Tempest-A Jack Frost and Elsa Fanfiction

Elsa-Chapter 18

Elsa felt as though she floated on a cloud. She hadn't wanted to admit it to Jack, but her first kiss had been better than she had ever imagined. She had grown so used to shutting everyone out that she hadn't realized how much she craved someone's companionship until Jack had come along. More than that, Jack had stolen her heart completely, without her realizing it.

She walked into the dining room where a plate with an Egg McMuffin sat with a note propped against a glass of orange juice waiting for her. She recognized Jack's spiky handwriting immediately, even though she had never seen it before. It was just so him.

Elsa,

Had to go meet up with Alyssa in Lainoa for some work, apparently making fog is a two person job to her (don't even get me started) but I'll be back later this afternoon. Try not to get too bored without me.

Love, Jack

Elsa smiled at his use of the word love, tracing his signature carefully with her thumbnail. Now that she had an entire morning to herself, what did she want to do? She briefly considered the library, but somehow the idea didn't appeal to her today. She glanced out the window toward the icy palace, an idea forming in her mind. Jack had said that he would never go there again until there was a ruler in Ledas, but he had said she was free to explore it if she wanted. Right now, that was exactly what she wanted to do.

Not even bothering to grab a jacket, she sped out into the glaring sunshine. She had never attempted something like this before, but somehow, deep in her blood, deep in her very bones, she knew she could do this.

Conjuring up some ice, she began to make herself an old-fashioned sleigh, the shimmering ice curving into glittering runners, smoothing itself as she worked. Finally when that was done, she conjured a horse out of snow, its ice blue eyes staring at her from a white face. She was just wondering how to make it live when the horse pawed the ground, bowing low to her. Her smile was instantaneous as she decided against the sleigh and climbed up on the horse's back and grabbing handfuls of its soft mane.

The horse seemed able to read her very thoughts and immediately broke into a gallop toward the palace of ice. Elsa nearly toppled off backward but managed to cling on as the wind rushed past her ears, filling them with a roaring, whistling sound. The horse moved with such speed, none but a magic horse could ever have matched it. She wondered if this was what travel was like for Jack, the rush she felt as the horse's feet flew over the sparkling snow. Would she be able to travel as he did someday?

The horse finally thundered to a stop outside the palace, kneeling so that Elsa could dismount with ease. She patted its nose, somehow knowing without understanding how she knew that the horse would be right there waiting for her when she came out. The place still gleamed beautifully in the sunlight, but she could tell that it had not been occupied in a long time. The ice was chipped and cracked in places, cloudy where it should have had a sheen to it. She wondered if the Ledans, like Jack, had simply left it alone as a sign of mourning for their beloved queen.

Elsa pulled on the looming ice doors but they wouldn't budge. She looked at them closely, running her fingers over the crack between the door and the frame. It looked as though they had been magically sealed against intruders after the queen's death. She frowned, wondering if there was another way into the palace. She walked a little further down to a window on the ground floor. It was a long shot, but if she could just melt it enough to get inside...

Pressing her palm against the wavery ice, Elsa concentrated with all her might, persuading the ice to bend to her will the way Jack had taught her. The ice slowly began to dissipate enough for her to squeeze through.

Elsa's gasp echoed through the entrance hall as she stared at the elegance around her. Jack had been right, the ice palace was indeed extraordinarily beautiful. A cascading sculpture of a wave rose up in the middle of the foyer, towering toward the opaline white ceiling that had been sculpted with delicate carvings of each season.

Patches of different colors glowed from windows that had been colored to display scenes from the life of the queen. Elsa studied them closely, staring up at the face of the queen. The carving looked so detailed that she could make out the queen's high cheekboned face, her regal air, even the sapphire blue of her eyes. Touching the carving, she stared up into that face and for a moment, she saw that face staring back at her with a smile on her lips.

Shaking her head, she quickly withdrew her hand and continued walking. She couldn't shake that eerie feeling that seeing that face had given her. It was like a memory from a dream. Haunting her, clinging to her like cobwebs.

Elsa wandered to the top of a large staircase which led down to a once grand ballroom that had begun to crumble since the queen's death. She stopped on a large landing halfway down the steps, surveying the room sadly. She could imagine beautiful balls being held here once upon a time. She pictured the chandeliers sparkling over the polished floor, figures whirling around underneath their glow. Stepping out onto the floor, she began to dance by herself, imagining Jack as her partner, her imaginary dress elegant and sparkling.

As she danced, the floor began to regain its sheen. Elsa spun faster and faster, her smile growing wider and wider with each passing moment. She shot two jets of ice at the chandeliers, making them glitter and shine as they once had. Elsa paused in the middle of the floor, staring around at the grandeur around her. Ledas needed a ruler, that much was clear. Why had Jack refused the position?

Suddenly she felt as though she was intruding and started back the way she had come, climbing through the window and refreezing it the way it had been when she had gotten here. The snow horse she had conjured up was still there waiting for her, just as she had known it would be. She climbed up on his back and kicked him into a trot. Jack would be back soon and she wanted to be there to greet him when he got there.