Kindred Spirits
Chapter 2: Declarations
"This is awful," Elsa groaned, letting her forehead slump down to hit the tabletop in front of her. "I thought birthdays were supposed to be fun, not torture."
"Eighteen's a big year," Anna said, trying to comfort her sister by putting an arm around her shoulders. "Usually most girls your age are already engaged. And when you add in that you're, well, the Queen…" Anna shrugged. "My guess is a lot of eligible, noble bachelors have a lot of impatient, noble parents hounding them to start knocking on your door."
"I don't care about getting married, though," Elsa said, raising her head back up off the table. "This week was supposed to be about getting to know the people in Arendelle, not about finding out which one of them wants to rope me into marriage the most!"
Thin lines of ice had begun to creep across the wood by the time Elsa was done speaking, signs of her power that she was quick to erase seconds later.
"I know it's ridiculous, but it's just politics," Kristoff joined in, pausing to take another sip of mulled wine. "Besides, if you don't like any of them, you can just say so. It's not like any of the dukes or whoever can force you to marry someone you don't want to."
"It's still a huge pain," Elsa grumbled, taking a liberal gulp from her own wine cup before leaning back in her chair with a sigh. "Every young man I've talked to so far has either been scared of me, or so arrogant it made me want to punch them."
"Hey," Anna broke in, smiling, "that's my thing. You need a jerk punched in the face, you come to me."
Elsa smiled at her sister, but the moment was interrupted by the arrival of the Queen's personal courier.
"Please tell me we don't have more visitors today," Elsa said, and the look on the courier's face made her heart sink.
"Just… send them away, or something," the Queen said wearily. "I'm exhausted."
"My Lady," the courier said, "these are not suitors. It is your cousin, Princess Rapunzel of Corona, and her husband, Prince Fitzherbert."
"Prince who-now?" Kristoff asked, not believing his ears.
Elsa, meanwhile, had undergone an instant metamorphosis. She'd leapt to her feet, a wide smile on her face where a frown had been just seconds earlier.
"Send them in!" she said. The courier bowed and left, and the Queen and Princess shared an excited look.
"They came after all," Elsa said. "They came!"
A few moments later the courier reappeared, accompanied by Princess Rapunzel and Prince Eugene Fitzherbert. Elsa almost knocked Rapunzel off her feet with the force of her hug, while Anna was slightly more careful with Eugene.
"Oh, thank you so much for making the trip," Elsa told Rapunzel as she and her cousin broke apart. "I know how long it takes."
"Hey, that's what family's for," Rapunzel said with a smile. "Wouldn't miss a birthday like this for the world. 'Sides, it's been way too long since we got to spend some time together. Your coronation was so crazy I didn't even get to see you!"
"You were at my coronation?" Elsa asked, her surprise quickly turning into worry. "You didn't get… caught up in that sudden winter storm, did you?"
"We did," Eugene said, "but it really wasn't much trouble," he added quickly, seeing the look of mortification on Elsa's face. "Trust me when I say we've been through worse."
"I'm sorry, all the same," the Queen insisted.
"Don't be," Rapunzel said. "Nobody died, and we all got back home safe and sound. I'm just sorry we didn't stick around for a bit after the thaw, but we figured you had your hands full."
"You could put it that way, yeah," Anna said, smiling. "Lots to catch up on. Oh, by the way," she continued, motioning over to Kristoff, "this is my boyfriend, Kristoff. Kristoff, this is my cousin Rapunzel and her husband, Eugene."
"Pleasure," Kristoff said, nodding in greeting.
"Kristoff is Arendelle's official Ice Master and Deliverer," Anna explained, her voice fairly glowing with pride. "A very prestigious position."
"Sure sounds like it," Eugene said. "Nice to meet you, Kristoff. Hey, Elsa," the prince continued, "I don't mean to pry, but for someone who's a few days into a weeklong celebration, you don't look particularly celebratory. Something wrong?"
"You could say that," Elsa answered, taking another pull on her cup of mulled wine before continuing. "Most of the people coming to wish me a prosperous reign have been suitors."
"Yikes," Rapunzel said, looking over at her cousin sympathetically. "Well, Eugene and I are here to stay, at least until the end of the festivities. If there's anything we can do, just say the word."
Elsa smiled, grateful to have her family around her like this when she really needed them. Her smile was closely followed by a yawn, the fatigue of the day's events suddenly hitting her as the wine began to flow to her head.
"C'mon," Anna said, helping her sister to her feet. "Let's get you to bed. Guys, could you go ahead and make sure no one's waiting around a corner or something? I wouldn't put that past the 'Fredrick' guy, if you ask me."
"Of course," Eugene was quick to answer, a sly smile on his face. "Running interference is my specialty. Just point me to your kitchen, Anna."
"The… kitchen?" Anna asked, arching an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Something I gotta pick up, is all," Eugene replied cryptically, his smile never fading. "Can't walk into a waiting suitor trap unprepared."
"It's a long story," Rapunzel cut in. "Just humor him."
"Oooookay," Anna said, and the group set off for the kitchen on the way to Elsa's chambers. As soon as they got there, Eugene made a beeline for the frying pans and pulled the biggest one within reach off the wall. Testing its weight and balance in his hand, he nodded in approval.
"Yeah," he said, fastening it to a cord on his belt, "this'll do just fine."
They group set off again, with Kristoff only lagging behind long enough to shoot Anna a quizzical look. The princess shrugged, figuring that a heavy slab of wrought metal was just as good a weapon as any sword, in the hands of someone who knew what they were doing.
Fortunately, the rest of the trip back to Elsa's room happened without Eugene needing to introduce any would-be paramours to the business end of his frying pan, and the group split up to go their separate ways. Rapunzel and Eugene followed Kristoff's lead towards the room that had been prepared for them, and Anna lingered behind for a moment to kiss her sister goodnight before making her way down the hall and towards the room she shared with Kristoff.
Anna opened the door of her room and slowly made her way over to her bed, flopping down on it with a sigh and staring up at the ceiling.
Why couldn't all the suitors just take her hints and leave her alone? Running the affairs of Arendelle was hard enough by itself, to say nothing of trying to be in a relationship at the same time with someone who barely understood her. Half of her suitors were men she was only meeting for the first time that day, and the other half were only slightly more familiar. It reeked of politics just as much as it did of unfairness; Kristoff was right about that.
Why hadn't any of her would-be husbands at least tried to take some time to get to know who she was, rather than just settling for what she was?
A thought slammed into her, so blindingly obvious that Elsa almost sobered up immediately under its weight. She forced herself to sit up in bed, ignoring the slightly lurching feeling in her head as she did so. Looking around the room, she tried to find the familiar shape of a large, black-leather-covered book.
A book signed by one very particular person.
It took five solid minutes of turning her room inside-out to find it, but Elsa eventually found herself sitting on her bed, clutching the book in slightly-trembling hands. She opened the cover to the first page, and saw the name written there; faded to brown now, but still as visible as ever.
"Jack—"
Elsa hesitated, slowly closing her mouth and letting the rest of her breath out in a sigh before finishing his name. It had been six months since they'd last talked, plus a few days more. What if he hated her for it? What if he'd forgotten about her, or thought she'd forgotten about him? What if—
Elsa was pulled sharply out of her thoughts by the sound of a knock on her door.
"Anna?" she called out. "It should be open, just come in."
Another knock.
"Anna?"
A third knock.
Elsa put the book down and got to her feet, walking slowly to the door. She gripped the handle with one hand, readying a faint orb of ice in the other.
And then she opened the door, and her free hand fell slack to her side.
Jack was standing there, looking only slightly different than he had the last time they'd talked. It didn't seem like anything had changed, after all.
"Hey, Els…a…" Jack began, his blue eyes going wide and his voice trailing off as he got a good look at her. "I… wow." He blinked once and swallowed, but it did nothing to improve his composure. "Um… can I come in?"
"Please," Elsa said, stepping back and making room. "I didn't think you'd knock."
"Well, normally we don't wait six months between conversations," Jack replied. "I thought I'd go formal with it this time, just to be safe."
The two of them fell silent as they looked at each other, neither one quite sure where to begin.
"You look good," they both said in unison, pausing for a heartbeat before stifling laughs at the same time.
"Well," Jack said, "at least we're both still ridiculous. That's comforting."
Elsa sighed again, but it was happy this time, and free of fatigue.
"I missed you," she said. "I'm sorry it took so long to call you."
"Hey, ruling is busy stuff," Jack said. "I understand. Six months later is better than never again. I'm just sorry I couldn't be there for you when you awakened."
"When I did what?"
"Awakened," Jack repeated. "Matured into your powers. I figured it out when winter came to Arendelle in the middle of June, but you were already gone by the time I paid you a visit. If I'd been there for you, maybe I could have helped…"
Jack's fists had clenched by his side without him even realizing it, a tightly-controlled flurry of snow beginning to swirl around him. Elsa stepped forward, passing into the barrier and through it to draw Jack into an embrace.
"Calm down," she whispered, running a hand gently, comfortingly through his hair, as he'd done for her years ago. "Running away from Arendelle was my choice, Jack. Don't be hard on yourself because of it. There was nothing you could have done—I had to deal with those problems on my own."
The flurry gradually subsided, and the tension left Jack all at once as he reciprocated the embrace.
"I know," he whispered, "and I couldn't be more proud of you for doing what you did. I mean that."
"Thank you," Elsa said, her voice breaking slightly. They were the words she'd always wanted to hear, even if she hadn't known it until now. She took a step back from Jack and smiled, keeping her hands on his shoulders.
"Now, I might have solved those problems on my own," she said, humor coming back into her eyes and voice as the beginning of a coy smile danced on her lips, "but those problems have nothing to do with what I'm going through now. If you wanted to help me deal with these problems, well…"
Her smile bloomed.
"I might let you tag along."
Jack smiled as well, and was caught completely off-guard when Elsa moved forward and kissed him full on the lips. He stumbled back a step before recovering his footing, but by then he'd already lost.
Elsa broke off the kiss what felt like a minute later, leaving Jack in a half-daze and struggling to catch his breath.
"Yes," he said at last, still flushed, while Elsa grinned at him again in pure amusement. "Tagging along would be good. Let's do that. More of that. I mean… I'll just shut up now," Jack finished, resigning himself to beaming like an idiot.
"I missed you, too," he said a few moments later, once he'd finally recovered. "See you in the morning, my Lady."
Jack bowed, never once taking his eyes off Elsa, before vanishing in a swirling cloud of white.
Elsa walked back over to her bed with light, happy steps, humming a short tune to herself as she fell back down onto it.
For the first time in a very, very long time, Elsa had dreams that made her smile.
Anna woke up with the dawn, rolling over slowly away from Kristoff to make sure she didn't wake him up as she got out of bed. He snored loudly and turned over to fill the now-empty space, bringing a smile to Anna's face as she stretched the stiffness out of her muscles. She washed up, changed into some simple clothes just thick enough to keep the occasional late-November gusts of wind at bay and made her way down to the royal family's small, private dining room, covering her mouth against a long yawn as she went.
When she reached the dining room, Anna found herself greeted by a sight she hadn't been expecting at all: Elsa was sitting at the large square table, digging into a plate of crisp rye toast topped with butter and jam, and a bowl of muesli on the side garnished with fresh fruit. There was a smile on her face that looked like it'd been permanently fixed there, and Anna could have sworn she heard her sister humming something under her breath.
"Good morning," she said as she sat down next to the Queen. "You certainly seem to be in a better mood, Elsa. Sleep well?"
"I did," Elsa answered, before taking a sip of tea from a large mug. "Did you?"
"Yeah," Anna said. "Anything else I should know about?"
"I figured out how to put this whole silly suitor question to rest," Elsa elaborated, taking another bite out of her toast with gusto. Anna smiled.
"That's great! What's the plan?"
Elsa gave her sister a cryptic, mischievous smile, the likes of which Anna hadn't seen since they'd been kids.
"You'll see tonight," she said. "For now, get something to eat! Can't entertain the crowds on an empty stomach, after all."
By the time Anna had sat down with a plate of food and begun to eat, Rapunzel and Eugene had made their way to the dining room and joined them.
"Now this is much better," Eugene said, sighing. "It's like a zoo out in the main room. I had no idea Arendelle had so many domains."
"It's basically the same size as Corona," Rapunzel said. "Remember how many people crashed the castle to celebrate me coming back home?"
"Vaguely," Eugene said, smiling at the jumble of memories from that week, "but it's all a bit of a blur."
"Of course it is," Rapunzel replied, chuckling. "I'm surprised there was any beer left in the castle by the time you were done with it."
"To be fair," Eugene said, "I did have a lot of help."
"Good morning, you two," Elsa said, her smile still present. "Was your room all right?"
"Wonderful, thank you," Rapunzel answered. "By the way, we ran into Fredrick on the way down from our room. He wanted me to give you his best."
"Of course he did," Elsa said, sighing.
Anna was about to say something else, but was interrupted by the arrival of someone new that she'd never seen before. A young man had entered the room and busied himself clearing the table, dressed in plain gray clothes with a matching hood covering the top of his head. His skin was unusually pale, and his eyes were captivatingly blue.
"I'm sorry," Anna said, "I don't think we've met. You are?"
"Name's Jack, milady," he answered, pausing for a moment to flash Anna a quick smile before resuming his work. "I'm a new hire for the kitchen staff. Big parties like this need a lot of hands on deck, and all."
"Of course," Anna said. "Well, welcome! Hopefully you won't be quite so busy when this week is over and things settle back down again."
"No, I don't think I will be," Jack said, something in his voice that Anna couldn't quite place. "This is more of a temporary job for me."
He took his leave with a nod to Elsa, carrying the round of dishes back into the kitchens to be cleaned.
"Your Highness," the courier announced as he moved from the main dining room into the small one, "the representatives from Berk and Clan DunBroch have arrived at last. Shall I show them in?"
"Wonderful," Elsa said, finishing up her meal. "Have they eaten yet?"
"Yes, they have."
"Then please let them know I'll be out shortly. There's time for some walking around the castle grounds before supper, and it's a lovely day outside."
The courier nodded.
"Of course, my Queen."
"Walking some of this off sounds like a good idea," Anna said, patting her stomach. "I'm stuffed."
"And I want to hear all about what you've been up to for the past few months," Rapunzel told the sisters. "Re-opening the kingdom must've been quite the change."
"You could say that," Elsa said, getting to her feet once everyone had finished eating. "Let's go greet our other guests, shall we?"
"Lead the way."
"You go on without me," Anna said. "I'll catch up once I've gotten Kristoff out of bed. He puts the dead to shame when he sleeps, I swear."
"Good luck," Elsa called after her, before moving out into the main dining room. Most of the guests had retired to while away the hours between the morning meal and the evening one, so the royals' path to the other end of the room was clear.
And at the other end of the room, three particular guests were chatting with each other. One, a young woman with wild, unbound red hair, was gesticulating broadly and apparently reaching the climax of some story or joke. The other two guests, both clad in the strong, rugged leather garb of the Vikings of Berk, broke out into laughter.
"Oh, don't tell me you got started without us, Merida," Rapunzel said by way of greeting as the two groups finally met. "I hate missing out on a good story."
The red haired young woman laughed, drawing Rapunzel into a hug.
"It was an oldie, don't worry," Merida assured her. "Good t'see you again, Rapunzel. Been too long."
"Yeah, that'll happen when travelling to Corona by ship takes a week in good weather," Eugene said. "How'd you get here so fast?"
"Hitched a ride on Toothless," Merida explained, gesturing over to the two visitors from Berk. "Dragons're a lot faster'n ships."
"That's putting it mildly," one of the two Vikings said, a young man with dark brown hair, an honest face and light green eyes. "I'm Hiccup, your Majesty," he introduced himself to Elsa, half-bowing. "My father is Stoick the Vast of Berk. He sends his regrets for not being able to make it himself. This," Hiccup continued, motioning to the tall, blond young woman at his side with sharp blue eyes, "is Astrid."
"Nice to meet you," Astrid said, smiling.
"So, you do really ride dragons, after all?" Elsa asked, impressed. "I've never seen one before."
"That's an easy fix," Hiccup said. "We left him out with the Trolls, so he'd have some room to run around without scaring everyone."
"Well, I was planning on a walk around the grounds to pass the afternoon," Elsa said, "but a ride out to see the Trolls would work nicely, too. We'll just need to wait for Anna to get back down here with Kristoff."
"No rush," Hiccup said, looking around at the high vaulted ceiling of the room. "This place is huge," he continued, his voice tinged with awe. "How many people live here?"
"When you count the workers and all the officials and dignitaries," Elsa said, doing some quick math in her head, "probably a hundred or so. But they're busy most of the time, so I don't see much of them."
Astrid whistled appreciatively at the scale of it.
"I feel like you could fit half of Berk in here if you needed to," she said. "You mainlanders don't hold back."
"Says the girl who built a separate house for her dragon," Merida teased, before turning to Elsa and smiling broadly. "I'm Merida," she introduced herself, holding out her hand, "Princess of Clan DunBroch."
Elsa held out her arm in kind and Merida gripped it halfway between her wrist and her elbow, shaking for a moment before letting it go.
"An honor," Elsa said. "I'm just sorry we didn't have a chance to do this sooner. It's clear to me now that there's a lot of this world I know far too little about."
"Well, no time like the present t'fix that, I'd say," Merida replied. "And now that Stoick's agreed to let us borrow some o' his Dragons, that ought to make travel down to the mainland much easier."
"That's great news," Rapunzel said, smiling. "I've always wanted to see the Northlands for myself."
"Make sure you bring some coats if you come up in the winter, though," Hiccup cautioned. "It gets pretty cold up there."
Elsa smiled.
"Nothing I couldn't handle, I'm sure," she said. "The cold doesn't exactly bother me."
Merida laughed.
"Yeah, the ice out front was a nice surprise," she said. "Did you really do that?"
Elsa held her hand out and flexed her fingers slightly, causing a few wisps of snow to float up above her palm. They swirled around for a few moments before Elsa relaxed her control, sending them floating away on the air.
"Wow," Merida breathed, her eyes wide. "Winter magic. That's amazing."
"Thank you," Elsa said, slightly embarrassed. "Not too many people used to think so around here, but they've gotten used to it."
Astrid shifted uncomfortably on her feet, and Elsa's eyes narrowed in concern.
"Is everything all right?"
"Oh, I'll be fine, don't worry," Astrid said. "I just feel weird without my axe, is all."
"Do Vikings normally carry around weapons at parties?" Rapunzel asked, and Hiccup laughed.
"It's not really a party in my village unless a few tables get broken," he said. "No one gets hurt, though. It's just how we blow off steam."
"I see," Elsa said, marveling once more at how little she knew, and how much she had to learn. She was very much looking forward to doing so.
"Hey, everyone," Anna's bright voice broke in, drawing the group's eyes over to where Anna and Kristoff were, headed towards them. "Sorry that took so long. What're we doing?"
"Going for a ride out to see the Trolls," Rapunzel explained. "Hiccup here left his Dragon with them, and Elsa wants to go see it."
"A Dragon?" Anna repeated, her eyes going wide. "A real live one?"
"Yup."
"Then what're we waiting for?" Anna half-shouted, smiling excitedly. "Let's go!"
"Sure," Elsa said, her sister's smile infectious. "I'll introduce you to our guests on the way."
"Oh man," Anna said to Kristoff as the group made their way out of the castle, "this is so cool! I've always wanted to see a Dragon!"
As it turned out, so did everyone else. Between the trolls—who seemed to be in heaven, fawning over not one, but two couples—and Toothless being his usual playful self, the atmosphere out in the bog was so light that Elsa was surprised flowers didn't start spontaneously blooming.
"Oh, I'm so glad you had the time to come out and pay us a visit, your Majesty," one of the trolls told Elsa, his voice enthusiastic. "And that it's under happier circumstances than your last trip."
"That's something we can both be glad about," the Queen said, cringing behind her smile as she remembered Anna being healed from the effects of her magic. "And I'm happy to see you're all doing well."
"Kristoff doesn't come around quite so much as he used to," the troll said, looking over at where he and Anna were marveling at a gout of blue flame Toothless had just sent up into the sky. "But there's nothing wrong with that, either. About time he found someone who could keep up with him."
Elsa laughed.
"I'd say he's the one who has trouble keeping up with Anna," she said, "but I guess that's true for most people my sister knows."
"And how about you, your Majesty?" the troll asked, looking up at Elsa with a sly smile on his face. "Have any luck with the crowd in town for the week?"
"Not at all," Elsa said, "but I'm working on it."
"That's the spirit," the troll replied. "We're all rooting for you!"
Elsa smiled and nodded in thanks, before looking over at the group and seeing Merida howling with glee as Toothless used his head to toss her high into the air and catch her again. The Queen turned and headed for a more secluded area of the bog, hoping that some quiet would help her sort out the rest of her plan for the evening's festivities.
Elsa had only been walking for a minute or so, however, when something strange happened. Stepping through the gap between a pair of large trees, she noticed that the air around her shimmered and warped for a heartbeat, bending around her like a solid object before settling back down. Before she could wonder for too long at what could possibly have caused such an oddity, the sound of harsh conversation reached her ears.
And both of the voices were very familiar, indeed.
"I don't understand what your problem is with me, old man."
"If you can't even see what I recognize as plain as day, then this whole conversation is pointless."
Elsa pressed herself against a different tree trunk and peered around the corner, seeing Grand Pabbie the Troll King and Jack engaged in what looked like a pretty intense discussion. And judging by Jack's posture and the circle of solid ice that had formed over the grass he was standing on, Jack was not happy at all.
"So you're just gonna judge me because of what I am?" Jack asked. "I'm the only one left!"
"Precisely because your people's legacy was one of strife, sorrow, and conquest," the Troll King said, his voice as low and powerful as Elsa had ever heard it. "Your powers are accursed, Ice Mage. Nothing you can do will ever change that."
"Elsa seemed to do pretty well for herself," Jack snapped back. "What makes me any different?"
"You have no shred of humanity in you," the Troll King said, his voice as level as ever. "Elsa had her sister, and her friends to help keep her powers under control. What do you have to help you do the same?"
"Me," Elsa broke in at last, tired of seeing Jack get dragged through the mud by the Troll King. "He has me."
Both Jack and the Troll King turned at once to face the unexpected Queen, wearing twin expressions of surprise and confusion. In the end, Jack spoke first.
"Elsa? What're you—how did you find us?"
"I got lucky," she said, before turning to face the Troll King. "Leave him alone, Grand Pabbie."
"I'm afraid I'll need a bit more convincing than that," he replied, standing firm. "Even you can't deny that a pure Ice Mage like him has the potential for immense destruction."
"Potential is just that," Elsa said, "and nothing more. But if you want something more convincing, then trust me to keep him in line."
The Troll King arched an eyebrow.
"You really believe yourself strong enough to best him?"
"Of course," Elsa said, her dark blue eyes unblinking as she stared Grand Pabbie down. "I know Jack would never do anything to hurt me."
"And if you happen to be wrong? What then?"
"I won't be," Elsa insisted. "I've known Jack for seven years. If something bad was going to happen, it would have already come and gone. I think he's a good person, and one of the best I've ever met. Is that good enough for you?"
The Troll King was silent for a few long moments, looking back and forth between the pair with a meaningful gaze. Then he sighed, shook his head, and turned away.
"If this is what you want," he said as he walked towards the far edge of the small clearing, "then I can't stop you. I only hope that you don't live to regret it, Elsa."
The bubble surrounding them shimmered and faded, but it was only once they were sure Grand Pabbie was gone that Elsa and Jack dared look at each other. Jack's face was a jumbled mess of anger, surprise, happiness and something Elsa couldn't quite recognize, but it all melted away when he smiled at her, gratitude showing clearly in his bright blue eyes.
"Thank you," he said humbly as Elsa walked over to him, the edges of his voice trembling slightly. "Those things you said… did you really mean them?"
"What kind of silly question is that?" Elsa replied. "Of course I did. You're not some kind of monster, Jack. No more than I am, at least."
"And you're definitely not a monster," Jack said, smiling again as he put a hand gently on her shoulder. "A monster wouldn't have stood up for me like that."
Elsa laughed softly, reaching up and pulling the hood down from Jack's head.
"After all the times you've been there for me?" she said, trailing her fingers from his chin up along his cheek as she spoke. "The least I could do was be there for you, Jack."
Jack took Elsa's hand in his own, placing a kiss against her palm.
"Thank you," he repeated. "I can't tell you how much that means to me."
"You mean what's it like to not feel alone anymore?" Elsa asked, smiling. "I think I have a pretty good idea, actually."
Jack chuckled, but the sound was quickly swallowed up by Elsa leaning in for a kiss. Jack let himself give into it, only to be surprised when Elsa's tongue darted teasingly into his mouth and back out again. He shivered, unable to fully suppress a muted groan. The Queen smiled against his lips before leaning back, looking particularly pleased with herself.
"How long do you think we have?" Jack asked, hoping he didn't sound too breathless.
"At least another ten minutes, probably," Elsa replied. "Why?"
"Good," Jack said, his smile sending a small shiver down Elsa's back. "My turn."
Before the Queen could so much as blink, the ground under her feet had turned to ice. She lost her footing and began to fall backwards, only to be caught by a strong, lean arm wrapping around her waist. Jack stopped Elsa's half-yelp of surprise with another kiss, and Elsa reached up to twine her fingers through Jack's hair, holding on to the back of his head and balancing out their embrace.
As the pair enjoyed the moment, blissfully unaware of the world around them, a figure moved back behind the tall tree she'd been peeking around. She took a few slow steps away from the clearing, careful to keep her mouth shut and contain the scream of glee she was desperately trying to hold in until she'd made her way back to where the rest of the group was still hanging out with the trolls.
Kristoff heard the sound and turned toward Anna, confused by the ecstatic look on her face.
"What's up?" he asked. "Did something happen?"
"You could say that," Anna answered, her blue eyes wide and full of happiness and mischief. "Oh man," she continued, rubbing her hands together conspiratorially,
"I'm going to have fun tonight."
