It had been a long time since he had been on a ship. He missed it, really. It had been one of his favorite things back when he had been a free man.
Not that his father or brothers had approved, of course. Hamish, who had been incharge of the navy of the Southern Isles, had nearly banned him from ever boarding a ship again.
In fact, the last time he had been on the deck of a sailing ship was on his way to Arendelle.
And what an ill-fated visit that had turned out to be...
Instinctively, he turned to her. She too, was standing on the deck. But unlike him, she did not seem to be enjoying the fresh air. She stood as she always did. Cold, stone-faced, rigid.
Frozen like ice, he thought, a slight smirk appearing on his face. It seemed to him that she had not really changed at all, though the whispers he had heard indicated otherwise.
She was different now, warmer, friendlier, loved. Anna had 'fixed' everything that had been wrong with her sister, supposedly.
He wondered how the younger sibling could be so naive. People couldn't be fixed in minutes. People couldn't wipe away years and years of pain in a single moment of happiness. What the princess had done was simply show her a way to control her powers, and in the process, created another mask for her to wear.
He looked down at his own hands, covered in cream-coloured gloves again. He had learnt to tame his fire long ago. It was easy enough to know that he had to think of things that made him happy and hard enough to know the list would never be a long one. After all, his brothers made it their personal goal to make his life miserable. He could have used his powers against them, of course. But unlike what she thought of him, he wasn't a complete monster.
He was still gazing at regal stance from afar, when he heard the crew shout that land was near. None of them noticed the chill in the air. None but him. He smiled. She was scared. Terrified, even.
He slid his hands into his pockets and strolled towards her. The wood beneath her feet was slowly being covered in frost, he realised.
She did not hear him approach, her eyes fixed on the distant kingdom they were sailing towards. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
She flinched at the contact, and brushed away his hand before turning to look at him.
"Afraid?" he asked, quietly, without a hint of mockery in his tone.
She laughed mirthlessly, and turned away, as if to leave. But she didn't, stopping short mid-way. It surprised him, and perhaps even her.
"Yes," she replied, with a small sigh.
Notes: Chapter 2! :D Sorry it took so long!
IMPORTANT: For further updates to this story, I will no longer be posting on fanfiction. If you wish to follow this, please find it on Archive of Our Own, under my username, Celinarose.