"Tell us a story!" squealed Sophie Bennett, who just turned eight today remind Jack Frost of that day he first meets her.
The memory of her is the strongest in the winter and she was the first one to see him. Tooth had been worried to show these memories to him. The memory alone, before seeing the teeth, fades in and out since the last time he saw her she had just become queen...
"Not another princess story, Jack. I am so sick of them. Look at me! I am a damsel in distress, save me!" Jamie said as he dropped down on the bed dramatically.
Jack chuckled to himself as he watched the sibling fighting with each other. Sophie had braided her hair reminding him again of her, but the different was she had white hair just like him. A small smile started to form on his lips.
He had wanted to tell this story to someone; to anyone to be sure he kept it in his mind for the next generation to come. Hoping she would be reborn and maybe they could be together again friends or just something more.
He pushed Jamie to make room for himself to sit on Jamie's race car bed sheets. Jack had come over to play with Jamie and Sophie missing the innocence of children over the business-like atmosphere in the North. Especially since Christmas is just around the corner.
"I do have a story about a princess" Jacked raised his hand to silence Jamie before he could whine. "However, for this story, I promise to let you choose how it end."
"What's point of that?" Sophie moaned as she settled next to her brother.
Jack's eyes sadden, "Just because...the tale is a really sad. You probably know one version of the story. I also do not want to remember most of the story, anyways. However, one young lady told me that a person is remembered by stories people pass down to generation to generation."
That seemed to get their attention.
"You can also stop me whenever you want too."
Jamie smiled at that suggestion and Sophie nodded as the siblings got ready for a fairy tale.
Jack raised his arm as he slowly made a picture of a window. Jack closed his eyes as he willed his mind to fill out the details as even now it felt like a prison. Expect this prison bars did not go the horizon but were more fancy that it all shaped like diamond connected together. He opened his eyes as he slowly started to sketch a girl into the window. He could not show much detail with the white snow, but he did his best.
"It starts in a land far away…Elsa is her name that only people close to her knew but most people know her as Snow Queen. This is a story about the Queen and her invisible friend…"
000
….The year after Elsa accidentally almost killed her sister, she had feared her touch. Her parents had told her she needs to control her curse.
Yet with her sister's memories erased she couldn't help, but sometimes miss playing with her. Since the memories were erased it didn't matter if they played again, right?
She heard her sister through the door, asking to come and make a snowman with her. She wanted so badly to open the door, but when she reached for the door she cursed spread out her hands freezing the doorknob.
That was one month ago and the curse is still growing. However, she still just a young girl and missed her sister.
She knew she was protecting her sister, but this castle which she used to love so dearly had turned into a frozen prison. Unlike prisoner through she could go out anytime she wanted. Fear of this curse spinning out of control throughout the castle did not sit well with her. So she stayed inside.
So she would open the window after her parents came and tried to help fix this cursed. That was when she saw him. She loved watching the children play under her window. She could sometimes hear her sister's laughter when she went outside to play with the children. She would close her eyes and pretend that she playing with them. Then the voice that cruel started building in her heart told her that she should stop wishing and grow up. The world is cruel and it just gets colder.
Yet that day changed when she saw a boy maybe a couple years older than her walking around and it seemed that everyone was ignoring him... just like her.
That was stupid...no one was like her. She reached over to pull the handle to close the window when she saw everyone was walking right through him.
"You!" she screamed involuntarily and rushed to close the window before she looked down and see if anyone saw her.
If only she looked down, she would see two blue eyes looked up with hope.
000
After that day she couldn't understand why, but whenever she opened the window she tried to see if the boy was there. Yet, he never appeared again.
She started to question her sanity. Had she craved companionship so badly that she had made up this boy?
While she questioned her sanity the voice in her head became bitterer as her curse grew more out controlled.
000
The winter breeze mocked her a year later on her birthday. She would always wish the hardest on this day that someone would come over and kill her. She had tried to take her life the days leading up to second time she meets him.
She had frozen the fork in her hand. Hatred consumed her as she rose to stab her heart.
"Stop!"
Everything had frozen within her. She turned her head and met with horrified blue eyes.
The boy was definitely a year or so older than her. His hair was white just like hers. He held a wooden stick that had a curve of crescent moon on the top in one hand and other stretched out
as...white snowflakes coming out.
"You have the curse too!"
He recoiled back and she regretted the words that she spoke.
They did not say anything for a while. The boy opened his mouth before closing again, but he finally he hit his hand over his head.
"I have to stop over thinking things, there no way she saw me."
He turned to leave and fearing to be stuck in this frozen hell forever she grabbed his sleeve.
Again they both had frozen, as a cold, but the warm feeling passed them.
She let go with a shock.
"Elsa!"
She heard her father disappointment as he ran to close the window. She turned head one second to talk to her father, but she felt a breeze before she realized that boy had disappeared.
She was pretty sure that was the last day she would see him, but then again the warmth still tingling on her fingertips gave her something she thought she never has again..hope.
000
Enough hope that she waited for father to leave the next day as she fearless poked her head out the window. She always worried that if someone recognized her or her sister saw her will to stay inside would bend and she would leave the safety of the room to explore the world. She gripped the handle rail as her curse slipped through fingers as it slowly crept on the sides. She looked around hoping to see him again.
You are slowly losing it, there no way—His hair white was what caught her eyes this time.
She reacted without hesitation this time without thinking about as she reached her hand out letting the curse-free this time. Yet, regret it immediately as it was still unstable as a hurricane of snow came rushing out towards him.
Time slowed down as the most extraordinary thing happen. The boy caught the snow! Then with his wooden stick reflected it back as not frozen death, but a beautiful snowflakes twirling around!
Everyone had raised their head to see where the scream came from but was met with the first snow of winter. The child squealed in delight as they started to play around with their friends. Even the adults had smiles on their faces as they too stopped their work to enjoy the snow around them.
Elsa watched her people enjoy the snow and again she had urged to go outside.
Yet if the boy wasn't there you would have killed more innocent people just like your sister.
It was right, she almost killed her people. Angrily she closed the window with the breeze as she looked for the gloves her father gave to her. After meeting the boy she had took them off a lot with a false hope that she did not need it.
She started to mumble to herself the words her father taught her as her anger started to take control of the curse. That was when she felt something wet hit her head. She whirled around and met the surprised eyes of the blue eye boy. This time, however, he held a snowball in one hand and his wooden stick was rested on the side of the window.
Her eyes draw towards the snowball in his hand as she hissed, "You wouldn't dare!"
Not expecting a reaction she was lucky her reflexes kicked in as he threw the snowball towards her. He had opened his mouth again to say something but closed it like yesterday. Yet there was something shining in his eyes that seem to spread inside her unconscious.
It scared her, yet made her start to feel alive again.
He had already started pacing back and forth in her room as he mumbled excitedly to himself about being 'seen'. When it seemed that nothing productive was going to happen today like yesterday the boy turned sharply towards her and for the first time, she heard his voice.
"You can see me?"
She still unsure what was going on as it seemed this crazy white hair boy had come into her life to make her life turn upside down, just nodded.
He just stood there again and wondered if he could do anything else.
She took the opportunity and asked, "What is your name?"
As he about reply she heard a knock on the door behind her. She knew that he going to run as she quickly said 'Stay' and put her ear next to the door.
The silent spread across as she waited to make sure it was not her sister. The knock became more urgently as she felt the doorknob twist. She quickly put on her gloves as she grabbed the doorknob and open slightly. If it was her sister then she would close it quickly, but it just a maid that her father gave to take care of her for food.
"I brought your food, milady." The maid said holding the tray of food in her hands as she bows to Elsa.
"Milady?" the boy scoffed.
She turned and said pointy, "Yes so?"
"What, milady?" the maid said as she gave her a weird look.
"Sorry, not you," she said as pointed behind her, "him."
"Him, whom?" the maid asked, as she started to get a little jumpy.
She turned towards the boy and saw sadness the mix in his eyes.
"The boy with the white hair, how can you not see him? He right there!" she had now opened the door wide open and the maid looked inside as she started to doubt herself too.
The expression on her maid's face told her everything.
Truly fearing her sanity she grabbed the food tray and closed the door in her maid's face. She slides down the door as she asked him, "Are you even real?"
"Of course, I am real!" he snapped.
Her head snapped up as she saw him resume pacing. She heard something she hadn't heard before in his voice desperation.
"I am real or am I not? If I was real then why can't anyone see me? Why was I chosen to be invisible! I don't want to be alone anymore...why is it when the first person that sees me..."
He finally stopped again, but this time, he slowly started to advance towards her. His face changed from anger to unreadable expression.
He might hurt her!
The voice within screamed for her to protect herself. She pulled the gloves off as she released everything within her.
She expected a frozen hell. She keeps forgetting that he has the curse. He stood there with his wooden stick held pointing towards her, but unlike her who would have attacked again. He slowly put his wooden stick on the ground and raised his hands in a gesture of surrendering.
" I don't want to hurt you, but can I try something?"
"Why should I? Who even let you come in?"
"Logical speaking it was you but when in this situation has logic ever been in play." She thought to herself.
He answered the question with a question of his own, "Why did you call out to me?"
Why did she call out to him?
He continued on as he said, "You could have chosen to ignore me, but you called out to me."
She did look out the window hoping to see him.
His expression relaxed as she slowly put her gloves on.
The silence filled the room again. By this time the boy had to settle underneath the window. He sat with his legs cross, waiting for her to make the next move.
She did not know what she was doing. She was supposed to be practicing to conceal her curse. Yet after trying to resist going out her room to play with her sister and wanting a companion for so long she finally has gotten what she wanted.
Yet no one can see him, but her. That really did not bother her as much as thought it would. Like when Anna and her made Olaf, the snowman, pretending one day that he would come alive. Only this boy was real, but only to her eyes like an imaginary friend. The problem was, he was real in the sense that she could touch him, but only she could do it.
Wasn't that the whole point of having an imaginary friend?
This was going nowhere. She had to decide today.
She looked up the boy one more time who was waiting patiently and decided.
Life was full of decision, whether sometimes logically it does not sound like the right choice, you choose and you live with consequences the rest of your life.
000
"What is your name?" she asked as she settled herself on the bed.
He had come back the next day and sat on the window sill. It was a different hesitation from before. He scratched the back of his head and she waited for him to answer. She was about to give him a name because something inside her ached. To know that not only was he invisible it was like the world was mocking him too as it took the only way to identify yourself in this world, too.
"Ho..."
"Jack. I am pretty sure that what my name is because that what echoes inside of me. I can hear it within my head, but I do not know who is saying it."
She sometimes does not know if he talking to her or himself. As he always talks to through her as if she is the wall and does not give her a minute to absorb the information. It was uncanny how many similarity they both had. She wondered if it would be a weird question to ask him if she did the same thing to him.
He crossed his arms as he slowly started to mumble to himself and then seemed to settle on asking, "So I have been wondering…"
She thought she knew the next question as she started, "My name…"
"I know your name," he said as a smirk form on lips. "Milady"
She did not know why, but she did not like hearing that from him.
"Do not call me that."
Mischievous glint shines in his eyes as he slowly bows down to her, "I like to keep my head on my body, milady."
She opens her mouth to protest, but he held her hand, "It feels like only friends tell each other their names, milady."
For the first time in her life, she started to stutter, "B-b-but you told me yours?"
A bark laughter rose out as he alternated his attention to the wooden stick in his hand.
"Like I said I not so sure about who said it. It feels like there a voice in my head that made to mock me. It calls me names and tells me all kinds of things. I have no memories of this name only waking up one day to wander the earth…milady?"
The alarm in his voice was what made her realize that she was crying. He moved to comfort her but did not think it was right just stood there. It never felt more than that moment that she needed to hug someone. She got out of the bed but shyly stopped. Jack, she going to have get use to that and stop calling him 'the boy', looked at her with curiosity.
"Milady, I did not mean to hurt yo…"
She willed her body who was taught to resist contract with other humans to hug him her head reached his chin. Jack did not know how to respond as his hands lay next to him.
"My name is Elsa."
Jack body shocked, but he slowly raised his arms to in gulp her. It was weird to feel the warmth within to the coldest people on the earth.
000
After meeting Jack she was not worried about her curse. He had actually asked her why she wore her gloves. She told him everything from Anna to why she locked herself in this room. He had sat patiently listening to everything she said. He did not say anything keeping his face neutral only slightly changing when she said 'the curse'.
When she finished her retelling of her life story up when she meet him she stopped waiting for him to say something.
Before he could say anything, she heard Anna voice. However, she froze when she heard her father voice too outside her door. She moved closer to the door as she was attractive to what might be said between the two.
"Anna, I heard you been bothering your sister." Her father said.
"But father I want to play with her. I heard it going to snow today!"
She expected her father to fight with Anna, but a new voice had interrupted them. She could not hear everything, but with Anna delighted squeal she knew it was good news.
"Elsa, watch this!"
She nearly forgot that Jack was there, but when she turned around her heart dropped to her stomach.
The minute she turned around Jack had jumped out the window. Without thinking, she raced towards window only to see a glimpse of his brown shirt before she heard a whooping sound. Her eyes now trained to find him within a second found him flying downtown as he raised his wooden stick.
Snowflakes danced down from the sky. A gleeful laughter rose from inside and it echoed from all the children from the town.
Jack flew back towards her as he landed on the window. He bowed to her as he said, "Come join me."
She declines immediately but he stayed there hoping for a different response.
She gestured for him to return to play with a people outside. Even though she trusted him a little bit more she had pushed down the jealous that filled her. It amazed and at the same time annoyed her that he was that good at controlling his curse…or should she say powers?
Even though they both had the curse of winter at the fingertips she has always feared it, while Jack seemed to embrace it and become one with it.
"Elsa, stop thinking about it so much and come play!" Jack said impatiently as he started to bounce up and down. His attention back outside as he saw everyone playing in the snow.
However, instead of hearing Jack requested she heard Anna voice and she saw a quick flash of her hurting her sister.
She thought it was just going end, but instead of seeing her sister she saw the village children all on the ground not moving. She saw the accusing eyes of the town people.
Monster they said.
"Elsa?" he finally realized something was wrong as he turns his attention back to Elsa.
His blue eyes widen in fear as he saw that she was clenching her head and was whimpering. He immediately was by her side and without hesitation wrapped his arms around her.
"It is going to be okay, Elsa."
She didn't response as she tried to hold back a cry. She can't let anyone in. She won't have anyone else die.
Jack looked down at her and for the first time realized how fragile she was. She was holding back a cry and it hurt him that she was like that.
"Don't hold it in."
Either she still did not trust him or she just did not know how to let it go. She slowly pushed him away.
"Go and play, Jack. I don't feel good."
Jack did not listen as he reached his hand out to her, but only for her to turn around as wave of ice came and hit him the chest.
A shiver went through his body as he doubles over. Elsa screamed as she ran over towards him.
"Jack! Jack! Anna! I am so sorry, Anna."
He was going to ask why she called him her sister name, but then he saw her start to hyperventilating as she screamed for her parents to come. He gripped Elsa's hand the first time felt how cold her hand was to calm her, but it did not help. Her parents burst into the room.
Elsa's mother immediately went to her and Jack lets go of her hand. Her father was trying to calm his daughter down.
Jack watched the family even though he was worried about Elsa. He felt jealous for Elsa because at least she had a family. He left not knowing what more he could do.
000
After Jack left he headed towards the place where he went to think, the forest. It was the closest thing that felt like home. He wondered why Elsa called him her sister name. Only then he remembered the whole reason he wanted Elsa to come out to play was so she would forget her worries. He was beyond stupid. How could he forget that she told him that she had hurt her sister accidently with her powers?
He sighed as he sat on a tree branch. By this time the sun had gone down to rest and Jack only other friend the moon came out.
"What should I do? Should I go over there and apologize? Of course, I should go over and apologize...maybe tomorrow?"
He let another sigh out as he let his thoughts of the past months fill his mind. He was extremely happy to find someone that saw him, but now he wonders if his excitement might be clouding his eyes to what really going around him.
For example, today Elsa had a meltdown because he only had one goal. To see her smile for once, but he pushed too fast. He wanted to be her friend not only because she could see him, but also because of she just like him.
They both had the gift of making people enjoy the winter. Everyone would complain about the cold. However, that is when Jack would use his power or more like magic to make a winter wonderland. Hearing the children laugh and even seeing the adults' smile was worth the loneliness of not being able seen by the people around him.
Because when it came to winter it felt like he was the guardian of all the people and he even heard someone call him an 'angel'. He smiled at the memory.
If only Elsa could see her powers as a gift then a curse. She did accidently hurt her sister, but everyone makes a mistake. He once almost caused an avalanche and almost killed millions of people. He shuddered at the thought and knowing that his power can be a double edge sword.
He, however, made up his mind that day. It took him time to get use this powers, and Elsa was already practicing control of it.
She just missing one last ingredient and that was where he came in.
000
Days turned into months which turned into years and Elsa had just turned thirteen years old. Over the years Jack became more than just a friend to her. He became her support and she missed him when he wasn't near her. He had started to train with her to control her cur—powers. He had only one condition when he came back after her meltdown. She was so embarrassed and was about to apologize when he cut in apologizing for his rudeness. He told her he would help her with her curse. He had only one condition for her to stop referring it to a curse, but a power. He said it would help control it, she was skeptical but willing to try anything.
It worked, but sometimes she would slip only to have Jack be there to catch her fault.
Her parents were even impressed and her father said that if she kept this up she could probably talk to Anna again.
It was all because Jack had helped her. That was why today for her thirteen she going to give a Jack a gift he would never forget.
She had already spread it throughout the kingdom and now she waited for Jack to come.
When he came she was ready when he threw a snowball at her. She giggled as said, "Why do always greet me this way all the time?"
Jack leaned against the side of the window and shrugged.
"Your expression is priceless, Elsa."
Elsa pouted as she crossed her arms, but she couldn't keep a straight face as Jack hit her with an onslaught of snowballs. She let a cheerful giggle escape her month as started attacking Jack back.
Laughter filled the room until her father cleared his throat behind her. Jack threw one more snowball at her as she turned her attention to her parents.
Her parents apologized to her for not being able to be there for her birthday. She was scared of her parents leaving because it was the first time her parents were going to be away.
Her eyes wander towards Jack as he was feeling uncomfortable. It seemed like he was eavesdrop on a personal matter. She smiled and said that they did not need to worry.
As she hugged them both and waited for her parents to leave before starting her snowball fight with Jack.
000
"Jack, will you help me send my parents with a short winter breeze?"
That was when Jack knew she was up to something. Her eyes were full of mischievousness. He thought about saying 'no', but his curiosity took a hold of him as he pointed his stick towards the town underneath them. Elsa raised her hand and they both released a small snowflake shower.
Jack, however, was watching Elsa as she was in deep concentration.
"Elsa, you going have your face permanently like the-"
"It's Jack Frost!"
Surprised, his attention snapped back to the people. They were calling his name!
Elsa watched as Jack expression turns from disbelief into happiness.
"You are quite popular, Jack. People around here call you the 'winter guardian'. I was just going make that your office name, but I thought Jack Frost was better. Actually, I was going to change Fros-"
"How? Why?"
"So you will be remembered. I don't know how to make you not invisible, but at least generations will remember your name."
Jack didn't say anything, but for the first time, she saw him cry.
"Thank you."
He then leans in, she was expecting a hug, but he kissed her check. She blushed as turn to him, "What was that for?"
"For making, me feel real again."
000
"You are not real!"
"That where the story ends," Jack said as he wiped a tear that was threatening to come down on his sleeve.
However, the siblings were not having any of that and they both wanted to know what happened next.
"I don't remember the rest," Jack stressed as he got up to leave. "I need to go now. There a meeting that I can't miss."
He rushed out of there before he was harassed into telling the rest. He just could not bring himself to doing that. After he got that memory from her tooth from the Tooth fairy…
Even Tooth was amazed that Elsa's tooth lasted that long. Yet, he wasn't surprised. He knew somewhere in his heart he would always remember her and the tooth just remind him of everything he missed about her. Also, he promised himself that no one would know the true ending to the story expect him. He did not want Jamie and Sophie memory to be so dark like his.
It already felt like he painted her in a bad light. He was attempted to go back and tell a different version.
He wanted to skip the beginning and tell the version when they were both older. Even though that had a sad ending too, but at least the beginning was happier.
Many stories had different ending all because everyone would focus on different details. He had hoped that they would romanticize the ending and spread this version to other generation.
Maybe when they are a little bit older he would tell them the rest.
But for now, this is the end.
000
Author note: I am semi-proud of this story. After not writing anything for two years…I wrote something again. If you see any glaring grammar mistakes, please tell me. If not I still like to hear your opinion on how I did. Thank you so much. I appreciate you taking the time to write a review.
