The Ties of Family (RotG Fanfic)

Chapter 65

Rating: T, for the final part.

"Aaaaaaaahhhh!"

Thump. Thunk!

"Ow!" Jamie slid off the egg sentinel and onto the ground, rubbing his bottom. Ethan scrambled to his feet and laughed, pointing at his uncle. The boy's tousled hair and clothes were disarrayed and he looked as though a tornado had caught him and spat him out. Which wasn't very far from the truth. As Jamie grinned at him, he couldn't help noticing a wild look in those green eyes. The boy looked as though he was on caffeine overdose. For a moment, Jamie's breath caught in his throat. Could Ethan be...?

"That was amazing, Jack! I wanna go again!" the boy cheered, bouncing eagerly on the balls of his feet as the winter spirit grinned at his antics. He leaped, trying to bring himself up to Jack's height. "All that wind and whoosh! and... and..." That was when the boy started to grow aware of his surroundings. His jaw went slack and his green orbs widened, as they took in the landscape around him. A few non-word sounds escaped from the depths of his throat. Jamie and Jack couldn't help laughing at the look on the boy's face.

Jamie pulled out his book from his coat pocket. "Heads up, Easterboy!" The child snapped out of his reverie, turned and caught the book just in time as it hit his chest. "Turn to the chapter on Easter. And tell me if you think your mom managed to capture this place perfectly."

Ethan flipped to the contents page, as Jack knelt next to him. Ethan shot him a small smile, and turned back to the page. The chapter 'Saving Easter' was clearly written somewhere in the middle, with a page number following it, but Ethan was still scanning the other chapters. He shook his head slightly. A small frown creased his brows.

"What's wrong?" asked Jack, peering over the boy's shoulder. There didn't seem to be any defects.

In a few quick strides, Jamie was at his nephew's side. He gently prised it from the boy's hands, noticing the mournful look that had crossed his face. Jamie glanced up and exchanged one brief look with the winter spirit, both of them completely clueless as to what had dismayed the child.

"What's going on here?"

All three heads turned to see a six-foot tall figure approaching. As Bunny came into view, the strange look on Ethan's face disappeared as one of utter bewilderment replaced it. He turned to the other two behind him, looking from Jamie to Jack, and back again. "Do kangaroos live here?" he asked, excitedly. Jack let out a shout of laughter. He turned back to face Bunny. "Kangaroo!"

"Excuse me?" Bunny looked annoyed.

Jack leaned on his staff for support as laughter racked his body. Jamie stepped forwards and rested a hand on his nephew's shoulder. He flipped to the chapter on Easter, where one of Sophie's illustrations of Bunny was printed, and handed it over to the boy. "It's the Easter Bunny, Ethan."

Bunny stared at the child, inching closer. "That..." he began.

"The Easter Bunny mama always talked about?" Ethan asked, peering at the illustration before lowering the book and looking the guardian over, from top to bottom, and back up again. He turned to Jamie. "But he looks so much like a kangaroo. Mama told me he was big and tall and strong, but... not kangaroo-like."

"The kid agrees with me," Jack grinned.

Bunny didn't look offended. He just continued staring at the boy. "And who's your mama?" he asked softly, hesitantly.

Ethan looked up, slightly startled by the guardian's question. Two pairs of green eyes met. Jamie noticed Bunny's widen conspicuously. "My mama?" the boy replied. "Uh, her name is..." He scrunched up his face, as though trying to remember. "... Sophie Bennett. I think. She rarely tells me her name." He gestured at Jamie. "And this is her brother, my uncle Jamie!" He smiled at the guardian, before holding out a hand. "And my name is Ethan Aster..." Bunny cocked an eyebrow. "... and you are the Easter Bunny?"