead."

"Ah, I see," Jack replied. "It's certainly my pleasure to dance with yo-"

Before he could finish, Jack was roughly shoved aside by a huge pair of hands. Losing his footing, he fell forward in the dirt, staining his clothes and face.

There was a loud guffaw, followed by a string of laughter. Jack slowly rolled onto his back to see the faces of Magnus, Olaf, and his twin Oliver, sneering down at him. He groaned loudly, stumbling to get up on his feet.

"Jackson Overland Frost. What kind of a stupid name is that?" Magnus laughed mockingly. "Oh wait, it's perfect for a puny girl like you."

Jack seethed with anger, but remained silent. He wouldn't get into trouble because of these idiots. Not in front of the girl he admired. And certainly not in front of the whole village.

"Get lost, Frost. You're not fit to dance with the village chief's daughter. Go play with the children like you always do. Leave the real men to entertain these lovely ladies," Magnus opined. The twins behind him nodded in agreement, snickering.

Jack knew he couldn't win against three big, beefy boys. He stole one last glance at Alaska before hanging his head down in embarrassment and running off.

He could hear the mocking jeers of the three boys taunting him for what seemed like forever.

"That's right, Frost! Run away like the coward you are!"

"Go play with the girls, you weakling!"

"You're nothing but the village fool!"

Tears stung his eyes, and he desperately wiped them away with the back of his hand. He ran to the one place where he always found comfort and peace; the lake.

It was situated not too far away from the village; however, it was quite a long walk to get there. Jack stopped at the lake side, falling to the ground with his tears streaming down his face. He curled himself into a tight ball, knees tucked underneath his chin and sobbed his heart out.

Jack was undeniably rather small and thin for his age, when most of the youths in the village were already twice his size. While they went out hunting with their fathers, Jack preferred to stay in the village and entertain the children. He had a way with the younger kids and was pretty much loved by the women, although sometimes, he did drive them a little mad due to his mischievous side.

The tears had stopped by now, but Jack was still hurt by the jeers of those bullies. He hated being picked upon regularly just because he was different from the other boys in the village. He let out a soft sigh and looked upwards into the night sky. It was a beautiful night with the stars scattered over the horizon. The moon was full tonight and it cast a dim glow over the lake, bright enough to see.

"Lovely sight, isn't it?" a female voice spoke in the darkness.

Jack turned around abruptly, trying to find the person behind the voice. A small, dark figure slowly appeared in between the tall oak trees. Jack squinted to make out who it was.

"Miss Inwood?" he asked, failing to hide his surprise. He struggled to get up on his feet.

Alaska finally came out into the light. She stood a few metres away from him, but Jack could tell she was upset from the somber expression etched on her pretty face.

"Please, call me Alaska. You don't have to be formal with me," Alaska said softly, slowly approaching the boy.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Jack stuttered. "Why aren't you back at the festival?"

"I don't like it there. The atmosphere has gone sour," she replied. She stood before Jack, her aquamarine eyes staring into his hazel ones intently. Her features hardened, her mouth turning down into a frown.

Jack was contemplating what to say to Alaska, but he was finding it difficult with her so close to him. Add to the fact that she was eyeballing him, it didn't exactly make things easier. He had difficulty tearing his eyes away from hers, and his hands picked at the stray threads of his worn-out tunic.

"Why did you run away, Jack? Why did you let them treat you the way they did?"

The boy remained silent, eyes still averted. He didn't want to let Alaska see him defeated. Jack felt like running away again, but this time to avoid her and her questions.

Alaska gently placed her forefinger and thumb under Jack's chin, slowly tilting the boy's head up so that she could see his face. Her eyes stung of unshed tears. She hated to let anyone see her cry, but she needed to reassure him that things were going to be alright once she had a say in this. Alaska knew Jack had been crying by looking at his tear-stained cheeks.

"I'm here for you, Jack. I would not let those boys get away scott-free," the small girl promised.

Jack finally met Alaska's gaze and let out a huge sigh, running a hand through his feathery hair.

"I'm not exactly what you would call... a man, Miss-- Alaska. I don't enjoy hunting, I loathe chopping firewood and I'm a terrible fisherman," Jack explained. "I'm good at entertaining the children though. And having fun."

"Just because you're a little peculiar, doesn't mean they can pick on you," Alaska countered. Her curiosity had been piqued and she had managed to hold back her tears.

"You don't understand. The villagers don't seem to take peculiarity too kindly. Especially with the men. I'm like the village's official jester."

The fair-skinned girl was overwhelmed with a whirlwind of emotions. She wanted to say something to comfort Jack, but she was speechless and feared whatever came out of her mouth would hurt the boy instead.

So she reacted on a whim and hugged him tightly.

Jack froze on the spot, his mouth gaping open. He couldn't fathom what was happening at the moment.

"Jack, it's fine. I'm here for you," Alaska whispered. Her warm breath tickled the nape of his neck and brought his arms around her, although he was half afraid to do so.

And the both of them spent quite a while just hugging and enjoying each other's company underneath the starry night sky.


"Excuse me! H-hey you!"

Jack snapped out of his thoughts. His eyes scanned the surroundings, darting back and forth in haste.

"Listen! If you wanna talk to someone, I'm here! Please, don't do anything rash."

Jack finally averted his gaze to the ground and saw the dark-haired girl looking up at him with worried eyes. He was surprised to see her looking straight at him. It came as a wonder to him as well, seeing that she was not a child, but a youth, yet she was able to see him.

Jack floated down and landed right in front of her. She gave a little squeak, before taking a huge step back from the boy.

"W-who are you?" she stammered.

Jack gave her a grin while showing off his pearly whites. He positioned his staff on his shoulder. "I think you already know the answer."

The girl scrutinized him. He was indeed a strange looking boy, with his silver hair and bright, piercing blue eyes. But what caught her off guard was the fact he was barefoot and simply clad in a lightweight hoodie with brown, three-quarter trousers despite the freezing temperatures. That was when the gears slowly clicked into place.

"I-it can't be! You're-- you're... Jack Frost?"

Jack bowed exaggeratedly. He closed the gap between them and gave the girl a kiss on her nose before floating away.

But not before saying, "Thank you for believing in me."