Jack finally connects his eyes with mine. The last bit of sunlight peeks through the tablecloth hanging around us. And the music softens and I know that soon the magical evening will come to an end. I can almost understand how Anna fell in love at a ball.

If I hold my breath, I can feel my heartbeat in my throat. And I wonder if my heart itself is stuck there, caught among all the other words that I want to say, but can't.

It is silly, isn't it? To think that I love him. To even hope that he might love me back.

For Anna, loving people has always been easy. But for me...I have too many locked doors, too many secrets. How can I love someone who doesn't truly know me? The truth is that I can't.

I do not love Jack Frost. I may be interested in him, I may even enjoy being around him, but that doesn't mean that I love him. We are complete opposites. He fills his time with fun and adventure and laughter, meanwhile all I do is worry. I try to be perfect, I really do, but I keep messing up.

If only I was as brave as I pretend to be, if only Jack could see me for who I want to be and not see who I am.

Sometimes, Jack reminds me of Anna. Bad things have happened to both of them, yet they have not forgotten what it means to be innocent and childlike. Maybe in their silliness and laughter, they have found something that I can never have.

Rules kept my life structured. But one weak moment and it all crumbled.

Shouldn't life be a balance of both? Both rules and fun, both logic and laughter? Maybe that is why Jack and I seem to fit together.

We balance each other. I keep him in check, or at least try to, and he reminds me that it is okay to loosen up and have some harmless fun every once in a while.

I shake my head. I sit back, increasing the space between us.

I can't think this way. It will only make it worse later, when I realize that reality rarely lines up with my dreams.

We might balance each other out and we might fit together, but that does not mean that we will actually be together.

First of all, Jack Frost does not love Queen Elsa of Arendelle. And secondly, the Snow Queen should know better than to fall for the Spirit of Winter.

But even though I know better, I still can't help the warmth that stirs inside my heart every time he is near.

**

Outside of our hiding place the music fades entirely and the crowd begins to clap.

I lean away from Jack, eager for a distraction. "What is going on?"

"Elsa, wait." Jack grabs my arm.

I pull away from him. "Come on." My voice sounds higher than normal.

Jack grunts. He mumbles something under his breath as we crawl out from under the table.

I pull myself up and look over the dessert table. What is everyone doing?

No one is dancing anymore. Instead they form a half-circle around one of the couples.

Jack stands directly behind me. "Is that Kristoff and Anna?"

My mouth falls open. I have to hear what they are saying. I step around the table.

Kristoff grabs Anna's hand and everyone claps.

I work my way around the edge of the crowd. Jack drifts behind me. At last I am close enough to hear what they are saying.

"I wish I could say that I fell in love with you the moment I saw you, but that would be a lie." Kristoff says. His cheeks are red, and so are Anna's. For the second time this night, my heart stops.

"When I first saw you in that Wandering Oaken's Trading Post, I didn't even know you. I didn't fall in love with you then, but now I fall in love with you every time you care for those around you, every time you stumble over your own feet. I want to spend the rest of my life hearing you laugh and watching you smile."

She smiles at him and lays her small hand on his shoulder.

Kristoff isn't proposing. He is announcing his love to all. His intentions are clear, but I know that he will give Anna the time she needs.

"Elsa." Jack points behind us. "I think that she has something for you."

"Who?" I turn around.

One of the maids holds out a silver serving plate with a letter folded in the middle of it. "This is for you."

"What is it?" Jack asks.

"I don't know. But it must be important if it cannot wait until later."

I pick up the letter. "Thank you." I dismiss the servant. I walk away from Jack and the crowd.

My fingers tremble as I open the letter. Who is it from? I sit down on a bench next to one of the fountains, not far from the dessert table where Jack and I hid from the world.

Even though I didn't ask him to, Jack sits down next to me.

I don't know what to say, so instead I ignore him.

I unfold the letter and look down at the very end.

It's from my cousin, Rapunzel.