If Jack Frost had ever looked in on the girl, he would have discovered that Samuel and Mary raised her with love. He would have seen Fern grow from a sickly child into a lovely young woman, but perhaps most notably, he would have found that she had taken after her mother's form. Samuel and Mary took Fern with all of her peculiarities citing that one did not make requests of miracles.
It was a day like any other day when Fern came bursting back into the house. Her face was overly bright, but not as bright as the smile on her face. It was a smile that caused her mother much anxiety.
"What have you been up to, Trouble?" Her father asked before her mother could.
"Must I always be up to something?"
"My thoughts exactly," her mother answered not unkindly. Fern kissed her mother's cheek.
"Momma, I was good. I was just in the woods."
"I was just out for a run." As her mother's brow furrowed, she rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Momma. No one could have recognized me."
"I don't think that makes me feel any better." In fact, Fern's mother looked a great deal more worried.
"It's okay, Mary," Fern's father soothed her mother. "Fern, you know there are poachers around. Do you think that a deer is a smart alternative? If you were running about as yourself and a poacher sees you, then you are just a peculiar girl. If you look like a doe and a poacher sees you, he is going to think dinner."
"There are no poachers about," Fern said under her breath.
"And why is that?" Her mother spoke sharply. For the first time, Fern looked a little guilty.
"Answer your mother."
"Well…..you know the royal hunt-" Fern's mother dropped the bowl she had been carrying to the counter. Fern looked suitably abashed. Her mother and father both looked stricken. "I wasn't caught."
Her mother looked genuinely hurt. "You take so little care with your life. I swear you will be the death of me."
"I do try, mamma. I just can't help it." It didn't make it easier that her parents knew this already. Just like it wouldn't stop them from trying to prevent her from going out tomorrow, even though she would inevitably find her way to the woods.
Fern wasn't sure how she managed to escape the next day. She had been with her mother all day. And then she wasn't. Then she was outside, and from there she was wild. Fern was convinced that if she could run fast enough, she would outrun her wildness. Oftentimes, she could go months without needing to roam the woods. But when the forest called, it never requested. She paced herself until she got to the edge of the wood. She even tried to stay human, but the call of the forest was strong and before she could think much of it, she was frolicking, in the woods.
She was frolicking as such when she came across the hunting party. She spotted them first and froze, but it was not but a moment before they spotted her. Does of pure white were not too common to the wood, nor were they easy to miss. The chase was on, and after the moment of freight had passed, Fern felt exhilarated. Of course they could not catch her, but how wonderful the challenge was. It wasn't until several minutes into the chase that Fern began to worry. A few minutes later she was panicked enough to follow her instincts home.
Samuel was working in the garden when Fern erupted from the forest. Abandoning the garden he ran just ahead of her to get the door open for her, then followed her into the house, barring the door. The thunder of horses came upon them suddenly, accompanied by a cry of distress.
"Mamma!" Fern cried.
"Stay!" Her father ordered gruffly his now human daughter. Then he fled to aid his wife.
Outside, his wife was in hysterics over the armed men currently in her front yard. Reaching forward in panic, his wife's eye connected to his for a moment. He hurried forward. She swung into his arms. He made a show of comforting her before turning his attention to the men that had destroyed their garden.
"Might I ask, My Lord, if our garden is so offensive that you must trample it with such force as to petrify my wife?"
Several of the men stiffened, but Samuel thought he saw almost saw a smile on the only face that mattered.
"Would you address His Highness so disrespectfully?"
"Not at all. If he had sent word the blasted thing was offensive to him, I would have destroyed it myself and saved my wife the alarm."
"We apologize for the distress of course. We were caught up in the chase."
"It must be quite some girl to run from the King. And a fleet-footed one to out-run the King's Hunt." He quipped wryly.
"Not a girl, a doe." One of the guards corrected. Samuel merely raised his brow in disbelief.
"She ran right into the house." The King said distractedly. Samuel realized he was looking at the door to his home as if he could see through it.
"I'm sure I would have seen that."
The King dismounted and turned back to Samuel. "I'm sure I would like tea."
"Of course." Samuel and Mary walked toward the house together, inviting the King in. Mary looked ill. Samuel looked like he had been hewn from stone. The king looked curious.
As soon as the door opened, Samuel and Mary knew that the day they dreaded most had come. It had taken a strikingly different form than they had thought. The couple had always dreaded losing their daughter, fearing that someone may find her strange and harm her. Or that her reckless nature would harm her. That some passing faerie would find her and bring her to the faerie hills. They had forgotten, that a much more mortal separation could happen when a young boy meets a young girl, for she had never taken an interest in such things before. But when the young King looked upon their daughter (who was busy boiling the water) they were surprised, but when their daughter looked up at the young king, they felt the loss of their daughter keenly.
Hello friends!
So one, rather popular, train of thought is that faeries can take on different forms, usually animals. That allows them to camouflage, avoid being seen, and also gives them the close bond with nature that is commonly associated with them. Other forms of thought (some of which are in addition to rather than instead of) are that faeries are invisible to human eyes unless they desire to be seen, are tricked into being seen, or if a human gets fairy water, dust, or mirror (depending on the version) in their eye(s). Disclaimer: putting mirrors in your eyes usually results in blindness. Dust and water usually don't feel awesome either.
Another fun fact: Fern's story comes from another fairy tale. The Grimm's version is "Brother and Sister." Other versions (like Madame d'Aulnoy's "The White Doe") feature a girl (usually a princess) that turns into a white doe. The deer is hunted by a King who discovers, in its place, a beautiful young woman. Logically, he marries her. I figured if Fern was going to be connected to the Goblin King, Jack Frost, and the Snow Queen she should have her very own fairy tale to throw into the mix. This one works well because we also see Jareth shifting shapes, and it also gives them both the same unusual coloration. It also ties her into royalty which sets up nicely for Elsa.
On a side note: if anyone was curious about the name Fern, it is because Mary saw Jack Frost's signature frost ferns and named the mysterious new-comers after them in true fairy tale fashion (eg. Snow White, Rapunzel, Bell, Aurora...).