1st of December 2013

Elsa sighed as she hit send on the email, sending the file with her English essay to her professor. All the hours spent bent over her laptop, carefully researching, reading and editing her work, had been reduced to little more than an email. Now, all she had to deal with was the mild panic that came with fearing that she had made a mistake, be it in her professor's email address or in the work itself. Shaking her head, she clicked the button to shut down her laptop. She knew that she had worked hard and carefully scrutinised her finished work. Experience had taught her that she couldn't dwell on the 'what-if'. All she could do, was focus her attention on the present.

Pushing back her chair, she moved to the window and peeled back the curtains to survey the scene down below. As expected, winter had come early to the town of Burgess, Pennsylvania. Thick white snow covered the ground and anything else unfortunate to be in it's path as it fell from the sky. Squinting her eyes, she could barely make out the shape of the picnic table where she'd enjoyed a relaxing lunch with her parents, only a few weeks earlier.

A loud shout distracted her. Looking down, she recognised Jamie Bennett, one of the guys from her English class, racing through the snow as he pelted a snowball in the direction of a lanky blonde guy with glasses. Chuckling, she pushed herself away from the window before Jamie spotted her and decided to pester her to come down and join in their fun.

Her eyes fell on her empty dorm. Her roommate, Sophie, Jamie's twin sister, had gone out for the day and had left her alone. Settling herself on her bed, she pulled her phone onto her lap and checked the time. Her heart sunk as she realised that she'd missed the chance to Skype call her parents. Despite the fact that they were military and used to early mornings, her parents still enjoyed a sleep in. Receiving a call at 3am South Australian time, was not likely to be met with enthusiasm. She shook her head as the image of their possible reactions popped up in her mind. Her father would be the one who would answer the call, his broad Australian accent would sound down the line, gruff at first, but softening when he recognised the sound of her voice. He would then pass the call to her mother who would be tired, but would force herself to sound somewhat alert so not to appear rude.

Reaching over to the bedside table, she traced her fingers over the framed family photo and smiled. "I'll let you sleep, Dad," she murmured.

Falling back onto her bed, she pulled the blanket over and covered herself. Closing her eyes, she found her thoughts turning to her family and their situation.

It was no secret that she was adopted. With pale skin, platinum-blonde hair, a petite frame and blue eyes, she didn't exactly resemble her parents. Her father, Aster Bunnymund, was a tall, muscular and tanned Australian with a head of dark brown hair and brown eyes. Her mother, Tia Bunnymund, was Chinese with a petite frame, dark brown hair and brown eyes. Even her surname was different than that of her parents. For some reason, her parents had opted to give her the surname of Fisher, her mother's maiden name, after the adoption had been legalised.

She couldn't remember a lot about her adoption. She knew that she'd been four when she had been adopted from Arendelle, Norway. From what she had been told, her birth parents and a younger sibling had been killed in a tragic accident which had left her orphaned. A teen boy had apparently found her and had cared for her for before he'd handed her over to authorities.

That had been when her parents had come in. Something about her case had struck a chord with the childless Army couple and they had swooped in with a respected ex-military lawyer, Nicholas St. North, to adopt her. According to her mother, the whole process had been rapid fast. Their name and the level of respect that North commanded had seen to it that the adoption had been organised in just over a week. With the paperwork signed, she had been whisked from Norway to her new home in Penang, Malaysia where her parents had been stationed.

She had spent the last fourteen years living out of a suitcase as her parents job had seen her move on a regular basis. As such, she had never been in a situation to form close friendships with anyone and had been homeschooled. Not that she had minded, the time on her own had allowed her to devote herself to her studies. The abundance of time spent studying as opposed to pursuing a social life, had paid off. At the tender age of eighteen, she had been accepted to study law at Burgess University.

Leaving her parents had been hard. There had been tears in the months leading up to her departure. She had overheard her parents talking about her move and had realised that they shared her fears. Growing up, she had been heavily protected. Her every move had been monitored and she had become accustomed to her dad doing semi-regular checks during the night to ensure that she was safely tucked up asleep.

She had briefly entertained the idea of rejecting the offer, but her mother had objected. Despite the admittal that she had her own concerns, Tia Bunnymund had been quick to point out that Burgess University was regarded as a safe and respectable university. After talking it over as a family, they had agreed that the move was for the best.

Still, regardless of their decision. Security measures had been put in place. Her father had insisted on thoroughly vetting her potential roommate and their family. He had also put her in contact with an old friend who lived nearby- Samuel 'Sandy' Joyce, a retired navy officer, who despite his rotund appearance and pleasant disposition, was known for being highly skilled in Krav Maga. Lastly, her father had left her with the order to always carry her phone, pepper spray and to ensure that she continued to practise the basic self-defense moves that she had been taught since an early age.

The sound of the dorm room being pushed open jolted her from her thoughts. Shuffling into a sitting position, she found herself face to face with her roommate, Sophie. "Hey Els," Sophie greeted closing the door behind her as she carried in a few bags of shopping. "Take it you finally finished that English essay for Professor Williams?"

Grinning, she pushed the covers back and swung her legs over the edge of the bed and watched as Sophie began pulling her purchases from the bags. "I did. I only just finished it though-"

"Els," Sophie interrupted, turning to stare at her. "That essay wasn't due for another two weeks, you know that, right?"

Blushing, she nodded. "I do," she murmured. "It's just I have so much other work to finish and I don't want to let it get away from me. Anyway, enough about me, what happened with your day out? You're normally out a lot longer when you go shopping. Did you run out of clothes to buy?"

"More like I ran out of money," Sophie chuckled. "No, I got a late-minute call from Caleb. He was hiding behind a garbage can so that Jamie and Cupcake wouldn't pelt him with snowballs. Anyway, while we were talking, Cupcake found him and took the phone off him to tell me that they are all headed to a bar later tonight and to ask if I wanted to come. I said yes and decided to come home early to get ready."

"Sounds like a plan," she replied. "I saw that your brother had started one of his snowball fights. I didn't see Caleb, but he was likely hiding at that point."

Sophie rolled her eyes and held up a new multi-coloured striped dress to her chest. "Yeah, he would have been. All these years later and he's still slightly intimidated by Cupcake and Claude...and well..his own shadow," she snorted. "By the way, the gang wants to know if you want to come with us tonight? Cupcake actually gave me orders to drag you out with us- whether you want to or not."

Blinking, she regarded the rosy-cheeked blonde as she pulled out a handful of coloured nail polishes that she had purchased. "I...I can't," she stammered. "I'm sorry, I have to go out in another hour."

"What for?" Sophie quizzed as she pulled out a hanger to hang her new dress on.

"Oh, my dad's friend, Sandy, is taking me to learn Krav Maga," she explained. "A girl called Astrid teaches it part time and Dad has organised for me to have lessons."

"Oh," Sophie replied and turned to study her. "So, you're leaving at 2pm. What time is the lesson and how long does it last for?"

Groaning, she reached over to grab her phone and scrolled through to the calendar section. "The lesson will take an hour," she explained. "Lesson starts at 2:30pm, but I'll have to travel."

"It can't be that far away if you're being picked up at 2pm for a 2:30 lesson, though," Sophie countered. "We're not leaving until 7pm. You'll have plenty of time to get home, shower, grab something to eat and head out with me. Come on, Els,"

"I don't know," she whispered, biting her lip as she studied the carpet on the floor.

"Come on, Els," Sophie begged. "You never come out with us. I know your Dad is like super strict and all, I mean, he practically needed a sample of my blood before he agreed to us being roommates, but you'll be safe. Trust me, it will be a whole group of us- you, me, Jamie, Caleb, Cupcake, Claude, Monty, Peggy. Cupcake's going to be our designated driver- she has her parents Pathfinder. There's no way in hell that she will risk drinking and driving-"

"I don't know, Soph," she interrupted. "I'm kind of tired and am worried that I won't be much fun. I've not been sleeping well lately."

She watched as Sophie stopped in her tracks before abandoning her purchases and moving to join her on the bed. "I know, Elsa," Sophie whispered. "I share a room with you. I've seen you tossing and turning with nightmares. I mean, I know university is scary...but you...you are something different, it's like you're truly scared."

Blushing, she lifted her head to meet her friends gaze. She had been plagued with a recurring nightmare for almost as long as she could remember. It was always the same: the sound of gunshot, screams and finally a lanky brunette boy who lifted a tablecloth and found her younger self before pulling her into his arms and running with her. Over the course of her life, she had tried to make sense of the dreams. Somewhere along the way, she had come to the decision that the brunette boy had been named Jack and that he had called her 'little princess'. When she had mentioned it to her parents, they had shared a look before telling her that it was nothing but a bad dream. Jack, or rather, Jackson, had been the name of the boy who had found her after the accident that had claimed her parents. Jackson Overland.

"Els," Sophie broke in. "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. It's just...I don't know what to do when I hear you having those dreams. You toss and turn and your face, Elsa. If you could see your face and see the pain and terror ...it's like it's more than a nightmare."

She sighed. "I'm sorry that you have to witness it, Soph," she murmured. "I wish I knew what to say. I've been having the same nightmare on and off for the last sixteen years-"

"Is there any chance that it's more than a nightmare?" Sophie asked. "I should video-tape you next time you have one, Els. I'm not kidding when I say that you are truly scared. Have you asked your parents about your life before they adopted you? Maybe it's connected to your past."

She shook her head. "No, I think it's just a nightmare. My parents don't seem to know a lot about my past, or if they do, they won't tell me. I've asked, but they simply said that my parents and sister died in an awful situation."

"Do you remember anything about your life before you were adopted?" Sophie whispered. "I mean, surely your parents would tell you something?"

"No," she admitted. "Every now and then, I recall being held by someone and looking at a small baby. I think that my baby sister was three years younger than me, she would have been seventeen now. It's just, every time I tried to ask my parents, they would change the situation. Well, my dad would leave the room and my mum would cuddle me and give me a hot chocolate. When I was sixteen, I overheard them talking about me and my situation. Mum wanted to tell me, but Dad said no. Dad felt it was safer and kinder to me that I don't know."

"Safer, how?" Sophie asked. "I mean, it's not like your entire family was wiped out and you're on the run."

Raising her eyebrow, she turned to stare at her friend. "On the run, Soph?" she quipped. "You're watching too many movies, I think."

Standing up, she padded across the room towards her closet and pulled out her sneakers.

"Els," Sophie called. "While we're talking about your nightmares, will you mind telling me who 'Jack' is? You sometimes murmur the name Jack while sleeping. Was he someone special?"

She felt the heat rushing to her cheeks as she looked at her friend. Judging by the amused grin on the blonde's face, she had already reached the conclusion that there was something juicy behind the significance of Jack, or at least something more telling than a boy who had found her. "Jack was the name of the boy who rescued me," she explained, noting the way Sophie's expression fell. "He was a teenager."

"Well, that's not quite as exciting as I'd hoped for," Sophie muttered. "I was rather hoping that Jack was the boy of your dreams, torn away from you by rival...I don't know, maybe his family are Navy and because yours are Army, they are rivals and so your love can never be. Yet, despite the rivalry, you fell in love and were happy until your secret was discovered and you were torn apart…"

A decidedly unlady-like snort escaped her lips as she turned to study the whimsical expression on her roommates face. "Okay, now I know that you've been watching too many movies," she joked. "Sorry to disappoint you once again, but no, there was no torrid love affairs. I was a child and he helped me. Anyway, I have to go- I don't want to be late for my first class."

Sophie nodded. "Okay, see you later, Els," she called. "Just so you know, I'm determined to drag you out with us tonight. I won't take no for an answer."

Jack stared at the bottle in front of him. The cold amber liquid was doing nothing to ease his mind. Although, he had been briefly entertained by the important task of ripping the label off and scattering it into the ashtray along with the ash which had fallen from one of his cigarettes.

All around him, people were talking and laughing happily without a care to the world. Most of the customers were young, presumably students from one of the many universities that called the area home. Their loud voices rang out as they chatted and flirted with one another. Yet, despite the joyous atmosphere, he remained sullen and disinterested. He'd considered heading home to continue his moping in private, but had given up on the idea after realising that it was safer for him to remain in public where someone could at least refuse him alcohol when he'd had too much.

The barman, a large, jolly man by the name of Pete, had tried to engage him in polite conversation when he had first settled on the stool. However, much like the various women who had tried to catch his eye, he had ended up giving up and had left Jack to mope. Besides, there wasn't much joy to be found at this time of year- not anymore.

Sixteen years had past since that night. The event that had unfolded at the Arendelle castle had changed him. He had left the house as a cocky, reckless teenager with little care for the consequences of his youthful misbehaviour. He had arrived home with a terrified child, having witnessed something which had changed not only his life, but that of a young girl and had put an end to the monarchy in Arendelle.

That evening had been one of the longest ones of his entire life. Sleep had evaded him and he had spent most of the night looking over the newly-orphaned princess. As his mother had anticipated, he had woken that morning to discover that the scared girl had managed to wet herself and the mattress before she had climbed up to join him on the couch.

The day after the attack had been an exhausting. Elsa had been even more teary as the reality of her situation slowly seeped in. Her loud wails had woken Emily, who had been shocked to discover a girl, barely younger than she was, in their home. Fortunately, his sister had been kind enough to agree to lend their guest some clothes and after a bit of a situation, where Elsa had refused to be separated from him, they had managed to bathe her and dress her for the day.

His mother had wasted no time in calling on a friend, a former military lawyer by the name of Nicholas St. North. North had pulled some strings and had somehow used his good name to get himself on a private jet from his temporary base in Frankfurt, Germany and had arrived on their doorstep at midday. Together, his mother and North had spent the rest of the afternoon holed up in the kitchen while they had gone over their options.

He, on the other hand, had spent the day trying to encourage Elsa to join him and Emily in play and had hoped that the distraction would help her feel more at ease. By the time the grumpy Australian and his energetic wife had arrived in the evening, Elsa had felt comfortable enough to allow him to leave the room without crying or attempting to follow him.

By the time Monday rolled around, a plan had been put in place. Dressed in his best suit, he had accompanied his mother, North, the Bunnymunds and Elsa to the police headquarters where he had come clean about his adventure at the castle. His illegal entry onto castle grounds had been ignored in favour for the information that he had been able to provide. Sadly, it had been revealed that very few people had survived the massacre. The majority of the castle staff had been present and on-hand in the grand ballroom where they had acted as wait-staff during the night. The few who hadn't been in the ballroom, had been working in the kitchen and had been killed shortly after he had fled with Elsa.

As expected, Elsa had been the sole survivor from her family. The lack of her body had led the homicide detectives to believe that she had been taken captive and had likely been murdered off-site. It had been at that point when he had lost it. He had glanced down at the small girl on his lap who had been entertaining herself by drawing with the crayons he'd packed for her and had stormed out of the detective's office.

Not surprisingly, Elsa had followed- the sterile environment of the police station had unsettled her and she'd reverted back to clinging to him. Her small hand had tugged on his shirt and she had tearily offered up the plush teddy that he had purchased for her earlier that day as comfort. Without a care in the world, he had broken down and had bent down to wrap his arms around the little princess.

The firm hand that had clamped down on his shoulders some five minutes later hadn't surprised him. What had shocked him had been the fact that it had been Aster 'Bunny' Bunnymund who had chosen to follow him. The cantankerous Australian had caught his eye and had simply uttered 'She'll be right, mate,' before he had turned and returned to the small office.

"You alright, mate?" a friendly voice called. "Normally you're onto your third drink by now and yet you've been nursing that first beer for well over an hour."

Shaking his head, he looked up to see Pete staring at him from the other side of the bar. Faking a smile, he nodded. "I'm fine," he muttered. "Couldn't be better."

Lifting the bottle to his lips, he forced himself to swallow the remainder of the drink and signalled for Pete to bring him a second drink.

He still didn't know all the details of what had gone on in the office while he had been absent. All he had known was that the following day he had been whisked to a small law firm where North, the Bunnymund's and a few senior detectives had met with lawyers. After a long day during which child psychologists had come and gone, they had left the building with a plan.

Elsa had been legally adopted by Tia and Aster Bunnymund. The married Army couple had sworn to protect her and had decided that the safest thing for Elsa was to get her out of Arendelle and raise her as an ordinary child and not the crown princess of a small Scandinavian nation.

Saying goodbye to the young princess had been harder than he could have ever anticpated. North had called on a friend in the Air Force who had agreed to fly the Bunnymunds and their newly adopted daughter to her new home in Malaysia as soon as the paperwork had been signed. He had fought back the tears as he'd watched Elsa be wrenched from his arms and carried onto the small military plane

No matter how hard he had tried, he had been unable to shake that night and the hidden princess from his thoughts. As the years had passed, life had continued. The monarchy had never been restored to Arendelle. The citizens had come to accept that all members of the family had been murdered. Tributes had been laid outside the castle in memory of those who had lost their lives with a special candle being lit in remembrance of the crown princess whose fate had remained unknown.

Elsa had impacted him in more ways than one. After saying goodbye to her, he had headed into a hairdressers and had walked out an hour later with his hair dyed a silver-white colour. His law-defying behaviour had ceased and he had focused his attention on his final two years at school with the aim of attending university. However, depression had taken it's toll and he had dropped out midway through his senior year. The friends that he had used to associate with had soon stopped calling in on him. Aside from his mother, North, the Bunnymund's and the few police officers, no one had known of his role in the Arendelle massacre.

He had been nineteen when he had finally decided that he could no longer tolerate living in Arendelle. After talking it over with his mother, he had decided to move to his mother's hometown of Burgess, Pennsylvania which had been the furthest place that he could realistically find to move to. Much to his surprise, his mother had not only been supportive, but had decided that she and his sister would make the move with him.

Arriving in the United States, he had been quick to assume the pseudonym of Jack Frost. The name had seemed to fit him given his new hair colour, the blue contacts which he had taken to wearing and his affinity for the cold. However, even with the assumed name, he had struggled to shake his past.

While his sister had remained blissfully unaware of the identity of the young girl that she had met all those years ago, he never had. Over the years, he had continued to send gifts to Elsa. Her whereabouts had remained a secret, even from him and he had been forced to rely on North to act as a link. To his knowledge, the Bunnymund's had been grateful for his gifts but had opted to tell Elsa that the presents had come from a family friend. Sadly, North's death in 2006 had seen his tie to Elsa severed with her last known whereabouts being somewhere in the Philippines.

With his last link to Elsa gone, the depression that he had fought to keep at bay had come back and he had been sent into a downward spiral. He had somehow managed to maintain his job as a mechanic and had spent the last few years working during the day and using alcohol, cigarettes and drunken one-night stands to distract himself from his troubles in the evening.

His mother's untimely death in 2012 had been the wake-up call that he had needed. He had snapped out of his reckless behaviour and had moved back into the family home in order to keep his nineteen-year-old sister company. His nights out at his favoured bar had been reduced greatly. However, with Emily in New York City on a holiday with friends, he had found himself returning to the bar on a nightly basis.

The sudden sensation of a body knocking into him caused him to spill his drink. Glaring, he lifted his head and turned to face the perpetrator. He couldn't help feeling sorry for the person, knowing that they were mere seconds away from feeling the venom in his voice as he made them pay for their clumsiness. Unknown to the hapless soul, they had interfered with his attempt to push his painful past aside and for that, they had to pay.

His eyes surveyed the soon-to-be victim and he felt his jaw-dropping. Instead of a drunken college boy, the stranger happened to be a young, nervous-looking female with platinum-blonde hair, a slight frame and bright blue eyes.

"I'm so sorry," the girl apologised and blushed as she indicated to his spilled drink. "I was knocked by a few guys. who seem to have disappeared. I will buy you a new drink."

Shaking his head, he allowed himself to further study her features. Her pale face was dotted with a light tracing of freckles, a cute button nose and plum-coloured lips which she was currently biting. Looking her up and down, it was obvious to him that she was young, very young. If he had to guess, he would put her age at being twenty.

The girl let out an awkward cough and he blushed as he realised that he had been caught staring. Logic and what little common sense he had, told him that it couldn't be her. After all, what were the odds of his princess finding him in a Pennsylvanian bar on the sixteenth anniversary of the night that had changed both their lives. Yet, despite his better judgement, there was something about her...something familiar.

"Elsa," he murmured.

"Yes," the girl replied, frowning as she tilted her head to look at him. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Elsa felt her confusion mounting as the strange man continued to stare at her. Instinctively, she looked over her shoulder and caught Sophie's eye. To her relief, her friend caught on to her silent plea and nodded to let her know that she would remain alert.

Turning her attention back to the man, she studied his features. Despite the stench of cigarettes and beer wafting off him and the initial glare that he'd thrown her, something about him suggested that he wasn't going to hurt her. He had been angry at being knocked, that much had been clear and judging by the way his lip had curled, he had been readying himself to let fly with a stream of abuse when something about her had thrown him off guard.

Instead of yelling, his face had paled and his blue eyes had widened as if he'd seen a ghost. He had continued to stare at her while he'd brushed a hand through his dyed silver-white hair. After a few seconds, she had felt herself becoming embarrassed under his attention and had let out a nervous cough. That had been when the situation had become even weirder.

With little warning, the man had uttered one word, her name and had stared at her with disbelief. Instantly, she had reached into her clutch and had wrapped her hand around the pepper-spray. After all, this man was clearly older than her and she knew for a fact that she had not met him. Yet, he had known her name and somehow, all the safety lessons that her father had drilled into her had gone out the window and she had responded to it.

"Elsa Bunnymund," the man murmured. "It can't be...I'm dreaming...there's no way it's you...you're...you're in the Philippines, or at least you were…that was the last place...the last place where North-"

It was her turn to gawk at him. There was no way that he could possibly know her father's surname, or that she had lived in the Philippines, or North. No possible way, unless he really did know her.

"Excuse me," she interrupted cocking her head as she looked at him. "Did you just say North?"