Arendelle was brimming with joy and laughter. The courtyard and the roofs of the castle were layered with a thin sheet of ice that extended from end to end. Intricate arches of multiple pillars stood side by side lacing the tall castle walls. The water fountains were frozen solid like large and wild flowers. In the mix of it all were the people of Arendelle enjoying themselves whether it'd be skating over the frozen earth or witnessing the scenery. This was truly a kingdom reborn.

"What's with the monologue old man?" Jack muttered as he leaned against the rails that overlooked the courtyard below. His eyes were persistent to follow the two sisters that graced the magically formed ice rink. Ombric gave a light chuckle as he closed the large and raggedy book.

"I'm only reading fairytales."

"You were reading what the book was writing. Speaking of which, why did you bring that here? Weren't you meant to keep that away from the past?" The boy leered at the old man. He was still uncomfortable with Ombric's new attire. It felt too foreign for his taste. He much preferred to picture the old grumpy wizard as he was, an old and grumpy wizard.

"Don't give me that look. I already said I was sorry about ruining your little moment with the—"

"It wasn't a moment!" Jack quickly replied with malice. He turned back to watch the people skating below. "… and you did ruin it…" He whispered quietly in hopes the wizard wouldn't pick up. However, it was too much to ask for.

"Regardless, I am only doing my part now that you've done yours." Ombric tucked the book under his arm and looked over the balcony of the castle. "Now that Pitch isn't around, we should take our time in restoring the past."

"So it's still writing then?"

"Yep. It's still going at it like a snail."

"Are you here to give me back the book?" Jack extended his hand to the old man. Ombric quickly shooed it away.

"Nope. You're no longer allowed to have it."

"What? Why not?" The winter guardian glared at him with slight disbelief.

"Until this little guy starts picking up the pace, you're still as much a part of history as she is." The wizard pointed to Elsa. Jack looked down to the queen and let out a sigh.

"Then why are you here? If you weren't gonna lecture me and only observe Arendelle you could've just as easily sat on some magical cloud and— Ow!" Jack was met with quick thwack to the back of his head.

"Who said I wasn't going to lecture you? Also, magic cloud? I'm not some monkey god. Now, before the lecturing, do you have the Nebulas Gem?"

Jack quickly reached into his pocket and held the sapphire blue gem in his hands. "Want it?"

"It'd be better if you held onto that. There's something I have to check on before we do anything with it. What I wanted to talk to you about was something you did a while back."

"What I did?"

"You went through three different forms of exchange; one with the queen, one with the princess, and finally Pitch. However, one of them is completely different from the other two. Why?"

Ombric glared down at Jack with an unsettlingly serious demeanor. Jack could only wonder about what he meant. When he thought back to it, it didn't make any sense before either. Elsa had her powers but he took away Anna's. There had to be a reason.

"There you are!" A female voice called out from the balcony entrance.

"Hello Queen Elsa. I didn't realize you were already finished with the festivities." Ombric gave a large smile as he made his way to the queen. Jack rapidly turned to face her. He was partially flustered by his ongoing thoughts of the past.

"I came to check on why the two of you weren't down there with us." Elsa asked with a smile. She didn't ask for anything but it almost sounded like a command.

"Well, you see, it's not really my place— also the whole 'can't be seen' thing and also I—" Jack was immediately interrupted by a powerful pat on his back.

"I'm not one to skate due to my old age. Also, I invited my dear friend here for a little chat. I do apologize for our tardiness to the event." Ombric gave a large grin. She chuckled at his reply.

"You don't have to apologize. I was only wondering where the both of you were."

"Elsa! Where'd you go? We were having so much fun but you— *Gasp* OMBRIC!" The giddy princess came rushing to the balcony and jumped to Ombric with a powerful embrace.

"And a fine hello to you to, Anna!" He tried to pat her on the back with the small amount of freedom he had left.

"Where's my present?" The princess had an enormous grin on her face as she pulled away. The old man let out a breath and chuckled.

"Straight to the point like every year. It's good to see you're still high in spirit! Sadly, you will have to wait until winter. I came to congratulate our dear Elsa on her coronation and to speak—" Ombric reached over for Jack. "— with this not-so-young fellow right here."

"What! He can see you to? Wait… Speak about wha—" Anna immediately became bug-eyed. "Don't believe anything he says! I didn't hit him at all!" She shouted without realizing.

Everyone's attention was now on the flustered princess. All of them had a look of curiosity and concern. Anna couldn't help but blush at the peering eyes.

"I didn't do anything bad this year, I swear!" The princess finally lost her cool and ran back into the castle. In the distance they could hear her rambling. "Not coal! Not again!"

"Please tell me it wasn't you that started Christmas…" Jack finally commented after the odd turn of events.

"No, no, it was still Nicky's idea. I only wanted to help spread the word." Ombric chuckled again as he took his hand off the winter guardian and picked up the book he left on the railing. He turned around to see Elsa also a bit introverted as she tried to avert her gaze while playing with her thumbs. "Is there something on your mind, your majesty?"

"Oh no, it's nothing. It's just, you said till winter but…" Elsa gave a very quick glance at the large piece of literature in his arm before she awkwardly made her way next to Jack's side opposite of the wizard.

"Aha, I'm sorry Elsa but you will also have to wait until winter. I do have a present in mind for you but it is not this book. Although, I have a lovely novel that involves a very sleepy yet carefree golden man."

"Are you talking about— mmph!" Jack was abruptly silenced by Ombric's hand.

"Spoilers. Let's not ruin the surprise. Our conversation can wait, Jacky boy. I do believe I owe the Queen of Arendelle a dance." The old man extended his hand to Elsa. She had a quiet fit of giggles at his overly exaggerated movements. Taking his hand, Ombric guided the queen down the hall. Jack was not pleased with how any of this turned out.

"Today was an unexpectedly fun time."

"For you maybe…" Jack made a loud grumble.

"Is the Guardian of Fun jealous that I got to dance with the queen?" Ombric gave a mocking smirk. The guardian ignored the comment and proceeded to slouch back into his chair.

I don't know why everyone can see you but not me.

Ombric tried to hold in his snickers. He could read Jack's thoughts, the irritation and jealousy on his face. He was having far too much fun teasing the boy.

"How long have you been visiting?" Jack looked up to him from his less elevated position.

"About a year after you arrived. Once I figured out where you were I had to come and get you. However, there are still people out there who believe in wizards. This usually means I have to be a bit more diplomatic about my approaches."

"Is that why you're in the getup?"

"Yes! And I also enjoy looking spiffy once in a while." The old wizard started to adjust his bowtie. Jack snorted at the comment. Ombric ignored the sound and continued on. "Anyway, that is when I learned of Elsa's magic. I was concerned to leave matters like that unattended so I gave her parents a gift to help her if anything did go wrong."

"You… you gave them a troll?"

"What? Troll? No, I gave them a book that taught the basics of magic. I also gave them a guide to the where they should go if something did come up. Why would you think I gave them a troll?"

Jack fell further back into his chair as he recalled what Anna said about the dream she had as a kid. For a split second he thought it might not have been a dream.

"Have you figured out what was different about before?" The man leant forward on his chair as he observed Jack. He was far more serious than earlier. Jack looked at him with a hint of respect. He wasn't as capable at being straight forward as his older colleague. However, this only made him more nervous about what he was going to say next.

"I cried…" Jack replied with a very weak voice. Ombric immediately straightened his back on the seat.

"You what?"

"When I thought back to what happened, I tried to remember the one thing that I found strange. All of it was strange but this stood out more than anything. I've been… well… me, for over 300 years but… when Elsa's heart stopped beating… Well… water trickled out. I was actually more surprised it wasn't little beads of ice."

The room fell silent. Jack had readjusted himself in an odd posture on the couch. His hand was trying to cover his embarrassment as he tried to keep his face hidden from the mind reader. Taking a quick glance at the Ombric, he noticed the old man looking at the book on the table. He was leaning his chin on his intertwined hands. Jack started to wonder what the wizard was thinking so hard about.

"Sir Ombric, I apologize if I am disturbing you. There is a large gentleman waiting outside with a sleigh. He says he is your escort back to Saint Claussen." One of the servants alerted.

"Thank you for notifying me. I will be out momentarily." He replied in a monotone voice. He hadn't moved once in the exchange.

"You're kidding right? People believe in Santa?"

"People believe in Russians."

As the footsteps of the butler became more distant, Ombric immediately shot up from his chair. The winter guardian was caught by surprise from the sudden movement. Without a word, he took the book on the table and made his way towards the entrance of the hall. With his hand still on the door, he looked back to the confused boy in his seat.

"I want you to answer this question the next time we meet. What do you plan to do if you were to stay?"

Before he could even try to comprehend a reply, Ombric had already disappeared. Alone with his thoughts, the boy could only wonder why he was still around. He thought back to the lake when he brought up the subject before as he laid his head on the cushioned armrest. With one arm hanging over the chair and another over his forehead, he tried to think of the reasons why he wanted to stay. However, he already knew exactly what they were.