Author's Note:
Here's for the Jelsa feels, sorry it took so long to get to it. (And to maggi, there won't be any Rapunzel and Flynn... I just don't want to detract too much from the events of Frozen. Teehee.)
Cheers, thanks for reading!
Jack didn't know how long his lie could last while he posed as Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, but it was enough to get him through the castle doors. Surely, someone else around town would recognize him and wonder how he had managed to get invited to the ball, but for now, Jack simply reveled in the moment. His bronze eyes were greeted with a spacious and majestic Great Hall, before moving down the corridor into the ballroom. He instantly became aware of how utterly alluring the place was, unable to look away from the polished mahogany floorboards; along with the arched ceilings, crimson hangings, and extraordinary portraits, stepping into the ballroom with awe. It was everything that Jack had imagined over the span of his life, but seeing it through his own eyes meant so much more to him; wondering curiously what the rest of the castle looked like. Albeit, he decided instantly that he couldn't go rummaging through the other rooms that the palace provided unless he planned on getting caught. And frankly, Prince Hans himself was probably going to strut in at any time to look for whoever it was that had briefly stolen his identity. However, the challenge only caused a mischievous smile to rest on Jack's lips as he slowly sauntered through the ballroom beside everyone else spilling in. It had been worth it, sneaking into the castle, even if he could be potentially exposed.
Consequently, it didn't take long at all for the ball to begin. Drinks were handed around by servants, along with little dishes of desserts that Jack found himself taking promptly upon overture. They were sugary delicacies that must have been from a different culture, though he didn't know where as he swallowed each of them whole. Before long, much dancing was had between everyone in the room apart from Jack, who tried to keep himself as unnoticed as possible until Elder Muttons showed. Yet it was interesting to him, to watch as couples danced to the peppy songs in their marvelous gowns and suits. It definitely wasn't like the kind of dances that he had been to during summer festivals in Arendelle. Everyone in the room was much more formidable than what he was accustomed to, but he observed from afar regardless, only stepping away from his small hiding place when another song ended and Queen Elsa was being announced overhead. In which case, Jack moved around the table to get a good look at the graceful young woman entering the room, looking just as lovely as she had during her coronation ceremony.
A round of applause was sounded shortly after the appearance of Queen Elsa and Princess Anna was announced, and Jack slunk closer to the set of royal ladies underneath another pillar. He lounged against it, observing peculiarly while the sisters coerced. Although he couldn't make out what they were saying from so far away, he thought the awkwardness of their conversation ceased some the longer that they spoke. Which caused a tiny smile to flutter to his mouth when he watched them laugh together before becoming disrupted by the little bespectacled man wearing red that Jack had nearly knocked into earlier that day. Feeling daring, Jack began to step forward cautiously around a row of dancers to get a closer look until he finally grew approximate enough to overhear snippets of the conversation.
"Thank you, only I don't dance." It was Elsa's voice that Jack made out first. "But my sister does."
It wasn't long thereafter where Anna was taken aside by the short man clad in red, leaving behind a chuckling Elsa while a trail of people came up to show their respects to her. Jack would have continued observing, if it weren't for a man who had bumped into him, nearly knocking him over upon impact.
"So sorry, boy; so sorry."
Jack looked up to find a young man with dark hair wearing a purple fitted suit, looking rather important. Yet from the stench of alcohol on his breath, Jack was more amazed that he was still standing up straight on his feet.
"Here, have a drink, that'll make up for it..." He nudged a glass into Jack's hands as soon as he straightened himself out. "Ah, so sorry, I've forgotten to introduce myself... I'm Prince Ensel, of Prussia." The man could hardly keep his eyes straight on Jack's face, slurring each of his words as a smile hazed onto his lips. "And you are?"
Just what were the chances that Jack would meet the Prince of Prussia after he and Elsa's conversation three days ago, where she had expressed her fear of sending another country after Arendelle due to a grammatical error in another language? While Jack could have easily kept up the persona that he was Prince Hans, he wondered what he could get away with in front of the intoxicated prince, and therefore said the first five things that came out of his mouth unceremoniously.
"Duke Jackson, of the..." He paused a little, looking down at the ice in his glass. "... Frost." When Prince Ensel's eyebrows raised, Jack clarified by naming the first country off of the top of his head that had to do with ice. "Antarctica."
The man raised his eyebrows, clearly confused. But Jack knew that due to his drunk stupor, he wouldn't be able to call out Jack if he thought that he was lying or not.
"They have dukes there?" Ensel asked naively. Jack coughed into his hand to cover up his laugh.
"Oh yes. We're very established in our culture of polar bear carriages, penguin soups, and... Orca sports." Despite that Jack's fabricated lies weren't very intricate or thoughtful (and in all reality, ridiculous), Ensel didn't seem to notice as he squinted at him. Jack took a quick sip out of the glass, cringing slightly at the bitter taste of strong alcohol ripping down his trachea. There was no wonder why the Prince of Prussia was barely able to stand up straight.
"Funny, I've never heard of you."
Jack shot him a beaming smile as he ran a slender hand through his disheveled hair.
"Ah, well, that's because our castle is underground. We let snow leprechauns normally attend formal gatherings such as these." He explained, keeping his gaze on the prince, who looked outright confused and befuddled by the sincere prospect of polar bear carriages, orca sports, and snow leprechauns mentioned all at once. Finally however, Ensel looked up and nodded with a dazed smile.
"... Oh. Right, of course."
"Mmhmm." Jack drawled, catching himself in mid sentence when the queen herself made her figure known right behind the prince. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, despite that a very small smile rested on her lips. She had obviously come to intervene the conversation, as her eyebrows raised deliberately at him, like she might have been mentally telling him to give it up. Clearing his throat, Jack tilted his head a little higher and turned back to Ensel. He nudged the glass back into the prince's hand, who looked like Christmas had come early at the sight of it. "Anyway, nice meeting you, Prince Ensel. But, I must be on my merry way. It would appear that the queen herself owes me a dance."
The prince stumbled some, evidently not having noticed that Queen Elsa was standing right behind him.
"Oh, well... Alright then. Have a good evening, Duke Jackson of the Frost. It was a pleasure." He bade farewell with a half-hearted effort to wave, bounding away towards another table of drinks. Jack nearly exploded with laughter but managed to keep his posture straight to mimic Elsa. The elegant queen kept her gloved hands clasped in front of her, offering Jack a slight look of disapproval as she approached him.
"Jack, what are you doing here?" She asked, glancing him over mildly; as if silently appraising the fact that he was wearing a wardrobe that consulted with the coronation affairs of the day. "And might I interject to say, that you aren't Duke Jackson of the Frost from Antarctica." Ergo, even if Elsa tried to keep her tone stern and professional, a second smile came across her mouth only briefly. Just saying the words "Duke Jackson of the Frost" might have done the trick.
Jack grinned at her. "You were listening that whole time? I'm flattered."
"Only partially, after I saw you standing over here." She admitted, azure eyes meeting his. "How did you get in here?"
"We'll just say, I have my methods." Jack answered comically, nodding firmly towards where Prince Ensel was scrounging for another drink. "In other important matters, that's the Prussian prince. Have you managed to misuse a verb yet? Good news is that he's very drunk, so he probably wouldn't even notice if you weren't fluent in his language, just for a reference in the future."
"What a relief." She rolled her eyes at him. "And look at you, wearing shoes for once. Did they come pre-tied? You almost pass as a gentleman."
Jack snickered, lifting his eyebrows and grinning. "Almost?"
"Almost." She affirmed, before her eyebrows scrunched together disapprovingly when they met his tie. "Except for your necktie; don't tell me that's another thing you don't know how to do?"
"Guilty." Jack exhaled a little, glancing down at the silken fabric that had once been bound into a dignified knot. After the days events, it looked nothing less than shabby. And of course, under Queen Elsa's analytical stare, she would be the one to point it out to him... Huffing slightly, Jack attemped to fiddle with the necktie, but if anything, his fingers only caused the contortion to worsen. Regardless, he pretended to close his eyes and let out a painful gasp of despair. "I guess I'll never be the Duke of Frost now...! What ever will I do with myself?!"
Elsa offered him a prompt look, pursing her lips together as if to pretend that she wasn't amused. In a split second, the queen carefully came in front of them to eliminate their distance.
"Here, let me." She told him softly. Jack watched hesitation flush through her features for more than a few seconds, before her uncertain gloved hands came up to grasp the texture. It was difficult not to watch her with amazement as she worked the knot, keeping her blue eyes centered on the task at hand. Jack almost laughed when her mouth pulled into a slight pout as she made a wrong method, but before long, the disarray of the necktie was solved. And Elsa stood back to admire her work, smirking at him.
"There, now you're nearly there, Duke of Frost." Her words were humored. Jack glanced down at the tie, about to make another remark, but anything that might have been said was lost for the moment.
Evidently, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles had informed the castle staff about his name being impersonated. Jack knew it from the moment that he felt someone grab both of his arms from behind, nearly knocking the breath out of him as he was dragged backwards and brought into custody of a cluster of servants adorned in armor. He barely had time to look over his shoulder before a burly arm had him hooked around the neck, ensuring that he wouldn't escape. Involuntarily however, Jack kicked his legs, unable to move as he was pinned against the burlesque body behind him.
"Here he is! This is the one! We've got him!" One of the men called to the others. Jack struggled for breath before the man released his neck and went in favor of holding his arms behind his back. Gulping for air, he turned his head slightly, attempting to shoot the men a cheekish smile when they all approached at once.
"Evening, ladies. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Jack asked tauntingly. He was awarded by being kneed near his lower spine.
"You know why we're here! You have lied about your identity, assuming the role of Prince Hans of the Southern Isles! You are not allowed to be here otherwise and you know it!"
"What's going on?" It was Elsa who spoke thereafter, despite that Jack had another mocking comment about to leave the tip of his tongue. The young queen suddenly looked much older and wiser as she peered at the men, eyebrows furrowing together in disapproval. A few people who noticed the commotion came closer to stare at the situation. Even dancers stopped to observe, blinking as Elsa straightened out her already poise posture. The men all dropped into a bow at once, apart from the one still holding Jack from behind.
"Your majesty." One of the men greeted her jovially, before breaking into an explanation. "This man deceived us by using the name of another to attend the ball, of which he has no right to be here - "
"I have given him right to be here, Anton. You have been misinformed." Elsa announced, interjecting the servant, who looked like he might have swallowed a bar of soap whole. Her tone was calm as she then straightened out her figure in front of Jack's captor, nodding once at him in recognition. "Let him go, he is my guest. I will apologize to Prince Hans if I must, but I will not allow any of my patrons to be mistreated so long as I am the queen."
Jack felt the arms holding him back slacken. Elsa's words had been direct and informative, admirable on all accounts as she took control. She was clearly a young woman who had been born with royal blood. And Jack didn't know how she could doubt herself as the queen, when she clearly had been raised to become one. None of the servants dared to defy her, even if Jack thought for a moment that they might. Again, Elsa turned towards them, jaw setting into a clench.
"I said let him go." She repeated coolly. And in that instant, no other protest was made; Jack fell back onto his feet again, smiling stiffly at the retreating men. Yet, Elsa's smile was gracious as she bowed her head some; just as regal as ever. "Thank you."
Whether the men had responded or not, Jack wouldn't know as he watched Elsa move away from the center of the ballroom. The music continued as fervently as before, dancing commencing amidst the vast flood of people in the castle. Jack readjusted himself, stretching out his arms as he followed Elsa out of the ballroom, wondering idly where she might be going since it was her own coronation ball; she couldn't simply disappear, even if she wanted to. But she must have known he was following her, because as soon as they entered the empty foyer, she turned around to smack him against the arm.
"Ow! What the devil?! Why are you always hitting me?!" Jack asked, rubbing his arm. Elsa's expression was hard.
"You lied to get into the castle, Jack?" Her voice was a hushed, angry whisper. In which case, Jack could only chuckle and shrug his shoulders.
"Well, in my defense, Elder Muttons is very sure of himself..."
"It isn't funny." Elsa said sharply, looking up at him with a pointed stare. "It isn't funny at all. Do you know what they usually do with people who break into the castle?"
"Hey, I didn't break in. I walked in, thank you very much." He attempted to look amused, but Elsa wasn't having anything of it, as if her sense of humor had become zapped since being named Queen of Arendelle earlier that evening.
"Jack." Her voice was scolding, as if he was a child; blue eyes intensifying on his when their eyes met and her words continued. "You shouldn't have done it. Those men will probably never take me seriously again - "
"Are you kidding me?!" Jack cut her off with a laugh, despite that she looked irritated that he could find something funny from the situation. She turned away from him, pacing away, but Jack was right behind her heel to follow. "Elsa, if anything, everyone in that room will respect you for it! Do you know how awesome you sounded in there?! You were great, no one is going to question your authority, you're without a doubt a queen!"
Her face softened uncertainly, before she turned around to face him. Another considerably small smile managed to find her lips, before their eyes met.
"Really? You think so?" She asked skeptically, voice barely more than a murmur.
"Of course I think so, I wouldn't have said it if I thought otherwise." Jack explained breathlessly. He sighed a little, unable to believe that a queen as beautiful as Elsa - of all people - could be so insecure about herself, by constantly making second doubts about her options. Somehow it added to the mystery of the kingdom, but Jack wished that he could know where her dubious nature had stemmed from. But he knew that he couldn't ask more than it was worth; especially then and there. And inasmuch, he impended his face a little closer to hers and smiled crookedly. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Sorry I snuck in, I just really wanted to see you again."
Elsa's fair, ivory skin might have flushed just the faintest of pink before it quickly disappeared. She straightened out her shoulders, clutched her hands togther, and looked up at him firmly.
"Why? So you could show me how well you can tie your shoes?" Again, her tone was sarcastic. Jack made the effort to mockingly roll his eyes at her, before placing his hands on his waist and shooting her a boyish smirk.
"Nope." He murmured gently. "Because I really wanted to ask you to dance with me."
SORRY TO CUT IT OFF HERE... ;) There will be more shortly, just give me a few days.
#idon'twanttokilljack