Chapter 6. Realizations
Jack
Elsa had taken Jack back to the Enchanted Forest Sunday morning. They spent the journey there talking. The thoughts from last night kept running through his mind but he ignored them. He rubbed his thumb against the familiar wood of his staff as they talked.
"I hope you can come back sometime. It was a lot of fun to have you join us." Elsa said before Jack went to the bridge towards home.
"Thank you for inviting me. I had a lot of fun. I hope sometime you can come over and meet my family" Jack said.
"That would be nice." Elsa said.
"I have to go now. See you tomorrow?" Elsa said.
"Tomorrow" Jack agreed.
Elsa smiled at him and Jack could feel his heart pounding. He hoped he wasn't blushing.
Jack watched as Elsa turned to go back to the Northuldra village. He waited till she was gone before leaping into the air to and flying home. He landed on the window ledge and the wind opened it for him. As slipped through the window and flung himself on his bed, he recalled the events of the night before. The first thing that popped into his mind was an image of Elsa. He sat up quickly and began pacing his room. He couldn't shake this new feeling away. A thin layer of frost formed on the floor as he paced. He had met many princesses from other kingdoms that his father introduced to him in hopes of Jack finding someone but none of them were for him. He hadn't found anyone he even considered liking in a romantic way until he met Elsa. Jack stopped his pacing when he finally understood how he was feeling. He liked Elsa, not just as a friend but actually liked her.
"Can I tell her though?" Jack whispered to himself as he created a few snowflakes. He decided he would have to get to know her a bit better first. "Tomorrow I'll touch on the subject and see her reaction"
'I hope she isn't afraid' Jack thought to himself.
Elsa
Elsa had gotten back to the village after taking Jack to the bridge. She had a warm, fuzzy feeling when she thought about him. He was so kind and funny and he listened to what she said. Elsa had met many men since the doors of the castle had opened again but she never trusted any with the knowledge of her powers and she was almost never attracted to any of them. She felt she could trust Jack but she didn't want to scare him.
"Are you alright Elsa?" Yelena asked.
"Oh! Yes. I'm just thinking" Elsa replied turning her attention to the old woman.
"About Jack?" Yelena guessed.
"Yeah" Elsa blushed. "I'm wondering if I should tell him about my powers"
"Why don't you find a way to touch on the subject without reveling it right away. Try and get a sense of what his reaction may be. You don't have to tell anyone you don't want to tell" Yelena suggested.
"How though?" Elsa asked.
"What if you asked him something like, if you had magic what would you do?" Yelena offered.
"I like that. Thank you, Yelena," Elsa said.
"Remember, if you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here. The village is here" Yelena reminded her.
"I know" Elsa replied with a smile.
'I hope I can tell him' Elsa thought to herself as she walked down a familiar path around the village. She met up with Honeymaren and they went to meet up with Nokk, Burni, Gale, and the earth giants for a meeting about the forest. Everyone knew there were new things they would have to be aware of with the mist gone. The past year had been uneventful but as word spread the forest was open, the more dangers arose. Elsa had worried about Hans returning or some new person threatening her home. She had spoken with the spirits often in the evenings after they had gone about their day.
"Where is Burni?" Elsa asked when they reached the clearing. Nokk, Gale, and the giants were already there waiting, but Elsa couldn't see any sign of Burni, the fire spirit.
"Here he is," Honeymaren called, carefully picking up the sleeping salamander.
"Aww, why don't we let him sleep and we will just talk to the others," Elsa said, taking Burni and carefully placing him on a patch of moss.
No one had seen anything suspicious but they did ask more questions about Jack. While none of them spoke out loud, they could telepathically talk with Elsa.
As she lay in her bed that evening, Elsa couldn't stop thinking of Jack. She had finally realised that she liked him, not just as a friend.
The next morning Elsa woke up feeling nervous and excited. Honeymaren helped her make some jam from the wild blackberries that grew a little way from the village. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was warm. An hour or so before noon, Elsa packed a small picknick and headed to the river. When she stepped onto the beach her heart leapt into her throat. Jack was waiting for her, holding a white rose.