I need some good cover art for this work, if anyone knows a good piece that will work, or is an artist that wants to do a little piece for the cover piece let me know! If it's not your work, let me know. Credit must be given where credit is due. Especially when my artistic talent is little better than stick figures, so I'll just stick to writing. You all say that I'm pretty good at it. If you are interested, email me at ArialeneHexagra yahoo dot com.
Enjoy! 3 Aria
They sat on the floor together for hours, sharing the tin of biscuits until only crumbs remained. He told her about how he'd awoken inside of a lake and with only the Man in the Moon speaking to him. She listened with a sense of familiarity as he spoke of how lonely he'd been for the past decades, bringing fun to so many people who didn't believe in him; so many snowball fights with no whisper of thanks. She smiled, imagining with a wistful heart as he spoke of all the wonderful places he'd gone to all over the world, all the children he'd mischievously coaxed into playing together whilst bundled up for the cold winter day he'd wrought on their town. Even after knowing him for just a short period of time, she could imagine his bright eyes sparkling as he flew along, frosting the area behind him while adults cursed and children cried out with glee.
"You can't be responsible for ALL the winter though," she'd asked him, leaning back against her ice chair while he had sprawled out on his stomach.
"No," he said, smiling. "I mean, Mother Nature does what she will, I just get my hand involved as much as I can. It's too much fun not to!"
She shook her head. "This is all just so amazing."
He grinned at her, watching as she stood up with a graceful ease and walked out onto the balcony, the moon shining down on the valley now.
"So, I've just been alone, traveling the world, doing my duties and never being noticed," he said, coming out behind her. "That's my story, that's always been the story. Until now, until just now."
She turned and stared at him, not sure what to make of that. She'd been the first one who could ever see him, she could hardly fathom that. It had been hard enough for her being alone as long as she had been as a child, she couldn't imagine practically a lifetime alone. Well, not alone. He'd said that he'd always been surrounded by people, they just couldn't see him. That must have been heartbreaking for him.
She shook her head a little, realizing that he had spoken.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," she asked, blushing a little.
He smiled softly at her, leaning on his staff. "I asked you what your name was, you haven't told me yet. I heard you muttering that you were a Queen earlier, but I am hoping that you have a name to go with that."
She felt her blush deepen.
"E-Elsa," she said, smiling at him. "And yes, I'm the Queen. Of Arendelle."
"Okay then, Elsa," he said, holding his hand out to her for a moment. "What is your story? Queen of Ice and Snow, people must love you for that."
She scoffed before she could stop herself. He rose an eyebrow at this.
"I-I don't know," she started, shaking her head.
He put a hand on his hip, smiling at her. "We had a deal, I told you my story. Time for you to pay up."
She bit her lip, turning away and taking a few steps.
"It's hard," she said finally. "I mean, yours doesn't seem like it was the easiest. But, at least you have fun."
He stayed silent at this, just watching her as he leaned against his staff while she worried her hands together as she stood next to the railing. She started to speak a few times, biting her lip between her teeth each time as she didn't quite know how to begin. How did she tell someone, even a spirit like Jack, about her life? About the long lonely days locked in her room? About the terror she had about hurting her sister? About her wintery event three years ago, where her heart had nearly shattered when she thought she'd lost Anna? He broke the tense silence some long minutes later, a strange wry grin on his face.
"I think you need to relax," he said, stepping forward and flipping the staff around in a practiced circle. "Have a little fun."
"Fun?" she asked, turning back to him, a note of caution in her voice. "What kind of fun?"
She felt herself gulp and her breath quicken as he looked at her, that grin on his face spreading into a smile.
"There is so much we can do!" he said, spinning up a few feet into the air before coming back down on the icy platform.
"Like perhaps, a tour around?" he said, taking another few steps towards her.
She glanced back down at the moonlit valley, the slow glow from the clear sky lighting softly across the whole land. She gasped a little as she looked back to see him standing just before her. He watched her for a long moment, those blue eyes of his dancing with mischief and fun while he studied her. She swallowed and felt herself glance back at the beautiful valley, felt her shoulders relax just a slightly bit and then his arm was around her waist.
She gasped as her feet left the ground, scrambling as she tightened her arms around his neck, her neck craned about as she looked around, seeing the ground fall away as he lifted them away. He turned and smiled at her, nodding his head for her to look at the view.
"Have you ever flown with someone before?" she asked, grabbing a fistful of his cloak.
"If no one has ever seen me before now, what makes you think I could have flown someone?" he retorted, smiling at her and spinning around in the air.
She squealed, tightening her grasp and sighing a little as she felt his arm around her tighten.
"Oh stars," she breathed, finally, slowly, moving her head to look ahead of her as they flew through the valley, dipping low to the treetops. "Please don't drop me."
He chuckled in her ear. "Oh, sweet, I'd never drop you."
Slowly, very slowly, as she was sure that she wouldn't fall and the soft glow of moonlight in the valley calmed her, Elsa relaxed. She carefully took one hand away from Jack's neck, pointing out things to him as they flew along, telling him about them. He listened, just listened as she talked on and on about her kingdom, the pride that she held as a ruler evident with every new thing she pointed out. They circled over the palace, where she told him of the history of the building and various little facts about the place.
"What was it like growing up in a huge palace like that?" he asked her, circling so that they landed on one of the upper most spires of the palace, looking over the dark, moonlit port.
She leaned against him, his arm still wrapped around her waist as it held her up the slated roof and she sighed.
"Not as wonderful as you might think," she said, staying silent for a long moment after that.
"Well, go on," he encouraged, scratching his finger at the roof with his hand not holding her.
She swallowed.
"Well, when I was very young, until I was around 6, things were relatively normal. Anna, my sister, and I played together like the best of friends. She loved that I had the ice powers. We were forever building snowmen, throwing snowballs, and just, being children. We did everything together, it was just, perfect," she said, picking at the bottom of her gown.
She took a deep breath.
"But, one of those days, early in the morning, Anna came and woke me and we ran down to one of the ballrooms to play. I started casting snow, turned the floor to ice and we were having a wonderful time. Then, Anna started jumping from piles of snow, onto new piles of ice and snow that I made. And she was going faster and faster, I couldn't keep up with them so she wouldn't fall. I tripped, slipped on the ice and, and," she said, breathing heavily and looked up over the port, tears in her eyes. "I hit her, with my power. I hit her in the head with the ice power. I was so scared. I thought I had killed her, I screamed for my parents who came running."
She paused, rubbing her hands together again and wiped at her eyes. She took a deep breath before continuing.
"We went to the Trolls, they live in a clearing north of here, the four of us. My father begged for their help. Anna was so cold, like ice. I understood when I was little that people couldn't tolerate the cold like me, that they just didn't understand that it didn't affect me. So I knew it wasn't good for her to be so cold. The troll, he-he saved her, by taking away all her memories of my power. And because of that, I was shut away in my room."
Jack stiffened beside her at this last remark, the slow scratching on the rooftop halting as he looked at her.
"Shut away? They just locked you away?"
She leaned her head back, a bitter smile on her face. "Well, I agreed with them. I was terrified I'd hurt Anna again. Terrified I'd hurt anyone. I knew if I stayed in my room, stayed away from people that I could keep them safe. Father closed the gates to the palace, sent away most of the staff and then it was just the four of us. Every morning, Anna would come and knock on my door, begging me to come out and play, and every day I'd tell her to go away, terrified that I'd hurt her again. Father would come, trying to help me with my powers that he didn't understand. He meant well, I understand that now, he was scared too. Mother would come too, reading me bedtime stories but always sitting just a little too far from me."
She turned her head and looked at him. "And that's how I grew up, until I was eighteen that was the basic routine."
"Eighteen?"
"When my parents died," she said, closing her eyes. "They left to go to a wedding; my mother was so excited about it. I begged them not to go; I was so scared to be alone without them. There was a storm at sea, and their ship was lost. I didn't even go to the funeral; I watched from my window, I was too terrified to leave my room even then. It wasn't until I was 21 that I didn't have a choice anymore, when I was crowned Queen. That was three years ago."
"Well, you seem to be doing quite well now," he said, smiling at her and holding out the ghostly shape of a flower, a lily for her. A chunk of the petal was missing from one of the sides, she smiled, taking it from him.
"I can do little animals better," he commented. "You seem more of one for flowers though."
She ran a finger over the delicate icy edges of the flowers, silent for a moment.
"Things didn't start off very good for me," she finally said, holding the flower up to the moonlight. "One of the very first things that I did after my coronation was freeze the entire town in the middle of summertime, people didn't like that very much."
"That was you?" he exclaimed, staring openly at her. "I told everyone that wasn't me, no one believed me."
She smiled softly. "It all worked out well in the end. Anna and I are on quite good terms now, and I've learned to control the ice powers quite a lot since then."
She held her hands up, watching as snowflakes formed in her palms.
"So what all happened? How did you go all full winter in summer? That's not the easiest thing to do," he asked, looking curiously at her.
She yawned, the tiny snowflakes dropping from her hands as she moved to cover her mouth.
"My goodness, I'm tired. I can't believe I stayed out so late," she said, changing the subject. Jack frowned about to push the subject when she spoke again.
"For someone who claims to know how to have a lot of fun, you are quite dull," she said, lowering her hands and smiling at him.
His mouth fell open in mock offence.
"Why, your majesty," he said, picking up his staff from beside him and lifting them both off into the air. "That sounds like a challenge."
She gasped as the wind rushed by them, the icy flower he'd made slipping from her hands as she scrambled to grasp at him tightly.
"Oh," she exclaimed, turning to watch the icy blossom float away behind them. "The flower."
He smiled at her. "I can make more, though I'm glad you liked it."
She blushed, smiling at him as they rushed on, flying north. She frowned as they flew north of her Ice Palace, the soft glow of the candles still lighting the lower room as they passed overhead.
"We-where are we going?" she asked, looking at him.
"There's a lake just north of here," he responded, turning to grin at her and giving no further explanation.
She opened her mouth, about to demand further answers when he dipped low in the air, the wind still rushing past them and spun them around. He laughed, she bit her lip to keep from crying out.
"Oh, come on! You need to lighten up! Let go!" he said, leveling out before they turned almost vertical as they flew parallel to a waterfall.
She gave him a shocked look before slowly feeling her lips break into a nervous grin, reaching a cautious hand out to touch the rushing water. They reached the top a moment later, the large calm lake reflecting the moonlight and was surrounded by tall, snow topped pine trees. The icy fingers of a glacier stood in a menacing beauty at the far end opposite them, feeding into the lake.
"So that's where the river starts," Elsa murmured, as Jack held them in the air, allowing her to look around.
Slowly, he lowered to the ground, reaching one of those long legs of his out to touch the water's surface; she thought he was trying to test the temperature. As his foot touched the surface, swirling patterns of frost erupted from the surface, spreading out across the lake surface in a delicate dance. Elsa gasped, watching as the frost waltzed with the water's smooth glassy surface as far as she could see. He chuckled beside her, setting her down on the frosted surface, paused for a moment before he laughed and slid away from her, dancing across the lake.
She stood still, watching him and looking down at the fragile surface, not sure she could move. The frost was so pretty, so delicate but sturdy? She'd never considered frost to be strong. She took a cautious step forward, feeling her own power well up inside her as she anticipated the frost to crack, but it didn't. She looked up at him in surprise.
"What," he said, a feigned look of offence on his face. "You think that I would just leave you somewhere unsafe?"
She smiled at him, taking more confident steps now and taking a little spin around. She laughed, throwing her hands up in the air with a flutter of snowflakes falling down around her. Jack laughed behind her, she turned and smiled at him.
"See? Now you're getting it," he said, carefully setting down his staff and reaching out a hand towards her.
She blinked at it, looking up at him curiously.
"Care for a dance?" he asked, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief again.
"I don't dance," she said, taking a step back.
"Don't," he asked, taking a step forward. "Or won't? There isn't anyone here, have a little fun."
He stood still then, silently holding out his hand to her, with his eyes sparkling and a smile on his face as he waited for her next move. She stared at his hand for a long moment, considering.
"But there isn't any music," she finally said, looking up at him.
"Who needs music to dance?" he asked. "Dance because you want to. Dance for the fun of it."
Slowly, she reached her hand out to his, a smile breaking across her lips. As her hand touched his, his grip tightened and he swirled her into his embrace, his other hand coming to rest at her waist.
"Hmm," he said, his lips quirking down. "It's usually more impressive than that."
"What?" she asked him, looking up.
"The dresses," he said, pointing his chin down. "You don't have enough dress."
She blinked at him before tilting her head back and laughing.
"What?" he said, moving his head to start the steps to a dance while she followed with him, still laughing.
"I just, I never thought someone would say something like that to me," she said, grinning at him.
"I've watched dances," he informed her, smiling. "The ladies usually have these big skirts that fluff out when they dance, though, there was a time when they wore contraptions on their hips to make their hips look very wide. Almost like couches."
She watched him, mindful of the steps as they danced across the surface of the lake with a wide smile on her lips.
"I would never have imagined Jack Frost as being a scholar of women's fashion," she said with a chuckle.
He smiled at her, moving his hand so that he could spin her out of his arms, her sparkling blue skirts catching the rays of moonlight beautifully. She laughed, smiling widely.
"Now then," he said, as she spun back to him. "Let's really have some fun."
She was about to ask, as he stepped forward, frost swirls shooting out before his feet he led them forward. He continued to lead them around in their dance, while their feet skipped along the frosted surface of the lake. Elsa didn't think that her lips would ever stop smiling as she danced along with the wintery spirit. She still wondered if this was all just a dream, but if it was, she wasn't sure she wanted to wake up.
Finally, he stopped their dance, bowing to her with a grin before kissing her hand. She kept smiling at him, shaking her head a little.
"Dancing, on a lake," she said. "I would have never."
He released her hand, her eyes following him as he skipped over to grab his staff. He turned and flew back to her, scooping her up in his arms while they both laughed, as he turned to fly back to her Ice Palace.
They landed on the lower balcony, still laughing as he set her down and spun her around again. As she came back up, he moved her around in a short series of dance steps, ending with dipping her down against his knee. As she straightened, she was still smiling.
"Oh, my stars," she said. "I don't think I've ever had that much fun!"
He smiled at her, watching as she walked into the room, the candles now just flickering stubs of wax in the icy holdings above the room.
"Well then," he said, following her. "You need to get out more! Maybe we'll go somewhere else tomorrow! Russia, Scotland, or even the Americas!"
She paused, turning around to face him, her smile fading.
"Oh, no. No, I couldn't do that," she said. "I only have a few days before I have to get back. They can't run things at the palace for very long without me. I'm scared enough for the few days I'm up here that everything will just be in ruins when I return."
He stared at her, silent for a long moment before giving her that sly grin of his.
"Well then," he said. "We shall just have to make the most of it then, won't we?"
She watched him curiously for a long moment, wondering if he'd really given up so easily.
"We?" she asked him, also wondering if he'd really be staying around. Or if she'd be awakening from this dream that she felt she was in. She thought for the hundredth time that night, that if it really was just a dream, it was a dream she'd never forget.
"Of course we," he said, flipping around in the air. "I'm not about to leave you all alone up here, to be plagued with boredom and the like. We shall have fun together!"
She smiled at him, watching as he zoomed up to the chandelier and floated around inspecting the candles. He held up an unlit candle to her, carefully lighting it on one of the dying candles and floating up to the dark room above them, the soft light filling the room. She watched him as he floated back down into the room. He moved around the chandelier, pinching out several of the candles. He turned and grinned at her, spinning down to the floor and dragging his staff across the floor behind him, causing another eruption frost to trail behind him on the icy floor. He stopped in front of her, that huge grin still large on his face.
'I'm scared this is a dream,' she thought. 'He's scared that I'll not like him. He's scared I'll not believe in him, and he'll be all alone again.'
As this latter realization dawned on her, she smiled at him, making a decision. She leaped forward, throwing her arms around him to his surprise.
"Thank you," she said, feeling him tense beneath her hug. "I had fun tonight."
His staff clattered to the floor beside them as his arms wrapped around her.
"You are welcome, Elsa."
She yawned into his chest, pulling back after a moment and covering her mouth with her hand.
"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry. It's been a long day today, I'm tired," she said, smiling up at him. "It has to be quite late, we were out for awhile."
He stepped back, smiling and bent to pick up his fallen staff.
"Well then," he said. "I suppose it's time for you to try out that nice snow bed of yours."
She grinned at him.
"I am excited to see how that works out for me," she admitted, anxious to try out the bed.
Jack followed her gaze up to the upper level before turning back to her with that mischievous grin on his face again.
"Wanna race?" he asked her.
She looked down at him, considering for a moment before smiling.
"No flying."
Jack held up his hands in surrender while he walked over to lean his staff against the wall, still grinning.
"On my honor," he said.
She bit her lip while she looked at him, her eyes darting briefly to the staircase before she broke into a wide smile.
"You're on," she shouted, taking off at a run for the staircase.
"Oh no you don't," he said, turning and following close behind her, both of them laughing as they raced up the stairs.
As they reached the top of the stairs, and Elsa entered the doorframe to the room, Jack lunged forward and grabbed her by the waist. He lunged forward, twisting in the air and he landed on his back on her bed, with her landing on top of him. She was surprised, staring down at him as he grinned up at her.
"I believe," he said, flipping her braid behind her. "That victory is mine."
She blushed, pushing herself up and rolling off of him and onto the bed.
"You grabbed me!" she exclaimed. "That was cheating."
"Ah," he said, turning on his side and propping himself up on an arm to look at her. "You said no flying. I believe, that I did not fly."
She gave him an amused look before turning away to look at her bed, carefully pulling back the paper thin ice cover that she had topped the snow layer with. She carefully slipped her feet inside, smiling to herself as the snow crisped around her; she wiggled further down into the snow and turned slightly and forming the snow into a pillow behind her. When she was done, settling down into further into the bed and looking up at a bemused looking Jack.
"What," she asked him, settling her hands before her and looking around.
He grinned at her. "You look like a cat, settling down for a nap," he said. "Getting all settled into a nice blanket is all. It's cute."
She scowled at him, her smile fading a little bit as she raised her chin up a little up. He laughed, rolling onto his back and standing up, bowing to her.
"Well then, your majesty, I shall leave you to rest then," he said, still smiling at her. "Yell, should you need anything from me. I shall be somewhere around here."
He looked up, gesturing around the palace before turning back to her.
"You don't sleep?" she asked.
"Not usually," he replied, stepping back and leaning against the doorframe. "I don't have to, so usually it's only if I'm bored. Same with eating, I usually only eat sweets. I can if I want to, I just don't need or normally want to."
He smiled at her again.
"I'll see you in the morning Elsa," he said. "We will have more adventures tomorrow."
He waved a hand towards the candle he had carefully placed on her dresser, softly lighting the room. As he did so, the light went out leaving Elsa in darkness as Jack left her to sleep.
Down far below in the palace in Arendelle, most everyone was asleep in the early hours of the morning. Most everyone, except a small white figure who began a long trek northwards with a determined face.
