AUTHOR'S NOTE:

1. I'm working on the List Of References, and—yeah, this is going to take a while. I didn't realize how MANY times I've referenced the movies and/or actual history! (Example: Back in "Crazy or Evil," Jack makes a comment, "Dialogue, though? Dialogue with whom? Don't tell me he pulled a Galileo." This was a reference to "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems," a highly controversial piece published by Galileo Galilei in 1632. Look it up!) :)

2. THANK YOU to all of the lovely, wonderful people that have been giving me such sweet reviews! Seriously, you keep me writing. If people are actually enjoying this, I can justify working on it… as for those glorious reviews, I shall be printing them out, taping them together, and using them to re-wallpaper my apartment, just as soon as I can convince my spouse that it's a good idea.

3. I have an email! I can be contacted now at "IceAllianceAuthorPerson" at gmail. (Do NOT try sending stuff to NopeNotTelling; somebody else already took that email!) Love you all, and have a fantabulous day!

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38: IMPOSSIBLE

Clutching the new vase in one hand, Elsa stepped out into the hall, whisking her capelet through the doorway as King Kristoff held the door. Thanking him, she nervously spun around, looking down the corridor just in time to see her sister Anna suddenly trip, shrieking and lurching forward into Kristoff's arms.

"Are you okay?" Elsa gasped.

Kristoff grinned, shaking his head and helping his wife onto her feet again. After eight months of being married to Queen Anna, he was more than used to catching her as she tripped over carpets, rocks, and—more often than not—her own feet.

And Anna's pregnancy was not helping.

"Finally! You're done!" Anna laughed, brushing herself off. "Stinkers! What took you so long?"

"We were just talking," Kristoff shrugged.

Biting her lip, Elsa snuck a glance over her sister's shoulder. At the end of the hall, Jack Frost was leaning carelessly against the doorframe of the private dining room, apparently not yet noticing that she was in the hallway. He absent-mindedly pulled a snowflake from the air, spiky and elegant, twirling it on the tip of his finger. As he closed his hand, it abruptly burst apart, floating away on the air in a long line of delicate, shimmering frost. That handsome little hint of a smile reappeared on his lips, and Elsa felt her heart swell.

All of a sudden, from the end of the corridor, Jack looked up.

Elsa jolted, nearly dropping the vase, and turned away. She closed her eyes, silently begging her heart to stop pounding, and scarcely a second later, a tiny, cold little gust of wind caught the edge of her capelet, billowing it out to the side.

An icy hand brushed against her arm.

"Hey," Jack said softly.

Elsa's heart leapt into her throat. She could feel from the chill in the air that he was standing very close to her again, his face hardly more than six inches from her own. Clutching the vase, she turned around to face him.

"Hi?" Elsa squeaked.

Jack smiled, his face flushing slightly. Elsa's heart skipped a beat, and then—as she hesitantly looked up into his eyes—a wave of calm.

Feeling the confusing warmth rushing through her, Elsa pulled in a long, shaky breath, her shoulders relaxing slightly as he took a step towards her. There was the fun magic thing, but—well, she hadn't SEEN him do that. And, this warmth didn't feel like the magic…

How very strange.

"That's beautiful," Jack commented suddenly.

Elsa abruptly sucked in her breath, eyes wide.

Jack let out a nervous laugh, running his fingers through his hair and then pointing to the vase. "That," he corrected quickly. "That—that's beautiful. Did you just make it?"

"Oh!" Elsa blushed, "Um—I—yes."

He raised his eyebrows slightly, leaning onto his staff and gesturing for the vase. Elsa handed it to him, and he let the staff fall back onto his shoulder, inspecting the ice. After a few moments, his eyes fell onto the vase's jagged crack. A look of confusion sweeping over his features, he gently reached out, tracing his finger over it.

"It—the vase—it looks like it's made of two pieces, not one," Jack said. "Were they broken, or something?"

Elsa opened her mouth to respond, but no sound came out. Trying again, she pulled in a deep breath.

"Not anymore," she said shyly.

Jack grinned at the statement, peering up at her through his eyelashes. Elsa's heart leapt again.

Oh, wow.

He gently tossed vase to himself, then looking back to her, his beautiful, snowflake-marked eyes staring deep into her own. "I guess that shouldn't surprise me. You're good at fixing things," Jack said casually.

"You—um, you are, too," Elsa stammered.

Not yet giving her back the vase, his staff leaning onto his shoulder, Jack silently reached forward and took Elsa's hand. As he ran his thumb over her skin, she felt more blood rushing to her face, and nervously glanced back to Anna and Kristoff.

Of course, they were both watching intently, smirking with raised eyebrows. After a few more uncomfortable moments, Kristoff laughed, shaking his head and looking to Jack.

"If you think that's good," he chuckled, "You should see the prototype crib she built for me. It's in our room."

Jack startled slightly, realizing he was being watched. After a few moments, hiding it, he let out a nervous laugh, looking back to Elsa.

"You made a prototype for a crib… out of ice?" Jack asked.

Elsa bit her lip. "Well… yes," she admitted, silently begging him to not make the obvious joke in front of Anna and Kristoff. "Why?"

"Ah, no reason," he shrugged, his eyes sliding in Kristoff's direction as he reluctantly let go of Elsa's hand, returning her vase. "It's just kinda funny, that you do ice prototypes. North does exactly the same thing."

"Really?"

"Yeah! What do you think he does in his office—sit around and eat fruitcake all day?" A mischievous grin tugged at the edge of the Guardian's mouth, and he then leaned close into Elsa's ear as they began to walk after Anna and Kristoff down the hallway. "I mean—he might look like it, but…"

Elsa laughed, putting her hand over her mouth. She then smiled nervously, shaking her head and pulling in her breath. "So he makes prototypes of the toys out of ice?"

"Right. Then, each yeti gets a model to work off of. In the workshop, I mean," he added.

Elsa paused. "Wait," she blurted, her eyes widening, "Then Santa Clau—um, North—does he—?"

Her voice trailed off, and Elsa bit her lip, opening her hand and letting a few snowflakes dance above her palm. Realizing what she was asking, Jack shook his head, drumming his fingers on the staff.

"Nope. No ice powers. North uses a hammer and chisel," he explained.

"But the ice—"

"—North Pole, remember?"

"Oooh!" Elsa exclaimed. "Unlimited ice, right?"

"Right." Jack adjusted his grip on the staff, sticking his hand into his pocket. "It could have been North or South, really, but—well, the North was good for the yetis. The South was more penguin territory. His helpers sort of needed to have opposable thumbs."

The Snow Queen raised her eyebrows, shifting the vase into her other hand. "So, what happens with the South Pole, then?"

"Oh, North said I could have that one."

They both laughed. Jack nudged her, grinning.

"Want me to take you?" he whispered. "Think of it, Elsa! We could claim the South Pole for Arendelle!"

"Mmm, not really into colonization—"

"—But Elsa," Jack prodded, "Come on. Penguins."

"And what economic justification would we have for maintaining the South Pole for Arendelle?"

Jack blinked.

"But penguins," he breathed.

She laughed again, shaking her head. "So, here's a question for you," she started again. "The North Pole—geographic, or magnetic?"

His eyebrows lifted slightly. "Wow. I mean—uh—very good," Jack stammered. "Most people don't really think that one through. It's the magnetic one. Oh, and you know something else about the workshop, that most people don't?"

"What's that?"

"It's built into an old telescope dome."

"What? No castle?"

Jack smiled, shrugging. He then shook his head, leaping forward a pace and walking very close at Elsa's side again. "I think that North said some crazy old guy in the middle ages thought it'd be a good idea to set up shop at the North Pole."

"Did he survive?"

"Um… no."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, so a half-century later, North set up shop. Regarding the prototypes, though… I prefer the way that you do ice," Jack said softly, gesturing to the vase. "North's stuff is pretty impressive. But no—no ice powers."

Glancing again to Queen Anna and King Kristoff, who were now deeply involved in their own conversation as they walked down the hall, the Spirit of Winter then leaned close in to Elsa again, peering up through his eyelashes. Her breath caught as he reached his hand up to her face, then gently drawing the back of his fingers across her cheek.

"I—I'm pretty sure it's still just you and me, Snowflake," Jack said softly.

They stared into each other's eyes for a long, silent moment.

"Ooooooh, Blizzard Bunnies…"

Jack's face flushed, and he looked down, shaking his head. "SERIOUSLY, Kristoff?!" he sputtered, laughing and whirling around to face him. "Comparing me to Bunny? Again?"

Elsa felt heat rushing to her cheeks, gripping the vase. Kristoff let out a sharp bark of laughter himself. "You and the Easter Bunny do not get along… do you?"

"Well… we did… for about seventy-two hours," Jack muttered, "And then I… well, let's just say our relationship is a bit strained."

Anna giggled, and Kristoff shrugged. "Alrighty then, Snowmeo," he teased. "But Anna's going to have to steal Juliet away from you for a little while."

"Wha—"

"—She has a previous engagement," the pregnant queen proclaimed, lurching forward as her husband jumped to catch her, "With some chocolate and me."

She beamed as Kristoff helped her right herself. Jack's face fell, and Elsa then suddenly realized that they were standing at the top of the stairs.

The Commoner King raised his eyebrows.

"You've got one minute, Frost," he said quietly. "Okay? And don't worry. The tasting shouldn't take that long."

Jack nodded, biting his lip. King Kristoff turned away, just in time to catch his wife as she tripped, shrieking and plummeting face-forward down the stairs. Helping her back up, he then put his arm around her, trying to convince her get down one stair at a time as she protested.

Elsa looked back to Jack, her heart in her throat.

"So—um," she choked, "I guess—I guess this is it. For a little while."

"Yeah."

Jack forced a weak smile. After a few moments, the Snow Queen drew in a quick breath, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry there isn't room for another person," she stammered quickly, it's just—Anna and I are—"

"—Snowflake, don't worry about me," Jack chuckled. "Go. Be with your sister. Uh—eat stuff?"

To this, Elsa giggled in spite of herself. She looked down to the vase, readjusting her grip on it.

"And besides," Jack whispered, suddenly an inch from her face and making Elsa jump again, "I have some—independent research to do."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, come now. Remember the whole Alliance thing we have going?"

He winked, taking a step back and leaning onto his staff. Elsa's heart jumped.

"The Council?" she breathed.

He nodded. "Yeah, we're shaking things up a bit." Jack then shrugged. "But I kind of need to know who we're dealing with, first."

"Makes sense." Elsa shifted on her feet. "There's a list of their names and everything in—"

"—Pshaw! Where's the fun in that?" he chuckled. "I'll figure it out."

I'm sure you will, she thought.

A squeal of delight suddenly echoed from somewhere at the bottom of the stairs, and Jack and Elsa jolted, spinning around. Queen Anna had finally made it down to the next floor. Aaaaand was celebrating.

"I—um," Elsa stammered, taking a step back, "I—I—better go. I have to—I better go."

As she whirled around to the stairs, blushing furiously, Jack caught her wrist. "Elsa—!"

The Fifth Spirit's breath caught, and she slowly turned back around to him. He blushed, letting out a nervous laugh, and then opened his mouth to say something. Closing it, he pulled in a tiny breath, and tried again.

"We—um," Jack stammered, "Can I—can I meet you again after?"

Elsa's eyes widened as the Fifth Guardian slid his hand down onto hers, gazing pleadingly into her eyes. Her heart fluttered.

Oooooh, those eyes.

"I—yeah. Sure," she choked. "That—that would be wonderful."

Jack smiled sheepishly, looking down and playing with her fingers. After a brief moment of hesitation, he brought Elsa's hand to his lips.

"My queen," Jack said softly.

Elsa blushed, her mouth falling slightly open in shock as the Spirit of Winter bowed and kissed her hand, looking up to her through his eyelashes again. His cheeks flushing, he then let it go, straightening up and turning back to the hallway.

Stumbling back a step, her head spinning, Elsa looked nervously to the vase. All his broken, jagged edges, she heard her own voice starting to say in her mind. And if… maybe if he ISN'T just after Arendelle…

STUPID girl! she thought suddenly, shaking her head. He's an impossible wish for you, Elsa. Impossible.

As Jack leapt into the air, flying away down the hall, a few last, shimmering snowflakes materialized behind him from where he had taken off. They fell softly towards the ground, and Elsa felt her heart swell, watching the beautiful, white-haired Spirit of Winter as he disappeared around the corner.

But the feeling couldn't last. Scarcely a moment after, a sharp pang of pain hit her in the chest, her throat tightening with the heartbreaking realization. Jack Frost…. love her?

Impossible.