If Jack was forced to do another turn around the ballroom, she swore she was going to puke from exhaustion. Tooth was gripping firmly onto her hands as they danced to the music playing through the Tooth Palace, as they had been for the past 2 hours. In that time, Jack had learned 3 different waltzes, a foxtrot, and two group dances that could be played at her coming out ball. All the male part, which is was worried about more than anything.

I need to tell her, soon. If not, I'm not ever going to learn the right dance moves. Not to mention that if this goes on any longer and she finds out from North, Tooth is gonna blow her lid.

The music faded out and Jack came to a halt. She let go of Tooth and took a step back, bowing on reflex. Tooth smiled at her and clapped her hands.

"Wonderful! And that is how you do the traditional waltz. I think you are almost done learning all of your dances. Any questions?" Tooth said, fluttering off the floor for the first time. Jack looked around and took a deep breath. Now or never.

"Yeah, don't you think I should learn the female parts as well? I mean, I will be dancing with Jokul so I should know how to follow and not make a fool of myself." She began, weighing Tooth's reaction.

The other Guardian paused for a second. "Well, I just assumed that Jokul would be dancing the lady's part. This is, after all, your ball. You should be able to show off your skills that you can get the ladies attention, even if Jokul is the person you will court as first."

"And if the ladies are not the ones I am trying to impress?" Tooth's eyes widened, and she started to stutter out a reply. Jack laughed and joined the fairy in the air. "Tooth, don't freak out on me. It's not that big of a deal for seasonals. We are…fluid in a lot of things, despite our rules. Men, women, everyone in between. Gender has never been something we get hung up on if possible."

"O-oh of course! I didn't mean to assume. I just never saw you approach a man before." She managed to say. Jack took another breath and smirk. You can do it. Just spit it out.

Small snowflakes danced on Jack's fingers as she said the next part. "Well, you did teach me that it is the man's place to approach the woman. As a girl, I wouldn't dare commit such a faux pas before being introduced into society. The spectacle it would cause!" Her tone was light, but her stomach was filled with nerves.

Tooth blinked at her, a small 'huh' leaving her mouth. Jack took it as a sign to explain. "Granted, I haven't been a girl for long. Barely over a month now, but the sentiment is the same."

Jack looked over at Tooth to see how she was handling this information. She could see the gears turning, but Tooth was not letting anything out. After a few more minutes, Tooth nodded. "How about we have some tea and you can explain to me exactly what you are talking about." Jack sighed but nodded her head. This was going to be interesting.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"-And that is how we got here." Jack concluded, sipping her tea. Tooth had yet to touch her cup, instead folding her hands in front of her mouth. She seemed to be trying to visualize everything from Jack's story. The seconds ticked by, Jack's mouth not leaving the tea cup. She was starting to get nervous from the silence. It had never really occurred to her that Tooth would be anything but accepting. She had just assumed that she would take it even better than North. After what had seemed like eternity, Tooth stood up.

"I think I should pay a visit to Mother Nature and give her a piece of my mind." Jack's eyes widened at Tooth's tone and put her cup down. She sounded pissed.

Standing up, Jack waved her hands in an attempt to get Tooth to stop. "No no! It's fine Tooth honestly. I didn't tell you this for you to try and fix it."

"She turned you into a girl against your will!" Tooth insisted. Fairies had brought Tooth her swords and she was strapping them onto her hips. "We can't allow that Jack. I won't allow that! So, she will speak with me and change you back or so help me-"

"And what if I don't want to be changed back?"

Tooth whipped around and stared at Jack. Jack in turned, kept her eyes on the floor. It was something she had yet to admit to herself, but it was the truth. So much work had been put in to making sure nothing would go wrong with this sudden change that it seemed pointless to become a boy again. After all, Jack had never really been attached to her gender from before. She wasn't really attached to this gender now. She was still the same person, just with different accessories.

"Jack, what are you saying?"

Jack shrugged. "I wasn't kidding when I said that gender isn't something we get hung up on. Sure, it was annoying at first. We were all pissed about it, believe me. But now, it just seems more trouble to change back when everything is basically the same now. I'm still Jack Frost. I'm still me."

Tooth seemed to quiet down at this explanation. Jack gave the elder Guardian a small smile. Tooth sighed and took off her swords. "Who else knows about this?"

"North and the other Council members. My court. And I suspect a few other spirits that always seem to know things, but no one else."

"And what about Sandy and Aster?"

Jack winced. "I haven't gotten around to telling them yet. I will though!" Tooth gave her a doubting look. "I swear. They will know before my introduction ball." Hopefully.

Tooth shook her head and clapped her hands. "Well Jack, we have so much work to do! Everything I have told you is out the window now that you are being introduced as a girl. First thing to do, dancing. You know the boy's part, but now we have to do everything in reverse."

Jack's stomach dropped. Not another two hours of dancing. "Oh, but who will be my partner now? Maybe we should wait til later."

"Oh no, might as well get started now! I'm sure Aster will help us if we pay him a visit. Come on now!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Somewhere in the World…

A table set for 15 is lit up. However, only 13 chairs were filled. The room itself was dark, the only light coming from above the table. Shadows cast across the attendents, but no one seemed to care. If anything, they seemed to prefer it. At what could be seen as the head of a the table, a young man with golden hair and silver eyes cleared his throat.

"Thank everyone for coming on such short notice. I tried to make sure that none of our holidays were going to be affected by this. As for our special guests, I hope I didn't put a damper on your plans." He announced. At the end of the table, 3 women nodded at him, but said nothing. "I suppose most of you are aware of why we called you."

"The shift in the seasons." A young voice called out, tinging the air with tension. She sat forward, the familiar black hair contrasting with her red hood. "It was too obvious to ignore. Something has happened within the society, hasn't it?"

The young man nodded. "I'm afraid so. It is not my place to reveal the changes. There is a lot at play, with more powerful players than us."

"So why call us here then?" A sweet voice called out. Eyes shifted to look at a mature woman. She was knitting in her seat, the air around her having a certain love around it. She looked up from her task at hand. "Neo, I am worried. I can feel it in my heart that there are young spirits being affected by this. What could we possibly do about it?"

Neo sighed. "I just wanted to gather everyone to see who knew what. I'm afraid to reveal too much. Unlike others here, I am not protected by the Seasonals. However, a dear friend of mine is involved."

"They are a friend to many of us." Karma cut in, placing her feet on the table.

A short laugh left another man. "And I s'pose that's why North and 'ster ain't here to put in their two cents."

Neo straightened up at that. "I am trusting everyone in this room to not go around telling what happens in this room, especially to North and Aster. I guess I will make myself get to the point. Who here knows the full story behind the shift?"

5 hands raised, including Neo's. He nodded as his suspicions were confirmed.

"Who knows the people involved but not what happened?"

Only 3 hands went up this time, but Neo supposed that was to be expected. They were all tied to the seasons in some way. He let out a sigh and looked around the table. Everyone here could be trusted to a degree, but it wasn't his place to share. However, he needed to reassure them that everything was handled. On the other side of the table, Karma huffed and sat up, put her feet back on the ground.

"For time sake, I'll get to the point then. For those that don't know, Mother Nature is back from her hiding. My scales and the Seasons Council has confirmed it. Because of this return, she decided to take it upon herself to fix things that didn't need fixing. That is what has caused the shift." She stated plainly. Neo pinched his nose. Why was she like this?

A set of gasps and whispers ripped through the table. Most were older spirits who were acquainted with Mother Nature in some form. They knew exactly what her return could me not only for the seasonals, but for them as well. A small hand went up.

"Yes, Liberty?"

A child with red hair and sparkling blue eyes sat up. "Is something bad going to happen, Mr. Neo?" Her voice seemed to tremble, making her age more apparent. Neo gave her a reassuring smile and locked eyes with a few of his conspirators. They nodded in understanding.

"Of course not, Liberty." He said. Leaning forward onto his hands, he smirked. "We have a plan to make sure that nothing bad happens. Isn't that right girls?"

Several pairs of eyes flashed in the darkness. "Of course, Neo."

So, this was not at all how I saw this going, but it happened, and it still works in the story. Um, I have a general guestimation on when I can write the next chapter that people have requested, but who knows what will happen. Let me know what y'all think! Ciao snowflakes!