Elsa, indeed, word by word, felt like royalty.
Rides in the most expensive car ever produced and is married to the wealthiest person alive on Earth.
It was like going from hell to heaven in a second.
Her life had always been rough. Eighteen years of it had been horrible, and these last few years had been heaven. But now...now with Jackson Overland in her life, this was a different kind of love and attention she had always unknowingly craved.
And now here they were; he was hers.
It's unimaginable to find a guy who treats you like royalty, but there he was. Wasn't she lucky?
Yes, she was indeed.
The luckiest of them all.
She couldn't wait to meet the lady, Eva Overland, who had raised this remarkable man. All the credit went to her for how he turned out. And yes, of course, it was Jack himself, too, who had a good heart, and it made her easy to raise him.
Jack didn't look real. He was perfect. And she wasn't in any way.
Did she even deserve him?
"What's on your mind?" Jack asked as he looked at the road, driving carefully – extra carefully this time.
It was easy to be honest with him. She brushed his knuckles with her thumb. "I can't believe this is real," she said. "I can't. A girl like me, I'm just a simple girl, and I have such a kind and perfect guy like you. I feel like this isn't real, as if it's a dream, and I don't deserve it."
Every word was said with such confidence and profound emotion; each one deserved to be heard. "Elsa, you are the epitome of perfection. You are flawless, and you are the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen in my life. Honestly, it's me who doesn't deserve you. I'm imperfect in many ways. Don't think otherwise," he whispered as he brought her hand to his lips. "This is real, and I love you."
Silent, pin-drop silence until she spoke, "How do you know what to say to make me feel better? You are an amazing man."
"I don't deserve any credit. Mom has made me who I am, and for that, I'm forever thankful. If you think I'm perfect, which is absolutely not true, you haven't seen Mom yet. You both are the most important and perfect women in my life, who only make me better day by day. Well, and Emma, of course, I love her." His hand rested over his chest when he said it.
She chuckled. "Then I have to thank your mom."
Jack nodded, smiling. "I'll tell her about you once we return to Berk."
Nervously, Elsa looked down at their joined hands in her lap. "Have you ever been in love before? I know you haven't dated, but have you ever loved someone?" She wondered if she was feeling jealous of his pending answer.
He broke into laughter as he looked at her expression. "You, yes. I love you and forever will. What about you?"
"I have never." She didn't even love him yet, but she was getting there. "Why do guys fall in love quicker than girls? It's only been three days, and you love me. How?"
Deep in thought, he wrinkled his nose and explained, "It's just one of those 'she is the one' moments. I looked at you, and I knew you were the one. I don't think it's only guys who fall first and faster. It's for girls too. When you know, you know. Love doesn't take time." He paused, then continued, "I'm sorry I'm not explaining it well."
She sighed. "I get what you're saying. Will you wait for me to love you back?"
"However long it takes, I'll wait." His tone was so confident.
They hadn't realized they had reached their destination. "Oh look, we're here, Jack. It's pretty with all the lights."
The lights hugging the building sprinkled the dark with colours. "It's January 2nd. We're still celebrating New Year's."
By now, Elsa knew that Jack would open the door, and he did. "Your Majesty, let's go! I'm so excited to ice skate with you."
She held his hand and got out of the car. "Ok, ok, yes, I'm excited too."
They went into the building and rented skates for ice skating. Luckily, their sizes were available, considering how busy it was; they barely had any pairs left. Jack went back to keep their shoes in their car.
The people were still celebrating the New Year.
"Here, sit down. I'll put these on." Jack crouched down in front of her and put on her skates. He tightened the laces for better grip so the skates didn't wobble much. "Is this comfortable? Too tight or too loose?"
With his help, she got up from the bench and felt the skates. "Well, I haven't done ice skating before, but I have done rollerblading. I think these should be good. Thanks, Jack."
He smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "No problem. Okay, now hold onto my hand, and we have to walk to the ice rink. It's just a few steps away."
Thankfully, as a first-time ice skater, she was nervous; however, knowing Jack was there helped calm her nerves. "Jack, if I slip and you laugh, I swear to God I'm leaving you."
"I promise you won't, and...if you do, I won't laugh. I cross my heart," And he did cross his heart.
She muttered, "You better not." A sigh from the depths of her soul was released as she stepped onto the ice. "Oh, God. Jack, don't you dare let go!"
He put his arm around her waist and held her upright. "Okay, now you have to slide yourself into a V. Take one step to the right and then let your left foot follow you, but in the opposite direction. Just repeat that motion. Wait, I'm not explaining it well."
He pushed her to the rink's edge, ensuring she didn't slip; she grabbed the railing and supported herself by standing still. With a grip of steel, she held onto the bar immediately.
It was best to show her first, and he did. By now, he could count himself as a professional ice skater; he had been doing it for over a decade. After showing her slowly, making sure she was watching each move, he returned to his starting position.
"I'm terrified, Jack." She looked down at her ice skates.
"Trust me. We can try it once, and if you don't like it, we'll go back, but please try it once. But if you don't want to try, it's fine." Sincerely, he smiled.
That did it for her; she gained a bit of confidence and, with his help, did what he demonstrated for her "Jack...Jackson Overland, hold me tight! Jackson!" Her feet were sliding in different directions.
Jack had to hold back his laughter. "Elsa Overland, I'm right here. Relax and skate; I'm here."
She took a deep breath and, once again with help, slid one foot forward and then the other, but this time with confidence, exclaiming, "Oh my goodness, Jackson! This is fun!"
"Told ya! Do you want me to let go of you?" He loosened his grip, waiting for her answer.
"Don't you dare!" Hurriedly, she gripped his arm tighter, and while doing so, Elsa fell and took Jack down in a breeze with her.
He squeezed his lips shut. "Well, we'll have bruises tomorrow."
The sharpest daggers glared at him. "And whose fault is that?"
It was Elsa's, but no, it wasn't. "I'm sorry, it was mine; are you hurt?"
He got up first, and clumsily, Elsa got up too. "It hurts, but...it was fun."
"I'm glad because I recorded you." Mischievously, he grinned widely, showing the phone in his right hand.
"Oh!" She gasped, and the sound was loud. "Betrayer! But you were holding me; when did you record this?"
Apologetically, he scratched the back of his neck. "With one hand, yes, my other hand was recording this."
And she was too worried about slipping that she noticed the phone recording on his hand. "Don't give me that look, and you are not forgiven, mister. But...Astrid would love this video, and she will make fun of me." She rolled her eyes and, at the mention of her best friend, missed her.
"I'm sorry, but come on, Elsa, it was fun, wasn't it?"
"Yes, it was, but I'm still scared, and look at us—our coats are completely covered in ice." She crossed her arms and pointed at their coats.
With still a firm grip on her, he brushed off her coat, but she did move around a bit in place; luckily, his grip was firm. "Now you aren't."
She asked, "Aren't you?"
He brushed off her concern by saying, "I'm fine."
"Hmm." Hesitating, she gave in.
He proposed, suspecting she might be hungry. "Do you want to eat something?"
A few seconds later, she replied, "Sure, but what do they offer here?"
"There are quite a few options here, but my favourite is the mini donut. It's the best. It's sweet, but there's just enough bitterness to it. And it's really hot, which makes it taste amazing." He gestured enthusiastically.
Wow, he got really excited over such little things. "Of course, I can try. I'll wait here." She sat on the bench and watched Jack smoothly glide across the rink all the way back into the building.
As soon as he was out of sight, with a lot of courage, she stood up, wobbled a bit, and then decided she wanted to try ice skating. She knew it had to be fun, and this could turn out to be a special thing between her and Jack.
For heaven's sake, she was a rollerblader; she could do this! She noticed everyone around her and remembered what Jack had shown her. She copied their movements. After about 10 minutes of trying, she finally got the hang of it.
The reason she couldn't do it properly in front of Jack might be because she didn't want to embarrass herself. She didn't mind making a mess of herself in front of others, but in front of Jack, it mattered.
Why was she so awkward around him when Jack seemed so comfortable?
"That was perfect," a voice startled her, and she would have slipped again if Jack's reflexes weren't so fast.
They both sat back on the bench. "Were you watching me?"
He nodded as he put his phone back into his pocket. "I did see you, and I have to say, you looked like you were doing just fine without me. Plus, I recorded it. You were adorable."
"Jackson! Again? You're sleeping on the couch today." She stuck out her tongue.
It was the perfect opportunity to tease her, but his heartbeat could have given him a heart attack. "Oh, I thought I already was. But it's good to know you would let me sleep with you."
And cue the stutters: "No...I...Wait no! Ah...I mean, I don't know. Shut up." She looked away, blushing.
He passed her one donut. "Yes, ma'am, now try this and give me your honest opinion."
Every noise around them went silent as Elsa took the first bite. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Holy moly, this is amazing!"
He said, "Take all you want." And he handed her the entire box of donuts.
The donuts were so small; they were about a quarter of a regular-sized donut each. She ate them all in less than a minute, and Jack watched her like a lovesick puppy, which he, of course, was.
She swallowed the last bite and smiled at him. "Thanks, babe."
Once again, his heartbeat quickened, but this time, it was in a good way. "No problem. Do you want more?" he asked. "I can get them for you."
"I'm good, I'm good. Thank you." Leaning to her left, she pecked his cheek.
He got up quickly and asked, "Shall we leave now, Your Majesty?"
She took his hand. "Yes, we ca-" It was snowing. "-It's snowing, babe!"
"You like snow?"
"I love it when it snows! Whenever it does, I step out and admire the snowflakes."
Mesmerizing it was genuinely mesmerizing. "Give me a minute."
She couldn't even ask what he was doing because he vanished into the air. "Where did he go?"
Elsa wished it were just her on the ice rink, so that she could dance around freely while the snow fell on her.
The snow was her rain.
She became frightened when people began leaving the ice rink suddenly and rapidly. Was there an emergency? What was going on?
"Boo!" Jack whispered in her ear.
Horrified, she flinched on the bench. "Jackson Overland, you're going to be the death of me!"
Confusing her further, he started to replace her ice skates with the snow boots she came here in. "Elsa-"
"What are you doing, Jack?" When he didn't answer, she pushed his face up as he was kneeling in front of her. "Why did everyone leave?"
He answered nonchalantly as if it was such an everyday thing. "It's snowing, and I think we should dance here."
Jack read her mind; is this what a soulmate is?
Then it hit her, "Wait, what do you mean? I mean, I know what you mean. But why did everyone leave?"
"Dance freely, without worrying about anyone else," he said as he crouched down and handed her the snow boots.
She was awestruck as Jack removed her skates and put her snow boots back on. They were snow boots, she thought, so that they wouldn't slip on the ice; she hoped.
Giving that gorgeous, gorgeous smile, he held out his hand. "A dance, Your Majesty?"
Elsa didn't say anything and silently held his hand until she did. "Jack, you didn't have to do this for me-"
"I love you, and there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do for you." He kissed her cheek. "Now, none of this. Let's dance, okay?"
"Hmm." She pressed her face against his gentle hand.
Suddenly, he pulled a radio from his back and said, "Play it."
Skeptical, she asked, "What are you doing now?"
A song started to play.
"Dancing with you under the snow."