Me: I don't own Frozen or the Rise of the Guardians!

Chapter 28

The doctors began tending to Elsa while Jack sat quietly on the window sill in Elsa's room. He looked at the blue coloured wallpaper that seemed to glow for spring while Elsa lay motionlessly in bed. He looked at the plants on the windowsill which had sprouted to life, shining its vibrant colours throughout the room. However, Jack paid no heed to those and instead looked at the midnight blue coloured canopy bed where Elsa lay. He saw Anna and Kristoff looking eagerly and anxiously at Elsa's unmoving body. Elsa? Dead? Jack shook his head; why was he entertaining such thoughts? He spat out in annoyance before looking out the window again. Elsa couldn't die; she was only 21 years old! Then again, the guardian of fun reasoned with himself. He died early as well but that was because he had to save his sister from falling into the freezing pool beneath them that day. Jack's fists clenched tightly until his knuckles turned white as he looked back at Elsa while the healers were trying to figure out what was wrong with her.

"As far as we know, Your Highness," the doctor shook his head at Anna. "We have no idea what is wrong with her. Physically, she seems fine. It's as if she's simply asleep."

Anna nodded and looked warily at her sister's body. "Okay, thank you…"

Kristoff nodded and saw the doctor's out as Jack flew over to the queen's body. Elsa's breathing was soft and calm as she seemingly remained still. The guardian of fun bit his lower lip anxiously and gently placed his hand on top of Elsa's. As her champion, he was supposed to protect her from everything. But, now – he didn't even know what was happening to her. She suddenly just swooned over and collapsed after removing all the snow from Arendelle. Maybe it was too much for her, Jack asked himself before shaking his head. If that was too much for her, she wouldn't have even created an army of ice and snow elementals to march through the city. Heck, the dragon that she had conjured as well would have taken out a whole lot more.

"This doesn't make any sense," Jack growled. "How could this happen? She was just fine when we were fighting Pitch!"

"Maybe she just needs some sleep, Jack," Anna offered cheerfully with a soft laughter. "After all, it's not everyday that we have a crazy, evil shadow monster stomping through Arendelle, right?"

The guardian of fun nodded before hanging his head, burying his face into his hands. "Yeah… and that crazy, evil shadow monster only stomped through Arendelle because I let it through…"

Anna could see the guilt flash through Jack's icy blue eyes. The guardian of fun had pulled his hood over his head while stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. He slumped down to the ground with his staff falling and clattering beside him. She knew he only wanted to protect her and Elsa. It was a duty that was assigned to him by their father. But his feelings had grown way past that; he had fallen in love with Elsa. She could see that clear as day. Who else would always believe that the real Elsa was just hidden behind the evil Dark Elsa that had taken control of Arendelle for the last few hours? Who else would be willing to defy Elsa to tell her what was going on? Most of all, who else would accept Elsa not just as a queen but also as his equal? Nowadays, she figured that was one thing men seemed to lack. However, her eyes glanced over to Kristoff who probably only had two divisions in his mind: humans and reindeers. And maybe trolls, she giggled to herself. Suddenly, she felt warm hands drop onto her shoulder and found Kristoff holding onto her.

"…She will be okay," Anna asked and looked to Kristoff for reassurance. "Right?"

Kristoff nodded. "She has Jack with her. Maybe we should –."

Suddenly, a weak voice called from the bed. "… Anna?"

Everyone swivelled their heads to the bed as Elsa weakly sat up. The guardian of fun launched himself from his sitting position and ran to the queen's side. Elsa smiled weakly at Jack and gently brushed her fingers against his cheek. She looked also at her sister who had seemingly leaned into Kristoff. So, they did each find themselves something in the end. Although she wasn't entirely sure about Kristoff, he had gone through the ordeal with Anna. She looked around to see the loving and warm faces she had always wanted to see as the door opened to reveal the other guardians. They had helped protect Arendelle. They did things that she didn't. But there was something else bugging her…

"Um," Elsa looked around. "Where's Olaf?"

They all looked at one another before scattering throughout the castle. Elsa ran through each and every room, looking for the funny snow man. North went through the chimneys where as E. Aster Bunny went through holes that led from the garden to the other rooms. Toothania checked under the pillows, Anna threw closets open while Kristoff went looking under tables and behind curtains. Jack soared in the air to see if he could get a bird's eye view before realizing there was one last place they all didn't check.

"Have you guys checked the ref," Jack asked.

Elsa froze and bolted towards the kitchen with the rest of the people running after her. They ran to the kitchen to open the refrigerator where the chef and the sous-chefs could only look in distraught. Olaf sat in the freezer with a sheepish smile, desperately trying to keep all his body parts in one place. Elsa and the others couldn't help but watch in amusement at Olaf trying to squeeze himself into the freezer.

"Um," Olaf laughed sheepishly and shrank. "Haha… I'm sorry?"

Elsa sighed and stepped aside. "I have an idea for you, Olaf!"

Olaf, puzzled, stepped out as Elsa began to whip around a small cloud and soon made Olaf a snowing cloud right over him. The snowman was giddy with delight, jumping around and grinning like a mad man. Elsa couldn't help but smile as well. She looked at all the people in the kitchen and all the lives that she had been a part of around her. However, her eyes couldn't help but wander towards Jack who smiled at her. She walked towards him with both their eyes meeting. His icy blue eyes swam in the sea of Elsa's lavender ones as they closed in on one another. People smiled expectantly for them to kiss but instead Elsa melted into a hug and buried her face into his neck. Jack however didn't show any disappointment unlike the onlookers. He closed his eyes and buried his nose into her pale blonde hair, relishing the smell of sweet snow.

"Well, things did turn out well in the end," Jack smiled.

Elsa nodded. "Yes, it sure did."

The two wielders of ice and snow realized then how close their faces were to one another. Elsa, blushing a bit, looked at the audience she had suddenly garnered but Jack had shielded her eyes with his palm so that she wouldn't have to be so cautious. She looked at the boy who had taught her how to use his powers. He hadn't aged one bit but that wasn't really her concern. Her main concern was more that there was something tempting her to press on forward. The chefs gasped as Jack and she closed in to the very thing they were all waiting for: a kiss. She ignored the chefs watching and she melted into Jack's arms. Quite ironic for someone who was supposed to be the guardian of ice and snow. His kiss set her on fire, lighting up the sweet passion and causing her heart to slowly beat. She could feel their heartbeats synchronize as one and Jack had his fingers undoing her braids so her wavy platinum blonde hair would just fall down to her shoulders.

"Well, well, mate," Bunnymund snickered and folded his arms. "You're turning up the heat. Careful, ya might melt yerself."

Jack pulled away from Elsa, although loathing in doing so. "What? Gonna be a voyeur or something, Bunny?"

"No thanks, mate. You and Elsa can go off to make your little running snowmen while we manage Arendelle."

Jack chuckled at the implications before looking at Elsa. However, he looked up once more when he saw a small strand turning grey on Elsa's pale blonde hair. That hadn't been there before, the guardian of fun mused to himself. But seeing Elsa's smiling face, he didn't want to stress her out. Instead, he gave her a gentle peck on the lips once again before holding her in his arms tightly.

Must be the stress, he thought to himself.

Unfortunately for him, it was way more than that.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Years passed as Arendelle blossomed. People returned to the city and business began to explode. Jack flew around the city amongst the clouds, watching the citizens live their lives throughout Arendelle. He saw the remnants of the destruction that Pitch had caused. The forest that he had fled to could no longer be touched by the sun. The forest leaves had withered and died, the grounds turned black and the branches cracked off with a simple tap. Jack landed right in front of the forest, staying away from the darkness. He looked into the dark hole only to see someone stepping right in front of him.

"Hello, Jack," Pitch smirked.

"Still here," Jack scoffed and folded his arms.

"Well, with the guardians being more linked – obviously, I would have to find one place to stay."

Jack nodded; many of the holidays had slowly began converting into guardians. One of them was a little witch they knew as Halloween. She was Jack's partner in crime as the guardian of fun and always loved playing pranks. The only problem Jack had with her was her incredibly short attention span when it came to candy. The Leprechaun had his base in Ireland (for obvious reasons) and, many others. He even met the guardian of the Mid-Autumn Festival of China. A pale young woman with a kind smile and even the Japanese deities had offered to lend a hand to the guardians. Children had begun believeing but not just them, even adults! He heard from North that Christmas had suddenly so many believers that when he returned back to his hideout, his sled had rocket boosters and his reindeers had grown stronger. Toothania's memory library had expanded and even Bunnymund's home for Easter Eggs had grown double its original size.

The guardian of fun could only shrug. "That's what happens when we world travel."

"No kidding," Pitch spat spitefully while hissing at the appearance of the sun. "Now worlds know you."

"Well, you could be known too."

"Yes but not feared! Being feared and known are two different things!"

The guardian of fun shook his head; Pitch hadn't changed despite his loss. However, he could see that despite all the bitterness – Pitch didn't seem the least bit contrite. It was then, he realized that there was something he had been wanting to ask the guardian of Fear.

"Pitch, there's something I wanted to ask," Jack suddenly said.

Now it was the guardian of fear's turn to be puzzled. "What is it?"

"Elsa… Whenever she uses her power," Jack glanced at Pitch. "You did more than just make it fear based, didn't you?"

Pitch shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever do you mean, Jack? All I did was make her power stronger by giving it an emotion to feed off…"

Jack looked at him in disbelief, raising an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Or maybe there might be some things that ended up there," Pitch waved his hand dismissively. "Like, heightened stress levels, increased heart rate, infliction of paranoia…"

It was then Jack wasted no time in launching himself and pinning Pitch to the ground. "What!?"

The moment Jack entered the forest, his ice blue eyes turned gold and his hair turned jet black. Pitch crashed on the forest floor as he looked up in surprise at the black haired guardian of fun. He had never expected Jack to suddenly gain so much power. Pitch shook his head; if he knew Jack could have gotten infected with his own Fear-based abilities, he would have done it long ago! Now, he was now lying down on the forest floor and facing the wrath of the guardian of fun. Although he was not sure what Nightmare Jack's version of Fun was, he definitely knew that he did not want to be on the receiving end.

"It's probably side-effects, Jack," Pitch shrugged before sneering at him. "After all, she's just human…"

It was then Jack suddenly returned back to his normal self. "… What?"

"Jack, it's damn common sense," Pitch wanted to facepalm, although he couldn't since Jack had pinned his arms to the ground. "Humans don't live forever and many things can affect how long they live. Depression, sickness, cancer… life-draining powers…"

The guardian of fun let go of Pitch as he staggered back, shaking his head in fear. "Elsa's powers…"

"She's been using it quite carelessly," Pitch shrugged before grinning darkly. "I think you already saw the damage it inflicted on her…"

It was then Jack remembered the grey strand on her hair 2 years ago when she had embraced him the kitchen. That grey strand that he thought was caused purely by stress. That strand of hair wasn't there before and he remembered the multiple hair colour changes Elsa had gone through. He also remembered the huge blizzard that plagued the city and the multiple ice elementals that stomped through the city and terrorized the town people. All that energy she had expelled – it must have taken out more than just days off her life! However, the one that he remembered most was the time that she made her icy citadel on the top of the mountain. All those countless times he had trained her, her powers had been eating out of her all the time!

"It was a bit of a side effect for her to suddenly get afflicted with depression and paranoia," Pitch waved his hand dismissively while dusting his black coat. "But oh well… what are you gonna do now, Jack? I don't think she's just going to believe you…"

Jack bit his lower lip and looked at the citadel from the difference. That could explain why Elsa had aged way faster than he had expected. It also explained why she had been restrained to her bed all this time. He remembered how her face had withered into a weakened smile instead of her vibrant one. She had been using her ice powers to make winter bearable for the townspeople and now, she was paying the ultimate price. Looking back, Jack let go of Pitch and immediately flew back to the citadel. Pitch looked up and watched to see Jack's fading figure with a bitter smile. He was one of the eldest of the guardians and he was the Sandman himself once. He knew what it was like to lose a loved one…

"Not all happy endings have to be physical, Jack," he muttered before turning away. "After all, even I wasn't lonely in the end…"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

When Jack flew into one of the open windows of the citadel, he zoomed past the maids. They yelped as he shouted a loud "sorry!" before making his way to the queen's room. He clenched his fists tightly; why couldn't he see that this was happening? Why did he just brush it off? The weight of his guilt crushed him as he found himself in front of a white door with ice crystals painted to it. He softly landed and pressed his hand against the Aspen wood door. He heaved and panted in front of the door while trying to calm his heart from pounding against his chest. What if Elsa knew and she would hate him for not telling her? He should have known!

Jack, it isn't your fault…

A soft voice echoed in his mind as he bitterly pushed the door opened. When he opened the door, there he saw Anna and Kristoff standing by Elsa's bed side. The doctor was already gathering his things and leaving. It hurt to see Elsa like this. Despite being a spirit, he could still feel the tears dripping and forming in his eyes. His heart sank to his stomach as he uneasily crept towards Elsa's side. Her skin was no longer vibrant but instead it was old and wrinkled. He could see the veins protruding from her skin and her hair had completely turned silver. He knelt by her side and held her hand. Her grip that once held him tightly for help and teamwork was nothing more than what her gentle touches used to be.

"Jack," she hoarsely whispered with a smile.

Jack shook his head with tears. "I-I'm so sorry…"

Elsa shook her head and brushed away a tear from his eye. "It's not your fault. You've been such a great champion for all these years. Arendelle became a beautiful place because of you…"

"It wasn't just me," Jack protested and held her hand tightly with both hands. "Even you…"

"I just hope what I've done in the last two years can atone for what I've done," Elsa then turned to her sister and Kristoff. "Anna, after this… you will become queen of Arendelle…"

Anna nodded.

The queen turned to Kristoff and smirked. "And you, you'll have to take care of my sister. After all, you won't just be Arendelle's ice master anymore…"

Kristoff nodded with a smile. "I promise, Elsa."

She then turned to Jack with a soft smile. "Jack…"

The guardian of fun tensed; he could feel her energy slowly slipping away.

"Thank you for always being there. I know I was a bit of a handful. But you've been my champion until the very end. You taught me everything I knew about my ice powers. I'm glad you've been with me for everything. Even in the times, I wasn't myself. I just wished there was a way for me to say everything easily but it's," – tears started forming in her eyes. "But it's the truth and it sounds so sappy…"

Jack laughed softly and kissed her forehead. "It's alright. There's nothing wrong with saying how you really feel…"

"I guess so," Elsa whispered and pulled him closer into the tightest hug she could muster.

He wrapped his arms gently around her frail body, half-afraid he would crush her. He could feel her arms shivering from the cold that his body was emitting while feeling the warmth that was slowly vanishing from her body. He watched the sun slowly begin to set as Kristoff and Anna watched them say goodbye. As much as he wanted time alone, he knew he wasn't in any position to demand that out of Anna and Kristoff. He just kept Elsa's body close to his, praying that she had another day. However, what she did next was what caught him off guard. It was then that she asked him a question that he had long answered before…

"Will you be here, Jack? Will you always be with me?"

Jack smiled and although her eyes fluttered shut, he was pretty sure that her hearing was still there. In death, he knew that the senses went away slowly. Sight went first and then, taste, scent, touch and others. But he knew she didn't need those senses to perceive what he was going to do next. His hand held her cold limp hand and he rested his forehead against hers. With that, Jack leaned over and whispered his response.

"Always…"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Ten years later…

A six year old princess ran around the gardens while playing in front of her mother. She beamed and smiled happily until she noticed a small snowflake on the spring grass. She frowned; it wasn't supposed to be snowing yet! She cupped the snowflake in her hands before running back to her mother.

"Mama, mama, look what I found," the princess squealed in delight.

Queen Anna, now at her prime age of 29, looked at her daughter and squatted right in front of her. "What is that, sweetie?"

"It's a snowflake, mama," she beamed. "In the middle of spring!"

She stared in surprise and traced the snowflake in her hand. Where did her daughter find such a thing? She gently ran her fingers on the elaborate pattern on the snowflake before asking her daughter.

"Sweetie, where did you find this?"

The princess pointed behind her when Anna stood up. How could there be a snowflake in the middle of spring? She then followed to where her daughter had picked it up only to find a stone plate on the ground. It was then she realized she hadn't visited the place in a long time. A long sad sigh escaped her lips as she bent down to brush away the fallen leaves. There she saw Elsa's name plate. It was in Elsa's will that her funeral be kept simple and short. Arendelle mourned for her but she remembered that nobody mourned harder than the guardian of fun. It was then he had never been seen around Arendelle's castle. But she could still feel his presence; just that it was no longer what it used to be. However, she felt another presence – someone was smiling down at her. Anna looked up into the blue skies as a small snowflake touched her nose, as if reminding her of the fun she once had.

"… Welcome back, Elsa," Anna smiled bitterly and looked up.

The moment she looked up to the sky, it was then she could have sworn she saw Elsa and Jack sitting amongst the clouds smiling down at her.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

And that's the end of Tainted Ice! Sorry this took so long but thank you to those who reviewed. I'll still be posting fanfiction but I've been going to Inkitt now to write my original works. Please check it out, the link is in my profile! I'd be very honoured if you all gave your criticisms. I hope you enjoyed the story! Please don't forget to review!