55: CHRISTMAS GIFTS OF PAST AND PRESENT

A wave of nausea rushing over him, Jack felt his face drain of color. After a long moment of horrified silence—turning to look in the direction of King Kristoff and the reindeer—the Fifth Guardian pulled in his breath.

"I—I have no idea what you're talking about," Jack stammered.

Avoiding eye contact, he turned back and continued to walk away, only to be jerked back as Kristoff lunged forward and caught the back of his hood.

"Urk!"

"Oh," Kristoff chuckled, pulling him back. "I think you know exactly what I'm talking about."

The Commoner King dropped the hood, crossing his thick arms over his chest as the reindeer walked after him. Seeing that even the reindeer was smirking—staring at him with disconcertingly knowing eyes—Jack Frost swallowed hard.

"How many people know?" he choked.

Kristoff raised his eyebrows, leaning back against the reindeer's rump. "Elsa told Anna. Anna told me," he said casually.

"So… it's just you, and me, and the rest of Arendelle," Jack squeaked. "Great."

Seeing Jack's expression, Elsa's brother-in-law restrained from a laugh. "Relax, Snowmeo," he said good-naturedly. "It's not all that big of a deal. I just want to give you some advice."

"About what?"

Kristoff raised his eyebrows again.

Oh.

"I… um," Jack choked, "Ah. Right..."

"As somebody that was raised by love experts—okay, seriously, there are some ground rules here," Kristoff said, crossing his left ankle over his right as he leaned back against the reindeer. "Look. I know you think she's sexy. You know you think she's sexy. You think she's dang sexy. But that DOESN'T MEAN that you get to come right out and SAY IT!"

The reindeer snorted, nodding in agreement. A look of confusion swept over Jack's face.

"Uh," he said slowly. "Why no—"

"—Because," King Kristoff scoffed, "When you've known a woman for three days, there are some things that you do not say!"

Jack Frost felt a sudden pang of embarrassment hit him in the chest.

Intensely uncomfortable with the situation, he looked down to his feet, shifting his fingers on the staff as he tried to decide how to respond.

"I—uh," he mumbled, "Well. Thanks—for that—Kristoff. I'll be—"

"—You could have said beautiful. You could have said lovely. For all it's worth, you could have used the opportunity to actually hit on her," Kristoff scoffed, "But, no! Why would Jack Frost do that, when he could choose the totally inappropriate response, and tell the reigning Queen of Arendelle that she's a Sexy Humanoid Ice Powers Thing, instead?"

Jack's face flushed an even deeper shade of red. Suddenly wishing that he could crawl into a hole, he shuffled a step backwards.

"Well, it's weird when you say it," he grumbled embarrassedly.

Kristoff snorted, rolling his eyes with a grin as he leaned back against the reindeer again. "Fair enough, Snowmeo," he chuckled. "But you want to know something about smart, naïve women? They. Don't. Stay. Naïve."

"Good, because it's annoying—"

"—If your intentions aren't pure anymore, Elsa's going to find out," Kristoff interrupted again. "Women always find out. And if Elsa's mad at you, you're going to need to go to Antarctica."

To this, Jack's face broke into a real grin for the first time since Elsa had left. Kristoff smiled knowingly, turning around as the reindeer whinnied in agreement, looking at Jack with uncomfortably intelligent eyes once again.

"Wait," Jack suddenly realized. "Why are you telling me this? I thought you were wanting Elsa to stay away from me."

A look of surprise swept over Kristoff's face. After a few moments—choosing his words carefully—he pulled in his breath.

"I think you guys could be good together," Kristoff said. "If she's your True North, you should pursue her."

"She is not North—"

"—I just don't—I don't want to see any of this end badly."

Jack Frost considered this.

"You mean—like," he whispered, leaning slightly towards Kristoff, "Like—if Elsa freaked out? If she—if she lost control, or something?"

The Commoner King and the reindeer looked to each other.

After a long, silent pause, Kristoff took a deep breath again.

"Um—yeah," he conceded, nodding, but not looking directly into Jack Frost's eyes. "If—Elsa—lost control. Right."

King Kristoff patted the animal's side, and it clomped forward towards the doorway.

"So, you're on my side now?" Jack blurted.

Pausing just before coming out into the hallway, Jack watched as Kristoff turned around.

"You know what?" Kristoff admitted softly, a little grin tugging at the edge of his mouth "I—yeah. I think I am."

A wave of relief swept over Jack's body. His face cracked into a smile, and he tossed his staff into his other hand, watching as Elsa's brother-in-law turned away and started to leave again.

"Oh… and one more thing," King Kristoff added, pausing and glancing back over his shoulder. "I—an early Christmas present. I'm just gonna… pretend that I haven't been noticing, the snowy little sleepovers, that you two have been having in here every night?"

Jack's heart leapt into his throat. Taking a tiny step back, he reached up, rubbing the back of his neck as blood rushed to his face.

"Ah," he choked. "You caught that, huh?"

"There might be some rumors," Kristoff chuckled. "Like, how the guards are saying that she's been soundproofing the room every evening? And that, in the morning, the doors are always frozen shut?"

Jack's eyebrows lifted. Drawing himself up, he then met Kristoff's gaze again, throwing his shoulders back as he stuck his free hand into his pocket.

"Got a problem with that?" Jack asked.

"Should I?"

Jack's shoulders relaxed. "You realize that this is Elsa we're talking about," he chuckled. "Right?"

"You realize that you're the Spirit of WINTER," Kristoff retorted. "Right?"

To this, Jack looked down, giving a self-conscious kick at the carpet. He shook his head.

"Well, titles aside," he shrugged, "You can relax. Elsa and I are—friends."

Hearing the word come out of his own mouth, Jack winced slightly. Kristoff smirked, muttering under his breath as he turned away and walked from the room. "Sexy Humanoid Ice Powers friends…"

"GOODBYE, Kristoff."

"See you later, Snowmeo."

.

.

Jack Frost was absolutely wonderful.

Happily lost in thought, Elsa stared out the window of the royal carriage as it bounced and trundled down the country street. It was snowing, and if it were even possible, the softly falling flurries now meant even more to her than they had in Christmas seasons past. As a child, she'd spent countless hours staring out of the royal carriage's windows at the swirling snow, imagining to herself that the white-haired Spirit of Winter was somewhere above them, flying through the clouds and stirring up a storm with his magical staff.

Elsa was never going to get over how Jack had acted in Ivar's closet.

Smiling dreamily, she closed her eyes, practically feeling his icy hand around her own in the memory. He probably would have flirted like that with anyone, but—well. She did have ice powers. Technically, she was even a "Winter Spirit," for whatever that actually meant with her lifetime. And, she did like blizzards. It was pretty self-flattering to believe that someone like him could ever, under ANY circumstances, be interested in someone like her, but in her heart, Elsa couldn't deny that—if her ice powers were really so attractive to him—Jack Frost would be hard-pressed to ever find another young woman that had them.

"Oh, Ellllllllllll-saaaaaaaaaaaa…"

If it weren't for her ice powers, Elsa was certain that he wouldn't be interested in her at all. But, for as long as she had them… did she maybe have a chance?

She had always been skeptical of things that seemed too good to be true…

"EARTH TO THE QUEEN!"

Elsa gasped in shock, jumping and whipping around. Sitting across from her in the carriage, Her sister Anna—thoroughly bundled up, and resting her hands on her enormously pregnant stomach—burst out laughing.

"You still have fourteen questions left, Sissy," she giggled, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Or did you—get distracted again?"

Elsa blushed. "I'm sorry," she admitted. "I—I did. What were you saying?"

"I wasn't actually saying anything right then. What do you remember?"

Elsa jolted as the carriage hit a bump, jostling the sisters in their seats. Sitting back, she then looked thoughtfully upwards, counting off on her fingers as she racked her memory for their previous conversation.

"Let's see…" she muttered. "It's not in the carriage, it's not an animal, it's not a plant, it's bigger than a breadbox, but not bigger than a tree, and it's something I—like?"

"Mm-hmm," Anna giggled.

Queen Anna's cheeks were flushed, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she bit her lip, visibly struggling to not burst out into another fit of hysterical giggling. The Fifth Spirit stared at her in confusion, puzzling over the riddle for another few moments. Until—

Elsa's mouth fell open.

"It's Jack!" Elsa exclaimed. "Isn't it? You're thinking of Jack! AGAIN!"

"YES!"

Elsa rolled her eyes, scoffing and crossing her arms over her chest. "Anna, must we talk about boys every single time we're alone?"

"Yes. We're sisters," Anna retorted. "It's part of the deal. UPDATES. Spill."

She grinned, the mischievous twinkle in her eyes again. Elsa laughed nervously, giving her a quick shrug. "Jack. He's—amazing, and brilliant, and wonderful, and completely out of my league. Nothing to update."

The pregnant queen smirked. "No. Nothing," she drawled. "That's exactly why you've got those big, dark circles under your eyes."

Elsa's heart leapt into her throat.

After a few moments of silence—her cheeks turning pink—Elsa shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"We—were up late," she choked.

Anna giggled again. "I'm sure."

"It's not like that!"

"Uh-huh."

"Anna—he's Jack. Frost," Elsa choked, leaning forward. "He's—okay, seriously? He's one of The Guardians—for all the children of the EARTH! That kind of automatically means that I have no reasonable chance with him."

Anna raised her eyebrows. "Wait—you're STILL all caught up thinking that you're the one being friendzoned here?"

"I wasn't going to put it quite like that," Elsa sighed. "But—yes. I suppose. It makes sense."

"No, it doesn't."

"I mean, I know it's unrealistic to think that Jack and I could ever—but—but I just wish that—!"

Her voice trailed off. Biting the edge of her lip with a scoff, the Snow Queen stared down into her lap, her face falling as she mentally scolded herself.

But she did have ice powers in her favor…

"So…" Anna said slowly. "You're admitting that you like him."

To this, Elsa scoffed, shrugging as the carriage jolted again, her hips rocking her to the side. "I've always liked him, Anna."

"Yeah, but… you like him, or you…" Queen Anna's voice trailed off, and she waggled her eyebrows, "LIKE. Him?"

Elsa's eyes widened slightly. After a few moments of silence—considering the question—she pulled in her breath.

"I like him very much," Elsa said softly.

Her sister grinned.

The carriage hit another bump, and the two rocked to the side, sucking in their breath. As Anna rocked forwards, her hand on her enormous stomach as she was thrown off-balance, Elsa instinctively lunged across the carriage to catch her.

"I'm okay!" Anna exclaimed, rocking back into the seat.

Elsa gingerly sat back on the other side, her face flushed. "So help me, if that carriage lurches one more time—"

"Elsa, I'm fine—"

"—I am going to CLIMB ON TOP OF IT, and ice-blast us a set of tracks!"

To this, Queen Anna laughed. "You would."

"Well," Elsa grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest and looking out the window, "We should be switching to the sled runners from the wheels soon enough. I mean, we're almost too far out of the main kingdom for the roads to still be safe without them."

"So, Jack is staying here through Christmas," Anna said suddenly, changing the subject back again. "Right?"

"I believe so," Elsa responded. "I mean, I certainly hope so."

"Well… he said he'd come to the Christmas Eve Ball, so it would be kind of weird for him to just fly away right after it finished," Anna shrugged. "Which means that you need to be thinking about what you're going to give him for Christmas."

Elsa's eyes widened at the sudden realization. Christmas. Anna was right. And it was already December 17th. Which left her with only…!

Oh, no.

Looking up, Elsa realized that her sister had already long-since launched into her own list of gift ideas. Snapping back into focus, she bit her lip, hoping that she hadn't missed too much of what her sister had already said.

"Well, at first, I was going to commission a portrait of Prince Hans so that you could use it as a dartboard, but then I thought, oh, right, I'D be using it more than you, so that's out," Anna was reasoning, counting on her fingers, "And then, I was thinking chocolate, but again, I'd probably eat it all before it got to you, so that's out, too. Even though you ARE going to be giving me ten pounds of it, before long."

"I still say that I'm going to win."

"Oh, hush. He's got another eight days," the pregnant queen retorted. "And from that little blush of yours, I'd say he's making MORE than enough progress as it is."

"We're friends!"

"Uh-huh."

"Please tell me you weren't actually considering making a Prince Hans dartboard," Elsa said, changing the subject.

Her sister raised her eyebrows. "I thought it was brilliant," she drawled. "You know you'd like it."

"Well—I'm not sure," Elsa sighed, "To be completely honest, I—I'm still really struggling to forgive him. He's just such an irredeemable monster. You know?"

Anna's mouth fell open in shock.

"He tried to kill you!" she gasped.

"And you. Don't forget that."

Anna nodded, biting the edge of her lip. Her face pained at the memory, Elsa stared down into her lap.

She closed her eyes.

"The thing with Prince Linus—got me all riled up again," Elsa choked. "I just wish I could forget that TRAITOROUS little—um, that man—completely."

"My child is going to have the best aunt," Anna breathed. "You're saintly. You know that, right?"

"You're very kind."

"I'm serious!"

"I'm far from saintly, Anna," Elsa sighed, looking up with a hint of a smile. "But, that means a lot to me. Coming from you."

Her sister smiled bitterly. "I don't even know how you can talk about forgiveness," she scoffed, resting her arms on her pregnant stomach. "I mean, you realize who we're talking about, right?"

"I said, forgive him. Not trust him."

"Saint. As I said."

The two sisters fell silent, the carriage bumping and bouncing as it came to a turn. The driver slowed for a moment, carefully pulling it around the corner of the old street before speeding up again, trundling down the road once again.

"We should talk about something happier," Queen Anna choked softly.

Elsa nodded. "Like what?"

Anna grinned again, waggling her eyebrows as she drummed her fingers on her stomach.

"Jack," Elsa sighed. "Right. Back to Jack…"

"Yeeeeeeeep." Anna grinned, sitting back into her seat. "Which means that YOU need to figure out a present for him."

"What are you doing?"

She shrugged. "I have a feeling that Jack's going to need a favor from me at some point here in the near future."

To this, Elsa laughed. Rolling her eyes, she shook her head and adjusted her hips on the seat.

"You know it's true," Anna chuckled. "As for yours, though. Do you want to brainstorm, or…?"

"If it's alright," Elsa admitted, "I—can I just think for a while? I mean, I think I'd do better that way. Is that okay?"

"Of course."

Biting the edge of her lip, the Snow Queen shifted on her hips, looking to the window and gazing out of it as the peaceful silence fell over the carriage once again. Two summers before, for Anna's birthday, she'd had no idea what to do—frankly, after so many years of isolation, Elsa hardly even knew who her sister was. So, on that occasion, she'd simply gotten everything she could think of, and Anna, being Anna, had loved all of it. But Jack was different. After three hundred years of invisibility, if he'd harbored a love of objects, he could have easily gotten all he wanted. But, clearly, his love wasn't put into things. No—for Jack Frost, trinkets simply would not do.

But what would?

.

.

Pulling the door shut behind him, Jack Frost silently stepped into Elsa's childhood bedroom. Still invisible to the guards (as well as the various politicians and nobles walking about the castle), he had elected to use his time alone to do some research.

Despite the fact that it was probably a bit premature, Jack had taken the liberty of beginning to look around the nearby town for a replacement council; the advantage of being invisible was that he could conduct interviews by simply watching how the potential candidates acted in their daily lives. While the Ice Alliance had only hit one of the current geezers, and while Said Geezer apparently hadn't yet turned in an official resignation (oh, Jack would see about that), the 319-year-old Guardian of Fun knew enough about people to know jeeeeeust how little it took to spook them. A couple of strange disturbances, a few rumors spread around the castle in hushed tones, and the Snow Queen's nasty old Council was as good as gone.

Not that Jack had already been mentally rehearsing the Ice Powers Girl's overwhelmed, teary-eyed and adoring response, or anything.

Turning away from the door and tossing the shepherd's crook into his other hand, Jack walked forward into the room. Even though he had first been introduced to it a mere two days before, the bedroom was already strangely familiar to him. Apparently, as he'd recently learned, the Spirit of Winter had spent a lot of time here in Elsa's childhood, even though he was (at that point) nothing more than a snowy fantasy in the little princess's head. But, fantasy or otherwise, the Guardian of Fun was reverently aware of the power of belief.

Coming to the edge of the narrow, one-person bed, Jack dropped his shepherd's crook onto the carpet, crouching down and sitting on the floor. Lying down, he reached for the bedskirt, flicking it out of the way just before he rolled underneath.

Thrown into the darkness, Jack flopped over onto his stomach. If he wasn't careful, he could easily spend the whole DAY under here, just… remembering her. And that moment.

Their moment.

He smiled dumbly to himself, practically feeling her body next to his own once again. Queen Elsa was so amazing...

After a few moments pause, Jack scoffed to himself, crawling forward towards the headboard. He knew the books were here, and if he did it by feel, then he wouldn't have to light the stupid candle. Generally speaking, the Fifth Guardian was NOT a fan of fire.

Reaching forward with his left hand, Jack felt his knuckles brush against something papery. His heart leaping, he then felt along the pile of books until his hand was waving through an empty darkness again. Pulling it back, Jack now knew which of the books was on the very top of the furthest pile to the left.

Reaching forward and grasping the little book, Jack pulled it to his chest. He then rolled back out from underneath Elsa's childhood bed.

Coming out again, Jack blinked in the sudden light as he pushed himself up, scrambling onto his feet. Picking up his shepherd's crook, he then straightened up again, turning over the worn little book and looking at the title.

.

Faeries, Spirits, and Sprites: Timeless Stories for Children

.

Tied around the book's middle was a faded red ribbon with a bow. Gently pushing it off of the cover and setting it on the bed, the Guardian of Fun tossed the book in his hand, turning it onto its side to realize that there was a slight gap in its pages. Dropping his staff and letting it fall back onto his shoulder, he carefully slid his finger along the crease.

The book flopped open, a folded-up piece of parchment marking a chapter near the back. Taking the parchment out, Jack looked to the chapter heading, the sight of his own name in print becoming strangely normal to him.

Jack Frost and the Colors of Autumn

Jack smiled. Most of the children's narratives were embellishments of his life at best, but he still appreciated the attention.

Especially if it had led Elsa to him.

Placing the book on the bed, Jack looked to the parchment in his opposite hand. It had been folded three times, and the folds were soft, as if the parchment been opened and shut over and over again. Lifting the front flap, the Youngest Guardian's gaze fell onto what be immediately recognized to be the writing of a child.

.

Dear Santa,

My name is Elsa and I'm a princess. I'm 6 years old.

.

Jack's breath caught. Six years old.

His heart leapt, and he eagerly unfolded the letter, grinning excitedly as he tucked his staff under his arm. Six-year-olds were the best.

As his eyes fell onto the child's writing, his smile faded.

.

I don't know if I've been nice enough this year to get presents. I struck Anna with my powers, and I got in trouble. I didn't mean to. It was an accident. I love Anna. If that makes me naughty this year, I understand.

.

Feeling the color draining from his face, Jack gingerly leaned his staff up against the nightstand, gingerly sitting down on the edge of the bed and continuing to read.

.

I try to control them. But I can't. My mama and papa want me to. They've even fired a lot of the servants to help me keep it a secret. I know that my papa's going to protect me and keep me hidden from everyone until I learn. My papa is really nice. I don't want to make him sad.

So, I don't know if I've been nice enough this year. But just in case, I want you to know that I don't need any presents. I just want to ask you a question.

.

Jack froze, his breath catching in his throat as his eyes fell onto the last sentence.

.

Am I a monster?

.

The Youngest Guardian could practically feel his heart stop beating.

The word hit him like a punch in the stomach. A cold wave of nausea sweeping over his body, Jack closed his eyes, struggling to keep his breathing even as he sank down against the bed. He'd known that Elsa had a horrible childhood, but it was one thing to hear her SAY that she'd struck Anna when she was six. It was one thing for him to know that Elsa, as a child and adolescent, thought she was a monster.

But it was quite another—for the 319-year-old Guardian of Children—to read the word written in the handwriting of a little girl.

Getting onto his feet, Jack Frost pushed himself off from the bed, his hands trembling as he fought to swallow his fury. As he shakily folded up the letter to replace it in the book—looking back on its worn, well-read pages—he suddenly noticed another set of handwriting on the backside of the parchment that he hadn't previously seen.

Turning the letter over, Jack's eyes widened.

.

For Princess Elsa,

Whose ice powers do NOT make her a monster.

~Santa Claus