The Power of Winter 2 (A Jelsa Fanfic Sequel)

Chapter 34

                                                          Elsa's P.o.V 

"Mom?  Dad?" Evelyn calls from the hall.  I get up from my desk and walk out to find her.

"Evelyn, are you alright?" I call back.  I see her at the end of the hall and walk over to her.

"Oh, there you are.  I'm fine, I was just looking for you and dad.  Ben and his mother are here, I wanted you two to meet them formally." she says.

"We'd love to meet them.  I'll get your father.  He decided to take a nap in the middle of his work." I giggle.

"Alright, we'll be in the library." she says, going off.  I go back into the study and gently shake Jack's shoulder.

"Jack, nap time's over, honey." I say quietly.  He opens his eyes slowly, then sits upright.

"Did I fall asleep?" he asks.

I giggle, "Yeah, right on the papers."  

He looks down, "Oops."

"Evelyn brought Ben and his mother over so we could formally meet them.  Come on." I tell him.  He gets up and grabs his staff.

"Hopefully she told his mother about us." he says.

"Yeah, let's hope." I say.  We reach the library and walk in.

"Oh, Mrs. Smith, these are my parents." Evelyn says, gesturing to us as we walk in.

"Hello, I'm Carrie Smith." she says, walking over to us.

"Hello, I'm Elsa, and this is my husband, Jack." I say, shaking her hand.

"It's nice to meet you." Jack says, shaking her hand as well.

"So you're Evelyn's real parents." she says.

"Indeed, we are." I smile.  

"She's such a lovely young lady." she says.

"Thank you.  And Ben, such a gentleman.  He's very... Courageous." I tell her.

She smiles, "Yes, he does get a bit out there sometimes.  I'm the one who gave him that trait."

"I truly don't mean to pry, but where is his father?" I ask.  I see Ben and Evelyn shift uncomfortably, but Carrie keeps a pleasant look on her face.

"He left us last year.  He was... not the man we thought he was." she answers.

"I'm sorry to hear that.  Why don't we show you around the palace." I suggest, trying to change the subject.

"I think we would all like that." Ben says, stepping next to his mother.  After we show them around, they thank us and go home.

"That went well." Evelyn says happily.

"Why would it not?" Jack asks.

She shrugs, "I'm not sure. Who knows, something might've happened."  We have dinner with Anna and Kristoff, then Evelyn goes up to get ready for bed.

Jack and I go up several minutes later to say goodnight.  As we're on our way out, I pause.

"You alright?" Jack asks.

"Yeah, you go ahead.  I'll be there in a minute." I tell him.  I go back into Evelyn's room as she's lighting candles.

"Hi, mom.  Is everything alright?" she asks.

"Yes, everything's fine.  I've just been thinking about earlier." I say.

"About what?" she asks, sitting down on her bed.  I sit next to her.

"About Ben's father." I tell her.

"Oh." she nods.

"It was obviously something bad.  I'm sure he must've told you." I say.

"Yeah.  It wasn't anything super bad, well, yeah, it kinda was.  He... I feel bad telling you, but he was seeing someone else behind their backs.  It crushed Ben and his mother.  I've been there for them ever since Ben told me.  They don't like talking about it." she explains.

I take her hand, "Thank you for telling me.  I didn't want to pry when it obviously made her uncomfortable."

"Well, at least you know now.  Don't tell them, though, it's very personal.  The only other people who know are their immediate family." she says.

"Don't worry, I won't say a thing."  I assure her.  "Alright, get some sleep.  Or at least try."

"Okay." she says, climbing under the covers.  I kiss her head and leave.  I go to my room where Jack waits with his staff.

"You ready?" he asks, standing up.

"Yeah, let's go." I reply.  He holds out his hand for me.  I take it and we fly off.

                                                   Kristoff's P.o.V 

I'm woken up in the middle of the night my a shriek.  Anna jerks awake beside me.

"Was that Evelyn?" she asks.

"Probably.  Don't worry, I'll take care of it." I say, getting up and rushing to Evelyn's room.  I knock and go in.  "Evelyn, are you alright?" I ask.

She's sitting in her bed, holding her knees to her chest, and looking at the window.  "I- I woke up from a nightmare and thought I saw something in the shadows." she says, her voice shaking.  I go over to her and wrap her in a bear hug.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask, knowing she likes to get some of her nightmares out of her mind.

"I just... I just wish I never did that to those poor kids.  I wish I could stop being afraid of the dark." she says.

"You know what, don't blame yourself for what happened to those kids.  It wasn't you and you know it.  It was Pitch, but he's gone now.  He won't come hurt you again.  And the kids, they're better now, because of you.  I know it will take a while for you to understand that fully, but you'll learn eventually." I assure her.

"I lived in the dark for four months.  Now, whenever I see it, I feel like I'm going to start again.  Start giving nightmares to children.  It makes me have nightmares.  It's like I'm doing it to myself.  The shapes in the dark, those are Pitch and his nightmares to me.  I can't help but feel like he's still out there, waiting to take me again." she shudders.

"You saw him disappear.  He won't come back.  He's only there because you believe he is.  Once you believe he's finally gone, things will start to get better.  You won't go back to being dark, I promise." I tell her.

I sit with her until she slowly falls asleep again, then I go back to my room.  I slide back in bed next to Anna and fall asleep.

Author's Note:

Thank you late night brain for giving me inspiration for Kristoff's p.o.v!!  I just thought that Kristoff is so under appreciated in this story and in general.  It's his time to shine.  Anyway, what are your honest thoughts on this story?  What do you think will happen?  Please tell me in the comments, then vote and spread the Jelsa!!  Read/Write on!!! <3