1st of December, 2014
Jack watched as Elsa bent down and lit the six candles that she had placed on the mantlepiece. Each candle represented a life of a lost loved one. The two on the end, had been etched with the initials of Nicholas St. North and his mother, Caroline Overland. Three candles were etched with the names of her birth family; her father, Agdar, her mother, Idun and her sister, Anna. The fourth and final candle had simply had Arendelle castle etched onto it and acted as a memorial for all those who had lost their lives in the massacre.
"Jack," Elsa's voice cracked with emotion as she turned to look at him.
Stepping forward, he pulled her into his arms and tightened his grip on her. "I'm here, princess," he murmured.
He felt her body tremble as she shifted to wrap her arms around her neck. A lone tear fell down her face as she pulled herself closer to him. Instinctively, he leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek.
If he had thought that fateful night back in 1997 had been surreal, it had been nothing compared to the last year of his life.
Almost as if fate had been at work, he had managed to have be in the right place at the right time for the second time in Elsa's twenty years. However, unlike their first meeting, the outcome had been much more positive and the only tears that had been shed had fallen from his eyes.
Somehow, despite the fact that his behaviour had startled her, Elsa had decided to hear him out and had agreed to meet him the following day for lunch.
It had come as no surprise when she had turned up at the cafe where they had agreed to meet with an entourage. A man that he had come to know as Sandy, an old friend of Aster's, had trailed after her along with a younger woman called Astrid. Pulling out her laptop and a mobile broadband device, she had made a quick Skype call to Tia and Aster Bunnymund.
After they had recovered from their own shock, Aster and Tia had greeted him warmly and had offered their condolences upon hearing the news of his mother's passing. After calling Sandy over, the Bunnymund's had granted him permission to reveal as much as he needed with the only request being that the more heavier topics be saved for a private location. They had then turned their attention back to Elsa and had confirmed that she was indeed safe with him before they had bid her goodnight.
Despite receiving her adoptive parents blessing, he had held back on the heavier issues surrounding the way he knew her and had simply revealed himself to be Jack Frost, otherwise known as Jackson Overland, the one who had been responsible for saving her life all those years ago. They had parted ways with each other's number and as Facebook friends.
Their relationship had blossomed slowly. Not surprisingly, Elsa had been wary. Years of living on guard had taken it's toll on her and she had needed time to get used to the fact that he had been there at a time when her life had changed dramatically.
For him, the reappearance of Elsa into his life had filled him with the purpose that he had been lacking for the last sixteen years. Suddenly, the promise to protect her that he'd made had been re-established and he had been determined to never lose sight of her again.
It had filled him with a sense of pride and awe upon learning that despite her tragic start in life, Elsa had flourished. She had blossomed into a beautiful, intelligent and caring young woman with a bright future as a lawyer ahead of her. As they continued to reconnect, he had found himself overcome with a wide range of emotions that he had previously kept closed off. Much like the first time she had come into his life, she had managed to inspire him to change. Still, regardless of the fact that she had returned to him as a twenty-year-old woman, it had been hard for him to own up to the way his affectionate feelings for her had changed.
She had been back in his life for four months when he had realised that the girl that had stolen his heart as a scared child, had managed to steal his heart in a completely different manner as a young adult.
At first he had battled with the moral issues of his feelings for her. After all, he had first met her as a child and had spent the last few years away from her with the image of her as that same young girl, a year younger than his own sister. However, despite his best efforts, he had struggled to hide the fact that he had found himself falling in love with the woman that had returned to him. In order to make it even more complicated, it had appeared that Elsa had found herself returning his romantic affections.
Upon realising that Elsa had fallen for him, he had decided to brave talking to her protective parents. To his surprise, neither Tia or Aster Bunnymund had minded. In fact, they had welcomed the possibility of a romance and had reassured him that the years he had spent away from Elsa had been enough for the dynamic to change. They had reasoned that Elsa had forgotten much about his role in her younger years and had come to know him again as a twenty-year-old woman. As such, they had reasoned that their twelve year age gap no longer mattered. Sensing his nerves, Aster had been quick to give his blessing for him to pursue a relationship with Elsa. Not wanting to miss her chance, Tia Bunnymund had piped up to point out that, if she had been alive, his own mother would have agreed to their budding romance.
With her parents' blessing, he had made his move and had confessed his feelings to Elsa. To his relief, she had responded positively.
They had taken things slow at first, with a few shared kisses and hugs which had lasted longer than the ones they had shared in the past. Two months after he had first admitted to himself that he had feelings for her, he had slept with her.
That first night with Elsa had been unlike anything he had ever experienced. Despite Elsa's nerves and the inexperience that had come with her being a virgin, it had been incredible. That evening, in the privacy of his bedroom, he had come to understand what it truly meant to make love to someone as opposed to merely sleeping with them. He hadn't had sex with Elsa, he had made love to her. Every ounce of feeling that he had for her had poured out of him and he had connected with her in the most beautiful way. In that moment, he had done away with words and had let his actions show her all the love and care that he had for her.
"What are you thinking, Jack?" Elsa asked. "You've got that look on your face again."
Blinking, he lowered his head and smiled at his angelic girlfriend. Her bright blue eyes were fixed on his own brown eyes. Chuckling to himself, he recalled the amused expression that had crossed her flawless face when he had first removed his fake blue contacts to reveal his natural brown eyes and the near-perfect vision that came with them. However, despite her constant requests, he had refused to stop dying his hair and had only granted her brief glimpses at the brown re-growth that lay beneath the silver-white colour that he had adopted.
"I'm thinking," he began, smiling down at her as he moved to push a strand of hair from her face. "About how some seventeen years ago, I promised a scared four-year-old that I would always be there to protect her. I'm just thankful that one year ago, she came back into my life and despite the time spent apart, I plan on spending the rest of our lives fulfilling that promise."
Standing on her tippy-toes, Elsa leaned in to press a kiss to Jack's lips before pulling apart and blushing furiously as the sight of her parents' amused faces.
Burying her face in the crook of Jack's neck, she heard him let out a soft chuckle as he tightened his grip on her. The deep red hue on her pale cheeks had no doubt alerted him to the fact that her modesty had got the better of her.
"I knew that I should have stayed out tonight," Emily Overland murmured. "It's bad enough that I have to witness the two of you making out when you think you're alone. I really do not need to see you two kiss when you've got an audience."
"Shut your face," Jack teased. "We know that you love us."
"That may be true, but no parent wants to see their child making out in front of them," her father interjected. "Especially not when said child lives with their boyfriend. It's a small sign that their baby girl may be doing things that they don't want to even think about."
"Oh believe me, they are doing it," Emily quipped. "Trust me, my bedroom is across the hall from their bedroom. I've had to learn to sleep with my fan on in order to have a bit of white noise and try and block out the sound of them."
A high-pitched squeak escaped her lips as she lowered her head to rest on Jack's shoulders. She knew that Emily was joking, she had sent Jack to double-check that they had not been heard not long after she had moved in. Still, knowing that the twenty-two year old Overland was only teasing her, had not stopped her face from heating up.
"Alright, you can all clear out now," Jack ordered. "If you're not going to put up and shut up, you can get out. Besides, I don't think El's face could get any redder."
She let out a soft groan as the sound of gentle laughter filled the room. Jack's grip on her tightened as he leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. Sighing, she tilted her head to look at him. A lop-sided grin had appeared on his face as he attempted to lighten the mood. However, the concern was evident in his brown eyes and she knew that he was merely masking his own feelings in order to stay strong for her- much like he had done for the last year and those few days when they had first met as a child and a teen.
The last year of her life had been filled with a wide range of emotions. After their initial meeting, she had checked with her parents and had discovered that not only was Jack someone that she could trust, but that he had been the same Jack that had rescued her as a child.
With her parents giving him the all-clear, she had found herself drawn to him and had spent an increasing amount of time with him. The onset of romantic feelings had come as a shock to her. However, it had been harder for Jack. He had been forced to deal with the worry that his new-found attraction to her was morally wrong considering she had been a child when they had first met. The idea that he could be judged for loving her had initially scared him and it hadn't been until he had received her parents blessing that their relationship had moved forward.
For her, the true pain hadn't come until six months after they had first reconnected. She had been unpacking the last of her boxes after she had moved from her dorm to the Overland's home. She had stumbled upon a small box of her most treasured possessions and had pulled out a blue ribbon that had been one of the few relics of her life prior to being adopted. Blinking back a tear, she had turned to find Jack and had shown him the fading piece of fabric before telling him that it had been the ribbon in her hair when she had lost her birth parents.
Jack's face had paled as he had studied the material. Suddenly, without saying a word, he had exited the room. He had returned moments later with his laptop and a faded childs dress. His brown eyes had filled with tears as he'd called for her to take a seat.
Timidly, she had taken a seat on the bed and had pulled her childhood teddy bear onto her lap. Jack had joined her on the bed and had unfolded the dress to point out a spot where a section of ribbon had been cut from it. Lining up her own ribbon, she had recognised the pattern as being identical and having come from the dress. The pattern, Jack had explained, was the Arendelle crest- the symbol of the Arendelle royal family.
Cocking her head, she had turned to glance at him. She had heard of the Arendelle royals. The brutal murder of the royal family and gathered guests had been one of the possible topics that had been on offer in her Modern History class during her senior year. She had contemplated studying the deaths and had thought that given the fact that she had been born in Arendelle, that it would be an interesting subject. However, her mother had suggested that she chose the Cold War because the effect on the world had been far greater.
She had barely had enough time to grasp the idea that she had a ribbon which displayed the symbol of a slain family in her possession when Jack had dropped an even greater bombshell on her. Taking her hand in his, he had softly whispered that the only people who had clothes with the Arendelle crest on them, had been the royal family.
At first she had been certain that she had misheard him. She had known that she shared the same first name as one of the murdered princesses, but it still did not explain how she had come to own something which had apparently come from a deceased girl's clothing.
That had been when the subtle message that Jack had tried to convey had hit her. Jerking her head up, she had turned to look at him. A part of her had wanted to see the grin that would suggest that he had been joking, but she hadn't. His face had been filled with a pain and sorrow that she had never seen before.
Shaking her head, she had begged him to tell her that she had heard wrong. Instead, he had taken a deep breath and had slowly filled her in on the truth about her past. Her parents and sister had not been killed in a tragic car accident like she had thought. They had been murdered, by a terrorist group that had made it their mission to rid the world of royalty. Jack hadn't been passing by when he had witnessed a deadly crash. He had snuck into the castle and had been there when the terrorists had entered and had opened fire, killing the guests as well as her parents and baby sister.
He had broken down in tears when he had explained how he had found her hiding under a table. She had been so scared, having heard the sound of gunfire coming from the other room. The sound of angered shouts had spurred him on and he had grabbed her and had run off with her to safety. By taking her away from the castle, he had saved her life.
She hadn't realised that she had been crying until he had pulled her into his arms. Numbly, she had listened as he had explained how it had come to be that she had been adopted by her parents. Her adoption had been rushed through and she had been whisked out of the country only a few days after she had lost her parents. The desire to keep her safe had been the reason behind her parents choosing positions that saw them move on a regular basis. Her safety had also been the primary reason why her parents had always opted to live in a home on base rather than in the suburbs.
The world had been led to believe that Crown Princess Elsa had been taken and killed off-site. Her 'body' had never been recovered. As a result, people had come to accept that she had died and had included her in their remembrance ceremonies.
She had fallen silent for a few minutes. After a while, she had pulled the laptop towards her and had googled her family. Within seconds, she had been bombarded with images of her biological family. Suddenly, the glimpse of red hair that she had seen in her dreams had made sense as both her birth father and her younger sister had been redheaded. She, as it had seemed, had always been different to both her families in appearance with her pale skin and platinum-blonde hair.
The sound of Jack begging her for forgiveness had forced her back to reality. Turning to stare at him, she had felt her heart breaking. In that moment, she had seen a glimpse of the scared sixteen-year-old boy who had witnessed something truly horrific and had put himself at risk in order to save her. He had been as much of a victim as she had been that night. Only difference was, he had spent the last sixteen years battling with the reality while she had only dealt with the odd, previously unexplained, nightmare.
A Skype call to her parents and the presentation of a few documents had been all that had been needed to confirm her true identity. Despite the fact that it had been the middle of the night in Australia, her parents had quickly woken up and had confirmed everything that Jack had told her. They had ended the call seeking forgiveness for withholding the truth from them which she had granted. Their situation was unique and they had never failed to provide her with genuine love and care.
That had been the day when she had realised the depth of Jack's love for her and the pain that he had held onto for so long. Instead of grieving for the life that had been ripped from her, she had allowed herself another hour spent wrapped in a tearful embrace with Jack before she had resumed with unpacking her belongings. The plush teddy bear which Jack had admitted to buying for her, had found itself taking pride of place on the bedside table.
Later that night, she had found herself overwhelmed with love and emotion for the man who had always strived to protect her. Upon retreating to their bedroom for the night, she had made her move and had given all of herself to Jack.
Moving in with Jack after only having been reconnected for six months had changed her life. The past that had unknowingly plagued her dreams had been brought forward. After talking with Jack, she had come to the decision that she had no interest in reclaiming her rightful name and title as Queen of Arendelle. She had spent the last sixteen-and-a-half years as Elsa Fisher, daughter of Tia and Aster. To her relief, Jack had agreed and had pointed out that the only name change that he wanted to see on her was the one that would come when he finally popped the question and asked her to be his wife.
"Are you okay, El?" Jack murmured, breaking her from her thoughts as he leaned down to push a strand of hair from her face.
Biting her lip, she raised her head to face him. "I am," she whispered. "I was just thinking, that's all."
"Thinking about what, El?" Jack asked.
Blushing, she tightened her grip around his neck and pulled herself closer to him. Looking in his eyes, she could see all the love, care and concern, that he had for her. The nightmares that had once plagued her had been reduced to almost non-existent since she had met up with him. It had been clear to her that their chance meeting at the bar had been fate, much like the first night when he had saved her when she had been a scared four-year-old. With Jack, she felt secure and she knew that she would always be safe. After all, he had always placed her safety above his own desires- even when it had come at a cost.
"I'm thinking," she began. "About how lucky I am that you snuck into my first home and saved my life. I feel lucky that after all these years apart, we could have somehow ended up living in the same city and going to the same bar on the same night."
Jack let out loud sigh. "I feel the same, I'm lucky to have you," he agreed. "I just wish that it hadn't come at such a cost. I wish that you never had to suffer through losing your home and family."
Raising her hand, she slowly caressed Jack's cheek. "That couldn't have been prevented, at least not by you," she pointed out. "However, you did see to it that I was safe that night and you also stood by and saw to it that I found a new family and a new home. I've been lucky to have known the love of two sets of parents Besides, I've got you and now that you're back in my life, I've got a home. You are my home and you're all that I need."
Jack nodded and reached up to take her small hand in his own hand. "You're all I need, El," he whispered. "So long as I know that you are safe and sound then I am happy."
Blushing, she leaned up to capture his lips in a soft kiss. She felt his hand move to wrap around her waist and press her closer to him.
Breaking the kiss, she rested her forehead against his and stared into his eyes. "I am safe," she whispered. "With you, I am always safe, secure and loved. You're all I need to be happy."
Grinning, Jack pulled back and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "Like I said all those years ago, " he began. "I'll always be here for you, loving you and protecting you. You're stuck with me, little princess, always and forever."
A/Note- Ahh, this is what happens when you listen to the song, "Once Upon A December" from the animated movie Anastasia. This little plot-bunny formed in my head and wouldn't disappear. It's only very very very loosely based on Anastasia, which is fitting considering the movie Anastasia isn't exactly 'historically accurate', but then again, the true story is much more grim. Thanks for reading. Keep calm and ship Jelsa.