*quietly slides in chapter she forgot to post a month ago* Ahem, enjoy.

Elsa sat in a clearing high up on a rocky ledge, enjoying a brief respite of winter sunlight. It was early February, and snow lay thick on the ground, so she sat on an old quilt to keep dry. Bruni lay on a rock not far from her, belly turned to the sun and tongue lolling to one side. The sight made her lips quirk up in a small smile before her eyes returned to the book in her lap. To her delight, her second present from Jack, not opened until Christmas morning, had been several new books.

The first of which she'd greedily read through in only a day. At one time, she'd had access to the palace library, and Anna had often gifted her books. She'd brought some books to her home in the forest as her many young years in isolation had made her an avid reader, but the last time she could recall reading a new book was sometime in the 1920s. Many of her old books were quite well-loved and worn now.

She'd spent the last several days wondering what she could do to thank Jack and fretted as she realized that she did not know what he would like. He seemed to have no personal belongings, other than his staff and his beloved hoodie. She still wondered if she might talk him into at least allowing her to make him a new pair of pants at some point, but talking someone into a gift didn't seem ideal to her. She had no way to make him any food and no idea when he'd be back.

From what he'd told her he didn't really have a home to keep anything she might give him. What must it be like, she wondered, not having anywhere to call your own? The freedom he had sounded at once both exciting and lonely. On long nights, after hunting nightmares or spreading joy to children all over the world, where did he rest? What was it like, to belong to not any one place but to the world and the wind?

Her fingers lingered on the edge of the page, she'd been staring off into the distance for some time, her book partially forgotten. The ledge offered a great view of the forest, and there far, far in the distance loomed the North Mountain. On a good clear day, she could almost make out the glint of ice on its eternally frozen peaks.

Her castle was on the south face of the mountainside.

Elsa went to turn a page and paused, an idea forming, she bit her lip considering before a small smile graced her lips. Yes, he just might like that. As she returned to her book her smile remained.

Not thirty minutes later her reading was interrupted by the wind, Gale made their way in and a moment later Jack tumbled down, landing hard on his back in the snow. Elsa winced. The sudden loud sound startled Bruni. With a small burst of flame and a chirp, he jumped off the rock and scurried into the snow. Setting her book down Elsa rushed over to Jack as he wheezed pitifully, the air having been knocked from his lungs by the hard landing.

"You have got–" he coughed, "to get Gale to stop doing that." He remained on his back in the snow for a moment, bright blue eyes squinting up at her into the sunlight.

She tried, she did, but Elsa could not keep the laughter from bubbling out of her. His scrunched nose and childlike frown were just too much.

Jack scowled from his place in the snow, "Not helping Elsa."

Elsa wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, "I'm sorry Jack, it was just the face you made just now…" She fell back into laughter, placing a hand on her stomach, trying to rein herself in. She took a deep breath, ensuring her expression was suitably contrite, "Are you alright?"

Jack sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his head, "Yea, mostly. I had dropped by your house and you weren't there so I had asked Gale to bring me to you. Didn't realize they were gonna toss me again."

Gale whirled around him gently, as if in apology.

"I think they were just a bit too excited to see you." Elsa offered him a hand up that he gratefully took.

As he dusted the snow from his clothes and hair she thought he looked more rested than he had the last time she'd seen him. He looked up at her and smiled and Elsa admired his sharp cheekbones and small nose. She found it endearing when he smiled as his ears rose just a fraction. Heat filled her cheeks when he returned her gaze with an even bigger grin.

She was so happy to have made a new friend, and grateful for his kindness and gifts. He was someone that understood what it was like to be a spirit but also once human. The overwhelming urge to embrace him filled her as he flicked a stray clump of snow from his sleeve. Before she could change her mind she reached out and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

Jack was startled for a moment before happily returning the gesture. "I'm fine really, despite Gale's best attempts to give me a concussion."

Elsa laughed into the fabric of his hoodie, "I'm glad, but Jack, thank you. For my gifts, and for coming to see me. I know you have a lot of duties to look after and I love my books."

Jack absently rubbed the back of his head, making his already unkempt hair even wilder, "Oh, you like them? Great, I wasn't sure what kind you would like, so I got a variety." Unknown to most, including the other Guardians save maybe North, Jack also liked to read. He'd spent many of his most lonesome years in libraries and anywhere else he could find interesting things to read. Despite all rumors to the contrary he didn't spend the entirety of the prior 300 years playing only pranks and starting snowball fights.

Books, theater, movies, anything to keep the empty lonely ache in this chest away, if only for a time. Some days it'd been the only thing that kept him sane, though he didn't have much time for books lately. He wondered in passing if Elsa had ever seen a movie.

"They're wonderful Jack, thank you," she paused stepping back from him. "Will today be a short visit, or do you have some time?"

Jack grinned, "I have some time. What did you have in mind?"

Elsa smiled at him, looking very pleased.

Within a few minutes, they were heading to the North Mountain, with Elsa reluctantly agreeing to let him fly them both to shorten the trip. She wanted to reach the mountaintop before the sun began to set.

She was mum when Jack asked about what they were going to go see, only smiling and saying that it would be worth the trip. It was a quick flight, though being so high up still made Elsa nervous. She made sure to direct Jack to land below the peak, she didn't want them flying too close and spoiling the surprise. Thankfully the clouds were thick and low, obscuring most of the summit.

Standing in the deep snow it felt strange to be back, it'd been more years than she could count since she'd last come up the mountain. Jack landed beside her and squinted up at the long ridge line ahead.

"So, what are we looking for exactly?" He shielded his eyes with his hand, it seemed a pretty ordinary mountaintop to him.

"You'll know when we see it." She turned back to him, "Close your eyes."

Jack's eyebrows raised.

"It's a surprise." She held out her hand.

"Alright, alright, don't lead me off any cliffs though." Jack placed his hand in hers.

"Jack I would never–"

"Elsa, joking, besides I can fly, remember?"

"Right."

Jack laughed and closed his eyes, allowing Elsa to lead him forward.

They quickly scaled the ridge and came to a ravine, Elsa swept her hand to move aside the deep snow that covered the start of her ice bridge that spanned the gap. Stopping at the foot of the bridge she looked up and then back at Jack, who stood with his eyes still closed. After stopping to make sure he wasn't peaking she waved her hand again, parting clouds and snow to the side.

A great deal of snow and ice rumbled to the side and slid off down the mountain with a low and distant roar.

"Elsa?" Jack asked brows furrowed.

Slightly nervous Elsa smoothed the front of her dress and cleared her throat, "Alright, you can open your eyes now."

Jack did as told and looked up.

Elsa's ice palace loomed above them, towering nearly as tall as the mountain peak. Its smooth walls reflected the late-day sun making the mountain around it shimmer with glittering light.

She smiled with a hint of pride at the awestruck look on Jack's face.

"Woah…Elsa, you made this?" Jack felt that was a redundant question but couldn't help but ask. Of course, she made it.

Elsa humored him, "Yes, well over a century ago, while I was still mortal." She looked up, craning her head to see the topmost spire, "It was the first time I had begun to embrace my magic and well, let it go."

"And you made this?" Jack whistled, "Your ability to build out of ice is pretty staggering Elsa. I've never seen its equal."

Elsa's brows furrowed as they walked up the bridge, "You mean you can't build out of ice?"

"Not like this, no. The control I have over ice isn't this… precise. I can create massive storms, and hail, freeze large bodies of water, make snowmen and the best snowballs in the world," here he shot her a challenging smirk, "but I can't build like this. I've never actually tried anything to this extent. Snow forts and igloos are about as ambitious as I've ever been."

Elsa examined her castle again, with a keener gaze, "I'd never built anything to this extent before this, except maybe doll houses for my sister as a child." A smile pulled at her lips but didn't quite reach her eyes, her voice was soft, "But between that time and making this I never used my powers."

"Never?" Jack echoed, wondering at the change of tone in her voice. She rarely spoke about her childhood and after finding out about her memory box he couldn't blame her.

Elsa looked down, rubbing her hand along her forearm, "No, it was too dangerous. I wasn't able to control them." She took a deep breath. "Let's go up shall we?"

Jack wanted to ask more but held back his questions. They went up the stairs to a set of large doors, he admired the fine detail on the railings, the ice was perfect, sharp, and clear as a brand-new morning. With a gentle shove, the great doors swung inwards, hardly making a sound.

The ceiling was high above their heads and a twinkling ice chandelier hung sparkling in the entryway. Jack flew up and around it, admiring the intricate geometric shapes, looking down he noticed the floor, perfectly smooth, had embedded within it the pattern of a great snowflake.

Truly a palace fit for a queen.

He caught up with Elsa as she reached the top of the set of grand double stairs, she motioned for him to follow her and they arrived at the next floor where another set of doors waited. Moving with purpose towards them and with a dramatic fling she opened the doors to a balcony that showed the sunset in all its glory.

Jack immediately leaped up and alighted on the railing, looking down the mountain side he could see her home village far in the distance, a tiny set of glowing lights amid the sinking sun. Elsa walked up and stood beside him. "I can see why you choose this spot for a castle, perfect view for a queen." He looked over at her and noticed the small pinch of a frown between her brows. "Something wrong?"

Elsa shook her head, "No, I just wasn't thinking about the view when I made this castle." Her frown deepened, "At that moment I was more relieved to be as far away from everyone as I could be, at the time I had abandoned my throne."

With a sigh she lifted the edge of her skirt and hopped over the railing to sit beside him, both of them sitting with their legs dangling over into the empty air. She said nothing for a long while, staring at her old home in the soft light.

Jack waited quietly, fidgeting with his staff.

"As a child, I nearly killed my sister." Elsa plunged right in, "She loved my magic, and one night as we were playing she was jumping from one snow pile to another faster than I could keep up with her. I accidentally struck her in the head with my magic." She looked down at her hands, rubbing them together. "Not knowing what to do, my parents took us both to the trolls outside the kingdom.

"Trolls?" Jack found it odd that they went to trolls, they weren't usually friendly to humans.

"Yes, the troll elder had some magic himself and agreed to help. He was able to remove the magic from my sister's head, but in doing so he removed all of her memories of my magic. Her hair remained white in the place I had struck her. The troll warned my parents that there was great beauty in my power, but also great danger." Elsa held up her hand and set a string of delicate glowing snowflakes aloft. "He told me fear would be my enemy."

Jack's eyes widened and he sat up straight.

"From that day onward, my parents separated us, hoping I would learn to control my powers. In my terror, I wouldn't leave my room. For years I hardly saw my sister. I was so scared I would hurt someone, so I wore gloves and hid my powers from Anna." Elsa gripped the railing tightly, "My parents spent all that time trying to learn more about my powers, why I had them, anything to help me control them. Anna and I did not find out until years later that the voyage our parents had perished on was a trip to try and find the origin of my powers."

It took everything in Jack to bite his tongue at the isolation Elsa's parents had kept her in, but he was afraid if he interrupted her she might stop speaking.

Elsa took a steadying breath and her story kept spilling out, "When they did not return, I, as heir to the throne, began to prepare to take on my role as Queen. I was terrified. How would I rule a kingdom when I couldn't be near anyone?"

She looked up suddenly when she felt Jack's hand slip over hers. His calloused fingers squeezed hers, it was only then she realized a few tears had slipped through and dampened her cheeks.

"On the eve of my coronation, everything went horribly wrong. My sister was swept off her feet by a foreign prince and asked my permission to marry him that night. She said it was true love."

Jack snorted, he appreciated the idea, but he was pretty sure love took a lot more time and effort than that.

"We fought, she took one of my gloves and my emotions got the best of me. I revealed my powers to everyone." Elsa took a trembling breath, "I saw all their terrified faces, among whispers of sorcery and witchcraft, I did the only thing I could think of, I ran."

Briefly Jack recalled the faint memory of his mother telling him of the witch hunts that had occurred during his grandfather's time and shuttered.

Elsa looked up and back towards Arendelle. "In my haste, I froze the fjord solid, in the middle of summer." Looking back at Jack she gave him a tiny smile, "I unknowingly plunged the whole kingdom into winter at the height of summer."

Jack smirked back, thinking of how Bunny complained about blizzards on Easter. He'd have a fit if Jack did something like that anywhere near Easter. "So you fled up here and built this castle?"

Elsa nodded, "I thought if I was alone at least I could be free." She looked back at the castle, "It was that feeling, the relief of freedom, to finally be myself, that fueled the creation of this castle." Even all these years later thinking of that moment still made her magic sing. She held up her hand and let a burst of ice forth into the empty air in front of them, it swirled on the wind, glimmering in the failing light.

Jack raised his free hand and created a snowball tossing it up to join her magic, it burst into glittering snow that fell back down like sparkling rain.

"My sister eventually came looking for me and I realized I couldn't hide, but I also still couldn't control my powers…and then I accidentally struck her again, this time in the heart.

I was forced back to Arendelle by the foreign Prince, he told me Anna's heart had frozen, that she'd died and I'd killed her."

All around them, the wind grew still, and snow fell now by gravity alone, barely falling at all in a slow-motion dance. Briefly, it felt like time stood still. Jack squeezed her hand a bit tighter.

"When the Prince told me that, nothing else mattered anymore, I had killed the only person left in the world who loved me. I didn't care what happened to me after that. The Prince had lied, Anna wasn't dead, but close to it. He'd been after the throne the entire time and was going to use Anna's death as a pretense to have me executed and to remove the eternal winter I had made."

Elsa stared down below them, the wind had returned, but it did not rage as before, returning to blow the snow in gentle swirls.

"I didn't even notice as he drew his sword, but that was when I heard Anna call out to me." The memory remained fresh in her mind, nearly 200 years later, Elsa did not think it was something she could ever forget, no matter how long she lived. "My sister, on the brink of her heart freezing over, threw herself in front of the blade. At that moment she used the last of her strength to stop the sword even as my magic froze her solid."

Elsa's free hand trembled and Jack reached up to bring it down and hold it together with her other hand. It only occurred to Elsa now that she'd never told this story herself to anyone. "My worst fear had come true, I'd killed my sister with my powers." Her voice broke but she continued, "As suddenly as she was frozen she began to thaw, I was overjoyed, but didn't understand how. That was when they told me what the trolls had told them, 'Only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart.'

Elsa released one of her hands from Jack's and wove magic into the air, clearing the sky of the snow and clouds once more revealing the evening's first stars. "All that time, it was my love for my family and my people, that was how to control my powers. It was not other people's fear but my own that ended up being my worst enemy."

She looked down her their joined hands as Jack's thumb slid over her knuckles, "I sometimes wonder if my parents would not have separated us for so long that I might have learned that from Anna sooner. I did not dwell on it much when Anna was alive, but after all this time alone in the forest, I've thought about it perhaps too much. There was so much I wish I could have asked my parents in the end, but I am eternally grateful to Anna, her love saved me when nothing else could."

There were so many thoughts and words bubbling up in Jack's mind, he was unsure which ones if any to voice, so he did the only thing he could think of and reached forward to wrap his arms around her. With his lips in her soft hair, he spoke quietly, "I think your parents loved you very much, but they didn't believe in you. At least, not in the way your sister did."

Elsa stiffened at his words, but he continued, "They were afraid and in the end they let the fear rule over them more than they should have. Fear will be your enemy, right? Maybe the reason Anna was able to save you when they couldn't was that to her you were more important than any fear she had."

"Anna was always the bravest of us, even as children." Elsa sniffled and let her shoulders relax, "I asked her once how she was able to go on when she thought all had been lost, 'I was always afraid,' she said, 'but I knew what I had to do was more important than my fear.'"

Jack pulled away from her and rested his hands on her shoulders, "Sounds like she was quite a wise Queen."

Elsa dried her eyes, "The very best." Rubbing her cheeks with her sleeve, she forced a smile, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to talk about my past so much, I had wanted to show you the castle as a thank you. I didn't think coming back here would affect me so."

Jack shook his head, "Don't worry about it. I enjoyed coming here with you to see the castle." He released her shoulders watching as she dried her eyes. He felt privileged she'd even shared any of her past with him, he now understood, if only in a small way, why her tooth box had been altered to become one of Toothlina's special cases. He doubted Toothina would even know Elsa was still alive and now a spirit. Did Toothina do anything different with the teeth of humans who became spirits or immortal? His box hadn't been treated any differently, Toothina had no idea he'd even lost his memory at that point.

He'd ask Toothina about it another time, right now he was going to flick a snowflake onto Elsa's nose to see if she'd smile. He opened his hand with a gentle flourish and a perfect shining snowflake landed on Elsa's nose. She made an adorable face, nose scrunching up and a tiny laugh did escape her. He wanted to show her how much in the world there was still worth smiling about. He looked up at the early evening sky, before standing up on the railing suddenly, an idea overcoming him.

"Elsa, come with me tonight."

Elsa rubbed her nose, still feeling the tingling effect of Jack's magic, "To where Jack?"

"To Oslo, I want to show the city to you."

"Where? Oh, you mean old Christiania?" Elsa frowned, she'd never been to the capital before, and she'd not gone far from the Enchanted Forest since she became a spirit. "I don't know Jack the forest…"

"It'll be fine, we won't be gone too long, I promise! Please? It'll be worth it!"

Elsa bit her bottom lip, she had always wanted to see other places, she was curious how the world had changed since she'd last been a part of it. Even as Queen, she'd not been able to leave Arendelle often, after becoming a spirit she wandered the countryside far and wide but never strayed too far from the forest. What would a modern city look like? The other spirits could look after everything for a short while, couldn't they? She looked up at Jack, it was near impossible to say no to his imploring face. "Alright, for just a short trip, but first I need to check on Marshmallow before we leave."

Jack frowned, "Who's Marshmallow?"

As it turns out, Marshmallow was a giant snow creature Elsa had made many years ago to act as the castle's guardian. Jack was pretty sure it'd give North's Yeti a run for their money as the huge creation glared down at him. He gave it a jaunty wave, just to be a smart ass. It growled.

He was equally surprised to find that along with Marshmallow there were hundreds of tiny snowmen, 'snowgies' Elsa called them. He and Elsa made a tiny playground out of ice for them before leaving, there was much squeaking and excitement as they left. Jack laughed all the way back to the Enchanted Forest as Elsa explained how she'd accidentally made them after catching a cold one summer.

Setting her down in front of her home she called for Gale. The wind spirit blew in followed shortly by Bruni. "I'm going to go visit another city for a short time with Jack, don't worry I'll be back soon." Gale whirled around her and little Bruni chirped a worried sound.

"Hey Gale," Jack called to the spirit who quickly whirled over to him, the leaves they carried whirling around him. "We won't be gone too long, just tonight, if you need us, tell the North wind, it always knows where to find me."

Gale gave an agreeable sound, rushing around them before gently shoving Elsa towards Jack.

Laughing Jack held out his hand, "I think that's our cue to head out."

Still a little weary, Elsa placed her hand in Jack's and held back a little squeak as they rose into the air.

"Wind!" Jack called and the Northwind came rushing in, "Take us to Oslo!" In mere moments they were off, flying south and west to the horizon.

Elsa did not think she would ever get used to flying, but as their speed increased she felt a little thrill as they flew towards the coast, passing over fjords she enjoyed the smell of the ocean. Jack took them a higher and she clung a bit tighter to his arm. Far below lights twinkled like a field of stars, the further south they went, the more and more lights there seemed to be. Elsa marveled at them all, so thick now the streets dotted with homes and other buildings seemed more like rivers of light.

"Elsa, look," Jack motioned with his staff.

She had been so busy looking below she'd not bothered to look ahead of them and gasped. There in front of them was a sprawling city, awash with lights. Great buildings of stone and glass towered into the sky, taller than the highest tower of Arendelle Palace. By the sea in the fjord, great metal cranes sat along with ships larger than any vessel she'd ever seen before. How the great metal behemoths floated was a mystery to her.

Jack gently lowered them on top of one of the large buildings, gleaming glass surrounded them on several sides, and the building swept out into the water's edge. "How is such a thing possible? What are those buildings?"

"Oh, tall buildings like that are called skyscrapers. There are lots of different kinds, most are made of steel and glass though. I think this one is a theater, normally when there's no pandemic the city's much busier." He pointed into the distance with his staff, "That building is an apartment building, multiple families live in those." Jack grinned, very amused by her thunderstruck expression. "This building gives a great view of the city and the water. I thought you might like to see what Sandy can do up close."

Elsa turned to him, surprise written on her face, "Really?

"He'll be coming through soon, large cities he tends to visit in person. Depending on his mood, he's always on the move, he could stay in one place, to cast his dream sand out, but I think he enjoys going out and seeing the children's dreams in person."

Taking her hand once more he took her around the city, showing her all the new and old, from apartment buildings to museums and everything in between. The city was a wonderfully strange mix of traditional and new to her. It was a lot to take in and Elsa spent every moment wide-eyed like a small child in absolute wonder. By the time they stopped again, they were sitting on a building - an apartment? - not far from the harbor. Snow blanketed most of the area and ice coated much of the fjord.

She watched the handful of vehicles moving down below and wondered what it must look like when the city was alive and moving. Jack sat beside her, looking at the other apartment building across the way with a wistful expression. She followed his gaze and saw a child playing in their room through a window, she appeared to be drawing. Jack gave a long sigh and slumped forward a bit to lean on his staff. "Something wrong?"

He shook his head, "No, just really miss starting epic snowball fights right about now. Most of the children are inside for the time being." He turned to smile at her, arching an eyebrow, "Though I do my best to make some kind of mischief still."

Elsa hid a laugh behind her hand, "I'm quite sure you do."

"I hold the record for being on Santa's naughty list the longest."

"Well deserved, I'm sure." She held up a hand and created a large snowflake and then let it drop into the air beneath them, slowly fluttering to the street below.

Jack mimicked her, creating one of a similar size and letting it fall away as he told her all about his attempts to break into the North Pole. Her laughter echoed into the night with snowflakes as some impressive icicles began to take shape on the windows and balconies near them.

With a quirk of a smile, Elsa drew snow to her from a balcony, shaping it with the graceful swirl of her hands, and a moment later a snowy owl sat in front of them. Large eyes as blue as the deep sea ice blinked up at them, it gave a low soft hoot.

Jack shot her a cocky grin, "Oh a challenge eh? Ok, I've got one for you." He stood plummeting off the edge of the building and Elsa felt her stomach drop with him before the wind caught him. She'd never get used to him doing that. He flew across to the building opposite where she was sitting, one covered in large panes of glass.

Elsa slowly stood, careful to remain away from the edge, and watched Jack, curiosity winning out over caution. What was he up to?

He reached out and placed his hand on the glass and a delicate sheet of frost sprouted forth, covering a very large section of the glass. Her eyes followed his movements as he drew a finger through the frost, this way and that, swiping lines onto the surface. Shapes began to take form beneath his fingers, she smiled as she recognized what he was drawing.

A pair of lovely swans covered the frosted glass. Her newly made owl hooted, clearly not impressed, she shot it a reproachful look. When she looked back up Jack was holding his hands out towards the glass, eyes closed, a somewhat serious expression on his face. A quiet gasp of delight escaped her as the delicate drawings lifted away from the glass taking shape and rising into the air, gracefully gliding up and over to her. They looked ethereal, almost ghostly as they flew past circling up high into the air, frost given a solid form, before they scattered into thousands of snowflakes in the wind, falling like glittering rain.

Elsa held out her hand in wonder.

Jack watched her, proud he could impress her, but more thrilled with the light in her eyes and the smile on her lips, she let out a gentle laugh before pointing behind him with an even bigger smile.

"You have admirers," she called out.

Looking over his shoulder he saw the child from before that had been drawing along with another girl that was a bit older. Both were pressed to the glass, looking up in wonder and joy at him. Grinning he waved at them and swooped a bit lower, pressing his hand to the glass of their apartment window he created several more animals, though simpler. His drawings one by one came to life off the glass, and the children giggled in delight as they each in turn burst into glittering snow.

Inside someone called out to the girls, and reluctantly they left the window, but not before Jack gave a sweeping bow and flew back over to Elsa, once again sitting on the edge of the roof.

"So, what'd you think?" Jack puffed his chest out.

"They were wonderful Jack," Elsa said with such grave sincerity that Jack could not find it in himself to boast any. "The frost you make is so beautiful."

"Thanks, though I think your snow animals beat mine any day. Yours actually come to life, how did you ever learn to do that?" He indicated to her owl with his staff, it gave a slight head tilt and hooted.

Elsa gave a dry laugh, she smiled but it was a little rueful, "The first time I made anything come to life it was a complete accident."

"Like the snowgies?" Jack grinned, he still found it hilarious that she'd sneezed hundreds of tiny snowmen into being.

Elsa's rueful smile remained though a quiet sadness pervaded it, "Something like that, a snowman named Olaf."

Jack couldn't help but notice her bright smile from before had faded, he frowned, it seemed pretty hard to talk about any of Elsa's past without digging up some old hurt.

As they sat in silence for a moment the faint sound of music drifted up to them from one of the apartments down below. Jack looked out across the city, quieter than it normally would be but the distant chatter of voices and music reminded him that lift still ebbed beneath. A sleeping city, waiting for the darkness to end, cheerful voices in the night air, like early spring flowers poking up through the snow. He found himself unconsciously humming along to the tune, surprised to find it an older one he recognized. There were many things he loved about the modern world, the music was not one of those things.

He glanced over at Elsa as an idea overtook him, grinning he set down his staff.

Elsa looked up at the sound of wood clattering, Jack had stood and set down his staff on the corner of the roof. He held out a hand to her, "Dance with me?"

"Dance? Here?" Elsa asked, her nose doing that cute scrunching thing she always seemed to do when uncertain or confused.

Jack nearly doubled over in laughter at her startled expression, you would have thought he'd asked her to jump off the roof. "Yes here, why not? Don't tell me you don't know how, I'm pretty sure queens are supposed to know how to dance," he teased.

She pouted a bit, he had her dead to rights on that. She'd had lessons, especially after she'd finally learned to control her powers, but she'd still often left the dancing to her sister. It'd become a bit of an inside joke for the two of them after the fiasco with the Duke at her coronation. Honestly, the last time she recalled dancing had been at Anna's wedding.

Jack bowed low, offering his hand again. "Milady."

She listened to the faint music waft up, a waltz by the sound of it, she guessed she could handle that. "Alright, but just one," she rose and set her hand in his.

He grinned and swept her up into position and quickly began to guide her across the roof, still humming along with the tune as they danced. She looked down at her feet, careful of her steps, and back up a Jack, surprised, he was quite good. "Where did you learn to waltz?"

He smiled down at her as they moved, "I used to crash balls all the time, they can't kick you out if they can't see you." He gave a playful wink that made Elsa laugh, "Freezing drinks and making stuffy nobles trip on mysterious icy patches was always funny." His smile softened, "At big events and balls, surrounded by people and lights, laughter and voices, for a bit, I could pretend." He swept her around and into a delicate dip and then they came back together.

"Pretend what?" Elsa asked softly.

"That I belonged somewhere." He smiled gently at her then with the same expression that always reminded her of how old he really was, how old they both were, and how heavy those years can become.

A lonely immortality that neither of them had ever asked for, yet they'd somehow found one another. As Elsa gazed into his eyes, for the first time, in a long time, she wanted something more.

All her life, she'd never expected to feel this way about anyone, at first out of fear and then out of duty, she'd expected to never marry, how could she when she couldn't even touch anyone? Long before she'd abdicated her throne to Anna, she'd planned on making Anna or Anna's children her heirs.

After becoming a spirit, she'd been content with her family and friends. But now…

Her fingers gripped his a little tighter. Gliding across the roof, the snow seemed to swirl in time with their movements, it almost felt like flying. If Elsa had bothered to look down again she'd find that they were floating, just above the roof's surface.

Jack called in a little help from the wind to effortlessly glide them to and fro. If there were anyone able to see, they would have caught the ghostly image of two figures seeming to float through snow and moonlight.

The music slowed and Elsa relaxed more into the fluid movements, Jack hummed quietly. As the music faded Jack continued to gently hum, both of them now just swaying slowly as their feet touched back down, with a quiet sigh and damp eyes Elsa rested her head on his chest.

For a moment she could pretend too.

Jack felt Elsa sigh against his chest and he quietly rested his cheek on her head. He'd meant to lighten the mood and get her to smile again, but somehow he felt he'd had the opposite effect. The warmth of her cheek penetrated through the fabric of his hoodie just enough to feel it on his skin, it left a strange ache in his chest he couldn't quite place.

He breathed deeply, the scent of her hair filling his nose. For someone who was accustomed to and thrived in the cold, it left him suddenly longing for warmth.

He briefly looked over her shoulder and saw the tell-tale glow of gold and smiled, just what they needed. He stopped their movements and Elsa looked up at him, her blue eyes glassy in the moonlight. "Look," he nodded, indicating behind her.

She turned and saw shimmering gold make its way among the street lights and rooftops, roaming across the city and disappearing into windows. Her eyes lit up and she hurried to the edge of the rooftop as Jack went to retrieve his staff.

He joined her a moment later, holding out a hand. "Let's go see them up close."

Elsa nodded excitedly and eagerly let him pull her up. Gliding over to another building Jack set them down before reaching up, "Watch." He raised a hand and disturbed the dream sand, Elsa looked on in awe as dreams took shape all around them.

A knight on horseback charged past and then a race car made a corner and disappeared around another building.

The ground shook slightly as the building across from them suddenly had a golden dragon clinging to its spires.

"Go on," Jack encouraged her.

A little nervous Elsa also reached up touching a stream of sand, with a delighted gasp she watched as from it sprang forth a school of beautiful fish, and high above them a kite soared on the imaginary wind.

"They're so beautiful," Elsa gently touched another strand of sand and a child's dream full of raining sweets materialized around her, she laughed at the tiny candies that fell like rain.

"This was always my favorite thing, seeing the dreams of children, long before I had even become a guardian." Jack stood beside her leaning on his staff as the dreams made their way to each child in the city, "There's such innocent joy and hope in them, at my lowest, I couldn't help but be drawn to them. I am the Guardian of Fun, but I have also vowed to protect their hopes and dreams."

Elsa looked over at him and her breath caught in her throat. His face was turned up toward the sky, the dreams casting a gentle gold glow on his pale skin and filling his eyes with a bright spark. His expression was gentle but also fierce, and her heart swelled at his devotion to the children he protected.

Her smile fell as a thought came to her.

I can never allow myself to get in the way of that.

Jack looked over to her and she forced a smile, "Would you like to meet Sandy?"

Elsa's eyes widened, "On, no! He must be so busy, I wouldn't want to interrupt his work."

Jack shook his head, "It'll be fine. Sandy's a pro, trust me, we're not nearly enough to even slow him down." He took her hand and lept into the air again.

"Jack!" Elsa protested and clung to his arm.

He laughed, "Sorry, a force of habit. I'll try to warn you next time." He took them higher than the tallest building, enough for them to see where the sand trails all began. In the distance there was a small golden cloud near the water's edge, squinting Elsa thought she could see someone on it.

"Is that the Sandman?"

Jack nodded, "Yep, hold on." The wind gust picked up and took them toward the horizon.

He set Elsa down on a nearby clock tower, "Hold on and I'll go catch him."

He was gone before Elsa could protest, as she waited her snow owl flew over and landed on the spire, hooting a complaint at her for being left behind.

Racing on the wind Jack quickly caught up with Sandy, who was just drawing back in the last of his sand as he finished giving dreams to the city's children. "Hey, Sandy!"

His fellow guardian looked back over to him and waved, sitting comfortably upon this little dream cloud.

"Hey, Sandy how's it going tonight? Any trouble?"

The golden guardian shook his head no and gave two thumbs up, indicating all was well.

"Do you have a little time before you move on?"

Sandy seemed to consider and nodded, a question mark forming above his head in dream sand.

"There's someone I'd like you to meet."

Several shapes took form above Sandy's head in quick succession.

Jack laughed, "No, it's not a child. A friend."

Elsa watched as the golden cloud in this distance moved close with Jack right behind it, oddly nervous. Jack had spoken of the dream guardian as quiet and kind, but she still felt butterflies in her stomach as they approached.

Jack landed back beside her, barely touching his toes down to the edge of the clock tower. "Elsa, presenting the Sandman, fellow Guardian and protector of dreams."

Sandy puffed up and created a little top hat from his sand and gave a bow. Elsa laughed a little at Jack's overly formal introduction.

"Sandy, this is Elsa, the Snow Queen."

Elsa was startled for a brief moment that Jack knew the title her people had given her, but the surprise was short-lived as the Sandman floated down to her level. He was a small, round, jolly fellow with kind eyes. She returned his smile and dropped into a small curtsey. "I'm honored to meet you, Jack has spoken highly of you."

Sandy seemed to make a somewhat amused face and shot Jack a funny look that Elsa couldn't quite read. He elbowed Jack in the ribs with his small arm and smiled at Elsa once more, a little crown and snowflake forming in the sand above his head, he bowed in return and gave a small wave.

Jack grunted and coughed at the sly expression Sandy gave him, "He says it's nice to meet you too."

Several symbols jumbled over Sandy's head so fast Elsa was unable to catch most of them.

"No, we're just visiting the city for the evening. Elsa's from north of here." Jack replied.

Several more symbols.

Jack sighed, "I swear we've been good Sandy, we're not pranking anyone."

Elsa held back a laugh Jack's reputation for pranks proceeded him, even with his friends.

Sandy glanced over at Elsa, a couple more symbols, a few Elsa caught were the ones he'd referred to her with earlier but what he was asking was still a mystery to her.

Now even Jack seemed a bit confused, "I have no idea what you're talking about Sandy."

Elsa could have sworn there was a hit of red on Jack's face, but it passed too quickly for her to tell.

Sandy seemed even more amused by this but didn't ask anything further about her it seems as a few more symbols popped up.

"Yea, I'll be there for the meeting tomorrow."

Sandy nodded and looked to the horizon, he waved back at Elsa and gave a little bow before swirling his hands rising as his sand cloud expanded. It took him only a moment to be out of sight and above the clouds, off to continue his work. It was quite a sight to watch.

Both of them were silent as they watch him disappear, until Elsa looked over a Jack, "What was he asking about me?"

The red returned to Jack's face, it was quite a sight to see someone so pale be able to even flush at all, "Ah, well he just thought we were like, pranking people in the city or something…"

Before Elsa could press Jack further the wind suddenly turned, blowing in so sharply that she nearly lost her footing on the tower. She gave a startled yelp as Jack reached out to brace her as the north wind blew in, a handful of leaves swirled up and around Jack. He reached out to them, head tilted slightly as if listening to something very faint. His expression alarmed her more and more by the second.

"Elsa the north wind brought a message from Gale, we need to get back now. There are nightmares in your forest!"

"What? Where in the forest?" Elsa fought back the panic that tried to claw up her throat, of course, they had to return the one time she'd left the forest!

"I don't know, we have to hurry!" He reached out to Elsa and she let him pick her up without question, "Hold on tight, you might want to close your eyes for this."

Elsa didn't protest as she tied her arms around his neck and buried her face into his hoodie. She held on for dear life as the wind picked them up and sent them hurtling back north toward the Enchanted Forest.

Jack let the north wind guide them, the landscape a blur beneath them. He fervently prayed to Manni that the other spirits could hold the nightmares until they could reach them.

Why in the name of the moon were they trying to infiltrate what was by mortal and fear standards an empty forest?

As Jack and Elsa raced over mountains and trees he had a sinking feeling that the area Elsa protected and the area just outside Toothina's realm were somehow related to each other. They'd not yet found anything, though Santa's yetis had been looking.

A river of memory.

Possibly now tainted by nightmares.

He prayed they would make it in time.