Chapter 11: Voyage
Jack had always loved the sea. Not the Mediterranean, where the water was disgustingly warm and the beaches were crowded with annoying, stupid tourists. No, he loved the north sea, where the ice-cold water was storm-battered and the shore was empty as far as the eye could see - except maybe a lonely lighthouse every now and then. There, he felt at one with nature. There, he felt at peace with himself.
And so, the first logical place to take Rapunzel was the North sea.
Though, there obviously was still a long, long way to go. The problems started with packing cases. Rapunzel refused to let any of her beloved pink clothes in the tower. Jack argued that he´d never be able to carry all those with him while flying. Rapunzel stated that they´d have to walk, then. Jack face palmed and said that it would a) take forever and b) be impossible to WALK around the world because there were oceans and the outside world was a huge place. After a bit of discussion, Jack was able to persuade her to limit her luggage. However, she still insisted that they would take at least three ridiculously large and ridiculously heavy bags with them. Jack took nothing with him except the clothes he wore - by then, his hoodie and trousers had been washed, so he was able to wear what he´d become used to over the past decades.
When they were finally ready to go, Jack was entangled in a plethora of straps and clasps. Rapunzel had tied them all around him in order to make him carry her bags safely. She, on the other hand, simply jumped on his back and put her arms around his neck. Jack suspected she had only bound the bags to his body because she thought that he would throw them away as soon as they were in mid-air - and not because she thought he might accidently drop them. Well, it seemed like she was good at guessing his thoughts. Because if it hadn´t been for those stupid straps, those bags would´ve been gone in no time. Girls, he thought to himself.
And then they took off from the window. Rapunzel had known that Jack was able to fly with the help of his staff, but she had never imagined it to be this AWESOME. And so fast! She shouted out in joy. Jack turned his head around and smiled at her. She smiled back. The wind flailed her hair around chaotically as the landscape rushed past them. First there were trees, then bare mountaintops, then houses, then more trees. A part of her wanted to stop every few seconds in order to investigate something, but she knew they´d never get anywhere that way. So much to see! The outside world was, indeed, huge, and she suddenly was very glad to have somebody who knew his way around it with her. She would probably get lost immediately.
When dawn arrived, Jack flew towards a shallow valley and landed in a clearing in the woods. Rapunzel began to unpack - Jack wasn´t sure what for as they would only stay for a night - and Jack surveyed the surroundings for possible dangers. But he found nothing but trees and a little lake with a waterfall where a limpid and clear stream splashed down from a rock. When he had finished his round, Rapunzel had constructed a tent. 'Where the hell did you get that thing from?' - 'It´s called foresightful packing', Rapunzel said with a smug grin on her face. Jack had to resist the urge to facepalm. She had brought a whole TENT? No wonder the bags had been so heavy!
Later, he had to admit he was thankful for the shelter though. Yes, he was used to sleeping in trees, but it was way nicer to sleep in a tent with Rapunzel. It felt... snug. Secure. Not alone. And so he laid down beside her, still fully dressed. He always slept with his clothes on. If he had to face nightmares, he at least wanted to fight them in his favorite clothes. He knew it was kind of childish, but he just felt better that way. Rapunzel was still only in a light slumber, so she moved in her sleep. He kissed her forehead lightly and whispered 'Good night.' He paused for a second as he struggled with himself. Then he rolled away from her and faced the tent wall. No need to take unnecessary risks.
Rapunzel woke up and noticed she had been huddling a few covers together and hugging them in her sleep. Embarrassed, she shoved them away. She didn´t want to let Jack see her like that. But when she looked beside herself, Jack wasn´t there. Rapunzel frowned. Where could he be? Still half-asleep, she stuck her head out of the tent and looked around. The sun hadn´t yet crept over the edge of the valley. It was still very early. What was he doing outside in the middle of the night? Quickly, she got dressed and left the tent. While she was wandering about, she heard a faint, irregular sound. She decided to search for its source.
After a while, the sound began to grow louder and louder. Then she arrived at a lake. It was still quite dark, but she managed to make out a tiny, pale figure in the distance. A river was plashing down from a small cliff where the figure was standing. However, the spot was nearly on the opposite side of the lake, so it was hard to make out details. Quietly, she moved back into the woods in order to walk around the lake while staying out of sight. When she was only a few meters away from where she guessed the waterfall would be, she emerged from the woods once again. She noticed Jacks hoodie and trousers lying on the shore messily. Could that figure be... Jack? Now she could also make out his white hair. He was facing the other direction, so she could only see his back. He stood motionlessly with his head lifted towards the sky and water pouring over his face. Rapunzel was torn between her curiosity and her sense of morale. The latter told her to go back to the tent and pretend this never happened, while her curiosity told her to keep watching and maybe find out what he was doing. After a while, these two entities found a compromise: she decided to look a little longer and then go back to the tent.
Jack's skin was as pale as his face. The water made it glisten in the moonlight. He almost looked like he had become one with the water and the rocks around him, standing there motionlessly. It was a beautiful, breathtaking sight. The sound of the plashing water added a peaceful, natural feeling to the scenery.
While one part of her took in the scenery, another part of Rapunzel examined Jack´s body. It was the first time Rapunzel saw Jack - or any man, for that matter - naked. Though he wasn´t particularly muscular, she could see two vaguely triangular, flat bones standing out from below the back of his shoulders. His legs were covered in thin, white hair which was now lying against his skin tightly because of its wetness. As she looked more closely, she spotted the same hair on his arms. A few hairs also emerged from his armpits and the space between his legs below his thigh. But besides the hair and those bones, she didn´t notice any differences between his and her body. Maybe they weren´t that different after all...?
Lost in thought, she crept away silently and walked back to the tent.
When she next woke up, the sun had made its way over the top of the valley and a few birds were chirping, greeting the spring. But that wasn´t what had woken her up. Instead, she had heard a cheerful song. Actually, she could still hear it. And it was coming closer.
When I'm happy, when I'm blue
When I'm lonely, when I'm with you
When I'm angry, when I'm in love
When there's nothing, when there's enough:
This is my song - always in my head
It makes me strong - I'm glad to have
my song
Aha ha-ah ha-ah
My personal song
A ha ha~ ha~
Jack - who else could that deep voice have been, anyways? - emerged from the woods, singing at the top of his voice and doing something that was apparently meant to be some kind of debonair dancing. When he spotted Rapunzel´s head sticking out of the tent, he paused and laughed. 'Barely awake and already eavesdropping, eh?' Rapunzel blushed. 'Come on, hurry up and get ready. I´d like to cover some distance today. The weather is good. Maybe we can reach the ocean.'
After a few more hours of flying, the landscape changed. It grew flatter and flatter until there was water on the horizon. As they flew nearer, more and more water came into sight. It seemed to never end. 'How are we going to get across this?', Rapunzel asked. 'That´s a good question', Jack shouted to make himself heard over the wind. 'I can´t fly far enough to cross it in one day. Usually I just take the route over the north pole, but it´s very cold there. I really like it at the north pole, but I imagine you might not be too fond of it.' After a moment of silence, Rapunzel inquired: 'Well, how do other people get over it?' - 'I´m not sure. I never really cared that much. But I think they use boats.' Silence. Then, Rapunzel asked: 'What´s a boat, exactly?' Jack thought he had misheard. 'What is what?' - 'A boat. You just said that word. I don´t know what it is.' Jack descended quickly and swiftly; then he landed on a tree. 'That´s much better - finally a bit of silence.' Rapunzel looked around. They were in a valley once again, this one more rocky than the last one. Only a few pine trees stood out from the ground. Jack freed himself from the straps and the bags he was carrying and continued: 'I like the wind, but sometimes you just need a bit of quiet and peace, you know?' Rapunzel nodded absentmindedly. 'So. You said you didn´t know what a boat is. ' Rapunzel visibly directed her attention towards him. 'A boat is... a bit like a large version of a nutshell. It´s made by humans. They usually use wood or metal for the shell. And as long as the correct side is facing upwards, it can float above the water´s surface.'
Rapunzel seemed to understand. After a moment, she asked: 'So... Can´t we build something like that?' Jack considered the idea for a while. 'No, I don´t think so. It takes a lot of scientific knowledge to really make sure it keeps floating correctly in a storm and won´t be turned over by waves. And while I know a lot of things, how to build a boat isn´t one of them.'
Rapunzel looked at Jack uneasily for a while. She didn´t know what to say. Was this the punishment for just running away without planning things out properly? Cautiously, Rapunzel began: 'Well, I guess we could also just stay - ' - 'NO!', Jack interrupted. 'I´m not letting a stupid ocean stop me!' He forcefully slammed his fist at his cheek, spreading his thumb towards his cheek. 'There has to be a way. Let me think!' He turned away and slammed his palm against his forehead multiple times. 'Think, think, think, THINK!' Rapunzel left him alone for a while. As he still hadn´t moved after a minute, she asked: 'Sorry... But could you get us down from this tree? I can build the tent while you continue thinking.' After a few seconds, Jack faced her with an apologetic smile. 'You´re right. Sorry for snapping at you.' Rapunzel didn´t respond.
The evening was silent. Rapunzel constructed the tent and Jack sat on a rock with a scowl on his face and resting his forehead on three fingers of his right hand. He didn´t notice Rapunzel approaching him from behind when she was finished. When she tried to talk to him, he just waved his arm and gestured that he wanted to be left him alone.
Then, suddenly, after the sun had vanished behind the horizon, his forehead slipped from his fingers. He buried his face in both hands and bent down towards his knees.
But he made no sound.
No sob escaped his lungs, and the grass swallowed the sound of his tears splashing on the ground. He couldn´t stop it - there was simply too much. He had tried to earn love and admiration, tried to do something right for once, and now he failed because of something so stupid and trivial. It was humiliating.
Rapunzel found him like that. A broken boy, reduced to an endless stream of tears caused by eternal loneliness and cold. Sympathetically, she knelt down before him. Then she laid her arms around his neck, pushed him into an upright position and pressed her body against his. He gave in to the embrace and leaned towards her. She patted his back.
They didn´t need words. It was enough that she was there for him in that moment. That she still hugged him despite him being such a failure.
Later, when they had laid down in the tent, the shell inside Jack broke open. All his pain and fear burst out in a violent wave of emotion. He couldn´t stop crying and sobbing and screaming. But it was okay. He was able to endure it. Because now, Rapunzel was with him. She took all the pain and the fear and simply disintegrated it with her presence. With her, he felt safe. He felt that he had found somebody he could trust completely, and so he wasn´t afraid when he opened himself and lay his insides before her. He knew she would never hurt him.
Then it was over. Everything was said, and all the tears had dried. They lay with their bodies clenched together in silence. Bit by bit, the magic of the moment dissipated. Slowly, Jack moved away from Rapunzel. In lack of something else to say, he mumbled: 'I should probably wash my face.' Rapunzel just nodded.
Jack went out into the woods, searching for a lake to wash himself in. He was silently conversating with himself. Was this what he wanted? Did he really want to take the responsibility of having somebody to take care of? He found a lake, knelt down on the shore and splashed cold water in his face. He looked around and took in the scenery. The dark, blue, starry night sky. The reflections in the lake. The moon shining above him, offering as little help as it always did. After what seemed like an eternity, he made a decision.
When he came back inside, Jack laid down on the opposite end of the tent.
No risks.
'Why do you always do that?', Rapunzel asked in a low voice. After a moment of silence, Jack responded: 'I´m always cold. And I don´t want you to be cold as well because of me.' Rapunzel hesitated for a second. Then she crawled over to him. He didn´t move at all, just kept facing the tent wall. She reached over and tried to touch his cheek, but he pulled away and coiled his body even further. Rapunzel followed his face with her hand. Then she softly stroked his cheek. He was breathtakingly cold. 'Look me in the eye', she commanded softly. Jack rolled over. Cautiously, but determined at the same time, Rapunzel put her hand upon his cheek. She took several deep breaths and exhaled audibly, closing and opening her eyes in the process. Then she said: 'Jack, I didn´t think I would ever be the one to earnestly say this, but this time, you are the one that has to stop worrying. When I´m with you, I´m never cold. You warm up my world. I´d do anything for you. Because even though we´ve only just met, and I hardly know you, I can no longer deny it: I am in love with you, Jack Frost. I really am. I want you to stay with me forever, and there´s nothing I wish for more than you feeling the same way.' Jack had tears in his eyes. With a faint, breaking voice, he whispered: 'I do. I feel the same way. Please stay with me. You´re the best person I´ve ever met.' Then he extended his arms and laid them around her neck. He pulled her close and rested his head on her shoulder. They lay like that for a long time, their bodies pressed together and their heads beside each other.
In that night, heat and cold became one.
[To be continued in Chapter 12: 'Endings'. Lyrics taken from The BossHoss - 'My Personal song'. I´m looking forward to hearing predictions as to how this will end!]