I knew Jack! I just didn't remember him. That means that his family is somewhere in Arendelle.

I have to tell him! He needs to know! Oh, this is great news!

I turn toward Jack, my lips widening into a smile. He will be so pleased to hear this! I wonder...why would Pitch give me this information?

My stomach drops as does my smile.

Oh, no. Pitch.

There is no way I can tell Jack without telling him how I know. What will happen when the other guardians realize that Pitch is the one who told me about them?

I know I can trust them, but I am afraid of Pitch Black. He made it very clear that this is a secret I must keep.

"What is it?" Jack touches my arm, his fingers ice cold against my skin. But the cold never bothered me.

"Uh, nothing. Why do you ask?"

He frowns. "You looked like you were going to say something important."

"I wasn't." I lie, the cavern of emptiness widening inside me.

"As I was saying," North interrupts, "I realized that you cannot merely pick up a toy or item and use it to channel your power. It has to be something special."

I finger the end of my blonde braid. "Something special?"

"Yes." North grunts. "But I am not sure what. It was only an idea."

Jack's eyes skim over me, from my long braid to my simple day gloves and light red dress that brushes the ground with every step I take. Finally, he says, "Maybe it should be something that Elsa makes."

I tug at my gloves. "What could I make?" I look around North's workshop. "I'm not talented like North. I can't carve wood or create an ice sculptor."

"Yes you can." Jack crosses the distance between us. His hands, slightly larger than mine, wrap around my gloved fingers. "Your power, Elsa! With your power you can do anything."

That is actually a good idea. I tug my hands away from him. "Perhaps you are right." It seems right that I use my power to create the item that will help me control it.

North nods. "It is the best idea I have heard so far."

"Should I do it in here?"

"Why not?" Jack shrugs.

I scowl at him. "What if I get out of control?"

Jack shakes his head, the movement causing his hood to fall back. "You won't."

I wish I could be as sure as he is.

If Jack believes in me, then perhaps I should too.

I slip my gloves off and set them down on the table. This time my hands don't shake at all. I close my eyes and forget North, the needle in his pocket and the candles burning throughout his workshop. I forget Jack with his white hair and piercing blue eyes.

I don't picture anything in my head. I just hold out my bare, exposed hands and for the first time since the storm, I let go.

**

"Elsa? Elsa?" Jack nudges my shoulder.

I blink and look up into his blue eyes. With a start, I realize that his arms are around me.

I try to push away from him, but he will not let me go. Instead he holds me tighter.

"Wait, don't move yet. We have to make sure that you are okay."

"What happened?" I whimper. I don't feel sick or in pain or anything. "What did I do?"

Jack's breath stirs the top of my hair, his words soft and hesitant. "Uh, you did exactly as we asked."

I struggle away from him. The workshop looks like it did before, except that North is no longer here and outside the sun is significantly lower in the sky.

"Did I black out?" I ask.

"Yes." Jack stands next to me. "It all happened so fast. You held up your hands and closed your eyes, and the next thing I know you were lying on the ground."

I frown. "But I thought you said I had created my item. I don't see a staff or anything."

"Where are your gloves, Elsa?" Jack steps toward me.

What? I hold up my hands. "Right here."

"Exactly. Don't you remember? You took them off." He leans down and picks up my pair of simple gloves.

Only then do I realize that the pair I am wearing is entirely different from the one I had on before.

My mouth falls open.

My eyes trace over the long, slender gloves that stretch from the tips of my fingerprints to the edge of my elbow. The fabric is soft and silky; the color brilliant silver-blue. Tiny snowflakes are embroidered across the silk.

"This doesn't make sense. I made...gloves? I must have messed up."

"No, Elsa." Jack holds up one of my hands. His touch sends warmth through my icy veins. "You didn't make a mistake. I did."

I swallow and pull my hand out of his gentle touch. "What are you saying?"

Jack sighs and pulls his fingers through his messy white hair. "I thought that the gloves were holding you back. I didn't realize that you were already controlling your power with the gloves."

He locks his hands around his staff. "Those gloves are your staff, your weapon."

But why would I need a weapon, if we weren't in a war?