HAPPY V-DAY! *Throws boxes of SweetHearts at everyone, rapid fire*
Cupid is extra super annoying me today. Ugh, winged nitwit. Have your holiday, and stop gloating. Christmas will be back around SOON ENOUGH!
Sorry. I'm in a bad mood. Tomorrow's my eighteenth birthday, and I'm not feeling very peppy about it.
But I do wish to thank you, my dear readers, for the lovely comments you left me. (: I was so happy that you guys liked the last chapter...hopefully this next one will be just as good.
SafyreSky: has been PMed to death. ;) risks of FF friendships, I'm afraid. Don't worry; she'll manage to keep writing Crystal Springs from beyond the grave. May she rest in peace XD
Bluepenguin1998 & WolfieRed23: thank you, guys! I'm glad you enjoyed it. May the next one make you happy as well!
Carolineepridgen: Wow, that really means a lot to me. Thank you. I had assumed this story was a bit of a ramble (quite against my will) but hearing you say otherwise is a real treat. Time definitely NOT wasted (: And I'm glad the fight was satisfactory.
Applejax XD: DUDE YOU'RE HERE! *coughs* ahem. I mean, hello again! Thanks for dropping by, AND leaving a review. Here's that next chappie for you ;)
And one guest, Toloveakiwi: I don't know if that name means you love kiwi fruit, or people from Australia, or you ARE from Australia, or you love kiwi fruit FROM Australia; but all options are lovely, because SO ARE YOU! Yes, Ellington has clubbed thumbs! I had wondered if anyone would pick up on that, and you did! Millions of brownie points to you, my friend! And *hugs* back at you! Yes, it is significant: I have clubbed thumbs and just felt like making Ellington have them too. I agree in that it isn't mentioned much in anything I've read or watched, so I felt like paying tribute to the dilemmas we face when wearing gloves. THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVIEW I WILL TREASURE IT ALWAYS!
Here's the next chapter for you guys, and everyone else who read the last chapter or this story in general. Warning though: It's not what you might expect, all around. (:
Interest piqued? Good. On we go.
-Ana
Chapter 14
Reflections and New Beginnings
Jack was conflicted.
Things were definitely not chilling up the way he'd hoped they would.
Even with the threats on her family, Elle had allowed herself to be sweet talked by the elf.
Or was it, bitter talked? Frostbite, Mr. Grumpy Pants couldn't even profess his love properly. Why would she be so stupid as to fall for an angry Bernard?
Jack was starting to wonder if those nightmares had made her go soft.
He would have been shocked to know it was his mother.
However, from his hiding place behind a gazebo not far from where the whole romantic scene had gone down, it was apparent that both Elle and Bernard were earnest in their feelings for one another.
They really were in love.
Jack sighed, watching his frosty breath evaporate into the air. Why was he doing this, anyway? Because he was jealous of an elf? C'mon, the Jack Frost was above that, wasn't he?
And anyway, as gorgeous as Elle was, she was a bit young for him. Hey, if Bernard wanted to be a cradle robber, he was welcome to; but Jack, for one, could use someone who was a bit older. Not more mature, older. In general. And less likely to get irritated with his pranks and mischievous nature. Elle was too much like Bernard, in that they got on her nerves...or maybe they wouldn't have, had she not known of the damage he'd done with the Escape Clause. It probably was his own fault he'd never had a chance with her in the first place.
He'd really frosted up. Not only had he wasted his time when his chances were already blown, but he had messed with what could have been a perfectly normal relationship. Bernard and Elle would have problems, thanks to him. And that was something he was going to have to live with: that he had hurt the girl he had cared about. Albeit rather selfishly cared about.
Ah well, Jack consoled himself. They've got the 'Real Deal', as the Flying Baby would put it. Cupid will help them out...and Santa will make sure the cherub doesn't overdo it this time. As for you, well... there are many other fish in the sea, Jack, as overused as that aphorism is. Don't get all mushy about this.
Mushy... Jack thought back to when he had been defrosted, shortly after his first flub up. He had been nicer then, if not less...well, frosty. If only he could go back to...
And then, it hit him. How to fix this whole thing,
A wide grin spreading on his impish face, he teleported to the Pole.
It was about time a certain pocket watch was returned to its rightful owner. That, and to deliver what Jack knew was a spectacular idea.
His best pitch yet, one the Council couldn't refuse.
"I hope we'll make it to the house before dark. By the way, I'm driving."
"No, I'm driving."
"Dude, it's my car; and anyway, I have the keys."
A sigh. "Do you?" Bernard held up Elle's keys.
Elle's jaw dropped. "You... did you pick my pocket?"
Bernard shrugged, but couldn't help smirking. "Maybe."
"NOT okay!" Elle ran around the car, but Bernard ran the other way. She tried the other way, and he ran the opposite.
"This is absolutely childish!" Elle laughed, then forced a straight face. "Bernard, give me back the keys. "
"Nope." Bernard raised his chin like a petulant child and crossed his arms.
"Oh yeah?" Elle narrowed her eyes at him...then, suddenly, disappeared.
Bernard started. "Elle!?" he cried, sounding almost strangled.
Then, he was knocked off his feet as Elle tackled him into the snow, having appeared out of thin air beside him.
"Ahhhggh!" was literally the sound he made as he got a mouthful of snow. Elle had thrown an armload of snow onto his face. The keys were wrenched from his hand, as he used the other to swat away the snow. Elle was sitting on him, beaming. "You...you teleported!"
"Mwahahaha!" she cackled, then kissed him quickly. "Newfound skill."
"You..." said Bernard wryly, but Elle was already up. He barely caught her scarf as she tore around the car and flung herself into the driver's seat, slamming the door just as he got there.
Bernard scowled.
Elle locked all the doors, and smiled sweetly at him through the tinted glass.
Then, with a sigh, he teleported into the car.
"Welcome aboard," Elle said from beside him, as the car roared to life. "My name is Ellington Connelly, and I will be your driver today."
"Haha," said Bernard dryly, but he was smiling. He couldn't seem to stop smiling.
"Also, before you try to play any boring crap that will make me fall asleep on the road, I will also be your DJ. Though, I can't promise I'll do half as good a job as Archie." Elle pressed the radio on, and a song started up.
"No..." she said, upon hearing the first few notes. "This car is evil..."
"What? What is it?" Bernard asked worriedly. "Something wrong?"
"Yes! Well, no, but...sort of. I guess...it's actually right." Elle stared hard at the radio, as if it were a puzzle to her. "This song..."
"What about it?"
"...Is very accurate, and that is all I will say. Just...listen." She put the car into gear and sped off into the dusk.
Bernard listened to the song.
Aren't you somethin' to admire?
'Cause your shine is somethin' like a mirror
And I can't help but notice
You reflect in this heart of mine
If you ever feel alone and
The glare makes me hard to find
Just know that I'm always
Parallel on the other side
'Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul
I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go
Just put your hand on the glass
I'll be tryin' to pull you through
You just gotta be strong
'Cause I don't want to lose you now
I'm lookin' right at the other half of me
The vacancy that sat in my heart
Is a space that now you hold
Show me how to fight for now
And I'll tell you baby, it was easy
Comin' back here to you once I figured it out
You were right here all along
It's like you're my mirror
My mirror staring back at me
I couldn't get any bigger
With anyone else beside of me
And now it's clear as this promise
That we're making two reflections into one
'Cause it's like you're my mirror
My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me
Bernard looked over at Elle, awestruck. Elle shrugged. "Told you."
It was dark by now. But in the light of oncoming traffic Bernard could see that there were tears on her cheeks.
Wordlessly, he reached over and took her right hand off of the wheel.
When the song was over, Bernard shut the radio off. "I think you should have worried more about how you would handle the music you picked," he said quietly.
Elle gave a little laugh. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess so."
The car was quiet.
"I'm not going to let you go again," Bernard said, looking down at their intertwined hands.
"I know," said Elle quietly.
"But I'm not sure you believe me."
Elle said nothing. Then, a moment later, she quickly pulled her hand away, and a muffled sob rang out from her side of the darkness.
"Pull over," Bernard ordered. And for once, Elle obeyed him without argument. She couldn't drive much longer like this anyway.
Elle hadn't put a lot of thought into accepting that Bernard loved her. It had been an impulsive, spur-the-moment, gut reaction. Luckily, Elle's gut was only rarely wrong, but a nagging bit of doubt kept gnawing at her, telling her that this was one of those rare times.
It was a matter of heart over mind, and her heart was struggling.
"I...know it was my fault," she sobbed. "But I don't want it to happen again."
"It wasn't all your fault; it was both of ours," Bernard corrected, "And it's not going to happen again, because I'm not going to let it." He made an annoyed sound, frustrated by the seating arrangement. So he teleported them to the backseat.
"Showoff," Elle still managed to mutter, then she laughed for a second before falling silent. "I just can't believe you came back for me," she said finally. "I didn't leave any way to find me, or any indication that I wanted you to, and you did anyway. Because..." she faltered. "Because you actually..."
"Because I love you," said Bernard. He hesitated a moment before pulling her into his arms. "Because I have loved you for a very long time, even though I didn't want to think about it. Much longer than I've known you." A pause. "Ever since I saw that Clause written, I loved you, and was scared of you."
"Scared of me?" Elle sniffed, fiddling with the edge of his coat sleeve. "Why scared? I'm not scary. I mean, I'd like to be...but I don't really pull it off very well."
"Scared because I didn't know what I would do when I finally did meet you," Bernard explained. "And when I did, I messed the whole thing up. It was only after Tabitha was caught that I was sure of what I felt for you, and wasn't afraid of it."
"When...did you first know?" asked Elle, hesitantly. "I mean, when did you first think you might love me?" She felt like she needed proof.
"To be honest," Bernard laughed, "the moment you stepped out of that cloud of smoke from the virtual closet, I knew. I felt so stupid: I swear my heart stopped looking at you." He kissed her forehead softly, then started. "Of course, I fought it until that morning you woke up out of the nightmare dust."
Now it was Elle's turn to jump. "Wait, what? I thought...I mean, I knew I read into that kiss a little too much—it was only on the forehead after all—but..." she trailed off, realizing she'd given it away.
"I see." Bernard said slowly. "So it wasn't just me then, who wished I'd been a bit more daring with that kiss."
Elle looked at him, wide-eyed in the light from the streetlamps. "You wha..."
He cut her off, by making his point.
Three minutes later, he broke the kiss. "I'm not going anywhere without you," he said, gently but firmly. "Okay?"
"Okay," Elle whispered back, "Okay." She stared at his face in the half dark, memorizing the moment. Then she slid her fingers into his hair. "Do you think they'll mind if we're a little late?" she mumbled against his lips.
"They don't even know we're coming," Bernard said, smiling.
"Then...let's just stay here a bit longer," said Elle, tucking herself further into his arms. "I just...I just want to be with you. For a little while."
But Santa and the others weren't at Elle's house.
After Bernard had teleported after her, Carol had pointed out that there was no real reason for them to wait around for them to come back.
"After all," she had said, "they don't need us to sit here and wait. We need to get back to the Pole...the Council has to be assembled."
So that's just what they did. Scott immediately set about getting the Council assembled, which, for once, wasn't hard. Everyone was eager for news of Ellington and Bernard.
"Well?" The Council cried simultaneously.
"What news?" Easter Bunny asked anxiously.
"Has he found Ellington?" Mother Nature pressed.
"Are they in love yet?! Tell me! TELL ME!" Cupid was on edge. He had a sack full of green slips slung over his shoulder that was weighing heavily on his mind, and wallet.
"Whoa whoa whoa; guys!" Santa held up his hands. "One at a time, please!" He took a breath. "To answer your questions, yes, Bernard has found Ellington—"
A cry of excitement.
"BUT," Santa said firmly, "we don't know what's going on with them yet. Neither has tried to contact us, so we're still waiting for new developments."
"Oh." The collective disappointment (and tension) was hanging in the air like something tangible.
"What about Frost?" Tooth Fairy asked.
"What about me?"
All heads swung to face the voice.
Jack was leaning casually on the back of an armchair. Grinning.
"YOU!" Father Time yelled.
"Yes, me," Jack said, cocky as usual. "I know, it's about time I showed up. Which is just to the point." He withdrew the pocket watch from his pocket and held it up.
The tension increased.
"Jack," Mother Nature said slowly, "don't do anything you'll regret."
"You've done plenty to regret already," Cupid muttered. Sandman, who was awake for once, shot him a dirty look. "What!"
"The overgrown baby has a point," Jack acknowledged. "However, he was the one who shot Ellington with a Vulnerability arrow. Twit." Cupid scowled, while Easter Bunny broke down into uncontrollable giggles.
"EASTER BUNNY!" Mother Nature wasn't having it. "Not today, of all days! Not any day, for that matter!"
Easter Bunny ducked his head in shame. "Sorry, Mother N."
"What does that even mean, anyway?" Tooth Fairy wondered. "Everyone above the age of seven is technically, an overgrown baby."
Jack ignored this. "I'm not here to mess anything else up," he said stiffly. "I'm here to provide the only solution that can solve all of your problems."
The rest of the Council exchanged glances. Knowing Jack, this probably had some sneaky plot thrown into it. "We're listening," Santa said, cautiously.
"Good," said Jack, in a higher pitch than usual. "Now, I know that I've caused a lot of trouble with this whole 'time tunnel' thing—"
"No kidding," muttered Father Time.
"—And left Christmas in the lurch, again—"
"HA! That would be an understatement," Santa said sarcastically.
"—Annnd maybe messed around in Bernard's love life a little too much—"
"A LITTLE?!" Cupid fumed. "I HAVE BEEN PLANNING ELLINGTON'S ARRIVAL FOR YEARS, on orders from my predecessor. THIS THING HAS BEEN CENTURIES COMING, AND YOU HAD TO STICK YOUR FROSTED NOSE INTO IT!"
"Wow. Really?" Jack was a bit surprised.
Cupid only glared in reply.
"Huh. So, yeah, I did that too. But! I know just what to do to fix all of this. Not just the time thing, or the romance thing, or Cupid's dress issue, or..."
"Get to the point," Santa said.
Jack gave him an irritated look. "I can fix it all. And," he laughed, "it's actually pretty simple. I'm surprised balding Gandalf didn't come up with it."
"Balding. Gandalf," Father Time muttered. Mother Nature patted his arm comfortingly.
"Is it even possible for you not to give people insulting pet names?" Easter Bunny wondered.
"Is it possible for you not to mock Cupid's fashion sense?"
Easter Bunny nodded. "Point made."
"The REAL POINT, Jack!" Santa was losing patience.
"Fine, fine. It's like this."
He explained the whole plan.
The Council was outraged.
"You're telling me to double up the time tunnel?!" Father Time cried. "Send us all back to before the Escape Clause incident?!"
"And you want me to give all of us amnesia dust?!" Tooth Fairy hollered. "So we don't remember that we came from the future, or what you DO with the Escape Clause?"
"For historical integrity, yes," Jack said. "If I don't pull the Escape Clause shenanigans, Elle may never come here, and that would mess up the time tunnel. Collapse it, if I'm not mistaken."
"You do realize that doubling a timeline is the equivalent of passing through a black hole backwards?" Father Time looked around in disbelief.
"It's the only way to keep everything," Jack insisted. "Elle's family from this reality—and a cancer free father, I might add—without having to enact the other plan."
"You mean...Ellington can keep her family?" Santa was shocked. "She doesn't have to die at birth?"
"Nope." Jack shook his head. "She can have both things: a life as your Number Two elf...thought why she'd want that is beyond me; probably it has to do with Bernard...and her family."
The other members were shocked.
"That is a good plan," Easter Bunny admitted.
"Really, really good," Tooth Fairy agreed. Sandman nodded.
Jack beamed.
"Can we do it?" Santa asked Father Time.
The old man sighed. "It will be difficult...I'll have to be very careful, not to tear seams in the Continuum. But..." His eyes shone. "Yes. I think we can."
"So, we're in agreement?" Jack said happily.
Everyone turned back to him. "And what do you get out of all this, I'd like to know?" Mother Nature asked, her hands on her hips. "And why before the Escape Clause?"
Everyone gave him suspicious looks.
"It's the best time, because it doesn't affect earlier events as much as going back to, say, before the Toy Santa incident." Jack shrugged. "And believe it or not, I want another chance to be defrosted. I'm a bit tired of being...well, as Ellington would put it, a Jackhole." He grinned. "The frosty façade and prankster nature is part of my Figure...and I want a second chance to reinvent that."
"Hmm." Mother Nature looked to Santa, who was watching Jack closely. In fact, everyone was watching Santa, including Jack, who was smiling hopefully at the man in red.
"I believe him," Santa said finally. The others let out their breath.
"Yes!" Jack gave the air a little punch. "This is gonna be great, you guys!"
"Before we finish," Tooth Fairy said, with his arms crossed warily, "I'd like to make it well known that we will ALL remember what Jack has done in THIS incident. I, for one, am not letting him off that easy. And I don't want Ellington and Bernard to be too trusting of him."
"Bernard will never be trusting me, period," Jack scoffed. "Even before this he hated my guts. Talk about a cold shoulder." But his disappointment was apparent.
"So that was the catch!" Santa laughed. "Shot down! Now I feel better."
"Then we are all in agreement?" Mother Nature said. "All in favor of creating a doubled timeline, going back in time to before the Escape Clause incident, and erasing all memory of future events barring Jack's latest fiasco?"
Everyone raised their hands...although Jack lowered his slightly at her last words.
Father Time glared. "Jack..."
He raised it again.
Mother Nature smiled happily. "Then I am glad to see it." She banged her gavel on the table. "Motion carried!"
"NOW GIVE ME BACK THAT WATCH!" Father Time demanded.
Jack winked, and tossed it to him. "As you wish."
Father Time caught it, and gave Jack an angry look. "All is in order," he announced after looking it over. "Amazingly, he didn't break it."
"Good," Santa intoned.
"Next order of business," Mother Nature announced. "Getting Bernard and Ellington back here to the Pole."
"I'll take care of that." Santa pulled out a phone, and called Bernard.
It rang, and rang, and rang, and rang.
Then, it went to voicemail.
"Huh." Santa looked confused, the face palmed. "Oh yeah, he...broke his work phone." The rest of the Council gave him questioning looks.
"It's...a long story." He called the other phone.
It rang, and rag, and rang, and ra—
"Hello." Bernard sounded very, very calm.
"Hey, Bernard!"
"Oh...hi Santa." He was sort of whispering.
"You okay there Bernard? You sound pretty...quiet."
"Peaceful, even," Easter Bunny said. "Which is weird, for Bernard."
"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine." He was still being quiet.
"What HAPPENED!?" The rest of the Council yelled.
"Oh...you're in Council." Bernard chuckled. "Everything went...well, just tell Cupid that he's going to get his money back, and then some."
The room erupted into cheers and catcalls.
"YES!" Cupid flung his bag of green slips into the air.
Santa was grinning from ear-to-ear. "I'm so glad to hear that, Bernard. For both of you. So, where are you? Ellington's with you, right?"
"Yes...uh, well." An uncomfortable note crept into Bernard's voice. "We were on our way to Elle's house, but...something came up, and...I think we fell asleep."
Santa frowned. "Bernard, where are you?"
"Uhhh..." A pause. "In the backseat of a Maserati." But he still sounded calm.
Santa rose to his feet in horror. "Bernard!"
"What?"
Scott spluttered, looking around at the rest of the group.
"Oh my god..." Bernard whispered. "Santa, come on!"
"Bernard's right, Santa," Mother Nature chided.
"Yeah," Cupid agreed. "Bernard is one of the last of that rare breed who would not be doing...unseemly things in the backseat of a car. Even with a beautiful woman." He laughed. "In other words, he's a gentleman."
"Sorry, sorry." Scott ran a hand over his face. "Okay, Bernard, um...just, get back to the Pole, okay? We've got news. But I can't... I just..."
"Okay. See you soon."
"Yeah."
"Yeah, okay bye."
Bernard hung up.
Santa stared at the phone. "You know, he's been hanging up on me a lot lately."
"Well, with the way you handle personal calls, I'm not surprised," Cupid said.
The others laughed.
Scott reddened. "Well, what was I supposed to think? He was in the backseat of a car with his girlfriend! A Maserati, for tinsel's sake!"
"Yeah, well, Ellington's not his girlfriend, either," Jack said. All eyes flew to him. "What? Didn't you people read the Clause?"
"Um...I thought so..." Santa thought. "It was like, three pages long, and all legality and..."
Jack chuckled. "Don't worry, Elle doesn't know either."
"Know what?" Mother Nature asked.
Cupid groaned, then face palmed. "Jack, you...!" He looked down at the others. "Elle and Bernard aren't dating. They're engaged. It's right there in the Clause."
"Elle."
"Hmmm."
"Elle, wake up."
"Hmm...what?" Elle sighed, and buried her face in Bernard's shirt.
"Elle, it's almost midnight. We've got to go home."
"Midnight?" Elle stiffened, and opened her eyes. "Where...where are we?"
"In the back of your car," Bernard said quietly.
Elle sat up awkwardly. "Oh...we fell asleep then?"
"Mhmm."
"Oh." She looked back at Bernard, who looked so casual and relaxed and handsome that she felt a pang in her stomach at the thought of having to give the moment up.
Then she realized Bernard was staring at her too.
She tucked her hair back, nervously. "What?"
"Nothing," Bernard said absently.
"You've told me that before," Elle said with a half-smile. "And I know now that it doesn't mean 'nothing'."
Bernard smiled back at her; that adorable lop sided grin that always made her heart skip a couple of beats. "It's...it's just I never thought I'd be this...I don't know, mushy about someone. That's all."
"Me neither." Elle watched as he took her hand, and squeezed it. "I feel pretty stupid, actually. I mean, I love you, but...I feel stupid that I'm so romantically inclined, all of a sudden."
"Well, it's been a long time coming, that's for sure," Bernard agreed, sitting up. He hesitated a moment before saying, "Santa called, while you were sleeping."
"Oh?" Elle was repining her hair up. "What did he say?"
"Well, he was glad to know we figured it out," he said. "And..."
"And?"
"And that he has something he wants to tell us when we get back to the Pole. They've already gone back."
"Ah." Elle could tell he wasn't telling her everything. "Did you...tell him we got sidetracked?"
"...Yes."
"Did he have anything to say about that?"
"Uh, hmm. Nope."
Elle gave him a sideways look. "You're lying."
"Nope." Bernard shook his head stubbornly.
"Then I'm surprised that Scott didn't make any snide remarks about us being in the backseat of a car together."
Bernard's eyes widened. "Elle...what did we discuss about the mind reading!?"
"Oh please." Elle rolled her eyes. "I didn't need telepathy for that one, hon. You're simply a terrible liar."
"I see," said Bernard, giving her a look of disapproval. Then, suddenly, he remembered what they were talking about. "Um, yeah, so; about what Scott said..."
"Ugh, don't tell me." Elle made a face. "But if there is something they want to tell us, and wouldn't over the phone, maybe we'd better hurry." A note of worry had crept into her tone. "Crap, I hope we didn't take too long..."
Giving her hand a light squeeze, Bernard said, "He specifically said it was 'good news'."
"Well, then we'd really better go. No more distractions." Adopting her most serious business manner, Elle crossed her arms. "Now. How do we get back to the Pole, hmmm, Mr. Teleport-myself-into-the-car-then-into-the-backseat? I don't do long distance, myself."
"Okay, okay," Bernard laughed. He took her other hand and said, "Ready when you are."
"Okay," Elle said nervously. This was it; she was finally returning to the Pole, and she was more than a little apprehensive.
"Don't let go," Bernard whispered, looking at her intently.
"I won't," Elle promised, and she closed her eyes as Bernard pulled her closer. She buried her face into the rough fabric of his coat and held her breath.
An odd tingling sensation overcame her, and she clenched Bernard's hands more tightly. The smell and feel of the car around them faded away to nothingness, then...warmth, and a smell of cinnamon, cookies, and pine needles.
"Welcome back," said a voice, and Elle opened her eyes to find that they were standing in the middle of a circle of people.
Cheering broke out.
"Woah. Um...hi." More than a little taken aback at the excitement, Elle stood gazing wide-eyed at the strange group of people around her.
"Don't be afraid," Bernard whispered in her ear.
"Wow, Bernard. Nice get up," said an oversized rabbit in a waistcoat. Bernard rolled his eyes.
"And nice stubble. Amazing what a little hormones can do, huh buddy ?"What appeared to be a middle aged man in a dress, equipped with a small bow and quiver was hovering near the head of a man dressed like a dentist (and oddly, both men had wings.) "You guys are so adorable together, it's not even funny. I'm lucky to have gotten to be the one to orchestrate this."
"Oh, don't give yourself too much credit," said Santa. "They would have done just fine without your 'help'."
An old man with a staff, a woman in a dress that appeared to be made entirely of elements of nature, and a man in pajamas were all grinning at her. As well as...
...A man dressed all in blue. With bright, blue eyes...
"You," said Elle and Bernard at the same time. Elle felt Bernard tense.
"So you've begun finishing each other's sentences already," Jack commented. "So much progress, in so little time. Well, that's just adorable, if you ask me!"
Mother Nature frowned. "That was in bad taste, Jack."
"What is he doing here?" Bernard demanded. He slipped one of his hands from Elle's and put his arm around her waist protectively. "I wouldn't have brought her back if I'd known he was here!" He scowled angrily at Santa. "You should have told me!"
"I would have," said Santa carefully, "only Jack came up with the only idea that made any sense, and solved ALL of the problems."
"What do you mean?" Elle asked.
Santa explained.
"You mean...I don't have to give up..." Elle was speechless.
"How can we be sure this will work?" asked Bernard, eying Jack warily.
"We can't," said Father Time. "There is a possibility that the tunnels will collapse when I try to merge them."
"But it's a risk we're willing to take," Mother Nature said, and the rest of the Council muttered in agreement. "The Clause must be fulfilled, and we all want this to work as smoothly as possible. And no one should have to give up their family, unnecessarily, " she said, giving Elle a warm look,
In his corner, Jack bowed his head. "Especially when they haven't done anything to deserve it."
Elle looked over at Jack, and thought of her friend. Jacquie hadn't ever mentioned Jack before she had recovered her memories, and though she knew it was because of what he'd done to her and Bernard, she knew that somehow Jack's words were related to his own family. She thought of the look on Winter's face when she'd spoken of Jack's behavior, and knew in her gut that something was broken there.
And she had a feeling it was Jack's fault.
So he wanted a second chance at being defrosted. That was a surprise, yes; but it was a chance that Elle wanted him to have. At least, for Jacquie's sake, if not his.
"Let's do it," Elle said.
Bernard appeared to be sorting things out. "Right. More time travel, having to relive the Escape Clause incident...a tradeoff. I get it." He gave Elle a faraway look, then snapped his head up. "Well? What are we waiting for?"
"Midnight," said Father Time, as the others let out their breath. "That's when I can merge the tunnels. We have..." he checked the pocket watch, "thirty three minutes, fourteen seconds left in this reality."
"Oh dear," Scott said. "I'd...better tell Carol."
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Elle and Bernard were waiting on Santa's balcony, overlooking Elfsburg. Looking out at all of the lights, Elle wondered what would happen by going back in time. What adventures that hadn't been in the movies was she about to find herself in? What would it be like during the events of the third movie?
"Yes," Elle said. "I have to try...and not just for me, or my family. Jacquie needs this too...somehow. I just have got this feeling that my going back in time is going to affect things. And I can only hope it's for the better."
"How could it not affect things?" Bernard sighed. "I just hope that we don't end up going on vacation."
"What do you mean?" Elle was confused.
"Just before the Escape Clause incident, Santa made me take a vacation...so that Curtis could get some experience as Head Elf—mainly so he'd stop bugging me about how much he wanted to be in charge—and I could have a chance to 'relax'." Bernard scoffed at his air quotes.
Elle laughed too. "As if. I'd never even seen you relaxed until...well, until about an hour ago."
"True." Bernard thought about this. "I'm not really the 'relaxed' type."
" 'High-strung' is the correct term, I believe," Elle said, with a wry look.
Bernard nudged her. "Watch it," he said. "You're treading a fine line there, missy."
"And what happens if I fall off the edge?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Need I demonstrate?"
A few minutes later, Curtis walked in. Well, more like busted in. He was so excited that Bernard and Elle were back—mainly, because he was tired of being Head Elf, even for a short amount of time, and in a temporary position—that he could hardly contain himself.
"HI GUYS! YOU'RE OKAY! I WAS SO WORRIED! I..." Then he reached the balcony, and stopped. "Woah."
Bernard saw him out of the corner of his eye, and scowled, breaking off the kiss. "Curtis! Seriously, when did knocking go out of style?!"
"Glad to see you too," Curtis mumbled dejectedly.
Elle gave Bernard a reproachful look. "Hiya, Curtis. Ignore him; he's just easily put out. But you knew that. How've you been?"
Curtis looked up, surprised. "Oh! Uh, hiya, Ellington. Umm, pretty bad, actually. I'm glad you guys made it back okay, because there is no way we're going to make quota...at least, not in this reality."
Elle laughed. "I see. I'm pretty eager to get out of here, too. This whole 'time crunch' is really weighing on my mind."
"I bet," said Curtis, then shot Bernard a wary glance.
Bernard relented, and smiled a sideways smile at his old friend. "It's good to be back, Curtis."
Curtis grinned. "Good." He readjusted the strap on his shoulder. "So, you guys. What's it like being engaged?"
Elle reddened. "Excuse me?" she said, her voice oddly high.
Bernard paled. Oh. Crap. He'd forgotten to tell her about that bit.
"Yeah. The Clause states that the maiden chosen by the Magic will have been betrothed to Bernard from birth." Curtis looked confused. "Didn't Bernard tell you that?"
"NO." Elle didn't know what to think. Engaged? HER?! She was only seventeen! And betrothed from BIRTH?! This wasn't the Middle Ages! Although...the Clause was written in antiquated times. That made sense...sort of.
Still.
Curtis cocked his head. "Huh. Then where did you get the engagement ring?"
"WHAT engagement ri..." Elle raised her left hand, and sure enough, there was a—
"I'm...I uh..." Elle fished for words, but found none. The ornate circlet on her ring finger had startled her speechless. She turned to Bernard, shocked. "Why...you didn't..."
"I..." Bernard wasn't exactly gushing, either. "I had forgotten—I mean, with all of the...and trying to win you back, and...I just..."
"I hate to interrupt this...awkwardness," Curtis cut in, "but Mother Nature sent me to bring you guys down to the Workshop. Apparently, the 'signal' Father Time needs to pick up on is strongest there."
"Okay, we'll be right down," said Bernard distractedly. The look on Elle's face was making his heart beat erratically. "Elle, don't be mad."
"Bernard! How could I..." Elle trailed off, waiting for Curtis to leave.
"GO!" Bernard demanded, and Curtis flinched.
"Fine, fine," he muttered, hurrying from the balcony. "Crabby old coot."
"I HEARD THAT!" The door slammed.
There was a long pause, during which Elle stared at the floor.
"I didn't mean not to tell you," Bernard said carefully. He didn't want to upset her any more than he already had. "But I couldn't figure out how to break it to you. I mean, how do you tell someone that they've been betrothed to you from birth?"
Then ,she finally spoke up. "Engaged?" She said softly.
"Yeah," said Bernard, watching her carefully.
"Well that's pretty convenient. "
"How do you mean?" Bernard frowned.
Elle didn't feel like explaining all of the fan girls who were drooling over him in the Real World, and how they would have given their two front teeth to be in her position just then. "Nothing."
"Do we really need to talk about 'nothing' again?"
Elle sighed. "Bernard." Then, a thought hit her, hard in the gut. She didn't mind being engaged to him so soon. They had plenty of time...heck, an endless amount of time to decide when to get married. It could be a hundred years from now, and it wouldn't matter. After all, they'd apparently been betrothed since she was born. As long as they made it back in time safely.
"I just mean that I'm...fine with it."
Bernard pulled her close again. "Do you really mean it?" He asked, looking all cute and school-boyish that Elle would have laughed...if she hadn't been so upset all of a sudden.
"Yes. I—" Her throat caught, and she tried to stuff back her tears. She tensed as if expecting her emotions to hit her hard...literally.
"Elle?" Bernard set his forehead against hers. "Elle, what is it."
"What if it fails," Elle whispered throatily. "What if we just...don't show up in the new timeline? What if there we didn't work out somehow? Or we haven't figured out that we love each other? Time changes everything, Bernard; you know that. What if we—" She started crying. "What if..."
"Shhh," Bernard soothed, and kissed her forehead. "We'll be fine."
"And why am I crying so much lately, dammit!" said Elle, stomping one foot in frustration.
Bernard chuckled.
"It's not funny," Elle said, crying again, and tucked her face into his neck. "I...know I said I wanted to do this, and I do; but I can't...I can't handle losing you. I feel like I barely have you even now, and this is all going to go away and you will be like you used to be, and I'm just going to be nobody to you. I don't want to be nobody to you."
With a sigh, Bernard thought about what Elle was saying. "We're going to make it," he said finally, and firmly. "We just are. Can't you feel it?" He gently kissed the tip of one of her pointed ears. "Can't you feel it? Try."
Elle knew he was right. She was feeling more emotion then she had let herself in a long time, and letting her feelings for Bernard out had dredged p a lot of old worries and created a lot of new ones to go along with those.
Her gut knew that it would work out. Bernard was right.
But still...she had to ask the question that was tearing at her.
"But what if we don't?" She murmured.
Bernard held her tightly. "You have to believe, Elle. I can't give you any proof. You've got to believe."
"Okay," said Elle softly. Then she took a deep breath, and pulled back, giving a tight nod. "Okay. Let's go. Let's do this."
Bernard, for his part, was in shock that Elle was okay with being engaged on such short notice. In fact, NO notice would have been closer to the truth. But he wasn't about to tempt his luck. All in one day, he'd won the heart of the girl he loved, decided to relive some of the crappiest months of his life for her sake, and became engaged.
Well, became wasn't really accurate either; since they'd technically been engaged for upwards of seventeen years.
But you know. Details.
They went down to the Workshop. Oddly, the floor had been cleared; no elves remained bustling about. Only the Council stood in the very center, while Father Time paced around like a cell phone user looking for more bars.
"Finally!" Jack called, when he saw them approaching. "We were getting worried you'd changed your mind!"
"Quiet, you," Bernard growled, making it very clear that he didn't trust Jack AT ALL, regardless of his 'timely' discovery. He was already holding Elle's hand but he grabbed it a little tighter when he saw the look on Jack's face. It was reserved, but regretful. He was still upset that Elle hadn't ended up with him, Bernard realized, and this only made him more wary of the frosty sprite.
"Good, good," Mother Nature said. "We're all here then." She cleared her throat, and said more loudly. "Now. None of the elves will remember the time jump, as they have not been told. They may feel a slight sense of déjà vu during the first few days, but it will wear off. Only we will remember what has transpired—we few in this group. Tooth Fairy, would you care to tell us how you will be using the amnesia dust?"
Tooth Fairy brought out a largish silver bag. "This," he said, gesturing to the bag like a game show hostess displaying a fabulous prize, "is amnesia dust. A lot of it, actually; more than I will probably need. I'm going to be going around in future— or, well, the past; I'm not really sure how that works—and using what we don't finish to erase any lingering memories from the elf population. Okay?"
The group murmured their agreements.
"Now, as I said before, everybody—elves included—will remember what they knew about Jack's latest shenanigans. It will merge into a Past event, and no one will be the wiser that it once happened in the Future. For us, there shouldn't be any side effects; you know, déjà vu, confusion, flashbacks. But if you do get any of those symptoms, please let me know, as I have a remedy. Okay, that's all."
Santa looked up at the electric banner on the wall. "11:58!" he cried, and everyone stiffened.
"That's my job," Father Time grumbled, stumping back over to the group. "Places! Places, everybody! Stroke of twelve and we're off!" He frumped up the stairs of the Naughty and Nice Center. "I've never done this procedure before, but I've been told a flash of bright light is a good sign when travelling."
"Well, we knew he'd never done this before," Easter Bunny muttered, and the group rumbled their agreements. "Let's hope all goes well."
"Hope for bright light!" Tooth Fairy agreed.
"See you on the other side," Santa said, grinning at Elle and Bernard
"Here's to hoping," Elle said, a bit faintly.
The group set about rearranging themselves. For a moment Elle was worried about being separated from Bernard; but then he wrapped an arm around her waist securely and whispered in her ear, "I've got you."
"How do you always know when I'm having an internal freak out?" Elle muttered.
Bernard shrugged lightly. "Newfound skill."
Father Time straightened. "Okay people! Countdown begins...NOW! Ten! Nine! Eight!...
Clinging to Bernard's coat, Elle whispered, "Don't let go."
"I won't," Bernard said solemnly, and buried his face in her curls. "I promise."
"Five! Four! Three!..."
"I love you," Elle said.
But Bernard never got to reply.
"One!"
An electric buzzing burned through Elle's body, like a thousand sparks. It felt like teleporting, only much more powerful...and dangerous.
With a cry, Elle felt Bernard's coat slip from her hands.
And then, everything went black.
ULTIMATE CLIFFY! BWAHAHAHAHAHA
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT!?
THE STORY ISN'T OVER YET, MY DEAR READERS (:
Obviously, Mirrors belongs to JT, so I won't bother saying I wrote that :(
And since I probably should (Insert Usual Disclaimers here), I just did.
Also: SafyreSky is alive; I REPEAT SAFYRESKY IS ALIVE! I have received a pm reply. You can all go back to breathing normally.
LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT PLEASE! RANTS ABOUT CLIFFYS, RAVES ABOUT...WELL, ANYTHING, I'M WIDE OPEN!
And a very Happy Valentine's Day to you all!
-Ana