Chapter Four - Well Now They Know

Turning away and heading into the crowd, Aaron felt the threat of tears burning his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. His hands made fists and he shut his eyes angrily. Why couldn't his brother just be normal for once? This wasn't fair! Didn't he know the emotional pain he had caused him? He was so… so… but before he could think of the right word, he found himself tumbling towards the ground as he had tripped over someone's leg.

He let out a small yelp as he prepared to let the force of gravity pull him down, but a hand caught him just in time. "Why hello there."

Arron looked up and saw the beautiful brunette from before. "Harmony!" he exclaimed, and let her pull him back up.

The Princess put her champagne glass on a tray carried by a passing servant, and Aaron pulled her into a dance as soon as the orchestra began to play a waltz. They danced for many songs, each one lost in each other's eyes. Aaron eventually forgot about Erik. He was finally having some fun of his own. This was a party after all, and he led Harmony outside for some fresh air. They talked for hours as they made their way through the castle gardens, which were extensive and lush with flora of every colour. Along the way, Aaron picked a white rose and placed it in Harmony's hair, which she accepted gratefully.

"What's this?" she enquired, pointing to the white streak in the Prince's hair.

Aaron touched it. "Oh, I was born with it. Although I dreamt that a troll kissed my head. Ick!" he cringed at the memory, and Harmony laughed.

Eventually, the two found themselves on a balcony outside the ballroom, finishing off the last of the finger sandwiches that they had swiped, laughing at the stories they exchanged.

"So tell me more about your sisters. How many did you say you had?" he asked.

"Twelve older sisters," Harmony giggled. "Three of them pretended I didn't exist. For two whole years!" she exclaimed.

"Aww, that's horrible." Aaron replied, feeling sorry for her, as he knew what it was like to be the youngest... and completely ignored for years on end.

"Hey, it's what sisters do." Harmony replied.

"And brothers," said Aaron. "Erik and I were really close when we were little, but, one day he just shut me out and... I never knew why…" he said.

Harmony took the Prince's hand in hers. "I would never shut you out, Aaron." She said as she looked deeply into his eyes, and Aaron looked right back.

The two were silent for a moment, until the red-head got up from the railing and went to close the doors leading to the ballroom. "Okay, can I just… say something crazy?" he asked, gazing hopefully at the Princess.

"I love crazy!" Harmony replied.

"You know, my whole life has been one closed door in my face after another. But now, none of it... seems to matter, because, when I see you, it feels like I'm... looking into an open door." he said.

Harmony walked over to him and stroked a silk glove down Aaron's cheek. "And I feel the same way," she said. "I mean, being the youngest of a dozen princesses meant I didn't get a lot of attention growing up. It never really felt like I had my own place in my kingdom, my own talent, you know? I don't know, maybe it's just the chocolate fondue talking." the two laughed.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Aaron gestured, taking Harmony by the hand.

"Where are we going?" she questioned.

"You'll see..." said Aaron.

He gripped the sides of the balcony roof, each one having its own triangular canopy, and hoisted himself up.

Harmony gasped as he disappeared from sight. "W-wha-Aaron! Where did you go?"

The boy's red hair suddenly appeared over the side of the roof's edge. "You coming?" he laughed, and Harmony laughed back. "When you're a lonely kid, you gotta find your own fun. My fun happened to be exploring areas I wasn't supposed to." said the Prince.

The two managed to climb the steep roof and reached the top of it as soon as a shooting star went by, and they both wished upon it. They decided to run about and explore elsewhere, and ended up having a nighttime adventure. They even made it to the top of the Arendelle clock tower, Harmony having to hold Aaron's hand the entire time as he was petrified of heights.

After a while, they decided to go down to the docks and walk by the sea, first on the bridge and then right onto the ship belonging to Harmony. They danced together under under the stars as the moonlight made shadows on the ship's sails, making it look as if they were dancing on the air itself.

After the docks, they made their way through a rocky path and found a waterfall at the end of it where they had a gorgeous view of the moon. "Come on, we're almost there!" Aaron exclaimed, and Harmony came running up behind him.

"Oh my lord..." she breathed as she gazed at the moon. "It's beautiful..." she sighed, and Aaron couldn't resist.

"Not as beautiful as you..." he said, and instantly regretted it. Had he just ruined the mood? Had he made her uncomfortable? His face flushed with red. Oh god, oh god, oh god! "I- I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-well, I did, mean, it, but, I- I-"

Harmony only pressed a finger to his lips. "Can I say something crazy?" she asked, getting down on one knee. "Will you marry me?" she said, causing Aaron to gasp and put his hands over his mouth.

It wasn't usual for a woman to propose to a man, but to hell with it. He had just had the best night of his life! He had met a wonderful woman who liked him for who he was. She had given him more attention in one evening than his own brother had in 11 years. He needed no time to think of his answer.

"Can I say something even crazier?" he said, taking Harmony's hands in his, "Yes!"

The two raced back to the castle, giggling all the way. As they pushed through the assembly, Aaron spotted Erik talking with Rapunzel about extending their trade contract, when Aaron finally got his brother's attention.

"Hello, yes, Eri- I mean, King… your highness... me again…" Aaron said clumsily, his mind still buzzing with adrenaline, "Uh, we would like…"

"Your blessing…" Harmony added.

"On…"

"Our marriage!" The two finished each others sentence at the same time, each one wearing a massive grin.

Erik just shook his head in shock. "What?"

"Yes!" Aaron exclaimed, "Isn't it great? We can have it here! Well, we'll need a few days to plan the ceremony, of course we'll have three courses of ice-cream with sprinkles, but… wait, would you live here?" Aaron asked, turning to Harmony.

"Absolutely!" she replied, beaming.

"Ooooooh, we could invite all of your sisters to live with us!" said Arron.

At the mention of more people living in his castle, Erik knew he needed to step in. He hated socialisation. His anxiety was off the charts as it was, and he felt another panic attack coming on. But somehow, he didn't know how, he managed to stifle it.

"Woah, woah woah, slow down," He began, "No one's sisters are staying here, and no one is getting married." he said as calmly as he could without breaking down in a fit of anxiety.

Aaron's face sank. "What? Why?" he asked like a child deprived of candy.

"Can I talk to you, please? Alone?" Erik asked his little brother.

Aaron just pulled Harmony closer. "No." he said, "I meant what I said, we want to be married. So whatever it is you have to say, you can say it to both of us."

Erik sighed. "Fine. You can't marry a person you just met." he stated.

Aaron wasn't having it. Erik had ignored him for pretty much all of his life, and he wouldn't even let him have this? He wouldn't let him have his own happiness? This was where he drew the line. His brother could dictate the laws he lived by, he was the King after all. But he couldn't dictate his own life choices.

"You can if it's true love!" Argued the red-head.

Erik just scoffed. "True love? After less than 24 hours of you knowing her? Give me a break, what do you know about love?"

Aaron narrowed his eyes. "I know how to properly love a brother. So I clearly know more than you."

Erik's eyes widened and his mind pulsed with pain. Oh god. He thought. No. Please, no… don't make Aaron hate me. Don't make him think I wanted to shut him out for all those years. There's so much I wish I could tell him… The thoughts raced through his head.

"You asked for my blessing, but my answer is no. Excuse me." Erik turned to walk away.

"Your majesty, if I may-" Harmony tried to pipe up, but her efforts were quickly diminished.

"No, no you may not. I think- I think you should go. The party is over, close the gates!" he said to Kai, who bowed in response with a look of disappointment.

Aaron went after his brother and grabbed his hand. "Erik, please, don't do this!" he pleaded, unintentionally pulling off his brother's glove in the process.

"Hey, give me my glove!" Erik demanded, but Aaron just stepped back.

"Erik, please, I can't take this anymore! I can't live without you anymore!" he cried.

There was silence for a moment as the brothers stared each other down, the crowd having turned to face them. It broke Erik's heart to say what he said next. Tears burned in his eyes again, but he would not appear weak on his first night as King. Knowing what his father would do in this situation, Erik plucked up the courage to say what had to be said.

"Then leave."

Aaron's eyes widened in horror. Erik wanted him gone?! "What did I ever do to you?" the red-head called after the blonde.

"Enough, Aaron!" his brother replied, his back to everyone. The entire party was staring at them.

"No. Why? Why did you shut me out?" Aaron cried. "Why did you shut the world out? Why are you cold to our people? WHY DO YOU HATE ME?!"

That was the last step towards triggering Erik's emotions. With a sharp turn and a burst of anger, Erik screamed at his brother, his palm outstretched. "I SAID ENOUGH!"

As he did so, a huge wave of sharp, blue ice burst from his exposed hand, sending many people back to avoid being stabbed by the spikes. Everyone gasped in horror and confusion. Erik began to have an anxiety attack, and placed his hand to his chest as if to stop it from doing anything else. He breathed heavily and felt for the doorknob, eventually finding it and running out the door.

"Sorcery..." the Duchess breathed in fear.

"Erik…" Aaron whispered in shock as his brother fled the room, his glove still in his hand.

Erik fled the castle and ran out into the courtyard, only to be met with the entire village populace gathered there.

"It's the King!" they cried, applauding and congratulating him as he tried to escape the crowd.

"Long live the king!" someone cheered, but Erik just looked down and tried to push his way through the crowd. Where he was going, he had no clue. He just needed to go… somewhere. Alone. Get away from the crowd… conceal it…don't feel it…. never let it show…

"Your majesty? Are you alright?" asked a woman.

The interaction made Erik back away, panicking and not knowing what to do. He backed up enough to hit one of the courtyard fountains. His bare hand touched the brim and it and it froze over instantly, causing the water to crawl up in a sharp, jagged pattern as the ice enveloped it. The crowd screamed and Erik stood back, not believing that it had happened again.

Suddenly, the Duchess of Snalisem's voice could be heard as she and a dozen or so party-goers appeared in the castle doorway. "There he is!" she cried, pointing a gloved finger at Erik accusingly, "Stop him!"

Erik held up his hands in surrender. "Please, just, stay away from me, stay awa-" but before he could finish his sentence, a jolt of ice shot out of his hand and blasted the Duchess and the others. They slipped on the ice and were taken aback by the blow, but luckily they weren't injured, although the doors were now frosted over and one of them fell off its hinge.

"M-monster. Monster!" the Duchess screamed, and the assembly in the courtyard backed away.

Mothers shielded their crying children, and husbands shielded their wives. Erik looked around in shock and panic as his own subjects backed away from him, and he realised what he had just done.

The vision. The vision from all those years ago. The people cowering, screaming, seeing a monster when they looked at him. It had all come true. How long would it be now before someone died?

Without thinking, he ran past the crowd and into the streets, through the town and down towards the water. He could hear his brother calling behind him, pleading for him to stop. Harmony was close behind him.

"Erik!" Aaron called, "Erik, stop, please!" he continued to cry.

Eventually, Erik made it to the edge of the fjord. He tried to stop himself before he drowned, but he didn't consider that the worst idea. Just end it all here. But to his surprise, he saw that wherever he stepped, he actually froze the ground. Could he walk on water? He looked up at his brother who was approaching rapidly, dreading to have to face him.

Erik looked at Aaron, then at the forest that awaited him across the fjord. Without looking back, he dashed towards the woods, freezing every inch of water his feet touched. Aaron made it to where Erik had fled, but immediately slipped on the ice. Harmony raced down and placed her hands on his shoulder, ready to help him back up. As Erik made it to the other side of the lake, the ice he had left behind began to expand and grow, covering every inch of the water surrounding Arendelle.

"The fjord!" Harmony gasped as the boats in the docks froze over and became twisted statues, the trees froze over and became sharp, deformed skeletons, and the weather around them became freezing. Snow gently began to fall from the sky as Aaron and Harmony made their way back to the village.

"Snow?" they heard people whisper, holding out their hands to see if it was real. Harmony led Aaron back to the courtyard where people now stood shivering on the frozen ground.

"Yes, snow. In the middle of June!" they heard someone else say.

"Did you know he could do that?" Harmony asked Aaron in disbelief.

"No." Aaron said, clutching his arms to shield himself form the cold.

The Duchess of Snalisem was frantically ranting about the monster of a King and how she had nearly died. "Oh my starry eyes. I am shook, I am traumatised, the King is a monster! A sorcerer of dark magic! A-"

"Hey! We don't know any of that!" the red-headed prince interjected.

The Duchess ducked behind one of her guards and shielded herself from the Prince. "YOU!" She exclaimed. "Is the evil witchcraft in you, too? Are you a monster, too?!" she cried.

"No! No, I promise, I'm a complete blank slate!" he said, and Harmony placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That's right, he is. I-in the best way possible."

Aaron playfully rolled his eyes and turned back to the Duchess. "My brother is not a monster."

"He nearly killed me!" Cried the Duchess.

Harmony interjected. "You only slipped on ice, madame Duchess"

"His ice, from his hands! How does one even do that?!"

"Stop," Said Aaron. "It was an accident, he got scared, he didn't mean for- he didn't mean for any of this to happen. I pushed him. And I need to go find him."

"Aaron, wait!" said Harmony, but Aaron didn't listen.

"Bring me my horse!" he called to the nearby stablehand.

Harmony's eyes narrowed. "Aaron, this could be dangerous. What if you get hurt?" she asked, eyes wide.

"He's my brother. He could never hurt me." the red-head replied.

Aaron had no better explanation for what had happened tonight than anyone else did. Was this the reason his brother always stayed away? What about the years before he had moved to his own room? No. He had pushed him tonight. This was his doing. Why had he been so selfish that he had forgotten to consider that Erik was nervous about tonight? And the next thing Aaron had done was propose 12 extra people moving in? No wonder he had fled the ballroom, ice magic or no ice magic.

Tonight had been his fault, and he needed to go after him. Maybe he could apologise and bring his brother to his senses. The one thing he couldn't work out was why. Why hadn't he just told him that he had magic? Was it that dangerous all the time? Did it jerk out randomly? Aaron needed answers, and he wasn't going to get them here.

With a courage he didn't know he had, he mounted his horse and turned to address the crowd of awaiting citizens. "I leave Princess Harmony in charge of Arendelle until the return of me and my brother."

And with that, he rode off into the night, all the citizens looking to Harmony for guidance. She addressed her crowd. "Right…" the young princess began, "Everyone, make yourselves comfortable within the castle. Those who are able-bodied, I humbly request you to please volunteer your services and help prepare firewood. Everyone else, please pass out blankets and coats to children and the weak. We'll start a fire and stay warm. We will survive this winter together!" she said as the crowd cheered for their new, temporary leader.

At least she knew what she was doing.

Just a bot more time… Harmony thought to herself, a plan forming in her mind. And this kingdom will be mine...

Author's note: Yep, I made Harmony the villain right away. Personally, I'm not much of a fan of twist-villains, I prefer getting to know their motivations earlier on so that it's more satisfying when they get taken down. Villains are characters too, not just plot-points, and they deserve arcs and back-stories just as much as the leads. Anyway, bazinga or something, back to the fic!