Winter Moon (Jelsa)

Chapter 26: Jack

The temple looked exactly as I remembered. This time, however, the pit Elsa fell into wasn't there. The Guardians spread out to search different parts of the temple while Sandy and I headed for the library.

When we arrived, I pulled the book with the war illustrations off the shelf and showed it to Sandy.

We thumbed through the drawings. Occasionally stopping to make a remark.

"This one's cool," I pointed towards a rendering of a sword. It was pretty simple. The blade was long and a silvery white while the pommel had a red gem embedded in it. 

"This is a sword from legend," Sandy signed.

"It is?" I asked.

"Yes. A long, long, long time ago, a woman named Imora forged this sword. She was the best blacksmith of all time. They say the sword was so sharp that it could kill anything. Even gods," Sandy explained.

"Nice fairytale," I said and flipped past the image. "Too bad the sword isn't real. We could use it to kill Pitch."

"Yes," Sandy pulled another book from the shelves and flipped through it.

"Nothing in here is even remotely useful," I grumbled, staring at the endless shelves. "Searching these isn't going to do us any good."

"You're right," Sandy put the book he was holding down. His golden hair shimmered and radiated light in the dark room.

Suddenly, there was a swooshing sound, and I felt something clatter on to the table. Turning, I spotted a Mynx.

"Hey you," I reached down to stroke the bird. They were essentially miniature griffins, built to cover long distances as stealthily as possible. The Elites used them as a form of messaging since it was faster than the regular mailing system. The Mynx dropped a roll of paper into my hands and disappeared into the temple, flying towards the exit.

Mynxes had originally been regular griffins than several Elite scientists had experimented on. They made Mynxes by pure accident, but over the centuries, Mynxes had become extremely useful to us. The scientists had even altered the Mynxes' genes so much that they could sense magic. If a person who wasn't magical tried to handle them, they would literally explode and self-destruct.

I untied the piece of twine holding the paper closed and skimmed the note.

Come to the Cistern. Now!

-Punzie

It was unmistakably her handwriting, and only Elites could use Mynxes, so I figured the message was safe. 

"I need to go," I told Sandy, and without waiting for a reply, I opened the door and ran out of book room.

~ ~ ~

"About time," Flynn muttered when I entered the Cistern. The Cistern was a secret Elite tavern in the Day Sector. To gain access, you had to tell the doorman your most valuable secret the first time you wanted in. After that, you had permanent access. It was a weird rule in my opinion, but the doorman could sense if you were lying. He was a Mentia, part of the branch of Elites that had people who could mess with your mind. The Cistern only let Elites and those who were with the Elites in, so my friends and I used it a lot. Apparently, once you confessed your secret to the doorman, he could sense intrinsic things about you. Where your allegiances lay and your personal biases. Creepy, if you asked me.

The Cistern was crowded with people. Young and old. Man and woman. Delicious aromas wafted from the kitchen, and I could smell the tang of alcohol as well.

"I got here as fast as I could," I protested, taking a seat next to Elsa at the table.

Rapunzel, Flynn, Astrid, Hiccup, and Elsa were all seated at a long, wooden table. Merida was notably absent, which was concerning.

"Where's Merida?" I asked.

"No," Astrid frowned at me. "The question is where were you?"

"Taking care of... stuff," I replied.

"Can we have a better explanation? I mean, I was just hanging out at lunch, and then Rapunzel burst in like a madwoman and demanded we skip class without telling us why. She told us to go search for Elsa in pairs and meet up at the Cistern or some other safehouse. The next thing I know we were scouring the city for Elsa and we ended up here," Hiccup said, twirling a fork in his hand. There were bowls of spaghetti and salad in front of everyone. They must have been here a while to start eating.

Rapunzel glanced guiltily at me. "After the Elites directed us to the Tower, I just went straight back to find everyone else and have them help me search for Elsa."

"Back up a second. You guys know? About Elsa?" I demanded.

"Yeah," Astrid fiddled with her blonde braid. "She used it as her secret. It was only fair that Rapunzel and Flynn got to know. But they'll all stay quiet. How did you find out?"

That made sense. Rapunzel knew from earlier when we had been called to a meeting by the Elites. Except Astrid, Hiccup, Flynn, and Merida didn't know we were Elites. 

All of my secrets were getting mixed up in my head.

"What were you doing?" Elsa attempted to change the subject. Her white blonde hair was braided and coiled into a bun and her blue eyes were clouded with fear and uncertainty. I wanted to put a comforting arm around her but resisted.

"I went back to the temple thingy," I said. Technically true.

Elsa stiffened. "About that... I have to talk with you later. Privately."

"Was your disappearance because of..." I asked her.

"Yes. Him," she muttered.

But of course. Pitch was starting to get on my nerves. What did he want with Elsa?

"What are you two going on about?" Astrid demanded. I looked up to realize everyone was staring at the two of us.

"Just... logistics," Elsa wrung her bare hands together.

"Just in case you were wondering, Merida said she had to take care of something, so she couldn't join us," Rapunzel said loudly, turning attention away from us. I shot her a grateful look.

You're going to explain everything to me, Rapunzel told me silently through a glare.

I gulped. She could be kind of scary when she wanted to be.

"What are you three hiding?" Flynn burst out. "What's so terribly important that you have to keep it from everyone else?"

"We're not hiding anything," Rapunzel said defensively, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Uh huh," Astrid pointed her spoon accusingly at Rapunzel, Elsa, and me. "We've been friends for years. We all know when you're lying, Punzie. And even if I factor that out, the situation is still so suspicious. Elise turns up dead, we discover a creepy temple that kidnaps Merida, then Elsa goes missing and turns up searching for a safe house? Something's definitely up, and Hiccup, Flynn, and I want to know what it is. We're your friends. Let us help you."

I gripped my staff in my hand, steeling myself for what I was about to say.

"I promise I will answer all of your questions honestly, but I need a few minutes to talk to Elsa alone," I swallowed hard. I needed to know why Pitch kidnapped Elsa. 

"We can do that," Hiccup said hurriedly, wanting to make peace. "Right, Astrid? Flynn?"

They nodded grudgingly. 

Rapunzel looked at me quizzically.

I'll tell you later, I mouthed to her. 

She nodded unhappily.

"Come on," I said to Elsa as she rose to her feet. "I know a quiet place."