List of Musics:
Stratovarius - Winter Skies
Chapter 9
Never the royal palace seemed so quiet, even when the doors were closed, three years ago.
On the stairs of the main hall, two children and a queen were rooted on the spot, each with an appalled face.
Anna and Steven seemed on the verge of panic. In truth, only their dismay had prevented them from running away when they saw the sovereign.
The two young people had been very careful to not be spotted, when they were playing during that year, or the six months for Steven, so that the adults do not try to make go the small boy or prevent Anna to see him. And all the efforts of the small duo were just been undone in a split second.
Anna's mother, Queen Iduna, was standing straight up on the stairs, her mouth half open and her blue eyes wide open, revealing a monumental shock. Right in front of her eyes was a person she believed was impossible to exist.
During the year that had elapsed, the sovereign in purple and black dress had several visits from her housekeeper, Gerda, whom she had asked to report any strange event going into the castle. The servant had come to tell all her stories of strange noises, children's voices and even the appearances of a strange person with a wolf painting and three small chains on his pants and two curious pendants, and also brown hairs topped by a funny little strand.
After several months of hearing about it, but not noticing any suspicious thing, the sovereign of Arendelle thought that that it was nothing but rumors; the imagination of some bored servants in a palace too empty and quiet for them.
But now, less than a meter from her, the famous little boy was there. The one that everyone thought it was a ghost was with her beloved daughter. But the most incredible for the queen was that she heard them talking as if they knew each other very well.
After a moment of silence, the mother finally stammered.
"Who... Who are you ?! A- Anna ... Who is he?"
The two children stopped their stupor and seemed terrified. But what astonished the little duo is the fact that Steven was still there. None of them understood what was happening. In general, when he was spotted, Steven disappeared because of the surprise. It happened two to three times before. But now, strangely, it didn't. The children looked each other with eyes that seemed dumbfounded, establishing a silent dialogue between them. Anna to ask why he didn't disappear. And Steven's eyes saying he didn't know.
Then Anna reacted. She grabbed the hand of her friend and run away with him in the corridor.
Firstly surprise, the queen put herself together very quickly to go after them, shouting.
"Anna! Wait!"
The Children were running at high speed. Anna never thought she would one day be so afraid of her own mother. She wanted to escape at all costs. She did not want to be separated from Steven forever.
The geek was right behind her, but the fact that he was pulling on her arm showed her that he began to be tired, because of their game of the Templar and the Assassin. Anna needed to hide her friend somewhere. But for this, she first had to escape from her mother, and the little legs of the two children did not allow them to go fast enough. The Sovereign began to come closer without a problem.
It was then that Anna and her companion arrived to a junction. The redhead turned into another corridor and, at the last moment, she discovered a maid with arms full of clothes. The girl and the geek dodged her, surprising the domestic by the way. But while she followed the children with an astonished gaze, the queen turned in the hallway and slammed into the maid, scattering the fabrics the maid was holding. The two women felt on the ground, quite bewildered. When the maid realized who she had knocked over, she began to panic and apologize.
"Y-Your Highness! I-I'm sorry. I did not see you."
The lady in purple seemed a bit lost for a moment. Then she noticed her daughter, over the shoulder of the maid, entering into another hallway.
Steven began to be exhausted. Anna looked back and did not see her mother. Somewhat relieved, she stopped in front of a room and quickly opened the door, telling her friend.
"Hide here."
"But ... What about you?" Steven hesitated.
"I'll go elsewhere."
On the effect of adrenaline, the young English boy did what she said without discussing longer. He entered the room and Anna shut the door behind him. But when she turned to cast a glance before running again, the little redhead jumped discovering the queen arriving into the hall where she was, before settling a few steps over the child.
The two of them had their eyes wide open, the mother of stupor, the daughter of fear.
The look of the sovereign goes from Anna to the door and vice versa. The princess, seeing this, realized that her flight had been for nothing. Even if she could have escaped miraculously to her mother, she would have ended up having to talk to her and answer her questions. She had simply run because of the fear, trying to escape the inevitable.
When the lady in purple began to approach again, Anna felt that what she feared the most was coming. She was too young to imagine how, but she already was imagining her mother forcing Steven to never come back. She saw herself again alone in this huge castle.
The little red-haired girl clung to her mother's dress crying.
"No Mom! Please!"
This stunned the sovereign.
"But... Anna, what are you doing?"
The princess with a white strand looked up at the face of her mother. She seemed even more shocked to discover that her daughter was beginning to cry.
"Please mommy ..." implored the girl. "He is my friend ... Sniff ... My only friend ..."
The queen didn't know what to do or say when she saw the distress in the eyes of her daughter. She had never seen her like this. As a child, she had seen her sobbing when she had a nightmare or hurt herself. But it wasn't the same this time. The mother saw, in the little moist eyes of Anna, a despair that broke her heart. Something she would have given anything to never see it on her daughter.
"Please mommy ..." begged the little redhead, between two sobs.
The Queen Iduna, who did not understand what was happening, began to feel guilty. In view of what said the princess, she seemed to be the cause of all her fears. Anna's mother could not accept this idea. Whatever the situation, she never would have wanted to be the source of the misfortune of her daughter. The lady in purple then kneeled and took her daughter in her arms, murmuring with a confused but soothing voice.
"Anna Anna ... Calm down. Shhhh ... Everything's fine ... Everything's fine."
The redhead, who was sobbing on the shoulder of her mother, began to calm down. The mother put her daughter in front of her and asked, with a calm tone.
"Please Anna, tell me who is that person you were with."
The princess dried her tears and uttered, still crying a little.
"Promise me to not make him go ..."
Her mother could not do that. She knew nothing about this strange kid and wanted to know if Anna was in danger.
"Tell me first who it is." Asked the Queen.
Anna hesitated a little, then hoisted the white flag. She sniffed once, wiped away one last tear and finally spoke.
"His name is Steven ... Sniff ... Steven Ryan."
It was a long time ago, but the queen Iduna remembered having heard that name once or twice. But she had always thought it was her imagination. She then spoke.
"But who is it? How did he enter into the castle?"
The princess lowered her sad eyes and remained silent for a moment before answering, fearing the reaction of her mother.
"I don't know ... It's ... magical ..."
The lady absolutely didn't expect that answer. Especially because it brought more concerned than any other one.
"What do you mean Anna?" She asked.
The redhead then began to tell everything, holding both hands close to the pentacle with blue stones that the mini-metalhead offered to her.
"I ... I saw a shooting star one evening and I wanted to have a friend. He appeared just like that, without warning. Because he can appear everywhere ... like a magician. He said that he is a dreamer. I think he's a guardian angel, because he is really nice. I swear to you mom. Since we met, he came often to tell me stories and play with me. He even offered me that. "
The girl showed her precious jewel, the mother took it in her hand to observe it. She thought that this little curious silver Star, and it distrusted her as it was a gift from a stranger, but she had to acknowledge that it was quite pretty. One detail puzzled the sovereign. She asked her daughter.
"How long have you known him?"
Anna looked for a moment at the lady in purple in the eyes, playing with her own fingers, but she quickly looked down. She could not support her mother's look. She replied.
"... About a year."
Her mother could not believe it. The rumors of Gerda had started one year ago.
"And I didn't notice anything ..." If the queen realized with dismay.
"Because we have been really careful." Explained the girl with a white strand. "I ... I knew that you and Dad would not have let him stay with me."
The queen reacts as calmly as possible.
"Of course, Anna. You mustn't talk to strangers. Even more if they appear out of nowhere. What if he was dangerous?"
Anna replied with an exhausted voice.
"He isn't. I promise ... Sniff ... He is the nicest person in the world. He even saved me right now..."
On this point, the queen Iduna had to admit she was right. This boy, as strange as it seems, had prevented Anna from a potentially serious fall, in addition of having lectured her in a way that her husband, the king, would have approved. The lady did not know what to think at all. It was a year that this "ghost", not having a better word, spent time with Anna. If he wanted to hurt her, why would he have help her? Or did he not act sooner? Unless if he had a horrible plan in mind. Maybe he wanted to gain the sympathy of Anna for obscure reasons ...
The mother would have preferred if it was that simple.
But, strangely, something prevented her to believe this hypothesis. One detail that she could not understood instantly.
That's when the little redhead again raised her eyes to the mother and begged.
"Please Mom ... It's the only friend I have ... Sniff ... I don't want him to go ..."
The queen then had another shock. She had never understood that her child felt so lonely. She and her husband had once talked about letting her get out of the castle sometimes. But they had renounced because it would have been too dangerous to let such a young princess outside, even with an escort. Since the incident with Elsa, the two sovereigns had sworn to protect their children the best they could, whatever the price.
But she had never considered that price: the loneliness of her daughter.
The queen looked at the moist eyes of Anna, with a heavy heart. Then she asked, the voice filled with concern.
"He means so much to you?"
Anna wiped her eyes before saying.
"Yes. He plays with me and tells me a lot of incredible adventures like those of the Fellowship of the Ring."
The sovereign of course didn't understand what she was referring to, but she let her continue.
"Sometimes, we play together at make-believe. Him, he calls it Role Playing Games ... Sniff ... When he is there, Elsa and I have a lot of fun... "
The queen's eyes widened exclaiming.
"Elsa?!"
The princess clapped her hands over her mouth. This time she had said too much.
"You mean that he met Elsa?" Feared the queen.
Anna hurried to reassure his mother.
"Yes ... B-But I didn't saw her. I swear."
Iduna seemed less panicked but more confused.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Well ... sometimes, unintentionally, he finds himself in her room and they spend time together. He plays with her too..." Anna was afraid of what her mother would say. "He also convinced her... to talk to me again."
The queen was again really scared. She had done everything possible to be sure Anna wouldn't rediscover the power of her big sister, to prevent a new incident like the one three years ago. Anna added quickly.
"But we do not saw each other. We're just talking from time to time keeping the door closed."
The queen was no less worried. She asked then.
"And ... What ... did Steven told you about Elsa?"
Anna was too tired to be intrigued by this question. She merely replied.
"He tells me just how she is, what stories he tells her, what she studied ... That's all. Once, I asked him to tell me why I could not see her, but he said he had no idea. And Elsa and he told me that if you and Dad had separated us like that, it was necessarily for our good, that I should trust you because you love us all both very much. "
The lady did not seem to relax hearing this. It was exactly what she had hoped that Anna would say that she didn't rediscovered her sister's power. But, precisely, it was so perfect that it was amazing. She then took her child in her arms with love and reassured her.
"Of course, we love you, Anna. We never would do anything to hurt you."
But now, the young brunette was not so sure of what she was saying. Looking at her daughter, she began to wonder if she and Agnarr had done the right decision. She looked up at the door of the room in which Anna had told his friend to hide. She absolutely had to talk to him.
The mother then heard a man saying.
"Your Majesty?"
The Sovereign turned and discovered a paunchy servant with an aquiline nose. She was worried for a moment before getting up and question calmly.
"Kai, how long have you been there?"
"I arrived right now." Replied the servant. "A maid told me to have encountered you in the hallway."
"Oh, it's nothing. You can tell her she doesn't need to worry; it's forgotten."
Kai bows slightly and said.
"Alright your highness. But ... She also told me that you were running after princess Anna and ... another kid?"
Iduna tensed but did not let anything show about her anguish. She cast a glance at her daughter, who seemed to beg silently with her little eyes.
The queen declared.
"I ... don't know what you mean. She imagined things probably."
This surprised Anna, while Kai accepted the statements of his sovereign without question. The queen then ordered to the valet.
"Kai, could you bring my daughter back to her room and make sure she will stay there? I'll have to talk to her later."
"Of course." Accepted the servant.
The queen looked at her daughter.
"But, Mom…" she tried to say.
Her mother gently interrupted her.
"Please Anna. Just do what I said."
The little redhead showed that she was still very scared. But she finally slowly joined Kai and go with him, casting a last look to her mother before disappearing around the corner.
The Queen Iduna was now alone. She took a moment to put order in her mind. She relaxed a bit and ends up turning to the door behind which was the famous Steven. She took a deep breath, grabs the handle and opened it.
But when she entered the room, she saw no one.
When Anna closed the door behind him, Steven tried to find a place to hide. He had tried to teleport voluntarily when they were pursued, without success. He had a little learned to control his special ability during the past six months, for him. His results were quite satisfactory. That's why he was astonished to not have disappeared as soon as Anna's mother had spotted him.
The metalhead tried again, but he heard Anna screaming.
"No Mom! Please!"
The geek was very concerned about the little redhead and clapped his ear against the door. He heard all the sadness of her friend with a heavy heart, and the concern of the queen in purple. By listening to what was said, the dreamy child comprehended what prevented him from disappearing. To do this, he must have a deep desire to be elsewhere. But this time, when he realized he had been spotted once and for all, Steven was worried about what would happen to Anna, how her mother would react. This fear had kept him with the little redhead, refusing to let her alone.
Despite the fears of the Queen, the geek easily perceived and understood her, the miniaturized boy could feel the love that motivated the words and fears of the sovereign. It hurt his heart, like every time he saw or heard one of two princesses receiving affection from one of their parents. Basically, he was delighted for them, but he didn't understand why his own dream would show him exactly what made him sad.
Besides, he did not understand why his dreams needed to be so realistic. He could see they logically followed each other and that if he was caught by the people of this fairy tale's castle, the next dream, he would have troubles to be able to spend time with Anna and the Snow Princess.
He then heard a third person, the lady in purple called him Kai, and he understood that he would soon have company when she asked the servant to bring Anna to her room.
Steven quickly looked around and saw only one place where he could hide: the closet. He entered inside, closing the door behind him as silently as possible.
The Sovereign, after a moment of incomprehension, closed the bedroom door and began to look around her. She saw no sign of anyone in this room. Her daughter said he could "appear" elsewhere. Did that happen? Is it even possible? She had seen enough magic in her life to believe that it was a possibility, and Anna seemed to believe it.
If it happened, then he was clearly gone for a while.
To be sure, the queen began to look everywhere. First under the bed, and then behind the curtains and by the window. Finally she arrived at the closet. She grabbed the handle and heard inside a slight gasp of fear that surprised her. She took her courage in both hands and opened the doors of the furniture. What she discovered inside intrigued her more than anything else.
After talking with her daughter, the Queen was not very sure of what she was going to discover. But she thought she would find a little disturbing and mysterious person, especially given its unique and disturbing clothes. Simply the fact that he was wearing wolves on his clothes did not reassured her.
But, for a moment, when she laid eyes on him, who was hiding in the wardrobe, she seemed to forget everything she had believed. Despite its strange clothes, and the little curious strand he had on his brown hair, the Queen could not see something that would be a threat for the safety of her daughters.
Facing this little body with a fragile appearance, she had the impression of seeing a normal child.
Then she saw the gaze he had. She had never seen such a look in eyes so young. It looked like a mixture of fear and firmness, as if he were concerned but refused to look down against an opponent. The lady was quite surprised. It was not the kind of look you usually see on a little boy, but rather on someone more mature. For some reason, she found this contradiction a bit sad.
Both were silent. The mother seemed to freeze with a face filled with misunderstanding, while Steven had a defiant one. After a moment, the sovereign finally kneeled in front of the mini geek, which intrigued him.
The lady in purple asked him with a calm voice.
"So ... you're Steven?"
The metalhead didn't know how to react. He had expected any reaction except this one. Not knowing what else to do, he merely replied.
"Yeah ..."
There was silence again. The situation was quite strange. Neither knew what to say. The queen looked at the strange little boy before inquiring.
"Are you the ghost... everyone is talking about?"
Steven replied, rolling his eyes.
"I'm not a ghost. But I guess I'm the one you are talking about."
The queen then asked the most important question she could think about.
"So who are you? Really."
Steven was tired of this question. He expressed some anger, blowing out of the closet.
"Raah it becomes ridiculous. Why do I get asked this question all the time?"
The child began to scream.
"Hey! My mind! Don't you think it's too realistic?"
This bizarre reaction worried the lady in purple, who understood absolutely nothing.
"What are you talking about?" She asked.
The boy with chains sighed before declaring.
"I just want to know why I cannot dream like everyone else."
The queen seemed very surprised hearing this, even more imagining what these words implied. She tried to ask.
"You think ... you're in a dream?"
"I AM in a dream. It has to." Steven insisted.
The Geek sighed to calm down. After which he talked to the sovereign as quietly as possible.
"Listen ... I know you are worried about your daughters. That's normal. But I promise you that I don't want to harm them. Neither Anna nor Elsa."
This time, it is the manner of speaking of the little boy that surprised Anna's mother. She had the impression to hear a much older person. However, she reacted to what he just said.
"If I told you that you are not in a dream, what would you think?"
"That is exactly what a dream would say."
"So you can imagine what I am thinking when a magical being spend time with my children."
"I am not…"
But Steven paused. Given his ability in this dream, and how much he suspected that the queen had to be sure if he was a magical person or not, the metalhead didn't try to debate. This dream was beginning to tire him. He sighed, pronouncing.
"Ugh ... It's the first time I want to wake up."
The insistence of the boy with the strand pushed the queen to ask.
"Why are you so convinced about being in a dream?"
Steven found the question tedious because he was convinced that it was a trick of his mind to annoy him, for any reason. He explained irritably.
"Because every time I close my eyes, I found myself in a world I don't know, where I can teleport myself everywhere, without knowing how, and where everything is good for me. What other explanation there would be except being in a dream? "
The queen did not know what to answer. Every sentence of that child was more incomprehensible than the last one. She then proposed the only thing that came to her mind.
"Why not ... magic?"
Steven seemed completely flabbergasted. He thought with dismay.
'Is this a joke? Is my own mind telling me Shut Up It's Magic?! '
He eventually blows frustration by announcing, with some hypocrisy.
"I don't believe in magic."
The queen thought of his conviction of being in a dream before speaking again.
"I know it is rare but ... where you come from, did you never have seen anything magical?"
"Of course not."
"And your mother?" Tried the queen, surprising the Otaku. "Did she never tell you tales or legends referring to ...?"
"Stop ..." Interrupted the geek, to the astonishment of the queen.
The mini-metalhead had uttered that word without violence but with a firmness the sovereign was unprepared to. But what worried her now was the gaze of the young man. But he was not fixing the lady, simply the ground, or rather the void.
"Stupid mind ..." he spoke gritting his teeth. "How dare you talk about her in my dreams, the only bastion where I can escape her and my father?"
Iduna saw that he was now angry. She didn't understand why. The boy added.
"I have accepted the fact of being her son a long time ago. But why do I have to hear about it again here. Why do I have to be pursued even in my last refuge by this ... that ... that bitch! "
The queen seemed shocked hearing this. To the point of openly protest.
"How can you talk like this about your mother?! From the person who loves you the most?"
Steven froze, hearing this. He looked up at the lady in purple and stared at her with a bemused look that disturbed the queen.
"The person who loves me the most?" Asked the boy with medallions, as if he could not believe he heard such words here.
The metalhead frowned and said.
"Listen to me ... I will speak as if you were real, just for a moment."
The lady had almost wanted to move back hearing this voice and this furious face. Steven then explained.
"You have no right to judge me or tell me how I should talk about my mother. You know nothing about me or her. You were not there when she left me crying in my room for hours or when she told me to handle things alone when I had problems with the other children. "
The Sovereign began to raise her eyebrows, while some memories were returning to the young man.
"You were not there when she told me that I was just a source of problems."
The queen could hardly believe what she was hearing, while the young man clenched his fists.
"You were not there when she was spending time somewhere, I don't know, leaving me alone at home when I was not even eight years old."
The lady seemed dismayed.
"And finally, it's not you who received a slap so strong it threw you to the ground while she was shouting, she would have preferred that you were never born."
The mother had a hand over her half-opened mouth, she was so stunned by what she had heard. And what she was even more stunned about was that no tears seemed to flow from his brown eyes. The stranger was visibly angry, furious even, but he was acting definitely not like a little boy. This way to contain himself with difficulty, this way of telling his misfortunes without showing any sign of pain ... It was not a childish attitude. It was the one of a young man, someone who had grown up too quickly.
The mini geek finally sigh a big shot looking down, stabilizing his breath before speaking into the void, with a resigned calm.
"And now I start to argue with my imagination. I feel completely stupid. Is it too complicated for my mind to leave me just a little time for myself?"
Steven sighed again to stay quiet, but his voice seemed to start having difficulty holding his great discomfort.
"Why can't I have just a moment where I can imagine myself being appreciated as I am? I know I have all my stories, my games and my music ... But I'm not stupid. I know it is not real, it just allows me to have a good time ... even if it teaches me many things at the same time. "
At that moment, the mother of the little redhead and the Snow Princess completely forget all of Steven's strangeness. Because what she was seeing was saddening her. She seemed to see only a little boy with eyes and thought he shouldn't have.
This one tried to remain calm. Then he began to say on the same troubled tone.
"I know you are not real ... But I swear I would never hurt Anna and Elsa. I know they are younger than me, but they are the only people I've ever known that I can consider as true friends..."
Iduna didn't understood what the geek meant by saying that her daughters were younger than him, but after what she heard, she didn't pay so much attention to such details. By observing this strange little boy, she finally understood why she had doubted that Steven had bad intentions towards Anna. When she saw him scolding and reassuring her earlier, she had the impression that he was perfectly sincere, he was really kind with the little princess. She thought it was possibly some acting. But seeing him speaking like this, looking into his eyes ... She had seen no sign of lies.
Unless if he was the greatest actor ever, and even though it astonished her, she felt he was not lying. Somehow, she knew he was sincere with her, because nothing in his eyes, his words, his gestures and his voice seemed to indicate some form of trickery. His reason told her there still was a chance that he was a liar, but a part of her, more intuitive, whispered to give him a chance.
The Sovereign was intrigued by all the strange things that Steven said. In reaction to that, she began to ask him.
"You keep saying that ... everything here is ... a dream. Why could it not be real?"
Steven sighed. He was tired by these questions. The mental exhaustion made him just answer without fighting, with a lower voice than before.
"Because it would not be logical. There's too many details missing to form a coherent explanation."
The queen then remembered to have felt something similar the first time her daughter, Elsa, used her powers. She then tried to ask to the strange child.
"Did nothing ever happened to you that seemed impossible? Something that later had an explanation when you waited a little more?"
For the first time, Steven felt a strange confusion. The question of the lady in purple was good. He would have liked to say no, but it would have been lying to himself. Six months ago, he would have never believed in anything but the pure reality of his daily life. In the end, he finished in the world of a famous manga because of a small electronic box. He remembered very well that, for a time, he did not understand anything. He had thought he was becoming crazy. But by combining some elements, the mind as open as possible, he could find explanations that made him accept this reality.
So why would it be different here?
The miniature geek stammered.
"Yes but ... It was not the same ..."
"Why?" The noble lady asked gently.
"Because ... Here I have absolutely nothing to make a logical explanation. ... I have no idea how I could have landed in a place I don't know just by losing conscious..."
Lady Iduna still didn't understand what he meant. But she continued to insist with a soft voice, she felt that it was important.
"You already said that, more or less. But why none of this could be real?"
Steven understood what she meant. He had no argument against this. The metalhead said that this place was a dream simply because he did not accepted the opposite idea, not because there was evidence that it was an illusion.
But he still refused to believe that there was one chance that Arendelle was a real universe, rather than the figment of his subconscious.
"I cannot believe that this is not a dream ..." he huffed.
"Why?"
"Because if it's wrong I ..."
Steven stopped. He pronounced this by reflex, without understanding what he was feeling. The queen seemed intrigued ... Then she opened her eyes wide with surprise.
She understood what really was blocking him.
She said, with a worried voice.
"You're afraid of being disappointed..."
Steven's eyes widened. He wanted to respond to that. But he couldn't.
He was speechless for a moment, looking at the queen straight in the eye. Then he sighed, exhausted by this verbal jousting. He looked down before telling, under the worried look of the lady in purple.
"When I got here, a long time ago, the first thing that happened to me was to meet Anna. She didn't know me, but despite my appearance and my features ... she immediately accepted me. She wanted to play with me, and heard my stories and I considered her quickly as a friend ... I thought she was reckless." Iduna approved mentally. "Then I told myself that it was probably because I was imagining things. Nobody ever accepted me so quickly and sincerely. I added to that the fact of being in a beautiful castle, the kind I always wanted to visit, and my lack of rational explanations. So, I concluded that it was all too good to be true. It could only be a dream."
The queen began to understand, Steven continued.
"I had the feeling of having found a paradise just for me. A place where nothing that hurts could reach me and where people would like me as I am. If I had thought it was real, I would have taken the risk of discovering the opposite, despite oddly realistic details, like the fact that I had the same physical constraints than when I am awake. But I don't think I would have accepted it, because it would have meant that I don't even have the opportunity to have a real moment for me when I sleep, away from what hurts me. "
The Mother's eyes seemed to soften, looking at this little boy. One detail, however, intrigued her.
"But ... these realistic details didn't bring you questions?"
Steven stared a moment, staring blankly, before looking at the ground and confessed.
"I think ... I've chosen to not pay attention to these details, because, basically, I was so happy to be here."
The young man in T-shirt with wolves seemed on a state close to a nervous breakdown. Seeing him like this, despite everything she had feared, was painful for the lady in purple.
"I certainly refused to consider that this place was real because if my hope were broken, I would have definitely not been able to have fun anymore. The illusion would have been shattered forever, and I probably would have never been able to act as if nothing happened. "
Despite the strangeness of this situation, the queen could not help but have a compassionate look for Steven. More seeing that he still had no tears. It implied, because of this and the tone of his voice, that he was not trying to make her sorry for him. He just wanted to say out loud what he had in mind.
The child then uttered something that surprised the lady, because his vision of Arendelle had cracked, but not broken. He was still thinking Iduna was an illusion.
"Your daughters are wonderful ... They are so nice. I am the first surprised but, sometimes, I almost consider them as my little sisters."
The queen seemed very surprised. The situation was quite surreal for her. But remembering what Steven had told about his family before, she thought she could understand. She was not naive enough to believe that all people on earth were nice, but she never thought that a woman could be so cruel with her child. She felt sorry for this little boy.
Iduna wanted to do something she thought was pure madness. She did not know if she really wanted to do it or if she was insane. But the more she looked at the lost child, the more she began to think she had to.
Then, without saying a word, the lady slowly began to raise her arms to Steven, passed them around the young man, and finally hugged him. The child froze with bewilderment and incomprehension, while the mother was beginning to hold him stronger.
The boy with the strand didn't understand what was happening. He was too tired to react. He then asked, with a surprised voice.
"What are you doing?"
She did not answer immediately because she had to found herself the reason of her gesture.
With this silence, the boy calmly said, although confused.
"Li ... Listen ... It's nice but I do not need anyone to have pity of me."
That's the moment Iduna had her answer. She finally responded softly.
"This is not pity. I just want to give you some gentleness."
Steven understood even less.
"Some ... What?" If he marveled. "But why?"
The reaction of the queen took the young man by surprise.
"Do we really need a reason to be kind to someone?"
Steven was completely lost. He had often heard similar words in tons of manga, games and series. He had even chosen this kind words for his avatar in some RPG. But he never expected to hear someone saying it someday.
Especially knowing she was sincere. For some reason he did not understand, he felt that the gesture of Anna's mother was not motivated by pity. It was pure compassion. A true act of kindness.
He wanted to think it was a proof that he was in a dream. But for that, he would have to admit he did not believe what the lady in purple had made him understand about himself earlier. He also had to recognize that he considered impossible that a real person could be kind to another without reason, that it was an illusion. It would have been hypocritical because, even if he never had witnessed this, he had always wanted to believe it.
The queen whispered.
"I can only tell you that you're not dreaming. Promise you that I'm real, as Anna, Elsa and this castle. I understand that you may be afraid to be wrong if it is not true. But even if that were the case, would it be nice to pretend to believe in an illusion? "Steven began to have a heavy heart."You can choose to not believe it, but that wouldn't make sense to come back here then. Or you can accept what I promise you. It's risky, but it is the only way to fully enjoy what this world can offer you. "
Steven didn't know what to say. His mind seemed to be frozen. He would never have imagined such a speech, nor his subconscious. This would have meant that his mind himself would have wanted him to suffer of disappointment, being the origin of his dreams.
He began to seriously doubt.
His analysis capability turned against him.
In light of all he had heard and understood, only two possibilities came to his mind: Either he had become crazy ... or it was not a dream ... from the beginning.
While he was looking in front of him, completely stunned, the Queen continued to hold the boy in her arms. She was not sure to understand everything that Steven said. But she thought to have understood something, the most important: He was not so different from Elsa. A child lost in a storm of magic; of phenomenon he didn't understand. And, like her daughter, he had suffered in the past. And when she had been nice with him, he had found this wonderful and too sudden. He had been really scared. The child then took refuge in the belief of being in a fantasy world.
The mother added.
"If it's only an illusion, one day you'll know for sure it is, one way or another, but you will keep good memories of it. And that's a good thing, don't you think?"
Steven didn't know what to say. For the first time in his entire life, he knew nothing. He could no longer thought.
If this world was real, that meant there really was peoples who had accepted him as he was. People who had opened to him and considered him as a friend without any preconceptions, or rather not considering it.
He thought about the good times he spent with Anna and Elsa, the stories of Tolkien he had told to them, and made them like, and the games they played together. He remembered clearly their kindness and how they seemed delighted to see him each time he came.
He repeated with a tired voice and charged with an even deeper sincerity than before.
"I don't want to hurt Anna and Elsa ..."
The mother hugged the young man a little stronger.
"I know ..." she admitted quietly. "Now I know."
The more Steven remained in the loving arms of the lady, the more his heart became heavy. It was not unpleasant, but it was bringing back memories. Painful memories. Moments from his past he did not like remembering.
Now he knew that Anna would have no problem, neither Elsa. He understood what kind of mother was Queen Iduna.
Steven's heart became heavy, although there was no tear. He was tired. He needed to be alone.
He wanted to be elsewhere.
This is when the Queen realized that there was nothing in her arms. She blinked and looked around. She believed for a second that she was going mad. She had to make an effort to remember what the little redhead told her about Steven's ability to travel with a simple thought.
She looked out the window. The sun was high.
Steven had let a really confused queen. She still did not know what was going on in the castle, or whether she should talk to her husband, King Agnarr. She had more questions than answers.
In the middle of the forest, a rather unusual duo was walking and smiling. A small blond boy was about to go home, accompanied by his friend, a young reindeer. He had spent the whole day resting after a night of training with the ice collectors.
When he arrived at the sea, near the town of Arendelle, he wanted to have a little fun. He grabbed a pebble and tried to make ricochets. After a few failed attempts, the little animal took a stone between his teeth, aimed at the water then spat his rock, bouncing off the water several times before sinking. The northern boy had a surprised look to his companion, who smiled with an almost superior air.
The young collector replied with a look saying 'Do not make that look. I'll be stronger next time.' Then his eyes noticed a figure a little further on the bank, sitting against a tree. He approached it with curiosity, his friend the reindeer behind him, and seemed surprised to find a boy with wolves on his clothes and some chains.
"Steven?" Exclaimed the little blonde.
The Geek, completely slumped against a tree trunk, just turned his head and asked, with a weak voice.
"Kristoff? Sven?"
Firstly smiling, the duo understood, by the tone Steven had, that something was wrong. They had not seen the curious boy for weeks, and they had to admit that it was a shame. They do not often meet but, each time, they had a good time with Steven. He played with them in the forest, told them fascinating adventures like those of Baldur's Gate's adventurers, or he would just stay with them talking while they were training to collect ice. It seemed not so much, but for them, it was very important. They had come to consider Steven, despite his curious words, as a good friend.
So, Kristoff asked with a concerned voice.
"Are you okay? It's been a while."
Steven did not answer. He was just sitting, dangling arms and staring into nothing. Sven approached him, sad to see him like this, and patted gently his face. But the mini-metalhead was not responding.
Kristoff sat near him and tried.
"Something happened?"
The eyes of the geek moved a little, then looked at Kristoff from the corner of the eyes.
The child with medallions spoke.
"Something ...? I guess you could say that ..."
"Something serious?"
Steven seemed to think for a moment. Then he answered.
"No ... nothing serious ... I just had ... a lot ahead during the last hours."
Kristoff asked him if he wanted to talk. After some hesitation, Steven told him it wasn't important, he just needed to think for a moment. Kristoff respected that kind of thing. He asked Steven if he wanted to be alone, although Sven seemed willing to stay with him. Steven told they could stay; they didn't bother him. Kristoff sat beside his strange friend, like the little reindeer.
The children remained silent for a while. The young collector and his companion were worried about Steven. He seemed frozen like a statue with a worrying face.
Then, without warning, Steven began to question Kristoff.
"I just feel like... being in a situation too good to be true... And I don't know what to think."
Kristoff didn't know what he was talking about, even more because Steven had never talked about the princesses to them. He wasn't interest in talking to the other elements of a dream about the figment of his imagination. But, strangely, the little blond thought he knew what the geek felt. So he told.
"You know ... When Bulda adopted me, I thought it was a joke."
Steven turned his lost look to Kristoff. He managed to get his attention.
"I even thought about running away, I thought she may have wanted to eat me. But in the end, I ended up accepting it and, now, I am very happy."
Kristoff's words calmed Steven's mind. What said the little blond seemed close to what Iduna had explained. If Kristoff was indeed real, then what the queen said was right. Do not try his luck would bring him nothing but regrets. He therefore decided, sighing, too exhausted to show signs of enthusiasm, to consider this universe as real, to imagine there was a chance that something wonderful happened to him.
The Geek always seemed lost in thought. He did not know how to react to that decision. But he felt he had to say something. He whispered.
"Thank you…"
The blond boy and his reindeer, somewhat reassured, smiled to the geek.
Kristoff, understanding that the metalhead was still not as responsive as usual, tried something.
"I know what you're going to tell me, but ... sometimes a little song can help ..."
Steven reflexively raised his eyes to heaven. He had always hated singing and Kristoff knew it. He was playing with the little geek to help him a little.
Only this time, Steven felt so lost and tired that nothing really mattered now.
He looked at the top of the mountains in the distance. The landscape was wonderful. The sky was blue as ice. It reminded him that he was technically in Norway, and that he saw the beautiful scenery of Arendelle during the six months that had elapsed. He considered all these wonderful things as illusions, but if it was a reality, then it was completely different.
He remembered the winter. He had spent several days playing with Anna in the palace garden, throwing snowballs, laughing, after which he joined Elsa to tell her The Lord of the Rings.
Caught in the turmoil of his mind, the geek mixed it all. He didn't seem to control anything. He was too tired. His memory searched what could associated melancholy and winter.
His lips parted ... and despite the absence of music, a voice trying to be melodious was heard, making Sven and Kristoff open their eyes wide open.
Walking by a frozen lake
Silent snow in the air
Dreaming of the summer day
Carry me till I'm There
The words of the geek represented no current event or feeling, but it is almost impossible to find a song that can accurately represent what someone feels. Each song has his own story. The voice of the geek was almost like a whisper, but for Sven and Kristoff, it was something completely incredible happening before their eyes.
Winter skies, leave me alone
When I lose my way
Winter skies you call me home
Winter skies, leave me alone
When I lose my way
Winter skies you call me home
Bring me back When I am lost
Far from your embrace
Bring me silence, bring me frost
Your familiar face
Winter skies, leave me alone
When I lose my way, northern star
You call me home
Winter skies, leave me alone
When I lose my way
Northern Land
You are my home
Winter skies, leave me alone
When I lose my way
Northern Land
You are my home
Meanwhile, in Arendelle's castle, Queen Iduna entered into the room of her daughter, Anna. The woman discovered her curled up on her bed, embracing her doll looking like Elsa.
The redhead seemed worried when she saw her mother. She approached the redhead and sat beside her. She then spoke.
"Anna ..." She sighed once before continuing. "I spoke with this ... Steven."
The girl with braids seemed even more worried, but she waited for her mother to continue. The lady in purple lowered her eyes for a moment, looking as exhausted as her child, before announcing.
"I decided ... that you can continue to see him."
The princess didn't react instantly. She could not believe it. Anna then began to have a great smile of joy and relief, but her mother interrupted her saying.
"But you must promise me to be careful. And you must tell me everything you do with Steven, without forgetting anything and not talk about this to your father. It must remain a secret."
Anna was too happy to ask questions. She just throws herself into the arms of her mother and hugged her, declaring with euphoria.
"Thank you, mom! I promise!"
The mother also took her daughter in her arms. She still was not sure whether it was a good idea. But she refused to make her daughter unhappy. She saw no other solution, for she knew that her husband would refuse this young boy to stay with Elsa and Anna. But she was convinced of Steven's sincerity and he helped them feeling less alone.
The girl with braids said.
"I love you, Mom."
Iduna whispered.
"I love you too, Anna."
The queen felt better, but still wasn't relieved, she still had the most difficult thing to do.
She needed to talk about this to Elsa later.
The lady didn't know how she would tell her all this, or how her daughter would react, but she had to tell her before Anna does. Otherwise the Snow Princess would panic and lose control of her powers discovering that their secret was revealed.
And she should be sure that the king knew nothing about these magical appearances.
In the end, the sovereign did not know if the arrival of this Steven Ryan was an opportunity or a disaster.
List of references:
Lord of the Rings, Baldur's Gate