Chapter 11: Late Planning (Jack's POV)

I don't know how long I just stared into North's eyes, trying to process what he just said. What did he mean Elsa won't wake up? How could he not know what happened? Then, as if everything was put on fast forward, I jerked my arm out of his grip before he cold stop me and ran to the bedroom. Tooth and Sandy looked up at me as I stopped short my eyes looking at Elsa's too still sleeping form in the bed.

"I changed her clothes and took her hair down," Tooth said softly. "I thought she'd be more comfortable..."

Her words brought me out of my shock and I jumped onto the bed next to her "Elsa!" My hands gripped her arms tightly, shaking her, hoping beyond hope that her eyes would open. They didn't and North took hold of my torso, pulling me back as my attempts to wake her up became more aggressive with every failure. "No, Elsa! Wake up!" Salt water burned my eys and I didn't care as tears slid down my cheeks. I fell to my knees, clutching her hand in both of mine as if it were my only life line. The only thing holding me to this earth. "Please wake up," I begged quietly, but she only laid there. Limp and unresponsive. If it weren't for the steady movement of her chest which showed that she was breathing, I would have thought she was dead.

My head fell to the mattress, my body shaking with uncontrolled grief as I heard the others leave the room and close the door behind them. I cried until my eyes were so dry that I couldn't possibly produce another tear. Looking up at her face, I gently brushed some hair out of her face but grew alarmed at the sight of her hair.

"North," I called. My throat was rough and thick form my sobs, but he thankfully heard me and entered the room. I didn't even have to point it out. After all, a lock of pure black hair stand out like a sore thumb when the rest of it is pale blonde.

"Jack," he said. I didn't bother to look up at him, my sole attention remaining only on Elsa. "You stay here with her. I will go see if Dica has any information."

A slight nod of my head was all he got in response. It was a good thing he didn't expect me to go because I wasn't leaving Elsa's side for anything less than revenge. I heard North leave and the sleigh take off a minute or so later.

Mindlessly, I waved my staff to create a simple chair next to the bed for me to sit in. I continued to stroke her face with my fingers. Why wouldn't she wake up? What happened? Letting out a deep sigh, I rolled my hands around, shaping he snow between them before freezing it into a solid ice nesting doll. Concentrating, I ran my thumb over its surface lightly and was pleasantly surprised to see that a line had formed, much like the lines Elsa used to detail her ice sculptures. But my success did little to brighten my depressed mood as I kept detailing her nesting doll. I drew her braid over one of her shoulders as it nearly always was, and a snowflake between her hands. Very carefully, I started on the face by giving her the smirk that she had grown so fond of.

So completely wrapped up and involved in my work, I didn't even notice that another presence was in the room until a voice spoke, startling me so much that I jumped and almost dropped the nesting doll. Thankfully, I managed to catch it before it shattered on the floor and glared at Dica over my shoulder who had only said my name.

"That's looking good," she said, nodding at the doll. "Good job." She had changed out of her dancing attire and now work a dark red cold-shoulder, long sleeve sweater with a pair of light blue skinny jeans and nude color perforated flats that had a sort of lace-like pattern to them. Her dark blonde hair was in a neater, but still messy bun.

"Can you wake her up?" I asked, but she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Jack. Vengeance hasn't done anything like this for hundreds of years."

"What happened last time?" Maybe it would work again for Elsa? But Dica, sensing my thoughts was already shaking her head.

"A kiss of true love woke Princess Aurora, but Jack-" she sighed as I had immediately crushed my lips to Elsa's then watched frantically for any sign that she was wakening. When she didn't, I looked at Dica who continued speaking before I could open my mouth. "Last time, Princess Aurora was cursed as a baby to die in eternal sleep when she turned sixteen, but a good fairy was able to change it so that she would wake with true love's kiss. This was not the case with Elsa.

"How are we suppose to wake her up, then?" I asked, my frustrating growing with my panic.

"Don't you see?" Dica said. "We're not. I'm sorry, Jack. I know this isn't what you want to hear and I'm not helping, but it's the truth." A small, forced smile curved up her lips. "Vengeance put a piece of his burning ash in her heart and it's growing, spreading through her system. That's why her hair is turning black."

"Is she going to ... to ... die ... when all of it turns black?" I asked desperately, fearing the answer.

"No, she won't die. She's in deep eternal sleep and the longer she's there, the deeper she goes, the more her hair turns black. But he deeper sleep she's in, the harder it's going to be to wake her up if there is a way. When her hair turns completely black, it'll be virtually impossible to wake her up."

"But, if we're not suppose to wake her up, then - Ugh!"

"Elsa has to wake herself up," Dica explained quietly. "There's nothing we can do from out here - she's trapped in her own mind. Knowing Vengeance, he probably has her living in her nightmares."

I looked at her incredulously. "And we're suppose to just sit here and do nothing while she's having nonstop nightmares?" I didn't mean to shout, but I was too far gone to care enough to apologize. Dica seemed to take no offense at my increased volume.

"She's strong, Jack," she assured me, watching me pace by the bed with hazel eyes. "Don't worry, she'll figure it out."

Groaning, I gripped my hair with the hand that wasn't clenched around Elsa's nesting doll. "I feel so ... helpless," I admitted in anger. "I can never seem to be able to protect her. First Pitch and now this ... I'm always too late."

"That's not true," Dica said. "You got knocked out with Pitch when he made her lose control of her powers. It's hard to do anything when you're unconscious."

"Yeah, okay, but what about this time?" I argued. "I shouldn't have stayed behind. If I had just gone with her, maybe I would've been able to-"

"What?" She interrupted me. "Do what, exactly, Jack? North said she was acting completely fine until she suddenly fainted. How exactly were you going to prevent that?" She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Jack, you need to calm down. Vengeance is drawn to fear, anger, and revenge; anything that would cause a fight. You're too emotional."

"Well, how do you expect me to be?" I snapped. "I love her more than anything and she's ..." I gestured helplessly at Elsa's unresponsive form.

"I understand," Dica said with empathy and patience. "Look, let me and the other Guardians find a way to wake her up and if we run into Vengeance and it turns into a fight, you can have dibs on kicking his ass. In the meantime, stay here with her and think about anything except what's going on right now, alright?" I said nothing and only looked at her as if she had unexpectedly grown three heads. How did she seriously expect me not to think about what's going on? Dica gave me another small smile. "You could think more about that proposal of yours," she suggested. "Or maybe get started on that ring? Now would be a good time to size her finger without her knowing." Throwing a wink over her shoulder at me, she left me alone.

I looked back at Elsa and sat next to her on the bed. The moon shined brightly through the window as my mind wondered. It reminded me of when I first took her to see dreams being made soon after I met her. Whether or not it was out first "date" was debatable considering we weren't technically together at the time. I had still been unsure of my feelings and had been more concerned with getting her out of the castle for at least one night. I managed to do better than a night when I asked her to join me in my trips around the world. Of course, she didn't accept until after she became a Guardian at North's workshop ...

A smile spread across my face as I remembered the look of wonder and awe on her face when she saw the dreams. The happy smile on her lips when she touched a ribbon of dream sand and it turned into a pair of doves that flew in circles around her. How she rested her head on my shoulder and told me that she didn't want to be alone. I had very nearly kissed her that night. I should have kissed her.

My eyes closed and I let my head drop back, thumping against the ice headboard behind me. That's where I should have proposed to her. It would have been perfect No distractions, beautiful scenery, and she would have absolutely loved it. That's what I would do if she woke up. I stopped myself and shook my head. No. When she woke up. I couldn't think like that. She was going to be okay and wake up and we'll figure out how to stop Vengeance and all would be as it should be.

But then more of her pale hair turned black and I felt another wave of helplessness wash over me. She was suffering and all I could do was watch. I took her hand in mine again and pressed it against my lips, hoping that she could somehow sense me. That maybe she would find the comfort I was trying to give her. I hoped, but I don't think she did.

Looking down at the nesting doll, my lips twitched up. It wasn't half bad. Elsa always did have a thing about snowflakes. The Ice Castle was covered in them. Even the chandelier, if you looked directly up from under it, resembled a snowflake. Another flash of inspiration sparked through me and I quickly placed the ice nesting doll on her bedside table next to the Olaf figure that I had made for her.

Taking hold of her left hand - which was conveniently the one closest to me - I formed a simple band that was a blue so light it almost looked like the color of silver around her ring finger. Then, I made a round stone of ice in the center and placed smaller ones around the edges of it so that it looked like a snowflake. It looked beautiful on her finger and I had to resist the urge to leave it there and stare at it. Instead, I slipped it off and put it in my pocket. (link to the ring is in the authors note)

More of her hair turned black and the little bit of joy that I had experienced vanished just like that. At least a third of it was black by now. It was happening so quickly.

"Come on, Elsa," I begged her. "Fight it. Come back to me." Naturally, she didn't answer, but tears leaked from under her eyes and I sat up. Could she hear me? "Elsa? Wake up. You can do it! Please."

But she only continued to cry. Her brow was furrowed in restlessness and her lips pressed tightly together as if to hold back a scream. She stared to toss from side to side. I became alarmed and, before I could do anything, her lips parted, releasing a blood curdling scream. Her back arched off the bed and all I cold do is watch with wide eyes.

What could possibly be going on in her nightmares to make her act in such a way? I had to do something! I couldn't just sit here and watch this! But what could I do? The enemy is in her head. How did I let this happen? And to Elsa, of all people. My bottom lip started to quiver and I pressed my lips together to stop the action.

Elsa's body slumped back down to he bed and her screaming stopped as another thick lock of hair turned black. Unable to bare it, I turned away and pulled my hood over my head, walking to the window. The moon hung in he sky. Always there, always watching, but never speaking. I looked up at it as I heard Elsa whimper from the bed. As if her nightmares were causing her physical pain.

"How do I wake her up?" I asked the moon desperately. If I ever needed him to take to me, to acknowledge my existence, it was right now. "What can I do?" Not surprisingly, the Moon remained silent as it always did. Scoffing, I turned my back to it, feeling angry. Angry at the Moon for not helping me, angry at Vengeance for putting Elsa in this state and angry at me for letting him do it. I took the ring out of my pocked and stared at it for a minute before sighing and closing my hand in a fist around it. Now I had the ring. Now I had ideas. Now I had a place and a time to ask her to marry me. But now, it was too late.

Yeah, I know. Jack is really dull in this chapter and Elsa still hasn't woken up. She won't wake up for a few more chapters. Sorry. But Jack will get a pep talk in a couple of chapters. ;)

For those of you who did not guess where Jack is going to propose, but want to see the ring, the link to see the ring is;
 James and sons blog in-chicago-engagement-ring-shoppers-love-hearts-on-fire/delight/

You're going to have to remove the spaces in the URL because FF is acting weird and won't so the entire link without the spaces. If you copy and paste it into google, it should be the first link you come to (that isn't an ad) and the ring will be the first ring shown. It's shaped like a snowflake.

Let me know if you have trouble viewing the link. Also, I have a couple of dresses in mind for Elsa's wedding dress and I was considering having all of my lovely readers vote on it in a poll. What do you think? Would you vote?

If you have any questions regarding the story, please don't hesitate to ask and I'll answer it as soon as I can without any spoilers.

Thanks for the reviews, favorites and follows!

Zerlinda