Winter Moon (Jelsa)

Chapter 19: Jack

"Are you absolutely sure of this?" North demanded.

"Well, duh. I saw the temple with my own eyes," I leaned against one of the pillars in North's office. North, head of the Guardians, and part-time principal of my school.

"Pitch's temples were destroyed though," Toothiana protested from her position at one end of the desk.

"How come you didn't tell me this stuff the day you found out?" Bunnymund said. "I was there. It was beneath my feet!"

"It was already crazy," I replied. "I wanted to tell North first."

"What else did you see in there?" asked North.

"Other than the super creepy door mural? Well, there was a long dark passageway and a cache of books," I explained.

"Who else knows about this?" North tapped his fingers on his oak desk.

"Rapunzel, she's an Elite. And some mortals. But they won't say anything, and they never want to go back there anyways," I said.

"Rapunzel," North said contemplatively. "She's an Experiment, right?"

"Yeah," I grumbled.

"What was in the books?" Sandy signed from his position next to the other pillar in the office.

"I didn't have time to check all of them. There was a lot of books. But the one I did look at had an illustration of a big battle. Pitch was facing off against some warrior. The others had titles like The History of Aventrine."

"Aventrine," North muttered thoughtfully.

"What else happened?" Toothiana asked.

"Didn't you read the report?" I grumbled. I was getting tired of explaining it to them over and over.

"Not everyone has the time," Toothiana turned to hurriedly converse with one of her little faeries.

"Okay, fine," I launched into an abbreviated version of what happened, excluding the parts about Ella having powers. 

"If Merida was possessed," Sandy said silently, "doesn't that mean Pitch is back?"

The silence was long and devastating.

"Erm, yes," North answered at last.

"We have to notify the Emperor then," Bunnymund began to make a plan of action. "I can get a team on the site and have them cleanse the temple."

"Pitch is back," Sandy signed to me. "But what is he back for?"

"I don't know. World domination? Nightmares for all?" I guessed. What was Pitch here for, exactly? Revenge, probably. Maybe the annihilation of the Elites. Wait. Pitch had possessed Merida and used her to attack Ella, but only briefly. His spirit had then left her, meaning that he probably couldn't sustain possession for more than a few minutes.

Pitch was after Ella. 

I burst out of the room, pushing past the other Guardians, and out of the principal's office. Checking a clock as I ran past, I figured that Ella would probably be heading to dinner soon. If I ran fast enough, I could probably catch her before she left the dorm. 

I skidded down a corridor, pushing people out of my way and shouting apologies as I ran by. Why would Pitch go after Ella? Maybe he wanted to exploit her magic since she was undiscovered by the Elites? It didn't make any sense.

Just as Ella was exiting the dormitory, I slammed into her.

"Sorry!" we yelped in unison.

"Ella, about your m-" I started.

She covered my mouth with a gloved hand and yanked me backward into her and Punzie's room. Shutting and locking the door behind us, she turned to face me.

"What is it?" she asked in a low voice.

"Your magic. Is there anything special about it?" I whispered, following her lead. It was probably smarter to keep our voices down even if we were completely alone.

"No," she shook her head. "I can build a snowman or make a couple icicles. It's nothing unusual."

That sounded pretty normal. I had met an Elite from the Elemental branch. He had been able to make it snow as well.

"Is there something special about you?" I asked.

"What?" she stiffened. "No!"

She was hiding something.

"You have every reason to trust me," I said in a quiet but firm voice. "I have not given away any of your secrets, and I never will. I need you to trust me. I'm trying to save your life."

She looked more confused than defensive now. "Save me from what?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I replied. No one would believe me if I told them there was a fifth god. "Now, can you answer my question?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Ella parroted. She was wearing a lavender sweater that was too big for her and dark leggings with black boots. Her white blonde hair was in a braided bun, pinned at the nape of her neck.

She looked good.

I crushed the thought. Now was not the time.

"Okay fine. Hypothetically, if there was an extremely powerful, god-like being after you, why would said being be after you?" I rephrased the question.

Ella bit her lip and muttered something that sounded like, "I can't believe I'm about to tell you this."

"What?"

"The extremely powerful person would be after me because I would make a very valuable hostage, or I would sell for a very appealing price."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that I'm royalty. My name isn't Ella. It's Elsa, and I'm the crown princess of Arendelle."