9: SOMEPLACE FUN
She didn't ever actually feel him touch down on the ground.
The flight was short, high, cold, and completely terrifying in a distinctly nauseating sort of way. When she was out Nokk-riding, she was still in control, and there was a literal ocean to catch her if she fell. The speed was comparable, but the height? No such luck.
Having left her stomach back somewhere on the balcony, from the moment he'd leapt into the air, Elsa had buried her head in his chest, clutching onto the ice-covered fabric of the young man's shirt with terror. Usually, she would have protested, done something to protect herself as she'd been helplessly scooped up into his wiry arms, but she was still in far too much shock to think straight.
How could the Council invite suitors without her approval? Did they find out about the reform? If so, how? She and Anna had worked so hard to make sure that it was a secret… Her mind raced, heart pounding as her eyes went dry, the tears slowing to a stop as she struggled to analyze the situation. Were signatures forged? Or was this some trick of theirs? They always had another trick… it was unreal. That's what it was. Simply put, it didn't. Make. Sense. By comparison, the fact that a strange young man claiming to be her childhood hero had just kidnapped her from her own sleeping quarters and was now flying her hundreds of feet over Arendelle seemed positively normal.
Not that she was going to open her eyes.
Elsa waited until he gently set her down in the snow to let go of the young man's shirt, shakily releasing the fabric and pulling in her breath. Hesitantly looking up, she found herself sitting on the bank of a small lake, covered over with ice, in the middle of a clearing of trees.
She had never been to this place before…
The young man cleared his throat. She sucked in her breath, snapping her head up.
"Well," he started softly, "It's not exactly enchanted, but—you wanted a forest. Right?"
He smiled hopefully, shrugging at their surroundings. Looking around, Elsa realized that they were standing in a tiny clearing in the forest, tall, thick trees surrounding a little pond.
"So—you took me to a forest?" she realized, her eyes widening.
"Yep," he confirmed, his smile widening. "And, now that we're away from all of that—at least now you should believe me now about my identity."
His voice trailed off, and he raised his eyebrows, leaning into the staff.
Elsa broke eye contact. After a few moments of silence—
"YOU'RE STILL NOT CONVINCED?!"
"I'm s-sorry," Elsa choked, "It's just that I—"
"—I just PICKED YOU UP, and FLEW YOU OVER YOUR KINGDOM!" he sputtered, "Are you in denial?! I mean, am I missing something? Do you not WANT me to be Jack Frost, or—"
"—IWantYouToBeJackFrost!" Elsa blurted.
The words had tumbled out before she could stop them, and Elsa snapped her mouth shut, sucking in her breath. Staring even more determinately into her lap, she hugged her knees to her chest, feeling blood rushing to her cheeks in embarrassment.
The young man walked towards her, crouching down in front of her in the snow.
"Hey."
Elsa didn't respond, biting her lip. He scooted an inch closer, trying again.
"Ma'am, will you please look at me?"
She swallowed hard, hesitantly looking up, but not quite meeting his eyes. The boy sighed, shaking his head.
"Okay," he started carefully, "You—um—you said you researched Jack Frost. Right?"
She closed her eyes. After a few moments, Elsa nodded.
"I did," she admitted. "Right."
"So, why don't you tell me everything you do know about m—uh, him?"
Elsa let out her breath, scoffing softly and looking up. The white-haired young man was staring at her, raising his eyebrows.
She sighed in defeat.
"Okay," Elsa choked, blushing in embarrassment, "Um… ice powers."
He nodded. "Check."
"White hair."
"Check again."
"Blue eyes."
"Yep."
"Carries a stick?"
"It's a staff."
"Likes kids."
"You're gonna have to trust me on that one, but yes."
"Can fly."
"I think we've got that covered."
"Fun."
Elsa's eyes widened at the sudden realization, and she suddenly pulled in her breath. Looking up again, she realized that the white-haired young man crouching in front of her was frozen, his mouth hanging slightly open in shock.
"Uh…" he breathed, "What… did you say?"
"Fun," Elsa repeated, sitting up. "Jack Frost is fun. I mean, in all the accounts, and stories, and—! How can you possibly be Jack Frost, if you aren't fun?"
He opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. He then closed it again, looking into her face with disbelief.
"How—H-How did you—?"
His voice trailed off. Hiding it, he then let out a nervous bark of laughter, and shook his head vigorously. Pushing himself up, he took a few steps back from her in the snow.
"Well—never mind how you knew tha—yeah, never mind," he laughed breathlessly, "THAT part's easy. The fun, I mean. That's what I brought you here for, anyway." He crouched down next to her in the snow, gazing up through his eyelashes. "And you, ma'am, are in more desperate need of fun than anyone I've ever seen."
"B-But I already told you," Elsa quavered, "I don't like having fun. I mean—I can't. I'm the Queen. I've been reinstated. I don't have time for—"
"—BALONEY."
She stopped, looking up at him in shock. The young man's expression was suddenly grave, his previously flirtatious gaze now hardened into a glare.
"I—"
"—Okay, change of plans. Now we're here because I'm going to prove you wrong," he interrupted, putting his hand on his thigh and pushing himself up, "Speaking as the professional fun-haver here, you ARE going to have some fun in your life, and you ARE going to enjoy it, whether you like it or not."
"I've told you, I can't!"
"Yeah, you can."
"But I—"
"—Will you please just believe in yourself?"
He offered her his hand.
Elsa's heart leapt into her throat, and she quickly looked down, breaking eye contact. Anxiously fidgeting with her fingers, she bit her lip, still seeing his outstretched hand in her peripheral vision.
She determinately stared into her lap, frozen as the young man took a step towards her.
"Elsa, will you please just give yourself a chance?" he asked softly. "I know you've got it in you. I can see it in your eyes."
"I—!" Elsa stammered. She shifted uncomfortably in the snowbank, sucking in her breath. "I just don't know if I should. I mean, I probably shouldn't even be here."
A pause.
"Why not?" he sighed. "Do you need me to take you back home?"
"No, it's—well, I want to be here, but—but I—!" She gulped, rocking back in the snow and squeezing her eyes shut. "There's work to do. Lots of work. I shouldn't be here. I need to get back to work; I should be workin—"
Ting!
Elsa jolted as the enormous snowflake suddenly landed on the tip of her nose, busting apart in front of her eyes. As a sparkling blue mist twinkled in her vision, disintegrating into the air just as quickly as it had materialized, she froze, feeling a strange, inexplicable rush of joy sweep through her body.
Elsa blinked, quaveringly letting out her breath as her muscles relaxed. Giving her head a little shake, she looked up, only to realize that the young man was crouching down in front of her in the snow again, gazing intently into her eyes.
He raised his eyebrows.
"That's more like it," he whispered. "You've been working yourself to death. And a certain somebody told me once—as I recall—that they've got a 'personal responsibility to Arendelle, that involves a great deal of not dying?""
Elsa felt blood rushing to her cheeks.
"I—I suppose you're right," she breathed. "And the meeting was really short, so I should have a little time. Right?"
He stood back up, offering his hand again. "Uh-huh."
"And—and my councilors," Elsa stammered, taking it, "It'll work out."
"Absolutely," the young man replied, pulling her up onto her feet. "And, don't worry about it for now. We'll sort them out when we get back."
She nodded gratefully, straightening her skirt and taking a step forward. She could tell from the drop in temperature that they were in the mountains as well, the air slightly thinner, away from the villages and farmland below. This place, in fact, was closer to the altitude of the North Mountain than anything else, and was certainly higher and colder than most people—even ice-harvesters, like Kristoff once was—would dare venture, especially in the middle of winter.
Staring at the ground, Elsa snuck a look in the young man's direction again, suddenly noticing that he had no shoes, comfortably standing barefoot in the ankle-deep snow.
Ninety-nine-and-a-half percent convinced.
Her heart pounding, she straightened up, looking into his eyes.
"So…what were you wanting to do?"
He spun his staff on the ground, pondering this for a moment. Then, catching it, he stuck his other hand in his pocket, looking back to her and raising his eyebrows again.
"Actually," he said carefully, "I was sort of hoping you could—show me what you can do."
Elsa froze.
Feeling his intense gaze on her face, Elsa looked down again, biting her lip. Anxiously fidgeting with her fingers, she let out a nervous laugh, shaking her head.
"I don't—I d-don't know if I—"
"—What's the matter now?"
"I guess I—um," she stammered, her heart leaping into her throat as he walked toward her again, "I've never really been asked to—um—demonstrate? Before?"
He let out a sharp bark of laughter. "Look," he reassured her, "You don't need to—like—perform, or anything. I was just wanting to see some more of what you showed me last night."
"What do you mean?"
"Uh—ma'am?" Elsa watched in shock as he reached forward, picking up her hands in his own. "You. Have. Ice Powers. Okay? Just—let 'em go."
Elsa gazed down at her palms as he turned away, the staff falling back onto his shoulder.
"I promise it'll be funnnn," he called over his shoulder.
The midday sun was partially blocked by the thick clouds above them, but a few rogue streams of light made it through to the clearing, catching the sparkling web of ice crystals on his shirt as he moved.
Ice crystals…
"Look, do I need to taunt it out of you?"
Elsa snapped back into focus. He had suddenly spun around to face her again, gazing into her eyes from across the little clearing.
"Taunt it out of me?" she sputtered, "What do you mean?"
He sighed dramatically, a mischievous hint of a smirk tugging at the edge of his mouth as he turned away from her again.
"Well… I'm starting to doubt if you've really got it in you. But, I shouldn't be surprised," the young man drawled, shrugging casually, "I mean, if it's really true that ice is more of a guy thing, and—"
FWOOM!
Elsa jolted, her eyes bulging as she stared at her own outstretched arms, and the enormous snowdrift that suddenly had suddenly materialized where the young man had been standing. Seeing the pile of snow shifting, her breath caught as she heard a triumphant laugh ring through the clearing. All of a sudden, a blue-sleeved arm, holding a shepherd's crook, burst out of the snowdrift.
"I—I'm so sorry!" Elsa gasped, running forward to him, "I just—I didn't mean—!"
"—THAT'S more LIKE it!"
A grin on his face, he punched his staff at the sky, and she gasped as a sparkling stream of ice particles shot up through the air into the center of the clearing, expanding into a sheet and bursting apart over the pond. As the glittering mist of snowflakes softly fell towards the dark surface of the partially-frozen water, her heart leapt, and she turned back to face him.
He gestured to her again.
Oh. Um…
Elsa swept her hands over her head, and a half-a-dozen snowflakes flew out of her arms, spiraling above them into the air and fading away in the light. She then sheepishly looked back to the whited-haired young man.
He raised his eyebrows.
"Seriously?"
EeeeeeeEEEEE POW!
Elsa blushed, letting out a self-conscious giggle as her long spiral of snowflakes caught the sunlight, blasting apart into explosions of icy glitter.
He laughed in excitement, flipping backwards and flying across the clearing through the air, whipping his staff around his feet. Elsa gasped as a fierce, cold wind began to rush around her in the clearing, the snow picking up and swirling into the trees as the bottom of her skirt flapped wildly against her legs.
All of a sudden, the young man flipped forward, diving towards the pond and slamming the end of the shepherd's crook onto its surface.
BOOM!
It froze over, hard, a large cloud of frost billowing into the trees like a wave of dust.
Elsa's heart leapt, and she shakily picked up the edge of her skirt, running out onto the ice to meet him as he straightened up. Planting her feet as he turned around to face her, her mind racing, she then closed her eyes in concentration, bending down.
Biting her lip, she pulled her arms into the air.
"WHOA!"
The young man jolted and leapt into the air as the frozen surface of the pond cracked away from its banks, rising into the trees, six gigantic pillars pushing it into the air with a long, dull thundering as Elsa pulled it out of the ground. Twenty feet up, she lowered her arms, turning back to him hopefully.
The young man raised his eyebrows, letting the shepherd's crook fall backwards onto his shoulder. He laughed, shaking his head and grinning.
"You sure that you don't have time for fun, ma'am?" he chuckled.
She said nothing, but reached her right hand across her body, rubbing it on her opposite elbow and smiling up at him shyly.
"Your turn," Elsa whispered.
He nodded, still grinning, and walked calmly to the edge of the pond, flipping the staff forward. Tapping the surface of the ice, he then swung the end of the shepherd's crook into the air, a swirling spiral of frost shooting up out of the clearing.
And it stopped.
As the twisted pillar of frost hovered in its place, catching the sunlight as it slowly turned in the air, Elsa crept up to it in wonder. The young man calmly walked around the frozen floor, tapping his staff on the ice and sending more spirals of shimmering frost bursting up from the ice. As she stood, staring up at the delicate column of mist in awe, Elsa suddenly felt a frigid gust of wind rush past her, and she gasped, whirling around.
With a dull creaking, the twisted pillars of frost instantly hardened into solid ice as the wind rushed past them. Elsa's breath caught, and she ran back into the center of the floor as the white-haired young man flipped backwards into the air, throwing the end of his staff over the clearing with a triumphant laugh.
CRACK!
The enormous snowflake shot up out of the clearing, exploding into millions of delicate snowflakes and falling all around them on the ice.
As she turned back, he was suddenly beside her again, lighting onto the ice with a grin on his face. He bowed dramatically, gesturing for her to make her next move.
A slight hop in her step as she rushed over to the side of the platform, standing between two of the beautiful, twisted columns, Elsa reached forward and swept her hand through the air. A flurry of snow shot through the space between the columns. She then moved her opposite hand in the other direction, and another flurry went spiraling out.
With the young man watching her in curiosity, Elsa took a step back, looking at the frosty x webbed between the pillars. As he walked forward, his mouth hanging slightly open in shock, she swept her hands to the side.
FWOOM!
"MOTHER of—!"
He stumbled backwards in amazement, staring up at the elegant, crystalline wall that had suddenly rolled across the x, delicate patterns spiked out all across its surface. Without even waiting for her next turn, Elsa gasped in delight, running across the ice, throwing her arms out in front of her and sending rocketing streamers of frost sailing over the ice, sticking onto the walls in elegant, spontaneous spirals as the young man laughed, shooting past her and whipping a whirlwind of snowflakes through the air. Creaking, popping, cracking blasts of ice and snow exploded through the structure; walls, arches, and a gigantic, sparkling dome of ice materializing out of the clearing in the blizzard around them.
Elsa could hardly see as the snow rushed around her on the ice, the wind tearing at her long capelet and whipping her skirt against her legs, but she didn't need to. She didn't care. All she needed was to feel it, the rush of frigid air rushing through her braid, as she threw her hands in one way, and then the other, pillars and columns and beautiful crystalline walls erupting out of the floor with explosions of frost. It had been months since she had allowed herself to feel this free. Free, and liberated, and light, and—and—!
Fun.
She felt—fun.
An unexplainable rush of joy swept through her, Elsa laughed, holding out her arms and spinning around and around on the ice, her heart racing as she felt the frost rushing about her legs. The snow, the cold, the glittering on the air; it was amazing, without description, the wind in her ears as she spun, the blizzard swirling, growing stronger, twisting and dancing and whipping and—
"EEP!"
Her spike heel suddenly catching on her capelet, Elsa shrieked, plummeting towards the ground. Just before she hit, a wiry arm shot out of nowhere, and she felt a hard jerk back on her waist. Dangling above the icy floor as she gasped for breath, Elsa looked down to her stomach.
A navy blue sleeve.
"You okay, Snowflake?"
Feeling the heat of embarrassment rushing to her face, Elsa shakily let him pull her back onto her feet, struggling to regain her footing. Brushing off her dress and straightening up, she turned around to face him, sheepishly staring at the ground.
"I—I'm sorry," she choked, "I just—I got a little carried away."
"Do you need to sit down?"
"I—!"
Before he could respond, Elsa shakily nodded, lowering herself onto the ground and collapsing onto the icy floor. Catching a glimpse of his expression before quickly looking away, she saw that the young man was struggling not to laugh.
Her regal, elegant capelet thrown around her on the ice, Queen Elsa bit her lip, her heart pounding as she hugged her knees to her chest. The young man silently stepped forward, crouching down in front of her with his staff across his lap, gazing into her face in the silence.
Rocking back, and then forward again, Elsa pulled in a quick breath, hesitantly looking up into his eyes. She let out a nervous laugh, shifting on the ground.
"I just—I just don't think I've ever had so much—fun," Elsa breathed.
The young man raised his eyebrows.
After a few moments, he grinned, inching another little step towards her on his tip-toes.
"And that—m'lady," he chuckled softly, reaching forward and flicking the end of Elsa's nose, "Is the most fantastic thing I've heard today."
Elsa smiled in spite of herself, continuing to hug her knees to her chest in the childlike position as he winked, placing his hand on his thigh and pushing himself up. Getting onto his feet, the young man laughed under his breath, offering his hand to help her up.
"Do you think you're alright now?" he asked, "Ready to keep building this—whatever we're making?"
Elsa gulped.
His feet stepped into her field of vision again. Elsa blushed, and sat up, fighting back the stinging in her eyes.
"It—it really is you," she whimpered. "Isn't it?"
He said nothing, but smiled sheepishly, his piercing gaze locked into hers as she looked up. As she nervously stared into his boyish face, Elsa suddenly realized that his startlingly blue eyes had delicate, white-streaked patterns in them, like snowflakes.
Snowflakes.
A jolt of shock shot through her, the reality of it all hitting her at once. Her heart pounding, Elsa pulled in a ragged gasp, her vision blurring with tears.
"You really are Jack Frost," Elsa sobbed.
Unable to fight it anymore, she cupped her hands over her eyes, shaking her head as more blood rushed to her face. It was too much. The snow, the cold, the whirlwind of emotions spinning through her mind; the everything, her head reeling, mind racing to catch up as she frantically tried to flick away the tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. How could this—it—b-but it was—!
He was.
"I—I guess I am," he said softly.
"You're—Jack. Frost," Elsa stammered, looking up at him through her fingers, "I mean, I—I studied you! You're amazing, and smart, and fun, and wonderful, and you have ice powers, and—and y-you—I just—I—I c-can't believe that you're—we're—!"
She abruptly cut herself off and shook her head, burying her face in her hands again in embarrassment.
There was a long, silent pause.
Without looking up, Elsa could feel the young man crouch down again, carefully laying his staff down on the ground next to her. After another few moments, she could see his shadow on the ice, his arms reaching forward.
Elsa jolted as she felt his icy fingers curl around her wrists. Sucking in her breath, she froze as the Spirit of Winter gently pulled her hands away from her face, smiling sheepishly and staring into her eyes.
"Hi," Jack whispered.