The Ties of Family (RotG Fanfic)

Chapter 4

There were two days more to Christmas. Jamie was feeling really bored. He wasn't allow to go out in the snow to play, and anyway, there wasn't anyone to play with. Sophie had gotten absorbed in playing with some of Estella's fine toys and Jamie thought it was rather creepy, playing near the dark, menacing woods. How could anyone live in such a place anyway? He wasn't afraid of Pitch Black but the darkness was terrifying and there were wolves in there.

The manor had a library, but the books were all classical ones with big words and complicated language. Jamie didn't really enjoy such books. The previous day, however, he had discovered a set of books in the library which caught his eye. It was a series called Guardians of Childhood and were stories of some of the Guardians, like Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy or Toothiana, the Sandman, the Easter Bunny or E. Aster Bunnymund and the Man in the Moon. Jamie thought it was the only set of books which was interesting in the library. He had spent the whole of the previous day reading the series, and had even begged his aunt to let him have them.

There was still no sign of Jack. Jamie was growing impatient. It was like waiting for a bomb to go off as he had something he had to ask the Guardian. That evening, Jamie returned to his bedroom and curled up on the window seat again, and flipped through one of the books from the series, the one about Toothiana.

As Jamie was reading, he heard a weird crackling sound and looked up. That was when he noticed frost swirling on the window. Jack! Jamie hurriedly threw open the window, instantly inviting in a gust of cold wind. He hurriedly shut the window again and pressed his nose against it, trying to see if Jack was outside. He had to be.

Jamie grabbed his jacket and reopened the window, putting his head out of it and calling for Jack. The wind whipped at his hair and face, stinging him and he wondered how it would feel like if he wasn't wearing a coat, or if he was dressed for summer.

"Jack!" Jamie called. "I know you're there!"

Only the whistling winter wind answered him. Darkness was descending upon the area. Jamie frowned slightly.

"Jack! Where are you? There's something I have to tell you! Something... important!" Jamie yelled. "I guess," he added to himself.

The next thing he knew the Guardian of Fun was in his face, startling him. "Jack!" Jamie exclaimed. "You came!"

"Nice place your aunt's got here," Jack said, stepping through the window into the room. "And very snowy, isn't it? So, what is it you wanted to tell me?" Jack settled himself on the window seat. Jamie hurriedly shut the window.

"First of all, is there plague?" Jamie asked.

Jack cocked his head. "Plague?" he asked.

"My cousin is ill and my aunt says she probably won't last till Christmas," Jamie replied, sitting on the window seat as well. "She's only twelve."

Jack's eyes widened. "Whoa. Seriously? That's bad."

"My aunt claims this winter has brought plague with it," Jamie said. "She likes playing in the snow, this cousin of mine. My aunt thinks it's because of that."

Jack scowled. "I don't do plague, Jamie. I think it's Pitch. I'll go see the other Guardians about this." He prepared to leave, but Jamie stopped him.

"Wait, Jack. There's something else. You have to come and see this," Jamie said, pleading Jack to come with him. The Guardian of Fun followed the boy out into the dark corridor and to the too of the stairs. They went down a few steps and stopped before the same portrait Jamie had been gazing two nights before.

"Look at this."

Jack looked, and his eyes widened in surprise. He looked as though he had stopped breathing upon seeing the name and the date at the bottom of the portrait. "But this is me!" he exclaimed. Jamie nodded. Without a word, he gestured at the next portrait.