Tempest-A Jack Frost and Elsa Fanfiction

Elsa-Chapter 14

Elsa wandered through Jack's house in awe. The ice was so clear and crisp in some places, but in other places it had been colored to look like stained glass. Elsa smiled, staring at the blank table in the entrance hall. It needed something...

A smile crept onto her face as she fashioned a vase with starry, snowflake patterns climbing their way around it. Finally, she began fashioning roses out of ice, coloring them a deep red to add warmth to the otherwise pristine whiteness. Just like Jack's eyes lent warmth to his otherwise pale skin.

She smiled, circling slowly to admire the effect. This was one of the few things she had created that hadn't ended in disaster, she realized, and she couldn't help but wonder if Jack would like it. If not, he'd probably just change it, but part of her hoped he'd leave it there. She liked being able to create without destroying.

Wandering the halls, it became clear to her that no one lived here, at least not often. It was by far the grandest building she had ever seen with columns reaching up toward the sky before fanning out in delicate snowflake-like patterns. The house was divided in half by a sweeping staircase and she took the left one first, wondering if she'd even be able to explore all of the building while she was here. Cracking open the first icy door she came to, she stared in awe at the collection of books that Jack had accumulated over his three hundred years as Jack Frost. He had a little bit of everything from John Locke to Harry Potter.

Elsa moved her fingers eagerly over the spines of the books, studying them all closely. Oh yeah, she knew where she'd be spending most of her time while she was here. The library looked cozier than the other rooms in that she had seen so far. It had two soft snow couches positioned opposite each other across a low table. The windows allowed plenty of sunshine to filter into the room, but there were two small, delicately crafted chandeliers that apparently could be lit with real candles and never melt.

She ran her fingers over the mantle of the fireplace, studying the intricate carvings closely. It looked as though they told different stories, including one about a boy from the mortal realm who had been changed to become one of the Seasons. Her hand paused over the depiction of Jack, wishing that the carving could capture the way his brown eyes scrunched up when he laughed. This picture was far too serious for the Jack she knew.

She moved on to the next room which had an equally grand fireplace. Did anyone ever actually light fires inside here? She wanted to know what the secret was to preventing them from melting.

This room looked as though it was an unused guest room. The bed and the walls were bare, not even a pillow on top. Elsa smiled, this room would be hers as long as she was here.

She fashioned a bedspread with a pattern of leaves and birds like she had on her bed as a child and made two luxuriously fluffy pillows to go with it. The walls were bare and suddenly she wished for her snow globe collection and the pictures of her family to take away some of that emptiness. But since she had left them in the human realm, she began creating furniture. A dresser with a polished ice mirror, a desk directly below the window so she could look out at the frozen world below, a wardrobe, but she wasn't really sure what she'd put in there yet. She hadn't brought much from the human realm to Jack's home because she wasn't sure how long she'd be allowed to stay.

Frowning, Elsa conjured a nightstand and lamp next to the bed, wondering if Jack would let her borrow some of the novels she'd seen in the library to read at night. The more she thought about it, the more the situation she was in began to puzzle her. As far as she had known nothing was wrong, but then Jack appeared and suddenly she seemed to be knee deep in magic she didn't even begin to understand. And somehow, she wasn't entirely sure how, but she felt as though she was more involved than she realized.

Shaking her head to try and clear it of her confused thoughts, she looked out the window and caught sight of the shimmering palace again. Why had Jack refused the role of king? He seemed like a natural leader to her, so why had he turned away from that? And what of the queen? Jack had said that he had been close friends with her and Elsa couldn't help wondering what that woman had been like. She probably had a good sense of humor if she was around Jack all the time. The thought made her smile.

"Making yourself comfortable, I see," Jack's voice sounded behind her, making her jump. Elsa whipped around to see him standing in the doorway, admiring her handiwork. "Not bad for a rookie."

Elsa laughed, sitting down on the bed. "I hope you don't mind, I just found this room and thought it needed some attention. So I kind of took it as my own."

"No, you're right," Jack grinned, conjuring a desk chair for her. It was perfect, with elegantly curved armrests and legs and a fluffy cushion. He turned the chair and sat down with his arms resting on the back so he faced her.

"It definitely did need someone living in it. Usually, it's just me rattling around in here by myself. And that's only when I'm home."

"Have you ever thought about marrying anyone?" Elsa asked, trying not to blush as she said it and failing miserably. Jack didn't seem to notice, however, and just shook his head.

"Occupational hazard is that I don't meet very many women in the human realm and even if I did, I'd outlive anyone I fell for."

Elsa nodded, a little prick of sadness stinging her heart. He was right, of course. She would grow old and he would never change. Somehow it hurt knowing that someday she would be gone and he'd be living life without her.

What was she saying? Elsa felt her cheeks heat up even more. They were just friends, that was all. Jack didn't want anything more from her than friendship. Besides, he was probably only keeping her here to prevent a catastrophe anyway. Disaster seemed to follow her wherever she went somehow.

"I love your library," she smiled, changing the subject. "Can I read some of those books?"

Jack laughed, making his eyes crinkle the way she liked. "You liked that, eh? Well, you're more than welcome to borrow any of the books in there you want. I've collected some of my favorites over the last three hundred years."

"I noticed Harry Potter," Elsa grinned. "I think I found my favorite room in the house, no doubt about it."

Standing up, Jack held out his hand. "I love the library too, but that's not my favorite room. Come on, I'll show you."

Elsa took his hand and followed him down another flight of stairs to a part of the house she hadn't seen yet. Jack led her to two towering doors with doorknobs that looked as though they were made of gold but were really gold colored ice.

"This is the best room in the house," he grinned over his shoulder, throwing the doors open with a flourish. Elsa laughed as she saw a swimming pool sized bathtub with bubbling, steaming water inside.

"This is your favorite?" Elsa asked skeptically. Jack pulled her inside with a chuckle.

"Yes," he grinned. "This is the one and only time I enjoy being warm. This bathtub is fed by natural hot springs below the house."

Elsa stared at him in confusion, raising her eyebrows at him. "Okay, so what makes this your favorite?"

"It's where I come to think," Jack shrugged, a smile creeping onto his face. "I know it sounds crazy, but my journey as Jack Frost started in the water and being in the water helps me clear my thoughts somehow."

Nodding, Elsa smiled. "That makes sense to me. That's why wherever I went, I always kept my snow globes. They helped me connect to the place I've been and made me feel like I was part of something, even for a small space of time."

They were silent for a moment before Jack said, "You know what would be really fun right now?"

"What?" Elsa asked curiously as Jack took her hand and pulled her from the room.

"Have you ever seen aurora borealis?" he asked as they walked outside. Elsa shook her head, letting out a low laugh.

"Never got that far north, I always stayed closer to the equator."

"Come on then," Jack laughed. "You're in for a treat."