A/N: Hey everyone! This here is my Jelsa Christmas story. Now, I know I promised to update Gathering Darkness, but I have been just completely overwhelmed with class and homework, but it will come soon. Fortunately for this story, I had begun work on it back in January. Now, this story has a much more concentrated plot than my other stories, so this is not going to be a very long story. By my count, there are about nine weeks left until Christmas, so I believe this story will perhaps run ten or so chapters. This story is a Fantasy/Family/Friendship story so if you're looking for villains and fighting, sorry. There are no villains in this story. In fact, you might even say Pitch and Hans don't exist in this story's universe. All challenges will come from within the characters themselves and their environment. Hope everyone enjoys.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are owned by Disney and DreamWorks. I'm writing this purely for entertainment purposes.
The Polar Express
Chapter 1: The Journey Begins
"Come along Carolyn."
"I'm coming!" Said the young brunette girl as she skipped through the thick snow to keep up with her older brother. Unfortunately the snow was bogging her down and she eventually tripped, falling forward into the snow. Her brother was beside her in a moment offering her his hand which she took and allowed him to pull him up.
"You okay?" Asked the white haired teen. The girl patted herself off of snow from her several-sizes-too-big jacket and nodded, grinning at him.
"I'm fine, thanks Jack."
"Do you want me to carry you?"
"M-mm." Said the girl, shaking her head. Jack looked around. All the houses on the street were dark, though lights from Christmas trees could be seen through the windows of many. Some where in the distance a clock chimed, eleven in the evening. Jack continued scanning the darkness. The cold didn't bother him but Carolyn was a different matter. He knew the biting cold could harm her and he needed to find her some shelter for the night. At long last he spotted something promising. A large, dark rectangular shape was visible in the distance. A bus stop maybe.
"Come on." He said pulling Carolyn along and helping her through the snow.
When they at last arrived, the realized it was a trains stop and not a bus stop They sat down on a snow covered bench, Carolyn beside the wall, and Jack on her right.
"You okay?" Jack asked, adjusting the coat he'd given her to make sure it was securely fastened.
"Uh-huh." Carolyn said, leaning her head on Jack's shoulder to rest. Her older brother smiled and put a comforting arm around her. Jack himself wore only a brown cloak over a blue hoodie and brown pants. He was barefoot, his shoes and socks forgotten at the orphanage they had fled from. Normally at this time of the year they would be gathered with the other kids around the table by a warm fire at the orphanage, eating a Christmas dinner before going to bed to await Christmas the following morning. That was, until Jack found that he and his sister would be separated. Horrified by what he'd learned, he'd quickly told her of this turn in events, and together they fled from the orphanage, striking out on their own to find a place to live.
"Do you think Santa would be able to find us?" Carolyn suddenly asked. Jack looked at her with a raised eyebrow. He had raised her and taken care of her practically their whole lives, ever since they'd ended up in the orphanage. It was always the two of them together. Jack had had to grow up fast and between caring for his sister and being responsible for both of them, he found no time for such childish things as Santa Claus
"Come on Carolyn, how many times do I have to tell you? There's no such thing as Santa Claus." Jack didn't tell her this to make her feel bad. The truth of the matter was, Santa Claus was a fictional children's fairytale. Out here in the real world, with real dangers, he needed to giver her something tangible to believe in. His sister needed real hope, not something fake like Santa Claus.
"Now why would you say something like that?" Jack and Carolyn started, whipping around to look at Jack's others ide. Beside them was a man in a dark blue coat. He had dark brown hair, darker than Carolyn's and warm light brown eyes. Despite the man's harmless appearance, Jack held his sister closer. He guessed the man must be in his late fifties. The man smiled politely at the two youths.
"What are you two kids doing out in this weather on Christmas Eve?" He asked.
"We're gonna find our destiny out there." Said Jack.
"You're gonna find pneumonia out in this cold."
"The cold never bother me."
"But can the same be said for your sister?"
"I'm okay Jack." Turning to look at the man, Carolyn added, "We're fleeing from the orphanage. They were planning on sending one of us to another orphanage and we would've been separated and lose each other."
"Oh?"
"What are you doing here?" Jack asked suspiciously and a bit accusingly.
"Waiting for a train." The man said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"And what train would that be? The Midnight Express?" Asked Jack. The man chuckled.
"Something like that." Jack frowned. The man did not look like he was traveling. As if reading his thoughts, the man added, "I enjoy watching it come and go every Christmas Eve."
"Every Christmas?" Jack asked.
"For the last fifty or so years."
Before Jack could say much more, a train whistle sounded in the distance.
"Ah there she comes now." Said the man. As the trio watched, a beam of light appeared through the darkness. As it came closer, they were able to make out a large black train engine, smoke billowing from the short stack at the front of the engine, a golden bell place above the train's single headlight, snow flying away as the train moved down its tracks. The train pulled into the small station and screeched to a halt with a hiss of steam. Jack blinked. It was a steam train. He had no idea any those still ran except for recreational use. He couldn't read the name of the train as it was obscured by steam and melted snow rising from the wheels. Looking back, he saw that the train's many cars seemed to stretch on to eternity, disappearing in the night, only their lights visible. A man in a blue coat and hat descend the steps from one of the cars, a conductor.
"All aboard." The Conductor called into the cold dark night.
"Your ride?" Asked Jack motion towards the train.
"No. I already took this journey. It is not mine to take again." With that, the mysterious man reached into a pocket and pulled out a beautiful silver bell. Jack watched as the man gave it a shake, a smile on his face as he did. Jack could only stare. There was no sound from the bell, yet the man was smiling. Was he insane?
"I think your bell's broken mister." Said Jack. "I don't hear anything."
"I hear it Jack! Don't you hear it?! It sounds so beautiful." Said Carolyn. Jack's head snapped to Carolyn. How what that possible?! Was the cold affecting her mind?!
"There's no sound."
"Yes there is."
"I see…" Said the man, thoughtfully.
"What do you see?" Jack asked, still too concerned about his sister to be annoyed at the man.
"Everything. Well, everything that needs to be seen.
"What?" Asked Jack.
"The journey of a lifetime begins with a decision."
"And what decision is that?"
"Last call! All aboard!" The Conductor called again. The man on the bench turned and looked Jack straight in the eyes.
"If you want to find your destiny, I suggest you hop on that train."
Jack didn't know what compelled him to listen to the man. Maybe it was his want to get away from this seemingly crazy man. Maybe it was the hope that the train would be warm enough for Carolyn. Whatever the reason, Jack took his sister's hand and pulled her along behind him. As they approached the train, they could make out the fine ironworks and rivets on the train's engine.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry, we're on a very tight schedule." Said the Conductor, a mustachioed man in glasses, as he ushered them in. Jack and Carolyn quickly scurried inside and Jack led her through several cars, ending on the second to last one. He would have taken the empty last car, but the lights were off and he guess it would be cold compared to the cars currently in use. Upon reaching the second to last car, Carolyn began to pull Jack along excitedly. Jack looked around, there were about two dozen or so kids in this car and most seemed younger than he.
"Ah! The warmth is so good!" Said Carolyn as she took a seat by a window, Jack sitting down beside her. As soon as they were in their seats, the train began to move.
"Eh, it's alright." He joked.
"Where do you think we're going?" Carolyn asked. Jack shrugged.
"Who knows? I just hope they serve food beforewe have to hop off."
"Wait, what?! Why would we hop off?!"
"Come on, Carolyn. We didn't pay. We have no tickets. We're stowaways. When they find out, they'll toss us out. I intend to leave before that happens." Carolyn whimpered and fidgeted in her seat.
"I wouldn't worry about them throwing kids off. They'll probably stop the train at a station and escort you off." Jack and Carolyn turned to look behind them at the speaker a gangly brown haired, green eyed teen about Jack's age.
"My name's Hiccup Haddock." Said the boy.
"What's your real name?" Jack asked.
"That is my real name."
"Oh. Sorry your parents hate you."
"Jack!" Scolded Carolyn. Hiccup just laughed.
"I'm used to that reaction." He said. "What's your, name? Jack what that is?"
"Jack Frost."
"No, seriously."
"That is my real name; Jack Overland Frost."
"Oh!" Said Hiccup. "That's cools." Jack frowned at his slipup. "Erm, no pun intended."
"I'm Carolyn Frost!" Carolyn chimed in happily.
"Nice to meet you two." Said Hiccup.
"So, where are we headed?" Asked Jack.
"Don't know." Hiccup admitted. "Rumor about the train is the North Pole."
"Wow!" Said Carolyn gleefully. Jack however was much more skeptical.
"The North Pole?! That's ridiculous; you can't train to the North Pole." Hiccup just shrugged.
"That's what they're saying."
"Aye, she can make the Pole if the seas are frozen." The three kids turned to see that the speaker was a young girl in a green dress with long curly red hair. "Name's Merida. Merida Dunbroch."
"Hi Merida! I'm Carolyn Frost and this is my big brother Jack and that's Hiccup Haddock."
"You're from Scotland?" Said Jack.
"Aye lad, that I am."
"How can a train cross the seas, though?" Asked Jack. Even frozen, there are no tracks there."
"It doesn't matter if this is a magical train!" Carolyn added enthusiastically.
"Carolyn…"
"She's right." Chimed in another girl, this one with long golden-blonde hair that reached down to the back of her knees. She had emerald green eyes and a bubbly face.
"What do you mean?" Asked Jack.
"This is the Polar Express after all."
A/N2: And that wraps up the first chapter. I put it out today as it is the 10th anniversary of the premier of The Polar Express (it opened for a wide release later on November 10). Before I forget to mention, this story is set in modern times and the man that Jack and Carolyn met at the station was the grown Hero Boy from the movie. Jack and Elsa DO have powers, but their powers won't play a critical role in this story. Finally, this story has Jelsa and Merricup and there will be mentions of Flynnunzel and Kristanna, but unfortunately, Flynn will not appear in this story, and Kristoff will only show up at the end. I was just able to work them in properly and adding them would have been extraneous and just for the sake of having their characters.