Chapter Three - The Coronation

Three years later...

Kai had been head of household along with his sister Gerdy ever since the prince's themselves were small. And in all the years had known him, the little red-head had always been a fireball of energy that practically leapt from task to task throughout the day without a moment's rest. So when it was nearly midday on one of the biggest days of the year and the castle still seemed mysteriously peaceful, Kai had headed to the Prince's chambers to see if he was indeed still alive.

His stout stature waddled up to the pink and white detailed wooden door and knocked. "Prince Aaron?" he called.

From beyond, a muffled voice replied, "W-wha? Who is it?"

Kai blinked. How had Aaron only just woken up? "Uh, pardon me. Sorry to wake you, sire," said Kai.

"No, no, you didn't wake me," replied the voice from inside, "You know me, I'm a morning perso-" however the sentence was left uncompleted as the Prince seemed to fall back asleep and resume snoring, until he jolted himself awake again. "Who is it?" he called.

"It's still me, sir," Kai replied, "It's nearly the afternoon, time to get ready." he said.

"Of course..." Aaron said as he stretched, "Ready for what?"

Kai was a little dumbfounded. How could the Prince forget about the most important ceremony in Arendelle's history? "Uh, your brother's coronation, your highness? I remember you talking about it non-stop last night, my lord, so I assumed you would remember-"

"IT'S CORONATION DAY?!" the prince's red-head suddenly appeared in the doorway.

Kai jumped back in surprise. "Uh... yes, sire. Time to get re-" but the door was slammed in his face as Aaron scrambled to fetch his coronation day suit.

The head of household chuckled. He may be a grown man, but the Prince of Arendelle never allowed a dull moment to pass in his presence.

For the first time in years, Aaron felt pure, genuine excitement. He would finally get to see all his village friends again, possibly meet a girl and have a great party! But most of all, he would get to see his brother, and he was going to talk to him wether he liked it or not. Scrambling to get dressed, he burst out the door as soon as he was ready, and made for the first floor of the castle that led outside.

Hopping up onto the banister of the spiral staircase, he slid down the whole way and jumped off for a dismount. Even though he was 18, Aaron would never say no to fun. Being left on his own for years had given him the mindset that if no one else was going to enjoy life with him, he saw no reason why he couldn't make his own fun. He ran through the halls to see that the castle windows were actually being opened, and the sunshine that poured in felt like an oasis in a desert. The whole castle now smelt like summer as the fresh air spiralled through the halls. Craning his neck to see out of the nearest window, he saw the sails of many ships who had come for the coronation, and his excitement only grew. Without hesitation, Aaron ran downstairs, out the castle's front gates and into the streets, where people from all over the globe had come, and made off for his first taste of society in years.

He had feared it would happen, and now it finally had. Prince Erik had came of age and was to be crowned the king of Arendelle a week after his 21st birthday. No one in the kingdom had actually seen their successor since he was a child, and many wondered what he was up too, isolating himself inside his castle for so many years. What was he hiding?

Erik had grown up to be a handsome young man, with hair so blonde it was practically white. In fact, it was white, and today it was slicked back for his coronation. He had large blue eyes and skin the same icy pale it had always been. And today he was terrified. He paced the royal library, gazing at a portrait of his father, looking to him for guidance.

"Oh god.." he breathed, "I can't do this…"

The soon-to-be King continued to pace the library. He gazed at the portrait of his father on his coronation day, and noticed his lack of gloves. Why oh why could he not have worn gloves? Slowly, he removed his own and practiced holding two nearby items, a candlestick and a book. At the ceremony, he would be presented with the two royal symbols of Arendelle; the one they called the Sceptre and the one they called the Vause, one being a long, elegant stick and the other being a small, round pitcher. One represented unity and the other represented bravery, something he definitely didn't haven at that moment in time.

He held his breath as he timed how long he could hold the items without them freezing over. It was less than a second. He immediately put them back down and put his gloves back on, trembling violently. He knew this day would come. But he hadn't expected it to come so soon, or for his parents to leave him half way through. Erik walked over to the large window in the library and saw just how many people were filing into his castle courtyard, the sheer number of them being so close together sending him into a panic attack.

Slowly, Erik practiced the techniques his father had taught him. "Conceal, don't feel.." He recited with each breath. "Conceal, don't feel... don't let them know... don't let them know... DON'T LET THEM KNOW!" He found himself exclaiming, and brought his hands to his ears. It hadn't worked. He cursed himself for letting his emotions get the better of him... again. "I'm sorry father..." he breathed, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." he felt tears prick his eyes like so many that had before, and took deep, slow breaths.

Eventually he calmed himself down, and decided enough was enough. Turning for the library's double-doors, he opened them and turned to the attendants stationed outside, "Tell the guards to open the gates." he said, and made for the front of the castle.

Whether he wanted to or not, he was Arendelle's rightful heir, and he was going to fulfil what his father always wanted for him; to embrace his future.

Aaron spotted many of his friends in the village which he waved to eagerly, including Queen Rapunzel and King Eugene. They had been incredibly supportive of him when his parents had never made it to their wedding, as they had been friends. Eugene had practically been his brother when Erik hadn't, and had kept in letter contact for years. But Aaron still longed for the physical presence of another human being to be there for him. After all, no amount of letters could make up for the emotional connection one had with a brother.

Aaron ran down towards the docks and breathed in the late morning air. There were flower stalls letting off a beautiful scent with each passing breeze, and children running around, laughing happily, and a sparkling ocean lay before him.

However, he suddenly found himself falling into a nearby boat as something pushed him forward. "Hey!" he exclaimed as he looked up through his jumbled mess of hair.

His eyes met those of a beautiful young woman on horseback. "I'm so sorry, are you hurt?" she asked as she dismounted her horse and reached out her arm to help him up. She must have accidentally ran into him without spotting him.

Aaron blushed as he suddenly felt bad for yelling at her. "Uh, no, I'm fine, thank you." he said.

This newcomer had long, beautiful brown hair that tumbled down her shoulders in curls. Her eyes were emerald green and her dress a pearly white with gold, navy and Burgundy accents, with elbow-length gloves, meaning she came from royalty. "Here, let me help you up, you poor thing!" she said as she pulled him to his feet, but she lost her grip which resulted in the both of them tumbling back into the boat, Aaron underneath this stranger.

"Oh, wow, this is awkward…" said Aaron as he tried to get up from under the girl. "Not that you're awkward, I mean I'm awkwa- you're gorgeous. Wait, what?" he rambled nervously.

The brunette just giggled. "Why hello there," she said charismatically, officially making a formal introduction. "Let's start over. I'm Princess Harmony, of the Southern Isles." she pulled Aaron up from the boat and curtseyed.

"Prince Aaron of Arendelle." said the red-head.

At the mention of his title, a spark flashed in Harmony's eyes. "Prince? My lord…" said Harmony as she curtseyed again, even lower. "I would like to apologies for ramming into the Prince of Arendelle with my horse, and, for every moment after that..." she said, standing up from her bow, "I mean, I've come all this way from the south to see your brother become king, and, here I go and slap the next in line to the ground!"

Aaron half-smiled. "No one need bow for me," he said, "Now, if you bumped my brother Erik, it would be… yeesh! Totally different story. But yeah, yeah… I… I'm cool… It's just me..." he stuttered with a smile.

Harmony smiled back. "Just you?" she questioned. Aaron nodded. "Oh honey, believe me, I know what it's like to be just me. I've got a mile long line of big sisters that I happen to be at the bottom of. But you, you'll be king someday!" she exclaimed, but stopped as she saw the boy's dead-white expression. "Not to suddenly remind you of your brother's mortality... oh my god..." she said and buried her head in her hands.

Aaron chuckled. "Hey, it's okay, you made me laugh. Plus, can any of those sisters bow as well as you?' he said, and Harmony blushed through her gloves.

The two didn't say anything, they just stood there, smiling dreamily at each other until their trance was broken by the chiming of bells off in the distance.

"Oh, the bells... the coronation…" Aaron began, suddenly remembering the time. "I better go, I have to go, uh, I gotta go…" he rambled. "Uh.. bye!" he smiled and waved, before dashing off in the direction of the castle.

"Bye…" Harmony called after him in response, her arm extended as if to reach out and take him back. She sighed dreamily just as the boy had done, and stepped back onto the deck. It had certainly been an unconventional first meeting, but Harmony suddenly wanted to know everything about this new red-head, and made off in the direction of the chapel herself.

The coronation ceremony was a regal event to say the least. Beautiful, heavy drapes lined the exquisite stained glass windows of the Arendelle chapel, letting in rainbow reflections of colour that bathed the crowd in warm light. Summer truly was gorgeous in Arendelle.

Aaron sat in the front row of the assembly, and looked behind him for Harmony. He spotted her a couple rows back and waved, and laughed as it appeared that someone had fallen asleep on her shoulder. A murmur of chatter buzzed through the audience as they waited for their new King to enter the room.

Where is he?… Thought Aaron. He didn't want to admit it, but, he was shaking. He hadn't truly seen his brother in over a decade. They had sat together at meals as children, but Erik always arrived late and left early, barely speaking to anyone and keeping his distance from conversations. As soon as his plate was empty, his father had sent him back to his room and that was he end of it. Aaron would always try to remind him about a treasured memory they had shared in the past while he had the chance, but Erik had always just nodded, smiled, then went back to his food. After a while he had stopped coming to meals at all and ate in his bedroom. Aaron constantly wondered if he had done something to cause Erik to distance himself. Did he hate him? What did he do? He had been so confused, sad and scared as a boy, and now his brother was about to walk in and he wouldn't have the chance to leave, this was his ceremony after all. Aaron didn't know what he was going to say to him.

Suddenly, the entire crowd hushed and stood up as the enormous double-doors opened and Erik walked in. He wore a deep teal suit and jacket with Burgundy emblems and a purple cape. His face was stone-cold hard as he walked down the aisle to the Priest. Aaron sucked in a breath as his brother passed him, but he didn't even shoot him a glance, causing Aaron's spirits to disintegrate. Erik stopped at the foot of the small steps and stood before the Arendelle Priest, and knelt down on one knee. The priest took a regal-looking sword in hand and lightly tapped the blade on Erik's shoulders.

"Erik Agnarrson…" he began, "Do you so solemnly swear to do whatever it takes to protect the people, the neighbours, and the honour of Arendelle as long as you shall live?"

Erik took a deep breath. "I do so solemnly swear." he replied, and stood up.

The minister then turned around to replace the sword in his hands with the crown of Arendelle, and Erik bent forward a little as the crown was placed on his head. The Priest then retrieved the Vause and Sceptre. Erik's heart began to beat faster.

This is it… He thought. No going back now… The Priest presented the items atop a purple cushion, and Erik reached out to take them, hoping he would get away with wearing gloves... but he was wrong.

"Your majesty," whispered the Priest, "the gloves?"

Erik's face went colder and almost seemed to scowl. Note to self… He thought. Initiate new priest...

Erik took a deep breath, and mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do. Slowly but surely, he picked at his gloves until they were off, and tried his hardest to control the trembling of his hands as he picked up the relics. He turned around to face the crowd, not daring to breathe for fear of the items freezing over. The Priest began to recite the prayer of initiation as Erik began to feel the small tingle of ice on his hands, and glanced down to see that frost was making serious progress on the items.

Oh god, not now… not today... His inner voice pleaded. Please. Please, no… The prayer was almost over and the second it was, he placed the items back on the cushion and stuffed his gloves back on, quickly turning back to face the crowd as they chanted,

"King Erik of Arendelle!"

And then, it was over. Erik had just barely made it, but he still did it. He finally allowed himself to smile for the first time in years and he sighed in relief. He did it. He was King. After that, everyone headed to the castle ballroom, and the festivities began.

Hours later, the party was in full swing and a full moon had risen in the sky. It was a warm and peaceful night, and the villagers celebrated on their own in the town square as lanterns were strung up on lamp posts, family and friends drank and danced together, and children ran around wrapping ribbons around a pole.

Meanwhile, the distinguished guests in the castle ballroom danced the night away in their extravagant apparel, feasting on endless champagne and lively chatter. The coronation ball had gone off without a hitch so far, and the band merrily played song after song, happy to keep the party-goers entertained for as long as possible. However, one young Prince wasn't so happy.

Aaron stayed away from the dance floor and instead walked along the sides of the ballroom, champagne glass in hand. It felt weird to have been in this hall so many times alone as a child and to suddenly have it filled with people. Needless to say, he was a bit intimidated. He had made some idle chatter with royals from other nations in attempts to socialise, but he felt stranger and stranger every minute he didn't talk to his brother. He had been looking forward to this moment mere hours ago, but now that it was here, something about it just didn't feel right. He had kept his eyes on Erik the whole time, but he seemed to be off talking to people about trade partners and kingdom management plans. However, when Kai, the head servant, tapped his wine glass at the front of the hall and commanded everyone's attention, Erik went up to the small stage where the throne of Arendelle was stationed.

"King Erik of Arendelle!" Kai said as he raised a glass, and Erik flawlessly took the stage, as if he'd done it a hundred times. "Prince Aaron of Arendelle!" Said Kai, and Arron looked a little bewildered as he dropped off his glass at a nearby table and awkwardly pushed his way through the crowd. He hadn't been expecting to be called to the front of the room tonight.

"Excuse me… pardon me… coming through…" he muttered. He made his way up to the front and stood next to Kai, but was then taken by the shoulders and stationed right next to Erik. Aaron's face flushed and greeted the crowd with an awkward smile and a small hand wave, feeling uneasy being in such close proximity to someone he hadn't seen for a lifetime. The assembly raised their glasses and applauded the Arendellian royals, then went back to their party. Kai went away and the two brothers were just left there. Aaron held his breath, not saying a word. He shot tiny, nervous glances to his left, hoping to catch his brother's attention, not really sure if he wanted to. But luckily, his mind was made up for him.

"Hi." said Erik.

Arron looked up in surprise. "Hi-hi me?" he asked, and his brother nodded calmly. "Woah..." he whispered.

"You look great." said the white haired brother.

"Thanks." replied the red-head. "You look even greater. Well, not greater as in size, but, ya know, m-more great…" he was cut off by Erik's laughter.

"Thank you." was his brother's reply. Aaron blushed. They hadn't truly spoken since they were kids. Was this really happening? "So…" Erik began, looking out towards the guests, "This is what a party looks like." he said.

Arron nodded, not really knowing what to say. "It's warm in here." he randomly stated, referring to the nervous perspiration he was experiencing due to the increase of his heart rate.

Erik didn't seem to register his brother's strange comment. "What is that amazing smell?" he asked, and the brothers both sniffed the air and turned to each other. "Chocolate!" they said in unison, before bursting out in laughter.

Both brothers sported a look of pure joy at that very moment, and Erik's pale cheeks actually had a splash of colour in them. Aaron's were so red they could have been on fire. Suddenly, Kai came up to Erik with an elderly woman in hand.

"Your majesty. May I present, the Duchess of Snailslime."

"Snalisem! The Duchess of Snalisem, your grace," she said to Erik. "I wish to enquire if the new king would fancy a dance with me?" the elderly Duchess enquired, bowing forward only to have her wig fall off. The two brothers tried their best to stifle their laughs as the Duchess of Snalisem simply rearranged the hairpiece like it was no big deal.

"Ahem. Ah, thank you," said Erik, composing himself, about to pull a brotherly prank and throw Aaron under the bus, "only I don't dance. But my brother here does." he said, gesturing to the red-head next to him.

Aaron immediately started protesting as politely as he could, but he was suddenly yanked away by the Duchess. "Oh, you'll do fine, then…" she said as she dragged the youngest prince to the dance floor. Aaron shot a look at his brother and he saw Erik mouth a 'sucked in'. The red-head just smiled and shook it off.

The Duchess of Snalisem was an… energetic dancer to say the least. She whipped and dipped Aaron around in a tango even though an Arendellian folksong was playing. "So glad to have the gates open again!" she said as she abandoned the tango and danced in circles around the Prince instead, "Why were they ever closed in the first place? Do you know the reason? Hmmm?" she inquired as she pressed her face closer to his.

Aaron leaned back. "Wish I did…" he replied.

"Oh well. Let's dance!" exclaimed the Duchess, taking Aaron in another sharp motion. "I may be old but I can still dance like I did in my 20's!" she cried, before eventually dropping the Prince back off at the front of the room.

"Well, that was…" Erik struggled to find the right words as his brother's dizzy legs struggled up the steps.

"An experience?" Aaron finished for him.

"I'll say." Erik chuckled.

Aaron turned to face his brother and smiled. "This would be fun to do all the time," he said, thinking back to when they were children, "Parties every Saturday? Dancing? Dirty jokes? I'd love that." he said.

"God, me too," replied Erik, looking down in disappointment. "But it can't." Aaron felt the same feeling of longing as when he knocked on that dreadful door all those times before, the feeling of wanting something desperately and having to tell yourself you weren't going to get it.

But he had had enough of it. For once, he was going to fight for what he wanted. "Why not? I don't understand-" he asked his brother with a hint of ferocity in his voice.

"That's right, you don't understand."

"But we could totally go back to normal again, things can be happy again-"

"No, they just can't!" his brother exclaimed and turned his back.

Aaron didn't want this. If this was the way his brother was going to act, forget him. "Excuse me for a minute." he said coldly, and walked away.