[A/N]: Thank you, everyone, for reading/reviewing/following/favoring! I am thankful. And because April 25 is epic Enjonine authoress frustratedstudent's birthday, I uploaded this earlier. I hope you enjoy! And pardon me for the tears last chappie probably caused.
Chapter 4: The Fluidity of Faith in Some
That same day, at a later hour when the clock chimed eight, the queen and snow-haired boy went back to the castle. Before Elsa entered the threshold where she knew Anna and the rest waited for her, Jack hesitated in following her and ceased walking abruptly. It wasn't a few moments until the queen noticed the absence of the sounds of his footsteps, so she turned her head and saw his indecisive, contemplative face.
"Jack, is there something troubling you?" Elsa asked, raising a brow. Unconsciously, she wanted to grab his hand, but she stopped herself when she remembered where she was.
Frost looked down before gazing at her directly and swallowed before saying, "W-well, for one thing, they—they might not be able to see me."
"You fear they won't see you as you are and as I do?" she inquired carefully.
Jack gazed away before answering, "Yes." Then turning to her, he added, "They're not like you."
A fond curl found its way on Elsa's benign lips before she replied, "They're not like you, too. But I think you could give a handful people a try before you lose faith. And I think the folk of my kingdom know of your tale—remember it more recently, even, given the previous events concerning me. It's a bedtime story, I think, for some."
So she smiled encouragingly at him and beckoned him to come with her as she opened the gate.
"If you say so," Frost answered, following her as he tried to hide a smile as he watched Elsa walk in front of him.
When they reached a room, which Frost knew to be Elsa's because of the blue color and snow crystals, the Queen told him to go inside.
"Perhaps, you could stay here for a bit, Jack," Elsa requested. "I will call some people who will or can see you."
Frost eyed her warily, saying, "Are you sure it's going to work with these people?"
"Positive," she replied. "Now, if you don't mind me leaving—all right, then."
When she left, Jack observed her room, taking in the coolness of the colors she chose for her chambers. Smiling, he went to the window and touched the pane, not minding once more of the snowflakes—or snow crystals, as Elsa kept on repeating—forming on it. He perceived the landscape of the land of Arendelle at night and reflected on its twilight beauty. He remembered, though, of days and nights when he would peek through these same windows just to check on the queen—or high princess, before—when he tried to communicate with her.
Closing his eyes, he rested his forehead on the glass and muttered her name like a prayer—just like he used to when she couldn't hear him. So he reminisced the days when she looked below as he had when her parents died, when she got so mad that a lot of snowflakes appeared around her, but most of all, he remembered the first time she wasn't able to see him.
It was one of worst days of his life, second to the day he awakened without understanding what was happening to him.
She kneeled on this duvet by the window to perceive the first falling of the snow—he tried to weather it kindly, tuning it with the usual flow of the season—and it was at that time when he called her from the other side using a snow crystal to invite her outside. Jack thought before that she would recognize that particular snow crystal of his to go out and come and play with him, but she didn't.
That nearly gave Jack a heart attack.
Well, he probably had one that day, since he remembered a tear falling from his eye from the frustration of not being seen by his only friend. But what probably hurt him more was the fear in her face when he saw her get afraid of her powers.
He thought she was okay already, that she was fine after that day when he met her. But no, young Elsa was still afraid. And so, Jack left Arendelle for a bit. The thing was, he kept coming back—trying, trying to see if she would finally choose to see him again.
And this time, she did. That was enough for Jack. He just didn't expect she would try to let other people see him. That was going to be a big, big miracle.
Suddenly, the sound of footfalls roused him from his fancies. Turning around, he saw Elsa enter with a blonde guy—probably a mountain man from the posture and size of his body—and brunette who was, he assumed, her sister because of the smile. Behind them, a third figure, who he deemed seemed to be the noisiest of the crowd, entered, and he tilted his head a bit to see who it was.
Well, it was a snowman—wait, what? It looked the one they made before! Could it be that it was also called 'Olaf'? His lips curled when he heard Elsa turn to the snow creature and fondly responded to his snow joke.
"Hey, um, Quee—I mean, Elsa, who's that guy over there?" Kristoff inquired, raising a brow.
Anna looked at him curiously and then glanced around the room. "What guy? You're the only one here, Kristoff," the princess whispered.
Kristoff paid no heed, however, and asked the Queen again.
Elsa smiled and gazed at Jack, whose face paled suddenly. She smiled at Frost. Then she responded to Kristoff, "That's Jack Frost."
"Is that…the guy with ice powers? Like you?" the mountain man asked, surprise making his brows go higher and jaw drop. "As in, the one in the legend?"
"What? What guy?" Anna asked again. "Who has ice powers? Only Elsa has ice powers. And the only guy here with ice powers is Olaf."
Olaf just snickered in response to that, but Elsa just nodded to Kristoff. The snowman then ran to Jack Frost and prodded him with his twiggy hand.
"Hi, I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs," the snowman cheerfully said, earning a wide smile from Frost, who gave him a snow crystal. Olaf squealed in delight and said, "Thank you! You created me with her before, right? Riiiiiiighhht?"
Delighted that the snow creature would remember, Jack nodded and turned to gaze at Elsa, who raised a brow. He could not keep the grin spreading across his face, so he just smiled his thanks.
Shutting his dropped jaw, Kristoff headed to where Jack and Olaf were and said, "So, you really are real! I mean, when I was still a kid, I already believed you were real, you know? Because the ice men—they were the one who raised me—would tell me stories about you, so I wouldn't mind the cold in the mountain, and that helped me love ice because ice is my life, you know? And I wanted to be like you because you had these cool ice powers—what with your staff and all—and—and here you are! My freaking idol—Jack Frost!"
This time, Elsa finally glanced at her sister, who whispered, "He has had a dark past." To this, Elsa nodded and then proceeded to gaze at the two.
However, Anna whispered insistently, "Oh, and who's he talking to?"
Elsa raised a brow and just smiled enigmatically. "You'll find out soon enough."
Hearing his tale end, Jack looked at Kristoff, awestruck. Shaking his head to prevent his tears from falling, Frost laughed and thanked him. Hugging the ice deliverer, he said, "Thank you for believing in me."
His eyes skirted back to Elsa like it always did out of habit and allowed a few tears to blur his sight, smiling.
The queen's lips curled softly, so she gazed at the ground, her cheeks reddening.
Then Jack released Kristoff and told Elsa, "Thank you."
Elsa looked back up at him and nodded, her eyes lighting up at his smile.
Confused at the recent events, Anna finally burst, "WHO IS THIS GUY YOU ARE ALL TALKING TO? WHY CAN'T I SEE HIM?"
"You can't see him?" Kristoff asked, gasping at his fiancée.
"She must be blind," Olaf remarked.
"What? No! I can perfectly see you, Kristoff, and my sister!" Anna burst tersely.
Elsa looked at Jack Frost, who looked bemused but smiled. The queen raised a brow, and he shook his head, as if to say, Don't worry. It happens all the time.
Elsa shook her head, too, but firmly said, "She still hasn't recovered fully from the trolls' magic when they erased her memories of me having ice powers, it seems, so that may be the reason why she can't see you yet."
Then turning to her sister, Anna, who was gaping at her, she said, "Anna, months ago, you sacrificed your life for me because you loved me. I'm not going to ask you anything anymore except that you believe me, please."
Still looking confused, Anna nodded nonetheless.
"I'm going to ask you three questions," Elsa began, standing in front of Jack. "First – do you love me?"
Anna smiled and said, "I love you, of course, I do."
Elsa's eyes twinkled, but she carried on to her second question. "Do you believe in me and my powers?"
"For the nth time in forever, yes," Anna replied.
The queen glanced at Jack, whose lips were curled in understanding, and then looked back to Anna. "Then," Elsa inquired, "Do you remember the legend of Jack Frost?"
Anna's smile froze for a bit, her eyes widening gradually as she peered at her sister carefully. "You mean," the princess said, "the guy with ice powers, too?"
Elsa nodded. Jack suddenly laughed, and that seemed to intrude on the queen's interrogation of her sister.
"Who laughed?" Anna asked, raising a brow to Olaf and Kristoff, who just chuckled at her naivety. Then she looked back at Elsa and noticed someone with white hair standing behind her sister.
"Hey, Elsa, who are you trying to hide from me?" Anna inquired, smiling.
Elsa visibly brightened, but before she answered her, the queen whispered something to the person behind her before replying, "Anna, here's the guy with ice powers like me – Jack Frost."
Then Elsa moved to the side and let her see the white- haired guy, who looked definitely handsome—well, handsome, yeah, but not as perfect as her Kristoff. Anna gasped, glanced at her sister, then back to Jack Frost, and then to Olaf, and then to Kristoff, and then back to Elsa, who was smiling widely.
"Oh my, oh my," Anna said, covering her mouth with a hand before laughing.
Jack and Elsa shared confused gazes. Kristoff glanced at his Anna amusedly, nonetheless, while Olaf raised his brows and held his carrot nose, looking at the princess.
"Why is she laughing? Do you think she's gone crazy?" Olaf asked, tugging on Kristoff's boots.
Kristoff shrugged, saying, "I don't know what it is that she finds funny looking at my ice idol. But Anna can be crazy."
Jack nodded to Kristoff, while Elsa finally asked, "Anna, why are you laughing?"
At her question, Anna laughed even harder – so much in fact, that Kristoff had to hold her in his arms as she struggled to stop her chortles. When she had finally succeeded to cease her giggles, she said, "It's just that – I've always pictured Jack Frost as someone l-like, well, you know, ha-ha, Elsa, like – like Marshmallow!"
Jack's eyes widened and he finally blurted, "WHAT? You thought I looked like some sort of monster?"
"Hey – don't blame me, I've never actually seen who you are, and I have only had snowmen like Olaf here and Marshmallow there in the ice palace as those I relate to men with ice powers!" Anna defended, giggling after.
Trying to stifle her laughter with her hand, Elsa looked apologetically at Jack and said, "Sorry."
Jack pouted and said, "I didn't expect that, honestly."
"I mean you're handsome, yeah," Anna said, earning a glare from Kristoff and glance from her sister. She held the ice master's face and told him, "Don't worry, you're still handsomer for me." Then she kissed his cheek and watched him blush before turning back to Elsa and Jack.
"I, uh, well, sorry for that, but I just didn't understand the situation here at first, and I hope you would forgive me for being rude, but are you with my sister? Are you two, um, together together? Since when?" Anna asked, smiling hopefully.
Jack and Elsa's brows rose.
"What? I'm confused. Pardon?" the queen asked. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
"Wait, what?" Jack inquired, looking at Anna and then at Elsa.
Then Olaf interjected, "You looked at her."
Realizing the implications of it, he tore his eyes away from the queen, and Jack replied, "Um, nope."
"Absolutely, no, Anna," Elsa, who seemed to have recuperated enough, responded hotly. "Jack's not dating anyone. I'm not dating Jack. No one's dating anyone except you and Kristoff here."
Anna laughed and tilted her head at the two before grabbing her Kristoff and heading for the door. Then she said, "All right. Anything you sa-ay, Elsa. Oh, and I'll just give you the report tomorrow! Goodnight, then!" Then she gestured to Olaf to follow her outside. The snowman eagerly followed the pair when he heard from Anna that they'll make a snowwoman if he went out.
Elsa raised a brow at this abrupt dismissal and departure of her younger sister but did not say a word more. She turned to gaze at Jack, but found him doing the same. The queen immediately looked away, coughing timidly.
"We have a spare room adjacent to ours. It's just two doors away. I'll lead you there," Elsa said, leaving abruptly and not waiting for Jack to follow her.
Jack, not knowing really what to say or do, just kept quiet and went after her. When they reached the door of his room, he hesitated to enter because he saw Elsa waiting for him. Frost gazed at her and raised a brow. "You're waiting for something, Elsa?" he asked.
Elsa glanced at him directly, not really responding at first. She was too busy gazing at his eyes and, um, lips. Jack tried not to feel uncomfortable with that. Well, it's not that he minded, but it's not helping him calm himself down if she's looking at him like that while he remembers her kiss earlier.
Certainly not, he thought, still waiting for Elsa to respond.
He was about to say something funny when the queen touched his face. Gently caressing his cheek, her thumb grazed across his bottom lip. Jack breathed and felt his eyes close at the contact. Then he heard her near him as she placed another hand on his hair, which she ran her fingers with before tugging at it slightly.
Jack sighed, feeling a little dizzy with her ministrations.
"Sometimes," he heard her whisper, "I questioned your existence. If you were just a figment of my lonely, imagined world, or real like you are now. It has always been like that for me, you see. Everything is fragile to me, so whenever I touch something, I would always be afraid that it would be crushed and destroyed and gone forever. So for the past fourteen years, I thought you were gone. Everything and everyone are just for sojourn, after all. No matter how immortal the soul is."
Jack opened his eyes and saw a few tears in her lids. He wiped away those bitter drops of water with a finger and proceeded to listen to her. Elsa neared him once more, putting her hands down to her sides and leaning her head on his shoulder.
"But today, you are real, very real," she continued, placing a hand on his chest. "And you are fragile, but you are my immortality—" she paused, taking his hand and holding it with her hands "—here in my soul, no matter the sojourn of my life."
Then she looked up at him. Jack tried not to cry as she smiled and said, "So thank you."
Frost smiled back and leaned in, gazing at her eyes. But he couldn't do it, not yet, because he wanted to wait for her. So he just closed his eyes and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead.
He heard her sigh as he moved away.
"I'll see you tomorrow at the festival, Jack," Elsa said, moving away.
"Happy birthday, Elsa," he said, grinning.
When Elsa raised a brow, he gestured to the grandfather clock which had already struck twelve, and she understood.
"Thank you, Jack," she said, smiling before turning to leave.
He nodded to himself before gazing at the moon outside the window.
The moon looked very bright.
Jack simply smiled before entering his room.
Tomorrow will be beautiful.
[A/N]: So how was it? Any least/favorite scene/stuff? Tell me about it! :D