Chapter Nine - No Escape From The Storm

Krista, Aaron, Olga and Sven all took a breath when they saw what stood before them. It was almost invisible as it blended into the sky so perfectly, the sun's reflection making every surface and detail shine. The castle was enormous. A grand staircase connected two mountains together, the sheer majesty of how smooth the ice was made Krista burst inside.

"Flawless…" she whispered.

Aaron couldn't believe his eyes. Erik had been capable of making this all along? They could have had the most amazing club house in all of Arendelle if he had known. Ascending the stairs, Sven stumbled and tripped on the ice behind him, and Krista had to pull him back. "Woah, wait here, bud." She said as she stroked his back. Olga went bounding up the steps in front of krista and the three arrived at the front doors… where Aaron had already been standing for some time. His hand was raised to knock, but he stayed still.

In his mind, he was back in his childhood. Knocking on Erik's door had been his daily routine. Standing there. Waiting. Waiting for him to answer, to acknowledge his presence, to want his company, to hug him and say all is forgiven and to never live apart again.

But he would get none of that. "Knock…" He heard someone say. Always waiting. Always wanting. Never getting what you needed most in the world, always thinking you'd done something wrong. "Just knock…" The voice went on. Would this door even open? Would he be shut out again? His muscle memory of knocking on doors all his life had betrayed him. He couldn't move. "Why isn't he knocking?…" Said the voice. Why wasn't he knocking? It was all he had to do. Just knock. "Do you think he knows how to knock?…" He heard.

This snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked down to see that the voice was Olga's. He stopped himself from scowling at the tiny snowgirl, purely because of how cute she was, but on the inside he was furious. Of course he knew how to knock, and he would prove it. With three hard taps which felt more like punches, the sound of his hand on ice echoed from somewhere inside that icy palace. Before his fist had barely left the ice after the third tap, to his surprise, the doors swung right open.

"Huh," he breathed, "That's a first…"

He heard Krista walk up behind him. "Hey. You okay?" she asked warmly. She must have noticed his uneasy demeanour.

Aaron shook his head to steady his mind. "Oh, yeah. Thanks. It's just… being this close, I-" he trailed off, looking through the doorway. "Y-you… you should probably wait out here." He said.

Krista's face fell. "What?!" she exclaimed.

"It's just… last time I introduced him to a girl, he, you know… froze everything…"

"Oh, come on, it's a castle made of ice! Ice is my life! Ice is ice! My life is made of ice! You dare to deny me this beauty?!"

"Bye, Sven!" Olga exclaimed as she made a run for the open doorway.

Aaron caught her by the twigs on her head. "You too, Olga. Just… give us a minute, little sis. Okay?"

Olga's face turned sad, but she nodded and went to sit with a melancholy Krista on the top step. "One.. two…" she began, counting down how long a minute would take.

Krista rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her chin. "Three… four…" she joined in, "Hey, how is it you know how to count?" she asked.

"What's counting?" Olga replied.

"Neeeeever mind..."

Aaron stepped into the castle and looked around, the doors closing behind him. If the outside had been a spectacle, the inside was so much more. The main hall was cavernous, the back wall lined with several staircases that led to who knew where. A fountain stood proud in the centre, frozen crystals emitting from the top to replicate water. Above him, an enormous chandelier made out of shards of shattered ice stood proud. He suddenly wanted to throttle every person that had called his brother a monster. Anyone who could make something this beautiful with just their mind was no monster, but an artist, and he would fight anyone on that topic.

"Erik?" he called out, a slight echo vibrating from his voice as it bounced off the icy walls, "It's me, Aaron. I just wanna say I'm sorry."

He then realised that he was basically standing on an ice-rink, and he began to slip a little, but clumsily stayed on his feet. Suddenly, a voice came from the top of the stairs, making Aaron almost break his neck from looking up so fast.

"Aaron?" came the soft voice of Erik. Aaron couldn't believe his eyes. His brother was here, right in front of him, just at the top of that staircase. Instead of his coronation outfit, he wore an amazing blue ensemble that seemed to practically glisten. His skin was still so pale, but his cheeks were flushed with colour. His hair was flowing free, and for the first time in forever, he didn't look sickly.

"Woah. Erik, you look… different. It's a good different, it's a great different. And this place, it's… it's incredible." Aaron said, making an advance for the stairs.

Erik chuckled. "Thank you," he said with a small smile, "I never knew what I was capable of."

"Neither did I." Aaron said.

Erik looked down at his brother, knowing what he had to say. "You… you should probably go…" he said, to which Aaron jumped straight to his defences.

He hadn't nearly been eaten by wolves just to be turned away at the last second. "But… but I just got here." he said sternly.

Erik walked along and placed his hands on the balcony railing, overseeing the two staircases. He needed to keep away from his brother at all costs. He couldn't hurt him again. "Aaron, you belong down in Arendelle."

"So do you!" Argued the Prince.

But Erik was prepared for his statement. "No, Aaron, I belong here. Alone. Where I can continue to exist without… without hurting anybody… without causing a disaster…"

"Yeah, about that…" Aaron began to say, but was cut off by Olga bounding into the room.

"59, 60!" she exclaimed, running up to the base of the staircase. Aaron leant down to keep her at bay. "Hi! I'm Olga and I like warm hugs!" she said, wriggling in Aaron's grip.

Erik bent over the railing to get a closer look. "Olga?" he breathed.

The snowgirl put her stick arms behind her back. "You built me. Remember?" she squeaked.

"Huh. Hey little sis..." Erik chuckled. He looked at his hands. He was capable of creating life?!

"She's just like the one we built as kids," Aaron said as he gave Olga a small squeeze, "Erik, we were so close. We could be like that again." He said, a smile full of hope.

Erik's face slackened and his eyes widened, a painful memory taking over his mind. Hitting his brother in the head. His tiny form falling to the ground. His face blank and dead-looking.

Slowly, Erik came back to reality. "No. It can't. Goodbye, Aaron." he said as he turned to walk away, bringing his arms into himself.

Aaron sprang to his feet. "Erik, wait!" he called after him and ran up the stairs, as best he could since they were extremely slippery. How did Erik manage to strut around this place? "Erik, listen to me. I have come so far to talk to you, and I'm going to do just that!"

"No, you're not." Argued the King, not even looking behind him.

"Yes, I am, and you're not going to shut me out this time! Look, I just wish you would tell me why you kept all of this a secret for so long!"

"Because I was trying to protect you!" he exclaimed, suddenly whipping around to face his brother at the top of the stairs.

"From what? I'm not afraid, Erik! Don't you dare slam another door in my face! We can go home together, you can explain everything! You can be King again!"

Erik kept on walking until he came into the large balcony room, Aaron trailing behind him, a determined spirit possessing him.

"Aaron," he held up a hand to stop his younger brother, "By all means. Live your life. Go home, enjoy summer, open up the gates and let everyone in."

"But-"

"No, I know. You've come all this way to bring me back home and you mean well, but I don't belong with other people."

"Erik, please. Listen to me! I need you down there, everyone needs you down there!"

"What is it going to take, Aaron? Stop!"

"No! Think of mother. Think of father. They would want you to take your place down in Arendelle. Father-"

"OUR FATHER WAS A MONSTER!" Erik exclaimed at the top of his lungs, causing Aaron to stumble back and for Olga to duck behind Aaron's legs. The red-head took a moment to take in his brother's words.

"What?" he breathed.

Erik began to stalk towards him. "He locked my in my room for eleven years. He banned me from seeing you or even talking to you. Forced me to wear those hideous gloves my whole life, forbade me from ever learning about or even attempting to control my magic. Mother was always uncomfortable in his presence, he'd never let her speak. They think I didn't know about that little escapade they took to the dungeon one night? I was right outside the door. You know what they had ordered for me?" Aaron shook his head, still in shock. "Chains. They ordered specialised chains meant to stop me from using my hands. And you're asking me to come back home and be the next great King Agnarr?" he spread his arms. "So I can be reminded everyday of the man who imprisoned me for over a decade in my own bedroom?!"

Aaron was taken aback. He just stood there, his questions finally answered. No wonder Erik had ran away. While Aaron understood his position, and completely validated his brother's emotions, he knew that Arendelle needed a king, and that the kingdom needed to be thawed.

Making a slow advance, Aaron raised his arms slightly in defence, as if his brother's anger could lash out at him at any moment. "Erik," he began, "I had no idea. I wish there was something I could say, but there isn't. All I know is that you don't have to be afraid anymore, we're not kids anymore! Arendelle still needs its king. And it needs to be you." he reached out a hand, but his brother stood dormant.

"No, Aaron," he turned away, replenishing the distance between them. "You're safer away from me."

"Erik. If you can admit that our father was wrong, why do you still take his words to heart?" he walked up to his brother, taking his hand in his, "I know he made you feel like you're dangerous. But imagine what you could do with people at your side, who are there for you. After all, you've never hurt me."

Erik looked his brother in the eye, and mentally weighed his words. He wanted to believe them, to replace the self hatred his father had instilled in him with his brother's words. But his brother was wrong. He had hurt him. He turned to look out at the view, knowing that the place he had fled was somewhere over there.

"Go home, Aaron. Just stay away, away from me. That's the only way you'll be safe." he jerked Aaron's hand out of his grip and walked away.

Aaron scoffed. "I can't believe you'd be this selfish! I know you feel like the monster that they told you you were, but I'm offering you a solution right here and now! So take it, come back home. Thaw the kingdom. Please!"

Erik stopped dead in his tracks, and a flicker of hope ignited inside the Prince. Had his words finally reached him?

The blonde turned around. "Thaw the what?" he breathed.

Aaron's face fell. Oh god… he thought. He doesn't know…

"You froze everything, Erik," he began, "You set off winter everywhere when you ran away. The fjords are ice, our ships can't sail, we're unprepared for this, we don't have the resources." At this, snow began to fall from the sky, pattering down indoors. The red hue began to glow brighter.

"Everywhere?!" Erik asked, his heart beating faster.

"But it's okay, all you need to do is unfreeze it!" Aaron said hopefully.

His brother only backed away. "What?! No I can't, I don't know how!" he said through quick breaths, another panic attack coming on. He clutched his hands to the sides of his head, the snow around him tuning into a blizzard. "What have I done… what have I done…" he muttered.

"Erik, it's okay, I know you can do this!" he said, holding up his hands to shield his face from the snow that whizzed by.

"Aaron, stop, you'll make it worse!" he tried to say, but the storm drowned his words.

"Don't panic, you can fix what you did! Everything will be alri-"

"I CAN'T!" Erik let out a scream.

Suddenly, the indoor storm seemed to suck itself back into the King, where it shot itself out again quick as lightning, striking Aaron right in the chest. He stumbled backwards, clutching a hand over his heart. It was cold, and it felt as if there was something sharp lodged in it. Erik turned to face his brother who had almost fell to the floor. He gasped. He had done it again. He had hurt his brother again. What had he done?!

Aaron managed to stay on his feet, and right at that moment, Krista and Olga rushed in.

"Aaron, are you okay?!" she asked frantically. She had seen the bright flash from outside, and knew that Aaron didn't cause it. She slipped her arm through the the red-head's and hoisted him up, making sure he didn't fall.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay… I'm fine." he said with slight ferocity as he looked his brother dead in the eye.

"Aaron, I think we should go." said Krista.

"W-who is this? It-it doesn't matter. Just get out." stammered the King.

"No, I'm not leaving without you, Erik!" Aaron exclaimed.

Erik only shot him a death glare. "Yes. You. Are."

Erik felt his magic building up at the tips of his fingers. With a flick of his wrist, a huge puff of smoke emitted, shielding him from view. When it cleared, an enormous snow leopard, made completely out of transparent ice, stood growling ferociously. The trio screamed.

The next thing they knew, they were running for their lives down the slippery steps, the furious animal in pursuit behind them. But it didn't stop chasing them when they were out of the castle. The ice leopard forced Krista, Aaron and Olga and all the way down the North Mountain, Sven in tow. Krista had to scoop up Olga so she wouldn't be crushed by the beast, her little legs were way too small to keep up with them.

Eventually, the four made it to the very edge of the cliff, where they stopped themselves immediately, several clumps of snow falling off the mountain under their feet. They turned to face the ice beast who was gaining on them, and it ran right up to the shaking foursome where it roared in their faces ferociously. The impact of the leopard's exclamation caused a small blizzard to erupt from it, sending all four travellers over the side of the mountain.

The fall was 200 feet deep. Olga, Krista and Sven screamed the entire way down, and Aaron shut his eyes and waited for the jaws of death to snatch him up. Suddenly, it was over. Aaron opened his eyes, and to his delight, everyone was still alive. The snow was so thick and so soft down here that they had practically landed on a pillow.

Krista shook herself off, snow falling off her hair, shoulders, hat and shirt. "We're alive…" she breathed. "We're alive!" the two began cheering excitedly, getting up out of the snow and embracing.

"We totally lost marshmallow back there!" said Olga as she hugged her little twig arms around Aaron's leg.

He chuckled. "In case you didn't realise, Olga, we just got chased off a cliff. I think he won." said Krista.

The snowgirl just blinked. "I like to think of winning as a term that's open to interpretation," she said, pacing around like a wise old professor. "That monster wanted to chase us off a cliff resulting in our imminent deaths. But here we are, still alive! So, therefore, on a point based system, us one, monster zero!" she exclaimed in delight, spreading her arms out in a 'ta-da!' pose. Krista and Aaron smiled.

"Wait, Aaron," Krista began, "What now?"

Aaron took a moment to consider what she had said. "What now?" he breathed. "Now what. Oh god… oh god… he threw us out! He doesn't know how to unfreeze everything! I can't go back with nothing, and then there's your ice business, and-"

"Hey," Krista placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Don't you dare worry about my ice business right now." she said with a reassuring smile. But her demeanour suddenly changed. "Worry about your hair!" Aaron scoffed.

"What? We just fell off a cliff, your hair isn't the best either! Besides, it's always been this messy-"

"No, yours is turning white!"

"White? It's always had a white- oh." he exclaimed as he picked up a strand, and noticed three more white streaks had formed.

"It's because he struck you, isn't it?" Aaron just stared in disbelief. Erik had struck him in the heart and his hair had turned white. Had he really been born with that other white streak? Or had Erik… "You know what, I know people that can help," said Krista. "I'm gonna take you to my family."

"You mean the experts on all things love?" Aaron questioned. Krista nodded. "How do you know they'll be able to help?" he asked.

"Because…" Krista began, "Because I've seen them do it…" suddenly, a memory from her childhood played in her mind. The King was there, the Queen was there, two little boys were there. One of them had red hair. "…before." she breathed.

Oh my god… she thought. He's the same guy…