Eunice was waiting for Elsa to return from her bath. She had readied Elsa's garments and sat patiently on one of the refined wooden chairs in front of the fireplace. A few minutes later, Elsa walked in the room in a white silk bathrobe humming a pleasant tune.
"Now is not the time to be carefree, Your Highness. I'm sorry to have to tell you this", Eunice said, a blank expression on her face. She handed Elsa's garments as Elsa proceeded to the dressing space. The princess abruptly stopped singing. "Why?", she asked, somewhat defiantly.
"Your friends are slowly being corroded by Chaos, and so is your sister. I can feel it. Also, there is more bad news waiting at your door", she explained and gestured her head towards the door. Elsa cocked an eyebrow, and repeatedly pulled on her corset to get the right adjustment. Eunice quickly jumped in to assist her.
"I cannot tell you what it is exactly, for I have not heard. I only saw that it will not please you." Eunice continued, tying the corset. Elsa then pulled on a royal blue dress and Eunice helped get it on properly.
Elsa frowned and a worried look plastered itself on her face. She look up at Eunice with doubtful blue eyes.
"What is it?" She asked. Eunice ignored her question. "I only mean to warn you, to keep your guard up. You may think the storm is over but it has only just begun"
"What do you know? What did you see?" Elsa asked, anxiety growing in each passing word, and so was her impatience. Eunice's eyes welled up in tears. "This time I cannot protect you from it. You have to be strong, Elsa. Just remember that there is always peace after the storm." Eunice's face was covered in tears and sweat, her nose a reddish-pink. Elsa was beginning to cry as well.
"Why does it sound like you're saying goodbye?" Elsa had asked in between sniffs. She grasped Eunice and locked her in Elsa's arms.
"Don't worry, I'm not leaving." Eunice pulled away, much to Elsa's dismay. She beamed Elsa an encouraging smile and let out a soft giggle. "Looks like were both in a mess. Come now, let us dry our tears. It's still the calm, the storm has not yet come", the maid said and led Elsa to her vanity table. Eunice pulled out a small white handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her own tears while Elsa did the same. Eunice continued on with her duties, taking care of the princess. Grooming, cleaning, maintaining health of the princess in all aspects, and keeping her well fed, as well as the most important of all: to keep her isolated from everyone. Of course, there are many cases when Eunice defied the last order. Yet somehow, much to Elsa's relief, Eunice didn't get caught.
As Elsa was done and was now reading a book, Eunice was doing the last round at cleaning. Dusk approached and Eunice had to light the candles. While cleaning the left bedside table, the one farthest from the door, Eunice came across Elsa's mysterious book. 'The Guardians of Childhood', Eunice read in a whisper. At her realization her heart skipped a beat. To confirm her suspicions, she searched for the author. She opened the book and turned a few of the pages. She completely froze at the sight of the author. Ron Dryad. Her inactivity had caught Elsa's attention from across the room.
"Eunice?" Elsa called. Eunice then snapped back to reality. "Yes?" she asked turning around to face her master.
"Please fetch me a glass of orange juice", she ordered. Eunice neared her the book in her arms.
"Yes, your highness, but with all due respect, may I first ask where did you get this book?" She said presenting the hard-covered book.
"So you've found it. An old lady back in Burgess gave it to me two years ago. She insisted to give it to me for free. She wouldn't accept any payment." Elsa explained.
"I-if you don't mind, m-may I have it?", Eunice stammered, ashamed of her question.
"Yes, I thought it had blank pages in the middle but then I came to conclude that I had just imagined it", Elsa replied, returning her attention to her own book.
Eunice nodded and placed it on the small coffee table before going out to fetch the orange juice. Her heart was racing, her mind in a fluster. Especially from what Elsa said. But the reason behind her mysterious frenzy was a whole other story itself.
Evening finally came. Elsa found it hard to even pretend to concentrate on her book. The thought of Jack leaving wouldn't escape her mind. Indeed, he has confessed to her, and although she sensed his sincerity, she still wouldn't completely buy his words. What he said is probably what he says to all the girls in that town, all the girls seemed to swoon at the sight of him. She set the book on her desk and noticed it was covered in frost.
She was surprised Eunice didn't notice her in this state, but then again Eunice was lost in her own world. Elsa was certain it had something to do with that book she insisted on keeping, and Eunice even asked if she could take the night off just to get it home. Elsa couldn't refuse, of course, she owed Eunice big time and it was the least she could do. Surely, she could make it through one night without Eunice. It would be just like before, the days spent in the castle before THAT Christmas Eve in Burgess.
Elsa sat alone in the candlelight, constantly waiting for someone- and not just anyone, to come knocking on her door. She waited for about an hour, and her heart skipped a beat when finally someone knocked. It was quite the irony really, before she wished no one would knock, especially Anna, but now her heart was aching. To her dismay it was only a maid, carrying a tray of her dinner. She quickly dismissed her and ate in deafening silence.
She was uneasy and only ate half of what was on the tray. After she was done, she left the tray on a nearby table outside her door. The sound of footsteps made her scurry swiftly back to her room. She stayed near the door, her right ear pushed against the white painted wood. The footsteps stopped in front of the door and silence infiltrated the room for a few seconds until the person began to walk back and forth down the hall. This unnerved Elsa even more. One thing she knew about Jack was that he was particularly light on his feet, and barefooted, he wouldn't have any audible footsteps, especially from behind a door. From the sound of those loud and heavy footsteps, this was no Jackson Overland. She immediately locked the door and ran to her bed, hiding beneath the covers. After several minutes, the footsteps stopped, and Elsa was able to fall asleep.
Several hours later, Elsa was awoken to the sound of something small clashing against wood. It was constant, and Elsa found it annoying. She got up to investigate the disturbance. It came from the balcony. She slowly opened one of the doors, and the sound stopped. She looked around and saw pebbles on the floor. "What in God's name...?" She muttered as she walked around. Her whole balcony was covered in them. "Psst" her head snapped to the where the sound originated. The second she saw his wide toothy grin she summoned a snowball in her hand. He held his hands up defensively. "Woah Els, calm down".
Elsa crumpled the snow and it dispersed. Instead her brows furrowed. "What on Earth are you doing in the middle of the night?!"
"Elsa, keep it down. You'll wake everyone up", he said in a franticemanner, his brown eyes open wide.
Elsa did keep her mouth shut. Sometimes the Prank monster had a point. He was standing on a lower balcony to the right of Elsa's. She had to lean on the railing and look down just to see him. While he, on the other hand, looked up to her figure, glowing in the moonlight. Her beauty had shone through.
Elsa spoke again, but this time in a more calm and gentle manner. "Could you explain why I'm on my balcony in the middle of the night?"
"I wanted to see you"
"You could have just knocked on the door. You know that"
"Yes, I do know that. But I'm not stupid enough to do that when I know Hiccup fell asleep on the chair just outside your door"
"What?!"
"Believe me, I checked"
Jack could hear her mutter "Unbelievable" and started for the door.
"Wait Elsa, you'll wake him up!"
"I need to see if you're telling the truth"
"I am! When did I ever lie to you?"
Elsa opened the balcony door. Jack was more frantic than ever.
"Elsa! Stop! Or all my efforts will be for nothing!"
"You mean your efforts to wake up the whole kingdom?" Elsa said before she closed the door. Jack has had it. This was going to be the last time he could ever talk to her. He's decided, after tonight, he'll let her go. He'll go home and help out his family. He'll never set foot in Arendelle again. He knew he had no chance against Hiccup. The king was on Hiccup's side. If only he knew the queen was on his, maybe he would've thought differently.
He stepped on the railing and bended his knees. He sprung up and grabbed the bottom railing on Elsa's balcony. The impact hurt a lot, but he knew it was worth it. With what strength he had he hoisted himself up and ran to stop Elsa who was almost at the door to the hallway. Elsa gasped in disbelief. Jack pressed a finger to her lips. "Sshh" he hushed.
Hiccup heard commotion inside Elsa's room and sprang to his feet. He almost fell asleep but luckily he didn't. He knocked on the door rather bravely. Jack and Elsa were in a frenzy. Elsa forced Jack to hide under the bed and Elsa pretended to be asleep. She knew perfectly well the doors were locked, and this relieved her. However you could never be too careful.
"Elsa?" Hiccup called out from the other side.
"Are you alright?" She whispered to Jack.
"Fine", he struggled. He barely fit under the bed.
Elsa's heart was racing and she did her best to bite back her hysteria of laughter. Although she knew there was nothing to be happy about. She heard something click and the door opened, shining bright light in her eyes. It was quite unpleasant, but Elsa had bigger problems to worry about. Like, how, when, where, and why did Hiccup get a spare key to her room? The thought disgusted her. He could come in whenever he pleased. And Eunice happened to go home. Did he plan this all along? She could not fathom why?
Hiccup gazed at the sleeping princess. The way she slept peacefully, the way the light hit her face. She was above beautiful. And somehow, something beckoned him to come closer. Closer, closer, until his face was merely an inch away from hers.
Elsa's heart was beating infinitely faster as the footsteps got louder. The same footsteps that patrolled the hallway hours ago. This time, she knew it was Hiccup, from his voice he called out to her earlier. Only she couldn't say nor do anything. She needed to convince him she was truly asleep. And so far, he was buying it.
What made her heart skip beats was the feeling of Hiccup's breathing on her face. 'No!' She thought. She remained completely still, frozen almost. She knew what was going to happen. Warm, wet lips pressed against hers and refused to let go until several seconds. Elsa fought back the urge to jump up and give him the slap of a lifetime, but she knew that was dumb. Instead, she pretended to stir and Hiccup brushed her hair with his hand.
"Sweet dreams my beautiful future-wife" he said gently before leaving the room. Elsa lay silently on the bed and didn't move. It was just after a few seconds that Jack whispered from beneath her. "Is he gone?"
"Y-yes" she stammered, still shaken from what had happened. Jack crawled out from underneath and slammed himself on the bed. He turned his head to Elsa and noticed her wide eyes. "Are you alright?"
No answer.
"What did he do?" He said, worried and anxious this time.
"He...he" Elsa lifted her hand and touched her lips. "He kissed me"
It was Jack's turn to widen his eyes. He was in utter shock and a few seconds later, anger. He sat up.
"He what?!" He almost shouted. Elsa began to cry.
"Shh no don't cry. I'm sorry. It's all my fault" he said and pulled her into an embrace. Elsa quickly dried her tears.
"Jack?"
"Yes snowflake?" He cooed.
"What did he mean by 'future-wife'?" Elsa asked, in between sniffs. This was the real reason for her breakdown. She was horrified by the thought that her father betrothed her to Hiccup. That would explain why Hiccup had a key to her room.
Jack could feel his throat run dry. There was no escape. Elsa had heard what Hiccup had said.
"I don't want to be the one to tell you this but-" Elsa had quickly cut him off.
"So you knew all along" She said with a bitterness that made his heart ache.
"Elsa"
"You didn't even bother to tell me?!"
"What difference would it make? What difference could I make? I only knew this afternoon!"
"You could've at least done something" Elsa was a bit calmed now.
"What do you think I'm doing now?"
Elsa looked up to his brown eyes, his face flooded with sincerity. Jack cupped Elsa's cheeks and wiped the tear stains with his thumbs. He leaned in to kiss her, but Elsa tugged on his arms and turned her head.
"What's the matter?" He asked. Elsa turned to him again.
"Jack?"
"Elsa"
"Can I be yours for one night?"
A/N:
Oh My Goodness what on freaking earth is going on? How's that for a cliffhanger? I would like to know if there is still somebody who is reading this because, feedback! Was it good? Was it bad? Was it a little of both?
So yeah, that was Part Two of Chapter Sixteen. (I'm sober now)
Hey Everyone! Thank you so much for reading my story and I hope you enjoy it! Anyway, I have notice many minor and MAJOR mistakes with grammar, typos, plot-lines, and many, many other stuff. I deeply apologize for all of this. By now, you should all know that I am a slacker (apologies) and I haven't updated in a while. Well I haven't given up on this story if some of you may think. I noticed my writing style has changed slightly, and the lack of details is bothering me, but it's a pain in the butt to type an update on my phone. My computer broke and I have absolutely no excuse for not getting it fixed.
Also, I didn't reread through everything before I wrote an update so... that is why some stuff have been forgotten and don't make any sense. If you have any complaints or suggestions please leave a review. Thank you for reading and thank you all for the nice reviews!
P.S. AJCappy, here is your answer. Thank you !
~PrincessBTB