A/N  This is the Jelsa one-shot for the contest @hepburnettes is hosting. I hope you enjoy, and sorry it's so long XD JELSA FOR THE WIN! :)

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                 “Anna!” Elsa wailed, holding onto her frozen sister in a tight grip, as if Anna would suddenly get up and leave her.

                It was all her fault, her sister was frozen because of her. She couldn’t control her powers, and now Anna was gone. Forever.

                  “Anna?” Kristoff’s soft voice sounded behind Elsa, but she couldn’t stand to look at him. She couldn’t stand to look at anyone anymore. Anna was frozen, and it was all her fault. She wouldn’t allow herself to hurt anyone else, she couldn’t.

                Tears began to drip down her face, and Elsa hastily wiped them away, knowing what she must do.

                Ripping herself from Anna’s frozen form, Elsa ran. Ran blindly across the frozen lake, leaving Arendelle behind. She couldn’t bear the thought of being Queen anymore, not without Anna.

                                “Elsa, wait!” Kristoff shouted after her, but she ignored him, only casting one last glance back towards her sister. One solemn thought was contained in her mind as she ran.

                Goodbye Anna, I hope you know how much I love you, and that you know I won’t hurt anyone, not anymore.

                After stumbling around for a long while, she found herself on a familiar mountain. North Mountain. This was where she could live in isolation and not be in danger of harming anyone. She saw the ice castle she had built not too long ago, and bit her lip before shaking her head.

                No, someone like her didn’t deserve to live like that. Not in a castle, she wasn’t a queen anymore. She was a monster. She continued on her journey through the heavy snow.

                Trekking deeper into the mountains, Elsa eventually found the perfect spot to live alone, away from everyone and everything. She used her grief and guilt to raise walls of ice, taller than North Mountain itself. Taller than anything she could have ever dreamed of. She enclosed herself in the solid ice, and howled out her anger, howled out her pain in a storm of dreary sounds. Her emotions soon manifested itself as a storm of its own, a blizzard that raged on inside. Once she was in fully enclosed, she sat down in the center  of the icy cavern and sobbed.

                Sobbed for the loss of her sister.

                Sobbed for the mess she had caused.

                Sobbed for the grief she had caused everyone else.

                Little did Elsa know, the rabid snow storm that surrounded her was spreading outwards, not only casting Arenendelle in an eternal winter, but slowly freezing the entire world over.

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                “I need to summon the Guardians!” Santa bellowed, turning the handle to turn on the Northern lights. He watched as the colors shot up from the globe into the sky, and soon enough, the Guardians had arrived.

                “Oi Santa, what is it now?” Bunny grumbled, rubbing at his cold feet.

                “The globe,” Santa said, gesturing to the sphere behind him, “is freezing over.” In horror, the Guardians watched as ice slowly crept across the lands, inching its way across the surface from one spot.

                “Jack!” they all immediately cried, and he held up his hands as if he was surrendering.

                “It wasn’t me! I’m not even strong enough to do that, and plus, I’m right here.” The other Guardians exchanged a look with one another, and Jack felt a heavy weight on his heart. Even though he was with them, he had a sinking feeling he knew exactly who it was. But he didn’t know why.

                He closed his eyes, sending a quick message from his mind to anyone who was willing to listen. Please, Jack begged, don’t let it be her.

                “If it isn’t you… then who is it?” the Tooth Fairy asked, watching as the ice continued to spread. Jack bit his lip, wanting to tell the Guardians about his suspicions, but decided against it. He needed to be sure first.

                A symbol appeared above Sandy’s head, a simple question mark as he shrugged.

                “What about Pitch?” Jack suggested hopefully, hoping his other assumption was wrong. The other shook their heads.

                “He controls nightmares, not ice mate,” Bunny said, and Santa nodded.

                “He’s right. We will have to go there and find out. To the sleigh!” They all walked out to where the sleigh was, and loaded in.

                “I think it may just be faster if I---“

                “To the sleigh Bunny,” Santa reiterated, and Bunny nodded grudgingly, climbing into the sleigh.

                Santa gave a call to his reindeer, and they took off, travelling to where the ice appeared to be originating from. The ride was quick, the magic of the sleigh shortening the trip by a lot. Jack’s heart sank lower as he realized they had landed right near Arendelle, it had to be her.

                Their attention was swept away by the looming walls of smooth ice that shot into the sky, so tall they disappeared into the dark clouds above.

                “Brrr, it’s freezing,” Tooth Fairy commented, rubbing at her arms as she flitted around. All of the baby tooth fairies did the same, and the rest of the Guardians assessed the ice tower.

                “Okay, but now that we’re here, how are we supposed to get through it?” Jack asked, knocking on the ice. Even as he looked up at the smooth surface, memories came to him, memories of watching Elsa play with Anna when they were little, then of those fateful days. The day he saved her, and the day she had accidentally hurt Anna. He remembered her hiding in her room after Anna’s memories were changed, Elsa hiding in complete solitude. Just as she did now. But one question still took up the majority of his mind; why?

                “First we need to figure out what’s causing the ice to spread, then we stop it obviously,” Bunny grumbled, stomping his foot twice to create a tunnel. He jumped into the hole, but popped out a few moments later, a puzzled look on his face. “I can’t tunnel past a certain point, it’s frozen solid. That’s never happened before,” he said, confusion in his furry features.

                “Ooh! I know! Maybe we can fly above it! Come on Sandy!” Tooth Fairy cried, shooting upwards. Sandy followed after. Jack was tempted to join them, but he stayed on the ground instead, inspecting the ice. Everything pointed at Elsa causing this, there was no other explanation. The pair returned after a couple minutes, shaking their heads.  “It’s too high, there’s no way we can go above it.”

                “Maybe we can break it,” Santa suggested, using his swords to try and cut through it. Bunny used his boomerang, while the Sandman created a giant hammer made of sand to swing at it.

                Nothing worked. Not even a scratch.

                “Why isn’t this working? What is this and why is the ice spreading from it?” Santa cried in frustration, the other Guardians agreeing.

                “How do we get through?” Bunny said, giving the wall a feeble kick.

                Jack had been silent, thinking. Finally, he got it. Since this was made of ice, maybe ice could break it.

                Raising his staff, Jack shot thick ice spears at the wall, eyes closed and teeth gritted in concentration. He heard the ice shatter against the thick walls, one after another.

                This wasn’t working either.

                Jack felt panic start to set in, and he kept trying harder, pain overtaking his body from the force he was conjuring.

                Please, he begged, I need to get to Elsa.

                As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the other Guardians watched in awe as the spears slowly started piercing the ice, creating a hole that was steadily growing larger with each shot.

                “Jack, look!” Tooth Fairy cried, and Jack opened his eyes to see a hole in the ice. However when you peered inside the hole, all you could see was white.

                 “Come on!” he cried, shooting through the hole. The others were about to follow, but as soon as Jack made it through, the hole closed, and Jack was trapped inside.

                Jack tried to create another hole, but with the blizzard raging inside, he couldn’t focus with snow slamming into him

                Eventually Jack gave up, deciding to try to see anything through the blinding snow. Elsa was in here somewhere, he could feel it.

                 His eyes landed on a peculiar light in the middle of the storm, and Jack fought his way towards it, using his staff to create an ice shield so he could protect himself from the puffy whiteness.

                Finally reaching the light, he was absolutely shocked to find the space completely clear and free of snow, as if they blizzard couldn’t touch this area.

                Sitting in the middle of the clearing was a girl, her head in her hands as her shoulders shook, white-blonde braid falling apart yet she made no move to fix it. Exactly who he thought he would find, Elsa.

                “Elsa?” Jack called softly, his heart breaking. He wanted to be there for her, comfort her as she sobbed into her hands, but he knew that she couldn’t see him. She didn’t believe in him. She never did.

                However, she did look up through bleary eyes, to see a boy dressed in a pair of brown pants and a blue hoodie, his hair completely white. He was here.

                Jack froze in his place, the second his eyes met her big blue ones.

                This was… her, up close.

                The little girl from the castle, the girl that had sat in the room full of ice and snow, crying as she did now.  The girl he had saved from freezing to death, all those years ago. Those blue eyes that were brimming with tears were unmistakable.

                “Elsa,” Jack whispered, her name falling of his lips like a drop of honey. It felt like he was taking a bite into a forbidden fruit, she looked like she could hear him, could see him. He had craved that for so long, for her to acknowledge him, to believe in him.

                Elsa recognized the boy right away. She wasn’t sure from where, but deep within her memories, she knew that somehow, she had met the white haired boy. She had a feeling that he was important to her, someone that she couldn’t hurt, didn’t want to hurt, no matter what.

                So she panicked, her moment of disbelief over as she thought at the matter at hand. “No! Get out! You have to get out of here, away from me!” she cried, raising her hands to shoo him away. Instead, a stream of snow and ice shot out, and Jack barely managed to dodge it as it flew into the blizzard, getting lost in the winds. “I’m dangerous, you have to go!” She screamed at him, cradling her hands against herself so she couldn’t hurt him, but Jack just came closer.

                “Elsa, you won’t hurt me,” Jack said quietly, confident that she couldn’t. “I’m Jack, Jack Frost.” He approached her as if she was an unpredictable storm that could lash out at any moment, which in a way, she could. Unintentional or not.

                Elsa bit her lip, shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter who you are, I don’t know how you got in here, but I don’t want to hurt you. Especially you,” she said the last two words so quietly, Jack wasn’t sure if he had heard her correctly.

                “Especially me? Do.. do you remember?” Jack asked, referring to when he had saved her when she was a child. Ever since then, he had watched over her, in pure agony as she never showed any sign of being able to see him. Jack thought she didn’t believe in him. Now he was sure she did though, she was talking to him. She must see him, must believe in him.

               Her eyebrows were scrunched in concentration “You.. you saved me.”

                There were fragments of memories of her and Anna playing on a frozen lake, then there was a crack, the sound reverberating across the frozen surface. The ice had begun to break. Elsa had pulled Anna away from it, but the motion had caused herself to pitch forwards, landing in the midst of cracked ice. Then she had… fallen through?

                “Yes, Elsa, I saved you that day. You were about to fall, I caught you and brought you to safety.” Elsa blinked at him, memories of white hair slowly revealing themselves to her. “I need you to listen to me now Elsa, this is very important,” Jack said seriously, gazing his eyes into hers. The eyes that he had fallen for all those years ago. “What happened to Anna wasn’t your fault, you need to calm down,” he said soothingly, but Elsa shook her head, the ferocity of the situation chasing away the distant memories.

                “It was my fault! She’s gone because of m—“ she was cut off as she screamed from sudden pain, sending the blizzard into a whirl of excitement. “Nooooo!” She moaned, writhing on the floor, clutching at her chest.

                As she fell to the hard ground, she had looked up to see a bright moon shining above them.  It triggered a memory of sorts within Elsa, and she watched as it showed before her eyes. She saw her younger self about to fall through the ice, then a pair of hands had pulled her up. She had only caught a glimpse of clear blue eyes, and shockingly white hair before it was gone.

                Then.. there was something else. Elsa watched as more memories were revealed to her, of the same blue eyes and white hair. They were looking at her, watching her through her window. That was.. Jack. She remembered him clearly now, recalling that she had watched him too, waiting for him to do something, to talk to her. She remembered what she thought he was, an angel. As she grew older however, he seemed to visit less and less frequently, and Elsa thought that maybe she just imagined him because she was lonely.

                “Elsa?!” Jack rushed to her, pulling her to him. He had fallen in love with the girl long ago, and couldn’t stand to see her in pain. She had suffered through enough already. It was worse now than it was when she was isolating herself as a child, he could feel it rolling off of her in waves. “Elsa, what’s wrong?” He said, cradling her to his chest as she let out whimpers and small moans of pain.

                “I.. I can feel it.”

                “Feel what Elsa? What are you feeling?”

                “My heart.. it’s starting to freeze over.” Elsa knew that the words had rang true as she said them, she felt her power spinning out of her controlled grip, all because of the grief and remorse she was experiencing. It was slowly freezing her from the inside out.

               Breathless, Jack stared at the bundle in his arms, his own heart aching when she said those words. “What? How!?” Jack cried, looking into the blue pools as he felt her grow colder with each passing moment.

                “It.. it’s my power, I can’t control it, too many emotions… It’s consuming my heart,” Elsa murmured, the ache in her chest tightening and painful as she felt the cold seeping into her heart. No matter what she tried, she could feel her control slipping further as the seconds passed. “This is for the best, this is what I d-deserve,” she chattered lightly.

                “No Elsa! What happened wasn’t your fault!”  

                “J-Jack, it was, and now I must pay the price.” Elsa finally realized that she did deserve this, so she gave up fighting the ice that was slowly creeping over her heart.

                “Elsa, don’t give up!” Jack cried, as he watched Elsa’s face turn into a more tranquil expression as if she had come to terms with what was going to happen. “What about Arendelle? They need their Queen!”

                By now, Jack had forgotten entirely that the world was slowly freezing over, he could only concentrate on the ice that was beginning to encase the girl he had loved for so long.

                “I’m sorry Jack, this is how it’s supposed to be. Arendelle can find a new King or Queen, I have only harmed people, not helped them.”

                “That’s not true! Think of Anna, what would she say if she were here, watching you give up?” Jack pleaded, desperate. He didn’t know what to do, Elsa was here, losing the will to live in his arms.

                Elsa’s lips thinned into a line as she thought about this. Then she said, “Anna isn’t here. And it’s all my fault, I will never see her again.”

                Jack could feel the tears start to well up, he was going to lose the only girl he had ever loved, the only one that might have had the slightest understanding of him.  “No, Elsa, please don’t give up, think of me, I need you.”

                “Why would you need me? You’re the white haired boy that always flew outside my window, you can go wherever you please, whenever.” She pulled up the memories that were shown not too long ago, and held them firmly in her head. She had a feeling she would need to remember them, want to treasure them for the remainder of the time she had. She could feel that it wasn’t very long.

                Jack wasn’t even sure if she was realizing what she was admitting. She believed in him? All this time? “You.. you could see me?”

                 “Of course, I used to think that you were my guardian angel, the way you always seemed to be watching over me," Elsa giggled, suddenly feeling light and carefree. Something she hadn’t felt in a long while; probably because she was now almost nose to nose with death, and she knew that no matter what she did now, it wouldn’t really matter. She would be gone nonetheless. She snuggled deeper into Jack's hoodie, slowly feeling her warmth slip away. "I had always believed that one day, we might be able to meet face to face, and that you would save me from myself, like you saved me all those years ago from the ice."

                Jack's heart broke at Elsa's words, he would have tried to save her, tried to help her learn to control of her powers, but he thought she couldn't see him. So he stayed hidden, watching her from afar, no matter how much pain it caused him. If only he had knew that by doing so, he was also causing some of her pain.

                "I.. I wish I had known Elsa, I thought you couldn't see me, didn't believe in me. If I had, things would have been different," Jack mumbled, laying his chin on top of her elegant white-blonde hair. He thought for a moment, trying to figure out what he could say, what he could do to make Elsa not give up, make her see that what happened wasn't her fault, that it was all an accident.

                He heard Elsa give a small dry laugh, "It's too late now, what's done is done. I believed in you Jack, I believed that you would save me." The bitter note in her tone surprised both Jack and herself. As irrational as it was, she couldn't help but blame the white-haired boy, even just a little bit. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with her, why these feelings were coming to light, especially when she had been feeling so free moments ago. Maybe because things needed to be realized, she still needed to say some things.

                She did realize that he had been watching her from her window, and he saw the pain that Elsa was suffering though, having to hide herself from the world. In the beginning, he had scared her, she kept wondering who this mysterious boy was who always showed up at her window. Then gradually she got used to him, and found herself wishing upon him as if he was a shooting star. Wishing that everything could go back to normal, and that she had never shot Anna in the head with her powers. Of course, that wish never came true.

                That’s when she knew what caused these feelings to start to show, she could feel it. It wasn’t because she wanted to say it; it was because she could feel an icy shard slowly piercing her heart, starting to freeze it. She was starting not to care, starting to become as cold as the ice and snow that surrounded them.

                Jack felt the tears start to fall, the thought of the one person he loved believing that he would save her, yet he failed her and was unable to. He looked upwards into the blizzard, searching for something that would guide him, show him what to do.

                The next moment changed everything.

                A pale blue light shone through the cloudy whiteness, casting a spotlight of sorts upon the pair. Jack squinted up at it, and through the windy whiteness saw the hazy image of the moon, looking as big and beautiful as it did the day Jack had used it to pull himself out of the darkness of the lake.

                The words were clear in his head, and it wasn't quite a voice, more like the words appearing in his head.

                Believing is the strongest hope one may have in their hearts.

                "I.. believe," Jack said slowly as he stared up at the moon. The light receded away from them, disappearing before his very eyes. It was then that Jack knew what he had to say, what he had to do.

                Pulling from his heart, he took one moment to gather his thoughts, contemplating the sequence of words that would decide their fate. They appeared as if magic, and Jack knew instinctively to just repeat them, transfer them from the jumbled mess of his heart and mind into the frigid air.

                "Elsa," he called finally, tilting her head up so he could meet those blue eyes that he loved so dearly. “I too believe in something.”

                She looked at him curiously, teeth chattering slightly as she grew colder.

                “I believe that you are one of the strongest people I know, enduring through the toughest situations. I believe that you are kind and caring, doing anything you possibly can to protect your family and kingdom.” he trailed a hand down her cold cheek, still mesmerized by her eyes. “I believe that you can beat this sorrow, beat the ice, and continue on to keep caring for your kingdom, they need you. I need you. I believe in you Elsa. I.. I believe I love you.”

                “J-Jack,” Elsa stuttered slightly, reaching up to brush the boy’s hair. She could already see her fingers starting to form a thin covering of ice, but she still ran her numb fingers through the silky white locks. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, he loved her? It sounded absurd, but she could see what he was going through, what she was causing him to go through. The pain in his voice was almost tangible.

                “Elsa,” Jack said softly, as Elsa continued to freeze from the inside out. He felt his own insides turn to mush, weighed down by sadness that he might lose her. Not just him, but everyone who even knew Elsa. If she gave up now… he just had a feeling he wouldn’t be known as the ‘Guardian of Fun’ any longer, and her kingdom would be plagued with pain and depression. They would be losing a Queen, and Jack would be losing the girl he loved.

                More memories flooded into Elsa, as she watched him from her window, watching as he played with the other kids of the kingdom, yet she still seemed oblivious to him. She remembered that those moments, watching him laugh and have fun was the only time she smiled during the time of hiding. He made her smile.

                Now, in the present moment, Elsa let a faint smile cross her face. “Kiss me,” Elsa whispered as her final request. She needed to know he really did care, needed to show him that she cared. She felt it within her entire being that it was too late, she had given up, so now that she wanted to fight, she was too weak to do so. She pulled herself towards him, using the last bits of her strength.

                He leaned in towards her, a tear leaking out. That was it, he was never going to see her again. After this, it was all over.

                As soon as their lips met, everything changed within seconds.

                The blizzard gave one last round before dispersing.

                The walls that had surrounded them crumbled and fell, sinking into the snow below them.

                The ice that had been forming on the globe shrunk, until it too was gone.

                “Oi mate! Get a room!”

                Startled, Jack and Elsa jumped apart from each other. Jack looked up to see the Guardians all standing there, grins on their faces.

                “Jack you did it! You stopped the cold!” the Tooth fairy squealed, darting around rapidly in excitement.

                “Good job Jack!” Santa called, and Sandy used his sand to form a thumbs up .

                “You did good mate,” Bunny smirked, and Jack smiled. His smile only lasted a second, then he spun around.

                “Elsa!” he cried, and he saw her standing there, looking at her hands in wonderment.

                “The ice.. it’s gone,” she murmured, still studying her hands.

                “The ice.. it’s gone!” Jack reiterated, giving a joyous cheer as he ran up to Elsa. He wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re okay Elsa, I don’t know what I’d do if I had lost you.” He inhaled deeply, never wanting to let go.

                He knew he had to eventually, so Jack put her down, settling on never letting her out of his sight. She gave him a brief smile before her expression became shadowed with sorrow. “Thank you Jack, Anna would have wanted me to live on.” She forced a smile onto her face as she spoke, choking back tears that threatened to overcome her again.

                “Of course I would!”

                Everyone turned to see Kristoff leading Sven, and the reindeer had Anna on his back.

                “Anna!” Elsa cried, running over to her. “You’re okay!”

                Anna nodded, getting off of Sven. The reindeer shook out his head and looked at Kristoff for a carrot. Kristoff rolled his eyes, but gave it to him anyways.

                “Yes Elsa, I’m fine,” Anna chuckled, her voice a bit weak. Elsa hugged her sister tightly, a couple tears falling to the ground. She had her sister back.

                “Anna, what happened? I thought you were frozen forever,” Elsa said, absolutely elated that her sister was back to normal.

                Anna shrugged. “I don’t know, one minute I was frozen there, then the next Kristoff was dragging me up here. Then I heard that remark about you wanting to ‘live on’. What did you mean about that Elsa?”

                “Oh, that? I meant nothing by it, nevermind that.” Elsa didn’t want to worry Anna, she didn’t seem to know what had happened and Elsa wasn’t planning on telling her until Anna was strong enough to take the news. Elsa’s mind was spinning wildly with thoughts. Was it reallya coincidence that she melted just as they kissed? “But… how did you manage to become unfrozen? I thought I had lost you forever…”

                Anna shrugged, just as Santa spoke. “Aha! I got it!” Everyone turned to look at him, and he smiled at them, his rosy cheeks prominent due to the cold. “True love. True love has the power to overcome anything, like waking up a princess that was cursed to eternal slumber, or turning mermaids into humans. Apparently, true love can also melt ice.”

                “True love?” Jack inquired. He pondered over this for a moment, before his eyes widened. “True love.” This explained why the ice finally started getting through the wall, he had been thinking of Elsa. This explained why all the ice suddenly stopped and melted, he loved her. Now here was the million dollar question, did she love him back?

                Quickly making his way towards her, Jack spun her around so that they were looking into each other’s eyes. If there was one thing he learned from watching her for so long, is that Elsa’s eyes always showed her emotions, showed whether there was truth in whatever she was doing, or if she was faking it.

                “Jack, what are you doing?” Elsa questioned, standing still as she gazed into Jack’s eyes.

                Jack searched her eyes as he spoke. “Elsa, do.. you, uh,” Jack fell silent, momentarily dropping eye contact as he was unable to complete his question. He was dying to know, needed to know. But if she denied it… he would be crushed. He wasn’t sure if he could handle that, could survive that.

                “Love you? Of course I do,” Elsa retorted giving him a sassy eye-roll. She wrapped her arms around Jack’s neck, and Jack’s arms fell to her waist.

                She became serious, and spoke in slightly hushed tones as she lovingly memorized every little feature of his beautiful eyes. “Jack, you’re the only one who has ever gotten close to me, besides Anna. Even then, that was a long time ago, and I had become scared. Scared of myself, and what I would accidentally do to others.  You helped me realize that I could control my powers, I just needed someone to help me through it. Jack, you’re that person. You’re the person, the only person that can have my heart beating as fast as it is now, the only person that can make me smile in my darkest of times, the only person that understands.” She sifted through her memories, each of her statements holding truth as she thought about the past, how they had been watching each other, falling in love in the process, yet they had never spoken until that day.

                Jack felt his heart swell, and for the second time, he bent his head and connected his lips to Elsa’s.

                As soon as their lips touched, they finally knew how it felt to be alive. To no longer be invisible, to no longer be in isolation.

                In that moment, Jack didn’t care that he wasn’t able to be seen by many. Elsa didn’t care that she had spent most of her life alone and broken.

                Why? Because now.. they finally had each other,  finally felt like they weren’t alone in this world anymore.