Trapped by Fear

Chapter 18

"Wait! You do know how to have fun right? Right? RIGHT?!?!"

Elsa didn't say anything. She just shrugged and looked down at the floor.

"Jeez," Jack exclaimed, "I guess I'm not good enough at my job."

At that her head shot up and she looked at Jack with concern, had she caused him to lose his job?! Seeing that he was only joking she relaxed slightly.

Choosing to ignore whatever that was, Jack continued, "Well, let's go then!"

"Go where?" Elsa asked, surprised.

"To have fun, duh! Gotta up my game seems like, Guardian of fun and all that." He grinned and before she had time to protest he was dragging her outside, onto the roof.

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"Jack, what are we doing here?" There was a slight tremor in her voice.

"I told you, having fun!"

Elsa was turned away from him, trying to see the way down. While she did so, Jack scooped up some snow from the ground and formed it into a sphere. He blew on it for luck (and for a bit of a magical edge), took aim and fired. It arced through the air and hit its mark exactly as intended. The snowball struck Elsa directly in the back of the head. She stumbled forward a few steps. When she regained her balance, she reached behind her to feel where the snowball struck her. She brought her hand to her face and inspected the bits of snow there. She tilted her hand as if trying to see if what she saw would change in a different light. She seemed almost frozen in shock.

Now uneasy, Jack began to tentatively walk towards her, had he taken it too far? She was still staring at her hand. Jack was about halfway to her when suddenly she bent down, whipped around and he was hit square in the face with a snowball.

Jack was now the one in shock. He wiped the snow from his face only for it to immediately be replaced by another snowball. Whack, whack, whack. She didn't give him time to process between throws. He shook himself off and dogged the next one. Sliding to the side he used his staff to send a line of snowballs at her. She put her arms up to try shield herself but there were too many snowballs. She scooped up another handful of snow and took aim at the same time Jack was just finishing preparing his own array of snowballs. The battle began in earnest...

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They were both exhausted and covered in snow. Elsa's cheeks were flushed a light pink from all the running around. She got winded quickly. It had been years since she had run around like that, or played. Actually it had been a while since she had really moved around at all, not counting her recent escape from Pitch.

They both landed up sitting in the snow across from each other. Elsa leaned back into the snow as she tried to catch her breath. Snow was falling gently down around her. Constellations twinkled in the night sky above. After a while it became hard to determine what were snowflakes and what were stars. Every now and then a gentle breeze would send the snowflakes into a graceful dance in the air. They landed on her hair, as if the night sky were coming down to her. The full moon seemed to smile down at her and for the first time in a long time, for just a moment, she felt completely at peace.

It didn't last long. Once you look past the stars you see the inky blackness lurking behind. Reminding her that no matter how much light there was, darkness was always hiding just behind, watching, waiting. An ever-present omen of impending doom. One that no one could escape. Every candle burns down, every full moon wanes, every star dies, even if it takes a Milenia. Darkness played the long game...

"Fun right?" Jack's question brought her mind slamming back into her body from its brief trip in the clouds of the night sky.

"yeah..."

"Yes! My title is safe!"

"I would say so," she smiled gently, "That was the most fun I've had in a while."

"When was last time you had fun?"

In that instant, it seemed like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

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She could remember it so clearly, forever branded into her brain. That night with Anna. She replayed it over and over, what could she have done differently to stop it? She eventually came to the conclusion that it was her. Her powers, her idea to play that stupid game, her responsibility as big sister not to sneak out of bed at Anna's whim. Sigh, It may have been that night that started it all but it would have happened sooner or later. Looking back it was clear how her powers grew, got more wild and she never tried to control them. They would have done harm eventually, just as they did that fateful night. It was the smallest consolation that they had realized the danger while she was still young and no one else was hurt. They were able to conceal her and give gloves in the nick of time. Who knows what might have happened if they had waited, if her powers had grown even more. What damage she could have caused later down the line. It was for the best that she...

...concealed...

...didn't feel...

...didn't let it show...

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She didn't answer the question. She just said, "I think I want to go back inside now."

Jack was confused why the question would cause her to react and withdraw the way she did but he left the matter alone. Instead he simply said, "right, okay." and took her back inside.

Leaving out the window again he spared a single glance back towards Elsa. She was once again just sitting there. Not moving, not talking, still as a statue, staring blankly at her hands. If the lighting had been better he might have even been able to see her eyes begin to brim red.