Hijack Week Day 7 - Cursed Immortality
Toothiana pushed open the door of the ancient library, using the connection she had to Baby Tooth to follow Jack. It had been some time since he had become a Guardian, long enough for the other Guardians to pick up on an odd pattern in his behavior. Around once a century, he would vanish suddenly, his disappearance preceded by a buildup of strong, negative emotions. The Guardians had become worried about him, so when Baby Tooth, Jack's fairy, finally disappeared at the same time he did, Tooth knew that she would be the key they needed to finally figure out what was happening.
The library was, to put it lightly, a complete mess. Books and scrolls scattered everywhere. Toothiana slowly hovered into the library. Picking up a couple of the books, she realized that they were spell-books. Most of the scattered literature was. Just as she was beginning to wonder what Jack was trying to do, a tiny green blur rounded one of the shelves, and flew right towards her. She barely had enough time to gently drop the books back onto the floor before the creature flew right into her hands. It was Baby Tooth, and she was chirping frantically. Toothiana's eyes widened at what she was hearing, her heart sinking right into her stomach.
She commanded the mini-fairy to return to Jack, and as Baby Tooth took off, she followed closely. Halfway through the library, she began to hear choked sobs. As she flew closer to the source of the sound, she felt her heart breaking. In all the time she knew him, she had never heard him in such distress. "Jack!" She cried, rounding the last shelf that stood between her and the winter spirit. He looked up at her, his eyes wide in surprise. Frozen tears were stuck to his face, forming into icicles that lined his jaw. He was curled up, hugging his knees to his chest, piles of spell-books and scrolls scattered around him.
Toothiana didn't hesitate, immediately flying towards him, resting a gentle hand on his back. "What happened?" was all she could think to ask. Upon hearing those two words, his face twisted into complete misery and grief. He hugged her, crying into her shoulder, many of the icicles breaking off of his face in the process. "I lost him" he sobbed. "I keep losing him. I can't-" he hiccuped, "I can't do this anymore!" Tooth wrapped her arms around him, choosing to save her questions for later. "I can't." Jack quietly cried into her shoulder. "I can't." He repeated, again and again, for what felt like hours. "I can't…" All she could do was listen, until exhaustion finally caught up to him, and he passed out.
I love writing grief fics, they've always been my favorite :)
I loved participating in this event! I look forward to the next Hijack week :D