A Tale of Winter's Eve

"Why do dislike Valentine's Day when it is actually a day for love and not hate?" he had once asked her in a jesting lilt, meaning to enlighten the heaviness encompassing them.

Toothiana was posed regally on the window sill, her skirt of plumes spread around her like a blooming flower pod and her bodily feathers shown lambent with iridescence, gleaming brighter than the distant firelight. Her once sheen eyes have lost some of their usual shine and her shoulders were sagging seemingly troubled by something greater then her weariness.

It was the night before Valentine's Day and they had all been summoned for a quarterly meeting. Tooth had entered silently through the back doors without the ambience of her mini-fairies. She did not greet them as grand as she did usually and the smiles she gave were hollow and mirthless, an obvious façade for one who had known so much about carrying false smiles to hide his true emotions. She had strayed away for the entire séance, quietly slipping away in the comfort of the shadows and now he's found her here, hidden away in an isolated room.

He tried asking his fellow guardians, but the answers they gave him were null and void. It seems that Tooth has carried on this act ever since they met her, though from all the little snippets they gave, the puzzle pieces slowly fell into place: Tooth did not like Valentine's Day.

The moonlight escaped the shade of the thick satin curtains, bathing the room with a bluish glow of luminescence as it foreshadowed the glint of the ranging fire. She ignored the question for a little longer, tilting her head to where the moon glistered. The silence stretched further between them until it filled the entire space.

Jack placed himself on the carpeted floor next to her, ignoring how the quietness made his movements seem louder. His eyes were gleaming again with the same spark of joy that was never lost.

"Dislike is a strong word, do you not think?" she finally chose to break the hush ness, sifting uncomfortable under his scrutinizing gaze. She placed her hands on her lap and craned her head slightly to take a glimpse at him.

"But is it not true?" his voice sounded melodic through the tranquility, sending Goosebumps riding down her arms. At last she turned to him and was met by his piecing stare, his azure eyes were resplendent with the candid flames blazing from the hearth, wide and urging yet lined with patience.

"You are right, it is true?" her answer was sly and her expression remained staid as if she was uncertain whether she was ready to open up to anyone at the moment but the look of determination never left him and the winter spirit practically had her pinned in place with his striking regard. "Do you mind if I asked why?"

"No, I do not" the words left her mind without allowance and she flinched at that, but nonetheless it was true. A troubled waning smile started across her face, but it disappeared as soon as it came. Despite her longing for isolation, she quite enjoyed having Jack at her side.

"And so what is the reason behind it?" he leaned forward, his eyes holding a new spark of curiosity as he awaited her answer.

She intertwined her fingers with one another, seeming jittery. "I do not know" she said with a sigh. "It seems a bit silly."

"Silly?" the other guardian snorted and a familiar smirk lit her view. "Who do you think—between both of us—is silly?" he stood up and began his pace around the small space by the window sill.

A mirrored simper twitched the corners of her mouth. "Why of course, no one can possibly be sillier than the guardian of fun himself, I was wrong to speak."

Jack only chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "There are always others, like the April Fool, but thank you, I take that as a complement."

Silence descended upon them once more and the winter elemental eventually left her side to saunter around the remaining space of the grand room, taking interest in the little trinkets that ran across the shelves in a neat file. Tooth snuck occasional glances at him, unsure of how to bring back another conversation between them. Perhaps Jack was giving her more time to provide an answer for his previous question.

She straightened a bit and ruffled down some of her unkempt feathers. Afterwards, she cleared her throat rather loudly, drawing back his attention to her. The queen's cheeks flushed when he averted his gaze and met hers. Strange…it was Jack Frost who was making the queen of all fairies feel all these strange sensations.

She swallowed hard and tried not to stare but his bright moonlit orbs felt like magnets tugging at her very soul. Jack came closer again, his gentle smile never departing. He propped his staff against the wall and leaned carelessly onto the frame of the window, slipping his free hands into his pockets. "So what was it you wanted to share?"

She left a space for him to settle and beckoned him to join her. Jack quirked a brow at her and strolled over her side, taking a seat on the place next to her. They were close, so close now. She could feel the chill of winter radiating from him and the scent of pine cones wafted.

"Well it is a little complicated" she began hesitantly with a faltering smile. "Do you ever feel that you are—you know—loved?"

It was a strange question indeed and Jack couldn't stop a look of surprise from crossing his features. "Perhaps…once before" he answered her wistfully, his eyes were now directed far off in a distance outside the window.

"Before?" the word came out more like an inquiry, Tooth canted her head towards him with a mixed look of confusion and shock. "Do…do you not remember?"

Jack shook his head. "I remember my family, their faces and all, they are still painted clear in my mind like the memory was fresh from yesterday." He paused and glanced at her before continuing. "But the feeling of love—it has been decades Tooth, I have forgotten much about it and how it actually feels like."

"Do you not feel like you are loved?" Toothiana questioned incredulously, holding back a gasp.

"Why? Do you feel like you are not loved?" he countered. "By your parents?"

"I have forgotten how it feels like as well."

"By the children? By your fairies?" he adds and his strong tone began to trickle away towards the end, growing into a hushed whisper. "By us?"

"Yes, I do feel that" subconsciously her blush deepened and her nervousness increased. "But that kind of love is different from what I crave for. It's just that…..I feel like something has been missing. It's why I do not really like Valentine's Day, not necessarily dislike though, I do not feel that strongly."

Jack watched her carefully; an apprehensive look came to his eyes.

"I don't know, there are just such few immortals out there, it is hard to find someone who is right." She said with exasperation. Her eyes turned grave, loosing the joy they usually carried.

"You might never know," came his answer in a light-hearted tone. "Perhaps we both crave for the same kind of love."

Her head shot up to him. Jack was looking at her intently, slightly bashful, but his eyes were strong and they were boring into hers. Tooth's heart was frantically pounding through her ribs as she scrambled her thoughts on what to do next. Now she was truly staring at him, though strangely she no longer cared about it anymore. "What …what did you just…?" she was able to muster the courage to say, but it only ended up sounding like she was choking on her words.

"My heart beats for you Tooth" his husky voice rang clear in her ears, making her chest constrict her own breathing. She blinked away the black spots that were blotching her vision and the next time she opened her eyes, she saw Jack's hand extended over to her. "Be mine on this day of love and maybe you will not feel so strongly about Valentine's any longer."

Even if she was astonished by the suddenness, she took his hand gladly, closing her eyes as the coldness traveled from his hand to her veins, sending small electric shocks through her veins.

That evening, they had broken the boundaries of friendship and each conversation they engage in grew deeper and more intimate. At this point they realized how lonely they both were and how their pieces of the puzzle fit each other's missing desire perfectly.

This might be the last day she felt so strongly about Valentine's Day, for now she had realized her feelings for Jack. As midnight finally stroke and the day for love officially began, the queen was hand in hand with the winter prince, scampering around in the heaps of snow he has created for them.

Toothiana never thought Jack Frost could bring this much change into her life.

Happy Valentine's Day guys! What's a day of love without the usual Rainbow Snowcone fluff right? I hope you guys enjoyed this and I really hope it didn't seem rushed. Homework has been coming in floods and I only managed to finish this within a few hours. it was originally longer, but I wanted to catch up to Valentine's Day, plus if I didn't push myself, who knows how long it will take for this story to be published XD I'm lazy as you can se.

For the readers of 'Trinity' and 'Till Death Parts Us' you might have noticed I have changed my writing style a bit. Sorry, been reading too muck Tolkien XD don't worry guys those other stories will be updated soon.

As for now, I hope you enjoyed this story, reviews and feedbacks are appreciated. I own nothing ;) have a nice Valentine's Day guys!