Cold Against Dark (a Jelsa Fanfiction)

Chapter Twelve

Jack watched in horror as the fjord froze over, just like the story had said it would.

Elsa was gone, off to the mountains and he needed to save her. For once, he needed to be the hero.

He ran towards the ice ford and stood, looking over. His only option was to fly after her and he didn't need to think before her did. That was his only hope of saving her. He'd have to leave the guardians to protect Arendelle while he went to save Elsa from Pitch, if he hadn't found her already.

In the mountains somewhere far from Arendelle and the castle. Far from Anna and Jack and coronations and kingdoms. Elsa found herself even more isolated than she had ever been. Up in the mountains she felt lost but also something was comforting about being so far from anybody she could hurt. The wind howled in through her hair, resembling the feeling she had inside of her right now, like a storm. It was raging and spiralling, and she didn't know if she could keep it inside for much longer.

She tried for so many years to keep it under the floorboards, concealing it and tell herself those words "conceal, don't feel, don't it let show".

But up in the mountains, she didn't have to. There was no point any more, everyone knew, and here she couldn't be a danger to anyone – she could let it go.

She chucked her remain glove in the air and tossed her cape away both of them being carried off by the wind. Running in the snow she felt free from all the responsibility, she wasn't touched up here by fear of by the past, she could leave that all back in Arendelle. The fears she had, in that moment, seemed to disappear.

Elsa could now see what she was capable of, with no boundaries and no consequences. She was free to explore her powers. She began to experiment, pushing her hand forward elegantly she formed a set of beautiful ice stairs.

She ran up it, smiling widely and when she got to the top, she stamped her foot, building a crystal ice palace so she finally had a place to be herself.

When she'd finished, she stood in the middle of the castle, "I'm not going back. The past is in the past," she whispered to herself. Taking her crown off, she looked at it for a moment. This crown was what she was expected to be and that was in the past to. Elsa threw the it across the room ad it clattered nosily on the ice.

The only reminder of what she was expected to be was what's she had on her body – she needed to change.

With a sweep of her hand, she pulled her hair into a braid that hung loosely over her shoulder and pushed her fringe away from her face. Her outfit was stunning – a tight fitting ice-blue dress with a slit at the leg. She felt like herself for the first time in a long time.

Elsa walked out onto the balcony, enjoying how much it felt to be free. The view in front of her was one of the most amazing views she'd ever laid her eyes on. It was much better than staring at the palace walls or out of her bedroom window.

She sighed contently, walking back inside, unaware of the unexpected visitor slung across the ice chair in the corner of the room.

The sarcastic clapping noise emerge from behind her and she froze instantly.

"Well, Well, Well. Someone came out of her shell" Pitch smirked as he stood up from his slumped stance on the chair.

Elsa spun around quickly, holding her hands out, threatening him, "Stay away" she warned him, her face fierce.

Pitch just laughed at her. He didn't even have to speak for her to know that he was loving every moment of this.

All the fear she thought she'd lost, returned in a instant with his menacing laugh.

"Have you forgotten all the fun we had?" his voice was low and almost hypnotising, she blinked and sighed. He had to be here, didn't he?

"Please, go away..." Elsa whispered, feeling a sense of defeat.

"Foolish little girl. Did you really think you'd get rid of me that easily? That all you had to do was run off and build an ice castle in the mountains and I'd leave you alone?" He laughed at her innocence, "I have a lot to teach you. Fear will always be your enemy Queen Elsa, I will make sure of that for as long as I'm alive."

"I'm not the Queen" she spat.

"Elsa..."

The girl turned and looked up at the grey shadowy figure before her, her heart threatening to pound from her chest, "yes?" she mumbled quietly.

Pitch's tone made her feel on edge and her skin crawl – she just wanted to be free of him.

"I thought this might happen. That kingdom or Jack they never really believed in you. I was just trying to show you that, but I understand Elsa I really do -"

She cut him off, turning around to shun him, walking away, "You don't understand anything!"

"No?" Pitch questioned back, "I don't know what it's like to be cast out? Too not be believed in? To long for a family?" He calmed down and appeared in front of her, his cold hand running under her chin, "All those years in the shadows I thought, no one else understands what it feels like, but now I see I was wrong"

Elsa looked up at him, he was right. In a twisted way, he was right. Her and Pitch shared similarities no matter how she tried to deny it.

No one had ever believe in her really. It had always been her father, but when he had died she had no one except Jack.

"We don't have to be alone, Elsa"

She looked at him, struggling to breath and the walls of the ice castle began to darken, "What?"

"Don't worry, You'll embrace the darkness Elsa." He smirked because he knew he had her in the right position - vulnerable, feeling empathy and without Jack.

"What if I don't want to?" Her voice was shaking.

"That's the best thing about darkness. It corrupts your heart slowly and my dear, it's been working on yours for years and years, I'd say you don't have much time left before there is nothing but darkness in your heart."

"I... I shouldn't have left" she whispered, "Jack was right."

He was her source of light, the thing that chased the Darkness away - it was him and she'd run away from him when he had reached out.

Pitch smirked, "Jack? Jack Frost? He can't save you now. He doesn't care about you. The only reason he ever came to you was to change his own story. He doesn't care about yours"

"That's not true..." Elsa was faltering, and she could feel the cracks in her armour she had built starting to show.

"He cares about me." She wasn't sure if she was making a statement or trying to convince herself that was true. Could it be that Jack was only protecting her for his own gain?

"He doesn't care Elsa, he just wants to be believed in for the right reasons and he's been using you to change that part in his story book fairy tale."