Trials of the Moonlight

Vinteren er Ikke Borte Ennå

Elsa tried hard not to think of the cruel irony that was a death on her birthday; everyone's birthday was someone else's death... but it had never been this close to her before.

The day after was when they held Nicholas' funeral. It was colorless and snow fell like the sky was shedding tears. Perhaps it was the weather, or it was Jack's misery. When word spread through Arendelle that Nicholas had died, people were coming forth with their sympathies. All those sad faces were not just for Nicholas Overland, but for his widow and two children. Jack might've been grown, but he was still too young to lose a parent, and Sophie...

Although she loved each of the Overlands equally, Sophie was the one Elsa felt the most for. She came to Arendelle right when she turned ten, and before her eyes, it felt as though Elsa had seen her grow up so quickly. She was glad to be there to watch her become a young woman who was so spirited and strong-willed. But no one was impervious to the grief that came with such a loss, and she cried until she became sick.

Sophie didn't seek refuge in the arms of anyone—like Jack, she seemed to push people away. It wasn't something that was learned, as it had been her way since she was small. Elsa still kept a close watch on her in case she wanted someone, and though she felt compelled to reach out to Jack, he wasn't speaking to anyone. No one. He hadn't said a word since he'd gone to get Agnarr and Iduna's help... not even when he heard how they spent months trying to reach out to medics across the kingdom who might have access to better medicine but never found any good news. They'd tried so hard to help keep his father alive, yet he didn't know why they bothered—Death came for everyone, and it wanted his father's company next.

For some reason, King Lear came to his mind; it was all that struck him when he tried not to think about his father... then he knew why. It was the last memory he had of him when he thought all was well.

Winter's not gone yet, if the wild geese fly that way.
Winter's not gone yet, if the wild geese fly that way.
Fathers that wear rags
Do make their children blind.
But fathers that bear bags
Shall see their children kind.
Fortune, that arrant whore,
Ne'er turns the key to th' poor.

Nicholas Overland would be the first of his name to be buried outside of his village's cemetery; Emily had thought about sending his body back there so he could be with his family, but then she and her children would have no place to visit him unless they wanted a two-day trip. The weather was much too harsh for his corpse to be brought anywhere, so all their back-and-forth arguing had been for nothing.

Winter's not gone yet, if the wild geese fly that way.
Winter's not gone yet, if the wild geese fly that way.
Fathers that wear rags
Do make their children blind.
But fathers that bear bags
Shall see their children kind.
Fortune, that arrant whore,
Ne'er turns the key to th' poor.

He thought of his face when he'd said, "I wish I could have known you better." It was probably the most sincerity Jack had seen in him in his life.

Nicholas was buried in Arendelle's cemetery right behind the castle. Sophie listened to the words the priest was saying, but none of them made sense to her. Her mother, the King and Queen, and Elsa were all with her, but she felt so alone without her brother beside her. Jack had seen his father's dead body, he didn't want to see it again. All he could think about was all the blood he'd lost. Sophie didn't know to be angry at him or not—she couldn't fathom his desire to be totally alone when they needed each other.

Then part of her grew angrier when she remembered of course Jack wanted to be alone. He'd abandoned them, and now he was doing it again. No, she'd never forgive him for this!