Escaping Darkness

Jackson Overland Frost was not hiding. Nope, not at all. He just enjoyed the view from this high tree that obscured him from view at the very top. Granted, he wasn’t spreading winter in the Southern Hemisphere like he was supposed to, but there wasn’t much winter to spread down there anyway.

Jack sighed as he looked down on the cityscape of suburban Burgess, watching kids run around and enjoy the last month of summer break before school inevitably started. It had only been two months since Pitch’s attack. The winter Guardian had since learned that was more of a temper tantrum compared to what the boogeyman did in the past. Now that he was a Guardian, Jack had been informed of the many obligations he was required to do besides protecting the children of Earth. One of those obligations was the exact reason why Jack was not hiding.

He was now required to attend the Mid-Annum Ball.

Jack thought it over before sighing and corrected himself. He was now required to attend the entirety of the Mid-Annum Ball. For the majority of his existence, Jack had attended the Ball, but all he did was show up, shake a few hands, take roll with Lumi before bailing. This year, and every subsequent year, he had to stay. Oh, and wear a fancy outfit that Tooth, Mother Goose, and North’s wife were designing for him.

“What’s got you down, Frostbite?” Jack jumped at the voice that was suddenly beside him. He looked down to see a familiar blonde-haired girl with hazel rimmed green eyes staring back.

“Aria, wha-what are you doing up here?” Aria chuckled at the frost spirit’s reaction, surveying the nearby area as if looking for someone. A longsword was strapped to her hip by her signature dark violet jacket currently tied like a belt.

“Probably same as you, hiding from Ball preparations.” Leave it to the former Knight of Spring to attempt escape from a mandatory event from day one. Jack silently thanked the Moon for making him a winter spirit, of which attendance was not strictly enforced.

The two sat in silence in the tree, enjoying the late June afternoon slowly melt into evening as the sun sank lower. Children were called back to their homes for dinner, yet the two spirits continued to watch over the empty streets. Aria finally broke the silence just as the sun was about to touch the horizon.

“Congratulations on becoming a Guardian, by the way.” Jack smiled a bit at that. Trust Aria to bring a heavy subject up casually, which Jack was thankful for.

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. It ain’t becoming a Season, though.” To this, spring spirit just tilted her head back and groaned.

“Don’t remind me. I have to wear a dress to the Ball. Plus have my hair and makeup done.” Jack raised an eyebrow at the other’s complaint.

“I thought it was like that before you became a Season.”

“Sort of. I did have to do all the same stuff, only it was more a lot comfortable. I could actually move freely in the dresses, my hair was just pulled out of the way, not done all fancy, and the makeup was simple and barely noticeable. Oh, and the fact I was allowed to have my sword with me helped. Now, I swear, Ju is purposefully trying to make it as uncomfortable as possible. Did I tell you that for the last twenty years, she’s been trying to get me in heels?” Both spirits chuckled at this. They lapsed into another silence for a few minutes before Jack chimed in with a curious observation.

“You know, we’ve been up here for a while. How come no one’s found us yet?”

“Good question, I honestly… Ah, merde.” A force collided behind both immortal teens, sending them crashing down to the ground, which was now shaped into a lovely tunnel. Jack fell in first, having been hit with the full force of whatever it was, and slid down the tunnel. Aria followed closely behind him. The ride was a short one, ending abruptly when both spirits came flying out only to crash-

-into a giant red sack. Aria, being closest to the opening of the sack, started voicing her complaints first.

“Ah, zut, ça fait mal,” Aria lamented. Jack lay uncomfortably beside her and groaned in agreement before voicing his own opinion.

“I thought the expression was ladies first.”

“I don’t think it matters,” Aria shot back, attempting to scoot over to give both her and Jack some of the limited space the sack offered only to fail miserably. The frosty teen rolled his eyes and briefly surveyed their surroundings.

“Why are we in North’s sack?”

“Probably because Ju and North teamed up to kidnap us so we couldn’t skip out on the Ball?” Aria piped up while examining her beloved sword for any damage.

“You know me too well, Aria,” a voice replied from outside the sack. “What gave me away?”

“I only know of three people, not including myself, that can make tunnels, Ju, and the other two don’t cause the leaves to change colors when near by,” Aria responded. The captive spirits felt the sack’s walls push them closer together before lifting them up, causing them to fall on top of each other. Both kicked up their fair share of complaints in retaliation, which the others outside the sack plainly ignored.

Muffled grunts, the shattering of glass followed by the sound of whooshing were the teen’s only warnings before they felt the unmistakable sensation of being sucked through a straw by their noses. As soon as it started, it stopped as they crashed into solid ground. The sack rolled a bit before coming to a stop much to the relief of the jostled passengers.

“Ugh, not again,” Jack managed to groan. He started to ice over areas he knew would form bruises later. The Spring Season was already attempting to worm her way out of the sack with limited success.

“Do I want to know why there was an ‘again’ in that sentence?” she asked, finally succeeding in freeing her head from the sack.

“That was so much more efficient than dragging them here myself. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. Thank you, North,” Ju said with a sigh of content. Aria turned to glare at her Chinese friend after her legs finally cleared the sack.

“It is no problem, Juhua. Sides, Jack said he liked it last time we did it,” North replied, looking very pleased with himself. The remaining Guardians around him chuckled at their leader’s misunderstanding of the sarcastic comment Jack had made several months prior. The frost spirit introduced his palm to his forehead.

“North, that was sarcasm.” North looked at those around him in confusion, triggering more laughter from the three Guardians.

“Okay everyone, the Ball starts in only a few hours and there is still much to be done,” Ju called, clapping her hands together and taking control of the room. Her almond eyes narrowed in on the two that were slowly inching their way to the nearest window.

“Haha, come on, Qiu, it’s not like anyone will really notice if I’m there or not. Most won’t even care,” Jack said in an attempt to reason with the unyielding spirit.

“Yeah, like as you said, there’s still a few more hours. I mean, it’s not going to take us that long to get in our dresses, right?” Aria added. Every step the others came forward, she moved back.

“Oh yes, it will,” Ju corrected. “You see, in the next few hours, we all have to wash up, put on our clothes, do our hair and makeup, choose the proper shoes and accessories; not to mention all the cuts, scrapes, and bruises you both have on you that I will need to take care of. So I suggest you two stop fighting this or I will get Mother involved.”

The escaping spirits froze at those words and turned to look Ju in the eyes. When they saw no hesitation, only hard dedication, both gulped and scrambled out of the room in the direction of their respective changing areas. This left a very pleased Juhua with a group of very confused and slightly amused Guardians.

“Well, if I’da known that those two would go quietly with just that, I wouldn’t have spent so much time on trying ta catch ‘em,” Aster stated, staring at the door the two seasonal spirits just passed through.

“Oh, I’ve been using that threat for years,” Ju explained as she started to follow after Aria. “I have followed through it on a few occasions.”

“But this make’s me curious. Who is this ‘Mother’ that has those two are so afraid?” Tooth asked, fluttering behind Ju.

“Who else aside from the being that embodies all natural life?” Ju pointed out and turned down a hallway that lead to the women’s changing area. The three male Guardians just stood at the fork for a few more minutes before shrugging and going down the other hallway to where Jack was hopefully already getting ready.

“Ya know, I still have trouble believing that the Mother Nature we know now is tha’ same sweet lil’ anklebiter I used ta babysit when her parents went out fer tha night,” Aster commented as his mind traveled back to a few occasions when the girl still needed someone to watch over her. Sandy couldn’t help but nod in agreement before all three of them entered the changing area only to find Jack surrounded by a sea of frozen bubbles. He hadn’t even set a single toe inside.