Yeah this is really, really late. But I realized I posted this on tumblr and forgot about ff ^^'''
Jackunzel Day 2: I Will Remember You
'You don't remember your name?'
'No, but for some reason I remember yours.'
Jack growled agitatedly as he swung his staff about, causing gales of icy winds to gust about as he did so.
Leaning back in the trunk of the tree he was sitting on, Jack sighed irritably and gazed up at the sky, his thoughts a million miles away.
A pair of emerald green eyes flashed before his eyes as the image of a young girl with beautiful golden hair danced before him. Her melodious laugh tinkled in his ears and Jack closed his eyes, trying to relish in the sound while it lasted.
Jack thought about her from time to time - more often than he would care to admit really. He remembered every detail about her with painful accuracy; the way her hair would always fall perfectly, the way her bright green eyes would shine when she smiled, the way she would practically glow when she was excited. Anything and everything about her stayed burned and etched into every corner his mind.
He relived the memories of her everyday to himself, terrified that one day he was going to wake up and forget about her too. And yet, he never spoke her name out loud because it brought too much pain.
It was ironic really; he didn't even remember his own life when he was brought back as Jack Frost, living only by the name Manny had assigned to him and knowing nothing else.
But she remained in his mind. She always lingered in the form of dreams that ended too soon and images that vanished too quickly. She was the only constant in his ever-changing world.
Sighing, Jack ran a hand through his pale hair.
He didn't remember when they had met. But he remembered how. He remembered flashes. Flashes of a time that now was alien to him.
He remembered being alone in a village, crying over something that had happened when she had stumbled onto his lone figure. She had been shocked to find him there while he had immediately bristled at her unwanted appearance.
His guard was up, but all it took was her smile to send it all crumbling down.
She had introduced herself, made small talk. She didn't address the fact that he had been crying and respected his boundaries, which he appreciated more than he had shown. She had tried to make him feel better by telling small jokes and trying to get him involved in the conversation. And it worked. For once he wasn't the one cracking a joke to lighten the mood, and he liked it.
He liked her.
They became fast friends after that. At the beginning, he thought she was a little eccentric. Cute, but a little overzealous. But over time be grew to love that about her. He grew to love everything about her. He loved her compassion, he loved her spunk, he loved her wit, he loved her adventurousness, her brain, her smile, her laugh.
He loved her.
He had never wanted to fall in love. He thought that love would only tie him down to a life he could never be happy with. But she proved him wrong. She was an adventure unto herself, brightening his world and bringing life and purpose to him. She made him want more in life, she made him envision the family he could have, the life he could have. She made him want that life, she made him want that family.
She made him want all that with her.
But fate never goes as planned and one winter when he took her out ice skating, something happened.
He never saw her again.
He doesn't remember what happened in between. He doesn't remember what happened to them and doesn't understand why he never got to see her again. The girl with a smile that could melt even the coldest of hearts had simply vanished from his life forever.
Just then, he was pulled out from his mourning as he'd heard the most heart wrenching sobs ever. Startled into a sitting position, he tried to listen out for track down the source of the crying. He didn't know why, but it tore his heart apart to hear that sound.
Jumping up, he started flying around, following his heart more than his mind.
When he finally neared the source of the crying, he found the place more familiar than he would have liked it to be.
The snow glistened and covered every inch of the place. Trees lined up around the area, carefully blanketed in a layer of snow and frost that he had worked hard on for hours at end. And at the center of it all, was a pond.
No, a pond. His pond. The pond he had broken out of when he had first woken as Jack Frost.
This place was his home and he spent most of his time there. Which was why he knew that not many people knew about this place…must less found solace in it.
As he flew closer to the scene, he saw a figure that's distinctively female. But that was all he could tell. The figure was all bundled up in winter clothes and a long purple cloak that was pulled up to hide her face as she sobbed.
She was standing dangerously close to the edge of the pond and for a spilt second, his heart stopped beating at the thought of her stepping onto the pond. Even though he knew it was completely irrational.
He knew the pond was safe. He made sure himself. Every time when winter rolled around, he obsessively spent hours at end making sure that his pond was covered in such a thick layer of ice that it would withstand even the heaviest of men.
He didn't know why he did this. But it was a fear so deeply ingrained to him that he never questioned it. He just wanted to make sure that no one ever fell into the pond.
Curiosity getting the better of him, he edged closer to her, trying to get a look at the mysterious girl who was crying at his pond. But, her large cloak still blocked the view of her face from him.
Suddenly, she spoke, and he didn't need to see her face to know who she was anymore.
"I'm sorry I haven't been coming for the past two years," the girl whispered, her voice hoarse and broken from all the crying, "It's just really hard you know? It's hard living without you here, and coming back to this place…I just couldn't bring myself to do it until now."
She drew a shaky breath and bent down as she pulled something out from her cloak and placed it on the frozen pond.
A bouquet of flowers.
But not just any flowers. Snowdrops. His favorite.
She looked around the area, her bright green eyes scanning the place with melancholy, "This place gave us so many happy memories…but now all I can see is-" her voice broke and she was unable to continue as she fought back a fresh wave of tears.
Biting her lip, she sighed, "I miss you," she whispered as she tilted her head up, causing her hood to fall off and reveal her face.
And just like that, his long still heart started to pound in his chest as blood roared in his ears.
She was beautiful. She had long golden blonde hair that shone like the sun and deep forest green eyes that glimmered. But, it wasn't his beauty that captivated him. It was her familiarity.
He knew who she was. She was voice that sung in his ear when everything was silent, the image that haunted his dreams and the girl he would forever love.
And for the first time in over two years, he spoke her name.
"Rapunzel."