Everyone seems to be confused about Jack's age, or more specifically, what age he should look like; that is why I urge you to read Chapter 7 again and perhaps all things will become clear.
Oh and I'd like to thank Aliya-a (Aliya) for her long reviews (I love those^^) and for making an account. For those who review anonymously, I urge you guys to make accounts too so I could thank you properly. (I still appreciate your reviews either way, so yeah, whatever.)
Ice breaks all the time, you just need to know where to hit hammer. – North
EARLIER
The two princesses ran excitedly down the stairs, abuzz with the prospects of fun they were going to have.
Though Elsa was against it in the beginning, once Anna had convinced her to accompany her in her merry little escapade, all pretences she had to the contrary fled from her thoughts; she tried not to show it too much, though, with the grin that split her face.
"Come on. Come on. C-come on!" Anna urged on, her excitement bursting at the seams as she lead her sister by the hand towards the receiving room, the only room big enough for what they planned on doing.
Though excited as she was, however, the older girl still had her wits about her and knew well enough that they weren't supposed to be out here at this late an hour. She tried to quiet her sister down with well meaning "Shh-es" but she herself was too happy to not let a giggle or two slip by, which actually made her gesture all the less effective.
"Anna, shh! You'll wake up the whole castle!" Elsa chortled.
"No, I won't. The Guards are all outside and the rooms where the servants sleep in are too far from here."
'Typical Anna.' Elsa rolls her eyes.
Oh sure, if there was one thing Anna would ever bother memorizing, it was when everybody's bedtimes were; never mind her princess lessons as long as she knew when the most opportune moments were for their nightly adventures.
"Oh yeah? Well what about Mama and Papa? You think about them, hmm smarty?" Elsa put in smugly.
Their frantic sprint abruptly grinds to a halt, making Elsa bump into Anna's back. The smaller girl was unperturbed by the little shove, however, as she takes on a faraway look, actually thinking about what she had said. Then shrugging her shoulders she dismisses it. "Okay then, I guess we just have to be as quiet as possible. NOW COME ON!" With that, she goes back to running and dragging her poor sister through the halls with both hands.
'Well so much for "quiet as possible".' Elsa shakes her head in amusement.
The two girls finally reach their destination, and working together they push open the heavy double doors. Anna didn't even wait until the entrance was fully open as she squeezed herself through in between the mahogany. This left her older sister to close the entrance in after her whilst she ran around coo-coo-crazy there in the background.
"Do the magic! Do the magic!" She kept on chanting.
Elsa joins her in the room, and grinning, goes to do what she does best. "Are you ready?" As if she needed to ask.
Anna nods her head "Uh-huh. Uh-huh.", all the while a crazed smile of anticipation spread across her face.
Like sharing a secret, Elsa motions for her sister to come closer then begins to twirl her hands round and round gathering the familiar chill in them.
A sphere that shone gentle light appeared between the space of Elsa's Hands almost like she was holding a baby star and Anna could not help the admiring "Oh!" that escapes her mouth as she marveled at what she was lucky enough to have the chance to see. Watching her sister do the astonishing things she does, Anna honestly believed that she'd never get tired of it; her sister was pretty awesome, what could she say.
The power fills her like a glass of cold water, and as she felt it reach its peak, Elsa then threw her hands upwards releasing a thin stream of blue magic into the air. It burst as it reached the ceiling, and soon thousands upon thousands of beautiful glimmering snowflakes drifted down towards the floor.
An elated shout fills the room as Anna could not contain herself any more so than she did earlier, and expresses her excitement in a shout. "This is AMAZING!"
But Elsa didn't wig out just yet and join her sister in her spaz-fest. She took her time to appreciate moments like this. No matter how many times she'd done it, she'd always pause to remember what John had taught her.
It's a masterpiece. It's beauty and humility all wrapped up in one pretty little package.
And like all masterpieces, they deserved the time to be admired and that was what she was doing.
What Elsa didn't know, however, was that, as she stood there just gazing up at the white specks that drifted overhead, a content smile began to replace the manic one she sported earlier; almost peaceful like, the calmness enveloped her like the tender northern breeze.
Thinking of John always made her this way. She didn't know how or why but Elsa felt so much at ease wherever John was involved. A supple blanket of familiarity seemed to surround them like she'd known him all her life – no wait; yeah she had known him all her life but…more than that. They had this-this… thing that connected them; she, UGH! She just couldn't explain it…
…but she sure darn felt it though.
"Elsa, wat'cha thinkin' 'bout?"
Her sister's voice snaps her out of her little reverie and not recovering quick enough she stutters out a "Huh? Oh-uh, no. I was just… uhm. So what do you want to do first?" She not-so-skillfully deflected the question. But it works.
"More snowflakes!" Anna weighed in enthusiastically allowing Elsa to release the breath she was holding.
The blonde princess giggles. "You know what, I have a better idea." She then walks a few paces towards the middle of the room, and with all the charisma she'd learned from one John Gibbs, spins around dramatically to face her sister. "Watch this." She says and then stomps her foot down. From where she stood, ice started webbing its way across the floor creating a skating rink with ice so clear they could see their reflection.
"Uh-hah hah ha!" Anna laughed precariously as she tried to balance herself on the slippery ice. Elsa observed how happy her sister looked and couldn't help but feel proud of herself.
And so, the stage set, their fun ensued.
For what felt like hours but were actually just minutes, the two princesses played in the winter wonderland they had created. Building snowmen, throwing snowballs, making snow angels; you name it, they made it.
Pleasant exhaustion finally catches up with them after a while of frolicking and they decide to take a breather and just plop themselves down on the soft snow, too hyped up to be bothered by the cold. They just lay there out of breath looking up at the ceiling until Anna broke the silence. "You didn't answer my question earlier, you know. So what were you thinking about?" Anna asked in her cute, innocent, little voice.
Elsa for her part, did not blush right away, knowing that it was but an honest question; it wasn't like the younger girl knew who she was just thinking about –
"You were thinking about Mr. John again weren't you?"
Well now she was blushing.
"W-what? No I wasn't. I –"
"Nu-uh, yes you were. You always smile like that when Mr. John is around, so you must have been thinking about him." She stated plainly, not really making fun of her but more genuinely curious of why her sister got like that from time to time.
Elsa blinked dumbly at her sister. She should really give Anna more credit, often times she forgot that her little sister could be most observant when she wanted to be. "Okay, I… guess I was thinking about John –" she admitted but didn't get to finish.
"Do you like him?"
The question caught her off guard more so than the last one, and Elsa was only able to give an unintelligible "Gu-huh?" as a response to the direction the conversation was taking.
"Do you like Mr. John?"
"I –"
"You don't like him?"
Does she even know how hard her questions were to answer? Yet still she asked them as if they were a simple yes or no.
"Yes or no?" Anna asked.
See?
"Anna, it's not that sim –
"Well, I like him." The little redhead interrupted as she put her hands behind her head, relaxed despite the awkward topic.
Elsa turns her head towards her sister dumbstruck one more time. "Y-you do?" She didn't know how she should feel about that; if she should feel anything at all, that is.
"Mhm, He's always nice to me. Sometimes when we're eating, he sneaks me some chocolate from under the table when no one's looking!"
Oh! The pressure in her chest eases as it is released in the form of a relieved sigh. For a minute there she thought that Anna – well she was mistaken, so no use dwelling on it…
But dwell on what exactly, Elsa had to wonder. Now that she thought about it, what did she think Anna meant and how should she have reacted? She didn't even know what name to put on these things as these emotions were never meant for one so young to feel.
"I like him too Anna, but… more…"
"More?"
Elsa herself didn't know what she meant by "more" and try as she might to explain it the farther the answers seemed to draw away.
Elsa squint her eyes as she really took a moment this time to try and figure it out. But it felt like she was grasping at straws, failing every time; thoughts and emotions she sensed locked within her just below the surface were there but just enough out of reach for her not to touch.
There was a feeling, however, a feeling that has been with her for as long as she could remember… it remained. That very same familiar feeling she had with John, again, was present here as well; telling her… What? What was it telling her? 'Come on, remember!'
…remember.
"REMEMBER!"
No matter what happens, promise me you won't forget.
Please, no, don't do this! I don't want to lose you again!
I'm sorry... I hope we see each other again, but until then, goodbye… Snowflake.
NO!
"Nooo!" Elsa screamed, clutching at her head as images bombarded her mind without call or warning. Visions telescoped in and out, focusing and unfocusing on anything and everything.
"Elsa?!" Anna sat up alarmed.
A woman in a crystal blue dress; a man standing by a creature shrouded in wings of ebony; fire wielding bows and arrows; strands of gold shinning like the sun; and eyes… the deepest blue she'd ever seen.
It all swam just beyond her periphery.
"Anna stay back! I – argh!" Elsa got up on shaky knees and stumbled away from her sister as far and as fast as her throbbing head would allow.
Two graceful figures dancing in the moonlight; a ring that glowed; tears, sobs, laughter.
"Elsa what's wrong?!"
Too much, too fast, the visions came in a kaleidoscope of broken pictures, overwhelming the unsuspecting princess to the point that she no longer was aware of her surroundings. 'Please make it stop!' It wasn't just images either, emotions she'd never felt before coursed through her as well as if, for the span of her clairvoyance, she was able to live through a life that was not her own. It was all too much for the young girl.
The wind started to pick up as Elsa unwittingly drew her magic around her.
Very scared now, Anna stands up and runs towards Elsa for comfort.
Voices, so many voices! Some she recognized and others she did not. Words, whispered, mumbled, screamed and cried out at her and she did not know whom to listen to. But then a voice, all encompassing, spoke.
The end has been left undecided, unwritten.
Hope now is in your hands.
"Elsa!"
"JACK, NO!"
Like a breath, the wind and the frost that raged compacted around Elsa and as one powerful gust of magic that breath was then expulsed outwards towards her surroundings. All things calmed after her outburst; the winds no longer howled, the visions faded and the voices were but a faint echo now. Elsa felt it safe to open her eyes and she did so, owlishly.
"Anna?" She asked tentatively, one hand massaging her temple. Her sight was still a bit blurry after what had happened, and she couldn't really see where her sister had fled off to. "Anna?" She asked again after not receiving a response. "Anna, are you okay?"
As she searched for her sister, her vision began to clear somewhat and finally looking down, she was shocked as she saw Anna lying prone on the floor.
"Anna!" Elsa raced towards her sibling, slipping a couple of times in her haste. She placed Anna on her lap and cradled her head in her arms. As she did this she saw a sliver of red hair turn white and in that instant she knew what she had done; in her flustered haze she must have hit her sister with magic. 'Oh no. Oh no, oh no…' Her thoughts kept repeating like a mantra. "Anna, I'm so sorry." She looked helplessly around not knowing what to do but still hoping to find anything that could help. Coming up with nothing, she then did the only thing she could have done. "Mama, Papa! JOHN!"
PRESENT TIME
And here they were again, the same destination in mind as they did seven years ago. Unlike last time, though, they didn't have Jack Frost to fall back on. Now they were only left to hope that Pabbie be able to do something; anything to save Arendelle's princess Anna.
The loyal steeds, Threil and Boron , once more, race through the path towards the Quarry of Songs, and on their backs, his majesty, Henry and master Jack clutch at their reigns with white-knuckled grips. Both men had different thoughts currently running through their minds, but as plain as it was on their faces, it was obvious the one defining denominator of the moment was fear.
And it was fear that governed their thoughts.
They reach the walls of the quarry and as it was, the entrance was shut off once again; Jack and Henry knew better though than to just quit.
Stepping off of his horse, Henry passes the little girl he clutched close to his chest onto the awaiting arms of Jack who soon joined him on the ground. He approaches the high walls of the quarry, and in a whisper, spoke the words instructed to him years ago. "I, Henry Callahan, do bow to the sovereign." He then retreats away from the rocky outcrop, remembering well what happens next.
A reminiscent boom sounds somewhere atop the high walls and soon enough the ground started to shudder and quake. Spider web cracks began to claw their way across the massive structure while loose rocks and pebbles danced to a beat all their own.
The ground stopped shaking minutes after and the epic fissures had yawned to reveal a dark path that lead into the Quarry of Songs.
They had no time to waste and any reservations they both had about the darkness were put to the backs of their minds. They boldly went into the eerie corridor, and after a while of walking blind in the blackness, they emerge on the other side.
Henry takes his daughter back into his arms and runs towards the middle of the place. "Pabbie! Pabbie, help please! My daughter –"
No sooner after his desperate plea did the rocks all around them roll in their direction. These boulders knew who they were and had no reason to hide from them like they did last time. As the boulders surrounded the two men, they began to reveal themselves one by one as the rock trolls of North Mountain.
"It's the king!" One of them declared.
"A-and the princess!" said another.
"Someone get Pabbie!"
His children always thought that their Grand Pabbie napped most of the time when in truth he hardly ever slept anymore. In his old age there were hardly any more surprises in the world left there to surprise him and was why he spent most of his time in his cave, meditating on the knowledge he had gathered over the thousand something years. As he would always say: "Let the young ones chase after their dreams and let the old rest their weary bones, dreaming dreams."
In times of silence, Pabbie sat in his cave thinking of countless things, but his thoughts recently have gravitated on one subject in particular. You see, he had succeeded in finding out how Jack could reabsorb his powers back from the ring, but the thing is, what he figured out did not sit well with the shaman.
But still, if Gaia wanted her winter spirit back then Pabbie had no choice but to tell Jack.
Just then he heard footsteps approach him, accompanied by the voice of his wife. "Pabbie, we have comp'nee."
"Hmm? And who might that be?"
As he exited his cave, Pabbie saw immediately the crowd that had gathered around the King and Jack. The other trolls take notice of his presence and immediately part to make way for their leader. Pabbie rolls quickly to the center of all the commotion and no sooner did he reach his destination was he then assailed with a face full of Henry.
"My daughter, Pabbie; please help her!"
"Elsa?"
"No…" Henry then stoops low as to show the little girl in his arms to the shorter person. "…Anna".
Even in unconsciousness, a small frown could be seen on Anna's face as if she were in pain.
'Poor thing.' Pabbie could only sympathize, his fatherly instincts acting up. "What happened to her?" the old troll asks worriedly.
"She was hurt… by magic."
The near imperceptible gesture was enough to escape his other troll brothers, but though it but a flicker, it was not enough to escape Pabbie. He saw for a fraction of a second, Henry's eyes cut angrily towards Jack after what he'd said before concealing it again. But why was he angry at Jack? It looked like the ex-winter spirit was human still; so it clearly couldn't have been him who did this to Anna. With nothing left to suspect, Pabbie could only assume that it was Elsa who did this.
"Pabbie," It was Jack who spoke this time.
'No matter; I have a job to do.' Pabbie dismissed his suspicions, for now at least, and went to address the problem. Looking closer, he saw the little sliver of white hair on the crown of her head and knew immediately where Elsa's magic must have hit her. "You're lucky it wasn't her heart; the heart is not so easily changed. But the head can be persuaded."
"Do what you must." Those words again; oh how Henry hated those words.
With solemn nod of the head, Pabbie approached the unconscious girl and put a hand on her brow. He closes his eyes in concentration as the shaman searched through all her memories, the memories that have been stained. After a while, Pabbie spoke again. "I suggest that we remove all magic, even memories of magic, just to be safe." Then with a wave of his hand, Pabbie produced what looked to be a shroud of fine dust, and in the swirls of the shroud, it reflected Anna's memories, or more specifically, her memories of Elsa.
What happened next terrified Jack more than words could say. The memories, they started to change right before his very eyes. 'No. No. NO!' He shakes his head as he felt sickened of what was being done. "Pabbie, what are you doing?!" Jack asks alarmed.
"Just as I said, removing the magic out of these memories."
"Yeah, but why?" He asked again, still being unable to understand.
Pabbie lets escape a weary breath; somehow he just knew that Jack would react this way. It seemed that the spirit had grown fond of these children. "I know what you're thinking, Jack, and I agree with you. But there's just no other way. The magic has attached itself onto Anna's memories, and if we do not get them out as soon as possible, then she will die."
Cursing under his breath, Jack tried to control his emotions with deep breaths. Too clearly did he remember this feeling, the feeling of helplessness and how he loathed it. But what could he do?
Henry says, but whether he was trying to convince Jack or himself, even the king did not know. "It's for the best."
'No. No it's not.' But Jack wasn't about to say that; he knew that there was no other option, so he held his tongue.
Despite feeling uncomfortable of what he was doing, Pabbie finishes tampering with the memories and the dust he gathered in his palm soaked into Anna's forehead. "She will be okay." He says solemnly.
Jack had always been a passionate man, and it showed in his work, and it showed now as he screamed his frustrations, unable to contain his feelings anymore. "Yeah, but she won't remember Elsa, the real Elsa; her sister that she played with in the snow; her sister that she'd wake up in the middle of the night just so she could spend time with her. That Elsa is gone to her now!"
"Enough, Jack! It is done." Henry shouts just as loud, angry at Jack for some reason.
"What, just like that?! Do you even know what this could do to Elsa?"
"I said enough! Don't try to fool yourself, Jack. You and I both know that this argument isn't about my daughter."
Jack wavers a moment. "W-what?"
"This was never about Elsa, this is about you. You're still trying to cling on to the feeble notion that all is well and good when the consequence is right there in front of you!" He drew Anna closer to his chest for emphasis or, simply maybe, to keep her away from Jack. "You're powers are dangerous, Jack, and you teaching my daughter how to use them is even worse."
Silence was Jack's only response to Henry's accusations, not because he had nothing to say, but because there were no words left to speak. He said nothing because Henry hit the nail right on the head. Jack realized that he wasn't trying to stand up for Elsa; what he was doing was a lot less noble than that. He was standing up for what Elsa represented – she represented his worth.
He didn't even know that he was doing it until now when Henry pointed it out. That perhaps some part of him had always been convinced that as long as he was able to help Elsa, then her parents might find it worth it that they allow him to stay in Arendelle. But now that his presence seemed to do more harm than good to the young princess, was there even a reason to keep him around anymore? Was all that he taught Elsa for naught?
Like storm clouds, doubts clouded the young man's mind and as hard as he tried to resist them, he found himself beginning to believe. 'Maybe it is better if I leave; I make a mess of everything.' He thought desolately.
"I think it might be prudent that you start thinking on what you should do next, Master Frost." While Jack said nothing Henry turns and starts for where the horses were. "I'm heading back; Diana's going to be worried." Henry says brusquely, the sound of his voice bringing Jack out of his musings. "Thank you so much for your help, Pabbie." Jack made no move to follow Henry, however, and the king took no notice; he just kept on walking; out the gathering, out of the quarry, and out of his life.
It was not implied, but looking at the retreating form of Henry, it almost felt like a farewell; a bitter farewell.
In her parent's room, Elsa had her head on her mother's lap just finished crying her eyes out.
She really didn't mean to; everything was just too much and the next thing she knew Anna was lying on the floor. Elsa buries her face deeper into her mother's stomach, a fresh new batch of tears springing to her eyes.
'Anna I'm so sorry.'
Smoothing a hand over Elsa's head, Diana tried to ease her daughter's heartache. "Shhh, Angel, hush, it's alright; your father is taking Anna to a very good friend. He's going to fix everything. Shhh, it's going to be okay." She says gently.
But Elsa doesn't believe her. "NO! It's not okay!" She says indignant, her voice sounding muffled through the fabric of the queens sleeping gown. "And don't call me angel! I'm not an angel! I'm not! I'm… dangerous. I… I'm a monster…" Voice cracking, the small blonde girl then curled in on herself around her mother's waist in despair like a scared little kitten.
Diana's brows nit together as it broke something in her chest to hear her daughter say those things about herself, and a mother could only stand so much watching their child suffer at their own hands. "No! Don't you say that; don't you ever, ever say that ever again, Elsa. Ever – do you hear me?" Diana scolded her daughter firmly. "You are not a monster; you are my daughter, and if I say you're an angel, then by the moon and the stars, the queen decrees it so!" Then more gently, like smoothing out the wrinkles in a blanket, she says, "You are an angel, love, no matter what, you will always be my little angel; you and Anna both."
As her mother was speaking, Elsa slowly raises her head to look at her and her words comfort her somewhat, but still there were some doubts that lingered. "B-but I hurt Anna." Elsa reminded her dejectedly.
"Yes, you did. You lost control, but that was not your fault. You are young, Elsa; you have all the time in the world to learn how to use your powers correctly, but in the meantime, do be careful with them. Okay?" She says while rubbing her thumb over Elsa's tearstained cheek.
Elsa sniffs loudly, and then nods her head. "Yes, Mama."
"Good. Now come here; Mama needs a hug." And she needed a hug to give just as much to receive.
The little girl didn't need telling twice.
In the comfort of their embrace, a fleeting thought then passes Diana by and it causes her to wonder, "Elsa, dear, what brought this monster nonsense on in the first place? You honestly don't believe that, do you?"
Elsa breathes out a sigh. "No, no I don't, but I sure felt like I did. When John – I-I mean, when Gibbs – when he saw me, I –"
"John?" Oh Diana was curious now. "Now why would he make you feel like that? In fact, what does John matter in this at all?" She pulls away to get a better view of her daughter's face but still had her arms around her little girl. The princess bows her head to avoid her mother's gaze but the blush painting itself onto Elsa's cheeks tells the queen everything she needed to know.
'Ahhh.' She couldn't help but think as this explained a lot.
It would seem her daughter had developed a kid crush on the infamous Jack Frost. 'How strangely… appropriate.' She thinks is the word. Now, she didn't mean appropriate in an age sense; Jack was over a hundred years old, for goodness sake! No. But more of – well how was she to put it?
The two always had this connection, this familiarity about them; that for the duo to become friends was almost an expected thing. And now, her daughter having this crush, well, Diana didn't really expect that one, but now that it's happened, she wasn't all that surprised.
"W-when I called for help," Elsa tried to explain albeit haltingly. "John was the first one through the doors. A-At first he was surprised, but when he looked at me, he… –" She sniffles back a sob, pauses and then begins again. "He looked so disappointed, like he couldn't believe what I did… and I don't blame him; I feel disappointed in me too. Because of me Anna's…" She didn't even bother finishing what she had to say, opting to just sigh again instead.
John was her mentor, and though she complained most of the time about the things he teaches her, the last thing she wanted to do was disappoint him. She took every one of his lessons to heart though she tried not to show it. It was because she knew if she wasn't careful then someone might get hurt. And someone did get hurt – her sister.
It was only now did she realize how dangerous she could be, and now with what's happened, the confidence Anna's joy would bring whenever she showed her powers off to her had all but evaporated; her abilities didn't seem so good anymore.
"So is that what this is about? You're afraid you've disappointed John?"
Elsa didn't know what to say. Was she? "Yes. No? I – Mama, I hurt Anna –"
"And I already told you – that was not your fault. And I've known John for a very long time, even before we started calling him Gibbs; I don't think he's disappointed in you; shocked, maybe, but not disappointed."
"You didn't see his face, Mama –"
"And you didn't ask his thoughts; how can you possibly know how he feels?" Diana countered. Unable to answer, Elsa turns her face away. "Ah, ah! There you see?" Diana smiles triumphantly. "You don't know, and the only way to find out is if you ask him."
Elsa looks up at her mother through her bangs and confesses. "But I'm scared."
'Oh, my sweet Elsa.' Diana gives her a sympathetic quirk of the lips as she does her best to console her daughter. Her voice was squished as she hugs Elsa to her chest tighter than before. "I know you are, Angel… I know. But, if you don't take a chance then how will you ever know?" Wisdom rings clearly like a bell and her words catches Elsa with soft fingers. "Elsa, don't ever let your fears stop you from being who you are. Your powers are a gift and you know what? I believe John feels exactly the same way I do."
Unable to contain herself, the princess embraces the queen with everything she's got and just as fiercely. "Thank you, Mama."
The sound of a door opening was what interrupted their moment, and in walks the king looking worse for wear.
"Henry."
"Papa."
The two say at the same time as they rush off the bed and at Him with questions. Henry was expecting it, however, and was quick to answer them all.
Diana asks the question of upmost importance first. "How is Anna?"
"She's safe." he answers calmly.
"Where is sh –" Elsa tried to follow up but didn't get to finish as her father answers before she could ask.
"In her room; asleep for now."
The dread passes and they could breathe again.
"Oh, thank heavens." The cold sensation of relief washes over her like rainfall in the summer. Overwhelmed, Diana takes her husband in her arms and lays her head on his shoulders to relieve the worry she had felt the moment he had stepped out of those gates with Anna and… Jack. Hold there a moment.
Where's Jack?
Eyes that she had closed open slowly as Jack comes to the forefront of her and Elsa's minds. "Henry, where is John?" She asks cautiously, her head still on his shoulder. In response, hot breath tickles the back of her neck as Henry expels a tired sigh. His answer does not come immediately and Diana lifts her head to look at her husband as the silence stretched on.
Looking at the worried faces of his wife and daughter, the sight dredges out another breath from the heavy laden man. "I think we need to talk."
In the wake of the king's departure and silent dismissal, Jack was left lost and confused on what he was supposed to do next. Should he return to the castle or should he just leave it all behind him and turn his back on Arendelle? Rock and a hard place, indeed; both options held no sway for the young man and yet he had to choose.
Just so he could say that he'd thought about it, Jack ran through the choices. Let's say that he stayed; then what? Henry already told him that he'd had enough of his help, so Jack saw no point in going back; he knew when he wasn't wanted anymore. Plus, to be honest, Jack had grown weary in being blamed for what he had done to Elsa. 'It's true though… it is my fault…' the woeful timbre of Jack's thoughts reminded him.
As he thought longer and longer about it, the option of leaving started sounding the better choice of the two.
But…
Then that would also mean, leaving behind all that he had fallen in love with. Arendelle, the one place that he'd come to call home would no longer be his home. Could he really do that? Was he brave enough to turn his back? Could he really just up and forget about, the sights, the sounds, the buzz of morning routines as his kingdom woke up; the bakers, the fisher men, the farmers, the children all? Was it that easy to forget?
Could he really harden his heart enough so that he could forget about his father, Henry, Diana, Anna and…
… Elsa?
His chin fell to his chest as he sat slouched on a rock; elbows to his knees and his ring held by thumb and finger. He meant to hide his eyes behind his bangs, but the lone tear that slid down his face could plainly be seen glistening in the moonlight.
Everything was a mess.
"You look troubled, young winter spirit." Pabbie's voice rumbled like distant thunder. "Why don't you come with me to the cave and you could share your burdens with old Pabbie there, eh?"
Jack didn't even know when he stood up to follow Pabbie; all he knew was that his feet were moving one step in front of the other, numb from the brain down. They reach their destination, and suddenly without meaning to, the thought that weighed heavy in his heart slip out through his voice. "I should probably leave… but… I just don't want to… I don't want to forget."
Pabbie heard his broken and helpless voice and knew that he wasn't talking about his company or his cave. He looked back at Jack and for that moment he didn't see a winter spirit or a prince; just a boy with too much on his shoulders. The troll sighs. "No one is asking you to leave or forget, Jack."
"Perhaps… but I think it's the right thing to do." resigned Jack.
The lines on his face deepen at what Jack's thoughts had become "Is it?"
It was quiet for the longest of times, but then after a while of tense silence, Jack spoke finally. What was said, however, only made Pabbie's heart grow heavier.
"Pabbie, do you have any more of that dust you used on Anna?"
Im'ma list it down to make things clear:
Elsa: 7 years old (6 and a half)
Anna: 4 years old (3 and a half)
Henry: 35 years old
Diana: 36 years old
Mr. Gibbs: 60 years old (Yeah I still don't have a first name for him. Maybe you guys can think of something. Think of a name that would sound wise and elderly, and if I like it, I'd use it in the story. Just post the names in the reviews.)
Jack: Now Jack's age needs a little bit of explanation. You see, chronologically, in this chapter Jack's 25 years old. However, he still looks to be around 20 – 21. This means he ages three times as slow the average human. I'll probably explain why in the consecutive chapters why that is and if he is or not anymore an immortal, but right now why don't we see where I take this thing, eh?
Leave comments you guys about the story so that I'd know what you guys think about where I'm leading it. Cheers!
Thanks, love ya'll!
