AN: Okay, I'm having a bit of trouble with the next chapter of Emerald Heart, so here, have a one-shot to hold you over. I've been working on finishing and then revising this for a while now. So, anyway...yeah. Enjoy.
I DISCLAIM! Also, just a heads up, Flynn's gonna make a cameo in here, as does Rapunzel, and Merida gets mentioned! n_n
"Man, do I really have to wear this?"
"Why, what's wrong with it? North said you used to wear a cape when you were first getting started," Kristoff said, looking at Jack's reflection in the mirror from where he stood behind the Guardian, who was examining himself and making a bit of a face. "Yes, but this isn't a cape, it's a sash. There's a difference," Jack said matter-of-factly.
"I hear Elsa's wearing her hair down," Kristoff replied. Jack immediately perked up. "No way!" he said, and Kristoff smirked internally, impressed with himself while at the same time completely unsurprised at how easily that had distracted the other man. "Ah, Jack, don't worry about those things!" he said. "You look great, and besides, nobody's really gonna be looking at us, anyway, not once Elsa and Anna walk in, right?"
"Right," Jack agreed with a nod. "Hey...does she look as beautiful as everybody is saying she will?" he asked. Kristoff smiled faintly and shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "Like you, my friend, I have been strictly forbidden from laying eyes on her until the big moment, and consequently, I'm being barred from...well, with the level of security they've got set up, it might as well be the entire hallway that's off-limits, let's just leave it at that for now."
Jack laughed, then let his gaze wander back to his reflection again. He had traded his blue hoodie for a white shirt that wasn't even visible beneath the ice blue high-collared military style jacket he was wearing over it. The cuffs were the same blue as his hoodie, as was the collar, and it had silver accents. He had on a sash across his body that matched the cuffs and collar with silver embroidery along the edges, and a jeweled snowflake was pinned to it at the shoulder. Instead of his usual brown pants, he had on a pair of black ones, and for the first time since Kristoff had known him, he was wearing shoes—black boots, to be specific. Then his eyes flickered up to the top of his head, which had nothing except his hair on it. For now, he thought, but there would be plent of time to worry about that later. For the moment, he turned around to face Kristoff.
"So who are the important people that came for this again?" he asked. Kristoff had to think for a moment or so before he could answer that. "Elsa and Anna's cousin and her husband and parents," he said finally, "from Corona. Um...a king and queen from somewhere in Scotland and their daughter and three sons...Meredith, I think is the princess's name? I hear she's kind of a wild thing, her mother was apparently friends with Elsa and Anna's, but she couldn't make it to the funeral after their parents died, I think is how Anna explained it to me."
"What about your family?"
"Oh, ha ha, you're so funny. Wipe that smirk off your face, Snowball, Bulda will get her moment when Anna and I have our second ceremony with them. She's waited this long, it won't kill her to wait just a little longer." They both laughed, and then were silent for a few moments. "Are you ready?" Kristoff asked. Jack grinned faintly. "Depends on which part you're talking about," he said. "Spending the rest of forever with Elsa? Hell yes, I've never been more ready for anything before in my life."
Kristoff chuckled and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Not that part," he said. "I mean are you ready to be King Jack of Arendelle? Because for someone who hates responsibilty as much as you—" Jack held up a hand to cut him off. "I'm not gonna lie," he said, "it'll take some major getting used to. But I'm willing to give up some of that freedom for Elsa. Like Olaf says, love is about putting the other person's needs before your own, and in Elsa's case, because of who she is, that just happens to also include putting this kingdom up there with her. So yeah, I probably won't like it too much, but I'll find a way to suck it up and get used to it if it means I get to be with her. Just like you gave up doing that mountain man stuff for Anna."
The blonde smiled. "That's really noble of you, Jack," he said. He seemed about to say more, but then the door opened just wide enough for a man about Kristoff's age with brown hair and a soul patch to stick his head in. "Um, hi," he said, "I, uh...I got sent here by my father-in-law to get you guys. Queen Elsa and Princess Anna are his nieces...?"
"Oh, crap, is it time for us to go already? Kristoff, put your jacket on, quick, you're gonna make me miss my own wedding, you idiot!"
"I am, I am, jeez! For the Spirit of Winter, you sure could stand to cool off a couple degrees, you know that, man?"
"You want cool? 'Cause I'll give you cool, Captain Reindeer! I'll give you the coolest you'll ever get!"
There was a pause.
"What?! Why are you looking at me like that?!"
"Who's making us late now, huh, Jack?"
"He's kind of got a point, you know," the newcomer said. Jack looked back and forth between them, then rolled his eyes. "Let's just go," he said. The other two men both laughed as they followed him down the hall.
"You look so beautiful!"
"You look beautifuller."
Elsa and Anna stood there grinning at each other for a moment, then dissolved into giggles. "Really, though," Anna said, "you look amazing, Elsa."
"You really do!" Tooth agreed. "Turn around in a circle so I can see all of it, will you?"
Elsa grinned, then spun around a few times to show herself off, a childish sense of delight building up in her chest at the way her skirt twirled around her legs. Her dress was white with a full skirt made up of layers of chiffon. It was strapless, and the bodice was like that of her ice dress in that the waist came to a point in the front and shimmered, though in a way that was more reminiscent of snow reflecting the sun than of ice, and it had a sweetheart neckline. Her platinum blonde hair was out of its braid, long and loose in soft waves kept out of her face by a halo braid with an ice blue ribbon woven into it, and to top it off, she had on teardrop pearl earrings.
Tooth and the Mini Fairies that were with her all sighed happily, then she gasped. "Oh, oh, oh, I just remembered! The girls and I have something for you!" she cried, zipping over to a side table and picking up a wooden box that was sitting on it. She flew over to Elsa and held it out. "Here! It was Baby Tooth's idea, and the yetis helped since they're better at actually making this sort of thing. Think of it sort of as a welcome-to-the-family present, I guess."
"Oh, Tooth, you didn't have to...Thank you," Elsa said. She took the box and set it down on the vanity table before opening it, then gasped when she saw what was inside. Nestled in the velvet lining was a delicate tiara of crystal snowflakes in varying shapes and sizes with a large one in the center that looked like the snowflake in the floor of Elsa's ice castle, the one on which the castle's very foundation had been built quite literally from the ground up. "Tooth," Elsa managed. Tooth came up behind her, putting her hands on her shoulders. "Do you like it?" she asked.
"Like it?" Elsa said. "Are you kidding me? It's...It's gorgeous! This is even better than the one I was coronated with, this is one that I would actually wear without having to be reminded! Thank you, Tooth. And you too, girls. You really...You shouldn't have. Thank you."
"Oh, I'm so happy!" Tooth said. "Here, let me put it on you!"
"Wait, not yet!" Anna said quickly. She grabbed Elsa's veil and fastened it in place. "Okay," she said, "now you can put it on." Tooth beamed, then reached up and put the tiara on Elsa's lowered head, positioning it so that it would help kep the veil in place as Anna handed Elsa her bouquet of sterling silver roses, snowdrops, and cyclamen . Then she and Anna each gently took hold of Elsa's shoulders and steered her towards the full body mirror that stood nearby, then let go and backed away a bit.
Elsa raised her head to look at herself and gasped softly. Her veil had been kept a secret from even her until then, under Anna's determined insistence. Now, getting her first look at it, she saw that whoever it was that her sister had gotten to make it, she'd given them something designed with the cape of Elsa's ice dress in mind. Just like the cape, there were snowflake patterns on it, and it glittered in the light. "Anna...it...You designed this?" she managed finally. Anna nodded. "Mm-hm. Is it...okay?"
Her sister turned to face her, a mixture of several different emotions in her eyes. "Anna, this might just be the single most beautiful piece of clothing I've ever had in my life," she said. Anna hugged her tightly, and she returned it. "Aww!" Tooth gushed. "How sweet! Oh, no crying, you two, you'll ruin your makeup! Oh, okay, look at the time, we have to get going now! Let's see, Anna, here's your necklace, aaaand...I think that's it! Okay, so, Anna, how do we wanna do this with the veil, do we just each wanna pick up a corner and carry it like that, or...?"
"Go out in the hall and get our cousin, tell her Guard Duty is over and Veil Duty is starting," Anna said. Tooth grinned and gave a quick nod, then hurried out the door. When she returned with the Princess of Corona in tow, all four of them set off together with Tooth chattering almost nonstop at what seemed like a hundred miles an hour.
For once, Jack was grateful not to have anyone looking at him, because his jaw was on the floor and he'd forgotten how to pick it back up. The first time he had ever laid eyes on her, the first word in Jack's mind when it came to Elsa had been beautiful. But now, watching her come down the aisle towards him with Anna carrying one corner of her veil and her cousin Rapunzel carrying the other and the chiffon skirts of her dress rustling softly as she walked, he was speechless even mentally. The first thing that popped into his head when he looked at her veil was the cape of the dress she'd been wearing when they first met, especially with the way it glittered in the sunlight coming in through the windows. She lifted her eyes and they locked with his. She smiled, and he smiled back.
As she handed her bouquet to Anna and put her hands in his, he was reminded of that moment in North's workshop last year when things had only just begun and he had offered a hand to her so they could go outside and he could start teaching her to control her powers, but she had refused to touch him on the grounds that she didn't want to hurt anyone else because of her powers, so he had taken her hands, palm-to-palm against his own, and their fingers had locked together. I'm cold, too, he'd said, remember? He remembered the way she had stared at their intertwined hands before saying, You're cold, too.
Yeah. We can be cold together, princess.
"You look...amazing," he whispered, and she blushed lightly. "Thank you," she whispered back.
"Citizens of Arendelle," the priest began, "and dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Her Majesty Queen Elsa and His Highness the Prince Consort, Jackson Frost. If there is anyone here who believes these two should not be wed, speak now, or forever hold your peace." There was a brief pause, but nobody did or said anything. "Very well, then," the priest said.
To Jack, it seemed like it took forever and a day to get to the vows, but then, finally, they came. Since the traditional "'til death do you part" didn't apply to them seeing how it had already done them part once and then Manny had made Elsa immortal like Jack, they had decided to go with their own vows, instead.
The priest turned to Jack and nodded.
"Elsa," he said, "when we met, I thought you had to be an angel. You just looked so beautiful, and...I didn't think it was humanly possible for a person to be that pretty. I remember what it felt like when—when I saw you jump after Anna. I swear, I could feel my heart stop because it scared me so bad, and then...I had already figured out by then that I loved you, but I don't think I truly realized until it happened just how much. Because when I listened for your heartbeat, it...I think that was when it dawned on me that I couldn't lose you, that I...that I didn't want to have to live without you. And now that I don't have to, I don't ever plan on letting it happen. So...I guess what I'm saying here, princess, is that...I love you, and I want to spend forever with you, because you make me feel things I've never felt before in my life, and all of them are absolutely nothing but good. So I'm giving you this ring as a symbol of my commitment to you. I can tell you right now, princess, I'm not going anywhere. As long as you want me around, I'll be here. That's a promise.
The ring was white gold and shaped like a snowflake with an aquamarine in the center and diamond accents. Elsa smiled as he slipped it onto her finger. Then it was her turn.
"Jack," she began, "before I met you, I was scared and lonely. But that changed the day you crash-landed onto my balcony. I'll never forget when I opened those doors and found you laying there just staring at me like an idiot. I went through so much just in those first few minutes. Shock, disbelief, joy...and then you started babbling about the moon and the Guardians, and I thought, 'Oh, great, he's crazy.' But then...I froze Anna's heart, and...I didn't know what else to do, so I just smashed the snowflake and crossed my fingers. And you showed up right as I was beginning to think you wouldn't come, and...Jack, you...you did more than just save me from Pitch and Hans. You saved me from myself. And in some ways, I think that's even more important than saving me from them. Like you said, I knew before it happened that I loved you, but I don't think I truly realized how much. And unlike you, I don't really have a specific moment that I can definitively pinpoint where it hit me, but...I don't think that really matters. What matters is that I don't want to live without you, either. I love you, Jack, and that's why I'm giving you this ring. And believe me, I am always going to want you around."
"Then I'll always be here," he whispered as she put the ring on his finger. Jack's ring matched Elsa's in that it was white gold, but it had three snowflakes instead of just one. His was a band, and the snowflakes were engraved; the ones on the left and right had diamonds for centers, and the third one, like Elsa's, had an aquamarine center.
"By the power vested in me," the priest said, "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."
After they had kissed, Jack turned to face the priest and bent at the waist, keeping his head raised slightly as a silver crown with snowflake designs and small diamonds was placed on it. Once the crown had settled into place, he stood up straight. Anna handed Elsa's bouquet back, then the newlyweds turned to face everyone. "Ladies and gentlemen," the priest said, "I give you King Jackson and Queen Elsa of Arendelle!"
In the front row, Elsa and Anna's cousin jumped up out of her seat, clapping excitedly. Her husband stood up beside her, and soon, the whole room was on its feet applauding. As they began heading for the doors of the chapel with Kristoff and Anna behind them, Jack grinned at Elsa and said, "So if you're the Snow Queen and we're married, doesn't that mean that I'm the Snow King?"
Elsa giggled. "You can be whatever you want, Jack," she said.
"The only thing I'll ever be that matters is yours."
Um...I will be posting links to Jack and Elsa's rings on my profile, the only thing is that the blue gem on Jack's is not either of the ones pictured on the website, it's paler like the one on Elsa's. Um...yeah...so that's about it. I'll go do that now.