For a moment, Elsa just stared at him. Jack loved to play tricks on her – stupid jokes and gags, anything to make her smile – but his poker face was terrible. She could always tell when he was lying; his eyes would be too-bright and his lips twitched to keep from smiling. Bu none of his tells showed now. His blue eyes were dark and his lips pressed tightly together.

"I'm sorry, Elsa," he said softly. "I'm so sorry."

"You're wrong," she said, striving for confidence that she didn't feel. "Their ship was the best – it was made by the Southern Isles, for all the stars!"

"I…I saw it go down," he whispered.

"What?"

"I've been keeping tabs on them for you, to make sure that they were safe. I tried to save them, but…" he trailed off and looked down, his white bangs hanging in his eyes.

"You're wrong," she said again. "My parents are fine. They'll be home in a few days, you'll see."

"Elsa…"

"You're wrong!" he snapped. Jagged icicles sprouted from the ceiling and floor, ripping into tapestries and furniture. "You're wrong, Jack. My parents are safe. They'll be home soon."

They never came home. A courier arrived the next day, black-clad and solemn, to confirm what Elsa had refused to believe. Her parents were dead. They'd drowned when their ship went down in a freak storm. It was an accident, one that couldn't have been foreseen or prevented. Elsa knew that, but she still felt her chest contract with misery and guilt when she heard the words.

"Cover their portraits," Elsa said to the staff, holding her head up and keeping her voice even. "And make an announcement. The kingdom should know, and have a chance to grieve." She dismissed the messengers to spread the word, until only she and Anna were left in the hall.

"Elsa…" Anna said quietly, her voice quivering. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to think of the kingdom," Elsa said coolly, not meeting her sister's eyes. "And we're going to keep moving."

"How can you be so calm?" Anna demanded, though the words were shaky and frail. "Mama and Papa…"

"They're gone." Elsa said shortly. "But we're still here. We need to stay strong, Anna. For the people."

"Elsa, what about us?" Anna cried. Elsa looked away pointedly.

"She's scared," Jack said, appearing by Elsa's side. "Don't cut her off." Breathing deeply, Elsa turned away from the both of them.

"We're going to be fine. We have to be strong now. It's what Mama and Papa would've wanted. Now if you'll excuse me." With that, she started up the stairs, keeping her composure.

"Elsa!" Jack yelled after her. At his voice Elsa started running, tearing through the halls with tears in her eyes, an icy trail following her as she ran. Ice crusted the walls and crystallized the doorknob of her bedroom when she threw it open. Elsa screamed wordlessly as soon as the door slammed shut. The gloves she wore to curb her deadly touch froze solid and shattered. The temperature dropped until the very air seemed frozen, and the walls and floor frosted over, patterned with icy fractals. She lost track of time as the magic took over, though she was dimly aware of Jack beside her, trying to talk her into calming down. Something inside her was dying, screaming in death; something else roared to life.

When she finally came back to herself, Elsa was in Jack's arms and he was stroking her hair, leaving a delicate trail of snowflakes. "It's okay," he murmured, over and over. "You're going to be okay."

"What am I going to do?" Elsa whispered brokenly. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes and froze solid before they trekked down her chin.

"You're going to be okay," he said again, more of a chant than anything.

"We're on our own now. I've got to be queen and…" Elsa trailed off, the words dying in her mouth. She didn't want to be queen, she couldn't be queen. And now Anna would be more alone than ever.

"You're going to be a great queen. You're going to make your parents proud. Hey," he said gently, tipping her chin up so that their eyes met, identical icy gazes colliding. "You can make it through this, Elsa. You're the strongest person I've ever known. You'll survive this." Elsa nodded and he hugged her tighter to his chest. Rather than being disturbed by his lack of temperature and heartbeat, Elsa was comforted. She had Jack, like she'd always had. She would make it through this. She had to.

Elsa didn't move for hours, curled into Jack's side, trying to breathe, to process. Finally, a timid knock on the door broke through the silence.

"Elsa?" Anna's voice said from behind the door. "Please, I know you're in there. People have been asking where you've been…They say to have courage, and I'm trying to." She took a deep, rattling breath. "I'm right out here for you. Please let me in." Elsa buried her face in Jack's chest to keep from calling to her little sister. "We only have each-other…it's just you and me. What are we going to do?"

"Please talk to her," Jack pleaded. "Don't shut yourself away." Elsa detangled herself from him and curled against the door, pulling her knees tight to her chest.

"Do you want to built a snowman?" she murmured to herself, more tears sparkling in the corners of her eyes. Anna used to love building snowmen with Elsa, back when she knew about her abilities. Even when Anna's memories had been taken, her love of snowmen – and her sister – had not. She waved her hand and an old relic of the past appeared: Olaf, Anna's favorite snowman from when they were kids. Another snowman appeared beside it, one of Jack's making, but Elsa had already destroyed hers, and Anna was gone.

"Can you help me?" Elsa asked, standing up finally. She looked around her devastated bedroom. Snow still came down from the ceiling, and sharp ice bits covered almost every surface. As good as she was at causing destruction – and she was very adept – cleaning it up was something else altogether. Most of the time when she lost control, Elsa couldn't make the magic disappear again, which left Jack to clean up her messes, over and over again.

"Sure," Jack said with a smile. He waved his hand and the ice and snow vanished from sight, like they'd never been there. Nothing could be done about the cold, though. Elsa didn't mind. "Are you okay?" Jack asked softly. No. The short answer was no. Elsa was alone now, all alone, and she had a kingdom to run.

"Ask me tomorrow," she replied, her voice barely more than a whisper. "But for right now, I've got to take my own advice and keep moving."

Ahhhhhh the pain. I made myself sad writing this. And I know that these chapters are a little clunky, but they're important for what's to come, I promise! Thank you all again for your amazing reviews and responses; they make me very happy!

Please review! Nice, long, detailed reviews telling me what you liked, what you didn't, etc. Remember, a fic without reviews is like Jack without his staff!

~Fae