Frozen | Huke Stemmings

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In a grassy valley next to a deep fjord, the castle of Arendelle lay silent in the night. The bright luster of the northern lights danced across the windows, waking a small boy. He sat up and grinned to see the wonderful green light.

The boy jumped out of bed and tiptoed across the room to wake his older brother. "Ashton, Ashton!" he said urgently. "Wake up!"

Ashton, who was eight years old, grumbled and ducked under the covers. "Harry, go back to sleep."

But Harry wouldn't give up. "I just can't. The sky's awake, so I'm awake, and we have to play." he said. "Do you want to build a snowman?"

Ashton's eyes open. That got his attention.

The boys were the sons of Arendelle's king and queen, and the best of friends. Ashton couldn't resist Harry's begging. The brothers ran down the hallway in their pajamas, laughing as they hurried along. Entering the Great Hall, where all the royal balls were held, they turned to each other.

"Are you ready?" Ashton asked, smiling.

"Yes, yes!" Harry cried, reaching out to tickle his brother.

Ashton giggled, and suddenly, snowflakes seemed to burst in a flurry from his hands!

Harry clapped happily. He knew that his brother had a very special talent: he could create snow and ice, even in the middle of summer!

With a twirl and a wave of his hands, Ashton magically summoned his ice powers. Quickly, he filled the Great Hall with mounds of fluffy snow, turning it into a winter playground. Then he stomped his feet and ice swept across the floor. He laughed to see little Harry hopping around joyfully.

Together, they went to work building their snowman. Harry did his best to roll the snowman's body. Then he ran to get a carrot for the nose. "Snowman!" he exclaimed proudly.

Ashton laughed at the lopsided snowman. "Hi, I'm Calum," he said in a deep voice, pretending to be the snowman. "And I like warm hugs."

The boys danced around their funny snowman.

Then Ashton gathered his icy magic and made a swooping ice slide. Harry squealed with delight. He climbed to the top of the slide, then zoomed down and soared up again along the icy curve. Ashton quickly created another slide to catch Harry as he came down. The little boy gained speed and was tossed upward again. Ashton had to work fast to keep pace with Harry. He kept making more slides so his brother could stay aloft as he flew around the room.

"Harry, slow down," Ashton said, starting to get worried. "It's too high!"

But Harry was having fun. The little prince was fearless, jumping and sliding to each new slide as quickly as Ashton made it. Ashton raised his hand to create the next slide, but suddenly, his foot slipped.  As he stumbled, his magic went awry. His frozen blast caught the side of Harry's head, right through his curls.

Harry gasped and fell to the ground, unconscious. "Harry!" Ashton shouted, running to his brother. He lifted Harry up and felt his cold, shivering body. A lock of Harry's hair had turned pure white where the magic had hit it. "Mama! Papa!" Ashton cried desperately.

As he called for help and his worry increased, icicles formed on the ceiling, and frozen spikes grew tall around the boys.

The king and queen burst into the Great Hall to find their sons huddled in a frozen landscape. They knew that Ashton has a special ability to create ice, but this was more than they'd ever seen. "Ashton," the king cried. "This is getting out of hand!"

"I'm sorry," Ashton replied in distress. "I didn't mean it!"

"Harry!" the queen gasped, and ran toward her little boy.