To Love & Conquer
Chapter I - Unanswered Questions

The Burgess skies were clear and blue as Nicholas St. North's eyes, who pulled from his red coat a glimmering snow globe. "We go to North Pole and have another celebration!" he bellowed to the other guardians. He threw the snow globe long and, shining in waves of colors, the orb burst into a cloudy wisp ahead.

The sleigh rocked violently as the reindeer flew higher into the wintry air. Jack Frost held onto the edge as he sat on the back rim of the sleigh, looking down at the shrinking dots that were the sand-dusted Jamie and his friends. He barely made out their arms waving goodbye before they fell asleep on the ice, and North's workers encircled them to carry them home.

Jack's grin, usually bringing warmth and a mischievous air to his pale face, was dwindling as his eyes lost their luster. The icy wind, rushing against Jack's ears, seemed to whisper, Don't leave them, Jack ... Don't leave Jamie ...

He shook the thought out of his mind, and with a heavy heart, Jack turned around and slouched against the sleigh. Baby Tooth hovered beside him and gave a faint chirp, her kaleidoscopic eyes concerned.

"Aw, cheer up, mate," Bunny said with his claws embedded in the wood of the sledge. "You'll see Jamie soon, and––" He groaned and rolled his eyes. "Blimey, North, do you mind steadying the sleigh?"

North gave a booming laugh and the sleigh jerked forward wildly as they rushed into the snow globe portal and vanished beneath the moon.

Jack's eyes dried against the powerful wind as the world went white for a second, then they flew into the frozen land of the North Pole. The guardians held on tightly as the sleigh dropped onto a landing dock beneath North's workshop. Yetis gathered around them and began steering the reindeer away. The Guardians were ushered off the sleigh and up along an icy path that curled around the cliff. North began barking orders to his point-hatted workers to prepare music and eggnog.

"Unlock cookie cellar, and bring all the cookies out!" His voice drummed cheerfully. "And do not eat any, or we play Pin Tail on the Elves!"

They came to a steep bridge that led upward to the peak, where the toy factory stood enormous and tall. As they walked along the overpass, Jack's mind maintained an occupied blankness, as he had little room to think amongst the animated guardians.

"Ladies, fly ahead and search for decorations," Tooth exclaimed to Baby Tooth and half a dozen of her other miniature fairies, her voice so bright she was all but singing. "I doubt North has much, but take what you can get! Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" She darted over to Bunny a few feet ahead, her wings beating a hundred times a second. "Do rabbits know any fun dances? Do you even dance? Or do you have two giant left feet?"

Bunnymund looked down at his long, numb paws and frowned. "That––that's a good question. I reckon I've never danced before."

Sandman began warping sand into images of Bunny tripping over himself, to which the rabbit replied by swatting the sand above Sandman's head. Drifting away with a pleasant smile, Toothiana looked around and found Jack walking silently at the end of the party.

The merry humming of her wings faltered as Jack kept his gaze fixed on the ground. "... Jack?" she asked as she dropped to meet his eyes. "Are you feeling OK?"

He quickly lifted his head and raised his arms. "Never been better!" he replied with a wide grin, the cheer not reaching his eyes. "I'm a guardian now, aren't I? Let's walk faster, I want to celebrate!" He then returned to silence and shoved his hands into his sweater pocket.

Toothiana's violet pupils contracted as she cast a fleeting glance at the small, angular bundle within. Her crown feathers ruffled and she opened her mouth to speak, but instead she forced a wide smile across her face and flew above the group. "Um, Jack's right. We're moving like we're still not believed in!"

North suddenly froze and glared up at the Tooth Fairy, his beetling brows cross and his eyes still glinting in the shadow of the cliff. "Not believed in, you say? We will see who's believed in most! Last one to workshop cleans reindeer droppings!"

Santa Claus began pounding up the trail to his hideaway with Bunnymund, Toothiana and Sandman right behind him. They pushed and tripped as they climbed the last stretch of the bridge. All the while Jack kept his walking pace, twirling his staff in one hand, the other tucked in his pocket. Despite their struggles and triumphs over the last four days, Jack felt no urge to celebrate, as something was nagging at the forefront of his mind, occupying his consciousness like a premature obsession.

"At least they're having fun," he muttered to himself as the others squeezed through the main gates and entered through the large metal doors of the workshop.

Once he reached the entrance, Jack stopped and felt his tooth box in his sweater pouch, the metal cold against his fingers. He pulled out the gold-painted case and stared hard at the face on one end of the box. It was his face––Jack knew they were more the same person than not––but the image looked only slightly familiar.

He clenched the box tightly. There's got to be something I still need to remember. I have to know the rest, he decided. He cast a brief glance at the dome building before him and pulled a wayward grin. They'll be fine without me for a while.

Jack waved his staff through the air and a cold breeze blew snow against the walls of North's workshop, putting out the exterior torches. He waited a moment, but no one seemed to notice his absence or the sudden darkness, and so he was alone.

Jack lifted himself effortlessly off the ground and the wind carried him to the dome roof above his companions. He sat with his back against the tented point at the top, and paused a moment to enjoy the ceaseless call of nature's breath, beckoning him to join it.

As the moment came down upon him like a beating drum, doubt began to cloud his curiosity. He did not know if there was perhaps a part of him––a wrongdoing, a struggle, or any dark memory––better left forgotten. Was there a reason the man in the moon had wiped his memory clean?

Jack rolled his eyes and let the box fall onto his lap. "I'm being ridiculous, aren't I?" he asked the moon, even if it was set on this side of the world. "I shouldn't be worried. You picked me because the old Jack was good, because he ... I, saved my sister, and––"

Jack paused, unable to finish his sentence, and the wind seemed to have stopped its howling as a thought crossed his mind. My sister ... what was her name ...? He racked his brain for the answer. He tapped his head with his staff, searching for a recollection, but Jack realized he did not know a thing about his sister.

With something in mind to look for, Jack took the box back into his hands. He breathed deeply, gripped his tooth box tightly, and pressed the indigo marble diamond on the lid. He waited.

A.N: The real intrigue is in the next chapter. Please follow this story if you're interested to see what will happen. Leave a review to tell me your thoughts, especially if there is a particular name you absolutely do or don't want Jack's sister to have. Thank you for reading!