Frost Vs. Ice (RotG)

Epilogue

Epilogue

*Alyssa's POV*

Moser stood in shock as Tracy and I let our shoulders slump in fatigue. We made our way down to him, where he was overcoming thoughts. "He is not me. I am not him." He hissed to scorched pavement where Pitch once stood.

We all held our breath, as if expecting him to come back. Soon I found that was not the reason most of the spirits were wide-eyed. We, referring to the Oracles, stood proud in the center of a circle of spirits, who all genuflected, even Jack.

When Lily looked up, I saw fear in her eyes. I reeled from that look. "He is finally gone." She said, leading the others to stand as well. "We owe our deepest thanks to you, Oracles. Until this point I'm sure many in our company did not see the true purpose of you being together. We all see it now, and we respect and fear you for that."

I let my ice blue skin thaw and my tense muscles relax. "It's over."

Jack broke the ten-foot perimeter first to come up to us. "That was really amazing. Remind me never to make all of you angry at me, okay?"

I smiled timidly, though he was joking with me I felt like there was a barrier between me and the rest of the world now that they saw what we were capable of. I broke that by hugging Jack, I felt all the tension melt away. He ran his fingers through my hair and I just clung to him.

I'd seen him be knocked back by blows from Pitch, there were moments I was afraid he wouldn't come out of it.

"Aly, people are watching." He mumbled.

"I don't care." I buried my head in his shoulder, trying to comprehend what was happening.

"Why do we stand here?" North boomed in his happy voice. "We must celebrate!"

"Life is strange. Just when you think everything is going normally, it'll throw a twist at you, like Jack's becoming a Guardian. Things happen, you adjust, then another twist comes. My life as a Guardian, Oracle, and spirit of ice have shaped me. My experiences are not things I can change, but they are things you can learn from, whether they be good or bad. Being an Oracle, even for such a short time yet, has affected many lives for the better.

"I didn't expect any of this, and wasn't very accepting when it was thrown at me, but now I can't imagine anything being different."

Everyone clapped for me after my speech and I came down from the globe. The Guardians had insisted I give a speech, and had given me about ten minutes to write it, so they got what they got.

"Great job." Moser complimented me, putting his arm around my waist.

"Thanks. It could've been better, but SOMEONE gave me ten minutes!"

Bunny laughed and I rolled my eyes.

"Family is very important, isn't it?" I asked, looking around at mine.

"I wouldn't know. Never had one."

"Liar."

"I'm not lying. You saw the mem-"

I silenced him. "Moser, look around." His eyes unwillingly flickered around the room. "Everyone in here is your family. The season spirits, Guardians, idea spirits, and your adjacent Oracles. We're just one big dysfunctional family. Watch."

Everyone was continuing on with their conversations and games as usual, which made this more simple for me. "Bunny, the annoying cousin, Tooth, the childlike adult, Tracy and Jack, the siblings that can't be in a room together, Sami and Manny, the two adults who seem to be the center of the family. Oh! there's Reid and Lily! They're the ones who show up for special occasions only. Sandy, the uncle who's always nuzzled up in the corner sleeping, Matthew, the know-it-all, David, the peacemaker who never gets into trouble, Kariss, the one who tries to solve the problems but makes it worse. Everyone has a place."

"What about me and you?"

I bit my lip, thinking. "You're the shy guy that's usually sulking in the corner opposite the sleepy grandpa. I'm the troublemaker that David has to calm, Kariss helps to rile up, and who starts the fights between Jack and Tracy."

He chuckled. "I guess you're right. We are just a big family. I never looked at it like that before."

"You'll be seeing things a lot differently now that you're hanging out with me. Step one, get shy guy out of corner. Done! Step two, make him comfortable. Check! Step three, wreck havoc without a care in the world and get judged later but ignore them."

"Uh..."

"Come on! It'll be fun!"

"Okay."

I smiled in victory. "Now before we go, I want to make sure you know something. I will put no blame on you, even and especially if you decide to come up with something. I love you, I couldn't put you through that."

He smiled. "I love you too."

And so began my eternity. It wasn't perfect, but who wants a perfect life? We had our ups and downs, and it didn't always go smoothly in our big family, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.