Mathias was pleasantly surprised when dinner finally took place. Although the fresh seared fish was absolutely, mouth-wateringly delectable, that wasn't what made him the happiest about this occasion.
"You guys have a really quaint little dining table! It's so cute!" he cheered, drizzling a spoonful of sauce onto his fish.
Lukas stared at him, pausing with his fork and knife still positioned in his hands. His eyes narrowed, a quizzical, judgmental expression gracing his face.
Emil lifted a brow at their guest as well.
"What is that supposed to mean?" the Prince of Arendelle asked.
"Hm?" Mathias lifted his head, his mouth full of the fish he was currently chewing.
He quickly swallowed it and dabbed his mouth with the corner of his napkin. He smiled pleasantly before he took a sip of his wine to wash the rest down.
"Oh. I simply mean I'm used to dining with twelve other full-grown men. Back home we have this ridiculously long table"—Mathias spread his arms out—"that we all have to sit down at each night for dinner. It had to be built extra long so that we don't end up slamming our arms into the person next to us when we try to retrieve helpings. We even have assigned seats from oldest to youngest so we don't fight over where to sit. Trust me, it's happened before. Your guys' regular dining table is so adorable! It can comfortably fit six people with spared elbow room!"
Mathias hummed as he returned his attention to his dish. He chuckled when he glanced up at King Lukas. The poor man had the most befuddled and irritated look on his cute face.
"You are actually an idiot," Lukas turned to his brother, "Emil, he's actually a full blown idiot."
"You're the one who invited him to stay with us," Emil reminded, "So it's totally your fault."
Lukas sighed and accepted that truth, taking a tiny bite of his own food. Yep. He has damned himself in this situation. As dinner progressed, Lukas couldn't quite believe how childish this Prince seemed to truthfully be. After every few segments of intelligent, surprisingly enjoyable conversation, Mathias would make the stupidest inquiry about the most irrelevant of things.
He'd make a random comment on the shape or luster of the cutlery, and another time, he expressed frustration about one of his brothers. It was something that had apparently happened nearly five years ago that came out as a muttered, "You couldn't have just fucking waited your turn could you, Darren. No you had to be there first."
But despite some of the oddities that were Mathias's speech patterns, King Lukas couldn't help but be…fascinated by him. How could this oaf stay so energized? Where did all these dumb ideas come from? How could he talk so much about something so plain and forgettable?
The man could talk and talk forever it seemed, never growing tired of what he was saying. At first, Lukas was utterly annoyed and dissatisfied with the ability, wishing the fool would just shut up. But as time droned on, he began to acutely listen to every syllable that clicked off of Mathias's tongue. There was something alluring about the man Lukas couldn't quite pin down at the moment. There was something warm and comforting about the way Mathias expressed himself with his loud voice.
How could something so irritating be so enjoyable at the same time?
It confused Lukas quite a bit. It confused him so much, he decided to end it before it got any worse.
"Okay. You're done talking," he cut in sharply.
Mathias cocked his head, "Oh! I'm sorry! I was kinda rambling for a long time wasn't I?"
"Indeed. Also, you should know, your voice is incredibly annoying."
"I see!"
Emil groaned, his plate had been empty nearly fifteen minutes. He slouched in his chair and crossed his arms. He eyed Lukas, silently accusing him of wasting his time with this dumb Southern Isle Prince. Maybe he should occupy himself with something useful.
"Where's Puffin, Lukas? I haven't seen him all day…"
"I don't know. He isn't my responsibility."
"Who's Puffin?" Mathias questioned.
The youngest of the three waved his hand dismissingly.
"Oh, he's just a magical snow bird Lukas made when he had his ice tantrum episode," the white-haired teen explained dully.
"It wasn't a tantrum…"
Lukas threw a scrunched up napkin at his brother. It was Mathias's turn to be confused.
"A magical snow bird?"
"Yeah, I guess he can make living snow things. I don't know how it works, all I know is that it does."
Emil stood up, stretching.
"You know what? Let me just show you the damn thing."
He cupped his hands around his mouth and whistled a few times.
"Puffin! Mr. Puffin!"
Within seconds, what looked like an albino puffin burst into the room, a trail of icy dust falling from its tail feathers. It had a little snow flurry hovering above it wherever it went with snowflakes fluttering down. It circled a few seconds, deciding on an appropriate landing spot, before settling down on Emil's extended arm. It edged its way onto Emil's shoulder before puffing out, its snowy body becoming puffier and puffier.
"This is Mr. Puffin," Emil introduced proudly.
Mathias marveled, immediately jumping up and hopping to the other side of the table. He gawked as his finger petted the thing. His smile grew even bigger as Puffin leaned into his touch. The creature began to coo as Mathias scratched right under its icy beak. He laughed when he noticed the miniature bowtie that was nestled against its snowy feathers.
"He's really made of snow!"
"Of course he is, you idiot. I have ice powers. What do you think it'd be made of, sand?"
Emil rolled his eyes at the both of them. Mathias continued to dote on the snow bird, transfixed with its body and liveliness.
"So why'd you build this handsome guy anyways, Lukas?"
The two brothers both smiled a small smile. Lukas tucked some hair behind his ear once again, a shy hum escaping his lips.
"We used to build Puffin as kids, and Emil would always pretend it was his pet bird for some reason. I tried to tell him to give it a name, like Olaf or something, but Emil was persistent on just calling it Mr. Puffin."
The younger teen's ears flared red in embarrassment.
"Mr. Puffin is a fine name! He doesn't need to be named anything else," Emil defended stubbornly.
Mr. Puffin nuzzled Emil gently, chirping quietly.
The Prince would never admit it, but when he first ran into Puffin with Kaoru in the frozen vastness of the mountains, his heart swelled with an almost forgotten emotion. A warmth surrounded his heart as Puffin had flitted down from the trees, nuzzling against Emil first thing. The Prince nearly started crying with shock when that warm feeling bombarded his body. After realizing exactly what Mr. Puffin had become, Emil had used all of his willpower from cuddling the snowy bird to death, wanting to soak up all of that old childhood happiness that had eluded him for so many years…
Lukas watched in contentment as Mr. Puffin cuddled up against his little brother.
"I think I'm going to go to bed," Emil announced, beginning to walk towards the doors, "I have to get up early to meet Kaoru."
He walked past Mathias without really a second glance, then past his brother, who gave him a silent nod of "goodnight". The large doors creaked open before clicking shut.
"You know, those powers…they're really incredible…" Mathias admired, turning back to Lukas, "You should really be proud of yourself. It's so…mind blowing that you can create so many things with just…a wave of your hand and a thought in your mind. You really are blessed with such an amazing gift. I don't think anyone else in the world should have that gift besides you."
The King jumped, a little fluffed up by the compliment. No one had really called his powers a gift before. No one had romanticized his powers as something extraordinary and awesome. Mathias telling him his powers were so wonderful provoked a strange feeling in his stomach that swirled around, causing Lukas to avert his gaze in slight embarrassment.
"Oh…Takk."
"You know, my brother told us about that huge ice palace you made."
"Did he now?"
Mathias nodded, "Indeed. He did. He said it was one of the grandest monuments he'd ever seen. Tall and magnificent, strong and beautiful. He admitted to being a bit frightened by it. I guess seeing a huge tower of ice is intimidating. And there was apparently a huge, monstrous snow guard you made too?"
Lukas smirked at Mathias's excited expression, waving his hand a bit as a small snowflake quickly grew to be the size of the dinner plates they had just eaten from. He played with it, allowing it to bounce around the room a bit before bursting into a cloud of snowy glitter in his guest's face. Mathias sputtered, swatting away at the icy crystals.
"Mathias, if I can create an eternal winter, a living snow puffin, and an ice palace larger than this castle right here, what's stopping me from creating a huge snow monster, too?"
Mathias shrugged, his grin still plastered onto his face. Does that man ever not smile? Is that even a possible thing?
"Well it isn't something people hear of everyday you know," the taller one reminded, "Which makes me wonder… Can I see the palace?"
Lukas suddenly dropped his smirk, his confidence falling back into an introverted cradle.
"Wh…why would you want to see that? Didn't you say you wanted to see Arendelle?"
"Well sure, but being able to see your castle would be pretty great, too!"
The Ice King hesitated before responding. He instinctively pulled his hands close to his chest.
"You don't need to see it. Besides, it's far away in the mountains. It would take us nearly a day to get there."
"Oh come on! I can't just hear about how crazy amazing it is and not get a peek at it while I'm here! You don't have to come with me, you can just give me a map! Heck, I'd go on foot."
"No! I don't want you to," Lukas scolded persistently, his finger poking out accusingly, "it's my castle…and I can tell you if I don't want someone to see it!"
The spikey haired blonde put up his hands in defense. He watched Lukas who ran his fingers through his hair, his eyes averted downwards. The King stuttered a sigh, falling back into his chair. Mathias pulled his own chair and leaned in a bit, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Okay. Okay. Sorry for asking. I didn't think it was that big of a deal."
"Well maybe it is. I know for damn sure it isn't your business," Lukas retorted icily.
Mathias withdrew his hand and cleared his throat.
"I see…"
An awkward, silent pause drug out, neither man moving a muscle. The king had his head resting in the palm of his hands, eyes closed shut, brows creased as they furrowed together. Finally, Lukas sniffed a bit, shaking his head. He sat up straighter, looking at Mathias. His beautiful, misty eyes seemed to have grown bags under them in the last few minutes.
He seemed extraordinarily tired.
"Tomorrow morning. We can leave to go there tomorrow morning," he instructed clearly, standing up.
The Prince blinked in surprise, "But you just said—."
He watched silently as Lukas gave him one last glance before turning around to dismiss himself. The King quickly closed the large oak doors behind him. Mathias stared quizzically at the door, propping himself with his arm.
"Well. Tomorrow morning it is then."
They were sent off with their horses before daybreak. Mathias was elated when he learned Mr. Puffin was coming along to visit the large snow ogre that resided in the castle.
The Prince had been stripped of his royal attire and was shoved into more winter-appropriate clothes. The thick, furry layers of clothing completely changed Mathias's original look. He looked rough and sturdy, rugged and raw. Lukas had actually taken a moment to eye his companion up and down. He liked that mountain-man look on him. Yeah…he could appreciate that.
In his own private opinion, Lukas barely admitted to himself that the Prince just genuinely looked damn good no matter what he wore.
They rode their horses up the mountains, Mr. Puffin hovering around them. The first two hours were actually surprisingly silent.
Lukas would glance back at Mathias periodically, secretly, just to see if the idiot was still there. Sure enough, he was right behind him, only his eyes were trained on their surroundings. His mouth seemed to hang open slightly as his sparkling blue eyes wandered hungrily around the forests. It's like the man had never seen mountains before.
When the sun had begun to rise, the two stopped to stare at it in marvel. From afar, you could see Arendelle was shrouded in a warm peachy glow, the fjord sparkling, greeting the waking sun. The fresh snow was tinted a light pink, the only disturbance in the snow was the gouges their horse's hooves had made.
"We don't get a view like this at home," Mathias commented, of course being the first one to speak, "There aren't mountains really. All we basically have is the ocean. …A lot of it. Maybe a few fjords but not too many."
He made himself chuckle a bit, watching Lukas. He seemed deep in thought, a distant look of concentration veiling his face.
"You know I spent most of my life in the castle, right? I hardly left my room. Let alone Arendelle. The first time I had ever gone to the mountains was when I ran away," Lukas related.
He looked upwards as Puffin roosted on his head.
"I'm sure it must have been very exciting."
"Hardly. It was absolutely horrifying at first, but then…" he trailed off, suddenly pulling at the reins, "come on. We still have a ways to go."
The way up to the castle was really a tiny adventure. Mathias's energy level rose as the day progressed, his hyper activeness returning.
He stayed right next to Lukas, their horses nearly inches apart. They could have held hands if they wanted to.
The two began to exchange stories about their childhoods, with no surprise, discovering that their childhoods drastically contrasted each one another's. Lukas of course had grown up in a quiet, isolated, hush-hush type of environment. While Mathias was exposed to thundering loudness and a competitive drive for attention.
The Prince illustrated adventurous tales, mischievous rendezvous behind his parent's backs and aggressive fights against siblings that he could barely count himself.
Lukas's stories were much more muted and eventless, but mystical and thought provoking. He cautiously explained the struggles of trying to control his powers all his life, trying to conceal them as if they weren't there at all.
"The fear…that's what ate at me the most. The fear of losing the little control I had, losing myself in my own battle, and most of all…losing Emil. I was so scared for so long," he chuckled, shrugging a bit, "it was never even a possibility for me to think to accept and embrace my powers for what they truly were."
"Do you hold resentment…or anger towards your parents? For telling you to keep your powers hidden?" Mathias probed carefully, trying not to step out of boundaries.
"I don't know. I know they were just trying to protect me…but their fear of my powers essentially cost me and Emil a lot of happiness for a long part of our lives. If they had just let it be…then maybe things would have ended much differently."
Mathias let that sink in for a moment, watching their snowy path ahead. Lukas rode closer to Mathias unknowingly, their horses then briefly bumping against each other.
"I'm happy for you. It takes a lot of courage to accept and love a part of yourself you learn not to like."
Lukas snapped his head in Mathias's direction, eyes slightly widening. His stare was innocent and even a bit mystified. Mathias really was just a bundle of abstract surprises wasn't he?
A few more leisurely hours passed before they were high above the world. All you could see were mountains and clouds. Large trees were hunched over due to the weight of the snow, making them look like ancient sleeping wizards.
Lukas nudged Mathias silently as they approached North Mountain. Eagerly, Mathias craned his neck as they drew in closer.
A colossal castle, shimmering in the light began to peek over the rocky cliffs. The structure was absolutely massive, towering over the land. It was nestled perfectly in the side of the mountain, almost looking like a jewel on a crown. It was in the shape of a large crystal, the walls smooth and almost metallic looking. The solid ice it was made of acted as a prism to the light that passed through it, throwing a multitude of pinks, purples and blues across any surface it touched.
They slowly rode up to it, Mathias's jaw hanging ajar. Lukas smiled to himself, still oh so proud of this place he called a second home.
"Here."
Lukas mounted off his horse, flicking his hand to build a large pole to tie their horses to. He led Mathias's horse to the pole and tied it tight. Mr. Puffin circled around them, already flying up to the balcony that hovered above.
"Come on, let's go inside."
Mathias hurriedly hopped off his horse, tumbling a bit to catch up to the King who was already half way up the elegant flight of stairs. His long tailcoat cascaded up the staircase, making Lukas look as graceful as falling snow. In all honesty, Lukas looked absolutely perfect against his large castle. He almost looked out of place in Arendelle compared to when he was up here. The Prince quickly learned it was hard to gawk at such a beautiful sight and walk straight at the same time…
Lukas turned around to see Mathias stumble up the steps.
"What an annoying idiot. I hope you fall off the cliff."
When the pair reached the grand entrance, Lukas extended his arms and slowly spread them apart, the doors opening on his command. The sound of ice grinding against ice echoed through the large empty chamber.
Mathias followed Lukas inside.
He looked up immediately. The ceiling was incredibly high, that he wasn't exactly sure if he was truly seeing the top. There were magnificent pillars supporting the room, each one etched with identical designs that decorated the entire castle. A frozen fountain gleamed in the center, little bits of ice crystals suspended in midair. The artistic arches and curves of the building made Mathias feel like he was in a dream of sorts, and that this place wasn't even supposed to be real.
Overall, the lighting was surprisingly blue, making everything seem as if time had stopped. Lukas suddenly was smiling, which completely caught the other off guard. He grabbed Mathias's hands and began to pull him up the curving staircase. Lukas and Mathias's footsteps echoed three times over it was so silent.
"Hurry, idiot, you need to meet him."
They jogged up the staircase into another spacious room with a gargantuan snowflake embedded in the floor. It twinkled like a massive star, winking out bits of pinks here and there. Above them hung an elaborate chandelier, triangles and spears jutting out of the base. Mathias could barely breathe. Mr. Puffin had settled down on a huge boulder of snow resting in the corner.
"I had to fix everything after your brother practically ruined my castle," Lukas huffed irritably, "He broke my staircase, crashed my chandelier and I had to destroy my balcony because some idiot tried to spear me with a crossbow. It was absolutely a mess."
Lukas excitedly moved over to the large mound of snow, "And I had to resurrect this poor guy after he shoved him off the cliff…"
Mathias followed with a bit of distance, mumbling sounds of disbelief, still trying to comprehend the grandness of Lukas's ice palace. The King tenderly patted the large boulder, Puffin pecking at it impatiently. Suddenly it began to tremble, and Lukas began to smile again. The large boulder began to stand, growing quite a few feet in height. Arms unwound themselves and two iced feet shook the ground. Mathias gasped as he looked up at two hollowed eyes staring down at them.
"This is Marshmallow, the protector of my castle," the King quipped, his arms crossed as he showed off his quite impressive guard.
The Prince was speechless. He gazed up at Marshmallow who yawned, frost smoking from his mouth. Lukas looked up as his snowy friend, patting his leg.
"This is an idiot named Mathias. He's the brother of the guy who threw you off a cliff," Lukas introduced casually.
Marshmallow grunted, clomping forward closer to Mathias. He squatted down, now only inches away from Mathias's face. The guard inhaled deeply before violently projecting a heap of sleet and snow against him, wind causing the poor man to tumble over.
"Waaaugh!"
Marshmallow didn't yield until Mathias was reduced to a huge snow pile, a few limbs poking out. Marshmallow nodded in satisfaction, turning back around to promptly sit back down in his corner.
Lukas actually allowed a laugh to escape his mouth, quickly recovering by coughing into his fist.
"That was revenge against your brother. Since your brother isn't here, he had to take out his anger on someone," the King smirked, walking over to the pile.
He sat down atop it, waiting for Mathias's head to pop out. Soon enough, blonde spikey hair rustled its way through. Mathias spit out some snow and lightly glared at Lukas.
He readjusted himself and pulled his arms free of the confines of his small snowy prison. He carefully balled up a mass of snow and tossed it at the back of Lukas's head.
The King gasped, hopping up, "Oh you did not just threaten me with a snowball, Mathias!"
Mathias stood up, forming another.
"Oh yes I did."
"You're going to regret that."
Lukas waved his arms, a multitude of snow balls forming around him. He spun around and thrust his arms forward, the snowballs mercilessly pelting the Prince. Mathias yelped, dodging a few, but ultimately falling backwards to the onslaught of snow. He laughed as Lukas continued his abuse.
The King quickly built himself a snow barricade, Mathias somehow recovering quick enough to whack him in the face with a surprisingly well made snowball.
"Oh come on, Lukas! That's cheating!"
"What! How the hell is this cheating?"
Mathias laughed as he tossed a snowball over the barricade, Lukas gasping as it burst on the crown of his head.
"You have snow powers! That's like an automatic win!"
The Prince dove behind a pillar of ice as a large snowball just barely missed his chest. It spattered against the wall behind him. Lukas's purple eyes peeked over the top of his barricade, glaring at Mathias's own half-hidden face.
"You annoying dumbass! You're the one who started this dumb fight in the first place! I have every right to use my powers."
The less talented of the two had tried to start a small stockpile of snowballs, keeping himself hidden behind the pillar. At some point or another, a small snowstorm had whisked its way into the room, swirling around them. Mathias let out a battle cry before running at full speed with an armful of snowballs. The poor fool didn't get very far, seeing as Lukas popped up and threw up his hands, a sudden wall of snow curving upwards only to crash onto Mathias. Lukas laughed.
Mathias cried out as he was once again buried in snow.
The King scurried out from behind his barricade to dig out the Prince, not expecting at all to be tackled backwards into a plush pile of snow.
Mathias was covered in snow, his wild hair even messier now that snow had taken over it. He practically lay on top of Lukas, holding himself up with his elbow. Their faces were close enough to feel each other's warmth. Lukas was gazing up at him, eyes curious, darting around Mathias's face. His hair was splayed against the snow, practically blending in with the stuff.
They both were catching their breaths, cheeks and noses red from the cold.
"I…I haven't had a snowball fight since I was a kid…" Lukas sighed dreamily.
Mathias chuckled and smiled down at Lukas, who had one of the most angelic expressions he had ever managed. The pair didn't move hardly at all, being perfectly comfortable nestled against each other in the snow. That is, until they realized exactly what position they were actually in. They both scrambled to get up, brushing themselves off, a raging blush rising up both their necks.
That little mishap though didn't stop Mathias from smirking at Lukas periodically, who in turn swiftly averted his gaze to hide an uncontrollable smile that spread on his thin lips.
It seemed now Lukas had an entire new feeling to be afraid of, something he hadn't ever experienced before. Something warm and fuzzy, something that presented completeness, something that made him happy in a way he didn't know was possible.
THIS IS REALLY FUCKING LONG.
AND I'M SO SORRY IF PARTS SEEM IRRELEVANT. I'm not taking this story too incredibly seriously, it's more so for my own amusement, I don't really edit much. Hahaha.
Ugh.
