"This- Is- Not- FAIR!" Jack huffed, sweat dripping down his forehead and neck as he swept all the broken glass shards. It had been a long time since he did any chores, but a sense of familiarity hit him as he did the work.
After that little incident at the 'meeting', Jack was taken to one of the rooms in the first building where he woke up, which he now realised was actually a hotel, and even his other items were returned. They had explained some rules he had to follow as the prisoner, and he had been threatened that if he tried to escape, he would be caught and be made to do extra work.
And after the instructions were given, he was led to the shop where he had been knocked out i.e. Flynn and his wife, Rapunzel's, bakery. He was told to fix what he had damaged, starting with cleaning the mess he had made.
And of course, along with hard work came all kinds of complaints and wails. He decided that if they're gonna force him to work then he might as well be the biggest pain in the ass. And he didn't even do the work properly. He would just hide some of the glass shards of the broken window either below the furniture or below mats and he would even just randomly throw them away outside the window.
If only those god-damned horses hadn't attacked, I would be in California by now, preparing for my final race!
But then another thought struck Jack: what were those things? They looked like horses, but they seemed to be made of sand, which kept spilling wherever they went. And they even had strands of sand flowing behind them.
Now that I think about it, it doesn't make a lot of sense. What were those things and why would they attack us? Jamie said they were after me, so what the heck did I do? They were not sent by these geezers, right?
Nah, these people don't even know who I am for crying out loud! And look at what they're making me do!
Jack sighed before collecting glass shards again and dumped them in the dustbin.
"Well, you've done only so much and you already look so done with life." A familiar voice teased him from the doorway of the bakery. Jack rolled his eyes and didn't even bother turning to see him.
"Haha hilarious," He said, picking up the last bits.
"But seriously dude, you suck at chores. When was the last time you did any?" Flynn asked.
"Let's see... About two years?" Jack replied.
"Well, you better get your game back on, 'cause you'll be doing more than just hiding the glass shards." Flynn pointed out.
"Woohoo, lucky me!" Jack rolled his eyes, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Just then he heard laughter outside. He looked out of the window and spotted the green-eyed blonde woman, the strawberry-blonde turquoise-eyed woman, and the blonde guy, talking with an older couple.
"So, Flynn, care to introduce your family to me? I'm pretty sure all of them know me." Jack said, nearing the window. Flynn came and stood next to him.
"The Blondie with the long hair is my wife, Punzie, formerly known as Rapunzel Corona. Standing next to her is Anna Winters, Punzie's cousin, and next to her is Kristoff Bjorgman, Anna's boyfriend. And the older couple would be Punzie's parents, Frederic and Ariana Corona." Flynn explained.
"And those other people who were there at the meeting?" Jack asked. And just then a family of five, four redheaded and one brunette, arrived and joined the conversation.
"The redheaded family? The woman with the long, brown hair would be Elinor Dunbroch. Then her husband Fergus Dunbroch, the head of the family. And their first child, Merida Dunbroch, is the adventurous one and no one has beat her in an archery competition yet. And then the triplets, Harish, Hamish, and Hubert, who can't be said apart by anyone except Merida and Elinor, are the naughty and mischievous ones. Be careful around those guys. They would've pranked you and you wouldn't even know that you're their victim," Flynn warned.
"And what about her?" Jack rolled his eyes as the last person, the one who had punished him, walked over to the gathering families and sat with them.
"Watch your tone, Frost. That's Elsa Winters, Anna's older sister. She's the temporary head of the place. The actual one has gone out somewhere. She treats everyone like family and she's serious almost all the time. You see her smile only when she's being polite or when she's around Anna and Punzie. I was actually surprised at the evil grin she gave you back at the meeting." Flynn said.
"Oh," Jack said, not impressed by the story.
"But I gotta admit, you've got some guts there. I mean, you don't even know her and you just straight up went on to flirt with her. And even when she threatened you, you were glaring right back at her," Flynn smirked.
"Seriously? Well-" and then Jack stopped, remembering something, "Wait, where did that icicle even come from?" He asked.
"Oh, that? This area isn't exactly safe so all of us have our own weapons. And that icicle would be Elsa's. She has it tucked in her sleeves, as she always wears full sleeves. It might look thin and small but is terrifyingly sharp that she could cut off your head without even using much energy." Flynn said casually.
"Weapons huh?" Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. All of us have our own."
"Wow, sounds like you guys are auditioning for the Avengers or something." Jack rolled his eyes.
"Well, enough about us. Tell me something about you," Flynn said, turning away from the window and leaning against the wall next to it. Jack held up his hands, backing up.
"Never one for back-stories. Not exactly the person who would trust anyone." He said.
"Well, at least what do you work as?" Flynn asked. Jack just stared at him blankly, before he started chuckling.
"After being in my career for two years now, you are probably the first who has asked that. Well, nonetheless, I am Jack Frost, one of the finalists for the Tachyons Cup," he said, and the pride and ego were clearly seen in his eyes.
"A Tachyons Cup finalist huh?" Flynn's expression became unamused and cold, which greatly surprised Jack. "Well, let's hope luck is on your side this time. And when is the race?" Flynn asked.
"Two months later. Aka just two weeks after this so-called punishment of mine ends." Jack rolled his eyes.
"Oh, wait, when was the last race?" Flynn asked.
"The night I landed up here" Jack replied.
"Isn't the stadium really far from here? What were you even doing around this area?"
"I was leaving for my flight to California on the same night my semifinals ended. And on the way-"
I can't let him know about the attack...
"-uh, there were some problems and I ended up running through the forest and then come here when I saw some light after an hour of running."
"What kind of problems?" Flynn raised an eyebrow.
"Um," Jack hesitated, looking away from the brunette.
"Stop trying to pry him about his personal info Rider. It's not exactly cool." Kristoff's voice cut in, startling both the men.
"Dude, where the heck did you come from?" Flynn asked, glancing back and forth from Kris, standing in front of them, to where he was previously standing with Anna and the others.
"Let's see... How about the front door?" He commented dryly.
"Yeah yeah" Flynn rolled his eyes. Kristoff didn't say anything before he turned his attention to Jack.
"Hi, I'm Kristoff Bjorgman. Nice to meet you," Kristoff held out his hand.
"Yeah, Flynn told me. I'm Jack Frost," he replied, shaking the blonde's hand.
"So, you were running through the forest and ended up here huh?" Kristoff asked.
"Just how long were you eavesdropping on us?" Flynn's eyes narrowed.
"Long enough to know that he's a Tachyons cup finalist and was leaving but then got lost and came here instead," Kris shrugged.
"You eavesdropper-"
"So..." Jack cut Flynn off mid-sentence, "how did you guys end up here? I mean, you are Punzie's husband and you are just Anna's boyfriend, right? Assuming they're the family owning the place, how come you guys live here? Did you grow up here or...?" Jack trailed off.
"Really long story, man. Don't have enough time right now. Let's just say that once we fell for the girls, we decided all of us will be happier if we moved in here, though we saw no problem in it." Kristoff shrugged.
"So you are telling me that you guys live here just for your loved one's sake?" Jack raised an eyebrow.
"What's wrong with that?" Flynn asked, looking offended.
"Nothing, it's just that I feel romance is just a waste of time, that's all."
"Uh huh. Says the guy who flirted with a girl he didn't even know," Kristoff commented.
"Just because I flirt doesn't mean I like the girl or that means anything." Jack shrugged.
"So you're a player?" Kristoff raised an eyebrow.
"Nah, players are the dumb guys who play with girls' feelings while being in a relationship. I'm just the type of guy who would flirt with the gorgeous ones, get them interested in me and then let them down slow and nice. A little fun never hurt anyone." Jack smirked.
That's literally the worst lie I've ever told. Being that kinda person is just... gross and overrated.
"That's just a pathetic excuse for your behaviour, Frost," A familiar female voice interrupted them and Jack internally groaned when Elsa walked in, followed by her sister, cousin and the red-headed friend.
"You might wanna think before talking," Jack commented dryly.
"Ooh, Mr Frost is warning me, I'm so terrified" Elsa shot back sarcastically, which just made Jack angrier. "And look who's talking about thinking before talking," Elsa rolled her eyes before glaring at him, which was gladly returned by Jack whose glare matched her own.
"Okay..." Rapunzel trailed off awkwardly, stepping in between the two. "How about we cool things down here?" She suggested. Elsa rolled her eyes before she calmly walked to the storeroom of the shop.
"I'm Rapunzel Fitzherbert, Eugene's wife," said Rapunzel, offering her hand. Jack shook it, but his eyebrows dipped in confusion.
"Fitzherbert? Eugene? I thought you were Flynn's wife" said Jack, glancing back and forth from the blonde and the brunette.
"I am. Flynn Rider is just a name he kept for himself, his actual name is Eugene Fitzherbert." She grinned, rolling her eyes as she knew he would introduce himself using his other name, something he does all the time. Flynn just groaned.
"Seriously? A fake name?" Jack snickered, deciding that these people weren't all that bad. But that didn't mean he trusted them completely.
"Hey, it's cool! And it's not fake! And don't tell me you've never used a different name yourself, Mr Popular," Flynn accused.
"Guilty as charged," Jack shrugged.
"See? I'm not the only one who uses different names!" Flynn accused.
Rapunzel rolled her eyes and smacked his arm, which made him pout and rub it.
"Yeah, yeah, flirt once you get inside your bedroom." The strawberry blonde rolled her eyes before holding out her hand. "Hey, I am Anna Winters. A pleasure to meet you."
"Oh no, the pleasure's all mine" Jack smiled and winked playfully, shaking her hand.
"Don't you even think of flirting with my sister Frost," Elsa threatened, now approaching them, holding a box in her hand. Anna quickly walked towards her sister, grabbed the box, opened it and popped a chocolate into her mouth.
"I wasn't, Ms Overprotective," Jack shot back.
She ignored him and turned to her sisters with a smile. "We got what we needed. Let's go" said Elsa, now pushing Punzie and Anna out of the shop before the three of them headed to Merida's house.
"You're gonna be staying here for six weeks Frost. You might as well get on her good side." Flynn commented.
"Which reminds me, I still have to talk to her about my so-called punishment. See ya," he said, hurrying out. He looked around and spotted the three women walking towards a building and ran towards them.
"Hey, wait up!" he yelled, running behind them. The three of them stopped and turned around, and Elsa quickly scowled when she saw Jack running towards them.
"How may I help you?" Elsa asked in an exhausted voice.
"I wanted to talk to you. Alone" Jack panted. But unknown to the two of them, Anna and Punzie's eyes widened.
"About what exactly?" Elsa asked.
"It's about my so-called punishment."
"I don't know what's there to talk about. I clearly told you-"
"It's really important," He cut her off.
Elsa's scowl deepened but she forced herself to nod. She turned her head to her sisters and her eyebrows dipped in confusion when she saw them having weird dreamy expressions.
"What are you girls staring at? Get going, I'll join you later." Elsa said.
The two women snapped from their trance and nodded, before walking away with wide grins plastered on their faces. But instead of going into the house, they just hid behind a nearby tree and spied on the two.
"What is it?" Elsa asked now.
"Not here. Come on, let's go to your place."
And before she could even blink, Jack grabbed her hand and pulled her into the building which he knew was her house, thanks to Flynn.
"Did you see that?" Anna asked, not averting her eyes from the two walking figures.
"I most definitely did," Rapunzel whispered.
And once Jack and Elsa went inside, Rapunzel and Anna looked at each other with wide eyes, before both spoke the same words at the same time.
"I ship it!"
...
"Let go of me you bastard!" Elsa hissed, pulling her hand away from his grasp once they entered. "And who even gave you the permission to enter my house, more or less told you that this is my house?!" she yelled.
"Geez, would it hurt to calm down?! Now can we please talk?" Jack asked. "And for the record, I saw you come in and go out of the house plenty of times so I assumed it was yours."
"Fine... Now tell me, what did you want to know about the punishment?" Elsa asked, sitting down on the couch while Jack took a seat opposite to her.
"You've ordered me to stay here for six weeks to fix all the mess I made. But I don't have much time, okay? I need to be in California for something really important. I was actually on my way to the airport the night I got caught here, but some problems arose and I ended up getting lost in the forest," Jack explained.
Elsa just stared at him before she started chuckling.
"What kind of an idiot are you Frost? The nearby airport hasn't been open for the past two months, and there's a notice plastered on its front gate that it won't be open for another year or so. How do you suppose you could've flown to California from an airport which doesn't have any planes or which isn't even open?" Elsa asked. Jack was completely taken-aback and Elsa could see he wasn't faking it.
"WHAT?" he yelled. Elsa just raised an eyebrow but said nothing else.
So that's why those horses were waiting for us! Whoever sent them knew we were going there and we were tricked into going through this forest!
"Um, hello? Earth to Frost?" Elsa waved her hand in front of his face, which made him snap out of his thoughts. "So what is this important business you have at California?" she asked.
"I'm one of the finalists for the Tachyons Cup and the final tournament is gonna take place at California this year," he said proudly, smirking smugly. He expected her to swoon and quickly start flirting with him or at least be shocked that she's been treating a Tachyons Cup finalist like shit this whole time.
But what he didn't expect happened as Elsa's eyes widened, fear flashing in those wide, sapphire blue eyes. She backed away a little, but then quickly composed herself.
"O-oh," she said, looking down at her hands.
What's all that about?
"So you see, I need to be there at least three weeks before the race. And if I stay here for six weeks, I'm gonna be a whole week late for the race," he continued, speaking just a bit softer.
"Okay then, you're gonna stay here only till you fix everything you've done. Even if you finish your work within a week, you can leave," she said.
"I'm okay with that but do I really have to fix everything?" Jack asked, kinda happy and annoyed at the same time.
"Yes," she said without even a second's gap.
Jack raised an eyebrow but then sighed and stood.
"Fine then. See ya." He walked out but then paused at the door and looked back. Elsa was still staring at her hands and didn't even look up at him. Jack just slowly closed the door before walking towards Flynn's shop again, to keep the things away before heading for dinner.