On a snowy days, Jack, feeling excited and wanting to play, rushed over to Elsa's room and called out to her.
"Elsa?" Jack knocked. "Come out and play with me and Anna!"
"Jack. It's you again." Elsa said softly on the other side of the door.
"We never play anymore." Jack complained.
"Don't you understand?" Elsa said. "We can never play together! Never again!"
"Come on out, Elsa!" Jack said. "It's the same thing, every day! You always say the same thing!"
Elsa hit the door with a tiny fist. "Why?! Why do you keep coming back?"
"Because!" Jack shouted back just as fiercely. "I'm your friend!"
"Go away Jack." Elsa said with finality.
"I'll go." Jack agreed. "But I'm coming back tomorrow. And every day—until you open up that door, Elsa! That's a promise!"
Elsa placed a tiny hand on the door longingly, and ice spread across the door. She jerked her hand back in horror.
Xxx
The King put gloves onto Elsa's hand.
"The gloves will help." King said. "See? Conceal it."
"Don't feel it." Elsa said, like a mantra.
"Don't let it show." King and Elsa said together.
Jack was looking around the corner, holding a broom in his hand, as he was supposed to be cleaning. He wondered what they were talking about.
Anna rushed over and tackled him, and the two scampered off to play. He remembered he had to keep Anna's spirits up; especially since her nightmares were only getting worse.
xxx
A couple of years later a slightly older looking Jack knocked excitedly on Elsa's door.
"Elsa!" Jack shouted. "Come out and play with me!"
"Jack, you know I can't do that." Elsa replied.
"Aw come on." Jack grinned. "We could ride bikes!"
"I can't go outside." Elsa admitted.
"Then we could put on socks and skate all around the ballroom!" Jack suggested. "C'mon! I just polished the floors! Anna misses you!"
"I can never leave this room, Jack." Elsa said firmly.
"Someday you will." Jack said. "I'm patient. I'll wait for that day! That's a promise!"
Elsa touched the handle of the door, longing to see her friend. Ice sprang onto the handle, skittering up the door and freezing it, icicles growing on the ceiling.
Xxx
Elsa held out her gloved hands to her parents. "I'm scared. It's getting stronger!"
The King took a step towards her but Elsa pulled back. "Getting upset only makes it worse. Calm down."
"No! Don't touch me. Please. I don't want to hurt you."
The King and Queen looked at each other in sadness.
Jack, this time holding a feather duster, looked around the corner, worried for his friend.
Anna grabbed the duster and dusted his face. Jack sneezed and chased her.
xxx
A few years later, the King and Queen prepared for a journey.
"See you in two weeks!" Anna hugged them both. "Don't worry, Jack will look after me and Elsa!"
Jack, now the King's advisor, bowed before the two. "Good luck on your journey, Your Majesties."
"Jack." King looked down at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I want you to look after Elsa in our stead. You are, and will always remain, her dearest friend."
"Promise to take care of our princess." Queen said. "We leave her in your care."
Jack, shocked at such a serious request. "I promise."
"As King of Arendelle," King said formally. "I name you, Jack Frost, Guardian of Elsa, Princess of Arendelle."
Something about this felt familiar; felt right.
Jack beamed. "I will not let you down."
Elsa entered the throne room, the first time she and Jack were in the same room in years.
Elsa remained in the far doorway, purposely not looking at or acknowledging Jack, all in fear of hurting him.
Elsa curtsied formally in front of her parents. "Do you have to go?"
"You'll be fine, Elsa." King said. "We just appointed Jack as your Guardian until we return."
"What?" Elsa said, horrified.
She looked pleadingly at her parents, trying to communicate her fears that she would hurt her friend again.
"Elsa." The Queen looked down at her. "Fear is your enemy. Look to your friend and Guardian Jack. Let him be the companion you so desperately crave."
"Elsa, I—" Jack attempted.
Elsa looked up at Jack, meeting his eyes for the first time in years. In a heartbeat she flashed back, seeing the magic strike his body, and even so he dove into the ice to save her, the one who hurt him, the one who...
Elsa's voice came out in a choked sob, and she ran back to her room and locked the door, leaving a confused and hurt Jack behind.
Xxx
Elsa did not come out, not even when the King and Queen were declared dead.
She heard the declaration through her door, and her power snapped out of her like a bolt of lightning. The entire room froze solid, and snowflakes hung suspended in the air as she sat, broken, against the door.
"Elsa?" Jack knocked. "Please let me in. Anna hasn't come out in days either."
Silence. He tried a half-hearted joke.
"You two...are still just the same." Jack said. "You think alike, hiding out like this."
Silence. Jack drew himself up bravely.
"I'm your Guardian." Jack said. "I'm not going anywhere."
Silence. A muffled sobbing.
Jack put his hand on the door.
He attempted a half-hearted smile. "Come out and play with me?"
The sobbing slowly died down at that.
"Jack," Elsa spoken in a tired, broken voice. "What are we going to do?"
A slow smile spread on Jack Frost's face. "We are going to open up the gates."
