Wooden Castle || Jelsa Fanfiction

Chapter 38

"Why don't you stay for the night?" Thia asked the couple as they played board games.

"Actually, I'm supposed to get back at the castle by sunrise." Hiccup answered. "Princely duties." He said then letting out a disappointed sigh.

"I, on the other hand, can stay here since I'm not needed there." Anna grinned widely, earning a look from her husband. "What?" She asked.

"Not. Fair." He said making the two girls with him laugh. "You have a point but my father will kill me if I go back without you, saying I'm abandoning one of my duties or something."

"That's a bit too much don't you think?" Anna asked.

"I know, the killing is an exaggeration." Hiccup joked making Anna roll her eyes.

"Not that." Anna said. "It's not like being apart for a few hours is abandoning or anything."

Hiccup just shrugged.

"I wanna stay." Anna said pouting.

"No you're coming with me." Hiccup argued. Anna shook her head.

By this time Thia sort of regretted offering for them to stay the night. Thought if she didn't she'd feel like she's a horrible host.

"I don't want to leave Elsa." Anna finally said.

"She'll be fine here. She's been fine staying here for so long before you know." Hiccup pointed out making Anna pout once more. "Come on, we'll go back after my work is done." Hiccup said with his soft voice.

Anna sighed. "Fine." She said defeated.

"Elsa's staying?" Thia asked surprised.

"For a day sure." Hiccup confirmed making Thia smile widely. "Good enough for me." She said standing up suddenly because of joy.

Thia cleared her throat and sat down once more. "Sorry, I got excited for a bit there." She said making the two laugh.

"We should get going though." Hiccup said.

"Awe, so soon? Just a few more minutes please." Anna said.

"Honey it's late we have to go." Hiccup stood up. "Now let's go say goodbye to Elsa and tell her we'll be picking her up tomorrow." He said as he offered his hand to his wife to help her stand up.

"Okay." Anna said, not sounding enthusiastic at all.

As if on cue Elsa and Jack went to the living area to meet the others, their hands interlocked and smiles were plastered on their faces.

"There's that smile." Anna said with a grin. A slight tint of red crept to Elsa's face but her smile didn't fade. "I assume you both already heard about the plan then?" Anna asked.

"Yes, tomorrow." Elsa said nodding.

"Okay, we'll be back tomorrow." Hiccup said. Before the two left Anna gave Elsa a hug. She made sure to give Thia one as well as Jack as her way of saying farewell.

***

"Sorry the bed isn't as comfortable as the ones you have in the castle." Jack apologized as he sat down the edge of the bed. Elsa was already laying down, scooching over a bit to give room for Jack to lay down on.

"It's fine really, you kept saying this before too." Elsa said.

"Sorry, I can't help but feel conscious. Specially now since you just came from the castle. You'll have to adjust again." Jack explained.

"Oh please, even when I was well adjusted to this you still kept apologizing." Elsa laughed making Jack just shrug. "Like I said, conscious." He simply said before laying down beside her.

"Fine then, I get that you're conscious but it's just me." Elsa said, giving Jack a hug the moment he had his head on his pillow. Her eyes were closed, as if she was feeling the moment.

She took a deep breath, making herself get used to the scent of pine and freshly fallen snow. It didn't take long since it was already something she was used to back then.

"It's funny how the time we're going to be spending together again is just sleeping. I mean, it's been so long yet sleeping is what we'll be doing again. I feel like this is the only thing we do together at this point." Jack laughed.

"Well, sleeping is vital if you want to stay healthy." Elsa reasoned.

"I guess." Jack said shrugging.

There was silence. It seemed like Elsa had already fallen asleep. Jack still had his eyes wide open though, he didn't feel like he could sleep.

He didn't feel like he was awake in the first place.

Elsa was there with him, beside him. She's back. It felt more like he was already dreaming. And as an instinct he pinched himself and quietly cursed because of his own stupidity.

He was just a bit too anxious about anything that relates to Elsa. A bit too skeptical, a bit too conscious, a bit too scared.

He knew it wasn't healthy anymore. But he believes in Elsa, he knows she feels the same about him. She believes in him as well. But the world was just not in their favor. And sometimes it felt like nothing was in their favor.

"Jack." Elsa suddenly spoke up, startling Jack a bit. He simply hummed in response. "Are you okay?" Elsa asked.

"Of course. Why do you ask?" He looked at Elsa confused. Instead of answering, Elsa put her head on Jack's chest as if she was listening to his heartbeat. "What's wrong?" Jack asked once more, getting a bit nervous.

"Nothing, I'm just checking if you're okay. It seemed like you weren't earlier." She said before hugging him once more.

"Don't bottle it in." Elsa said before laughing. "You just said that to me earlier." Jack laughed as well, noticing the irony.

Elsa sat up, facing Jack. "How about we go outside for a bit, catch some fresh air." She suggested.

Jack looked at her a bit confused, it was considerably cold outside and pesky mosquitos are spread too. But it by the looks of it, Elsa's determined about going outside.

"Just for a bit." Jack said as he grabbed his blanket.

"What's that for?" Elsa asked.

"There's mosquitos outside." Jack answered. Elsa simply replied with an oh.

The quietly went outside the room, making sure they don't make any noise that might wake Thia up. Then they headed at the backyard where a big chair was placed.

They both sat there, wrapped in a blanket together as they gazed at the stars. Under the blanket their hands were interlocked, Elsa's head resting on Jack's shoulder.

Just as they said, they just went outside for a breather. There was just silence. The only sound that can be heard was the sound of nature, it was pleasant to the ears.

Elsa noticed that Jack has calmed down. As if the song given by nature has calmed the beating drum that was his heart. He was no longer breathing heavily. Elsa smiled, it's been a while since Jack doesn't look stressed.

It was like the weight of the world fell off his shoulders and now he's just enjoying the moment.

"You should do this often okay?" Elsa told Jack.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Take a breather. Go outside and just enjoy nature when you're stressed. Anna and Hiccup told me about it before." Elsa explained.

Jack just stared at her, making her feel conscious. "Is that weird? What I just said?" Elsa asked.

Jack laughed. "No not at all." He said. "In fact it makes perfect sense. It's quite effective."

"Then why are you looking at me like that?" Elsa asked, puzzled about the look Jack had.

"I was just thinking." Jack said letting go of her hand and looking away for a moment. He stayed like that, then closed his eyes. His eyebrows furrowed a bit as he did breathing exercises.

After that he laughed, shaking his head. "Nope, not the same." He said interlocking his hand with Elsa's once more. "It's not the same without you."