Chapter 6: A Wounded Ego

Hans woke up gasping, his brow matted with sweat. He'd had a nightmare so horrible, that he was still trembling all over, though the details of the dream were quickly slipping away… he had been alone in the dark… there'd been high, cruel laughter…

He raised himself on his elbows, still trembling. His room was plunged in darkness, the only source of light a candle glistening near the door. The curtains were drawn, and he felt himself suffocating.

He sprang up from his bed, and pulled the curtains open to watch the moon, high above his head.

He had always had tortured nights filled with nightmares, for as long as he could remember; but since he'd allied himself with Pitch, he'd barely gotten any sleep. Maybe it was just because of the sheer aura of the man- but then, again, maybe it was just thoughts of Anna that stopped him from sleeping.

He remembered the last time he'd seen her; she'd been standing, next to her sister's throne, looking down the steps at him during his trial. Queen Elsa had decided to let Anna decide of his fate, after Hans had come so close to murdering her.

He'd wanted to scream that he hadn't had a choice, she refused to abandon her sister. She could've been his queen of Arendelle, but instead she had had to take the side of that monster she called a sister.

One day, he'd screamed at her, you're going to wake up an ice statue, and you'll regret the moment you sent me away.

Yes, and I'll also think about all those memories we made together… like the time you locked me in a room so I would die of cold, she'd answered, the fury in her voice so at odds with her personality that she'd left everyone speechless.

She'd had a point.

Still, his thoughts fluttered to that moment in the room, when his lips had been so close to hers, and he'd had to exert all his self-control into not kissing her, knowing that he would have to kill her in the minutes following the moment.

And now, she was everywhere; he felt as if he constantly saw from the corner of his eye a glimpse of red hair, a flash of blue-green eyes…

"You're thinking about that princess again, aren't you?" asked a cold, sneering voice from behind him, and he spun around.

"What are you doing in my room?" he snarled at the tall, dark man dressed in black robes.

"You know, this is turning into quite an unhealthy obsession." Pitch tutted, sitting down into an armchair near the cold and empty fireplace.

"Bit rich, coming from you. You know, with your obsession with Jack Frost and Queen Elsa."

"That is different," he said. "I am pursuing vengeance. Which is quite different to the lust you are feeling for that red headed princess."

"It is not just lust-"

At this, Pitch positively laughed, and Hans bristled.

"Oh, my dear prince, you don't think you love her, do you?"

Hans didn't answer.

"That isn't love, Prince. That is a wounded ego that has turned into an obsession."

"I never said it was love." snapped Hans, and Pitch sneered.

"Don't worry. You'll have your princess in good time, my Prince."

And with a last smirk, Pitch disappeared.

...

Elsa screamed as her hair whipped around her face, and she buried her face in Jack's chest, her hands squeezing behind his neck. She felt like she'd left her stomach back in her room.

"Geez, Snowflake," she heard him laughing above the whistling wind, "You're sure scared of heights, for someone who's always wanted to fly."

"I'M NOT SCARED OF HEIGHTS!" she screamed, "I'M SCARED OF THE WHITE-HAIRED DUDE KIDNAPPING ME AND FLYING ME OUT OF MY ROOM WITHOUT GIVING ME A DECENT WARNING!"

But then, before she realized it was over, her feet sank into cold snow, and her knees gave way under her. She only stayed upright when Jack, realizing she was about to fall down on her knees, lunged towards her and seized her by the elbows. She looked around her; they were in an isolated spot alright. It looked like a mountain creek; a snow-covered, flat area surrounded by enormous mountains. She had no idea which way the castle was, but she guessed they weren't far from it, seeing as they'd been in the air for barely more than five minutes.

But then, maybe Jack just flew real fast. It had sure felt like that, anyway.

"Are you okay?" he asked worried that she was hyperventilating.

"I am definitely not okay," she snapped, stepping away from him once she was sure that she wasn't about to collapse. "You can't just fly me out of my bedroom without asking if I was going to be okay with it!" Ice sparked at her fingertips, and she looked down in horrified surprise at her hand, before hiding it behind her back. She so rarely lost control- but she'd stopped being careful for a second, still on a high (and a glorious high it was, though she would never admit it to Jack) from that flight.

Jack had seen, and eyed her hand.

"Show me again." he said hoarsely.

"You first," she asked, taken aback. He met her gaze and smiled, though a little of his confidence had disappeared.

He waved his staff, and snow lifted from the ground and raised above their heads before imploding into tiny, glittering snowflakes falling around them. Elsa looked in awe, and lifted her hand, catching one of the snowflakes.

Was this possible? That all this time… she hadn't been the only one?

...

Jack looked at the queen as she grabbed one of his snowflakes, an expression of amazement on her face. His heart skipped a beat as she looked back at him, her eyes wide.

"Are you sure you want me to show you? After being in that cage?" she asked with a heart-breaking uncertainty in her voice.

"If anything, Snowflake, that cage is the reason I want to see more." he said, hoping against hope that he was earning her trust, because he needed to see this… just as much as she needed seeing his magic. He couldn't help but replay the moment she'd hid her hand behind her back- like she should be ashamed of it-

But then Elsa waved her hand, and all his dark thoughts evaporated.

Tiny snow tornadoes had erupted around the clearing, spinning faster and faster, beautiful and mesmerizing.

And she didn't even look like she was focusing.

No, she was looking directly at him, analysing his reaction.

"They're- they're beautiful," he murmured.

"You really think so?" she asked, smiling softly.

"Yes… Geez, Elsa, they're-" he'd been about to say stunning, but froze as he heard her name slip out of his mouth. Sure, he'd been calling her Snowflake, but that had been teasing and saying her name seemed so much more… personal, intimate on a whole new level.

But she didn't even seem to notice.

"Watch this!" she beamed, and all of the tiny tornadoes reassembled between them in the center of the creak and joined to form a much bigger, impressive tornado.

"Woah!" he blurted, as he watched the tornado grow and grow, before finally imploding into tiny snowflakes that rained down on them, in a similar fashion that Jack had done.

Only much more impressive, in his opinion.

Then, a snowball landed square in his stomach, and his gaze snapped back to the queen, who right now just looked like a beautiful, giggling, mischievous girl.

"Oh, you're on, Snowflake. You just directly attacked the King of Snowball Fights himself." he said, snowballs already materializing in his hand and at his feet.

"Is that so?" she laughed, rolling her eyes- and then received a snowball, in the middle of her… back?

behind her, because he was flying again, landing on her side, and she received another snowball in her shoulder.

"THAT'S CHEATING!" he heard her shout, and he laughed out loud.

"You started it, Snowflake!"

Then, he was on her other side, preparing another snowball… but this time, she was prepared. She spun so fast that he didn't even have time to register the movement, and an ice barrier rose from the ground, protecting her… his snowball smashing right into the center of it.

"Show-off," he muttered, and heard her laugh.

"Come on, is that all you got?" she shouted at him, and he felt the grin on his face.

He didn't even answer, instead springing over the ice barrier she'd made for herself. She widened her eyes as she took a few steps back, lifting her hands, preparing-

But then she was screaming as she was propelled backward by an icy gust of wind, landing into a pile of snow that Jack had just materialized out of thin air. Bent with laughter, he didn't notice as she got back up, lifted her hands, and the whole pile of snow she'd just landed in- the snow he'd made appear, might he add- was flying his way. Next thing he knew, he was being knocked onto his back, crushed by his own snow. He could hear Elsa laughing as he struggled to get back up.

"I feel like I've been going a little soft on you here," he smirked, struggling to get back up. "I was trying to be, you know- a gentleman- letting you win. As you're the woman and everything. I mean-"

And then a pound of ice hit him hard in the face.

"I WAS JOKING-"

"Well, Mr Frost, we're just going to have to see how much of a gentleman you really are!" he heard her shout just before another pound of hard ice hit him square in the chest.

"FINE! I am warning you, Queen of Treachery, I am now playing this your way!"

And then he grabbed his staff and hurled himself into the air, flying around the clearing, and a powerful cold wind picked up; it ruffled her skirts and tangled her hair; then it seemed like, somehow, another wind had picked up… but was going in the opposite direction of the first one, and pretty soon the clearing was a swirling storm of contrary winds-

Another swish of his staff, and snowflakes were swirling around, millions of them, and if he hadn't been Jack Frost, he wouldn't have seen anything. He sped along the ice, skating, bare-feet, moving at a fast-pace… and then he flew high up, and came back down at an alarming speed, twirling on himself as he descended, his feet slamming into the ground…

And spiralling on the ice in a graceful dance, as if he was barely thinking about his movements.

Another swish of his staff, and another wind picked up.

Another laugh from Elsa, and new snowflakes appeared, blurring his vision, and exploding in tiny shimmering ones that caught the light-

He turned around, searching for Elsa amidst the 'small' snowstorm he'd created. He finally spotted her, and he flew towards her.

"IMPRESSED YET?" he shouted at her above the howling of the winds, batting his eyelashes against the snowflakes fluttering in his eyes.

"GETTING THERE!" she shouted back. Then, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him; he bended his knees, and sprung himself high into the air, wrapping his arms on her low-back, the snowstorm following them, staying around them.

"JACK! JACK!" Elsa screamed in panic as he held her tighter, going ever higher, the snowstorm following not logic or physics, but the orders of his thoughts-

And then they were above dark clouds, and the snow storm suddenly exploded around them, soaking them through as the winds teased a last time Elsa's hair; then, it was quiet except for the distant wind, the sun already setting, colouring the skies in streaks of pink and orange.

They were silent for a second longer.

Then Elsa began to laugh. It was an exhilarated, even hysteric laugh, as she swung her arms upwards as if to reach for the sun, and she bent her upper body away from him.

He looked at her, at her eyes, her huge, huge eyes filled with wonder and excitement, trying to drink in the sheer beauty of the sky. She came black closer, wrapping her arms around his neck as she looked around.

"Did you like it?" he asked nervously.

"Like it?! I mean- that- that was-"

"Impressive? Stupefying? Glorious?"

She hit him playfully on the chest, and bit her lip.

"I know. You didn't believe the stupid 'white-haired dude'," he laughed at the memory of the nickname she'd given him in that moment of panic, "could do that."

"Let's just say, they don't call you the Spirit of Winter for nothing." she murmured, finally looking up at his face. They stayed like that for a while, peaceful, a gentle breeze playing on their faces (Jack had conveniently ordered the winds to stay away from this particular spot), at a complete stand-still, just… floating.

Finally, after what seemed like a much too-short eternity, Elsa sighed.

"I- I have to go back. The dinner- I have to be back for dinner." she said apologetically.

He sighed too.

"I get it. I'll take you home."

And this time, Elsa didn't shout out once as she flew above her kingdom, back to the palace.