Chapter 11: Jealousy is an ugly color.
"Are you sure it was her?" asked Rapunzel again.
"Yes, Ah'm telling you it was her" Merida insisted.
They were at the library, Jack and Rapunzel staring at Merida doubtfully. She hadn't dreamt in about a year, to suddenly have dreams about her deceased mother sounded rather odd.
"Ye have to believe me" Merida pleaded as she saw the look on her friend's faces.
Rapunzel looked into Merida's eyes, she saw the panic, the desperate need, the fear... but mostly, she saw that her friend did indeed tell the truth.
"I believe you" she said as she took hold of Merida's hands.
Relief flushed through Merida's face and she slumped back against Hiccup slightly. He grabbed her and held her steady, noticing how she struggled to stand.
"Maybe we should sit down and talk" he said, already leading Merida towards the couch by the fireplace.
...
A few hours later...
Rapunzel sat on the bench of her vanity and stared out the window, brushed her hair absent-mindedly.
She saw her door open slowly through the mirror and she saw Jack walk in. She set her brush down and rose from her seat on the bench, turning to face him with a questioning look.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I uh, I came here to talk" Jack said awkwardly.
Rapunzel stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to say more.
"Talk about...?"
"I don't know, anything, like the good old days. You remember those right, Punz?" Jack said as he walked closer.
"Of course I do" Rapunzel said as she sat back down on the bench, staring at Jack as he took a seat next to her.
"Good, soo... how's Grandmother Willow".
Rapunzel laughed and shook her head. "That's the best thing you could come up with?" she asked as she looked at him.
"Hey, I'm trying here, you need to work with me" Jack teased, looking at her in a loving way.
Rapunzel smiled and spoke, "She's fine, nothing much has changed".
"Does she still chase Meeko around with the broom?".
"Everyday of every week. Always before lunch".
Jack laughed, "Poor guy, how's Aurora? and Serena?"
"Well, Aurora is good, she and Phillip had a daughter actually, they named her Rose. Serena's engaged and is going to marry Darien"
"Oh my god? he finally popped the question? Good grief, I thought he never would. When's the wedding?" Jack asked, actually surprised his old friend had finally done it.
"Well, when the winter solstice hits earth".
"Ahhh, seeing how they're springers I would've thought they would've chosen something around spring."
"Now that's just stereotyping" Rapunzel said in a joking way.
The conversation carried on. They talked for hours, about anything and everything.
Rapunzel moved herself to sit on the bed and Jack joined her. They were themselves again. Without warning, they slowly fell asleep next to each other, unaware of who watched them from the key hole on the door.
...
'Jealousy is not a pretty color, Deary'. The phrase repeated itself inside Elsa's head as she watched Rapunzel lean against Jack, slowly falling asleep. She felt her veins boil with hatred.
Her anger grew more as she watched Jack lay her head down on the pillow gently, laying down next to her and watching her sleep. She hated how he looked at Rapunzel, with such love he had never shown her.
She backed away quietly. She felt herself bump into something and yelped. She turned around to face Astrid, the wife of the King of Autumn.
"S-sorry" Elsa said and began backing away from Astrid.
"It's fine, hey are you okay? You have something green on your face."
"W-what?".
Elsa didn't wait for Astrid to say more. She dashed down the hall towards her room. Slamming the door and locking it, she made her way towards her vanity.
She did indeed have something green on her face, it covered half of her cheek and made its way towards her neck.
'Jealousy is not a pretty color, Deary'. The voice said it again, laughing wickedly, almost as if it could see her too.
She growled and let her emotions take control. She swung her arm back and then swung it across the vanity's surface, pushing everything from it to the ground. Perfume bottles broke, powder spilled, bobby pins and combs scattered everywhere.
The green hue now covered half of her face. She noticed the room grow unbelievably cold, ice started covering the walls and floor.
Elsa panicked, she needed to get out. She couldn't let Jack, or anybody else, see her like that.
She looked towards the window, not thinking she dashed towards it.
Launching herself into it, the glass broke and she began falling down, then, with a flick of her hand, ice appeared and formed a sort of slide, carrying her safely to the snowy ground, allowing her to run into the Winter Wood's dark corners.