Cupid's Rising

Honorary Tooth Collectors

At North's statement, Tooth deflated to the ground.

I went to her side. Bracing myself, I knelt on the ground. One of my wings stretched over her back in comfort. Pitch had taken my cherubs with her fairies and teeth. I could empathize.

So I ignored the racing of my heart.

The fear in my veins.

The anger in every ghost of a memory.

"I'm sorry, about the fairies." Jack's voice came over my mental fog. "And the cherubs."

"You should've seen them. They put up such a fight." She turned to me. Baby Tooth was curled against Tooth's neck. Pelie cuddled my cheek. It was making me feel overwhelmed. "Your cherubs did too. I can't thank you enough for that."

"Of course they did. My cherubs are warriors." I ended my sort-of hug with Tooth.

Getting off the ground I flew up towards the mural. Pelie came after me. He was squeaking words of comfort. Ignoring him was easier than telling him to leave me alone.

"Why would Pitch take the teeth?" Jack asked, confused.

"It's not the teeth he wanted. It's the memories inside them." Tooth explained.

A beat of silence passed.

"What do you mean?" Jack breathed out.

"That's why we collect the teeth, Jack." She showed him the mural. I moved out of the way. "They hold the most important memories of childhood."

Pelie sighed happily next to me, admiring the mural. Rolling my eyes in mock announce, I flicked his head with my fingers. Pelie complained weakly. He went back to admiring the mural.

"My fairies and I watch over them and when someone needs to remember what's important, we help them." Tooth revealed. "We had everyone's here. Yours too." Tooth explained.

"My memories?"

"My whatits?" I gawked at the fairy.

"From when you were young. Before you became Jack Frost and Cupid." Tooth said plainly, nonchalant, like my entire life wasn't turned on it's head by what she saying.

"But, I wasn't anyone before I was Jack Frost." Jack replied, confused.

Tooth tilted her head in confusion.  "Of course you were. We were all someone before we were chosen."

"What?" Jack gawked.

"You know who I was before?" I asked, flying up to Tooth.

The fairy was still confused at Jack's remark. "I don't know- personally. I can't look at the memories, only the children who they belong to can do that."

"But you had my memories of who I was?" I pressed.

Could I really have been so close to my past?

Would they say why Charleston was so important?

Would they tell me if I had a home, that didn't bring people pain all the time?

Would Lilac be in it?

"You should've seen Bunny." North snorted.

"Hey, I told you never to mention that!" Bunnymund warned.

"That night at the pond...I just, why I assumed.." Jack mumbled to himself. He turned to Tooth. "Are you saying, are you saying I had a life before that? With a home? And a family?"