There's Ice in His Veins (A Jack Frost Fanfic)

Chapter 4: Perilune

"Love you always, miss you always...running day and night, leaving the place of sun and moon, of ice and snow." -Jessica Day George

***

"I'm not afraid of you; you don't have to walk so far away from me."

I shove my hands deeper into my pockets but slow my pace to let her catch up. "It doesn't matter if you're afraid of me. Just because you're not doesn't mean I won't attack you."

"Let me expand on my statement," she says. "I'm not afraid of you, but I'm also not afraid to hurt you. I know that sounds mean, but-"

"No, that's good!" I say happily. "If I start to attack you, I want you to fight back. Kick my ass; I'll probably deserve it."

She laughs lightly. "I'll hit you just enough so that you snap out of it."

"Deal." We walk far away from the town we stole the books from, and keep walking until we get to a clearing in the forest, a small circular field with only light snow thanks to the blockage of the treetops. "Wanna take a rest?"

Jagalan nods, finding a snowless patch under a large tree and putting her bag down. She leans against the tree and sighs, a gust of fog forming. I should not find that attractive.

She slumps down and sits like a kindergartener, legs crossed, elbows on her knees. I sit across from her.

"So tell me about yourself," she says.

"You first."

She hesitates, but says okay. "My mom was a traveler, and my dad, a selenologist. I'm an only child, and I really like to run places. My mom always said I should've been a messenger than a scientist; I disagreed. She disappeared when I was fourteen. My dad said he saw it coming. She had too much wanderlust and not enough places to let it out. Being stuck in one town wasn't good for her, and she needed to be free to roam.

"My dad was upset about it of course, and he still misses her, but since it was destined to happen he never went after her, and he always had hope that she'd come back."

"Did you leave your dad too?"

"He left me."

I frown. "I'm sorry."

Jagalan shrugs. "Everyone's alone in the end, right?"

I just nod, recognizing this as the signal that she didn't want to talk about it anymore. "Can we look through the books?"

"Yeah!" She gives me the pocket sized one, telling me to look for anything useful as she skims the leather bound one.

I glance over the table of contents. It all seems like history of the moon to me. I flip through it anyway, but give up halfway through a story about a Martian jumping off the moon to be among other creatures.

I hand it back to her. "This one's just weird."

"Okay." She laughs. "I think I have something."

"I'm all ears."

"It says that sometimes the moon and sun feud, and that sometimes one will claim dominance over someone to prove that they're of higher status."

"So you're saying that the moon did this to me to show the sun that she's better?" I ask, finding the situation facetious.

She nods. "Yeah. I dunno if I believe that, but what else could it be?"

I take it into consideration. "I think that might be it. I swear, the night I figured it out, the moon talked to me. Not with words obviously, but I knew what she wanted to say."

Jagalan moves her eyes to above. "Well, what does the sun have to say?"

The sun peeks through a space between the branches. I look at it and wait, and feel a sudden need to hide.

"The sun says I'd better not try anything," I mutter. "Maybe this isn't as ridiculous as it seems. I feel threatened just looking at the sun."

I tear my eyes from the sky and back at her, and she's gazing at me with the utmost curiosity.

"There's an elixir we can make to stop the feuding."

I gasp, realizing something. "Is the sun making me go crazy and murderous?"

Jagalan nods. "I think so."

"But...my episodes have only happened at night!"

"The sun is always awake, Jack. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it can't get to you. If what I'm thinking is correct, there's a part of the sun and moon in you. This elixir will destroy the sun piece."

"What is it?"

"It's called Luna Ius. It seems simple to make, we just need a few ingredients."

"What's the first one?" I ask, suddenly interested that we can make this entire thing stop.

"Moonstone, which I have."

"With you?"

Jagalan nods and takes a white and blue shining stone out of a pocket in her bag the size of a golf ball. "My dad gave it to me when I was really little. I've had it ever since."

"Then we shouldn't use it for this!" I protest. "We'll find another."

"They're rare," she says. "It's fine; I'm not emotionally attached to things."

I sigh. "If you're sure."

"Next thing we need is amethyst, and that, I don't have in my pocket."

I laugh a little. "Where can we get it?"

Jagalan turns the page, reading. Her eyes are full of wonder, and they shine like the moonstone in her hand. "It says it can be found in caves that lie underneath waterfalls."

"Okay, so we'll find a cave under a waterfall."

"Where are we gonna find a waterfall?"

"Well, I think if we can find a river or stream, we can follow it. There should be a waterfall close by." I speculate.

"Do you know where any streams are around here?"

I'm about to say yes, then I remember that we're in the middle of nowhere, trying to run from our problems. "No."

"So we'll adventure a little."

I'd go on a million adventures with you because it's only been a day, but I'm already fascinated by you. I'm so glad humans have the capability to talk inside their heads.