Disclaimer: This work of fan fiction uses characters from Rise of the Guardians, The Guardians of Childhood, and Frozen which are trademarked by DreamWorks Animation, William Joyce, and the Walt Disney Company respectively. The author of this story claims no ownership over them. The story the author is telling is of her own invention and it is not purported or believed to be part of the canon storyline. This story is made for entertainment purposes only. The author is not profiting financially from the creation and publication of this story.

What goes on behind these doors

I'll keep mine and you keep yours

We all have our secrets, we all have our secrets.

–Naughty Boy ft. Bastille, No One's Here to Sleep

Smoke and Mirrors – Agnes Obel

Violet – Downton Abbey OST

Inner Turmoil – Vampire Knight OST

Such Good Luck – Downton Abbey OST

Nocturne: The Third Movement – Part II

The afternoon drifted by slowly and Elsa spent hers trying to trying to distract herself; trying to forget the conversation she overheard in the library: the sound of Emma's desperate voice and Jack's furious tone…trying to forget the broken promise between her and Jack.

After the Prince of the Western Isles left the library that morning, Elsa sat on the steps of the stairs, staring at the light streaming through the large, ceiling high window for minutes – perhaps hours before silently and numbly making her way back to her rooms. She tried to read, to lose herself in the pages of another world, but she couldn't get rid of the terrible feeling of dread in her stomach.

So instead, Elsa paced around the room, wringing her fingers and playing with the ends of her hair as she wondered and contemplated on how and if she should confront Jack about this matter. She wondered if her turmoil would cause frost to creep up the glass window, or snow to begin dusting the dark coloured carpets and rugs. Fortunately, her powers never got out of hand, she was thankful that she had a tight grasp on her abilities. But now as Elsa circled the room, she berated herself for falling in love so… severely.

Then a knock on her door pulled her from her thoughts, but she was grateful for the interruption.

"Come in," the Queen of Arendelle called, quickly smoothing her dress down. The door gradually creaked open and in came the Duchess of Tand'Fe dressed in a loose and flowing gown in blending tones of blue and green with a single feather in bright yellow braided into her wavy, dark hair.

"Tooth!"

"Elsa, sorry to bo – shouldn't you be dressed for the dinner party?"

"A-ah," Elsa muttered, she was still wearing the simple white blouse underneath a black dress that she put on this morning: certainly not appropriate for a dinner party. "Did you need something, Tooth?"

"I wanted to come and ask if you had a spare set of dinner gloves because I've forgotten mine," Tooth said, shutting the door behind her, "But, I'll help you get ready. You only have a quarter of an hour left before we should all be down in the drawing room."

"Thank you, Tooth," Elsa said, rummaging through her trunk and pulled out a pale purple dress with off the shoulder sleeves, silvery embellishments, and a flowing skirt ending in a short train – a gown that she had designed herself not too long ago.

"I'll do your hair," Toothiana said, helping the young queen put on the gown and led her over to the vanity table. The older woman pulled loose the tie holding Elsa's long blonde hair and began brushing a comb through. Elsa closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of Toothiana's long, smooth brush strokes through the waves of her hair. Anna would often brush Elsa's hair but her younger sister was a bit vicious with the tool, but Elsa never had the heart to tell Anna to stop. It was nice to have someone softly and gently running their fingers through her hair.

"What were you thinking about?" Toothiana asked as she reached over Elsa's shoulder for a ribbon to weave into her hair. Elsa hesitated, reaching up to massage her temples.

Elsa forgot: for a couple minutes. Just for a couple minutes, she forgot the entire incident that occurred that morning, and now, they've returned in full force. Oh, how she wished Anna was here, Elsa wanted nothing more than to tell everything to her younger sister…but Toothiana was dependable. After only meeting the woman for a day, Elsa found it difficult to not trust Toothiana. The Duchess of Tand-Fé had a motherly aura. After she finished braiding Elsa's hair, she tied it off with the dark purple ribbon and then placed a jewelled clip on the side of the queen's head.

"About Jack," Elsa admitted, then.

"I saw him this afternoon," Toothiana started as she sat down on a sofa, "he was trying very hard to convince the stablemaster to let him take a horse out riding, but it seems that the physician had already informed the castle that Jack should be resting and not doing any hard physical activity."

"Have you seen Emma?"

"No, actually," Toothiana replied, "I was going to ask her for spare gloves, but she wasn't in her rooms, perhaps she went down to the drawing room early."

"I see," Elsa said. She shouldn't tell Toothiana about what she heard in the library, not without asking Jack first. Emma and Jack's quarrel was one matter, but Jack offending the Emperor of Hestia… she, herself, didn't have enough information.

Toothiana could probably sense that something was wrong, but the duchess chose not to pry.

Elsa quickly stood, going to her trunk to pull out a pair of black gloves and handing them to Toothiana.

"Here you go, Tooth," she said cheerfully, "Shall we go down?"

When Elsa and Toothiana entered the drawing room, only Aster, Jack, Kristoff, and the Emperor and Empress of FeyDelle were present. Aster and Jack stood by the far windows, away from the roaring fire. The Prince of the Western Isles appeared calm and casual as he usually did, the bandages were wrapped neatly against his brow and his snow white hair now neatly combed.

Elsa took a seat on the sofa beside Toothiana, Kristoff coming to stand by the sofa looking nervous as he pulled on the collar of his formal dinner attire.

"Is something wrong, Kristoff?" Elsa asked, watching as Kristoff took as seat on a chair, leaning in to whisper to Elsa.

"So, let me get this straight, I have to escort Princess Emma into the dining room? But why does it have to be the Princess?" he asked.

Traditions for dinner in the Western Isles were an important social affair. Everyone would convene in the drawing room until all the guests arrived before entering the dining room, the ladies escorted by a gentleman chosen by the hostess – in this case, Queen Olivia. Most of the dinner party had already come, after Elsa and Toothiana came, now they were only waiting for the arrival of King Nicolas of Meres and his heir the Crown Prince Rudolf who were said to come this evening for dinner. The King of Tarvyn was due early tomorrow morning for the summit.

"It's just for socializing and mingling with each other," Elsa explained, "you needn't worry, Emma is kind and she isn't keen on tradition either. But she'll lead you through things if you need help."

Kristoff nodded quietly to himself, before taking a deep breath.

"Elsa. I would like to speak to you in private – "

"Announcing His Royal Highness King Nicolas of Meres and His Highness the Crown Prince Rudolf of Meres," cried the butler, opening a set of a double doors. In walked a large and broad man that was the King of Meres. He was garbed in a red coat lined with black fur and hair as silvery-white as his beard. Beside him, was a tall, handsome man dressed in dark coloured furs: the 32 year old Crown Prince Rudolf.

King James came to shake hands with new arrival, chuckling as the older man enveloped him in a hug, Jack came to greet the King of Meres as well, earning a rough pat on the back. Queen Olivia walked to the center of the room then, saying that they should all go into the dining room since everyone has arrived.

Elsa turned to Kristoff, standing as she spoke.

"I'm sorry, Kristoff, but we'll have to discuss things later."

"Of course," he replied, appearing somewhat relieved about the matter, he turned, searching for Princess Emma as Aster took his place. Aster was Elsa's escort to dinner this evening. She nodded as dark-haired general bowed deeply, presenting his hand to her.

"Lady Queen," he said.

"Lord Aster," she greeted, placing her hand in his as they walked into the dining room.

Dinner was a quiet affair, nothing more than small talk about families, upcoming balls and events, and the occasional mention of a future visit to a country. Elsa sat with Aster on her right and King Nicolas on her left. Down the table, Jack sat with Toothiana and his mother. The Queen of Arendelle tried to pay attention to the story that King Bronimir was telling – a great hunting trip last winter – but to no avail, it just didn't interest her.

Elsa glanced over across the table to find Jack looking longingly at her. She smiled softly as he subtly winked when their eyes met and then faked a yawn into his napkin. Toothiana elbowed the prince in the ribs, glaring at him as she deftly cut up her meal without looking. Jack flinched, nearly spilling his glass of wine over his mother's lap. Elsa quickly grabbed her own napkin, muffling her soft chuckles with the white cloth. Beside her, Aster mumbled under his breath.

"Show pony," the general grumbled. Elsa looked over to Emma to see the young princess staring dejectedly at her plate missing the amusing exchange entirely. Out of the corner of her eye, Elsa saw Jack's ever present grin fall when he saw his sister.

The exchange was not missed by Toothiana.

After dinner, the ladies once again returned to the drawing room and the gentlemen would stay to have a couple more glasses of wine before joining the ladies. Elsa hovered nearest the windows, happy to have a nice balance between the heat of the fire and the chill of the night air to offset the cup of hot tea in her hands as she conversed with Toothiana.

Emma retired early, leaving the room with an absentminded curtsy and mumbling something about being tired. Toothiana whispered her worries to Elsa, twiddling her thumbs at the speed of a hummingbird's wings.

"I wonder if something happened," Toothiana said, taking the cup of tea offered by the butler. "Emma seems distraught."

Just then, the door opened and the men filed in, Aster saw Toothiana and Elsa by the window and quickly walked to them, Kristoff trailing quietly behind him.

"I'm not the one to snitch," Aster begun in a low voice, "but the bugger had a couple more glasses of wine in the dining room before leaving. Jack never has more than one glass."

"Where is he now?" Toothiana asked.

"He said he wanted to retire early, and bids you and Elsa good night." Kristoff said.

"He doesn't like tea anyway." Toothiana reasoned.

Elsa tuned out the rest of their conversation. She knew what was wrong and she was certain that Jack had already told Aster. She needed to talk to Jack. She didn't want to sit in this room anymore and pretend that nothing was wrong.

"Elsa," Kristoff started in a low voice, "Can I have a word with you?"

"Can it wait, Kristoff?" Elsa asked, "It's getting very warm in here, I'm going to go for a walk in the gardens."

"A-alright," Kristoff murmured.

"Elsa," Toothiana started, "don't stay out too long though, the oil lamps around the pathways tend to dwindle around midnight."

Elsa nodded, quickly excusing herself from the rest of the company as well before slipping out the glass doors.

The cool, wintery night welcomed her in a breath of fresh air, the wind swirled around her and played with her hair and skirts. Snowflakes landed softly on her bare skin, the touch of frozen water clearing her thoughts. The guards standing by the entrance stared curiously at the Queen of Arendelle outside in the cold night without so much of a coat or cape, but her reputation as the Snow Queen should soon cross their mind: this was her element after all.

The Queen of Arendelle began strolling through the gardens, wandering aimlessly down the pathways lit only by the soft glow of oil lamps. They did not provide enough light, but the night was bright enough with the full moon in view. She sighed, wondering how she would talk to Jack about this, about when she would talk to Jack about this. The summit was tomorrow, and from the sounds of his talk with Aster, Jack hasn't come to a resolution.

"Elsa?" came a familiar voice. She turned around suddenly, caught unaware in her musings. There, underneath the light of a lamp, sitting on a snow dusted stone bench was Jack. He wasn't wearing a cape or coat either, dressed in only in a dress shirt and vest.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, as he stood from the bench and offered her the spot.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Elsa replied, walking towards him. "Kristoff told me you retired to bed early."

"Right," Jack laughed, casually putting his hands into his trouser pockets. "I just didn't want to be bothered. I just wanted to get some fresh air, to clear my head."

"Me too," she responded, sitting on the bench. He joined her again on the bench, scratching out swirls in the light dusting of snow on the ground.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked.

"Aren't you cold?" he retorted with a chuckle, "The cold doesn't affect me anymore, I wear a cloak for appearances sake. I'd get strange glares and mothering women coming after me with a cape if I don't."

"That happens to me too," Elsa replied, placing her hands in her lap, "I forget that you were so similar to me…but for the sake of my inner mothering woman: how are you?"

"Better," he replied, touching the corner of his forehead, "my head still hurts, but it is to be expected – I fell on a vase."

He smiled, but his smile was forced. Everything seemed forced, faked in an attempt to reassure the world that he was alright. That exchange in the dining room, despite his best efforts to look natural, Elsa knew he did it for show. Show pony, Aster called him, it was an act. All an act and he can't keep this up – not with the summit happening tomorrow. She had to talk to him, had to confront him about this. She had to help him.

Sensing the tension, Jack poked Elsa's side mischievously, "But, Elsa the motherly, has a nice ring to it, I think."

She blushed.

"J-Jack, I'm a queen… don't tease me like that, speaking of which, are… you ready for the summit?" she asked, trying to be casual as she spoke, balling her right hand into a fist and hiding it underneath her left hand. Jack whipped his head to face her, his playful smile fading, his body tensing, and his eyes widening. But then he breathed a soft sigh, the smile falling into place again. However in that mere second, she saw it: fear.

"Kristoff has been dreading it," she started, blurting out the first thing that came to mind. She realized she'll begin rambling soon– but that look on his face. She hated herself for causing that. "Since the last summit, Anna insisted that Kristoff go in her stead, just so that he can experience it. But poor Kristoff, he's been spending every second awake trying to cram information in."

She laughed uneasily, running a hand through her hair and nearly pulled out the clip in her hair.

"Well he will be prepared for it," Jack said, "He told me how you stayed up helping him yesterday evening."

"I'll help as much as I can. I may be his queen, but I am also his friend. Kristoff is lucky, he has Anna and myself supporting him, I felt so alone before my coronation night. Things are different now, I have Anna and Kristoff and now… you to depending on." Elsa replied. Jack chuckled, crossing his legs casually as he leaned back and turned his head to the sky. She bit her lips, trying to calm the knots in her stomach and the terrible thoughts that plagued her.

She needed him to tell her. Slowly she reached for his hand, lacing her fingers in his.

"Jack."

"Hm?"

"You…told me that you don't want me to hide my fears from you, so… so don't hide yours from me," she whispered.

"Of course, Elsa, is something the matter?" Jack asked. Elsa took a deep breath, her heart racing as her stomach dropped to her feet.

There was no going back now.

"Jack, I saw everything in the library… with Emma and Aster," she said in a rushed whisper, "I was upstairs – I-I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

He didn't speak, she let go of his hand as it dropped limply to his side.

"Jack, I'm sorry," she said, "but I-I want to help you, I need to know what happened because I am worried about you."

He moved suddenly, bringing his head down to his knees and burying his head in his hands in frustration – perhaps shame.

"I-I," he whispered, his voice cracking and her heart hurt at the sound, "I made a horrifying mistake."

"I let my heart cloud my judgment," he stated bluntly, "This is politics, and I handled it like a temperamental child! How can I be fit to rule a kingdom when I cannot even rule over my own anger? I insulted the Emperor of Hestia's hospitality and I threatened him. I'd be surprised if he didn't decided against joining the Alliance – I wouldn't be surprised if he called for war."

Jack stood, running a hand sharply through his hair, upturning the locks of white in a wild disarray.

"I haven't told my father, Elsa. The summit is tomorrow and I haven't told my father how terribly I messed up. He believes that I am withholding information because I wanted it to be fair for the Alliance – because I am the Ambassador – but no," Jack said.

"I am not telling him because I am a coward!" Elsa winced as the sound of his frustration echoed through the gardens.

She didn't know what to say – what could she say? That everything will be fine? No… that's lie. She took a shuddering breath, swallowing once before whispering:

"What…exactly happened?"

Jack sat down again, his shoulders slumping as he stared blankly at the trees in front of him.

"He insulted you, Elsa," Jack said numbly, "Emperor Hirokazu slandered the name of Arendelle and insulted their beloved Queen. He wanted to… evict Arendelle from the Alliance because he feared your powers. And I couldn't sit and watch and let that happen – so… so I spoke up, defended you and confirmed our… our relationship as well as destroyed my own credibility as the Ambassador of the Alliance of Six. Then, to boot, I threatened to defame the name of Hestia before the Alliance... and then stormed out of the country. He could have killed me on the spot for disrespecting the sovereign of a nation! What was I thinking!? My bravo might destroy us all. What have I done?"

The young queen felt her eyes prickling with tears and it was becoming difficult to breathe. It hurt to have her name defamed and to realize that once again her powers could be the source of her country's downfall. She looked away, she couldn't let Jack know that she was on the verge of crying, not when he had so much to worry about already. She stood, sweeping her skirts around as she started pacing again, hoping that her powers – her dreaded powers – never got out of hand.

"I would never make a good king," Jack whispered dully. Elsa stopped pacing, glancing at the silver-haired prince as she suddenly realized how happy she was that Jack defended her.

Anna trusted Elsa and loved her to the point where princess would give up her life. And Jack, Jack had defended her name and country. Now it was her turn to show Jack her love for him. She sat down abruptly beside him again, grasping his hand tightly in hers, gently caressing his face.

"I know you don't want to hear this now," she started, "but I have to tell you how thankful I am to you for defending Arendelle."

"I love you, Elsa. I don't regret my decision," Jack murmured, "but I fear the consequences that my country will face because of my actions."

"I can't tell you that everything will be alright," she started, "because I don't know. But you can get through this – we are going to get through this. Go get Aster from the drawing room, I will go wake your sister. Meet me in the study in the eastern wing of the castle. The summit is tomorrow, and we need to come up with a battle plan."

When Elsa returned to the castle alone, for Jack had gone through the servant's entrance, Kristoff was waiting anxiously by the doorway.

"Kristoff, were you waiting for me?"

"Yes, Elsa," Kristoff starts, "Do you have some time?"

"That's right, you wanted to speak to me in private," she entered walked into the library then, knowing that she had to find Emma, but Kristoff was trying to talk to her since that evening. She sat on the sofa and gesturing to the chair across from her.

"What's the matter, Kristoff?"

"I'd like an audience with you, as a man, wanting an audience with my sovereign monarch. Lady Queen, I am here today to ask you permission for the Princess of Arendelle's hand in marriage."

Author's Note: I am alive! When was the last time I wrote a chapter for Nocturne… it feels like it was centuries ago….sorry guys! No excuses other than reality likes to screw around with everyone and I got caught up with life.

So, just a couple explanations with this chapter, the dinner traditions of the Western Isles were heavily based on the Edwardian era tradition. A lot of the things were taken directly from Downton Abbey (because I am obsessed with that show). A lot of the clothing styles tends to be based on Reign because the dresses are unbelievably gorgeous. Do you guys think I should make a character chart for this story? There are a lot of characters, especially with the amount of monarchies present in this chapter, so if it would help keep things clear just let me know!

Also, I have a favour to ask of you guys. I am applying for a Creative Writing Course at my university and it requires a portfolio if what I consider to be my 'best' prose. I was wondering if you guys could help me by giving suggestions on what I should submit. Maybe it's a story that you guys enjoyed, or a passage of writing in a chapter that you liked. Anything and everything helps! The portfolio has to be 25 – 30 pages long, so it would be nice to have a variety of different things such as a good character sketch, section of dialogue, or descriptions. Thank you so much in advance, guys!

Ages ago, I posted a story for Valentine's Day and I'd like to thank:

Trapid, Lifesend, umdiddle, SunriseImagination, CaptainBeer, ElsaTheSnowQueen2, Guest #1, KuroNeko382, nsavant, JoPoGirlsKickAss, UsuiXayuzawa, kutsuyuta, Guest #2, Fany So Nyeo Shi Dae, Guest #3, and Hatsune Lover

for reviewing!

Trapid: Gah! I giggle like a school girl when I read your review! Thank you so much for your kind words!

Lifesend: I wanted to write a part two for Allemande for March 14th, but I honestly wouldn't have the time nor would I have enough ideas to come up with a chapter. But let's just say that yes, Jack would totally have given Elsa chocolates! Thank you for your review!

Umdiddle: So happy you enjoyed it! It was a pleasure to write! Thank you so much for your support!

SunriseImagination: The honorifics is signature to all things Japanese inspired, right? Ahaha! I know that there are a lot of one shots, but I was stuck while trying to write Nocturne, ahaha. But I finally got a chapter out!

CaptainBeer: It was my editor's idea to add the fact that they tasted horrible, it was a great choice. Glad to make you laugh! Thank you for your support!

ElsaTheSnowQueen2: Glad you liked it! Thank you for your support!

Guest #1: Nocturne is out! Hope you enjoy!

KuroNeko382: Ahaha! It's alright! It's sort of confusing as the traditions are sort of reversed from what they are in the Western world. But I am glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for your support!

Nsavant: Toradora, I have not watched it, but you have definitely got me interested, I will definitely be checking it out soon… as soon as I find the time! .

JoPoGirlsKickAss: Thanks! I am so glad you enjoyed it!

UsuiXayuzawa: Awe, too cliché? Ahaha, but Valentine's is a time to accept clichés! =D

Kutsuyuta: Yaaaaaaaa! I am glad you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you so much for the praise, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Guest #2: Bwahaha! I can't believe I forgot that! Thanks! You really made my day. Thank you for your review!

Fany So Nyeo Shi Dae: I like your name, a fan of SNSD, right? =D I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Nocturne! Thank you for your review!

Guest #3: Definitely updating, I am alive, I swear!

Hatsune Lover: Not abandoned! =D

Please follow, favourite, and review!

Until next time!

Cordially,
EireneHarmonia