A brave and tangled love (Meripunzel)

Chapter 38

Ding dong ding dong. The grandfather clock in the grand hall chimed 10 o'clock as Jack murmured to himself, trying to get his thoughts in order as he tries to figure out which room Elsa was in.
-
"So you guys talked?" Ana cozied up on the bed next to Elsa. "How'd it go?"
Elsa picked at the loose threads on her pillow. "Well, I snatched my locket from him. So not a good start. Then we started talking about mom and dad, then he mentioned his sister; I asked about her and he had a smile but you could tell he was holding back tears."
"Well, then what?" Ana hugged her knees.
"He said it was time for him to go to bed, but I stopped by his room on the way up and he wasn't there."
"Do you think he might've left?"
"I mean, it's a big castle. Merida said she hadn't seen him but she'd look for him."
-
Jack knocked and opened a door to a cluttered storage room and sighed. "That's, what, number 43?"
A servant slipped past him to put away a box of wedding decorations.
"Excuse me, have you seen Elsa? Tall, snow-blonde, long hazardous cape?"
"Queen Elsa?" She struggled with lifting the box over her head.
Jack grabbed it, "Top shelf?"
"Oh, yes, thank you. If I remember right," she spoke as Jack slid the box onto the shelf. "She should be on the same hall as their Highnesses."
"Meri and Rapunzel?"
The servant nodded and vanished around the corner to fetch more decorations.
Jack rushed to Merida's hall, ready to knock on every door.
-
"I'm sure he hasn't left yet. He clearly likes you, and I know you like him."
"Ana it's more, complicated than that." She scoffed, tossing her pillow onto the bed.
"But why, it doesn't have to be so complicated Els."
-
"Elsa?" Jack whispered as he knocked on a door and opened it. 'Empty again' he thought. As he turned to try the next room, he saw a shadow pass in the light of a cracked door and feminine voices. He rushed to the door, ready to speak to Elsa but stopped in his tracks when he heard his name mentioned.
"Jack isn't fit to be a king. He's so immature! And irresponsible. Could you imagine? Having other royalty over to discuss business and he start throwing snowballs because he's bored?" Elsa paced around the carpet.
Jack took his hand off the doorknob.
"It just wouldn't work out. Maybe it'd be better if he'd left already." She leaned next to the wall.
Angry and heartbroken, Jack caught his breath and turned around to head back to his room.

"You don't mean that Els. And you know what, maybe you need a little immaturity in your life. I mean, it's not like you got to be immature as a kid. Don't write him off so quickly, you literally just met him and had what? Like, two conversations? One of which was just a snark contest."
Elsa laid down next to Ana.
"He'd make a great king, you two would make Arendelle fantastic. Not to mention, I never said you had to get married. I just want you to loosen up more and give someone a chance."
"Maybe you're right, Ana." Elsa rubbed her forehead. "I'll go see him in the morning and talk to him then."
"Yeah I'm sure Merida would've found him by then."
-
Jack stood in the snow with his bag, staring up at Elsa's window as the light goes out. "I guess Meri was wrong. 'Just be yerself'." he mocked in a crude Scottish accent as he turned to leave.