Chapter 7

Briana woke up feeling uneasy. At first, she didn't know why. She threw of the covers on her bed. Her sweatshirt was draped over the chair on the other side of the room, leaving her in the white top she had underneath it. The first thing she noticed was that there were no windows. This wasn't her room. The second thing was that the door was locked. She had no way to leave. The third thing was the boy leaning against the wall next to the bed. He was comparing her staff to his.

With one bound, she was at his side, pulling her staff back into her own hands. For the first time, he looked up, but he seemed more relaxed then she was. She found herself mesmerized by his piercing blue eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked, touching her face. She felt scratches where he was touching, but she shrugged his hand off.

"Oh yeah. I love being taken by a boy I don't know into a workshop I've never seen while I try to do my job," she said sarcastically. Something that I said must have amused him, because he chuckled. She sent him a confused look as he leaned back against the wall.

"Fair enough," He joked. "My name's Jack Frost."

"As in, myth made up to explain winter? I thought that was just an expression. I should have guessed."

"What do you mean?" He asked, leaning on his staff and smirking at me.

"Well, you're cocky, arrogant, a troublemaker, and freezing cold," Briana explained, poking him in the chest for effect.

"I could say the same for you," He said, taking the finger off of his chest, but not letting go of her hand. Her blue eyes met his.

"Jack!" A voice called through the door as it opened. "Stop flirting with the girl and get your butt out here!"

Briana smirked as she stared at Jack. She walked out the door, towing Jack behind her. "What are you doing?" Jack hissed in her ear.

She laughed as he stumbled behind her. "The party's just getting started, Frosty!"

*** Briana's POV

As I stepped out into the giant common room, I considered stepping back into Jack's room. There were four other men and a woman who seemed to hover above the ground. Jack walked out into the room, now pulling me. I got over my fear when I saw Jack join the others, while one of the tallest chuckled. Jack quickly let go of my hand.

"You know, just because she can see you doesn't mean you have to flirt with her," The tall one burst out laughing.

"Shut up, Kangaroo. Like you haven't been staring at her since she got here," While 'Kangaroo' fumed, Jack made patterns on the floor next to his feet. The patterns spread up to Kangaroo and, without him knowing, froze him to the ground.

"Can it, Frost. I don't know how many times I've 'ad to tell ya, my name is Bunny!" As Bunny went to take a step forward, he noticed his frozen feet- but not in time. He screamed as he fell forward. Jack and I burst into laughter while the others tried to hold their chuckles back.

"I swear Frostbite," Bunny cried from the floor. Jack started laughing again. The woman that was hovering sighed.

"So… they're always like this?" I asked.

"No…um, yes," She muttered, looking down. I noticed she had almost transparent wings on her back. Many fairies flew around her head, buzzing like bees. "I'm Toothiana, but you can call me Tooth. Your teeth are as white as Jack's!" Her fingers pulled my mouth open as she searched.

"Ugh. Gross," I said pulling her fingers out of my mouth. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Can we start the interrogation? Now, maybe?" Bunny asked, still struggling to get out of the ice but finally standing.

"You're right, Kangaroo," Jack said, breaking the ice on his feet. Bunny let the insult slide and walked forward, probably expecting me to step back. Instead, I took a step in his direction. He looked taken aback and didn't move any farther. Satisfied, I relaxed and leaned on my staff.

"Who are you?" Bunny asked.

"My name's Briana. Winter spirit, bringing joy to children, but I guess you might have known that." I said sarcastically. "Can I go now?"

"No," Jack said. "How did you find us?"

"You can blame Frosty and his arrogant smirk," I sent him a glare. He gave me one of those smirks now. "He led me right to you." As Jack stared at me, I saw Bunny come up behind him and whack him in the head. I chuckled briefly as Jack rubbed his head and Bunny smiled at me. "I've really got to get back to my friends."

"There are more of you?" Bunny yelled out. It was Jack's turn to laugh.

"Um… yes?" I replied. Jack took one look at Bunny's expression and collapsed on the floor, holding his stomach. Even the others were laughing quietly.

Suddenly, another boy who looked about as old as Jack stepped out of the shadows. I became serious quickly.

"How many of you are there?" The mystery boy asked.

"Why does it matter to you?" I asked.

He took another step forward, ignoring me when I held up my staff. "How many of you are there?" He asked more forcefully.

I sighed. "Six, including me. Five girls and one boy."

He fingered the edge of my staff gently. When I pulled it back, he kept his hand on it.

"Dayton," Jack said sternly, "Let it go." I looked at his face as he said it. He was completely serious. The boy- Dayton, Jack had said- removed his hand.

"I wonder…" Dayton murmured under his breath. He looked between me and Jack. "What do you prefer? Snowballs or seriousness?"

"Snowballs," Jack and I said at the same time. Bunny seemed to catch on.

"Staff or sword?"

"Staff. Duh," We said together again. The other tall boy gasped.

"Jack, go stand by her," The boy said. He had a heavy accent. "Now, Briana, vhat is your center?"

"Being carefree, relaxation, basically-"

"Fun," Jack finished. He looked at me, almost in awe.

"They're meant for each other," Tooth whispered.

"No," Dayton said, "They are each other."