Katie hated the snow. Every year when autumn came about and the taste of winter brushed against the air, she fell into a slump not even Ombric could soothe.
Not even the friends she'd already grown out of touch with since she'd left Burgess behind and entered the town of Sanlow. Katie had never been very good with people anyway, always too shy to break out of her shell, too broken inside to ever let herself be so close to someone again. Within the years she'd spent here, she'd been forced to do otherwise, pushed into being a better version of herself. One she'd eventually grown proud about. But, despite Ombric's pushing, it had never been enough to wipe away the merciless pain of her loss.
Katie sat under a beautiful tree shedding the remainder of its autumn leaves above her. This was her favourite place in Sanlow; a girl needed time alone now and again, and no one dared bother her up high on this hill. It was perfect for other reasons, too—the only sound up here was that of the wind rushing around her, plus it possessed a perfect view of the log houses in town whilst simultaneously keeping her hidden to the curious eye.
Not to mention, the spot offered the most brilliant dawn lighting in both Sanlow and Burgess alike, perfect for drawing. Mother and Father had gifted her her first sketchbook and inks eleven years ago, after the accident that had taken the life of someone she'd loved and looked up to more than anyone she'd ever been blessed to know..
Someone whom they'd all loved dear.
Katie felt her heart throb at the memory, a wound constantly reopening itself despite her hollow attempts at stitching it back into one. She wondered if it would ever truly close. Deep down, she hoped it would not. It hadn't once in eleven years, and she wouldn't ever want to forget her brother's sacrifice anyway. He deserved that much, especially when it should have been her that died that day.
Jack hadn't even received a proper burial. It had been impossible—his body had seemed to have vanished in that hellish lake after he'd fallen inside. And then when her parents had forced them all north in their grieving, they'd both perished when a ferocious blizzard hit them unawares, leaving Katie wrapped tightly in their stiffened arms, buried inside a shallow cave that had obviously not done much to protect them. Only five years old, she'd been lucky that Ombric had found her in time.
Katie's vision had filled with the blur of oncoming tears. She barely remembered those years of her childhood, yet they still managed to affect her so. She brushed at her eyes until the tears went away, then gave her mind fully to the otherworld of her sketchbook.
Until she heard the scream.
It was so faint she was almost certain she'd only imagined it. And then it sounded once more. Katie jumped to her feet. It was coming from her right, deep inside the heart of Sanlow. She could see a crowd distantly forming in the square. With each passing second, more noise arose as more people approached the commotion.
They were protests, Katie soon realized, watching as arms rose angrily to the sky. She knew she should have stayed where she was, safe and outside of trouble. This most likely wasn't any of her business in the first place. The world was such a dangerous place, after all, surrounded by countless fates, countless stories each intertwined with one another. So rich, yet so intricately complicated. Each life so easy to snuff out, or create. Which is why you must always be careful, Ombric had once told her, while also making sure to not waste away your creativity, the adventure in your heart.
Katie tucked her sketchbook under her arm and ran fast and hard toward the sound. The cold bit at her cheeks, despite the big fur coat, brown as her hair and eyes, that she was wearing. She pushed the fearful nerves she was feeling to the back of her mind, pretending that she was a princess—a warrior between the pages of a fairytale, capable of doing incredible things.
Someone just like Jack had been.
When Katie reached the hills' end, she discovered that the townsfolk of Sanlow were not in a protest, but a riot. As she got closer, it was easy to realize what for—men were prepping the square for an execution.
"Quiet!" Katie begged. "Please, quiet, everyone! Yelling will solve nothing!" But only a few people heard her, and even they carried on their yells after a moments' silence. Some were even holding torches, Katie saw, threatening to burn down the houses of those responsible.
Despite Katie being only both a girl and a child, she'd settled a many arguments here before. Admittedly, however, none as big as this. The townsfolk loved her despite her knack for solitude, especially the children. She told them fairytales she spun inside of her head nearly every night by the fire. Even the adults tended to listen now and again, which made Katie feel most special.
"He's my son!" Someone yelled.
Katie ran toward the man on the verge of hanging, snatched a fat rock from the ground, and sent it hurdling toward a metal pail. The loud bang it produced startled the crowd long enough for Katie to speak.
Somehow, she managed to calm the townsfolk down, including the executioner. Somehow, she'd gotten them to feel the same compassion she felt so deep within her heart.
She'd never felt more proud of herself than she did that night. When she was certain everyone was safe, Katie ran home to tell Ombric all of which had taken place. Through it all, he sported his usual, small smile that seemed to hold a thousand secrets. Through it all, it never occurred to Katie that Ombric should have very well known about everything already—Sanlow wasn't that big a town, after all.
Perhaps he liked to listen to her stories, too.
That night, he sat with her on her bed and revealed himself to her as Father Time. He told her of the Man in the Moon who had saved her dear brother all those years ago. The moon in which apparently desired her liveliness too...
.·:* *:·.
The memory left Jack winded and disoriented. It couldn't be real. Surely Katherine couldn't be... She couldn't...
She was dead. His sister had grown old and died an eternity ago. But... had she? Jack had no way of knowing, not really. He'd only found the memories of his human life twenty years ago, thanks to Tooth and her fairies. He'd never gotten to know what had happened to his sister. To Katie. He'd never—
Pain, so blinding and great, pulled at his limbs. Nausea swarmed in his stomach. Bright. Everything was so bright, and raw, and disoriented. Jack could feel the claws trying to dig themselves back inside of him. He could feel the vibrations in his neck, the sound of a voice yelling itself dry. It did not sound like him.
"Jackson,"
Katherine's wide, grey eyes met his. Her small hands still rested, more stiffly now as he thrashed, on his head. Katie. Katherine. Mother Goose.
His little sister.
The one he'd saved all those decades ago.
"Jackson," she said again. "Don't let him consume you! Fight him. Come back to us."
And Jack almost did. He gazed into Katherine's face, seeing their mothers' clear resemblance in the carving of her features; the round eyes, the soft cheek bones, the thin lips. How had he not seen it before? How had he not realized as soon as he'd gotten his memories back?
"Come back to me, Jackson. Don't make me lose you twice over."
Don't make me lose you twice over.
Jack fought to shut his mind. To bar it down with a mental lock and key. He saw a shadow creep over Katherine's skin. The pain ceased suddenly, and all at once he was consumed by a great sense of release. It felt as if someone had pulled him out of a small room he'd been trapped in for days. One with no air or space to move. How long had it been since he'd taken his last, full breath?
Katherine saw the change in him. Jack could tell by the relief in her face. The way she lifted and glanced up happily toward something in the distance. Something that she loved as much as him.
He briefly caught sight of the worry in her eyes as he lifted his own head to see. Nightlight's cool, emotionless gaze met his. A small body lay limp in his arms, red staining her white nightgown. The tips of her blonde hair. Trailing down her long sleeve.
Jack felt his body tighten as Katherine's memory faded, replaced by another more fresh. More recent. A chilling hatred filled him as he slowly looked back up to Nightlight. The words murderer and just as bad as he was rushed through Jack's head. And then—Rapunzel.
Her love, her joy, her smile.
The tips of his fingers tingled faintly. In his distraction, Jack was not quick enough to catch the claws before they sunk back in—fully, this time. Darkness clouded his soul in a matter of seconds. It pushed his old self back into the recess of his mind, where he could only watch as his body moved.
He grabbed a blackening Twinetender at his side, hooking Katherine's ankles as he spun swiftly on his feet. Straddling her, he brought his staff down on her temple before her fingers could linger on his temples for too long. The quick flash of a five year old Katherine crying by a boulder was cut short as she fell limply to the ground.
The alarm written all over Nightlight's face made the darkness smile.
"We don't want to hurt you, Jack." Toothiana had drawn one of her twin swords, but the hesitance in her heart made it waver. In the other, she held Nightlight's staff. She must've picked it back up while he was out.
Jack could feel the darkness itching to attack. It wanted Tooth, but he did not understand why. His body took a half-step forward—and stopped. He felt the darkness trying to reach for its power, only to receive a wisp in response. Hate, it hated the weak. It was not yet strong enough to get her.
And as it pushed his body up into the air to flee, Jack hoped it would never be.
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*Edited, (October 21st, 2021).