Chapter 9: An Invitation
Elsa was in her room. She was packing. It had been several weeks since her encounter with the fully transformed Jack. The only evidence of it was the nearly faded scars on her arm and face. Werewolf bites only truly disappear on Vampires. Humans do no possess the same powerful regeneration abilities as Vampires.
Elsa threw several things into a large bag. She, along with Anton, Ragnar and Doctor Frasier, were going to the Vampire capital. It wasn't in Transylvania which was made popular in a fictional story about a fictional Vampire. Her plane ticket was for France. Pitch had gone to France not long after becoming a Vampire himself and soon purchased a lot of land there and built his own castle in 1276 and a small community (the first Vampire convent to be built). It became known as Château Rouge (literally Red Castle) because of rumours of people dying a bloody death in that castle.
A private plane was going to take them to Paris as soon as the sun went down then they were going to lay low in Paris before heading out to Château Rouge. Elsa finished packing her bag and zipped her bag shut. Pitch Black had invited them to his Château for a very special Vampire council. Elsa, Ragnar and Anton had become favourites of Pitch's since being tasked with hunting down The Guardians.
"You ready to go?" Anton had popped his head through the door.
"Yeah," replied Elsa. "I'll be there soon."
Anton gave Elsa a warm smile. "I'll be downstairs waiting for the car if you need me."
"Thanks," Elsa said. "I won't be too long."
Anton gave Elsa a nod before he left the room. Elsa's hand found her old antique box. She didn't dare put it in her bag but instead took the photos out of it and placed them gently within the inside pocket of the jacket she was wearing. Somehow those photos had become talismans for her. They had journeyed with her whenever she had travelled over Europe and to American after she had left her home.
When she came down the stairs, she found Anton and Ragnar were waiting in the main room of convent. The door opened into the vast area with couches, chairs, TVs and it led into the main kitchen area. They were waiting for Doctor Frasier who had been out of the country the last five days on Vampire business in Hungry. He would be returning tonight and then heading straight back out with them to Paris.
Anton and Ragnar looked up when Elsa walked down the stairs. Anton had been checking his messages while Ragnar was reading one of his crime novels. Elsa placed her bag with the others which were sitting on the couch along with Ragnar. Elsa placed her hands in her back pockets and walked away from her bags.
"You okay Elsa?" Ragnar said. He looked a little concerned at his friend's behaviour.
"Yeah," Elsa's mind was all over the place. She was a little worried about this trip to Paris. It had come out of the blue. Elsa thought that maybe it could be Pitch being angry at them for not completing their mission of killing The Guardians. She was also worried about Anton as well. She still wasn't entirely sure that Anton had bought her story about the Werewolf that had attacked her. Anton was that kind of guy who would dig until he got to the truth. Elsa just hoped that he wouldn't.
"You sure?" Anton asked.
"Yeah," repeated Elsa. She checked her watch. "I think I might go for a small walk."
Anton checked his watch too. "Frasier will be back soon. He will want to leave as soon as possible. You know he doesn't like waiting."
"I won't be long," Elsa said. "Promise."
"Okay," nodded Anton. "Go, clear your head."
Elsa nodded. "I will."
Elsa quickly headed out of the door and onto the streets. She just needed a good walk to clear her fears from her head. She stuffer her hands into the pocket of her jacket and walked around the streets. Somehow, almost as if she was on autopilot, she ended up at Jack's residence. It was almost as if her subconscious was leading her Jack. Well it had when she first met Jack and it had always done so since. Elsa walked towards Jack's building and she let herself in. Jack had made sure that she could come and go whenever she pleased. She walked up the flights of stairs as she did. She saw a woman coming down wearing smudged makeup, her hair was a mess, her clothes look like she had put them on in a rush and she was holding a pair of black high heels. She gave Elsa an embarrassed look as she walked down the stairs while Elsa smiled back.
"Interesting night?" Elsa asked her.
"If it was with guy in the twenty-second apartment, most definitely," the woman laughed. Elsa knew exactly who she was talking about.
"Jack Frost?" Elsa asked.
"You know him?" the woman seemed surprised. "Well, if you want to go hook up with him, he's waiting for someone special.
Elsa smiled. "Well, there goes my night plans."
The woman laughed and continued walking down the stairs. Elsa couldn't help but smile at what the woman said. She continued onwards until she found Jack's apartment. She knocked on the door and a few seconds later, Jack answered the door. He was shirtless again. He leaned against the doorframe while he gave Elsa a flirty grin.
"Hello," he said as he folded his arms. He was still giving her that flirty grin.
"Hi," Elsa said. Her voice sounded a little rushed. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm going away tonight."
"You mean like leave?" Jack sounded panicked.
"I don't mean like that," Elsa said. She knew what Jack was thinking. He was thought that Elsa was leaving like the time she once did. "I mean like on a trip."
"Oh," Jack sounded relieved. "I thought you were leaving like you did before, you were leaving me."
"I would never leave you again," Elsa said. "I left you once because I couldn't handle the monster inside but now that I have it under control and I can be around you without fear of hurting you."
Jack smiled. "Where are you going?"
"I have to go to Pitch's house," Elsa said. "He is summoning me and some others for a special Vampire council meeting."
"Ah I see," Jack nodded. "So I won't see you for a while? The torture Elsa!"
"Well," Elsa said. "I was thinking that you can get Tooth to start our crusade to finish this stupid war between our kind while I will go through Pitch's archives at his house. There must be something in there that can help us."
"Sounds like a plan," Jack leaned in and gave her a goodbye kiss on her cheek. "Be safe. Pitch is dangerous."
"Don't I know it," Elsa said. "He's slippery too. I don't even know why he is calling us to this meeting. I'm not of high enough rank to even be allowed into these kinds of council meetings."
"Oh yeah," Jack laughed. "Vampires have ranks. We really only have Pack Leaders and their Deputies with Manny on the top."
"Don't packs have rankings?"
"Well some are higher than others," Jack shrugged. "The Guardians are one of the top packs as North is the Pack Leader and he is the first Turned Werewolf – well apart from Manny but he was bitten by a wolf not a Werewolf."
"Ah I see," Elsa smiled.
"So where is this place?"
"France."
"Not Transylvania?" Jack looked confused.
Elsa rolled her eyes. "That's just a story Jack."
"Oh," he looked a little puzzled for a moment. "Really?"
"Yes," Elsa nodded. "Pitch moved their many centuries ago and built the first Vampire convent there. The idea that Transylvania is the Vampire capital came from a story. It's not based on fact at all."
"Oh," repeated Jack.
"So anyway, I'll be seeing you soon."
Elsa waved goodbye to Jack before Jack grabbed her arm to pull her into a most passionate kiss she had ever had from him.
"What was that for?" she said.
"I just wanted you to miss me while you're gone," Jack said slyly.
"I will always miss you while I'm gone," Elsa breathed. She kissed him back before she did a small wave to say goodbye and then she headed down the stairs.
Getting back to the convent seemed like it had only taken a second. One moment she was walking out the front door of Jack's apartment building and the next she was walking down the street that had her convent on it. Elsa opened the door and found Ragnar and Anton still in the same place as they had been before. It didn't look as if they had moved since Elsa left or if Doctor Frasier had come yet.
"Had a good walk?" Anton said. He didn't even look up from his phone. It looked as if he was now playing Solitaire.
"Yeah," Elsa nodded. "Doctor Frasier here yet?"
"Got a text from him two minutes ago," Anton said. "He's on his way. He should be here soon."
Elsa headed to the fridge to grab some blood. There would be some on the plane but she hadn't some all day and she was thirsty. She took one of the blood bags and tore it open. The blood poured down her throat and over her teeth. The blood tasted so good which only made Elsa upset. She always hated having the feeling whenever she had blood. She placed the bag, maybe a little too forcibly, in the trash. Anton had raised his eyebrows but he didn't say anything. Elsa walked over to Ragnar and sat down next to him.
Anton turned out to be correct. Doctor Frasier walked through those doors less than fifteen minutes after Elsa did.
"Let's go," he said. "Car is running. We're burning moonlight."
Elsa and the others grabbed their bags and headed out the door into Doctor Frasier's car. Doctor Frasier liked flashy things like nice clothes, nice watch, clean and well-groomed and his car wasn't anything different. It was a silver Rolls-Royce that didn't come cheaply. Elsa piled into the back with Ragnar while Anton got in the front. Doctor Frasier didn't take too long to get to the airport, through customs and onto the plane.
There weren't a lot of people around as it was night time and most flights would have taken off by now. Elsa was grateful for that. Sometimes she still gets those urges whenever she saw someone – to hunt and to get blood. That urge had gotten weaker over the years and especially since the convent gave her access to blood but sometimes it was still there which Elsa hated.
The plane that they got onto was just as flashy as Doctor Frasier's car, suit, house and appearance. The plane was a rental – it didn't actually belong to him no matter how much he wanted it to. The pilots were human so Doctor Frasier had told them in the car to be extra careful how they spoke and acted around them. He said that the flight will take them ten hours to get to Paris – the plane was quick – and since they were leaving at ten o'clock, they will arrive in Paris at eight in the morning. The airport had cover which led to private rooms so the sun wouldn't burn them. He had told the pilot that he had light sensitivity so that would give them an excuse for why the blinds were down.
Elsa wanted to sleep the entire flight like any other human but she couldn't. She wasn't tired. Her body clock had changed from being diurnal to nocturnal. Being diurnal and a Vampire at the same time didn't really work at all. The only time you could go out is during the night and sleeping at night would mean that you would practically be cooped up all the time. It wasn't easy for Elsa to adjust.
The pilot took off as soon as they were all ready. Elsa did several things to keep herself entertained. She played chess with Anton, she played cards with Ragnar and then read several books. After a while she decided to watch some movies which she did. Elsa could smell the humans in the cockpit. Her eyes never left them; they were on them rather than on the movie she was watching.
"Elsa," warned Doctor Frasier. He turned to Ragnar who was looking at the pilots the exact same way as Elsa did. "Ragnar, do you know how to fly a plane?"
"What?" they both said. They turned to look at Doctor Frasier who was as calm as a cucumber.
"They're off limits," Doctor Frasier said. "We do not hunt anymore. We do not have the need to anymore. I know you're both thirsty. We have blood, use that."
He grabbed some packets of blood and handed it to them. Anton even took some. Luckily the pilots were shut off to them. The door to the cockpit was closed. Elsa didn't want to even imagine what they would be thinking if they heard what they were talking about. Elsa took the blood and drank. Elsa and Ragnar both muttered thanks to Doctor Frasier who gave them a smile.
"How can you do it?" Elsa asked him. Anton and Ragnar both went back to what they were doing but Elsa stayed next to Doctor Frasier.
"It's all about control," Doctor Frasier said. "Anton understands this and that's how he doesn't need to hunt. Elsa, you need to do this."
"I've tried," Elsa said. This was true. Over the many years, she tried and tried to tame the demon inside of her but to no avail.
"I know," Doctor Frasier said. "That will change one day."
"When?" Elsa asked.
"To that, I do not know."
The plane suddenly started to descend towards the ground. Elsa looked out the window and could see miles and miles of land underneath her. The pilot's voice came over the intercom saying that they were about to land. Elsa was glad that they were. When they landed, they moved through airport until they came to the airport where they stayed at the local hotel. Doctor Frasier managed to close all curtains and no sunlight was coming in.
Later, when the sun had finally come down, they left the hotel. It wouldn't take them long by car to get to Château Rouge. It was only several hours South-West of Paris. Ragnar loaded the bags into the car. Doctor Frasier drove them to Château Rouge and when they arrived, Elsa was met with a magnificent site.
The castle wasn't just large – it was massive. It had long walls surrounding a small town which undoubtedly all housed Vampires. The castle itself looked medieval with a French twist but it looked like it was modernised. There were still large stain glass windows that had Christian figures on them. There was even a medieval gate. The gate opened when they arrived and they made their way through the streets of the small town. Elsa could see some Vampires walking around the town.
Another set of gates led into the main castle area which also happened to have a large keep. The huge double doors opened by two men wearing what looked like black uniforms and third man came out. He was wearing a neat black suit. Elsa and her companions got out of the car. Pitch Black shook Doctor Frasier's hand as if they were old school friends.
"I see you've bought Elsa, Ragnar and Anton," he looked pleased. "Excellent."
"Indeed," Doctor Frasier said.
Pitch Black threw his hands into the air. "Welcome to my humble abode, Château Rouge."
"What's the matter Jack?" Tooth asked.
"Elsa's gone for a while," Jack said.
He was sitting in his room in the Werewolf Den. Elsa had asked him to look into trying to stop the war but he had no clue on where he was supposed to start. Even if he got the Werewolves to make peace, the Vampires would never agree to that and some Werewolves probably would only make peace if the Vampires agreed to it. It wasn't going to be easy for this Werewolf to do anything.
"Ah," Tooth smiled. "That is why you're pining."
"I'm not pining!"
"Yes you are," Tooth was now laughing. "So what is on your mind apart from a beautiful blonde?"
"The war," Jack said. "Elsa asked me to look into trying to stop it but I have no idea how to do it. I'm just one man here."
"Well it's called the ripple effect," Tooth said. "The ripples start out small but grow larger and larger. It just takes someone to start them."
"I see," Jack said. "You think that I should start those ripples."
"Indeed," Tooth said.
"How?" Jack asked.
"By doing the right thing."
"Which is what?" Jack asked.
"By doing what you need to do in order to be with Elsa," Tooth said. "We need to finish this war before it's too late."
Bunnymund watched as his girlfriend and his best friend were talking. He shut the door to his room. His room was exactly the same to everyone else's. He had a bed – although it was more of a double bed than a single one – as well as some drawers and a bedside table. Bunnymund's was a mess. He had been a mess for a while now.
When he had seen his best friend kiss that demon blood-drinker, he had almost fainted with shock. His best friend and his arch enemy, together. Bunnymund had known Elsa for a while now. He had always grown quite annoyed and frustrated with her. She would always somehow outsmart them. He remembered the first time he had come across Elsa. It had been in 1947. The war had just ended and everyone was reinventing themselves. Bunnymund had gotten some odd jobs around Burgess such as working in a shop or working on people's cars during this time. Other Werewolves were doing similar things. Jack, himself, had gotten a job in construction. Most Werewolves could be found in physical labour as they had the strength to perform in those jobs.
Bunnymund, during this time, got work helping to rebuild a town called Corona in Germany. Bunnymund was walking home one day when he saw someone in the shadows. When the sun shifted, he had seen this someone shield themselves from the sun and got burned. He knew only of one group of people who got burned by sunlight. Bunnymund followed this someone and it turned out to be a blonde woman. He had lost her but he couldn't help wonder why a Vampire would be out during the day. He didn't seem too phased by her after a while; after all it was just a lone Vampire – until he saw her in Burgess. Bunnymund had thought that she had followed him there until he learnt that she had gotten a place at one of the nearby Vampire convents before the Great War. Bunnymund never learnt why she had been in Corona but he never cared.
From then onwards, a rivalry had been born between them which is why Bunnymund took it very personally when he saw what he saw. Bunnymund had been torn between loyalty to him and to the Werewolves. Werewolves hated Vampires; they loathed them so very much. He had no idea what he should do. Should he keep Jack's secret like Tooth and Jack had asked him or should he say something to North? This very question had messed up Bunnymund's mind until he came up with an answer. It was betrayal but he had to do it.
Bunnymund left his room and walked down the corridors in the den. He made sure not to alert Tooth and Jack as they would ask what he was doing and he hated lying to the pair of them. He knocked on North's study when he arrived to it.
"Come in," called North. Bunnymund walked in. "Ah Edmund," he said when Bunnymund walked in. "What can I do for you?"
"Sir, there is something I need to tell you," Bunnymund said.
"What is this about Edmund?" North suddenly looked concerned.
"Sir, it's about…it's about Jack," Bunnymund had been hesitant but he knew what he needed to do. "I fear he may have gotten himself into some trouble."
A/N: Bunnymund what are you doing? Well guess we will find out in the next chapter along with what is going to happen with Pitch, Elsa and the others while they're at Pitch's castle in France. I decided that the Vampire HQ is in France rather than Transylvania. Bit of a twist and not cliché. I hope that everyone enjoyed this update. Please review =)
Reviews:
Frostbite Productions: Needs some editing work though. Also Adgar died around 1840 so he couldn't be alive in 1850.
Guest: Well part 9 (chapter 9) hadn't been written when you posted that review. It is now though.
Guest: Your kiss wish has been fulfilled.
Kat-IlluminatedPurity: Yay! I'm happy that you found the previous chapter exciting. More exciting things to come! Anton may or may not be getting suspicious, wait and see. On Bunnymund, I'm afraid that we just found out where he lies. Feel free to ask any question you desire. I answer all questions.
Guest: No problem on clarifying that. Happy to be of assistance. Oh awesome, hope you have enjoyed checking out my other stories. Starstruck has been completed, hope you have enjoyed the ride of that story. I shall indeed keep writing.
Guestie: You can say that! It's probably going to get more intense.
Calmdownmari: Updating as requested! Thanks for the compliment on my writing. I do my best.
ElsaTheSnowQueen2: Thanks so much. Yeah, Elsa is okay, for now that is (don't want to give too much away, this may be a small hint of what is yet to come or is it?). I think you may be upset at Bunnymund's choice in this chapter.
iheartjelsa: A Vampire-Werewolf breed is really only possible in my rule book by a female Werewolf and a male Vampire breeding. A female Vampire cannot conceive a child as they are 'dead'. Also the Vampire and Werewolf abilities protect themselves from the other. So Elsa turning into a Vampire-Werewolf breed is impossible. It would be a twist indeed but not one that will appear in this story. Well you already have perspectives from both sides of the war. You have Elsa, Anton and Ragnar showing the perspective of the Vampires on the war and Jack and the other Guardians showing perspective of the Werewolves of the war. Ending the war is going probably going to take a lot more than one person able to be see both sides of this war.
Frozen101: Yeah, they know each other. They have deep history which is hinted at in some chapters here and there. Thanks so much.
Guest: Yeah Vampires can bleed. They still have functions that humans have just slightly different such as no heart beat but they still have some blood in their bodies.
KAMIKAKES: Yes, Elsa did survive! The end was fluffy indeed, I enjoyed writing that. I love writing fluffy Jelsa moments although I do miss writing fluffy Kristanna moments. Jack does have blonde hair but you can imagine it to be so light it's almost white. He's blonde because it's not really a thing for someone to have white hair unless they're albino. Elsa used to have blue eyes. When she became a Vampire, they turned red. But yeah, I know where you're coming from. Bunnymund is an ass at times but he means well. More Jelsa in this chapter as asked.