Austrian: Exactly, the ice heroes (I really liked this term) are the only ones, who can defeat Pitch, at least I hope. Thank you, I put a lot of effort into writing Pitch and it feels really good to know I succeeded. Mach dir keine Sorgen, ich gehe nicht aus. Bitte bleib du auch gesund.

Guest: Haha, what can I say, I secretly like stupid cliches. Also, I am really pleased that you like the story, thank you so much!

Hey everyone, sorry for the late update! Honestly, I just spend a whole week by being extremely lazy but now that I have online courses and homework, I finally continued to write. Btw, I recommend you to read denyz's Jelsa fanfictions, they are really good.

I hope you will all like this chapter.

Chapter 7: Intimacy

"Snowflake... Are you okay?" he found himself asking quietly with the new nickname that he has been intending to use for a while. Somehow, they managed to get away from Pitch's castle and now they were floating in the air peacefully. Elsa's head was buried on his chest, she didn't peek at him, even for once.

"Put me down." she ordered with a low tone.

"What?"

"Jack, let me go." she ordered with a stiff tone, still wasn't facing him.

He halted for a brief moment, looked around instinctively to search for a spot, then made a soft-land on the ground. They were in the forest, surrendered by tall and lean trees. Elsa gently pushed him away, he just stared at her with confusion and well, to be honest, he felt a bit hurt.

The platinum blonde woman turned away without giving him the opportunity to see her face, she wrapped her arms around herself and commenced to walk slowly.

"Elsa? Are you injured?" Jack approached her and gently touched on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off and hugged herself tighter.

"Leave me alone."

"Els-"

"Just stay away, Jack... Please." she begged, her oh so beautiful voice sounded vulnerable and so broken.

He wasn't going to let go of her that easily, his instincts told him so. "Elsa... What's going on?" he asked softly and took a step closer to her.

"I need a minute. Alone." she replied weakly, her voice sounded warm, not cold. That was a good sign.

Alone. That word immediately evoked Jack what Pitch had said. Elsa's biggest fear... It was being alone.

"No." he declared with determination, his eyebrows were knitted together. "No." he repeated stubbornly and ran a hand through his messy hair. "Elsa, please look at me." he beseeched with a tender voice.

Reluctantly, she whirled around with heavy steps, her gaze was dropped on the ground instead of simply darting her eyes at him. Her cheeks were tinted with a light shade of red, lips were pursed, but he could see that her kissable lips were trembling. A narrow line of dried blood between the edge of her bottom lip and chin existed on her gorgeous face, she seemed tired because, under her eyes, there were purple circles.

"It's nothing." she mumbled slowly under her breath.

He shook his head with a sudden feeling of his blood, boiling in frustration. "Look, you don't have to tell me what's bothering you, but at least, stop acting like you feel fine." he snapped because he couldn't- he just couldn't stand seeing her like this, extremely aggrieved and sorrowful.

"What is to you!?" she inquired with a sudden burst of raise on her tone. She lifted her gaze and locked on him. Her blue eyes... They were flickering in anger, nonetheless, there was a hint of sadness behind her outrage. "It is not like you'll understand." she spoke with such an inaudible voice, he could barely hear her.

His scowl deepened just as his puzzlement. It was okay to freak out, he was actually losing his mind too! What happened earlier at Pitch's castle... It was absolutely normal to be shaken, why was she acting like it was unacceptable?

He took one more step toward her, but there was still at least a meter between them. "But I do want to understand. Let me ease your pain, Elsa." he offered boldly, he could feel his cheeks burning.

Elsa's cheeks were now, dusted with a darker red. She bit her bottom lip for a brief moment, averted blue eyes from his once again. Nevertheless, she puffed out and glared directly at him, eyes were as cold as the most solid ice. "Pitch is extremely dangerous. I fear he may attack sooner without giving us a chance to prepare. And what he told us about your father... When we get to the castle, we should find North and well, convince him to spill the tea."

"Elsa-"

"Fear has always been my enemy throughout my life, Jack." she interrupted him with a stiff, frigid tone, a deep frown on her face occurred. "I am not going to let it damage me or the things I value for... Not anymore."


Once again, he was rapidly repelled when they had arrived at the castle. His heart felt... heavy, it was aching for some unknown reason. He didn't understand... Was she mad at him? If so, what had he done to offend her?

He wanted to call out her name ask what was going on one more time because that's all he could think of. He needed to-he craved for helping her, make her feel better but she was refusing to let him in. He thought they were friends, friends that shared their feelings, secrets, thoughts because he did so, he was honest and well, not afraid of showing himself to her.

She understood him, not just due to their shared powers, no, she believed in him because she was too kind and such a considerate person. She might have not realized it, but since they've met, she helped him... a lot. He felt less lonely, she didn't chide him even for once. Of course, a couple of days were a little bit short to scold someone you've just met, however, Elsa... She felt different in every kind of way.

So yeah, all in all, this time, he wished for being the one, who helped, who understood her.

"King North!" Elsa shouted and started to walk around while completely ignoring him. She randomly asked a couple of servants where their king was politely, but none of them gave her a proper answer until Tooth appeared at the main hall of the castle.

"Jack, Elsa, you guys are okay!" the woman yelled in relief and crashed Jack into a hug, then before he could respond back, she was abruptly embracing Elsa. The speed of this woman was sure, magnificent.

"Hello, Tooth." the platinum blonde greeted her with a sincere, light smile on her face, her gaze was reflecting her care... Okay, what was going between him and her? She was clearly acting like her normal self to the others!

"North and few others are in the harbour. We have new visitors!" Tooth chirped enthusiastically and began to push the two of them to the entrance of the castle.

"Whoa, Tooth, calm down!" Jack squeaked while the older woman was giggling whole-heartedly. "Make sure you guys come fast, I am preparing the lunch!" she squealed and the duo was out of the castle just like that.

Simultaneously, like the usual, the duo whirled their head to stare at each other. Elsa had an amused smile on her face, her gaze was finally warm. Soon, both of them burst into laughter. "She is definitely a mom, a very energetic one indeed." she stated between her giggles.

He knew that his laughter softened and changed to a fond grin. "Do you want to fly to the harbor?" he suggested with his lovable tone.

Her eyes became ice-cold as soon as those words left his mouth, her apathy caused him to startle. "I can walk." she retorted with a basic answer and declined his proposal.

"Uh-okay?" he stammered since that was all he could do. They walked to the harbor in deep and very uneasy silence, again, which was extremely odd for Jack. He was always comfortable around Elsa.

She halted with the elegant posture that made her seem like a powerful queen, well she was a queen once, when she stood behind of North, who was having a chat with Katherine. Honeymaren and Pabbie were there too although none of them realized that their arrival. "King North-" she commenced on but soon, she was interrupted.

"Elsa!"

Elsa tilted her so that she could see the owner of the voice, instead of North's massive body. Her eyes grew wider at the sight of a certain strawberry blonde-haired young woman. "Anna! What are you doing here?" she inquired with a hint of perplexity, she was still a bit reserved.

However, Elsa's attitude changed in an eye blink when her sister threw herself towards her and wrapped her arms around lovingly. "You are okay! I was so worried about you!" Anna squealed energetically and squeezed her older sister.

A small but absolutely find smile appeared on the platinum blonde's lips. "Of course I am okay." she mumbled calmly and broke the hug, but now, the two sisters were holding their hands and staring at each other with an extremely affectionate gaze on their eyes. Jack couldn't help but grin... Their sisterhood was truly one of a kind.

"Ahem-Hello to you too, Els." a familiar baritone let out a fake cough and intervened in the sisterly moment.

Elsa's smile turned to an amused smirk, she eventually loosened her grip and approached the blonde-haired muscular man. "It's nice to see you, Kristoff, my dear brother-in-law." she sounded dramatic, which added a sense of cheekiness to her tone, she barely held herself not to chuckle while they were sharing a friendly embrace.

Then, the platinum blonde's grin became even wider when her eyes locked on a reindeer. "Hello Sven!" she exclaimed joyfully and caressed the reindeer's fur. Sven enthusiastically raised his hand and licked Elsa's face, as if he was a dog, the young woman laughed in return.

"Now, where is Olaf?" Elsa asked playfully.

"Right here!" a comical voice retorted behind from Sven and soon, they were facing a goofy-looking snowman. Correction, a snowman who could talk.

"What the- you can talk!" North exclaimed, the shock was drawn into his features.

Jack knew, his eyes were probably lighting up like a Christmas tree. "You can create alive things and also give them the ability to talk?! That's so freaking cool!" he yelled enthusiastically, he was barely holding himself not to jump. Elsa... She simply averted his exclamation though.

Katherine's gray eyes slightly grew bigger, which was a huge accomplishment since she almost never, never got surprised. "Olaf... Why do I feel like there's a story behind your name?" she inquired, more likely to herself due to the way she put her index finger and thumb on her chin. She seemed absolutely concentrated as if she was trying to figure out a mystery.

Jack chuckled to himself, same old Katherine, she was always too deep in her thoughts. Olaf, the snowman simply shrugged and pursed his 'lips'. "It is a long story actually. Once upon a time, there were two sisters, one had ice powers, the other-"

"Um, I am sorry to interrupt but Olaf, I am pretty sure you can explain them later." a brunet young man with blue eyes cut the snowman off a little timidly. He was standing next to Honeymaren, Jack remembered that his name was Ryder, Honeymaren's brother, and Kristoff's weird reindeer loving friend. He was oddly serious, which meant that something was wrong.

When he removed his hand, Jack realized that his once hand was clasped to the other by that action, a cute little salamander, which had purple patterns on his blue skin, showed up. The salamander beamed at them then all of a sudden, he promptly ran in an eye blink and now, he was standing on Elsa's palm. "Bruni? What's wrong?" she asked in apprehension while the tiny reptile was licking her palm affectionately.

"Elsa, ever since you and my sister left Northuldra, the spirits went literally crazy. Gale caused storms, Nokk created massive waves, Bruni set few trees on fire occasionally and the earth giants made plenty of earthquakes, thankfully nothing too serious." Ryder clarified, his jaw was tight while he was staring at the platinum blonde with a dead-serious manner.

"King North, we have to discuss, now." Elsa ordered the king firmly. North nodded, his blue eyes reflected his worry, he was also pouting. Soon, they all headed back to the castle.

"Your Majesty! The lunch is ready!" Tooth, who was still standing at the entrance, announced merrily, like her usual self. Aster was also standing next to her, but he wasn't saying anything. Nonetheless, when they saw Olaf, their jaws literally dropped to the ground whereas Jack was laughing at their shocked expression mockingly.

"Sadly, we won't be attending, Toothie." North said with an apologetic smile and ruffled her short hair. Jack really adored his father's this habit. Not only him, Aster and Emma, his father also treated everyone as if they were his own child. That's why, literally everyone looked up to him, especially Katherine. Unlike Jack, she was an extraordinarily mature person, she preferred to hang out with old people so North was like a best friend to her.

"No way!" Tooth shrieked in disagreement, "Food is important! I will bring your lunch to the meeting room and I expect all of you to eat it!" she tilted her head and eyed at everyone with a deep frown on her face and shouted almost in anger.

"I really like her." Queen Anna whispered to Elsa, who was gripping her arm. The platinum blonde laughed wholeheartedly in return.

"Okay, mom." Jack added cheekily and earned a death glare from Tooth.


"You guys go ahead." Jack gestured them to go in while he was resting his back on the wall with a hint of uneasiness on his outlines. "Elsa, may I talk to you for a second?" he inquired politely as the platinum blonde was about to enter.

She halted, obviously considered what she should have said, then nodded with slow movements as she let go of Anna's touch. She seemed reluctant about the process and that fact was the exact reason why he was asking her to have a conversation alone in the first place.

Jack began to walk with heavy steps, knowing well that she was following him. He stepped in a random room, where he knew it was probably empty. When Elsa came into the room, he shut down the door calmly and take a look at her... She was glaring directly at his eyes but there was a shadow of her former self. This beautiful woman... She looked still the same but she wasn't the woman he has recognized and well, cared about. This woman was emotionless, stern and cold, in a disturbing way.

"What's going on?" he blurted out with a low voice, his eyes were refusing to catch the glimpse of her.

"Nothing." she replied curtly, her tone was biting and sharp.

He rested his wooden staff sluggishly against a wall, then peeked at her apathetic mood. "Snowflake, if I did something to hurt you, please do tell me." he murmured, although he was attempting to sound cold-blooded, his voice creaked a little, resulting in him to curse himself.

"Why are you calling me 'Snowflake', Jack?" she raised a question with a low mutter.

"Why? Maybe it is because I see you as someone, who is close to me." he answered, a bit sarcastically.

"Well, maybe I don't want you to call me like that because maybe, we don't have an intimate relationship." she hissed with a deadly harsh voice, surprisingly, he was kinda expecting this answer based on her earlier behavior.

He couldn't help but scowl, which his irritation had caused. "You've been acting strange since we escaped from Pitch's palace. Did Pitch hurt you? This isn't you, Elsa, I know it isn't..." he let out a whimper that sounded like a desperate plea.

Elsa knitted her eyebrows in anger. "How long have we been knowing each other? A week give or take. You don't know me. You don't know what I've been through." she growled with a husky voice.

"I know who you are, simply by looking at your face. I don't need to know your past when I can see your soul crystal clear. Thus, I know something's off between us."

"There is no us, Jack!" she screamed, exploded so abruptly that made him flinch. Her stunning blue eyes... They were full of fear, even though she was desperately struggling to hide it, he could discern because he could read her like an open book.

Nevertheless, those words stabbed his heart, pierced it so deeply. He didn't have the energy to continue, so she went on. "We are not friends. I am here because the spirits can feel that Pitch is a threat, I can also feel that. He endangers my home and there is no way I am going to let him destroy it. I am here, not because I care about you particularly, you are just an ally to me, therefore I would appreciate when you treat me like one. What I care about is the innocent lives and that's it. So, don't bother to establish intimacy with me."

After those words, she twisted the doorknob and abandoned him in the room. She did not turn around, let alone glancing at him. He just stood there with the lump in his dry throat, his trembling body, hollow gaze and sorrow, given by the fact that his heart was shattered into pieces.

I know, dramatic. I just can't help it! Please leave a review, they motivate me a lot. Love you all!