Love Thaws: Melting

Critical

Elsa inhaled sharply, frantically trying to drag air into her oxygen-deprived lungs. A figure loomed over her. She grasped the hands pressed to her throat and desperately tried to lift them. A beam of moonlight peered through the gap in between the curtains, revealing the figure's hair had a silver glint to it. Her grip faltered.

"J-Jack?" she choked, her voice so faint it wasn't audible.

The fingers around her neck tightened. A cry escaped her lips and she pushed against him. What was he doing? The thought of Jack intentionally trying to hurt her... simply didn't compute. It was absurd. He murmured something. With a start, she realized he was dreaming, or having a nightmare. Her heart thudded against her sternum, and she was acutely aware of her pulse throbbing throughout her body. 

She couldn't breathe. 

Black dots danced across her vision. Helpless tears sprang to her eyes. She feebly tried to kick Jack back and used all her remaining strength to try and pry his hands away. Her struggles became weaker as her limbs became heavier. Her head swam, making the spinning world foggy, her thoughts murky.

"Jack," she whimpered as death began to spread its dark cloak over her. The world was fading. And she was fading with it.

The pressure was suddenly lifted. Elsa inhaled so sharply, white dots pierced her vision. Her lungs desperately drank in the sweet air. She couldn't seem to get air fast enough. Elsa lay still. Odd, pricking tingles spread from her core outward, all the way to her fingertips. Her heart pounded as she inhaled more oxygen.

"Elsa?" Jack murmured, his voice soft. 

She felt fingers brush her cheek and instinctively shied away. 

"Elsa?" His voice sounded desperate, terrified. It still wasn't an emotion she was used to seeing in Jack. 

She flinched when he touched her again. 

"Elsa," he breathed. Despite her involuntary and weak resistance, he gathered her in his arms, cradling her to his chest. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

Elsa shuddered and focused on breathing. She'd never been so terrified in her entire life. Not even when Hans had captured them. Her neck stung, as if someone was jabbing tiny needles into it. His warm lips traced the lightest of kisses on her forehead. Elsa couldn't stop shivering. She'd been so close... to the brink of death, a place she never wanted to go to again. Jack laid her down with a tenderness that seemed to contradict his tall, muscular form. He gently pulled the covers up until they lightly settled over her. His footsteps, muted by the carpet, faded slowly as he stumbled into the next room. Elsa curled into a ball, trying to make herself as small as possible.

A shaft of golden sunlight pierced the still air. Elsa didn't move. She hadn't all night. And she'd been too afraid to sleep. She touched the tender area on her neck, making a sharp barb of pain pierce it. She didn't want to get up, didn't want to move. Nonetheless, she straightened her legs, stretching them. Her stiff, aching muscles protested against the movement. She sat up and shoved the covers aside. 

It was a new day, a beginning. Now Elsa just needed the courage to start it. She stood, doing more moving than thinking. She saw Jack at the breakfast table. She forced her feet forward, to the kitchenette. She mechanically prepared coffee, which was enough to distract her hands for a few minutes. When the coffee was done and she had no other excuse to stand around, she sat in the chair opposite of Jack. He glanced up. 

Dark smudges were underneath his eyes. He looked tired and older than his 21 years. His eyes flashed with sadness and concern as he scooted his chair towards her. Elsa held her breath as his warm fingers gently feathered over her neck. The hands that had the power to heal her, also had the power to hurt her. She glanced away and tried to still her quivering body. The heat of Jack's fingers finally disappeared. She risked a glance at him. His azure eyes bore into her, filled with depths of sorrow and regret, but he didn't speak. She stared at her clasped hands, resting on her lap.