The Snow Queen: Jelsa *Third Book to Frozen Love*

Chapter 17

"Evil queens are the princesses that were never saved." --Disney's Maleficent

Jack

"Elsa! Elsa!" I felt my desperate cries get swallowed up by the roaring winds. I knew she was here; I had seen her and Ursa locked in battle from a distance, so the Guardians and I had run in that direction. We were, however, interrupted by a swirling snowstorm. I had lost the others. Oh god, where were they? But I couldn't stop pushing in the direction I'd last seen Elsa, couldn't stop paving a path in the knee-high snow with staff in hand.
"Jack! Jack, are you there?" Suddenly her voice rang out like bells, pointing me in the right direction. And then, there she was, not five feet away from me. She was wearing a sparkling gown and she was holding a long silver scepter. But the gales immediately picked up to hurricane standards until the only thing anchoring me down was the snow I stood in, as if the winds didn't want us together.
By the time I had clasped desperately onto her arm, we were both bent over on our stomachs. Her hand was shaking and her nails were ragged, but I refused to let go because it was her. After a last blast through my sweatshirt, the wind died down abruptly.
The air around Elsa and me was still and silent for a moment, and then we were collapsing into each other, gasping and sobbing. I looked into her eyes, brushed her hair behind her ear. Her eyelashes were clumped with flecks of ice, weighing the lids down.
"Are-are you okay? I-I didn't-should've..." I didn't have the strength to finish the sentence, and I didn't have to. Because Elsa was lying next to me and she was smiling brightly.
Just then, it seemed to hit both of us at the same time that there must have been a reason for the blizzard to stop. I stood up quickly, scanning the whiteness around me.
I stopped when I saw red.
A huge hoard of fur and feathers surrounded an object I couldn't see. I felt the air being sucked out of my lungs when I realized...Ursa's follower animals were attacking something. Elsa's frame grew rigid beside me. She fell to the ground, dropping the scepter.
"It's...Ursa," she choked out a sob.
"She imprisoned them and they paid her back for it," I whispered.
"I-I didn't want to control them, but I didn't w-want them to--!" Her words exploded until I could see her breaking apart beneath the surface, like pieces of an iceberg.
I heard heavy footsteps behind us. Bunny, Tooth, and North were here now but I couldn't acknowledge them.
Interrupting all of our silent stares, the crowd of bears, foxes and assorted creatures parted to reveal the damage they'd done.
I held Elsa's face to my shoulder so she wouldn't see.
Even I couldn't look for more than a second.
In that second, what was left of The Snow Queen's hand moved upward. It was no more than a twitch, but a moment after, the crystal atop the scepter, which had rolled a ways away, exploded.
Thousands of mirror glass shards flew through the air towards us. I felt a tiny prick to my chest beneath my sweatshirt, though I didn't find any evidence of injury when I looked.
Instead of wasting any more thought on it, I shielded Elsa's body with mine, ducking my head. She was still frozen with shock.
I only felt comfortable enough to look up once everything around us was quiet. The other three Guardians crouched yards away, sheltered under a small overhang of ice. They looked the most terrified I'd ever seen them.
"Kid? You all right?" Bunnymund galloped over. Tooth knelt down to Elsa. Meanwhile, North's eyes narrowed and focused on Lady Pitchiner who had revealed herself not far away.
"Yeah, we're fine," I muttered. But we weren't. Elsa was trying her hardest not to look anywhere near the body. The animals had all started to wander off into the blurred distance, finally free. However, a handful of them lingered to look towards Elsa expectantly.
"There's no need to be upset, girl. You were right in not wanting to bend the animals' wills. Which means they made their own conscious decision," Pitchiner said matter-of-factly. North and Elsa exchanged a look, and I had a feeling it was Elsa assuring him Pitchiner could be trusted.
"Ssh, it's all right. It's not your fault. You gave Ursa every chance to change," Tooth soothed, holding Elsa. E was staring down at her fingers.
"Still..." she whispered. "I thought there'd be another way." I didn't know how to feel. I wanted to apologize, to tell her I should've trusted her, but every time I touched her I felt a sharp pinch in my chest. And I mean literally.
"Jack?"
I looked up at North. He was studying me closely. "Are you all right?" I nodded, confused.
"It's time to go home. You did good, kid," Bunny patted me on the shoulder.
"Lady Pitchiner will have to come with us for the time being. We'll decide her fate later." North nodded at the woman. "Have to keep eye on you, you understand." She kept staring coldly into the distance.
Elsa wrapped her arm around mine. I know I should've felt a rush of warmth or relief or something about returning home after such a week, but the thing was...I felt nothing.