Elsa

"Pitch, I'm scared," I said, using the staff to help myself up. "Please..."

He almost seemed to glare at me, his face a stony, gray mask. "Elsa, hand me the staff," was all he said.

"Why won't you help me? Tell me!"

His mask was broken, and his expression changed to one of brief pain and sadness before he grimaced. "You want the truth? Fine. I can't help you. I never could."

"You lied to me?"

"And you were too stupid to realize it. You never had control over your powers, Elsa."

"You manipulated me! You made me into a monster!" I cried, backing away from him.

"You were always a monster. I just let you out."

"No!" So, my powers really were a curse?

"And there's nothing you can do to save your sister. She's going to die, Elsa, and it will be all your fault."

I screamed in anguish and fell to my knees on the ice, my braid stinging my face in the rising wind, but I couldn't cry. Why couldn't I cry? I heard Pitch laughing, rejoicing in my pain and fear. It was hopeless. How could all of this happen? Why did I let it happen? I held tight to the staff, as if imprinting its unique grooves into my palm would make me feel better.

Anna

My heart, cold as it was, sank, not only because I knew that I was going to die, but because of the ache I felt for my poor sister. Nobody deserved this, especially not her. I wanted to run out to her, but it felt as if my joints had been frozen - which they might very well be - and I remained rooted to my spot, supported by Kristoff, who appeared deep in thought.

"Anna, kiss me," he said suddenly.

"Wait, what?"

"At this point, it might be the only thing that might save you," he explained.

"But I thought-"

"I'm not going to let you die knowing that I didn't even try." I looked into his eyes, already on the verge of tears, and nodded in understanding. I let his hand cup the back of my neck and bring my face closer to his, slowly, hesitantly, but a voice made us both pause.

"Seeing as you're only going to be a hindrance from here on out..." Pitch said, causing me to pull back from Kristoff and turn my attention back to the events on the fjord. I watched in horror as a shadowy scythe manifested in his hands, and he raised it above his head over Elsa's crumpled form.

"No!" I screamed, pushing away from Kristoff with strength I didn't even know I had, and I ran, even though my feet were heavy and each motion was like being stabbed. I felt the blackness of unconsciousness darken the edges of my vision, but I pushed forward. Elsa would not die. I couldn't allow it to happen. I could hardly see by the time I slid across the ice to her, and my world had become nothing but pain, but I managed to shield her body with my own before I was completely gone.

The last thing I remembered was several people shouting. I think they said my name. That was nice.

Elsa

The sound of heavy footsteps on the ice caused me to look up, and the first thing I saw was Pitch, ready to kill me now that he had no need for me, but then he was gone, his frightening image replaced by the back of a soft magenta cloak that had a tear in one corner. Anna had jumped between me and certain doom, and I screamed her name as the scythe came down upon her. I was not alone.

"Anna!" yelled Mother, Father, and the ice salesman. We could do nothing as the blade hit her outstretched palm.

And it shattered, dissolving into nothing but nightmare sand.

In the blink of an eye, my sister had become a statue of solid ice, unmoving, unfeeling. The ice was strong enough to withstand the blow, and the curse placed upon it knocked Pitch back several feet in a flash of blue light. I stared for a moment, making sure that he wasn't getting up anytime soon, before I ran around to the front of her. Hesitantly, I touched her cold, frozen face, stuck forever in an expression of fear. The fear was all for me. I didn't deserve that, not after everything I had done. Seeing no harm in it anymore, I threw my arms around my sister for the first time, leaning my head against her still heart.

"Oh, Anna," I sobbed. "No." Everything had become silent and still. Even the snowflakes had frozen in the air. Everyone stayed where they were in a state of shock for what they had seen. "I'm so sorry." Warm tears flooded down my cheeks onto what had once been my sister. I no longer felt cold inside. It was as if the ice in me had melted, leaving me to drown on the inside. I cried and cried and cried for what felt like an eternity. This was wrong. None of this should have happened.

I suddenly felt her body shift. No, it was becoming just like my nightmares! I held onto her tighter. I was not going to let her dissolve into nothingness. I would never let her go. Then, I felt a pair of warm arms embrace me back. Shocked, I looked up into Anna's rosy face. She was still there. She was alive! She was crying, too. I realized suddenly that I was touching her, that I shouldn't be doing that, but I didn't care anymore. I kept hugging. "Why?" I sniffled after a long round of cheers from the crowd.

"You're my sister. I love you," she said simply with a smile. Suddenly, the smile disappeared, and she seemed to be deep in thought. "An act of true love...I broke the curse!" She laughed and hugged me tighter. I didn't quite get it, but I was just happy that she was alright. We were sisters again.

"I love you, too."

"Are you forgetting something?" said another voice. We parted and saw Pitch walking over to us menacingly, scythe in hand. Black sand came in dark waves over the fjord, surrounding us. I moved in front of Anna, determined to protect her this time. Dad came over beside us, picking up the staff that lay at my feet. We shared a smile before turning our attention back to Pitch. I held out my palm threateningly towards him, and Dad did the same with his staff. "I'm not afraid anymore," I announced, prompting a cry of rage from the bogeyman.

We were about to rush headlong into battle with the nightmares when a flash of light lit up the cloudy sky, and the sound of bells filled the air. Looking up, I saw a flying sleigh pulled by reindeer. The Guardians waved down at us. Grinning from ear to ear, I waved back. So these were the friends that Dad had told me about since I was small! They were wonderful!

Jack

Cheers arose from the members of our audience as the sleigh landed, and the Guardians stepped/flew out one at a time.

"Santa Clause!"

"The Easter Bunny!"

"The Tooth Fairy!"

"Sandman!"

One could almost feel the hope in the air rising, and the horrified look on Pitch's face was priceless. My expression was probably equally bewildered. I couldn't remember sending for them...wait a second. Tooth flew up next to me, and I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at her. "Baby Tooth?" I asked, already knowing the answer. She shrugged sheepishly.

"Jack!" bellowed North. "Long time, no see!"

"Managed to get yourself into a spot of trouble. Again," added Bunny.

"And where were you about an hour ago? Could have used you when the castle was tearing itself apart," I teased, falling easily back into the rhythm of our banter. It was like I had never been away. Next to me, I noticed that Elsa and Anna were gawking, mouths nearly hitting the ice. "We'll have time for explanations later."

"Yes! Now, we fight Pitch! Just like old times!" North laughed heartily, and before we knew it we were charging into battle, Elsa by my side after convincing Anna to stay behind.

"I'm not going to just stand here and watch!" Anna had protested.

"I know that you mean well, but this is not the time, Anna," Elsa had scolded.

With the Guardians by my side again, the fight was almost too easy. North and Tooth were simply charging through the nightmares, obliterating them with sheer force. Looking back, I saw that Sandy had found something for Anna to do. She was so child-like herself that her touch turned the black sand into gold, filling the sky with wonderful dreams that mixed in with the snowflakes still hanging in the air. As for me and Elsa, we took on Pitch directly, both of us having a bit of a score to settle with him. He hurled his massive scythe all around, barely missing us by a few inches, but his power was fading fast, and he was unable to take on the both of us directly.

Another swing of the scythe, and I held up my staff to combat it. At the collision, his weapon froze over and dissipated, leaving him defenseless. Elsa took advantage of that, and a blast of her magic sent him skidding across the ice, crashing into a wall that she formed in the same instant. "Take it home!" I called out to Sandy, and he obliged enthusiastically, snapping his whips and sending Pitch flailing like a ragdoll towards the shore. He stumbled, trying to bring himself back to his feet, but he fell again. We whooped and cheered our victory, and Elsa came forward and hugged me.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. I stroked her braid comfortingly.

"Everything's alright," I assured her. "It's nothing but a memory, now. A bad dream."

I looked up from Elsa for just a moment, and to my horror, I saw Pitch approaching Anna, teeth bared and arms outstretched. Before I could even call out to her or react in any other way, though, there was a resounding clang, and Pitch was skidding across the ice once again, rubbing the back of his head from where he had been struck. Rapunzel stood where he had once been, frying pan in hand. "Not my daughter, you-"

"Mama bear?" I chuckled. She smiled and laughed with me. I flew over to her side with Elsa. We all watched as Anna realized what had nearly happened and Tooth approached Pitch, punching her palm threateningly. Pitch did not appear particularly excited for what he expected next.

Anna came forward and put her hand on Tooth's, stopping her. After a moment of confusion for all of this, Anna said, "Allow me." Then, with all of the strength she could muster, she punched the bogeyman right in the face, hard enough to make his head snap back. I heard Kristoff laugh somewhere behind me. Anna skipped back over to my side, rubbing her sore knuckles. "It was worth it." We all laughed, and there was a group hug, a sure sign of a happy ending, but when we separated, Pitch had vanished.

"He's gone!" Elsa gasped.

"He does that," I sighed. "Probably hiding under some bed somewhere. You aren't worried, are you?"

"No, I just wasn't through with him yet." Her tone wasn't joking. She was dead serious, but I ruffled her hair anyway.

"I'm sure you'll get your chance." We smiled, and I left her to speak with her sister before heading over to the Guardians. "Thanks for everything," I said, somewhat awkwardly.

"Don't mention it," grumbled Bunny.

"Jack, you could have called for us at any time," North said.

"I know, it's just-"

"We would not have cared about the family. They are very nice," he continued.

"Even if it might be one of your stupidest decisions," Bunny added. Tooth elbowed him.

"Yeah, about that..." I chuckled nervously. "I thought you might say something about it, but there's actually a lot of explaining to do about my family. I think you should meet them first, though." I turned around to introduce them, but I noticed Elsa looking deep in thought.

"Love. An act of true love broke the curse," she muttered, pacing back and forth. Finally, her eyes brightened, and a sweet smile spread across her face, the most beautiful I had ever seen on her. "That's it! Love!" Elsa raised her arms up, and to everyone's astonishment, the snowflakes all traveled upward, heading back into the sky. The fjord began to melt, freeing all of the ships. We all headed back to shore and marveled as the snow and ice collected into one giant snowflake in the air before bursting in a flash of blue light. Summer was returned!

Rapunzel danced over to my side and leaned her head against my shoulder. "I know this might not be the best time for this, but we never did get to do the lighting of the lanterns," she whispered in my ear. I nearly smacked my forehead. In all the excitement, we had completely forgotten.

I turned to my fellow Guardians. "I don't suppose you'd want to stay for the after-party?" I was answered with enthusiastic nods.

The whole kingdom went to work preparing for the night's events, gossiping all day long about what had happened that morning. Elsa was forgiven, though there were still some who resented her. Midway through the day, she issued a formal apology before heading down to the town to work on the decorations herself. The streets never looked better with their new icicle and snowflake ornaments glittering all around and frost patterns decorating the cobblestones. I hung around the Guardians, flying around with Tooth and Sandy to re-hang the banners, explaining the entire time.

"You see, when I found Rapunzel, she was being locked away in a tower by a witch who wanted to hoard her powers. Rapunzel's hair has magical healing powers, a gift from a flower created by a drop of sunlight that her mother consumed before she was born, but if her hair is ever cut, it turns brown and loses all of its power. The witch stole her from her crib in the castle so that she could use her hair to stay young and beautiful forever while raising Rapunzel as her own daughter. Well, you can figure out the rest of the story from there. I stumbled upon her tower one day (freaked her out quite a bit), figured out the whole mess, and we fell in love, had two daughters, and lived happily ever after...until just a few days ago, that is."

Tooth perked up at my story. "What you're saying is...you've found someone who can live forever like you? That's wonderful!" Tooth hugged me, nearly dropping her end of the banner.

"Maybe. There's never been anyone like her before, so it's not like we know for sure about the effects her powers will have on herself, but I know that if my daughters wish it, we can keep them with us for as long as they like. That's why I didn't want you saying anything to Anna just yet. We haven't really had the time to explain everything to her."

"That makes much more sense. I knew you would not be so stupid," North proclaimed. Bunny rolled his eyes.

"You didn't have to shut us out because of all of this, though," Bunny said. "We would've understood."

"Yeah, I realize that now. I just wanted to keep everyone safe, but I guess I went about it in the worst possible way."

Sandy gave me an expression that said, You think? We all laughed. It was good to be with my friends again. They were my first family. Having them here just felt right. My life felt whole again.

The sun seemed to set much too quickly, and after dancing in the courtyard to a happy tune, Rapunzel allowing children to braid her long hair, and Elsa starting up a snowball fight with Anna, our family headed up to the balcony that overlooked the kingdom where not one, but three lanterns awaited us. The center one had Rapunzel's sun emblem painted on, but the other two had very different designs. The one on the left that Elsa walked towards was decorated with snowflakes. The one on the right was for Anna, and it was decorated with hearts. Rapunzel and our daughters walked to the railing, each with a lantern in hand, so Rapunzel could address the kingdom.

"I'd like to finish the lost princess celebration, even though it may seem a little late. Today is a joyous day, not just for the kingdom and the return of summer, but to me personally. Today, we not only celebrate the day that I was returned to my home, we celebrate the return of two other lost princesses, my daughters Princess Elsa and Princess Anna!" There was a roar from the crowd, and Rapunzel proceeded to remove the weight from her lantern before casting it into the sky. Anna and Elsa did the same, and the three lanterns danced like stars into the night.

Looking down, we saw the townspeople begin to light their own lanterns, and a warm, sunny glow spread throughout the kingdom, starting from the base of the castle and traveling all the way down to the water. It reminded me of the healing light from Rapunzel's hair when she sang. I looked over to her and saw her eyes filled with awe and wonder at the sight, just as they had been the very first time I had taken her to see these lights before she knew of her royal status. I smiled and kissed her on the cheek, and we stood together for a while, basking in the glow of all the lanterns. Not too much later, though, I noticed that Anna and Elsa had disappeared from our side.

I glanced over the balcony edge and caught sight of them by the parting of the crowd in their wake. Elsa had her sister by the arm, and Anna had managed to grab Kristoff along the way. Elsa was leading them through the endless sea of lights to the fjord. I flew after them, high enough so that they wouldn't notice me. Anna and Kristoff protested, but Elsa raced straight to the water, and where her feet touched, it froze over, just enough ice for them to stand on. She led them forward until they were in the middle of the fjord, amidst the hundreds of lanterns. They stood together to marvel at the sight, batting away lanterns whenever they came too close. I settled on the bough of a nearby ship and was joined by Tooth moments later.

"You know," she began after a moment of silence. "I double-checked after you left, just to be sure, but his teeth weren't there. Like I said, he was before my time."

"It was a long shot, I guess," I said, shrugging.

"Why so interested in Pitch's past?" she wondered. I frowned.

"It was something he said a long time ago about family. When he went after mine, I was just wondering if there was a connection, but I guess it doesn't matter now."

"I guess not, but you know that he'll be back eventually."

"I'm not afraid anymore."

"Good. Well, I should probably be getting back. The palace is a mess after that storm. Um, Jack?"

"What?"

Tooth pointed over to where Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff stood. I just barely caught the end of their conversation. "You still owe me a kiss," Anna was saying to Kristoff.

"Nope!" I flew over between them, and after fishing a very cold Kristoff out of the fjord a moment later and dealing with an irritated Anna, we were all laughing together again.

Together again. Never to be parted.

I found the moon through the mass of lanterns overhead and thanked him silently.

(The End! I know. I'm sad it's over too. Thank you for all of the love along the way [Jeezum crow, I'm on a wiki? Cool!], but this doesn't mean you can stop reviewing! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story, what you liked, what you thought could be better, etc. I think I tied up any loose ends, but if I didn't, be sure to let me know. Message me or something if you have questions. Keep a look out for a new RotG fic I have on the way, and be sure to watch me on deviantart for some art on any scenes you liked in this fic. I will take requests on what to draw. Kay, I love you, buh-bye! For now!)