The Seventh Element

Chapter One

I looked at myself in the mirror, feeling a complete disconnect from the reflection I saw there. This was not me. This was not my body. The boy with white hair and pale skin was not what I looked like. I had blond hair and ruddy cheeks. The only thing that I had in common with the boy in the mirror was our blue eyes.

On my thirteenth birthday I awoke to a snowstorm in my room.

It being my birthday, my family had barged in ready to celebrate. Upon seeing me in my new wintery surroundings, they stopped in a confused huddle in the doorway.

"Tor!"

"What happened here?"

One of my sisters opened her arms and I raced into them.

"You're freezing!" my sister exclaimed.

We bustled out of the room.

My father inspected my room thoroughly and confirmed what I already knew. The snow had come from inside.

What we didn't know, what we couldn't begin to suspect was that the snow came from me.

Everything I touched immediately developed a layer of frost. Random spurts of snowfall would begin wherever I happened to be. I had no control over these powers and no idea why they had suddenly appeared.

Neither did anyone in my family.

Neither did our closest neighbors.

"So, what shall we do?" my mother asked one night.

"We can't just leave him like this," one of my sisters said.

"Of course not," my father said. "But if there is no help to be found here on the mountain, we'll have to seek help elsewhere."

So, that is what my father did. The very next day, he left our remote mountain home in the hopes of finding someone or something that could help me return to normal. All the rest of us could do was wait.

My family did their best to manage me. Living in a snowy mountain meant we were used to the cold and even liked it. Things defrosted quickly inside leaving things damp along with random puddles on the floor. Though, my family never complained. They adapted and took it all in good humor, trusting that father would return and we could put this strange incident behind us.

As for myself?

I felt nothing at all except anxiety.

But I couldn't express it.

Before my thirteenth birthday, I was a normal boy with normal emotions. In fact, I was a rather happy boy with a good attitude who loved my home and my family. I liked being active outside and had a healthy appetite. I loved giving and receiving affection from my family and even had a sense of humor.

Now I felt...frozen.

I couldn't express any emotions and in fact, couldn't feel any either. This terrified me more than my strange powers did.

Who was I?

While we waited, we tried to continue on as normal. Whenever we had visitors, we went through the same thing. They wanted to see me for themselves and then cluck sympathetically to my mother and older sisters, as if I were something to be pitied.

This was when I first heard the rumors of the Ice King.

I had heard of the Ice King of course. Every child on the mountain had. He was the founder and legendary protector of the mountain. Five hundred years ago, he had led our people to the mountain to keep us safe from the dangers of the wider world. He had helped us learn how to live in the land, using his mystical powers to help us adjust to our new home. He protected us not only from the elements but from the people that wanted to do us harm.

Then one day, after decades of peace, he had simply disappeared.

But it was believed that one day, when his people needed him, he would return.

"You don't think...he could be the Ice King?" one neighbor suggested in hushed tones.

My mother scoffed. "That's just a story for children. While I believe in the Ice King, I don't believe my son is the returned king."

I didn't know what to think.

Though, I was prone to side with my mother on the subject. I was hardly from royal blood. I certainly didn't feel like a king, and I didn't want to be; that was far too much pressure and responsibility. I was only a scared thirteen-year-old boy who had suddenly been burdened with ice powers. Who was I to make such an outrageous claim?

All I wanted was to be normal again.

After that, I made myself scarce whenever guests visited. I'd head outside and stay there with my brother, our bear dogs, and our reindeer herd for company. The animals didn't judge me or speculate whether I was the reincarnation of a legend or treat me any differently than they ever had. Outside, surrounded by ice and snow, I could pretend that I was normal, if only for a little while. Of course, that illusion only lasted for so long.

It was a fortnight before Father finally returned home. He had seen and learned a lot about the world beyond our mountain. Once he was fed and rested, we gathered around our central fire to learn what he had found out.