Jack flew over Arendelle, resisting the urge to return to Elsa. He didn't want to return to her until he had her gift.
He wanted to give her something special, and while he couldn't offer her a kingdom, he was determined to make sure that Anna would be able to see her after she became a Guardian.
As night fell, he perched on a rooftop to wait for the golden sand to come. He was in sight of the palace, and he looked up at its balconies, wondering if Elsa was thinking of him. Nah, she probably has queenly duties to worry about, Jack thought. He stared absentmindedly up at the palace, surprised when Elsa suddenly appeared in one of the windows. She didn't notice him, but he stood up to try to get a better view. Someone joined her at the window, and she appeared to be arguing with the person. Her movements seemed sharp and agitated despite the distance, and Jack watched worriedly. Just as he was about to fly to her, he saw golden sand drifting through the streets, making its way into the rooms of Arendelle's children.
Caught between helping Elsa and finding Sandy, he bit his lip hard. Jack knew this was his best chance to find Sandy—he was somewhere near Arendelle, and Jack would be able to find him before sunrise. After that, Sandy would leave, and Jack would have to return to North's workshop to find him again. Glancing back at Elsa, who now stood alone at the window, he cupped one hand near his mouth and exhaled as though blowing a kiss. A heart-shaped piece of frost with their initials in the center blew through the air, and he created a gentle wind to lift it up to the window where Elsa stood. It pressed itself to the window, and Elsa stared at it in surprise. She went to the next window and threw it open, scanning the rooftops for him. Her eyes locked on him, but before she could call his name, he blew a kiss and jumped off the roof, letting the wind take him to the origin of the golden sand.
He zipped through the streets, following the thin trails of sand until they began to curve upward toward Sandy's platform of dream sand. He landed on the platform, and Sandy gave him a cheerful wave before turning back to his sand.
"Good to see you, too, Sandy," Jack said. "I was hoping you could help me with something."
Sandy motioned for Jack to continue, and he said, "Right, well, it's Elsa's little sister. You see, she can't see us even though she wants to believe. And if Elsa's going to become a Guardian, her sister should be able to see her."
Sandy created the figure of a little girl out of sand and placed a question mark above her head.
"Right, well, that's the difficult part. See, she's not a little girl. She's nineteen," Jack said, and Sandy sighed heavily. He started manipulating the sand, his brow furrowed in frustration, but Jack said hurriedly, "North said you could help. He said dreams are when dormant beliefs come to life, and I was thinking that maybe what Anna is missing isn't belief—it's imagination. Maybe that's what's holding her belief back; she just can't picture it anymore."
The sand dropped as Sandy frowned, tapping his chin in contemplation. His eyes narrowed as he created a question mark in the air.
"I was hoping you could manipulate her dream so that it's of me and Elsa. If she believes enough to see me, that'll help her see Elsa when the time comes, won't it?" Jack asked hopefully, and Sandy shrugged slowly. "Can't we at least try?"
Sandy sized Jack up, his hands working furiously as he created a sand form of Jack in the air. Jack looked at it and frowned.
"Is that really what I look like?" he asked with a playful grin, cocking his head to the side. Sandy shot him a look of annoyance before creating a sand form of Elsa. Jack looked at it and said critically, "She's more beautiful than that. Her eyes are more expressive, and her lips curve up more when she smiles."
Sandy motioned with his arms in frustration, and Jack quickly apologized, "Sorry, Sandy. I really want you to help. I won't complain anymore."
Sandy shushed him as he created sand forms of Bunnymund, Tooth, North, and himself. Jack watched in silence as the sand forms blended together and created a long string of golden sand. It came to life and zipped through the air, and Jack asked, "Do you think it'll work?"
Once again, Sandy shrugged, and Jack asked, "If it doesn't, could you send her similar dreams until it does?"
Sandy looked at him exasperatedly, but Jack begged, "Please, Sandy? I'll owe you one. Maybe I could track down stray Nightmares for you?"
After a moment, Sandy nodded, and Jack grinned.
"Thank you, Sandy! I'll start on the Nightmares tomorrow!" he said enthusiastically. "I'll see you later!"
He jumped off the sand platform, and Sandy waved goodbye as Jack started making his way back to Arendelle's palace.
Author's Note: Hello, again! Thank you so much for the follows/favorites. It's incredibly encouraging to know that people read this story. If you have any opinions on the story/where it's going, please leave a review! Your reviews have helped shape characters and story lines. :)
I recently made a promise to a friend, so this chapter is dedicated to a good friend of mine. I'm not sure if she wants her real name mentioned, and it feels strange referring to her by her pseudonym, but here it goes...
Strawhatgirl, thank you for being the biggest fan of my writing and for being my best friend. I dedicate this chapter to you because it's about the creation of dreams, and you've been cheering me on from the creation of my own dream: becoming a published author. You're always there to critique my work and shake me out of writer's block slumps; to give me advice on my practically nonexistent love life and attempt to sing duets with me; to talk about whatever pops into one of our heads and understand what's going through my head before it comes out of my mouth; I have no idea what I'd do without you. This one's for you :)
Yours, Calypso