The Peasant's Promise

As Close As It Can Get

A/N:
Heyyyy guys, it's been awhile! With COVID-19 among us, it's been giving me a LOT of time to catch up on reading and writing. That being said, I am working out a new schedule to update each of my stories. This one will be updated biweekly on Sundays starting April 12, 2020. Enjoy!

Elsa looked up at Jack in alarm, not surprised he was there and relieved her face wasn't halfway into the carpet. "Hey! I didn't expect to see you so quickly after yesterday."

     Jack laughed a bit, shifting himself to lean on his staff. It started to glow a blueish hue as he began to talk, and it was a bit hard for Elsa to not be distracted by it while he was speaking. "Yes, well, as my job isn't to exactly spread winter, I can have a bit of fun here and there. It's not like I'm a Guardian or anything. I don't have to worry about being believed in or seen, well by no one except you now. Not that I mind." He finished cheekily.

    Guardian...oh, yes! I believe Gerda taught me this story once. Elsa thought to herself. I believe Pitch might have mentioned them at one point, too. I've been so frazzled with running a kingdom and trying not to freeze everyone that it must have slipped my mind. "Guardian? It's been awhile, so can you remind me again of what each Guardian does, and how are you related to them?"

     So he began to tell me everything about what each of the Guardians did-and how they each contribute to bringing joy, wonder, dreams, and memory. "Sandman, Tooth Fairy, Santa-though I hear he goes by North-and the Easter Bunny. They all are real, just like you see me. However, the only one I've almost had contact with was North. His yeti didn't like me sneaking in to the workshop all too well."

"What?"

"Oh, the yeti is Phil. You'd think it's only elves, but it's actually-"

"No, no, I get that part. But how are you related to them? And I thought no one else could see you so how did the...what did you call it?"

"The yeti."

"Yes, the yeti. How did it see you when no person can besides me?"

Jack simply shrugged. "It's a mystery to me. Just like how you can see me. Although it may have more to do with how our powers are alike, I'm guessing."

That didn't satisfy Elsa. He looked too much like her Jack, but...too different to really be him. She was really close to crying, but she had to keep her nerves in check or she would fly off the handle again.

"Jack, how long ago would you say you were born?"

Jack looked at her in alarm. He was silent for a long time as his face grew thoughtful. "I-I don't know. I just remember seeing the moon. I was on top of a frozen lake with no idea how I got there...I don't believe I was born. More like...I just woke up from a long dream."

Elsa puckered her lips in a bit of annoyance, her thoughts now even more muddled in confusion. She glanced over at Jack, placing her hand in his. "You know," she said softly,"I was born with my powers. I have no idea how I got them. I was always a bit curious as to where they have come from, but perhaps it is always to be a mystery. However," she added, placing her lips to Jack's ear,"mysteries were made to be solved, right?"

Jack smiled knowingly as he glanced down at her. "Perhaps," he exclaimed,"we can have a bit of fun while we research both."

After that, many long months passed. It was hard to progress research when Elsa was so busy with the kingdom as well as her family. With answers not coming as quickly as he hoped, Jack began to grow restless. He wanted answers for himself-something he knew he would not get from the Man in the Moon. It had been about three years into this existence that he has woken into, but he had no idea of who he was or what he was in the past. Perhaps, he thought, it would be better if I continued research on my own terms.

Jack had made up his mind. If he couldn't find answers for himself, then the least he could do was find some for his best friend.

Elsa, meanwhile, was coming to terms of the word aunt. She wasn't very good with kids, and she would rather not think of the whole "heir" word she would have to endure one day, but her nephew Josef was quite a handful now. She loved the little devil, though.

"Enjoying time with your family?" A deep voice said to her from across the room. A cold chill rose up her spine as she recognized who it was.

"Pitch, it's been awhile." Elsa said softly, looking over at him. She placed Josef on the floor to play with his toys for a bit. "What are you doing here?"

     Pitch glances down at the locket on her chest, then looks back up at her. "I think it's time you hear the tale of how I became who I am...and what I really am." Black sand starts to surround Elsa and her nephew, and she gasps softly. "What...what are you doing!"

     "You've been a neglectful friend, Elsa, and it is time you face punishment."