Winter Moon (Jelsa)

Chapter 20: Elsa

I balled my hands into fists, trying to control their shaking while Jack stared at me, dumbfounded. I couldn't believe I just told him. What had I been thinking?

"You," he said in disbelief. "I know you."

"Well, we did just meet a few days ago," I pointed out. "It would be pretty bad if you didn't know me."

"Don't you remember? Maybe five years ago? I was passing through Arendelle on a mission for the Elites, and I stopped by the palace," Jack explained; his bright eyes were so piercingly blue.

A memory resurfaced. I had seen him, the day I hurt Anna. He called himself, "Jack Frost". How had I not noticed? 

"You were that boy..." I trailed off. "How come you don't age? You look the same as five years ago."

"I'm immortal," Jack answered. "It's part of my magic."

"Oh," I said softly. Somehow, knowing that we had met each other years ago made it easier to trust him.

"Who is the hypothetical being coming after me?" I changed the subject.

Jack ran a hand through his hair. Leaning his staff against the wall, he frowned. "This is going to be hard to believe, but there's a fifth god. And he's coming after you."

"What?" I demanded.

"There's a fifth god, Pitch Black. He's the god of the night and nightmares. Very evil and emo."

"But... I thought only The Man in the Moon was the only god of night."

"No. Moon's like the king of all gods. He has night to himself because him and the rest of the gods and goddesses banished Pitch for all eternity."

"It's... it's hard to understand. I mean, how do you know all this?"

"Official Elite business. This is the stuff we don't get taught in history. Only Elites know that there was a fifth god. About three hundred years ago, we did our best to wipe him from history. We clearly missed some spots. That temple-library-thing was tribute to Pitch. And apparently he's still around."

"Why would he come after me?"

"Maybe to exploit your powers? Because the Elites don't know about you?"

"Perhaps."

"I don't really know. There isn't a really obvious reason. Maybe he just wants to freak out an undercover royal."

"I'm not exactly undercover," I sighed. It wasn't that I didn't believe Jack, it was that I didn't know why Pitch would do this. But something else was nagging me. I had to ask.

"Hey, five years ago, when you saw me using powers, why didn't you report me to the Elites?"

Jack paused. "Well, I was going to at first. Because, you know, it was my duty and stuff, but when you hurt your little sister, I figured that your parents would go straight to the Elites. They would confess and everything, and the ambassador would take you away to Skyara."

"But didn't you wonder when you never saw me at the Tower? Or wherever Elites go?"

"No, actually. But that would have been completely normal. The Elites are so big, that we're split into branches. I'm part of the Guardian branch. It's pretty small, but branches rarely interact with each other. Of course there are exceptions, but you probably would have been placed into the Elementals branch with people who have similar powers to yourself. You could be stationed anywhere in the world, and there's a good chance that we would never meet."

"Well," I said lightly, "it's a good thing we did. Otherwise, I would have never found out that there's an evil fifth god out to get me."

Jack grinned. "You know, I was starting to wonder if you had a sense of humor."

"Excuse me!" I scowled at him. "I can be very entertaining if I wish."

"I wouldn't doubt it, Snowflake," Jack replied.

"Snowflake?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm testing it out. It's a good nickname for you. Reflects on your hidden talents."

"Hidden talents. They're supposed to stay hidden. Not broadcasted in a nickname."

"Don't be such a downer, Snowflake."

I shook my head. He was never going to stop now.

"All in all, I think we had a very productive conversation. I learned that you're undercover royalty, and you learned that there's an evil god that wants to kill you," Jack pronounced.

"Very productive," I agreed. "I have one more question though? What am I supposed to do about Pitch?"

"Just stay out of trouble. Try to never be alone. In the meantime, the Elites have already been notified, and they'll be able to track down Pitch and re-banish him or something useful like that," Jack said.

I cast my gaze skyward. Never be alone. That would mean I have to spend time people, preferably without losing control of my powers. 

"I'm not good at spending time with people," I muttered.

"Oh, you're an absolute natural, Snowflake. Hans likes you already," Jack said sarcastically.

I opened my mouth to respond, when there was a loud banging on the door. 

Both of us fell silent. Snatching up his staff, Jack eased the door open cautiously.

"There you guys are!" Rapunzel burst out. "Wait. Jack, what are you doing here? Anyways, you both need to come with me right now. There's a problem."