[Ash]: 102.Jack Frost.05

“I will use the Heart Wood on Elizabeth,” Shyna muttered softly, “and I shall take Marylin’s sickness.” She stood up and coughed, “why is it we all die of the sickness?”

“Bad blood?” Robet was throwing nuts at the birds and making sure they stayed away from his pile of food.

“Really?”


Jack stepped carefully over a down tree trunk and turned to help the girl over but she was ahead of him and just jumped. He shook his head and continued down to Shyna’s cave with the Witch of the Woods, Cassandra. “So,” Jack said wondering, “Witch of winter, witch of woods, how many others?”

“Let’s see. Witch of water, witch of plains, witch of sky, and there’s one other, I can’t remember though. Oh, witch of summer.” She nodded and saw the smoke from Shyna’s chimney and ran ahead. Jack ran after her and froze her legs together, “what are you doing?”

“Never run into a place you don’t know.” At that moment the three ice bears got up from under their snow piles and growled until Jack sent a blast of ice at them, driving the away. “This are different here, you don’t control what goes on around you.”

He turned the ice to snow and led her inside the cave. Shyna was sitting reading another one of her books and turned to see the two of them, “why Cassandra, hello? I haven’t seen you in my area yet?”

“So you have been spying on me!” She yelled sending a few tree roots into the air around the winter witch and causing a great quake.

“Please child, your too young to understand. Now, why are you here witch of woods?”

“I am to administer the Heart Wood to the child, I can’t trust you, I will do it myself.” With that Cassandra walked out of the cave and Jack followed. Cassandra pulled her hair back and took a deep breath, “take me to the child, Jack Frost, I shall do it now.”

“I can not, they think that I am dead.”

“Let’s prove them wrong than.” Cassandra started down the path and began to hum something Jack knew. It was the song the girl in the pub was singing. Jack stopped and realized that she was the girl in the pub.

“You, you were that girl who was singing! You’re the partial cause of this!” Cassandra nodded and kept walking, “don’t you think you should apologize?”

“I’m sorry I snuck in to sing to. I sang but you Jack Frost, said those words.” She kept walking and humming, “it’s not a bad song, in fact, it’s an old hymn from my book.”

Jack started to walk besides her, “so it’s a spell?”

“Enchantment,” she said singing, “The merry green glen where I once lain, is blooming in the memory of you. That merry green glen where we once walked, is only meant for two. What lovely blossoms spring in bloom of the woods, to bring hate to the two, and in the merry green glen where I once lain, we have all gone down in disdain.”

“So, they were in love, and than something happened, and they hated each other.” He said running over to the edge of the cliff and looking over the village.

Cassandra nodded slowly, “it’s a sad story, but it happens most often. Tell me Jack, have you talk to Elizabeth yet?”

Jack ran down the gently sloping road and ran even though his skin pale his hair covered in snow. Cassandra nodded and a wall of woods blocked his way. “Poor old Jack, so, well, impulsive.” She said arriving to let them down. “Jack, you are dead, remember that, they must think you alive.”

He walked slowly in to town, he was stared at and than the eyes passed off him to this lovely young woman following closely with strange clothes. They rushed through the streets and the people slowly moved to the sides, Jack heard a small whisper, “I think she’s a witch.”

He turned to make sure Cassandra didn’t prove them right, she smiled and kept walking, she like the attention. Jack and Cassandra made it past the people and saw Marylin and Elizabeth sitting on Elizabeth’s porch sharing a drink. She looked up and saw them, “Jack.”

The small child looked up and ran for her father, “daddy.” Jack’s first thought was to extend his arms to his child, his second was her freezing in his arms, she dying of the cold which he now was, he pulled back and made a motion with his hand for her to stop. “Daddy, daddy, pick up daddy.” She said innocently reaching her arms out and making grabbing gestures with her hands.

“I can’t touch you, I’m sorry.” She dropped her arms and Cassandra walked up next to him, “Marylin, you are very sick, this is my friend Cassandra, she came all the way from over the mountains to cure you.” Marylin looked at her than ran inside.

Elizabeth stood up and walked down to him and slapped him cross the face, “Jack your face is as cold as Frost, and so is your heart. That is your child, she has been without you for two weeks, two entire weeks Jack, and you won’t even touch her.” She started to walk off and Jack followed motioning for the witch to stay behind.

“Elizabeth,” he said catching up with her, “how dare you say that. I love her more than anything in the world, that is why I can not touch her, the witch, she changed me, I can’t touch her, anything... you. Do you think I want to be this way?”

“Witch... the only witch here is you for being so cold hearted.” She turned and fell to the ground.

“Elizabeth... what happened...” He felt her skin, it was slowly turning cold. “No, Elizabeth, please stop, don’t die.”

He felt something powerful behind him and turned around, Cassandra stared at the body, she shook her head and knelt down next to him. “Save her, freeze her body jack, and than I can take her to the glen, where she will live forever.”

“I refuse... I love her.”

“Than save her Jack.” Cassandra walked back to his house and Jack saw no other option, but the glen, that’s the song, it’s about love and hate, the glen makes people live forever, but than they probably can’t leave. Could he do that to her?

Elizabeth opened her eyes, “Jack... what... what...”

“Close you eyes, Elizabeth.” She fell silent once again and Jack picked up his love in his arms and felt love for her. Her heart stopped.
“Elizabeth...”
“No...”
“Oh, please God no...”
“Elizabeth...”
“I love you...”