Adventure 4 : Frost Meets Snow

Jack reached the gates to the giant kingdom of Arendelle. His eyes widened in wonder. "Whoa..." he breathed. He had brought the broken pieces of his staff with him, and they were currently in a bag he had slung over his shoulder. Pabbie's pouch of money was in his pants pocket, and Jack wasn't used to people looking at him, when he was so used to them looking through him. Jack didn't know what to feel. He had longed for this opportunity to be seen by other humans. To be human. Yet...he was trying to so hard to go back to being... Jack Frost. Jack shielded his eyes against the sun, looking towards the open gates leading to the castle itself. Suddenly, he heard a yell through the air. A snowman's head rolled over to him. Jack stopped, and blinked in bewilderment, looking at the head. Then it blinked at him. " Ah, watch out for ma butt!" The snowman warned, and Jack made a face, looking up and his eyes widened. A giant snow-ball collapsed into Jack's face. He heard a girl's laughing.

"Sven! You silly Reindeer! And Kristoff, I told you NOT to use Olaf as a kick-ball!" Jack heard the female scolding as they came into view. Sitting on his butt, Jack watched as the snow he wiped off himself, materialized magically back into the body of a small snowman, with feet and coal buttons, and it ran in circles around Jack. A young woman with light blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair, with a freckled face and fair skin came to a halt, upon seeing Jack. Jack pointed to the decapitated snowman, who's head eagerly rolled on the ground comically. Apparently, people here found this to be normal...and in fact giggled as they passed by. This was new to Jack. He was used to people -even modernized people- having some ...disbelief. However it was as though it was an everyday occurance here. What an odd kingdom, Jack mused as he plopped Olaf's head back onto the poor disorienated body. Olaf squealed with delight giving Jack a big hug.

"Oh thank you! You are the absolute best! So sweet!" He chirped at Jack. Anna ran over with a Reindeer who Jack took to be Sven. She smiled at him. Jack's jaw momentarily dropped. She was really pretty. His face started to blush, something he hadn't had to deal with...in like ...ever. She held out her hand to him, with a giggle.

"Hellooo? Anyone home?" She joked, waving her hand in his face.

"Elsa?" Jack blurted.

"Elsa? What? No, Elsa's my sister, after all, she's too pretty, magical and super fun... to be me, I'm Anna," Anna giggled. Jack politely bowed, and took her hand, fumbling to formally greet her with a very awkward kiss to the knuckle. Something he knew was custom -at least back in his day. His eyes widened though as a mit replaced a dainty feminine hand. He pulled back abruptly.

A stocky man, with blonde hair, brown eyes, and a very grumpy glare, levelly quirked a brow at Jack. "...and you must be Sven..." Jack smirked cheekily. Olaf giggled by their feet.

"Ohhh, that's what I thought for the longest time!" He nodded happily. Sven trotted over to Jack, and began to sniff him. Jack chuckled, rubbing Sven's snout. Anna patted Kristoff's arm.

"OH don't be so grumpy, Kristoff," she giggled. Kristoff however was sizing up Jack. Jack gulped.

"Uh...I wasn't trying anything," Jack held up his hands in surrender.

"I know, I know, after all, she's my wife to be," Kristoff shrugged, hugging Anna suddenly to him. Anna blushed, and swatted at him.

"Kristoff~" She giggled, as Olaf danced around them, with this big dorky grin on his face. Sven panted oddly like a dog, not that Jack had ever paid attention to Reindeer behavior in particular. He looked around, as though expecting to see Elsa as well. Anna clasped his hands in hers suddenly, and Jack's heart nearly beat out of his chest. Her hands were warm, and so ...delicate. This sudden surge of heat to his face was uncontrollable and he quickly turned away from Anna. Anna looked abashed at his suddenly turning away from her.

"I-I'm sorry, I..." Jack gulped. "...I...I am looking for Elsa...Elsa of Arendelle...I was told by...Pabbie...that she'd be here..." He held out the directions to Anna. Anna blinked and exchanged glances with Kristoff. Kristoff took the note.

"Hmmm, that's Pabbie's writing..." Kristoff concluded, furrowing his brows. He sighed. "Well, you must be the Jack Frost that your red-nosed friend keeps talking about..."

Jack mentally face palmed. Of course the reindeer would give away his secret. He hadn't even thought of that. He clutched the small sack with the remains of his staff in it. "I-I can explain, you see the Man in the moon sent me here and he stripped me of my magic, so I can't-"

"What?" Anna gasped, her eyes widening. "You...You have magic?"

She sounded awed. Jack paused. Ok, exactly what had Rudolph told them? He gulped, suddenly realizing that he was revealing too much and too fast. He didn't feel comfortable. And the way those big green eyes were looking at him so directly wasn't helping either. Why did he have to feel like a puberty-stricken fool now? "...I...well...did...but..." Jack gulped. Too fast. Information was coming out way to quickly. He suddenly felt very guilty. What was he going to accomplish coming here as a human anyways? Say, please let me marry your Queen so that I may remain a Guardian for children from another place and time...? Jack's heart sank.

What the heck was the moon hoping to accomplish by messing around with Jack's simple every day life?

"Anna, whoa, slow down there, you're freaking out the poor kid," Kristoff said, with a chuckle, hugging Anna around the waist. Jack's face burned hotly suddenly from...annoyance.

"I am not a kid!" He pointed out, narrowing his brown eyes.

Kristoff quirked a brow. "How old are you?"

Jack really wanted to say old enough to be older than you Mr. Blondy, but he bit his tongue. He instead wracked his brain for an age. How old was he? A reasonable age...he definitely...definitely felt like he was an adult...but a young one...perhaps 18. 18. Yes, that number settled well with Jack. "Eighteen."

"Uh-huh, well, you're supposedly younger than either me or Anna," Kristoff said smugly. Jack glared back at him. Olaf however distracted them both by suddenly pointing to Jack, his eyes wide.

"Don't look now, but your hair is starting to grow white!" he chirped up.

Jack blinked in shock. "What?!"

Anna gasped. "Olaf is right...it's...wow...you have to tell us more about yourself!" She grabbed his hand enthusiastically, tugging him down the road. "Come on! I want to hear all about your magic and this Man in the Moon!"

Jack felt very awkward. This girl was...really full of energy. The fact that she was ok with this information and hadn't even thought of him as a bad guy to Elsa really perplexed him. He glanced behind him to see Kristoff following, but with an evident pout. He felt a random rush of smugness though he knew he was being completely childish.

"I-I would rather not say any more..." Jack began.

"You know, it's convenient...oooh~" Anna's eyes suddenly lit up as she spun around to face Jack and the others. "...You see, my sister has ice powers!"

Jack's heart stopped. What.

Someone else.

Was.

Like him?

Exactly who was Queen Elsa.

"We should totally invite Frosty to the Queen's 22nd Birthday Ball!" Olaf said gleefully. "The more the merrier!"

"The more the merrier!" Anna agreed with a giggle. "Jack Frost huh? I like it." She quirked a brow, continuing to tug poor Jack along with her gusto. Jack sweated, feeling Kristoff's gaze boring into his back, and no doubt wishing for Jack to die, unfortunately, Jack was immortal. Was, being the operative word.

"...I- I..wait!" Jack yanked his arm out of Anna's grasp. Everyone halted, as Jack backed away from them. "How can you...how can you just be ok with this! I'm...I'm not like you!" The words he spoke sank in as well for Jack. What was he hoping to accomplish with this. It suddenly seemed completely pointless. He didn't know the first thing about being appealing to women...and he much less didn't want to be a King, nor did he have a chance, considering he wasn't even a Pauper since he wasn't even technically...well, real. No, that wasn't right...he was real. He'd always been real. Jack shivered, feeling cold, and clinging to the bag, holding his broken staff. If only his staff hadn't been broken. At least then he could have tried to find some alternative way ...to do something.

Anna looked to him gently. "Jack, don't be afraid..."

"I'm not afraid!" Jack shook his head, aware he was attracting some glances from passerby. His heart hurt. His head hurt.

"...Jack...calm down...come to the castle, explain your situation, maybe we can help..." Anna said gently. "Rudolph had said that you were sent here...and that you are...Jack Frost...whatever that entails...we are not here to hurt or judge..."

It sounded too perfect to hear. Jack gripped the pack, and looked at Anna's eyes. They were actually a bit teary. Jack gulped. He nearly jumped out of his shoes when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around quickly, he saw Kristoff give him a serious look. "Jack, I don't mean to make a pun, but you need to chill."

"You just did," Jack found himself saying, though it felt far away.

"...That's beside the point," Kristoff looked Jack square in the eyes. Jack was aware of just how much more mature looking Kristoff looked. Jack's heart sank. If he stayed human, would he grow as well? If... so many what ifs...Jack wanted to go back to being just a Guardian. "...Jack, we are your allies, not your enemies." Kristoff's voice was soft and urgent. Jack looked at his feet. What was there to lose? He may as well get a look at this Elsa. Anna gasped.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

He was aware that the others were looking at him strangely. "Your hair..." Anna said, pointing at his head. "...it's...it changed back to completely brown. The tips of your bangs were...white before."

Jack ran a hand through his hair nervously. "... I...don't know what's going on..." he said deflating. Kristoff and Anna exchanged glances. Olaf came between them, throwing his wooden hands up in the air and jumping up and down excitedly.

"Let's get Elsa to meet Frosty! Maybe she can fix him!" he said cheerfully.

Jack's eyes widened. The snowman actually had a good point. "Elsa ...has ice powers, yes?" he turned to Anna.

Anna nodded. "Yes..." her eyes lit up, and she clasped her hands together. "We can talk to her about helping you, after her Ball tonight! After all, tonight has to be special, so can you hold off on whatever it is you need her to do until then?" Anna looked apologetically at Jack. Jack shook his head. He was impatient, but if it was Elsa's birthday, why would he interfere with that? He could wait till tomorrow, right? He nodded to Anna. Anna squealed with delight.

"Oh! I can't wait to introduce you to her!" She giggled. "She's had many suitors since she opened up the gates, but she has no interest in marriage," Anna laughed. "Good thing you're not their to ask for her hand in marriage," Anna giggled.

Jack's heart sank. Someone who wasn't into marriage just like he wasn't as his potential partner. Fabulous. "Yeah, that...that'd just be...stupid..." he weakly chuckled, quickly coughing and looking away. Anna clapped her hands together.

"We need to get you better clothes for tonight!" Anna began to ramble, tugging both Kristoff and Jack towards the shops. Both young men groaned. They were not big on clothes shopping. Jack didn't know why things turned out the way they did, but his heart beat wildly. He was finally going to do it. He would meet Elsa.

Anna burst through the doors to the dining hall, babbling about cakes and the kind of music to play, while Kristoff and poor Jack had ended up carrying the bags for Anna of clothes. Anna turned to Jack, taking the package he was carrying from him. "Oh, you have done more than enough! Here, go in there, and get changed," Anna smiled. "...My sister has been in her room all day. She won't come out until this evening because I begged her to let me redecorate." Jack nodded. He wished he could do something. He suddenly realized he didn't even have a gift for her. Anna winked at him. "Don't worry, I've got your present covered," she handed him a box. Jack looked at it questioningly.

"You...you didn't have to..." Jack fumbled.

"It's ok, I plan to get paid back," Anna giggled. "...I had a feeling you arrived on such short notice, you'd be bamboozled on what to get her, but never fear, for Anna is here!" She dramatically bowed. Olaf giggled and clapped and Kristoff rolled his eyes at his fiance's dorkiness, but a smile was on his face. Jack swallowed. He didn't know if he could ever repay such generousity. Her energy...reminded him of...his little sister...and mother. Jack's look must have gone sad because Anna suddenly hugged him.

"Come on, let's get changed, the sun is going down," Kristoff tugged Jack along, rather poutingly, by the scruff of Jack's bear cape. Jack rolled his eyes.

"I don't want to wear frilly clothes," He pouted.

"Yeah? Well you can't wear...whatever that top is supposed to be," Kristoff grumped, walking down the hall with his own package of clothes.

"It's called a sweatshirt, something not yet invented here..." Jack sighed.

"Sweat shirt? A shirt for sweating?" Kristoff mused.

"...NO...it's..." Jack actually didn't know why it was called a sweatshirt. "Nevermind," he grumped, following Kristoff. Kristoff turned down a corridor and Jack had never been in a castle before, and other than his home town of Burgess, and now he had the chance to be in a real live castle. Enraptured like a little kid, Jack touched a real knight and Kristoff cringed at the sudden clattering noise behind him. Turning he saw Jack sheepishly sprawled amongst the parts of the armor, the helmet on his head. Kristoff paused and then burst out laughing. He helped Jack up, and Jack had a very pouty expression on his face. "Don't laugh at me..."

"Come on," Kristoff pointed to a room to his left up the stairs as they got upstairs. "This is your room, for however long you plan to stay," he opened the door to it, and held out a hand to beckon Jack in. Jack paused. His own room? In such a big, grand castle. He stepped past the beautiful white carved doors with golden door handles, and past Kristoff, coming into his guest room. The dimming sun was setting, and the candles had been set up already and the smell of burning wax, fresh sheets, and...such antiquity really enthralled Jack momentarily. Of course he remembered the reason he was even here and that dampened his spirits.

No, he shook his head, once he saw Kristoff close the door and heard his footsteps fade down the hall. Jack laid out his outfit. It was a simple proper black jacket, with a white collared shirt and a choice of a tie or bow tie. Jack went with bow tie. He hadn't ever really worn anything this fancy, ever. He slipped into the black pants and the main bit of the outfit was easy enough. However, the bow tie was not. He blushed, feeling embarrassed. He stuck his head out of the silent hallway, clearing his throat. Looking down the hall, he spotted a woman with a blonde braid in her hair, and pretty blue dress walking toward him. He blinked. She had pretty blue eyes, and rose-bud lips. Her skin was as white as snow, but vibrant. Her purple eyeshadow complimented her long lashes, and were those...snowflakes in her hair? He felt self-concious with his popped collar and messy look. She didn't seem to notice him until after a few seconds. She suddenly paused, looking at him curiously.

" ...You're...beautiful," Jack found himself blurting and he wanted to kick himself for his impudence. She was a queen and no doubt got that compliment every day.

"You're too kind," She smiled at him. "You are Jack?"

Jack nodded dumbly. "You're...Elsa..." She nodded, smiling. For a snow queen, Jack felt only warmth from her mannerism. She noticed his awkward attempt at doing a bow tie. She giggled and he flushed, yanking off the damn thing. He'd find a way to burn it. Fire would have been a nice power right about now. He didn't realize it until she was right there in front of his nose. "I was just going to change-"

He felt a gentle tug at his throat, and blinked as he felt the bow easily get tied around his neck with expert and delicate fingers. His breath hitched. She was very pretty. So pretty. Jack wondered if he only noticed because the moon made him human again. Was this why? So he would look and sound and feel stupid talking to this woman? What would that accomplish? " I was stretching my legs, walking back and forth here, upstairs. Anna has claim to the downstairs," Elsa chuckled, patting Jack's shoulder.

"Ah...thanks..." Jack mumbled, his ears feeling hot.

"Don't mention it...I look forward to chatting with you, I didn't know you were a childhood friend of Anna's!" Elsa said cheerfully. She swished away down the hall and turned to the right. Jack remained rooted to the spot. Anna hadn't told her anything. From the sounds of it, she fibbed about who Jack was. Jack was ok with this. More Important matters at hand. For instance. He had spoken to Elsa. He had met Elsa. His heart was beating wildly. Why? She was just a woman. Like all other women? Jack heard the old troll's words echo.

"You're heart hasn't been touched either...has it?"

"Is this...what...touching my heart means?" Jack wondered, leaning against the doorframe. "...No...No...I just haven't...I haven't been human again long enough to have control over frugal emotions...that's all...I'm... I'm just overanalyzing..." He looked down the hallway. He had met Queen Elsa. That didn't mean he would fall in love with her. "Stupid moon..." Jack grumbled, rubbing his temples, and re-entering his room.

The moon hung high in the sky, already starting to wane. As the night advanced, and the lights in the castle lit up to celebrate Queen Elsa's 22nd birthday, back in Burgess, things were a little different. You see, back in Burgess, Jamie Bennett was currently sitting in his room, listening to his rock music loudly. Singing along to one of his favorite bands, Jamie let his shaggy bangs hang over his eyes. His hair remained short and unruly, but his hair was a bit longer in the front, but not by much. His rejection letters for various colleges remained crumpled on his bed, and a few were torn. "Honey, are you cleaning your room?" His mother called up the stairs to him. Jamie turned down the music and popped his head out the door. "Please turn down your music! Sophie is trying to study for her math test!"

"Yeah Mom!" he called back, closing his door. He resumed playing the music and humming along to it. Jamie wanted to look like he had made some progress so he wandered over to his closet. pulling over a stool, he stood on it and rummaged around the top shelf, looking for old clothes to discard. His hand brushed against a shoe box instead. Jamie furrowed his brow. It was dusty and he pulled it down. He read the label:

The Guardians and Jack Frost

"What..." Jamie didn't remember this box. It must have really been a long time since he'd last cleaned up on his top shelf of his closet. The box itself was rather dusty. For nostalgia sake, Jamie dumped the contents of the box on the bed. Furrowing his brow, he picked up the childish pictures in crayola he'd drawn of The Easter Bunny, Santa, The Tooth Fairy...and... Jamie's eyes misted a little. "...Just a game...it was just a game I played as a child...you're not real..." Jamie gulped. "None of you were ever real..." He crumpled up the papers suddenly angry. His eyes were still misted. "If you were real...you'd have...answered ...me...in ten years..." Jamie chucked the box and the contents against a wall, frustrated. "They're not real, Jamie!" Jamie held his head in his hands. It had felt real...but more like a detached memory now. He picked up the picture he had of Jack Frost. He glared at it. Suddenly, he felt something on the back of it. With a frown, he turned over the picture. On the back was an old photograph. Jamie's eyebrows furrowed together. It was his childish handwriting, but it was a theory he'd come up with, that Jack Frost...was...

"That's not possible..." Jamie stood up. He went to his parent's bedroom and pulled out the old photo album of the Bennett's. Skimming for the early 1600's, he looked on his mother's side of the family tree. "Great...Great...great...uncle?" Jamie's eyes widened. In this photo album, there was a very old newspaper clipping dating back 310 years. It was about Jamie's ancestor, who's brother had perished while saving his little sister. Reading the article, Jamie wondered why...why he'd never ...his eyes wandered to the other photos.

Oh right.

School.

Stress.

Life.

Reality.

But Jamie's heart beat quick. What if ...he was related to Jack Frost? Perhaps...Perhaps Jack Frost was..."You're doing it again Jamie...reading too much into things...There's no way you're related to Jack Frost..." Jamie scowled to himself, but he gingerly took the article from the photobook, putting it back. He turned around and his heart nearly stopped. Looming in front of him was-

"Pitch..."

"Touching, but let's save this reunion for the whole family," Pitch laughed darkly, and Jamie's breath caught with fear. He tried to be confident but Pitch cackled in his ear. "I realized something...Jamie boy, I realized that...fear in children is strong...however fear in adults...mmmm, that's...priceless...so much more powerful...nerve-wracking...I have a bone to pick with you Bennetts...all of you Bennetts..."

"I-I'm not scared of you!" Jamie swallowed hard. "...don't you dare touch my family!"

"It's not them I want..." Pitch hissed, his eyes flashing.

"You can't have Jack!" Jamie declared.

"It's not him I want you fool... no wonder you're failing your college admissions...so slow..." Pitch tutted.

Jamie grabbed a book and chucked it at Pitch but Pitch dodged easily, floating Jamie right up against a wall. "Y-You can't have my friends!" Pitch cackled, and Suddenly Jamie felt the ground slip from beneath his feet as he plummeted into darkness.

"It's not them I want my dear boy...it's you."