6: BELIEVE

Queen Elsa's mouth fell open in shock.

Crossing her arms tighter over her chest, she abruptly looked down, stumbling back a step as her face went pale.

"Wh-who says I believe in Jack Frost?" she stammered.

Jack raised a single eyebrow.

"You believe in Jack Frost," he stated emotionlessly. "Please just trust me on this one."

"And—and that's n-not a question!" she protested, blinking frantically, "That's an accusation!"

"Is it a true one?"

"How would you know?"

"Ma'am, you're shaking."

She abruptly cut herself off, snapping her mouth shut. Frozen into her place, Jack watched as she stared even more determinately at the ground, a few flurries of snow beginning to materialize out of the air around her in the place where she stood.

Pulling against the handcuffs, he leaned forward again.

"Okay. I'm changing my question. And, you haven't answered it yet, so I get to do that," he added.

Elsa didn't look up, crossing her arms tighter over her chest.

"I don't want to know how long you've believed in Jack Frost," Jack said quietly. "I want to know why."

The Snow Queen closed her eyes, pressing her lips together as the few flurries of snow fell around her, floating towards the frozen carpet and glistening in the moonlight. Opening her eyes again—but not relaxing—she slowly looked up into his eyes, walking to the jail cell.

"This one will take another deal," Elsa shook.

Jack shifted in the handcuffs, letting out a breathy bark of laughter as she came to a stop in front of him.

"You know," he muttered under his breath, "For someone that doesn't make deals with assassins, and AAAAH HA HA HA, DEALS ARE GREAT; I LOVE DEALS!" Jack sputtered desperately, wincing away from the blade that was suddenly against his neck again.

"In asking me why I believe in Jack Frost, you are asking me to reveal what is nothing short of my deepest, darkest secret, to a total stranger," she quavered intensely, gripping the ice dagger as her eyes watered, "You have no—idea—what that name means to me. I have rational evidence that Jack Frost exists, and if I ever find him—when I find him—I will know."

Jack Frost bit his lip, nodding quickly as he tugged at the crystalline handcuffs chaining him to the bars. "Uh—yeah," he shook, eying the dagger. "And I think you're closer than you reaLIZE—!"

He abruptly sucked in his breath, cut off as she threateningly pressed the dagger against his neck.

"Do you not believe me?"

"AUGH! NO! I mean, YES!" Jack sputtered frantically, wincing as she pressed the blade of the dagger harder against his neck, "I—I do! I believe you!"

She set her jaw, glaring at him suspiciously.

"Look," Jack pleaded, putting his hands up as far as he could in the handcuffs, "I know it's crazy, but this question is—really—important to me. And, uh, it's clearly a big deal to you, too."

She glared into his eyes, her hand trembling slightly on the dagger. As he stood, frozen, in the handcuffs, Jack then watched as she shakily lowered it away from his neck, taking a step back.

"Okay," Elsa quavered, "But I—have a condition."

"What's that?"

"If—if I tell you this—if I answer that question," she whispered intensely, "You must promise—on threat of your life—to tell me who you are."

Jack said nothing, staring at the young woman in shock. After a few moments, he nodded.

"You're willing to make that deal?" she asked.

"I can't promise that you're going to believe me," he said, "But yeah. I promise to tell the truth."

"In this deal, I'm trading the deepest, darkest secret of my childhood to you—in exchange for your name," she whispered, "You're really sure that the knowledge of your identity will be worth that kind of a price, to me?"

"I'm pretty sure it will," Jack nodded.

"How do you know that?"

"I don't."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I don't know," Jack said softly. "But I believe."

He pleading gazed into her piercing eyes through his hair, biting his lip as the Snow Queen studied his face. Exhaling slowly, she gave him a little nod, taking a step back.

"Deal," she whispered.

Turning and walking towards the chair, Queen Elsa pulled in a long breath.

"Back when—back when I was a little girl," she sighed, slowly turning back towards him, "My parents were told by an—expert—that I needed to learn to control my powers. And they listened. Or—at least—at least, they thought they did."

Jack said nothing, gazing into the young queen's face as she gingerly placed the dagger on the end table. The girl closed her eyes, taking another deep breath.

"I mean—they really just wanted me not to have ice powers, but—well," she laughed bitterly, "Giving me gloves to wear and locking me up in my room seemed to be the next-best solution. You know—until I could learn to conceal them."

Jack's heart leapt into his throat.

"They wanted you to—conceal your powers?" he breathed.

"Yes."

The word sent him reeling.

A wave of nausea sweeping over his body, Jack stumbled backwards in horrified confusion, his wrists catching in the handcuffs.

Conceal?

"I must have spent—I must have spent hundreds of hours, watching for him," Elsa admitted, shaking her head with a breathy giggle. "Staring out of my bedroom window. I mean, I could see from the frost patterns—I knew that Jack Frost had been there. At least, he'd flown by Arendelle, during the night. But I—I always seemed to miss him…"

Snapping his head back up, Jack watched in horrified silence as the beautiful young queen slowly walked towards the window, sadly gazing out into the night as she crossed her arms over her chest. The snowflakes on her skirt sparkling in the moonlight, she shook her head.

"I suppose that it's a little childish," Elsa admitted softly, still staring out of the window, "But—well, from all the records, and stories, and accounts—it was all too consistent. I—know—he's real," she blushed, shrugging embarrassedly, "He—he has to be! At least, he was to me, for all those years. The Legend of Jack Frost wasn't just a story to me. For all those years of being locked up, alone, in my room—the Legend of Jack Frost was the only real hope I ever had. Or at least, I… I thought…"

Her voice trailed off as she came to a stop in front of the window, gazing out over the fjord with a pensive expression on her face. Jack leaned forward against his handcuffs.

"Did you ever try to look for him?" he asked softly.

She stiffened. After a long moment—her shoulders tense—she nodded.

"A little over a year ago," she choked. "I heard a voice. Calling me from the North."

Jack's eyebrows lifted. Standing in the moonlight, the Ice Powers Girl closed her eyes, like she was recalling a memory,

"I had to follow it. It didn't exactly give me a lot of choice," she breathed, "And I didn't tell anyone this, but I initially thought—hoped—that the voice was his. Or hers, I suppose. I was fairly certain the person described in legend was male, but it was a female voice calling me, and I didn't realize until—"

"—He's male," Jack blurted.

She stopped talking, looking back to him.

"Jack Frost is a guy," Jack stammered, "I—uh—yeah. He's a guy."

The young queen said nothing, silently waiting for him to finish talking.

Jack felt blood rushing to his face. He cleared his throat, looking down.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Please continue."

She sighed. "Well," she said softly, looking back out the window, "There were a lot of other reasons I had to leave Arendelle, but—I knew that Ahtohallan would know. No matter what happened."

Ahtohallan? Jack wondered.

Deciding that he'd figure out who that was later, he gave his head a tiny shake. "What did happen?"

The Snow Queen paused.

A tiny, shy little smile tugging at the edges of her mouth, she crossed her arms over her chest. "I found myself," she whispered.

Elsa bit the edge of her lip, looking down with a wistful expression sweeping her face. Glancing in the direction of the art gallery thing—presumably, Jack figured, towards the white dress—she let out her breath.

"I always believed that I was secretly searching for Jack Frost, but—I think that my mother caught on somehow," Elsa admitted, "And that's what was calling me. The whole time I thought I was following him, and searching for him, in all of those years in the darkness… now, I know that what I was REALLY trying to find was me. I was the one I was looking for, all along."

Jack Frost said nothing, staring at the Ice Powers Girl in wonder. As she spoke, the moonlight glinting off of the icy nightgown as it fell over her hips and her long, blonde hair tumbling down her back, she just looked so… serene.

So beautiful.

Jack bit his lip. The Snow Queen of Arendelle was a vision, smiling her shy, gorgeous little smile as if she had temporarily forgotten that she was supposed to be afraid. Not wanting to break the gentle quiet that had settled over the room, the Fifth Guardian took a long moment to measure his words.

"Do you—um," Jack ventured carefully, "Would you still want to meet him?"

Her eyebrows lifted.

"Jack Frost?" Jack prompted again.

She looked pained for a long moment, as if deliberating on whether or not she could answer him. Then—her resolve crumbling—the Ice Powers Girl suddenly exhaled, her face breaking into a smile.

"Of course," she breathed.

Jack's breath caught, the Snow Queen's pure, brilliant expression of joy piercing through him like a beam of sunlight. Elsa's cheeks flushed, a tiny giggle escaping her lips, and she wasn't looking at him, but—

Wow.

"Just because I've found my destiny, it doesn't mean that I've forgotten everyone and everything that helped me to get there," she laughed breathily with a shrug, "From everything I've read, Jack Frost is amazing. He was the hero of my childhood, and the obsession of my adolescence, and—! Well, when I was a teenager, I always had this fantasy that Jack Frost would find me, and mentor me, and help me to learn how to control my powers so that I could get out of my room, and—!"

Jack's heart leapt, his face cracking into a sheepish smile as Elsa blushed again, looking down and scoffing at her younger self in embarrassment. Giving her head a quick shake, the Ice Powers Girl uncrossed her arms, lifting her hands to the sides of her face.

"It was just a silly fantasy. But it wasn't a total waste," she added, pulling her hands down, "I wouldn't have even known how to begin my journey, if I hadn't been actively researching and believing in magic for all those years. It's why I recognized the runes so quickly, which was a REALLY good thing, but—well, that's kind of irrelevant. Jack Frost's legend still means everything to me."

The twisting spirals of frost on her gown glinting as she turned around towards the window again, Elsa reached forward to it, gently pushing the curtain back. After a few moments—pensively crinkling the edge of the thick fabric between her fingertips—she then let it fall back into place, re-folding her arms over her chest.

Her smile faded.

"For all those years, and all that time, I just figured that—if Jack Frost wasn't a monster, for having ice powers—then, maybe—maybe I wasn't either," she breathed, looking to her feet. "Despite the fact that I lived in—terror—of what might happen, if anyone ever found out about them—the darkest secret of my childhood wasn't the fact that I had ice powers."

She sighed, looking back to the window again.

"It was that I had found Jack Frost," she choked, "The darkest secret of my childhood was the fact that I was never—completely—convinced—that my ice powers were bad."

The Spirit of Winter was dumbfounded.

Jack watched as pale young woman in the gown of ice shook her head, crossing her arms tighter over her chest and staring at her feet. A few locks of blonde hair falling over slender shoulders as she hunched them forward, the Youngest Guardian could practically feel the years of loneliness and isolation emanating from her fragile form, piercing through the silence of the icy, moonlight-soaked bedroom. To even—imagine—that this beautiful girl would be taught that her ice powers were bad, let alone be shut up in her room for so long, made his heart stop cold. To Jack Frost, to even think that anyone would suffer such intense pain and isolation was devastating.

It was devastating because he understood it.

"That," Elsa gritted suddenly, whipping around and making him jump, "Is why I believe in Jack Frost. So, go ahead. Go home to whomever you work for, and tell them. Tell them that I'm insane. Tell them that the reigning queen of Arendelle swears her allegiance to a storybook character!"

Visibly fighting back tears, she bit her lip, drawing herself up and determinately pacing back towards the icy jail cell.

"I don't know who you are," she shook, snatching up the dagger as she passed the table and pointing it at him in the gesture, "And frankly, I don't care. But I swear to you—and I swear, on everything that I've ever believed in—you can laugh at me, and mock me, and ridicule me, and I will let it be swept away in the wind. But please allow me to make one thing abundantly clear."

Jack sucked in his breath as Elsa suddenly swept up to the bars, threateningly raising the dagger up to his neck as she leaned in close to his face.

"You will not. Ever. Insult the name of Jack Frost," she whispered intensely, "In. Front. Of. Me."

They stared into each other's eyes in silence.

Her teeth clenched, lips pressed together, Jack watched as a wave of nervousness began to sweep over the girl's features, the mask of power beginning to fade, as if she was only now remembering that she was supposed to be frightened. Visibly fighting it, Queen Elsa closed her eyes, slowly pulling in her breath as she lowered the dagger and stepped back away from him.

"Now," she quavered, shakily turning away and reaching for the tablet and parchment, "It's your turn. I fulfilled my end of the deal."

Jack stood, frozen, on the other side of the bars, his face pale. She picked up the items, turning back around to face him and drawing herself up.

"So," Elsa exhaled. "I believe that you owe me your name."

And the silence fell again.

His heart sinking into his stomach, Jack pulled in his breath to speak.

"I—!" he squeaked.

After a few moments, he bit his lip, looking down to the handcuffs in silent despair. The unspoken words hitting her, Queen Elsa's mouth fell open in shock, her eyes widening.

"It—n-no," she whimpered, "You—b-but you p-promised—"

"—I'm sorry!" Jack sputtered helplessly, his face draining in horror as the young woman's eyes started to well up with tears, "I—if I could say anything different, I would, but—"

"—You promised!" she gasped, "You—you promised! You LIAR!"

"I—"

"—I gave in!" she sobbed, "I trusted you! I revealed the deepest, darkest, most humiliating secret of my childhood to a total stranger, and you don't even have the decency to keep your end of the deal!"

"Elsa, I—"

"—Shut up!"

He abruptly did so, his heart frozen as the beautiful young queen whirled around, flurries of snow beginning to materialize out of the air around her as she walked away from him. Jack's stomach twisted, the sudden realization falling onto him like a ton of bricks.

Crying.

She was crying.

"That's what I get! For making deals with assassins!" Elsa gasped, her back shaking as she struggled to keep her breathing even. "And you do not get to call me by my first name! Especially when you don't even have the basic humanity to tell me yours!"

"Queen Elsa," Jack sputtered, "Look—I don't know how to convince you, but I swear—I swear on my life," he said fervently, staring at her as he gripped the bars, "I'm not lying. I am who I say I am!"

"YOU—!"

"—My name is Jack Frost," he interrupted, "I'm a Guardian, and if I'd had any idea that you existed before tonight, I promise you, I would have showed up before now!"

She was silent, her back still shaking as she stayed turned away from him, the flurries swirling harder and faster around her delicate frame. Pulling in his breath again, Jack shifted in the handcuffs, leaning as far as he could through the bars.

"I have—no—idea—how to apologize," he choked, "But I swear, if I'd had any clue that you were here, I would have come to find you! I promise—with everything I've got—you wouldn't have been alone!"

She shook her head, letting out a sharp gasp of bitter laughter. "Because—you—are Jack Frost," she scoffed, not turning around.

"But I am!"

"Jack Frost? In my room?" she sputtered, her face flushing as she spun back to face him, "Oh, yes, you are d-definitely Jack Frost. Ice powers and all, which you have yet to demonstrate, and—!"

Queen Elsa gasped, cutting herself off. Still handcuffed to the bars, the Spirit of Winter had turned his hand over in the air, raising his eyebrows as a shimmering mist of ice particles materialized above his fingertips.

After a few more moments of silence, Jack Frost bit his lip.

"Okay. I admit it," he stammered, "I probably should have done that earlier. Could you take off the handcuffs now?"

She said nothing, paralyzed on the other side of the bars, her jaw dropped as she stared with disbelief at the cluster of snowflakes dancing above his palm. The flurries of snow that had been materializing around her had frozen in the air, the tiny snowstorm in every bit as much shock as she was.

Jack felt his stomach twist again.

Pulling in a deep breath, he shook his head, then gazing intently up at her through his hair.

"Queen Elsa, I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly. "Now, could you please—"

"—How do I know this isn't a trick?" she stammered, the flurries beginning to softly fall towards the carpet again. "How do I know tha—"

"—You don't."

She quickly closed her mouth again, pressing her lips together.

"Technically, you don't know," Jack repeated, gazing into her eyes. "I mean—you can't."

"So why would I—"

"—Because, sometimes, the truth sounds crazy," he whispered intensely. "But that doesn't make it any less true."

She looked down, her entire body tense.

"Then how do I know that this isn't a bad idea?" she choked.

Jack closed his eyes. After a long moment of silence, he opened them again, staring at her from inside the cell.

"You're just going to have to believe in me, aren't you?" Jack said softly.

He held out his wrists through the bars.

Looking into her beautiful face, Jack could see the conflict in her eyes as she stood, frozen, on the other side of the bars, frantically looking from his hair, to his staff, to the icy patterns on his hoodie, and back into his eyes.

"Please?"

Elsa stared at the handcuffs.

Her hands pulled into her stomach, she worriedly bit her lip. After a few more moments of hesitation, the Snow Queen pulled in a deep breath, stepping up to the jail cell and closing her eyes.

She swept her hands over Jack's wrists.

Whoosh. The icy handcuffs started disintegrating into a shimmering mist, and Jack jolted, staring with disbelief as the delicate swirl of frost lifted, rushing into the air as the young woman called it from him. As the last of the ice disappeared, he shakily pulled his hands back through the bars, turning them over and staring at them in wonder.

She could melt it, too?

His mouth falling slightly open in shock, Jack Frost gave his head a little shake, smiling shyly and looking up to Elsa again. She nodded, swallowing hard. Her eyes wide as she nervously watched him, Jack turned around, rubbing his wrists and walking to the back of the cell.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Elsa stammered.

Calmly picking up his staff, Jack turned back to face her, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm thanking you," he replied softly.

Flipping the shepherd's crook forward over his wrist, he tapped it twice on the ground, then sweeping it to the side.

There was an audible gasp, and Jack looked up to see Elsa clap her hand over her mouth, leaping backwards with shock as the delicate cloud of frost billowed past her feet over the frozen carpet. Feeling his heart skip a beat, the Youngest Guardian grinned sheepishly, turning slightly away from her as he crouched down to the floor.

Elsa took a hesitant step towards the cell, watching through the bars as the Spirit of Winter carefully put down his staff, reaching forward and beginning to draw in the dusting of snow. As he finished tracing out the shape, Jack closed his eyes, drawing in his breath in concentration as he reached down for it, slowly pulling his hands upwards.

Glimmering in the moonlight, the long, elegant flower lifted easily out of the frost, a fine blue mist floating above his fingertips as he carefully held it, standing up again on his feet. Feeling the girl's wide-eyed gaze upon him, the Spirit of Winter pulled in a deep breath.

The ice hardened with a soft creaking as he gently blew over the surface of the mist, the shimmering particles freezing together into a gleaming, crystalline rose. A smile tugging at the edge of his mouth, Jack Frost gingerly tossed it to himself, turning around and walking back to the front of the jail cell, stopping in front of the wide-eyed, paralyzed young queen.

He hesitated. After looking down to the flower—trying to decide what to say—the Guardian of Fun pulled in his breath.

"For believing in me," Jack said softly.

Bending over into a respectful bow, he held the rose out through the bars.

The muscles in his lower back beginning to strain as he waited, patiently holding out the ice flower, Jack looked upwards, peering through his white hair at the beautiful young queen on the other side of the crystalline bars. Staring at the rose with disbelief, Elsa was frozen in her place, her mouth hanging open with shock.

Her hand trembling, Jack watched as she pulled in her breath, shakily reaching out to the gleaming flower.

As she gingerly took it, the ice sliding from his fingers, Jack pushed himself up on his staff, taking a few steps back into the jail cell. The Ice Powers Girl's eyes were wide with disbelief as she hesitantly inspected the rose, shakily running her fingers the length of its delicate, crystalline stem as a look of wonder crept over her features.

She gasped.

Jack Frost's heart leapt as Elsa snapped her head up, looking first at him, and then back to the rose, her eyes watering. Clapping her hand over her mouth, she let out a sharp, breathy giggle of shock, then gasping again stumbling back a step. Her cheeks flushing, Elsa whirled away from him, clutching the rose to her chest.

"Okay," she giggled breathily, "Now, I know I'm dreaming."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Pretty sure it's not a dream—"

"—It makes perfect sense," Elsa bubbled, spinning around, "This reform—well, it's the biggest one I've tried yet. And The Council isn't going to be happy, so, of course my subconscious would have Jack Frost show up in my dreams!"

"What do you mean?"

"Well—to give me courage, of course!" she laughed, shaking her head and looking back down at the rose. "And, I do need it. This reform must be really important. I mean, for my brain to pull such a powerful symbol of strength and rebellion out of my memories."

A symbol of Strength and Rebellion?

"That's what Jack Frost means to you," he breathed.

"You're my subconscious. You tell me."

The young queen giggled again, looking down to the ice rose and wistfully running her fingers over the bloom. Shaking her head, she threw back her hair, her cheeks flushing.

"Oh, the human mind is a wonderful thing!" Elsa sighed happily, clutching the rose and spinning around, "This is the loveliest dream I've ever had."

"This feels like a dream to you?"

"Well—of course not!" she giggled, leaning against the bed and looking at the rose. "Dreams always feel real, when you're in them. In fact, I—I—!"

Her voice trailed off. A strange expression sweeping over her face, Jack watched as the Snow Queen carefully placed the ice rose on her nightstand, pushing herself off from the bed. A few rogue flurries of snow materializing out of the air around her, she slowly walked across the room to the jail cell, finally stopping in front of him, the icy fabric of her gown sparkling in the moonlight. Looking down to his shirt, she then lifted her hand, hesitating for a long, silent moment.

Elsa reached through the bars, and placed her palm squarely on his chest.

A jolt of electricity shot through his body, and Jack sucked in his breath, looking down her hand in shock. He could feel it. On top of the ice crystals on his hoodie, he could feel the gentle pressure of the Snow Queen's palm pressing through the fabric.

She was—touching him.

She—it—it wasn't going through. She was TOUCHING him.

Holding his breath, Jack carefully moved one of his hands off the staff. Glancing up into her eyes—and realizing that she was still studying the ice patterns on his chest—he then reached up, placing his hand on top of hers.

His heart pounding, a wave of relief swept over him as he gingerly rubbed his thumb across her palm, feeling the distinct and still unfamiliar sensation of having someone else's skin against his own. The Snow Queen's hand was soft.

And—cold.

"That's… ice," the young queen breathed. "Isn't it?"

"I—um, yeah," Jack laughed nervously, shifting on his feet as she felt the fabric, "It—it is."

She smiled, her cheeks flushing as she delicately felt the ice crystals on his hoodie, and Jack's heart leapt. Grinning sheepishly as he ran his thumb over hers again, he looked down to his chest, and then back up into her deep blue eyes.

The Snow Queen's smile was so beautiful…

"In fact… well," Elsa whispered, making Jack snap back into focus, "As… as long as I'm dreaming…"

A strange, dreamy expression swept over her face, and the Youngest Guardian felt his heart start pounding as she slid her hand up towards his neck, gingerly feeling the frozen ice crystals webbed out across the fabric. Jack Frost then felt the young queen start to curl her fingers around the front edge of his hood.

"Uh—ma'am?" he asked softly, "What are—what are you doin-MMPH!"

Jack startled, jolting and dropping the staff with shock as she yanked him forward, her lips suddenly smashing against his own. The shepherd's crook fell into the bars with a loud clank, and he froze, every muscle in his body paralyzed.

And it was over as suddenly as it had begun, as he felt her let go of his hoodie, breaking from the kiss and victorious stepping away from the bars. Gasping for breath, his eyes bulging, Jack Frost stumbled backwards into the cell, staring at the beautiful young queen in shock.

"It's sad to think that all of this will be gone in the morning. But it was wonderful, while it lasted," Elsa giggled breathlessly. "It's been nice to meet you… Jack Frost."

Paralyzed behind the crystalline bars of the cell, Jack watched in blank shock as the young woman turned away from him, walking back towards her bed. Shakily reaching up and touching his lips, still trying to catch his breath, he nodded weakly.

"You too," he breathed.

Fully dressed, the young queen then crawled back under the covers, gave the Spirit of Winter one last, dreamy little smile as she closed her eyes, and fell asleep.