Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Once upon a time there was an evil troll named Sazaki. He was twisted in both form and spirit. He was so evil that he was the headmaster of the troll school. As the troll in charge he encouraged his students to do two things: 1) Grow hideous facial hair like his own goatee, and 2) to create magical items that would cause havoc across the world. When one of his students succeeded in creating a magical mirror that distorted everything it reflected, he killed the student, and claimed the item as his own. Sazaki then took the mirror all over, distorting the world within the mirror’s reflection.
For inside the mirror beautiful landscapes looked like “boiled spinach”. When the mirror was turned on people all of the bad and ugly aspects were magnified, and all that was good was shrunk to be practically invisible. Sazaki’s amusement with the mirror grew with every distorted reflection. Finally, Sazaki got the idea to fly the mirror up to heaven, to laugh at God and his heavenly works.
Laughing all the while, Sazaki continued to rise towards heaven’s gates, already picturing what sort of images would appear in his mirror. He got so lost in his imagination, he didn’t notice when his grip began to slip. The mirror fell to earth, shattering into millions of pieces. Some shards were no bigger than the smallest grain of sand, but no matter the size of the piece they all still held the same power of the whole looking glass.
A few slivers found their way into the eyes of other people. From that moment on, the victims viewed the whole world distortedly thanks to the small shard. They saw all of the ugliness of the world, but none of its beauty. Slowly the victim’s hearts began to harden like ice, until they could no longer care about anyone or anything. Meanwhile Sazaki would laugh, pleased with the mischief he’d caused.
The wind carried the mirror shards all over the world, merging with several victims. One of them was a young boy with golden eyes. He wasn’t so much a boy, but a teenager making his way in the world. His family was gone, murdered by brigands. His spirit was already beginning to harden when a large shard of the magical mirror found its way into his heart. Ice began to take over his entire being. His raven hair turned white, and his tan skin became pale. He became so cold hearted, that he gained control over ice itself. He recruited two male witches to act as his lieutenants, and together they built their own icy empire. Over time his icy kingdom threatened to expand to the entire world, and soon Asami the Ice King would rule all.
As ice crept across the world, people overcrowded the towns and cities trying to escape the snow. In one of these enlarged towns lived two poor children, or really one child and one teenager. They were not brothers, but they loved each other as if they had been. Akihito, the older of the two, looked after Tao in the orphanage they grew up in. Life was tough in the orphanage. The head of the building didn’t care about the children under his care, except as workers creating mittens for money.
Luckily, there was a much kinder old woman that lived across street. Whenever they could, Akihito and Tao would sneak over to help the elderly lady with her garden. Out in the sunshine Akihito’s bright hair seemed to sparkle in the light. His smile lit up like the sun, warming the hearts of everyone that saw him. Tao was a real cutie too. Together they boys brought in several customers to the old woman’s garden, allowing her to live quite comfortably. While the boys worked, the elderly lady told them tales of adventures and magic. They were happy, at least for a time.
As Akihito grew older, his time at the orphanage was growing shorter. Tao began to worry when his big brother left, he would be all alone. He began to skip their meetings at the old lady’s garden, playing by himself at the edge of town. One cold day the wind was especially fierce. Something sharp got stuck in his eye. “Ahhh!” He screamed, as the magical shard began to harden his heart, transforming it into a lump of ice.
When Tao returned to the orphanage, Akihito could already tell something was different with him. He became cruel and apathetic. Aki tried to bring his little brother to the garden, hoping it might cheer him up. It didn’t work out quite like he planned. Tao remained quiet, not immediately tending to the roses like he liked to do. Akihito decided that maybe if he got to work beside the boy, it might get him to open up. He gathered the necessary supplies, and checked on his little brother. He gasped in horror as he watched Tao tear the garden apart. “Tao, what are you doing?”
Tao stopped pulling at the roses. Blood dripped from the thorns imbedded in his skin, but he could no longer feel the pain. “Oh see!” He held out the crushed roses. “That rose is worm-eaten, and this one is crooked.” Akihito rushed to the boy’s side, gently prying loose the thorns stuck in Tao’s skin. Tears began to mingle with the blood. What happened to his darling brother? Tao reached up a hand to cup his cheek. “Why are you crying big brother? It makes you look ugly.” Akihito recoiled in shock.
By now the elderly woman had returned, a tray of lemonade in hand. Shocked at the disarray of her garden, she dropped the entire tray. She screamed at the smaller boy, and told him to leave. Tao just shrugged, leaving them all behind. He didn’t even notice that he was still dripping blood as he walked. Akihito was too stunned to stop him. As Tao disappeared around the corner, Akihito finally snapped out of it. He ran as fast as he could after the boy, following the droplets of Tao’s blood to the edge of town.
Meanwhile, Asami was surveying his next conquest. From atop his white sleigh he could see the whole town. His golden eyes spotted movement, a small boy that was approaching him, and a mop of golden hair moving quickly across the town. A smirk appeared on his face, as a plan began to formulate. Asami instructed his driver to intercept the smaller boy.
Tao was surprised when a huge white sleigh crossed his path. The boy ignored the driver, his eyes riveted upon the regal man riding the vehicle. To his bespelled eyes, he was the most perfect being he had ever beheld. The man seemed to have been carved out of ice itself. The Ice King rose one of his perfect eyebrows, and called out. “Why do you tremble? Here, creep into my warm fur.” Tao was frozen in awe, so the mysterious man had to pick him up, and settle him in the sleigh. Despite the furs, the poor boy felt like he had sunk into a snow drift. “Are you still cold,” he asked. Tao nodded, and the Ice King kissed him on the forehead. The kiss was colder than ice; it finished the job the mirror shard had started. Tao felt like he was going to die for a moment, but felt better soon after. He didn’t notice that he didn’t feel the cold anymore, or that he was still leaving a blood trail.
“TAO!” The figures in the sleigh turned toward the voice calling for the little boy. A blonde figure was running up the hill towards them. Asami just smirked, and instructed his driver to return to the palace. Akihito could only watch as the sleigh disappeared with a shower of snowflakes, disappearing into the night.