Jittery


Elsa walked around. The moment Count Gregory gave away the white hair clue, finding Prince Jackson amongst a crowd of thousands appeared to be an effortless task. As soon as Elsa made herself sure there was no white hair—who was not an elder inside the ballroom—she walked outside to the castle yard.

There would be a second celebration held in the beautiful yard in which the queen and the princess would be commemorating the day with their citizens. Elsa had previously undone all of her icy decorations because the council advocated having the queen's winter ability as a surprise show for the foreign guests. Elsa couldn't wait to witness the smiley faces of her beloved citizens once again. Hopefully, the royalties and dignitaries from the other kingdoms would share the same adoration as well. She was soon greeted by the guards at the front door and a couple of servants. It took her only five seconds to find him out there.

There she saw the third line to the Northern Isles throne with his royal blue outfit—her future husband—who was busily chatting with one of the youngest servants in the castle. Dima was the boy's name, a dear nephew to Gerda. Dima has always been very shy and clumsy, but Elsa has admired him for his sense of music. Even though the boy is practically not really good at anything, he can serenade any girl with his piano skill.

She hadn't been able to see the prince's face since his back was facing her. She shot him an irked look. She was busy inside yet there he was—fooling around with a piping bag. Elsa was ready to confront him, but his deep voice stopped her steps.

"I was once like you—far much worse, actually, but then my sister taught me the starters. Follow my lead."

Follow my lead?

Is he teaching Dima how to put an icing on a cake?

Her anger vanished as soon as she heard the prince's laughter. She grew curious instead, and she decided to spy on the two, but then she figured she needed a cover.

"Good evening, Your Majesty," A servant with a large cloak greeted her as he pushed a wagon filled with white roses.

"Good evening," Elsa replied then directed at his cloak. "May I borrow your cloak just for a moment?"

"Of course, you may, Your Majesty." The man quickly took off his cloak and gave it to his queen. "I must apologize, though, if—at some point—it releases an improper scent." Elsa chuckled as the man helped his queen to wear the outer.

"Don't worry, it smells like roses." Elsa smiled as the man bowed gratefully and excused himself. Elsa's attention returned to the two males with each of their piping bags.

"You have your fingers and your nails. If you want to practice making a straight-line frosting, try to trace the piping bag on your fingers..." Everything she had wanted to lash out on him vanished just like that. She admired the gentleness of his voice and the way he carried himself around the boy. It was Elsa's first time witnessing a royal prince like him was kind enough to give directions to a servant boy.

My son is not your typical prince, Your Majesty.

King Nicholas's words swam back to her head. This prince really wasn't like any royalty she had ever seen. She had faced many men for the past three years. Most of them were arrogant and only cared about themselves—plus their title and wealth. Many would knock on her door and then ask for her hand in marriage just because she was the queen who is, in fact, a powerful kind with such prosperous kingdom and the power of the winter itself. Of course, she would rebuff them all and send them back to where they belong.

But, this one peculiar man drew her like a magnet.

Just like his father had said, he was nothing like those men. He could just storm inside the ballroom with his pride, disdainfully lifting his chin up and feeling proud of the image of being the future king, yet he preferred to linger around the courtyard—with all of its unfinished decorations and noisy servants—to selfishly guide a poor lad who didn't know how to put an icing on a cake.

Elsa couldn't hold back her smile upon his generosity. She decided to walk closer and take a look at his face—still in her disguise. She would like to explore this sight of him. She would want him to address her without her title as queen, just as Elsa.

"Excuse me, my lord." He turned and Elsa was truly amazed once again.

He was handsome. His eyes pictured the depth of the ocean and they sparked as the crystals. His snow-white hair was unkempt yet smoothed at the right parts. "Good evening, my lord." Elsa smiled and curtsied. However, the young prince didn't express any change of emotion from his seemingly shocked face. Elsa waited for a few seconds before uttering another sentence.

"I've never seen you around before, my lord. Without any means to be disrespectful, I was wondering where did you come from?" She continued the conversation yet the prince still remained in silence. "Forgive me for being impudent, my lord. The citizens of Arendelle have always been so easily intrigued by novel things. As for myself, I cannot help my curiosity." She let out a louder voice as the prince snapped back into reality.

"My apologies, my lady. I was rather surprised at your sudden approach." The prince bashfully titled his head down but not moving his gaze away from her. "I arrived here yesterday morning from the Northern Isles. You can call me Jackson."

He is him.

The smile grew wider on her lips, but what he did next caught her off guard.

"If I may ask, what is your name?"

He asked for her name and offered her a handshake. She briefly shifted her eyes to her appearance—legitimately making sure her gown was still perfectly covered by the cloak—and back to his open palm. She then returned to his eyes. Most men she had encountered would refuse to even look at the lower castes, but this prince didn't even think twice to go for skin contact. He even threw away his title.

She smiled and was about to return the gesture.

"Your Majesty! I didn't see you right there."

Elsa bit the insides of her cheeks and smiled weakly at Dima who was smiling widely while showing off his teeth. She looked back at the prince with his eyes resembling utter shock, though his hand remained the way it was.

"I guess it's time to stop playing around." She flashed him a small grin and enveloped her hand in his. An odd sensation tickled her bones, but she was too occupied with Jackson's hilarious face.

"Elsa of Arendelle. It is a pleasure to have finally met you, Jackson." Elsa shook his hand and later pulled her hand back.


Shit. I should've followed Emma's guidelines.

Jack bites his lip and quickly looks down at his shoes. He can feel the warmth on his cheeks slowly making its appearance and refuses to look at the queen with his bashful state. Well, in any state actually. She is royalty and he is not used to engaging any conversation with one. Also, the fact that she is a tremendously gorgeous one doesn't make it any better.

Far much worse, she is his future wife.

And he offered his tremendously gorgeous future wife a handshake.

Emma would make him suffer for the whole week.

Jack takes a deep breath and gathers all his guts to end the killing silence.

"Y—Your Majesty, I—"

"Your Majesty and Your Highness!" A voice yells as whoever the owner runs to the couple's direction. Jack closes his mouth shut as Elsa's attention fully darts to the source of the voice. "Thank goodness! The ball shall start soon. Oh! Prince Jackson, my name is Kai and I am the queen's advisor. I am sorry for the rushed introduction, but we must hurry."

"Thank you, Kai." Elsa smiles and turns around to face the prince. "Let me escort you inside, my lord." Jack awkwardly nods. Stuffing his hands inside his pocket while biting his own tongue, he follows the queen and her advisor. They stop for a minute when the queen has to return the cloak to one of the people in the yard, revealing her majestic ivory blue gown. She looks even more beautiful with a fancy dress on.

Great. She disguised herself because she wanted to put a test on me.

Jack mentally groans and hangs his head low, diverting his gaze away from Elsa who is now engaged in a serious conversation with Kai.

Whatever that test was, he surely had failed.


"There you are, Jack!" Jack lifts his chin up and spots his father who's making his way towards his son. "I have been looking for you everywhere." King Nicholas gives out a loud sigh before stopping a foot away from his son.

"Well, fun fact, the Queen had found me first." Jack laughs nervously and rubs the back of his neck.

"You have met your wife?"King Nicholas beams and proudly pats Jack's shoulder. He was actually going to scold him for a few minutes, but the news is too interesting to be pended.

"Not yet."

"Right, yet." King Nicholas gets more and more excited. "How was it?"

"You don't wanna know, Dad."

"Well if I did not, I would not bother to ask."

Jack sighs and stares at Queen Elsa who's currently bickering with a strawberry blonde-haired woman. "It was awkward and I messed up big time."

King Nicholas raises his eyebrow and follows Jack's gaze. "I need more details than that, Jack."

"She was wearing a huge cloak, borrowed it from a man outside, and catching me playing around a piping bag with a servant boy." Jack finishes his sentence with a huff and tears his eyes from the queen. "Out of nervousness and Her Majesty in disguise, I asked for a handshake and not the proper hand-kissing royal stuff."

King Nicholas chuckles at his son's troubled state and squeezes his shoulder comfortingly. "Well, I guess it hasn't been fully your fault since I never taught you the proper way to greet a lady, especially as gracious as your not yet wife." He continues to amuse himself over his son's funny story. "You did not know it was her the first place. I think that was pretty understandable."

"Emma gave me a book about it so it is my fault." Jack regrets his prior decision to explore the yard rather than absorbing the methods inside that damn book.

King Nicholas looks down at his son and smugly grins. "This is the first time I ever witnessed your jittery side." Jack looks up to the giant old man. "I just know you actually have that side."

"Everyone has that side. Thank you for stating the obvious."

"Well it's such a shocking discovery that this rare side of yours comes out," King Nicholas smirks and looks forward. "—after you met one particular woman."

Jack blushes at the moment his father finishes his sentence and Kai announces the queen's entrance at the throne, followed by an eruption of applause from the guests. A few words from the queen are expected before the guests can taste the main dishes, though they are allowed to taste all the sweets around the ballroom.

Everyone cheers as he stares. He admires her elegance, simply from the way she carries herself like a true queen she was born to be.

"Welcome to Arendelle, my honorable guests. It is my greatest pleasure to have your attendance this joyful evening." Elsa speaks, loud and clear, as her eyes move from right to left, showing her gratitude to everyone who is present at the ball. "Arendelle was once a small kingdom, hidden somewhere in the Arenfjord. Through all those years, Arendelle learned from my ancestors' triumphs and mistakes as it continued to fight for a better reign." Elsa stops for a moment before smiling widely at her audience. "Now, here it stands, with the smile and laughter from its people. There was no way Arendelle could manage to grow so much only within a couple of years without the amount of kindness you all have shared until this very day." The crowd awes at the queen's humble words. "Tonight's celebration goes to all of you. Arendelle thanks to you. Without any further ado, let us all enjoy the festival!" The crowd roars and the bell rings once again. They begin to go after the main dishes and some guests remain at their positions as they await their turns to have a conversation with the queen.

King Nicholas hums happily and returns to his son. "Since the first meeting ended up very badly, make the most of it on the second one." Jack looks back at his father and nods gratefully, taking in his advice. "Now, I shall hunt for some meat for this belly." Jack chuckles and lands his eyes on the queen once again. She's beautiful. He wonders if this is just a dream, a wonderful fantasy his mind toyed him with.

Well, a dream indeed. This is too good to be true.

"I know my sister is an angel but, nope, you're totally awake, Your Highness." Jack looks down at the familiar giddy face and the familiar strawberry blonde hair. His eyes widen in surprise as he recalls the memories from a few days ago.

"You're that hooded lady from the harbor." He pauses. "Wait, you were also talking to the queen—" He pauses again.

Sister?

He finally connects the dots. "You are the princess?" Anna laughs at the prince's priceless face and playfully curtsies.

"I thought it was obvious?" Anna grins wickedly and puts her hands on her hips.

Jack silently agrees with her statement. "Why didn't you tell me back then?"

"I wasn't allowed to go to the harbor at that time. You know the councils keep both of your identities a secret to each other which affects everyone in the kingdom also. So, yeah, I can't spill my real identity to you." The princess replies and shoots him a look. "Well, that's nothing important compared to your own secret though." Anna snickers as Jack glares at her.

"I told you to keep that to yourself."

"I did—uh...sort of."

"You told someone else?" Jack slaps his forehead.

"Only my suitor, the kingdom's loyal companion, and the castle's important subject." Anna grins sheepishly and crosses her fingers.

"Those are pretty important people."

"Your secret is safe with us," Anna assures then bites her lower lip. "Well, maybe not for long..."

"What—"

"Oh! I haven't introduced myself!" Anna quickly interjects and curtsies, elegantly this time. "Princess Anna of Arendelle, the lovely younger sibling of Queen Elsa of Arendelle who soon will be the most beautiful wife ever." Anna childishly smiles and looks up to Jack who's turning a little red at the mention of her sister.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for such detailed information," Jack smirks and decides to play along. This unique female royalty makes him feel as if he's talking to his sister. "Prince Jackson of the Northern Isles. It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

"Very gentlemanly, Prince Jackson." Anna teasingly compliments and crosses her arms in front of her chest. "I'm sure you'll be able to swipe my sister off her feet."

Jack refuses to tell her he already had a conversation with the queen and also the fact that she was the one to swipe him off his feet. He brings out another topic.

"You know what? I had a feeling you had an important role in the castle when you said you were against this marriage." Jack chuckles dryly as Anna hums patiently. "I thought for a second you were the queen's daughter."

"OH MY GOD!" Anna bursts into laughter, stealing the attention of almost everyone surrounding them. Jack keeps his mouth shut and helplessly tries to keep his cool. "Oh my God, I like you already! I bless you as my brother-in-law." Anna's laughter starts to die down as she puts a really large smile. "Don't tell me you're one of those people who think that queens are always old?"

"Not really," Jack suddenly remembers Thiana and the kid from the yard. He growls and notes himself to plan a prank on Thiana later. "My sister-in-law lied to me by specifically saying that the queen was 35 years old last time they met." Anna snorts and shakes her head amusingly. "I also met a kid outside who told me the queen has been reigning for twelve years."

"God, you must've been upset all this time. I'm so sorry for you." Anna continues to laugh at his poor state then straightens herself. "Putting aside all that false information, now you're feeling quite the luckiest man in the world, right?" Anna teases him as she directs her eyes at the queen who's too busy talking to some dignitaries.

Jack smiles at his future wife and shrugs. "Well, I don't know much about her, but she looks lovely."

"So, when are you going to talk to her?" Anna jumps excitedly and elbows his arm. "You do remember this whole thing is actually for your engagement, right?"

Jack beams and returns to look at the strawberry blonde. "I would hate myself to disappoint her. Is there anything you'd want to share so I wouldn't make a mess of myself?"

"Oh! You just found the right person to provide the answers!"

•••

Author's Note

HELLO FRIENDS AND FAMILIES! This busy girl finally had the time to update! The week was exhausting tbh and I had very limited time to myself bc I'm still in the middle of my midterm tests...by anywaysies, I hope you like the chapter!

AHTOHALLAN
- Dima, Gerda's nephew, is my original character

I can't wait for you all to read the next chapter where the real Jelsa convo begins! Thank you for the many follows, favs, and reviews! There are sO many of them I hardly believe they are all real, thank you so much for your love! I'll see you on the next chap~

Warm Hugs,
Reynia