~Chapter 1~
Marcus grew up in Arendelle in the palace. He was born to a wealthy family, but with what happened when he was an infant, King Agnarr thought that the boy should be raised by the captain of the royal guard and his wife. The king thought this best considering the timing of it all. Iduna was expecting and he wanted his friend's son to be brought up in a good family. As the boy would grow, Agnarr would reveal his family and origins, but in the meantime, he could be properly trained and maybe one day might protect Arendelle and its people.
The king and queen welcomed a daughter who they named Elsa and she was quite unique. Bright blue eyes with pale blonde hair. Though most unique to this baby princess was a startling revelation that she was gifted with magical ice powers. Shortly after the birth, Agnarr and Iduna rushed their daughter up the nearby mountain to where a colony of trolls lived. Their leader, a powerful mystic troll by the name of Grand Pabbie, was sought after for council. Elsa being too young to even know how to control her powers, Agnarr and Iduna wanted some insight. Grand Pabbie offered a simple suggestion for him to seal away Elsa's powers at least until she was old enough to understand them. The king and queen eagerly agreed and they told Pabbie to seal away Elsa's power until she was at least six. Then they would have ample time to come up with a strategy to teach her about her powers and how to control them. This put Agnarr and Iduna's minds at ease for now especially since three years later they had another child though unlike Elsa, she had no powers to speak of.
Marcus being the oldest of the kids, spent a lot of time in the palace. Agnarr and Iduna thought introducing the kids and making friends would be good for them. Marcus and Elsa constantly played together as kids with their toys and such before Anna came along. Then Anna just joined in the fun once she was old enough. All three of the kids kept the servants on edge racing down the stair banisters, playing tag, hide and seek, and making countless messes on ornate pieces of furniture.
Marcus loved being included in palace life, but at times felt like an outsider and that he didn't belong even at a young age. His adopted parents wanted to reveal the truth about Marcus's family, but King Agnarr forbid it. After all, Marcus was so young, he wouldn't understand.
On Elsa's sixth birthday, there was a grand celebration for the little princess, but Elsa would always remember it as the day she learned the truth about what she was capable of. At first she thought it was cool, but then she didn't want to be viewed as different. Agnarr and Iduna took Elsa back to Grand Pabbie and he unlocked the seal over her power. It scared Elsa at first how her hands grew cold and emanated a frosty essence. Pabbie just took her by the hand trying to comfort the young princess.
"Elsa, these powers are a gift and there is beauty within it, but do not fear because it is the enemy of your restraint." Pabbie told her.
"I-I'll try." Elsa muttered turning toward her parents, "Will you help me?"
"Of course, sweetie." Iduna smiled hugging her daughter.
"Do Anna and Marcus know?" Elsa asked.
"Not yet." Agnarr replied, "But we'll tell them."
"They'll think I'm weird." Elsa whined.
"Hardly…" Iduna smiled holding back a laugh.
"If I know those two, Anna will be jealous that she doesn't have powers and Marcus will think it's awesome."
Elsa's face lifted not feeling scared anymore, but more excited. Oh the fun she would have with her sister and Marcus.
There was little for Elsa to fear because both Anna and Marcus welcomed Elsa's powers. Anna thought of new games to play and building snow forts and Marcus just insisted on countless snowball fights. The trio were inseparable. Marcus's adoptive father, Pieter, welcomed the friendship, but made sure that Marcus knew his place with the girls. His wife, Rebekka, was less worried just wanting the kids to get along growing up together. There were no other kids in the palace their age, so she knew establishing these connections early on were important. Over the next two years, Elsa developed her powers and learned more about herself little by little. By the time she was eight, she thought she understood her capabilities even more. She didn't fear the danger that Grand Pabbie warned her about because she knew her family accepted her and her powers.
Pieter and Rebekka were given a nice room within the palace since Pieter was captain of the guard and Marcus got a small bedroom near theirs on the bottom floor of the palace. Early one morning, Marcus was shaken awake very early.
"Pst!" A voice beckoned to him.
Marcus groaned, but turned over on his side sleepily.
"Marcus." The voice called out again poking his shoulder.
He peeked an eye open and Elsa and Anna were standing beside his bed with mischievous grins on both their faces.
"We're going to go play in the great hall, come with us!" Elsa said.
"Do you girls ever sleep?" Marcus complained putting a pillow over his head.
Elsa immediately lifted up the pillow grinning wide.
"I'll build you a snow fort…a really big one."
"A snowman too, a snowman too." Anna chanted behind her.
She plopped the pillow back on top of his face as he quickly sat up sighing heavily.
"Make it a battle snow fort." Marcus negotiated.
"To your exact specifications." Elsa nodded offering her hand to Marcus yanking him out of bed. The three kids stealthily made their way to the great hall bursting into the room and closing the double doors behind them. Elsa took a breath and her hands began to glow.
"You two ready?" Elsa asked.
"Ready." Marcus nodded.
"Do the magic, do the magic." Anna giggled.
Elsa shot up a bolt of magic power like a silent firework that lit up the ceiling. Anna ran around trying to catch the flecks of magic in her hands as one would a firefly. Snow began trickling down slowly in the room. Elsa made a snowman once enough snow was blanketed in the room. She named him Olaf complete with a long carrot nose.
"Hi Anna, I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs." Elsa spoke in a silly voice.
Anna couldn't contain her laughter.
"Hi Olaf." She waved.
Marcus, being the young man he was, playfully snatched the snowman's nose.
"Hey!" Elsa complained, "Give it back."
"You promised me a fort." He smiled stamping his foot impatiently.
"I was getting to it, Mr. Bossy." Elsa smirked.
Elsa turned to one side of the room while Anna threw snowballs at Olaf on the opposite side. She blasted more icy magic from her palms this time using both of them encasing the entire south wall with snow and formulated a large fort for Marcus. Excitedly, Marcus snatched Elsa by the hand taking her inside the snow structure. Anna soon joined and they played make believe games inside. Eventually, Marcus opted to play with his toy soldiers he brought with him from his room while the girls left the fort to play with Olaf some more. Elsa froze the floor making a perfect ice skating rink. The two sisters skated with Olaf across the floor as Elsa propelled them with her magic. Marcus watched them from the windows of his fortress and he couldn't help, but smile. Elsa began zapping large piles of snow around the other side of the room for Anna to leap into. Marcus decided to rejoin.
"Hey let's make this interesting. Why don't we leap into the piles off my fort?" He suggested.
"Yes!" Anna agreed.
"Isn't that a little high, Marcus?" Elsa pondered.
"Just make a larger snow pile." He replied.
"O-Okay." Elsa muttered hesitantly.
She flicked her fingers toward the base of the fort and a larger pile of snow appeared. Marcus turned toward Anna.
"Come on, Anna. Wanna ride on my back?" He asked.
"Oh yes, please!" She clapped excitedly.
Marcus quickly bent down getting low enough for Anna to climb up. She grabbed his shoulders as Marcus scooped up her legs securely. Leaping straight off the top of the fort, Elsa watched nervously, but was relieved as the two landed safely in the snow below. Marcus and Anna popped out from the snow pile with wide smiles and Anna couldn't contain her laughter.
"Again, again!" She said clapping playfully.
Marcus glanced at Elsa first.
"How about you, Elsa? Your turn." He nodded.
"No take Anna." She insisted smiling broadly.
With no hesitation, Anna hopped up on my back again and Marcus climbed back on top of the fort. Elsa looked on from the bottom and carefully walked over toward the center of the room where the ice rink was.
"Hey Marcus, check this out." She waved.
As Marcus looked over, Elsa threw some of her magic making more snow piles near the other one.
"They're like stepping stones." Elsa smiled.
"But the snow is too soft, we'll just land in powder." He replied.
"I can fix that silly."
Elsa made about five piles of snow in all and once she strengthened them all, she gave the okay for Marcus to take the first leap again. He did so with Anna at his back and unlike that first time, he stood on top of the first mound and leapt onto the next. This continued for each snow pile and Marcus seemed to leap through the air between each mound. When he got to the final one, Elsa just kept making more as they went encircling toward the center of the room.
"Hey slow down Marcus." Elsa complained as she kept making the snow.
"What? Running low on power already, Elsa?" Marcus teased.
Marcus leapt onto the last of mounds in quick succession and expected Elsa to make more. She would have if she hadn't slipped on her own ice. Though Marcus in his momentum still leapt off the final mound with nothing to break the fall he and Anna were about to make.
"Marcus! Anna" Elsa cried out as she hurriedly threw magic at them both, but she missed and blue magic hit them as they both tumbled to the ground. Anna was knocked unconscious and Marcus was a little bruised, but seemingly fine. Elsa ran over to her sister nervously.
"Anna…" She muttered cradling her sister in her arms.
"W-We should go get your parents!" Marcus urged.
"M-Mama...Papa…" Elsa wailed as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Immediately around the room, ice began climbing up the walls and everything Elsa created seemed to collapse. Olaf the snowman and the snow fort crumbled. The ice rink cracked underneath them. Ice began to encase the door into the room, but minutes later, Agnarr and Iduna burst in before the ice would have blocked their entry.
"W-What are you kids doing here this early?" Agnarr scolded, "Elsa, what did you do?" He asked running over with the queen. Iduna took Anna in her arms stroking her face.
"I-It was an accident." Elsa mumbled.
Agnarr pulled his eldest daughter close to him and glanced at Marcus.
"What happened?" He asked Marcus raising a brow.
"We were playing...and Elsa hit us with her ice magic. I-I think I'm okay, so Anna should be too, right?" Marcus asked nervously.
"Agnarr, she's ice cold." Iduna said nervously.
"Come, we must take her to the north mountain." Agnarr instructed.
"I wanna come." Marcus insisted.
"No Marcus, you stay with your parents. Your dad will be making his rounds soon." Agnarr quickly replied.
"Please your majesty!" Marcus said bowing low, "I wanna make sure Anna is okay."
"Papa, let him come." Elsa pleaded tugging at her father's sleeve.
"It's fine, Agnarr. Let's just go." Iduna added.
With Anna in her mother's arms, the five of them quickly ran to the stables and got a carriage to race to the summit of the nearby mountain north of Arendelle.
They made it to the valley of the trolls and were greeted warmly, but all the trolls who rolled out to greet the royal family. The trolls made way as Grand Pabbie rolled forth.
"Your majesty, I sense something is wrong." Pabbie said getting straight to the point.
"Anna and I were struck with Elsa's magic, sir." Marcus explained.
"Oh my, tell me where, lad." Pabbie asked.
"Just on the head." Marcus replied.
Pabbie looked to breathe a heavy sigh of relief.
"At least it wasn't your heart...that could have been disastrous."
"Can you help?" Agnarr asked.
"A frozen heart is a terrible fate , but luckily the mind is easily persuaded. I recommend removing any memory of Elsa's power. Removing the source of the strike will give the mind time to heal."
"Do what you must." Agnarr nodded.
"But papa, she won't remember my powers." Elsa said glumly.
"That's right, so you mustn't use them around your sister at all." Agnarr told her.
Pabbie took in a breath and put his hands on Anna's forehead, which perked Anna's face into a smile.
"Her memories are altered. I took the magic, but I kept the fun." Pabbie said.
"Thank you." Iduna replied gratefully.
"And what about the boy?" Pabbie asked.
Agnarr and Iduna exchanged glances, but they knew what needed to be done especially to protect everyone involved.
"Do it," Agnarr instructed.
"B-But your majesty...please." Marcus pleaded.
Grand Pabbie wasted no time placing his hands around Marcus' head rendering him unconscious. Agnarr and Iduna brought the children back to the palace quickly. Iduna returned Marcus to his bed before his parents even knew he was missing. When Marcus rose again to greet the morning, he remembered only playing with his toy soldiers in the great hall with the girls nothing more. As he moved out to the kitchen for breakfast, he greeted his mom with a sleepy wave. Rebekka looked at her son curiously as he sat down to eat his morning meal.
"Marcus, what did you do to your hair?" She asked.
In that moment, Marcus Calin found he had a white streak in his hair. It was from that day forward that life within the Arendelle palace changed forever.
The king and queen reduced the staff only a select trust few were privy to the knowledge of Elsa's powers. One of them being an older servant who watched over the girls and Marcus when they played together. Agnarr didn't want Elsa's abilities known and the children were never alone just in case something happened. Elsa whined and complained about not being able to be herself around anyone. When she grew upset, Elsa's hands would ball up into fists and began to grow white or blue depending on how intense she felt. This was a red flag and a danger that Agnarr was worried about. A week after the visit to the trolls, Agnarr gave Elsa some gloves made from silk to cover her hands with at all times when she wasn't alone.
"Conceal, don't feel. Just breathe and don't let it show." Agnarr told her and that was the mantra he said to her often. The gloves helped though it didn't take long for it to be hard to even play with Anna and even Marcus. So Elsa began locking herself up in her bedroom to protect her secret and it was the only place she could unleash her power.
Over the years, Anna especially being so young and the wonderful memories she had felt crushed every time her sister closed her door. There used to be joyful, happy memories abound, but now all Elsa did was shut her out and she didn't understand why. Anna over the next several years only saw passing glances with her sister. They had neighboring bedrooms and yet Anna had never felt so apart from her sister. Marcus was her only friend now, but as he grew up, he gained new responsibilities as more of a protection detail for Anna and Elsa when she was present.
Marcus started his training at age thirteen by his father Pieter. At first, he was so timid upon taking up a weapon, but then he learned and soon it became natural. Once he was equipped with these skills, he was no longer allowed to be around Elsa or Anna other than to escort them around the grounds, to various lessons or any errands to the village square. It changed the natural dynamic and the expectations of him were very high. By the time Marcus was fifteen, he grew irritated with his duty.
Elsa hated her existence. A once bright and thrilling childhood was lost once her powers were made secret. Always on her guard and even with her safety net with her gloves, she still grew afraid to touch people even with a simple handshake. At family meals, she would pick at her food in silence, try her hardest not to freeze her fork or water glass, and promptly return to her room once she was done. For countless hours a day, she shut herself in her room with frosty walls trying to imagine a life beyond her isolation. She relished the brief encounters with Marcus because he treated like he always did, but their communication was limited.
When Marcus was twenty-one, he was doing rounds around the perimeter with his father and it was that morning that Marcus was first informed of his upbringing. Pieter and Rebekka weren't his biological parents, but they were the two people who raised him and loved him as if he was their own. For that, he couldn't be angry with them for keeping such a secret, and he wasn't. In fact, when he was a few years younger he wondered such things just based on appearances. Marcus hugged his father and nothing more was ever said on the matter. Though Pieter never mentioned to Marcus how his family died. He didn't want to burden his son with that knowledge. When Pieter and Marcus returned to the courtyard, a servant rushed out to greet them and summoned Marcus to Agnarr's office immediately. Marcus wasted no time to meet with the king. He cautiously ran up the stairs and knocked on the double doors leading to the office.
"Enter," Agnarr ordered from the other side of the door.
Marcus went in and stood feet and shoulder with the part saluting his king.
"At ease, Marcus. This isn't a formal meeting." Agnarr smiled, "Please close the doors and come sit."
Marcus obeyed the instruction and sat down in one of the two leather chairs in front of Agnarr's desk.
"So Iduna and I are traveling by sea later this afternoon."
"How long will you be gone?" Marcus asked.
"Two weeks, there and back in a flash."
"I see. Well, safe travels your majesty." Marcus nodded.
"Do you really think I called this meeting just to tell you my travel plans?" Agnarr teased.
Marcus blushed.
"I wanted to give you something." Agnarr continued, "I know Pieter told you of what happened to your parents when you were born…"
"Yes, only just…"
"The servant who brought you in from the rain that night said in the basket you were found in was a carefully wrapped up weapon in its sheath."
"A weapon, sir?"
Agnarr nodded and the king quickly pulled out a weapon from beneath his desk, the likes of which Marcus had never seen before. A beautifully crafted steel sword with a curved handguard and a diamond-shaped pommel.
"I'm sorry for holding onto it for so long, I figured you should be given it when you were ready."
Marcus was stunned as he held the handle and it was surprisingly light, but the blade well balanced. He didn't dare swing it around immaturely in front of his king, but returned it to the sheath and thanked him with a polite bow.
"Nothing changes in our absence. Protect my girls as you would any other day." Agnarr said growing serious.
"Yes, your majesty. It's a privilege and honor." Marcus nodded crossing a hand over his chest. He turned to leave and raced home to show his mother his wonderful gift he just received. His sword rarely left his belt from that day forward. Later that day, Pieter and Marcus were present at the boat docks as the king and queen were leaving. Elsa and Anna were there too to say their goodbyes. Anna waved at Marcus discreetly once she arrived followed by Elsa just behind her. Marcus winked at her, but Elsa didn't even acknowledge it and Marcus was sure she saw. He wondered if all the isolation had messed with her simplest of manners. Anna quickly hugged her parents tight.
"See you soon." Anna smiled.
Elsa was next as she bowed low toward her parents.
"Do you have to go? I don't think I'm ready to be in charge while you're away." Elsa muttered nervously.
"Elsa, you'll be fine." Iduna said kissing her eldest daughter on her forehead.
"Remember what we taught you," Agnarr added whispering to Elsa so Anna or anyone wouldn't hear.
"Conceal, don't feel. I know." Elsa replied.
Anna rejoined her sister standing beside her as they watched their parents board the gangplank onto the ship. They waved as the ship took wind and sailed off a few hours before sunset.
"So, you're in charge for now, huh?" Anna asked turning toward her sister.
"Unfortunately…" Elsa muttered and turned her back heading to return to the palace, "Excuse me."
As Elsa walked off alone, Anna looked at Marcus with hurt in her eyes. She was fifteen and Marcus knew how much the cold shoulder attitude hurt her. Though all three of them were struggling, none of them knew how bad it was.
A few days later, news reached Arendelle of a violent storm that hit the high seas. Many ships went down including the king and queen's. Scouts by ship were sent to scavenge through the wreckage, but nothing was found other than floating ship parts scattered all around. The kingdom mourned. The loss was felt by all. Anna hoped that with Elsa in charge, her walls would come down and wouldn't be as strict as their father, but to Anna's disappointment, Elsa's walls still remained intact. It would be three years before Elsa turned twenty-one and would be old enough to serve as queen. Until then, she acted as reagent formally until that celebratory day came when she would ascend the throne of Arendelle taking up her father's crown.
