Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen, Rise of the Guardians, or any of its characters. If you like this fic (and even if you don't haha) I highly recommend reading "Believe" by CircusofMine, the JackxElsa fanfic that inspired this story.

-Frozen in Time-

Jack Frost flew across the ocean, staff in hand, to bring winter to Arendelle just as he had done for so many years. When he caught sight of the ships gently rocking in the waves of the seaside kingdom, he sped up towards the grand castle. Year after year, before making the first snow flake fall, the first thing he always does is to land as quietly as possible on the castle's balcony to leave a frosted handprint on the window pane.

He stared at his work for a while. On the clear glass was a layer of tiny ice crystals in the shape of a hand that has never aged in centuries.

He took a deep breath and thought, "Will this be the last time I do this?"

He held both knobs of the huge double doors but couldn't bring himself to open it. He wasn't sure if she would still be there. Her power over ice let her age slower than any regular mortal, but he knew that she has become ever weaker in the last few years.

He held his breath and opened the doors.

When he saw her, he couldn't help but exhale. There she was sitting up on her bed, looking right at him as if she had been watching him all along. Her hair was braided as usual, but it was stark white now like the snowy fjords. Her smile was gentle as usual, but now it was bordered by lines etched by decades past.

But still she was beautiful.

Her hands, wrinkled but elegant, cradled an open book. It was her favorite, the edges of the pages torn and yellowed from the countless times she told the story to her nieces, nephews and eventually, her grandnieces and grandnephews, who all believed in him: Jack Frost.

"You look as handsome as the day we met," her brilliant blue eyes smiled at him with all the love in the world.

He bowed with a flourish and a smirk proclaiming, "So do you, kiddo."

She rolled her eyes, "Oh please."

He forced a small laugh and sat beside her. He looked down at the old blue book and traced the faded outline of a snowflake on the cover.

"It's true. You're as beautiful as-" he turned to her and saw the pain in her eyes. He didn't mean to hurt her, but he wasn't lying. She was exactly a hundred years old but didn't look a day over fifty. She had the most extraordinary beauty, a regal bearing, a childish mirth, a terrible temper and a little bit of sadness, all at the same time. And for all these things he loved her.

"Hey, kiddo, look at me," he cupped her chin and gently traced the outline of her lips with the tip of his thumb.

"I love you, Elsa."

"I love you, too, Jack."

When they kissed it was almost as if like time never existed and that nothing else mattered. Little bolts of lightning coursed straight through to his heart. He thought to himself, "How can this possibly come to an end?"

Suddenly, she started giggling.

"What?"

"Do you know they still call me 'The Virgin Queen'?"

The two of them burst into laughter. Naturally, the people of Arendelle dubbed her so because she never married. When the time came, she passed the crown on to Kristoff and Anna's eldest son, Sven, named after their beloved reindeer. She outlived her sister and brother-in-law, and now the only friends left from her younger days were the immortal two: Jack and Olaf.

"Jack, when I'm gone, could you make sure that Olaf will be okay? I mean without my powers, he might-"

"Elsa! Don't say that!"

She sighed, "Oh Jack, you never change."

"That's not true," he turned away. "I've been a lot happier since I found you."

"I know," she strained to get up from the bed. "But you know I've been sick."

"I know that!" Jack stomped over to the balcony. "Why won't you let me help you? There must be something, anything, that could let you live forever!"

She walked to his side, slowly but with the gliding gait of royalty.

"Nothing lasts forever. Even winter gives way for spring."

Tears welled up in his eyes. His walked out into the cold air and tried to blink them away. Yes, he was well aware that this could be their last winter together. He looked at her again. She grew into a wise old queen while he was still—and forever will be—Jack Frost. A guardian. He felt like cursing his immortality.

"Jack, can I ask you for another favor?"

"Anything."

"Can I join you?" She held out her hand. "Can we make it snow like we used to?"

Her nightgown was the color of her eyes and she stood there like she would never fade away. So strong and splendid, she was the queen of his heart.

"Depends on how you're feeling," he felt a gust of wind coming in from the west. "Looks like it might get chilly."

She stepped closer and grabbed his hand. She grinned and shrugged her slim shoulders saying, "The cold never bothered me anyway."

Jack laughed and in one sweeping motion he tossed his staff to the sky, carried her with one arm and flew straight up to catch it with his other hand.

"Hold on tight, kiddo!"

They flew across Arendelle creating the most beautiful snowfall ever in the kingdom's long history. Together they sent blasts of ice that shimmered in the sky before gently floating down to cover every rooftop. Frozen flakes swirled around them as they made their way to the mountains. Elsa tapped Jack on the shoulder and pointed at a familiar cliff. He knew exactly what she was looking at and landed right on the snow-capped fjord.

He helped her to her feet, and they both stood there for a while admiring the glimmer of fresh snow over the kingdom. Finally, Elsa stood up and put her hands on her hips. Looking down at Jack in his blue hooded tunic and light brown trousers, she smiled and said, "This sure brings back memories."

"Yeah," he smiled. "The palace you made here was really awesome. I've been around the world, and I can say for sure that I've seen anything quite like it. I probably never will."

"Is that a challenge?" Elsa proudly raised an eyebrow.

Jack abruptly stood and firmly said, "No way, Elsa, not in your condition."

"It won't be that hard if you help me," she pleaded.

"No," Jack stood his ground. "Absolutely not."

"Please, Jack," once again her eyes grew sad. "I really-"

Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground in a coughing fit. She tried to cover her mouth with her hands but Jack saw it. The evidence was clear on the snow in tiny drops of bright red blood.

"I knew it!" he rushed to cradle her in his arms. "Elsa! Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have taken you with me!"

"I will always want to be with you, Jack."

"No! Not like this! Hold on," he grabbed his staff. "We're going back to the castle."

Elsa tapped the magic staff, freezing it instantly.

"Ouch!" Jack threw it away before the frost burned his hands. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

It was too late. Before he could say anything else, she had already begun to form the walls of the icy palace. Crystal walls rose up around them as a giant shining snowflake glowed beautifully on the floor.

"Elsa! Stop it!"

But she didn't want to stop. She just let it go. All Jack could do was stare in awe at the light dancing on her face and her eyes glimmering with wonder and excitement at her creation. When it was finished, she smiled at him like never before and reached out to touch his cheek.

Her fingers never reached him as her body finally gave in and slumped to the ground. Jack, motionless, breathless, stared with disbelief at her face reflected on the mirror-like floor. She was still smiling, her blue eyes half open, but he knew that she was gone.

He screamed. He screamed and screamed causing a violent storm to tear around them. He stayed there in a state of grief and sadness for what felt like an eternity, holding her until he too fell to the ground in exhaustion.

His body quaked with every helpless sob. He laid he head against her chest, desperate to hear a heartbeat or maybe, please, maybe just a breath. But he heard nothing except for the wind howling around them. He raised his staff to halt the storm then listened again, more intently this time.

There was nothing but silence.

He stood up, still shaking, and held his staff over her. He closed his eyes and thought of the time that made him the happiest. Seeing her again after he left her alone for the longest time. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he had created for her a magnificent bed of ice and snow. He touched her face, it was still warm, and gently closed her eyelids. It was as if she was just sleeping. He kissed her soft lips one last time then built a case of clear glassy ice around her.

Tears began to spill from pale blue eyes once more as he stumbled back and hit the floor with a thud. He cursed his immortality.

Why must I go on living without her?

He couldn't bear it. He took his staff and stabbed himself in the gut. Blood spilled on the floor before him but as soon as he took out the staff, he realized that it was just his imagination. There was no wound. No blood on the floor except for a few drops of blood. Elsa's blood forever encased in ice like she was.

Anger swelled inside him. He wailed, bringing down is fists on the blood splattered floor. The surface of the ice fractured. A small cracking sound echoed through the empty halls of the frozen place like a lost soul.

"I'm sorry. I know you used up your last bit of magic for this."

Jack bit his lower lip when it began to quiver. He put his hand on the crack to seal it with a new layer of ice.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

He thought about what it would've been like if he was just Jack Frost: Average Mortal, instead of Jack Frost: Immortal Guardian. He wondered what it would be like to be with her every day. Sure, she could be moody. They would argue and fight over stupid things. But they would kiss and make up and grow old together.

Except, the reality was that he would never grow old.

When North finally came to see him, it was Christmas Eve and the jolly old man wandered around the ice palace with a small snowman hopping around in front of him.

"Should be right around here, Santa!"

North looked around the great hall and saw Jack's bedraggled form leaning against a giant block of ice. He took out a pair of spectacles from his coat pocket to see more clearly. There in the ice lay the body of a beautiful woman. Next to her was a not-so-great-looking young man with a disheveled mop of white hair.

"Great job, buddy," North smiled at Olaf and handed him a small present. "Merry Christmas."

"Gee thanks! But…" his smile faded. "What do we do about Jack?"

"He'll be fine," the bearded guardian patted the little snowman reassuringly on his cold round head. When Olaf's smile returned, they both walked slowly toward the boy who was once the guardian of joy and fun.

"Hey, Jack," Olaf put a twig hand around his. "You okay?"

Santa took his other hand. It was freezing, but that was normal. What wasn't normal were how dull his once sparkling blue-grey eyes were.

"Son, is this how you want her to see you? On the floor, looking like a lump of coal?"

Jack looked up at his dear friend and, instantly, fresh sobs wracked his body. The three of them just stayed there for a few minutes until Jack's tears started subsiding. Even so, his breath came out in gasps like his tears ran out but he was still trying to conjure more.

"Come on, get up," North put his arms around him and hoisted him up so his feet touched the ground. When he tried to prop him up, he was too weak to stand.

"Oh boy," North sighed. "You leave me with no other choice!"

The large guardian carried the young man over his shoulder and started heading for the hallway.

Jack tried to protest but his throat was dry. He raised his head and, although his vision was blurred with tears, he could see that he was getting farther and farther away from him.

"No!" he tried to shout. "I can't leave her! I'll never leave her side again!"

He was too weak to move. There was no more strength left in him. No more will to live. He let his head slump down again and saw Olaf staring up at him. With his twigs-for-arms, the little white snowman tried to carry both the magic staff and a tiny gift-wrapped box as he awkwardly trotted behind North.

Olaf quickly smiled up at the silver-haired boy and comfortingly said, "It'll be okay, Jack. You'll see."

Jack suddenly remembered his promise.

It looks like Olaf is doing alright.

Santa pushed open the palace doors and the bright sunshine blinded Jack for a second. When he opened them he saw that the crystal doors were closed in front of him. Where is she? He began sobbing once more when he felt North heave a big sigh.

"Son, you left so much work behind, moping around like that," he stopped walking.

"So I had to call in some reinforcements."

What?

"Is that what you call it?"

He heard a familiar voice. Her voice. Her snarky tone. Is it possible?

With newfound strength he wriggled from Santa's grasp. When he turned around, the break of dawn made it hard for him to see. But as it became clearer, his bright blue eyes widened at the vision before him.

It was her, Elsa, as young as she was the day she brought him back to life. Now, it was her who was brought back to life.

"But how? And why do you-"

"Look as gorgeous as ever?" she laughed and smiled at him like she always does. "I always knew, in one way or another, that we were the same."

"But why are you-"

He touched her cheek to make sure that she was real. She was real, alright. Well, technically not flesh and blood, but a soul. The other half of his own soul.

"Why I'm young again?" she approached him. "I don't know. I guess if I'm going to make it snow like you do, I'll have to always remember my happiest moment."

"And what was that?"

"Silly," she leaned in to kiss him. "It was the moment you said you loved me."