Born of Cold (3) Arendelle's Little Secret...

Jack flew high above the other people, each weaving through the crowd, vying to be the first to get in. Geez, people, it's not that cool. As he wove, though, he could hear people chatting below him. A tiny, funny looking white haired guy, with a nose that took up half his face, was talking to two brawny, red clad men. The man had a weird, creepy voice with a note of something he couldn't determine, but that made him want to gag.

"Ah, Arendelle. A most mysterious trade partner. Open those gates so that I may unlock your secrets and exploit your riches... Did I say that out loud?" Jack scoffed. Wait, Arenedelle was a mysterious trade partner, huh? He wondered, what could this beautiful nation be hiding? Hmm...

The winter spirit turned his attention to two men, clad in formal attire wearing tricorn hats. The larger man began to speak.

"Ah, I cannot wait to see the queen and the princess. I bet they are lovely!"

"I bet they are beautiful!" The thinner man said. Jack thought. The girl he'd seen was pretty enough, yes, but not quite his type. Why were they talking about the queen? Jack shrugged. Who cares? He flew above the sea of heads, gliding on the air. He decided that since it would only be the ceremony in the cathedral, he could hang around the castle until the party. Once he'd gotten there, he found the portrait room and helped himself to some food. After that, he floated silently through the hallways, until he spotted an unusual door. The door was white, and patterned with delicate blue snowflakes. He tried opening it, but the door held shut. It was locked.

"Huh..." Jack said aloud. He shrugged off the thought of the door and kept walking, but the door kept gnawing away at him. Why was it locked? What was behind it? And why was what was behind it a big secret? Jack shook his head. Who cares, he thought. The bells chimed again, revealing to him that the coronation ceremony was over, and that the celebration would begin soon. He smiled, remembering he had time. His devilish smirk returned, he brought himself close to the lock on the white door he passed earlier. Jack tentatively lifted his staff's crook to the lock, letting a bolt of ice freeze it. He smiled, waltzing in, to find something definitely unexpected.

What he found were pale walls and carpet, with only a bed, dresser, a few tables and an old chair. Man, this room was in a castle? It looked like it could've been in a peasant house. There was one thing that set the room apart from anything else. The walls were wet.

As he gazed at the smooth, soaking walls, he noticed beads of water covering the base of a candlestick and a blue powder box. Before he could examine the soggy objects, he heard a fanfare downstairs. His attention was jolted back to the world around him, his eyes flying to the door along with himself. As he rushed to a large ballroom, filled with people in ballgowns and vests.

He eyed several peculiar people in the crowd. The first he spotted was a brunette with green eyes, a pink silk gown and sun kissed skin. The oddest thing, though, was the girl's insane pixie cut. Another one was a man, about 18, with red brown hair, a fur vest and a formal deep green shirt. His peculiarity was his iron leg, uncovered by a shoe. The final girl was a maid with crazy, tousled, fiery mane above her waist. She wore a deep green riding dress and had powder blue eyes. She also had a forgien knot with a sword through it worked into the charm of a small, gold necklace. Her weirdness, not counting her hair, was the willow wood bow slung over her left shoulder.

"Of Arendelle" he heard a short, well-dressed man announce. Man, he'd missed the name! Oh, well. Just an old woman, ri-

His thoughts, and his heart stopped at once. He was now standing on the ground, facing the front of the ballroom. He had pushed his way to the front, of more phased his way, and saw her. She gracefully walked up the steps, showing off her glory. She had a sheen of almost white hair, pulled in an elaborate up-do. In the right light, it would've been white. Her skin was amazing and pale, like her hair. He could've mistaken her skin for snow. Her eyes, though, that's what got him. They were icy blue, like perfect ice pools themselves. She wore a long, royal like, teal frock with a black under shirt. A small, gold crown was perched in her thick, shining hair, a tiny blue jewel inside it. A long, magenta cape, heavy with embroidery trailing behind her. Her poise, her grace, the way she carried herself. So beautiful.

"Whoa," That was all he could say. He could've sworn he got a glance from the redhead, but it was brief and hard to tell. His eyes remained locked on the maiden before him, but his thoughts drifted to that green clad girl who was dancing about the hallway this afternoon. He realized that everything she had, this one didn't. This one wasn't open, or excited like the other girl was. She was serene, calm, graceful. It was like comparing a rose to a snowflake. Both beautiful in their own ways, but the most different things in the world.

The large man spoke again. "Princess Ana of Arendelle" The princess from earlier rushed in giddily, her eyes ahead of her. She stopped a few steps below the queen, whose name he still didn't know, but was quickly moved to stand next to her, despite her light protests.

"Hi." The queen spoke to Ana. Jack's eyes widened. That voice... It sounded... No, no way in the world were those two voices the same. No way...

"H-hi me?" Ana said, pointing to herself. The pale girl nodded slightly, verifying her statement. "Oh! Uh... Hi?" Man there was some tension between these two! It was like they hadn't spoken to each other in years.

"You look beautiful." The queen stated factually. She was definitely more in control of her emotions than her sister, that was for sure.

"Oh! Thank you! You look beautifuller! I mean, not fuller. You don't look fuller, m-more beautiful." The sea eyed girl stuttered, trying to make a compliment out of an unintentional insult.

"Thank you." The queen smiled, laughing a bit at her sister's tripping over her words. She signed, both with relief and happiness. "So this is what a party looks like." Wait, they were royals... How could they have not seen a party before?

"It's warmer than I thought." The redhead smiled nervously, but grinned when she saw her sister smile at her words.

"And what is that amazing smell?" Both girls inhaled deeply, taking in the scents of the room. The two drew their conclusion simultaneously.

"Chocolate!" Both began to giggle uncontrollably. Man, these girls could be bloodhounds for sweets. He smiled at the queen's lack of composure at the word. She had the cutest laugh.

"Your Majesty," The man in the regal uniform stated once again. "The duke of Weasel Town." Jack tried to stop it, but only ended up bursting out into laughter. It was the skinny, big-nosed guy from the gates! The man cringed toward the regally dressed servant.

"Wesselton!" The tiny man snapped. Soon, seeing her majesty, however, his gaze and voice softened. "Duke of Wesselton, your Majesty. As your closest partner in trade, it seems only fitting that I offer you your first dance as queen." He did an odd collection of striking movements that looked like his legs and arms were metal rods, bending in and out of shape. He ended with a bow, causing his toupee to flop out. Jack and the pale haired maid laughed while Ana merely giggled behind her hand. Both girls straightened immediately, seeing him moving up from his bow.

"Thank you," she said kindly. The voices had to be the same. They just had to... "Only I don't dance." Jack's head snapped up. He looked her over. That's a shame, he thought. You'd be a beautiful dancer. However, all this earned from the duke was a disappointed sound of unhappiness. She smiled and gestured to Ana. "But my sister does."

"Hmm... Lucky you." He said, locking arms with her, despite Ana's statements against it. The youngest sibling was pulled into the crowd, still resisting.

The girl gave a gloved wave to her sister before she was pulled off. "Sorry."