Jack groaned in frustration as he threw the book onto the ground. He knew he probably wasn't being the most gracious guest, but he really couldn't help it. He had to get back.

North had been reluctant to even take him to Father Time's home, and just like Bunnymund had predicted, the Winter Spirit had gotten himself in trouble.

With a labored sigh, he stood from the bed to retrieve the book. Elsa probably wouldn't tolerate his disrespect of her property.

But just as he bent over and picked it back up, the door opened slowly.

He opened his mouth to greet the queen, but choked on the words as a strawberry blonde head appeared.

The princess backed into the room as she squeezed through the gap between the door frame and the partially open door. Jack stared at the book he was holding in horror as Anna slowly turned around.

Just like he had done with Elsa earlier, he quickly dropped the book.

Anna squealed in surprise as the novel thumped onto the floor. Her blue eyes were wide as she stared at it, confusion evident on her face. She then quickly whipped her head around, searching for something that could have tossed the book like that.

Her eyes passed over Jack several times, but of course she didn't realize this. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she slowly approached the book.

Jack watched with bated breath as the princess lowered herself onto the floor and began flipping through the pages.

"Magic?" she mumbled to herself, wondering how in the world these books had ended up in here. Nobody ever went into her parents' room - certainly not Elsa. Anna herself avoided it as much as she could, but sometimes she would take a quick peek, making sure everything was in its rightful place.

But the pile of books at the foot of the bed were definitely not in their rightful place.

Jack felt his heart rate slow down as the princess seemed to momentarily forget the floating book. He idly wondered why she wasn't with her fiancé, like she said she'd be.

Trouble in paradise? he thought in amusement, knowing that obviously wasn't the case. Even though he had seen the couple interact for a whopping two seconds, he could tell they were smitten with each other.

But why wasn't she with Kristoff right now? And why did she lie to her sister?

Why was she even in this room? Elsa said herself that nobody ever came in here besides the occasional maid to dust.

"I'm about to go see Kristoff today," Anna announced suddenly.

Jack stared at her, completely bewildered. Was she talking to him?

He continued watching her as she absent-mindedly flipped through the pages of the book.

"He's such a great guy; you guys would have loved him," she went on, oblivious to her invisible guest.

She's talking to her parents! Jack realized. He gave her a sympathetic smile - this must be a way she coped. He suddenly felt like he was intruding, but he couldn't exactly leave without spooking her.

"You know, these books weren't here the other day - did Elsa come visit you guys?"

Anna waited a few seconds before speaking again.

"I know you guys were scared of her powers, but you didn't handle it very well. In fact," she began with a bitter laugh, shaking her head slightly, "I'm pretty sure you guys just made things worse."

Again, she paused for a moment, as if waiting for a reply. A reply she wanted to hear so badly, but would never get.

"She's happy now, though. She doesn't blame you guys. Neither do I," the princess sighed, setting the book back down. "I'm happy, too. A different kind of happy, though. I'm in love!"

Jack felt a tug at the corner of his mouth as Anna's cheerfulness returned.

"And we're getting married so soon! I know I should be nervous, but I'm not! Is that normal?" she laughed as she began to stand back up. "I hear that the bride can sometimes get cold feet, but the only one around here with cold feet is Elsa! She refuses to wear shoes in the morning - I have no idea how she can stand it!"

Jack felt his grin widened as he glanced down at his own bare feet. He and Elsa were a lot alike, and he knew saying goodbye to her would be bittersweet - it was nice having somebody like him around.

"Well, I'm off to see Kristoff!" Anna giggled as she made her way back to her door. "I'll talk to you guys later."

She opened the door slowly and squeezed back through, but before she closed it, Jack heard her whisper a faint and defeated "I love you."

He felt like his heart was going to break. If Anna could put on such a convincing mask of happiness, he couldn't even began to imagine what Elsa must have really been feeling. Especially if what Anna said about her parents being scared of her powers was true.

How could they be scared of them? Her powers were beautiful - they should have been celebrated! How could something so beautiful be feared?

Jack let out a huff of frustration as he walked towards the window. He shouldn't care about Elsa's past - he needed to get home. And finding out more about the queen would only cause him to get attached, and he couldn't risk that.

Not only would it be hard for him to lose a friend with similar struggles, but he'd just be another person she would lose. And he could never do that to her - she was too kind.

He jumped slightly as the door creaked back open, and turned around to see Elsa herself stroll in. She had a faraway look in her eyes, as if she were sleepwalking.

Jack wasn't sure if he should be relieved or scared that it was her - and he was definitely unsure of whether or not to tell her of Anna's "conversation" with their parents.

"Why was Anna sneaking out of here?"

He let out a curt laugh at the queen's question. "She was just, uh, looking around, I guess."

Elsa gave him a wary look. "What was she looking for? She never comes in here."

Jack knew that telling Elsa wouldn't be right - this was way too personal for Anna, and he couldn't spill her secret. "I dropped a book, and she came in to investigate. I guess she heard from the hall or something," he lied, shrugging sheepishly.

"She said she would be with Kristoff," Elsa mused aloud as she returned to her spot on the end of the bed. "I wonder why she hasn't left yet."

"Maybe she forgot something?"

The queen nodded in agreement. "Anna can be quite forgetful - she lives in the moment, really," she smiled. Her sister was notorious for her cheery disposition and carefree attitude. And her clumsiness.

"She's sweet," Jack laughed. He could almost feel how much love was held between the sisters.

"Sweet doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the infinite kindness that is Anna," Elsa smirked. "She loves everybody and everything. In fact, her future in laws are - " she began, before her eyes widened in realization. "Oh my - how could I forget?!"

Jack gave the blonde a peculiar look. "Forget wh - "

"I know somebody who can help you!"

Another chapter! Two in two days? :D

I own neither Frozen nor Rise of the Guardians!