Chapter 1

Snow drifted down upon the mountains, pausing to dance with the swirling winds before continuing down to earth. It was well into the dark hours of the morning as the storm continued to howl and the entire sky was veiled by a thick layer of clouds. Temperatures dropped to below freezing, despite the fact that it was in the middle of July, as the white flakes continued to rain down.

Not a single animal could be seen across the wintery countryside, as the freak blizzard had driven them to the valleys for shelter. That is, all except for one solitary individual, slowly trudging up the slope. A single person trying to push through the drifts of freshly fallen snow. After a few minutes of plowing the figure paused to take a breath and look around. Massive mountains loomed all around in all directions, but the individual's attention appeared to be fixed straight ahead.

There, like a darkened sentinel, loomed the secluded North Mountain, a lone peak that towered above all its brethren. Its beckoning cliffs offered seclusion but also promising danger to any who would dare approach. Perfect for those who wished to be alone.

But, more importantly, on the far side was the Northern Pass, which allowed one to cross the mountains and drop down into the valleys beyond, which was exactly what the figure was looking for. He just hadn't planned on all the snow.

"It's the height of summer," he grumbled to himself, continuing to plough forward. "And, of course, the one time I cross over the divide a blizzard blows in."

Of course, this was Arendelle, so it wasn't unheard of for snow storms to occur in even the hottest of summers. In fact, this was so far north that snow was an ever present part of the landscape. In all his time living there, however, he'd never seen one nearly as bad as this. Such a storm was rare even in winter, dropping as much as ten feet in less than a day.

Oh well, he thought, It's just as well that the cold never bothers me. Just wish I'd thought to bring my snowshoes.

Aaron Folkestad had spent his entire life traipsing around the mountains and hills of Arendelle and had learned to love the cold and snow. But, as he struggled his way slowly through drift after drift, even he had to admit all this was a bit much.

Just then, as though in answer to his thoughts, the snow ceased falling and the clouds began to part, revealing the stars above. Smiling at his good fortune, he noticed a lightening of the sky and glanced over shoulder to see the first rays of the sun poking over the horizon. His smile couldn't help but falter in response. So much for making the pass by morning. At this rate I'll be lucky to get there by noon.

Of course, there are faster means by which to travel, he thought, but quickly shook his head. Just because I don't think there's anyone else up here doesn't mean there isn't any. Best not to take any chances. A little walking never hurt anyone.

Casting the thoughts from his mind, Aaron was about to continue on when he paused. He'd been deep in thought but was it just him, or had he just heard something other than the wind? He listened for a few seconds, shrugged and had just taken a step before stopping again. There it was again. It almost sounded like… a voice? But that was impossible. No one would be foolish enough to come up here in this weather. Well, aside from him that is.

Sure enough, however, he heard what sounded like a woman's voice again, rising over the tundra. In fact, it sounded like someone was…

"Singing?"

Aaron was so perplexed that he couldn't help but utter the word allowed. Someone had come all the way up here just to sing? He looked around over the vast landscape, trying to decipher where the singing was coming from, when it finally occurred to him. It was being carried by the wind and that was blowing almost directly west, which left only one feasible option. The voice had to be coming directly from the North Mountain.

Who'd be foolish enough to venture there? he thought. Not even I would risk climbing it with the weather like this.

He waited quietly for a few minutes, but the singing seemed to have stopped for good this time. After a moment or two more, Aaron decided that he had a choice to make. Either make for the Northern Pass, lest the snows return and close it for the foreseeable future, or try to discover the source of the mysterious voice.

I do need to get through the pass as soon as possible, he thought, wondering how long it would be until they reopened. Of course, on the other hand, I'll be going right past the mountain and it's not like it's that far out of the way. It'd take me an hour to look around, two at the most, and then I could continue on back home.

After wrestling with the options in his head for a few minutes, however, his curiosity ultimately got the better of him and he decided to make for the mountain. And even if the passes did close, there were other ways over the mountains.

The sun had climbed considerably higher in the sky when he finally managed to reach the base of the mountain. In that time the storm had all but abated, leaving as quickly as it had come to a beautiful azure sky. And there, up amongst the snow, was something he hadn't expected. A set of footprints leading higher up onto the mountain. So there was someone up here. A woman, judging from the size of the prints.

Oh well. I've come this far. Might as well go the rest of the way.

Resining that this would likely take the rest of the day to get up and down the mountain, he proceeded to follow the tracks. They led up a twisting and spiraling path up the peak, through ravines and over crevasses. At times he'd lose the prints where the wind had blown them away but managed to find them once more after a brief search.

Man, whoever came all the way up here really wanted to be alone, Aaron thought as he carefully worked his way through an array of frozen spikes. One slip at any number of places along the path could mean an instant demise.

He finally managed to hike around a rock wall after what seemed like ages when Aaron saw something the likes of which he'd never beheld. Before him was a deep chasm, dropping hundreds of feet below, but it wasn't the chasm that had his attention, rather what lay just beyond it.

It was a towering palace, nestled against the peak of the mountain. It rose from the snow in a single tower but had numerous three-pronged spires coming off. A single balcony sat directly above the lofty entrance, which was led up to by a delicate staircase crossing the abyss, and the whole structure seemed to be made of some sort of translucent material. But the most striking part of the building was the color. It was a wash of blues, from deep sapphire in the main columns to a lighter cerulean in the smaller pillars, except for where the sun shone upon it directly. There it flashed with all manners of purples and reds as it refracted the light.

After starring for several minutes, Aaron realized that his mouth was agape and closed it before shaking his head and closing his eyes. However, when he opened them, the palace was still there so he decided to slowly approach the bridge across the void. He was about to lay his hand upon one of the rails when he finally realized what it was made from.

"Ice?"

That just made it all the more impossible. How could any building be made completely from ice, much less on top of a mountain? It would take a hundred men a hundred days to make something less than a tenth the size. And yet, there in front of him was the spectacular sight he'd ever seen.

Aaron debated for a few seconds on whether or not to proceed but eventually decided to continue. Even if it turned out he was absolutely mad and it was all an illusion, he just had to know where this palace came from, or at least who'd built it.

So, with a quick prayer to no one in particular, he cautiously set a foot onto the first step of the bridge, and when it held Aaron proceeded to the next one, all while keeping a firm grip on the rail. He continued like this all the way across, carefully testing every step before finally arriving at the door. And what a door it was. It had to be almost ten, no, fifteen feet tall and several inches thick, with an intricate carving of a snowflake engrained into its surface.

Again Aaron paused, still not believing what his eyes were insisting was real. And there was only one way to know for sure. He held up his gloved hand and gave it a solemn look before letting out a sigh and removing the glove with his other hand. He then slowly reached out towards the door and drew within an inch of it before hesitating. Drawing in a deep breath and closing his eyes, he muttered to himself, "It's alright, Aaron. Control it." He then opened his eyes back up and pressed his hand against the door.

Sure enough, the door was freezing cold to the touch and Aaron couldn't help but grin. He loved the feeling of frost against his hot skin and enjoyed it for a few moments before he felt the surface begin to slicken. He quickly removed his hand before the ice began to melt and replaced his glove. Then, raising his hand once more, Aaron gave the door a single hard knock. What he wasn't expecting was for the door to give way and glide open with hardly a sound.

Aaron waited a few seconds for something to happen, and when nothing did he cleared his throat and said, "Uh…hello? Anyone here?"

His voice echoed slightly but otherwise there was no response. After waiting slightly longer he shrugged. Must not be anyone home, he thought as he stepped inside. Much to his surprise, the door then proceeded to slide shut behind him. …Weird.

If he'd thought that the outside was incredible, then the inside was just as spectacular. The door opened into a massive circular entrance hall, with the ceiling dozens of feet above the floor. Enormous support columns around the edge held up the floor above, which had a large ivory snowflake emblazed across it. All the surfaces throughout were a blend of blues much like the outside, except for the purple hues as there were no windows to allow direct sunlight in. The most striking feature of the room, however, was the fountain at the far side flanked by a pair of sweeping staircases, which led to a second set of stairs and what he assumed was the rest of the palace.

Unless he was somehow mistaken, it looked as though the water in the fountain had instantly frozen in midair, with the droplets splaying out in flowing patterns. Crossing the room slowly so as not to slip, he circled the structure slowly and paused.

"It's not possible," he murmured quietly, reaching out to one such spray. He was just about to touch it when a voice echoed across the room.

"Who are you?"

Aaron spun on the spot, scanning the room but found it just as empty as it was when he first came in. Furrowing his brow and glancing from side to side, he replied, "Sorry?"

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Upon hearing the voice a second time he realized that it'd come from the landing at the top of twin staircases behind him. Turning around and looking up, Aaron once more started to say sorry, only to have his jaw drop for the second time. For there, standing above him, was without a doubt the beautiful woman he'd ever seen. And she did not look terribly happy to see him.