For one blinking moment the Snow Queen's eyes seemed to hold something cruel in them and Jack was ready once more to walk away. However, the moment came and went and in seconds her warm smile returned. "Your memory or hers."
Jack looked at the Snow Queen in confusion as he gripped his staff tighter in his free hand."What do mean?" he questioned, warily.
"In three years you'll have to make a choice." she replied patiently when she saw Jack's hesitation. "Only one of you will be able to keep the memories of your time together."
Jack looked at her in shock. "Three years, that's it?" he shook his head. "Then we don't even remember each other? That's not fair!"
"Yes, my dear little one." She stepped forward to close the new distance in between them some, in an unnaturally graceful movement. "Three years is all I can offer, I'm afraid. Elsa is already an adult. She's at an age where most humans have already forgotten about "mythical beings" and no longer believe. I already told you that the magic was limited. " She gave Jack patient look as she waited for him to speak up.
"So, the memory, that's the price?" Jack asked, already feeling crestfallen.
The snow queen nodded sadly. "The price has to equal the magic. In three years time one of you will be able to hold onto whatever memories you two make for the rest of their lives. The other, along with the whomever else sees you, will forget."
Jack glanced at the ground, his heart sinking more by the minute. "What's the point then?"
"You'll have three years together Jack. It may not seem like a lot to you but there are some out there who would give anything for that much time with a friend or other loved one." The snow queen said sternly but not with anger in her voice. "It's three years were you won't feel so alone, three years to be happy, make friends. Yes, one of you would lose those memories but the other will cherish them for the rest of their days. And if it's you Jack," she raised his chin up with a hand to meet his eyes. "You'll have those memories forever."
Jack still hesitated. Something in his gut told him not to make the deal. "I, just, I don't know."
The snow queen sighed and stepped back. "I, of course, can't force you. I just thought I could help you make friends." She said, almost sadly.
Jack thought for another moment then glanced back towards the direction he came from and of Elsa. With a slow inhale and exhale he nodded. "Alright, I'll do it." Jack raised the bottle back to his lips and drunk the potion while the snow queen watched with gleaming eyes. Jack waited and after a brief moment he felt it. It felt like electricity shot through his body and then nothing. "Did it work?" He asked, confused.
The snow queen smiled softly again and gestured to the path that would lead Jack back to the palace. "Only one way to find out." Jack turned, took a breath, then hurried down the path.
The snow queen paced the floor of her home. "I do and I will get it." She replied, determined.
"Why not take it as the magic's payment?" the figure asked curiously.
She shook her head. "Frost may be naive but even he won't give up the object that harnesses his powers that easily." She replied, somewhat impatiently. "No, I'll let them become friends and wait. When it comes time, I'll convince the queen to talk Jack into giving it up for more time together or a chance for both of them to keep their memories."
The young spirit's staff didn't look like more than a shepherd's crook but the snow queen could sense the power in it. If left in the boy's hands he would have much potential. Yes, Jack Frost didn't know half of what he could accomplish yet and if she had her way, he never would.
"So, you let your competition do your dirty work?" the voice asked in amusement.
The Snow queen stopped her pacing and gave the other spirit a disgusted look. "The queen? That little brat is hardly my competition. She's mortal and will leave this world in a blink of an eye." She began pacing again. "But yes, she will do what I need done."
"So, Frost?" the voice asked in disbelief.
"He's stronger than you think and if he ever realizes his true potential…" she trailed as her body involuntarily shuddered. "I will get that staff!"
