Ivan had familiarized himself with the castle again within the first week of his mirror being opened. No one ever went to check at the top of the small staircase. He followed Matthew and spoke with the blonde, wrote love letters on the glass with the heat of his breath and his fingers. But with the opening of his mirror, other things were now revealed in the mirrors, especially in the darkness of night when there was no light to burn them and blind them.
Matthew could not sleep in the darkness anymore.
At all hours of the day he could hear strange cries or noises, but at night, it was only worse. The young prince tugged closed curtains and lit tall candlesticks before settling in front of his mirror, his nightgown being wrung between thin, nervous fingers. "Ivan.." he whispered at the glass, his bare toes shifting on the softwood floor, "...I'm frightened."
"It's alright, Matthew, they can't hurt you, not while I'm here." Ivan stated with a gentle smile, standing behind Matthew's reflection. He lifted a brush in the mirror and started to gently brush the blonde curls, his long fingers stroking over soft cheeks and temples as he moved. "I'll take care of you Matthew, it's alright."
Matthew closed his eyes, something that the blonde thought made feeling like Ivan was actually behind him much easier. "...mother is frightening to see. She doesn't sleep...she murmurs about demons...and father...father is talking to priests and is always looking through books…," the blonde murmured, his head tilting into all of Ivan's sweet touches. "...I haven't seen my brother in days...mother is worried the devil is after him...so she sent him away to scout the mountains for a new trading route…"
"The devil isn't after your brother." Ivan murmured gently as he pressed a kiss to Matthew's temple. "The devil is locked up tight, so don't you worry your pretty little head."
"Ivan…," Matthew started with a gentle laugh, his eyes lifting to peer at Ivan in the mirror. "I didn't say that I was worried...t-the sounds….the shadows that servants whisper about...that's what frightens me…"
Ivan smiled as he wrapped his arms around Matthew. "They won't harm you, Matthew... The shadows simply watch over you just like I told them to." The man stroked his palm over the blonde's soft cheek. "You're quite precious to me, Matthew... So very precious... And I'm doing everything I can to keep you safe... Those noises and shadows... They obey me... And so they won't harm you."
Matthew was quiet for a long moment, his eyes closed again so he could focus on Ivan's arms secured tight around him. "Ivan…? Could I ask...could I ask why I'm...important to you?" the blonde asked slowly, his eyes opening to peer at the older male's face.
"Because I've been waiting for you for a very long time, Matthew." Ivan smiled at Matthew in the mirror. "I've been waiting to find you again, and for you to find me... I tried looking for you here, in the mirror, and then you found me in your world..." a sad smile crossed Ivan's face briefly. "But now I'm trapped inside the mirror... And I can't be with you."
Matthew didn't understand most of what Ivan had said...it confused him and he wanted to ask...but something worse caught the blonde's attention. "Trapped? But…," Matthew nibbled his lower lip, peering down at his lap. "You're so kind...why would anyone want to trap you?"
"Because I tried to look for you in this world... Inside the mirror... And while I was looking something horrible came out... And the royal sorcerers banished me into the world I had tried to search." Ivan smiled sadly down at Matthew before he leaned forward to kiss the blonde's lips in his reflection.
Matthew shifted his fingers, like if he were going to place them on Ivan's arm, but simply let his hand drop into his lap once more. "Is...is there a way to release you?"
Ivan gave a sad shake of his head. "You can't leave the mirror for more than a few moments. You always have to return."
"But..," Matthew started, clearly not understanding. "...but you do not belong there...surely there has to be a way," the blonde worried, turning in his chair to look at Ivan behind him, but sorrowfully, no one was there.
"I do now, Matthew. This is my kingdom, just like how your world will soon be your kingdom." The older male gently stroked his fingers through the blonde's curls. "I've been preparing my world for you, though, I've been here for a very long time and I've been preparing it especially for you."
"My kingdom will never be mine. I'm the second son and I-" Matthew paused, his eyes widening before he peered up at Ivan in the reflection. "...especially for me? Ivan...I just," the blonde shook his head as he leaned forward, his eyes locking on the flicker of nearby candles, "...I can't seem to understand…"
Ivan smiled at the blonde, leaning forward to kiss the blonde's lips gently once more before his reflection's eyes flicked to the door where there was a knock. "There is a kingdom, long covered in ice and snow. And within that kingdom there is a mountain made of iron that I pulled from frozen stars... There are some answers within that mountain..." He murmured softly, stepping back into the darkness of his mirror as the maid opened the door. And soon the only reflection in the mirror was Matthew's.
Matthew tilted his head towards the maid that looked frightened, her eyes casting glances at the mirrors in the hallway. She gave Matthew a look before setting down a folded blanket on the end of the bed. Matthew watched her scurry out, her hands running over her arms.
It really was right then that Matthew realized just how cold it was in his room.
There was frost on the mirrors that framed the outside of Matthew's bedroom door, spelling out "Krims Mountain" in thicker patches of ice glittering upon the surface.
The entire castle was in a fever as Alfred struggled to prepare for a long journey within a day as his parents and the royal advisors refused to allow him to go without trying to convince him away from the task.
"Prince Alfred, please, there is nothing in Krims, it has been long frozen over and what resources there are we do not have the tools to harvest properly."
"Krims Mountain." Alfred frowned at the men. "Why was that written over my brother's door?" He asked, wrapping thick furs about his shoulders and chest and what supplies he had strapped to the back. "Tell me now and I might be spared the trip."
One wizard glanced at his companions before clearing his throat to speak up. "There was once a wizard, Ivan Braginsky, who was commissioned under the king of Krims. Braginsky, for his years of loyal service, was given a servant... He proceeded to become obsessed with said servant, so much so that he killed the king of Krims and decades later turned the entire kingdom into a mountain."
There was a long silence before the other wizard spoke up. "He was paid for quite a few years in spirits to keep him docile, he is a very volatile wizard and we had hoped that when he was commissioned to build an army from whatever world resided inside the mirrors that he would not attempt anything foolish or dangerous in the presence of two other wizards." The two men shrugged and shook their heads. "Your quest to Krims will bring you nothing, the mountain was the construction of a madman."
"Madman or no, my brother is in danger and I will find out why." Alfred stated simply before he turned to his brother, peering over the smaller sibling before he wrapped his arms tightly around Matthew in a hug. "I'll be back. I promise."
"Please, Alfred...couldn't I go with you?" Matthew asked softly, his eyebrows pinched as he peered up at his brother. "I'm not in any danger...I...I just know I'm not," the blonde nodded, giving his brother's sleeve a tight squeeze.
Alfred was quiet for a long moment before he barked at a servant to bring furs for Matthew and another horse. More supplies were collected and the protests were raised even more loudly, panic crossing the faces of the wizards as they glanced at Matthew then at Alfred, pleading with the two to remain behind.
It was an hour before they were prepared and riding across the landscape towards the looming mountain of Krims in the distance.
The mountain itself had a single entrance, marked on a map that Alfred had uncovered from the libraries. It took them a bit to find it but eventually, among the snow and ice, there was the entrance, covered in ice.
"Stand back." Alfred ordered, pulling his sword from it's sheath and moving to stand beside the entrance. It only took a few blows from the longsword for the ice to crack and crumble to the ground, Alfred replacing the sword at his hip before he looked at Matthew. "I'll go first." He stated simply, without argument before he crouched and moved inside the dim cave.
The cave had some abandoned mining equipment, obviously from the people who had tried to reap the benefits of the iron mountain. There was a door at the furthest end of the cave and Alfred frowned as he crouched beside it, drawing his sword once more to try and lodge it within the crack where the lock would be, succeeding only in chipping the blade with a curse.
"It's clear, Matthew." He called with a sigh, sheathing his sword and standing to rub the back of his neck. "There's a door here, but it's locked."
Matthew slid from his horse, his feet lightly crunching in snow as he moved to follow Alfred through the cave. The younger blonde peered at the tall walls of Ice, an eyebrow raising as he noticed his own reflection staring back from the glossy reflection created. He tilted his head as he approached the taller blonde, before he tentatively placed a hand to the door, trying to determine how thick the ice was.
"We...came all the way here for a locked door?"
There was a click at Matthew's touch and the ice crumbled as if it was just nearly melted snow, coating the floor about the two as they watched. There was what could only be called an altar behind it, a coffin made of ice and iron with an ice sculpture atop it clutching what seemed to be a small haircomb in frozen hands.
"Just... Stay back." Alfred murmured, stepping forward to peer down at the small figure carved into the lid of the coffin. "Shit!" The prince stumbled backwards, glancing from the coffin to Matthew then back again before he took another step backwards.
"What?" Matthew breathed softly, attempting to peer over his brother's shoulder as the taller blonde shifted backwards. "What is it?" he frowned, as he stepped to the side to try and get a better look at what had Alfred so startled.
It was strange really, and Matthew, for a moment, thought he was staring at a mirror. The figure, carved from ice, had the same features he did, the same curls that floated about the face, the same everything…
Matthew's fingers curled into the same position of the figure's, though he lacked a matching haircomb, everything seemed to match despite it.
"What...what is this?" the blonde murmured, feeling a sense of dread, worry, but strange familiarity bubbling in his chest. Reaching out once more, Matthew brushed the tips of his fingers to the frozen set, his eyes widening as the haircomb rattled as if it were loose and easily able to be dislodged.
The statue's fingers twitched slightly before parting slowly to release the comb, the open eyes of the statue's face closing slowly before everything was still once more.
"Oh," Matthew breathed softly as he nearly lost hold of the comb, his body crouching as he caught in in time before it hit the snow. The blonde ran his fingers over the carving of intricate bears kissing and dancing over the top before he slowly peered back at the figure.
He wanted Ivan to tell him what was going on, but in every reflective surface of ice, Matthew could see only himself,his brother and the frozen figure that seemed to be still for now.
"Matthew, we need to go. There's no answers here." Alfred whispered, grasping his brother's wrist and tugging him towards the door. "Let's go." He seemed terrified, worried for his brother as he collected Matthew close and led the smaller blonde out the door.
"No, no Alfred, wait," Matthew tried desperately to dig his heels into the ground, the snow and ice not helping him in this task to stay put. "Please, there has to be a reason," he struggled, his eyes peering down at the haircomb he still carefully held.
"Ivan…," Matthew sighed, his head tilting back to the cave entrance.