Chapter Two: Prince Albert, the Frozen
Albert Arendelle was the first official King of our fair Kingdom. A few years earlier, when he and his family founded this country, Albert fell into a tiny cold spot of trouble. At the time, he was nicknamed "Prince Albert,"although his family, despite being of ancient and noble blood, was not considered 'royal'.
He was an overall good kid. He helped the elderly often, and would go out of his way to gather firewood to help them heat their homes in the colder seasons. He was strong, but not burly, and would assist the men to hunt for big game in the months that food was scarce.
He had a twin sister named Agnes, but due to the ancient patriarchal laws of their family, she was not considered as an heir to the throne at the time. She was a kind person, much like her brother, but was slightly rebellious. She would often dress as a man and follow her brother wherever he went, much to the embarrassment of their parents.
For some reason they were never quite affected by the cold as much as their parents were, but instead, loved the brisk, biting air of winter.
One day the two siblings were playing in the snow. It was the morning of their sixteenth birthday, and as a special treat, their mother, Frejya, was making a feast. This feast was going to be one of her best yet, as she was going to make her infamous Double-Soaked Fruit Cake, which was the twins' favorite dessert.
They were rolling around in the snow, throwing wintery balls of ice at one another, when a large explosion rang out in the sky. Shocked by the noise, the twins stopped playing and looked up. Never before had such a noise occurred in their peaceful and quiet town. The most noise they ever heard was if a wagon fell off of a reindeer's harness.
A blast of dark blue light fell from the sky, faster than anyone's eyes could track it.
It hit both of the Arendelle Twins, and they blacked out.
Agnes drifted in and out of consciousness, she was aware of the worried mumbles. Voices floated above her sporadically. Her head was throbbing violently. But one thing certainly felt different, and it should have been obvious to her at first.
"But they have been cursed..."
"... only the trolls..."
"Those BEASTS?"
"... he might die."
When Agnes finally woke up, she felt too warm. Sweat was plastered on her forehead. Her whole body was clammy.
"Albert?"
The quilts heaped upon her refused to budge. Her eyes scrolled down to see something strange. A layer of ice coated the dark grey sheets, contributing to the immobility of her arms and legs.
"Agnes!" Almost immediately after Agnes had woken up, Frejya hurried to her daughter's bedside. She was a lithe and pale woman, with dark hair and crystal blue eyes.
Shifting around on her bed, Agnes struggled with her sheets. "Mom? What happened? It's so hot."
"Hot?" asked Frejya gently, "how could you possibly be too hot?" Concern colored her face.
Agnes couldn't focus on her mother's face for too long. She was too troubled about her twin brother. The last thing she remembered was the loud, earth-shattering noise, and the explosion of light that had surrounded them both. "Where's Albert?"
Staring for a few seconds at her daughter, Frejya sighed in utter exasperation. "Oh dear, it was terrible." The woman looked ready to cry any moment. As she spoke, Frejya began removing the heavy sheets covered in ice. As she removed them, the ice audibly cracked and splintered in her hands. "We found you two half covered in snow, surrounded by those awful beasts! We think—maybe you two were cursed."
Agnes sat upright and furrowed her brow. It took a few moments to realize what her mother was speaking of when she mentioned the 'awful beasts'.
"By the trolls? But they never bothered us before."
It was true. Agnes and her brother had seen the trolls several times before. The mystical beings would often observe the two of them while they hid in the shadows. Other than that, the shy creatures neither bothered the twins nor attempted to approach them.
"Where's Albert?" asked Agnes again, looking around the room. She shared it with her brother, but his bed was mysteriously missing.
Noticing her daughter's stare drifting over to where Albert's bed once was, Frejya sighed.
"Well, Agnes, dear, he did not fare as well as you did."
Not understanding what that meant, Agnes grew more exasperated. "But where is he?"
"He's in the den, near the fire. You began to sweat, so we moved you from there, but he has been asleep for quite a while. You as well."
Agnes thought over this for about a minute. "How long have we been asleep?"
Frejya forced a smile and tried to smooth out the sheets in front of her. "Don't worry, Agnes, we'll have the party when you two recover, but for now—,"
The girl had a feeling that her mother was trying to hide something from her.
"How long, mother?"
She couldn't get anything past her strong-willed daughter could she? Frejya wrinkled her brow and held her head.
"Two days."
Agnes did not pause to look at herself in the mirror. If she had, she would have noticed that her hair was now platinum blonde in appearance. She probably would have noticed that her eyes were now a vivid, almost glowing, blue.
Probably.
She was not vain with her looks. If there had been a pair of horns sticking out of her forehead, then it would have taken a whole week for her to notice.
Her brother, however, she noticed everything. His powder white hair and blued skin were the first things Agnes noticed. His constant shivering, despite being so close to the fire, was also a very bad sign.
The younger twin only needed to look at him for half a moment.
She stormed out the door without even putting on a coat or even a cloak. Her mother had tried to call after her and tell her how their father, Hans, had gone out to hunt the trolls in an effort to stop the curse. The girl didn't even stop to argue.
Her father was about to go and slaughter a whole race of sentient beings, just to save two of his children.
Why was this thing always happening? She had to go find her father and convince him to stop his rampage. Of course, that also entailed tracking down the trolls herself, in order to figure out how to save her brother. The trolls obviously knew something was wrong, and were trying to help them. For all Agnes knew, she probably was all right because of them.
Stalking off into the dark forest, Agnes waded through the snow—a flurry of cold air trailing behind her.
