Hey everyone! I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so, SO sorry for not updating! I know you all probably thought I had died or abandoned this story, and you were probably content with the ending I gave you in the last chapter if that was the case, but I have an update for you! It's a real, actual update, with plot and everything!
I promise I won't abandon this story. I've decided there will be 25 chapters, and a sequel. Maybe a third but I'm not sure yet. I will try to keep all of them more or less the same length, though. The reason this update was so long in the making was because I was so busy this past semester at school, and while I started this chapter in January, my classes and extracurriculars didn't leave much time for writing, so I apologize. I haven't even been able to read some of your wonderful stories that I've followed, and I'm sorry for that too. I like reading each story as they are updated and giving reviews and feedback, and I regret that I've fallen REALLY behind in the past few months.
One more thing, before you start reading. I created a Tumblr, if any of you have one and are interested in following me. It's livingfiredancer *dot* tumblr *dot* com. If you think you're going to follow me, let me know in a review so I know that some of you are interested, and I'll post more stuff related to my stories. My blog so far has been mainly Marvel-centered, but if I see you guys are interested and want to hear about my story plans or otherwise, I'll start posting more of that. I'll post more Jelsa stuff, too. (=^.^=)
Enjoy the chapter everyone! It's super fluffy!
But Then…Then I Saw the Moon
Chapter 20: If Kisses Were Snowflakes
In the years that followed the defeat of Medusa and Hans, the Guardians worked even harder to keep the children of the world safe and happy. That said, a certain Jack Frost made sure to remind everyone that all work and no play resulted in a very boring immortal day. He left his usual, harmless, icy pranks wherever he wanted to, starting fights with Eugene and Pitch and earning glares from Elsa (where he happily noticed laughter in her eyes despite her icy composure). Jamie, Sophie, and all of their friends aged and grew, developing new relationships and realizing what certain people meant to them. Holidays came and went, and the world was at peace.
One cold, November day towards the end of the month, Elsa travelled to the land where Arendelle had once flourished to visit her human life. She found the ruins of her family's palace, hidden in among the modern development, and allowed her mind to wander through the various rooms. She visited the bedroom she shared with Anna when they were young; the ballroom where her life changed not once, but twice; her bedroom after she lost control of her powers, where she spent ten years of her life alone; the royal chapel; Faylinn's nursery. When she was done, she followed a familiar path to a small lake in the woods, with the ruins of a wooden cabin on the far side. She brushed her fingertips against her locket, and smiled sadly at the memory…
The clearing was aflame with gold and red leaves, deep brown trees, and yellowing grass preparing for the upcoming winter months. Two siblings with chestnut brown hair and brown eyes played in the leaves, throwing them on each other in an attempt at a snowball fight. Elsa turned to see her human form emerge from the trees, wearing her long, trailing ice dress and her snowflake locket. She giggled behind her hand at the antics of the siblings, and the older boy looked up at her and grinned. Even now, after almost three centuries, that special smile melted Elsa's heart. She watched as he ran over to the young queen and scooped her into his arms, spinning her around as she let out shrieks of laughter. She adopted a teasing royal demeanor as she ordered the boy to put her down, which he did, responding with a teasing bow. The younger girl began to giggle watching them, before running away. The older teens talked for a while, then the icy queen froze the lake and the trio skated for the rest of the afternoon…
"Hey Snowflake," came a low, familiar voice behind her, and she felt an arm wrap around her waist gently.
"Hey Jack," she said quietly, leaning back into his embrace. He kissed her temple gently, then turned her to face him, his blue eyes filled with concern.
"Els, you're crying. What's wrong?" he asked her, brushing away a tear that had escaped from the corner of her eye, melting the trail of frost that marked it's path.
"I saw the last day I saw you alive. When we skated with Emma before your birthday. We were both so young and happy, and I was in the middle of planning a ball in your honor," she told him. His eyes widened slightly, before he smiled softly and held her to him.
"I didn't know you were planning a party," he said, a hint of laughter edging his voice, cheering her up.
"That's because it was a surprise party, genius, and it was incredibly rude of you to die the day before after I had spent all that time planning and sending out invitations and making every detail perfect," she teased him, and felt rather than heard his quiet laugh. He pulled away and knelt down in the fashion of a squire becoming a knight, with his arm bent over his knee and his head bowed.
"I apologize, my queen. I did not mean to cause you so much trouble. Surely you can find it in your heart to forgive a commoner such as I," he told her sincerely. Elsa giggled behind her hand for a moment, and he looked up at her, mischief and teasing evident in his eyes. She cleared her throat and assumed her old royal stature, with her hands folded demurely in front of her.
"I'm not sure if I can. After all, several months of work went into that party, dear sir. To top it off, your death did cause my kingdom to lose their queen, and left my sister to mourn the death of her last remaining family member. She would've had to turn your party into a double funeral," Elsa explained regally, and for a moment Jack seemed unsure of whether she was still teasing him or not. Her mask cracked the slightest bit despite her hardest efforts, and the humor returned to her love's eyes.
"My deepest apologies. I was unaware that someone as unimportant as I could cause so many people so much pain. I assure you my death was unintentional, and I only wished to save my sister," he said quietly, and Elsa rested her hand on his head, gently tousling his snowy hair.
"I know," she told him, and in the blink of an eye, Jack was standing with her in his arms, grinning up at her. She shrieked slightly at the speed of the unexpected motion, causing her captor to laugh.
"Seem familiar, Princess?" he asked smugly, and she kicked his leg gently.
"That's Queen, mister. Put me down!" she told him, struggling to hold in her laughter. She began to squirm, which only caused him to hold her tighter.
"Hmm, no," he chuckled, and Elsa narrowed her eyes at him in a teasing, menacing glare. Her shortened cape began to blow around them as Jack's hair ruffled in the wind, and clouds formed overhead. The temperature in the clearing dropped rapidly, and Jack smiled up at her.
"A little cold won't get me to let you down, Elsie," he taunted her, and Elsa smiled. In that moment, the ground under his feet turned to ice, and the sudden lack of friction made him slip and loosen his grip enough for Elsa to escape. She ran towards the lake, ice forming in her path, and onto the lake. She ran to the middle and stopped, smiling as the surface of the lake froze over and Jack's eyes lit up. He grinned and ran to the edge of the lake.
"Shall we skate?" Elsa asked him, and he enthusiastically nodded. He used his staff to thicken the ice even more and skated towards her.
The two skated for hours before a hole appeared in the center of the lake, just as it did on this day each year. Even when Elsa was little more than Pitch's puppet, and the entire world was frozen solid, a hole would appear in the same spot on the same day, as a tribute to the life and tragic death of Jackson Overland. When the hole appeared, Elsa and Jack skated off the ice and sat together on the rock they grew up telling stories on.
"Hey, Els?" Jack started quietly, staring up at the full moon above them.
"What's up?" Elsa asked in response, turning to face him.
"Why'd you do it?" he asked. His voice was low and quiet, and she barely heard him over the quiet sounds of nature around them.
"Do what?" she asked, surprise and confusion evident in her voice. What would he be asking about? she thought to herself.
"Why'd you go through everything you did for me? For all of us? Anna and the others have been filling me in on what happened in the last few centuries, but none of them could tell me why you did it. The times I've asked they said to ask you instead," he explained, and Elsa smiled as she took his hand.
"I did it because true love means that you care about another person's happiness more than your own, no matter how painful the choices you have may be. You couldn't hear me, so instead of forcing myself on you, I let you try to find your own happiness. I brought the others back to give them another chance at happiness. It wasn't always easy, and sometimes, happy endings take a long time. But eventually everyone ends up exactly where they are meant to be, in their own happy endings," she explained, and as she finished his lips caught hers in a gentle kiss. It was ice cold but refreshing and invigorating, the way a cold winter morning wakes you up to show you that it snowed the night before. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss, and as their tongues danced, she saw images of couples cuddling in front of a warm fire while snow fell outside. She felt safe and comforted in his arms, and she smiled as her magic captured the memory in her locket so she could cherish this moment forever.
When he finally pulled away and his icy blue eyes met hers, it felt like it was after both a mere second and an eternity. She smiled up at him, feeling happy and safe and shy at the same time, and he gave her a smile in return that could melt even the coldest ice.
"I love you," she heard his voice say under his breath, sounding as if it had been carried by the wind from a thousand miles away.
"I love you too," she sang under her breath, feeling a chill run down her back at the way the words sounded after centuries of being concealed.
Jack smiled into her hair before lifting her up in his arms and carrying her out onto the ice. She curled into his chest, letting him take charge for once, and ran her icy fingertips along his staff, smiling as her own trails of frost combined with his.
"Where would you go, my Queen?" he asked her quietly. "If you could go anywhere?"
She thought for a moment before finally looking up at him with a smile.
"Let's go home," she said, and he smiled before holding up his staff and launching them into the air.
She laughed with joy at the sensation of the wind hitting her face and whipping her braid behind her, and Jack laughed along with her. She threw her hands in the air at the same time that Jack spun them around, watching with an almost child-like awe as snowflakes cascaded from her fingertips and were caught by the wind swirling around them.
They were landing on her balcony far too soon, although Jack didn't immediately set her down. He held her close to him, and she rested her head against his shoulder, touching her forehead to the exposed skin of his neck.
"What's up?" Elsa murmured. She wasn't sure if there was really anything going on, but she had a nagging feeling in her heart that something was going to change in a significant way.
"Nothing. Just reminding myself what I had missed over the last three centuries," he said and set her down on her feet carefully. His eyes were filled with a love and reverence she had never seen in him before, even when he thought he was in love with Periwinkle before he realized who she was, and even back in Arendelle when they were young. She had seen something similar, in one of his memories, but she had never seen it like this.
"Okay," she said with a nod before reaching up to ruffle his hair. He playfully tried to swat his hand away before Elsa noticed something and froze.
"Els? What's wrong?" Jack asked, eyes widening as he tried to figure out what made her pause. She thought she saw his hand twitch towards the pocket of his hoodie, but he didn't move so she brushed it off.
"I smell something," she started slowly, turning away from him to try to find the source of the scent.
"Aww, it's not reindeer, is it? I swear I didn't play with Sven before meeting you at the clearing," he started, sniffing at the edge of his jacket. She couldn't tell if he was teasing or not, but it didn't matter much once she identified it.
"No," she said as she started to smile, "it's not reindeer. It's chocolate, and flowers…Jackson what did you do?" she turned on him, amusement sparkling in her crystal eyes. He chuckled softly and brushed his thumb across her pale cheekbone.
"I guess you'll just have to wait and see. Do you trust me?" he asked her, holding his hand out to her.
"Of course I do," she said, taking his hand without hesitation. In one swift motion, he pulled her to him and guided her hands to cover her eyes.
"Then don't peek," he said with a laugh before leading her into the Ice Palace. He used his free hand at the small of her back to guide her, and used his staff to open the doors to the ballroom. A cold breeze swirled around them, carrying the unmistakable essence of chocolate, roses, lilies, and snowdrops. Jack rested his staff against the wall of the ballroom and looked around before smiling and turning towards Elsa, his Elsa, who still had her hands covering her eyes.
"Okay. Open your eyes," he said, and she did just that. Her jaw dropped when she saw the ballroom, and her eyes lit up happily.
A long ice table against one side of the room held strawberries and chocolates on snow-white plates with snowflakes of varying sizes and shapes as decoration. The edges of the table were adorned with a garland made of lilies, moonstones, and snowdrops, with red roses providing a pop of bright color every so often. Those same garlands were used as embellishment for the rest of the room, tastefully and elegantly accenting the ballroom. Trails of the garlands were arranged on the ceiling in the shape of Elsa's signature snowflake pattern found all over the Palace. A beautiful heart made of ice hung down from the center of the flower snowflake, with lilies, snowdrops, ruby red roses, and varying moonstones frozen inside. The stones reflected the light from the full moon and lit up the room, giving it a soft and romantic glow that was still bright enough to see everything clearly. The icy orchestra created the night of Elsa's frozen coronation as Queen of Arendelle stood on the stage, not far from where the table of treats was placed.
"Jack, did you do this, for me?" Elsa asked under her breath, not wanting to speak too loudly and ruin the moment. Jack kissed her forehead and went to get his staff. A simple wave of it in the direction of the orchestra had it playing a song about loving someone for a thousand years. Elsa smiled up at him as she heard the music, knowing it applied to them more than it would to most that heard it.
"Of course, Snowflake. I had some help, I'll admit, but I planned it for you," he told her, and he barely had a moment to brace himself as she jumped into his arms, almost knocking them both to the ground. She giggled happily, and Jack chuckled at her child-like expression.
"Thank you," she said when he set her back down a moment later.
"Anything, my Snowflake," he told her lovingly.
He captured her lips in a sweet, lingering kiss before taking her into the center of the ballroom and bowing deeply.
"May I have this dance, my Queen?" he asked, no teasing note in his voice this time. She was his Queen, his Snowflake, his everything, and he wanted her to always know that.
"Of course you can," she replied with a wide smile. They danced together for hours, taking short breaks after every few songs to snack on the strawberries and chocolate. Jack was secretly impressed that Anna hadn't eaten it all while they were setting up earlier in the day. Elsa had been distracted by her annual trip to Arendelle, which she always went on alone, according to the other Guardians, so they had time to start decorating before Jack went to surprise her. After he left, they finished decorating according to the plan they had formed about a week prior, while Elsa was distracted with Olaf. The ballroom looked even better than Jack could have hoped, and he thanked the gods that his friends were as magical as he and Elsa were.
Eventually, the moon dipped low enough to shine through the ice and hit the moonstones in the heart above their heads. The entire room lit up magically, causing every surface to sparkle and glow. The orchestra instinctively began to play the song they danced to first, about breaking away and being free. He knew Elsa had always loved it, and she cupped her hands over her mouth excitedly when she recognized the first few notes.
Jack knew it was now or never, and took her hand gently. He led her to the exact center of the room, directly under the frozen heart, and kissed her lovingly. She kissed him back, love and happiness making the moment perfect. Too soon, Jack had to pull back, but he did so with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He held both of her hands in his as snowflakes began to fall around them, and took a steadying breath.
"Elsa, you are my best friend and my love, and I don't know which side of you I enjoy the most. I treasure each side, just as I have treasured our time together. While we haven't had as much time as I believe we deserved, I know we will have an eternity to make up for what we missed. You have taught me that true love doesn't mean being inseparable, but rather that we can be separated and nothing will change. I love you, more than I could ever imagine was possible, and I have for centuries," he told her honestly, and got down on one knee. He let go of her hands for a moment to pull a small, frozen box out of his hoodie pocket and opened it. Inside was a beautiful, white gold ring with a delicate blue topaz snowflake, which was adorned by a crystal clear diamond in the center, cut carefully to look like it held one of the galaxy's stars. She gasped as icy tears sprung to her eyes, and Jack took her left hand before continuing. "You are my everything, and you prove to me every day that love has no limits, and will help make everything else seem limitless as well. Please, will you marry me?"
He held his breath as she processed his question, then in a flurry of snowflakes and laughter, he was on the floor, with a smiling, crying Elsa on top of him.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes," she said, happy tears leaving trails of frost down her cheeks. She kissed him as Jack slipped the ring on her finger, and more snowflakes fell around them, covering them in a blanket of soft snow.
Yay, no cliffie this time! I almost wrote one in, where you wouldn't hear Elsa's answer until the next chapter, but I decided that after months of waiting, you deserved to know.
Anyway, let me know in your reviews if you liked it! I'll try to have the next chapter up soon. I already know a little bit of what I want in it, but I need to brainstorm more. If you have any requests or suggestions, let me know! Now is the time to make them, seeing as this story is in the final stretch! *tear*
Snowflakes of love and fun to you all!