"Your Majesty?"
There was another cryomancer in the world. Another person besides Elsa who'd been locked away, who'd grown up isolated, who'd watched helplessly as their powers ended a life...
"Your Majesty?"
Elsa wondered if he shared her passion for ice-architecture. Did he get that same rush in the pit of his stomach from creating beautiful forms in the ice? Anna appreciated Elsa's Ice Palace and her ice-coating around Arendelle Castle, of course, but sometimes Elsa wondered if she really cared or if she was just playing it up to keep Elsa happy. And Kristoff was impressed with it, too, but Elsa suspected he was only interested in the quality of the ice compared to what he hauled. But, well, Daniel had made those roses, hadn't he? He had to understand the joys of-
"Queen Elsa."
"Huh-? Oh, yes!" Elsa's vision came back into focus to find every last advisor in the council chamber staring her down. Elsa gave a start and sat up straighter on her icy throne. "You were saying?" she said, doing her best to sound like she'd been paying attention to the last half-hour.
"The state of the country," the councilman repeated, his brow creasing. "That ordeal with your snowmen the other day has made quite an impact. The palace budget was strained enough with the food prices before we had to repair the damage to the town square, and now on top of that, we have citizens refusing to pay their taxes. With no sign of the drought easing up, there's been record numbers of emigrants to our neighboring..."
Were his powers exactly the same as Elsa's, or did they have their minute differences? At the very least, they seemed to have manifested in different ways. Elsa had never thought to try to lift objects with her wintry winds. What else could Daniel do that she couldn't? Every time Elsa thought she had a handle on how exactly her powers worked, she'd surprise herself by building a giant ice-palace or bringing a snowman to life. Daniel could show her anything.
"Your Majesty?"
Elsa flinched, then glanced at the clock. "Err... Yes. Keep doing what we're doing. I thought we'd decided to tough out this drought, hadn't we? Just make sure no citizens try to visit Brandr at the North Mountain, and if he's spotted anywhere else, let me know. That's all there is to say, really. Meeting's over." She hopped up and made for the door.
"But Your Majesty!" said a councilman. "You never gave your opinion on my amazing plan where you make an army of snowman-farmers to farm the land for increased food production-"
"Yes, yes, that's fine." The door shut behind her.
It went without saying that Elsa made a bee-line for Daniel's bedroom. He'd been given the nicest guest bedroom available with guards and maids as promised. By now, most of the palace staff was aware Elsa had taken in a sickly boy, but only a trusted few were allowed close enough to see his sorcery. The rest were left to speculate on why the queen visited him so frequently and why his bedsheets were always covered in frost whenever the maids washed them.
"Daniel? Are you awake?" Elsa was surprised to find the door answered by Anna.
"Hey, Elsa, you're late to the party!" Kristoff and Olaf were already inside, huddled around Daniel's bedside.
"Elsa, you never told me you had a twin brother!" said Olaf.
Elsa gathered with the others by the bed, the dullness of the council meeting quickly fading from memory. "I see you two have already acquainted yourselves with Daniel."
"Yeah!" said an enthused Olaf. "Does this mean I get to have cousins?"
Daniel sat up halfway out the covers. "Well, I've never tried to bring a snowman to life before, but I doubt I've got enough magic to pull it off. I feel drained enough from making regular ice."
"It's pretty cool that you could come here," Kristoff told him. "How many people with crazy ice-powers are running around in the world, anyways?"
Daniel sighed. "I don't know how long I searched. I thought I was the only one, but then I heard about Queen Elsa. Who knows? Maybe most cryomancers are just better at hiding than us?"
"Well, nice meeting you. I'd better get going." Kristoff turned to the doorway. "Actually, if you don't mind being left alone for a minute, I need to talk to the girls."
"That's fine. I'm feeling tired again anyways..."
The sisters followed Kristoff out into the hall, and Olaf came, too, so he could tell himself he was participating.
"What do you think?" Anna asked.
"I definitely see your point," said Kristoff pensively. "The guy seems a little too well-behaved. I don't think he's got some kind of Hans-style plan to take the throne or anything, but I'd bet my pointy boots the guy's got some serious issues. You can't be locked up for years without getting a few problems. Um, no offense," he added, shooting Elsa a concerned glance.
Elsa's eyes narrowed. "Were you scrutinizing him for wrongdoings? Anna, I thought you admitted you'd misjudged him! Why can't you accept that something good's happened to me for once?"
"I was just getting Kristoff's opinion!" Anna's hands attached themselves to her hips of their own volition. "Why are you defending him so much?"
"Uh, to be fair, Elsa, you were just as paranoid about me before, remember?" said Kristoff. "Or would you have been totally fine with me right off the bat if I'd had ice-powers?"
Elsa let out a sigh. "You're right, Kristoff. I'm sorry. But whatever problems Daniel has, I'm prepared to deal with them. Assuming he's telling the truth – and we have no reason to assume otherwise – then Daniel's been through the exact same things I have. He deserves the same chance to fix his life that I was given."
"I like Daniel," said Olaf. "He's the second nicest, gentlest, warmest person ever!"
"Well, I'm glad one of you agrees with me." Elsa knelt to give Olaf an affectionate pat on the back. That's when her eyes fell on his face. "Wait, why isn't your nose orange?"
"I couldn't find any carrots," said Olaf. "I had to use a parsnip." He crossed his eyes to glare at his cream-colored nose.
"Yeah, I'm getting pretty sick of this drought shriveling up all the carrots," sighed Kristoff. "C'mon, Sven and me are going into town to spend the rest of our life's savings buying a couple more. You can come, too."
"Thanks! My face just feels wrong without a carrot, y'know?"
"Are you sure you don't wanna keep your nose the way it is, though? It'd be a lot safer. Sven hates parsnip."
Olaf looked blank. "What does that have to do with my nose?"
"Never mind..."
The pair started to leave down the hallway, but then Kristoff paused and turned to examine one of the ice-covered suits of armor.
"What's wrong?" frowned Anna.
"I just got an idea. How about you take this master of stealth-" Kristoff lifted up the visor and reached a hand inside. "-and put him up to something more productive than stalking Anna and me?" There was an earsplitting squawk, and then his hand emerged with a squirming snowbird in it.
"Why are you going through my sock drawer?" asked Daniel.
"Oh, it's- it's nothing." Anna hurriedly turned around. "I was just... looking for something. It's not important." She scurried out the room.
Daniel frowned, but he thought nothing else of it. Had he been more observant, he might have noticed the little white head poking out from the half-opened drawer.
"I really don't think this is necessary," huffed Elsa.
Anna started to roll her eyes at Elsa's umpteenth complaint, but then she caught sight of the snowwoman in the corner. It struck her that this might run deeper than Elsa simply being annoying.
"Uh, Elsa," Anna said carefully. "When a stranger with magical powers shows up on your doorstep, I don't think it's too unreasonable to keep an eye on him. Why are you acting like Daniel can do no wrong?"
"I'm not." Elsa failed to meet her eyes. "I can just... tell he's genuine. He's not trying to woo me like Hans did to you. He's expressing feelings nobody but me has ever felt. We're the same."
"Yeah, well, Hans had siblings who shut him out of his life, too, but that didn't make him the same as-"
"Your Majesty." The snowbird suddenly fluttered into the room. "Daniel is awake."
The sisters snapped to attention.
"He rose out of the covers and onto his feet-" the snowbird began.
"Aha!" said a triumphant Anna. "He told us he could barely walk! He's faking!"
"-and then he fell to the floor, and he can't get back up."
Elsa shot Anna a nasty look, then rushed out the door.
Elsa and Anna arrived in the guest bedroom to find Daniel attempting to climb back into bed with nothing but his arms.
"Daniel!" Elsa was at his side immediately to help him into the covers. "Are you alright? Why are you by yourself? Where are the maids?"
"I... sent them away..." said Daniel, more ice creeping out his fingertips as he spoke. "Didn't wanna... hurt them..."
Elsa's face switched from concerned to pitying. "Daniel, I gave you maids who were on the staff when I was a girl. They know how to handle this."
Daniel put his head on the pillow and rolled over without another word.
"We really ought to get a doctor to check him out," said Anna. "He looks kinda crippled..."
"I'm not crippled!" Daniel rolled back around to scowl at her. "I'm just... weak from making so much ice."
"Here's an idea," said Elsa. "Why don't I go ahead and teach you to control your powers? Are you feeling up to it?"
Daniel nodded. "I can try..."
"Well..." Elsa retrieved a half-eaten plate of food from the bedside table, nothing left but a pile of chicken bones and some untouched fruit. She held up an apple. "When I gained control, it was like I had an epiphany. In this one moment, I realized love was the answer, and just like that, everything thawed." She seated herself at the foot of Daniel's bed. "I don't know how to make you feel the way I felt, but I guess I can try and explain it to you."
Daniel sat up under the covers. "What caused your change of heart?"
"It was Anna." Elsa glanced over at her. "One of the men tried to kill me to end the winter, and... even though I froze her heart... she jumped in the way of the sword. And in this one moment, I realized how wrong I'd been, and I knew she loved me no matter what." The sisters smiled at each other.
Slowly, Daniel's eyes traveled to the princess. There was something like surprise or disbelief in them.
"I think the important part," said Elsa, offering the apple to him, "is the certainty. If you want to control your ice, you have to know that you're safe, accepted, and loved. I imagine, even after you ran away from home, you were always on the run... always hiding from people because you were scared of how they'd react to you..."
Daniel stayed silent.
"But that's over, Daniel. I'm working to make Arendelle a place where people like you and me will never be persecuted again. So... you have nothing to fear anymore." She offered him the apple again.
This time, Daniel accepted it. He held on for a second, but then the frost erupted from his fingers – so cold that the fruit stated to wither. Daniel dropped it immediately, shutting his eyes tight. "I'm sorry. I want to believe you."
"It's okay." She placed her hand over his. "You're not going to learn control overnight."
"I know what's wrong," said Anna from the doorway. "He needs family. I mean, you're still a stranger to him, Elsa, so it's not really the same as what you and me have."
Elsa nodded. "Didn't you say you had a brother, Daniel? Maybe we can take you to see him?"
But Daniel didn't look too pleased with the idea. He turned away, hiding his face. "If that's the only way to control it, I don't have much hope."
Elsa and Anna traded uneasy glances.
"Maybe you need more rest," said Elsa. "But Daniel, we need to bring the maids back in here, alright? You're lucky Anna and I noticed you'd fallen."
"I would hurt them," said Daniel. "Come on, you must've accidentally frozen a maid or two all those years you spent locked up, right?"
Elsa failed to meet his eyes. "After the first accident, my parents were extremely careful. There wasn't another incident until the eternal winter."
Daniel's brow creased. "That's impossible. Your powers are way stronger than mine. You must've hurt a few people!"
"No, I..." Elsa winced in spite of herself. "I kept my powers sealed away."
"How?"
"I... wore gloves."
"Gloves?" Daniel looked enlightened. "And they helped? I'd never thought about that before..."
"Well, there was really no reason the gloves should have done anything," said Elsa. "But I was a little girl, and when my parents told me something, I believed them. Besides, it wasn't the physical act of wearing them that mattered so much as what they represented. At first, because my powers are tied to my emotions, my parents tried to train me to hide my feelings."
"So you let yourself be numb to it all?"
"It was a bad idea," Elsa quickly added. "Obviously, had it worked, I would never have frozen Arendelle."
Daniel made a thoughtful grunt, then laid back down on the mattress. "Fine. Bring the maids back in. Just don't blame me if someone gets hurt."
"Nobody's getting hurt, Daniel." And with that, Elsa left the room.
Anna, however, remained behind again.
"Y'know, I bet half the reason you and Elsa have problems with your powers is because you freak yourselves out," she said. "Maybe you've convinced yourself otherwise, but I'm sure your brother loves you a lot-"
"Or maybe you don't know what you're talking about and you should keep your mouth shut?"
"Well, excuse me, Prince Charming!" Anna turned for the door, scowling. "I'm just trying to help."
Anna slammed it behind her on the way out. Slamming the door on her sister? Unacceptable. On this guy? She wouldn't exactly lose sleep.
He was a big man. With his size, his suit, and his money, he ought to have been imposing. But when his suit was half-buttoned and slept in, his face was unshaven, and he had a half-empty bottle in his hand, he looked... Well, actually, he still looked imposing, but for a different reason.
He heaved Daniel back into the bedroom like a piece of cargo. Daniel went skidding across the carpet, sending the mountains of ice-roses scattering about.
"After everything I've done for you, boy?" the man screamed, his words slurred. "You wanna run off with some little tramp and get yourself killed?"
"Where's Olive?" Daniel snarled, turning to glare at him.
"And you told her about your curse?" his father yelled, brandishing the bottle about as he spoke. "You think I want word getting out that I'm housing a freak? That you're my own blood? Do you have any idea what that would do to this family's reputation? To your brother's future?"
"Where's Olive?"
"You're lucky you're still alive! I've got men watching that window now. Try and escape again and your lucks runs out, boy."
The door slammed shut.
Daniel stayed there on the carpet, half-buried in roses, breathing heavily. At first he was livid, but after a few minutes, he started to sob.
Knock-knock, knock, knock-knock.
"Daniel?" came a voice.
"He knew, Eric," sniffed Daniel. "He was waiting for us. Like he was never even going on a trip."
"We were turned around!" the voice immediately said. "It was bad weather. There's a blizzard coming through-"
"How did he know, Eric?"
"Well, really, when you think about it, this is a good thing, isn't it? You could have... could have really hurt her. You were... making a mistake..."
"How did he know, Eric?"
Silence.
Finally, the voice said, "I'm sorry."
More silence.
"You promised you wouldn't do this, Daniel. You brought up our mother to reassure me! It wouldn't have mattered that he knew if you hadn't been a liar!"
When it was met with more silence, the voice said nothing else for the rest of the night.
After a while, Daniel reached out for one of the more deformed roses and clamped his fingers around it. "Brother's future," he mouthed.
Shards of ice fell from his hand.
