"Did I sleep too long?" Ashley asked lazily when she finally woke up.
Will shook his head. "You seemed to need it."
Ashley was mesmerized by the creamy blanket that caked the ground. It was everything that she ever fantasized about winter. "Where are we?"
"We just arrived at the edge of the Candy Caverns," Will replied. "There's a friend of mine that I would like to consult."
"A friend? What's he like?"
"He's...an interesting fellow to say the least," Will said, "But I mean that in the best way possible."
Ashley was about to ask another question, but something moved in the distance. She wasn't sure how she hadn't seen it before. Especially since was a pink that heavily contrasted with the background.
Curious, she climbed off of Will's back and started towards it.
"Where are you going?" Will asked.
Ashley pointed at the moving pink blotch, "There's something over there and I want to see what it is."
Will cocked his head curiously as his eyes followed Ashley's finger. "That might be a bear."
"Bears aren't pink," Ashley said, stomping through the snow that didn't seem to make her cold.
"Not where you're from," Will said, following Ashley. "Bears here come in a wider range of color, but they only stay near the Candy Caverns."
"Why would they be pink?" Ashley asked. "Wouldn't that be bad camouflage?"
"Their surroundings are made of candy and so are they," Will said. "If that's not blending with their environment, then I don't know what is."
When they finally came closer to the ball of pink, Ashley saw that Will was right. It was a bear.
Ashley had never seen a bear up close before, but she had always thought that they were bigger. This one seemed to be shorter than her knee. Its gaze darted from Ashley to Will with wide, terrified eyes. She wondered what was wrong with it. When it tried to back away, she realized that its leg was caught in a red licorice rope. Slowly, Ashley reached over and untied it. Before she knew it, the bear ran away.
"Hm," Will wondered aloud, "I wonder how long the poor thing was caught in the trap."
Will then pushed Ashley gently with his head. "We must hurry. I'm afraid we won't find Jack if we take things too slowly."
Ashley strained her eyes to see if she could find the bear once again, but finally nodded.
As they traveled, Ashley looked more at the scenery that surrounded her. It was nothing but candy. The things that Ashley had assumed were supposed to be trees were varieties of lollipops and candy canes. Gum drops were clustered in a way that reminded her of bushes. Ashley was certain she could get a cavity from just looking around. Then there was the snow. It wasn't cold and it looked more like cake frosting. Every time Will took a step forward, Ashley was almost overwhelmed with a sweet smell.
"It looks like you have a visitor," Will chuckled.
Ashley looked around, confused. But, sure enough, there was the small pink bear just a short distance behind them. When they walked a little further, it would run up behind a candy cane or a lollipop and wait to repeat the process.
"Why's it following us?" Ashley asked. "We didn't do anything special."
"I would say you did do something special."
"All I did was help it loose. That's all."
"Wouldn't you like someone who freed you?" Will asked. "Wouldn't that be special?"
"It shouldn't be special."
Will then stopped. "I believe I see Jack. Do you want off?"
Instead of answering, Ashley hopped off the large cat. When she touched the thick snow, the pink bear walked up beside her, then nudged her hand with its muzzle. Ashley couldn't help but smile and pet its head softly.
Jack, unlike Will, the pink bear or the fairies, was the most human-looking thing Ashley had seen yet. But despite his initial impression, there was still something about him that was off. His skin and hair were unreasonably white. It made Ashley think of a dead man. Yet, Ashley knew that he couldn't be dead because he was moving, drawing on the ground with a large stick.
"Jack?" Will asked.
He didn't seem to hear Will. It seemed that all of his focus was on whatever he was doing.
Will sighed, then ran into him, using his head to knock Jack into the ground.
"That was unnecessary, wouldn't you say?" Jack asked. "I was on the verge of a new design for this winter."
"I wasn't going to get your attention otherwise," Will said as he sat down.
Jack lifted his head up and examined Will. "You're bigger than you usually are. Is there a special occasion for your size?"
"It's easier for travel," Will said.
"Travel, eh?" Jack smiled, pulling himself off of the snow. "Is that why you have four legs instead of two?"
"It's a bit of a story," Will said, "But I'll be more than happy to explain if you feed my guest."
Jack then looked at Ashley. "I hope she's not what I think she is."
"She is," Will nodded.
"My, we do have a lot to talk about."
Jack brought them to a building that Ashley could only describe as the largest and most intricate gingerbread house she had ever seen. As they entered, the pink bear curled next to the house and closed its eyes.
Jack gave Ashley bread and soup as Will explained everything he knew. Jack listened as he changed into something more fashionable. A light blue suite that had a white, inconsistent pattern that reminded Ashley of a strange mix between lightning and frost.
"I certainly hope there aren't more of her here," Jack said when Will had finished.
"I'm the only me so there can't be more," Ashley said.
Jack's cold hand patted Ashley's head and he smiled. "Not what I was meaning."
"Rosalia and I hope the same, but it would explain why she's here," Will said. "That is, if there were others."
"I can only wonder why someone would feel the need to start gathering children from the Waking World if that's the case we're facing," Jack said.
"It doesn't matter why," Will said, "It needs to stop."
"And how exactly do you propose we do that?" Jack asked. "How do we find someone who has already taken one child under the radar? How many others has this person taken? Will we be facing a hoard of children from the Waking World once we do find them?"
"You're asking too many questions and not providing enough answers," Will said.
"Perhaps you are asking too few," Jack said. "I'm simply voicing the questions we are all thinking."
A chill ran through Ashley. Were there more children that were taken from their homes like she had been? How long had they been away from their families? Ashley forced the questions away. She didn't want to think about things like that. Not when she knew that she would learn the answers later on.
"But you are right," Jack said, "Perhaps we are looking at too many questions. However, I do believe the ones we need to look at are: How is this person taking children? And how do we use their method to track them down?"
"I can already tell you that they've been using the traveling doors," Will said. "That was plain enough when I saw this child fall."
"Ashley," Ashley said firmly.
"What?" Will asked, clearly confused.
"My name's Ashley."
His expression softened. "Ah. I hope you accept my apology, then. I should have taken the time to learn your name."
"At least we know that our mystery thief is taking the time to use the travelling doors," Jack said. "Which means they're not making too many trips to the Waking World. Especially considering how infrequent those things are."
"But it would grant the thief a secret passage," Will nodded. "This especially so when we don't even pay that close attention to them."
"This does bring up another question," Jack said. "Why my help?"
Will's ears flattened and his tail flicked quickly from side to side. "You're an elder and this is as much your responsibility as it is mine. This should come without saying. Aside from mere advice, it is also your responsibility to take action."
Jack shrugged. "I'm a busy man that has a lot to prepare for in a short amount of time."
Ashley looked at Jack with blatant panic. "You aren't going to help me get home? Why not? Did I do something wrong?"
Jack's mouth opened and closed as words failed him. He then shook his head. "Of course I'm going to help you. You heard that over-sized kitty, right? It's my responsibility."
He knelt down and held her hand. "It's also my promise."
In Ashley's hand, A large snowflake formed and, slowly, she realized that it was turning into a glittering necklace.
"My promise," Jack said, pressing the necklace into her hand, "That I will help you. Not just now, but whenever you are in need. Turn the necklace thrice when you need me."
Ashley knew she was smiling like a goofy idiot, but she didn't care. She was too happy. She put the necklace on and let it fall over the key that Rosalia had given her.
"I take it you won't be coming with us?" Will asked.
Jack shook his head. "I think I would be of better use if I don't. I'm thinking that it might be possible to track an intersection between all of the travelling doors."
"An intersection?" Will repeated questioningly.
Jack nodded. "It's just a theory...but there might be a place where they all cross and the directions they travel may be visible. The only reason we've never noticed would be because we've never cared to track them down the way our thief has."
When they left the house, Ashley saw the pink polar bear shake its head and follow them, taking a particular closeness to Ashley.
Apparently, Jack had seen that too.
"I'm so happy she's found somebody," He smiled.
"She didn't find me," Ashley said. "...But I did help her."
Jack reached down and patted the pink bear on the head. "Cott's been a little lonely since she's lost her mother. It's been a while since she's been close to somebody."
Ashley felt a stab of sadness grip her heart. She lost her family too? No, Ashley knew it was different. Cott's family wasn't lost. It was gone and never coming back. Just like when her father went missing and it took her a while to figure out that pretty much meant that he was never coming back. Cott's mother wasn't coming back either.
Will was giving Jack a perplexed look. "I hope you don't assume that she'll come with us."
"She will," Ashley said. "I'm not letting Cott stay alone. She's coming with us."
Will shot Jack a vicious glare that didn't match the softness in his voice. "Surely she'll find others that she'll find company in."
"She's alone right now and needs friends," Ashley said firmly. "I'm a friend and I'm not letting her be alone when she needs someone the most."
Will was about to protest, but then closed his mouth and recognized defeat.
Jack lead them to the edge of a large forest that gave off a significantly more intimidating feel than the Candy Caverns had. "My advice is to go visit the Collector."
Will's posture tensed.
"I know, I know," Jack said. "It's not my favorite idea either, but she does have the fastest method to get you to Nightmare City."
"But-"
"No," Jack interrupted, "Listen; My advice at this point is to get her to Nightmare City where she can be either put in better care than simply roaming around the kingdom or, at best, taken home. Then we address the issue in regards to our thief."
"When you're right, you're right." Will sighed with a defeated nod.
There was a quick gust of cold wind and when it had died, Jack was gone.
Will took a step forward, then stopped, looking at Ashley. "This is Fear Forest. This forest completely surrounds Nightmare City and only the most terrible things live here. Hold on to my tail at all times if you're not riding on my back."
Ashley held on to Will's tail tightly and entered into the thick fog.
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