Chapter Text
As the diamond dust cleared, two sets of blue eyes blinked, disoriented more than they wanted to admit when the wind settled down. They looked around, almost eerily in sync as they took in the area and situation they were in.
Tall evergreen hedges were off to one side, creating a wall twice as tall as Jack, and who knew how thick, while to the other side there was what appeared to be a large expanse of gardens that led to a positively huge palace that seemed to be made entirely of ice, like an elegant glacier. The walkway between cold hardy plants, statues, and gazebos, was made of some dark rock that stood out from the several inches deep covering of snow on the ground.
It didn't appear to be that they were in danger, but Jack still didn't drop out of the defensive position he had taken up while talking to the Guardians. He didn't trust this 'General Winter', and would even go so far as to admit he actually had no clue who the man was, which might not be so surprising considering that his clearest memories were of being Pitch Black's apprentice.
“What. The. Fuck.” Jokul's words didn't startled Jack at all, but they did make General Winter frown as he looked over at them, a scowl lighting the old man's face.
“You will not be cursing so much if you know what is good for you.” The old man growled, straightening his military-looking coat before stepping forward. “Hmm... Wishing had better clothes for you in pocket, but rags will have to do. Brownies will not stand for it, but Katya will not care. Come along then.” He started moving towards the palace, obviously expecting both of the boys to follow him.
“Now wait just a minute! What's wrong with our clothes? And who is Katya?” Jack demanded, not moving an inch. He could feel Jokul next to him, also in a defensive position, and it made him feel slightly safer to have the other there with him.
“And why the fuck don't you like damn cursing?” Jokul threw in, and Jack had to grin at his impudence, knowing full well that his fearling half would push any boundaries set on them.
“First, clothes are practically rags, not suiting at all to sons of the Snow Queen, and is not I who disapproves cursing but your mother. Second, what, did you think she was born with name 'Snow Queen'? Katya is your mother.”
The General sounded vastly amused, and Jack rolled his eyes even as he knew that Jokul was flinching. Finally, Jack relaxed, holding his staff in one hand as he grabbed Jokul's arm with the other, partially because he didn't think they were actually in any danger and he didn't want Jokul to bolt, and partially because he wanted physical reassurance that his other half was there. He was pretty happy when Jokul didn't pull away from him.
“These are practically brand new- Santa's yeti gave them to me...” Jack complained, and Jokul laughed at him even as they both finally started following the old man.
“Is still not suiting for Snow Prince. Brownies will see to better wardrobe, am certain.” The General chuckled, leading the way along the path through the garden.
When he was done rolling his eyes, Jack took a moment to look around while they walked, knowing that Jokul was doing the same. The place was both beautiful, and kind macabre when he looked closely. It seemed like a third of the statues were frozen bodies of some kind, and there were all manner of creatures and people walking both on the paths and off. Bears, foxes, rabbits, even deer and birds of all kinds, seemed to mingle freely contrary to what little Jack had observed about nature when he was out and about with Pitch or on his own. Tall people and short watched them as they followed the General, and it seemed that there were primarily women with pale skin and long pale hair, done up in a variety of styles that ranged from seemingly very old, to rather modern.
“Sooo... this is the Snow Queen's court?” Jokul finally asked, Jack sliding his hand down to grip his doppelganger's fingers, getting a reassuring squeeze in return.
“Yes. Is primarily made of spirits.” General Winter grumbled, picking up the pace and the boys had to stretch their legs to keep up.
“Do you have to go so fast?” Jack asked, though he noticed that they were starting to get a small following of the tall blond women, bears and small brown people.
“Yes.” The General's response made both boys roll their eyes again, but they hurried to keep up anyways, very nervous now that there seemed to be so many eyes on them. They had never been around this many people who could see them, hell aside from their Master and the Guardians they had never been around people who could see them at all.
It seemed like forever before they reached the front of the giant palace, which was even larger up close than it had appeared from near the tall hedge on the other side of the garden. It was as it appeared, made entirely of ice that seemed to have been carved out of one enormous glacier. As soon as they passed through the giant doors, it seemed as if the crowd following them dispersed into the palace, scattering, and though Jack couldn't catch what they were saying it seemed like all of them were talking excitedly in hushed tones.
“Come... Katya will be waiting in study,” the General huffed, scowling as he led the boys up a positively huge set of stairs that met in the middle and continued up around the room.
Jack could foresee that no one went without exercise going from one place to another around here, and he was glad that both he and Jokul were light on their feet. It seemed like forever, especially to ones who were not used to being inside of sprawling huge buildings, for them to reach the room that the General was looking for.
He pushed open the door with little decorum, startling the woman inside, who had been pacing from one end of the large room to the other, or so it seemed. When she looked up, Jack's breath caught, and he heard Jokul's catch as well. She looked just like all of the blond haired blue eyed women in the garden, willowy and pale with her long hair bound up in an archaic style that drew attention to the gold and silver circlet on her brow, decorated with snow flakes and diamond gems. Instead of the large, puffy clothing of nobility that Jack though he had been expecting, she wore grey trousers and a flowing white shirt embroidered with blue and silver ice themes, and sharp heeled boots that came smoothly over her knees.
While she looked similar to the women in the garden, her face was somehow more familiar, and Jack knew that they had seen it in their memories recently, before they were reborn as separate entities.
She didn't say anything as she stepped towards them, and Jack felt Jokul shift to just in front of him, protective and wary, and most likely sensing Jack's apprehension. It didn't stop the woman from drawing both of them into her embrace, cool tears streaming down her face much to their surprise.
“My sons... welcome home.” Her voice was soft, and full of emotion, and though she was cool to the touch just like they were, both boys found something warm and soothing in her embrace, and neither had to think about it as their free arms wrapped around her, returning the embrace.
The boys hadn't expected to be mobbed by small brown people, aptly named brownies apparently, when they were shown to their room. Jack was still grumbling even as they were both pushed into a positively huge bathing chamber, half a dozen male brownies setting out supplies or trying to undress them, and it was difficult to resist because they were much stronger than they looked.
“No... No and No, get out! I can bathe just fine on my own, yes I remember how baths work.”
Jokul grinned to himself as he heard Jack trying to get the brownies to leave them alone. Instead of arguing with the waist high people, he had simply jumped on top of the tallest piece of furniture, some kind of cabinet, and was perched there, waiting for them to go away. They would get the idea eventually, he was sure, especially with the way Jack was pushing at them to get them out. They seemed to talk a lot like Norths elves, barely understandable, and only if he listened real closely, which he wasn't interested in at the moment. Finally the room was clear of all but him and Jack, and he looked down, grinning at his doppelganger who looked less amused wearing only underwear presumably gifted to him by the Yeti as well.
“You suck,” Jack grumbled, still glaring at him, and Jokul stuck out his tongue, cheeky as ever especially since his other half was grumpy.
“You're just jealous you didn't think of it first and there's not enough room for both of us,” he pointed out, lounging back where he was even as Jack shook his head and moved to investigate the bath tubs.
“While you have a point, if I have to bathe and change so do you.” Jack's words were a cross grumble even as he tested the water in one of the tubs before sighing and slipping in, which meant that Jokul had to get into the other one.
Rolling his eyes, the fearling hopped down, light as a shadow before setting aside his clothing and making his way to the bath. He didn't look over to where his other half seemed to be determined to get it over with as quickly as possible, dunking himself before grabbing for the bars of soap left near the copper tubs and making a determined wash of it.
Agreeing, and hoping to be well done before the brownies returned, Jokul clambered into his own tub, using just a bit of their inherent ice power to cool the water from gently steaming to nearly room temperature. Much more comfortable that way...
“So... what do you think of all this?” Jack's question was sudden enough to startle Jokul, but he managed not to drop the soft bar of soap he had been using.
“The Snow Queen, General Winter, and the Snow Court?” Jokul asked, before shrugging and not looking up at Jack. “It seems... strange. A little too pat for my comfort, but if they're telling the truth it makes sense.”
“Laws and regulations... Do you really think Mother Nature was the one that kept the Snow Queen from challenging Pitch?”
“If that's what she said... sure, why not. Mother Nature is a scary lady.” Jokul shrugged, remembering his one and only meeting with said entity.
“Oh yeah...” Jack shuddered, though he hadn't yet met the woman in question. “So what now?”
“What else. We do the 'presentation' thing tomorrow like the Snow Queen wants, then figure out what they want from us and decide from there. Don't worry so much, I can taste it from here.” Jokul growled. Curiously, he nibbled a bit on the dark emotion, trying to absorb it somewhat, though for whatever reason it failed miserably.
“Won't work on me, Jokul... I've tried on you.” Jack's words only made Jokul scowl, though the ice sprite laughed at him, before jumping out of the tub.
The fearling followed suit, making certain he was wrapped in one of the huge towels before the brownies he could hear outside the door pushed their way in, six of them practically swarming the boys and ushering them into the adjoining bedroom, much to Jack's amusement and Jokul's protests.
“No.. Hey, wait! My CLOTHES!!”
Apparently being presented to the Snow Court was a big deal. Both boys could tell by how keyed up everyone, and they did mean every one, was. The brownies had gotten them both into new outfits, much to both Jack and Jokul's protests, and mostly with the help of General Winter himself. Jack huffed as he fiddled with the ruffled edges of his sleeves, the cloth having frosted over nearly as soon as he put it on. He and Jokul were dressed nearly identical, in matching blue shirts and gray pants, with knee high smooth boots that made his feet feel just plain wrong. His toes itched and if the General wasn't only three feet away and giving him the evil eye, he would have pulled the things off already.
The only reason he didn't give in and try to take them off anyways was that Jokul had tried that already and had gotten the boots frozen to his feet for his efforts. It was going to take days or even weeks for the shoes to melt enough for him to pull off, especially since it was so cold in the Snow Court. Given, most of the time it was pretty comfortable... unless you were trying to get frozen shoes off.
“Remember, this is presentation. Follow directions.” The General didn't need to make a threat after those words, his evil eye enough to warn both boys, though Jokul stuck his tongue out at the old man for the hell of it.
“Seriously, why am I here? I'm not a snow sprite, I'm a fearling.” Jokul was grumbling, and Jack laughed lightly, rubbing his other half's back to make him relax just a little.
“You are Snow Queen's Son! You will be present at welcoming to Snow Court.” The General's scowl was nothing to scoff at, and that was being said by someone who had spent way too much time with the nightmare king.
“We'll be good.” Jack promised, grinning brightly and nudging Jokul with his shoulder to make his darker self nod acquiescence.
“Just hurry the hell up already.” Jokul grunted as Jack's elbow found his ribs for the comment, but he wasn't going to take it back, not that Jack really expected him to anyways.
“Ah, hearing trumpets. Is time.” The General stated, moving forward and muttering last minute instructions. They would have been more useful if either of the boys understood his archaic Russian, but the general gist got through to them.
Dutifully trying to at least look presentable, they followed their great-grandfather as he led the way into an enormous room, past rows and rows of people all appearing to be in their finest winter gear. Silk and fur seemed to be the primary materials of choice, but there were a great deal other things in play too. There was a rather large looking group of women wearing white feather cloaks, half a dozen youths wearing only fern tunics, one of whom had a wing instead of an arm. There were elves of all kinds, ranging from some as small as North's helpers to beings three times as tall as Jack and bedecked in finery that looked like spun spider webs. There were also a surprising number of pale women with platinum hair like their mother and light eyes, as well as a positively huge number of seemingly animals, from bears to deer to penguins and owls. It was a great deal for Jack to take in, and he knew somewhere in the back of his mind that he was only going to remember about half of this circus like event. Hopefully Jokul would remember the other half.
When they reached the high dais where the Snow Queen stood, today dressed in the flowing high nobility gown they had expected when they first met her and with her hair tamed only by her much larger than yesterdays crown, they turned and stood in front of her, just where the General had instructed them earlier. Jack was nervous looking out over the sea of faces, every one of them focused entirely on him and his other half.
“Today We present to you Our sons, Jack Frost and Jokul Frosti, returned to Us at last after far too long apart. Let all the world know that from this moment forever forward, Our sons are Prince in Waiting of the Snow Court, Our beloved children, and Our precious Heir.” The Snow Queens words rang through the quiet room, and were met with a thunderous cheer as soon as she finished speaking, much to Jack's embarrassment, and glancing out of the corner of his eye he saw that there was glittering frost across Jokul's cheeks as well. It took several moments for the cheering to die down, every face in the room looking proud and righteous despite the fact that not a one of them had anything to do with either boy yet.
When the cheering was done, they started coming forward and introducing themselves one by one and group by group. Jack did his best to keep smiling, but by the time it seemed like everyone who wanted a personal introduction was done, he felt inordinately warm especially for a winter sprite, and he knew that Jokul didn't feel much better.
“Presenting the Highest Winter Authority, Mother Nature.” The stuffy looking majordomo by the door called out, the ceremonial guards tapping the floor with the butts of their long spears as the room fell silent and the door opened to reveal a tall woman with impossibly long black hair. Her features were vaguely familiar, but Jack knew he had never seen her before. He felt Jokul stiffen next to him, and without thinking about it reached his hand over to take his other half's and squeeze his fingers reassuringly.
Mother Nature was dressed for the season, in a flowing white gown that literally looked like it was made of smooth, crystalline ice. Her black hair was adorned with winter blooming flowers and icicles, and her eyes were burning gold. She didn't so much walk forward as flow, moving like the wind or perhaps a ghost, and she stopped in front of the boys, watching them for several moments before she smiled, the look almost tender. “We greet you, Snow Queen, and the Heirs of your Kingdom.”
“We greet you, Mother Nature, at your mercy and good graces.” The Snow Queen intoned, and Jack had just started to wonder if he and Jokul were supposed to say something when she spoke again. “We have not forgotten Our oath to you. We present our Sons, Jack Frost and Jokul Frosti.”
“Good.” Mother Natures words were quiet, like a murmur though Jack was certain she was speaking out loud. From the looks of confusion from those behind her though, they didn't hear her. “It is good to finally meet your, Our Winter Herald. Beginning on the new moon, We shall come to you twice monthly to teach your duties to you.”
The ultimate seasonal authority laid one hand on Jack's cheek, and the other on Jokul's, looking into their eyes in turn. When she was done, she simply dissipated into the air, a haze of diamond dust filling the room with bright light and leaving a layer of sparkling snow on everything and everyone.
It wasn't until she was gone that Jack and Jokul took their next breath, both boys shaking as they realized that yes, they still needed to breathe even if it was hard to do under those haunting golden eyes.
The rest of the day, presentation, circus or zoo it was anyone's guess, passed very quickly, hours spent in the grand court room, then a few hours more at a positively huge feast. On the upside they had found out that all of the women who looked similar to the Snow Queen were their aunts, snow maidens of different ages, ranging from over a thousand years old to less than half of Jack and Jokul's age.
“God damn it to fucking hell, how the fuck did he do that!” Jokul was growling and fighting with his shoes, determined to get the damn things off if it was the last thing he did. “Jack, get your ass over here and get these fucking things off of me.”
“Shouldn't have tried to remove them in front of the General.” Jack said teasingly, and Jokul glared up at him from where he sat on the much to large bed. There were two beds in their room, both huge and fluffy and comfortable, colored to match the apparent themes that had been chosen for the boys. Jokul's side of the room was done in tasteful black with dark blue accents, while Jack's was done in white with bright blue accents. All very symmetrical.
In actuality the white bed hadn't been touched yet, and probably wouldn't be for a while, Jokul reflected as Jack sat next to him, working on one leg while Jokul worked on the other, doing what they could to chip away or somehow move the ice. If it was normal ice, they would have been able to, even without Jack's staff which leaned on the wall near the door. It wasn't, and neither boy could get it to budge.
“You were about two seconds away from trying the same thing.” Jokul growled in frustration, giving up with a loud groan and flopping back onto the over sized bed. It hadn't actually been slept in yet either, though they had slept in this room last night after the brownies had finished dressing them.
“Too true. Glad you did it first.” Jack stated cheekily, not yet giving up. “So... we're going to be the Winter Herald.”
“Yep... apparently. This fucking sucks, and that woman was no less scary two days ago.” Jokul grumbled, shuddering as he recalled Mother Natures introduction.
“I believe you.” Jack stated, growling himself as he finally gave up on the shoes and flopped next to Jokul. “New moons not for another week though, so we've got that much time at least to figure something out.”
“Yeah. Good Luck.” Jokul snorted, rolling so that he was looking towards his 'twin', so that Jack could see his expression more clearly. “She is the original embodiment of 'force of nature'. I highly doubt we're going to be able to worm out of being her 'winter herald' if she doesn't want us to.”
“Whatever.” Jack stated, grinning brightly and moving to pull Jokul to him, long arms wrapped tight around the 'fearling', and Jokul sighed, relaxing into his 'brother's' touch. “Doesn't mean you need to be so scared. We'll figure this out, just like we were already planning on, right?”
“Yeah... right.” If Jokul's voice didn't hold as much conviction as Jacks, it was at least enough to satisfy the ice sprite for now as they fell asleep wrapped around each other.
By the time the new moon rolled around, both boys were thoroughly fed up with the Snow Court and their duties within it, primarily because their duties seemed to consist of staying in the same room as the Snow Queen, whether she was doing paperwork or holding court, and listening to various tutors throughout the day. They were both surprisingly relieved when Mother Nature showed up, though they were still nervous about being around the intimidating woman.
There were a few soft words between the Snow Queen and Mother Nature, before the latter nodded, taking the boys with her in a disorienting shower of diamond dust. When Jokul and Jack had gotten a hold of themselves again, they found themselves in a snow covered clearing somewhere outside, though probably not in the Snow Court if the lack of the moon in the sky was anything to judge by. In the Snow Court the moon was always full, being one of the Fae realms and tied to the woman married to the man who ruled the moon.
“We trust you are doing well?” Mother Nature said, a mischievous twinkle in her golden eyes looking rather out of place.
“Sure... well enough.” Jack answered, and Jokul found himself nodding along, though he made sure to keep the ice sprite between himself and the intimidating elder spirit.
“Tonight, we will speak plainly with you. Your mother told you of her oath, yes? That her first born child would become my Winter Herald?” Nature's words were soft, like the wind, and both boys nodded, remembering that awkward conversation with trepidation. “Good. I will also train you to take up your rightful position as the new Nightmare King.”
“What?” Jokul's voice was a surprisingly high pitched squeak at her words, shock racing through both him and Jack at this proclamation. “But.. the Nightmare king is evil... I'd rather not, thanks.”
“The Nightmare King is a position that must be filled.” Nature's words were harsh, taking on the echoing tone of wind in deep caverns. “Fear is essential in the world, no matter what that old fool Lunanoff believes. You were chosen as Pitch Black's heir, and who more suiting than one born of Lunanoff blood?” The smirk on Nature's face was enough to make Jokul shudder, though Jack moved in front of him to keep more solidly between Jokul and her.
“That's all well and nice, but what if we would really rather the position went to someone else?” He asked, impudent as anything and Jokul made a mental note to talk to him later. Impudence was Jokul's trait, and would probably get Jack killed just about now if he wasn't very careful.
Mother Nature let out a harsh laugh, her golden eyes seeming to grow till they were all the boys could look at. “Then there are many others who would gladly take your place and become the new master of Nightmares, evil creatures who would use the power they gained to destroy all that is good in this world, powerful creatures who are already problematic to both the Good Spirits and your father the Moon Fool. Demons who would use the fear to corrupt the minds and hearts of the innocent that they may feast on all that needs protection. Pitch Black served his purpose, and though he was an evil creature, he kept his evil well in hand and aimed it where it did some measure of good even in his madness. You will learn to control fear and shadows, when to cull it, and when to encourage it, just as you will learn to usher in the changing seasons from fall to winter and winter to spring.”
Jack stood in the garden, staring up at the full moon, a positively thunderous look on his face as he communed by light with the being that was his father. Jokul couldn't bring himself to think of the Man in the Moon as his father, no matter how hard he tried, or how many times the Snow Queen told him that he and Jack were both her and the Moon's sons.
It was hard, finding out that Jack could hear and speak to the person who was technically their other parent, who should have been just as happy as the Snow Queen was that they were around. Jokul couldn't understand a damn thing, and it was driving him crazy, especially when Jack got like this. He had been dragging Jokul outside for the last three evenings at moonrise, and glaring up angrily at the full orb hanging in the sky.
The Snow Queen had told them that it was a great ship, hollowed out with machines and moon mice keeping everything in order. Neither Jack or Jokul had been there yet, though the Snow Queen had some kind of Doorway she had been going into to visit that place every night.
It was more telling than she thought that she hadn't tried to invite Jack or Jokul along with her, though she had freely admitted to where she was going when they asked. It definitely didn't help that Jokul could feel kernels of fear in her, the fear that her husband would never again accept her sons. Jokul didn't mind so much for himself, he was a fearling after all, and he was training to be the new Nightmare King, learning to control and manipulate fear and shadows and dark dream sand. The little bit that he had stolen from Sandy had been growing, and he had found out how to form it into shapes and small fears through experimentation.
He was toying with it now, as he waited for Jack to finish whatever he was communing to the great nightlight in the sky. Small shapes formed, from bears to birds to stars and less easily identified things at Jokul's will, but the easiest one was the form of a small horse. He was currently having the small thing prance in circles around him and Jack, enjoying the pun when Jack growled and grabbed his arm, finally looking away from the moon.
“I take it it didn't go so well?” Jokul asked, wincing at the force of his other half's grip.
“We are not that asshole's son.” Jack growled, and Jokul found himself impressed, letting out a small whistle.
“Wow.. you're that angry. It's kind of cool. What exactly did he say to piss you off so badly?” Jokul asked, morbidly curious even as his little nightmare nuzzled into his frosted 'twin', gaining her own coating of ice that looked downright lovely against her black body.
“Don't worry about it.” Jack's anger abruptly deflated, and he looked down, smiling at the nightmare. “Cool.. Night Mare... I like it.”
“Yeah. So do I.”
They were struggling; it seemed like instead of getting used to all the attention they were getting, they were getting worse and worse with it. They were constantly around others, whether it was the Snow Queen and their tutors, or Usurus their guard bear, or Lyse the owl just watching them. If they were in their room, they were generally left alone, but otherwise they were all but mobbed every time they went anywhere. Snow maidens, their aunts every one of them apparently, were coming out of the woodwork still just to hug them and start babbling at them. Ice elves were always catching them in the gardens, explaining this or that piece of topiary. And the brownies were everywhere, making absolutely certain they weren't stripping out of the finery that the little folk had decided to dress them in that day.
They hadn't seen the General since their 'presentation', but that didn't mean that the little folk hadn't gotten creative in their torture devices, using all manner of straps and ties to keep shoes on Jokul's feet, and threatening the same to Jack if he got out of hand, or as the case may be out of shoe.
The boys had taken to hiding in their room, but it was still difficult, and they were both sick of being trapped in the single room instead of being free to roam without interference. It was showing in their deteriorating attitudes, Jokul becoming waspish, and even Jack who took everything in good humor starting to snap at everyone and everything with the least provocation.
It was as the boy's were skulking in their room again that General Winter decided to hunt them down, walking in even though both sets of blue eyes glared at him for it. “Am thinking is time to talk.” He growled, glaring himself at where both boy's sat on the window ledge, Jack practically in his other half's lap and scowling darkly. “Boy's are not happy here, no?”
“Not at all.” Jack stated, disgust apparent in his voice. They had only been here for a few months, but it was very obvious that the Court Life was not for them.
“Then boy's should go back to Human world instead of Underhill.” Both Jokul and Jack sat up at that, eyes wide as they watched him, and the General had to smirk at their expressions.
“Wait... we're allowed to leave? Why the fuck didn't someone say so?” Jokul demanded, all but vibrating with the idea, and the General had to laugh at his enthusiasm.
“Allowed to leave? No, your mother will get very angry for even the idea. But even she must admit that you are pining, both of you.” He shook his head, slightly sad, but it had ever been his way to offer advice and comfort to his children and grand children while letting them take whatever paths they chose. He was still sad whenever one of his granddaughters decided to melt, for whatever reasons, but their lives were their own, and that freedom had to extend to his great-grandsons as well. “You are winter spirit. And not social one like Snow Maidens or Swans. If boys would be happier solitary... well, you will always be welcome obviously, but for now you do not have to stay if it does not feel right. So long as your duties are met, and your mother knows you are safe, I see no reason why you cannot roam the world.”
“Seriously? What the hell are we waiting for then!” Jokul growled, grabbing Jack's hand and General Winter had to chuckle at their enthusiasm.
“Do not be seen leaving.” He called after them, but they were already racing away, both boy's laughing in their excitement. “And do not forget that when you want it, you have a home among us.” He added more quietly, though they were long out of earshot by then.