Melt for me

Chapter seventeen

                                                       ***Elsa***

I mean I guess I can take Jack on a tour of the castle but then again I am afraid that it will end up going horribly wrong.  Like Jack trying to try on some knights amour... Jack pelting people with snow and me getting blamed for it.  Or worse even that I cant even begin to imagine what he has in store for me and yet here he is sitting across from me. Eating more pancakes than I ever thought humanly possible. I mean I packed away my fair share but I'm pretty sure that's his tenth pancake and he is still going strong.

"Soo what do you think?" He says, stopping to talk to me, pancake hovering outside of his mouth. I fold my hands neatly in front of me. My own plate polished off clean, unlike Jack the pancake devourer, I only need one pancake to fill me up. After all they are about the size of a small pillow and yet Jack eats them like there nothing. Where does he put it all??

"Huh? What do I think of taking you on a tour... I think it could end badly," I say, complete and utter honesty in my voice.  Jack gives me a sneaky, cocky smile (which is hard to do since his cheeks are like chipmunks right now.)  "What are you afraid or something? Why don't you hang out with... Gavin." Although he says his name nonchalantly, I hear a hint of jealously in his voice.   Like a spoiled child who might get his toy taken away.. I don't like being treated like a toy.

I cross my arms across my chest, feeling a bit angry with Jack now. Does he really think he can control my life and who is in it? I might take it from the council but I will not take it from some cocky teenage boy (even though we are the same age) who thinks he can run my life. Gavin is a dear friend who has gotten me through some tough times, why can't he understand that. Perhaps I'll make him understand.  "Maybe I will," I say with my chin lifted.  

Jack's eyes narrow as he stuffs another pancake in his mouth and swallows it with one bite.  I can tell he is sizing me up. Trying to see if I'm lying or not. "Go ahead Princess...I dare you."  My temper flares up and it takes everything I have not to go over there and strangle him myself but  I won't give him that satisfaction,  he only wants a reaction, too bad he's not going to get it.

 I stand up slowly and calm, pacing my napkin down on the table ever so slowly. "Will you excuse me, Mr. Frost. I have meetings to attend to and I don't wish to be late," I say ever so coolly. Just as I am turning away from him, realisation on how much of an ass hole we was being, flickers across his face. He gets up fast, catching the table cloth on his pants. Which sends every pancake flying into the air and landing on him.  He makes it worse by trying to grab the table as he falls, which results in the table crashing down and all of the cups and plats shattering against  the floor.

Servants barge through the doors, Gavin at the lead. "Your majesty, what happened?" Gavin says his eyes wide as he takes in the scene. Jack gets up, dusting the pancakes off of his clothes. I almost go and help him, to make sure he is okay. But then he opens his stupid mouth. "HEY GAVIN, CAN YAH CLEAN THIS UP? ME AND ELSA GOT STUFF TO DO SO IF YOU DON'T MIND"

I try ad march over to Jack, to tell him to be quite or something to get him to stop talking about Gavin like that but instead I slip on orange juice. Trust me to be clumsy when I most need to beat Jack to the ground.  I hear Jack scream my name. Oh sure now he cares...

I wince and prepare myself for pain (these floors may be pretty to look at but trust me cold hard marble is not fun to land on) but before I make contact with the floor, strong muscular arms catch me. The familiar and calming scent of lemon tea fills my lungs. Its a wonderful sweet smell not like the actual fruit with is terribly sour. 

I open my eyes, excepting for myself to be sprawled out on the ground in pain but instead a pair of ever green pine eyes are staring back at me. Gavin blinks and then blushes and sets me down on my feet. "I'm so sorry your majesty... I didn't mean... what I meant to say was.."  I stare at him, wide eyed. He was so quick and fast, something I thought only Jack could do.  I smile at Gavin. His blonde tousled hair looks like he just got out of bed but I know from when we were children that that's just Gavin. He could comb it everyday and it still be messy.  

  He hasn't changed, although the whole muscle thing is new. Gavin used to be an awkward scrawny child who has two left feet. But he stands here before me, almost a grown man. I touch my face, I wonder how much I have changed. From the scared little girl who was a afraid of her own shadow to... a woman who is scared of the demons inside of herself.  Gavin's face turns into shock as he stuffs his hands in his pocket and taking out a white ivory  handkerchief, that all servants are required to carry.  "Your bleeding milady, your cheek," Gavin says tenderly as he dabs my cheek ever so carefully.   I wince as he rubs my cheek a bit too hard.  "I'm sorry! I'll try to be a bit kinder.." 

 "Your still the same old Gavin..." I say smiling at him. "Same, sweet, kind Gavin that would rather give an arm than see me or Anna cry..." I say trailing off as I recall that memory that I have longed forgotten. Gavin, Anna and I were just small things. Too small to care about duty or order, all we knew was that we were best friends, forever and always.  I ran around a corner too fast.... we were playing tag and I wasn't going to let Anna win.  So there I was running around a sharp corner too fast, too prideful too slow down, too young to care. 

I collided with Anna, at full speed. Our heads clunking together with a sickening sound. We landed on the ground, heads smacking against the floor.  Anna screamed fisted, I just laid there, unable to speak or move. Somehow it was worse than screaming, worse than crying.  It was like I was dead and yet still alive. The wind was knocked right out of me, I struggled to breath but all I was doing was making high pitched wheezing sounds. 

Anna immediately stopped crying upon hearing my desperate attempts at breathing.  "GAVIN, GAVIN!" She screamed as she crawled over to me.  Gavin was there in a second, his eyes wide but determined. "Elsa, Elsa stay with me. Anna go get some help!" Anna nods and run away crying and screaming for help. Gavin looks into my eyes; "Don't you die on me Elsa. You cant leave Anna and I behind. Together, forever that's what you said and you promised and princesses always keep their promises."

Those words was the last things I heard before going into a three day comma.  It turns out, Anna was wearing one of fathers breast plates underneath her dress, it is made of pure iron and literally knocked the wind out of me. Father scolded Anna for days after, saying she could have killed me. The doctors says that they saved me. But I know better, Gavin saved me from internal sleep, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here today.  

"Thank you, your majesty for remembering me.." Gavin says, dabbing one last time on my cheek. I look at me shocked. "Why wouldn't I? We grew up together..."  Gavin blushes. "I didn't think you would remember a lowly servant.."   

There it is, the humbleness that makes Gavin, Gavin.  If you compliment Gavin, he blushes and stutters, not really knowing what to do with himself. Totally different from a certain cocky snow blowing boy who could learn a thing or two from Gavin.  "Elsa! Hey Elsa!!! You-hoo." I look over to Jack who is hopping up and down from the other side of the room, trying to get my attention. "Hm," I say turning my nose up at him. As if I could forgive him that easily.

Gavin looks down at his watch; "Oh my Queen you are late for your meeting! I will escort you if you like."   I could hear Jack moaning and groaning from across the room. "Elsaaa, don't go with that baby face! Come on!! You cant be that mad at me."   I ignore his pleas and then give Gavin a smile. "Yes please. It would be nice to have some DESCENT company."    I hear Jack swear under his breath.

"YOU KNOW WHAT FINE! GO HANG OUT WITH GAVIN, ITS NOT LIKE I LIKED HANGING OUT HERE ANYWAY. AND BY THE WAY THE PANCAKES SUCKED!" Jack shouts as he flicks his staff up into the air. The window bursts open, cold wind lasing against my face. I watch in awe as Jack gets smaller and smaller in the sky until his blue sweater blends in with the sky.

The servants scramble around trying to get the window shut. "The northern winds are really strong this year," Gavin comments.  Have I gone too far... I think back to how possessive  Jack was being , treating me like one of his toys. I ball my fists up. No... I will not take that from Jack. 

"Lets go," I say turning away from the wreckage of the dinning room. Gavin quickly follows me, trying to keep pace with me. He babbles about plans for my courting ball but I'm only have listening.

White hot anger pulses through my veins. How dare he treat me like an object treat me... treat me like Lord Victor treats me. I thought he cared for me more then that. But did I push him too far... I mean I am also at fault here.  I bit my lip, Elsa, Elsa, Elsa driving everyone away again.

Even though I'm angry, I can't  help but look to the sky, for the boy in the blue sweater.

"I'm sorry..." I whisper to the sky.  Because, like always its my fault... its always my fault.