What many people were obliviously aware of was at the time that the sundrop and moonstone fell to the Earth, another object of incredible power descended from the heavens. A single drop of snow fell from above. And from this small snowflake became a beautiful crystal. It held the power to create ice, snow, and frost. For a time, the Snowflake was protected by the Snow Queen. She was once an orphan who was taken in by Jack Frost, the spirit of winter to control her innate winter magic. Soon, she became the benevolent matriarch of a snowy domain. Yet despite her immaculate palace and the creatures who dwelled in her kingdom, the Snow Queen felt like something was missing in her long life. Something that had yet to make her feel complete. And then, it hit her. She wanted a child to love.
The Snow Queen had often mortal mothers with their young offspring which they had often called "their little miracles." But having a child to love of one's own was easier said than done. The winter matriarch knew that a woman had to find a man to forge an everlasting commitment with before a child could be added to the picture. However, the Snow Queen knew that men would fear her before they would ever love her due to her magic.
Then, one day, the Snowflake was starting to exhibit unusual behaviors. It was no secret that the crystal's magic was wild and insurpressible. But today, the Snowflake seemed to be itching to go in a certain direction like it wanted something. So the Snow Queen boarded her reindeer drawn sleigh and followed the the crystal like a compass to the southwest. Finally, the Snowflake stopped at a farming village called Old Corona, particularly at a manor that sat against a large wall.
And from that manner, came a presumably married couple. The man had a large stature, a burgundy tunic, and a furry vest. The woman was half her husband's height. She had long, ginger red hair, freckles that decorated her kind face, crystal blue eyes, and a soft green dress with a white apron. But perhaps most noticeably of all, the woman was pregnant. Seven months pregnant to be more precise.
"It won't be long now, Quirin." the red-haired woman told her husband as she held her belly.
"I still have my doubts about this, Minerva." Quirin gruffly confessed to his wife. "The world is not without its darkness and cruelty. I'll be darned if we expose any child of ours to the dangers and the evil that lurks within the shadows."
"Oh, Quirin." Minerva laughed softly. "Must you always be such a worry wart? Our child will be a blessing. To us and to those who have yet to meet him."
"And you're absolutely sure it's a boy?" the village leader inquired skeptically.
"I know so." his wife answered confidently as she caressed her baby bump. She then proceeded to speak to the unborn child inside her womb. "You're going to be the most extraordinary, little miracle to ever grace the world."
From her hiding spot in the bushes, the Snow Queen and the Snowflake observed the couple. And the crystal began to glow intensively as it seemed to hone in on Minerva's pregnant tummy. Or more specifically, the baby that was yet to be born.
"Is that what you want?" the Snow Queen gasped in realization. "You want to bond with the baby growing inside that woman?"
The Snowflake's glow pulsated as if to say yes. And that was when the winter matriarch picked up on something. There seemed to be another source of magic coming from the pregnant woman's womb. Granted, that magic was almost miniscule, barely a sliver, but still noticeable.
At this moment, the Snow Queen realized that this would-be baby was the child that would make her life complete. And if the Snowflake wanted to bond with the developing baby, who was she to deny that request? So she blew the Snowflake in the direction of the pregnant Minerva and it landed on the woman's tummy, soaking itself into her womb. The would-be mother got chills from the contact of the magical crystal.
"W-when did it get so c-c-cold?" Minerva shivered.
"I think it's time to get you inside." Quirin said, taking his wife's shoulders and walking her back to the manor.
The Snow Queen watched from afar as the couple disappeared into their house. From that moment on, she made a vow to remain a constant presence in the life of the child who now embodied the Snowflake. Her little Snow Angel.
Two months had passed and on a snowy night in mid-December, that Snow Angel was about to be born on Earth. Quirin and Minerva were getting ready for bed when suddenly, Minerva found herself doubled over in pain from excruciating contractions. No sooner did that happen, her water broke and formed a puddle at her feet. That could only mean one thing.
"Minerva, what's the matter?" Quirin asked frantically upon hearing his wife's screams.
"It's the baby, Quirin!" the laboring woman exclaimed. "The baby's coming!"
"What?! Now?!" her husband flipped out. "But we'll never be able to find a doctor or midwife on such short notice!"
Meanwhile, the Snow Queen, who had been observed the would-be parents, was looking for a medical professional to help in cl the couple's plight. That was when she happened upon a brunette woman in blue coat, carrying a thick bag.
"Excuse me!" the winter matriarch flagged the woman down. "Do you have a medical background?"
"Yes." the woman responded, trusting the Snow Queen almost instantly. "My name is Sybil. Is there something you need help with?"
"The couple who live in the manor of Old Corona." the queen informed Sybil rapidly. "They're about to have a baby, but they don't have a doctor or a midwife to help them!"
"Take me to them." the brunette instructed.
Without a moment's hesitation, the two women made a mad dash to the manor and knocked on the door. Quirin answered to the pair and while he was suspicious of them, at first, the village leader was also desperate to help his wife and baby. So he invited the mysterious ladies inside.
After rapidly introducing Sybil and the other woman who referred herself as Snow to Minerva, the nurse proceeded with delivering the baby. And after several minutes of rigorous labor, the couple's firstborn child had finally arrived.
"It's a boy!" Sybil announced after the infant was cleaned up and swaddled.
"May we see him, please?" Minerva asked politely.
"Of course." the midwife nodded, handing the newborn over to his awaiting mother.
She and Quirin took a good look at their new son while she cradled him in her arms. The baby had fair skin, a constellation of freckles on his cheeks, ice blue eyes, and most noticeably of all, hair as white as snow with a single stripe of blue. The Snow Queen knew that white in the infant's hair was due to the Snowflake inside him. However, the blue streak must've been a tell-tale sign of the other magic that resided in the child. The three women in the room were awestruck by the little miracle before them. Quirin, on the other hand, had a different opinion on the matter.
"Would one of you care to explain why our son's hair is discolored?" the village leader demanded angrily.
Sybil and Snow went on to reveal that the child had two sources of magic flowing within him. The first being a sliver of the Moonstone's power that Quirin carried with him after fleeing from the Dark Kingdom. That part unsettled the former knight. The second magical entity was the lesser known Snowflake crystal which could create snow, ice, and frost.
"So you mean to tell me that the baby is cursed?" Quirin inquired stoically.
"If that were the case, he would be sick or in pain." Snow responded. "And as you can tell, he is as peaceful and healthy as a baby can be."
"I think he's perfect." Minerva stated, rubbing noses with the newborn to which he smiled from. "Welcome to the world, little one."
"What will his name be?" Sybil asked.
"I want our baby's name to be as unique as he is." the new mother replied. "What do you think, Quirin?"
"You can name it whatever you want." Quirin answered coldly as he left the room.
Snow, Sybil, and Minerva were stunned by the man's impassive behavior. His eyes were just devoid of love for the child. And how dare he call this beautiful baby boy an "it?" What was Quirin's problem?
Minerva's stupor was interrupted by her son's little hand touching hers, almost in a comforting way. The red-haired woman couldn't help but smile at the baby's innocence.
"I know exactly what to name our baby." Minerva said with confidence. "His name is Varian."
"And what a wonderful name it is." Snow beamed with delight.
At an early age, Varian was already showing signs that he was an extraordinary child. When he was only a few months old, the baby boy had already figured out how to stand and could communicate simple words. In fact, had Quirin paid any attention to his son like Minerva, Sybil, and the Snow Queen, he would've realized just how gifted little Varian truly was. In fact, one of the boy's greatest moment was about to occur.
Minerva had just finished changing her son's diaper when it happened. Feeling satisfied that Varian was nice and clean, she couldn't resist tickling her baby's tummy. Instantly, the infant started to laugh. It was Varian's first laugh, to be more precise which was a very big milestone. That laugh, combined with his winter magic, caused an incredible chain reaction. It birthed three winter fairies with gossamer wings and downy white dresses. Minerva, Sybil, and the Snow Queen were astonished by what baby Varian had just created. The winter matriarch then took the liberty of giving the newborn fairies names: Holly, Elsa, and Crystal. Soon after, the fairies were assigned to be the Snow Queen's eyes and ears when she wasn't around to watch Varian.
"It's your responsibility to make sure that Varian is well cared for." the winter matriarch instructed the fluttering trio."Do you think you can handle that?"
"You can count on us, Your Majesty." Holly replied with confidence.
The first few years of Varian's life were good. And even though his father was mostly distant from him, he was loved unconditionally by his mother, Sybil (who officially became the boy's godmother,) the Snow Queen, and his fairy friends. But everything was about to change.
One day, when Varian was four years old, a gray-haired woman arrived at his house with a scary looking man. She claimed to be an old friend of his mother's. Minerva had her son wait with Sybil and the Snow Queen while she and his father confronted the visitors. The woman whose name was Donella and her henchman Cyrus turned out be agents of evil. They were hunting down the heir of an acclaimed genius from ancient Corona. Quirin was ready to fight off the criminals. But Minerva, instead, made the ultimate sacrifice and lied about being the heir her "friend" was looking for. Her husband tried to interfere, but Cyrus prevented him from doing so as Donella cut the red-haired woman down.
Little Varian didn't see much of what was going on, but the glimpses of what he could see horrified him. Sybil did what she could to comfort the little one, he was already haunted by what had happened. But his godmother had a way with magic.
So she gave the toddler a cup of warm milk (with some sleeping potion in it) before putting him down for his afternoon nap. As soon as Varian was sound asleep, Sybil cast a spell to seal away any traumatizing memories from his mind. That way, her godson wouldn't be haunted by his mother's death for years to come. Sybil then sighed with relief.
As for Quirin, he was anguished by the death of his wife. And Minerva's killers managed to get away. But one thing was for certain, Varian would never be safe in a world full of child abductors, killers, and other people who could take advantage of his son. So the village leader decided that the boy would be confined to the manor indefinitely and his contact with people would be limited. It was best solution for the time being since Varian's powers would only continue to grow with age.
But even though the little boy was kept mostly isolated, it didn't by any means dampen his curiosity of the outside world. And Varian was about to discover that the world is better off with him in it than locked away from it.