A little over a week had passed since Jack's wake up call, the winter in summer, the frozen nightmare, and the appearance of the grumpy wizard. With everything calm and peaceful, it was taking him a bit more time to readjust to the flow of things. Personally, he felt like he was now out of place in the world. Ombric's questions kept repeating in his head. The question continued to echo in his mind though he already had his answer.

What am I going to do if I stay?

Now that Pitch was gone and Elsa learned to stop even the strongest of blizzards, he had no place to be.

The Guardian of Fun felt his excitement slowly drain from him as he continued to mindlessly follow the halls of the castle, completely ignoring the servants that crossed his path. His staff over his shoulder and one hand pressed against his furrowed brow, he only continued to question his reasoning for being here. Little did he know that he was being trailed.

"Jaaaaack!"

Out of seemingly nowhere, the princess pounced onto Jack's back and sent him tumbling to the ground. For any who knew of him, a loud thud was heard through the castle. Anna remained flat on his back with her arms tightly wrapped around his neck as he attempted to wriggle himself free.

"Jeez, I feel like you enjoy watching me crash to the floor…"

"Of course! That's my way of getting revenge on all the stunts you pull." Anna's lips curled with a victorious grin as she parked her chin on his head.

"Seems like an unreasonable reason."

"Pssh! It's totally reasonable. Although, this was too easy to pull off. What were you thinking about? You were so lost that you didn't even notice me sneaking up on you. Then again, I am just so sneaky so there's no possible way you were gonna— whoa, whoa, whoa!"

In the middle of her self-praise, Jack had called forth a gale that launched him into the air and looped him upside down, leaving Anna hanging off his body as she flailed wildly.

"Jack, Jack not again! Put me down. Put me down right now!" the little princess shrieked as she tried to keep her voice down in hopes of not alarming any servants to her sudden ability to fly.

"Not a chance. It's my turn to dish a little payback."

"Yeah, that's not happening." A mysterious voice announced.

"Wait, what? Oh God!"

As the two were floating in the air, Jack couldn't help notice the sudden loss of propulsion from the wind. Without any means of remaining in flight, both Jack and Anna were sent falling to the ground. Before impact, the princess was swept into the air and gracefully set to the ground by a stream of snowflakes. Jack, on the other hand, crashed onto a newly formed pile of snow.

"Why is it always me that nails the floor?!" he groaned.

"Elsa!" The peachy freckled face girl rushed from her spot to hug her older sister. Elsa couldn't help but return the gesture.

As they pulled away from each other, Elsa sent a smirk in the boy's direction. "No picking on my cute little sister. Not while I'm around at least."

"Hah! Victory's mine, mleh!" Anna quickly stuck out her tongue to mock the boy. He only leered back with a menacing look.

"You're messing with a blizzard." Jack retorted as he pulled himself from the snow covered floor. He began dusting himself off and sweeping the snow away from him. "Think you can handle the frostbite?"

"The cold never bothered me anyways."

Both Elsa and Jack's eyes were now in an intense stare down. Their expressions were locked as they continued to glare at each other. Anna watched idly in anticipation as to what would happen next. She was left with a feeling of uncertainty as the atmosphere changed.

"Hi everyone! Hey, you're all hugging without me!"

The tension of the room magically vanished as the tiny snowman came rushing to Anna's side to embrace her leg. Elsa's focused expression became incredibly gentle as she looked down to her living creation.

"Olaf! Perfect timing, you're just in time to see something fun happen!" Anna giggled as she took the snowman's twig arms in her hands.

"No, no, I only came by to find you, Anna. Our little spout can wait." Elsa replied as she looked back to Jack with a slightly mischievous grin.

Any irritation Jack had developed disappeared with the changing mood. He made his way over to the two sisters and the little snowman. "Hmph, running away I see. That's totally fine. There aren't many people that'd actually think of going toe to toe with me any— mmph!" The boy was met with a sudden snowball to the face. Both Elsa and Anna giggled in delight.

"I actually came by to tell you that we'll be visiting the Kingdom of Corona for a bit." Elsa turned to face her sister in preparation for her reaction. "In honor of the recent coronation, the king has invited us to attend Rapunzel's birthday."

Anna let out an audible gasp as she held her hands over her mouth in excitement. "Oh my God! I've always wanted to see the floating lanterns! I've heard so much about it and since we were always cooped up in the castle, we've never really gotten to see any—"

"Wait, wait, wait. Rapunzel?" Jack interrupted as he took a few steps closer. "Rapunzel as in… short brown hair, pink dress, green lizard, hangs out with tall goatee and a white horse? That Rapunzel?"

"How do you know Princess Rapunzel?" Elsa looked at him quizzically.

"She's a princess?"

"Yes, she's a princess, a princess of one of the largest kingdoms in all of Europe. This year will actually be a grand celebration. This will be the first time she'll be attending the event."

"Hold on… I don't think I heard everything right. The floating lanterns thing is to celebrate her birthday, correct?"

"Yes."

"But… this is her first time being there…"

"Um… yes."

It was clear that Jack was absolutely befuddled by the information he was receiving. This brought him to a very odd conclusion. "She's… she's not one years old, right? I've seen her and she's definitely not… well… wearing diapers or— actually, she was in a dress and—"

"I can see what you're getting at and I'd love to tell you exactly how wrong you are but I've got to prepare a gift for her. Anna, we'll be leaving tomorrow morning so get your things ready."

"Yay! I need to go pack. Olaf, you stay with Elsa." Anna quickly commanded.

"Okay!" Olaf let go of Anna's hand and rushed over to Elsa's side and embraced her.

The princess was beaming with energy as she thought of the little vacation she was about to have. She had been stuck in the castle for years and now she was finally going to see the outside world. There was no time to waste.

"Jack, come on!"

"Whoa, hold on!" Before he could do anything, the princess had already gripped his wrist and was sprinting towards her room. "Wait, slow down!" He turned back around to see Elsa waving them off with a smile. He didn't want to go just yet. He wanted to stay behind just a bit longer. However, Anna had no intentions of letting go.

"Jeez, Anna. What was with the rush?" Jack questioned as he sat on the floor beside her. He was tending to his wrist that felt like it was being crushed by the princess from her sudden grip. Anna ignored it for a moment as she began packing her luggage.

"We need to get ready."

"But why'd you drag me along? It's not like you need me around to pick your clothes."

The girl's movements became more sluggish as she held onto her different outfits. She was taking longer breaths and seemed to be losing some focus on what she was packing.

"I just wanted you to keep me company. That's all…" She sounded a little disheartened, almost offended. Jack began to worry as he started to take notice of her movements. Something was bothering her and he was growing more concerned by the moment.

"Still, you didn't have to run off like that and leave Elsa—"

"You're mine!" The flustered girl raged as she slammed her hands down. It didn't have the desired effect she wanted as she effectively assaulted multiple layers of clothing. The thought made her ball up into a defensive shell with her head tucked securely in the small gap between her knees as she wrapped her arm around herself.

Jack was completely taken aback by the comment. He wasn't quite sure how to process the information. "What? Anna, what are you—" He took a momentary pause as he noticed her eyes were a little bloodshot and starting to water. "Clearly, there's something wrong. Tell me what it is. Maybe I can help."

The girl remained silent as she held herself even tighter as if to protect something. She refused to look at him and remained static without saying a word, though it was clear her body was slightly shaking.

"Weren't you all perked up a minute ago? What's gotten into—"

"I hate it!" She shouted into her legs. The cry was slightly muffled but was clearly heard.

"What? You hate what?"

"I hate that you came back and… and everyone can see you. Suddenly, you're everyone's friend and not just my friend… I hate that it feels like nothing in the past ever happened… like… like you actually didn't disappear for years or— or how you left me alone in my room when you…" All the energy in her voice simply vanished as she curled up even more. "… when you rejected me…"

"Anna…"

"It's like you simply… simply forgot everything about me…"

A sudden surge traveled up Jack's spine. The fog in his thoughts immediately lifted as he made his way closer to Anna.

"Hey now, that's not true. There's no way I'd ever— wha—"

Like lightning, Anna leapt towards him and wrapped her slender arms around his waist as she pressed her head against his chest. Her grip grew impossibly tighter as she continued to curl herself around him.

"You're right here with me but… you still feel so far away."

Though he was more aware of the situation than ever before, he was unaware of what to do in this situation. She was still wrapped around his body but he was unsure of what to do with his arms still floating up in the air from the sudden shock. When he began to feel the tears seeping through his pullover, he slowly dropped his hand onto her back to comfort her.

Anna shivered slightly from the touch of his skin on the exposed area of her shoulder blade. However, this seemed to have slightly calmed her nerves. "Even though you don't belong to anyone, I want you to belong to me."

Jack wasn't sure of what to say to her. There was really nothing he could say at that moment. The only thing he could do was stroke her back and keep her company. Hopefully, she would eventually settle down and they might be able to sort it out with a level head. However, the next response threw any possibility of that out of the window.

"You like Elsa." She whispered while still locked in the embrace. She could feel the sudden jolt from his body from the reply. This only reaffirmed her suspicions and sank her even deeper into her depression.

"What?!"

"Don't bother playing dumb because I already know. It's always been Elsa." Anna began shuffling her head a bit before settling down again. "Who can blame you? She's pretty, smart, amazingly sweet and kind. She's the bestest big sister anyone could ever ask for. Having ice powers is also bonus points…" Anna went quite again before taking a deep breath. "She finally feels like a big sister again… and it's because of you. Thank you…"

Jack could feel her grip weakening. She was relaxing herself as she thought about her older sister. With a slightly dopey grin on his face, he gently began patting her on the back.

"Not a problem princess—"

"But…" the little girl added. Jack looked down to her expecting her to finish her response. However, all he could feel was her grip tightening again and her head root deeper into his chest. She remained quiet and it became increasingly more apparent that she wasn't going to continue. This time, it was Jack's turn to speak.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I suddenly vanished for such a long time. I can tell you the details and make the excuses but I shouldn't have left you. But look at you. You've become so big and—"

"I'm not big…"

Jack let out a snicker at the quick response. He brought her even closer almost as if he was trying to protect her from herself and her doubts.

"I wasn't talking about your weight and you're as light as a twig. You know what I mean. You've grown up a lot and your still as strong and innocent as ever. I don't have that kind of strength. Have you seen me? I've been … well… me… for over 300 years. Nothing's changed about me. Not even in the last three years have I—"

"You're taller and cuter…"

This time Jack let out loud laugh as he started to gently cradle her left and right.

"Not sure that's possible but thank you. Also, stop interrupting." He pulled one hand away and softly flicked her on the forehead before wrapping his arm around her again.

"Anyways, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry that I can't return your feelings. But, come on, you have tall, blonde, and bulky at your side. The guy can probably take on a bear but treats a reindeer like a freaking puppy." He raised his left hand and began brushing the strands of her hair. It almost seemed like she made a silent purr from the gesture. "He treats you like a gem, you know. A gem he… sometimes makes fun of… from time to time. All in good fun, I'm sure! The guy's head over heels for you and I know you are for him too."

Her grip was loosening once again as she sank lower towards his stomach and began relaxing her body. He could feel the curl of her smile form against his clothes.

"The world's your oyster… Oh God, that's a terrible expression… Okay, better way of putting it. You're not so alone anymore. You don't need paintings or dolls or books…" He inhaled a deep breath as he readied himself for his next few words. "… or even an imaginary friend. You've got the entire world to care about you; that already care about you. You don't need me anymore."

The room fell silent once again but the tension had all but lifted. Now was a simple moment of contemplation and serenity as they stayed beside one another. After Jack had finished saying what he needed to say, Anna began shuffling herself from her awkward lying position. She was now seated on his lap with her arms still around his body but her head rested in the gape of his neck. Jack did very little to combat the change of posture. At that moment, he only wanted to do what he could to comfort her.

Several minutes had passed but the two remained there motionless. Unsure of whether or not she had fallen asleep or if a servant would suddenly appear, he started to shake her lightly.

"So… um… packing?"

"You better take good care of Elsa… or I'll beat you…" She shifted her head to bury her face in his neck to hide her rosey cheeks. He could only smile knowing he somehow got her approval. "… also…"

"Also?" Jack asked while tilting his head to look at her face.

"You better be a good big brother."