Once Upon a December

Chapter 45

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As soon as Jack got back to the quaint hotel he had been residing in, he immediately started tossing the few possessions that he had into his backpack, as North - in his new formal attire - waved an embossed invitation at him.

"But this invitation came from the Queen herself!" North exclaimed. "It's the social event of the decade! You can't turn it down!"

"Watch me."

North was about to protest, when Jack grabbed the invitation and tore it up, tossing the pieces into the air.

North sighed, seeing that there was no use in trying to persuade him. "So where will you go?"

"Well, she's found her home," Jack said. "Maybe it's time I found one too.

"If you're ever in Forkjølelse again, look me up," Jack smiled. "I'll be there.... So long, North."

North smiled sadly at him. "Ah, my boy.... You're making a mistake."

Jack held up a finger, wagging it. "Trust me, this is the one thing I'm doing right.

"I can't stay," he said, flashing a false smile. "I don't belong here."

"Oh, Jack," North said, coming over and hugging him. "I'll miss you greatly. We've been on many adventures, traveling to many places. You were my friend, my sidekick, my son."

Jack could feel a lone tear coming down, falling on North's shoulder. In just one day, he was losing two of the most important people in his life. He didn't know what he would do without them. "And you are and forever will be a father to me, North."

He let go and wiped away the tears threatening to fall. He laughed it off. "I hope that you're happy in being back with the royals and the upper class society."

North smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And I hope that wherever you end up, Jack, that you'll be happy as well.

"And remember, my boy," North said, his twinkling eyes as bright and wise as the stars. "Having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness. Don't you ever forget that."

Jack nodded. "I won't. Thanks, North."

They hugged once again and North started for the door. He paused and looked at Jack again, as if he was about to say something.

"If you want to be happy, Jack, you have to be happy on purpose," North said. "Everyday when you wake up, you can't just wait to see what kind of day you'll have. You have to decide what kind of day it will be.

"Do what makes your heart happy, my boy," North said, a tinge of sadness in his voice. "Because no one else but you knows how to more than yourself."

He then gave a soft smile and nodded, and, opening the door and shutting it quietly, his footsteps gradually faded from the hallway, leaving Jack alone once again in ten years.