A/N Chapter 2 reedited

Marionette

Chapter 2 - Olaf's Bravery

Warnings: None


Elsa gently patted the body of the snowman she was making. She pouted her lip when she could not quite get its head the shape she wanted it to be, so she yanked off her light teal colored mittens and proceeded to touch and mold the cold snow with her bare hands. Despite her pale hands turning a raw red from the cold, it didn't bother her in the slightest. She relished the feeling of the snow.

Jack quietly observed the young girl working on the oddly shaped snowman. He furrowed his brow, wondering why the head of the snowman was more oval in shape than traditional snowmen. He said nothing to Elsa, however, letting her finish her work.

"There!" she exclaimed, proudly placing her hands on her waist and puffing out her chest at her achievement. "It's Olaf!"

"Your friend, right?"

She nodded her head. "He protects me and Anna!"

Jack remembered what Agdar told him - about Elsa's overactive imagination. He seemed to be nervous while he was telling Jack this, as if it was something weird or abnormal, but the young boy thought it was better than being dull, boring. He liked that as soon as Elsa dragged him out to play in the courtyard, she managed to immerse him in a wild fantasy tale of princesses and brave knights.

"Me and Anna are princesses!" Elsa stated, smiling broadly as she patted down Olaf's snow body.

"And Olaf is our knight! Papa said you're here as our knight too, so you can be second-in-command!"

Starting to get pulled into this make believe scenario, Jack asked with a level of skepticism, "and why am I second-in-command?" He noted how when Elsa stated this fact, she did not bother to pause or hesitate to think about it - it was just automatic and it bugged him. Was he inadequate in some way?

Elsa sensed his agitated tone of voice and she quickly explained, "Olaf was here longer than you!" When she saw from his facial expression that he was not quite satisfied with that answer, she added in, "you can become stronger than Olaf, don't worry! You'll be first-in-command in no time!" She grinned sheepishly, hoping it would appease him.

Jack raised an eyebrow skeptically, but he eventually loosened up and went along with it. He laughed as he picked himself up so that he was kneeling on the snow. "Fine, I guess that's fair." His hands casually bunched up a bit of snow, while Elsa's attention was diverted to made sure Olaf looked perfect. A little mischievous grin worked its way across his face as he molded a snowball in his hands.

"Hey, Elsa - think fast!"

She turned around and was hit in the face with a flurry of snow. Elsa glared at him, annoyed, as chunks of snow slowly slid off her face, melting with her body heat.

It had been several days since Elsa was introduced to Jack. She learned that he was going to live with them, in one of the spare bedrooms beside hers. The platinum blond got excited with the news, thinking that Jack was going to be a servant that she could finally become friends with. She did not really understand all of it, but she happily accepted him. Aside from her long-distance friend, Rapunzel, Elsa had no one else she could call a friend, seeing as how she wasn't a social butterfly like her little sister, Anna. Despite this, Elsa held onto the hope that she and Jack could become best friends.

He was the first boy that she actually enjoyed talking to and aside from the initial nervousness, she quickly grew comfortable around him. Playful and talkative, there was never a dull moment with him. Of course, Elsa quickly realized the downside of such behavior as it quickly evolved from innocent playfulness to crude mischievousness. He would pull pranks on her whenever she least expected it and although harmless, they served to annoy the young blond to no end.

Elsa bent down, making a snowball of her own and chased the teenager around the courtyard. "Jackson Frost!" she used his full name whenever she got angry, as Jack noticed, "don't you know that hurt!?" She hurled the snowball at him and hit him squarely in the back, although it did not seem like it did anything to affect him.

Jack laughed it off, turning around and hurling a snowball back at her. "I thought the cold didn't bother you, Ice Queen!" he taunted, giving her a devilish smirk.

She fumed, scrunching up her nose and glaring at him. Elsa angrily grumbled under her breath as she made a huge snowball that she had to carry with both hands. "I'll show him," she said under her breath as he simply watched her from just a foot away - relaxed and not even worried that the huge chunk of snow was more than capable of hitting him. This annoyed Elsa even more - the way that he was so haughty and full of himself.

Elsa ran forth, attempting to throw the huge snowball, but she lost her footing. With the stepping stones slick with a thin layer of ice, she quickly found herself falling to the ground, about to land face first against the cold stone blocks. She braced herself for the impact, but it never came. Instead, she found herself in the safety of Jack's arms.

He had dove in to save her at the nick of time, allowing for her to be graciously embraced by the softness and warmth of his body. "That was close," he breathed out a sigh of relief, apparently unaffected by the rough landing he sustained, "are you okay?"

Then again, it was times like these that got Elsa to tolerate him. Even after all the pranks he pulled and the teasing, he would always be there to make it better. If she ended up crying, he would be there to comfort her - telling her over and over again that he was sorry until she stopped. Despite his mischievous nature, Elsa knew that he had a kind heart with the way he was genuinely worried whenever she got hurt because of his harmless pranks.

Elsa nodded, clutching the dark blue fabric of his hoodie and blushing slightly from the embarrassing slip.

They got up, Jack helping her brush off any loose snow that stuck to her warm knit sweater. "There we go," he said, trying to get the last of it off. As he turned her around towards him, he cried out in surprise when he received a face full of snow.

Elsa cackled, holding her stomach, as she watched the snow slide off of Jack's face. "Gotcha!" she exclaimed, proud at herself for a successful sneak attack. "I picked up some snow while I was getting up. Pretty good, huh?" Her victory was short-lived when she realized that Jack was gathering up some snow in his hands, chuckling.

"Nice one, Ice Queen, but no one sneaks up on me and gets away with it!"

Elsa dodged the incoming snowball and blew a fat raspberry at him. "You're gonna have to be faster than that, Jack!"


"Elsa! You're soaking wet!" Idun scolded, "were you playing outside this whole time? You know that you need to get your supplementary assignments done for the tutor tomorrow!"

Sensing that her mother was angry with her, Elsa nervously shuffled her feet on the polished marble floors. "S - Sorry, Mama. I -"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Winters," Jack said, quickly coming to Elsa's aid, "she stayed out because I made her. Elsa wanted to come in earlier."

"Jack..." Elsa whispered under her breath, surprised that he was willing to take all the blame.

Idun stared at Jack for a bit, unsure of what to say next. She relaxed her shoulders and let out a soft sigh after a short pause. "You two..."

A maid came over to them, bringing over two dry towels. Idun took them both and draped it over the children's heads. She smiled a little, unable to get mad when they both seemed apologetic for their innocent mistake.

"I know you both love the snow...and how much you two like playing with each other. But do it in moderation -" she warned.

Jack sneezed, blushing immediately when Idun laughed softly at him.

"And not so much that you're at the point of getting sick." She turned her attention back to Elsa. "Now, you young lady - you are going to go take a nice hot bath and go to sleep. We don't need you getting sick too when Anna's just about to recover. Jack, could you please take her up to her room? Don't let her wander."

"Yes, ma'am," he dutifully complied. As he walked alongside Elsa, Jack sneezed again, causing her to burst out into laughter. He blushed hotly and mumbled under his breath, "it's not that funny."

"Is the cold bothering you, Jack?" Elsa replied, teasing him as she snickered.

"No way," he flatly answered back. The white haired boy glanced over at her and noticed that she was not even shivering, despite the fact that her clothes and hair were matted down with melted snow. Even her skin was still pale with no signs of red irritation from the chilly temperatures. "You really are an ice queen..." he muttered.

"Huh?" Elsa gave him a scrutinizing glare. "Is that supposed to be an insult?"

He shrugged languidly. "What? Do you think it's an insult?"

"I - I don't know!" she spluttered out, accusingly. "You're always teasing me so-!"

"Not always."

"You do!"

Her annoyance spiked when she saw him rolling his pale blue eyes. How could someone be tolerable one minute, then teeth grindingly irritating the next? Arriving at her room, Elsa yanked open the bedroom door and blew a raspberry at the young boy. "You stupid, big dummy!" she spouted off, trying to compile the worst words she knew in her limited insult vocabulary.

She slammed the door in his face and Jack stood there, mouth agape at what just happened.

At first it was just a soft snicker, then a chuckle, then it grew into a full-blown laugh. Jack felt awful, knowing that Elsa was angry with him, but he could not help it. He thought that was the most adorable thing ever - little Elsa trying to insult him with words that would be used on a playground. Jack rested his hand on her door and knelt down so that he could speak through the keyhole.

"I'm sorry, Elsa!" he said in between snickers. He knew he had to apologize, but at the same time he had a hard time controlling his laughter.

"Go away!" she shouted back.

"I mean it!"

"Then stop laughing!"

"I -" Jack stifled a laugh, miserably failing. From inside, he heard Elsa kicking the door, wordlessly telling him to leave. When that didn't work, she resorted to yelling at him.

"Stupid Jack!"

Deciding that he could try to apologize to her in the morning, Jack chuckled, leaving her door. "Goodnight Elsa!" he shouted back, receiving only silence in response. He let out a soft sigh, smiling, knowing that she was still angry.

Her bedroom door opened up slightly before he could get too far, the hinges squeaking as she did so. He turned back around and saw the blond poking her head out, avoiding his eyes.

"Goodnight..." she mumbled out shyly before closing the door.


Agdar let the tip of his pen glide across the smooth paper as he signed off his name on a document. He set it off to the side and picked up another paper, reviewing it silently. There was a soft knock on the door that grabbed his attention and he answered, "come in."

Idun entered the study, quietly closing the door behind her. She seemed worried, prompting him to walk over to her.

"Honey, what's wrong?" her husband asked, taking her cold hands in his.

"I don't know, Agdar..." she sighed wistfully. "Elsa and Jack just came back from playing together outside and…" Her gaze fell dramatically. "They're leading such normal lives now, but it won't be long before Elsa knows the truth as to why Jack's actually here."

"Honey - "

"This isn't the life I wanted to give to our daughters. Constantly living in fear all the time - we still have no idea who kidnapped Elsa and the fact that you hired Jack a few days ago as her bodyguard just tells me that it's only going to get worse." She worriedly narrowed her eyes at her husband. "Isn't it?"

Agdar silently looked away from his wife, unable to answer her truthfully at the time. "I'm doing my best to fix things. I promise," he simply muttered, hoping to calm her down. He looked back at the young woman and gently cupped her smooth cheek, rubbing his thumb just underneath her eye.

Her soft brown eyes avoided his as she seemed unaffected by his touch. "I know," she murmured softly. "...You always do." For a brief second, Idun regretted the small bit of contempt that was present in her voice, but when she was taken into her husband's arms, in a loving gesture, she relaxed into him.

The dark blond haired man held the small body of his wife against him and he inconspicuously let the corner of his lips fall into a dark grimace.

"The people that did this to us will get what they deserve."


"Oh, Jack!"

The white haired teen was immediately smothered by Toothiana's tight hug as soon as he stepped out of the elevator. For a woman of short stature, she had a lot of strength. He laughed nervously, hiding his discomfort from being squeezed that tightly, but he appreciated the warm welcome she provided him.

From behind, he could hear Nicholas North's trademark, booming laughter. "See? They all missed you!"

"What?" Toothiana momentarily let go of the young boy to look up at the lumbering man. The young woman's eyes went wide, the pink color contacts she wore on a daily basis, shimmering prettily. "He thought we wouldn't miss him?"

"Well...some of you guys anyways." Jack raised an eyebrow, smiling as he looked over to Bunnymund, who gave him an eye roll back. The tall, lanky man walked up to him, the soles of his tan cowboy boots clicking on the smooth metal floors. He wore a frown on his face.

"Now listen here, mate," Bunnymund said pointedly. "Just because I'm not squeezing the life out of you like Tooth is, doesn't mean that I don't care about you. Look -" He pointed back to Sandy, who was excitedly approaching them. "Sandy isn't hugging you either."

"Yeah, but at least Sandy actually looks happy to see me," the teen replied, laughing as he greeted the short, blond haired man with fluent sign language. Sandy excitedly signed something back to Jack, who smirked and signed something back, while glancing at Bunnymund.

The Australian man narrowed his eyes at the sight of their silent back and forth. "Alright Jacky, in case you didn't know, talking crap about someone in a different language doesn't exactly work when the person you're talking crap about, knows what you're talkin' about."

The silver haired youth responded back teasingly, "maybe you were supposed to know what we're talking about."

Bunnymund scrunched up his nose in irritation. "Little brat," he muttered under his breath.

Jack snickered at the dark gray haired man's reluctance to admit that he missed him. "You do care. I know you do."

"Whatever, you bloody show pony."

"Now, now," North said, breaking up the small tirade before it dragged on any longer. "I brought Jack here to get his tattoo done. It will not be too long."

"About time," Bunnymund chimed in, "the damn alarm goes off every single time you bring him to HQ. Had to disable it because Manny kept nagging me about the loud noise."

"Well, now you don't have to worry about the alarm," Jack smiled, somewhat excited to get the tattoo, despite the pain. The tattoo itself was embedded with dozens of microchips inside the ink and it served as a passkey into the Guardians' HQ, as well as functioning as a tracker. Aside from the technical functions, the thing that made Jack excited the most was that it would make him feel like he was officially a part of the Guardians - a part of his adoptive family.


"You got a tattoo, Jack!?"

Elsa looked horrified as she continued to stare at the dark black snowflake shaped tattoo located on the young boy's left pectoral. The skin around the tattoo was an angry red, as Jack rubbed on a salve to disinfect and help the healing process.

"It's not that bad -"

"It is!" she wailed, "Jack's turning into a delinquent! You're going to be one of those mean thugs!"

"What?" Jack said incredulously before breaking into a laugh. He did not really need an answer when he saw that she was close to tears, genuinely worried that he was going to degrade into society's lowest. Seeing this, Jack could not help, but let out a soft laugh.

"It's not funny, Jack-!"

He set down the small container of salve on the side of the sink, laughing too much to be able to properly put on the medication. "Elsa," he snickered, "I'm not going to be a delinquent."

"But - !"

"If you're worried about me becoming a 'bad guy,' you don't have to be. Even if I do, I'll still be your knight, Princess Elsa." He smiled at her, bowing in a grand manner and causing the young girl to blush.

"That's not the point!" she retorted sharply, stomping her foot down on the tiled floors. Elsa felt her face heat up more when he continued to laugh. She was not quite sure if she felt embarrassed or angry with him. Unable to decipher her own moods and just feeling downright frustrated with him, Elsa stormed out of the bathroom, screaming, "boys are so stupid!"

Despite her angry outburst, Jack found it adorable and he laughed, much to Elsa's displeasure.

She growled, stopping halfway and then running back into the bathroom. "Stop laughing!"

He attempted to stifle his laughter, but failed, as he always did.

Her temper flared once more. "I hate you!"

"Aw, but I love you!" he replied back, teasingly.

Elsa felt her face heat up almost immediately. She tightened her lips in a straight line and wanted to say something back, but she wordlessly left, afraid that if she said anything, it would only make him laugh even more. As she ran away, Elsa felt her heart thumping away inside of her chest.

It was strange of how Jack's words affected her, even though she had heard such words from Anna and her parents many times. When he said those words, it made her heart race and her face heat up. She tightly squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head vigorously, attempting to rid herself of the thoughts surfacing in her mind.

Elsa concluded that it was just puppy love and in time, it would disappear. Jack was nearly four years older than her and she was sure that he only saw her as a little sister. The thought disappointed her to some degree, but she realized that she too, enjoyed a friendship with Jack more so than the idea of sharing romantic feelings with him.

She triumphantly placed her small hands on her hips, happy that she was able to effectively squash the romantic feelings she was starting to develop for the young teenager. With a smug smile, Elsa declared to no one in particular as she stood there by herself in the long hallway, "boys have cooties anyway."

And she was sure that Jack had plenty of them.


It was a special occasion. For once, the Winters were heading out together as a family, in celebration of Anna getting over her sickness. With her younger sister fully recovered, Elsa excited discussed the mini outing with her. Their parents suggested that they take them to the outdoor shopping area in downtown Arendelle. Even with the bustling city still covered in a thick blanket of snow, they thought it would be a nice change in setting for the young girls, who had been cooped up inside the estate for much of their winter vacation.

Elsa happily played with the soft, rippling ruffles of her knee-length, light blue dress, as she idly watched Wendy fix up Anna's hair. Her little sister was practically bouncing up and down in her chair, despite their maid's pleas to keep still. "Are there going to be a lot of people there, Elsa?" she asked innocently, her azure eyes widening at her older sister's answer.

"Mhm! Mama and Papa said so! They said there's also a lot of lights, and decorations, and - oh! - toy stores that sell dolls this big!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms out wide.

When the young red head's eyes practically popped out of her skull in amazement, she clapped her hands together, laughing giddily at the same time. "I can't wait!" she cheered, just as Wendy finished pinning her bangs away from her face with a beautiful green flower clip.

Almost immediately afterwards, the two sisters darted out of the bedroom, only to run into Jack, who had come by to check up on them. Upon their near collision, Elsa sourly glared at him, but Anna immediately threw her arms around his slender waist.

"Jack!" she exclaimed, burying her round face into his stomach and causing the teen to laugh. Ever since Anna found out that Jack was going to be living with them, she was enthralled by the idea and quickly grew to liking him. Elsa enjoyed the fact that her little sister and Jack were on good terms, however, what she didn't enjoy was that Jack treated her differently compared to Anna. Towards her, he would act like the gentleman Elsa thought he was initially, but towards Elsa herself, he would always laugh at her or tease her or pull immature pranks. That irritated the blonde to no end.

'It's only a matter of time,' she thought to herself sourly as she reminded herself that it had only been a day since Anna had become acquainted with Jack. She had no doubts that sooner or later, he would show his true colors towards Anna as well.

Jack seemed to take notice of Elsa's grimace aimed towards him and he simply smiled handsomely at her, further irritating the young girl. "What's wrong, Ice Queen?" he asked innocently, causing Elsa to deepen her frown.

Of course - how could she forget the 'endearing' nickname that he had given her after just a few days of playing in the snow together? Elsa knew that he was probably just joking that one time, but when she gave off the reaction that it annoyed her, he persisted and now she was in danger of having the nickname stick with her for life. Instead of giving him a reaction this time, she simply turned up her nose and ignored him, walking away wordlessly.

"Elsa, wait up!" Anna quickly unlatched herself from the young boy and ran to catch up to her older sister. She hobbled on her small feet and rather ungracefully grabbed at Elsa's hand, but she instantly smiled broadly when the blond returned the gesture by taking her little sister's hand in a tight grip.

Jack smiled as he followed the two girls back to the entrance hall, stifling down a chuckle when he saw Elsa shooting him deathly glares from over her shoulder. He could definitely see how protective she was of Anna and how much Anna, in turn, admired her sister. He also felt some sort of admiration at how responsible Elsa was when it came to playing the role of being the big sister. Since he arrived at the Winters' household just a week ago, he had only really seen one side of her, the side that loved whimsically playing in the snow and getting annoyed over his jokes.

However, this was a new side of her that he was seeing and Jack found himself further intrigued with the young girl he was assigned to protect.


Chaotic - was the only word that Jack could use to describe the scene of the shopping district in downtown Arendelle. Although he was there, along with two of the other household servants, ready to help carry anything the Winters bought or to simply keep an eye on the two excited young girls, Jack nervously darted his blue eyes over to Agdar, silently questioning him to see if this really was the best idea for a family outing. It was so easy to lose someone in these crowds, much more, a child.

Before Jack could vocally say anything to him, Agdar spoke first. "Jack, how about you walk behind us? Help keep an eye on Elsa and Anna should they wander off or get lost."

"Of course, sir."

Obediently, Jack followed the family closely through the packed crowds. He kept an eye on Elsa and Anna, who walked before him, excitedly taking in the sights and sounds as they held on tightly to their parents' hands.

"Mama," Anna called out, holding onto Idun's lithe hand. "Can we go to the toy store?"

"Sure, honey."

The further they got into the center of the shopping district, the more it made sense as to why the crowds were in such disarray. There was a sales event going on, with nearly every store participating. Jack could see people carrying out bags upon bags filled with merchandise and goods, practically fighting each other for the great deals. He wrinkled his brow, wondering why the Winters would choose such a day to take their daughters out when they were normally so protectively guarded inside the estate.

"Jack…"

When he returned his attention back to the front at the sound of Elsa's frightened voice, he widened his eyes at the realization that they were completely cut off from the rest of the family. "What happened?" he asked her as she clung onto the sleeve of his dark blue parka.

"I - I don't know!" she stammered, desperately looking all around, trying to locate her family. "I was holding onto Papa's hand just now, but I couldn't hold on anymore and people walked in between us and - !"

"Okay," Jack breathed out, holding her close. "It's okay, don't panic," he said in an attempt to soothe her. He held her head against his shoulder and smiled. "We'll find them. At least you're not alone?"

Elsa nodded, but was still frightened by the sudden turn of events. It was the first time in her life that she was in such a crowded place. She felt anxious and fearful at the foreign surroundings, so she held onto Jack tightly, hoping not to lose him too as they navigated through the crowds. It was tough. Neither were tall enough to look over the heads of the adults that surrounded them and they were forced to go where the sea of people took them. However, once they found a small clearing off to the side, they stopped and Jack took the time to assess the situation.

As he glanced through a the directory posted up on a nearby wall, he noticed out of the corner of his eye, strange movement. With an eagle-like sharpness in his ice blue eyes, Jack turned his head and furrowed his brow at the sight of a man eyeing the two of them oddly. He had on a dark gray beanie with a matching beat-up hooded jacket, hardly someone you would find shopping in an upscale area like where they were. Sensing that something was off, Jack gently took Elsa's mittened hand and led her away into the opposite direction.

"Jack…?" she questioned him, before the two came face to face with another suspicious man. He had on a trench coat and was slightly better dressed than the other man, who was beginning to come up behind them.

Thinking on his feet, Jack tightly gripped the blonde's hand and told her, "don't let go," before darting back into the crowds. When he heard one of the men shouting at the other, 'get them!,' he knew that Elsa was definitely being targeted. Adrenaline filled his veins as he fought through the crowds, ignoring the curses several adults threw at him for bumping into them. All Jack could think about was to get Elsa to safety.

"Jack!" she called out after him. Elsa knew that they needed to escape from the strangers, but she had no idea where Jack was leading her. It felt like the opposite direction of where her parents had gone towards and that worried her greatly. "Let's go find my parents!" she urged him, only for it to fall on deaf ears.

The teen rounded a corner and slipped into a small alleyway in between two shops. The space was small and when he looked back, sure enough, he had lost the men, but he knew that they had to keep moving for they could still be under pursuit. As soon as Jack led Elsa out of the alleyway and into the back loading dock area of the stores, he went over to a large dumpster and instructed her to stay there, hidden.

Elsa had confusion written all over her face as she tried to question him. "Jack, why are we running from those men? Were they going to hurt us?"

"Just - stay here." He smiled, kneeling down in front of her as he gently seated her upon the cold concrete.

"But Jack - !" Elsa immediately stopped talking and drew in a sharp breath out of fear when she heard the low voices of the men in the loading dock area. The two remained absolutely still as they listened.

"Damn it! Where'd they go?"

"Find them! They couldn't have gotten far!"

Jack let out a smooth exhale and took hold of the young heiress' shoulders. "Stay here, Elsa. Okay? No matter what happens, stay here," he told her, a silent plea present in his icy blue eyes.

She swallowed harshly and nodded, fear gripping her heart. "O - Okay," she squeaked out.

He smiled, rubbing the top of her head. "Olaf and I will protect you," he said, hoping to soothe her with the mention of her imaginary snowman knight and playing this off as if it was one of their make-believe scenarios. Jack gave her a quick wink and left the hiding spot, leaving her all alone.

Elsa's bottom lips trembled slightly as she clapped her hands over her small ears, hoping not to hear anything. She promptly squeezed her eyes shut and whispered softly in a trembling voice, "Olaf...I'm scared."


Jack stood before the two gaunt men. They hardly seemed to pose a threat, but he kept his guard up anyways, wondering just what their true intentions were for pursuing him and Elsa. Before Jack could say anything in question, the taller of the two spoke first.

"You must be the kid bodyguard for Elsa Winters."

He frowned at the word 'kid' being thrown at him. Sure he was a bit shorter than some of the other fourteen year olds around, but that hardly warranted such language. "What exactly is your business with Elsa?" he questioned them with a sharp tongue. What unnerved Jack upon further realization was that they referred to him as a 'bodyguard.' Although Agdar, Idun, and a few of the Winters' trusted servants knew of his position, Jack was assured that it would be kept secret, not only just for Elsa, but for anyone that wished to target her.

He was her secret trump card and the fact that these seemingly ordinary thugs knew of it was highly suspicious. Jack reached around back, releasing a handheld, metal rod from the holster around his belt. With a sharp flick of his wrist, the rod extended to its full length, revealing its true form as a six foot staff. A confident grin spread itself across his face at the very thought of being able to test out the specialized weapon the Guardians presented to him the day he got his tattoo.

While the men ignored his question, they took notice of his smirk, and it irked then greatly. "Hey, kid. You better wipe that grin off your face. Just because you got a little stick to protect you, doesn't guarantee that you'll get out of this without a scratch."

Jack let out a humorless chuckle, mocking them. "Oh, I intend to," he answered them.

The shorter of the two rushed forth towards Jack, letting his anger get the better of him, and launching a premature attack out of a foolish impulse. He could not even land a proper punch on the young boy, as he was suddenly met with a sharp jab to his chest. A choked gag left his throat, but Jack didn't let it stop there.

He delivered a sidekick right to the man's stomach, pushing him back. Jack turned on his heel, hoping to land a reverse roundhouse to finish him off, but was stopped when he spotted the second assailant making his move. He stopped midway and forcibly had to use his staff to block the incoming man. Jack warded them away, despite his smaller stature, and managed to somersault backwards to put some distance between them and him.

"You can't take both of us on. Why don't you just quietly give up Elsa Winters and we'll let you go without any trouble," the one wearing the beanie sneered.

"Yeah, I could do that," Jack languidly replied with a lazy shrug, "but then I wouldn't be doing my job as a bodyguard, would I?" His expression turned serious and cold as he asked them, "...how do you guys know I'm acting as her bodyguard? That knowledge is limited to those that are close to the Winters and you two don't look like ones that would associate with such a family."

"That isn't something you should be troubling yourself with, kid. We have our sources," the taller man said to him haughtily.

Seeing as how they weren't backing down or willing to answer his questions properly, he decided that the best thing to do was to do what he could to protect Elsa. Jack widened his stance, tightly gripping his staff as he focused in on the men before him. He readied himself, circling the two men as they followed his movements. They waited for the other to attack first, but after a few tense seconds, Jack unleashed the first strike.

He lunged forward and swung his staff at the mens' feet, hoping to knock them off balance. When they managed to dodge that with ease, they failed to realize that the attack was only a distraction and way for them to be on a weak footing for when Jack swept the floor with his leg, knocking them off balance and sending them both stumbling backwards. He wasted no time and jabbed at one of them with his staff, nailing him directly in the diaphragm and causing him to fall over onto the ground, coughing violently.

Before the other one could regain his footing, Jack firmly planted one end of the metal staff into the concrete ground and vaulted himself backwards, kicking the shorter man squarely in the chest with his entire weight. The man fell to the ground, hitting the back of his head roughly on the brittle concrete. While he didn't knock him out cold, Jack knew that it he would be unable to get up anytime soon.

Jack raised his head and saw the other assailant ready to kick him while he was vulnerable. However, the young teen was faster and he quickly managed to block the attack aimed at his head with his staff. As soon as the man's foot made contact with the metal weapon, Jack spun it halfway and jabbed the end of it into his abdomen, briefly stunning him to give the young boy an opening to land the final strike.

He kneed the man, hard, in the stomach, causing him to kneel over in pain. Jack then swiftly brought his arm down on the base of the man's neck, effectively knocking him out.

With both of the mysterious assailants disabled, Jack let out a sigh of relief, then smirked at his handiwork. He thought he did good for his first, unassisted fight. Jack spun his staff in the counterclockwise direction, bringing it back to its smaller rod form, and re-holstered it to his waist. As he straightened out his clothes, he heard the men groaning in pain, slowly regaining consciousness.

Jack laughed amusedly. "Wait 'til Bunnymund hears about this," he said, knowing that the cynical Australian had very little faith in his ability to fight.

He quickly left, knowing that the men won't stay lying on the floor for long and that Elsa must be frightened as she waited for him by herself. The teen ran over to the hiding place behind the dumpster where he had left the young girl and breathed a little sigh of relief when he saw that she had remained there, almost perfectly still. At the sound of his footsteps, Jack saw her sharply raise her head up to see him.

Startled, she asked him, "J - Jack...are the bad men g - gone?"

He nodded in response, smiling gently at the blonde. "Yup, Olaf scared them off so bad that they just ran away."

The young girl's face instantly brightened up at the mention of her beloved imaginary snowman friend. "I knew it!" she cheered, standing up.

"Yeah," Jack said with a light chuckle, taking her hand to lead her back towards the main street. "It's no wonder that he's first-in-command. He's very brave."

Elsa blinked, staring at the white haired teen for a while before breaking into a graceful grin. "Well...you helped him, right?"

"You could say that."

Elsa blushed a little, turning away from him as she spoke. "I - I guess you can be first-in-command soon. Olaf's planning to retire...so someone will need to take his place."

Jack simply laughed, amused with the conversation he was having with her. He was glad that she wasn't so scared anymore over what happened. "What made you decide that I'm worthy enough to take Olaf's place, Princess Elsa?" he asked, playing along with her imagination.

The young girl gently squeezed his cold hand. She glanced up to look at him briefly before answering his question in a soft murmur.

"Because you're just as brave as he is."