Thaw (Jelsa Fanfic)

Traitor

"Hold back
I won't hold back.
This fight will be the death of me,
Or will it set me free?
Will it set me free?"

-'You're All I See', by The Word Alive

***Sorry for the long wait! Had some changes in my life that are taking some getting used to. No worries, however...the updates will still come. Thank you for your patience.

Off note...I own nothing from the song lyrics above or the bad. Highly recommend to listen to it with this chapter though. :) ***

The plan was underway.

The Guardians had stepped through the portal together, finding themselves not far from the pond that Jack had drowned in nearly three centuries before. The rickety bed frame that had once marked the entrance to Pitch's lair was long gone of course, destroyed when his Nightmares had attacked him five years prior. But Jack would have known the location anywhere...that part of the forest always seemed foreboding. It was even more so now, the surrounding trees stripped of their leaves despite the fact that summer was not yet over. Their bare, reaching branches were a stark reminder that Death lurked down below.

It was in the dark clearing where the Guardians made their final plan, the stars above a silent witness to their fierce determination. They would use Jack's desperation to retrieve Elsa as a tool, letting him enter first. With luck, Pitch and Grim would think that he had separated from the Guardians, and was on his own. North, Sandy, Bunny, and Tooth would take up positions around the Lair, making sure Jack wasn't overpowered before ambushing at just the right moment. The element of surprise would be their only advantage, and likely, their only hope.

Jack had lunged into the tunnels the moment the plan was in place, his need to see Elsa, to be sure she was alive as whole and all consuming thing. There was a small part of him that recognized the finality of his entrance, that understood that for better or for worse, nothing would ever be the same.

Jack remembered the catacombs well. He knew just how disorienting, how horribly confusing they could be...but there was little caution in his step as he rushed forward. The last time he'd been in the Lair, Pitch had been intent of distracting him with mind games so the his Nightmares would have ample time to attack the Warren. Pitch did not need to buy time now...he was confident in his ability to crush the Guardians. And hopefully, that confidence would be his downfall.

He reached a stone staircase, pausing at the top. "Elsa!" He called into the dimness, straining to hear a response, any response. Nothing answered him save for the rhythmic drip of water against cobblestone, and Jack plunged forth as his anxiety mounted. His staff was raised and ready, but the halls remained empty and unnervingly quiet. He flew deeper into the catacombs, looking for a hint, any sign of where Elsa could be in the vastness. "Elsa, where are you?" He yelled, his voice echoing off of the damp stone walls.

The Guardians were close...he could feel their presence even if they hadn't made a sound as they'd followed. It was the link they shared...something than ran deeper than the blood of relation. If only he were able to sense Elsa in that way! He was blind in the Lair, unable to do more than guess at where she could be in the mess of dark halls an winding staircases. It made him feel helpless...and in turn, frantic.

He swept into the open space that he had once stood in with Pitch, years ago. There were doorways everywhere, each one a mystery. Jack was about to move to the hallway when he heard the first sound. It was faint, but as he strained to listen, Jack was sure it was footsteps. "Elsa!" He screamed, whirling in a circle as he struggled to determine which direction the sound was coming from. It was impossible...even as it intensified, it seemed like the footfalls were echoing from the very walls themselves.