The Peasant's Promise

Reprimand

All the time Jack had spent with Elsa was one of both fun and, at times, incredibly boring. This was one of those times.

Jack had been away for the last few days causing havoc to the town he found himself awakened in, a place called Burgess. It was a quiet village, a town that he had a longing to back to almost as if it was home. The same was spoken for Arendelle. Both places felt strangely...familiar to him. He just couldn't place why.

     Jack did not want to ponder on these thought troubling him anymore. For now, mischief was to be made.

     Elsa had snowflakes surrounding her desk, her soft muttering turning into animalistic groans of frustration. "Again with the disagreement on the trade for Zaria?! This is the fourth time.." she kept muttering to herself as Jack stood behind her, setting down his staff and putting his hands on Elsa's shoulders. He smirked a bit, squeezing them a few times to get her attention. When she refused to glance up at him, he took the opportunity to blow cold air into her ear, frost surrounding her and giving her a slight shiver despite her endurance of cold.

     Jack chuckled as she scrunched her  nose (very cutely, he might add), and stood up to summon a snowball to throw at him. The powder dispersed around him, causing him to wipe his eyes and nearly sneeze. He smiled, finally glad she was taking time away to have fun.

     "Jack, can't you see I'm working?" Elsa murmured, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. Jack shook his head, shoving his hands into his pockets. "All I am seeing is a girl who is not having fun. Plus you have been at this for hours. You deserve it. Come on, let's go do something." Elsa sighed, scrambling to grab her cloak. "Fine. Twenty minutes."

     Jack hopped up excitedly, grabbing Elsa by the waist and his staff. Before she knew it, Jack had them flying through the air to head toward the nearest batch of trees. Elsa screamed in surprise, threatening Jack to put her down since someone would see. He chuckled, setting her down once more.

     The place around him had a familiarness to him, but no matter how much his mind scratched at the thought of how, he didn't have a clue. However, one glance at Elsa was all it took for him to realize he wasn't the only one. Her eyes were brimmed with tears, her lips quivering as she was ready to let out a sob. The words barely came in a whisper but she said, "This...this is..."

     A frozen pond surrounded them, and Jack was confused on what could be making Elsa react like this. He went to touch her once more, embracing her into a hug as he realized she needed more comfort than a snowball right now.

     "Elsa, what does this place mean to you?" Jack asked softly, his warm breath sending shivers down her spine. She looked up at him, wiping the tears away as she said softly, "So much." Jack rubbed her back comfortingly, allowing her to say what she needed.

     "When I was a young teenager, there was a boy outside the palace walls who saw my powers. The real me. And he didn't push me away. He embraced me. This was the place he told me he would never see me as a monster, even though I couldn't control myself deep down. I think about the kiss we shared all the time..." she trailed off, no longer looking at Jack.

     Jack blinked, a bit confused as this was the first she was saying of this despite their many months of friendship. Something told him though that this was the most vulnerable part of her that she was now sharing. "Why do you never mention him? Surely you can go see him."

     Elsa shook her head, whispering softly, "He died many years ago. The only thing I can do is just forget him. He is no longer the boy I once knew." She whispered, her hands folding into her chest. Jack cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him. "He may be gone, but the memory and the love you shared would not be. You let him in, Elsa, just like you let the world in. He helped you, I'm sure of it. Don't think badly of yourself or him and look back with sadness. Be happy that he was part of your journey." Elsa nodded, saying nothing further as she reached for Jack's arms. He knew what she needed, so he pulled her into a tighter embrace. "Thank you," she said softly, her eyes closing as tears still shed.

     A warmth grew in Jack's chest as he stared down at her in fondness. Never had he felt such a warmth given he was so cold all the time. The burning of desire pushed itself further, and before Jack realized what he was doing, his lips were on hers in a fiery heat so unlike them both. He could tell by Elsa's muffled squeak she was surprised, but he became even more shocked as she kissed him in return.