When Anna first mentioned the Queen's Ball, I expected a night of awkward conversation and even more awkward dancing. I never thought that I would spend several hours ducking behind bushes and around distracted couples in an out-and-out snowball fight.

The sunlight has weakened, but not disappeared as the hours flew by. I am able to forget the world, I am able to forget everything while I play with my friends and the village children.

But the evening is far from over.

"Jack? What if someone sees us?" I lift the edge of the tablecloth and peek out. Couples dance past us, but all I see is the hems of colorful dresses and the polished shine of boots.

"They will see us if you don't stop lifting the tablecloth." Jack leans back against the leg of the table. "Besides, I doubt Anna would ever think to look under here."

I drop the tablecloth and try to find his face in the relative darkness. "It's not Anna I'm worried about."

"Then stop worrying. It won't help anything. It will only waste your time."

"I know." I sigh.

He holds his plate out to me. "Hungry?"

I scoot over to his side, my long dress getting in my way. "Oooh, chocolate."

"What's the use of sitting under a dessert table if you don't have dessert?" Jack grins. He sets the plate down between us.

The chocolate cheesecake looks delicious, but... "We don't have any forks."

"That's what fingers are for." Jack wiggles his hand in front of me. He picks up a cookie and takes a big bite. He chews so loudly that I am almost afraid that Anna will hear him.

My nose wrinkles at the thought of using my hands. I look down at my beautiful, spotless gloves.

Jack lifts an eyebrow. "You know...I could always feed you."

"Jack!" I push his shoulder.

He laughs quietly and pulls a fork out of his pocket. "I am kidding."

I snatch the fork from him. "You scoundrel! You had one all along."

"Of course I did. I know you, Elsa. You don't like getting your hands dirty and I respect that."

I finger the fork. I don't think that he is talking about chocolate cheesecake anymore. I lift my fork to my mouth. The cheesecake is even better than I imagined.

It doesn't take us long to finish off the plate of assorted desserts. I set my fork onto the empty plate and push it aside.

"Thank you, Jack."

He nods. For once, he's quiet. Perhaps his energy has finally been spent.

I should probably get back to the party. Anna will wonder where we have disappeared to. People might talk. But I don't want to leave, not yet.

I close my eyes and lean my head back. The music dances through the thin tablecloth and vibrates through my soul.

I know what magic is.

I've been cursed with ice powers since birth. I have seen trolls and fairies. I am haunted by the King of Nightmares and enchanted by the mischievous Spirit of Winter.

But there is a different kind of magic. One I never fully understood, but I think I am beginning to.

I know something that the old stories didn't teach me. Instead my parents and Anna taught me this truth.

Love is the greatest magic of all.

**

"I had fun today." My voice, as soft and quiet as it is, seems louder in the silence.

Jack shifts next to me. He doesn't look at me, he looks past me, as if his eyes can see past the tablecloth and garden. "I did too. I have fun every day."

Silence settles between us again.

I really should find my sister. I shift slightly, but before I can say anything, Jack finally speaks.

"When I am playing with the children, nothing else matters. Not my past or my questions. The world fades away and takes its troubles with it." Jack clenches his jaw. His voice tightens. "Everyone seems to think that I am selfish and irresponsible and maybe I am. But most of it is because I am trying to forget the fact that I cannot remember anything."

His words break through my walls. I have to tell him about Pitch. I touch his arm. "Jack, I-"

"It is okay, Elsa. I'm okay." He pulls his hand through his messy hair. "You don't have to say anything. It's not your fault."

"It's not yours either."