The Mystic's Dream

Rifiuto: Non Miriena

Summary: Elsa, oldest princess of Arendelle, has grown up completely normal, never having possessed powers... until, thanks to an accident, she met Jack Frost, son of the Frost King, and a Guardian appointed by St. Nicholas and the Man in the Moon. Now, thanks to him, Elsa's future has been placed in jeopardy, with the only solution being a marriage between the young, rambunctious immortal prince and Arendelle's mortal Crown Princess. Now, with nothing in common but the magic they both possess, and bound together through a marriage neither wanted, can the two young royals find some form of common ground, or will their icy match leave an eternal winter in its wake?

A/N: This was a request from my best friend, who loves both Frozen and Rise of the Guardians, and she wanted a Jelsa fic for her birthday... I'm more comfortable writing McGiva from NCIS or Jo/Zane from Eureka... even Fiyeraba from Wicked... but she's insistent. It's been a while since I've seen ROTG, and I last saw Frozen a few months ago, and I haven't had time to go back and re-watch the movies, so I'm working from memory here, and I apologize if I get some things wrong...

... also in this, I kind of follow my copy of L.F. Baum's Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, in which Jack Frost is the son of the Frost King, thereby a prince of Winter... and because of his rambunctious ways, St. Nicholas makes him a guardian in order to help his father keep an eye on him...

... and since her birthday is four weeks away, I figured I'd give her this as a birthday gift, and since I'd honestly, finished it months ago for her, I've had to wait until now to give it to her. Besides, a bunch of us are taking her out to dinner that night, so the least I can do is give this to her early. Which means the sooner I get this up for her, the faster I can get back to finishing my other stories and working on requests. Happy Birthday, V!

She ran the brush through her long, platinum blonde locks- locks so white, they reminded her younger sister Anna of snow. A soft melody streamed from her lips, and she turned her gaze to the window, watching the snow dance gently towards the ground. She returned to her work, finally setting the brush down and working her hair into a loose braid when she heard a knock at the door. "Elsa! Elsa, it's snowing outside!"

She tied her braid and shook her head, giggling as she ticked off on each finger with a soft voice, "Three... two... one..."

"Do you want to build a snowman?" It was Anna's usual question; whenever she wanted her older sister to go out with her and play, because Anna knew that Elsa couldn't resist.

The oldest daughter of the rulers of Arendelle chuckled softly, getting up and grabbing her cloak, draping it over her shoulders before going to the window. She quickly shut it, latching the window firmly before going to the door. She pulled it open, to find Anna grinning at her. As she pulled her gloves on, the younger princess grabbed her hand, tugging her out of the room and down the hall. Laughter followed in their wake as the two princesses headed out to enjoy the winter weather.

Once outside, Elsa let go of her sister's hand, looking around before going towards the gates. "Elsa, where are you going?" Anna rushed to catch up. Her sister didn't say a word, she just continued towards the open gates; Anna stopped, suddenly realizing where she was going. "Elsa... Father told us... we aren't supposed to go to the forest. The trolls..."

"I'm not going to the forest, Anna." Elsa replied, glancing over her shoulder. "I'm going to the lake. It will be completely frozen now and we can skate on it-"

"But-"

"If you don't want to come, then I will go myself." And without another word, she took off, leaving Anna torn between following her sister and alerting her parents. Deciding to do neither, the girl sank to the snow and decided to wait.

There it was. The lake.

She stopped, her father's words ringing in her head. "The forest is dangerous, girls. It is the territory of the trolls. And though they can be good, they also do not take kindly to trespassers." But she quickly shook her head. She wasn't anywhere near the forest; of course, the lake was surrounded by forests, but this wasn't where the trolls were. Though she had never been to the troll's forest, she was fairly certain she wasn't anywhere near them.

Besides, even if she was, she wasn't doing anything wrong. All she wanted to do was skate. No harm, no foul.

Sitting down on the lake's bank, she removed her shoes and started to put on the skates she had thought to grab before leaving her room with her sister. Once done, she stood, stepping out onto the ice and pushing off. The feel of the wind around her was exhilarating; it lifted her braid from her shoulder and sent her cloak belling out around her as she skated. The sound of her ice skates cutting across the frozen water was the only sound for miles...

In all her fourteen years, Elsa had never been allowed to go anywhere alone; her parents always accompanied her, or her sister was constantly by her side. She knew, when she returned, that she would receive a stern lashing for her small act of rebellion from her father- that was if Anna told. But even if she did, she really didn't care at the moment. She was enjoying herself immensely. It was nice to have something all to herself for once, without having to share it with her little sister. Though she loved Anna, there were some things she wanted strictly for herself.

Her laughter filled the air, and she unclasped her cloak, letting it drop to the snow as she skated by the bank. Her melodious laughter soon caught the attention of a young man none could see unless they believed. He dropped down from the trees he was coating with a thin layer of snow, landing in a crouch as he watched the young princess. He straightened, watching as she continued to enjoy herself.

He chuckled softly as she skated faster; as the Guardian of Fun, he knew the excitement of it when he saw, and this girl, no older than he, was certainly enjoying herself. A moment passed, before he moved closer to the bank, and after a moment, with a wave of his staff, he sent a flurry of snowflakes dancing down towards the girl on the frozen lake. She stopped skating, her eyes tugged skyward, sparkling in delight. As the last of the flakes fell, she returned to her skating, unaware that the center of the ice was thin...

Her gaze turned towards the bank as she got closer to the center; her gaze latched onto someone standing on the shore, watching her.

A boy, in a blue jacket of some sort and brown pants, barefoot, holding a shepherd's staff. His hair was sticking up in places, and almost identical to hers in color- for a moment, she thought he'd materialized out of thin air-

Suddenly, the ice beneath her, that had cracked hours earlier, shattered beneath her. Before she could say a word, or even cry out in shock, the Crown Princess of Arendelle fell through the ice, plunging into the frigid waters below.

Anna looked up; it was getting late, and her parents would be expecting the girls in for supper, and yet, Elsa still hadn't returned. She swallowed, before getting up and rushing towards the castle. Something was wrong. Elsa would never be gone this long; she always returned within an hour, if she did go off alone- but that was usually because she had a chaperone with her. This was the first time she had ever gone off alone...

She knew something was wrong; she always knew when something was wrong with Elsa, and vice versa. Just because two years separated them in age, didn't mean...

Her heart dropped into her shoes, and she choked on a sob, fleeing from the gates of the city, back towards the castle she and her sister had grown up in. She had to get to their parents; they had to know, no matter if Elsa was angry with her or not, they had to know, had to find her.

As she dashed into the castle, she couldn't shake the feeling that if their parents didn't find her soon, Elsa wouldn't return to them alive. "Mama! Papa!"

He didn't think, didn't even stop to question the consequences of his actions. He dropped his staff, dashing out onto the ice and towards where the young princess had fallen through. He dived in after her, not at all bothered by the shock of the cold water as he went in search of the princess. Despite the crystalline beauty of the ice above, the water beneath was murky, cloudy. He searched for several minutes before finally finding whom he'd been searching for, and in a matter of minutes, had managed to pull the girl from the frozen waters of the lake and to the bank.

He held her in his lap, checking her for injuries, before leaning close and resting her ear against her lips. Though he himself possessed no beating heart, he knew that she did, and that she needed hers working to live. Without a second thought to what he was doing, he lay her upon her discarded cloak and pressed his mouth hers, before working on compressions. With each breath he passed into her lungs, he felt his efforts begin to fail, and he shook his head.

"No, no, don't do this to me. Come on, breathe, princess. Breathe!"

He didn't hear the sound of hooves making their way towards him, he only focused on the girl laying with on the cloak, skin pale, lips turning blue. She was so young, had a life ahead of her, he couldn't let her give up. With his lips once more on hers, his breath passing one final time from his lungs to hers, something happened. Her heart began to beat, slowly at first and then faster and faster until it had returned to normal. By then, the hooves had reached them, and the King of Arendelle got down from his horse, rushing forward. As the boy pulled back, the young princess choked, gasping on air.

"Elsa!" She didn't open her eyes, though she heard her father's worried voice, followed by her mother's and sister's.

"Is she all right?"

"Elsa!"

The king knelt by his daughter, reaching out and gently brushing her wet hair from her forehead. The boy meanwhile scurried back; he knew of the Royal family of Arendelle, but hadn't realized... "Elsa, love, talk to me. Elsa?" The girl turned her head towards her father, eyes still closed. Every breath hurt, but after a moment, she choked out,

"Papa?"

"I'm here, love, we all are."

"Open your eyes, Elsa, sweet." Her mother begged, keeping Anna by her side. The younger girl burrowed into their mother's side, frightened. After several minutes, the older girl forced her eyes open-

A cry of shock escaped her father's throat and he sat back, startled. "Papa?" Slowly, the boy crept closer, leaning over the girl to look into her eyes. His own widened in shock. When he'd watched her earlier, when she'd gotten close to the bank and shed her cloak, he'd seen her face... and her eyes had been a soft, warm hazel. But now...

Now they were the same shade as his.

A deep, enchanting shade of ice blue.