The Strange Boy

Princess Elsa awoke quite suddenly in the middle of the night. She wrapped a dressing gown around her and stared through the window of her bedroom and sighed. In had only been two months since the untimely and tragic death of her parents. Elsa had never felt more alone than in these moments. Elsa stared down at her gloved hands and tightly grasped them. In just three years, she will be crowned the Queen of Arendelle and take the throne just as her father and her father's family before her had done. How was she going to live up to her ancestors? How was she going to be Queen? How was she going to be rule a kingdom when she couldn't even be near people?

The thing that had awoken her had been yet another dream about the night in the ballroom with her sister Anna. The fear that had once flooded through her then, flooded through her again. Something like that could never happen again. If it did, Elsa could never forgive herself. Elsa wished that she could keep her powers under control but she knew that would never happen. Her powers were just too strong for her to handle.

Elsa pulled off her right glove and breathed in deeply. Her trembling hand took a hold of small painted wooden box on her dresser. Instantly ice started to creep from the bottom to the top and it wasn't long before the whole box was engulfed by ice. The panic started to set in to Elsa. She quickly placed the box back down and pulled on her glove. She hid the box in the top shelf and right of the back of her wardrobe so that no one will be able to find it. It was one of her constant fears that someone will discover her secret. She had managed to hide it since she was a little girl. She hoped that will continue.

Elsa tried to go back to bed but the pain and the fear of her nightmare continue to flow through her. Every time she shut her eyes, seeing the look on Anna's face just kept coming back to her. Elsa could feel the room getting colder and colder. Conceal, don't feel, Elsa told herself. The room started to heat up and the chill in the air was no longer there. Elsa breathed again. That was close. There have been too many close calls with her powers and she knew, once she became Queen, there would be a lot more. With everyone's gaze on her, she would be bound to let something slip. Her powers could most definitely cause an accident – maybe even hurt someone.

Elsa couldn't let that happen. Elsa looked down at her gloved hands. She was too dangerous. How could she rule a kingdom when she had a lot of trouble just keeping her powers under check? She knew what she had to do but could she do it? Ruling Arendelle wasn't something that she was even sure she could even do. Elsa preferred the solitary life and with her powers still out of control, another life wasn't really an option. A solitary life wasn't something that could be accomplished.

Elsa couldn't be the Princess of Arendelle anymore. It had long haunted her that one day she would rule Arendelle. She was already terrified that Anna would get hurt again like how she once did in the ballroom. Perhaps the best way to protect Anna was to leave Arendelle. Leaving Arendelle would certainly solve all her problems. It would give her the life she always wanted; to be free. A life without the need to hide her powers is certainly a life she would like to live but could she do it? Well, Arendelle doesn't need a Queen who was fearful of her own shadow, who would hide behind locked gates and never show herself. Besides, if Elsa left, Anna would be crowned Queen and even though she wasn't ready for the throne, she would have people to help her accomplish that like how Elsa did. Anna would be a great Queen; fun, energetic and one with the people.

Elsa quickly got changed into clothes that weren't elegant but more practical in nature. There was no way she was going to head into the mountains and an Arendelle winter wearing a ball gown. Elsa quickly threw a cloak around her when she had dressed and started to pack a bag. She used one of the ones in her room that she would use to travel – not that she did anyway. Those days were far behind her. Elsa only took what was needed. She didn't need to take excessive things such as her jewellery or makeup. They would just be unwanted load. Elsa didn't pack much; just some clothes and money. Elsa scribbled down a small note just saying that she was gone and for no one to look for her. Elsa didn't want people coming after her although she probably knew that people would come. Elsa pulled the hood of her cloak over her head, pulled the strap of her bag over her shoulder and headed out of her room. She just hoped that her plan wouldn't fail. She needed to get out of Arendelle without any of the guards realising.

She tip toed along the corridor and headed in the direction of the stairs. So far, she didn't see anyone. She heard a clock chime once and knew it was one o'clock in the morning. By her calculations, everyone should be asleep. Well Elsa should be but her nightmare had woken her up and wouldn't allow her to go back to sleep. Elsa hurried through the darken corridors of the Arendelle castle. Footsteps suddenly could be heard. Elsa threw herself behind a suit of armour. Who could be awake at this time of night? Was it a guard? Elsa just hoped that whoever it was didn't find her. How could she explain away what she was doing? Elsa peaked around the suit of armour and watched as Kai walked by. Elsa breathed in relief. It had only been Kai. He must be on duty or something to be up this late.

Elsa soon found the main staircase and raced down it. She just hoped her own footsteps thundering down the stairs. Elsa pulled on the doors and found to her astonishment, she found that it pulled open. Elsa stared at the doors. How were they open? Implicit instructions were always given that the doors must be locked and bolted every night. Elsa didn't care too much. They were here way out anyway. She walked through the courtyard and found that the second gate was indeed locked. There wasn't any guard nearby, so she wasn't seen. That was what Elsa thought anyway. When she looked to her right, she found a guard – sleeping and snoring.

How could Elsa have missed him? It doesn't matter – if she wasn't careful, then he would wake up and probably think Elsa was an intruder and throw her into the dudgeons. That was a place that Elsa didn't really want to end up. Elsa started to search the guard, extremely careful not to let him wake up. Elsa soon found what she was looking for. A set of keys was attached to his belt. Elsa quickly managed to untangle them from his belt and started to use them on the gate. Elsa put the keys back to where they came from before she slipped out the door.

Elsa raced down the bridge that connected Arendelle Castle to Arendelle and walked into Arendelle. She had never been in Arendelle for many years, not since before she accidently hurt Anna with her powers. Since that day, Elsa had been too nervous to be near other people. Arendelle had obviously changed in over a decade. Elsa remembered some shops that were no longer there and saw some shops that were new. Arendelle looked so strange at night. There was no one about so it looked almost like a ghost town. Elsa had never been able to see much of Arendelle from her window. Her view could only go to the very edge of the bridge and nothing further. She wanted to wander through the town and see what she could find but she couldn't. That may have to wait for another day – that was if she ever returned to Arendelle.

Elsa ran through the streets of Arendelle until she started to head in the direction of the mountains. Perhaps they may hold the solitary life that she had always dreamed of. It was quite the possibility. The mountains soon loomed into view and Elsa moved through the snow that was coming down. It was quite nice to enjoy snow that she didn't conjure herself. This was snow made by nature not magic. Elsa let the small snowflakes fall on her face and she smiled.

Elsa moved through the mountains. She didn't know how much time had passed since she first decided to leave the castle but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that she was as far away as possible before the sun came up and the people back in Arendelle realised that Elsa was missing. Elsa collapsed with exhausted on a rock. Her feet were getting a little tired. It had been a long walk. Elsa looked up and realised what she was looking at.

Above her she could see what looked like a strange thing in the sky. She stared at it, her eyes pieced through the dark night sky. What could it be? It was blue coloured and flying, so could it be some type of bird? The figure got larger and Elsa realised what it was. It was a boy, flying through the air.

Elsa stood up and rubbed her eyes. Surely she must be hallucinating what she was seeing. People do not fly, it was simply unheard of. The boy seemed to have spotted her and flew down to her. He didn't look any older than she and his face had kind, caring features to it. His hair looked like he had spent too much time in the snow. He was dressed in a blue hoodie and brown pants. The thing that stuck out for Elsa was the fact that he wasn't wearing any shoes. His feet simply rested in the snow. Surely his feet would freeze. But then, Elsa wasn't wearing much herself and she wasn't cold. The boy seemed to be amazed that she was making eye contact with him. He leaned on this wooden staff that he was clutching in his hands.

"Who-Who are you?" Elsa managed to stammer as she took a step backwards. Her feet whacked into the stone that she had previously been sitting on and nearly fell over but caught herself just in time.

"You can see me?" the boy asked sounding quite amazed at the fact that Elsa could see him. Elsa was perplexed at the fact that the boy was amazed over this. Maybe he thought she was blind or something.

"I'm not blind," Elsa snapped. She didn't really have time for this strange and mysterious kid. The sun would be up soon and it wouldn't take long before the guards came up here.

"You seem stressed," the boy said. "Is something the matter?"

"Oh like you care," Elsa continued walking. The boy started to hover and flew after her. Elsa didn't even question the flying thing anymore. She could conjure ice and snow, what makes this any different?

"I do," the boy said. "You seem stressed, angry and upset at something. May I enquire to what it is?"

"No," Elsa snapped again, "you may not." She knew she was being rude and that upset her even more. Gone were her regal and well-mannered self. Suddenly all her rage was pouring out of her and it was unfortunately going towards this kid. She sighed. She knew she shouldn't be like this. It was so unlike her. Elsa straightened up and resumed her polite self once again. "Sorry for snapping, I just, uh, have a lot on my mind."
"It's fine," the boy said. "I can see that. Maybe if you talk about it, it could get better?"

"I don't really want to talk about it," Elsa said. "It's just something I have to do on my own."

"That is never true," the boy said. He watched as Elsa continued to walk up the mountain. He then sped up to meet her. He then pulled on her cloak. "You know town is that way," he pointed in the direction of Arendelle.
"I know," Elsa said.

"Then why are you heading into the mountains in insufficient clothes and supplies?" the boy asked tugging on Elsa's dress and bag. "Aren't you freezing?"
Elsa gave him a look. "You're one to talk," she pointed at Jack's feet before continuing. "The cold never bother me anyway."

"I see," the boy nodded. "So why are you not going to town and why are you out here in the middle of the night?"

"That's my business," Elsa said. She didn't really want to tell a stranger what she was up to. She barely knew this kid.

"Ah," the boy got a look on his face. "Running away are we?"
"Who says I am?" Elsa spluttered.

"You just have the look of someone who is," the boy said. "So what happened? You don't look young enough to be running away because of a fight. So that concludes to me, that you are running away because of your problems."

"Who says I have problems?" Elsa turned around to face him as she continued to walk. "For all you know, I am not running away but rather going for a night time stroll."

"Up a mountain?" the boy raised an eyebrow and looked quite sceptical.

"Maybe I like The North Mountain," Elsa said. "Have you ever thought about that?"

"Maybe," the boy shrugged. "But I doubt you would just go up a mountain, dressed like that with nothing in the way of provisions."

Elsa knew he had a point. She stayed quiet and avoided his gaze. They continued to walk up together; well the boy was hovering around her in the most annoying fashion rather than walking. Elsa enjoyed the peacefulness of the quiet. However as the silence crept in, the fear that Elsa was feeling came right back. She shivered and that had nothing to do with the cold. She continued to tell herself that she was doing the right thing. She just had to let Arendelle move on without a Queen that they wouldn't want. Who would want a Queen who shuts herself away and never sees anyone?

"So," the boy said seeming to be unable to take the silence that was engulfing them. "What problems are you running from?"

"Just….stuff," Elsa said quite vaguely.

"What stuff?" The boy asked.

"Just stuff," this boy could be really annoying, Elsa added in her head.

"Stuff?"

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Okay," Elsa said stopping at last, "we are just going around in circles."

"I know," the boy said, "we passed that same tree like half an hour ago."

"I meant the conversation!" Elsa exclaimed before she realised that Jack was right. There was a tree that had a branch that was almost being broken off due to the weight of the snow. Elsa remembered passing that tree when she first starting talking to this strange boy who could fly. She must have taken a wrong turn at some point. Elsa let out noise that was unrecognisable but had the elements of anguish and frustration in there.

"Are you okay?" the boy asked.

"No," Elsa said, "I can't even runaway properly."

"It's okay," the boy asked. "Maybe you shouldn't anyway. Face your problems; take the bull by the horns."

"You really want to fix my problems, don't you?"

"Well you seem to be upset and I want to make sure that you are going to be alright. People don't really think straight when they're upset or frustrated. They often do the wrong things or say things that aren't true."

Elsa sighed again. "You're right." She knew he was right. Running away won't solve her problem. Besides it wouldn't work anyway. Gerda would come into her room as always in the morning to find her gone and soon the entire Arendelle army would be looking for her. She wouldn't be able to disappear, no matter how much she wanted to.

"I'm always right," the boy did this lopsided grin. Elsa thought it matched him pretty well. It almost seemed to make him cuter than he appeared. Elsa suddenly darkened. Stop thinking that, Elsa thought to herself. She had no idea where that came from.

"That's my line," Elsa smiled.

"So come on," the boy said. "I'll take you back. Don't want to be found missing, do we?"

"I suppose," Elsa wasn't even sure if she wanted to go back. She was still very much afraid of what her powers could do. She had already seen a glimpse of it when she hurt her younger sister all those years ago. If she went back, she will become Queen, they will have her coronation and she would have to rule Arendelle. Could she do that? The boy, despite not knowing anything about her, seemed to think that she could face all her problems. Elsa, herself, wasn't so sure. She actually thought the opposite; she didn't think she could face them at all. The sheer mountain of them just made Elsa cower.

"Come on," the boy extended his hand.

Elsa eyed the hand. "What do you want me to do?"

"Take it," the boy said. "Come on, I'll fly you back home."

"Um, fly?" Elsa asked.

"Come on," the boy insisted. "How are you going to face your problems if your too busy running away from them?"

Elsa hesitantly raised her hand and placed it in the boy's. No turning back now, she thought to herself. The boy then hoisted her up and started to ascend into the sky. Elsa closed her eyes very tightly. Heights sometimes scared her. She soon felt the wind flying through her as they raced through the sky.

"Open your eyes," the boy yelled over the raging wind.

Elsa's eyes slowly creaked open. Beyond her was a magnificent sight. She could see far and wide. Arendelle was slowly coming in her direction. She had never seen it in a bird's eye view before and it was truly something spectacular. The boy was grinning and Elsa allowed herself to grin. Even if the whole running away thing didn't work, it was worth it to see this sight.

The boy dropped her in the middle of Arendelle as Elsa directed him too. No way was telling him that she was the heir to the throne here.

"Thank you," Elsa said, "and thanks for not letting me do something stupid."

"No problem," the boy said. "Anytime."

Elsa turned away but then suddenly turned back. "Who are you?" she enquired.

"Oh," the boy said. "In all the excitement I have forgotten to introduce myself. The name is Jack Frost." The boy did a little bow as he spoke his name.

"Jack Frost," the name was familiar to Elsa. She had heard about stories about the bringer of winter when she was younger. Her mother would read her lots of stories growing up and Elsa enjoyed them all. She supposed that this wasn't the real Jack Frost and it was a coincidence that she met him in winter as well. "Well thank you again."

Elsa was about to leave again but the boy, Jack Frost, called her back. She turned around to face him.

"And may I enquire as to your identity?" Jack asked.

"Elsa," she said. "Just Elsa."

"Well Just Elsa," the boy laughed. "I shall hope to see you again."

"Yeah," Elsa nodded, "and me too."

There was something about this character that made Elsa intrigued to know more but that would have to wait for another time. She was already late in getting back as it is. The sun would be coming up any minute now and soon Gerda will be trying to find her if she discovers her bed empty.

"Well, goodnight," Elsa said.

"And goodnight to you," Jack smiled.

Elsa smiled back at him before she raced in the direction of the castle. She hurried across the bridge and found the gates to be unlocked still. The same guard was still asleep by the door. Elsa managed to unhook the set of keys from his belt again and used them to lock the gate before putting them back. Elsa made her way back to the main doors and also found them unlocked. Elsa pulled them open before stepping inside. The rising sun's rays were already making their way through the cracks in the curtains that covered the windows. Elsa crept back up to her bedroom and found it in the way she had left it before. She quickly got changed back into her nightgown which she had left on her bed. She put away her clothes and everything in the bag. Elsa found the scribbled note she had left. Sighing, she tore the note into halves, then quarters, then eighths, then sixteenths. Then then threw them into the grate in her bedroom. She didn't want someone finding them.

Elsa then got back into bed. Maybe running away wasn't the best solution. It wouldn't have worked. She wouldn't be able to outrun soldiers on horses when she was on foot. Elsa lay on her back, staring up at her ceiling. How was she going to solve her problem? The fear that consumed her was still flowing through her. How was she going to rule Arendelle? She still hadn't worked that out. Well she did have until her twenty-first year to figure that out. She wasn't of age yet. She still had a bit to go before her coronation. Maybe all the answers will be fixed in due course.

Elsa closed her eyes and tried to let sleep wash over her. The painful image of her dream still haunted her. Elsa forced herself to go to sleep. She didn't want to appear tired in the morning. It felt like mere minutes before Gerda was shaking her, telling her that breakfast was ready on the table. Groaning, Elsa got out of bed and started to get ready.

Four Years Later

Elsa sighed as she worked in her study. Now Queen, she had a lot of business she had to attend to. It had been over a year since her coronation and the time when she had accidently frozen the entirety of Arendelle. At the moment, she was having to deal with Anna's upcoming nuptials to Kristoff. They had been courting ever since Hans was shipped off back to The Southern Isles. The Southern Isles had been trying to earn forgiveness. They even were trying to wed Elsa off to one of the Princes there; a Prince Mikael. Elsa wasn't sure if she was going to accept. She doubted that she will. The memory of what Hans had done was too painful. Besides, she would never marry someone she didn't know.

Anna bounded into Elsa's study. She was now nineteen years old (Elsa didn't like to think of her nineteenth birthday when Elsa's cold messed things up for her) and was growing into a woman every day. Elsa put down her quill and smiled at her sister. She was glad to see her sister. She hadn't seen her in a while because Anna had been busy trying to get everything ready for her wedding which will only take place in just over a month. It was keeping her rather busy.

"So how is everything going?" Elsa asked.

"Good," Anna smiled. "The wedding is on track."

"That is good," Elsa smiled back. "Are the trolls coming?"

"Of course!" Anna said. "They're Kristoff's family. They have to be there."

Elsa raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Rock trolls coming to her castle wasn't something she thought she would ever have to contend with but she guessed she might have to. Anna had a point. They were Kristoff's family after all. When Elsa's clock chimed, Anna's face got all worried.

"Is that the time?" she said weakly. "I promised Kristoff that I would meet him half an hour ago to help with his ice deliveries."

"I'm sure he's waiting for you," Elsa said. "If you hurry you might make it. Besides, Kristoff won't be too angry at you. He can never be angry at you for too long anyway."

Anna smiled. "True."

Elsa watched as her younger sister sprinted from the room. Elsa then returned to her work. There was just so much of it she had to do. There were new trade agreements to draw up, new laws to put into place and there was still Anna's wedding stuff that she had to take care of. Elsa started to feel rather stuffy. It was a hot summer's day after all. Elsa headed over her doors that led to a balcony and opened them. A cool breeze came through. Elsa allowed this breeze to drift across her face. She knew that she could just use her powers to cool down but she preferred not to.

Elsa closed her eyes and allowed the cool summer breeze to wash over her. It was kind of a relief from the summer heat that they had been having over the past couple of weeks. Elsa opened her eyes and stared up the cloudless sky. However, despite there not being a cloud in the sky, there was something up there; a black dot in the sky that was just circling up above her. Elsa wondered if it was some kind bird. That theory was thrown out the window when it came closer. Elsa realised what it was; it was a person. When Elsa came to that realisation, she knew it could only be one person.

The person came down and landed in front of her.

"Jack," Elsa said grinning.

Jack was just circling above Arendelle. It had been a while since he had been there but he had heard rumours of a Queen that could control snow and ice. They were calling her the Snow Queen. He wanted to meet this Queen since he too could control ice and snow. He could see people moving around beneath him and kids playing in the streets. Jack headed in the direction of the castle. He figured that royalty must live there since it was big and royalty likes to live in big places.

He had also heard about the big freezing incident that happened a few years ago. Originally, the other Guardians thought that it was him. Jack had denied it. He hadn't been to Arendelle in years, so how could it be him? They had investigated and found out it was due to the Queen whose powers went out of control on the eve of her coronation. Jack had tried to find this woman but they weren't going to stay long. Once they discovered the true identity of the person behind the freezing, the Guardians left. Pitch had been on the move during that time and so they couldn't stay further to investigate the freezing incident. So that was why Jack back in Arendelle, determined to find this Snow Queen.

He started to circle above the castle and soon saw a woman standing on a balcony. She was blonde and had her hair done in a single braid and was wearing a cyan dress. Jack wondered if she was the Queen. He had heard descriptions of the Snow Queen and she fitted the descriptions perfectly. Jack couldn't help it but notice that she was also very pretty. Jack could also sense a blush creeping into his cheeks. Jack then realised who he was looking at. He recognised the girl. It was that girl that he had met on the mountains near here all those years ago. Her face had just popped into his head.

Jack remembered meeting her. She had been troubled about something and was running away but Jack convinced her to go back. She said her name had been Elsa….he thinks. He never knew she was Queen let alone had the powers to control ice and snow. Jack started to descend. It was time to get reacquainted with her. Jack soon landed on the balcony in front of her. She was smiling at him when he landed.

"Jack," she said with that smile all over her face.

Elsa couldn't believe that Jack was standing in front of her. Without him, she probably would have died on the mountain from maybe dehydration or starvation. She may have met some family to take her in but she wouldn't have her life that she has now. She wouldn't have reconnected with Anna, she wouldn't have figured out the key to control her powers and she wouldn't be the loved Queen of Arendelle.

"It's so good to see you," Elsa breathed.

"And you," Jack grinned. "So someone never told me who they really were."

Elsa laughed. "Yeah I didn't give away too much did I?"

"You could have told me that you could control snow and ice!" Jack looked really eager when he said this. "Look!" he opened his palm and then moved his other hand across it. A little snowman appeared there. Elsa gazed at it with nothing but awe in her features. She was amazed.

"You too?" she whispered. She had always thought that she was the only one. Finding out that Jack could also control ice and snow was like finding a diamond when mining.

"Aha," Jack said. "I am Jack Frost after all."

"Wait," Elsa put her hand up, "you mean to tell me that you are literally Jack Frost from the stories?"

"Yes," Jack grinned. "How about you tell me your story and I'll tell you mine?"

"I would love that," Elsa smiled at him.

A/N: So this is a little oneshot idea that I had for my fortieth story before I post my next story which should be out in the next few days, I hope - University semester finishes tomorrow so I will have to study for the nightmare that is exams - GAH! Anyway, I hope that everyone enjoyed this little oneshot I did. Please review =)