"Is this some sort of trick?" I respond without thinking, without my manners. "Of course I can see. You're not standing that far away." I suppose the words were meant to secure my sanity, so I could prove to myself that I hadn't fallen so far into myself that I created a friend that existed solely in my subconscious.
He takes a step forward, and I debate stepping back. But I cannot, will not, appear weak. I am strong. I lift my chin into the air, watching as his blue eyes widen. "How can you see me?" He asks, looking as bewildered as I am. "No one can see me. At least, not anyone you're age."
"W-What?" I mutter, than clear my throat. "Who even are you?" I demand, this time crossing my arms and looking down my nose at him. He chuckles, rolling his eyes and leaning against his staff.
After his chuckle fades, a small smirk remains on his lips. "I'm Jack. Jack Frost."
I can feel the look of disbelief that crossed my features as I scoff in turn. "That's the name you're going to choose? Jack Frost?"
"No, really." He smiles, and for some reason I choose to ignore it. "What were you doing just now? Elsa, right?"
My facade drops, and I stumble backwards, eyes wide. "I-I wasn't doing anything. You can't prove- I suggest you leave before the king- I wasn't doing anything!" I rush out, tucking my hands underneath my folded arms, my bright eyes twisting to the snow at my feet.
"You nearly skewered me with a spear of ice, Elsa. That's not nothing." He mocks, his expression lacking the fear I would have expected.
"Precisely. Nearly. You stopped it… How?" I demand, trying to keep the questions from falling onto me. I don't have an answer that will make this whole awful scenario disappear. I was so stupid to believe I could use my powers and not have it end in someone's destruction, be it someone else's or be it my own.
He smirks, pushing himself off of his staff. "I told you," He says slowly, slamming his staff onto the ground. Ice forms where it touches, racing over the snow and covering the ground around me, leaving a perfect circle where I stand. "I'm Jack Frost."
I can feel my jaw hanging open as I look at him, starring in complete awe. "You can… The ice…" I mutter, tentatively reaching a foot out and stepping on it, bewildered as it crunches under the added pressure. It's real. I'm not crazy. Or at least not completely so.
"That's what you were doing, right?"
I blush, and shake my head. "Not like that. I was just goofing around, I can't do anything with it, really."
"Show me." He whispers, and I shake my head. "C'mon," He pleads, leaning onto his staff once again. "It's not like you can hurt me."
I frown, but decide to believe that it is true, because in my heart of hearts that is all I have ever wanted someone to say. I reach out a hand, pulling off the glove, and hold it in the space between us. At some point during our encounter, the space between us has grown small, he stands only a few feet away now.
I take a breath, and spread my fingers, watching as a small burst of snow explodes into the sky. Jack laughs and smiles, and for the first time in a long time, I smile too, I smile without the gloves hiding the biggest part of me. He nods, so I do it again and again, until eventually another foot of snow has buried our feet.
"I've never met anyone who has the same… Abilities." I say, a smile stretched over my face as I watch him run, his staff twisting and creating snow the dances around us, some of it falling to the ground and some of it disappearing into thin air.
He stops and spins. "Me either."
"How do you control it so well?" I ask without thinking, and he shrugs. I frown. It is so easy for him that he doesn't even know how he does it.
He walks back over to me, scrutinizing me. "I can show you, if you'd like. Or I can at least try." He offers, and I feel the smile return, and so does his.
"Can you?" It's all I've ever wanted. I could hug my Mother again, my Father may be proud of me, my sister and I can be sisters… For the first time in forever, I feel hope swell in my chest.
It dies quickly, the sky has lightened, I am very, very late to getting home. "I-I have to go!" I yell, turning to rush towards the castle, stopping in my tracks as he grabs my bare hand and holds me back.
"I can take you." He smirks, and I am about to decline when he steps on his staff and it rises from the ground. "Step up, and hang on tight." He grins, and tentatively, I do.
I balance my feet on the short width of his staff and wrap my arms around him, screaming as we rise through the air, the wind tearing out the braid that had been in my hair. But we reach the castle with plenty of time to spare, which is lucky, because I need to gather my bearings. This entire night seems like a dream I am bound to wake from at any moment.
"So tonight? Same place, same time? I'll start showing you how to control it." He smiles, and I nod as he helps me through the window.
"Y-Yeah. I guess I'll see you tonight." I smile, and I would be content to have him stay and chat, but Father will be up any minute now. I whisper a goodbye as I close the window and watch him fly back to the forest.
I pinch myself, and I have never felt so relieve as when a prickle of pain shoots up my arm.
Author's Note- Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! Please follow/review/favorite! (also, still looking for a proofreader... ;))