Frozen Love: a Jelsa Story

Meeting at Last

Elsa stood at the edge of the woods, looking off across the fjord.  The sun was beginning to set against the ocean line, turning everything a gentle shade of orange.  The autumn leaves, once a vibrant red, were beginning to fall.  She could hear the distant voices of the people in Arendell rejoicing to be back in their own homes, happy and unafraid.  For a moment, she wished that she could join Anna there amidst all the joy, but her place was no longer with the humans.  She was the fifth element, daughter of an ancient family of the Northuldrans.  She belonged with the other spirits, keeping the magic of the forest strong. 
    In the trees behind her, she heard the lightest movement, tree leaves rustling as something caused them to move.  The wind whispered in her ear, alerting her that someone was there.  Elsa closed her eyes and listened to the moisture in the tree and the earth around its roots.  She could feel a familiar presence behind her, cautious and filled with an anxious curiosity. 
    Opening her eyes, she turned with a smile.  Her eyes were drawn to a boy crouched on a thick branch of the tree, the boy she had glimpsed for less than a second in the depths of the ocean. 
He had striking silver hair that glistened like frost in the sunlight.  He had  smooth, youthful features and an open, caring face.  He wore simple traveling clothes and carried a long curved staff.  There was something familiar about him, like she had known him in a distant memory or a dream.  He was gazing at her with a look of wonder and hope. 
The moment their eyes met, the boy’s mouth opened slightly in awe and his blue eyes widened.  He slid off of the branch and floated easily to the ground.  The moment his bare feet touched the earth, he darted towards Elsa, overcome with excitement. He stopped just before he reached her, his momentarily open face cautious once again.  He reminded Elsa of a gentle deer, wary of going too far into the open, but with the vibrant soul of an otter, waiting to come to life.
“Can you really see me?” he asked.  His voice was tight, as if the answer to that single question would determine his entire future. 
Elsa laughed softly and nodded.  “Yes, I can see you.  But could you just tell me who you are?”
He let out his breath in a quiet laugh as the widest of grins broke across his face.  His entire aura changed from cautious to ecstatic.  “She can see me!” he whispered to himself astoundedly as he bounced on his toes.
“Yes, but...who are you?”  Elsa asked again, smiling despite the seriousness of the question.  His obvious joy was contagious.
He looked back at her then, still smiling.  “I’m Jack Frost,” he said. “I’m a winter spirit, like you.”  He held out one hand and a snowflake appeared above his palm.  Elsa recognized the unique design from blurry memories of long ago. 
“You made the frost patterns on my ceiling when I was little!” she exclaimed. 
“That’s not all,” Jack added with a chuckle. “I also may have helped make your snowball fights a little more exciting.”
Elsa laughed at the happy memories, and then another previously unexplained incident came to mind.  “The carvings!” From the pocket of her white dress she drew the two small ice statues that she had found in her ice castle a few years before.
Jack’s eyes widened, and he darted towards her and cupped her hands in his in excitement, gazing at the beautiful figurine and the delicate rose in her palms. “You kept them?” he asked, raising his head with the widest of smiles, overjoyed.
“Of course,” Elsa said, the corner of her lips turning up despite herself.  “They helped me get through a lot.  They always comforted me when I needed it.”
Jack nodded.  “I’m glad that they were here for you when I couldn’t be.”
Elsa was suddenly very aware of the feeling of his hands touching hers and the chill tingling between them.  She stepped back and slid the carvings back into her pocket. 
“So, when weren’t you watching over me?” she asked quickly, feeling a slight blush on her cheeks.  “I wasn’t always able to sense your presence when I was young, but for the last few years, I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary.  Until I spotted you beneath Ahtohallan, of course.”  Elsa worried that she might be rambling, so she let her last sentence trail off.
He shrugged, shuffling his feet.  “I knew that you were safe and happy in Arendelle after the storm, so when the man in the moon called me away, I listened.”
Elsa cocked her head.  “The man in the moon?” she asked curiously. 
Jack nodded.  “He gave me my powers.  I don’t know who I was before he rescued me, or if I even had a life before this.”
“You’re immortal, aren’t you?” Elsa asked softly.  At his nod, she continued, “How long have you been like this?”
“Invisible?” he asked with a sad laugh.  “It’s been a hundred years at least.  I stopped keeping track.”
A hundred years without being able to interact with anyone, always being passed by, unseen and unloved.  Elsa was suddenly overwhelmingly grateful for her own life she’d had with Anna, as flawed and lonely that it had been at times.  She stepped closer to Jack and brushed her fingers against his hand.  His fingers entwined with hers, and the biting chill that passed between them was full of electricity.
“I’m sorry,” he sighed regretfully.  “I can only keep you cold.”
Elsa smiled, enjoying the cool feeling of his skin against her hand.  “The cold won’t bother me.  It never has.”
He smiled back at her, and as their eyes met, a vibrant heat rushed through her.  His eyes were a breathtaking shade of blue, it was as if the beautiful winter sky had been caught in his gaze.  His eyes were so familiar, as if she had somehow known him all her life, as if she had known that he was there even when she couldn’t see him.  He reminded her of a childhood full of joy and light, and of the peace she had felt each time she had met the elemental seasons of the forest. 
Jack chuckled softly, and Elsa realized that she’d been gazing into his eyes for a bit too long.  She glanced away, her hair falling forward as she ducked her head.  She felt Jack gently pulling her hand, and when Elsa glanced up, she saw that he was hovering several feet above her.
“Do you trust me?” he asked her quietly.  He had a mischievous yet reassuring smile, and Elsa felt her reservations melt away into certainty as she studies the snowflake pattern in his iris.  She nodded and received a joyful but unsurprised smile in return. 
A lively breeze chased around her feet, lifting her from the pebbles of the shore.  Thanks, Gale, she said silently to the wind spirit, and she felt a gentle brush against her cheek in reply.  Once Elsa was eye-to-eye with Jack, she could sense the power pulsing around him.  He was using his magic to coax the wind to keep him aloft and Elsa felt that his magic was strongest near his shepherd’s crook. 
    “Is that where you get your powers?” She asked him, nodding towards the curved staff. 
    Jack followed her gaze and answered with a shrug, “I guess it’s more like it helps me channel it.  I never really thought about how it works.  Anyway, are you ready?”
    His enthusiasm was infectious, and Elsa felt her lips smiling widely.  “What are we waiting for?”
    He laughed and pulled her closer to him.  “For the right gust of wind.” 
    Elsa had only a moment before a strong breeze caught them and propelled them up into the sky.  The wind lifted them higher, drafting beneath them as the sound of Jack’s laugh filled her ears.  She gripped his hand tightly as she watched the forest grow smaller below them.  He glanced back at her, his face full of happiness, and Elsa realized that her heart was filling with a joy similar to his. 
She grinned and released his hand.  She urged herself forward, the wind fulfilling her wishes.  She shot past him as he gazed open-mouthed after her.  She spread her arms as she felt the breeze whipping through her hair.  A laugh burst from her chest as she felt all her fear and doubt fall away. 
Glancing down at the lands far below her, she glimpsed signs of her fellow spirits at work in the woods.  In the fjord, she caught brief sightings of Nokk’s proud form behind the waves and ripples as he stormed high-spiritedly underneath the waves.  Little bursts of flames popped up periodically beneath the trees before fading away; Bruni was getting better at not making uncontrollable wildfires.  Elsa could hear the shifting and groaning of the rock giants on the move. 
She raised her head as her gaze was pulled towards the horizon, where the last light of the sun was being swallowed up by the ocean line.  She straightened into a standing position and breathed deeply, taking in the crisp air, tinged with the salty taste of the sea.  Jack had caught up to her, but his playful smile faded when he saw the solemn look on her face. 
She answered his silent question, “I’m just thinking about how truly vast this world is.  There are so many people who might want to take the life that we have here.”  Her throat tightened as she thought of Prince Hans, who surely wouldn’t be content with staying in his own kingdom.  “The spirits are depending on me to protect them and the magic of this beautiful forest.  I just…” 
Her voice trailed off, and she wrapped her arms around herself as she looked out across the sea. 
“Hey,” Jack said softly as he drew closer to her and put his arm around her waist.  “The Enchanted Forest relies on you because the people in it know that you have what it takes to keep them safe.  You’re way more powerful than anything that could possibly be thrown at us.” 
    Elsa smiled and lifted her chin.  “You’re right,” she said with certainty.  “It is my job to defend this forest, and I will do whatever it takes.”