The New Guardian

Chapter 6- Alone Together

Elsa cried herself to sleep in Jack's arms. She was hurt, so deeply broken from experiencing all that grief. Reliving every moment of it. She couldn't stop crying.

Jack now stood up, holding Elsa in his arms. She was curled up against him. Her face asleep in a worried expression with her eyebrows furrowing. Her lips in a frown. He sadly looked to Tooth.

Tooth was holding back tears. She cleared her throat. "Jack- I'm so sorry. I didn't know..." She apologized, hovering closer. "I feel awful..."

Jack sighed deeply. He shook his head. "We can fix this. Elsa needs to know she's not alone anymore." His eyes glance down at her sleeping face. There were still tears on her cheeks, stuck to her face. They shined like ice crystals.

They stepped into a portal, inside Jack's room at the workshop. "Tooth, tell the others what happened. I'll stay here and make sure she doesn't hurt herself." He walked over and laid her down on his bed. Tooth nodded, sadly looking at Elsa and biting her lips to keep from crying. She opened the door and exited the room, gently closing it behind her.

Jack sighed deeply, taking a blanket and covering Elsa with it. He then sat by the window. Staring out into the night.

Elsa sniffled, whimpering in her sleep. It broke Jack's heart to see her so broken. He understood exactly why. He remembered all that time. All of it spent trying to make someone, anyone see him. No one ever looked at him, or touched him.

When he learned his truth he was proud of saving his sister. But what happened after? Was she happy? Did she grow up? Get married? Did she travel? He died young at age 18. He didn't live a lifetime like Elsa. He turned to stare at her. Would he cry like that too if he stayed long enough to see everyone around him die?

"No...no..." She muttered in her sleep. Jack quickly flew over, kneeling by the bed and rubbing her arms. "Shhh shhh you're not alone." He softly spoke to her. Her eyes open, she sniffled, gazing into his beautiful eyes. Having someone there to comfort her made her cry even more. She burst into tears and sat up. Jack sat next to her, wrapping his arms around her crying self.

"Jack... they're all gone. My family. They're not here anymore. I stayed frozen while they aged!" She looked into his eyes, pouring her heart out. Telling him exactly what she felt.

He responded by touching her cheek and making her look at him. "Hey... I know. You don't deserve any ounce of pain you are going through right now."

"What do you know?!" Elsa snapped, making him flinch. He cleared his throat. "I had a sister..."

A lump formed in Elsa's throat, speechless, her eyes filled with guilt at her actions. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, avoiding staring into his eyes. Elsa could sense him staring at her, wanting to connect with her. 

"I didn't get to live a lifetime to see her grow, live a life. I don't know how happy she was or how she passed. All I know was that I saved her." His eyes glisten, as if tears from that very lake he drowned in became his teardrops. Cold, icy, a slight frost to them. Elsa quickly looked to him. "You saved her?" She asked in a whisper, afraid to raise her voice. 

He nodded, closing his eyes. There was a crease in his forehead, concentrating to remember the memory. Concentrating to hold back his tears. "We went out to the frozen lake... we wanted to ice skate." He began, his voice shook, his body staying very still while sitting next to her. Elsa was very quiet. Listening. 

"The ice was cracking underneath her... I tried to keep her calm. I told her we could play a game. Like we play everyday... and then... I pulled her out of the way. But without thinking I threw myself onto that ice." His hands clench into fists, trembling. "It was cold... it was dark... and I was scared." Jack's silver bangs fell over his eyes, glistening as if he were the starlight in the room. Elsa exhaled, his story making her feel... sad. 

"But then there was the moon." Jack said, turning to face the moonlight pouring through the window of the room. As if to comfort the two spiritual beings from their pain. In a way it did, filling them with courage. 

"That's why he chose you... you were meant to be a guardian." Elsa said softly, her voice rising with realization. "Jack Frost." She said out loud, understanding him more. But she sighed holding her head. "Elsa, you were there for Anna for her entire life. You gave her a happy life. She would want you to be happy... to find meaning. You are meant to be the next guardian." Jack stared at her sincerely, they met eyes again, entranced by each other's stories. Each other's experiences. 

"It hurts Jack..." Elsa whimpered, placing a hand over her heart. "The grief... it hurts."

Jack nodded, taking a deep breath. "I know and it will for awhile. But I'll be here. All of us. I promise I promise... you're going to be okay." His soft deep voice told her, this lifted some of the weight on her heart. She nodded, taking a deep breath to relax herself. 

"Thank you." She leaned in, pulling him into a hug. Her arms squeeze him tight. Jack's eyes widen in surprise when she did so but he accepted the hug nonetheless. Not because he was attracted to her, but because she needed a hug right now. "Like I said, you aren't alone anymore." He promised. 

Elsa gently pulled away and looked up at him. A question burning in her mind. "How long have you been alone?" She asked, she could tell he had been through pain. The way he said his story, there had to be more to it. "I mean... were you alone?" Elsa asked him, staring at the spirit with the youthful face, yet with hundreds of years in his eyes. 

"I was alone for more than 300 years. No one could see me. No one heard me. I was so alone..." That's when the tears he held back finally released onto his cheeks, he pulled farther away from her. Clenching his fists. "I felt like there was something wrong with me..." He squeezed his eyes shut, he hated showing this side of him. It made him feel weak, vulnerable. All those feelings he had when he was invisible... 

But Elsa didn't question him. She knew what it was like. The loneliness, the isolation, the inability to reach out to anyone. Elsa took his hand and squeezed it, she then lifted his chin so he could stare at her. "I can see you. You can see me. We've both been invisible... why don't we stay together from now on?" She reassured him, offering help, support. 

Jack couldn't help but smile at this, he scoffed a little. "Let's be alone together. Maybe that's why we're so cold." He lifted his palm and formed a snowflake, it sparkled. Elsa smiled and did the same, hers more blue than silver like  his. She looked up at him, "Winter magic... maybe we were meant to find each other." Elsa said softly, their snowflakes floated off their palms and circled around one another, sticking together. 

Snow began to fall around them in the room. Elsa giggled, raising an eyebrow at Jack. "What are you doing?" She asked. "Why don't we see what we can do together?" Jack smirked, suddenly jumping off the bed and opening the window, the wind suddenly flowing in and ruffling their hair. Elsa followed, walking towards him while he stood by the window, his feet touching the edge. He then turned and reached his hand out to her. "Let's go." He grinned. 

Her hand instantly took his, a smile on her face. "Let's."