Back in Black (sequel to Ice Cold)

Chapter Six

Jack sat in the snow, staring up at the clear night, watching it slowly fade into day. He grasped the fabric of his hood and pulled it over his head with a sigh. He should be going to visit Jamie and the other kids, he knew, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Where had all his fun and laughter gone? He seemed to have misplaced it. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. It felt as if it was rushing with a million thoughts per second. He couldn't concentrate on any one thing. What was this feeling? Whatever it was, he didn't like it. He wanted it to go away. He wanted his old self back. The fun version of him. It had to be somewhere within himself still, right? He just couldn't seem to find it.

He had only felt this feeling once before. The time Elsa had died. To him, Elsa not seeing him was like her dying again. It was just a tease. She was there within his view, yet still completely out of his reach. When the guardians had returned and said they couldn't find her, it was like he had been punched in the gut. She was gone, or at least for Jack she was. And there was nothing he could do about it. How could he make her believe in him? He hugged his knees to his chest.

Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Breath out. He tried to calm his racing mind. His thoughts kept straying back to memories of Elsa. Their first meeting, when she was only a small child. He smiled despite his damp mood.

Then he thought of their first kiss. Another sigh escaped his lips. Then his mind flashed back to the day on the fjord. He shook himself to try and rid the memory from his mind. Why must he feel this way?

Maybe it was better if he didn't remember at all. Maybe then he could go back to the fun times with Jamie. He was Jack Frost! He was supposed to be fun and mischievous! These new feelings he did not like at all. He picked up a handful of snow, forming it into a neat ball. He lurched it into the sky, watching it soar through the air and land with a splat. Maybe a good snowstorm would make him feel better and take his mind off things. He forced himself to a standing position. He bent his knees, about to take off into flight, staff in hand, when he noticed something odd. Snow. Not the snow on the ground, but the snow falling from the sky. He looked up. Dark cloud were rolling in, and fast. He looked around with confusion. The sky had been clear only minutes ago, and surely he hadn't caused that. So where was it coming from? A shadow darted across the corner of his line of vision. He whipped his head around, but nothing was there.

"Jack Frost." he heard his name clearly stated. He turned back around to find a girl standing in front of him. She wore a blue tattered dress that came just below her knees, blue heels, and a messy blond braid wove around her head and onto her shoulder.

"Elsa..." the words escaped Jack's lips. A short look of confusion passed over Elsa's features, but then they resumed their look of anger.

Elsa moved her hand quickly, cutting through the air, sending sharp shards of ice at Jack. He quickly rolled out of the way as the ice flew past. "Elsa? What are you doing?" Elsa ignored his question and sent more sickles of ice flying in his direction. He barely moved in time to miss them as they soared through the crisp dawn air.

As Jack stood, staring at Elsa's slightly angered face, his first thought was of his visibility. She could see him! He studied her face with disorientation. Her most prominent expression was her anger, but in her eyes he could see fear. His second thought was to why she was pursuing him with ice sickles. She lifted her hand and more kept flying his way. He stepped to the right, hoping to miss them.

Then a sharp pain went through his shoulder. He looked down. Apparently he hadn't stepped far enough. A shallow gash was in his shoulder. Crimson blood began to surface.

"Elsa! Please. It's me, Jack. What are you doing?" He began to plead.

"I know who you are," she said not with pleasance. "Pitch told me all about you." Jack froze in place. Pitch? He was supposed to be dead. His whole body went rigid.

"Elsa. Whatever Pitch told you was a lie. Please, you have to remember me."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." She sent more ice in his direction, which he just nearly missed.

"Fight back!" She started to yell, the fear becoming evident in her voice. "Fight back, coward!"

"I'm not going to fight you." Jack knew his life was in danger, but he couldn't bring himself to raise a single hand against her. Anger boiled inside of him. What had Pitch told her?

"Elsa, you don't have to do this."

"You don't understand, Jack Frost. I do. I have to... I have to kill you!" She attempted another round of ice flying his direction, but he moved out of the way, cringing as his shoulder moved. "Elsa stop. You have to remember. Remember me. This isn't you. Whatever Pitch told you isn't you. I know who you are," he tried to convince her. Elsa put her hands out, ready to command the snow to her will, but didn't. Jack could see her hands were unsteady. "You were a queen," he said.

"What?"

"Yes. And a good one. You had a sister too."

"I don't have a sister. I'm an only child."

"Your parents died in a shipwreck," Jack continued, ignoring her arguments.

She shook her head, but seemed less sure of herself. "My parents were... they..." she struggled to recall memories of her childhood, but none were there. Only an empty gap in her brain. A wave of panic rushed over her.

"You were queen Elsa of Arendelle. And your sister's name was Anna." Jack said.

"No. No. My sister... no. I don't... have... a sister." She clutched her head. Everything was caving in. She didn't understand. Why didn't she remember her childhood? Why couldn't she remember what middle school or high school she had gone to?

"I don't- I don't understand. I have to... I have to kill you. I have to get answers."

"No, Elsa you don't. I've got all the answers you need. My name is Jack Frost. The moon told me so. I'm the spirit of winter. I love you. And you love me."

"What? No. No." she gripped her hair in her hand and shook her head. "I don't understand." she said quietly, sinking to her knees.

"You lived a long time ago. You died from an arrow wound on the fjord outside of your castle." He knelt down next to her and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. "Remember, Elsa. You have to remember."

"No. No. No." she kept muttering. Her mind felt blank. Who was she? Suddenly, they began to come back. A wave of memories. She was queen. Her sister was Anna. She squeezed her eyes shut as the memories flooded every corner of her mind. There was so much fear. She dropped her head to her knees. Her head was throbbing. So many memories, so many emotions, all at once. A life time lived in a single minute.

Her cheeks were streaked with tears when she finally lifted her head. "Jack?"