"It's just for a little while, Elsa," Jack mumbled, running his fingers through her silky hair. In truth he wasn't too happy about this arrangement either, but she had to be in her ice castle to meet her sister. They couldn't have an entire kingdom coming to look for her if she was here. That would cause even more trouble.

And Pitch was troubling them enough right now.

Elsa sighed, leaning into his touch. She knew she should trust him, but she was still terrified of herself. "I know. I'm just afraid I'm going to hurt her again. I don't think I could live with myself if I did that," she breathed, shivering at the thought.

Jack rubbed his hands along her arms. "You'll be fine, snowflake." She smiled at his use of her nickname. She loved it. She only hoped that he was right. She was so terrified of losing Anna that she almost couldn't control it at all sometimes. She bit her lip, nodding before pressing her lips briefly to his. He gripped her tightly for a moment before retrieving his staff and returning to her side.

"Ready?" he asked her, wrapping her tightly in his arms.

"Let's do this," she said determinedly.

"That's my snowflake." Jack took off, holding her close to him as they soared back to the North Mountain. She kept her eyes shut the whole way.

That had been a few days and now Elsa was in a panic. "Conceal…don't feel…" she kept muttering to herself. Her encounter with Anna had gone horribly awry. She had let her fears get the best of her. She had hurt her sister again, though she wasn't' sure how. Anna had been with Olaf and some other guy, and she had just lost it. She'd even sent some monster to get rid of them because she didn't trust herself to do a good enough job without hurting all of them in some way. Frozen tears streaked across her face. She felt sick. She was a monster.

"Elsa?"

The sound of Jack's voice caused her to brighten considerably. She tore out of the room she was in and towards the main hall. She needed him to help her again. She had control around him, and she wasn't sure if it was because she liked him or if it was because they were the same. Regardless, she needed help if she was ever to return to a semblance of normalcy.

She stopped dead when she saw a dark figure standing in the middle of her castle. "Who are you?" she demanded, surprised her voice didn't waver. She had a bad feeling forming deep within her. Whoever this was wasn't—shouldn't have been able to get in here. They had to have had magic of some sort to enable them to do such a thing.

The man strode forward. He was tall, intimidatingly so, and had dark hair with pale grey skin. He wasn't pleasing to look at. The power he emanated was dark, and her thoughts immediately went back to the dark force that had attacked her at Tooth's palace.

"It's you," she breathed. Realization brought with it both fear and understanding.

"You're going to have to be a little more specific, dear," he drawled with a slight British accent.

"Pitch," she said, wrinkling her nose. Even the taste of his name on her tongue was revolting. He simply smiled back up at her, clasping his hands behind his back as he began striding around like he owned the place. She watched as he "admired" her work.

"Elsa?!" Jack's voice sounded again, and she jumped. She eyed the dark man warily. She knew he had been powerful once, but he was no match for Jack and the other Guardians.

"Oh, it seems we have guests!" Pitch called cheerily. Elsa looked down at him. She didn't like how he appeared completely at ease. It was disconcerting in the worst possible way.

"Elsa!" Jack's voice sounded relieved, and close. She turned, and was immediately caught within his embrace. She only allowed herself to relax slightly. "Thank god! How was it?" he asked hurriedly.

"Jack, he's he-!" Elsa started frantically, clutching at his arms.

"Pitch!" North shouted from behind them, storming angrily into the room. She gaped up at him. He looked even taller in her small palace. The big man was glaring down at the dark figure below. Just having North nearby made her feel better. The man, with his size and his glare (and sword), was even more intimidating than the person below.

"How wonderful to see you all again!" Pitch sneered. "Though I do think a few of you are missing. How's the Sandman? Still angry at our little tiff?"

Jack pushed Elsa behind him, glaring furiously at Pitch. "He's been doing damn better ever since your powers became forfeit," he growled. Elsa shifted uncomfortably as she peered around Jack. She knew she was a pawn in this situation, and she was afraid of being used against her friends.

"Oh Jack, I thought you were the fun one! Don't tell me Bunny took your place?" Pitch taunted. Ice formed at Jack's feet and Elsa's eyes widened. Jack was always so in control. He must be furious.

"What do you want with her?" Jack demanded.

"You mean your precious little snow queen?" Pitch mused. "Her powers are much more…unreliable than others, and her fear is just so delightfully potent. I could thrive off it for years." He sighed, eyeing Elsa with a grin. Elsa shrank away from his gaze. He chuckled.

Jack took a step forward, and ice shot from the end of his staff. Pitch swirled for a moment, vanishing and reappearing five feet to the left, avoiding Jack's attack. He rolled his eyes. "Really Jack? I thought your aim would have improved over the years. I suppose I was wrong."

"You will not have her!" Elsa couldn't see Jack's face, but she knew he was fuming.

Pitch smiled again. "Oh, but you see Jack. I already do. I've had her from the moment you gave her the powers. You did this Jack…for me! And I just wanted to thank you, as a fellow Guardian," he mocked.

It was North's turn to direct his fury at the dark man. "You are no Guardian, Pitch."

"I will not help you," Elsa declared, feeling her rage start up again. This man, this…villain, thought he could control her? She was a queen, fear or not. She would not be manipulated.

Pitch put a hand to his forehead in mock dismay. "Oh but you will. If you ever want to see your sister again that is."

Darkness poured from his hands, forming shapes like Sandy did. Only she could clearly make out who they were. She watched as Anna and the man she was with fell, down, down, down…until she hit the bottom. The image dispersed as they hit. "Anna!" Elsa cried, moving towards where the darkness had faded. No, Anna couldn't be hurt. She wasn't sure she could bear it if she lost her sister and she hadn't been there to do anything.

Jack grabbed for her, trying to pull her back. "Elsa, no!"

Something whizzed past her face, embedding itself in Jack's arms. He grunted in pain before falling back, and Elsa screamed. She moved to help him when another arrow shot in front of her face. She gasped.

"Go!" Jack shouted to her, getting to his feet. She looked between him and the two men that had just forced their way into her castle. "Elsa, run! We'll try to hold them off!" She could see North already racing into battle. Pitch looked at ease, glancing between the three of them as if he were watching a melodrama.

"Help has arrived," he breathed. She looked at the two men as they began charging towards her.

Elsa hesitated, watching Jack fearfully. "It's okay, snowflake," he said to her, more softly this time. "I'll meet you upstairs after I deal with Pitch and these two. We'll get back to North's workshop I promise. I'm fine."

Biting her lip, she took his advice and ran upstairs, hating that she had to leave him when he was hurt. She heard the sounds of their battle with Pitch, and it drowned out the sound of the footsteps following her. When she made it upstairs, she was too late to realize she was cornered. The two men were circling her, aiming their weapons at her. Her breath caught. One of them raised his crossbow. She flung her hands out to cover her face.

She heard the sound of the release, the sound the arrow made as it whisked through the air, and then…she opened her eyes to see the weapon entrenched in her ice. She stared at it in shock, not surprised that her powers had worked, but that they had protected her.

The man who had shot her was reloading his bow, and she waved her hand at him. She watched, shocked again as the man was pinned to the wall by her power. The other man had circled behind her. She flung her hand out at him too, knocking his weapon away and trapping him with her ice. He was backed into the door, and it shattered as she pressed him closer and closer to the edge. She was terrified to the point where she couldn't stop.

"Elsa!" she heard Hans call out. "Don't be the monster they think you are!"

She stopped dead, her powers coming to a jarring stop. Her thoughts instantly flew to Jack. "Oh god…" she breathed. "Jack?!" she cried, turning back to where the room led downstairs.

There was no answer.

"Elsa!" a dark, sing-song voice called out to her. Her heart clenched, and she whirled around to see Pitch standing there. She wasn't sure what else was going on, there was shouting that much she was certain of, and she could only watch as Pitch waved his hand. The sound of shattering ice filled the room, and she looked up to see her chandelier plummeting right towards her. "Catch!" he hissed as it grew nearer.

She grabbed her dress, sprinting as fast as she could towards the door, towards Jack. Or at least where he should be. She wasn't sure what she'd do if he was hurt worse. Her breathing was haggard, and she began to feel like her own life was hanging in the balance. She wasn't going to make it, she wasn't going to-

The chandelier pierced through the floor and she felt herself losing her footing. She cried out as she went down, and remembered nothing else.