AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello again, everybody! Thanks again for being here! Just as a brief announcement:

REGARDING A03: Ice Alliance is OFFICIALLY available, in its (current) entirety, on A03! I will be continuing to post on both websites, but will most LIKELY be posting on ff.n FIRST (whenever I get the chapter done?), and then posting on A03 a week or two later. I also will most likely be posting on A03 on Sundays, because I really like being able to post, and then go-to-church-and-try-to-forget-about-the-fact-that-I-posted-because-posting-is-honestly-really-stressful, as I wait for those first reviews to come in. On that note: I also still VERY much appreciate reviews and feedback, and assure you that I read each and every one of them!

Thanks again for reading, and I hope you have a fantabulous day! ~NNT:)

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97: STRONGER THAN ICE

Princess Rapunzel looked like she was going to actually explode with excitement. With effort, the Spirit of Winter swallowed.

"Anna told me that you guys—girls—uh," he tried again, stumbling over the words as he rubbed the back of his neck, "That—you could help me with Elsa."

Jack could feel himself blushing, the words as humiliating as they were awkward as he hesitantly looked back up into her eyes.

Princess Rapunzel, thankfully, did not seem to notice. Elsa's cousin opened her mouth to speak, and then abruptly snapped it shut, glancing around. Suddenly remembering that they were standing on the edge of a crowded ballroom—and that Jack was invisible to most of its inhabitants—she then glanced to the door, looking back to him a second later and cocking her head to the right.

Jack took the hint, sticking his free hand into his pocket (his pants pocket, after a brief moment of awkwardly feeling at the stomach of his new shirt in confusion) and following as Rapunzel spun around and quickly flitted to the door.

As soon as they were out of the ballroom, ducking behind a nearby pillar, she spun back to face him.

"You came!" Rapunzel whispered excitedly, the door swinging shut behind them and muting the sounds of the ball. "But—well, Elsa's been stalling, but I just saw her leave with Pri—"

"—I know. I saw too."

"Does she know you're here?"

Jack shook his head.

Princess Rapunzel bit her lip, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away. After a few painful, silent moments, Jack cleared his throat.

"Is Anna here?" he tried again.

"Yes," Rapunzel jolted, looking back up, "But she's sitting down in the—one minute. We'll need her, anyway."

"For what?"

"For the plan to work."

Before Jack Frost could respond, Rapunzel spun away from him again, running across the hall and darting back into the ballroom.

Ca-CHUNK.

And the door closed behind her.

Left standing alone, the Spirit of Winter pulled his hand from his pocket, reaching up to anxiously run it through his hair. He readjusted his grip on his staff. He looked up and down the hallway. He nervously shifted on his feet.

So…

He'd just…

Stand here?

Just as he was about to start back for the ballroom again, the door opened, the enormously pregnant Queen Anna lurching frantically out and then quickly being followed by her cousin Rapunzel.

"Finally here," Rapunzel was whispering to her, "And he got me—to get you—"

"Operation Snow Babies is a go. But we'll need t—"

Queen Anna stopped talking as she caught sight of Jack, her eyes widening.

"Oh," she realized.

The Guardian froze, suddenly awash in the uncomfortable sensation of being scrutinized as the door swung shut with another ca-CHUNK, the sounds of the ballroom being muted once again. Anna was now looking him up and down, the crook of her finger laid flat against her lips as she took in his outfit.

"This," she mused, "This… is different."

She nodded to herself, continuing to take in his new look. Jack gulped.

"Uh," Jack squeaked, his face flushed as he fought the instinct to cringe, "Is—is it too much, or—"

"—No, no. Good," Queen Anna said decisively, pulling her hand away from her face and gesturing up and down with it, "This is good."

She nodded again, looking back to his clean, sleek silver pants and white shirt.

"Elsa will like this," she added.

Jack's heart leapt. Hardly even having the composure to hide his reaction, he bit his lip, smiling nervously.

"And wait'll you see what she's wearing," Anna added on a mutter, a sly smile twitching out of the side of her mouth.

Jack's eyebrows jumped. "Wait, what?"

"Don't worry about it."

As Jack realized that Anna was talking about the Hoodie dress, his mouth melting into a sheepish smile again of its own accord, Anna turned, looking to Rapunzel. Then, her face went grave.

"How much time do we have?" she asked.

Rapunzel shook her head. "Frederik has already taken her out to the courtyard," she said.

"So—none."

"Basically."

"Wonderful." She tented her fingertips, pressing them against the bridge of her nose. "Plan F it is?"

"It looks like it."

His eyes darting back and forth between them, Jack Frost finally gave in. He stepped forward.

"Um… I thought you were going to help me with Elsa?" he asked shyly.

The two young women stopped, both looking to him.

"If Prince Frederik has taken her outside—you know, away from everyone," Rapunzel admitted, "Then I think we already know what's going on. This would be the perfect time for him to propose—and, he looked nervous. I saw him."

"My sister really likes you, Jack," Anna added, "But—she's a little obsessed with the whole 'self-sacrifice' thing. She really will do anything for Arendelle, even if—um—"

Jack's lungs clenched as he mentally finished the statement.

Even if it means marrying someone she doesn't love.

The bitter taste of nausea filled his mouth again. Before Jack could respond, the Ice Powers Girl's sister drew herself up, her expression tight with resolve.

"Elsa can't marry Prince Frederik," Anna gritted, shaking her head. "I will not give my blessing to that, when I know darn well how miserable it would make her. But if she starts doubting herself again, there's still a real possibility that she might accept a proposal, out of political pressure. We can't let him propose."

The Spirit of Winter nodded solemnly, mentally kicking himself for taking so long to get here. He was trying SO hard to get everything done, with the candles, and the Fire Spirit and the travel, ALL while watching the time, and—! Well, he wasn't a great multi-tasker. In fact, Jack wasn't a multi-tasker at all.

BLAST it!

"So—we need a distraction," Jack offered. "Something to get Elsa away from Frederik?"

"Way ahead of you," Rapunzel replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "The problem is, for most distractions, Elsa would just send the guards to take care of it, or do it herself and be back in five minutes. It would be for nothing."

"We have to stop that proposal," Anna agreed. "Which means, at this point, that we basically have to stop the entire Ball. And only something REALLY dramatic will do it."

"Well—you're still a queen," Jack tried again, his voice pleading. "Can't you just get up and say that the party is over?"

She shook her head. "You don't understand," she groaned, "This Ball is really important—politically, as well as personally. It's meant to show people that Arendelle is still as strong as it's always been, despite all of the—um—"

Her voice trailed off. She looked down at the floor, trying to decide on an explanation.

"Queen-trading?" Jack offered.

"I was going to say changes, but—yeah," Queen Anna admitted, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "Not to mention, how much my sister thinks that it means to me. Elsa's not going to stop the Ball unless she thinks there's some real, immediate emergency forcing her to do so."

"We're going to create an emergency?"

Queen Anna and Princess Rapunzel exchanged glances. Rapunzel pressed her lips together in discomfort.

"We don't really see any other way," she admitted. "Not at THIS point."

Anna sighed. "You really couldn't have come—like," she chuckled bitterly, "Ten minutes earlier?"

The Spirit of Winter felt a sharp pang of guilt hit him in the back of the throat. Jack Frost swallowed, reaching up to rub his neck.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"It's fine," she said. "Just—I can do this. I can do this…"

Seeing her pained expression, Jack felt even worse. He started to turn his hand in the air, conjuring a snowflake, but then stopped, seeing Queen Anna place her arm in her cousin's.

"False alarms aren't that uncommon," she choked softly, "Right?"

"I don't think so." Rapunzel paused, then leaning in close to her cousin. "But we're sure about this? Because if we need Eugene to pretend to rob something—"

"—No." Anna shook her head. "Too obvious. We go forward with the plan."

WHAT plan?

Jack Frost could do nothing but stare at the two young women in confusion, his mind racing as he studied them each in turn, finding no answers. Rapunzel turned back to face him.

"Oh—just so you know," she told him, "The midwife is in on it. She doesn't have details, but—you know."

"Also," Anna grinned bitterly, "Mister Frost—YOU are about to owe me for the rest of your life."

The Guardian nodded, unaware of what he was nodding for, but agreeing nevertheless. Queen Anna pulled in a long, trembling breath, looking down to where her arm was linked with her cousin's.

Princess Rapunzel leaned in close to her ear.

"For Elsa?" she asked softly.

Anna nodded. "For Elsa," she murmured back.

They walked together over to the door of the ballroom, and Rapunzel pulled it open, letting Anna go through first and then following herself, with Jack Frost silently flying in over their heads just before it swung shut. As he touched down onto the ground again, Jack watched in anxious confusion as the two women, arm in arm, innocently strolled out together into the crowd, stopping just on the edge of the dance floor.

Throwing her arm across her pregnant stomach, Queen Anna let out a long, dramatic scream.

.

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Five Minutes Earlier

The Arendelle Castle Courtyard, blanketed in snow and decorated with candles and wreaths for Christmas, was something that Queen Elsa would have usually considered to be awe-inspiringly beautiful. But at the moment, all she felt was alone.

As she walked in silence next to the Prince of Kingsley, the Fifth Spirit glanced back towards the ballroom, biting her lip against her disappointment. Jack Frost had said he would come. But so far, he hadn't. He'd said he might be late, but—how late was it, at this point? She hadn't been able to discretely check the clock as she'd been stalling with Frederik, dancing and dancing with those confounded padded gloves of his, but it FELT like the party had been going on for at least ten hours. In reality, it had probably only been about one.

Maybe.

Looking down to her hands, Elsa fidgeted with her fingers, seeing the strange frost-dusted navy cuffs of the billowing sleeves on her wrists. Earlier, she had experienced a rush of joy upon seeing the unique navy blue fabric from afar, only to discover to her extreme personal embarrassment that it had been a bit of her own reflection. Her "Jack Frost" Dress (what else was she to call it?) was certainly hard enough to make, as she'd never designed anything quite like it before. And if Jack was never even going to see it… goodness.

But could she really have the courage to face him if he did? Was it too much? Or was she acting too—aggressive? What if he didn't like that? After what had happened on the night before, she was terrified of offending him, or to risk hurting him again. But she was now terrified of losing him, too.

Was she being ridiculous?

Someone cleared his throat, then coughing into his fist. Elsa jumped, jolting back into reality.

"Queen Elsa?" Frederik squeaked. "Would—would you please sit with me?"

Queen Elsa blinked, suddenly realizing that the prince had led them to a beautiful private alcove. "Oh! Um—of course."

She blushed, tightly clasping her hands together in front of her skirt as he gestured to a small table and two chairs. Walking forward into the secluded corner of the courtyard, the Snow Queen focused on maintaining her regal, queenly posture, then turning around and gracefully taking a seat.

His movements stiff, Prince Frederik sat down in the chair beside her. He fixed his gloves, then taking a moment to adjust his lapel pin.

"Queen Elsa. I've been—um."

She clasped her hands in her lap again, her spine straight as a board against the tension. Frederik paused to clear his throat for the second time.

"Meaning—to speak with you," he tried again.

She nodded. Visibly gathering his courage, Prince Frederik drew in his breath to continue.

"I believe that we've gotten to know each other a bit this week," he went on, "And while we don't know each other very well—um—well, for as far as our kingdoms are concerned, I—I believe that it would be wise to proceed with our courtship."

The Fifth Spirit nodded again, trying desperately to ignore the lump of dread that was once again building in her throat as she struggled to keep the air from filling with snowflakes. Her mouth dry, she then watched in horrified anticipation as the Prince of Kingsley reached into his breast pocket, pulling out a small, glittering something.

Taking a deep breath, Frederik stood up from his chair, turning around and kneeling down on one knee in the snow.

"Arendelle and Kingsley would make a powerful alliance," he said softly.

The handsome prince held up a golden ring.

Queen Elsa could hardly speak, a numbness sweeping over her body as she stared at the ring in horror. It was a warm, rich gold, studded with diamonds and rubies and a number of green and purple gems that she could only speculate were sapphires. The piece looked almost like something that belonged in an ancient mountain temple, rather than here in Arendelle. And Elsa knew, objectively, that the ring Prince Frederik intended to be for her was beautiful.

And wrong.

"I know that we might not see each other—often," Frederik went on nervously, his words beginning to run into each other, "But—we've both acknowledged that our kingdoms come first, and you have well proven yourself as a more than capable ruler…"

The Snow Queen swallowed hard, trying to fight against the flurries on snow that were beginning to materialize out of the air above her head. She'd known this was coming, but actually seeing it, FACING it—!

"And I believe that an alliance between us—if you will have me," he was still saying, his pleading voice sounding far away, "It would be strong."

Queen Elsa gave herself a little shake. Forcing herself to come back into the moment, she swallowed, then opening her mouth to speak.

"How strong?" she forced out, feeling frozen in her chair.

The prince smiled hopefully, pulling in a deep breath and looking up into her eyes.

"Stronger than ice," he said softly.

Elsa jolted.

"No!" she blurted.

She abruptly stood up, knocking back her chair. His eyes bulging in confusion, the prince scrambled to get to his feet as well. "Queen Elsa—"

"—No alliance is stronger than an Ice Alliance!" she stammered, shakily backing up, "I—I can't agree to—"

Blushing furiously, the Fifth Spirit cut herself off, closing her eyes for a moment to regain her composure. Taking a deep breath and then carefully letting it out again, she looked back at the prince, whose eyes were still wide with shock at her sudden outburst.

"Prince Frederik," Elsa started again, drawing herself up and struggling to control her voice, "I—I'm flattered by your proposal. Truly. And while I agree that Arendelle and Kingsley would make a very respectable political alliance, I simply cannot accep—"

It was in that exact moment that Elsa heard a long, blood-curling scream.