Frozen Heart
Chapter 54
It was like an electrical prick under her skin, an uncomfortable twist in her chest, that told Jack something was very wrong.
She was as much a part of nature as nature was a part of her, and for her to feel a disturbance like this…
Pausing in the midst of a snowball fight in Onibus Town, ignoring the cold spheres flying around her, Jack reached out with her magic and-
Magnolia.
“Jack?”
Jolted back to reality, she looked down to little Emiko, tawny eyes trained on her as if looking deeper.
“Do you have to go now?”
Nodding, Jack crouched and ruffled the child’s curls with an apologetic smile.
“Yeah, I have to go.” She admitted. “But I’ll be back soon this time, okay?”
Nodding, Emiko hesitated before throwing herself into a hug around the winter guardian’s chest, burying her face in the bright blue snowflake-patterned sweater with a sniffle.
“You promise?”
Caught off-guard, she took a moment or two before carefully gathering the little girl up in a hug.
“I promise.”
Gently extricating herself from Emiko’s grasp, the winter-girl pressed an icy kiss to her hair and floated up on a breeze, managing a smile for all the worried faces peering up at her.
“Don’t waste the snow!” She advised cheerfully. “Have fun, and I’ll be back before you know it!”
A chorus of agreements rose up, and Jack’s smile turned more genuine as they returned to their games, snow already flying.
Turning away, she rocketed up into the sky, course unerringly steered towards Magnolia as the smile slid off her face.
If something really bad was happening there, right before the parade tonight…
Wind shrieked as it catapulted her forward, little more than a blur as the air cracked like thunder behind her.
Then there was no time to waste.
She was as much a part of nature as nature was a part of her, and for her to feel a disturbance like this…
Pausing in the midst of a snowball fight in Onibus Town, ignoring the cold spheres flying around her, Jack reached out with her magic and-
Magnolia.
“Jack?”
Jolted back to reality, she looked down to little Emiko, tawny eyes trained on her as if looking deeper.
“Do you have to go now?”
Nodding, Jack crouched and ruffled the child’s curls with an apologetic smile.
“Yeah, I have to go.” She admitted. “But I’ll be back soon this time, okay?”
Nodding, Emiko hesitated before throwing herself into a hug around the winter guardian’s chest, burying her face in the bright blue snowflake-patterned sweater with a sniffle.
“You promise?”
Caught off-guard, she took a moment or two before carefully gathering the little girl up in a hug.
“I promise.”
Gently extricating herself from Emiko’s grasp, the winter-girl pressed an icy kiss to her hair and floated up on a breeze, managing a smile for all the worried faces peering up at her.
“Don’t waste the snow!” She advised cheerfully. “Have fun, and I’ll be back before you know it!”
A chorus of agreements rose up, and Jack’s smile turned more genuine as they returned to their games, snow already flying.
Turning away, she rocketed up into the sky, course unerringly steered towards Magnolia as the smile slid off her face.
If something really bad was happening there, right before the parade tonight…
Wind shrieked as it catapulted her forward, little more than a blur as the air cracked like thunder behind her.
Then there was no time to waste.