Chapter 2 –
When Elsa woke up, Jack was still sleeping. She figured she would prepare him breakfast so he could regain some strength. She remembered she had some food to prepare in an ice box in her kitchen in case Anna was ever to visit. As far as she remembered, there was fruit and a few foods that could spoil like eggs, milk, and cheese. She didn't eat as much as her warm sibling did, but she did eat occasionally for nourishment.
She slowly opened the ice box and removed a jar of yogurt. She scooped the yogurt into a freezing bowl. After that she cut some fruit and placed it in the yogurt. To top off the breakfast, she poured a glass of milk into a frozen mug. She smiled to herself in success; she wasn't the best host, but she felt as if she succeeded.
She heard the sleepy boy stir down the stairs. He lazily slumped into a dining room chair, not noticing Elsa peak from the kitchen. "Good morning," she said suddenly.
Jack flinched. "Oh! I didn't see you. Good morning."
"I hope you like yogurt. That's about all I have that I wouldn't have to cook. I don't do well with heat." She came out of the kitchen with the yogurt bowl and mug full of milk. She placed it in front of him and handed him a cold spoon.
He sleepily took it and grinned. "Cold is fine, I'm not good with heat either." He laughed.
Elsa looked at him suspiciously. There was something about him that stunned her. Maybe it was the frost scattered on the seams of his sweater, or the icy color of his pale hair. She liked that he was warmer than her, but not as warm as someone like her sister. She felt as if she knew him from a storybook or an old tale. It bothered her, but she felt impolite to ask. "So, Jack, where are you from?"
"Eh, a small, old town that you probably wouldn't recognize. I left at a young age and pretty much raised myself." He explained this with empty eyes, staring down at the bowl of yogurt.
"Do you have any siblings?"
He smiled a bit. "A little sister, but I haven't seen her in a while."
"I have a sister, too," Elsa said happily. "I don't see her a lot but I hope she visits me soon. She doesn't like the cold as much as I do."
"Does anyone else visit you much?"
"No. I'm always alone, except for my snow people. But they're a little ditzy."
Jack sighed. "It's nice having company. For so long I was just ignored. No one really believed in me. I was just a silly fairy tale to tell at Christmas time, nipping at people's noses and whatnot."
Elsa froze. Her smile dropped and her heart started beating rapidly. "You're—you.."
"Jack Frost? Yeah. I knew you'd catch on eventually."
Tears welled in Elsa's eyes. They were happy tears, but she felt as if her rib cage had just clasped around her lungs. It caused an aching feeling to shoot through her bones. She suddenly fell to her knees. Tears trickled down her cheeks. They turned to little, solid hail drops once they touched the frozen floor.
"Elsa, what's wrong?" Jack asked, standing abruptly.
She couldn't speak. All her life, she felt alone. It was good because she couldn't hurt anyone, but she always longed for that one person that she just couldn't hurt no matter what she did. Growing up, she was led to believe that that person was Jack. Now here he was, shoeless and covered in frost, and positively real. It was more of a shocking pain that ran through her body. It was as if someone she had once loved rose from the dead.
Jack crouched next to the shivering girl and peeked behind her platinum braid. "Did I say something?"
"No," Elsa croaked quietly. "I thought I'd never find you." She felt pathetic as these words leaked from her lonesome lips. "I've been secluded in this castle for years, expecting everyone I came across to either get hurt or scared. I always dreamt of you. I always heard stories of you when I was little. As I grew older, it came to my attention that most of the stories that were told to me false, but I always held to a thread of hope that you were always there, watching over me…like a guardian."
Jack's lips turned into a slight grin. "I know," he whispered. "I was your guardian for a long time. I protected you when you were a little girl. But sometimes, when kids grow up, they begin to doubt the stories that their parents told them. As you began to give up on finding me, I began to disappear. In all honesty, I always continued to look after you. But I couldn't reveal myself until you believed in me once more."
Elsa stared up at him with blurry eyes. He slowly wiped the tears from her cheeks. She pushed herself up and wrapped her arms around his neck. She buried her face in his frosty sweatshirt. The smell caused a nostalgic memory of lying in the snow as a child. "I'm so sorry," she wept quietly.
Jack held her close laid his cheek against her soft hair. "I'm not mad at you. Don't be sorry. I should be sorry that I didn't get here sooner. When you ran away to the castle, I had trouble finding you. So getting here was a bit of a hassle. If I was a stronger guardian, I wouldn't have had so much trouble. But I guess I'm still an amateur learning the ropes. Not to mention breaking my staff and that touch of amnesia. That was definitely not part of the plan."
Elsa giggled and leaned back, looking at her guardian. "I don't want you to be sorry either. We can make up for lost time while you're healing."
Jack nodded and smiled. "Of course we can."