A Frozen Family

Chapter 7 - A Helping Hand

Chapter 7
A Helping Hand
(Jack Frost's POV)

"I'm sorry, but there's no sign of her your Majesty."
Jack sighed, and closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead, "Just keep looking for her."
"Yes, your Majesty." the guard bowed, then exited the room.
After a few minutes, Jack opened his eyes and looked around the room. He took a deep breath and sighed again, staring out the window.
Ever since yesterday morning, every guard in the kingdom was searching for Anna. Most of them had taken the ships to sail to other kingdoms in search of her. The others either still remained in the kingdom, or were looking in the outskirts of the kingdom. No such luck yet. Rapunzel had written to her cousin Eugene Fitzherbert (or Flynn Rider, as he liked to be called) who was visiting Arrendelle with his two kids, Jamie and Sophie, asking if he had seen Anna. She sent the letter with one of Tooth's helpers. He still hasn't replied yet.
At that moment, the oak doors creaked open and Rapunzel stepped inside. Her expression was blank, and her face was tear stained. She surveyed the room until her eyes landed on Jack, "I've just been over-seeing the trading plans with Dunbroch." she said in a flat voice, plopping down in one of the chintz chairs in the study. She slid one of the leather-bound books off the shelves, and opened it to a random page. She started down at book blankly, her eyes not moving. Jack looked at her with sorrow. Ever since yesterday, Rapunzel had just been a hallowed version of herself. No longer happy or giddy with excitement. She was just...empty.
Without warning, Rapunzel suddenly burst into tears, burying her face in her hands, as the book slid off her lap and onto the floor with a thud.
He wasn't aware of getting up, but next thing he knew, Rapunzel was in his arms sobbing on his shoulder.
"Sh, shh. It's ok, it's ok." Jack said softly, hugging her a bit tighter in attempts to calm her.
"H-how could she just leave like that?!" Rapunzel choked between sobs, "D-doesn't she know the danger that's out there?!"
Jack didn't have an answer to that. So he just waited in silence until Rapunzel's sobs died down.
"I'm sure she's alright," Jack said calmly, "She's a tough girl. She'll survive."
"But what if someone finds out about her - "
"No, no, they won't find out." Jack hurriedly cut her off, "Even Anna doesn't know about it, so how could anyone else possibly find out?" he said, trying to comfort Rapunzel...and himself. If anyone discovered what Anna could do, she'd most likely already be dead, or worse.
While they let their minds wander in silence, a guard suddenly burst into the room, making them jump.
"What?! What is it?!" Jack asked quickly, once he caught sight of the guard's face. It was a mix of emotions; panic, shock, disbelief...and possibly joy?
"I'm sorry to disturb you, your Majesties," the guard replied, glancing at Rapunzel, who had quickly stood up, suddenly alert. "But someone's spotted Princess Anna."
Jack was instantly filled with relief and happiness, "Where?! Who spotted her?!"
"She was seen in Arendelle by Eugene Fitzherbert," the guard answered, "He's here now, in the main entrance, should I send him in?"
"Yes! Please do!" Rapunzel said, practically jumping with joy. She jumped up, and hugged the bewildered guard, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Jack chuckled to himself, as he gently pulled Rapunzel away, nodding at the guard, who quickly dashed out the door to retrieve the others.
"I can't believe it! Anna's in Arendelle! How come we didn't think of that's in the first place? Of course that would be the first place she would go to!" Rapunzel gushed, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, anxiously awaiting for Eugene.
That's when he suddenly burst into the room, panting heavily, followed by two little kids and the guard.
"Eugene!" Rapunzel exclaimed in excitement, rushing towards him arms outstretched but he held up a hand to stop her.
"Hold on, Punz," he said, breathing heavily, "Let me - let me catch my breath." He stumbled toward one of the chairs and collapsed in it, still panting.
"Hi Jack!" said one of the kids excitedly, breathless, hands on his knees.
"Hi Jamie." Jack replied, ruffling his head. Jamie grinned back, then collapsed on the floor, along with his little sister Sophie.
Jack swept his eyes across the scene. Eugene slouched against the chair with ragged breaths and Jamie and Sophie panting on the floor.
"Okay...what happened? Why are you all exhausted?" Jack asked, getting more worried.
"Well you said if we see Anna to report back as quickly as possible!" Eugene protested, sitting up straighter in the chair.
Rapunzel gave off a little giggle, "Eugene! We meant in like a day after you saw her! Not a couple hours later! But wait, how did you get here so fast?" she countered, eyeing him a little suspiciously.
"Grandpa North took us!" Jamie piped up, slowly standing up with a lopsided grin on his face.
"Yeah, that's right," Eugene agreed, "He was scoping out the area when he spotted us racing towards the ships, trying to see if we could catch a ride. But we couldn't get one because, man you wouldn't believe the blizzard that is stirring up there! So in short, North gave us transportation, and here we are!"
"That's great, but how come you didn't go after Anna?" Jack questioned.
"Believe me, we tried! But the moment we spotted her with Max in the town, we lost sight of her in the snow! Then when we finally saw her again, she was heading off to the mountain in this sled with some guy. But then the blizzard started kicking up again, and that was the last we ever saw of her." Eugene explained, "It's almost as if something didn't want us to get to her."
"Oh no." Jack thought, panic suddenly rising up in him, "Ok, I've got to go now." he declared, quickly rushing out of the room to the front door.
"Wait! Jack! There's something else you need to kno-!"
"Sorry Eugene, but I've got to go, as in right now!" Jack called over his shoulder, as his bare feet pounded the carpeted hallways and burst through the front door.
"Jack?" he heard a gruff voice ask off to the side. He turned to find North standing there near his sleigh, looking bewildered and wind swept.
"Sorry North, I don't have any time to spare," and with that, Jack took off at full speed into the air
"Wha- no! Jack wait! There's something you need to-" But before North could finish his sentence, Jack was suddenly shoved backwards by some invisible force that sent him hurtling back toward the ground.
"Jack!" he heard a shrill voice scream as everything whipped by him in a blur of colors.
He slammed back down on the ground, sending snow flying, the wind knocked out of him.
The sound of boots crunching the snow were quickly approaching him.
"Jack! Jack are you alright?!" he heard a familiar voice filled with fear ask him.
He groaned as he slowly sat up, the world spinning around him. He felt a soft hand on his back keeping him upright. "What- what was that?" he questioned still dazed, as his vision slowly cleared up.
Rapunzel was kneeling next to him looking terrified. North and Eugene were standing in front of him with concerned looks on their faces.
Eugene awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, and glanced nervously at North, "Yeah...about that, there seems to be some kinda of....barrier, that's preventing any kind of flying outside of Arendelle. You can't seem to leave that way anymore."
Jack's stomach plummeted. He couldn't fly out of Arendelle? How was he supposed to find Anna now?! "When did this start?" he asked, a hint of shakiness in his voice.
"Just after North dropped us off, and then tried flying back out again." Eugene replied quickly, "He crashed into that invisible barrier too." he jerked his thumb over his shoulder toward the sleigh, and Jack finally took a closer look at it. Now he began to notice the cracks lining the edges of the sleigh, and how all the reindeer looked dazed.
North snorted, "Yeah crashed. More like it shoved back." he glanced anxiously at the sky, "I've never seen anything as powerful as that before." he mumbled.
"Yeah, yeah, but is that the only thing that's blocked off? Is there anything else I can use?!" Jack questioned hastily, already on his feet. The world tilted a bit and he stumbled, Rapunzel steadying him, but he eventually shook it off. He knew he should be worried about the sky being closed off, but all he could think about was how much time they were wasting and how with each ticking second, Anna was getting farther, and farther away.
"Uh, well I think the ships are still in motion." Eugene answered, "Although I didn't see a lot of them left. Maybe two or three? Not sure if any of them could handle the storm brewing up ou- Jack? Jack wait! You can't seriously be thinking of heading out there now!" he called after Jack, for he had suddenly picked up his staff, and shot towards the docks.
"Please be an available ship, please be an available ship," Jack pleaded silently in his head, as his feet touched the ground, and he ran onto the docks to the only two ships there.
"Oi! Jacob!" he called to one of the captains on the docks who was tapping his foot impatiently, talking quickly with one of the ship crew mates. At the sound of his voice, Jacob turned around with an irritated expression, which quickly morphed into surprise when he realized who was running towards him.
"Your Majesty?" he asked bewildered, as Jack finally reached him, "What are you doing here?"
"I need a ship," Jack replied hurriedly, "We know where Anna is, and I need to get to Arrendelle now."
The young captain's face lit up at the news of Anna, but then immediately fell, "I'm sorry your Majesty, I really am, but I can't,"
Jack's stomach plummeted.
"You see, this ship isn't strong enough to handle the storm. It's only meant for local travels in mild weather. All the ships with strong frameworks have been sent off...I'm so sorry." Jacob lowered his head in shame, staring intently at his shoelaces.
Jack took a deep breath trying to calm his racing thoughts, "It-it's alright Jacob," he sighed, "But is there any other way to get to Arrendelle that you can think of?"
"Aye can give ye a lift if ye want." remarked a strong female Scottish accent from behind him.
Jack turned around to find a girl with wild red hair, arms crossed over her woolen coat, staring at him with eyebrows raised.
"Uh..."Jack started to say, "I don't mean to be rude...but who exactly are you?"
The Scottish girl rolled her eyes, "For yer information, I'm the queen of Dunbroch. And this," she said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder to a guy with messy brown hair, who was missing his left foot, right behind her, who Jack hadn't noticed until now, "Is Hiccup. Chief of Berk. Aye'm givin' him a lift too. He's got a dragon an-"
"Ok, Merida, I think that's enough information," the Viking called Hiccup interrupted, glancing at Jack, smiling apologetically.
But Jack was intrigued, "You've got a dragon?"
Hiccup grinned, "Yep. His name's Toothless. He's on the ship sleeping at the moment. Actually if the sky wasn't closed off, for some weird reason, I'd be flying him home, instead of sailing with Miss. Loudmouth over here."
"Oi!" Merida snapped, turning sharply, glaring at him.
Jack chuckled, temporally forgetting his situation. But it all came flooding back to him when he saw Rapunzel and Eugene running towards them with panicked expressions on their faces.
"Got to find Anna." he reminded himself, turning his attention back to the Scottish queen, "You said you can give me a lift to Arrendelle?"
"Ya," she replied, "Aye'm headed there anyways. Got some tradin' to do. Then aye've got to get Dragon Boy here home and then aye'll head home me self."
"Can your ship withstand the storm?"
"Are ya kidding me? Of course it can! It's a Scottish ship! All Scottish ships have strong frameworks to withstand anything!" Merida exclaimed, "So are ya comin' or not?"
"Jack!" Rapunzel cried when she finally reached him, glancing at Hiccup and Merida, and stopping short.
"Ye Majesty." Merida said, taking a little bow in Rapunzel's direction.
Rapunzel looked at all three of them suspiciously, "What's going on?"
Jack glanced at Merida and Hiccup; he had a split-second to decide what he wanted to do. To him, the answer was obvious.
"Rapunzel," Jack started to say cautiously, "I think I've found a way to get to Arrendelle to find Anna."
Rapunzel's eyes narrowed, "And what is that?"
Eugene's eyes widened in understanding, his eyes flicking between him, Merida, Hiccup, and the ship, "Ohhhhhh....." he murmured, shrugging his shoulders slightly, "Not that bad idea actually."
Jack glanced at Eugene trying to send him a silent "thanks" with his eyes, then returned back to Rapunzel, "I'm going to sail with Merida and Hiccup to Arrendelle." he finally said.
The Queen's eyebrows were raised in disbelief, "Is the ship strong enough?"
Merida groaned in frustration, "How many times do aye have to tell ye people, it's a Scottish ship! Of course it's strong enough!"
Rapunzel examined Merida for a moment, before she finally declared, "Fine, but I'm coming with you."
"No!" Jack almost shouted, making everyone jump, "I mean, someone needs to look over the kingdom while I'm gone."
"Eugene can manage that." she countered.
"No he can't." Jack countered back.
Eugene huffed, "Well thanks for having so much trust in me." he said sarcastically.
Jack groaned, they were wasting time, "I mean, it's takes more than one person to watch over the kingdom! It require's two people! The place will be in chaos if only one person takes care of everything! That's....why you have to stay here." Jack finished slowly, gazing at Rapunzel apologetically, not daring to voice what he was actually thinking.
She stared at him with her large emerald green eyes for a few minutes that passed in silence, before she finally blinked, looking away and sighed "Fine. I'll stay here."
Relief flooded through him, and he broke into a grin as he pulled Rapunzel into a tight hug, "I love you." he whispered in her ear.
She gently squeezed him and whispered back, "I know."
"Ookkaaayy," Merida said slowly, as Jack and Rapunzel stayed in that position, "Well me and Hiccup will be on the ship gettin' ready to set sail, while ye guys say yer farewells or whatever. See ya then."
They finally broke apart to see Hiccup and Merida climbing up the ramp to the ship, Merida shouting out orders.
Jack glanced behind him to see Jacob had gotten back to his job, and turned back to Rapunzel and Eugene.
"Well, have a safe trip," Eugene said, "Try to make it back in one piece ok?"
Jack smiled, "Thanks, I will." and with that he shook his hand.
"Stay safe." Rapunzel said, "And if you run into...him...don't do anything stupid."
"Don't worry I won't," Jack replied, "I'll find Anna and bring her back immediately. She'll be ok."
Rapunzel gave him a small smile, "I know," she suddenly grabbed ahold of the collar of his sweater, dragging him down, and kissing him full on the lips.
"Ugh. Get a room you two." Eugene groaned.
Rapunzel laughed against his lips before finally breaking the kiss.
Jack took a deep breath again, glancing towards the ship where they were waiting for him, "I've got to go." he sighed, starting to walk towards the ship, and glancing back one last time at Rapunzel and Eugene, "See you guys later." and with that, he shot up off the ground into the air and landed on the deck of the ship, coming face-to-face with Merida who was grinning.
"Welcome aboard, Frosty," she greeted him, "We're in for a bumpy ride."

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A/N: I am so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry that I haven't updated this story in a while! I was dealing with some personal problems, and I was being stressed out by school! I also had to take a break from Wattpad for a while, but now, guess what? I'm back! So hopefully updates will come faster. Hopefully. That is if I don't get flooded by homework, sports and violin this year, which unlikely.
And sorry that this chapter was more like a really long filler! But trust me, this is going to be important later on!
Elsa's POV chapter, is coming up after the next chapter! Only 1 more chapter to go!
I hope you liked this chapter and that the length of it kind of makes up for all the months I didn't update! Sorry!
Thanks for reading, voting and commenting!
Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes!
Hope you all have a awesome day! :D

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own any of the characters, places, or objects mentioned in this story!
I only own the storyline!
The rest belong to 'Disney' and 'Dreamworks'!