The Princess & The Fox

(A/N) This is loooong over due. This is a fanfic for the lovely perksofhavinga-doublechin on tumblr who asked for a fluffy one-shot. I promised this months ago and I am foreversorry for the delay! Life, college, work are to blame.

Anyways. This story is basically a spin-off of one of my favourite stories The Princesss and the Frog and was inspired a little bit by Disney's' version of it. For those of you that don't know the original story, shame on you (I joke! I love you really!) it's about a young princess who is out playing with a golden ball that falls into a pond. A frog offers to get it for her, only if she will love him, allow him to eat off her golden plate and sleep in her bed. After that he turns into handsome prince and the two are wed. cliché, I know. Buuuuut I like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or Frozen. If I did they'd be getting married an we'd all be invited to the wedding. xx

'I do not want your pearls, and jewels, and fine clothes; but if you will love me, and let me live with you and eat from off your golden plate, and sleep on your bed, I will bring you your ball again.'

Brothers Grimm

The Princess and the Frog

Good. Well behaved. Polite. Perfect. All were words used to describe the eldest princess of two, Elsa, daughter of the proud King and Queen of the beautiful lands of Arendelle. Elsa never really thought of herself as all of these things, or at least, not all the time.

For sometimes, on rare occasions, she indulged in letting loose the mischievous, cheeky spirit hiding beneath the perfect girl exterior. She'd cause a little mischief, a bit of mayhem here and there. The best part was, and it was probably the reason people still used those five words to describe her, was that she never got caught.

She was a master of putting on an innocent facade. All it really took was a few bats of her long eyelashes, a simple, tender smile, and small tilt of her head that would send her braid cascading over her shoulder. If asked if she had been responsible for whatever chaos had been unleashed, she would shrug her shoulders, and shake her head, offering up a small apology for their inconvenience at whatever had occurred. And no one would be any the wiser. It was a rare day when she was asked if she had been directly responsible for any form of disorder as no one would usually ever even contemplate that the perfect little girl would have involved herself in any form of trouble. It was an impossible thought. Completely inconceivable.

Elsa grinned at the thought. Silly people. As the saying goes, it's the quiet ones you have to watch out for.

Those precious trouble making days though, were long behind her. She wasn't a carefree little girl anymore. She was a nine year old who had the weight of the world on her two little shoulders. No longer did she have free range throughout the castle, instead she was confined to her room, least she endanger those she held dear with the frightful power lurking within her. A power to bring forth the elements of winter; snow and ice. Anything she touched would freeze instantly. If she was angry or upset the temperatures would drop, sometimes to such a degree that the entire room would freeze over in a layer spiralling ice. Her emotions would often call upon the snow to descend from above, covering everything in the cold white powder.

For the first few years the powers had always brought her great amusement and wonder. Back then it had seemed like a gift from the heavens. She and her younger sister had plenty of fun with it. Filling the room with endless piles and heaps of snow that they could use to build snowmen or snow angels. Elsa would often freeze over the floors, letting the girls skid about in their socks. Elsa smiled fondly as remembered all those times her powers had granted her sister and herself such loving memories.

It had been those very powers, however, which had once brought so much fun and adventure into the two girls lives, that had almost stolen away Anna's life. Forever destroying their bond.

Ever since that day everything had changed.

Gloves were now her armour, her way to protect everything from her icy touch. Her room was her sanctuary, a place were she could be safe and kept away from those that she could hurt. The moon was now her only companion, every night she would watch it, watch it as it changed from it's crescent form to the full round beacon. There were nights though, when the moon wasn't faithful and vanished completely from the starry skies. Those were days when her heart was filled with the greatest loneliness, longing and a desperate desire for freedom. Even the moon itself didn't seem to be constantly bound to the sky, and yet here she was, forever chained to her room.

It was on one of those nights, when those feeling were highest, did the mischievous, trouble making, carefree, adventure loving spirit break free.

And broke the rules.

It was midnight when she slipped out of her room, her little silver ball that she and Anna had often played with tucked safely under her arm. Cautiously, she made her way down the darkened hallways, her only light the dull yellow glow from her little lantern that she held in front of her.

It took her awhile to get out of the castle, due to trying to avoid any squeaks that the wooden floorboards would make. Every time she did step on a squeak the sound was deafening and she couldn't help but fear that had awoken the entire kingdom. But after a few breaths, and with no guards ambushing her, she would carry on, the unbearable excitement urging her forward.

Once outside she made her way through the village, staying in the shadows to avoid the guards. Eventually she made her way through to the near by forest at the side of the mountain. After a short walk down an old familiar dirt path she found a small open space with a vine ridden, ruined old well with a small broken bucket lying beside it. It was here that she and her sister had often came to bring forth the snow and would sleigh down the side of the mountain. It was one of her favourite places. And little did she know, that it would soon be the place where her destiny would change.

And so, under the protective gaze of the stars, Elsa played with her ball. Kicking and tossing it in the air, laughing giddily as she chased after it. Throwing the ball up high, she summoned her powers, creating a ramp of ice for the ball to travel down and around her.

Behind her a twig snapped, startling her. She gasped turning around to find nothing there. How strange... she was sure she had heard a twig sna-

Splash!

Elsa, mouth gaping and heart thudding wildly, twirled around again to face the small well behind her. She may not have known what had created the snapping sound, but the splashing sound she had no doubts of what it could be. Her silver ball had fallen into the well!

"Oh no!" Elsa gasped.

She raced over, placing her hands on the edge of the well's wall and peering down into the darkness where she saw the faint glimmer of her ball reflecting in the waters surface a good few feet down. With the bucket system broke, there was no way she could retrieve it. It was lost. Trapped within the well.

"No, no, no! That was our favourite ball!" Elsa cried, a veil of trembling tears forming in her eyes.

"Hello princess, have you lost something?" a soft, smiling male voice said.

Elsa looked up, startled. Sitting across from her on the well wall was a beautiful white fox, it's bushy tail curled up around itself, hiding its tiny furry paws from view. It titled its head, its ears flopped over as it took in the sight of the little girl through curious icy blue eyes.

The princess blinked.

"Did... did you just... did you talk?" she asked hesitantly.

The fox titled its head to the other side and said nothing.

Elsa shook her head. "Oh dear now I'm hearing things."

With a soft smile she made her way over to the other end of the well. Without fear she petted the creature, stroking her hand from the tip of it's neck down the length of its back. The fox closed its eyes, treasuring the display of affection. "Your fur is beautiful and soft Mr Fox."

"Why thank you" The fox replied, smiling.

Elsa screamed, falling backwards and landing on ground. The fox jumped from fright, it's fur standing on edge and ears perked. "Why princess are you alright?"

"You... you" Elsa stammered, scampering backwards and pointing a shaky finger accusingly at the fox. "You... you did speak! You! A Fox! You spoke!"

The fox snorted, rolling its eyes. "And your point is?"

"Foxes don't speak!"

"And little girls don't normally have ice magic to wield either."

Too shay. The fox did have a point. Though it didn't make the revelation any less bazaar for the young girl. With a shaky breath Elsa asked "What... what do you want?"

The fox let out a yawn, stretching it's paws along the wall and arching its back in an almost cat like movement. After it finished it's stretch it shook its head, gracefully leaping off the wall and making its way over to the petite blonde. Elsa responded by scooting back further, her eyes wide and never leaving the oncoming fox.

The fox saw the fear alight in the little girls eyes and slowed its movements, instead opting for taking smaller, slower steps so as not to frighten her. The fox approached her as though she were some fragile creature that he could easily scare away if he wasn't careful.

"You don't have to be scared. I wont hurt you, princess" the fox said gently.

Elsa nodded weakly, not truly trusting what the fox had to say. For all she knew it could be some sort of demon or evil spirit that wished her harm. After all, despite what he had said, where she was brought up, foxes certainly weren't known for their conversational skills. This was no normal fox, that she was sure of. She had to be wary of him for sure.

"My names Jack. Jack Frost" the fox said, bowing lowly to the ground. "I know that Arendelle has two princesses so which are you? Anna or Elsa?"

"Elsa" she replied quietly, her voice shaking.

"Well Elsa, I have a proposition for you. Are you willing to hear me out?" Jack asked, making his way over to her before sitting down, his tail swaying behind him.

Elsa narrowed her eyes. "What kind of deal?"

Jack looked over his shoulder towards the well. "You lost your ball. I can go get it for you if you like?"

A spark of hope of retrieving her beloved ball lit up within Elsa. The tears in her eyes vanished, replaced with a glimmer of hope. "You... you could do that?"

Jack nodded.

A thought occurred to the little girl then. Her mother had always warned her never to be too trusting, least she be taken advantage of. When she would one day take over the throne there would be many who would seek out her trust and favour all in order to achieve their own means. Trust was something that she should never give out so freely. It had to be earned. And even then it could be lost in a blink of an eye.

Through narrowed eyes Elsa asked, "What do you want in return?" After all, there was always a catch.

A sly smirk appeared on the foxes lip. "Smart girl. All I ask for is two things. First off, I would like a kiss and second for our hands to be fastened when you're of age. Does that sound fair?"

Elsa's frowned, her brow furrowing. It seemed a reasonable enough request.

'A mere kiss and my hand fastened with a ribbon around his. What harm could that possibly bring?' Elsa reasoned, completely unaware of the true meaning of hand fastening.

To the young girl, the demands seemed fair and hardly worth batting an eyelash over. The ball was so precious to her, it had been gift from Anna on her seventh birthday. It held many dear and fond cherished memories of a time when she had been free and had been able to be with her sister. To Elsa the ball was priceless. It was a reminder of her sisterly bond. It was what she looked at to remind herself why she locked herself away, to reminder that she was doing the right thing. So what was a kiss and a hand fastening to her?

"Okay, I accept" Elsa said, raising to her feet and brushing off the dirt from her dress.

Jack bowed and swiftly dived down into the well. Elsa waited patiently, nervously biting on her lower lip. Was the fox really capable of getting her her ball back?

The second the thought had crossed her mind her silver ball was tossed out of the well. It bounced along the ground before finally coming to rest at her feet. Elsa's face lit up and she let out a giddy giggle, picking up her beloved ball and hugging it tightly.

A horn roared across the lands, causing Elsa to jump. It had come from the castle, meaning her absence had been discovered. Heavens only knows how worried her parents would be. A twinge of fear settled in her, causing her stomach to churn. She was going to be in so much trouble for sneaking out! She had to get home quickly.

"Mr Jack Frost!" Elsa called out down the well.

The fox leapt out from the well, landing on the wall in front of her. He shook himself wildly, freeing off all the water that had collected in his fine fur and soaking the young princess who cried out in surprise.

"Oops, sorry" Jack laughed, using his paw to pat down the fur sticking out at odd angels atop his head.

"Sir I am terribly sorry, but I must leave. I am afraid everyone has noticed that I'm no longer in the castle and if I don't get back soon I'll be in an awful amount of trouble" Elsa explained, clutching her ball tighter.

"Very well, but if you don't mind I would like you to keep your end of the bargain" Jack said with a flick of his tail.

Elsa looked at the fox, a red flush covering her cheeks. Well she had promised, hadn't she? Sucking in a deep breath, she puckered up her lips and planted a soft kiss atop Jack's little button nose. It was damp, a soft layer of wetness sticking to it. Elsa pulled back instantly and let out a distasteful yelp.

"Your nose is wet!" Elsa scoffed, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

"What did you expect?" Jack shrugged his little fox shoulders.

It suddenly began to snow. Elsa looked up in alarm. It was mid July. It shouldn't be snowing. The small flurries slowly sauntered to the ground, quickly covering everything in a soft blanket of beautiful, glowing snow. The leaves on the trees were rapidly encased in a thin layer of ice, allowing them to capture and reflect the twinkling stars above.

"Wow. It really is beautiful" Elsa smiled, allowing herself to acknowledge the rare beauty that he powers could bring if she let them.

"It sure is" Jack said.

Elsa frowned. His voice sounded different. A tad deeper than before. Turning, and for the second time that night, she let out a loud scream.

Gone was the white fox, with a bushy tail, and damp black nose. In its place was a young man with shockingly white hair as white as freshly fallen snow, pale white skin, and eyes as deep and blue as the purest of glaciers. He wore a brown tattered cape, brown trousers and white shirt. On his feet her bore no shoes. The boy smiled at her, and leapt down from where he had been sitting on the wall.

He approached the princess, kneeling down beside her. "Thank you, my dear Elsa."

"How did you do that?" Elsa gasped. "You... you were a fox but a second ago!"

"That I was" Jack smiled, with a fox like tilt of his head. "Many years ago an evil wizard named Pitch cast a spell on me. A kiss from a pure hearted princess would be the only way to break it."

Elsa's eyes widened as she looked up at the young man in wide-eyed wonder. "So the curse is broken now?"

Jack's smile faltered for a second and sadly he shook his head. "Not yet. But it will be once you keep the rest of your promise."

Elsa frowned. Oh! The hand fastening.

"Oh sure that! I'll do that. When will we-"

"Princess Elsa!" Elsa heard her father's voice shout from the distance. She could distantly hear the thunder of horse hooves across the ground, followed by a series of voices calling her name and title. Elsa gulped. She was in deep, deep, deep trouble!

"I have to go. Will I see you again?" Elsa asked, timidly twisting her hands together.

Jack smiled and gently taking one of her hands, softly, he placed a kiss upon her knuckles, earning him a light blush of red on Elsa's cheeks. "I promise. You will. Just wait."

And with that he left. Elsa never saw him again until the day of her twenty-second birthday.

(A/N) In some versions of the tale the ball is gold but seeing as silver's more, for lack of a better word, wintry, I chose that. Also hand fastening is a type of marriage xx

Just a little one-shot. I hope you liked it and thank you taking the time to read it. I had planned to make this a two-shot, the second chapter being Jack and Elsa's reunion but I opted to leaving it here and letting you interpret it how you will xx I might, key word might, do a sort of spin off of this idea. I've already got some of it written down. In that version it would be Elsa who gets turned into a fox as a result of Bulda and Kristoff. After being turned into a fox she runs away from the castle and is rescued by, you guessed it, Jack Frost. xx

P.S Sorry for any spelling and grammar mistakes. I'll try and fix them later if I have time xx