Pippa Frost refused to die until the first snow of winter fell. The next thing she knew, the Man in the Moon was making her the Keeper of Time.

Whoever said time healed all wounds was a liar.

Just like Jack was.

"Would I trick you?"

"Yes, you always play tricks!"

"Well not this time. I promise, I promise. You're going to be fine."

How could she be fine when he was gone? It had been 6 years since Pippa Frost saw the thin ice crack under her brother's feet. 6 years since Jackson Overland Frost took his last breath. 6 years since she'd been truly happy.

It was hard to believe that her brother, who was usually energetic and lively, wasn't so full of life anymore.

He was dead.

And it was all her fault.

Pippa Frost shivered violently as the cold wind whistled around her. She shouldn't have been in the forest during a freezing cold night, especially not in her condition, but she had to be here tonight. Sometimes she liked to sneak out and sit by the frozen lake- the same one where her brother had drowned. It was wrong, and a bit masochistic, but she liked to sit in the moonlight and watch as the first snowflakes of winter descended from the sky. It reminded her of when she and her brother caught them in their tongues, had snowball fights, and came home with fevers that their mother inevitably and constantly chastised them about.

Whenever the snow fell, she was happy.

Whenever the snow fell, it felt like Jack was there.

Pippa had stopped believing in the stories her brother had whispered to her when their parents were asleep. The magic of her childhood faded when he was gone- Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and the Easter Bunny weren't real. All those nights stayed up trying to catch the elusive fairy and dream-giver, all those days hunting down chocolates and hard-boiled eggs, and all those lists written to the man up north were just beautiful lies that simultaneously filled her heart with happiness and bitter nostalgia.

But no matter what, she still believed in Jack.

'Ack, ack, ach,'

Pippa put a hand to her mouth as she let out a series of uncontrollable coughs. She was, essentially, dying of pneumonia, an infection of the lungs. It was an excruciating, painful virus that had slowly spread through her body about two weeks ago. Fever, fatigue, nausea, fits of coughing, vomiting, and shortness of breath had constantly plagued her. But it wasn't the physical agony that was excruciating for her- it was the guilt.

Jack had sacrificed himself to prevent her from dying, and what was she doing now? Dying. If only she had been braver, if only she'd been quicker, then, then Jack didn't need to…. Then he didn't have to...

His sacrifice was a waste, because she was an idiot who left misfortune in her wake.

'Ack, ack, ach'

But she couldn't die. Not now, at least. She was waiting.

Pippa could feel her life slipping away from her, but she gritted her teeth in perseverance and stared up into the sky at the moon's dim light. "Please, just give me some time with Jack. Just one minute. Even a second would be oka-"

The sound of laughter pierced the air.

Pippa Frost let out a smile. It was a laugh- Jackson's laugh- that always echoed through the air before the first snow of winter. Maybe she was hallucinating, but it was the most wonderful hallucination her mind could conjure. And sometimes, just like tonight, she could make out his silhouette performing complicated twists and turns against the silver moonlight.

A single snowflake landed on Pippa's nose, and the girl's smile transformed into a grin.

She had her second.

She could die now.

Jack was there.

It was dark and cold. Her mind reeled with confusion, and in her momentary disorientation, her breath hitched in fear. She tried to move her body, but could only manage to twitch the tip of her fingers. She then attempted to scream for help, but only a whisper escaped from her throat.

The girl began to panic, and a myriad of questions shot through her brain.

Was she dead? Where was she? How did she end up wherever she was? What was going on?

...Who was she?

She didn't know anything, really, and that terrified her.

All of a sudden, a thin ray of silver light cut through the darkness, and the girl's eyes widened in anticipation. Slowly, she was lifted into the air by an invisible force, her body breaking a clean layer of snow. The girl looked upward, and she found herself facing the full moon. She could feel power emanating from the celestial body, and her skin tingled with energy. Her weariness fell away, and she could feel herself growing stronger bit by bit. She wasn't scared anymore. On the contrary, she felt at ease.

'Pippa'

Pippa... was that her name?

'I can give you much more than a second with your brother.'

She had a brother?

'The world is, was, will be in danger. The guardians will need help. Your help.'

The light faded as Pippa was gently lowered back down to the snow-covered ground, next to a frozen pond. She waited to for light to come back and say... say something, but it didn't.

The girl sighed in frustration, and took the opportunity to examine herself. She wore a long, brown dress with a red and white diamond pattern around the hem. Looking down into the ice at her reflection, she saw that she was thin- almost deathly so- with straight brown hair and freckles under her big, brown eyes.

She stepped back, intending to walk around the pond's perimeter, and ended up colliding into something warm. It was a long, wooden pole with a long, curved blade attached perpendicularly to its end. Dangling from the blade was a miniature hourglass, filled with sand that almost seemed to glow.

...What was a scythe doing here?

The girl warily took the scythe in her hand and the weapon began to softly glow. Pippa stumbled back and held her other hand to her head, which was searing with a mind-numbingly painful sensation.

She could see... everything. She saw her former life as Pippa Frost with her mother, father, and Jack. She saw the sun and the moon. The day and the night. Death and creation. The ground beneath her feet spinning around the sun. The whole of time and space. Everything turning into dust and sand. All there is, all there was, all there ever could be.

It hurt so much.

She felt like she was going to burn from the inside, or at least pass out, but the pain gradually subsided. Pippa opened her eyes, which, unbeknownst to her, were now an unnaturally brilliant gold.

'Do you know who you are?'

Pippa looked up at the moon and tightened her grip on the scythe. "My name is Pippa Frost. I remember my past life. But now... now I'm a Time Keeper. I can control time. I can see infinite time streams and possibilities, as well as fixed points in time- things that should... things that have to happen, or the world will plunge into chaos. I make sure that what should happen does."

'Do you know what fixed point in time is in trouble?'

Pippa gulped nervously. "294 years from now, something will rise and affect children all over the world. It's so dark, and hopeless, and..." She shuddered, "Scary. What is it? I feel... I know that a major battle needs to occur, and the outcome is in flux... What do I do? And how will this make me see Jack again?"

'You will see eventually. Usually you could time travel, but for this fight you will need experience. And, Pippa Frost, it's going to take you a while.'

"How long?"

'294 years.'

Those were the last words Pippa heard from the Man in the Moon for a very, very long time.

I know that Pippa is not officially the name of Jack's sister, but it just stuck for me.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm not sure when I'll update next. Oh, and before you ask, yes, I was partially inspired by Doctor Who. I mean, the Doctor is a Time Lord and all.

Please review!