I don't own Frozen, Rise of the Guardians, or any of the characters associated therein. The plot of this story is mine, though. Rated T for certain themes, may increase if necessary.

This story is... sort of for me. I mean, you are all welcome to read, and review if you should so desire, but I pretty much wrote this for me. Inspired by "Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man, and almost exclusively typed on the phone. It was one of those things I kinda... had to write, so it's probably naff.

Anyway, have at it.


"Only Human After All"

Of all the things Elsa expected to happen in her life, standing in the middle of Arendelle Stadium was not one of them.

Yet, there she was, as a testament to just how many curve balls life can throw, and how hard they hit.

But to find out precisely why the reserved, stately, ordinarily think-first-act-later woman was surrounded by thousands of spectators, eyes wide with anxiety and clutching a microphone with white-knuckled hands, one has to go to only one place.

I. The Beginning

It started, as these things often did, with a party. Elsa's younger sister, Anna Whitethorne, had just received news she was accepted into Arendelle College, much like Elsa three years before her. Such a momentous occasion was worth celebrating in the only way Anna knew how - a party.

At the Whitethorne house.

(Elsa's left eye had undergone a series of terrible twitches at that point.)

Still, milestones like that only ever happen once, and though a massive social gathering wasn't exactly Elsa's cup of tea - coffee, soda, water, juice or extremely strong alcoholic beverage for that matter - she realised with reluctance that it was Anna's time to shine. So, Anna got her party.

Fifty-three people in their circle of friends, even friends of friends, got an invite.

Elsa got a night of flitting from room to room, ensuring everyone was safe and their needs were met, and that the family valuables were still safely stashed in her bedroom upstairs. Valuables like her mother's ring, silver with a heart-shaped ruby, one of the strongest connections to their deceased parents, and a visual reminder of her need to be their 'perfect girl'. Elsa held little value in most material goods, but the ring was beyond precious.

So anxious and focused was she in ensuring none of the fifty three was liable to be injured, in danger, or throwing up, she wasn't exactly the life and soul of the party. Of course she preferred to stand at the sidelines and watch - but that was where her boyfriend Jack came in.

Parties were his forte, and entertainment was his life's work.

Sure, he barely passed most of his high school finals, and just about scraped a successful application into Arendelle College. Certainly he was 'immature', had a propensity for childish pranks and sometimes had the attention span of an errant gnat, but his heart was pure, and it was his heart Elsa was drawn to. He would consider a day ruined if he couldn't lift the spirits of one person, even if it was only a smile. His antics ranged from subtle to outright insane relative to the strength of gloom someone was under, and between Anna and Jack, there was never a moment in Elsa's life where she was under the weather for more than five minutes. Not that she'd ever tell him, but his smile had a way of turning her heart to mush.

(In a social environment, he was the beating heart of entertainment. If she was order, he was chaos - and together, harmony. It was little wonder they were going serious.)

So, leaving Jack in the living room, stood on a table whilst imitating a moose with a pair of sticks on the sides of his head, Elsa had gracefully accepted a small glass of lemonade in the kitchen whilst nurturing the hope that, unlike most other college parties, nothing could go wrong. Even as Jack passed her on his way upstairs, shooting her that infuriatingly effective smile of his, she briefly considered letting her hair down, and joined the fun in the living room.

Several hours later, she was proven so, so wrong.


II. The Missing Ring

Party long over, nearly all of the visitors had returned, or rather staggered home. Jack and Astrid remained behind to assist in cleaning up the post-apocalyptic scene, as did Anna's boyfriend Kristoff and his project-mate Hans. Secure in her belief the ring was safely nestled away in the nondescript, mundane, unvarnished jewelry box sat in her bedroom, Elsa slept that night without a single worry.

As did those that stayed behind, with the exception of Hans and Jack, the former needing to study and the latter wanting to catch up on the new episode of The Exorcist.

It was when morning broke that, feeling the compulsion to check the ring was still there, Elsa realised something had gone wrong.

It started as a minor concern, the kind one feels when they've misplaced their phone. The classic 'it's here somewhere, I probably just left it somewhere and forgot about it'. As the morning went on, with Astrid, Kristoff and Anna having been awoken by Elsa's ramblings of growing worry as she scoured the house, the minor concern intensified and intensified into a blossoming panic. Each vase was searched, every drawer opened. Nary a nook or cranny was not closely inspected by four pairs of eyes in pursuit of a small piece of jewellery, a silver ring with a heart-shaped ruby.

"Elsa," Anna had said, whilst Elsa was in the middle of crawling under her bed for the fifth time, "it's not here."

"It has to be!" was the reply.

"Sis, we've turned the house upside down." Anna's voice was muted, lost. Void of the nuclear excitement and energy it possessed several hours ago, whilst she was dancing with Kristoff. "If it was here, we'd have found it."

The world rendered into a thin line by the floor and the bed, Elsa could see her sister's Converse sneakers shuffle over and over again, the way they did when she was thinking something awful. Something she didn't want to utter.

Astrid had no such compunction to hide the inconvenient truth, a brutal honesty that was starkly discomforting when they first met, but a foundation on which a best friendship of trust and loyalty was built.

"I think someone stole it."


III. Suspicion

Of course, just because it was honesty didn't necessarily mean Elsa had to believe it - and for a time, she didn't. A handful of people knew of the ring's existence and even fewer knew of its location: Anna, Kristoff, Elsa herself, and Jack. Four people with no reason to steal it, who Elsa deeply trusted.

(Except Kristoff, but he already passed Elsa's trademark vetting procedure before even thinking of taking Anna for their first date.)

Which left forty-nine potential suspects,

Thus began Elsa's investigation later that day.

With luck, the vast majority of the partygoers were still on campus, and easily recognisable by the way they avoided bright lights like vampires in the daytime, leading to a simple case of stop-and-question between classes. Those that weren't on campus were then contacted by phone, especially if they didn't even go to Arendelle College.

The answers were much the same; though most of them could barely recall a party in the first place, leading Elsa to question the culture of alcohol in an educational setting, none of them even knew of the ring's existence. Two of them had a vague memory of a ring being mentioned by someone with a crazy disposition and a high pitched whine.

Several of them, Hans included, did recall seeing Jack ascend the stairs at one point, but weren't sure if it was him, or if Danny Phantom had come to life.

Which left Elsa at square one. No-one knew of the ring, and she believed Jack would never betray her in such a way. Nursing a strong mocha, she stared out of the window looking out onto the parking lot, helpless in the knowledge that all her leads were exhausted and losing hope that she would ever find the precious heirloom again. Someone had stolen it. Someone had taken her mother's engagement ring out of greed, caring not what their act had done to the Whitethorne sisters.

Even Jack couldn't lift her spirits, though his efforts with a slice of triple chocolate cake were admirable.

It wasn't until the following day, however, that Elsa found a new lead, from one of the most surprising people she could think of, someone whose advances she rebuffed whilst working up the courage to ask Jack Frost on a date. She had barely gotten out of her car when Hans approached her, worry in his eyes and agitation in his smooth voice.

"Elsa, do you have a moment? It's about your ring..."

Blinking, Elsa closed the driver's side door as she looked up at him, her attention wholly on his words. Could it be? Did he have new information - or did he steal it, and was he confessing?

"Of course," she replied with a calm tone masking the anticipated waver.

Hans adjusted the shoulder strap of his backpack, and cast a glance over his shoulder at the main gates of the college. If it was supposed to pique Elsa's interest, it succeeded. "I didn't tell you this before," he said in a low, urgent tone, "because you weren't alone-"

Elsa frowned, and tilted her head. "Tell me what?"

"-I mean, it's probably nothing, some kind of wild goose chase or something, and there's probably a rational explanation for it-"

"Hans," Elsa said sharply, cutting his frankly irritating rambling short. "What do you know?"

He looked at her with uncertainty, most unlike the controlled, sometimes arrogant facade he usually wore. Uttering a deep sigh, he shot one further furtive glance over his shoulder, before looking back at her.

And his eyes radiated sympathy.

"Well, I told you that I saw Jack going upstairs - but what I didn't tell you was that I went up to use the bathroom, and I saw Jack coming out of your bedroom."

Her head recoiled, and she looked at him like he'd just said Kanye West's face was under the dictionary's entry of 'humble'. Jack? What possible reason could he have for coming out of her bedroom? It didn't make sense. Composing herself with a quick breath, she asked, "Was anyone else there?"

Hans shook his head, like his answer was not one he wanted to give her. "No. Like I said, it's probably nothing, but… thought you should know."

Elsa swallowed down the confusion. "No, thank you for telling me. I don't believe Jack would do such a thing. It's not like him."

Hans shook his head and waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, yeah. Totally get it. Anyway, I gotta get to my journalism class." He reached for her, in an action that caused a slight flinch, and touched her leather jacket-covered arm. "I hope it works out."

"Thank you," Elsa responded flatly. Hans gave her a smile, and took off toward the main door, leaving Elsa to wonder if he was telling the truth.

Or if Jack was. She did see him go upstairs, after all.

One thing was for sure, though. Someone was lying.


IV. Seeds of Doubt

"Think there's any truth to what Hans said?"

Rapunzel's question was probably intended as innocuous, but it was fuel for the tiny seed of doubt in Elsa's mind to grow. As she sat around the cafeteria table with Anna, Kristoff and Merida and herself on one side, and Astrid, her boyfriend Hiccup, and Rapunzel on the other, she stared silently at the glossy white surface while her mind ticked over. Hans had no reason to lie, but no reason to tell the truth, either. Sure, Jack could be whimsical on (more than) one occasion and do things without telling anyone, but to think he could be responsible?

No. To think of Jack as a thief was incomprehensible.

"Nope." Anna vigorously shook her head. "Jack's a good guy."

Astrid interjected in her inimitably blunt, rude way. "You do realise he's stolen something before, right?"

At that, Elsa looked up from the table and fixed her gaze solely upon the golden blonde woman opposite, who was looking at Anna as though she'd grown a third head. Five pairs of eyes exchanged awkward glances, aside from Astrid and Elsa.

"He has?" Merida asked.

"Ayup." Astrid settled back into her chair, and stared impassively at each of them. "It was back in high school, and he was nearly suspended for stealing a conch shell necklace from Vanessa."

It was then Merida's turn to interject. "Oh, ye mean tha Vanessa that made Ariel's life a livin' hell, and stole the necklace from her? Jack stole it from Bitchnessa ta return it ta Ariel."

That sounded like Jack, all right.

Astrid shrugged. "I don't know anything about that. All I know is if he had no problems stealing before-"

"Are we seriously debating this?" Anna said in sharp protest. "Jack's got no reason to do it! He loves Elsa!"

Elsa felt the familiar burst of heat in her heart… but not as intensely as usual.

"Well, let's look at it with facts," Astrid said, and gestured to Elsa, who stared at her in silence. "You like facts, don't you?"

She held up three fingers. "My dad said three things make a crime. M.M.O."

Hiccup frowned at her. "Massively multiplayer-"

"Means, motive, opportunity, idiot," Astrid said in annoyance, which was further conveyed by an elbow to a yelping Hiccup's side. "Means: he has two hands, and pockets. Motive: he's been having financial trouble recently. Like, ramen and ketchup trouble."

"Um, hello-o-o?" Hiccup said, spreading his hands. "Where are we, again? We can't just jump to conclusions like this."

Kristoff nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Not everyone's rolling in the dough like Elsa and Anna." When the latter shot him a look, he hastily added, "Sorry, but it's true. Dude works, like, two jobs besides his teaching major."

"Doesn't help his case," Astrid said, bristling at their lack of belief. "And in case you didn't know, they're upping the fees next year. Our final year. Don't forget opportunity - everyone's distracted 'cause of the party. Ideal time - he just didn't bank on Hans seeing him."

"Yer not exactly Jack's biggest fan, though," Merida chimed in.

Astrid gave her a look. "No, you're right. I'm not. I've never tried to hide my dislike of him-"

Now that was one-hundred percent correct. The glares Astrid would regularly give him, could set any man on fire.

"-I think he's immature, childish, he cares more about fun than his college work, he doesn't realise what his pranks do, and Elsa deserves so much better than him. She deserves someone who can actually act like an adult, you know, like Tadashi. Jack is-"

"-the man I chose, Astrid." Elsa gave her a cold, unblinking look. If Astrid's glare could incinerate, Elsa's could freeze - and it was one of the few things that silenced the obstinate woman. "If you will not respect my boyfriend, you will certainly respect my choice in the matter."

Astrid's gaze faltered, and for the first time since they took their seats an hour ago, she was unable to maintain eye contact, choosing instead to focus on Elsa's mug of mocha while she responded. "Fair enough. All I'm saying is… what little facts we have, all point to one person."

Silence fell over the table like a blanket of discomfort and unsaid words, awkward hesitation and unwelcome possibilities. Elsa's gaze fell to a patch of spilled soda in the centre whilst her mind ticked over. Astrid's dislike of Jack may be evident and somewhat skewing her narrative, but she had a point - and as much as she tried to ignore the so-called facts, they made some sense.

Still, it was Jack they were talking about. She knew him.

"There's also the possibility Hans is lying," Rapunzel threw in. "We don't know that much about him. Kristoff - what's your take?"

The biggest person at the table shrugged, and spoke in the low, soft voice Elsa often found incongruent to a man of his size. "Does all his work on time, he's focused, calm. Tutor's pretty happy with him."

"Hey, guys! What's going on?"

A biological impossibility as it was, Elsa's heart leaped into her throat. Stiffening like a lightning rod at the sound of his voice, her gaze instantly snapped her thoughts and shot up to meet Jack, stood near the empty seat with his red backpack slung over his shoulder. His navy hooded sweater was vibrant, as always. His ice blue eyes danced from person to person, lips quirked into a goofy, lopsided smile. "Was there a meeting no-one told me about?"

Elsa's lips clamped shut, unable to speak for some inexplicable reason. The smile that tugged at her lips, a common occurrence in his presence, felt like it was as false as a politician's rhetoric. Why was she behaving like that? For that matter, noticing the awkward silence that had descended once more around the table, why was everyone behaving like that?

"Uh…" Rapunzel said, her surprised expression a screaming clue she was scrambling for something to say, "we were just…"

"Talking about tha ring," Merida finished for her. Elsa didn't miss the grateful look Rapunzel gave her.

Jack's smile instantly fell, and the boyish expression of concern that washed over his face… irritated Elsa. It never did that before. "Still no clue who did it?" he asked as he took the empty seat - though Elsa noted with guilt the flash of disappointment crossing his eyes that, unlike every single meeting they had, the seat at her right was occupied. By Astrid.

"Well-" Hiccup began, but was immediately and viciously silenced by something hard and painful - likely Astrid's foot, Elsa suspected, "-nope. Not a thing."

"You know anything about it?" Astrid said, and it was a testament either to how gullible Jack could be, or how he ironically trusted the stubborn woman, that he missed the pointed tone and hearty glare.

"No. I asked around, but I got nothing. Why do you ask?"

Astrid opened her mouth to answer, likely with something that would start one hell of an argument, but was interrupted rather theatrically by Anna. Rising from table, she bent down to pick up her sunflower-decorated spring green backpack and said loudly with far too much brightness, "Okay, I'm gonna get to class, and Kristoff's walking me. See you guys later! No fighting!"

Kristoff looked mildly bemused at the notion he would be doing such a thing, but a pointed look and a decidedly unsubtle nod cured that particular confusion. He murmured his farewells, and left the cafeteria with his girlfriend's arms hooked around his left forearm.

Hiccup was next to bid his goodbyes, citing needing to finish up his engineering thesis for the next day - and a clever hint that Astrid needed to train for football saw to her exit, too. Merida followed suit, dragging a reluctant-looking Rapunzel out of the cafeteria.

"Was it something I said?"

Which left Elsa, Jack, and a whole lot of unwelcome discomfort in the air. Well, none that he was particularly sensitive too at that moment, having seized the opportunity to claim Astrid's seat at her side. She wanted to look at him, needed to, but something held her back. The same thing that fed the doubt in her mind, rendering heavy her hands when they would ordinarily be happily lacing themselves around his.

Even the tender kiss he planted on her cheek aroused a faint burning sensation - and not the one it was supposed to. What was happening to her? Was she really doubting her boyfriend?

"Hey, you okay?" Elsa realised she couldn't avoid him any longer, and with as much effort as raising the Titanic, she turned to meet his eyes. Her heart twinged at the deep worry in his icy blues, the way his pupils dilated inside the snowflake shape surrounding them. Her lips parted… why was it so hard to speak? "You're a little distant. I mean, more than usual."

She blinked over and over, her mouth opening and closing like a drawbridge. It was easy enough to say the words, but her heart and mind were engaged in a vicious battle for supremacy - and her throat was the battlefield. She nibbled at her lips, feeling her mouth become more arid as the seconds went on.

"Jack…" she said softly, anxiously, a waver of uncertainty in her voice, "will you promise me something?"

Jack tilted his head, his gaze not once leaving hers. A frown of concern furrowed his brow. "Anything, Elsa. You know that."

She slowly nodded. "Promise me… if you took the ring, you'd tell me, wouldn't you?"

His head recoiled like she'd just announced she was about to tear off her clothes and strut, naked, around the cafeteria. "You know I would, except I don't need to because I didn't take it."

In defiance of her brain's orders, her right hand surged over and squeezed his left. "Please, Jack. Promise me," she said, gazing imploringly into his eyes.

"I promise, Elsa." His face was solemn, his eyes honest. In fact, he looked mildly hurt she would even ask such a thing. "I would never betray you like that - I know how much that ring means to you." He leaned forward, radiating a pleading vibe. "Astrid might think I'm worthless, but I'd never hurt you like that. You have to believe me."

She let out a shaky sigh, and closed her eyes. Smiling shyly - a task far easier than before - she nodded to herself. "I do, Jack. I'm sorry. I just… this whole situation is messing with me."

Jack's other hand rested on hers. Opening her eyes, she rested them on the face of pure sympathy pointed right back at her. The cheeky glint in his eyes was present, as ever. "Hey, I get it. Listen - how about you come over after college? I'll cook us some mean ramen and ketchup, and we can watch crappy sci-fi movies together?"

Elsa smiled a wide, genuine smile. "I'd like that."

So she did. Once college was over for the day, she texted Anna to let her know she'd be at Jack's for the night. The ramen and ketchup was as she'd expected it to be, and the sci-fi movies were worse than Twilight. Not that they finished the first - three quarters of an hour in and they were already tearing each other's clothes off, leading to a wild night where Elsa's mind reached the stratosphere at least three times.

And for a few happy hours, the seed of doubt was nothing but a happy memory - until, as their bodies lay entwined in the moonlit bedroom and covered in the sweat of satisfaction, the question breathlessly slipped from her lips before she even knew it.

"Jack?"

She received a sleepy, "Huh?" as her answer.

"You'd tell me if you knew anything about the ring, right?"

The sound of fabric shifting above her head caught her ears. From its position of resting on his chest, with her left arm draped around him, she craned her neck up to meet his gaze. Even in the dark, they begged for belief.

"If I knew anything, you'd be the first to know, Elsa."

Her eyes travelled down to his lips. A slow sigh escaped from her nose, and as she reached up to caress his cheek she stretched to plant a delicate kiss on his lips. "I know. Thank you."

It wasn't long after that she heard the telltale light snoring of his slumber…

...but the night held no such sleep for Elsa.


V. The Photograph

"You did what?!"

Anna's reaction had been predictably over dramatic, and had they been anywhere near the science campus, experiments would have been conducted into just how a human jaw could hit the floor. Mercifully they were at home, and no such investigation would be conducted.

Other than Anna's inquisition into what Elsa was thinking, of course.

The two sisters stood in the kitchen of her house, with Elsa resting a hand on the counter while the other hand ran through her swept-back platinum blonde bangs, and with Anna staring at her with the definition of incredulity. Staring at the black and white tiled floor,.Elsa shook her head in disbelief.

"I know! I know, I shouldn't have done it!" the elder sister protested in a voice of frustration and high pitch.

"Oh, gee, you think?" Anna's hand flew into the air, only to slap against her leg. "Elsa, you went through your boyfriend's stuff! Do you have any idea what that could do to him if he ever finds out?"

"I know!" Elsa wrapped her arms around her chest. "He's going to think I don't trust him…"

Anna made an exaggerated motion, spreading her arms wide, acting. "Safe to say you don't! Elsa, people don't just go through other people's possessions if they trust them!"

Elsa uttered her fourth, "I know!" of the morning. Jack had left the apartment in a rush, having realised he was late for his morning lecture - as usual - and told her she should make herself at home. To her credit, she attempted to… until the compulsion, the desire to find out for certain became overwhelming. One hour later, his apartment was scoured. An hour after that, everything had been painstakingly returned its original location.

Anna sighed with deep exasperation, and pinched the bridge of her nose whilst her other hand rested on her denim pants-covered hip. "Can't believe I'm about to ask this… but did you find it?"

Elsa flopped back against the counter, and huddled herself with her arms. "No. Nothing."

She felt so guilty. In a moment of distrust, which, as she went through his hooded sweaters, her brain had rationalised as confirming his innocence, she had invaded his privacy. How would she have felt, if Jack had done the same?

The sound of the front door being knocked echoed throughout the huge house, abrupt enough to give Elsa a start and cause Anna to jump with a gasp. Kristoff, who up until that moment had been content to devour a raw carrot and stay out of the conversation, rose from the kitchen table and muttered that he would see who was calling.

"That's good, right?" Anna said with a slight breathlessness to her usually bubbly voice, "If he hasn't got it, he's innocent."

Any comfort Elsa felt was short lived. As Kristoff passed, he said with a perfect air of deadpan nonchalance, "He could have pawned it."

Elsa's breath hitched.

The sigh that slipped through Anna's gritted teeth was as irritated as the eyes that shot up into her eyebrows, a second before she gave Kristoff a look that could incinerate worlds. "Thanks, boyfriend. You really know how to make a girl feel special."

Kristoff immediately cringed and scurried away, murmuring a hasty apology. Shaking her head as though she was the only sane person in the room, she muttered an annoyed, "Oaf…" before taking Elsa by the shoulders.

"Sis, think about this. By searching his apartment without his consent, you are - by definition - accusing him of stealing. Do you honestly think he did it?"

Elsa looked up at her with guilt-filled, shimmering wet eyes. She wanted to say no. She wanted to say she believed Jack and would back him to the hilt. She wanted it to be some opportunistic partygoer who saw the ring as an easy payday.

The word stuck in her throat. The doubt had grown too deep. Between Hans' revelation, and Astrid's explanation - skewed as it may have been by her personal prejudice - she didn't know what to think. She couldn't even picture Jack, which would always make her smile, without a voice in her head asking the same question over and over.

Did he do it?

Thus, the one word answer became three in a faint voice of uncertainty. "I don't know…"

Anna sighed, and frowned with sympathy. "C'mere," she murmured as she pulled Elsa into a tight hug, and whispered, "It's going to be okay," as she stroked her back whilst Elsa buried her face in her shoulders, fighting back the sobs.

"Um… guys?"

Elsa looked up at the tremble in Kristoff's voice, and the sight caught her breath. His face was pale and twisted with shock, and his eyes bore disbelief at the rectangular piece of what looked like paper in his hand. "Someone left… left this at the door. You really need

… to see this."

Anna released Elsa and strode over to snatch the paper from Kristoff, who was too stunned to react. Frowning, she looked down at it - which was when she covered her open, gasping mouth.

"What?" Elsa asked. Anna looked up with popping eyes, and the paper trembled as it was passed to her. Curious, Elsa took it with a final glance at her sister's near-tearful face, and realised thanks to the glossy surface under her thumb she was holding a photograph.

She looked down.

Her world fell apart.


VI. Your Lying Lips

We need to talk.

Four words which, to the layman's eye, were perfectly innocent. Yet, to a man in a relationship, they were words that struck fear into the hardest of hearts.

It was little wonder that Jack abandoned his afternoon lecture and was through Elsa's door within half an hour. Even less wonder that a text from Anna had done the rounds, leading to their entire circle of friends hiding in various places around the house.

Elsa waited for him in the living room, her arms folded while she did her absolute best to keep an impassive, unreadable expression upon her porcelain face. Eyes radiating worry, he strode into the living room with a breathless, "I got your text, you okay?"

He closed the distance and leaned in to kiss her cheek. She turned her head away. He pulled back, gazing in confusion. "What's wrong?"

It was so hard to speak. Millions of thoughts raced through her mind at speed, all punctuated by the same words:

It was him.

She couldn't even stand to be touched by him.

Staring at the backpack he dropped living room doorway, she took a long, shaking breath and forced out the words, "Do you love me?"

Jack frowned, recoiling his head. "You know I do. What's going on?"

Liar.

"You would always tell me the truth, right?"

He nodded vigorously. "I would, I always do."

She forced herself to look at him. If her heart wasn't already breaking inch by agonising inch, the lost and confused expression certainly wasn't helping. "Remember what you promised to me?"

"Yeah, I do. Elsa, you're not making any-"

"Did you steal my mother's ring?"

Her question cut his sentence off like the executioner's axe. He stared at her, expression of deep confusion unchanged. He was acting - he had to be.

"No. I told you; I didn't do it. Why are you acting like this?"

Her lower lip slipped in between her teeth. Her eyes left his, and she turned her back to him. "I want to believe you. I really do. The idea you would steal…" she broke off, and slowly moved away from him to the coffee table a few feet away. "...I just couldn't believe it. When I searched your apartment-"

Jack's indignant hurt was clear as a bell. "You did what?"

"-and found nothing, I thought to myself, 'this is proof he's innocent'. I felt so guilty, I felt guilty, and I was going to tell you and make it up to you tonight."

She picked up the photograph, the one that shattered her world. Where Jack was walking into a pawnbroker's shop in the seedier area of Arendelle City. Of course, navy sweaters weren't damning… but the way he was looking over his shoulder was.

Still with her back to him, she stared at the framed picture of Iduna Whitethorne, embracing her two daughters. Eight and five, they were. With calmness barely holding back the tide of grief and rage, she spoke once more. "I'm going to ask you again, and if you love me, if you have an ounce of respect for me, please tell me the truth. If you are honest-"

"I am telling-"

"If you are honest," she cut over him, "we can work this out. We can try and move on together - but only if you tell me the truth."

She turned around, summoning every ounce of strength she had to meet his gaze.

"Did you steal my mother's ring?"

He didn't hesitate, didn't blink, didn't waver. "No."

Elsa inhaled deeply - there it was. He had made his bed. Kristoff had later questioned the coincidence of such a photograph appearing, until Anna pointed out that if he denied visiting the pawnbroker's even with photographic proof, then he had to be lying.

If he was lying about stealing the ring, what else was he lying about? Was their whole relationship built on deceit?

She strode forward and handed him the photograph. Bemused, he took it, and his eyes went down to the image. Like a hawk, Elsa watched his face undergo a series of expressions; shock, confusion, bewilderment, anger… and realisation. "Elsa, I've never been there. I swear to God, I've never been in this part of town."

"Don't lie to me, Jack."

"I'm not lying!" he hissed. "This is a fake, a photoshop!"

Which was Anna's theory - shot down by Kristoff's assertion that no-one was that good.

Elsa remained silent as the grave. The word 'liar' repeated itself over and over in her head. Liar. Liar. Liar.

"This is a frame, someone's making me take the fall!"

"Who, Jack?"

He threw his hands into the air. Panic was etching itself into his face. Straws grasped in his voice. "I don't know! Astrid - she's had it in for me since we started dating!"

"You LIAR!"

It happened too fast for Elsa to react; in all of four seconds, Astrid had sprinted from the kitchen and smashed her fist into Jack's nose. Howling with pain, he clamped his hands over the impact spot whilst Hiccup tried his best to hold her back.

"You took it, Jack! You betrayed Elsa! You liar!"

"Astrid."

Elsa's stern voice rang out around the room, now full of their friends, instantly silencing the furious woman. Jack delicately moved his hands away from his nose, and it was a testament to the strength of his face that there were no streaks of crimson to be seen.

No-one helped him. No-one dared.

"That first one was free," Jack snarled, shooting Astrid an icy glare, "but Hiccup? You'd better stop her from doing it again, 'cause I won't be responsible for what happens next."

"Yeah?" Astrid hissed, "Any time, any place, you lying scumbag!"

"Hiccup." Elsa gave him a stern, commanding look. "Take Astrid to the kitchen, so she can cool off."

Hiccup nodded his assent and guided - practically dragged - her away from the scene. Returning her eyes to Jack, once Astrid was out of sight, she watched him touch his nose and then check his fingertips over and over.

"How could you, Jack?" Anna said, wrapped by Kristoff's arms. One look told Elsa her heart was ashes.

"I. Didn't. Do. It." Jack snapped.

"Please, Jack," Rapunzel interjected. "Just be honest - were you having money problems?"

"Duh!" Jack threw her an incredulous glare. "Kinda comes with the college territory...oh, and supporting my sister! Not everyone gets to live off a tasty six figure inheritance, they have to-"

His words felt like a slap in Elsa's face. How dare he. Her heart stilled in her chest, while her hands balled themselves into fists at her side. Her teeth clenched together, and she fought the seductive urge to finish what Astrid started.

Jack took one look at her, and his face dropped. He knew the damage his words had caused. "Elsa - I didn't mean… please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Enough, Jack."

"-just gimme a second to-"

"Enough," she snarled with all the rage and venom she could allow. Jack fell silent, and stared at her. He looked so lost, like everything was falling apart and he had no idea why. In any other situation, Elsa would not hesitate to embrace him, kiss him, and tell him it would all be okay… but the sight of him filled her with nausea. Betrayal. Fury.

"I called you here, because I wanted to give you a chance to explain. I wanted to believe you, and if you had stolen it, we could have worked something out. If you needed money, you know I would have helped you without hesitation, and with love. You didn't have to take the only sentimental heirloom my sister and I have left."

"But I swear, I didn't-"

She held up a hand. "But you lied. When you promised me, you were lying. When you told me if you knew anything, you were lying. And now, even with this photograph proving you went to a pawnbroker's, you still lie. I won't ever see my mother's ring again, and you are still insulting me by lying to my face."

"Elsa-"

She fought like hell to keep her voice as level as possible. "Now I can't help but wonder what else you were lying about. Whether all the moments we shared were true." Her voice broke under the weight of the lump in her throat. "If you truly did love me."

"But I do love you-don't do this. I'm innocent, I swear-"

"No more, Jack." Her heart was torn asunder, her voice path of shattered glass. Her strength was waning. "I'm sorry, but I can't trust you any more, and I can't be with someone I can't trust. I want you to leave."

"Elsa, please-"

She shook her head. Drawing herself to her full height, she held herself with elegance and poise as she looked up into his broken gaze, and said the words she never wanted to say before.

"No, Jack. We're over."


Part 2 coming soon.