Frozen Love: Jelsa

Chapter 16

Jack

The sun started to set in the west as Jack sat on the stone windowsill of Elsa’s bedchamber. He gazed out at the giant glowing orb sinking behind the hills, leaving nothing behind but pink and orange splashed across the sky and clouds. Soon that faded too, and Jack knew that it was time for him to go. He stood up on the the sill just as the stars were joining the moon up in the sky. “Wish me luck,” he murmured up to the Moon. He had decided a while ago to leave without telling Anna about Elsa. It would be too dangerous, and if he brought Elsa back it wouldn’t matter.

Silent as an owl, Jack soared off into the night and headed towards the North Mountain, where he had last seen Pitch. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do; he just wanted to get Elsa out of Pitch’s evil clutches. Jack knew what he was capable of. Just before he reached the castle wall, a small voice called up to him, "Jack, where are you going?” He recognized the voice as Anna’s, so he picked up speed and was soon soaring towards Elsa’s ice castle. Anna would be in danger if she knew, he assured himself.

 Jack started to search along the mountain ridge for any sort of clues regarding where Pitch could be keeping Elsa. Suddenly the ridge flattened into a plateau covered in glistening black Sand.

“Something tells me this is the place,” Jack whispered. He strode over to a menacingly gaping cave lined with Sand and surrounded by ice. He suspected that the ice was Elsa’s doing. Peering into the yawning darkness, he started to regret coming here without a plan. This Pitch may have been more naïve than the future one, but he was still powerful. Jack thought it would be best to take the stealthy approach instead of facing him head-on. Cautiously he tiptoed across the pebbly floor, until he could feel a back wall through the darkness. To Jack’s surprise, a small green light above him grew to expose a ceiling crowded with tiny green gems.

 “Well that’s useful,” Jack spoke quietly to himself yet again. He then came across six different tunnel entrances, each heading in different directions. Right before he was going to choose one randomly, one of the Nightmares trotted out of the passageway to the right. Its luminous gold eyes warned Jack of its approach, so he had just enough time to fly to a dark corner of the ceiling and freeze his hands to the gritty surface. 

“Leave the girl alone and come here,” Pitch’s voice beckoned to the Nightmare. Jack chuckled lightly at the thought of the Boogeyman talking to his wittle ponies. Once it had exited the chamber, Jack unfroze his hands and flew down the channel the horse had just come through. The stink of sulfur and dirt clung to Jack’s nostrils as he padded farther and farther down into the depths of the Earth. When he reached the end, he stopped. Pacing five feet in front of him, totally unaware, were two of the sinister Sand stallions guarding a small opening in the wall blocked by stalagmites. Behind the stalagmites, Elsa’s pale face shone with determination and hope. She looked like she was doing her best to freeze the rocks, but it seemed unsuccessful. When she saw him crouching in the corner, her eyes widened, but her face remained expressionless.