Trials of the Moonlight

Nordpolen

On the piano, Chopin's Étude Op. 25, No. 12 was being performed—it livened up the dining hall, which was filled with happy guests. The rest of the night it was mostly John Field songs for something more 'winter-themed.'

Everyone looked so regal and done-up, meanwhile, Jack was blowing his spikes of bangs out of his eyes. Emily sat beside him and she smoothed them out the way. "I told you, you should've brushed your hair back."

"Have you ever known me to listen to you?"

"You did when you were little." She pinched his cheek. "You were my little mama's boy." She said in a baby-voice, to which Jack leaned away.

"Okay, okay." He was a little embarrassed. "I didn't really have a choice, you know."

"Nope. You loved your mama from day one." She wrapped her arms around him for a snuggle, which only made him more uncomfortable with all these people around.

"Mom! Okay! Let go now!" He managed to break free of her hold. He then noticed something, "What happened to your shoes?"

"Oh, they're... somewhere around the room. I kicked them off just for a second and forgot about them." This wasn't unusual for her; she hated shoes all her life. If given the option not to wear any, she'd take it. Currently, she was using her long bunad to hide her bare feet. Emily sighed, "I don't think I'll ever get used to this."

"Get used to what?"

"All these fancy parties and high-society guests."

"The parties I can get used to." Jack chuckled. "It's just all the people." He confessed. "Sometimes I still just want to sink into the walls."

Emily scratched her cheek, "You just haven't had a lot of experience yet..." She knew she was to blame for that... but her mood changed back to a grin and she turned him towards her, "You're such a handsome young man; even when you were still young I worried about having to chase girls away from you."

"Well, it's Sophie you should worry about now." He tried to redirect the topic. She was currently eating lutefisk with Jamie. "I refuse to believe she'll ever have a boyfriend."

"I never thought I'd get married and have children... of course, I didn't plan on living in a beautiful castle either." She admired the room for a moment. "It's so strange how all of this worked out."

That gave Jack a profound thought; it made him remorseful just for being born, but if he hadn't, would her life be this comfortable now? Was this all worth the years of worry and grief? He wondered if he should ask, but Jack kept quiet. He felt a sudden kiss to his cheek, but he didn't recoil like he normally did as a joke. It was like she knew what he was thinking—mothers always knew.

"I believe someone's been waiting to dance with you all night." She pointed to Elsa, who was entertaining a guest. Jack had been content just to admire her from afar; she was so beautiful. She, of course, caught him staring and gave him a smirk. "That's your cue. Trust me, girls don't like to be kept waiting." Jack just sighed as he stood up. He supposed he should do some actual 'socializing' since it was a holiday. Did socializing with one of five people he talked to daily count? He never knew what to say to strangers... it really was lack of practice that was his enemy here.

He figured as long as he made Elsa smile, then nobody else mattered. "Enjoying yourself?" She asked.

"A little." He played with her long braid. "I'd be happier if maybe we went somewhere quieter."

"I bet you would." She held him around his shoulders and put her head to his chest with a light hum. "The night is still young, of course." They began to gently sway to the music and Jack felt his face getting hot. Of course, he hadn't forgotten about North's request... it had been a glorious two days of not hearing a word from them, but now he demanded their time during a holiday. Was this guardian thing already full-time before they even made him into one?