Note: This is just a quickie for these two characters that have a lot in common and share a tender moment together. Enjoy!
Cold. That was all that was, had been and probably would be felt for all time to come; sheer bloody cold. Some people could cope with it as if they were naturally bred with such ability, almost as if they were kind of superhuman, but most could not deal with it, especially if it was as cold as it was here at Arendelle. The temperature was well below freezing point and a cold breeze whipped through the air, cutting through people like a knife through warm butter. Anyone outside was subject to chattering teeth, shivering and their body temperatures dropping to numbing point. Wrapping up with many layers and moving around a lot outside seemed to be the only way to get warm lest they were next to a roaring fire indoors, waiting with almost entirely faded dreams for this long winter to end.
To the people of Arendelle, the one they saw as responsible for this sudden change in weather was the so-called 'monster' or 'beast' or 'witch' or the person whose new name was all things in existence that were derogatory. She had previously been one of them; in fact she had been the ruler of them, having taken over after the death of her parents, and her name was Queen Elsa. That was until some months ago when she had suddenly fled into the night following some party scene; her sister Anna screaming after her not to leave. Somehow afterwards, that witch Elsa had covered the land in an eternal winter akin to that of Narnia in C.S Lewis' The Lion, the witch and the Wardrobe.
This winter had come as a result of her 'special power' with which she could conjure up snow and ice at will and could survive extremely low temperatures. Everyone had first learned of it when, during the party I had mentioned earlier, she had gotten into an argument with her sister and had, out of anger and a blind moment, she had swung her arm in a swooping motion and ended up creating a wall of ice spikes as if wanting to attack them. After this, she had then fled the kingdom and disappeared and then that was when the weather changed.
Just as within the story of Narnia, however, there seemed to be no end to it. The people of Arendelle since then regretted having her as their ruler, branding her as a sort of freak and a monster, and were literally following the words of the duke in his rejecting her because of her 'power'. Seeing her gone was probably the only good side to all this he had told them all though some were beginning to doubt, but were careful to keep it silent, that maybe Elsa's disappearance was not such a good thing after all.
If people had travelled not too far from the kingdom to the nearby mountains that stood proud and tall over the valley where the kingdom was located, they would see a large castle made entirely of ice clinging to the side of the tallest mountain, partially hidden from view by the rocks, though visible on a clear day; when there was no fog that is. All around the sides of the castle were many small ledges with amazing views of the surrounding lands, though the many colours of spring, summer and autumn were never present and had become almost a dream for those within Arendelle. All that one could see was white and grey; white and grey skies in the daytime, white and grey grounds with several feet of snow, mountains that were covered to several metres more in snow and the frozen river that stretched far off past and in front of the kingdom to the distant lands. That was all that was visible; a cold, desolate, lifeless and frozen world.
Looking down upon it from one of these ledges was none other than the woman who everyone saw as this monster, yet she was nothing like this when one really got to see her as she was now. Her body, tall and slim, was covered with a crystal blue dress made from ice, yet completely like regular clothing. Her face was round and pretty with deep sea blue eyes, a small nose and rosy cheeks and hair that was a sort of platinum blonde/snow white colour; having been tied together in a kind of braid that draped over her shoulder. Her skin was mostly the same colour as her hair, but had faded a little to a sort of paleness as if she were dying, as if her very soul, her very identity was fading away from her, soon to disappear entirely one day. Ironically, and sadly, that was how she was feeling at this particular moment, standing there staring down into the valley at the frozen castle that had once been her home; the flame of guilt and sorrow burning like an inferno within her.
As she gazed down at Arendelle, her body, as it had been doing most nights since she had made this, sank onto her knees, her eyes becoming moist with tears; unable to bear the sight of what had been her home. Now she was an outcast, no…a monster to her own people. It was the duty of every ruler, whether king or queen, emperor or empress etc. to care for their people and yet this power of hers made her do the opposite, and there was nothing she could do. She rested her arms on the ice balcony and placed her head on them, trying desperately to hold back her tears but failed and soon they were falling onto her lap.
It's my fault! She mentally repeated to herself, having done this many times over, but every time it was as if she was experiencing the pain and anguish for the first time. Why do I have this curse on me?!
That was what she constantly referred her power to be; a curse. Even though she had been born with it and had been amazed with it at first, she soon came to realise the danger of it and had shut herself off from everyone to protect them, and herself from harm. Now that those days were gone, there was nothing she could do but revel in the disaster she had created as if it were her judgement to her by God, never to experience happiness again for doing something that was, to her and everyone else, her fault.
Sobbing lightly, she looked up from her arms down at Arendelle, the want of going back and reuniting with her people, her friends, and her sister lingering in her eyes; slamming against her insides with all its might but making no progress in getting free and leading her back down there. Even if it did, this feeling could not guarantee that she would be accepted with open arms for Elsa knew that the people of her home would reject her, shun her and may even try to hurt her as revenge for what she had brought onto them. Frankly, and often she said this to herself, she would not blame them. Her sister Anna would probably even join them in trying to get rid of her; that thought making her heart break like glass that had been squeezed to breaking point. Her sister was the only real family she had left and if she had followed everyone else's view, then it was really hopeless for her to go on living here.
"Anna," Elsa whispered softly as the breeze around her began to pick up a little, blowing small snowflakes in all directions. "I'm…I'm sorry!" her mind instantly going back to the party when she had conjured up the wall of ice spikes and seeing her sister's shocked and breathless expression on her face, only making her feel down even more. "Please!" she whispered again. "Please help me! Don't forget me!"
To anyone witnessing this, they would immediately assume that she was beginning to go mad with grief, and, in a sense, they would be correct but only partially. Elsa still did have her sanity but she was grieving madly as if she had literally lost everyone and was left behind to mourn them. To the people of Arendelle, no more was she welcome without answering deeply for what she had done and Elsa was too scared, no, too frightened to go back for reasons I have just explained. It was literally as if the world had abandoned her and was leaving her to rot for there was never going to be someone like her.
Someone like me! She mentally said to herself angrily through tears. That's rich! I'll never see anyone like me! Even Anna is nowhere near the monster I've become!
Wiping her eyes dry, Elsa stood up and looked away from Arendelle, trying hard not to cry again but she could stop herself and soon the tears were falling down her cheeks once again. She looked up at the sky to see the clouds begin to part to make way for the moon that shone brightly in the night, its light reaching all below it like the hand of God and bringing hope and happiness to the world. Elsa sighed heavily, wiping her eyes dry for a second time. Both of those things she had been lacking for a long time now, even before this and it was likely to stay that way for as long as she lived. Never again would she see them and forever would she be wallowing in her own sadness and grief until her body breathed its last and she left alone and helpless.
"Nice try," she said sadly, looking away from the moon and taking a step back towards the inside of the castle again. "But nothing can help me now,"
Accepting her feelings once again, she succumbed to the want of wanting to get away and go inside where she could surround herself with her own ice creations, her own 'monstrosities' as she commented to herself not too long ago.
Unbeknownst to her, however, a small snowflake that had meant to gently float overhead with the other ones suddenly veered off course and headed straight for her as if it had been taken over by some kind of artificial intelligence. It flew right in front of her and then, almost by its own will, hit her in the face, becoming a shower of sparkles and flashes that made Elsa stop dead in her tracks and reel back a little in shock at what had just occurred. She blinked, trying to get rid of the sparkles but it just did not work. Her mind went blank. What was going on? Who or what was causing this?
The sound of movement made her eyes grow wide and she froze on the spot, though not literally. Her breath was caught in her throat as she began to assess what was happening and what the noise registered to be. There was no doubt that something, or someone, had climbed up here and was standing behind her.
Taking a deep breath and readying her hands to summon the power she had, she whipped round and, as quick as a flash, moved her arms in a sweeping motion that sent a wave of in the direction of the intruder, who, having reactions quicker than Elsa anticipated, leapt into the air, shouting out an exclamation of surprise and telling Elsa to calm down, revealing the figure to be a male. She, however, refused to listen and quickly thrust her arms out ahead of her as if she were going to push something, sending two waves of snow at the man but he blocked them with a flick of this long object he wielded in his hand and landed on the ice railings with ease.
"Who are you?!" Elsa demanded firmly, hands raised in case she had to go on the attack again, her blue eyes now burning with anger and concentration like an inferno. There was no way this intruder, whoever he was, was going to harm her, as that was what her mind believed his purpose to be. "Why are you here?! What is your purpose?!"
The figure looked up at her and she managed to get a good look at him. He was a man with the light brown-like trousers he wore, which went down to just a few inches above his ankles. His chest and arms were covered with a dark blue hoodie that was drawn up over his head, obscuring part of the face. The thing he had in his hand was a long wooden staff which looked like an oversized cane. What was really catching her attention was the pale hand he grasped the cane with and the pale feet that were on the balcony, the frosting around his clothes, especially where the neck is and around the bottom of his trousers and that right below his feet there was frost, just spreading out of nowhere across the icy surface! Seeing this made Elsa a little dubious as she lowered her arms a little, but was careful to keep her guard up so as not to fall for a trick.
"Who are you?" she repeated, her voice a little gentler this time but still clearly demanding. "What are you doing here?"
The figure sighed and stepped down from the balcony; Elsa watching him carefully with her eyes in case he was going to suddenly do something to her. Looking at the floor, however, she could see that his bare feet seemed to conjure up frost at will and it seemed to spread out like some kind of all-conquering army that never rested until all was under its domain.
Without speaking, the figure raised his free hand and lowered the hood over his face to reveal himself. Elsa gasped lightly; shocked at the appearance of this man, or young man as he appeared to her. His face was long and he had blue eyes that rivalled Elsa's. His hair was completely snow white and in a short, messy crop on his head. The skin on his face was very pale, as if he was someone who had lost his soul and was doomed to wander the earth forever, like some spirit or trapped ghost. Upon seeing it, Elsa suddenly calmed a little. His eyes were not full of anger or aggression, but rather concern and wonder, even sympathy. He stood rooted to the spot as if he had been frozen, watching Elsa with a curious gaze, which she returned. By now her mind was buzzing with questions: Who was he? She had yet to find that out! Why was he here? What was wrong with him that made him someone like h-
There she stopped, her mind going blank. There was no way that this man, even if he had the same power as her, could be someone like her, absolutely not! Though, the other questions still hammered away inside of her, desperately trying to find a way out like a survivor trying to escape an ever closing trap.
"Sorry I scared you," the man said all of a sudden, his voice a little low with guilt.
His voice was perfectly suited for someone like him, and for a moment she did not know how to reply. Should she just simply nod and walk away; or at least try to start a conversation with him.
"It's okay," she replied, looking away with guilt beginning to seep into her upon realising that she had nearly hurt someone, only making her feel even more like this 'monster'.
The man watched this woman turn away with a rise of sympathy, knowing very well, by her body language and the tone of her voice, that she was upset, lonely and living a solitary existence. For a moment, he felt like he wanted to just walk over to her, grab her, turn her around and embrace her and give her comfort; let her know that everything was alright; that she had someone who cared for her.
He took a few steps towards Elsa, who, hearing them and the crackling of the frost as it spread across the surface of the balcony, stopped and looked over her shoulder at the man, meeting his gaze.
"Look, please!" she said to him. "It's best if you just go, you can't be around me,"
"Why?" he asked, confused but not backing down easily, taking another few steps towards her, stopping just feet from her. "Look, I'm not here to scare you or hurt you or anyth-" he tried to reassure her but she cut him off
"It's not that!" her eyes narrowed for a millisecond and she felt a strong tingling sensation burn up in her arms and hands as if ready to fire another spike at him, but she stopped and looked down at the floor. "It's…" she said, quickly trailing off. "It's me hurting you that I'm afraid of." She said to him.
The man took in her words, but did not let them overtake him and make him leave. "Don't worry, I'm sure you won't," he tried to comfort her, walking towards her until he was almost right next to her, but she backed away slightly, conjuring a small wall of ice with another sweep of her arm as if ready to seal herself off from the world.
"No, please don't!" she begged him, her voice going a little desperate. "J-just…just leave me alone!"
Still he persisted and, with a touch of his cane, the ice wall instantly vanished and he followed her inside the castle. The room was a large circular-like shape with light gleaming off the ice walls, making it appear almost dusk time. Several large openings in the walls led off to other parts of the castle and the ceiling went into a kind of point, as the room was near the top of the castle where a large ice tower stuck out of the top.
"Look, please! Leave me alone!" she begged him again, turning her back to him and stopping in the middle of the room. "Just go away!"
"No!" he said firmly, but in a non-sordid way. "I just want to help you. You need it!"
"No I don't!" she suddenly snapped at him, whipping round to reveal a fiery touch in her eyes as well as her clenched teeth and fists. An aura that was snow white in colour began to appear around her and the wind began to pick up despite them being inside. "Leave!"
The man looked a little taken aback at her response and a little wary of her powers, knowing now that they were being triggered by her emotions, but he still refused to leave.
"I'm not going anywhere!" he told her vehemently once again.
At that point, Elsa began to grow more aggravated. Her clenched fists began to shake, her eyes narrowed and her breathing began to deepen. The wind began to pick up and the aura deepened, which did unease the man but he still felt it his duty to do something rather than leave her as this emotional wreck. He did begin to grow more nervous, however, as Elsa's hands began to conjure up more ice within them, he instantly knowing what was about to happen.
"I'm not going to tell you again! Get out of here and leave me alone!" she snarled.
He looked back at her with frim determination as if he was David about to face Goliath, and he stood his ground and simply muttered: "No!"
That did it. Elsa, with a cry anger, threw two balls of ice at him and he dodged them by leaping into the air, having to curve his body to avoid the second one. Elsa threw a third one and he made himself drop like a stone to avoid that one, quickly running circles around Elsa as she threw more and more ice balls at him, shouting out her rage and anger; cursing and telling him to leave.
"Stop! We can talk this over!" he shouted to her after avoiding her fifteenth ice ball, which only just missed his head and struck the wall next to one of the openings.
"I'm not discussing anything with you!" she shouted vehemently at him, her eyes by now almost aflame. "Get out!"
She threw another ice ball at him, but this time, rather than run or jump or duck, he swung his staff up into the air and as soon as they made contact the ball disintegrated into dust; a look of utmost determination still etched onto his face. Elsa, who by now was seething with anger, stared daggers at him, really wanting him to go, even if she hurt him. For a moment, she really did think that if people would see her as a monster or a witch or whatever, then she would not displease them! If that's what they wanted, then that is what they were going to get!
"Look, please!" the man begged her. "Don't be ruthless! Just hear me out, at least!"
Elsa, breathing heavily, her arms bent at the elbows, whispered icily: "Why?! What do you want with me?!"
"I want to help you!" he told her. "You need it!"
She brushed him off and turned her back on him once again. "I don't need your help!" she snapped angrily.
"Yes you do!" the man snapped back at her with a firm demeanour. "I can tell!"
She snorted. "Oh, can you now!" she said with a voice of mock approval, looking over her shoulder at him. "Who are you now; Mr Psychic?!" she added, wiggling her fingers to add emphasis before turning her back on him again.
He shook his head and walked over to her, stopping a few feet from her again, his arm with the staff dangling by his side. "You need my help! I know it and I know for a fact you do too!"
He watched her shoulders tense a little when he said this and he could hear breathing becoming short and of quick gasps. Guilt did fill him a little, but he knew he had to press on.
"Look, I want to help you!" he continued, his voice going a little desperate. "Why do you think I'm here? Otherwise, I'd leave and let you continue your life how it is now!"
"Stop it!" she breathed desperately, tears beginning to form in her eyes once again.
"You'd be alone, you know that?!" his voice began to fill with regret and he had to pause to wipe his eye clear of a tear. "You really would then show everyone that you're nothing but a lonely monster!"
"Enough!" she shouted to him, her voice beginning to break a little.
The man stopped and watched as she stood rigid for a moment, not moving much, except when she let out another gasp that immediately told him she was crying. Then, as if unable to withstand this situation, she collapsed onto her knees and buried her face in her hands, sobbing excessively. Upon seeing this, he sighed, starting to hate himself for having to push her this far, and walked over to her and knelt down next to her. She did not react but continued to sob, the pain of his words and her power and past striking her continuously.
With another sigh, he set down his staff on the floor next to him and embraced her tightly; resting her head against his chest and wrapping his arms around her back and sides. For a moment, he expected her to strike him with another of her ice balls but, to his surprise, she wrapped her arms around the middle of his torso and even sat on his lap, touching her head against his covered chest.
"Sorry I can't keep you warm," he said to her apologetically. "All I can do is keep you cold."
She let out a relaxed breath and, raising her head a little, wiped her eyes dry with the back of her hand. "It's okay," she replied with a more eased voice, looking up into his blue eyes and he was glad to see hers had calmed to that deep sea blue colour. "I can cope with it anyway."
He laughed a little in reply and held her close to him again, which she accepted and both sat there for what seemed like forever as if they were reuniting family members, glad to have finally found each other after long years of searching. He gently crooned her head, making her moan slightly in delight, and pulled her closer to him, letting her nuzzle into his chest, breathing softly as she finally allowed herself to…accept someone else, to let him be with her and to finally have someone take her problems and hurt away.
After a few minutes of the two being enveloped within their warmth and comfort, Elsa pulled herself away from him and looked back into his eyes, seeing the generosity and kindness within them sweep over her like water on rock and she gave him a small smile, which he returned.
"You feel better?" he asked her.
She nodded. "Thank you," she replied A pause. "So are you going to tell me your name?" she asked him.
"Oh yeah," he reminded himself of what had just happened recently and held out his hand to her. "Jack. Jack Frost," he introduced himself.
She smiled at him and shook his hand. "Elsa," she replied. "Nice to meet you,"
"Likewise," Jack said as he released her hand and let it drop by his side and sighed deeply. "So…this may sound a bit personal but…how did this happen?" he asked her, wincing a little, afraid that he would hurt her feelings. In fact, Elsa did look down at the floor sadly for a moment and then up out of the exit to the balcony, remembering the past times of when she had been in Arendelle. Jack bit his lip in worry. "Sorry if I…"
"No, no, it's fine," she cut him off and sighed. "I was born with this power," she explained to him. "And it's been nothing but a curse since day one. I've scared everyone in my…or what was my kingdom and, to top it all off, I'm now hated and considered a witch or a monster because of this," she nodded at her surroundings and to the outside world; Jack knowing immediately what she meant. "This winter has frozen Arendelle and I…" she sighed again, wiping another tear from her eye. "I can't stop it,"
Remorse and sympathy; those were the two words that Jack felt for Elsa even more now. It was very sad to see her hate herself for something that was not her fault. In a way, though, she was just like him. It was difficult to comprehend but they really were like each other in many ways.
"I'm sorry," he comforted her, putting his arm around her.
She smiled lightly. "Thanks," she said, glad that he was here to help get rid of her sorrow and depression. "So what happened to you? I mean, how did you become the way you are?"
He sighed heavily and shrugged; a look that portrayed annoyance and sadness on his face. "I don't know," he replied lowly. "All I remember is darkness. I came out of a frozen lake and found myself staring up at the moon, and right then I knew that I was meant for something…but…I don't know what. All I knew then was that my name was Jack Frost and I had this ability to create winter scenery anywhere," he finished, emphasising his last point by touching the ground with his hand and, instantly, the floor began to frost.
Elsa looked up at him, then to the floor and then back at him again. It was amazing. Moments ago, she would never have considered the two to be this similar, but now they she had really seen Jack…he really…really was someone like her. Both after all had suffered some loss of a sense of purpose; he did not know why he was here and she did not know why she was not here. Two different people who had never met and knew barely anything of the other had suddenly become the closest of friends.
"I'm sorry," she said to him after a few moments, trying to sympathise with him. "I can't imagine what it must be like not knowing why you're here," she added.
"You're lucky," he replied and she returned that with a questionable look.
"Really? I don't consider it that way at all. All this has done is make me an outcast." She told him. "It's a curse to say the least."
For a moment Jack paused, taking in what she had said to him. Wow! They really were almost like each other; they had so much in common! He gave a small chuckle.
"Look at us," he said, laughing away the sadness with another chuckle. "What a pair!" he added with a voice of mock shock.
Elsa gave a small chuckle in reply and looked back towards the balcony, taking in the dark scene outside where she could see the moonlight shining brightly onto it as if it were telling them to come outside. Jack looked out with her and, almost as if it were on cue, an idea popped into his head.
"Y'know what?" he said all of a sudden, taking Elsa's hand and standing up with her. "Why don't we have a little fun?" he suggested, nodding towards the balcony.
She raised an eyebrow, a little suspicious. "What kind of fun?" she inquired.
"You'll see. C'mon!" He led her out onto the balcony where they were embraced by the moonlight that shone with all its might and glory. "Now get ready." He warned her.
"What, what are you gonna do?" Elsa asked him, becoming a little wary of what his intentions were.
"Hold on tight!" he added as he bent low, wrapping her arm around her waist.
"Jack, what are you-" she said, beginning to get worried but was suddenly cut off when he launched them into the air, at which point cried out and clung on tightly to Jack, afraid to let go as she watched the ground, the mountain and the castle get further and further away as if they were being taken up to heaven.
Then, when they seemed to be miles above the ground, though in reality they were only a few hundred feet above the top of the mountain, Jack stopped and gently pushed Elsa from him, though he held her hand tightly so as to keep hold of her. She was very worried at first but when she saw that she began to float alongside him her level of fear decreased partially.
"You okay?" Jack asked her when he noticed that she was still a little worried.
She nodded a little, looking nervously down at the ground that seemed to be a world away. Jack hovered over to her and gave her a reassuring look.
"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you," he told her.
"Thanks," she replied. "But can we just go back down now? I don't like it up here," she told him.
He nodded. "Yeah, sure." He complied, lowering them back down towards the ground, but not towards the mountain.
"Uh…Jack?" she piped up, concern filling her voice.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"You do realise we're heading straight for the lake, not the mountain right?" she pointed out to him apprehensively.
He nodded. "Exactly," he replied as they passed the level of the castle, the icy surface getting closer steadily with every passing second. "We're heading for the lake," he added.
She looked at him, perplexed. "The lake?" He nodded. "Why?"
"Just watch," he said as they passed the hundred feet mark and descended further to the ground.
When they finally reached the icy surface of the lake, its coldness, which to them was almost like heat from sunlight, running through them like a thermometer's temperature shooting up at a sudden, spontaneous burst, Jack let go of Elsa and stepped back a pace.
"Are we…ice-skating?" Elsa inquired.
"That's right," Jack answered and smiled. "Keep up," he added and took off across the ice, his staff's curved end pointing down behind him as he went, doing a myriad of turns and motions.
Elsa watched him go with an air of ambivalence; she wanted to finally free herself of this depression and all this sadness that had been plaguing her ever since she left Arendelle; on the other hand, however, ice skating was not her thing and, plus, she was nervous of exactly how to carry this out, especially since she was near the place where she had been virtually ostracised months ago and the thought of them seeing her out here really unnerved her.
"Hey!" Jack called from about twenty feet away as he stopped in the middle of the ice upon seeing her worried expression and slid back over to her. "You alright?" he asked her with a concerned tone in his voice.
She looked back up at Arendelle, the lights of the snow covered kingdom glistening in the nightly landscape. "Jack, what if they see us?" she asked him, nodding towards the place. "What if they see me? They might try and get me and I know that you'll be hurt as well."
"Don't worry," he replied in a comforting manner. "If they come after us, we'll be fine; I'll fly us outta here."
She gave him a small smile, though the look of concern was still on her features as she glanced back at Arendelle as if fearing that a mob was going to spontaneously appear and charge towards them with pitchforks, torches, bows and arrows and all sorts of other horrible weapons to inflict harm on them. When she felt Jack's hand on her shoulder, however, his very touch seemed to suck out the fear and anxiety from her and she shot him another small smile, though it was a bit bigger than before.
"You never seem to lose hope," she said to him and he smiled back. "No point, you never can, or at least that's what I've learned." He stepped away from her in a kind of sly manner.
"What are you doing?" she inquired questionably.
"Nothing," he replied rather sheepishly and then went wide-eyed and pointed. "Whoa, look behind you!" he said in a shocked tone.
Elsa turned her head around so fast that she heard her neck click but saw nothing other than Arendelle and the darkness around it. Raising an eyebrow in wonder over what Jack could have seen, she turned back to him…
"Ah!" she gasped loudly as a ball of white hit her in the face, disintegrating immediately and she rubbed her eyes to get rid of any remnants of it.
Looking ahead, she saw Jack sitting atop his staff; his being able to balance himself perfectly did astound her, but she also saw the smile on his face and that his body was bent forward a little and his right arm was sticking out slightly, confirming to her at once that he had thrown a snowball.
"Gotcha!" he exclaimed happily as he sat up on his cane, a look of triumph on his face, but it quickly went away when he saw her reaction. "Elsa?" he said worryingly.
She turned away, a sad look on her face, and brought her hands up onto her arms as if trying to embrace herself. Behind her, Jack got down from his staff and walked over quickly, raising his hand in an apologetic gesture; a look of concern on his face.
"Elsa, I'm sorry…I…I didn't mean to-AH!" he was saying but was suddenly surprised when she suddenly spun round and, having conjured up a snowball of her own, threw it into his face and he staggered backwards, spitting and rubbing his face clean. "Elsa!" he exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, Jack?" she replied smugly, another snowball in her hand.
Giggling, he jumped back a few feet and conjured up a few snowballs in his hands, putting an expression of mock concentration on his face. "So…we meet again, Elsa!" he said, deepening his voice to add a sort of playful atmosphere to their excitement.
She raised an eyebrow and conjured a larger snowball in her hands. "Likewise, Jack. Gimme your best shot!"
He smiled. "Will do!"
For about ten minutes they tossed and threw and dodged and conjured up snowballs at each other, laughing the night away until their arms and hearts grew tired. Jack was able to hit Elsa many times and dodged most of her snowballs, though she was pretty good at getting him when he least expected it. By the time they stopped, both of them having had their little game stretch across the ice and onto the ice covered grounds next to it near the mountain where Elsa's crystal castle was. When they finally had enough they sat down on the snow, exhausted but…both extremely elated.
"You feel better?" Jack asked her as he sat up with her; Elsa resting her head on his shoulder.
She nodded. "A lot, thanks." she replied in a low, but happy whisper.
Jack smiled to himself. Though he was not exactly a miracle bringer or what have you, he was glad that he had helped someone like him out, that he had helped her find confidence and that she was not alone in this world because of her powers. What was more; he had helped her see herself as not a monster or a witch, but a regular person who was still able to bring a smile onto her lips or laugh and have a fun time with. Whether she realised it or not he did not know but he was glad nonetheless.
Elsa yawned and rubbed her eyes. "It's made me tired." She said.
Jack gave a light chuckle and stood up, helping Elsa to her feet as he did so. "I'll take you back to your castle." He told her and, with a gentle leap, lifted them both up into the air, the ice castle that was attached to the side of the rocky hill.
As they ascended, Elsa, who was slightly trailing behind Jack, looked down and watched the kingdom of Arendelle get smaller and smaller and she felt her heart sink a little, as if her hopes and dreams were getting further and further out of reach, as if she was having to accept the possible fact that no matter how much she wanted or tried she would never be able to go back. She sighed heavily, wishing that that day would never come and that she could soon go back.
"You alright, Elsa?" Jack asked her, causing her to look back up at him.
"I'm alright," she replied in an unsure voice. "But I'm thinking; what if I never go back? What if I'm stuck out here for good?"
Jack, who had by now reached the balcony where he had arrived earlier, turned so she was over the floor and pulled Elsa close to him, looking into her blue eyes.
"I'll always be here for you, Elsa," he said to her. "And I know one day you'll go back. Just have faith in it."
With that he embraced her tightly and then, after a few moments, pulled back and set her down gently on the balcony and began to float back up into the air, looking down at her with a happy, but also sad gaze because he was leaving when he really did not want to but he had to go where he was needed.
"Thank you, Jack." Elsa said to him sadly. "For everything," a pause. "I'll miss you."
He nodded. "So will I." He replied lowly in a sad tone. "I'll be back when we can have fun like that again," he added.
She nodded and gave a small smile. "I'll look forward to it,"
"Likewise," and, with that, he shot up into the night sky, quickly disappearing into the ever stretching blackness as the clouds began to break apart to enable the moonlight to come down to the world.
For a few moments, Elsa looked up at the sky as if watching where he was going. Though he was no longer with her physically, emotionally she would always turn to him as if he was right next to her in her time of need; those thoughts alone bringing a smile of relief and ecstasy to her face.
Turning, she went to walk back into the castle but stopped when she noticed the moon shining brightly as if it were trying to speak to her and, looking up at it, she smiled again.
"Thanks so much," she said to it. "Thanks for making me find someone like me," and walked into the castle.
For the first time in months, Elsa finally felt at peace.