It was a good many years before I was able to go back to Arendelle.

When I finally did, it was easy to see that something had shifted greatly.
As I flew over the village square to head to the palace, I took note that many of the villagers were rather dull and dreary.
Their attire consisted of black and gray... and more black.

They appeared to be in mourning.

Worry instantly seized me, as I hoped all was well with my friend, Elsa.

I leapt through the air, more rapidly than before. The wind rushed up from behind me as I flew, propelling me even faster.
With much desperation, my bare feet pounded against the nothingness below them.
I clenched my staff tightly in my left hand. I could vaguely feel my nails digging in to the familiarity of the wood. I hoped there wouldn't be any nail indentations left on it (when I was able to examine it later, I was pleased to find that there weren't).

I was nearing the castle then, scouting out for her window.
Little triangles cut into the roof of the castle, extending outward several feet. Brown shingles covered these protruding areas the same as the rest of the roof.
There were several of these triangular extensions, all of which encased their own window.

I knew that one of these windows would lead me to Elsa. Even after all this time, I could remember exactly which one it was.

With one last leap, my body surged through the sky. My feet made contact with the ledge outside her window. I landed upright, my body not jarring the slightest bit from the force of my flight. I was as light as a gust of air.

The first thing I noticed was that Elsa's window was covered in ice. I wanted so much to peer through, but the glass was frosted over. Even squinting, I could see nothing.

I flung my fist into the window and banged on it as hard as I could. "Elsa, are you there?" I called out.

My response was a frigid silence.

I'd never felt the cold as much as I did then. The frost emanating from the glass bit into my skin, digging in with a bitterness I disliked very much.
In that moment, I felt something I hadn't felt since I first came into the world as Jack Frost:

Loss.

Had I lost Elsa? Was she gone?

It was like I had something that was very precious, but I hadn't realized it until someone tried to take it away.

I was about to depart the ledge to find another window that I could actually see through.

Just as I was about to turn away, white fabric brushed away a circle of ice from inside the bedroom.
It was the fabric of a glove; Elsa's glove.

Her face emerged in the window. I was able to make out just enough of her through the space she had cleared away.
Her presence immediately chased away all of those devastating things lurking in my heart.

With a sigh of relief, I was able to come to terms with the fact that I hadn't lost her.
Thank goodness, I hadn't lost her.

Her face disappeared from view again, but I didn't fret.
I could hear the sound of the window frame shifting. She was attempting to lift it, but the ice had frozen it shut. The frame did not wish to budge.

I clenched my fingers onto the window from the outside, tugging along with her.
Knowing that this sheet of glass was the only thing separating me from her, I used all the strength that was within me to try to thrust it open.

The ice began cracking; it was our signal that it was weakening under the strain.

Without warning, the frame lurched up with a frightening thud.

Elsa's tear-stained face was waiting for me through the window.
When my bare feet reached the cold of her bedroom floor, I was able to really see how much she'd changed since I'd seen her last.
She was hardly the little girl I remembered her as.
She was tall, thin, and feminine.
Her hair was pulled back into an elegant bun, which allowed one to appreciate the features of her face more fully.

She stood before me, looking helpless.

The room around her was as frozen as her window had been.
Shards of ice were suspended in the air, floating in an abyss of melancholy.

"What's happened?" I asked her.

"My parents died." She choked. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over. If they succeeded, they would retraced the path of dried salt remaining on her cheeks still.

I reached out to comfort her, but she pulled away.

"Don't come any closer, Jack." She warned.

"Elsa, you can't hurt me, remember?" I tried to break through to her.

A knock came at the door. It was a quiet knock, but we both heard it quite loudly.
It spoke volumes.
I could sense that, even though it might've seemed like such a trivial thing, it had taken a lot for whoever was on the opposite side to manage it.

"Please," It was her sister. "I know you're in there..."

"You should talk to her." I urged.

Elsa shook her head. She distanced herself from the door, heading back to the window to stare out at the gloomy atmosphere of her kingdom.
She left her sister to suffer alone.
I almost wished I could have let her sister see what I saw.

Her sister didn't know that the other side of the door was coated in a layer of ice.
Her sister didn't know what was really beyond the door she knocked upon.

I turned away from the door and came to Elsa's side as close as I dared.

Her face was expressionless and her eyes were empty as she stared out at nothing in particular. Finally, she drew away from the window and let her gaze rest upon my face.

"You can't hurt me." I whispered again.
I broke through the barrier and wrapped my arms around her.

On my third visit to see Elsa, I stood there and simply hugged her.

We neither played, nor talked. We neither laughed, nor cried.

A silence tangled itself into our embrace. It was silent enough for me to realize that I did not know what I was feeling.
I felt two things; one which was good and another which was bad.

The first thing I felt was some sort of affection for the girl. I had known from the very first instant I laid eyes upon her that I felt a connection to her, but it was morphing into something much bigger.

The second thing I felt was much like the feeling of terror which had overcome me when I feared I had lost her.
It was a feeling of loss, but I hadn't a clue why.

When the time of our third visit had come to an end, I went back out through the window to leave Elsa again.

"Will you come back?" She called to me as I was flying away.

I halted briefly to glance back at her and smirk. "Of course."