Chapter Thirteen - Can't Run From This

Aaron took Olga's hand and they went out into the hallway, but each way was blocked by Erik's magic which had finally reached the castle. Huge, jagged icicles grew across the short hallways, blocking their exits. Their only option was the window in front of them. Using strength he didn't know he had, Aaron and Olga climbed up onto the windowsill and unhooked it. The blizzard threw him off immediately, and the sharp stab of cold returned. Olga moved easily through the snow, however, being a creature of it.

"Olga, you get a head start and go meet them halfway."

"Will do!" she said.

Aaron fought against the wind and swung his legs out the window and onto the roof, getting ready to slide down. "Hang on, Krista…" he said, "I'm coming…"

Krista and Sven raced back to the Arendellian palace as fast as they could, determined to see if Aaron was alright. However, as they ran across what was once an entire sea, cracks began to form in the ice behind them. Krista ordered for Sven to race faster, but the cracks caught up with them and Sven was sent tumbling into the frigid water, stopping to kick up his hind legs and propel Krista out of harms way. Krista turned to see her best friend be pulled under the icy water and screamed.

"SVEN!" she called out, and a horrible five seconds passed before the reindeer's head appeared above the water, and Krista breathed a sigh of relief. The storm raged around them, blurring their vision, but Sven managed to clamber out of the water and back onto solid ground. "Good boy. Stay safe buddy, it's too dangerous to ride you right now. Stay here somewhere."

Ignoring her better judgement, Krista left her best friend behind and resumed her journey on foot. "Don't worry, Aaron…" she said, "I'm coming…"

Aaron and Olga stalked through the storm slowly but gradually, Aaron struggling to stay conscious. Olga's act of love hadn't sustained him for long, and he was now at the risk of dying even more than before. At least before he hadn't been in the middle of a blizzard with the wind blowing him in all directions.

He struggled to stay standing, his feet slipping and staggering as he walked. "KRISTA!" he called out with all the vocal strength he could muster. In the distance, he heard someone reply,

"AARON!" she was nearby. She was coming. Krista was coming. Aaron felt a glimmer of hope, which was quickly replaced by fear as he looked down at his hands and found them freezing over with ice. Snowflake patterns expanded across his skin, and he could no longer move his fingers.

Oh god… he thought. Please, Krista… hurry up…

Erik ran. Ran to where, he didn't know. He couldn't see. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't live. He couldn't die. He held his hands above his eyes to squint through the storm, the storm he had created, his cape billowing around him. If he was to be sentenced to death anytime soon, all he wanted was to see his brother one last time.

"AARON!" he called into the storm.

Feeling tears prick his eyes, he felt a panic attack coming on. The pressure swelled in his head, but here wasn't the proper place to break down. Instead he pushed through it. "AARON!" He called out again. But no one heard. Except, however, for the figure of Princess Harmony. She appeared from behind a curtain of mist from the storm, and Erik almost screamed when he saw her, and started to make a run for it, but stopped when he heard her voice.

"Erik!" she called. "You can't run from this like you did last time! Just surrender now and no harm will come to you, just stop this storm!"

Erik only backed away. "I want to, but I just can't! I don't know how!" he called into the blizzard. "Kill me if you want, just take care of my brother!" he cried, tears finally escaping his eyes.

"Your brother?" Harmony replied, "Are you kidding me? He returned from looking for you weak and freezing to death! His skin was as cold as ice, his hair turned fully white! Erik, your brother is dead! Because of YOU!" she exclaimed.

Erik's face turned to one of horror. "No…" he breathed.

His father had been right after all. He had been capable of killing his brother. He had tried so hard to stay away, but he had still harmed his own flesh and blood in a way he never thought possible. His worst fear had finally come true. He turned away, hoping to find that it wasn't true and that his brother was standing right behind him. But it was all too much. After all he had been through after all these years, the death of his brother had finally broken him.

He collapsed onto his knees, where he burst into tears. As soon as his hands touched the floor, the storm died down around him, flattening as if someone had simply turned it off. A decade of psychological conditioning of having to suppress his emotions finally came to an end as Erik allowed himself to cry. His brother was dead. His best friend. His one true companion. Aaron was dead. And it was all his fault.

Aaron felt the blizzard end and allow him to stand up straight, despite his weakened state struggling to even do that.

"K-Krista?" he could only whisper into the air.

But still, the voice replied. "Aaron!" he heard.

Krista was now in view, blurry through his weary vision but she would be here any second. Suddenly, he heard the elastic drawback of a bow behind him. He turned to find his brother. He was here! But Harmony was right behind him, raising an arrow to her cheek and preparing to aim, right at Erik's back. The arrow would no doubt pierce his heart if let loose. Aaron now saw that he had a choice. He could run to Krista and save himself, or run to save his brother's life.

He looked at the approaching figure in the distance, salvation only inches away… and then back at Erik, who was about to die any moment and didn't even know. Making up his mind, Aaron abandoned all thought of himself, and mustered any strength he had left. Bursting into a sprint, he ran as fast as his frozen legs would carry him, and threw himself in front of his brother, ready to die for him in his place.

"NO!" he called out as soon as Harmony released the arrow, and as soon as Aaron raised his arm, his entire body turned to ice, where the wooden arrow shattered into a million pieces as soon as it made collision with Aaron's frozen chest, sending out a burst of energy that sent Harmony tumbling back.

Aaron let out his last breath, one final cloud of mist escaping his frozen solid lips.

Erik looked up and screamed. "AARON!" he exclaimed in horror. "No… please… no…" he felt Aaron's hair and face, but it was no longer human skin or hair, no longer flushed with the rosiness that had become a part of him, his hair no longer in its messy glory, but now stood smooth and perfect inside that icy prison. "Aaron…" he looked at his brother's frozen face, its expression so frightened but determined to save his brother.

Erik had shown him nothing but neglect for over a decade, and yet Aaron had chosen to sacrifice himself for him all the same. Erik collapsed, his arms around the statue of his brother, tears flowing as if they would never end. Krista finally came into the clearing, and Olga did too, all of them standing in shocked silence at their fallen friend, at his heartbroken brother. Erik said nothing, only cried into Aaron's shoulder, wishing this was all just a dream. But it wasn't. He had done this. He had struck him in the heart because he was too selfish to even listen to what his brother had to say.

What had his life come to? Where was there to go when you'd betrayed your kingdom and killed your own brother? Erik didn't know what his life would be like now. But it would be bad. Even worse than before. He'd go back to his ice castle and stay there until he starved. He deserved it.

Fear will be your enemy, and death its consequence...

The troll's words from so many years ago rang in his ears as he clutched his brother. They had come true. His battle with fear had resulted in him being the vanquished, and now his brother had died trying to save him. All he could do was hurt people, even the one he loved most. He was truly a monster after all.

But suddenly, the snow king felt the freezing cold touch of his brother's icy skin melt away with the sensation of warmth. The ice coating Aaron's chest started to melt away, a circle of magic growing in the centre and expanding outwards. Erik looked up in baffled bewilderment, until all of the ice that had covered his brother completely melted away and he was alive again! Aaron was alive again! His hair was no longer white, not even the white streak remained, and he shook himself off as his body returned to normal.

"Aaron…" Erik breathed, "Y-you… you sacrificed yourself for me? After all I've done?" he said through tears of joy.

The red-head only smiled. "Well, what can I say. I love my brother."

Erik let out a chuckle of disbelief and threw his arms around his brother, the two of them finally together again at last.

Krista beamed; her proper, human best friend was back.

Olga jumped in the air in delight and squealed. "Oooooooh, an act of pure love will thaw a frozen heart! There's no purer love than giving up your life for another! He saved himself with love for his brother! AWWWWWW THIS IS SO CUUUUTE!" Olga exclaimed.

Erik pulled away from the hug and considered the snowgirl's words. "Love will thaw…" he breathed.

Aaron raised a brow. "Erik?" he asked, confused at his brother's delighted expression.

"Of course!" Erik exclaimed, and grabbed Aaron's wrist. "Come on!" He cried, and gestured for Krista, Olga and Sven to follow. Erik led them to the nearest ship, frozen in the icy sea and clambered aboard, the rest of them following. Krista struggled to get Sven up over the railing, as he had caught up with them.

"Erik, what's going on?" Aaron chuckled.

But Erik didn't answer. He simply raised his arms, and the icy ground around them began to melt away. The group gasped in delight. The frozen fjord shrank into itself and floated up into the sky in wisps of silvery magic, which then stretched itself into a thin, white stream that travelled all throughout Arendelle. With each frozen surface it touched, the ice and frost melted away and Summer was slowly restored.

Flowers burst out of dead boxes on windowsills, the green grass returned, and the water turned a brilliant blue once again. Erik moved and manoeuvred his hands accordingly, finally knowing the secret to fix what he had done; being loved by another. All the people of Arendelle came outside to watch the sun return, and even started clapping. When it was done, the stream floated into the sky and took the shape of a huge, glorious snowflake. Erik clicked his fingers and it disintegrated into thin air.

The ship they were on rocked back and forth as it settled into an upright position, and the group turned to face each other and came together in a group-hug. When they broke apart, Olga began looking around, turning as she went.

"So this is what summer is!" she said cheerfully, and began to melt on the spot. She looked down at her lower body which was quickly becoming a pool of slush on the wooden deck. "Thanks, I hate it!"

Aaron and Erik chuckled as the ice King quickly sent a stream of magic her way. "Olga! Hang on sweetheart…" Erik said.

When the magic reached the little snowgirl, she immediately sprang up back into her normal self, a tiny cloud above her head snowing non-stop.

"AAAAA! MY OWN LITTLE CLOUD! I love it, his name shall be Jeffery!" the group let out a laugh. No way were they losing a little girl that cute.

Princess Harmony pulled herself up the side of the ship, dripping wet and shaking. She had still been out on the ice when Erik had thawed it, casing her to tumble into the sea. She saw the sight of a very much alive Prince Aaron and gasped.

"Aaron!" she exclaimed, stepping over the final rung of the ship's ladder, "But… you were dead! He froze your heart!"

Erik stalked forward, his hand balled at his side, ready to make his first official proclamation as king with his fist. But Aaron stopped him, placing an arm on his shoulder and shook his head. "Don't worry. I got this." he said.

The Prince walked up to Harmony and cleared his throat. "You know, for attempted murder of the King of Arendelle, I was going to have you imprisoned under a life sentence. But I believe a better consequence would be to return you to your own miserable life," he began, Erik and Krista open-mouthed behind him. "So you're free to go home, and forever live in the shadow of those… what was it you said? Twelve perfect half-sisters?" Harmony stared speechless at his words. "I hope they handle you accordingly after hearing about all of this." he said.

Harmony's heart broke. His words were so true. Her sisters would never let her hear the end of it, and she would only be outcasted from her family even more. And Aaron was right. Princess Harmony would go on to spend the rest of her days being the lowly last in line, always at the mercy of her ever-so beloved half-sisters, never to have a moment of individual success or a personal talent of her own. Which, when looked at, is one of the worst fates imaginable.

Krista, Aaron and Erik left the ship with Olga and Sven in tow, and walked down the docks to the centre of town. The townspeople shrank away and rubbed their necks with nervous glances at the sight of Erik. Sure, he was still their King and he had thawed the winter he made, but they were still so confused and unsure about what he was capable of. Erik sensed this tension and felt another panic attack coming on, at a loss for words, an idea or a way out. But this time, he wasn't alone. He had his brother.

Aaron gave him a reassuring look, and stepped forward. "People of Arendelle," he began, "I stand before you today very much alive, unhurt, and grateful for the safe return of my brother. Contrary to what many of you may believe, he is not dangerous. The only danger I saw was lack of understanding, which can be as deadly as any blade. I invite you to please be on the right side of understanding those who are different."

He turned behind him and held out an arm, gesturing for his brother to take it.

Erik looked around, the back of his hair raised in a state of anxiety.

Krista nudged him. "Go on…" she whispered. Slowly but surely, Erik walked forward and took his brother's outstretched hand, no longer shutting him out.

"You'd be amazed at what Erik's magic can do." said Aaron.

"He built an ice castle!" Krista called from behind.

"He made me!" cried Olga.

"He can make animals out of ice. Imagine what that can do for our kingdom's defence system!" said Aaron, careful to leave out the fact that he meant 'ferocious beast' when he said animals.

Erik looked around at the crowd's pleasant expressions, and felt tears threatening to fall. Were they finally… accepting him?

Aaron turned to face his brother and lowered his voice down so only he could hear. "I think it's time to show them what you can do." he said.

Erik smiled. "Yeah. Maybe."

"Whaddy'a say, folks? Shall we see what Erik's magic can do when those around him have open hearts?" he said, and the crowd cheered. "I think that means yes."

Erik slowly walked to the centre of town, a tiny, shy smile on his face. He took a breath, knowing exactly what he was going to show off first. Bringing his hands together, he conjured a snowball, miniature snowflakes and dark blue mist emitting from it. He gave his brother a side glance as if to say 'you know what this is', and Aaron returned the smile.

With one smooth gesture, Erik threw the snowball into the sky, where it exploded into a shower of sparkling snow. The crowd gasped in delight, holding out their hands to catch any falling pieces. Children stuck out their tongues to try and taste it, and even Sven stuck out his big slobbery tongue to catch a snowflake or two.

The people of Arendelle clapped at the sight of Erik's magic, and a small tear of joy escaped the King's eye. From somewhere in the back of the crowd, someone called out,

"King Erik of Arendelle!" which was quickly followed by the rest of the townsfolk.

"KING ERIK OF ARENDELLE!"