Chapter Text
Viktor's POV:
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The sound of shattering crystal echoed through the castle and the throne room as a man stared unhappily out the enormous glass window. His short, platinum hair fell over one eye, and the aquamarine one you could see radiated sadness and unsatisfaction. A young, blonde wisp of a boy burst through the doors shortly afterwards, and glared at him angrily.
"Oi, asshole, control your damn emotions! Shit is breaking and cracking all over this damn castle, and Yakov says it's all your fault!"
Normally the man would tease his young cousin; saying that he belonged in the Fire Lands with his fiery temper. But lately, he felt no desire to do so. No; these days, Viktor Nikiforov, ruler of the Ice Country, would spend his days watching the love of his life move about the Earthen Realm seemingly without a care in the world. Everywhere he went things bloomed; plants sprouting up as if to embrace their king. He would harvest their flowers gratefully to make flower crowns, and he would wear a different one almost every day. The type of flower that grew appeared to correspond with his emotions. Unlike him, whose emotions either destroyed and/or killed things. He sighed. He'd never be able to leave Ice Country, anyway. This was the only place where his spirit wouldn't eventually melt.
But it was a two-way street. No other type of elemental spirit could survive here. Its harsh, frozen air would freeze the lungs of any who breathed it in, the frigid temperatures were rumored to turn your skin to ice, and worst of all, the inhabitants had the power to crystalize your spirit from the inside out. Only those born here could survive, and he'd never wish for his precious Yuuri to come here. The world would be a much colder place without him in it to nurture it. Unlike the other elementals, he really could find almost no wrong in Yuuri Katsuki or his elemental magic.
The Fire Lands were constantly sunny, and there was almost no night. It was also almost unbearably hot, and would eventually burn everything, living or otherwise, into charcoal.
The Water Isles were the closest to them in terms of physical layout, temperature, and living conditions, but even there they could not live. There wasn't enough oxygen.
The Wind Territory was peaceful, almost to a fault. To maintain that peace, they isolated themselves in a fog that only they could manuever through. All others supposedly went mad trying to find a way in or out.
The Dark Mountains were self-explanatory. No one but the dumbest of knights or the most evil of spell-casters went there.
And then there was the Earthen Realm. It was hospitable to almost all forms of life, and had somehow maintained its peace despite having no visible protection. That turned out to be a lie, because if you made to attack it, roots would wrap themselves around you and pull you underground. The Water Isles found that out the hard way. But almost all were welcome, and their ruler was supposed to be the most gentle, caring, loving man you'd ever meet.
Well, all were welcome but those from the Ice Country.
He knew that his country was feared there. They valued life more than anything, and ice would eventually kill all that grew there. Really, no other elementals liked the Ice Country or the ice spirits who lived there. They were dangerous and destructive. Tales of a terrible king who would capture you and work you until you died with a frozen spirit frightened children and adults alike into staying far, far away from the borders. It made for a lonely existence when all you knew was your own palace. He waved away the picture on his table mirror, and turned to his cousin, Yuri Plisetsky. He was but a child, so he'd never come into contact with the other kingdoms. As far as he was concerned, the Ice Country was superior in every form and fashion.
"Well, you can tell Yakov that when I'm no longer trapped in here like a caged animal, I'll stop breaking things. It's not my fault the walls are made of ice."
Yuri scowled harder.
"You do know that it's for our own good, right? Do you want your spirit to melt, you damn idiot?"
Viktor looked out the window again, frowned, and brought the picture back up on his table mirror, effectively ending the conversation. Yuri scoffed and left his moronic cousin to sulk.
Viktor started when he noticed that Yuuri appeared to be looking right at him with a sad frown on his face. His crown was almost all white, something he'd never seen before, white spots of light purple. It almost reminded him of his snowy kingdom. He demanded a book on flowers (which was almost impossible to find in their library), and he could have cried with joy when a handmaid brought him one. Apparently the crown was made of edelweiss (courage), white carnations (belief of innocence), white roses (purity), and lavender (devotion and virtue).
He maintained the illusion of eye contact even as he demanded a pen and paper.
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