For the longest time after the sun had set, the country was plunged into cool, welcoming dark. Everything, even the white snow that capped the mountains, was painted in murky shades of blue and grey by the night. With the day long over, shadows gently embraced the world.
But then, not so long before midnight, the extraordinary happened. What seemed like a star of cracks spread across the sky in a flash, dominating the heavens – or perhaps revealing them. Each of these fissures was filled with lights of countless hues and colours, and each cascaded down to Earth in a glow that could be mistaken for paradisical.
However beautiful these ribbons of energy looked, they were not actually the light of Heaven. They were the aurora borealis, and they seemed to have come to bring day in the middle of the night. These northern lights really were so big and so bright; they seemed to chase the darkness away, lift the sombre veil from the land below.
Down there, in the wilderness of the mountains, the icemen and women toiled contentedly away, singing about striking for love and a frozen heart as they freed blocks of ice from the lake surfaces. But by the sea, the kingdom of Arendelle stood quite in contrast, sitting in almost perfect, still silence. Barely even a mouse disturbed this peace by scurrying across the streets, as everyone was indoors at this hour, fast asleep in a bid to replenish the energy spent during the day.
This was not the case quite everywhere, though. In the castle standing by the fjord, though the royal family and staff had long since turned in for the night, one small being found she had a little more energy to expend, waking up mere seconds after the sky lit up, almost as if on cue. Sitting up in her bed, she gasped in delight at the show the world was putting on for her at this hour, a smile spreading across her round face. Excitement began to ripple through her tiny frame, cutting short any argument that sleep would be found over the next few hours.
Unable to help herself, the princess climbed out of bed – well, fell out at the last second (and winced at the thump she made, but when she heard nothing in response, she relaxed) – turned, and spotted her target across the bedchamber from her. A mischievous grin tugging at her lips, she slinked carefully across the room on all fours, the journey seeming to take forever. Only her desire to catch her quarry by surprise kept her in check.
At long last, she reached the side of a second bed, and peered up at its occupant. Her big sister lay with her back to her, leaving only her platinum blonde hair and the back of her blue nightgown visible. Because she was facing away from the window, she obviously hadn't been awoken by the sudden beauty of the night. This would be momentarily corrected.
"Elsa." the younger one hissed. "Psst. Elsa!"
Not having the patience to wait for a response, she clambered up onto the bed. And up onto her sister.
"Elsa!" she repeated with a little more volume, beginning to bounce and shake her victim awake. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"
Elsa's eyes didn't open, but an unsurprised smile played on her lips as she evidently awoke. This was hardly the first time this had happened.
"Anna, go back to sleep..." she mumbled tiredly.
Atop her, Anna gave an annoyed sigh before sitting up, turning, and letting herself fall onto her back.
"I just can't!" she complained, dramatically laying the back of one hand, then the other, on her forehead. "The sky's awake, so I'm awake. So we have to play."
"Go play by yourself." replied Elsa, finding the energy to push her little sister off herself and her bed.
Anna grunted as she hit the floor, but was unhurt, having landed on her behind. She remained sitting there, hunched over in a fashion not dissimilar to a vulture, for a few seconds. She chewed on her lip and waved her bare feet vaguely as she thought hard... and then, she all but gasped to herself as she was struck with an inspiration.
Getting better and better at it all the time, Anna climbed back onto the bed and leaned over her sister. Offering her winning smile – the one that almost always convinced her papa to let her have one more piece of chocolate for dessert, and her mama to read her one more story before bed – she unsubtly lifted one of Elsa's eyelids.
"D'you wanna build a snowmannn?" she asked invitingly.
With the magic words said, she let her sister's eyelid fall shut once more, confident that it would reopen by itself. When it did, it was followed by a conspiratorial smile. Turning over, Elsa sat up, her sister's excitement spreading to her.
"Get your boots!" she hissed, electrified.
With a triumphant giggle, Anna threw herself off the bed and dashed toward her wardrobe, where she began destroying its neat organization in a frantic search for her winter boots. Though Elsa would need no more than her slippers for what they were up to, Anna knew her own feet required more protection than that. (Though she thankfully still had all her toes today, it was a lesson she'd learned the hard way.)
Not wanting to lose even a second of playtime, she pulled on and secured her boots as fast as she could, and raced for the door the second this was done. All she needed was for Elsa to come and join her, and-
Looking back around, Anna was surprised to see her big sister wasn't coming, despite having long since put on her slippers. In fact, she was on the other side of the room altogether, standing atop a stool to fiddle with the sash lock of their bedchamber window. Anna furrowed her brow in confusion. To her knowledge, the first thing beyond that glass was a sheer drop. They couldn't be going out that way, could they?
"Elsa?" she questioned, barely remembering to be quiet.
"Hold on!" Elsa whispered back, finally undoing the lock.
Gently casting aside the windowpanes, the elder princess leaned carefully out the new opening, peering around outside.
"Jack?" she called quietly. "Are you there? Jaaack?"
Elsa barely stopped herself from bouncing on the balls of her feet, she was so excited. She waited and waited... and just when she was about to call again, a rush of wind over her head prompted her to look up just in time to see a familiar being swoop in. She gave a joyous laugh as she spun to go greet the new arrival.
While both girls – and probably most of the kingdom – were dressed down for a night's sleep, this being looked clothed for anything but rest, bare feet aside. The short, brown pants that fit snuggly onto his long legs looked like they'd seen many hours of play outside, yet in no way look torn or dirty, just well-worn. His blue, hooded sweater looked akin to the ones Elsa saw people wear casually during the winter, though the frosty patterns adorning the wrists and spread across the shoulders stylized it as more than ordinary. In his pale hand he clutched a long, wooden staff, its tip warped into a rune-like shape. Atop his head was a mess of silver hair, stray spikes pointing in a few random directions, and his pale face was boyish and smiling. Put simply, he looked like fun.
"Jack!" Elsa cried out quietly, running up to him.
"Hey, Snow Angel!" he greeted cheerily, crouching down to speak eye to eye with her. "What's going on? Is it morning already?"
"No!" the tone of Elsa's reply was obvious, but she still couldn't help a laugh at his joke. "But Anna wants to build a snowman!"
"Oh, makes sense. The sky's awake, can't argue with that."
Both bringers of winter chuckled at the reference, Jack understanding it as well as Elsa. They'd gotten to know each other so well in the short time they'd known each other.
"Elsa?"
The Princess and her new friend looked around at the address. All but forgotten over the last few seconds, Anna still stood at the door. She was still visibly eager to go play, but now, she stared curiously at her sister.
"What're you doing?" she asked.
"Jack Frost is here!" Elsa exclaimed, gesturing obviously to her new friend.
As if to ram the point home, Jack turned and offered a friendly greeting to the younger princess.
"Oh. Okay." came Anna's response with a shrug, completely unfazed as she reached for the doorknob again. "C'mon, let's go!"
Being so busy opening the door, she didn't see the way Elsa's shoulders slumped in defeat, or the way Jack lowered his gaze in mild disappointment. In fact, she didn't see Jack at all.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"
"Shhhh!" Elsa responded as loudly as she allowed herself, a step behind her sister as she raced down the stairs.
"C'mon!" Anna insisted, lowering her voice not in the slightest.
Jack laughed heartily as he jumped feet-first onto the handrail and slid down gracefully.
"I'm with her!" he declared as he reached the end of the rail, flipping acrobatically onto the floor. "C'mon, slowpoke, c'mon!"
"Jack, shh!" Elsa hissed back, failing to keep herself from beaming.
"Aw, what? Who's gonna hear me?"
It was a valid enough question, but even as he asked it so playfully, it made Jack feel a pinch of sorrow in his immortal heart. Sure enough, he remained invisible, intangible, and silent to everyone in this castle just as much as the rest of the world. Everyone, that was, except for Elsa.
That reminder brought a rush of comfort and gratitude to Jack, one he felt soothe the hole that not being believed in had dug into his heart over the last two-hundred and eighty-seven years or so, and sent his mind flashing back to the recent past.
Whether it was luck, fate, or subtle intervention on the part of some higher power (the Man in the Moon, for instance), two weeks ago had seen Jack's aimless journey across the world bring him to Arendelle, a mighty kingdom at the edge of the sea. It was a nice enough place, being the heart of a number of such European kingdoms, and the locals seemed very kind. He would've liked them even better if they acknowledged his existence, though. No matter which trick he attempted, no one had believed in him – and therefore seen or heard him – here any more than anywhere else, be they adult or child. The good mood he'd been in when he arrived was gone by mid-afternoon.
Jack might have left entirely were his attention not drawn to the majestic castle by the mouth of the fjord. He hadn't been sure exactly what it was, but he'd found himself flying there in a last-ditch attempt at... honestly, at that point, anything would have sufficed.
But it wasn't just anything that he'd stumbled upon; it was everything. It was her.
Flying right by the oblivious guards at the gate and landing easily in the courtyard, Jack's eyes had been quickly drawn to its only other occupant, a little girl no more than eight years old. Even at first glance, he could sense this child was not like the others. Perhaps it was the unique shade of her platinum blonde hair that almost seemed like a brand of sorts, marking her out as one of a kind in some inexplicable way. Or maybe it was the way she'd dressed. Though it was clear her parents had insisted she dress warmly, it was even clearer that the cold never bothered her anyway. Her coat was unbuttoned, her mittens lay abandoned nearby, and her bonnet had been casually stuffed into her coat pocket. No part of her skin looked in any way nipped by the cold. Though winter was on the approach, she was still perfectly comfortable in these temperatures.
Realizing this, Jack soon graduated from curious to intrigued. Wanting to sate his hunger for answers – a feeling overly familiar to him after so many years – he'd approached the girl, not bothering with stealth in the least.
Perhaps if he had, the girl wouldn't have heard his footsteps, turned to look at their source, and greeted him in a friendly manner.
If a bolt of lightning had happened to crack down from the sky and strike him in that moment, he would not have noticed it when compared to the thunderbolt of surprise he felt slam into him. Though he'd been in disbelief at first (ironic, given his eternal predicament), there had soon been no denying it; this girl, who introduced herself as Princess Elsa, could see and hear him.
The mythical being had been nothing short of ecstatic at the discovery, shamelessly flying in wild circles around the courtyard and laughing with no inhibitions. Elsa, meanwhile, had stared in amusement, wondering just who this magical visitor was, and if he would play with her. Jack had only been too willing to play any game she wanted, especially when she suggested playing in the snow. But as he prepared to summon a snowfall for her, he found he was in for another surprise; Elsa could do it herself. She, a human, had powers much like his. And Jack had felt his newfound amazement and adoration for her soar to the clouds.
The two had spent the remainder of the afternoon playing in the snow together, he thrilled to have found someone who saw and heard him, she to have someone to play with when her sister Anna was down with a flu. Jack even showed Elsa how one could use a foot to coat an entire floor with ice, a trick she mastered in no time. She also quickly earned herself the nickname "Snow Angel".
The two bringers of winter's fun had been brought to an end when Elsa was summoned back inside for dinner. At her query, though, Jack had promised to stick around as long as she wanted. (He wasn't one of those weirdo, deadline-obsessed Guardians; he had nowhere to be.) They would see each other tomorrow. Elated, Elsa had surprised Jack with a hug before bidding him goodbye. Touch wasn't something he'd ever really thought about in his lifetime as a mythical being, but he'd quickly found that he was moved by the gesture.
The only downside had come days later, when Elsa had attempted to show off the incredible new friend she'd talked so much about to her parents, her little sister (now recovered), even some of the staff. But the adults had already deduced that Elsa had made up an imaginary friend in her days separated from Anna, and thus were blind and deaf to him. Anna herself was told this as well, on the off-chance that her sister acting like there was an invisible man would frighten her (it didn't, thankfully, but rather amused her).
But Jack strangely didn't mind all this. He had found someone who believed in him, could see, hear, and feel him, without even trying; after centuries of isolation, he took what he got, and was grateful. For her part, Elsa seemed to decide that everyone in her life would come around at their own pace, and was content to have Jack Frost as her friend alone until then.
When it came to Anna and her pace, though, she hoped that "then" was soon.
"Jack!"
The mythical being looked up at the sound of his name. Elsa stood in the entrance to the ballroom, grinning excitedly at him. Behind her, he glimpsed Anna already running around the chamber, and heard her laughter.
"C'mon!" Elsa whispered.
Chuckling at her telling him that now, Jack quickly complied, running for the door and vaulting over the delighted Elsa's head into the ballroom. Once inside, he took a moment to admire the place, having not seen it before. With its vast floorspace and high ceiling, it was as good as playing out in the courtyard – better even, as little Anna would get less of a chill indoors.
Speaking of which, said princess dashed over as soon as she saw her big sister approach.
"Do the magic!" she happily demanded, lifting Elsa's hands as if to remind her of their existence. "Do the magic!"
Giving in with a giggle, Elsa gestured for both Anna and Jack to watch closely... and then she indeed "did the magic". Rolling her hands around each other, the princess conjured into existence first ice crystals, then real snowflakes, and before long, a miniature winter formed between her hands, resembling a ball of cold light and snow. Elsa couldn't help the exhilarated smile that played on her lips. Anna was utterly mesmerized by the pretty display of power. Jack's eyes shone with pride at his Snow Angel, whose mastery over winter was already comparable to his.
"Ready?" Elsa asked, looking at both her friends equally.
"Yeah!" Anna replied, not noticing this.
"You bet!" Jack affirmed enthusiastically.
With a final grin at what she'd conjured, Elsa threw her arms out and launched the cluster of pure winter straight up. Just before hitting the high ceiling, the power seemed to shatter, transforming into a one room, glowing snowfall. Looking up and around it all, Jack couldn't help but laugh.
"Wow..." he remarked.
"This is amazing!" Anna shouted, bouncing up and down and spreading her arms out to catch falling snowflakes.
With a hysterical laugh, she took off running around as the other two beamed on. After a moment, Elsa cast Jack a smile of anticipation. The grin he returned was suspicious.
"What?" he queried curiously.
"Hey, Anna!" Elsa called to her sister, ignoring the question. "Watch what Jack showed me!"
When Anna did come over to look, it was to see Elsa gingerly lift one foot as if to take a step. Nearby, Jack grinned, knowing what was about to happen as the princess lightly brought her foot down. Ice spread across the ballroom floor in swirling patterns until all there was to stand on was an ice rink. Anna was at a loss for words as she slid a few yards away, letting her laughter speak volumes. Elsa and Jack both beamed at her reaction for a moment before the latter turned to the former proudly.
"You're a natural." he told her. Though he was smirking, he meant every word of it.
Before long, Jack was watching on as the two princesses went to work on a snowman. Once its lumpy head and body were put together, Elsa put on the finishing touches – coals, a carrot, and some sticks Jack brought in with him – while Anna, seated nearby, made faces at her, possibly offering comical visages to model their snowman off of. All that really accomplished was giving Elsa and Jack something more to laugh about.
Finally, the snowman was done. Elsa spun him to face Anna.
"Hi, I'm Olaf!" she tried to ventriloquize. "And I like warm hugs!"
Clapping her hands in happiness, Anna launched herself out of her seat to embrace the snowman.
"I love you, Olaf!" she declared, nuzzling against its head.
Jack couldn't help but smile. It was no secret that in this scenario, "Olaf" was Elsa and the bond she had with Anna. In the days that he'd been in Arendelle, he'd quickly realized that what these two sisters shared was more beautiful than anything he'd ever seen. Were his body capable of such an act, it would bring a tear to his eye. Jack had decided days ago that even if Anna never saw him, he would do everything to protect these two girls and their precious friendship. In that way, though he had no way of knowing it, he was already one of those Guardians.
Shaking his head back to the present, he noticed Elsa had turned to stare at him, concern in her smile.
"You okay, Jack?" she asked hopefully.
"Me? Yeah!" he replied a little too readily. He motioned to Olaf. "He's pretty good. But he's missing something."
"What?"
With his trademark mischievous smirk, Jack stood up and readied his trusty staff. Concentrating on the floor next to Elsa and Anna's snowman, where a couple of spare coals and sticks remained, he channeled his winter gifts. Snow swirled to life on the spot, pulling up the "spare parts" in passing, and was moulded into a new shape by Jack's will. When it was done, he grinned at Elsa once more.
"A friend." he said simply.
Sure enough, a second snowman now stood at the side of the first. Though it had several differences – no stick hairs on its head, no coals on its stomach, and its nose was a dull icicle – it was obviously modeled after Olaf.
Elsa sniggered at the sight and, hearing her, Anna turned and gasped happily at the new arrival.
"And I love you too!" she announced, throwing herself into a warm hug with this snowman as well. She looked at her big sister. "What's his name?"
Elsa's only answer was to exchange knowing smiles with Jack.
Minutes later, the girls were laughing as they slid side by side on the ice around the room, each holding hands with a snowman that seemed to be moving around on its own. Anna wasn't aware that Jack was the one who was actually moving them, but that didn't faze him. It was worth it to see the smiles on her and Elsa's faces. Laughing along with them, he continued on with the skating party of the snowmen.
Never ceasing to come up with new indoor winter games, soon found the royal sisters atop a playground slide made entirely of snow. Elsa sat right behind Anna as the two prepared to make their descent, while Jack stood close by, content to watch and intervene if anyone was in danger of being hurt.
Anna giggled like mad as she and her sister slid down together.
"Loop-dah-loop!" she cried out.
Indulging her like always, Elsa triggered the winter inside her once again, focusing on the path ahead. Before all three pairs of eyes, the snow warped and reformed, forming a loop not far ahead.
Jack watched with awe – and, to his surprise, a little unease – as Elsa's stunt began and the sisters started to travel up the slide's curve. It was anyone's guess whether they had enough momentum to carry them all around that loop, or if they would stop halfway and fall on their heads. Jack's desire for the girls to have fun and his new protective nature clashed inside him for just a second before he decided to let it play. That, and fire a little wind at Elsa's back, adding a hint more power.
Laughing all the way, the girls slid all the way up, were momentarily upside down, and then slid back down, successfully making it all the way around the loop. Upon reaching the end, Elsa and Anna both got up to go again, only for Jack to run over to the elder with a broad smile.
"Jack, did you see?!" Elsa asked excitedly, throwing her arms out for a hug. "Did you see that?!"
"Did I see that?!" the mythical being repeated, drawing closer. "Look at you go, Snow Angel!"
Tucking his staff under one arm, he instead took Elsa under her arms, lifted her into the air, and spun her around rather than a straight hug. Laughter bubbled from the Princess like a spring, and with her arms still spread out the way they were, she seemed to soak in the praise Jack offered her. Anna, meanwhile, looked on in awe.
"I wanna fly!" she shouted, exhilarated. "I wanna fly too, make me fly too!"
"You wanna fly too?" Jack replied with a grin, taking notice of her alongside Elsa.
Pausing only to set his Snow Angel back on her feet, the enraptured mythical being jumped over to Anna, reached down... and his hands passed right through her like he was less than air.
The energy in the room seemed to die almost instantly. Jack sighed as he noticed Anna wasn't even looking at him, but her sister. For her part, Elsa gave what could only be described as a pained smile.
"Anna..." she almost groaned as she stepped up to take her sister gently by the shoulders and look her in the eye. "You have to believe in Jack for him to make you fly."
Anna stared up at Elsa, confused by the intensity of her words despite her gentle smile. She didn't understand; as far as she was concerned, her big sister was so magical that she could fly as well as she could make it snow. Why she was attributing this to the imagery friend (imaginary friend, but she had trouble pronouncing that word) her mama and papa had told her about was beyond her-
Elsa looked around, hearing something Anna couldn't.
"Here." was what Jack said. "I've got an idea. You get behind her..."
Not wanting the sisters' fun to be ruined on his account, he'd come up with a solution. As he instructed, Elsa turned her little sister the other way, then wrapped her arms around her tightly, hugging her under the arms from behind. She had no idea what her new friend was up to, but he'd never lead her astray yet.
Standing just behind Elsa, Jack made sure his staff was secure between his upper arm and body before bending over to take Elsa under her arms again. A playful grin tugged at his lips before the fun even began.
"Ready?" he murmured into the princess's ear.
"Ready?" Elsa repeated to her little sister.
"Ready!" Anna assured them both.
With a "wheeeeeee" sound, Jack lifted the girls easily off the ground, swinging them in a wide circle. It was such a simple thing, but as expected, Anna howled with laughter at seeing the ground an inexplicable four feet below her boots, and it was so infectious that Elsa had no choice but to giggle as well. Even Jack soon found himself chuckling at the girls' enjoyment, and was struck with another idea.
Having spun all the way around twice, he began to set the girls back down... then didn't, instead electing to lift them again, to their delighted surprise. His grip on his staff just strong enough to channel its flight powers (even when held by his armpit), Jack took off only a few feet into the air, levitating them all gracefully across the ballroom. If at all possible, the girls' zeal discovered new heights as well, as indicated by their increased cackles. It was only made even more perfect when the place Jack finally set them down for real was the top of their snow slide – right back where they started. As she and Anna began to slide down again, Elsa paused only to cast Jack a thankful smile.
For the twentieth time, Anna and Elsa rode down their snow slide, seemingly unable to get tired of it. For his part, Jack never got tired of seeing their elation.
Of course, it helped that the slide never remained the same shape twice. Every time the sisters found themselves at its top again, either Elsa or Jack would warp its shape into some new form that would differentiate the upcoming ride from the others. Once, the path had snaked this way and that like a letter S, making for very wild turns. Another time, the slide got very bumpy, making Anna's giggles seem to vibrate all the way down. Now, the slide was rather straightforward, but it ended in a ramp that would send its riders careening into a pile of powder snow. Unable to wait another second, the sisters took off as Jack watched from his perch high on a wall, where he was allowed an excellent view of the whole playground the ballroom had become.
"Tickle bumps!" Anna exclaimed amidst her laughter. Jack chuckled.
Reaching the end of the slide, Elsa didn't have the momentum to be thrown, but Anna did, flying a few feet into the air before sinking into the waiting snow pile on the floor. Throwing some snow into the air, Anna giggled, stood up, and jumped out.
"Hang on!" Elsa warned playfully, launching a blast of snow.
By her will, her power formed a mound of snow and ice for Anna to land on, a few feet off the floor.
"Catch me!" Anna commanded, jumping again. Sure enough, she landed on another mound.
"Gotcha!" Elsa declared as she created another.
It was like an enchanted game of hopscotch or leapfrog, Jack observed. Every time Anna threw herself into the air, her sister would conjure into existence a miniature mountain for her to land on top of, each one taller than the last. The younger showed no fear, but complete confidence in her sister's abilities, certain she would always be there to catch her when she fell. Jack really had to admire that kind of faith, as well as the skill that had fostered it.
"You're doing great!" he cheered Elsa on. He wasn't sure she heard him, though, concentrating on Anna.
"Again!" Anna shouted. And another mound appeared, catching her at the last minute.
That was when Elsa's smile faltered.
"Wait!" she shouted, letting loose another blast.
Anna landed safely but, seeming not to have heard her sister over her own jubilation, she immediately jumped once more.
"Slow down!" Elsa tried again.
She still created another mound (more of a tower, really, at that height) in time to catch her sister, though, which made Jack furrow his brow in confusion.
"Something wrong?" he called, uncharacteristic concern showing up in his voice.
Adjusting his grip on his staff so he could move into action at a moment's notice, Jack inspected the scene with a critical eye, but it was for nothing. He couldn't see anything obviously wrong, though that didn't mean anything. Maybe Elsa was getting worried about her little sister's increasing distance from the hard floor, and the danger it could present if she lost her footing. Maybe her magic was reaching its limits and growing exhausted, something even Jack could understand.
Or maybe, quite simply, she had a good sense of when something was unexplainably about to go wrong. If that was the case, then everyone should probably trust her judgment in the future. Because that was the moment the last thing any of them expected happened.
As she turned to create another peak for Anna to jump to, Elsa lost her footing and slipped over – on her own ice, no less. With her concentration broken, no new tower of snow was coming in time. But Anna, unaware of her sister's dilemma over her own enjoyment, leapt nonetheless.
To Jack's credit, he felt only a twinge of fear at this new development before he easily took charge of it. With Anna about to enter free fall, he coolly aimed his staff at the air below her, prepared to conjure up another heap for her to land on.
And at the same time, crying out her sister's name, Elsa fired a handful of energy in an attempt to do the same.
That flicker of unease inside Jack was suddenly fanned into an inferno.
"NO!"
He never even thought, only reacted. Screaming that negative at the top of his voice, he launched himself from his perch as fast as he could in a desperate effort to prevent what only he could see; Elsa's shot was way off. At its current trajectory, it wouldn't create another pile of snow to catch Anna – it would hit Anna in the head, causing who knew what damage! Jack had to stop it!
It was happening so fast.
It was happening so slowly. Amazingly, both were true.
From a reality standpoint, the burst of power's speed was enough to carry it to Anna in less than a second after its formation; practically no time to even make sense of the whole situation, let alone intervene. But from the perspective of Jack, whose magical adrenaline spiked all the way to the stars in that moment, everything was slowed down enough for him to make out every panic-inducing detail, down to the many ice crystals in Elsa's shot and the exact area of Anna's skull that it would impact.
As if to torment him even more, this also allowed him to see that he would never make it in time. At this rate, even Jack, with all his inhuman speed and power, couldn't put his body in the shot's path in time to protect Anna.
His body, no. But if he reached his staff far enough, maybe... just maybe...
It was astonishing how quickly he was even thinking, much less reacting, but he had no time to be impressed. Still jabbing his staff forward to trigger its power, Jack loosened his grip on it just enough for it to slide in his hand. If he held it by its very end, his reach should have just enough length to meet the burst. Provided he aimed just right, of course.
That thought terrified Jack so much that he almost forgot to tighten his grip at the last instant, lest he lose his staff completely. But now holding it by its extreme tip – and none too firmly, at that – all that was left was to adjust its angle. Making more haphazard calculations in this split-second than he had in the last century, the mythical being was ultimately forced to just guess how fast he had to swing. He only had one shot at this, and if he failed, then Anna... no, not Anna... and if anything happened, Elsa... Elsa would be... and the sisters' friendship would...
Jack swung down, spurred on by that heartbreaking notion.
And with a sound like shattering glass, Elsa's bolt of power disintegrated harmlessly against the crook of his staff.
It was as if a tidal wave of pure relief washed over Jack, seeping between every particle of his being and cleansing away all woes, and he almost laughed at the sensation. The immediate crisis was averted – Anna had been saved! – and time felt like it was beginning to move again.
Which meant Anna was now plunging toward the floor with nothing to catch her.
It was like a demented game of tug of war was being played inside Jack. As quickly as ease had returned to his spirits, alarm flashed across his nerves like lightning, setting alight all in its path. One disaster had been warded off, but the danger was anything but passed! And once again, only Jack could do anything!
Trusting his instincts once more, the bringer of winter forced himself to turn in the air, twisting at least his upper body back around as he awkwardly brought his staff to bear. He stretched so far that his insides cried out in pain, but he pushed it all aside. There were more important things at stake than his comfort.
As his other hand found his staff, Jack finally got at least a glimpse of the situation. Anna was on a collision course with the icy floor, and was only now beginning to realize help wasn't coming from Elsa. That much Jack could make out, even if it was only an unclear look from the corner of his eye. But it would have to do. Taking careful aim, he unleashed his inner winter again!
A bolt of pure white shot right past the youngest princess from above, though she was confounded to explain it. Much as she tried to turn over and look up at its mysterious source - wasn't Elsa still way over there? - that was the last thing she saw before she was suddenly plunged deep into the snow that appeared right below her.
As the two bringers of winter looked on helplessly, Anna disappeared into Jack's instant snow pile with a dull "Oof". There was only an instant of pure silence before Elsa gasped in horror.
"Anna!" she cried out again, scrambling to her feet.
As Elsa raced across the ice to where her sister had landed, overhead, Jack righted his awkward flight and circled back around to get there himself. As a result, both Princess and mythical being reached the snow pile (whose only distinguishable feature was an Anna-shaped crater) at the same time, standing on either side of it.
Before either could do anything but make it to their knees, though, Anna stood up, shaking her head free of the snow. The lumps of tension that had taken up residence in both Elsa and Jack's chests didn't disappear at the sight, but felt at least a touch lighter.
"Anna?" Elsa attempted.
"Is she hurt anywhere?" Jack queried seriously, hyper-focused on Anna. He was hardly a medical expert but, leaning this way and that, he eyed every part of the Princess he could see from where he knelt. If there was so much as a hair out of place, he doubted he could ever forgive himself.
"Are you okay?..." Elsa asked, tears already beginning to well in her eyes at the prospect that her precious sister was anything but all right.
But, brushing snow off herself, Anna looked innocently at her big sister.
"I'm fine." she responded simply, almost shrugging. "Are you okay?"
Elsa and Jack both breathed sighs of relief at the admission, the last of their worries dispelled. While the former took Anna into a tight embrace, the latter allowed himself to sink into a sitting position, relaxing at last.
"Wow..." he murmured, scrubbing a hand over his face and almost laughing. "I have never... never been so scared in my life..."
"I'm okay, Anna." Elsa mumbled into her little sister's hair. "Don't worry, I got you."
"Elsa?" Anna asked, pulling away from the hug to look curiously at her sister (Elsa refused to let go entirely, though, her hands clasping Anna's shoulders). "How did you do that?"
At those words, Jack's gaze rose to look at the girls again – though his hopes of being believed in, forgotten a while ago, didn't even stir. Elsa, meanwhile, looked confused at the question.
"What?" she questioned, having no better response.
"How did you catch me?" Anna managed to specify instead of just repeating her query. "You were way over there, how did you...?"
Trailing off, the younger Princess motioned vaguely to the snow pile at her feet, words failing her. Grasping the meaning of her words, Elsa glanced questioningly at Jack over Anna's shoulder, her mouth opening to give an answer she didn't even have yet. Jack, though, only shrugged one shoulder and offered her a smirk, letting her formulate her own explanation. Anna's faith in her sister was unshakeable, even if she did realize the accident that had barely been evaded. Elsa might as well just take credit for the rescue. After all, Anna would never believe-
"I didn't." Elsa finally managed, looking back at her sister with a little more seriousness.
With Anna's back to him at the time, Jack couldn't quite see the turn of emotions on her face as she absorbed the weight of Elsa's words - but in hindsight, he would be able to guess. First, Anna furrowed her brow and let her lips remain parted, communicating her confusion without words. Then, when Elsa said nothing more, she bowed her head in thought, her eyes darting here and there as she mulled over what was said and pondered the meaning in what wasn't. Finally, first her brow rose in comprehension, then her gaze did to stare at her sister once more.
"Jack Frost?" she asked innocently.
Elsa's eyes widened, her mouth dropped open, and she almost gasped. But opposite her, it was Jack's turn to crease his brow, unsure he'd heard right.
"What'd she just say?" he murmured.
"Jack Frost?" Anna repeated, not sounding like she entirely believed the words coming from her own lips.
The mythical being gasped gently at the sound of his name, not even noticing Elsa begin to beam and nod happily in response.
"She said it again!" he whispered to himself, stunned. "She said... You said..."
Almost as if at the sound of his voice, Anna started to turn around, but her hopeful sister's hands held her upper arms fast. All she could do was try to look over her shoulder, and say...
"Jack Frost?" she asked once more – a little louder this time, as if she were speaking to someone other than Elsa.
The bringer of winter, awestruck, brought his free hand to his hair, clutching his scalp in disbelief. Anna said "Jack Frost"! She said his name! For the first time since Elsa had tried to introduce them, she actually said his name! She... she...
"That's right!" Jack exclaimed, keeping his voice low and not really sure why. "Th-that's me! Jack Frost! That's my name!" He grinned at Elsa over her sister's shoulder. "Elsa, she said my name!"
Her smile gone, though, Elsa glanced at her mythical friend for a moment before her attention was drawn back to Anna, who was still trying to look behind her. Behind her, where...
Her eyes widening even more, Elsa looked Anna dead in the eye, her breath accelerating a little in excitement.
"What?" Jack wondered aloud, perplexed by his friend's abrupt seriousness.
"Anna, did you..." Elsa asked, ignoring his words. "Did you hear that? Did you hear him?"
At those simple questions, realization slammed into Jack with all the force of an avalanche. Only now did he register Anna's attempts to look behind her at the sound of his voice. Was it possible?...
Without a single word, Anna answered her sister's questions; she nodded.
Both bringers of winter almost jolted at the simple reply. Anna could hear Jack! She could hear-
"Can you..." Elsa pressed, turning her sister around to face her invisible friend. "Can you see him?"
Anticipation churning through him at speeds unheard of, Jack scooted a little closer as, for the first time, he looked little Anna in the eye – and, following his movement, she looked right back at him, her mouth numbly hanging open.
Anna nodded.
His lips spreading into a broad smile alongside Elsa's, Jack breathed out a couple of laughs, though they could almost have been sobs.
"She sees me!" he exclaimed, both to the girls and himself. "You see me!"
He might have said more – such as give a howl of euphoric laughter, for instance – or even done more – backflipping ecstatically came readily to mind – but stopped himself when he saw Anna's open mouth stretch into a gleeful smile to match his and Elsa's. It was the first smile she'd ever given him.
"Jack, you saved me!" she cried joyfully.
Without warning, she threw herself out of the snow pile, right at him. The thought that the Princess might not pass through him not even crossing his mind, Jack stumbled back a step at the sudden weight that impacted against his chest. But the next thing he knew... Anna's arms were wrapped tightly around his neck, her head right up against his. She was hugging him.
Another soft, grateful laugh escaping his throat, Jack brought his free hand up to Anna's back, returning her embrace with equal meaning. Hers was warmer than the ones Elsa gave him, but he appreciated it nonetheless.
Speaking of which, he beamed up at Elsa, who stood nearby, looking on with a tearful smile as her two best friends in the world met at last. Letting his staff clatter quietly to the floor, Jack opened his free arm invitingly, allowing his Snow Angel to run in, wrap her arms around his midsection, and snuggle her head into his chest.
"I love you, Jack..." she murmured against him.
There the three remained for a long time – Jack didn't bother keeping track of exactly how long the happiest moment of his life went on – in an adoring embrace, in the middle of a miniature winter wonderland, as a couple of inanimate snowmen watched on from nearby.
Elsa gave a sleepy moan.
And then, the snow was gone. The ballroom was gone. Anna was gone. What remained was Elsa, now a beautiful twenty-two year-old, and her caress. Jack looked around, piecing together where he was and where everything had gone.
He and Elsa lay in the latter's bed, in her bedchamber, in the real world. With her breathing deep and even, her head resting on his chest, and her expression of contented peace, the Queen was still fast asleep. Jack couldn't blame her; he didn't know what time it was, but from the look of the sky outside – inky black with a multicoloured aurora spread across it – it had to be very early in the morning.
Tightening his arms around Elsa's body just a fraction – unconsciously, she tightened hers around him in response, even smiling a little – Jack waited for sleep to take him again. (Once upon a time, he would have scoffed at the idea of sleeping himself, but he'd long since discovered he enjoyed it with Elsa at his side.) Because he was incapable of feeling tired the same way mortals were, though, it didn't right away, leaving him some time with his thoughts.
Tonight was the first time in decades that he actually dreamed, so what he saw didn't just drift away, but firmly cemented itself in his memory. It just figured that, lying here with Elsa, his dream was so much about her. He'd visited arguably the worst night of her life, or an approximation based on her account of it, at least.
Except it wasn't the worst night of her life in that dream. In fact, it might just have been one of the best. She'd had not one, but two friends to play in the snow with, and when the moment of truth came – the one that would define her relationship with her sister for years to come – he stepped in and saved Anna. He actually made something better!
You're Jack Frost. You make a mess wherever you go.
Even before those words had been spoken to him by Pitch last year, Jack had believed them more than once – and he'd believed them on several more occasions thereafter, especially when Elsa first came into his life. But now, he wondered if he might have avoided thinking that had he just come to Arendelle thirteen, or even more, years earlier. In his dream, not only had he stopped Elsa from accidentally hurting Anna, but his presence in her life until then hadn't caused her the same distress it had in real life.
And what about after? The dream had seen him save Anna from getting hurt, and also earn her belief not long later. If he was right, Elsa would never have become afraid of her powers and isolated herself from the world then. She and Anna would have grown up as sisters and not strangers, the coronation wouldn't have been such a mess, and he would have had loved ones who could see and hear him so much sooner... right?
Of course Jack knew these questions were hypothetical. "The past is in the past", as Elsa sometimes said; there was no use fussing over what could have been instead of appreciating what was. And to be sure, he was infinitely thankful for the events that made him a Guardian, earned him several children's belief, and brought him and Elsa together, all in one year. His gains were worth so much of what he'd suffered through.
But until he dozed back off, he couldn't help but wonder if, in another life, everyone might have been able to avoid so much heartbreak and pain, and still reap the rewards. Maybe he would bring it up with his Snow Angel here later on, once preparations for the Valentine's Day ball were done.
Author's afterword: Hey, everybody! I'm back, though maybe not the way you expected. I'll admit, I'm curious about what you'll all think of me putting out a one-shot like this. I like to think most of you will be open to it, but some of you might think I'm stooping low and more suited to writing long, multi-chapter stories with deeper meanings. However you feel, I'm actually considering writing more such one-shots to expand the world of Snow & Frost. We didn't get to see Elsa and Jack interact much with each other's friends then, so I'm intrigued to explore their different dynamics. Think of it as a little world-building while I work my way to a real sequel. (That is not a guarantee, just so we're clear, but it's in the cards.) Of course, if everyone who reads this answers with a hard "No", then I'll reconsider.
And to any first time readers who enjoyed this story, I recommend you go read my (currently only) other fanfiction. It'll clear up some of the references in this story you probably didn't get.
You know, I originally wanted to classify the genre of this story as "Love", plain and simple. After all, not just one side of it is explored in this story; we see the familial sort between Elsa and Anna, just as in the movie, but also the friendly sort between Elsa and Jack (and later Anna as well), and when Jack wakes up, we're back to the romance he shares with Elsa in real life. Sadly, though, FanFiction doesn't have such a genre. Oh, well. Maybe one day.
(And yes, I know I ripped that bit with Jack and the snowmen off a McDonald's commercial. Sue me.)
I actually had two inspirations for Accident & Rescue. As I'm sure most of you know, even before I'd finished writing Snow & Frost, I already knew how it would end. And something Jack said in that final scene – look at the summary on this story – left an impression on me. "Where is this coming from, Jack?" I wondered. "What got you thinking about this?" Even I, the one who wrote it, didn't know what was going through his head at the time. But as I was working away at my chapters, I couldn't help but imagine a circumstance that would put him on that train of thought. I even almost published it as Snow & Frost chapter fifteen and a half, but decided it would mess up the flow of the plot even that late in the story. Besides, being published by itself months later, I'm hoping it will push Snow & Frost back into relevance and get more people looking at it. Fingers crossed!
The other inspiration was – stop me if you've heard this one before – Flimfan's You Are The Reason video on YouTube. Yep, I just can't stop praising that one, can I. What else can I say, I just think it's a beautiful work. Arguably my favourite part is the flashback scene to Elsa and Anna's childhood. Every time I watch it, I just can't help but wish Jack could make it in time, just fly a little faster, reach a little further- No! Oh, Jack. Oh, Anna. Oh, Elsa. Oh, my heart. Anyway, I decided to write my take on what could've been, and had a ball doing it.
Speaking of YouTube, by the way, I would like to give a huge shout-out to my friend mlpfanceline. She's a member here on FanFiction, and a musical composer with a YouTube channel. One of her most recent works, titled Eternal Love, serves as an homage to a couple of fanfictions, Snow & Frost being one of them. I can't even begin to say how honoured I am that my work inspired someone else – a dream many artists share – and highly advise you all to check it out. Leave the song a like or a comment, why don't you? It deserves a lot more attention than it gets (as does the artist), and even if you don't think it fits the scene it was intended for, it is nevertheless a gorgeous song. I know that if it ever gets released on iTunes or something, I'll be in line to buy a copy.
Thanks once again for reading and, hopefully, enjoying. Reviews are welcome, as well as encouraged.
See you all again soon.
Mikaelus, November 18th, 2020
(PS: If you're reading this, CrystalKaouri, any chance I could trouble you for your thoughts on Snow & Frost chapter sixteen? After everything you said in prior chapters, I've been really curious about your reaction to the twists at the end.)