Chapter Two
Easter whistled his way through the halls of the castle. In his large hands were two atrociously hot cups of coffee. Passing the stone corridor that housed his residence he banked to the right. The Frost suites. Since his hands were full he tapped against the reinforced wooden door forcefully with his foot. A minute passed. He hit the door even harder.
Jack opened the door in a rumpled t –shirt and black sweatpants. His normally messy hair was in a new level of disarray, dark circles rested below his eyes.
"You look like hell mate." Bunny said cheerfully shouldering his way in. For a perpetual teenage bachelor Jack kept his apartment tidy. Setting the coffee down on the living room table he flopped onto the leather couch tossing his feet up. Jack swatted Bunny's feet as he walked past to grab the coffee.
"You know the rules in here. What are you an animal?" Jack palmed his face rubbing his head. "I didn't get to bed until six."
"I figured you had a rough night." Said Bunny sympathetically. Easter and his girlfriend Anna who happened to be Elsa's sister were the only ones who knew of Jack and Elsa's qausi-relationship. The blonde diverted the conversation from himself.
"You must be happy though? If the war is done Anna gets to come back." The princess of Arendelle had been sent away to a remote location a year earlier. With the death of the girl's parents the council hadn't felt it wise to have their last heir in the same place as the current ruler.
Bunny sipped his coffee despite its temperature. "I haven't talked to her about it. I don't honestly see it panning out. No use for false hope."
Jack could tell his friend was lying. Trying to comfort him in a small way. He probably hadn't talked to Anna but he did believe Elsa would go through with the marriage. It screamed Elsa, this complete act of selflessness.
"We said goodbye last night. Zero contact outside of work issues seems like the best course of action." It had been his idea and already he was regretting it. The fact that he couldn't pick up the phone or seek her out made things worse. It was only 830am and he already had a million things to say to her.
His friend, his best friend shook his head. He knew Jack was the self-sufficient type. It had come as a surprise to him and Anna when he had fallen for the stark, antisocial beauty. Now, well he didn't know what would happen. Jack like the winter he emulated was unchanging. How was he going to make it through this?
"Rough draw mate." Bunny took another sip of his beverage. "Better get dressed though. We're due soon to look at that contract."
The best of the worst lawyers in the court had been picked to create the contract. Worst in the sense that they were the kind of lawyer that had ties in the underground, they could dig up dirt and have you doubting your own words in a heartbeat. When everyone was assembled the details of the document were laid out on the table along with the reasoning behind it. Arendelle was in trouble.
The realm was floundering. With loss of life, motivation, and skilled workers the country was close to collapsing. An alliance with a powerful country such as Dantera could do nothing but help them. Their nations effect on Dantera, well that was none of their concern.
Sandy was skeptical. "How are you going to keep Black from learning of our economic decline before the wedding?"
"We would have to get married as soon as possible." Answered Elsa avoiding Jack's gaze.
Everyone exchanged glances. This plan was flimsy at best and could easily come crashing down around them at any moment. The queen looked to the lawyers for help. They hastened to explain the binding items of the contract and how once it was signed it would be nearly impossible to renege. Before all of their questions had been satisfyingly answered however it was time to play politics.
"I." said Nick. "Don't like this." The others including the lawyers silently agreed.
Once again the lawyers went into their spiel as Pitch and his council read over copies of the contract. Frown lines become more apparent on his face the more he read. Bunny discreetly kicked Jack under the table. This wasn't looking good.
One of Pitch's minions was the first to interrupt. "And what keeps the power balanced in each land? These places were inherited by birth right."
This question had been expected. "As you can see in the sixth paragraph a clause has been interjected to keep each crown where it belongs. Queen Elsa will have the final say in Arendelle and Lord Black in Dantera. This contract was made with fairy magic. It is more than a piece of paper. The fae take broken oaths very seriously." The lawyer that had answered the chief of staff paused but no other questions were forth coming. They had done their job well, shaping the contract so that appeared to shift the balance in Pitch's favor. Even still he requested some amendments to be made.
Debates went back and forth for nearly two hours before both sides felt properly compensated. It was an uneasy cease-fire. The tension in the air was thick as a fairy made pen scratched the paper.
Queen Elsa of Arendelle
Lord pitch Black iv of Dantera
Three hours later a non-descript black sedan dropped Pitch and Elsa off at the entrance to a secluded part of the beach. Since they were now "engaged to be engaged" both had felt it was best to start getting to know each other. A well-maintained sidewalk wound down the shore as far as the eye could see. Two armed guards stood at the beginning of the sidewalk making sure that only those with the proper clearance could enter the area.
It was an unseasonably warm March day and even with the threat of snow later in the day Elsa had changed into a stylish yet modest quarter sleeve dress. Pitch was still in black slacks and a black button down shirt from the earlier meeting. He rolled up his sleeves and Elsa looked past his lithe muscular arms to the ocean before he noticed her blush.
Another pair of guards followed a respectful distance from them; one from Arendelle and one from Dantera. They wanted both royals equally protected. The first few minutes of the walk were spent in uncomfortable silence.
"So you like the ocean?" asked Elsa
"I like it when it's angry. The ocean during a storm, churning and dragging you down into the dark abyss." Pitch answered.
"Oh."
He smirked at her response. "That was a joke."
She looked at him. "Oh?"
For some reason Pitch found this response even more amusing. "Yes, even psychopaths can have a sense of humor."
Elsa blushed furiously, bowing her head. "I never said you were psychopath."
"You didn't have too. I can tell by the way you look at me. The way your people look at mine: as barbarians. The funny thing is we view your kind the same way." He paused to take a breath. "So tell me "your highness." Elsa noticed he was using her title patronizingly. "Who wins in a war where both sides believe they're fighting monsters? It's just something to occupy the masses. A waste of time."
A roar filled the blonde's ears that had nothing to do with the ocean. Did he really believe that she needed a lesson on war?
"If you believe it to be a waste of time why didn't you end it?" she countered staring at him. It was hard not to blink staring into his dark eyes. They were almost demonic in their darkness.
"Sweetheart, just because I don't like the game doesn't mean I won't play it to win." With that he looked away and began to walk back towards the beach entrance. Apparently he had already had enough of her presence. After a moment Elsa unfroze and quickened her pace till she was beside him once more. She didn't wait for him to acknowledge her before moving onto another topic.
"I'd like to aim to have the engagement ball next week."
Her companion frowned. What was she talking about?
Elsa explained after a few moments of silence. "My people are old fashioned. Its tradition here that when a royal women is to be courted everyone noble or not is invited to a ball. He proposes to her in front of everyone and they get a say over whether they want him in their ruling class or not."
"Sounds dreadful under normal circumstances but even worse when you're giving your citizens a chance to veto their worst enemy. I wouldn't be surprised if I got attacked as soon as I showed my face. " He looked truly appalled at her suggestion as if their customs left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Here's the thing. I was hoping the night before you could introduce me to your court… Like I said we're old fashioned. If I already have a ring and have been sworn to you well, as much as they hate you they won't make me break a vow."
Pitch gritted his teeth mulling over the idea. He had signed the contract in part because he was tired of over-seeing a war he wasn't invested in at all. The other part of him had just wanted to do something shocking. He was so bored. Lately he had felt emotionally numb to everything and was hoping that this would shake up his life. Now that it was done he wasn't so sure about the logistics.
"And what makes you feel like you would come out of an Danteran engagement party unharmed?" he asked.
"They're scared of you. If you say not to hurt me they won't."
He shook his head slightly at her answer. To explain that they weren't scared of him would be beyond her grasp. She had been brainwashed into believing he ruled with tyranny when in reality his subjects adored him. His father had been the tyrannical one. They wouldn't harm her out of respect to him but to say that suggested her subjects didn't respect her decisions.
"We are emotional creatures. We aren't frozen and detached from our emotions like you. If they suspect I'm marrying you for any reason but love even I won't have control over them."
By now they were at the car. The guards were still politely out of earshot waiting for them to wrap up their conversation.
Elsa was confused. "They would believe you fell in love in five days?"
Pitch smirked as he walked to his side of the car. "Rumor has it that I'm manic. My emotions are volatile. Besides you're beautiful, they won't be surprised." He tossed her a wink slipping into the backseat.
And now I want to vomit. She thought sitting down beside him. Volatile? How much of her future was going to be spent watching her back before a knife was plunged into it? I hope this is all worth it.