Frozen | Huke Stemmings

-3-

Back at the castle, the king and the queen immediately ordered that the castle gates be locked. All the doors were closed and the windows shuttered. They kept the boys secluded and no longer opened the castle to visitors. The family stayed hidden, tucked away inside their walled kingdom.

The king and queen acted just as cautiously inside the castle. As the princes grew, their parents did everything they could so ensure that Ashton learned to control himself. That meant the boys hardly ever together. Nor did Ashton seek Harry out, since he was afraid he might accidentally hurt him. Day after day, Ashton spent most of his time training to be the next ruler—and learning to keep his powers in check.

The training was difficult, and Ashton often felt unable to contain his magic. Ice seemed to form on his fingertips whenever he laughed or cried or became upset.

Worried, the king gave Ashton a pair of leather gloves. He advised him to keep them on at all times, and reminded him that he had to hide her icy magic in order to stay safe. "Conceal it," he told her.

"Don't feel it," he answered.

"Don't let it show," he agreed.

The years slipped by. Harry spent most of his time alone. Sometimes he played with his dolls, sometimes he pretended to have conversations with painted portraits in the gallery. But he was lonely.

Time after time, he knocked on Ashton's door, pleading with his brother to come out and play. But Ashton never did. The memory of their friendship was slowly fading.

One day, Harry peered out his window and saw snow falling in the royal garden. He raced down the hallway to his brother's room. "Do you want to build a snowman?" he called through the closed door.

There was no reply from inside. The door did not open. Eventually, Harry went out into the courtyard and tried to build a snowman by himself. After rolling out a lopsided ball, he glanced up at Ashton's window and thought he saw someone smiling down at him. But when he looked again, the face was gone.

Without any memory of Ashton's magic, Harry had no idea why he was always alone. Over time, he simply came to accept that his brother's coldness was part of who he was. He didn't know Ashton was lonely, too, and that he missed Harry as much as Harry missed him. Ashton longed to play with Harry but was fearful of the harm his magic might cause by mistake.

"I'm scared," Ashton told his father one day. "It's getting stronger."

"Getting upset only makes it worse," cautioned the king. "Calm down." He reached out to give Ashton a hug.

"No," he said sharply. "Don't touch me."

———————
One day, when the boys were teenagers, the king and queen boarded a ship, intending to visit another kingdom. They hugged their sons goodbye and left them at home, as they had many times before. But this time, the king and queen never returned. A storm engulfed the ship, and they were lost at sea. The kingdom mourned their rulers.

Inside the castle, Harry felt overcome with grief. Not knowing where else to turn, he knocked again on Ashton's door.

"Ashton? Are you okay? I'm right out here," Harry said. But as always, there was no reply. He slid down and sadly rested his head against the door. "It's just you and me now. What are we going to do?"

Inside his room, Ashton felt awful, too. But he could not open the door. Instead, he sat with his back against the closed door, crying silently. All around her, ice and snow filled the room.

In time, the boys became young men. But they had grown apart, and Harry felt he barely knew Ashton anymore.

When Ashton turned twenty-one, it was time for him to be crowned the new King of Arendelle. The whole kingdom was bustling with excitement. For the time in ages, and for one day only, the castle gates would be opened to the village and to all the surrounding kingdoms.

It would be a celebration that Arendelle would never forget.