Chapter 28-By Day and Night

As promised, Jack came and visited Elsa the very next night and was able to get her to talk about her stressors. Her worries concerns mainly about the soldiers: as capable and as great as she believes both Arendelle, and their temporary allied Southern Isle army to be, this war was truly indeed no ordinary one. Their first battle with the Nightmare has shown Elsa that their strengths are of no match against the supernatural. It was unjustly unfair. With the addition of the Guardians' aid, it was more than what the two kingdoms could hope for. But North and the others are back guarding the Southern Kingdom—currently on neutral standby until otherwise, leaving only four Guardians here in Arendelle, and they can't be everywhere all at once. Overall, she didn't want to see the number of casualties to increase; if three—or even with just one soldier were to die, that's one death too many.

Jack was lazily moving around the room out of habit, as if he was floating on a slow flowing river taking him in any direction as it wills. However, his attention was completely focused, and he hears her. He wasn't smiling; but he didn't look to be greatly concern either. He was unreadable. "Unfortunately, you're right," Jack started. "It is completely unfair, even us Guardians can't do anything about it."

Elsa was sitting on the lounge chair against the wall sandwiched between two bookcases. She was doing her best to resist the urge to follow Jack's flow. So instead, she was staring off to the far opposite corner of the room. "But their families Jack, what am I supposed to say to the families who have loss a member to this war?"

"You'll be announcing their deaths? I thought that was left to the Commanders or the commanding captain of their units."

"I wish to do it personally…"

"…It's really sincere of you, it says a lot. But I don't think that's a good idea." Jack stops moving about, and quickly turns midair to face Elsa. This time, she was force to look up at him. "In wars, it's not good for the people to associate you as the messenger of death whenever you appear. Let them look to you as the beacon of light, of hope, as all leaders should. The same thing applies to Anna as Princess, and even Kristoff." Elsa was upset with the objection, but understands his reasoning. "From time to time, you can give your condolences to the mass, but for the individuals; let the commanders be the messenger in your place for now."

Elsa griped the arm of the lounge chair and turned away from Jack. "…Last night, the total of death I received in the report was thirty-three Jack—thirty-three…! And what about the families in the Southern Isle Kingdom: do they understand why their loved ones are in a foreign land, fighting—and dying on foreign soil?"

Jack suddenly landed with a thud in front of her, regaining her attention. He lowers himself on one knee so as to somewhat be at eye-level with her. "Whether they do or don't, that's Lukas' and his brothers' job to handle, they are the leaders of their kingdom, as you are to yours." Sighing heavily, Elsa laid her back against the wall while resting her head against her supporting hand. Jack remains where he was for a while, before standing up and seating himself on the opposite end of the lounge chair. He tucks his staff around his arm, while keeping his head facing forward. "…The gifts you made for them were beautiful; I'm sure their family will appreciate it."

"You saw them?" Elsa asks, lifting her head from her hand. Jack nodded. To show her gratitude for the Southern Isle military service, Elsa had frozen the bodies of their fallen comrades in her specially made coffins. That way it'll prevent their corps from further decay. And at the earliest convenience, they may be shipped and buried back home. She guaranteed that the bodies can be retrieve from her ice by simply breaking it.

For the second time that night, Jack smiled at her, a small smile. He then stared floating again, returning to his original river drifting position. "I heard Lukas and his brothers couldn't stop thanking you for the special coffins for hours."

"Those really meant a lot to them, and to the Southern Isle soldiers."

Jack arched an eyebrow at her. "Gaining some good popularity aren't we Snow Queen?"

"Don't be silly Jack."

"I mean it, the little things we do can go a long way. You just have to be careful with what you're doing…Although…Now that I think about it, which one do you prefer to be associated with: Undertaker, or Messenger of Death?"

Elsa snaps her head at Jack. "I'll stick to Snow Queen if you don't mind."

To further tease her, Jack straightened his posture by standing on air, and tucked his staff behind his back before taking a bow. "As you wish, Your majesty."

"Funny Jack," she said, while crossing her arms over her chest. "But speaking of popularity, you and the others are gaining quite the fan with the soldiers as well. Especially with Commanders One Two Punch."

"Or really? They're warming up to us real quick."

"Indeed, to the very point of wanting to put leashes on all of you; they have been asking me all morning to let them do so."

"Well aren't they sweet. But there's really no point, we already have leashes of our own." Elsa arched an eyebrow in question and Jack pointed his staff at her, fusing it with his magic to make the wood glow and crackle. "After all, you and Anna have already placed you own leash around us."

XxXxXx

Hiccup had temporarily taken two residencies after the Black Morning Battle. The first was a workshop just near the walls behind the castle, where small repairs are made to nearly any item in the castle that's been broken, or is in need of maintenance. He is usually there when he is waiting to trade shifts with Rapunzel or with the others. However, he is mostly seen at his second base when he's not making his rounds. By request on his end, he had asked to have a blacksmith shop all to his own; so then he can perform part of his Pact during the course of the war. It was a difficult tasked to grant his request, seeing how all blacksmith shop was needed to help maintain armory for the two armies; but after some negotiating, Elsa was able to give Hiccup his shop under the condition that he helps repair and replace the soldiers' armory whenever an order is place. He agrees, and was given the oldest shop near the outskirt of town.

This morning was going to be the first time in which Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff, was going to go pay a visit to the shop, and they have brought Sven and Olaf with them. Rumor has it, that Hiccup was working on something big. Some sort of weapon to fight the Nightmares. So it has become a game for soldiers, to try to sneak into the back room where Hiccup is supposedly developing it, and see if the rumor was true or not. But His dragon Toothless has always managed to keep them away. Even the Commanders can't get anywhere close to the place, not unless Hiccup wills them to.

As they near the shop, they herd some metals falling over. They soon saw four soldiers running away from the shop, heading in the direction of the camping site of the allied army. "Are you sure we should be visiting him?" Kristoff asks, while his gaze lingers after the runaway soldiers. "It looks like his dragon is determined to keep everyone away." Then quickly leaning towards Sven, Kristoff voiced his reindeer to say, "And no matter the costs too."

"Don't worry Kristoff," said Anna, "Hiccup invited us to come and visit him anytime." She then placed a hand on Sven's head and started scratching him gently. "And you don't have to worry either Sven, Toothless doesn't bit."

"Yeaaah," Olaf began, "I heard that Toothless was like a nice, big, cuddly kitty."

"That breaths fire," comment Kristoff.

"You mean the two of you didn't meet them while at the safe camp?" Elsa asks, surprise that Sven and Olaf missed the Guardians when they went to introduce themselves to the civilians.

"Nooo," Olaf answered, "My nose fell into a box of carrots, so Sven was trying to help me find mine by eating the other carrots. Elsa and Anna quickly took a glance at Olaf's nose, and were glad to see that it was the right one.

Nearing the entrance of the shop, they didn't see Toothless anywhere. "Hello?" Anna calls. "Hello? Hiccup, are you there?"

There was some noise in the back room as someone was shuffling along. Hiccup opens the door and greeted them in welcome. "Well this is a nice little gathering; may I assume this is Sven and Olaf here?"

"Yes!" Olaf said excitedly. "Sven loves carrots, and I love warm hugs."

"So I've heard." Hiccup turns an eye on the flurry, testing it by sticking his hand into the cloud and trying to separate it. "Very cold, and very nicely controlled if I may say. So what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"Is it true that you're developing some new weapons to fight against the Nightmares?" Elsa asks."

"I guess you can say that, but how about we talk about this inside. I don't want people overhearing anything and getting their hopes up." The group follows Hiccup towards the back room, but he stops them and suggested the Sven and Olaf should wait outside.

"Auhhhh, but Hiccuuup," Olaf protest, and then sticking his face side by side to Sven, he deepens his voice a bit, and the pair both made a sad face. "Sven and I want to listen too, don't we?" Sven nodded his head in tune with Olaf's plea.

"Sorry, but there isn't enough room, just the four of us will be crowded enough. Besides, I was hoping the two of you can help me with an important job."

"Cool," replied Olaf, quick in changing his mood. Sven followed in example as well. "So what do you need?"

"I need you two to stand watch."

"Sure, and?"

"And to keep guard."

"Sure, and?"

"And to keep my friend Toothless company, you two will be guarding with him."

"Sure, and?"

"…And to play with him if you like?"

"Yay! You hear that Sven, we'll get to play with the Kitty."

"Huh, you know Toothless is a dragon right?"

"A dragon that is like a kitten; where is he anyway? Here kitty-kitty-kitty-kitty-kitty, here Toothless kitty-kitty-kitty-kitty-kitty—oh there you are. Hi Toothless!" Olaf was waving hyperactively at Toothless who was hiding in the shadow cast by the ceiling, lying in wait on top of the beams.

"Toothless come down here," said Hiccup, pointing a finger down to the ground. The dragon jumped to a lower beam before descending to the ground, he arched his back and slithered cautiously towards Olaf and Sven, leaving about a foot of gap between them. He took a few sniffs before suddenly sitting himself down licking the side of his mouth, while wagging his whole body in excitement.

"Oooh look Sven, he likes us!" Olaf quickly rushes over and gave Toothless a huge. The dragon was caught off by surprise, but was distracted by Olaf's flurry, taking a pawl and playfully taping at the cloud. Sven approaches Toothless nodding his head in thrill. Toothless too took part in the head motion with his tong hanging out, and the two fell into similar pattern.

"Ok, now that we're sure they'll be getting along, shall we proceed in?" offer Hiccup, opening the door to the back room. Before closing the door, he gave one last instruction to his dragon. "Alright be gentle when you're playing with them Toothless—and don't lick Olaf!"

The room was a bit dark; the window allowing an overlay of the shop was covered by a sheet of thick fabric nailed to the frame, with the only other source of lights were two metal lanterns. Hiccup offered the two chairs in the room to the sisters while Kristoff and himself used the crates in the room to sit on. "So are those the designs for the new weapons?" Kristoff asks, noting some of the strange paper designs on the walls and on the desk before Hiccup.

"Well, somewhat," answer Hiccup, while rubbing the back of his head. "But they won't be effective enough against the Nightmares."

"Is that a flaming sword?!" Anna exclaimed, pointing to one of the designs on the wall. "How will that not be effective?"

"I made that design years ago actually, but that weapon was made specifically to help me train dragons. It won't do any good against Nightmares."

"What do you mean? It looks petting good to me," complemented Kristoff .

"Thanks but let me explain. It doesn't take much to kill a Nightmare. A simple hit will do, but they are too fast for ordinary soldiers to hit, and they can reform themselves if they can, plus they attack in numbers so once one is destroyed, another one can simply takes its place. We can't do anything about the speed or the numbers of our enemy, so the soldiers need weapons that can kill in one blow and make sure that the Nightmares can't reform themselves once hit."

"Sooo why can't they use flaming swords?"

"Ordinary flames do nothing to stop the Nightmares from reforming themselves. If we compare a simple made flame to that of Merida's, the one key thing that separates the two for this case, is magic manipulation; she is able to manipulate her flames to spread throughout the Nightmares engulfing them in fire, making sure that they can't reform. The flames coming from the sword won't do anything special like that. When it's not used to train dragons, the fire is only for show, for intimidation honestly. In other words it's just an ordinary sword—with a bit of flair," he quickly added as a joke.

"Well isn't the fire coming from the swords magical? Can't you find ways for the soldiers to manipulate the flames even if it's just a little?" Elsa asks.

"Oh-no you got it all wrong. The flames are not magical, they're ordinary. Well—maybe not that ordinary. The flames are actually an imitation of dragon fire."

"Now how is that possible?" Anna asks.

Hiccup took something out from the inside pocket of his fur vest. It looked to be a handle of a bladed weapon, but it was oddly design; there was no cross-guard, and none of them could understand why both ends have a pommel to it. Each pommel was design to shape like a creature, each possessing a horn: one end with its mouth closed, while the other was open. There were two thin metal plates at the top corner of his desk shaped like a bowl. He grabs them and places them closer towards the others for them to see. "Now watch," Hiccup instructs. He pressed something on the side of the hilt, then tipping the open end mouth of the pommel onto the first plate, a transparent liquid come out. He allowed for a tiny pool to form in the metal plate before ceasing the flow of liquid. Next, switching over to the closed mouth end pommel, Hiccup once more clicks the mechanism of the hilt. But this time, the green ghostly gas the sisters saw on the Black Morning Battle was released. The gas came out quickly so he only held the mechanism for a second, but kept the end close to the plate.

"This green gas here is produced only by two headed dragons called Hideous Zippleback. One head releases the gas, while the other—" Hiccup quickly did something to the hilt, indicated by the clicking sound; he instantly pulled the hilt away and then there was a small explosion from the second plate, startling the observers, "ignites it." Though the explosion was in control, it had nearly eradicated the plate. The inside was completely burnt, with the top half of the plate in total disarray. Hiccup pushes that plate away with his arm and went on with the next one. "Now this liquid here is Monstrous Nightmare Saliva, courtesy of my best friend Toothless out there. It doesn't explode like the Zippleback gas, but when it is ignited, the liquid can keep burning for a while." Hiccup held the hilt out before him while pointing the open mouth end upward. "So let's say if you were to soak something in the saliva that can withstand intense heat—" He pressed another switch before pressing the horn; the first one instantly shot a metal blade out but it was hallow and thin—but nevertheless sharp. By pressing the horn, it ignited the blade coating it in fire, "then the result is an Inferno Blade."

"That's incredible Hiccup! Are you sure there's no way for our men to use it?" Anna press, wishing badly at the moment to at least have the chance to hold the sword just one time.

Hiccup read what Anna was wishing, but felt that Elsa might get upset if he were to allow her to hold it. So he retracted the blade and extinguishes the fire, much to Anna's disappointment. "If you're that persistent about it, the only part that will be useful on this sword is the Zippleback gas."

"Can you come up with a weapon using the gas?" Elsa asks.

"…If you wish so."

"You sound hesitant there Hiccup, is there anything wrong?" noted Kristoff.

"Well it's not like I haven't thought about turning the gas into a solo weapon. My main concern is with the safety issue, the damage it will do if used in town, plus the production of the weapon and the supply of the gas. I've already used more than a third of what I've brought with me; what I have left won't be significantly sufficient for an army."

Elsa quickly thought about the four issues that Hiccup listed. They were all key and she saw why Hiccup doesn't want to continue developing the gas. And then she realizes that any weapon that comes from Hiccup would all have these issues. However, three weeks have already passed since their first battle and things aren't going well. There hasn't been any other big battle yet, and Hans hasn't been spotted since then either. There has only been small surprise attacks, but they all are one-sided whenever the Guardians are not around to help fight. A small pack of Nightmares would quickly attack a Unit and then make their escape, and the result of the Units mostly ended being left in critical conditions, with a definite fatality or two: the biggest one was eight deaths in a twelve man Unit. They need some new weapons and some new ones fast. "…So, do really you advise against the development of this weapon?"

Hiccup shrugs his shoulders. "Let me ask you two things instead; first, how willing are you to let me make as many trips as needed to supply the gas for weaponry? And at the moment, am I expendable?" Elsa didn't answer, and it was clear by the looks of her face that she can't yield to either. She knew Hiccup was the only one who can go and fetch the gas from the dragons, not unless the other Guardians have had dragon lessons from him; but once again, Hiccup was right. She can't afford to have him absent—any of them absent generally. Hiccup took the plate of saliva and carefully pours it back into the hilt, where it can serve its purpose in soaking the blade. "…The weapon I make form the gas alone will be catastrophic. And like I said before, the soldiers needs weapons that can help prevent the Nightmares from reforming; it's not power that they need, not even quantity, but quality…If you give me just a little more time, I think I can have the perfect weapon that you're looking for."

"…How long do you think it will take before we can see it?"

Hiccup gave them a small smile, and said, "I have an idea on what the perfect weapon may be—but I need to test out a few things before I can go into the actual making of it. If all goes well, maybe in a week or so—"

"That soon?!" Kristoff express, as he leans impatiently forward on the edge of his seat. "All this time you made it sound as though there was no hope, but you've actually been holding out on us."

"It's still an all or nothing bet. If the tests prove useless, then I'm back to square one," Hiccup defends. "…And I'll tell you what Elsa, if you really insist, then I'll make something out of the gas—but only after I see the results of my testing. If it is really needed, then I'll make something…However…promise me that whatever I come up with the gas, use it sparingly and carefully, since we don't know when I'll be given a chance to go and get some more. And I'll do my best to make the gas explosion controllable."

After some thoughts, Elsa agreed to his terms. She also regained her smile, if only just a little, and so did Anna and Kristoff after hearing Hiccup's plan. "Then it is settle," she said while standing up. "Send word to me and Lukas as soon as you have that weapon ready…And the next time, is it alright for Commander Atlas and Gorm to accompany us to see your progress? It is within their rights to; they shouldn't be chased off whenever they approach the shop."

"You mean Toothless is still chasing them off?" Hiccup exclaims in honest surprise.

"Did anything happen between them?" Anna asks, while heading towards the door. Kristoff was holding it open. "I thought the Commanders liked the dragon after riding him."

"Well, you see, it was only recent but they made a joke and called Toothless a lizard, and he really doesn't like be call a lizard. I told them to apologize as soon as possible but I guess they haven't got to it yet."

"I suppose I better address this matter with them as soon as we get back to the castle," said Elsa, as she walks out the door, followed by Kristoff and then Hiccup.

"Here, let me accompany you guys until the castle's bridge. It's nearly time for me to switch off with Merida for patrol, and Bellflower should be trading off with Jack soon."

Kristoff was looking around for the Sven and the others. He saw them play in the nearby hills; Sven holding Olaf high up with his antlers, while the snowman was blowing snowflakes over towards a crouching Toothless, who was dabbing a paw or two at each flake as they come. "Oh by the way," Kristoff starts, while turning his attention back to the group, "We're supposed to be having lunch with Bellflower and Eugene this afternoon, but why isn't Rapunzel joining us?"

"She hasn't been feeling well," Anna answers, and that was the truth too. Rapunzel's been feeling strangle lately and she can't tell why, but she and everyone assumes it's because of the hours of work she's forced to do to maintain both identity. "But she said she'll join us later after lunch."

"When we're having a private meeting with Bellflower right? The spirit said she had something to discuss, or, show to us, and it's important to keep it a secret. Do you know what it is Hiccup?"

"I do, but I'll leave it for you to find out."

XxXxXx

"Ha-ha-ha—oh wow! I wish I could been there to see it!" Jack was hunched over in the air covering his stomach, taking a good minuet to laugh it all out. "Gosh, maybe I'll ask Rapunzel to paint me a picture of Kristoff's face when she transformed in front of him. I know Merida would get a kick out of it."

Elsa wanted to defend Kristoff , for in truth, all of them were just as surprised as he was. Save for Eugene, it was the first time any of them have witness Rapunzel turning from one form to the next. It was like watching a flower bud bursting in bloom, orbital lights were swimming around her like fireflies. "Now J-Jack," Elsa stuttered, as she struggles to take control of her own laughter. "Quite down, you're being too loud."

"I'm sorry Elsa, but I can't help it—I mean, did Kristoff really say, 'magic must run strong with the blonds?'"

Elsa mad a light contested face that was an odd mix to blend with her amusement. "Rapunzel made sure to thoroughly explain to him how she came about her magic, along with her Guardianship. Now he was very interested in hearing about that." Taking a break, Elsa leans her back against the lounge chair to be comfortable. "Kristoff asked if it's not too late for him to believe in North."

"Let me guess, he wants another sleigh doesn't he? One of the latest version with secret compartments and he wants North to give it to him."

"Close, he aimed a bit higher than that. He asked if he could get a ride on North's sleigh and have Sven be part of the Reindeer team that pulls it."

"Ha!—of course, everyone loves the sleigh!" Elsa sat in silence, enjoying not so much as the amusement of her story, but the warm feeling that was growing inside of her, kindling the smile on her face as she watches Jack laugh. When he finally laughed to his content with the story, Jack floated away from the ceiling. Elsa could see it all, with his body's turn for relaxation, it was like he was basking in the sun; his limbs were stretched loosely out as if he was lying in a wide grassy field, with the only exception was the muscle in his hand still grasping his staff. After a moment of silent, Jack asks, "How was your visit with Hiccup?"

"Well…Olaf and Sven were certainly having a good time with Toothless."

Jack turns his head to face Elsa. "Avoiding the question I see, so what's bothering you?"

"…Hiccup said he has an idea for a weapon that will be perfect for the soldiers to use, but it would take a bit more time."

As if Jack had read her mind, he utters the number "Twenty-one," the total number of death encompassing this three weeks.

"Twenty-one," Elsa repeated in solemn.

Jack turns his gaze back to the ceiling and closed his eyes. A moment later, he opens them and sat up. "Lie down," he said suddenly.

"Pardon?"

"Lie down."

Elsa blinked several times before she could speak again. "…You want me to lie down…on the floor?"

"Not on the floor if you don't want to, right there on the lounge chair is just fine." Jack startled her when he suddenly hooks his staff under the chair and pulls it out with ease. He had covered the floor with ice for a smoother slide, and the movement was so quick, Elsa didn't have time to react and grab hold of the chair, but she still managed to keep herself on it. When the lounge chair was pulled to where Jack wanted it, he unhooked his staff and thawed the ice.

"Jack! What are you up to?"

"Go on," he encouraged, "lie down and close your eyes."

"You're not going to take no for this aren't you?" As an answer, his smile widens. "As I thought…" With no other choice, Elsa complied with his wish and laid herself down, resting her head on the chair's arm. She then claps her hands together letting them rest on her stomach.

"Your eyes?" noted Jack, and she closes them. Seconds later, she hears the window being open, and felt the cool cresses of the wind upon her cheeks.

"Jack—"

"Don't talk," he said, "and keep your eyes close for a bit, just for a little bit."

Elsa turns her head to the side and opens her eyes to address Jack with full contact. "If that is the case, it should only be fair that you lie with me." Jack arched a brow in question, but shrugged it away.

"Fair then." He lays himself back down on air though kept his limbs close to his body this time, and he leveled himself to that of Elsa's elevation. Satisfied, she returns her head to its original position, and closed her eyes again. The two stayed like that for a while, in silence, enjoying the flowing cool breeze provided by Jack's magic. A few minutes later, Jack said softly, "Hiccup will keep his Pack."

"I believe you," she replies even softer.

"He'll come up with something perfect for the soldiers; he's really on good terms with Ombric."

"Who's Ombric?"

"—Wait-wait, keep your eyes close and I'll tell you"

"But if I continue to keep my eyes close, I'll fall asleep soon."

Jack chuckled. "Well a nap never hurts anyone," he said quietly, but didn't urge her further. "Ombric is one of the last greatest wizards you will ever meet; he is a master of old ancient magic. He isn't a Guardian-for-say; he's an immortal human but powerful, and is a great ally to us Guardians. Ombric goes by one name in human legends. And that is Father Time. Many humans believe that the old man can control time, but in truth, he can only travel through time."

"Really?" Elsa said with interest, "he must really indeed be a great magician to be able to travel through time."

"To be more accurate, he uses a machine to help him travel, no magic require."

"But how is that possible?!"

Jack shrugs his shoulders. "Ombric is a really smart guy, plus he is older than North and the others. He knows things that they don't."

"So what does he do on his travels?"

"Nothing really, the old man just really loves to watch history unfolds."

"Hmm, but isn't that just a waste? He could change things for the better if he wanted to."

"True. However, Omrbic has good reasons not to. He does nothing to change the past or interferes with the future, for it could be catastrophic to the timeline. Even the smallest changes can have a server affect. Like if he was to have stopped me from dying, then I would have never become a Guardian." And we would have never met; Elsa thought quietly to herself. "Whatever action he takes, it will be during the presence of his own time. That's his golden rule when time traveling."

Elsa adjusted her head slightly, so then she may be facing Jack. "So how is Ombric supposed to help Hiccup?"

Jack copied her action differently; by turning to lie on his side, he also pops up his head with an arm. Though this time, when he spoke, he spoke softly and slowly, nearly marrying gentleness with secret whispers. Also moving and shaping his hands to help Elsa see, instead of using his winter magic. "Ombric, loves imaginations and inventions above everything else in the world. So much so, that whenever he can, he would collect the ideas of inventors; the imaginations of dreamers, and keep them in Santoff Claussen—this magnificent tree that is a safe haven for imagination and inventions to grow, where he can watch them develop. Ombric keeps the dreams in these—glowing orbs, that reflects the colors of the cosmos. And what's so great about his collection, is that he collects inventions that haven't been invented yet—ideas that their makers have yet to even think of themselves, but eventually they will."

Adapting to a soft whisper herself, Elsa asks, "But how is that possible?"

Jack suddenly breathed through his mouth while clenching his teeth, resulting in an empty hissing sound, a clear display of his disappointment. "I'm not sure honestly. Most of the things he does are a mystery to us. The guy can even speak in many insect languages!"

"Now that's…odd."

Jack chuckled at her response, but then resumes from where he left off. "Ombric does have his favors over inventors and dreamers, so he keeps their ideals in their own separate vault. North is one of them, and his list includes Hiccup too. You can even say Ombric has a soft spot for Hiccup; there are times when he would help nudge the little guy towards the right direction."

"And you think he'll give Hiccup a nudge this time as well?"

Jack lays his head back down but still uses his free arm as a pillow. "…I really don't think he has too. Trust me, Ombric hates Pitch as much as the next guy, and would do anything he can to help stop him. But Ombric only gets involve when he has too. And as far as I know, he hasn't made any contact with Hiccup yet, so I'm guess Hiccup is on the right track."

"…He just needs a little more time…" Elsa said quietly, and turns her head away. Took in a deep breath of air, and releases it contently. "We have talked for quite some time now, haven't we?"

"Yeah, it is getting pretty late." Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Jack getting up and reaching over towards her. He placed his hand against the chair's crest rail. "Here, you may want to sit up now and hold on, I'm going to push the chair back into place." Elsa did as he said and sat up, taking hold of the rail to ready herself. Jack taps the floor covering the wanted area in ice and push. Once it was back in place, he ceases the flow of wind. Next he held out a hand to help Elsa get up, in which she took in friendliness.

"Jack, that story…about Ombric, it was nice," Elsa said. "You're quite the story teller."

"I had some practice with my little sister when I was alive. I use to tell her bed time stories in place of my mother when she was too tired to do it."

"…I wouldn't mind if you were to tell me some more stories. I want to hear more about Beings, and the world they live in."

"…Then, tomorrow again?

Elsa nodded, and the two made to leave the study room. Tomorrow.

XxXxXx

The testing went smoothly beyond anyone's hope, so much so that Hiccup was able to produce seven prototypes in a week, consisting of spears, swords and arrows. But before going into the final and full production of the weapons, Lukas suggested on having a group of elite soldiers try out the prototypes. That way, they can see if humans can really use such weapons. So one night, a unit made of seven skilled soldiers, was sent to scout deep within the forest, in the hopes of tempting some Nightmares to attack them. For obvious precaution, Lukas had Merida and Rapunzel follow the group from a far distance. Hiccup was also with them to observe the efficiency of the weapons; Jack was instructed to stay behind to patrol the town and the safe camp site.

It was three hours after midnight before the unit was finally attacked. The unit was attacked ruthlessly, making it difficult for the young Guardians to restrain themselves from interfering. When Merida was just on the verge of coming forwards, one of the soldiers managed to land a hit to a Nightmare, and the beast fell instantly, turning into gold dust and vanishing as it touches the earth. From there, the soldiers were able to gain ground; other than defending, they were on the offense, and were able to eliminate the remaining Nightmares. When the fight ended, the young Guardians wasted no time. Merida and Angus rushed Rapunzel over to the unit so then she may heal them. Meanwhile, Hiccup and Toothless took off to report the results to Jack, so then he may relate it back to Lukas and Elsa. This way, Hiccup could have some time to make a quick trip over to where Sandy and the others are.

Before the sky could wake that morning, Lukas led a stream of men up to Hiccup's second base as instructed by Jack. To their astonishment, they found a field of large wooden chests, filled with dream sands. They were all to be brought to the castle as soon as possible. At the meantime, Elsa was tasked to gather all the blacksmiths to the courtyard, where Hiccup was giving out plans and instructions—teaching them how to reforge their arms' existing swords, spears, and arrows to include the dream sands. The dream sands are the key to preventing the Nightmares from reforming. One hit is all it would take. But the dream sand also get used up after a while or less, depending on the amount there are, so the weapons must be replenished with dream sands.

The reforging are simple: for the arrow, they need to make it hallow at the weapon's head, and make it so that the head can be screw on and off of its shaft. For the spear in similar; the head must be hallow and be screwable, with the addition that its shaft must be hallow as well. That way, the soldiers can use it more for than just two or three hits. As for the swords, they first must make these thin metal containers that will be holding the dream sands, shaped to fit perfectly into the swords' fuiler. Next, attach two flat latches on each side of the swords close to the fuilers, in order to hold the containers in place when in use.

When all the dream sands were distributed among the blacksmiths, the group dispersed and went back to their designated shop, to begin the greatest mass reforging in Arendelle and the Sothern Isle history. The task before the smiths was slow and demanding, for there really isn't time for them to squander, not even a second. Steadily, from one unit to the next, their weapons were reclaimed and reforged. When finished, the weapons were distributed so that two or three men per units has the new molded until otherwise. From the beginning, Hiccup went from one blacksmith shop to the next, checking on the smiths and helping them when they are finding trouble. Once he saw that they were getting the hang of reforging the new design, he concentrated his effort between making the needed containers, and developing the Zipplback gas.

Even though not every man per unit has the newly reforge weapons yet, instantly, everyone noticed a big changed in battle outcomes. The Nightmares are still continuing their ambush tactics, but now, now the soldiers can somewhat stand their ground. Victories are being taken by them, and to Elsa greatest relief, the fatalities are decreasing. Now, there are times when there are no fatalities at all after an attack. If it were to cease completely, then that would be a miracle.

XxXxXx

Two weeks have passed since the reforging of the new weaponry; the armies have begun to relax a bit more, and the Nightmare ambushes have lessened. There was now some time for relaxation for the men. Now, they are looking forward to the company of Jack Frost more than ever. Even since the beginning of the war, Jack had managed to slowly warm his way into many of the men's heart. They quickly found his presence enjoyable, finding him likable. He seems to bring a bit of light with him where ever he goes; bring back a touch of a smile no matter how small to the men's faces. He's also a favor among those at the safe camp, second behind Toothless while Rapunzel maintains third place. The children could always expect to have a little fun whenever they are with him.

During this particular day, Elsa had finished her work early and decided to accompany Lukas to the safe camp. She thought this might be a good time to take the advice of one of her councilor, that the Queen should make occasional visits to her people during war times. It can lift their spirits to have their leader be among them. Lukas has already made a few trips up there himself, but the visit only lasted for as long as he had businesses with his brothers. He kept himself only with them, solemnly every with his men or even with the Arendelle citizens. But this time, he wishes to give his brothers a break and take temporarily command of the safe camp, while they return to the castle and rest. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Elsa hopes to encourage Lukas to join her in interacting with the people.

Elsa was heading in the direction of the stable but stops when she found Lukas heading towards her. "Lukas? Aren't we're supposed to be meeting at the stable?"

Lukas also stops to converse with her. "We are, but Merida had asked me to come and fetch her and Jack when it's time to go. They'll be trading off patrol duty with Bellflower and Hiccup pretty soon."

"I see, so they'll be accompanying us. Then where are they?"

"The last I've been inform they've been sparring with the soldier around the training court."

"Now that you've mentioned it, lately I have been hearing a lot of commotion whenever I pass nearby. But I never thought to look and see what the commotion was all about. May I come with you to get them?"

"If you wish." From there, they started towards the back of the castle, where there was a small training area for soldiers to spar and train on their spare time. Nearing the area, they could hear soldiers hooting and hollering, long before they could see the large gathered crowed. But over the noises, they could make out Merida's distinctive voice. Her voice was coming within the center of the gathering, but they couldn't see her through the men. They had formed a tight wall surrounding her in the. Merida was shouting and hollering just as excitedly as the soldiers, with the additional grunts and huffs as metal clash with metals, a good enough indication that she may be sparing with one of the men.

Elsa spotted Jack on the opposite end of the crowd, hovering a few feet over them in order to watch the sparing match. To get his attention, she sends a snowflake over the crowd, willing it towards Jack. It amazes her how her flake manages to catch his eye long before it nears him; he even pointed his face out, making it easier for her snowflake to nip at his nose.

Jack quickly locates her and Lukas' whereabouts and flew to them. "Well-well-well, is it time already?" he said amusingly. "And Merida was just getting warmed-up."

"Really?" said Lukas, adjusting his glasses, "From the looks of it, she's been on fire for a while."

"Well she was on fire literally for the first few matches; some of these guys were brave enough to challenge her in that form, arguing, it would be more interesting that way." Jack chuckled at the memories of the matches, "biiiig mistaaaake," he said quietly, but not enough to elude Elsa and Lukas' hearing.

Deciding to leave that talk for another time, Elsa said instead, "Jack, can you go and get Merida please? We're going to be late."

"Sure Snow Queen." He hovers over towards the center of the match, but remains out of hitting range of the two fighters.

Lukas and Elsa couldn't hear Jack's voice, but could see his mouth moving, relaying the news that it was time to go. However, Merida's voice was very loud and clear. Her disappointment was unmasked-able. "What?! Already?!" They saw Jack's mouth moving again. He paused, and then moves once more. On the third pause, his smile widens and he floats even higher. Next they heard a loud yelp, a thud, the scatter of metals skiing across stone ground, and then the crowd cheering in honor of the victor. They doubled their volume as the victor raises her sword to the air. "Alright boys," Merida said haughtily, as she sheaths her weapon, "it was fun and all, but I must be going back to my duties." The gathered soldiers complained a little about her leaving, but were well set on their merry mood, and understood her need to leave. Before making her way towards Lukas and Elsa, Merida helped her recent opponent back on his feet. Jack had retrieved her quiver, bow, and cloak from where they were resting, and gave them back to Merida.

As the group was about to leave, a man called out to them in jolly. "Next time Spirit! Next time, it shall be my victory."

"I assume you have quite the winning streak Merida?" Elsa asks.

Merida smiled grandly; her cheeks still slightly colored from the sparring. "Both Arendelle and Southern Isle have good fighters in their military. Good. Strong. Energetic men."

"And you Jack?" Lukas asks. "Wouldn't you like to spar?"

"Ha-ha!" Merida laughs suddenly, "This devil here is the starter for all matches. And he can't help but drag me into them."

"Are you complaining?" Jack poses.

"Not in the least Frost. These sparing matches are doing well to get my heart and body a good pumping." She takes in a deep breath of air, and walks ahead of everyone. "Aaaaah, I feel like giving a good chase with the wind—and touching the sky!"

Lukas picked up his pace in order to catch up with Merida, leaving Elsa and Jack to follow closely behind. Elsa takes a glance at Jack and he caught her. They held each other gaze for a few seconds before she favors him a small smile. In replied, Jack started creating a faint stream of snow, of diamond dust in the air between them. He formed them into letters. Define Fun, he wrote.

As soon as they reached the safe camp, Grill and Lipso relinquished command over to Lukas, while Hiccup and Rapunzel traded post with Jack and Merida, and the four made their way back to the castle together.

"Rapunzel is looking a little better," Lukas said to Elsa, as they watch the group departure. "She's even gaining her colors back."

"True," Elsa agrees, "but she's not her usual self, she's normally energetic. I wonder what is the matter?"

"Hasn't she checked with a physician yet?"

"She refuses to. Saying it's nothing more than stresses from being over worked…I hope that is all it is. Hopefully she can gain some time for herself now that we have the new weapons."

"Hopefully," Lukas replied. He was about to make his way over to his brothers' tent, when a large group of children came laughing and squealing over. They were all there for Elsa, wanting to meet with her, and Lukas was just caught in their current, unable to escape.

"Queen Elsa, Queen Elsa!" cry many of them. But among the crying children, Elsa saw one particular girl who was too shy to call. All the little one could do was smile, while laughing and giggling with the others. She was no more than six, perhaps younger, possessing dark brown hair—easily mistaken for black, and was wearing a simple purple skirt, married with a white sleeveless top. She had one outstretch hand reaching towards Elsa, in the hope of just getting a touch from her. However, Elsa took a step closer and did one better. She picked the little one up, hugs her, and balanced the child on her hip. This sparked more excitement among the rest of the children, and they all wanted the chance to be held by their Queen.

"E-excuse me children," Lukas finally said, as he tries to brush some of the children away to make a path. "I need to get through if you don't mind." When he takes a step, he found the back of his shirt being tugged, forcing him to stop and turn around. It was another girl, though much older than the brown hair one.

She was maybe nine to ten, and her hair was cut short. "Is this it Prince Lukas?" she asks, pointing to his satchel. "Is the treasure in there?"

Alarmed, Lukas tightens his grip on the satchel. "What treasure?" he pose, "Who told you that there was any treasure in here?"

"Jack Frost did!" she replied happily.

Lukas sends a quick glance over to Elsa, but found she was just as dumb founded as he was. Another child, a tall skinny lad, also tugged at his shirt for attention. "Jack said there was a special treasure in there. And that you will show it too us if we ask nicely," he said innocently.

"So can we see it please?" voice the shy girl quietly. Her plea encouraged the whole lot of the children to do the same, now crowding around Lukas.

Lukas managed to stand side by side to Elsa, and whispers harshly into her ear. "This is outrageous! The book is supposed to be a kept secret between the representing members of the alliance. What was Jack thinking, telling children about the book?!"

Elsa puts the little girl down and whispers calmly in reply, "I don't know…but there must be a reason for him in telling the children." She than turns her attention to the children. "Did Jack say specifically what the treasure is?" she asks them kindly. They all giggled; some of them shook their head or replied with a no. Elsa thought about it quickly and said to Lukas, "Perhaps it will be all right to show them—I know what you're thinking but Jack didn't specified what the treasure was…He must have a reason."

"Or this could just be a bad joke—in-which I'm not finding it amusing."

"…I trust Jack. But if you show them that it's just a book, then they may lose interest."

Lukas thought for a moment and decided that he didn't have a choice. If he walks away and ignore the children, then their parents may not take too him kindly during his days in command of the safe camp. There is still some bitterness towards the brothers because of Hans' past actions, and now rekindled because of war. Roughly, he unlatched the straps and took out The Promise Book.

There was a strong expression of confusion upon the children faces. Their excitement has dropped dramatically. The nearest child stood on the tips of his toe, attempting to look into the satchel. "Where's the treasure?" he asks.

"This is it," Lukas said with a smile, happy to see that the children are losing interest. "This book is the treasure." Their confusion steadily turns into disappointment.

"…So, Jack lied to us?" Several of them started murmuring the same thought. But the shy little girl offered a different idea.

"Maybe the treasure is inside the book," she suggests, and made her way towards Lukas. "Prince Lukas," she starts, but then lowers her head a little, unable to hold his eyes in her own. "Can we see what's inside the book?"

Seeing how there couldn't be any harm in it, Lukas opens The Promise Book to a random page. On it, there was a grand old tree with a massive fork, splitting several branches in different direction, as they stretch to the sky. From where the massive fork started, it left a large base at its center, big enough to hold two adults sitting down. And in the background, it was morning: to the far back there were mountains covered in snow: to the right, woodlands of flowers clothing the trees in soft colors: to the left, a forest of Autumn in several shades of red, yellow and orange. As for the front, a pure field of lushes' greens, with a medium size brook splitting the land before rounding to the side and disappearing behind the tree.

The children gawked at the beautiful picture, unable to take their eyes off the page, until one of the children spoke up. "Where is that place?" he asks in wonder.

"Is that where the dream sands come from?" another lad asks, noting the trial of glowing lights following the brook, up the tree, and illuminating the whole base in gold. "Is that where the Sandman lives?"

"Sorry, little one," Lukas answers gently. "This is the realm of the fairies."

"R-r-realm?" a little girl asks.

"Realm is another word for kingdom. So this place is the kingdom of the fairies; they call it Pixie Hollow."

"But why are there dream sands in their tree?"

"Those are pixie dust. The tree in the center produces them."

"What do they do?" a boy asks.

"Well, it all depends on the colors of the dust. The gold colored dust grants anyone the ability to fly and be weightless."

"And the other colors? How many are there?—"

"Aww but I don't want to hear about fairies and their dust," complied a child, as he crosses his arms. "Are there dragons in you book Prince Lukas?"

"But I want to hear!" complained another.

Lukas saw how soon it was going to turn into a spectacle argument but didn't know what to do. He has never handled children before, and his younger brothers don't count. He looks over towards Elsa for help, seeing how she has spent some time among children, and seems to get along well with them. Elsa claps her hand in three successions. "Children," she calls, "Children, behave yourselves now, otherwise, Prince Lukas will not be telling any stories at all."

"—Wait Elsa, I don't—"

"So this is what we'll do, since the book belongs to Lukas, we'll let him decide on what to read, alright? No arguments. No complaints. Otherwise. No story. Agreed?"

"Elsa wait, listen to me—"

"Agreed," the children said in unison. And before Lukas could mutter another word, he found himself being pulled roughly, first by one child, before the whole flock of them started pulling him along as well, laughing and giggling all the way. They guided him to the nearest log and forcefully sat him down, in which he landed rather hard and ended up slipping off. But the children had already moved away, seating themselves on the ground in front of him.

Elsa had moved to help Lukas back up, but he refuses to sit and so stands. "Elsa," he hisses quietly. "I don't want to do this—we're not even supposed to be doing this!"

Elsa only smiles. "Really…? Maybe you're right, but it's too late now." she whispers back. "A fight was going to break out, and the only way to stop them was to give them what they wanted."

"But Elsa—"

"Giving them one story shouldn't be too much. And to them, this book," she points to The Promise Book, "is no more than a story book…so just tell them a story."

Lukas was more than just mad, but he can't afford to let his temper get the better of him, not in front of children. Swallowing his frustration, he sat himself back. Satisfy, Elsa made her way to the side and created a small ice stool to sit on.

The children's eyes never left Lukas; they were waiting patiently for him to make his decision on a story. But Lukas didn't know what he should read to them, his mind was still battering over the fact, that his family's treasure was leaked beyond the privileged. And To children! There are worse people, but children! What was Jack thinking?! He thought. And Elsa, how can she go along with this? He hears a small cough and turns to look at Elsa.

"Have you decided?" she asks.

"Just a minute more," and he went right back to thinking about a tale. And then a memory occurred to him, the words of North; what he had told him about The Promise Books, their protectors and users. The book suddenly flops open on his lap and started flipping to the very blank pages. It stops suddenly on the very first page.

The children awed and shouted in merry and clap in amazement. "Neat trick Prince Lukas!" shouted a child from the back.

"Almost like magic," comment another.

"…It was magic," Lukas said quietly. His words surprised him as much as it surprised Elsa. Lukas couldn't stop himself. It was an instinct feeling he had, he wanted them to hear him—he wanted them to know the book is magic. The children before him fell quiet, and looked at him as if in a daze. "This book is magical…Jack Frost wasn't lying when he said there was a treasure in the satchel, and the book is it…Not because of its magical tricks…but what's in it." Lukas said the last part while looking at the shy girl, in which he received a smile from her. "There are tales in here that you may have heard, others never in your whole life, places unimaginable, and Beings you thought that were never true…would you all like to hear about them?" The children nodded, so softly, as if they were making a promise to keep a secret, between them and Lukas. A very, very, special, secret.

The children couldn't see the magic taking place, but by now, Lukas understands what was happening, even though he didn't mean for it to. The blank page was beginning to color. An image of a woman started to form: possessing a small stature with a heart shaped face and blushing cheeks. She had clear grey eyes; clad in a long yellow fur coat stretching down to her legs, with the collar and cuffs being white. She possesses long curls of auburn colored hair tied back into a loose ponytail, with a single lock of it falling over her right eye, slightly brushed away from her vision. Katherine, is her name, the title of the story, the title of her story. Wrap around her arm, was a single book. "This story, is about Katherine: The Guardian of Storytelling."

XxXxXx

"Well, At least I don't have to worry about him for a while," Jack said, as he slowly skated around the room. "Lukas will be up there for about three days, right?"

"Perhaps even longer," said Elsa, organizing her paperwork into their categorized file. "The children couldn't get enough after the story of Katherine."

Jack chuckled and nodded his head. "Out of all the stories he could've chosen, he went with Katherine. Not a bad starter indeed."

"Do you know Katherine Jack?" Elsa asks, due to curiosity, and wanting to learn more of Jack's past.

He slowed down his skating even further. "Not personally, no. She was gone long before me and Hiccup and Merida became spirits."

Elsa's head shot up in disbelief and her back straightened-up in following. "But then—but the story, it made it sound as though she still lives."

Jack shrugs his shoulders. "Perhaps she still does. Katherine disappeared some time after the final battle: Pitch verses the Beings and the people of Earth. She disappeared right before the world of magic was separated from Earth…North and the others spent years searching for her, but she was never found. I personally thought she was gone, but now, after learning about the existence of the Promise Books, I can understand why they all still believe so strongly in her survival.

"Why is that?"

"…The Promise Book is the only sign that she could possibly still be alive. You see, Katherine was an orphan adopted by Ombric. She grew up close with the Guardians and was made Guardian after turning…twenty, I think. But the thing is; Katherine was the first one, the very first and the official Story Teller. She is the one who wrote and recorded all our stories, and she is the only one who can write about us. It was she who created the Promise Books in order to spread our story.

"And to this day, stories—the official stories of us and other Beings, are still being recorded in those books. Us young Guardians came long after her and yet our stories are in the Promise Books. Back when we were in Tooth's palace, I had Lukas searched for me in his book, just for the fun of it. But I wasn't expecting to see myself there, on those pages…Katherine is out there apparently, watching us and recording everything. Why, I wouldn't even be surprise if you, Anna, and Lukas ends up in the book as well."

"Don't be silly Jack, we're not Beings."

"Ombric is not a Being either, he's human. His story is in the book. And take Rapunzel, she's still human, but her story is already on the pages."

"They are Guardians Jack—or Ombric is a powerful wizard, they are—special."

Jack suddenly glided over to her desk, hitting it hard as he halts to a stop, startling her. "And you don't think Anna, Lukas, or even yourself are special?" he asks in a low voice, the arch of his brow pressing down in disapproval.

"You know my opinion of my sister. She is the best, the most amazing person in the world. Lukas is incredible with his words. He knows how to sway masses of people," she smiled at a small thought, "it may be due to his ancestors being Story Tellers..."

"And you? What about you?"

Elsa sighs heavily and leans back against her chair. "I know what you're thinking Jack and I can guess well on what you're going to say." As proof, she raises her right hand up and created a mini flurry over her palm. Next, she sends it up with speed towards the ceiling, where upon impact, the flurry expanded, scattering its snowflakes throughout the room. With a snap, she froze the snowflakes in place, making it seems as though time has gone still.

Jack's brows were still pressed down; his eyes had narrow, almost blank. There was no smile. This was not the expression Elsa was expecting. Jack started gazing around nodding his head at her work, but didn't say anything. He disappeared for a moments as he skated behind her seat, reappearing on the opposite side to whisper suddenly in her ear. "You know how Jamie is my First Believer right?"

It took a while before Elsa could recall who this Jamie was. "You mean the boy from your memory in the last battle against Pitch?"

Jack nodded. "Not many of us, Beings in general, have First Believers. Most of the time, we have a large group of people who jump start our story or name, and the population just grow as our names get pass around in different forms."

Elsa titled her head and arched a brow in puzzlement. "Why bring this up all of a sudden?"

"You'll see, if, you're willing to listen." Elsa nodded. "Now way back long before the realm of Beings was created, North was just starting out his Guardianship. However. He, like many other Beings, already had a mass popularity among the humans, especially the children. Every night on Christmas Eve, right before taking off to deliver the presents, North would invite a large group of children to visit his workshop.

"He selects these group of children based on their needs, if they had need of his light and wonder the most. How he would transport them to his workshop, is by letting them travel on this magical machine call a train, that he calls, "The Polar Express." To help Elsa see what a train was, he shaped a picture of it out of his snow magic, and specifically designed it to look exactly like The Polar Express.

Elsa watch in awe as Jack blows on the train, bringing it to life. It begins to move—rolling its giant wheels, traveling on air within the area of the desk, while producing a thick-like mist substance from what appears to be a chimney. "This, magical machine—this train, is a wonder," she said in amazement.

"Second best to North's sleigh. Trains in general can carry well over hundreds of passenger depending on how many cars it's pulling; it is powered by steam, and it runs on these metal rails that stretch for miles. Building these things was quite a feat.

"There are three main workers on The Polar Express: Smokey and Steamer, who operates the train; and there's the Conductor, he is the one that makes sure the passengers are safe, and keeps the train running on schedule. Anyway, North would send The Polar Express to each of the selected children's house. The Conductor would then greet the children and invite them on, but the choice is theirs' to make, if they would like to board or not.

"During one of these nights, a little boy boarded the train. And the thing was, he didn't quite believe there was a Santa Clause. So when he was taken to North's workshop, try as he might, he couldn't see North like the rest of the children; there was always something or someone blacking his view. He couldn't hear North's voice, let alone even see the reindeers or hear the bells on their reins. You can imagine how alone and left out the kid was feeling. However, one of the reindeer was jumping around so hard, that a bell was shaken off of its rein. It landed right at the foot of the boy's slipper. He picks it up, held it close to his ear, and shook it. But there wasn't any sound. He shakes again, harder this time, but there was still no sound. Next, he does the most amazing thing." Elsa asks what the little boy did. Jack's smile widens, and he said quietly, "The kid closed his eyes, and said, 'I believe…I believe.' He shakes it the third time, and the bell ring.

"North heard his words and approached the kid. He invited him up to the sleigh to receive The First Gift of Christmas; the boy was free to ask for whatever he wanted. Guess what he asked for."

"Hmmm, the bell?"

"The bell. It produces the most clearest ringing sound you could ever hear from a bell. North gifted it to him…Overtime; the bell fell silent around his friends. Even his sister found one Christmas morning, when she could no longer hear the bell. But for the boy, no matter how old he got, the bell still rings for him."

As the train was passing close to Elsa, she stretched out her fingers to touch it. It brushed against her skin before rounding back towards Jack. "And the moral of the story?" she asks.

Jack started skating again; though remain within the range of the desk. "To this day among many of us Beings, the boy is known as North's Truest Believer…The kid had no magic, he doesn't have magical ancestors, nor was he anywhere close to being like Anna. The boy is special, especially to North. All because he decided to believe, and continued believing…" Jack skated to stop in front of the desk, and gently said to her, ""Magic is magic. No matter what type, no matter how it's used, it will always be special alone...Magic is only one part of you, it doesn't wholly define you." Jack then leans on the desk, edging his face closer towards Elsa. He leaves about a hand-spared of a gap between them. "So I ask again, what about you, makes you special?"

Elsa couldn't hold his eyes and looked away as she searched for an answer. "…I don't know," she replies weakly. "I never thought about it before…I guess without my magic, I would've just been normal. Completely, normal." Normal, as in an average princess or Queen, Elsa added to herself. Normal, as in nothing special at all. Wasn'tthat how I wanted it before?

Jack sighs and pulls back. "Don't you understand? You're special, with or without magic. Anna sees it, so does Commander Gorm, and so do the people of Arendelle."

"…But what is it?" she asks quietly.

"It can vary from people to people. Anna sees you as her loving, dearest sister in the whole world—as you see her, and Gorm trust you the most to rule Arendelle. Your people love you, and I've seen how the children adore you…Elsa. You. Are. Special."

Even to you? She wanted to ask, but held herself back. At least she won't ask that tonight.

XxXxXx

"Owww!—Blonde, please, be more gentle can't you?!" Eugene cried, as he clench the wooden stool he was sitting on.

He and Rapunzel are inside a private dining room; reserved for the representatives of the kingdoms' alliance, with the addition of the young Guardians. The two had mad plans to eat lunch with the other Guardians, along with Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, and Lukas this afternoon. But due to circumstances, the two were forced to leave their position early, and are now waiting for the others to arrive.

Eugene cringed in pain again, and once more begs Rapunzel to be gentle, but she didn't comply. Instead, she continues to dab away with her cloth, wiping the remaining dried blood around Eugene's nose, causing him to grunt, hiss, and clench his teeth.

The door opens with Jack and Merida entering. "What's going on here?" Jack asks in amusement, "A lovers' quarrel?"

"If only if it were," Rapunzel reply in a wishful, sarcastic tone. "But, it's only business as usual."

"Again?" exclaimed Merida, "Now how did you break your nose this time?"

"I didn't break my nose Red," Eugene complained.

"—Correction then, how did, they, break your nose this time?"

"They just broke it, end of story."

"It happened while he was leading a supply team to the safe camp," Rapunzel reply, as she dips the cloth into a wash pan filled with warm water, and started scrubbing it. "Half-way through the travel, he and his team got ambushed by a group of Nightmares. Rest assured, there were no fatalities, and the injuries weren't bad either."

"So one of them laid a good kick huh? Or was it another head-butt?" Jack asks, taking a seat opposite to the couple."

"It was epic," Eugene started. "There were two of them coming from both sides of me, and they—"

Rapunzel quickly cover his mouth with one hand while still hold the cloth in the other. "—they tripped him. He broke his nose on the fall."

Merida and Jack broke into hard laughter. Rapunzel took her hand away and resumed scrubbing, while Eugene crossed both his legs and arms, crouching in his seat looking impassive. Rapunzel left momentary to pour the water away and to replace the cloth with bandages, along with two pieces of cotton, and a piece of sticky wax. She returns to find both Jack and Merida still laughing, though not as hard, and they don't appear to have much air left to laugh much longer.

Rapunzel was about to close the door, but stops when she saw Anna and Elsa approaching. "Well good timing you two, but you've just missed the fun."

"Oh really," said Elsa, noting Jack and Merida's laughs. "It sounds as though we've arrived right in the middle of it." The second they entered, it didn't take them even a second to realize what was so funny. Eugene shot them a look, as a sign not to say anything.

Eugene nodded at the items in Rapunzel's hands. "What are those for?" he asks politely.

"To fix your nose," she replies in kind.

Eugene's right eye brow rose a bit. "…My nose?" Rapunzel nodded, as she approached the table and set the materials down. "You're not going to heal it?" Rapunzel shook her head. Eugene decided to ditch his composer. "Oh come on, why not?"

Rapunzel smiled hesitantly as she answered him. "Well…Since you've broken your nose so many times since the war started, I thought it be better to just let time heal it. That way, your nose won't break so often if it's still broken."

"Good point there Punzi," commented Merida.

"Or we could just leave it as it is," said Jack, his smile pulling into a grin. "Who knows, your nose may finally match one of those screwed-up pictures of you."

Eugene's face hardens at that comment. "First off. No. And second off: I really don't understand why no one can get my nose right? Seriously, it's a perfectly handsome nose, and it deserves justice."

Jack shrugs his should, and started floating into the air. "Face it man, your nose is just cursed. Think about it, no one can ever get your noise right in a picture, and now its doom to be broken once a week until the war ends."

"—I know right?!" Hiccup conquered. He had opened the door when Rapunzel was giving her suggestion, but decided to stay quiet and see where the conversation was going. "I mean—if it isn't one thing with your nose, it's going to be another."

"Well I for one feel bad for you the most Punzi," said Merida, hooking her arm around Rapunzel's shoulder. "If the two of you ever have a kid, prey it an't going to be a boy. Otherwise, the poor lamb's nose may inherit the curse."

"—My nose isn't curse," said Eugene. "Beside, even if it is, our boy will have his father handsome nose. Right Rapunzel?" Eugene defended, but Rapunzel didn't say anything. "Rapunzel…? Blondie…?"

"…Let's have a girl instead, ok?"

Jack, Merida, and Hiccup, continued to teas Eugene until the timing was just right to switch over to Rapunzel. They teased her about the possibility of future children having her long golden hair, and if they can go swinging on them. After that, the spirits coupled the husband and wife together. Anna and Elsa joined in whenever they can, but left the joking mainly to Jack and the others. The sisters felt badly for the couple being bullied by their friends. The spirits kept right on at it until Kristoff and Lukas came. When lunch was served, the subject for discussion was passed onto Hiccup and his progress with the Zippleback gas.

XxXxXx

"You know Jack," Elsa starts, "You and Merida and Hiccup should be a bit nicer to Eugene."

"Oh? I didn't realize we were being mean to him."

"The three of you were practically bullying him that afternoon—In fact; all three of you are always bulling him."

"Ha-ha. Not always so. We're actually being nice to him. Besides, they're harmless teasing, he gets it. And I believe Rapunzel and Eugene enjoy them, brings a small mix of excitement in their regular daily lives.

"But really Jack, aren't the three going a bit overboard. You can cut him a break you know."

Jack smiled at her from where he was floating. He drifted down towards the window from where she stood, but still stayed about an inch off the ground. "Well, you could be right. But it's not like we never give Eugene a moment of peace, especially with Rapunzel…Especially with her." Elsa was puzzled by the way how Jack got quiet. The humor in his smile had decreased by a fraction. He had blinked for a second, but the light in his eyes were replaced by a solemn look. Jack nodded his head, now looking past her beyond the window. "Especially with her…" he repeated.

Elsa didn't say any, but waited patiently for Jack to return from whatever thought he may be thinking. When he did, Jack saw that Elsa had questions. So he resumes talking. "Time, for humans are precious Snow Queen. You should understand that better than any human here."

"…Indeed I do," she admitted with her head slightly lowered. "Well, with the exception of Anna."

"Except Anna," Jack agreed. "For the time being, Rapunzel is human. But when her human life ends, she will begin a new life as a full spirit, and take her position as Guardian of Life by day and night. And when that happens, Eugene may not be there. Neither will her parents, and non-Being friends."

"…But she will always have you, Merida, Hiccup, and the other Guardians and Spirits too."

"True, but it's a very crude thing to wake up one day and find that most of the people you love are gone, and even cruder to watch them grow old and leave…Memories, are the ones that can be the most painful of things to us Beings: sometime they're the least of importance, other times, they are all that we have left of something that was good…I guess you can say that is why we tease Eugene as hard as we do, to help create memories of him for Rapunzel. She'll have all the time in the world for us and other things after becoming a full fledged Being. But compare to her current life, there's so little time left."

Elsa was feeling weary by just standing still now. So she started walking around in short small steps, with no distention in mind. She was followed by Jack trailing behind the tail of her dress. The clicking of her heels was the only sound that was produced in the room as she walks. "And here I thought Beings had nothing but the best that life could offer." Jack shrugged and started skating alongside her. "It must be very hard during the first few years as a Being."

Jack scratched the back of his head and rubbed his neck. "Well I wouldn't really know. I woke up with no memories, and with a different kind of difficulty…But in a way, I sort of lucked out with the no memory part. Red and Hiccup had it pretty bad. They couldn't bear to leave their family and friends for some time after waking up.

"Red toughed it out the longest as you would expect, long after her parents and brothers left to watch over her kingdom. Her mother and father both died peacefully, about five years apart from each other. Her brothers grew up to be fine men, still had a bit of mischiefs in them though. They each fell in love and married a girl from one of the three allied kingdom. Harris married a girl named Fiona from clan MacGuffin, Hubert married Glenna from the Macintosh clan, and Hamish took a girl from the Dingwall clan named Kenna. Near the end, the three brothers managed to unite the kingdoms together after fifty years. They left the lands to be ruled by their children, together.

"Hiccup lasted about seventy years, after that, he needed to fly away from Dragon Island for a while. He couldn't stand to be close to his village anymore. Not after his sweetheart left the earth."

"Hiccup had a sweetheart?" Elsa asks, unable to contain her smile of the news. "Did I see her in any of his memories?"

"She's the blond one with the headband, and has a patch of hair covering her eyes."

"With the metal shoulder pads, and spiked skirt?"

"That's her."

"Hiccup has some bold taste," Elsa teased.

Jack chucked in response. Turning his body around, Jack started skating backward as he continues to follow Elsa. By now, they were on their third cycle around the room. "Hiccup had quite the crush on her. If I remember correctly, her name was Astrid. The toughest Viking girl you would have ever met on Berk. At first she didn't paid much attention to him, being the way he was. But after she found out about his and Toothless' friendship, weeell, you can imagine the lengths Hiccup had to go through just to keep her quiet about their secret."

"Nothing too dramatic I hope?"

"With a dragon involve? That's pretty hard to avoid…Now that I think about it. I think she's the very first person Hiccup convinced to accept dragons as friends. And after changing her mind, Astrid became attracted to Hiccup."

"…So, what happen to her after Hiccup…after he died?"

"Never together but never apart," Jack whispers. "Hiccup's death affected her more than anyone expected. Don't get me wrong though—she carried on with life. Astrid worked hard on building a new life for Vikings and dragons on Berk; she created a dragon academy to train dragons and new riders, she formed the Night Riders, Riders of Berk, and after Hiccup's dad retired, she was selected for the role of chieftain. But she couldn't have done all those alone…With a little help from Sandy; Hiccup often visited Astrid in her dreams, helping to guide her in leading Berk's new life."

All of the sudden, Elsa stopped walking. Her hand just reached out and took hold of Jack's sleeve, causing him to almost slip as he was halt to a stop. Her gripping hand was trembling, and her head was lowered. Jack didn't say anything for a while, but waited for Elsa to speak first instead. "J-jack," she stutters, and stops. She took in a deep breath and held it before looking up, looking straight into his eyes. She released the held in air and managed to speak soundly. "Please, look after Rapunzel. Don't let her be alone after she becomes a full Being. Don't let her—"

"I know, Snow Queen, I know," Jack replied smoothly, smiling in understanding. He removes Elsa's hand from his sleeve and squeezes it gently within his. "Neither I—nor any of the others will ever leave her alone. We can't keep her from feeling sad when the time comes, but we'll always be there for her. And if there's anything I can promise you about Rapunzel's future, I assure you, she's going to live out a full life. That is, if she survives this war. She'll live a full, long, fulfilling, life. And that is more than what I can say for the most of us." Jack saw the new puzzled look on Elsa face, and at that point, he knew he can let go of her hand to proceed in explanation. "You, Anna, and Lukas all saw how Red and Hiccup and I started our life as Beings. We died. And at respectively young ages. We missed out on a lot of things that life could give to an aging, mortal body."

"Oh…? I think I understand what you mean, like a coming of age ceremony or certain inheritance of rights and such?"

"Or starting a family," added Jack, "or even falling in love. Merida isn't the type of girl who's into romance you know. But Hiccup was like any other average boy. He was lucky enough to have known the feelings of attraction. But the fostering of love, he had to cheat a little for that one."

"You mean during his visits in Astrid's dreams?"

Jack nodded. "But it may have been a one-sided-love on Hiccup's part. If you think about it, how could she love a boy that she only started having feelings for, and was dead before her attraction could mature?"

"Good point," Elsa said. She wanted to ask if Astrid ever did get married, but a new question instantly formulated instead. Elsa was afraid of it. She was afraid to ask it. But the question just slipped from her tongue and bypassed her lips. "And you Jack, had you every felt love?" She resists the urge in making any attempt in taking it back, along with the need to cover her face with both hands. She felt her heartbeats increasing, her face turning warm, but she couldn't do anything about them. Elsa could only hope that Jack doesn't notice.

"El***"

Her heart had just stopped. It was pieced by a finely sharp needle that was pushed instantly into her flesh. A lump had somehow appeared right in her throat, cutting off any air from reaching her lungs for a mere second. Jack had uttered the name in serene whisper, lovingly poisoned with melancholy, grief, and sadness. He had turned to look once more beyond the window. His expression was a mix of perplex and pain.

Elsa couldn't understand why tonight, words were leaving her lips without permission. She couldn't stop herself before, and she can't stop herself now. "...Who?"

Jack turns to look at her, as if she hasn't been beside him the entire time since he arrived. Jack couldn't look directly at Elsa quite yet. But when he did, his face was much calmer, though his brows were still press in thought. He uttered the name again in the same tone as before, though this time, the name was solid and tangible. "Elisa."