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You will never love the way you know.

You will never love the way you show.

Chapter 1

It was never too late for a little snowfall. Although it was technically against the "rules" that he was meant to follow, beyond being a fun-loving rule breaker, Jack Frost was alone. Who was to stop him from having a dash of fun every once in a blue moon? The fun was all that he had; he'd long-since given up on anything further from the moon, who had clearly abandoned him. Life wasn't always so lonely, though; Jack had found a good many ways to entertain himself.

Tiny droplets of dew clung to the lush green grass, dampening his feet as he strolled along. The early spring air smelled fresh and felt warm on his skin, but he certainly wouldn't have any of that. A giggle escaped his mouth as he broke into a run, swirling the dewdrops into a frosty glaze behind him.

"It's not Springtime yet," he mumbled to the budding trees around him, knowing good and well that he could create a winter blizzard whenever he might please. Never, though, had he been able to do it. Oh, he was more than capable, but truth be told, he enjoyed the brightly colored flowers and the blue skies. Even as he sent a chill through the branches of the trees, he was careful not to do any harm. The wind at his back, he bounded up the trunk of a particularly large tree, dashing from branch to branch as he gave his icy blessing. Sunlight made its way through the young leaves, casting images of bright diamonds on his skin. He smiled into the light, turning his face up.

Near the very top of the tree - he spotted it then - was a little bird's nest, neatly constructed and hidden quite well from anyone who wasn't exploring the full maze of tree limbs. Unable to resist, he brought himself up just a little higher so that he could peek inside at the nest's contents. As he'd expected, six baby birds sat inside, chirping with hungry mouths.

"Well hey there," he whispered gently, sprawling on his stomach across the branch and propping himself up by his elbows. "I see your coats are coming in; I bet it won't be long before you start flying. I'm a pretty good flyer, myself."

The little birds just kept up with their singing, and without fail he felt a tiny ache in his heart. They were just animals; they'd never talk to him anyway. He knew that there was no reason to be hurt by their ignorance to his presence (he wasn't missing out on much, after all), but he still was. Of course it wasn't just the birds and animals that couldn't see him; it was everyone. Any person that he'd ever come across was unable to see him, hear him, touch him - it was as if he didn't even exist.

Had the mother bird not returned to her nest just then, he may have left in depression. He was fond of the way families interacted, though, and stayed to watch the babies gather around her to be fed.

He spent a good deal of time wandering about villages, sitting in on family-dinners and overhearing stories. Having never been a part of a family, watching their endeavors only deepened his loneliness, and yet - at the same time - it almost made him feel loved. It was for that reason that he would stay.

What would it mean to have a family? he wondered to himself as he rolled off the branch and let the wind carry him to the next tree. He couldn't quite imagine himself in that role. Most creatures in families seemed to start off small, but for as long as he could remember he'd been about this size. He wouldn't know how to love them either; he couldn't recall ever loving anyone and had no idea what that might feel like.

He supposed that he would just have to make due with the wind as his comfort and his icy abilities as his playmates. The wind seemed to agree as it flew him up higher, causing him to laugh and spread out his arms like wings and spin about. He forgot about the rest of the world; he forgot that he was lonely; he forgot that he had no family; he forgot that he was invisible; he forgot that his name was Jack Frost. In that moment, he simply existed - he simply was.

His eyes closed contently; he could fall asleep like this, but there was no telling where he might have ended up had he chosen to do so. In fact, he had already drifted quite far. Stretching out his hand, he took hold of a nearby tree-branch and stopped himself, climbing upwards for a better look around: all trees as far North as he could see. He swung around the branch to face the South and was captivated by what he saw.

In a small clearing just a ways from where he was, stood a tall and crooked tower - all by itself. He weighed out his options; he could continue floating about and causing mischief - something he could do anytime and anywhere - or he could go on a real adventure. Hidden towers didn't come along just every day - or even every year in his experience. Decision made; he'd do something a little different today. He leaped from the tall arms of the tree and rode the air South.

The tower looked even taller up close. Jack stood at its base, staring up to the top and hoping that the crooked structure wouldn't fall on him. Shoving the anxiety aside, he decided that there was no better time than the present to investigate and made his way to the small window above. His body jolted back in fright when he came face-to-face with a girl. Per usual, she wasn't startled at all and maintained her relaxed position on the window pane. Curious about her, Jack moved closer. She had the biggest green eyes that he'd ever seen; they were staring off into the distance, and from what he could tell she was probably daydreaming.

"Rapunzel, let down your hair!" called a sing-song voice, spoiling the quiet moment for both Jack and the girl. He looked to the ground in time to experience the chilling feeling of something passing through him. The sensation made him grimace, but he focused his attention to the ground. Hair, he realized as the golden locks settled below.

"Whoa," he said out loud. Never in his life had he seen someone with so much hair. Even more shocking was that the woman on the ground was now grabbing onto the hair and being hoisted up as if by a strong rope. If this wasn't the strangest thing he'd ever seen then he'd be darned. He peered closer to the window, anxious to see what might happen in this very odd situation.

"How are you, darling?" the woman asked, ruffling her dark, curly hair.

The younger girl was still gathering her seemingly endless length of hair from the window sill. "Me? I'm-"

"Well, I'll tell you; I'm perfectly exhausted, Rapunzel," the woman interrupted. "Won't you come sing to me?"

At this Jack raised an eyebrow; the blonde, Rapunzel, nodded with a smile and replied "yes, Mother" without hesitation. Now with a brush in hand, Rapunzel sat at her mother's feet as the woman stroked her hair. The pair was at such an angle that he could barely see a thing. He considered swooping right through the window, but decided against it; he'd never done such a thing before.

And then Rapunzel began to sing.

"Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine." Jack's eyes widened at the sight before him. Bright golden light illuminated the small tower room, sprouting out of Rapunzel's hair and cradling in her mother's gentle hands. "Heal what has been hurt. Change the fates' design. Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine, what once was mine."

Completely dumbfounded, Jack slipped into the tower; maybe he could just stay for a moment. He hopped up to a beam on the ceiling and made himself comfortable.

The older woman sighed happily. "I'm feeling much better already. Thank you so much, darling; your voice is so soothing."

"Um - Mother, I was just wondering-"

"No time, Sweetheart," the mother interrupted Rapunzel once again. "I've got so much to do aside from listening to your frivolous mumbling; we agreed that you'd work on that, didn't we? No matter, dear, I must be leaving!"

Rapunzel frowned, nevertheless allowing her mother to go along situating her hair into a harness again. "But, Mother-"

"You're beautiful, darling. I love you!"

"I love you more," the girl said weakly out the window, the emptiness in her voice catching Jack's attention. He crossed his legs and leaned his elbows on them, watching curiously.

"I love you most," the mother's voice rang back through the air, muffled through the stone walls. Rapunzel didn't react, and stood still for a few solid moments. In quiet suspense, Jack leaned forward. He was unsure what he was waiting for; after all, what was she to do now that nobody else was here? Did he expect some loud display or exciting conclusion? Rapunzel only let out a shallow sigh, but Jack realized that it was precisely what he had been waiting for. Somehow, in the back of his mind he had known as soon as he'd seen her, and he grew increasingly sure as he watched the way she lived. Yet he had wanted proof, and that single, barely-audible sigh had been just that. Now he was absolutely sure.

This poor girl was all alone, just like him.

Thank you for reading (: I hope to make chapters longer than this in the future, but I had to begin somewhere so this is just how it ended up. By the way, the lyrics at the top come from Katie Costello's "I Can't Fix Us Two".

Disclaimer - I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story or the movies that they come from. Neither do I own "I Can't Fix Us Two" by Katie Costello.
While we're giving credit, if you can see the beautiful cover art for this story, it belongs to Milady666, who so graciously granted me permission to use it.

Please review! I love to hear peoples' thoughts (:

~ZuEra