Chapter 3 - Heart & Snowflake

Anna and the boy named Jack rode the rickety wagon down the road. The cart stopped to pick up some other boys and girls until it was nearly full, the boys acting rowdy and rambunctious on the back and the girls sitting demurely on the piles of hay. Anna and Jack still sat together conversing quietly among the ruckus.

"Blue flowers?" Jack asked, fingering Anna's flower crown on her head. "I've never seen them blue before."

"They're blue roses," Anna explained. "I watered the white rose bush with blue food dye for the cookies and cakes, and the roses came out blue."

"Is that so? Looks like a freeze came through to me." He tugged a lock of Anna's hair mischievously, a whitened highlight in her hair. "Whoever heard of blue flowers," he added under his breath.

A shadow swirled out of nowhere in Jack's line of vision as they crossed a crossroads. He half-heard a dark voice say, "A freeze came through, or a frost? Can't say your own name, Jack."

He looked back at Anna, who was noticing his eyes were an icy blue the same as the dyed flowers. "Say," he said playfully, interrupting her gaze. "You guessed my first name already-"

"Yes, Jack, I remember." She smiled.

"But if you can guess my last name too, then I'll give you a surprise."

"A half-eaten apple again?"

"Something better than that," he said lowly as if making a solemn promise, a smile tugging one side of his mouth as he peered out with wintery ices from beneath a tousled mess of brown hair.

"It's a deal," Anna agreed. "You have to give me clues though."

"I will when I see them," he said, looking away. The festival was appearing at the end of the road, castle-like tents rising up out of empty fields of grass, lanterns hanging on strings between trees, the lights waiting to be lit at sundown.

When the wagon came to a halt, Jack put his hands to Anna's waist to lift her down out of the cart, dropping her on her feet in front of him, her hands firmly grasped on his shoulders. He pulled some hay out of her loose hair, the color nearly the same. Jack thanked the wagon driver as Anna patted the horse.

Anna began to walk the lanes between trees and tents, Jack stepping into pursuit behind her. Everywhere were decorations of crops, with red, yellow, and green apples, round pumpkins and piles of hay to sit on.

"I could use a drink," was the first thing Anna said as her throat was parched from the long walk and wagon ride. Jack quickly handed her an iced lemonade with two straws. As she slurped, Jack tapped an ice cube with his finger.

"What? Is that a clue?" she asked. "Ice? Jack Ice?"

The boy shook his head no before slurping the bottom half of the lemonade. He took an ice cube and chucked it at a pumpkin. The girl didn't quite understand but said, "Good aim."

The two bought some pastries to eat then, Jack with a cheese pastry and Anna with a raspberry filling pastry, and the two collapsed onto a large pile of hay to rest for a while.

"What do you think?" Anna asked the boy. "Are you having fun yet?"

"Hardly," Jack said, taking a glance at the empty dance floor under the largest tent.

Suddenly there was a sound of a horn blowing and Queen Elsa entered the festival tent with her arms spread wide. "Welcome to the Arendelle Harvest Festival!" she called out welcomingly and almost light-heartedly. She was answered with clapping and cheers. "To begin with the festivities, let the pumpkin carving contest begin!"

"Did you hear that? Pumpkin carving contest," Anna said thoughtfully, but Jack was already on his feet.

"Hey, come back!" Anna followed him to the tent where a table of pumpkins was lay out. Jack selected a large bright orange pumpkin and Anna quickly took a yellow-orange pumpkin next to him. They both took up a tool and began to carve away. Anna worked on the pumpkin thoughtfully, sawing off the top, scooping out the seeds with a spoon, and then imagining the design in her head as she took the tool to the front of the pumpkin. She snuck a glance over at Jack to see him with brow furrowed carving away.

At the end the pumpkins were turned around to display the carvings. Anna had carved a large heart with an intricate design of swirling lines and smaller hearts around it. She glanced over at Jack's and was surprised to see a perfectly symmetrical six-pointed snowflake carved onto his pumpkin. Anna lit two candles with matches and handed one to Jack. He followed her example of putting the candle into the pumpkin and setting the lid back on top of it. The heart and the snowflake glowed with light.

Queen Elsa judged the pumpkins and decided the boy's snowflake was best, in all its cold beauty. Jack threw his arms up in the air and whooped, "Yes!" He had won the competition. He won a bag of gold as his prize.

He looked over to Anna beside him. "Hey!" he said. He tapped his pumpkin with his finger to give another clue.

"Pumpkin? Jack Pumpkin?" She crossed her arms and tilted her hips to one side. "Jack O. Lantern?"

He shook his head no as he chuckled. She looked closer at the design. "Jack Snow?"

He blew a raspberry with his lips, frustrated but not yet crestfallen. He pocketed the bag of gold as his reward, then took Anna by one hand and headed on to the next event in the festival. "I think I'm finally having some fun," he said cheerily.

A dark figure swirled behind a tent post, causing the light in a howling-faced jack-o-lantern to flicker and go out. "Not yet, Jack," said Pitch with his hands steepled together. "Not quite yet."

As they walked together Jack threw an arm around Anna, pulling her closer to his side.

"Is this a clue?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Cold? Jack Cold?"

He shook his head no. She pulled away from his grasp, laughing, and ran along to the next event.