Escaping Darkness

The food was pretty good, to say the least. Then again, that was an understatement, considering that the Fall Court chefs were the creators of the feast. Aria could hardly control herself from downing the soup and bread as soon as it reached her. Nope, Ju was not getting the opportunity to scold her tonight on savoring her food.

Out of the corner of the her eye, a flash of blue light streaked behind the court chairs. It paused behind a certain chair before peeling around it and out of sight. The blonde teen raised an eyebrow while mentally going through a list of possible sources that the light could have originated from. It seemed that Ju also reached the same conclusion as her fellow Season, as the Autumn spirit watched the closest end of the table on her side, muttering threats under her breath.

Sure enough, two more blue lights, smaller than the first, streaked from the far side of the Winter Court over to where the Summer Knight was definitely seated. Ju’s hold on her chopsticks tightened as Jack’s chair seemed to vibrate, though hard to tell from a distance. A barely noticeable streak of golden yellow light rocketed beneath the seats straight towards the Winter Herald. The light did not escape Ju’s attention, however, as Ochieng’s chair started to vibrate like Jack’s had not a minute earlier.

Aria had to hand it to the boys; very few spirits had enough control over their powers to concentrate it to the extent the boys were using while maintaining complete control. They weren’t even looking at what they were doing! Ju was far from impressed though, if the increasing chair vibrations were any indication.

After a few minutes, most of the hall started to notice what was happening. A few watched, entranced by the power tennis match, waiting for the backfire that was surely going to happen. Others simply tried to ignore the spectacle. Several tried to stop the boys, though that just forced them to continue out in the open. Aria was still watching while nibbling on a piece of bread, fairly entertained by all of this. Ju, on the other hand, was not. Her grip on her chopsticks tightened even more before a sharp snap signaled the death of one chopstick and the impending doom of the other.

Aria was able to count down the seconds before the second chopstick joined its fallen brethren. Now twitching, Ju made no point in holding back and pulled two pebbles from the ground just below her seat. The small stones hovered in the air as if being carefully aimed. After a second, both pebbles shot off like bullets towards each of the boys. Two yelps of pain rang out as each pebble struck their targets. The now distracted boys failed to notice the trajectories of the lights they both released.

The lights collided in a flash of white, filling the room and blinding any who were watching. A shock wave pulsed through the room. Chairs and tables were shoved back, plates and bowls flung into the air, and glasses sent to their doom. Food and drink rained down on the spirits to much outcry. Jack and Ochieng’s chairs toppled over. Instead of a loud crash, there was only a muted thud. Curious, Aria peeked over the table to survey the damage on the boys. What she saw was not what she expected in the least.

The boys sat up, rubbing their heads in what appeared to be beds of… flower petals? They were all white, though the petals cushioning Jack were smaller and rounder. Aria did a quick mental run through all of the possible flowers the petals could belonged to before her eyes widened in sudden realization. She quickly glanced at Ju, but it was clear she already knew. Nodding, Aria left her seat and made her way to where Ochieng was just barely registering the petals around him.

As the hall started to come out of shock, all eyes turned to the Winter Herald. The Snow Queen delicately picked up her napkin and began wiping pea soup off her face. The Groundhog was noticeably shaking as Aria made her way past him to grab Ochieng. The Spring Season curled her fingers around the collar of his suit and dragged him to the Winter end of the table. As the Snow Queen finished wiping her face, she turned to face Jack, staring down at him with an icy glare.

“I am very sorry, Lady Lumi, but I need to speak with these two,” Aria spoke up as the older spirit opened her mouth to reprimand the terrified Herald. The Snow Queen turned her glare to the Spring Season but nodded her head. Aria smiled politely before pulling both boys away, ignoring their protests. The fairies at the nearest door hastily opened it for the three just as the hall exploded into a cacophony of complaints and shouting.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I deeply apologize for this incident, both the boys will be dealt immediately.” Ju’s voice was cut off by the Groundhog screaming for Jack’s blood just as the door closed with a solid boom. Both boys stopped struggling, realizing that the more aggressive of the Seasons was the one most likely handing them their punishment. Aria continued to drag the two further into the room before flinging them onto a couch. She sat down in a chair nearby and rubbed her temple with a sigh.

Eventually, the tension in the room lifted, allowing the boys to survey the room. It was an office of some kind, most likely used for meetings and discussions. The couch they occupied sat across from a second couch while Aria leaned back in her chair, which was in between. The wall behind her was covered in windows while the rest were lined with bookshelves. The room was dimly lit, so it was hard to make out the details.

“Jack, Ochieng, do you two happen to have any of the petals you were lying in earlier?” Aria asked without looking up at either boy. The boys quickly started patting themselves down to search for the piece of plant matter. Finding their prizes, both nodded and handed the petals over to Aria who studied them.

“Plum blossom and lotus… Well, now we know what Belle-Mère’s ‘good news’ is, though I am debating about the ‘good’,” Aria said. Both boys glanced at each other as if the other had a clue what was going on. When it was obvious neither did, both turned back to ask the blonde what the hell was going on.

The door to the room suddenly burst open without any warning. Ju strode into the room, a smile plastered across her face. The Guardians shuffled in after her with looks of concern. Aria raised an eyebrow, but held her tongue. Tooth came over to check on Jack for any injuries while Sandy began to scold both boys, though they could not understand a single grain of it. Aster and North leaned against a wall and watched the boys on the couch. Ju sat on the couch opposite the boys, her smile revealing nothing.

“So, Aria explained to you what’s going on, right?” Ju asked, tilting her head to the side and folding her hands into her lap. For what felt like the millionth time, the boys pointlessly looked at each other. Luckily for them, Aria raised her hand like a star student rescuing her incompetent classmates.

“I was confirming if it was a false alarm or not and trying to come up with a way of how to tell them,” Aria explained. She handed the petals to Tooth, who came to get a closer look at her findings. A look of recognition crossed her face before she looked at the boys and then back at Aria, who nodded.

“Pardon my rudeness, but can someone please explain what is going on?” Ochieng piped up. Jack nodded in agreement, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Aria grudgingly decided to take the lead in starting this conversation.

“Boys, can either of you tell me the significance of flowers in the Seasonal Courts?” Aria requested, turning in her chair to face them. Jack gave her quizzical look in response.

“That’s easy. Depending on the Court, certain flowers represent certain ranks. In the Winter Court, for example, the snowdrop is used to represent the herald, quince for the knight, camilas for the queen and helleborus for the king,” Jack explained in a matter-of-fact tone. Aria seemed to approve of this explanation.

“Correct, but you forgot one flower in your explanation: the flower of the Season,” Aria stated. Around her, the remaining Guardians’ eyes widened, finally catching on what was going on.

“Wha- But no one outside of Mother Nature knows what the flowers of the Seasons are,” Ochieng protested.

“Incorrect,” Aria shot back. “Mother Nature told both Ju and I what the flowers were when we each became Seasons. Also, there are those who noticed that the flowers of Spring and Autumn match with the Chinese flowers of those seasons, like Tooth had, and were able to guess what the others were from that. So you can not say that only Belle-Mère knows, it’s just no one has come forward about it.”

“What does that have to do with us?” Jack asked. He looked around the room, hoping someone would tell him this was a joke, just part of the his punishment for the mess in the dining hall. “I’m pretty sure what happened in the dining hall just proved that you don’t want me as a Season.”

“Well, we don’t have much of a choice now,” Ju responded.

“I don’t recall ever having a choice, Ju,” Aria pointed out.

“How are ya sure those flowers they were in were the flowers of winter an’ summer?” Aster asked, still carefully examining the flower petals.

Aria sighed before taking the flowers into her hand again. “First off, the flower for Summer is the lotus. It is kind of hard to mistake the petals of that flower,” Aria started off, holding up the larger petal shaped like a leaf. She then switched hands and held up the other smaller, round white petal. “Winter is the hardest of all the seasons to recognize the flower of, but this is definitely a plum blossom.”

“Bu-but I just became a Guardian a little over two months ago! I can’t just suddenly take on duties for both!” Jack protested. Aria’s patience had now run out. She let the petals drop and rubbed her eyes with her thumb and index finger, leaving Ju to glare the winter sprite.

“That’s better than what we had to go through,” the Chinese spirit growled. Jack leaned away from what he swore was a very pissed off tiger. Ochieng, currently not the center of attention, was able to express his confusion.

“What do you mean ‘what we had to go through’?”

The room went quiet with this question. The older Guardians glanced at one and other, considering how best to answer the question. Aria’s hand slipped from her down to her chin to give the boys a contemplative look. Ju herself looked ready to skip over that topic when Aster cut in.

“What Ju is referring to is an agreement between Mother Nature and Manny.” The Pooka looked over to North who took over.

“You see, it is very hard to create something similar in power and strength as oneself without help. It would have taken Mother Nature long time to create one Season, let alone all four. Manny offered to help create the spirits that would become the Seasons on one condition,” the old toymaker continued.

“Mother Nature wasn’t the happiest about the condition and added one of her own. Manny agreed and the two started to work together on what would be the Seasons, which are apparently you four,” Tooth added. She aimed a friendly smile at the two boys before looking around the room, silently asking for someone else to explain the rest.

Aria sighed before taking over, hands back to fiddling with her dress. “As you probably already know, the Spirits of the Season’s are meant to represent balance. Autumn does not experience that many extremes, thus Ju herself is not too extreme in any way. Spring, on the other hand… well, someone needs to represent the harsher side of that season. Our main job is to maintain balance and prevent spirits from overstepping their bounds and possibly harming others. One such way is to go after the belief base, like Pitch did a couple of months ago. Now, belief bases are commonly made up of one of three groups: spiritualistic people, crazies, or the children.

“Because the primary belief base is, of course, children, that is the base most commonly attacked. As a result, the Seasons, who are trying to detain the perpetrator, often have to work along side the Guardians, who protect children. Manny, recognizing this, decided to just make it somewhat easier on both parties by making them allies from the start. Belle-Mère saw the sense in this and agreed, but only if that alliance was to be used as a last resort and kept quiet.”

Both of the boys mulled over the facts presented to them. Certainly what was said would explain some things, though it did raise more than a few questions. Questions that Jack found himself asking.

“So wait, it doesn’t matter if that whole thing with Pitch happened or not, I would still be-”

“A Guardian? Yes, even if you weren’t already a Guardian, you would take the Oath as soon as you became a Season.”

The remainder of the ball was not pleasant for any of the guests. First off, the temperature in the room kept trading off between Antarctica and Death Valley. Then there was the water on the floor to contend with. If one was lucky, one would just step into it while it was liquid and escape in the next step before it froze. Very few ever got that lucky and that was mostly because those few had some control over the element.

Aria would have laughed when she heard the Rodent swear profusely as the frozen liquid trapped his feet for the fifth time. Instead, she was busy trying to think of ways to get the two responsible to stop. She already ruled out knocking them out, taking away their conduits, or sending to another part of the globe.

“We need to stop them before they completely destroy the rest of the ball,” Ju hissed. She had calmed slightly from the incident in the dining room, although her temper was starting to flare up again.

“If you have any ideas, I’m all ears,” Aria sighed. She spotted the other Guardians mingling in the crowd. Honestly, why did they get to socialize when she had to deal with three upset, hormonal teens?

“What? You don’t have any ideas? That’s new,” Ju joked, her composure relaxing slightly. Well, at least she wasn’t upset enough to be completely serious.

“I didn’t say that. It’s just all my ideas are long, complicated, and more for children than for two eternally pmsing teens with elemental powers,” Aria defended. She normally had no problem with her center, until she got into situations like this. Oh well, it made for some interesting ideas for future entertainment.

“Let’s keep it simple then,” Ju replied. She paused to think for a few seconds before coming with an idea that she liked. “You take Jack out for some air and I’ll deal with Ochieng.”

“How come I have a feeling you just want alone time with your beau?” Aria asked, grinning mischievously. Her friend’s reaction was almost immediate. Ju shot a glare at the Spring Season with a flushed face and muttered what sounded like the Chinese equivalent of ‘shut up’. “Alright, alright, but if I hear a word of you two making out, he’s meeting Thallo.”

“I still can’t believe you named your sword after a Greek goddess.” The sudden change in topic couldn’t be more subtle than a brick to the head.

“Belle-Mère thought it was nice.”

“Come on, let’s stop the boys before someone twists ankle, if they haven’t already,” Ju chuckled, shoving Aria jokingly. The blonde nodded, tuning everything except the comfort of a sister nearby. The two Seasons approached the boys, the water subtly parting before them.

“Hey, Jack, would you mind if I have a word with you? Outside?” Aria offered, nodding her head to the nearest door. Ju moved next to Ochieng’s side, intertwining her fingers in his, and asked him to take a walk with her. He nodded and the two went off towards the Amaranthus garden. The winter spirit pouted, but shrugged, following the blonde.

“Cheer up, Frostbite. It’s not that bad,” Aria said, offering a smile as they exited. Jack just scoffed and twirled his staff. Aria sighed and dropped her head. “Jack, I know you’re upset-”

“Upset? ‘Upset’ doesn’t even begin to cover it, Aria!” Jack exploded. “Not only did Manny ignore me for the past 300 years, but now both he and Mother Nature are suddenly taking an interest in me just because I’m, what, ‘special’? Because they have a use for me?! Not only that, but the Guardians, a group I’m supposed to be a member of, are keeping secrets from me! Sorry, but this is more than upsetting, Sparks!” Chest heaving slightly from his outburst, Jack pushed his hair back and slumped against rail. Aria sighed, kneeling down to the imp’s eye level.

“Jack, I honestly have no idea what’s going through Manny’s or Belle-Mère’s heads. I stopped trying to a long time ago. But I can tell you that the other Guardians never meant to keep this from you. It’s more like they couldn’t think of a way to tell you and kept putting it off rather than anything you’re thinking,” Aria explained, attempting to comfort the winter sprite. The boy didn’t even look up. “Anything happen that you want to talk about?”

Frosty blue eyes met a warm green gaze before dropping down. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as his shoulders slumped. “It’s just- During the battle with Pitch, I got to look at some of my memories from when I was alive,” Jack said, fixing his eyes on the ground. “I… I had a family. Not a big one, just me, my sister, and my mom, but it was a family. My family. One day my sister and I were skating. We didn’t realize how thin the ice was and… it was just all taken away from me. My life, my family, my memories, gone. First thing I remember after waking up is being pulled from the pond by the Moon. I heard my name and then I was just left to fend for myself for three hundred years before the Moon suddenly decided to throw me in with the Guardians. Now, I find out that it was some scheme between him and Mother Nature to make me the Spirit of Winter. I just… Argh!”

There was a rustle of cloth and then a warm weight pressed against Jack’s arm. “You’re not the only one with a story like that, Frostbite. Ju refused to look at her memories after I told her my idea on why she woke up under a pile of rubble. Me, well, my situation isn’t that different from yours. One key difference though, was the fact that I never forgot. I kept my memories when I became a spirit, and didn’t realize I had until my own mother walked right through me without noticing. Belle-Mère had to drag me to an island in the South Atlantic to make sure I didn’t wipe out my village when it happened,” Aria said, looking up at the stars.

Jack’s head shot up to look at the blonde. She had a melancholic smile on her face, eyes shining with tears starting to make their way forward. Jack’s eyes dropped back down to the floor. “I’m sorry for your loss,” Jack muttered.

“Toi aussi,” Aria said back. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before standing up. “Well, enough of this sad story! I’m supposed to be explaining to you why being a Season isn’t as bad as you think, not depressing you with tales of years passed!” The energetic teen said, a smile back on her face. Jack couldn’t help but chuckle at her sudden mood swing. Maybe it was a Spring thing, but he could feel his own mood brighten when hers did.

“So why’s being a Season so good then, Lady Spring?” Jack asked, pushing himself up off the ground. He turned and flashed the other a grin. Aria’s smile grew even more before she twirled around, dress flaring outwards to show off lilac flats that matched her dress nicely.

“Well, first of all, you now have the ability to push you duties off onto other people. I would suggest not using it too often, but if you are unable to fulfil your obligations, for whatever reason, the Court will take over responsibility,” Aria replied, clasping her hands behind her back, automatically starting with the part she knew would interest Jack the most.

“Hmm, that sounds pretty nice. Still have to deal with the increase in workload, but it’s nice to know that I won’t have to do all of it,” Jack chuckled, swinging his staff around in a carefree manner. Aria simply shook her head at the display, the muscles in her cheeks relaxing.

“Again, I would highly suggest not using it too much. The Courts generally don’t like the idea of having to cover for their Season. Outside of that, you will experience a surge of power, since, as a Season, you are the actual embodiment of Winter. Meaning anyone who believes in winter believes in you, and it adds to your power. Ju and I have both noticed, that with this surge of power, we don’t need to rely on our conduits to help us channel our power anymore. Instead, we use them more for making sure we don’t get out of control,” Aria continued, fiddling with a bracelet on her arm.

“Conduit?” Jack asked, raising an eyebrow at the term. He heard it used before, but never really figured out what it meant.

“A conduit is something tied to a spirits magic that allows one to control large amounts of magic they would not be able to control without. Your staff, for example, would be considered your conduit,” Aria explained, motioning to the wooden shepherd's crook. Jack looked it over before nodding, understanding what the spring sprite was talking about.

“Along with the increase in power, you also gain several new abilities. One is the control over the other Season’s elements, depending on how close you are. For example, when I first became the Spirit of Spring, Ju and I were friends, but not that close. We could only control one element at the time: for her: earth, and for me: water. As time went on and we grew closer, we both became able to control the other’s element. Now, it is kind of hard to tell what element was originally whose,” Aria continued, eyes alight with happy memories.

“So you mean to tell me that, depending on my relationships with you, Ju, and Kiangazi, I can become like Aang?” Jack ventured. A million ideas started flying through Jack’s head. Oh the fun to come…

Aria laughed as if she could read the mischievous imp’s mind. “Yes, you’ll be just like Aang and become the master of all four elements.” The two laughed in mutual understanding at the inside joke.

“I’m surprised you know that show,” Jack admitted, stuffing one hand into his pocket. “I mean, aren’t you supposed to have a ton of work and no free time at all?”

“Oh please,” Aria exclaimed, rolling her eyes. “I find, even with all my work as a Season, I still have a lot of free time. More often than not, I find myself reading or helping Aster out with his eggs. One year, I just so happened to stumble across the show in North’s entertainment center. Next thing I know, I’m halfway through the third season and Phil comes bursting in to tell me Lady Lily is looking for me. Now, it’s one of my favorite shows, and one of the few that Ju says portrays her culture in a kind light, especially with all the philosophy.

“Anyways, off topic. The only other ability Ju and I have noticed is that we can warp to wherever is in our season at the time.”

“Meaning, what? I can just pop in wherever it’s winter?” Jack asked in slight disbelief.

“Actually, yes. Anywhere that is still in the domain of winter spirits, you will be able to teleport to. For example, the two poles, no matter what season their hemisphere is in, are always in winter, so you will be able to warp there as you please. North America, on the other hand, you have to wait until there is snow on the ground,” Aria answered, stretching her arms.

Jack chuckled just as a thought struck him. “Wait, it’s always spring in the Warren, right? So, does that mean you can warp in there any time you want?” The blonde immediately grinned in delight and nodded. “How did Bunny take it when he realized you could get in without his permission?”

“Not well,” Aria admitted, giggling at the memories. “He was so pissed. Kept on trying to kick me out. But, since I never hurt anything and even offered to help with the upkeep and Easter prep, he eventually just gave up.” The conversation went on and like this for a while with Jack asking questions, Aria explaining stuff, both laughing a good portion of the times. The moon had sunk low on the horizon and the sky began to lighten by the time they were interrupted.

“Lady Ianthe,” a fairy called, fluttering by the door. “The ball is almost over and the guests are just waiting for you and Lady Qiu to start the closing speeches for the ball.”

“Ah, of course, I’ll be there shortly,” Aria assured the fairy. She turned back to Jack who was smirking. “Oh, the joys of being a Season.”

“And I want to be one again because...” Jack said in a joking tone. He was feeling more at ease with the whole selection after talking it through with the Spring Season.

“It has its advantages and disadvantages. I honestly like the ability to talk down to the Rodent when he gets to be too annoying,” Aria admits, heading back inside. Almost all the guests were inside. The majority of them were drunk, but still have a merry old time. The two spirits quickly spotted Ju and Ochieng making their way to the stage where a band of nymphs were wrapping up their last piece. The blonde glanced at the freezing imp and nodded her thanks before going to join Ju by the band. Jack made his way over to where he thought Aster and maybe the others were, feeling a little better knowing he had at least one person there to support him.