Frozen Heart

South Gate Park was alive with the laughter of children, boys tumbling through the grass in an attempt to outrace each other as girls collected flowers, whispering conspiratorially amongst themselves.

Settled in the roots of the park’s largest tree, Gajeel kept an eye on the energetic pups as little Emiko sat peacefully between him and Jack, clumsily weaving little flowers into a circlet as her cousin, Mamoru, lazed in the shade with a snore.

Toes buried in the grass, Jack’s chin rested on bent knees as she watched the child work, little pink tongue poking out in concentration.

With a triumphant squeak, Emiko offered up her finished flower-crown to the winter guardian, practically beaming.

It was full of colorful flowers, like springtime, and somewhat lopsided, but Jack smiled all the same.

New movement out of his peripheral drew Gajeel’s attention, and he paused, mystified.

Even as a Spirit of Winter, she practically glowed, the colors vibrant against her soft white hair and snowflakes dancing in the blue of her eyes.

Emiko smiled up at him expectantly, as if waiting for something, and Gajeel frowned.

“What?”

“You have to tell her she looks pretty!”

Gajeel choked on his own voice, mentally flailing as Jack‘s cheeks frosted over, immediately averting her gaze.

Oh God…

“Wh-Why do I have to do that?!” The Dragon Slayer demanded, flustered.

“You look at Jack like daddy looks at mommy.” Emiko justified, with the clear logic of a child. “And daddy always tells mommy she’s pretty when he does.”

Stumbling over words, Gajeel looked to the winter-girl for help, unable to formulate a coherent reply.

Biting her lip, Jack valiantly shoved down her own amusement and embarrassment, ruffling the girl’s unruly curls as she came up with a child-proof argument.

“We’re not together like your mommy and daddy are together.” Jack explained gently.

Emiko’s nose scrunched up, as if in deep thought, before peering at them with those big honey-colored eyes.

“Why not?”

Gajeel was about to have a heart attack of some kind because of this kid!

Doing her best not to laugh at his obvious discomfort, Jack scratched idly at the frost on her cheeks.

“Well, people have to know each other a long time before they become like mommies and daddies.” She clarified. “So while it would be nice if he said I was pretty, he doesn’t have to. Understand?”

After a moment, Emiko nodded, looking up at Gajeel with the look of a lost puppy.

“But…you do think she’s pretty, right?”

Damn it, but he couldn’t lie, not when Jack gave him that sympathetic smile and looked away, as if expecting him to deny it immediately.

“Of course she’s pretty.” Gajeel huffed, looking away in a vain attempt to hide his blush. “Just didn’t think she needed reminding…”

Jerking upright, she stared at him with wide blue eyes, heart pumping loud in her ears as frost shimmered all the way from below her collar to the tips of her ears.

Had he just…?

The wind prickled across her skin, and Jack went still, turning inward as her senses went into overdrive.

Someone was watching them.

Soft and quick, wind slipped through the trees, searching…

There.

Gajeel tensed, lifting his head a fraction to scent the air before a growl rumbled out.

Fuck.

Magic came from all sides, lightning and fire and earth and shadow ripping through the air to tear them apart-

A tornado of snow and ice rose up around the group with a roar, shredding any spell that attempted to make it’s way through without so much as bending under the assault.

The white flecks in Jack’s eyes glowed, more like shards of ice than snowflakes now, as the children scrambled behind their guardians, terrified and shaken.

Hoar frost spread across the grass as she stood, staff creaking under the force of her grip as the tornado died down, air glittering with deadly shards of ice.

“Impressive…”

Gajeel’s attention snapped to the left, where a young man stood just outside the tree line, casually blowing out a cloud of smoke from his lit cigarette.

“But that’s to be expected from a Guardian, I suppose.”

“If it‘s a fight you want, you just had to ask.” The Iron Dragon Slayer snarled, fists already hardening with scales.

“We’re not here to battle.” He replied calmly, ash falling from the tip of his cigarette at the movement. “This is a simple retrieval mission for our master.”

Jack was still, eyes sweeping over the area as more wizards stepped out from the shadows, dark-haired and empty-eyed.

Fingers flexing into a fist, her gaze turned back to the apparent spokesman, blonde and violet-eyed in contrast to his fellows.

“What are you here to retrieve, then?”

Plucking the cigarette from between his lips, he dropped it and ground out the lit end, a sharp edge to his smirk.

“You.”

Tilting her head just so, Jack grinned, a predator amused by the attempts of it‘s hunters.

“I’d like to see you try.”

Both sides moved at the same time, clashing with a thunderclap that put the earlier attacks to shame.

Though outnumbered, Jack and Gajeel were far from outclassed; the winter guardian not only possessed massive magical reserves, but centuries of fighting experience, and the Dragon Slayer’s own specialty had been the destruction of dark guilds much like this one.

Together, the first wave of wizards were easily disposed of, leaving their smarter companions to try for an effective counterattack.

“Earth Magic: Iron Rock Spikes!”

“Iron Dragon’s Roar!”

A white blur sped through the resultant cloud of dust, and the Earth Mage was struck full in the face with Jack’s staff, knocking him through a number of trees before his sudden momentum died.

“Shadow Magic: Knuckle Shadow!”

Sliding down into a crouch to avoid the disembodied fists, she spun around in a moment, firing a bolt of pure cold at her attacker and effectively icing him to a tree.

“Iron Dragon’s Lance: Demon Logs!”

Cheering, the children shouted out encouragement to their protectors, no longer frightened.

After all, their side was winning.

Watching the battle unfold, the blonde man let out a sigh, raising his hand.

“It seems we have to do this the hard way. Purple Flare Magic: Purple Rain!”

Jack whipped around, staff already rising to defend-

And her heart dropped.

He hadn’t been aiming for her.

There was only a split second to realize what was happening, and she wasted none of it.

Wind shot her across the distance like a bullet, shrieking in her ears like an enraged mother hawk, without a second thought.

The children had no time to scream, eyes wide as they watched the fireballs come streaming towards them…

Then Jack was there, like a shield, as the spell struck her head-on.

Gajeel jerked, the smell of burning flesh strong in his nose.

“Snowie!”

Taking down the three mages that dared block his path, the Dragon Slayer was at her side, steadying the winter-girl as she swayed.

Her entire arm, from the outside edge of her hand to the elbow, was an angry red, the thick wrappings falling away as it’s weakened seams tore open.

Cursing under his breath, Gajeel took hold of her upper arm to get a better look, practically bristling at the hiss she let out at the movement.

Pain crackled across every nerve, and Jack clenched her jaw to hold back anymore sounds as the arm was lowered, fingers flexing experimentally.

“How stupid of you.” The blonde noted, empty. “Even the strongest of Winter Spirits are still weak to fire.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Her words surprised both men, and she pinned the shorter with iced blue eyes, fierce.

“It doesn’t matter what you do to me. You can hurt me however you want, break all my bones and burn every inch of my body…”

Pointing her staff, cold energy crackling across the wood, Jack growled.

“Because the moment you tried to hurt these kids, you officially pissed me off.”