Frozen Heart
Chapter 1
Dawn rose over Magnolia like a rising curtain, spreading orange fingers across the brightening sky as people rose to greet the new day.
A cold wind twisted through the streets, and children laughed as it ruffled their hair, practically beaming.
“Jack!”
“That was Jack!”
“Did you see Jack, mama?”
Floating over the rooftops, a young woman smiled, wooden staff slung over her shoulders as she watched the little ones run off with their friends or follow their parents to the morning market.
As the sun lifted itself fully from the horizon, she turned away, long white braid flicking out behind her like a tail as the wind picked up and sent her flying towards the coastline in a lazy arc.
Twisting to fly along on her back, arms crossed behind her head, Jack twirled the staff absentmindedly between bare feet with a distracted hum.
The snowy peaks of mountains entered her peripheral, and the smile fell from her face, blue eyes wistful as she purposely turned her head away.
Damn it…
A shout drew her attention downward, and she took in the colorful building, the main banner holding the symbol of a mage guild.
“So this is Fairy Tail, huh?” Jack noted, flipping over and gripping her staff with both hands as she studied the place more closely.
There was a training field of some sort in the back, where a group of children were practicing their magic under the watchful eyes of the guild master.
A smile took root as she recognized the diminutive old man, memories playing behind her eyes.
All of the children were rowdy and loud, each a strong personality even at such a young age, but she could see the camaraderie even from a distance.
Mood lifting once more, Jack decided that they deserved a little bit of fun before getting back to work.
With a wave of her staff and a blast of wind, a volley of snowballs rained down, glowing with her magic.
Stunned by the unexpected blows, the children soon began to laugh, scooping up the new snow to chuck at each other in glee.
Makarov leapt up in surprise, eyes wide, before it shifted, like a child that had looked outside to suddenly find snow outside for the first time.
The sight brought an even bigger smile to her face, and she swooped in, snow following in her wake as the old man laughed, memories brightening his face.
“Jack!”
“Hey, squirt.” She greeted, a familiar lopsided grin in place as she spun around him. “Jeez, it’s been a while! When did you get all those wrinkles?”
Jack could almost see the thoughts flying through his mind as tears welled up, and that just would not do at all.
“I know just what to do about that!”
Makarov shouted as a sizeable snowball knocked him flat, flailing in the resultant pile that buried him.
Jack practically shrieked in laughter, hugging her aching stomach as she flipped backwards in glee, and he burst out, cheeks red from the cold.
“JACK!”
“Come and get me, squirt!”
As the man used his magic to grow, and she took the opportunity to leap into the fray, Makarov paused a moment to take in the sight of a winter wonderland and his laughing charges.
Realizing what she had done, whatever anger he held faded and joy took its place, bubbling out of him in laughter as he joined the veritable war that had been started.
He was always happy to note that snow days became much more common around Fairy Tail after that.
A cold wind twisted through the streets, and children laughed as it ruffled their hair, practically beaming.
“Jack!”
“That was Jack!”
“Did you see Jack, mama?”
Floating over the rooftops, a young woman smiled, wooden staff slung over her shoulders as she watched the little ones run off with their friends or follow their parents to the morning market.
As the sun lifted itself fully from the horizon, she turned away, long white braid flicking out behind her like a tail as the wind picked up and sent her flying towards the coastline in a lazy arc.
Twisting to fly along on her back, arms crossed behind her head, Jack twirled the staff absentmindedly between bare feet with a distracted hum.
The snowy peaks of mountains entered her peripheral, and the smile fell from her face, blue eyes wistful as she purposely turned her head away.
Damn it…
A shout drew her attention downward, and she took in the colorful building, the main banner holding the symbol of a mage guild.
“So this is Fairy Tail, huh?” Jack noted, flipping over and gripping her staff with both hands as she studied the place more closely.
There was a training field of some sort in the back, where a group of children were practicing their magic under the watchful eyes of the guild master.
A smile took root as she recognized the diminutive old man, memories playing behind her eyes.
All of the children were rowdy and loud, each a strong personality even at such a young age, but she could see the camaraderie even from a distance.
Mood lifting once more, Jack decided that they deserved a little bit of fun before getting back to work.
With a wave of her staff and a blast of wind, a volley of snowballs rained down, glowing with her magic.
Stunned by the unexpected blows, the children soon began to laugh, scooping up the new snow to chuck at each other in glee.
Makarov leapt up in surprise, eyes wide, before it shifted, like a child that had looked outside to suddenly find snow outside for the first time.
The sight brought an even bigger smile to her face, and she swooped in, snow following in her wake as the old man laughed, memories brightening his face.
“Jack!”
“Hey, squirt.” She greeted, a familiar lopsided grin in place as she spun around him. “Jeez, it’s been a while! When did you get all those wrinkles?”
Jack could almost see the thoughts flying through his mind as tears welled up, and that just would not do at all.
“I know just what to do about that!”
Makarov shouted as a sizeable snowball knocked him flat, flailing in the resultant pile that buried him.
Jack practically shrieked in laughter, hugging her aching stomach as she flipped backwards in glee, and he burst out, cheeks red from the cold.
“JACK!”
“Come and get me, squirt!”
As the man used his magic to grow, and she took the opportunity to leap into the fray, Makarov paused a moment to take in the sight of a winter wonderland and his laughing charges.
Realizing what she had done, whatever anger he held faded and joy took its place, bubbling out of him in laughter as he joined the veritable war that had been started.
He was always happy to note that snow days became much more common around Fairy Tail after that.
♠ ♠ ♠
Merry Christmas, guys! Enjoy this chapter, and have a great time!^^