Secret of Frost and Moon

Groundhog

Alaia Skyhawk: You guys are gonna love this one, simply because of who shows up in it hehehehe!

And I figure since the question came up, I'll clarify it here. Non-believers can't see Jack's Ice Mirrors. Also, when he makes a mirror, it can only be seen on the side where he made it, not the side that it links to. The only exception is if he chooses to make a matching Ice Mirror on the other end of the portal, like he does for his permanent ones (Between the Winter Sanctuary and the Ice Caves where the Selkies live, and the permanent portal he made to Sandy's Dreamsand Isle). Hope that clears it up.

Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians, the Guardians of Childhood, or any related characters etc. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes.

And a shout-out to VanRah on Deviantart, for letting me use their awesome picture of Jack Frost as the new cover for this story! Seriously, go check out their page!

~(-)~

Chapter 38: Groundhog

A single moonbeam, swift and purposeful, spanned the distance between Earth and Moon. Sent from the hand of he who watched that vibrant world from his home within the great silvery sphere. That moonbeam eagerly obeyed his wish, to carry a message, and now it sought out the one for whom the message was destined. Not an easy feat, even for a moonbeam, for the recipient was one who could cross the world in a single stride. She who was tied to and cared for the Balance of Nature.

Mother Nature barely turned her head when the moonbeam alighted upon her shoulder, to twine with her long hair like a strand of silver through a night sky. And then she listened as it whispered to her, its words causing her to frown.

"Is that so?"

She sighed, a single step and a swirl of air, transporting her from a warm, forest night, to a cold glacial cavern whose floor had long ago been transformed into a winter forest.

When Mother Nature appeared beside the pond within the Winter Garden of the Sanctuary of Winter, Cernunnos raised his head from where he lay resting. It was, after all, the first of February, specifically of the year 1866, and it was the time he usually spent his time relaxing. But no one ignored Mother Mature when she chose to visit, no matter how tired they were.

The stag rose to his feet, and bowed his head in respect.

"Greetings. You wish to speak to Jack, perhaps? If so, I'm afraid he's not here right now."

Mother Nature tilted her head, her tone bland.

"I know exactly where he is, Cernunnos. It is not he who I wish to speak to, for I do not expect he would give me a truthful answer." She turned to face him fully, her expression now shadowed with a hint of concern. "I am aware of the civil war in America, which ended just a few months ago, and the Man in the Moon has informed me that Jack seems to have reacted to that war... rather badly."

Cernunnos now noticed the moonbeam still woven through her hair, and let out a deep sigh before coming over to stand beside her.

"You know of Jack's family, the descendants of his sister. It has been several generations now, since her, and with the numbers of children that there were in each generation, there were many branches which had moved away from Burgess and lost their belief in him... But he still watched them, checking from time-to-time, to make sure that they were safe... But with the war."

Mother Nature's eyes closed in pained understanding, before she placed a hand on the stag's shoulder.

"How many descendants from the branch families, were killed? It's been nine generations since Emily. Even if he only traced the male lineages, who carried the Bennett name, there must be thousands of them that he knew where to find. How many died?"