Chapter 3: Truth

10 AM, July 4th, 1841

Arendelle Palace, King Agnarr's Study

When she had woken up that day, she had expected the day to be the same as any other and as such had quietly yet somberly gotten ready. Looking into the mirror, she saw the sadness in them and began her daily ritual of hiding them behind a happy personality and attempted to not let the glaring absence of her sister get to her. Elsa had been locked away for the last ten years and since then, all she could remember of her sister was the locked door. She lamented all the times they would play together, like sisters would, why she had suddenly been locked away all those years ago and why her parents seemed to also be keeping them apart she could not fathom. She just wished that things could go back to the way they were to the time when she and Elsa were best buddies. But that was years ago. Now, all she had were her parents and her lessons. She still went around riding her bike and attempting to have fun by herself but they just weren't the same without Elsa. She was her rock, she was the one she looked to who would always make her laugh and happy. Now Elsa was locked away in her room and she felt a piece of her die. She no longer felt the fun when she rode down the hallways or the happiness that would usually accompany her. Elsa was gone and she could do nothing about it. Her parents kept telling her that Elsa was just unwell and that when she was fine again they would be able to hang out. But what sickness lasts for ten years? If it was really that bad, shouldn't her parents had let her be by her sister's side to make her sister happy even if she was sick? The excuses just didn't add up. From what she remembered of her sister, Elsa was strong and didn't usually fall ill that often. Least of all something that would last years. The questions were always there and they were always brushed off with barely reasonable explanations. She had chosen to not question her parents because she decided that it wouldn't have changed anything so why even bother. But today, she felt that something was going to happen and maybe, just maybe, her answers and prayers would be answered.

After she had gotten ready, she had made her way to the dining hall for breakfast and after a few minutes of quietly eating her breakfast did the great doors open. At first she thought it was simply some of the staff coming to give her parents something that needed their attention but when she looked up she noticed the white blond hair and regal stance and immediately realized it was her sister. They may have both grown up but since no one else had the same eyes as her or the white hair that her sister was known for, the identity was glaringly obvious. Her shock was emulated by her parents who were similarly in shock at seeing Elsa out of her room. This meant she wasn't supposed to be out. What could have brought her sister out of her room? Also, she didn't even look sick at all! Had her parents been lying to her just to keep the two of them apart? If so, what had happened to cause such a drastic measure to be carried out. But that was breakfast and aside from the appearance of her sister in the usually dull affair, they hadn't really spoken all that much. Then her father had brought them to his study for a family meeting and apparently for meeting this Mr. Uchiha that had suddenly showed up in their kingdom without announcement. And who even was this man that her father and mother would just let stay in the palace when he was obviously not nobility? Her answer came when the knock announced the arrival of another to join their meeting. His silhouette made her want to curl in on herself from his sheer presence that suddenly filled the room. He seemed almost unreal with his spiky black locks that framed his face and went down beyond his neck. He was dressed in a navy blue cloak that extended past his knees where navy blue pants and white bandage like clothing continued all the way to his feet that were enclosed by navy blue boots. His hands were covered by a fingerless glove and the only thing that was truly fully visible was his face. And that face! His sharp chin and heighteined cheek bones and the flat line of his lips followed by the perfect nose and twin black orbs that seemed to stare into her soul as they landed on her before moving on. In those very moments she had found her mind unable to come up with any other person she had seen more handsome than this stranger that was now making his way to a seat next to her father. Granted she had barely seen anyone outside of her parents and those in the palace because of the closed gates, she could say for certain this man was handsome. When she had finally managed to get her mind out of the gutter and refocused on the present, she heard her father asking her to swear to never tell anyone about the events that will transpire in this very room. She could only nod numbly and offer her oath to secrecy as her brain rebooted itself. Only to be shut down again when her father asked Elsa to demonstrate what she could do. At first, she had thought Elsa was about to dance or do something that her parents had taught her but when she raised her hands and ice began forming into a snowball, she nearly fainted. Her brain short circuited itself for a few seconds as she fought to figure out what her eyes were seeing.

"W-W-Whattttt?" Her jumbled speech gave testament to her mind's current state. She knew what she was looking at yet could not understand what she was looking at. Her sister had powers? Since when? Was this why she was kept locked up? The questions flew through her mind at breakneck speeds that only seemed to get even more derailed by the mulititude of emotions that assaulted her mind as she fought to figure out her own emotions.

"-nna, Anna! Anna!" A voice called to her and she suddenly snapped out of her jumbled thoughts as she once more became aware of her surroundings. She looked to the origin of the voice and realized it was her mother who had called her. How long had she been calling? She suddenly flushed when she realized that she must have made all her family worry about her mental state. She plastered a weak smile on her face at her mother and father's inquiring stares. She then looked over and saw him just sitting there with an utterly impassive visage that was the exact dose of mysteriousness that she found impossibly attractive. Those black orbs that she could just lose herself in, the sharp face and the thin lips that she could imagine herself kiss-

"Anna!" This time it was her sister who had spoken and she blushed bright red at having been caught staring for far too long at the handsome Uchiha. She fought down her blush and turned to her sister after she gained control of her mind.

"Oh! Um… Well, I don't really know what to say. I don't even know how I feel about this. Should I be feeling scared that my sister has powers? Or should I be feeling glad that my sister was okay all along and not sick? But some part of me still doesn't understand why you had to lock yourself away if it was just because you could make snowballs." She attempted to gather her thoughts even as she fired off the questions and doubts she had about the current situation. What was she supposed to do? She had never seen anyone with powers before. Right? If so why did it feel like she was missing something that she should have known all along?

"It's alright Anna. We just wanted you to know the truth about your sister. You see, when she was born, she was born with the powers of ice and snow and after a particular incident, we decided to keep her away from others in order to keep her growing powers from harming anyone. Please understand that we never intended for the two of you to be separated and we understand if you resent us for what we've done. Perhaps there was another way to have solved the problem but at the time we were out of ideas. We know this does not excuse the amount of times we had kept you in the dark about your sister but please understand that we only did what we believed to be the best for everyone." Her mother said. She looked into her mother's eyes and couldn't help but just feel glad that she was finally made aware of the true reasons behind why her sister had been locked away. This also made the locking down the palace and keeping the staff lowered far more reasonable now that she realized they were trying to keep Elsa's powers a secret out of fear for their people's reactions. And although she didn't agree with being kept in the dark, she could at least understand the reasons for it. The people of Arendelle had always been kind and loyal but even she could not say for certain how they would have handled the news that their princess was magical. Even less how the other countries would have handled the news. Would they invade Arendelle to capture her sister for her powers? Would they simply press for them to get rid of Elsa and execute her for being a sorceress? All these were valid concerns and she couldn't help but feel that the people's response to seeing Elsa's powers would have been far more drastic than her's had been. Partly because they didn't know her on a personal level and also because she was her sister. But one thing still didn't make sense.

"Then what does this have to do with Mr. Uchiha?" She couldn't help but ask once she had finally taken notice of the quiet impassive Madara that she had almost forgotten was still in the room. He didn't seem surprised at her sister's display so did this mean that he was aware of her powers? How?

"He is the other reason we felt it was time for you to understand the truth about your sister. Also since you've grown up, we believe you are ready to hear the truth. Both of you. And Madara as well." Her father said and looked to both her and her sister as they both leaned just a little bit forward. Both eager to find out just what had been kept hidden and what the stoic Uchiha had to do with her sister.

In response to Anna's inquiry, Madara listened as King Agnarr began telling of the prophesy that he and his wife had apparently been told by some strange magical trolls. These trolls apparently had the power of foresight and had told the king and queen of Elsa's future when they had taken her there when she was younger. The trolls had apparently sprouted some prophesy about how Elsa's powers would continue to grow and that her greatest enemy would be fear. That she had to gain control over her powers or risk endangering those around her. However, when the trolls were about to conclude the prophesy, there seemed to be a great disturbance in his visions that caused his visual prophesy to fizzle uncontrollably before stabling once again. The visual then showed red eyes with three comma-like patterns that circled the pupil before dying down completely.

"When that happened, even the troll had no idea as to what it could mean. He had never once seen those kind of eyes. However, he told us that whoever possessed these eyes would be of great importance in the events that will surround us. Particularly in regards to Elsa learning how to learn her powers. All he could gleam from that vision was that this person would have the ability to control Elsa's powers and teach her control. Although since there had been no one who had these eyes, we had given up hope and decided the best course of action was to keep Elsa away from others until she had gained control over her powers to keep others from harm. Then a few days ago, Madara came to us from a sudden storm and the guard reported him as having red eyes with weird patterns in them. We remembered the words of the Elder Troll and decided to allow him an audience. When he mentioned the ice user within our walls, only then were we truly sure that he was the one prophesied by the trolls. During the talk with him and Elsa, she had lost control and Madara was able to suppress her powers from harming anyone when it turned out that her lack of control came from trauma. The trauma, according to Madara, had manifested itself into a literal being of darkness that plagued Elsa's psyche and made her powers even more impossible to control." Agnarr stated as he explained the specifics in regards to Madara's role in the supposed prophesy. The king and queen then proceeded to recount the events that had transpired in the throne room and about the dark mist that had tried to take control of Elsa. They also recounted Madara's own "magical ability" and how he had been able to defeat the darkness and heal Elsa's mind. When the explanations were finished, the king and queen looked at their daughters who were in a shocked silence that was only broken by the sudden laughter of Madara.

"Ha ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhehehehheheheheheheheheheheheh." Madara failed to hide his amusement at the revelation of his prophesied role. The royal family could only stare at him in dumbfounded confusion as he brought his laughter under control. Once he had returned to normal, he spoke in an amused tone.

"So these trolls prophesied that I would be the one to help Elsa with her powers? Interesting." Madara stated in an amused tone as he gazed at all the occupants of the room in amused disbelief.

"That is correct. You are the one who will help Elsa control her powers and ensure that she can control them without succumbing to the hold of her fears." The king stated with a resolute tone as he stared into Madara's eyes unflinchingly. The queen also seemed sure of this development and only nodded in response to his eyes that turned to her. He then looked over and observed the princesses who had finally gotten out of their shell-shocked state and asked them for their opinions on the matter. Elsa's visage was calm and collected but her eyes belied her hidden hope that she can finally learn how to control her powers. Anna still seemed a little lost as to what they had said.

"But Madara doesn't have the red eyes that the trolls talked about. How can he be the one to help Elsa?" Anna asked in curiosity and disbelief. She hadn't seen any instability when Elsa demonstrated her powers and she definitely did not see Madara having the red eyes that her parents described.

In response, Madara's eyes seemed to morph as they suddenly glowed a blood red and three comma-like patterns formed themselves around his pupil. The sudden change in his eyes startled Anna and she let out a gasp as she seemed to recoil just a little.

"As you can see, Madara has the eyes described in the prophesy and thus must be the one from the prophesy. If you would, we would like to formally ask you to be Elsa's bodyguard and teach her how to control her magic." King Agnarr turned back to Madara and asked him.

He took a look at the king's eyes and found only sincerity in his request. He took a moment to contemplate this request and after a brief moment finally let out a sigh.

"Very well. I will teach her." To this the rest of the occupants developed smiles at his acceptance. Elsa looked relieved while her parents looked pleased at this development. Anna, well she just looked like life couldn't have gone better and he could understand her standpoint. She had been kept away from the one person who she could always depend on and had just been told that life would essentially be back to normal now that her sister didn't have to always be afraid anymore.

"Wonderful! Well then, I will arrange time for Madara and Elsa to have their practice sessions after her lessons. Now if no one has anything they need to tell me right now, I will need to get to work on today's paperwork." No sooner had he mentioned the paperwork did there come a knock on the door.