13: ICE ALLIANCE

As soon as the sisters had disappeared into Elsa's bedroom again, the door to the art gallery swinging shut with a creak, Jack carefully walked towards it, eying the knob.

Click.

It was closed.

Leaping into the air, the Youngest Guardian swept past the shelves of ice statues in a gust of cold wind, lighting down silently by the desk and holding his breath. Placing his staff on the carpet beside him, Jack Frost crouched down, pressing his ear to the door just in time to hear the slow, squealing crescendo of Queen Anna's ear-piercing whine of delight.

"EeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEE—"

"Anna," Elsa's voice begged, "Whatever you're thinking—stop thinking it—"

"—EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—!"

"ANNA—"

"—JACK?! FROST?!"Anna shrieked, making him startle backwards from the keyhole, "That's your secret! You've been holding out on me because you've been seeing JACK FROST?!"

"Anna—"

"—How long have you been together?" she bubbled, "DETAILS! I want details. Tell me everything!"

"There's nothing to tell."

Carefully getting up onto his feet again, Jack glanced down to his right forearm, remembering the lipstick mark that was still smeared across his skin.

I… disagree.

The girls were talking again. Jack jumped, shaking his head and pressing his ear to the keyhole, hearing the pregnant queen let out a sigh of exasperation.

"Elsa, I just wish you'd consider it."

"I did consider it," Elsa retorted. "I considered it, and then I rejected it, because it's preposterous and illogical and I do not need a man."

"I never said you needed one."

"But—"

"—But it's sure nice to haaaaave oooooooone," Anna's voice sang.

Jack restrained from a snort.

"I'll pass."

"But the benefits!"

"I don't want to hear about it, Anna."

Jack grinned, readjusting himself by the door.

"And besides," Elsa started again, "Weren't you just saying how I don't need to be seeing suitors right now?"

"Well, that was before one of your suitors was Jack Frost—"

"Jack isn't a suitor!"

"Oh, he's just Jack to you, now?"

There was a long, painful moment of silence.

"Jack isn't a suitor," Elsa squeaked.

He could practically feel her embarrassed blushing through the door. Jack felt his heart swell, and he grinned again, shaking his head.

Dawwwwww…

"So, that's where you've been. The walk," Anna exclaimed. "You weren't going for a walk at all! You were with Jack Frost!"

"Alright. You've got me," Elsa sighed. "I was."

"And you were in here, the whole time? Why weren't you answering the door? I knocked—a lot of times, actually, and—OHMYGOSH; PLEASE TELL ME YOU GUYS WEREN'T—"

"—NO."

Jack clapped his hand over his mouth, his eyes bulging. Leaning up against the door, he pulled in a long breath, struggling to keep his breathing even.

Right to the point, then!

"We left right after the Council," Elsa explained frantically, "I—I was really upset, so he took me out to the mountains, and—"

"—Jack Frost took you out on a date."

There was another long pause.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee," the squealing started again, "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—!"

"ANNA—"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEElsaYouFinallyFinallyFINALLYWentOnADAAAAAAAAATE!" Anna shrieked with joy.

"I've been on dates!"

"With whom?"

"Well, with you!"

"That is not the same."

"Why not?" Elsa protested, "You're my sister! Sister Dates are perfectly valid for—"

"—I meant a date with a GUY."

"He's not a guy."

Jack jolted.

What?

On the other side of the door, the floorboards under the carpet creaked, like Elsa was shifting on her feet. Then, he heard her pull in a long breath.

"He's not just a guy, Anna. I mean, he—he's Jack. Frost," Elsa breathed. "This isn't some random prince, we're talking about. This is the Spirit of Winter."

Crouching by the door, Jack let out his breath at the clarification.

Anna's voice was chuckling again.

"Okay. Fair point," she laughed. "Your first date wasn't with a guy. It was with THE guy."

"Anna, what on earth are you talking about?"

"Uh…"

Her voice trailed off, and Queen Anna was whispering something he couldn't quite make out. Pressing his ear harder against the keyhole, Jack listened intently, straining to hear.

"Anna," Elsa groaned, "Just because he's a boy with ice powers—"

"—And gorgeous—"

"—It doesn't automatically mean that we're in love," she insisted. "I mean—even if I was good enough for him, that's not how it works. And, besides. We've only known each other for one day."

Jack's heart sank, and he bit his lip, looking down and readjusting himself by the door. Oooooh, she was definitely 'good enough.' THAT was for sure.

She did have a point about the one day thing, though…

"Soooo," Anna's voice prodded, "What does the Spirit of Winter do with the Snow Queen, on a date?"

Elsa let out a nervous laugh. "It wasn't—a date," she scoffed, the floorboards under the carpet creaking as she walked across the room, "I mean—it's not what you think, Anna. I swear. Jack and I are friends. We just—he just took me out, and we had some fun. Like, a bit of an ice-off, and—and we built some—stuff—"

"—You built. Another. ICE PALACE?!" Anna gasped.

"I—"

"—MARRY HIM."

Jack clapped his hand over his mouth again, trying to suppress another snort.

"Anna," Elsa begged, "I—"

"—You like him."

There was a silence.

"Oooooooooo!" Queen Anna squealed, "I'm right, aren't I? You actually LIKE a BOY!"

"Anna, I just—"

"—Oh, HO, you've got it bad!"

"What do you mean?"

"You're blushing!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Ooooooh, YesYouAreYesYouAreYesYouAAAARE!" Anna shrieked, "I KNEW IT! YOU—"

"—Anna, keep it down!" Elsa choked, "Someone's going to hear you!"

"And, what? Find out that the independent, all-powerful Fifth Spirit of the Enchanted Forest can have a crush? Oh, heaven forbid."

"It is not a crush!" she protested desperately, "I just—I just admire him as a friend, alright? And if he happens to be intelligent and charming as well—"

"—You have a CRUSH, dear sissy," Anna chuckled, "It's not the end of the world. Believe me. And besides, who's going to hear, anyway? The only people around besides you and me are a handful of guards that couldn't care less about what we're doing in here, and an impossibly gorgeous snow sprite in the next room!"

"In the next—!"

Elsa gasped, abruptly cutting herself off, and Jack pressed his ear harder into the keyhole, hearing a long pause.

Anna started giggling uncontrollably again.

"Okay," she teased, "I'll leave you two alone…"

"It's not like that," Elsa's voice retorted with a nervous laugh, "And besides, you and I have other affairs of the kingdom to worry about. See you in the morning."

"Yes, yes, fine. Royalty stuff." Queen Anna's voice was growing fainter as she walked away from where Jack was listening. There was a muffled squeal of a set of hinges, and he knew that the door between Elsa's bedroom and the hallway was slowly swinging open. "Love you!"

"I love you too, Anna."

The door beyond the keyhole shut with a sharp clunk, and Jack could hear a faint creaking of floorboards again from the other side of the door.

Elsa was walking back towards the gallery.

His heart leaping into his throat, Jack lurched away from the keyhole and leapt into the air. A flurry of frantic snowflakes materializing out of the air behind him, the Spirit of Winter then swooped down to the other end of the gallery, laying down on his staff as if he'd been there the whole time and hovering in the air just as Elsa opened the door.

.

.

Silently pushing the door shut behind her, Elsa bit her lip, turning and seeing a faint blue glowing at the end of the hallway.

"Mr. Frost?" she quavered, stepping into the art gallery. "Are you still—"

"—IT'S JACK!"

Before Elsa could react, there was a gust of frigid air, and the Spirit of Winter was suddenly dropping down onto the carpet next to her. She jolted, jumping to the side with a squeak.

Jack Frost laughed, tossing his staff into his other hand. "Seriously, Snowflake?" he chuckled. "It's Jack. NOBODY calls me Mr. Frost."

Nobody calls me Snowflake, Elsa thought.

"I'm sorry," she apologized frantically, "It's just—I—I still kind of can't believe it's you. And I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long—I—I know you're probably busy, and so I—well, it's been really nice to meet you, and—"

"—Wait," Jack scoffed, "You think I'm leaving?"

The statement caught her completely off guard.

"Well—I—um," Elsa squeaked, "You're not?"

"Not while you're still so high-strung."

She looked at him with suspicion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you're a worrywart, and that's a problem," Jack retorted, poking the air in her direction. "And, I'm not going anywhere until you learn how to have fun."

"But today was fun!" she protested. "It's just that now I have to get back to reality, and there's a lot of work left to be—"

"—Okay, that statement? Right there? My point."

Elsa's heart leapt into her throat as he let his staff fall back onto his shoulder, sticking his opposite hand into the pocket on his shirt as he stepped in front of her.

"I don't care how important or serious or hard your job is," he said fervently, "Even if you are just trying to cram as much as you can into a few months for your sister. As the professional fun-haver here, I can promise you: If you don't take a break every once in a while, you'll be losing your life force out your ears."

"I can't just take breaks, Jack," she sighed. "Not with The Council. If I turn my back for two seconds, they'll rip apart our work and take over the kingdom again."

He paused, taking a tiny step back.

"So… for you to have fun," Jack Frost muttered thoughtfully, flipping his staff over his wrist and sitting down on it in the air, "We need to get your council to stop—being awful."

"Good luck!" Elsa laughed bitterly. "Every time I try to do anything, they're right there to stop me."

"Can't you just fire them?"

"It's not that simple." Elsa shook her head, folding her arms over her chest and looking down to her feet. "There was way too much political heat wrapped up in when my father got them appointed. I can't dismiss them."

Jack smirked, cocking an eyebrow at her teasingly. "Now, how do you know that?"

"I tried."

"Oh."

His face fell, and he bit his lip, looking down again. Blowing a tuft of white hair out of his face, Jack shook his head in frustration.

"I'll tell you one thing, Snowflake," he grumbled. "It's real annoying that I can't just tell 'em off."

"Thank you, Jack," Elsa said softly, "I mean—I'm sorry, and I'm sure it is frustrating for you, but—well, that means a lot to me. That you would."

"Yeah. I would," Jack gritted, "I mean, they're taking away your—fun. That's just WRONG. If only I wasn't invisib—"

Elsa watched in confusion as Jack Frost's eyes widened, his mouth falling slightly open, as if he'd suddenly been struck with pure inspiration.

"Wait," he said carefully, looking up to her, "So they—your councilguys—they could still resign. Right?"

Elsa bit her lip. "I suppose so," she sighed, "But that's never going to hap—"

"—And a lot of folks around here are superstitious," he continued, dropping his voice to a whisper. "Aren't they?"

"I suppose. Why?"

Elsa jumped as he suddenly leapt up to her, leaning into her ear.

"One willing and able Invisible Phantom at. Your. SERVICE," he whispered intensely.

His white hair falling forward into his face, Jack Frost stepped back and swept into a deep, dramatic bow in front of her, looking up and grinning mischievously. Realizing what he was saying, Elsa's eyes bulged.

"Are you—are you saying that you want to—prank them into resigning!?" she gasped.

"My Queen. I would never suggest such a thing." He straightened up, shrugging with a hint of a smirk twitching out of the side of his mouth. "But—if something was there to help motivate the old morons to start mysteriously deciding to turn in their resignation papers, one by one—"

"—That's just—oh!"

He shrugged again, grinning and backing away with his hands in the air. Her mouth still hanging open, the Snow Queen quickly shook her head.

"But how could I possibly repay you for that?" she breathed.

"I might have a few ideas." Jack nodded, taking a step towards her and gazing into her eyes intensely. "But, for now: it would be an honor."

She stared at him in shock. "You really think we could do this?"

"Belief is a powerful thing, Snowflake," Jack said. "And, besides. We're not going to hurt them, or anything. We're just going to—mess with their heads a bit. Have a little fun with them, you know?"

"But like this? Is this—is this fair?"

"Fair?" Jack scoffed, "All of them, against one of you, is what doesn't sound fair, to me."

"With Anna, it's technically two of us."

"Oh, well, in that case... great."

She reluctantly acknowledged it, biting her lip and nodding. They were trying to mess with her head. And, given that she was supposed to be the one running the kingdom right now (just like how she'd been running it completely alone back before Anna's coronation), the whole idea that she was having to do so at such high personal costs was something of an outrage…

"Do we have a deal?" he chuckled.

Jack was holding out his hand, looking to her expectantly. The Snow Queen hesitated, letting out a nervous laugh.

"Jack," she stammered, "I—I appreciate the offer, but I really—"

"—Your first suitor is coming tomorrow, right?"

Elsa's eyes narrowed.

Setting her jaw, she grabbed his hand, shaking it vigorously.

"Deal," Elsa gritted.

Jack's eyes widened as she let go of his hand, taking a step back. "Uh," he said quietly, "Snowflake? Am I detecting a little—uh, a little anger at—"

"—THEY were all MANIPULATING ME for my ENTIRE REIGN!" Elsa stammered, "And now, they're messing with Anna, and I—yeah! I should fight back! The fact that I even have to BE here, and then the suitors, and—this time, they've gone too far!"

He raised his eyebrows, a sly little grin beginning to cross his face again. "Wow," Jack chuckled. "So, the Snow Queen does have a little fire in her, after all."

"Frost, you have no idea."

They both laughed, and Elsa felt a little color rising to her cheeks. After a few moments, a look of wonder swept over her features.

"So—this is less of a friendship—and—more of a team," she realized. "Like—like we're an alliance, or something."

He snorted. "Allies in a war against your idiot Council?"

"I wasn't going to phrase it that way," she admitted, "But, yes. I suppose that sounds about right."

"Well—if we're making this all official, I feel like we need a name, or something. How are these things usually named?"

"Alliances? They aren't. I mean, not when they're formed," the Fifth Spirit explained, remembering a lifetime of royal education. "Usually, when groups are named, it's just a slow thing, over time. At some point, somebody starts referring to the group by a nickname that represents what holds it together, and if it sticks—well, that's that."

"A nickname that represents what holds it together, huh?" Jack mused, leaning back against the desk and looking upwards in thought.

"Well—yes. But you can pick any name you like."

"Is that so?" Jack chuckled. "Why me?"

"Because—um—"

He raised an eyebrow, looking at her again teasingly with a hint of a flirty smile tugging at the edge of his mouth.

Elsa's heart leapt into her throat.

"BecauseYou'reJackFrost?" she squeaked.

He laughed, pushing himself away from the desk and walking towards her. "Why does that have anything to do with it?"

"You're the Spirit of Winter!"

"Yeah," he retorted, "I am. And you're the Snow Queen. In fact, I—"

His voice trailed off.

"I think I just figured out what we are," Jack breathed.

Elsa watched as he turned away, walking over to her desk and tapping his staff on its surface. A fine layer of frost blossomed out over the wood, and he reached forward, drawing two circles in the dusting of snow with his pointer finger. Pulling them upwards, the circles became two tubes, wide at the top, hovering in the air in a shimmering mist. Twisting his finger around each in turn, Jack pulled them off, a long stem beneath each.

Leaning the staff up against the wall, he reached forward again to the hovering frost, simultaneously flicking the two floating tubes with his fingers.

Ting!

Jack grinned, snatching up the two long-stemmed wine glasses from the desk and whirling back around to face her.

"Got anything to drink?" he asked suddenly.

Elsa shrugged as he walked towards her, holding out one of the glasses. "I have a pitcher of water," she offered.

"Meh. Boring. We're celebrating. Anything with bubbles?"

"We need to drink something with bubbles in it?"

"Isn't that how you snooty types celebrate things?"

"Snooty types!"

"Well?"

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Sorry," she laughed. "Fresh out of drinks with bubbles."

"Then we'll just have to pretend, won't we?"

She took the glass, raising her eyebrows as Jack drew himself up. Grinning, he clinked his glass against hers.

"I still don't know what we're toasting," Elsa admitted as he dramatically raised the empty champagne glass to his lips. "What are we celebrating?"

He paused.

Slowly pulling his glass away, the Snow Queen watched as he leaned in close to her face, mischievously peering up at her through his hair.

"We're celebrating us, your majesty," Jack Frost whispered. "And the official formation of the world's first Ice Alliance."