Rise Of The Brave Tangled Dragons

Chapter Three

Merida.

I sat on the tree branch, swinging my legs as I hummed a joyful tune. Taking a bite out of my apple, I leaned back onto the trunk of the tree, gazing at the beautiful colours of the autumn season. Oranges, yellows, reds!
And the sounds!
Crunch! Snap! Whoosh!

All of a sudden, a cold breeze fell upon me, and I shivered, wishing I had brought a coat.

"Stupid cold wind. Winter just had to come, didn't it? Ruining all the pretty colours." I muttered, curling myself up and shivering. I remembered a little saying Mum told me when it got cold. I said it out loud now, in a mocking voice.

"You better bundle up, sweetie. Otherwise Jack Frost will nip your nose."

I snorted, finishing my apple and tossing it away. Suddenly, some force had pinched my nose and it was getting colder and colder.

"Jack Frost?" I whispered, disbelieving. A laugh resonated through the forest as a boy with silver hair lay on his back on the air, chuckling.

"Who are you?" I asked, my mouth open. He fell to the ground with a thump.

"You can see me?"

"Course I can see you, you idiot. Now show me how you did that." I demanded.

"Why today? Two people have seen me today. What makes today so different?" He muttered, dusting himself off.

"Oh...."he trailed off, seemingly realising something. He raised his voice.
"THANKS FOR THE CONSIDERATION, MANNY, BUT YOU COULD'VE WARNED ME."

Drawing my bow, I pointed an arrow at him.

"Tell me how you did that" I said behind gritted teeth. Normally when I was pointing an arrow at somebody, they got all nervous and scared. This boy just looked at me with a 'are you serious' face as he inspected his nails.

Annoyed, I pulled the arrow further back, aiming for his heart. I wouldn't kill him really, I'd just make it seem like I was. He barely even flinched.

"Nice try, curly. I don't think that's stopping me."

In my fury, I released the arrow, only to find that my bow was frozen before I had even had a chance to let go.

"PUT IT RIGHT, RIGHT NOW." I yelled, jumping to the ground and picking up a rock, smashing the ice from my bow. This was my favourite bow, and I hit it with all my might to get it loose. Finished, I turned, bathed in victory, only to find the boy leaning against a tree, shaking slightly.

"You alright?" I asked timidly, slowly advancing towards him. He slid down the tree trunk, his eyes screwed shut as he muttered something. He bit his lip, hugging his knees.

Scared, I ran forward, only to be stopped by shards of ice exploding from the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL?" I screamed, before regaining my composure and smashing the cold spikes, my bow drawn as I readied myself for another attack. This time, ice coiled around my feet and I slammed my arrow into it, determined and using all my might. A heart-breaking yell echoed through the forest and I turned to see the boy writhing in pain.

"Stop..." A weak voice said, and it appeared to be coming from the mop of hair hunched over against the tree. Stopping, I stared at him, covering my mouth at the scene before me. He was curled up into a ball, blutching at the ground beneath him and ice starting to envelope him in a protective shield. The ice around my feet slowly recoiled, allowing me to rush to the pained figure. I helped him up, letting him lean on me.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Don't....hurt.....the ice.." he whispered, clutching his side.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!"

"Nah, it's fine." he said with a fake grin. "Thanks for helping me, though"

He floated up, smirking ever so slightly at my bewildered expression.

"What's your name?" I breathed out, amazed.

"You better bundle up, sweetie. Otherwise Jack Frost might nip your nose." He said in a baby voice, floating forward to pinch my nose.

"Jack Frost?"

"At your service."

He winced suddenly, clutching his side.
"Anyway, I better get going."

He floated up even higher, slipping slightly and groaning in pain. I could do nothing but admire him for his skill of making people stop worrying about him as I climbed on Angus and watched on.

************
Rapunzel.

The door slammed open, Jack tumbling in after it.

"Jack! I'd knew you'd come! I've got your-"

I stopped upon realising he was in pain. He curled up into a ball, breathing harshly and shaking.

"JACK! WHAT HAPPENED?!?"

He just moaned. I hurried upstairs and got a pillow for him. He froze it with his hand and lay on top of it, his breath becoming more slower. I sat cross-legged in front of him, stroking his hair as he calmed down.

"Are you okay?" I whispered. He nodded slightly, before shaking his head. "What happened?"

"Ice.....smashed......cold.......pain." He stammered. I took his hand, only to release it when realising it was deathly cold. He shuddered, and curled up even further, and by the muffled sniffles, I could tell he was crying.

"Don't touch me." he mumbled into the frozen pillow.

"Sorry?"

"DON'T TOUCH ME" he screamed, a cocoon of ice enveloping as he shuddered. I could do nothing but sit there open-mouthed, wondering what exactly happened when he was gone.