Always You

iii. Searching

Elsa

When the king and queen of Corona asked to come for dinner, I was a little taken aback. I mean, my parents' boat disappeared on the way to their daughter's wedding, but I didn't realize that when I took the throne they'd want to keep up the friendship between our kingdoms. Regardless, I didn't think it wise to decline their offer. Still, I was nervous about the whole thing. I was still quite anxious around people, especially new people. I never knew how to handle my powers... Should I tell them? Show them? Pretend they didn't exist? Today I went with the latter, putting on the blue gloves my father had made for me when I was sixteen. They went with my eyes, he had told me. I missed my father dearly, and the gloves made him seem closer to me.

"The castle is lovely." The queen comments as we wait for dinner, her demure nature and light brown hair making me think a little of my own mother. Maybe it was just the regality of the queen, but she did seem a little like my mother to me.

"Thank you, it's definitely cozy." I replied. The king was staring between me and Anna with a small smile.

"It's amazing how the two of you have grown up to be such beautiful women. And our Rapunzel, too, of course." He complimented.

"Thank you," Anna and I said, at the same time that Rapunzel muttered, "Dad..." Flynn laughed at the unison between the three of us.

"So, when do we get the invitation to the wedding?" Asked Flynn, eyeing Anna and the ring on her finger. She flushed scarlet and I stepped in.

"Well, it was mostly just a small thing.. You know, just the kingdom. Of course, you're welcome to come, if you'd like." I stated, polite yet firm. I didn't want to seem rude, but it was Anna's wedding and she didn't know many people in Arendelle, let alone outside the kingdom.

"Of course you can come!" Anna cried, coming out of her hushed conversation with Rapunzel. The two of them had been whispering and laughing all through dinner and I realized that they were going to be close friends... And that I should probably warm up more to the king, queen, and prince. I smiled sweetly.

"Well, the wedding is in three weeks. Of course, you're welcome to just stay here until then, since the journey between Corona and Arendelle is so long." I remarked on the two week journey. Maybe having people in the castle would be good... The staff would have more to do and Anna would get to make friends with Rapunzel. Maybe Kristoff would even get along well with Flynn. I could always use tips on how to be a queen, as well. Maybe this wouldn't be a bad thing at all. Not all other royals are as bad as the last one we had here, I remind myself. After dinner, I showed the king and queen to a room and took Flynn and Rapunzel to another, making sure they knew who to call if they needed anything.

As I slipped into bed,I realized it was going to be a long night. I often had insomnia, coupled with nightmares of Hans returning as he promised he would. That man was nothing but pure spite and envy, a bitter seed which had to have been planted many years ago. Still, I figured he was taken care of by now and that he wouldn't be a threat to me or Anna anymore. Hopefully. These nights when I was up late, my thoughts got to wandering. Most of the time, they wandered to one subject... Jack Frost. I'd always heard stories of him. Who hadn't? He brought around the winter, blah, blah, blah. The only difference between me and everyone else who heard the stories was that I knew he was real. I had seen him. It was years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.

I was just sitting in my window, watching the real snow fall as my snow flurried in my bedroom, when someone flew past. That's right, someone flew past. A person. A boy, around seventeen, with snow white hair and a long staff in his hand. He slowed down after he passed my window, coming back to peer in. His eyes were as shockingly ice blue as mine were, his skin as pale, and his hands didn't fog up the glass where mine had frosted it. Just as quickly as he had appeared, he flew off and I never saw him again. That was all it took, though, for the hope to start growing deep within me. Maybe one day I would see him again. Even at twenty-one years old, I wanted it to be true more than anything. I fell asleep dreaming on snowy haired boys in ratty sweatshirts.

Jack

Arendelle. I knew the name like I knew my own... It had just come to me, as if in a dream. What was Arendelle? Where was Arendelle? What did it have for me? Something deep within me told me it was her. The girl I was searching for. Still, I didn't know where to even begin looking for her or for Arendelle. My hopes were still high, though; I was destined to meet this girl, for real. Whoever she was. It had been over a week since I'd left, and all I had accomplished was demolishing my hopes.

Even if she was in Arendelle, how would I find her once I got there? I couldn't exactly ask people for help, and who knew what I would say if I could. Hi, stranger, have you seen a blonde girl? Yeah, her hair is white blonde. Her name? Oh, I don't know. I've never met her. Yeah, right. It seemed hopeless.

The only thing keeping me going was the pure want to prove everyone wrong. I knew all of the other Guardians thought I was insane for going after a girl I'd never met, a girl who was human and who I couldn't even remember how long it had been since I'd seen. Oh, God, it did sound crazy. Was I crazy? I didn't think so.

Defeated, I whipped up another snow dusting to soften the summer ground, nestling into the cold sheets. What could I do? I didn't know where I was at this point. The last sign I had seen said something I couldn't even read, Swedish or something. It really seemed like a dead end. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

In my dream, I saw her. She was beautiful, slender and pale as a ghost, her blue eyes shining with admiration as she stared out the very same window I had seen her in the first time. "Oh, Jack Frost... I sound so silly, wishing like a child." She sighed. "This is stupid. Jack Frst, if you'e out there, my name is Elsa. And I have powers. And I just wanted to tell you thank you, for keeping me going. Even if you don't exist or if you do and just didn't realize. You saved my life." She whispered. She flushed, no doubt thinking how embarassing this would be if someone walked in.

I woke up with a start, panting and sweaty. That was her. Elsa. That was her name. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. God, was she beautiful. And she believed in me. I had saved her life. What did she mean by powers? Of course! She meant powers like I had. That seemed too good to be true but maybe once every few centuries I could be awarded some happiness. Maybe. That dream... It couldn't have been just a dream. No way. That was definitely something more than imagination. That was destiny. I had to find her. I was meant to find her. If only I had the faintest clue how...