Chapter 36

Distance

Once we leave the ship, we take a wagon to the city of Corona. The city is much larger than Arendelle, and the castle rises high above us. We wind our way through the streets, awed at the sights of all the bustling, laughing people. They are so happy. They don't know that, a few miles away, Arendelle is despairing.

We reach the castle, and the guards in front of the gates ask us for our purpose.

"I am Queen Elsa of Arendelle," I say loudly, "and we wish to see the king and queen."

The guards nod, and let us in.

Corona is so different from Arendelle. Instead of flowered patterns, there are suns everywhere, and gold, gold, gold. Golden tapestries, golden lampstands, golden curtains, golden walls. The floor is cushioned with golden carpet.

A steward approaches us and says, "Queen Elsa, it is an honor to have you here. What is it you wish to speak to the king and queen about?"

"I would like to speak with them privately," I say. "Are they available?"

"It is their lunch, if you will wait an hour —"

"No," I say, "now. It's urgent."

The steward must see something in my face, because he nods, bows, and leads us to the dining hall.

The dining hall is larger than the one in Arendelle. Again, there are a lot of suns and golden things.

"Queen Elsa!" Queen Rapunzel cries when she sees me. "You got our message? I thought you'd send an answer before you came . . ."

King Eugene must see the looks on our faces, because he stands up and says, "What's wrong?"

"Arendelle," I say, "has been attacked."

Loud gasps fill the room.

"What do you mean?" Queen Rapunzel says in a hushed voice. Her eyes flit around our group to rest on Ash. She quickly gazes back at me.

"They . . . the Southern Isles overtook it a day ago while I was away on a trip. When we returned, we tried to take it back . . . but we're sorely outnumbered. We need your help, if you will grant it."

"Of course," King Eugene says. He, too, examines our motley group.

"Of course we will help," Queen Rapunzel says earnestly. "Anything you need, we will provide."

I feel relieved. Some part of me had wondered if they would reject us, send us back to Arendelle empty-handed. But Mother and Father trusted them, so I will, too.

"Thank you," I say. "You don't know how grateful I am. My people . . ."

"They're in danger, aren't they?" Queen Rapunzel finishes for me.

I nod and my knees shake under me, but I manage to keep myself steady.

For my people, I must do this.

Later that day, after everything has been explained and plans have been made, and after I've cleaned myself up and slept a few hours, I'm called to the throne room by one of the servants. Quickly dressing myself, I head out to find what's the matter.

When I reach the room, I see King Eugene, Queen Rapunzel, Jack, and Ash. Ash is kneeling on the ground and when I enter, he glances at me. "I asked for you to be here," he says softly.

"What is it?" I ask. "Is something wrong?"

By the looks of their faces, something could either be very wrong or very right. Or maybe both.

Ash hesitates.

"What's wrong?" I ask again. I stare at King Eugene, who looks away. At Queen Rapunzel, who has tears in her eyes. Tears of sadness? Tears of joy?

And at Jack, who is staring at his brother like he's never seen him before.

Ash says, "I always thought that I killed my parents. Turns out, they weren't even my parents."

Something quiet falls over us all, and for a moment, it seems like time has frozen around us.

Ash breaks this by looking up at King Eugene and Queen Rapunzel and saying, "These are my real parents."

My heart pounds. "That can't be right . . ."

Queen Rapunzel speaks up. "No one knew about Eugene and I having a child. We knew the consequences of what such a thing could to do the kingdom. We wanted our baby to be safe, so we made it into a secret. When Agni was born . . . it was revealed that he had the ability to control fire. We knew that someone like that couldn't rule the kingdom without the people revolting. We knew that if he stayed here . . . he'd never have a happy life. So we sent him away to the Frosts. I . . ." She looks like she's going to start crying and again, I don't know if it's from happiness or sorrow. "I never wanted to do it, but we did what we thought was best for our . . . son. For Agni."

Agni. Ash's real name, apparently.

Ash is staring at the ground, unable to speak. For a while, none of us say anything.

Then, King Eugene says, "Please. We only did what was best for you. Agni —"

"Don't call me that." Ash's voice rings out like a whip. "That's not my name." He looks up at his father, an incensed look on his face. "You're not my father."

Shock comes over us all.

"Ash," Queen Rapunzel says, testing the name on her tongue. "It was never our intention to hurt you —"

"You think that what you did to me was for the best?" Ash yells. "You think that you were only protecting me? Do you even know what I had to go through, thinking that for the last eleven years I killed my own parents? And now that isn't even true!"

Ash stands up and walks over to me. "Elsa," he says, "I have to leave."

"You can't leave, Ash," I say. "We need Corona's help."

"I can't stay here anymore." He searches my face, desperation in his gaze.

"They're your parents," I whisper. "Can't you work it out with them?"

Anger burns in his eyes. "They're not my parents."

He can't accept it.

He can't accept that who he always thought he was . . . isn't who he really is.

He can't accept the truth.

Ash lets out a sound of pain, turns around to stare at his parents again, then back to me. He breathes in, breathes out, breathes in, breathes out, until the anger leaves his eyes, and the tensions recedes.

Turning around to face his parents, he says, "I'm sorry, but I think you're mistaken."

"We may not have seen you in years," King Eugene says, "but that doesn't mean we'd forget what you look like, who you are, what you make us feel."

"It's been twenty-two years since you've seen me!" Ash says. "I'm not the same person I was then, and you're not the same people you were then, either. I'm sorry, but I'm not who you think I am."

"How can you explain your powers?" Queen Rapunzel demands. "How can you explain how we knew about that, how we knew about the Frosts?"

"Lots of people probably have fire powers," Ash says stubbornly. "It's just a coincidence, nothing more. I'm not your son."

Queen Rapunzel sinks to the floor, tears streaking down her face. But when she speaks, her voice is strong. "No one has powers like you do . . . Ash. Your fire comes from the sun, literally. When I was younger, I used to have part of the sun in me. I thought that it was gone completely, but it looks like some remnant of it was transferred to you. Your fire burns bright as the sun, and it's as hot as its flare, as dark as the spots on it."

"Are you saying I'm hot-headed and dark?" Ash asks . . . hotly.

"No," Queen Rapunzel says, "but you can't deny your powers. You can't deny that you have the sun inside of you."

"Yes," Ash says, "actually, I can."

Queen Rapunzel looks like she's going to cry some more.

"Ash," I say quietly, "we should go." I take his arm, and lead him out of the room, Jack following us.

"So he's royalty," Jack says to me as we walk down the long, twisting halls.

I don't say anything, not wanting Ash to overhear me.

Ash walks stiffly, his back too straight, his mouth in a thin line.

After we walk in silence for several minutes, we stop at the rooms we were given, Ash turns to me, and says, "It's not true. What they're saying. You don't believe them, do you?"

"I don't know what to believe," I say.

"It can't be true," he mutters to himself.

"Well, this was exciting." Jack stretches his arms out. "But I think I'm going to bed now."

Ash stares at the spot where Jack disappeared.

"We're alone now," I tell him.

Ash relaxes immediately, and a tumble of emotions overcome his face. I see anger and grief and regret and guilt.

"I don't know what to do, Elsa," he whispers. "I can't believe that what they're saying is true . . . but what if it is? What if I'm . . . their son? A prince."

"You're strong, Ash," I say. "You can deal with whatever comes your way, I know it."

"Not strong like you." He gives me a wry smile that quickly disappears. "Not nearly."

"I'm not strong," I say.

He sighs. "Some people just can't accept what's real," he says. "I suppose that pertains to you and me both."

I nod.

He sighs again. "Elsa, you know I understand . . . if you want to be with Jack instead." The words clearly hurt him.

There's a pause, and Ash doesn't look at me.

Finally, I say, "You idiot."

He glances up at me. "What?"

"You really don't understand, do you?"

"Understand what?"

"That you're loved. By me, by your sister, even by your parents."

"I'm not sure about that," he says. "Asta's always been closer to Jack. My parents abandoned me because they thought I would endanger the throne. And you, Elsa . . ."

"I love you," I say fiercely. "Don't try and tell me I don't. Because I know what I feel."

"You love Jack, too, though," Ash counters. "I can see it in your face. No matter how much you love me, you'll always love him."

I don't know what to say to that. Because maybe it's true.

Ash shakes his head. "See?"

Ash is constantly battling with the thought that he is not worth anything, that he is always the second choice, never the first option. He's struck with the belief that no one can love him, and after tonight, that belief has become even stronger.

He gives me a sideways look. "Elsa . . ."

I put a finger to his lips to stop him from saying anything else, wrap my hands around his, and pull him into me. We stand there in the dimly lit hallway for a long time, just holding each other.

Unable to do anything else.

Author's Note: I know many people believe Rapunzel to be Anna and Elsa's cousins, but in my story, I always viewed her as older. This plot twist wasn't originally in the story. Instead, I had Rapunzel and Eugene have a genuinely nice, but somewhat stiff and arrogant, son whom Elsa got betrothed to to unite the kingdoms. That idea was scrapped early on, and I realized that I could actually connect Ash's past to the kingdom of Corona. So here we are.

As always, thanks for reading!

- J. Dom