Prologue - The Moon and the Darkness
For some reason, it was always when she saw the moon that she felt most lonely. It was as if it was taunting her, reminding her of what she had pushed away. And yet she returned to look at it each night, hoping and praying that he would fly back to her.
Elsa sighed. It was late, and hoping for something as such was a childish fancy. She turned and headed back in from the balcony, a heaviness in her heart.
It had been a year since her coronation. A year since she had learned how to control her powers and not fear them.
Control.
As she turned in for the night, the young queen's mind went back the the eve of her coronation.
He had been so eager to help her, to show her she had no need to wear the gloves. No need to fear her magic. He had came to see her for years, keeping her company in her solidarity. Theo only person who was like her.
Until she had sent him away due to her own foolish fear.
Fear.
Her nightmares were the only thing that had not gotten better in the past room. Dark dungeon rooms with no doors plagued her, as did the what ifs that lingered in the deep recesses of her heart. What if Anna had remained frozen? What if she was still a monster? What if that's all she ever truly was? The thoughts ate her alive most nights. She had yet to find solace, even in old comforts-from his ever watching moon to her mother's old shawl.
Never the less, she continued on. It was probably just the weight of running the kingdom. She considered taking Anna up on her offer to help. But, ultimately, she knew she wouldn't ask her sister. She didn't want to have to explain the reasons she needed help, and she didn't want to lie to Anna about it.
So, she decided to let it be, and, as she drifted off to sleep, the Moon kept an eye on the troubled queen.
Jack flew through the moonlight, trying to ignore the feelings coursing through him. He had too many thoughts and feelings whirling through his head and his heart. It had been a year, and yet she still was in his thoughts. It wasn't always a bad thing. But sometimes it all got to be too much. He missed her.
But she didn't want him. She had said so herself with words that constantly replayed through his head. And, as often as he tried to forget and ignore the memories of that night, this was one of those moments where thoughts were not easily banished. And as the torrent of emotions gnawed at him, he wondered what would of happened if he had just stayed. If he had ignored words spoken out of anger. If he hadn't pushed as hard as he did.
In a sense, he had stayed. He always returned to Arendelle in the end. Just to make sure she was happy and safe. She was queen. She was thriving. She had learned to control her magic. She had fixed the bond she had with her sister. She was beautiful.
She didn't need him.
But that didn't change how he felt about her. Nothing could change that. His immortality be damned.
After all, love wasn't a choice. It wasn't something that just went away overnight.
And it definitely wasn't something he had ever told her about. And it wasn't something he could tell her now.
As he flew, he glanced up at the moon. A sense of unease had been growing in him lately. Maybe he should visit her again. He just couldn't do it tonight, it would be too much.
Tonight the Man in the Moon would just have to keep his watchful eyes on her.
It wasn't just Jack who had been feeling unease. The Sandman had picked up a sense of distress in the subconscious of the young Queen of Arendelle. It was as if there was some tangibility to the fear she believed she had lost, only for said fear to manifest in her dreams. It concerned him. It was a movable darkness. It seemed like there was an entity to it, but the feelings weren't strong enough and there wasn't enough to go off of.
So Sandy let it pass. It was small. Not enough to get the Guardians involved. But he would keep his eyes on things in Arendelle.
As the night drew onwards, however, what once danced along the line of safe shifted into danger's territory. Despite the fact that good eyes were on the lookout for evil deeds, no one can see everything at once. And it is always harder to see the things that move in the pitch black darkness of night.
So I originally started this story back in 2014, back when Frozen 2 had yet to be released. I will continue writing it the way I did then. I might worm Frozen 2 into this story, and I might not. I'm not sure. I wanted to redo this story as it was when I originally wrote it. I was a lot younger then so my writing skills weren't good...at all. However, with everything going on right now with quarantine and the fact I'm not working two jobs anymore, I figured that there was no better way to both work on my writing and also show how much I progressed in six+ years than working on my first fanfiction. I originally posted fanfiction on another Fanfiction net account, but, for personal reasons, I'm starting fresh. The other account (TheAllPowerfulPigeon) still stands, and I may redo old stories from that account, or use some of my older OCs or ideas, but, for now, The Great Thaw. Enjoy! Feel free to leave comments or ask questions. I don't have an update schedule in place yet, but when I do, it will be posted on my bio. Until, Megs