CHAPTER SIXTEEN PART ONE: In Rapunzel's Eyes

" I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me ~", a faint singing voice came from the hallway, and for a curious girl like Rapunzel, she followed the voice until she knew it came from behind this particular door. She had came out from her room, just on her way to the parlor.

"I still feel your touch in my dreams~", she pressed her ear on the wood of the door and listened intently. She was trying to figure out the owner of such a beautiful voice.

"Forgive me, my weakness but I don't know why
Without you its hard to survive~"

Rapunzel thought it was familiar, but couldn't quite put her finger on who that was. It could have been Anna, or maybe just another of the royal family's other guests.

"'Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling
Everytime we kiss I swear I could fly
Can't you feel my heart beat fast
I want this to last
I need you by my side~"

The sound of footsteps made Rapunzel jump to her feet and hide around the corner. Surely if someone had seen her in that position she would be put to shame, chastised. Luckily the person who approached did not seem to have noticed her. Rapunzel poked her head from the corner and watched a maid knock on the door she was just spying on. In her arms were towels and possibly a bathrobe. The bathroom, Rapunzel thought.

"Your highness?" The maid called out after she knocked on the door.

"Yes?" , a muffled answer came from the other side of the white painted door, quite in a sing-song manner.

"I have fresh towels and a bathrobe for you", the maid squeaked, forcing herself to speak. The maid was a petite girl with curly blonde hair and cute voice. She was obviously still young, but Rapunzel imagine the state her family must have been to have someone as young as her to work in the castle.

"Come in, and leave them on the counter.", was the muffled answer. The voice sounded even more familiar, and Rapunzel had an idea of who was in there. Yet it was simply impossible, she thought.

The maid did as she was told and Rapunzel could hear a small 'thank you' before the maid left the room. She turned her heel to walk in the direction of Rapunzel, and Punzie swiftly pulled her head back to hidee behind the wall again. Only this time she would get caught. She had to think of an excuse, and fast, before the maid might accuse her of anything.

Rapunzel then pretended to be walking towards the maid and when they noticed each other that Rapunzel spoke first. "Where is the bathroom around here?", she did her best to act as serious as possible. A lot of self-control was needed here just to prevent Rapunzel from giggling hysterically.

The maid stopped in her tracks to point to the white painted door she had just entered. "The bathroom's in that room, but it is still occupied."

"Who is in there?", she just couldn't her her tongue. She simply HAD to know. The maid looked at her with a raised eyebrow, not able to understand the importance of who exactly was in there. But nonetheless, she spoke truthfully.

"The Princess Elsa is in there, in the middle of her bath", she said with a little extra information just so Rapunzel wouldn't need to ask any more questions. The thing is, Rapunzel already knew the person was taking a bath, however she didn't say anything about that and dismissed the maid. She couldn't have been more confused by Rapunzel's actions.

Yet the most crucial information lingered in her mind. Elsa was the one singing in the bathroom. She had never once heard Elsa sing anything before. Elsa had a lovely voice that she kept only to herself. Another thing Rapunzel noticed was the amount if emotion Elsa had put in her song. Rapunzel was certain she was singing from the heart yet had quite a vague idea for whom it was for. For all Rapunzel knew, it definitely was a boy, but which one made her scratch her head. She took a deep breath and shook her head, placing her hands on her hips and then proceeded to the parlor.

Upon entering the parlor, Rapunzel was quite surprised to see Anna and Jack playing together on the carpeted floor. They both gave her an amused glance and turned their attention back on their game. Toy boats and toy people and animals made of wax were scattered across the floor. Rapunzel approached them slowly, careful as to not step on the toys and hurt her feet in the process. She cleared a small space for her to sit down on the floor next to Anna.

"And then the pony will come and give everyone free candy!" Anna said with a cheery tone. Despite her age, Anna still liked to play with her toys as they gave her comfort from the fact that she couldn't play with her sister. The thought was saddening, and so Anna thought it was best to keep away from it.

Jack chuckled at her childishness. He simply adored children for some reason he couldn't explain, at least not in words.

"Then everyone in the cloud kingdom would have bad teeth because the pony keeps feeding them candy", Jack said in his own amusement. Anna scratched her head, puzzled by the current problem in her own make-believe cloud kingdom. This was when Rapunzel decided to butt in, but with a completely different topic.

"Elsa's in an unusually good mood today", she remarked, mostly towards Jack. She was quite curious for whom Elsa's song was for, and she wasn't going to accuse anybody right away. She needed to have enough evidence first.

Jack's lips curved up into a smile, no a grin- of obvious mischief. "Really?", he asked, tone as smug as his smirk. This sign triggered Rapunzel's suspicions to be true.

"I heard her singing from the hallway on my way here. That's a rare ocurrence. I never heard her sing before. I wonder what had put her in a really good mood to make her sing loudly", she said, the suspicion in her voice made Jack curled in fear, in his mind. Never physically.

Anna seemed to ignore the discussion Jack and Rapunzel were having and was lost in a world of her own: the world of endless joy and fun, no sorrows nor problems to bother her. She did it on purpose, she didn't want to know how in love her sister was with Jack. She knew long ago, otherwise she wouldn't feel jealous whenever Elsa spent more time with Jack than Elsa did with her.

"What was she singing?", Jack asked, this time more curious than smug.

"I don't know. But her voice was beautiful. You should've heard her. 'Everytime we touch I get this feeling'~" Rapunzel tried her best to mimick the tune of the song, but knew that she failed miserably when Jack snorted.

"I know that song", Jack remarked, recalling the last time he heard that song. It was his mother's, she used to sing it to them as a lullaby. He was probably twelve years old when he heard it last. Yet Elsa was singing it like she never forgot any of the lyrics, which was true.

It was Rosaline's favorite song. Holly liked it but had another favorite. Jack thought it was okay, but singing a love song as a lullaby did seem strange for him. Nonetheless, his mother's sweet voice singing easily put him to sleep.

"How?", Rapunzel asked curiously.

"My mother used to sing it to us when we went to sleep. Elsa must've picked it up from her", he said, a trace of sadness laced in his voice.

There was a pause, Rapunzel had her eyes fixed on the floor but didn't seem to be looking at it. Her mind wad lost, thinking. A piece of the puzzle was missing to complete the whole picture. And unless she had it confirmed, her mind would be in a frenzy.

"Are you alright?" Jack was worried. Rapunzel then snapped her head up to meet his brown eyes. "Yeah, I was just wondering. Did Elsa spend a lot of time in your village?"

His lips curled upwards and a glimmer of happiness shone in his eyes. He let his mind roam the memories he pushed into the back of his mind. Not that they were bad memories, but it hurt him to remember how happy it used to be, and now it would never be the same again.

"A couple of days each month. Elsa would insist to stay at our house. The Queen even allowed her. The Queen and my mother are good friends", Jack explained, somewhat melancholic.

Anna had had enough of their conversation. It was a while she fell silent and listened to them talk. Suddenly she stood up and glared at Jack with a burning anger that seemed to be lit a long time ago. "She loved you more than she loved me!", she screamed furiously and marched out of the parlor. Both Rapunzel and Jack were taken aback and were left dumbfounded.

A/N:

I deeply and sincerely apologize for my prolonged absence from the magical world of Through Eternal Ice and Snow. I do not mind if ya'll already forgot about me, the fault is entirely my own. This story will always be here if you want to read it. Also, please forgive the change in my writing style, it's been a while, you know?

~PrincessBTB