Disclaimer: Not mine.
Set two hundred years before the events of Rise of the Guardians, starts right after Elsa runs from her coronation after-party.
Ah, Arendelle. A kingdom renowned for the wonderful sights of summer. It's considered mysterious yet oddly bountiful, due to it being located deep within a well-known mountain range. The castle itself is right beside a small port town that trades mountain meat, vegetation and seafood kept fresh by their local ice distributors all year round. Most other kingdoms around are happy enough to showcase their riches, but the royal family of Arendelle were acknowledged as the types to keep to themselves, and none have yet to even see a glimpse of the two princesses' infamously beautiful golden hair.
Not that Jack Frost ever admired golden hair, of course, since his own silver strands were already on the more unique end of the spectrum.
The winter spirit felt restless, letting his body float higher to enjoy the view. The entire kingdom was enclosed in a thick blanket of white, with small flurries still wandering around the area. There were people wandering in the town square, he noted from his vantage point. He briefly considered going there to investigate the situation before he realized that nobody would actually answer him if he ever asked about it. Well, at least it's a starting point. But what a view. He grinned and dove down to circle the frozen mast of a huge cargo ship close to the port.
He floated loosely around the frozen ships half-sunken in the ice. Normally, he wouldn't even be here around this time of year, what with it being summertime and all. Jack used to be so frustrated that he couldn't play around here in the summer. He had long accepted the idea that he was a winter spirit, though, so he just tried to have some fun the only way he could.
He felt the tug take hold of him once more, and tried to resist it. Fighting the feeling only made it get worse, and he already knew that. He felt the snap, like a piece of rubber, somewhere in his brain. Just then, he lost all control of the wind and his staff. He turned lightweight, with the wind carrying him all the way to the mountains.
Jack Frost is usually where snow is. That doesn't mean he controls where the snow goes, only that the wind takes him there.
He was just having fun somewhere in the other side of the world when it happened. It was a new trick he'd developed, freezing clothes right after getting them wet. He'd planned on using that just before the snow covered all the bodies of water around the area in ice. It was his custom to create a new occurrence for the snow to adopt every once in a while. After some time, the snow does all the mischief on its own.
There was a feeling of wrongness that suddenly overtook his body. He kept urging the wind to get him out of there. That urgency made him keep going, letting the wind take him to the different kingdoms all the way to Arendelle in less than an hour. When he arrived, the wrongness diminished, but he suddenly felt worse, knowing that he shouldn't even be here around this time. This allowed him to resist the feeling and do some observation around the area before the pull of something got him moving once again.
He grinned. Well, at least it's a nice break from one hundred years of boredom.
Considering the thought that it might be some sinister force trying to get hold of him, he jumped down onto the ground. A winter spirit he might be, but it might be much safer to continue the rest of this journey on foot.
He kept wandering around the forest for a few more minutes, jumping from one tree to another, until he heard the huffing of a female who sounded like she just spent an hour running through a mountain. Jack tried to locate the source, but the tugging feeling was back again. He plunged on the snow.
Then he found her.
The girl was wearing something flimsy, with her light blonde hair tied up in a tight braided bun. Her makeup was pristine, perfectly done on her huge eyes and snow-white complexion. She was letting out long gasps of air. She sat on the base of an old tree, trying to catch her breath. She gave one glance at Jack's direction, and he felt a tug of hope in his heart when she did.
She wasn't even supposed to be outside in the weather. Jack forgot all about the thing pulling him to Arendelle. He forgot that he was supposed to be wary of anything showing up. And he imagined that this girl must have been travelling in this forest when suddenly it was covered in deep snow.
"Are you alright?"
She didn't react. Of course. He covered a sigh and sat beside her under the tree. Why would he even expect anything else? Honestly, it's like a century of trying didn't even teach him anything.
He observed the girl carefully, noting her flushed cheeks and the sweat clinging to her neck. She must have gone a long way to still have sweat in this weather, but he put that deduction away for now and focused on what could have caused her to run. Did she come across a bear or something? He didn't think they were native to this area, but who knows what other weird things could be happening with the weather being unusually peculiar.
The girl slowly composed herself, and leaned back against the trunk of the tree. He floated up to check up on the surrounding area, to see if any wild animal could still be after her. Noting the silence of the trees, he went back to stand beside her. "Can you stand? What happened?"
He expected the silence that was his reply.
She looked up. Jack was surprised at the expressiveness of her eyes, so similar to his own in color. Yet they had more depth to them. She shook her head and he barely caught the ghost of a tear building up on them.
The girl stood up, brushing the snow off of her clothes. She scrunched her shoulders in a determined gesture, moving forward on the snow to the direction away from Arendelle. "Wait! You're going the wrong way!"
She didn't react, and just kept plowing on. Jack shrugged. Guess he could babysit a lost girl for a while. Even if he is invisible.
Elsa already knew that what she did was unforgivable. She should have at least tried to explain the situation, but with the hateful Duke of Weselton there, she might have ended up being imprisoned in her own castle. She remembered the fear in Anna's eyes when the ice materialized in front of her. Everything she saw was rejection from that point.
The memory took the remaining strength her body was trying to keep, and she had to stop so she could catch her breath. She DID run a long way, but Arendelle was still slightly visible if she climbed a tree from this distance. She looked at the direction where she came from, or where Arendelle must be in, imagining that people must be coming after her with pitchforks and fire right now. She could already feel the aura of something coming from that direction.
She sat down, and tried to control her breathing once more. It was a futile attempt, and the more focus that she gave to it, the more that she could feel the desperation in her heart. She wished to the heavens that her parents could be here right now, just because she knew that their presence was always so reassuring whenever her surroundings were covered with the hated snow.
No, she didn't hate the snow. She hated herself for having this power.
The feeling of somebody getting nearer returned, and she could already imagine the time that lapsed while she took her break under the tree. She closed her eyes and pushed all emotion back in. She gave one more glance at the direction of her kingd- former kingdom. The feeling of regret and sadness rose up again, and she had to focus on her breathing so as to ignore it. Ignore it for now, so that she could escape.
She leaned back against the tree, feeling the rough bark sink on the skin of her back. This was actually the farthest she has been from her home. She didn't even know where she was going; only that she had to get far, far away. From Arendelle. From Anna. From the hateful coronation that started it all.
She felt the tears welling up behind her eyes, and the heaviness of her throat. She looked up, trying to blink them away. She gulped in the cold night air, feeling just a bit better. She can handle this. She needs to get moving. She has to put as much distance as she can between her and Arendelle, before witch-hunters could drag her back.
Elsa shook her head. No, they would probably be too frightened to actually go after her. She wouldn't have any pursuers anytime soon. She DID leave of her own volition, after all. No damage was done, except probably the Duke of Weselton's ego. Not that she would blame him, of course. She'd be frightened herself if that ever happened to her.
She stood up and brushed the snow off her clothes. At least she doesn't need to run now, since she seems to have travelled quite a bit from the castle. She started moving once more, making sure that it was in the right direction away from where she came. Parts of her said that it was probably the wrong way, but she pushed that regret deep back down.
Anna is safer without her. The kingdom is safer without her.
She can handle everything else, as long as it remains that way.
A/N: I got a beginning, and an end. No idea how to make it get there. :D