Marionette

Chapter 10 - Camellia

Warnings: None

His hands shook and a nervous sweat began to form on his forehead. His brown eyes darted around the small cell in a fearful manner. He felt wronged. He did not belong there.

"Why didn't you arrest the guy that did this to us!? I need to see a doctor - A.S.A.P!" Edwin watched as his friend wearing the letterman jacket yelled as he shook at the bars of the holding cell in the police station.

"You'll live, kid," one of the police officers replied, rolling his stale gray eyes as he went back to typing up their arrest report.

"Don't we all get at least one phone call!?"

The officer sighed tiredly and he got up from his desk. He walked over to the small holding cell and his hawk-like eyes focused in on Edwin, who was sitting on one of the benches, a blank stare in his eyes. "You." He pointed at him and threw his thumb over his shoulder. "Let's go. You can go make your call."

He felt - unnerved, shaking as he held the phone tightly to his ear. Edwin looked over his shoulder, skittishly glancing at the officer that stood just a few feet behind him. He looked away before the officer and him could lock eyes.

The ringing stopped and finally the person on the other line picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"I-It's me..."

There was a deafening silence, causing Edwin to swallow uncomfortably out of uneasiness.

"...I thought I told you to never call me. I'm out at a family function right now."

"I-I know, but...it's urgent! I - " Edwin let out a whimpering shudder. " - I got arrested, man." His breath stilled at the next words that reached his ear.

"...And?"

"Wh - ? Y...You gotta bail me out! You can do it, right? Your entire family is made up of lawyers - !"

"We don't represent screw-ups and people that can't do their jobs properly."

Edwin's brown eyes widened in a mad panic. He grasped at the phone tightly until his knuckles turned white. He could not believe that this was how he was going to go down. "My father will kill me if he finds out about this! I'm -! I'm here because of you, asswipe! I did what you wanted me to do and now - !"

A wry chuckle stopped him. "Really now? I don't recall. It seems like you're the only one that screwed up here, Edwin. You put yourself into this mess because you failed. Had you taken the necessary precautions, none of this would have happened."

"I did! I did everything right! But unexpected things happened that wasn't a part of the plan - not to mention, that fucking bodyguard Winters had screwed everything up - !"

"The only one that screwed up is you. Now - I suggest you stop calling me after this unless you want to get on my bad side even further."

"But - !"

"Your family is wealthy, Edwin. I'm sure you can find a lawyer that can represent you in court - against me and my family's lawfirm."

Edwin shook out of fear and anger. "You - bastard! You can't do that! What the fuck!? You want to put me away in jail for life!? Why the fuck will be you representing that Winters bitch!?"

"You've become nothing, but a hindrance, Edwin. I will have to thank you for being such a good, disposable pawn, however. Good luck with your father - I'm sure that after this little screw-up of yours, he'll feel so sympathetic for his deadbeat son that he'll give you the company instead of your very successful half-sister."

He felt a vein pulse in his head at the voice that dripped with sarcasm. He was being toyed with. This was all a huge game and he was nothing more than a pawn to a greater power. The very thought caused him to grow volatile inside.

"You son of a bitch - !"

Edwin froze at the sound of a low beep, indicating that he had been hung up on. He slowly pulled the phone away from his ear and let out a short, erratic gasps. He felt trapped and scared - due to his uncertain future as well as the imminent punishment he would receive from his father. A harsh breath left his lungs as he slammed the phone back onto the receiver.

"Hey, kid - your time's up. Let's go."

Elsa did not know what time it was when she finally woke up. It was bright outside, but the skies were still overcast. She squinted her eyes as she groggily sat herself up on the bed. Rubbing her eyes free of sleep, Elsa turned her head to look out the large, arched window in her room.

It was snowing.

She smiled a little, happy to see the beautiful sight. Elsa focused her attention to the little digital clock that she kept on her nightstand, just to check the time.

The white numbers read out that it was nearly noon. It did not really surprise her that she had overslept, after all, she did have a tiring day and went to sleep late...

She wrinkled her eyebrows a little, looking down at herself and seeing that she had awoken from her pillows with her bed sheets tucked in comfortably around her. A part of her memory from last night came back - of her being held by Jack and falling asleep in his arms. A slow heat moved to her face, her round cheeks igniting in a crimson red blush. She pulled the bedsheets up to her mouth as she buried her nose into the clean teal colored fabric.

She guessed that Jack had woken up at some point during the night or early morning and tucked her in.

Before she could get caught up in her own thoughts, Elsa heard a rapid knock on her door.

"Sis!" Anna sang out in a high pitched, airy voice. Without much regards to her sister's privacy, she opened the door and came in. "Merry Christmas!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

"Christmas...?" Elsa contemplatively looked at her digital clock and saw the date 'December 25th' on the screen. She was completely unaware that the big holiday of the season was even today. She had been so caught up in other things the past few days that the thought that it was Christmas did not even cross her mind. "Wow," she breathed out, holding her head, "I didn't even know," telling Anna about this.

"That's probably why you overslept. Remember how when we were kids, you and I would always get up before Mama and Papa?"

"Right," Elsa responded, laughing softly at the fond memory. "We'd beg them if we could start opening our presents." She smiled and took a look at her sister, noticing that she had her hair done so that it as in a loose wave. Her dark green skirt, that was decorated with a large white bow on the side, ruffled whenever she walked and the black sweater she wore hugged her curves nicely. She seemed to idly adjust the white beanie on her head as Elsa looked her up and down. "Uhm...are you going somewhere, Anna?" she asked.

"A-Ah, I'm just going out with some friends!" Anna sheepishly giggled. She spun once over, her orange colored hair flying out behind her. "It looks cute, right?" she asked, in reference to her outfit.

It was clear to Elsa that her little sister was going on a date - most likely with Hans again. She had been meaning to speak to Anna about him, but she was almost at the point of just giving up and truthfully, Elsa did not feel like pursuing it any longer. She was tired of fighting with everyone.

"It does," Elsa replied, smiling as she chose to just overlook Anna's lie. She assumed that when the time was right, Anna would come clean to her on her own free will.

Anna giggled happily in response. She approached Elsa's bedside and asked, "are you planning anything today?"

"Well...- "

Seeing Elsa's befallen expression, Anna quickly added in, "I'm sorry...I know we normally spend Christmas together..." She started to feel a little guilty for not canceling her date with Hans after the events from yesterday. It slipped her mind. "I just...scheduled something too because Edwin asked you out on a Christmas date and I didn't want to be home alone, but then...the stuff last night happened and - "

"It's fine, Anna." Elsa gave her a warm smile and took her sister's hand. She stopped her, not really wanting to remember what happened last night with the brunette. "I don't mind being home. I'm feeling a little tired anyways. You go have your fun with your friends. Don't worry about me."

Furrowing her brows in discontent, Anna released her hand from Elsa's grasp and shot up from the bed, startling Elsa. "It's not okay!" she insisted.

"It's really fine -"

"No!" Anna was behaving like a little child having a tantrum. She pouted her lips and tightly clenched her fists. "Christmas should be spent with other people, Elsa!"

Feeling slightly, overwhelmed with her sister's pushiness, Elsa said nothing to her. She simply stared on curiously.

"I got it!" Anna gasped, clapping her hands together. "You should spend today with Jack!"

"J-Jack?" she asked incredulously.

"Mhm!" Anna wore a wide, toothy grin on her face as she excitedly hopped up and down, her long brown boots clacking on the hardwood floors. "There's going to be a huge tree lighting in downtown Arendelle tonight at midnight, plus, a lot of the restaurants in the area are doing special events because it's Christmas! It'll be fun if you go with him!"

Elsa felt her face heat up at the very thought. "I-I don't know...this sounds like something a couple would do," she stuttered back, looking away.

"You do!" Again, Anna insisted, pushing Elsa to go out with him. "It's sad for an 18-year-old girl, like yourself, to be stuck home on Christmas day! Come on!" She threw off the sheets from Elsa's body. "I'll help you get dressed!"

"I-I didn't even ask him yet! And I can get dressed by myself!"

"Pfft, please," Anna waved her hand, "god forbid, you go out dressed like a nun for this date."

"I don't dress like a nun! And it isn't a date!"

"Whatever - nun, old lady, same thing."

"They're not the same thing, Anna - !" Elsa stood there, annoyed, as Anna threw open her closet doors. She noticed the discontent expression on Anna's face as she looked through her clothes. "Is there something wrong?" she asked in an irate tone.

Anna quirked her lip up to one side as she went through her sister's wardrobe. "Uh, do you have any other clothes?"

"No, what's in my closet is what I have," she replied, pointedly.

"Hmm." Anna let out a dejected sigh. "As expected of my big sis - you're definitely ready to become a future CEO with clothes like these." She turned around to face Elsa again, who was giving her a perturbed glare. "It's okay. I'll lend you some of my clothes!"

Elsa crossed her arms over her chest and explained in an exasperated sigh, "Anna, I don't know how to tell you this, but I'm not going to go out today. I'm sure Jack would like to rest as well."

"Well...did you ask him?"

"Of course not, I just woke up -"

"Want me to ask for you?"

"Sure. I mean - what? No, I - !"

"Alright, I'll go ask him!"

"Anna - !"

Before Elsa could stop her, Anna had already happily skipped out of the room. She stood there, deadpanned at what just happened. Wearing an expression of panic now, Elsa grumbled angrily under her breath as she located her bathrobe and hastily threw it on, making herself decent.

She ran out of her room and looked down the hallway, locating Anna, who was knocking on the door to Jack's room.

"Anna!" Elsa called out, running towards her in a vain attempt to try and stop her.

"Jaaaaaack!" Anna sang. "Elsa wants to ask you something!" She knocked several times and by the time Elsa reached her, there was still no response.

"Anna!" The blond panted as she desperately tried to tug her sister away from the door. "Come on! I already told you that I don't want to go out!"

Ignoring her, Anna curiously blinked at the door and slowly moved towards the doorknob. "Jack? Are you in there?" She twisted it, pushing open the door gently.

Elsa protested beside her. "You can't go barging into people's rooms, Anna! How many times do I have to tell you this!?"

Again, letting her sister's words fall on deaf ears, Anna ignored her and peered into Jack's room. "Huh...he's not here."

"What?"

"He's not here - in his room," Anna repeated, closing the door once more. She pouted a little. "Maybe he already got up."

Elsa let out a soft sigh of relief. Now maybe Anna would cease this ridiculous plot to try and set her up with Jack. "Whatever. I'm going back to bed." She was still too tired to deal with everything. Although, Elsa was not sure if she was feeling physically drained or emotionally drained. Either way - she was tired.

"I wonder where he went," Anna muttered as she followed Elsa back to her room.

"Why do you care so much?"

"You two deserve a day to just relax together! I mean, after what happened last night -" Anna bit back her tongue when she noticed how Elsa had stopped walking and was stiff as a board. "I-I mean...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up - "

"It's fine," Elsa breathed out heavily. She hugged herself tightly, starting to see the flashbacks from last night slowly play through her mind like a horror movie she did not wish to see. "Sorry, Anna. I'm tired...I just want to go lie down -"

"Wait." Anna reached out to grab Elsa's hand, stopping her. She worriedly looked at her sister. "I-I'm sorry that I sounded so pushy earlier...I just, think it would be good of you to just take the time to hang out with Jack. Just the two of you. I'm not trying to set you up with him - I still remember what you told me a long time ago, about how you don't want a boyfriend anytime soon, so don't worry." Anna laughed a little at the memory. Her laughter died down a little as she stepped closer to peer around Elsa's shoulder to get a look at her face. She smiled warmly and said, "I know that he's the only one you trust with all your heart. There's most likely things that you tell him and not me, and that's fine - don't get me wrong. I understand that...there's just something special about the bond between you two. That's why I want you two to go out for today. Just to get away from everything, you know?"

Elsa lowered her blue eyes to the floor and she sighed. She could not help, but agree with what Anna said. A part of her did want to get out of the house for a while. "Fine," she eventually replied softly.

Anna smiled broadly at the answer. "I'll go find him then, lend you some of my clothes to wear - !"

"But - !" Elsa shot her a deathly glare. "Don't you dare say that this is a 'date' or mention to him that this is one. And don't you dare go overboard with the clothes. I'm only doing this because you're insisting so much."

Feeling a chill go down her spine, Anna sheepishly giggled and backed away a little. "Y-Yes, ma'am." When her sister gets scary, she could get scary.

"Oh Jack! Thank you so much! I hate to hassle you for things - especially today since your shoulder's still injured..."

"It's fine, Wendy," Jack smiled warmly in response as he set the groceries down on the kitchen counter.

"You didn't have too much trouble finding these? I know a lot of the markets are closed due to it being Christmas," Wendy worriedly said as she pulled out the milk cartons from the paper bags, as well as a tub of margarine.

"A few convenience stores are still open," he replied, "the margarine was a little harder to find, but a small market near the Southern Isles was open and carrying some."

"You drove all the way there!?" the elderly maid exclaimed.

Sensing that Wendy was about to apologize, Jack quickly waved his hand and laughed nervously. "It's fine. I don't mind. What is all this for, by the way?" he asked, watching Wendy handing off some of the milk cartons to the other maids, who were bustling around quickly in the large kitchen.

"Oh! The mistress made a generous donation to a local orphanage and in addition to money, I also offered to bake a few cakes for the children since it is Christmas after all. I hope they'll like them."

Jack chuckled, knowing how much Wendy loved to bake. She would almost never pass up an opportunity to debut a new cake or pie for Elsa, Anna, and him to try. "If it's your vanilla shortcake, I think they'd like it just fine."

Wendy chortled softly. "I just hope these cakes will be done by 5. Simon and I are planning to take them in the evening."

"How many are you making?"

"About 20."

Jack whistled a little at the number. "Well...I'll leave you to it then," he gave Wendy a wave as he exited the hustle and bustle of the busy kitchen. As he did, he wondered if Elsa was finally up. When he had woken up in the early morning hours, he saw that she was still fast asleep - and that he had fallen asleep with her on her bed.

It was the first time anything like that happened and it felt foreign to him, to wake up with someone sleeping next to him, but he certainly did not dislike it. Especially when he could see Elsa's sleeping expression, which was a rare sight.

Jack let out a soft laugh to himself at the memory of him picking her up so that she could lay her head down upon the pillows and as soon as he picked her up in his arms, she had let out a loud snore. Completely unlady-like and scared him at the time, but now -

His soft laugh grew into an uncontrollable snicker as he tried hard to suppress himself.

"Nice to see that you're enjoying yourself."

His laughter died down at the sound of Anna's voice. He saw her coming down the double staircase happily, a slight bounce in her steps. "O-Oh, Anna," he stuttered, clearing his throat to try and rid himself of laughter.

"What were you laughing about so much?" she asked curiously.

"N-Nothing."

Anna narrowed her blue eyes at him, but paid no extra attention to whatever it is that made him laugh. She had more important matters at hand - like asking Jack to escort her sister out on a pseudo-date. "Well, you're looking rather energetic."

"Uh - I guess - ?"

"So you wouldn't have a problem taking Elsa out, right?"

"Huh?" Jack blinked at her for a few seconds, then made a confused face. "What do you mean?"

Exasperatedly, Anna sighed and said, "alright, Elsa told me to not tell you, that it's a date, but it's pretty much a date."

"...Excuse me...?"

"Go out on a date with Elsa. Today. For Christmas."

Jack wrinkled his brow, narrowed his eyes, and cocked his head slightly towards the side. The only thing that could come out of his mouth at this point was, "what?"

Anna rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "it's incredible on how dense you two are."

"Hey - !"

"Just go out with her! Elsa already agreed to and she's getting ready right now."

Rendered speechless, Jack could only form unintelligent vocalizations as he fought to try and say something, but he was confused out of his mind as to what was going on. What was this about a 'date'?

"You should probably get changed too," Anna commented, looking Jack up and down at his attire. "Suits are nice at all, but she should see you in something different for today. She doesn't want to see you dressed like a dad for a date."

Although Jack did not like wearing his suits either, he could not help, but feel slightly insulted and self-conscious by what Anna said. He thought he looked pretty decent in one.

"Are you going to tell me what this is about?" he asked as Anna happily skipped upstairs once again.

"Nope!" she responded with a toothy grin, much to Jack's chagrin. "You better get changed! Time's a-wasting!"

"You look fine, sis!"

"This is - !" Elsa looked at herself in the mirror as she desperately tried to pull down the skirt. "This is way too short!" she exclaimed, a tomato red blush on her face.

"That's the third skirt I've given you though," Anna replied with a slight pout. "And you're wearing leggings underneath, you'll be fine!"

"Why do you only have short skirts!?"

"That's kind of the point of a skirt," the red head snickered. "You look fine! It looks super cute! See?" She pointed to the mirror and Elsa stared back at her reflection again.

She did have to admit, the outfit that Anna had coordinated for her with her clothes looked fashionable and cute. Anna managed to fit into Elsa's usual color scheme for her clothes, which was teal and white. The leggings were a muted teal color, matching the knit top. The ruffled and lacy white skirt barely covered what it needed to, but at least she was wearing the leggings. Luckily, a white double-breasted trench coat that Elsa had passed Anna's inspection and she was given the 'okay' to wear that over herself.

Anna fawned over her, gushing about how well her outfit coordination went. "I outdid myself once again!" she triumphantly stated, "It looks so cute, along with those white fuzzy boots." She let out a slight squeal. "It's probably a good thing that I decided on those leggings. If you didn't, I'm sure Jack would be ogling you too much to focus properly on the date. Although showing off a little skin isn't a bad thing -"

"What!?" Elsa exclaimed, her face a bright red.

"Oh! I mean - your "not a date" outing," Anna used air-quotes as she poke, causing Elsa to shoot her a nasty glare. There were so many things wrong with what Anna said that Elsa did not bother to point out the other things that made her flustered with embarrassment.

"You better not have told Jack that it was a date."

"I didn't! Promise."

Elsa let out a sharp sigh to try and calm herself down. "Ah, whatever," she muttered. It was just another outing. She and Jack had plenty in the past. He would take her places to cheer her up whenever she was down, this time it was exactly the same.

'That's right, so calm down Elsa. Deep breaths...'

"Oh! My ride's here!" Anna exclaimed, checking her phone. She grinned as she grabbed her purse from Elsa's bed and rushed out. "I demand details later tonight, okay?" she said sternly.

"Wh-What details? Details about what exactly!?"

"See you, sis! Have fun!" Anna called out, disappearing down the hallway.

Elsa stood there in disbelief that this was actually happening. She let out a defeated sigh and closed her eyes. Silently telling herself to relax, Elsa reopened her eyes and took one last look at herself in the mirror. Her makeup was crisp and clean, not a single item was "off." Her hair was in a thick braid, her usual hairstyle ever since Jack took it upon himself to give her a "makeover."

She smiled at herself in the mirror, trying to build up confidence, but her smile immediately fell when she saw the telltale red spots left on her neck from the previous night.

An involuntary shiver went through her body as Elsa tried to force herself to not bring up such memories at the current time. Trembling, Elsa went over to her closet and pulled out a thick, fluffy white scarf. She quickly wrapped it around her neck, covering the bite marks. Elsa did not want to see them and she surely did not want Jack to see them either - especially not while they were out together.

Jack idly checked his phone, waiting at the base of the double staircase for Elsa. He let out a sigh, burying his hand into the pocket of his dark brown distressed jeans. Briefly looking up, he checked himself in one of the intricately framed mirrors that was hanging in the entrance hall.

Nervously, Jack shoved his phone into the back pocket of his pants and tugged on his bottom lip as he fixed his hair. He normally did not care how messy it looked, but now he was self-conscious about it, presumably because of how Anna said it was a date between him and Elsa. He knew that on regular days, Elsa did not care for how his hair looked, but he knew that she liked things orderly and neat - and his hair was anything, but orderly and neat.

Seeing as how the stubborn spike of white hair was refusing to be flattened down, Jack gave on it with a tired sigh. He took to inspecting his clothes, hoping that he made the right choice. Although his casual wardrobe was rather limited since he was pretty much a bodyguard, 24 hours of a day, 7 days a week, Jack managed to find a blue padded winter vest and he chose to wear that over a royal blue long sleeve shirt that came down slightly past his wrists. All in all, he thought it was a decent outfit for a date.

As he focused back on his messy hairstyle, Jack flinched when Anna practically flew down the stairs in front of him.

"See you, Jack! Elsa should be down in a few minutes!" she exclaimed, rushing out the door.

"Wait a minute! Where are you going?" he called out after her. It was all moving too fast for him. He was not ready to face Elsa yet and he had hoped that Anna would be there to provide some type of guide for when he meets with Elsa.

"I have places to be too, you know! Have fun! Great job on the outfit, by the way!"

With the slam of the front door, Jack was left alone in the entrance hall once again. He shook his head, sighing and wondering how he got roped into all this.

It was not long before -

"Jack?"

He looked up at the top of the stairs and saw Elsa shyly coming down to meet him. Jack felt his mouth dry up at the sight of her. She looked like a snow angel, with all the white clothes she wore. Not to mention, her pale skin was softly colored with a bashful pink blush and her platinum blond hair looked luxuriously beautiful and silky.

"U-Uh," he could only stammer out, unsure of what to say to her as she approached him.

She smiled a little at him,

Jack blushed a little, wishing that he could form coherent words and not look like some love-struck teenager out on his first date, but then Jack remembered that it really is his first date and he immediately grew hotter in the face at the thought. "Wh-Where did you want to go?"

"Uh, well, Anna told me that there's stuff in downtown Arendelle. We could start there."

"S...Sure!"

As Elsa quietly followed him out of the house, she watched his nervous actions. It was not his usual behavior and definitely not the Jack that she saw last night in that warehouse. It was hard to believe that he could make such a menacing, bloodthirsty look, but also such a flustered look such as the one she was witnessing now.

With some amount of difficulty and many times of dropping his car keys, Jack managed to unlock his car. As they slipped inside, Jack dropped the key once more, eliciting a soft giggle from Elsa.

She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, knowing that laughing right now would make her seem like a bad person, but she could not help it. It was reassuring to know that it was not only her that was feeling so nervous.

"S-Sorry," she said, giggling still. Elsa stifled her laughter and reached out to gently touch Jack's hand. "I'm nervous too, don't worry."

He instantly relaxed. Elsa was also nervous, despite the fact that she had already been out on a date with Edwin. He chuckled in unison with Elsa's light giggles as he started the car. His hands no longer shook and he felt the butterflies in his stomach disappear. It was just reassuring to know that Elsa was feeling the same as him.

He could not really believe that the first place that Elsa felt drawn to go to was a toy store. He had no idea that she still had an affinity for childish things, with her being so composed and stoic nowadays. However, despite all that, it seemed as though Elsa felt comfort in the whimsical little shop as she happily sought out their collection of plush dolls.

Jack watched her as she smiled while picking up a polar bear doll and he could not help, but smile himself. She seemed to be immersed in the cute dolls, occasionally showing them to Jack, then quickly turning her attention back towards them.

"Look, Jack!" she exclaimed, clearly excited in one particular polar bear doll. Her blue eyes lit up as she spoke to him. It was a rare sight - to see her so happy. "It's cute, isn't it?"

"It looks a lot like your Olaf doll, only...bigger," he commented, silently thinking to himself what Elsa's obsession was with polar bears. She always did seem to have a fondness towards animals that lived in the Arctic though. "Are you going to finally replace it?"

Elsa widened her eyes and vigorously shook her head. "No way!" Even though the little doll had gotten dirty and torn over the past few years ever since Jack "took it" from her, she could never get herself to throw it away. It reminded her of the time that Jack had taken her out to the university and it was probably one of the first times that he had showed her such sweet affection. She was never going to get rid of the current Olaf bear plush.

"Your room's going to be overrun by these bears soon."

Elsa pouted. "You say it like it's a bad thing." She held the doll close to her chest, resting her chin on top of its fuzzy white head. The corners of her lips quirked up into a little smile as she reached up to grab another doll. She held it out to him and asked, "see? It's cute! You can't deny that, right?"

Jack took the soft polar bear into his arms and inspected it. He did have to admit, it was cute. As he stood there with Elsa, who seemed to be tempted to purchase a penguin doll as well, he nearly tripped over a small child- make that several. He quickly apologized to them, interrupting their game of tag. Jack had momentarily forgotten that this was a toy store and that there were little children running around all over the place. The only adults there were the children's parents and of course - them.

"Hey, Mister!" a little girl stopped in front of them, addressing Jack as she stared at him. "Why is your hair white?"

Elsa felt a little overwhelmed when several more kids began crowding around them, curious as well. She was not very good with children, even though she did like them. It was because she was always at a loss for words, unable to answer them without sounding impassive or too serious. They always either seemed to ignore her or get put off by her manner of speaking - which sounded dull to them. Jack on the other hand -

He smiled, kneeling down so that he was eye-level with the young girl. "Do you know who Jack Frost is?" When the girl nodded, she provided him with a brief explanation on the mythical winter spirit, that was when Jack pointed at himself. "That's me, but keep it a secret okay? No one else can know!" He held his finger to his lips in a silent gesture.

"Eh? Really?" The girl's brown eyes seemed to lit up with wonder, as did the other children's. It seemed like nonsense to Elsa, but she watched intently - seeing him conversing with the children as if it was second nature for him.

"Then - then - " A little boy hopped up and down. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to protect the Ice Queen while she's visiting Arendelle." Jack turned to look up at Elsa, who immediately blushed.

"Wha-What - ?" She flushed even more when he took her hand and gave it a slight tug, telling her to come kneel down as well. Elsa did as she was told and nervously knelt down beside Jack. She felt all the eyes of the children on her and she felt anxious, not sure if she should say anything to them.

Several of the girls excitedly clapped their hands together. "Are you her knight in shining armor then?"

Elsa was taken aback by how blunt these children were, but Jack seemed to take it all in stride, not missing a beat when replying.

"Yep, but, this queen can do just fine with or without her knight. She's very strong. Her ice magic can freeze the bad guys before they can even get a chance to run away!"

"Ooooh!"

"The Ice Queen sounds scary..." a little voice pipped up among the small group of children.

Elsa felt her heart drop a little at the frightened toddler who was eyeing her warily. She looked away, unsure of what to say to her.

"A little bit, but...when you get to know her, she actually has a warm heart."

Elsa stared at Jack, who flashed her a soft smile. She did not expect him to intervene with such heartfelt words. "Jack..."

"She is very kind and compassionate. Loving and caring, deep down inside," he continued, keeping his eyes on her the whole time.

She thought her heart was going to melt at his words. It was endearing for him to say such generous things to her and to defend her "character" in front of these children.

"Do you love her, Jack?" The girl with brown eyes spoke up, excitedly flickering her eyes between him and Elsa.

He chuckled as he faced the young girl. "I do."

Elsa felt flustered at what Jack said. Even though she knew that he said it just to satisfy the little girl's imagination...

"Do you like him too?" the little girl asked Elsa, her eyes wide as saucers as she anticipated her answer.

The blond avoided Jack's eyes as she nervously searched for an answer. "I-I, uh, p-possibly -!"

Before the children could ask anything else, some of their parents called them over. Very soon, the small crowd of children had dispersed, much to Elsa's relief.

"I'm sorry if my little Olivia was bothering you two," the mother of the girl that started talking to Jack and Elsa said as she rushed over, picking up her 5-year-old in her arms.

Both Jack and Elsa stood up. "It's fine," he answered, smiling. "Not a bother at all."

"Mommy! Can I go see the train set again?" the girl named Olivia asked happily.

"Of course, sweetie." She let the young girl go off as she stayed there with Jack and Elsa. Curiously, she glanced at the couple and asked, "are you two shopping for your baby?"

Immediately, both Jack and Elsa's face turned a bright red. The two of them quickly denied it in a series of nervous stammers and unintelligent mumbling.

"O-Oh! I'm so sorry!" the mother replied, holding a hand over her mouth. "I just assumed so because you two look like you're newlyweds."

"Ah, n-no. We're not married!" Elsa quickly denied.

"Oh I see. You two just seemed so at ease with each other since you came into the store." She laughed a little when she noticed both Jack and Elsa blushing again. "So you two are just out on a date?"

Elsa felt at a loss of what to say. She did not want to necessarily admit that it was a date, although that's how it plainly looked like, but she and Jack were not exactly "dating." So would this be called a date? She certainly did not want to say to the young mother that Jack was her bodyguard. It would only serve to confuse her even more.

"We are," Jack said, wrapping his arm around Elsa's shoulders.

She stared up at him, her crystal blue eyes wide in embarrassment.

The young mother giggled, her hand over her mouth. "Well, then. I'll leave you two be. I think I've bothered you enough."

Jack laughed in response. "No, no, it was a pleasure."

They both waved the mother off as she went over to her daughter, who was mesmerized by the toy train set. As soon as she left, Jack set the polar bear doll he had in his arms back on the shelf and asked Elsa, "did you still want that?" in reference to the doll in Elsa's arms.

Without waiting for her answer, Jack plucked the doll from her hands and walked over to the register. She followed him right on his heels. "You don't have to buy it for me! I have money too, you know!"

"I know you do," he answered in a sarcastic tone, making Elsa give him an annoyed glare in response. Jack laughed at her as he paid for the doll. "But...I never had the time to get you a Christmas present."

"Huh?"

He thanked the cashier and smiled as he handed Elsa the paper shopping bag that held the polar bear doll. "Here," he said, "I know it's a little last minute, but - Merry Christmas, Elsa."

She flushed a deep red as she took the bag from him shyly. Elsa mumbled a small 'thank you', keeping her head down so that Jack would not be able to see her tomato red face. She heard him chuckle, then she felt movement near her hand. Her eyes widened when she felt him lace their fingers together. Elsa snapped her head up to look at him and all he did was smile in response, making her weak in the knees.

"Where to now?" he asked, leading her out of the toy store.

Elsa muttered a soft 'I don't know' as she walked beside him, keeping her head turned away from him, in fear of him noticing her blush. It was as if she was the only one that was flustered now. He seemed to be at a total ease, just his normal self.

"How about something light to eat? A cafe? It's still a little bit early for dinner."

She only offered up a soft grunt in response, unable to say anything to him without sounding like an idiot. Elsa hated how just holding hands with him was enough to reduce her to a pile of mush.

He took her to a nearby cafe, where they were apparently partaking in a Christmas themed event where all the desserts and drinks they sold were themed as the festive holiday. They were seated immediately and Elsa sighed as Jack finally let go of her hand as they took their seat at a small table by the window. She relaxed a little bit, but that was quickly interrupted by an apologetic waitress that told them that seat was given to them by mistake, as it was already taken by a reservation.

Much to Elsa's displeasure, they were moved to a round table booth - where she was forced to sit right next to Jack. She thought to herself that a higher being must be testing her right now, threatening to embarrass her to the very core.

"Not sure why she apologized for moving us. These seats are way more comfortable," Jack commented as he happily looked over the menu.

She felt him move in close as she quickly drew back in surprise. "Wh-What - ?"

"What did you want?" he asked, his focus on the menu.

Elsa told herself to calm down. It was not like Jack had any ill intentions to seduce her or flirt with her. All of his actions so far were just innocent little gestures and there she was getting all flustered over it all.

"U-Uhm..." she glanced over the menu, her heart thumping wildly as her arm touched his. "The special "Xmas Sundae" sounds interesting!" she offered up, trying to mask the fact that she was a nervous wreck by trying to act chipper.

"There's a below freezing windchill outside and you want ice cream? Such a trooper, Ice Queen," he teased, snickering.

"Shut up!" she snapped out, embarrassed. "I know you like eating ice cream when it's cold too!"

Jack simply chuckled as he flagged down a waiter and put in their orders, along with a cup of basic coffee for both of them. As the waiter left, taking their menus, Elsa nervous fidgeted next to him, sensing an awkward silence was about to come if she did not say anything now.

"Y-You acted so naturally with those kids back in the toy store!"

"Oh, yeah...I guess so," Jack replied, taken a little bit off-guard by her suddenly bringing that up. However, he went with it, seeing as how he had no other topics to really talk about. "I had to take care of some of the younger babies back at the orphanage, just to help out our caretakers a little whenever things got busy. Although they didn't talk back whenever I talked to them, I guess it gave me some confidence with little kids. Plus...before I got assigned to protect you, I hung out a lot with Jaime - remember him?"

"Your childhood friend?"

"Well - "

The waiter came back with their coffee, setting it down on the table and telling them that their sundae would be out shortly.

Jack gently touched his hot mug and smiled fondly into the light brown liquid. "I guess you could say that he was more like a little brother to me. We'd go everywhere together whenever I wasn't stuck with Guardian training. His parents were nice enough to take me along to the places their family went. It was nice..."

Sensing a bit of sadness in Jack's voice, Elsa furrowed her brow and asked, "...did...something happen between you two? I-I mean...if you being assigned to protect me disrupted your relationship with him, I'm so sorry -"

"No, no. It's not that at all, don't worry," he gave her a small smile. It immediately fell as he muttered, "it's just...I knew his parents were having trouble. I was a little bit older than Jaime so, I guess I picked up on it faster than he or his little sister could, but you could tell things weren't great between them. Then one day...Jaime just left."

"What?"

"They moved away or something. I never really knew what happened to him, but one day he was there and the next day, no one answered the door to his apartment. His whole family just...vanished into thin air."

Elsa could tell that this was a part of his life that he did not like to talk about. He looked rather heartbroken and she knew that it was painful to talk about. It was like a close loved one just walking out of your life with no explanation.

He laughed a little, trying to brush off the depressing atmosphere. "It's been so long since I've told anyone about this. The only other person I've told this to was Toothiana. I guess...what that lady at the toy store said about us is true."

"Huh?"

Jack smiled at her warmly and said, "I am at ease when I'm around you."

The waiter came back with their sundae and two spoons. As Jack thanked him quickly, Elsa continued to look on after him worriedly, wondering if he really was okay with how things turned out with Jaime. The blond's concern quickly came to Jack's attention and he scooped a bit of the whipped cream onto his finger and dotted her nose with it, breaking her out of her trance.

"Jack!" she exclaimed, attempting to wipe the sticky cream off of her nose without ruining her makeup.

He licked his finger clean, then laughed. "Gotcha. Don't look so serious over it. It's all in the past."

"But -!"

"There's no use trying to change what happened in the past, Elsa. What happened, happened. It prevents us from focusing on the now and the future." He offered up a smile as he scooped up some of the red velvet ice cream portion of the sundae and ate it. "You can contemplate it all you want, but I'm just telling you now it won't do you any good." When it looked like she was not budging, Jack shrugged and scooped the red colored ice cream again. "Fine, then I'll just end up eating all of your red velvet while you worry over it -"

She suddenly grabbed his wrist and pulled the spoon over to her. She clamped her mouth over the delectable frozen treat as she glared at him.

At this, Jack laughed as he pulled the spoon out of her mouth. "It's good, isn't it?"

Elsa did not answer him as she took her spoon and moved towards the vanilla portion of the sundae, to which Jack responded by lightly tapping her spoon with his.

"Hey, hey...don't get greedy."

"You took a bite of the red velvet and I know you don't like it!" she protested stubbornly.

"And I know you don't like vanilla!" he said, laughing at how adorably she was behaving.

"Jack!" she whined.

"Elsa!"

She held her hands together, cupping them to her lips as she blew out puffs of hot air into them. Jack was not kidding when he mentioned that the wind chill tonight was going to drop down to almost near freezing. However, despite the freezing weather, Elsa noticed that there were many people gathered around the Christmas tree that was set up in the middle of the plaza - all awaiting the moment that the entire tree would be lit up at midnight.

Elsa checked her phone and saw that there was only a couple of minutes left before the tree lighting.

She looked all around for Jack as she stood there in the bustling crowd of spectators. He said that he would be right back, saying that he was going to go throw something away. It had been five minutes ago since he left and Elsa was starting to wonder if he got lost coming back or if there were was no trash can nearby where he could have thrown away whatever it was that he needed to throw away.

As she stood there, she suddenly felt a group of young men brush past her. She stumbled a little and they quickly apologized before going about their way, but Elsa stood there, frozen to the spot at the sudden touch. She shivered, holding herself as she leaned against one of the brick walls of the stores that lined the plaza. Being with Jack, she had thought that she was over what happened last night with Edwin and his friends, but being brushed up against other men, she felt the same repulsion and terror all over again.

It confused her. It was not like those men that just passed by where aiming to harm her. It was on accident, but just the feeling of their bodies brushing past, nearly brought her down to her knees in fright.

Being alone at this time did not help either. Elsa tightened her grip around her arms and her lips parted slightly as soft puffs of of her breath could be seen in a white vapor. She could not stand it - the terror that gripped her body so tightly that it suffocated her. The feeling of Edwin's hands all over her, his lips and his tongue violating her mouth...

"Elsa?"

She was quickly brought back to reality at the familiar sound of Jack's voice. Elsa gasped, staring at him as he stared back at her with worry.

"Are you okay? Did something happened?" he asked, gently taking her hand.

There was no reaction. Instead, Elsa welcomed his touch as it brought her comfort. Her bottom lip quivered a little as she shook her head quickly. "N-No...I'm just...a little anxious."

Jack squeezed her hand tightly and looked at her face. The side of her face where Edwin had hit her was still slightly redder than the other cheek. There was also some scabs from the abrasion that was left. Jack looked at her with a certain pain in his eyes as he brought her in for a gentle hug. He closed his eyes as he whispered, "it's okay. I know you're still scared. I don't expect you to get over what happened last night so easily."

Elsa lowered her eyes as she clutched at his back. "I thought I would be okay...since - he didn't really go all the way." She began to shiver against him as she pulled away slightly. "When a couple of guys bumped into me earlier...I began to remember what Edwin did to me. And then how I thought that I deserved all of it. That I was being punished. I hated it. I hated what they did to me and what I was doing to myself. I felt so powerless and weak - " A soft cry escaped her as she quickly forced it down, not wishing to cry in front of Jack again. She quickly lowered her head, trying to hide herself from Jack's view.

That was when she spotted something white in her peripheral vision. She raised her head in curiosity and saw a single, beautiful white flower that was wrapped in a clear cellophane sheet that had dozens of small snowflake designs imprinted on it. It was all wrapped up in a teal colored ribbon as Jack held it out to her.

"What...is this?" she asked as she stared at it with wonder.

"A camellia," Jack stated, "It can withstand the cold, but...it needs a lot of warmth to help it bloom." He smiled as he handed it off to her. "I saw some in the flower shop that we passed by and it reminded me of you - strong and resilient, no matter what happens. It will do its best to live on...and so will you."

Elsa lowered her head, feeling tears pool up in her eyes as she sullenly shook her head. "N-No...I'm not -"

"You are." Jack clasped his hands around hers, his voice unwavering. "You're already doing your best to move on and I know you can. You can't expect yourself to get better in a day."

She trembled. "I can't stop thinking about it Jack. He - he did things to me and I wish I fought back harder. Maybe then he wouldn't have gotten the chance to leave all those marks on my body or kiss me!" Elsa's shoulders shook as she tried to contain her tears. Even then, the memories of last night played through her mind. "It felt so disgusting when he kissed me," she choked, tightly grasping the camellia in her hands. "I wanted to throw up because I couldn't believe that my first kiss was like that! I didn't want a first kiss like that at al - !"

It all happened so quick that Elsa could not even register that it happened until he pulled away. Her lips trembled as she stared at him, directly into his deep blue eyes. He was just a few inches away from her, a look of peace and calm in his eyes - a certain protectiveness. He leaned his arm against the wall beside her head as he cupped her chin. Jack quietly studied her face as he leaned in closer.

"It doesn't count, Elsa. What he did to you wasn't kissing. Not if he didn't love you."

She felt her heart nearly bursting as it rapidly beat inside of her chest. "Th - Then...?"

"I know I said I'd wait for your answer, but - right now, please let me help you." He pecked her lips softly, pulled away, then turned his head slightly to the other side and gave her a deeper kiss, holding his lips onto hers for a longer period of time. He pulled away to see Elsa's lovely blushing face as she looked at him again with a certain longing - silently asking for another kiss.

He answered her pleas, moving his hand to cup her injured cheek as he leaned in again.

"I'll erase the memories he gave you, Elsa. I won't let him continue to hurt you," Jack breathed out softly. He closed his eyes and kissed her once more, delicately as if she was made out of glass.

Elsa dropped the flower he had given her and she shyly placed her hands on his chest. She could vaguely hear the cheers of the crowd as the tree lighting started. The dazzling light display sparkled and shimmered brilliantly, lighting up the plaza, but Jack and Elsa ignored it as they were too caught up with themselves to notice the sight.

Jack wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in close as he pulled away. He briefly saw her bright red face, her lips parted slightly - gasping for air in soft breaths, before he kissed her again.

She closed her eyes as she relaxed her body. A pleasurable feeling surrounded her entire being as she lost herself to him. All thoughts of Edwin and her trauma were chased away in that moment, replaced only by the sensation of Jack's lips on top of hers and the feeling of his body molded perfectly against hers.

The camellia Jack gave her lay forgotten on the ground beside their feet, its white petals almost catching all the different colored lights from the Christmas tree display - its white canvas being colored gently.