Chapter 4 – A King's Demise -
He had no idea how long the negotiations went on, but it seemed endless, and all gods haven't meet their minds to settle things between them. For each deity was full of pride, all weren't open for a compromise.
One of the fairest gods, who was so sick and tired of restlessly watching his fellow immortals, intruded the ceaseless arguments with a loud yawn.
"Why do you all make things so complicated…?" the youngest immortal honestly questioned the elder gods. "You could wake me up if all of you are finished bickering and pushing your own self-interests…"The white haired boy of winter spoke sarcastically and gave a sleepy gesture at the god of dreams to give him more of his golden sands so that he could slumber away.
The other gods find his demeanor rude, except his godly ancestors, particularly Loki who laughed amusedly upon seeing Freyja narrowed her eyes annoyed at the immortal boy.
"The boy's right," Thor voiced out. "We are going nowhere with this Agreement, even my representative, Máni, find most of you inflexible for a compromise."
"You see!" Loki gestured his hand, facing Baldur and Forseti. "Your judgment is useless…"
"No. It is binding." Forseti remained firm. "The problem is that no one wants to put aside their differences. No one wants to be an equal, for everyone wants more than the others."
"Forseti speaks the truth," Baldur agreed with his son, the god of justice. He faced the immortal boy with blue eyes. "All of you never considered hearing out the boy since he himself is the center of this." He stood up and left his seat, and approached the boy who was seated with the other deities. Gesturing for the King of Niflheim not to speak for his son, the Winter Prince, Baldur asked the blue eyed boy. "Speak your thoughts, son of Winter."
"About this Agreement?" Jack whispered as he noticed everyone's eyes and ears are attentive towards him. "I find it unnecessary and unfair. I mean, why include someone's fate here when she's not here in the first place?! How could she tell us if she's into the agreement? What's the angle? Unless her ancestor here had her own interests which…?"
"I am her ancestor, and I know someday she will accept it." Freyja's words snapped when she didn't allow the prince of Niflheim to further question her. "Besides, I am not the only one here who had interests, everyone does so does your lying shrewd ancestor, Loki." The golden goddess observed Loki at the opposite side beside Jack, the lord of mischief was snickering at her and her words.
"Even the boy knows you're a vengeful witch!" Loki smiled widely, twisted his descendant's last word - which into witch, as he chuckled at Freyja in sarcasm. "Of course, he does, thanks to you who cursed him through the Trolden Mirror!"
"Don't you ever twist it around with your silver tongue, devil!" The Vanir goddess fumed at the lord of cunning and mischief.
"Enough! We are returning back to where we started. And I don't want to waste any more time! I would rather be with my family or out in my ship with my fleet in the seas of galaxies of stars." Lord Kozmotis Pitchiner replied, crossed his arms. "I want to hear more from the boy instead. Besides, he is the most affected here. Tell us, Prince of Niflheim, what you feel?"
"I don't like it." The blue eyed boy stood up while his father remained placid in silence, observing his son who turned serious this time around. The white haired bringer of winter frowned at the golden goddess and flew out from the great hall while the gods burst into whispers and arguments except for Loki and Freyja who fell silent.
Loki's wide grin was slowly turning into an angry frown, glared at the Vanir goddess while Freyja's eyelashes fluttered and gave a faint triumphant smile at Loki.
For the immortal boy of winter had finally revealed for the first time that he was deeply concerned for the inevitable plight of the mortal girl who he loves.
When he left the Great Hall of Mediation with the doors automatically closed shut behind him, Jack heard the spreading of the frosts followed by his father's winter winds. He ceased flying, landed on the glass like floor while the King of Niflheim rose up from the multitudes of frosts and stood in front of his son. The white haired boy lowered to bow and held out his materialized frosted wooden staff towards his father who held the royal staff. He stood up straight in composed attentiveness as his father allowed him to draw near.
"I think it is time for you to go back home with me. Come, my son." The white haired and short bearded King with royal blue eyes spoke at him.
"But I think I'm not finished bringing winter in Midgard…"
"Your other brothers will be in-charge of it. My envoys and imperial guards will accompany them to prevent an unfortunate incident like yours. I have sent word that you will be relieve for a while."
The boy stopped walking. He remained silent, standing behind his father. His emotionless father halted in his tracks, slowly turned to face him.
"You will return training as a Warrior of Ice under the supervision of your mentor, Snip. I know that you have finished all of the lessons and trainings, including the ice sword techniques, warfare strategies, the berserker (warrior madness) power mode techniques, and the higher forms of winter spells, especially All-Father Odin's warrior codes of binding fear into your enemies hearts and releasing fear within one's self. Your new disciplinary routine is better than allow you to dilly-dally around and making crazy and wild pranks at the time-wielding Pooka." He noticed his son's blue eyes looked away, the king gave a stern cold look. "Fun times and mischief-making have to be set aside for duties and responsibilities, my son. Because someday, you might be taking my mantle as king of our realm. You need to follow the rules, and take responsibilities, because when you are king, you will make the rules and govern Niflheim as our people expect us to be. And don't you ever tell me, you would not be king, because what if your brothers might not be worthy to take the throne, but it is only you who is capable of doing so." After stating such, his father outstretched his right hand holding the royal frosted crook staff before Jack. "This royal staff hold all powers of Niflheim, and could only be possessed by someone from the line of Winter Kings. It is considered as one of the most powerful weapons in the nine worlds along with your godly ancestor Thor's Mjölnir. It will be your protector and your friend. And with your powers combined with the staff, by using it as a conduit, you will be unstoppable. That is why you alone must be able to control it through your strongest willpower. And I sensed long before that you had that ice cold will. That is the reason, I had delegated to you the position of being the bringer of winter, because you can easily wield the royal staff. But now, seeing you in that Great Hall earlier, it proved that wicked Vanir cursed you, you seemed to be someone else who I do not know."
"F-Father…" Jack whispered as if he swallowed a lump inside his throat. How he wanted to tell his father that he is truly himself earlier inside the great hall.
"When we return home, I am making sure I will have my son back!" The Winter King commanded his winds and frosts that surrounded him and his son to return them back to Niflheim.
By the time they arrived in their home realm, new winds joined the winter winds surrounding them as if it were carrying urgent news. Both father and son were alarmed, readied themselves when the powerful winter winds disappeared and they came facing at the turmoil and havoc in their own capital.
"Stay near!" The King ordered Jack who floated inches from the ground since the winds spoke of his other sons were killed in the chaotic battle occurring in their Winter Kingdom. He summoned out his royal staff and slammed it on the ground, causing strong earth quakes and snow avalanches. When the deepest layers of ice and frosts formed around his kingdom, it froze their enemies who have caused such disorder in their realm.
The immortal boy landed on the ground, materialized instantly his blue glowing ice sword and fought a couple of enemies who attacked them after they were able to escape his father's icy powers. He defeated them swiftly, and set aside his sword when hearing his father, seeing the particular house crest engraved on their enemies' armors.
"Snaer…they're from the House of Snaer!" He eyed their defeated enemies who died and turned into crumbling snow.
"Wait, I thought they all left to escape Niflheim?" Jack asked his father.
"Not all of them."
"What do you mean?"
"I've destroyed most of their ships leaving but only one had escaped me."
A group of surviving imperial guards arrived and hurried towards them. "Your majesty!" They kneeled and bowed briefly at their Winter King who stood beside his son.
"How is he?" Their King asked as he walked hurriedly with them towards the imperial grand palace, knowing that one son had survived the enemy's orchestrated attack earlier.
"He had been bandaged, and recovering…"
Jack continued to keenly observe the fallen enemies around, noticed something odd particularly at the enemies' corpses. They had fading rune symbols. He halted from entering the widely opened throne room where his surviving brother is.
Inquisitively, the boy drew near at the corpse near the door and stared at the waning rune symbol in the corpse's head, recalling his lessons with Snip who was teaching him the higher form of winter spells including a taboo spell that could reanimate a long gone dead.
"No! It's a trick!" Jack shouted, facing the opened door while his father stopped approaching his other brother and faced Jack while his deceitful brother pulled away his bandages and materialized his ice sword. From behind, he hacked his own father to death.
Shock, the blue eyed boy stared at his other sibling who pulled away his ice sword from their dying father. Tears flooded Jack's blue eyes.
"Aren't you such a naïve innocent simpleton, brother?!"
"Why?!" Jack cried out at his brother who was absolutely corrupted by his thirst for more power.
"Don't tell me you have no ambitions to have the throne?! Besides, I am doing father a favor, I have helped lighten our father's load, particularly on his head." Using his sword, he took the king's crown and placed it on his own head. "You are lucky, you will remain alive as a witness that I am the Coldest and meant to be the King of Niflheim. And I will bring the change that father failed to bring and that is to stop this endless war in our world." Then, he bended down, almost grabbed the fallen royal staff but the frosted wooden staff flew away from his reach and appeared in Jack's hand instead before it disappeared completely. "Where is it?! Bring the staff out!" he demanded at him. When he viewed his brother stood motionless in disbelief and traumatic shock, he gestured at the imperial guards to imprison his brother in the dungeon down below the palace.
Muted with grief, Jack did not replied him, ignored the guards who pulled him away to be thrown in prison.
