Ch. 4 - The Evening Of The Year

The next event was the apple bobbing contest. Jack and Anna and a few other boys and girls circled around a large bucket, seated on their knees with hands behind their backs and looking over the water. Red, yellow, and green apples floated in the water like different colored planets orbiting in the solar system. The judge was a hooded mysterious figure who Jack almost suspected was someone familiar to him, but all he could do was to fairly beat the game against Pitch. He could just barely remember their deal, stuck in the back of his mind.

"Ready? Set? Bob for apples!" the judge said.

Jack noticed that Anna nearly dived headfirst into the bucket, she was so eager to get the red apple in her mouth. Jack however steadfastly tried for the green apple, though it kept slipping away from him. Jack tried to take a bite out of the apple and then sat up with the fruit firmly grasped with his teeth. He threw up one hand in triumph while grabbing the apple with his other and whooping. Anna tried harder only for a lock of her hair, loose out of its usual braids, to fall into the water, and she stopped and sighed. Jack went to help his new friend Anna and stood behind her holding her hair back while she finally bit the apple and came up with it, wet hair streaming around her face.

Jack and Anna stood eating the rest of their green and red apples as they were also awarded two cupcakes for participation.

Jack stuck a finger in the cupcake frosting in front of Anna, looking at her questioningly.

"What is it?" she said, still taking clues for guessing his last name. "Oh, is it . . . Jack Baker?"

The boy shook his head no, then popped the icing into his mouth.

The final event was the dance. The new young queen of Arendelle came out to announce the opening. "I hope everyone here has enjoyed the festival, ending now with the dance," Elsa said, arms aloft. "And now I would like the princess of Arendelle to start the dance for us!"

Jack stood next to Anna in the line-up of festival goers circling the dirt dance floor underneath the biggest tent. The boy breathed a sigh of relief thinking that he would have enough time to ask Anna to dance, but the girl looked at him quickly in anticipation.

"The princess and her escort for the night should be starting the dance," he explained to her in a low voice.

"That's me, though," Anna said hurriedly. "I'm the princess."

"Princess Anna?" the boy asked confusedly. Apparently he wasn't the only one keeping a secret about his identity tonight. He quickly recovered. "That's fine. Would you give me the honor of the first dance?" he blurted out quickly, only guessing at the right etiquette for the situation. He held out a hand to her. Anna took his hand, noticing his touch was cold. Jack nearly flinched back again as Anna's touch felt fiery hot. She grasped his hand though, but hesitated before pulling him out to dance, his touch seeming to cool her down. Jack waited a moment too soon before the girl was dragging him by the hand out to the dirt dance floor.

Anna knew the song as it was an old one called "Kalenda Maya." Jack acted as if he'd never heard it before. Both however made up dance steps on the spot. They interlaced their fingers together, stepping back, stepping forward again nearly into an embrace. Jack twirled her around. Finally they grasped hands and whirled around in a circle, like meteors orbiting, Anna's loose hair flying behind her. The lights at the now night-darkened festival looked like stars floating around them. Soon the other partners joined them in a free-spirited dance around the dirt floor.

"This song is for May Day," Anna observed aloud, "but I like it anyways."

"I prefer the second half of the year," Jack admitted as they danced, "autumn and winter, I mean."

"The evening of the year," Anna said dreamily.

"This festival could quite literally be the evening of the entire year," Jack laughed.

Anna bent over laughing. "That's true if I ever heard it."

After the dance they walked about the festival grounds hand-in-hand until they reached a church, closed and locked for the night. As they walked past Jack pulled Anna up to a window. He gave her a knowing look that meant he was giving her a hint at their guessing game again. He leaned up and breathed on the window, as if frosting it, but with hot breath condensing on the window pane. Then he reached up a finger and drew a simple six-pointed snowflake. It left its mark there. Anna leaned in and breathed on the window as well, then traced a heart with her finger.

"What do you think?" Jack asked.

"Is it ... Jack Frost?" she said nearly laughing.

The boy jumped up and down excitedly. "Yes, it is! You guessed my name! Jack Frost is my name!"

Pitch Black stepped out from behind the corner of the darkened church, stomping his foot on the ground in frustration. "You've won this time, Frost, thanks to your little friend. But I'll always be there . . . especially around this time of the year. . . What was it, the evening of the year? Have fun frosting rotten pumpkins afterward, Jack! You've won the game! You're free!" He waved his cape around him and disappeared in a purple mist.

"I'm free! Free to do as I wish!" Jack said aloud to himself. Anna had noticed the caped figure and barely heard his words, not really understanding, but looked back at Jack.

"Yes, you are," she agreed. "But what is it you want to do?"

Jack leaned in quickly and kissed Anna. She gasped aloud at the stolen kiss.

They stood together underneath the dark church, festival lights glowing and music still playing in the distance, slowly now, as if the last song of the evening.

"What now? I always get sad when the festival is over," she said with a slight pout.

"Now, I'll take you home from here," the boy said, taking her hand in his.

THE END