Winter Moon (Jelsa)

Chapter 23: Jack

I drummed my fingers restlessly on my desk, glancing left and right. Elsa hadn't shown up in class today, and the Elites hadn't had any success with catching Pitch. I was bored out of question.

I exited the classroom and headed towards math. Along the way, I found Rapunzel.

"Have you seen Ella anywhere?" I asked Rapunzel.

"No. She was gone when I woke up. I thought she went to breakfast early. Didn't you see her in class?"

"She wasn't there."

"Where could she be?"

"That's what I'm asking you."

"Maybe she's with Hiccup, Astrid, Merida, and Eugene?"

"I have math with Astrid. I'll ask."

"Okay, see you at lunch."

I opened the door to the math classroom and headed for Astrid's desk.

"Have you seen Els- I mean, Ella?" I asked her.

"Nope," Astrid paused in the middle of her sketch of a dragon on the back of her homework.

"Where is she?" I said, frustrated.

"Stop worrying. She's probably skipping school or something."

"She's not the kind of person who would do that."

"And I'm not the type of person who would date Hiccup. But I kissed him a few weeks ago."

"What?"

"I know. I know. It's shocking."

"You know what? Kiss whoever you want. I don't want to think about it."

I made a mental note to ask Hiccup about this.

Turning, I sat in my seat, deciding I would find Elsa during lunch.

"Jack," Professor Markus walked up to my seat. 

"Yeah?"

"The principal wants to see you."

What did North want now? I thought.

Nodding, I left the room, making my way out of the Heart towards the principal's office.

When I arrived, the rest of the Elites in the school were already gathered. Even Rapunzel and a few other Experiments had been included. Toothiana, Sandy, and Bunnymund were also present.

"What's going on?" I propped my staff against the wall.

"Another student has gone missing," North murmured gravely.

A pit formed in my stomach. No, it couldn't be her.

"Who?" Rapunzel ventured.

"Ella Dunai," Toothiana tapped a stack of papers on the desk. Her wings fluttered anxiously.

"However," Bunnymund interjected, "upon inspection we have discovered her paperwork is forged."

Shit. It didn't matter if I kept her secret now. They all knew.

"We had Tina do a little spell on it," explained North. "We have reason to believe that Ella Dunai is actually Elsa Arena."

"You mean the Elsa Arena? Isn't she a princess?" Kayla asked, fingering a lock of her dark hair. She was a shapeshifter, stationed in the school a year ahead of me.

"Of Arendelle. She hasn't been seen by the public in years," Miguel said. I was pretty sure he was an Elemental. I didn't know what element though.

"Does this have anything to do with Pitch?" I demanded, already knowing the answer.

"Yes," North pointed towards a glass jar on his desk. "We found traces of Night Essence in the room."

I leaned forward, examining a handful of black sand in the jar. It was what Pitch forged his nightmares out of.

"Pitch? Who's that?" Kayla frowned.

Right. Most of the Elites, unless they were immortal or very high up on the hierarchy of authority didn't know about the fifth god.

"It's classified information," Bunnymund answered.

Rapunzel was watching me with confusion. She was probably wondering why I hadn't told her about Pitch.

"Anyways," Toothiana grabbed a pile of papers. "We're dispatching you all. You will not be going to class today."

She and Bunnymund began to order the Elites around, passing out forms, instructing them to meet up with their units or go solo. They obeyed without question.

Kayla shifted into a bird and flew out the window. The Elementals split off into units.

The Experiments were instructed to head to the Celestial Tower for further instruction.

Sandy tugged on the sleeve of my jacket. "You're with us."

"Who's going to find Elsa?" I asked, following Sandy and the rest of the Guardians.

"Kieran's already dispatched several teams," Sandy informed me.

Lord Kieran was head of the Elementals. Not leader of all the Elites, but pretty high up there. Several hundred years ago, during the Black War, I had seen him burn legions of Pitch's soldiers into ashes. Pretty insane stuff.

I could have been part of the Elementals. But Moon instructed otherwise and requested I'd be placed in the Guardians.

"Where are we going?" Toothiana asked North.

"Remember the temple Jack found?" North replied. "That's where we're going. There could be something useful in there. Pitch is back, and we're going to need all the help we can get."