Betrothed To Jack Frost Box Set

by Alex Gedgaudas

  Jack gave a gentle shake of his head. “No,” he said softly. “I’ll never leave you.”

  “B-but you b-banished me from your kingdom.”

  “I did,” said Jack just as softly. Elle did not know what to think or say as he started to speak once more. “I had to wait until the perfect moment when I could set you free,” explained Jack, releasing a snort even though he showed no humor. “Jack Frost, King of Winter’s throne,” he murmured, removing the icicle crown still sitting atop of his head. Snapping his fingers, the crown vanished from sight instantaneously. “Our rings placed upon our fingers were the last loop I had to dance through to become king. Now, I am.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Whatever I say, my subjects must follow. I am now their king for all eternity.”

  “Is this the part where you laugh?” Elle asked in a throaty voice. Hot tears were threatening to spill, but she refused to shed a tear in this moment. “You and I both know this wasn’t a game, Jack. You weren’t just playing me to become your father’s successor. Don’t now pretend you were.”

  “I never said I was, my firecracker.”

  “Don’t use your stupid nicknames when you’re throwing me out like an old shoe you’ve outgrown,” Elle snarled vehemently.

  Jack turned to stare at her head on, nodding slowly. “One day, a very long time from now, you will see this was the right thing to do.”

  “Banishing me? Banishing me? How the hell is banishing me from your kingdom the right move to make?” she practically howled with anguish. Jack did not seem up for having an argument on this matter. He merely teleported himself to staring out onto the busy streets far below the city.

  “You needed to blow up a cabin in order to escape my homicidal sister,” he said, his eyes overlooking the farm outside. “Where does the madness end, Elle?” he inquired as he turned to face her. “Why take the risk of a prophecy ruining your life? Perhaps we have a few years of happiness before Loki or someone else releases Macaria from the underworld. But what then, Elle?”

  “We cross that bridge when we get to it. Together.”

  “I spoke to Pythia,” said Jack in a pained voice. “I spoke to her before our wedding. I needed to see if your destiny had changed, if something could be done to guarantee your safety, and there is.”

  Elle would have snorted if she were not so angry. “And Pythia just happened to say banishing me was the right way to go? That sounds like a load of—”

  “If we proceed down a path that is not with each other,” interrupted Jack, his eyes sorrowful, “you will live.”

  Tears threatened to fall, but Elle was determined not to cry. “I’d rather take the chance of dying.”

  Jack shook his head in disapproval, causing Elle to feel like a child throwing a tantrum. He looked heartbroken. “I don’t. You desire to be with your family and friends, those who love you. All this time, you craved to return to your old life. Keeping you to myself is beyond selfish. You’re better off without me, without any of this chaos. You can return to the life you desperately wanted to get back to, the life you deserve.”

  Elle shook her head sadly as she approached him. As much as she missed her family, she couldn’t bear the idea of not being with him. “We’re better together than apart, Jack. You know this, you love me as much as I love you…” She trailed off sadly as she attempted to hug him.

  Jack’s grey eyes held nothing but sorrow as he hugged her back. He placed a cold kiss on her cheek. “I have made my decision.”

  “So that’s your solution?” demanded Elle angrily. “Dump me now before things get too difficult for poor Jack?”

  “My thoughts for this are purely revolved around your safety—”

  “Oh, I can tell!” Elle jeered. “My safety was written all over that pretty moment you banished me in front of everyone we know without even a tiny bit of warning before that—”

  “Stop it!” Jack finally displayed emotion that wasn’t so breathtakingly robotic. “I’m setting you free!” he pushed angrily. “You are home! What you wanted at the very beginning is finally your reality! I provided you the opportunity to go back to your family and to lead a long human life where you are not constantly in harm’s way.” Jack slowly rolled his shoulders. “This discussion is not up for debate; you are back in your realm, free to return to your existence you held before getting involved in any of this.” He showed such passion, a rawness struck Elle’s throat. This was all yet another attempt to keep her safe; she knew it, and he knew it.

  “And where will you be?” she asked in a hollow voice. “Where will you be while I go on and pretend I’m nothing but a happy little human?”

  “You know where.”

  Elle did. Back at the North Pole controlling his newly inherited kingdom. Jack said nothing more, causing her stomach to flutter. She wiped her eyes before she could cry. “You don’t plan on ever seeing me again after this moment, do you?”

  “I will make sure you are protected your entire life, literally and financially,” said Jack, his eyes holding her gaze. Elle stared back at him, recalling all the many times she found herself staring deeply into his eyes and getting lost in the pretty hues surrounding his grey orbs. She had never felt safer with anyone before meeting Jack Frost. Now, she was certain he was the only one capable of pulverizing her heart into millions of pieces. Perhaps the joke was on her; the man she felt safest around was the only one to utterly break her.

  By the time Jack finally broke eye contact, it broke Elle’s heart to see he held no qualms on simply leaving her all alone, just like that. “I can come back,” she said stiffly, biting her inner cheek. She felt defiant, wanting to prove he couldn’t simply shut her out of his life with a stupid banishment. “I can just call upon any of my immortal friends and go back to find you, Jack.”

  At this, Jack watched her with a new look that was far worse than any previous expression Elle had ever seen upon him. It was pity, and it was uglier than his blank expression. She suddenly felt worthless. It made her feel horrible being pitied by the man dumping her. “Elle, when I leave you here in your realm, it’s because I want you to go along and lead a human life full of everything you possibly wanted before we met…I…” Jack paused, nodding. “I even want you to meet someone new, someone who can provide you everything I cannot—”

  “I don’t want to be with anyone else. I only want to be with you!” Elle admitted pathetically, trying to go closer only for Jack to intentionally transfer himself to the far side of the room. “I’m not meant to be normal! I get it now, I really do. I’m a demigoddess who can start on fire! My entire life I’ve been engaged to you. There is absolutely no part of me that screams normal! I accept it…” Elle trailed off.

  Jack watched her sadly. “If our situations were reversed and you discovered not being with one another kept me alive, what would you choose?” Those words broke Elle. It was heart-wrenching because she sadly realized if the situations were, in fact, reversed, she would do anything and everything to make sure Jack was kept safe. He knew what she thought; he could obviously see it in her eyes. “Now you know how I feel,” said Jack sadly, his eyes holding the utmost of pain.

  Elle never actually saw this until she saw the truth behind his words. Even though she felt he was only doing this to keep her safe, she didn’t know anymore what was real and what wasn’t with what Jack was saying. Her shoulders slumped as her eyes diverted to the hard ground below her feet. Elle felt like crawling under the nearby bed and never coming out.

  After a very long silence, Elle simply shrugged. “I would rather take the opportunity to fight this prophecy together than to give up the raw happiness I feel when I’m with you.”

  The briefest display of hurt crossed his eyes before disappearing so quickly, Elle nearly felt she imagined it. “I will love you until the day I die,” declared Jack softly. “Nothing and no one will ever change that fact.”

  “So don’t let Pythia change that,” encouraged Elle as she slowly approached him. “To hell with her a
nd anyone else who says I’m meant to die. We write our own destiny, Jack. I still believe this.”

  Jack released a deep breath as he closed his eyes slowly. “I want to believe that.” As soon as Elle reached him, she wrapped her new husband in a loving embrace. Jack softly returned her hug, but he soon moved away from her. “But we cannot be together. If there is the tiniest sliver of a chance I can keep you breathing, I want that, even if I have to sacrifice a future with you.”

  Elle fought back her tears. “It doesn’t matter what you say. I’ll come back. I’ll find you.”

  Jack shook his head softly. He stepped forward to embrace her. Given her near tears, Elle did not return his hold. Jack’s pale hands cupped the sides of her neck as he placed a feather-soft kiss upon her forehead. “There’s no changing my mind, Evangeline.”

  With those final words spoken, he was gone. It was that quick. There was no warning and positively nothing to make Elle feel better about him leaving her. There wasn’t any closure, not really. The hot tears that welled behind her eyes spilled rapidly, causing her to shake her head as her harsh reality started falling down upon her.

  Chapter 22

  “It doesn’t matter,” Apollo breathed, staring at the chaos that was the aftermath of the coronation ceremony. Many were up in arms over the sudden banishment of the new queen while others did not question Jack’s motives. They either respected his rule or merely did not care what had happened. Regardless, many were arguing, unsure what to make of these strange events. Pythia uncaringly watched the devastation begin to unfold around her and her master. She slowly began to dance in place, her eyes fluttering closed. “It matters for naught that he left her,” said Apollo, “Elle will reunite with Jack, won’t she?” He looked unsure of himself, almost as if he were on the verge of being elated or heartbroken.

  Pythia slowly danced in a circle to nonexistent music all the while uncaring of how bizarre she came across. The girl had been long used to seeing pasts, present, and the possibility of what the future may bring. ’Twas why she was the Oracle of Delphi for many millennia. Even though individuals were gloomy at the sudden destruction of the union between Jack Frost and his bride, Pythia could see this was not how their story ended, not quite. As of now she could see what belonged in the future of the previously happy couple. The golden-flecked eyes of the oracle developed into a misty white as she glimpsed at it once more. The future was always shifting and morphing, some parts murky, not yet crystal clear given the future was something never quite set. But what was quite evident was that this was not the end of Jack Frost’s romance with his new wife.

  “She will not reunite with her husband,” said Pythia with a straight face, her eyes still a very misty white. “Their paths have finished crossing, my lord.” The oracle smiled to herself, her dancing continuing. Faster and faster, spinning wildly, losing control as she danced without care. “The very moment King Frost left the girl, he cut the fabric of their destiny. Evangeline Darrow Frost has a new path to follow as of now.” Pythia began spinning faster and faster, soon giggling as she waved her arms around.

  Apollo looked confused but satisfied with what he heard. He was used to Pythia and her whimsical antics, and he had no second thoughts regarding her declaration.

  But Pythia’s words were not quite right. The oracle was not telling her Lord Apollon the truth, not at all. There were immortals much stronger than Apollo, ones who not only desired power, but provided it. Little did Lord Apollo know that Pythia held a new master as of now. Long ago, the god of mischief, Loki, had promised her a position amongst his royal court. Khione was always destined to die. She would not rule beside the Jotun. Instead, Pythia was foreseen to take the place beside his throne when he brought down Olympus. There was a war brewing across the realms, one far more powerful than the universe had ever before seen.

  All that was required of Pythia to gain an immortal position as Loki’s oracle was to state a few inaccurate prophecies here and there to the Olympians. They needed to be told these inaccurate things to throw the gods into utter chaos. Pythia felt no guilt regarding her wickedness. ’Twas long ago foretold she would lose her immortality the moment she was no longer Apollo’s oracle. Why should she not help Loki? ’Twas already foreseen that the god of light, Apollo, would replace her one day. If Pythia did not look after herself, who would look after her instead?

  Lord Apollon accepted this answer. “Will Elle live a long and happy life?”

  Pythia slowly stopped her graceful movement, deciding to look once more at the fate of the star-crossed lovers that were Jack Frost and his mortal bride. Pythia saw many things coming in the very near future, many events she had not bothered to tell her Lord. These things were not beneficial for her to reveal to anybody just yet, especially not the lovelorn Apollo.

  Pythia saw a great war looming. The kingdoms of fire and ice would soon be clashing. Land, air, and sea would contribute to the great war where even immortal blood would be shed. Not all the Olympians would come out as victors.

  The catastrophic event of the coronation meant next to nothing; ’twas only the beginning of Pythia’s prediction. She saw blood spilling between siblings of fire. A looming death. But what she saw of the futures of Jack and Evangeline Frost was something she had not breathed to anyone, not even her new master, Loki. Pythia saw a belly, large and round, belonging to the demigoddess Evangeline Frost. The breakup between husband and wife meant nothing. The mortal demigoddess would one day reunite with her husband and give birth to not one, but two descendants of Jack Frost.

  Two children who would be as beautiful as their parents but frighteningly more powerful as well. The futures of the children were a tad foggy, not quite showing whether one or both of the parents were involved in their lives. Still, the children would be brought into this world, for their fates were of grave importance for each child already had their own destiny.

  “She will,” Pythia finally agreed in her dreamy voice, again not being honest. The oracle slowly danced gracefully to the imaginary music. “The girl will now thrive without the intervention of immortals.”

  Apollo glanced at his most trusted priestess, a somewhat uncertain look upon his handsome face. “You are sure?”

  “Indeed,” said Pythia, her eyes misting over as a new development came. As wise as King Jack Frost thought banishing his wife was, his effort was pointless. Fate always managed to prevail; no one could outrun their destiny. As Pythia and Apollo now spoke, a glorious man with hair as black as night and eyes bluer than the sea had succeeded in his wicked deed. Loki had accomplished his task of opening hell, releasing his comrades and succeeding in starting about the war for all the realms.

  “You have nothing to fear, my Lord; Evangeline Frost is quite safe.” Pythia nodded dutifully as her master vanished. The oracle soon smiled at yet another one of her own lies. The girl was not safe; she was very far from it. For at that same moment, a very beautiful creature was now walking among the living somewhere in the far Middle East. The pale-skinned woman was a near identical replica of her younger sister: hair as dark as a ravens, lips as red as a rose petal. Her skin was a tad paler in tone, given she held no contact with the sun in the darkest pit of hell. But in contrast to her sister’s rich brown eyes, this immortal’s were a haunting ruby red. At that exact moment of the vision, the goddess sensed the oracle Pythia watching her. With a dark smile, the breathtaking immortal waved her hand, causing the oracle’s vision of her to vanish immediately. She was gone from Pythia’s sight.

  Still, Pythia’s vision was quite clear along with something quite useful to report back to Loki.

  Macaria had risen from hell.

  About the Author

  Alex Gedgaudas is a Wisconsin native and is mostly known for her ability to consume an unnatural amount of coffee. She started her writing career on popular social storytelling websites, eventually gaining the interest of Limitless Publishing. In her free time, Alex can often be found wandering around rural Wisconsin writing Fa
ntasy and Horror stories with the companionship of her loyal English Bulldog, 'Big Mike'. He only occasionally has negative commentary about her work.

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