Cold Against Dark (a Jelsa Fanfiction)

Chapter Thirteen

The more she thought about it, the more believable it became. He had been using her hadn't he? Acting like he cared but the only thing he was gaining was a good reputation, not the satisfaction of helping Elsa and saving her from this inevitable path.

That's why he was so concerned when she told him she had read the story. If she's read it, it's a fixed point in time, there's no way to change it. She'd get what she wanted - freedom - and he wouldn't change his story.

She thought about it for a moment and she almost gloated at the thought of Jack not being able to change is story. Is that really what she wanted? For Jack to be invisible to children for the rest of his life?

She did. In that moment she did, and Pitch could tell.

"Now, now Elsa, I understand it's a bit of a shock for you. You might need some time..." He trailed off and she collapsed onto the ice chair, her mind running through all the things that had happened over her life time.

Elsa took a big deep breath before speaking. It was time for a change. She needed to embrace this solitude and if she was going to have to come to terms with it with Pitch here, then that's just what she would do.

"I love..." she stopped and forced out the biggest lie of her life, "loved him. Past tense."

Pitch looked pleased, he knew it would be as easy as that. He knew the girl's weaknesses and had watched her grow and grow, picking out where she faltered and where she succeeded. He was just going to do the same as Jack - use her to change the story of the world and bring darkness to everyone.

Of course, at the beginning, to Jack it was just about changing his own story, but as he grew to know Elsa, he was only in it to help her and to see her happy to pay for the years he made her miserable.

Jack, like Elsa, had fallen in love and both still - as much as Elsa tried to hide it from Pitch - were in love with each other.

Elsa got up, "If you're going to stay here and bother me for the rest of my life can you at least stay in your own room please? There's plenty of room in this castle for you to not sleep under my bed thank you."

Pitch chuckled and as Elsa turned her head to look out of the window, he noticed her new hair style.

"Your hair. That's how I did it for you, when you were younger, and I showed you how you could be."

She blushed for no reason. This hairstyle represented her, and she found it strange that Pitch was the only one who noticed her true self.

Apart from Jack, she told herself. He knew who she really was. She shook away the thought and just smiled back at the grey figure standing behind her, "well this is me now."

Jack decided to take a break from flying and walk for a bit, the cold not even bothering his bare feet.

As he wandered, he thought about the girl he had gotten to know. She would never make a silly decision and she would never come around to joining forces with Pitch, not after the years of tormenting that took place.

Jack still remembered the way she used to squirm and struggle as Pitch filled her dreams with fear and turned them into nightmares. He frowned, realising that he used to like watching her struggle and now, he'd do anything to keep her from harm.

As he walked through the mountains he swear he could hear someone calling Elsa's name. He shook it off and he could hear someone calling Elsa's name.

He listened a little bit harder and it turned out he wasn't hearing things.

"Elsa? It's me, Anna. The sister who didn't mean to make you freeze the summer" she sighed, and Jack hid behind a tree, watching the horse struggle through the deep snow.

Anna mumbled, "It wouldn't have happened if she'd just told about her powers" she laughed out loud, talking to her horse, "she's a stinker"

Jack moved to sit on one of the branches in the tree, stumbling, causing something to snap loudly as he climbed. He was fine but the horse got startled and bucked Anna straight off.

"No, no no! Come back!" She yelled, but the horse had already gone.

She sat in a heap of snow and tried to grab onto a tree to get up but instead, the snow from the tree fell off, burying her whole body under it.

Anna shook the snow off her head, "okay..." This was going to be harder than she thought.

Jack watched as she shivered and got up.

He got down off the tree and helped dust some of the snow off of her without her realising.

"It had to snow didn't it? Had to be snow," Jack followed Anna, to make sure she was safe, through the forest, "why couldn't she have a fiery power that filled the ford with golden sand and warm..." Anna stopped, looking up. Jack followed her gaze to see smoke billowing up, presumably from a chimney of some sort, "... fire!" Anna gasped in delight and stepped forward.

Jack looked away, gasping as she took a wrong step and rolled down a hill.

She had landed safely at the bottom but in a small stream, which was just flowing. Anna hated the cold and the wet and both mixed together was awful.

She huffed and got up, her dress instantly stiffening, the water crystallising and turning into ice. It couldn't get any worse.

Walking awkwardly towards the smoke and the log cabin, she noticed the sign and grinned.

"Wandering Oakens trading post... Oh and sauna!"

Proceeding to step inside, Jack followed her, quite eager to see how this stop in her journey was was going to help her find Elsa. If he followed Elsa's sister, he might be able to reach her before Pitch got to her.