I launched myself out of my bed and tried to run, but Hiccup reacted quickly and managed to catch me before I could get anywhere.

"Let me go!" I yelled, fighting to free myself from his grasp.

"We have no idea where he is or how he got out," Hiccup tightened his grip. "This could be a trap for all we know. It's not s-"

"I don't care!" I screamed, desperately trying to shove him away from me. "I'm so sick of everybody telling me he's not safe! Jack would NEVER HURT ME!"

Hiccup was silent.

"Please," I didn't even try to fight back my tears. "Please let me go..."

After hesitating, Hiccup loosened his arms. Before freeing me completely, he said, "Don't leave the Pole. The Guardians have all gathered to discuss what to do next, they'll probably want to talk to you."

I nodded.

He let me go.

I gathered up my hair so I wouldn't trip and then took off in a run.

The entire workshop was empty. No elves, no yetis, no sign of life at all. They all must've been with the other Guardians.

It crossed my mind briefly that I was probably supposed to be there too, after all, I was a Guardian now.

They probably had forgotten, just like I had.

It wouldn't even matter if I was there. Talking about what to do wasn't going to find Jack.

My heart started beating faster as different terrifying scenarios crossed my mind. I shook my head and reminded myself to not let the fear get to me. But one question refused to go away: What if we couldn't find him?

No. I was going to find him. I had to.

I burst into the cell with more power than I thought I had in me.

"Where is he?!" I demanded.

Pitch looked up at me with a bored expression, "Where is who?"

"Jack."

He rolled his eyes, "I haven't seen him since you were torturing us."

"He's missing. You're telling me you don't have anything to do with that?"

Pitch scoffed and looked around his cell, "Does it look like I've been able to do anything since I've been locked up?"

I frowned, "I guess not..."

"I must say, this is very exciting," he smirked. "If Frost managed to escape North's prison then there's nothing he can't do."

The memory of Jack running through the workshop destroying everything in his path made me shudder.

"I bet he could send the world into another ice age."

"He could," I agreed. "But he wouldn't."

"What makes you say that?"

"He doesn't want to be feared."

"But he does want to be believed in. He's gone to those extremes before."

I glared at him, "Just because he's made mistakes before doesn't mean he's a monster." Anger bubbled up inside me, "You're the monster! You're the reason he did all of those things! Even before, he was only acting out of fear of never being seen!"

Pitch's eyes widened slightly as he stared at my hair, it was glowing despite the fact I wasn't singing. I inhaled slowly and tried to relax. It didn't work. It almost seemed to glow brighter. After he regained his composure, he retorted, "I'm not a monster, I'm simply doing my duties. The Man in the Moon chose me to be the Guardian of Fear, how am I supposed to ignore what he says?"

I refused to let him throw me off, "After everything you've done? You think you can justify it with that? You're the reason *I* spent THREE HUNDRED YEARS locked away in a tower! YOU'RE THE REASON MY MOTHER IS DEAD!"

Something inside me shattered upon saying that. He took away the only person I had, the only person who had loved me during those lonely years. And then he took away Jack, turning him into something he wasn't. I suddenly wanted to collapse in on myself and cry, but I couldn't give him that satisfaction.

His expression changed the slightest as he remembered her. It made me wonder if he had felt any remorse whatsoever. I doubt he had. "Someone's being awfully brave," he sneered.

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Why? Because I'm trapped inside a cell and you have all the power in the world? I wouldn't be afraid either," he stood and towered over me.

I refused to back down. Despite being a mere five feet two inches, I drew myself up as much as I possibly could and glared with equal intensity.

He laughed, "You're pathetic. Even behind bars, I still have ways to snuff out the lights."

To show me, he reached through the bars and grabbed a chunk of my hair. I gasped and tried to tug it away, but he clenched I tightly in his fist. I stared in horror as the golden strands turned black from his touch.

"What are you doing? Stop!"

"If I can't have Frost as my fearling, I want the next best thing."

"No!" I cried. My hair began to glow brighter than it ever had before, brighter than the sun itself.

Pitch let out an agonized yell and yanked his hand away. He backed away until he was pressed up against the wall furthest from me, cowering in fear.

I smirked, "Don't ever try to do that again. That wasn't even the best I could do."

He stared at me with his mouth hung open in awe, and his entire body was shaking.

"Thank you for nothing," I spat. Before he could even attempt to say another word, I whirled around and left.

Tears sprung to my eyes as I stormed down the corridor. Jack was missing. And Pitch didn't have anything to do with it. The only explanation was that he had somehow escaped, and he didn't tell me. He didn't try to convince me to go with him. He just left me without a second thought. I wasn't quite sure what to do next. Although I probably should've gone to the Guardians, the idea of doing that made me feel angry at what a waste of time it would be. Jack was missing. And I didn't have time to talk about what to do. I just had to do SOMETHING.

Feeling like my heart was weighing me down, I trudged my way to Jack's cell. I didn't know why, or if I actually expected to find something, or maybe I just wanted to be where I had last seen him.

The bars were ajar, giving me access to where he had actually been.

I fell to my knees and hugged myself.

Jack... Where did you go?

Why did you leave me?

I closed my eyes and imagined him.

I imagined him as Jackson Overland, with his messy brown hair and caring brown eyes. I imagined how he would tease me mercilessly and shamelessly flirt, and then how terrified he was when he first told me he loved me. I imagine the only time I ever saw him without a smile was after his father had died, and how he still would plaster one on whenever Emma was around, refusing to let her see how broken he was feeling. I imagined the time we danced on the frozen lake together, and he whispered that I was his dream.

I imagined him as Jack Frost. His hair was as white as snow and his eyes were like three drops of blue watercolors into a pool of cold water. I imagined his face full of anticipation when he would bring me something new from the outside world. I imagined how determined he was to make sure I was always laughing. I imagined how full of fun and happiness he used to be.

And then I imagined how his laughter grew quieter over time, and how he smiled less often near the end.

Why didn't I do something sooner?

A tear trickled down my cheek and I hugged myself tighter.

I opened my eyes and looked up at the Moon, at Manny.

"Please," I begged, even though Jack told me talking to the Moon was useless. "Help me find him."

The Moon almost seemed to glow a bit brighter.

Something glinted in the moonlight, something in the very corner of my eye, catching my attention.

I hadn't noticed it when I first walked in, but there was something resting in a pile next to the broken shackles.

Slowly, I moved over towards the object to see what it was.

It was a pair of ice skates.

I picked them up in confusion. Did Jack leave these? Where would he have even gotten them?

In my hands, they began to glow blue.

I shrieked and dropped them.

What in the world?

The glowing intensified, and my heart began to race. I had seen some pretty strange things before, but nothing like this.

The light turned white and began to crackle in the air. I gasped and backed away, not wanting to be struck. As it grew colder in my room, a small ray of hope began to sneak its way in.

It became too bright for me, and I held up my hand to block the light.

When it finally dimmed, I slowly lowered my hand, almost too scared to even hope.

My heart skipped a beat.

His knees buckled, and he fell into my arms.

Jack's bright, dazzling blue eyes slowly opened to meet mine.

(POV Change)

Darkness, that's the first thing I remember. It was dark, it was cold. I was scared.

But then I saw her. Her smile was so big, and it was so bright, it seemed to chase the darkness away.

And then I wasn't scared anymore.

"Jack..." Rapunzel choked, her green eyes shining with happy tears.

"Hey there," I smiled.

She tackle hugged me, and I just barely caught her. Her entire body was shaking, I wasn't sure if it was from crying or laughing. Maybe both.

I was shaking too.

"You're okay," she gasped, clutching my shirt tightly in her tiny hands. "Oh my god, you're okay!"

I nodded slowly.

She pulled away so she could look at me. She touched my face gently, and I leaned into it with a smile.

"You were missing," she laughed. "Everyone thought that you had escaped somehow, but you were just... You were just finding your center again."

"I guess so," I shrugged. Slowly, the memory of finding a golden flower and watching it transform into Rapunzel crept its way into my mind. "What was I? You were a flower, right? What was I?" I asked, excitedly.

Rapunzel giggled, "You were a pair of ice skates."

I laughed, "Sounds about right."

She shook her head, still smiling in disbelief, "This is... This is so amazing! You're okay!"

My happiness faded slightly as I remembered more. I looked around at where we were: a prison cell. I winced as I remembered why I was in there.

"Jack?" her expression was full of fear. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just remembering," I shook my head. My smile returned when I realized that an image hadn't danced in my mind of what horrible things were scaring her. "I'm okay though... I'm wonderful, actually!"

She beamed.

I reached forward and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Without hesitation, she grabbed my shirt and pulled me into a kiss.

I smiled and pulled her closer.

(POV Change)

There was a warmth in my heart that even holding Jack's freezing hand wasn't making me shiver. In fact, the warmth was fueled by holding his hand. I felt like I was glowing from the inside out. (A few minutes later, Jack teased me about how my hair was actually glowing) Part of me was wondering if I had died and gone to Heaven.

Every time I looked at Jack, the more convinced I was that I had.

When I had turned human again after being a flower, it was like I had been regenerated into my true form: my hair had turned golden again, and I was clothed in a laurel green dress with golden trim. I felt like some kind of fairy.

Jack looked like the Lord of Winter. His hair had returned to its beautiful silver white, with only a few strands of black, and his eyes were once again the most beautiful shade of blue I had ever seen. His torn up clothes Pitch had given him were gone, replaced with clothes that looked similar to what Jackson Overland had worn. Other than his cape: it was the same blue as his old hoodie had been, and similarly covered in intricate spirals of frost. It swept the ground dramatically behind him as we walked through the woods.

The only thing ruining the Winter King aesthetic were the autumn leaves and twigs caught in his hair that he hadn't noticed yet. But I found them far too adorable to tell him that they were there, so I decided to merely giggle at them silently.

We stood underneath the tree and exchanged our new rings.

The ring I had asked Hiccup to make for Jack had an intricate sun engraved in the gold. The ring Jack had Hiccup make me had a moon engraved in the silver, with spirals inspired by frost creating a lovely design on the rest of the band.

"It's beautiful," I smiled.

Baby Tooth flew closer to examine the rings and chirped her approval.

After Jack had returned, we had stayed in the cell for a long while, kissing and crying and hugging. Eventually, I realized the Guardians were still out searching for him and probably needed to be informed that he was okay. Part of me had expected them to attack him upon first sight. But they all completely froze.

Jack was the first to move. I saw how they all tensed up. But he dropped his staff and fell to his knees before North, tearing up again, "I'm so sorry North. I know you probably hate me.. I am so incredibly ashamed of what I did... Please, I don't deserve it but please..."

North shook his head and helped Jack back to his feet, "You were scared. I know what's in your heart Jack, I know that you haven't been yourself. We forgive you."

Jack let out a shaky breath and smiled before throwing his arms around North.

I smiled as the two of them hugged.

Toothiana and Aster exchanged happy looks, and Sandy met my gaze and gave me a huge grin and a thumbs up.

After Jack and North pulled away, Jack was tackled by Hiccup and Merida. He laughed his beautiful laugh as Merida gave him a noogie and Hiccup punched his arm playfully. Finally, Baby Tooth flew to his side, and has hardly left his shoulder ever since.

The next full moon, Jack took his oath and became a Guardian. I didn't think it was possible, but somehow the Moon was shining even brighter than the Sun.

I wasn't exactly kicked out of the Guardian club, but North said that I drew my powers from the Sun, and therefore I was in a different faction of Guardians. Even though I was the only sun-being on Earth to have taken the oath. But I didn't mind, I didn't need to be a Guardian. I wanted to go to school and see the world and help people on my own terms. And I wanted to be with Jack.

Jack leaned forward and kissed my nose. I giggled as a slight chill spread through me momentarily.

I looped my arms around his neck and he placed his hands on my waist. He hummed softly under his breath and swayed us back and forth. I felt Pascal climb off of my shoulder, either embarrassed or just wanting to give us some alone time. Possibly both. I wouldn't have been able to stop smiling even if I had tried. Everything was wonderful, and all the wonderful-ness kept bubbling out of me randomly.

"Why are you laughing at me?" Jack teased.

"I'm not," I reassured him. "I'm just so happy that you're all right."

He shrugged and smiled, "It's because of you."

"No it's not," I bashfully looked away. My hair was sparkling in the light of the setting sun. Soon enough, Jack would be gently glowing from the light of the rising moon.

Jack smiled even wider and nodded, "Because you believed in me."

I smiled and rested my head on his shoulder.

"So... I guess this is the part where we live happily ever after?"

With a soft laugh, I replied, "Yes.. Yes it is."