Chapter 3. The Princess of Snow and Prince of Frost
Elsa
Honeymaren had gone back to the village but Elsa wanted to keep walking. She had made it to the river where she heard someone yelling. Curiosity got the better of her and she went to investigate. As she walked down the bank, she saw a young man sitting on one of the large, flat rocks that lined the stretch of river. His back was to her.
"Hello?" Elsa said when she was standing a few feet away.
"OH!" the man said surprised.
"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Elsa apologized.
"It's ok, I didn't hear you," the man said as he stood up. "Prince Jack of North Haven."
Elsa bowed before introducing herself.
"Princess Elsa of Arendelle," Elsa said.
"It's nice to meet you," Jack said with a bow.
"It's nice to meet you too," Elsa said, returning the bow.
"I hope this doesn't sound rude but, what are you doing in the woods? Shouldn't you be in Arendelle?" Jack asked.
"I live here now, it's a long story but after the mist lifted, I decided that Arendelle wasn't the right place for me. I stepped down for my younger sister and now I live with the Northuldra people," Elsa explained. She was hesitant to share her powers with a prince she didn't remember meeting.
"Wait, isn't Arendelle known for its fall festival? I remember going there once when I was little," Jack said.
Elsa noticed a crooked, wooden staff in his hand.
"That's right! I remember that! We played pranks on the Arendelle staff," Elsa said.
They laughed at the old memory. Jack sat back down on the rocks and Elsa followed. They spent the rest of the day talking.
"Where are your guards?" Elsa asked after a while of them talking.
"Umm, either still at the castle or frantically searching the woods. I may have snuck off," Jack said.
"You are a troublemaker," Elsa laughed.
"I better be going," Jack said as the sun was hitting the horizon.
Warm red and yellow light filtered through the trees, making the forest seem even more magical.
"I should be heading back to the village as well. Why don't you let me walk you to the bridge first," Elsa replied.
She smiled and Jack smiled back.
After Elsa returned to the village, she ran to find Honeymaren and told her everything.
"Do you think he will be back?" Honeymaren asked.
"I don't know," Elsa said. What she didn't mention was that she hoped he would return.
"I wonder why he had white hair," Honeymaren said.
"Well, people sometimes use powders to make their hair white. I think it's supposed to be fashion but it makes no sense," Elsa said.
Jack
Elsa of Arendelle. The name swirled around in Jack's mind as he watched her walk away after taking him to the bridge. When she was out of sight, he had flown home. He had gone to his room without talking to anyone and sat on his bed, leaning his staff against the bedpost.
"Jack?" A voice called through the door.
"Who is it?" Jack asked.
"Jamie!" the voice replied.
"Come on in." Jack called.
Jamie came in and sat down next to Jack.
"Where were you earlier? You said we were going to have a snowball fight this afternoon! I went looking for you but I couldn't find you" Jamie asked.
"I went to sit by the river in the Enchanted Forest and I met someone. We got talking and I lost track of time" Jack replied.
"Wait, the forest is open? Who did you see? Was it beautiful?" Jamie asked.
"Yeah, the forest is open. I met the princess of Arendelle. She said her younger sister is the current monarch. I met her 14 years ago at the Fall festival we were invited to." Jack said. He told Jamie about the mist lifting and meeting Elsa.
"Here is a question. Was she pretty?" Jamie teased when Jack finished.
"Jamie!" Jack cried. Jamie snickered.
"Well? Was she?" Jamie asked.
"Fine. If you must know, yes, she was pretty. That doesn't mean anything though" Jack grumbled.
"Oooh!" Jamie teased.
Jack frowned and hit Jamie in the face with a snowball. Jamie brushed the snow off.
"Ok fine, no more on that topic!" Jamie yelped as another snowball hit him.
Jack helped brush the snow off Jamie and they sat back down.
"Now what?" Jamie asked.
"What's new with you?" Jack asked.
"Oh yeah! I was going to tell you! For the past few weeks my dad has been teaching me archery and yesterday I got two bullseyes in a row! Dad also took me hunting but we didn't see anything. He said we can go again later because there will be more after the snow melts, " Jamie said with a smile.
"Good for you!" Jack praised.
"It was amazing. Anyway, I have to go. My parents will be wondering if I'm ever going to show up and I just came to check on you" Jamie said.
"See you tomorrow!" Jack called after as Jamie left.
"You too your majesty!" Jamie shouted back.
"Hey!" Jack protested but Jamie was already out of earshot.
After Jamie had left, Jack flew up to the support beams in his room. It was his favourite spot to sit, and only he could get up there without a ladder. He rearranged a blanket he had left up there and reclined on the beam. He thought about the woman, Elsa. Then he remembered her outfit. It didn't look very warm, yet it was late February. Jack wasn't bothered by the cold. His ice powers meant very few times was he actually cold. He had gotten cold a couple of times when he was sick, but not when he went outside or because of the temperature in the room. Elsa didn't seem to mind the cold which confused Jack. He believed he was the only one with Ice powers. He knew people had a limit when it came to the cold. Jack stayed up well into the night thinking about Elsa.