The Ties of Family (RotG Fanfic)

Chapter 25

Jamie watched with bated breath as his sister slowly turned away from the giant egg. He could see fear clearly etched on her face, but it didn't matter, it would be wiped off soon enough.

Jack was perched on a tree, causing frost to swirl all over the bark and standing a short distance away from Jamie was the Easter Bunny himself, watching anxiously as Sophie's gaze lingered on each one of them, trying to absorb everything. Her eyes were still wide with shock and Jamie was suddenly afraid she would lose her belief again.

"Sophie, meet Bunnymund, the Easter Bunny," he jumped in with the introductions. Sophie just stared before shifting her gaze to the frosted tree. "Jack Frost?" she wondered aloud, as the winter spirit materialised before her. "They're real? They're real!"

Sophie's expression changed quickly as shock and fear moved out to be replaced by surprise and delight. Memories came flooding back to her. Still, she took a few tentative steps towards Bunnymund.

"Good to have ya back, ankle-biter," he spoke, startling Sophie ever so slightly. A grin broke out on her face all of a sudden. More memories came back, and the ones made in the Warren when she was two flashed across her mind. Without thinking, she lunged forward and threw her arms around the pooka.

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. "How could I ever stop believing? I finally remembered!"

Jack smiled to himself. "Thanks, Tooth," he muttered under his breath.

It seemed like an eternity before Sophie finally released the Guardian of Hope and for a moment, everyone just stood where they were before a loud voice rang out across the garden, from the house.

"Jamie! Sophie!"

"Mom!" Jamie exclaimed, turning to see his mother running towards the garden. Turning back, he noticed that the egg had already vanished, though the two Guardians were still there. Jack had leaped off the tree, and the bark was just defrosting.

"What are you two doing here?" Mrs. Bennett asked, as she came up to the two adolescents, blind to the presence of the Guardians.

"Er... celebrating Easter," Jamie said, grinning slightly. He turned and exchanged a look with his sister. "Weren't we, Soph?"

Sophie returned the grin. "Yeah, mom, there's really nothing to worry about... Hey, are those the village children?"

Mrs. Bennett hurried to the edge of the garden which had been fenced with a low wall. "Yeah! They're here! Hurry up and inform your aunt! Quick!"

As the two of them cast one last glance at the Guardians before speeding off towards the house, Jamie turned to his sister.

"You know...," he spoke, as he jogged. "... spring and Easter represent new life and new beginnings."

Sophie merely smiled.

...

"Seriously, who wrote this stuff?"

"I did."

"I'm not surprised."

Jamie flipped through his manuscript. "What's wrong with it?"

"Have you counted the number of grammatical errors in there? And the way you write? Short, simple sentences that bore me to death even though the storyline is pretty interesting," Sophie expressed her opinion.

"What are you, OCD or something? It's not like you were ever top in English! Anyway, these are just drafts, so ignore the short sentences," Jamie retorted.

Sophie picked up her pencil and continued sketching. The siblings were sprawled out on the floor in Jamie's bedroom, with his story drafts, Sophie's sketches of the Guardians and scenes from the story as well as pencils and eraser dust. After Sophie had started believing in the Guardians once more, Jamie once again showed her his manuscript and suggested she illustrate it with several sketches and paintings. Sophie had liked the idea, but his manuscript had only received criticisms from her.

"You should rewrite it," Sophie suggested, chewing the top of her pencil as she gazed at her sketch of one of the scenes between Pitch Black and Jack Frost. "This doesn't seem right. Looks like I kind of got the expressions wrong here." She held up the sketch. "Pitch is trying to get Jack to work with him, but in this, don't you think they look like they're about to fall in love?"

Jamie slapped his forehead. "Please, Soph, no crack pairings."

Sophie giggled. "Hey, you're a writer, you're supposed to have a vivid imagination! I've been sketching fan art of the Guardians shipped with one another! And I actually thought of shipping names. Frostbite, Jack and Tooth. Sweet Tooth, Bunny and Tooth. And so on and so forth."

"Ha ha. Very creative," Jamie said, rolling his eyes. "Is matchmaking the Guardians your early Christmas present for them?"

"No, but Jamie, add a scene at the end of the story in which Tooth hugs Jack! And they gaze into each other's eyes... ow!"

Sophie rubbed the spot on her arm where Jamie had hit her. "Come on, it's not that bad. She had been fangirling all over him, anyway, since the beginning. Put it in, or I'm not doing anymore illustrating!"

Jamie scowled, mulling it over for a moment. "Okay, fine!" he said, finally, making a note in one his drafts as Sophie watched with a satisfied smile. He held up the draft and flashed it in Sophie's face. "Happy now?"

"Very," the blonde girl replied.

At that moment, the door opened and Mrs. Bennett walked in. Jamie hurriedly gathered up his drafts and papers, but Sophie merely sat where she was, her sketches remained where they were.

"What are the two of you doing? You know, it's finally glad to see you two together again," she said, before catching sight of the papers in Jamie's arms and Sophie's sketches. "What project are you working on?"

"Nothing, mom!" Jamie hurriedly replied, with a much-too-bright smile.

"We're putting together a picture book," Sophie said, nonchalantly.

"That's nice," Mrs. Bennett said, smiling slightly. "Can I have a look?" She sat down beside Sophie and studied her sketches as Jamie reluctantly put down his drafts. Mrs. Bennett turned to those next and skimmed through a few pages. Sophie and Jamie watched, trying to discern her expression. After what seemed like forever, Mrs. Bennett finally looked up from the drafts.

"What do you think, mom?" Jamie asked, cautiously.

Mrs. Bennett gave him an unnerving stare, and for a moment, Jamie thought she was going to reprimand him for writing such stories with characters that, to an adult, can never be real. Then, she broke into a smile.

"Jamie, it's magical," she breathed, before picking up one of Sophie's sketches. "How did you dream up such a storyline?"

"Lets just say he got some help from a friend," Sophie remarked. "And a book series."

"But the sentences... Jamie, don't you think they're a little short?"

"Ugh, I get it, mom! Those are just drafts, not the actual chapters. And please don't say we're not supposed to indulge in such fantasies at this age."

"Writing is pretty harmless, so long as you don't start to daydream," Mrs. Bennett responded. "And of course, don't go around claiming these characters are real and that they're around us." She shot Jamie a small smile, before getting to her feet. "Be sure to let me read it once it's complete." With that, she hurried out of the room.

"Well, little brother, let's pick up the pace, shall we, since we've got the whole evening, let's not waste it," Sophie said, picking out a fresh new piece of paper.

"I'm older than you."

"Whatever."

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