Chapter Text
The castle was quiet, as snow began to softly blanket the windowsills that looked out on the surrounding fjords and mountains. The sky’s usual ebony appearance was clouded by a white sheet as soft flakes danced down with the breeze. Everyone was asleep, the castle still as a winter storm passed through, revealing a perfect playground for young children in the village to play in the following day.
A young boy, a prince, and his older brother lay in the same bed in the same room, the youngest unable to sleep. He sat awake while his brother, Wilbur, lay within the soft and woolen sheets, nestled comfortably and snoring softly. The blonde, Tommy, quietly sat up out of bed, so he wouldn’t awaken Wilbur. The young prince went to the window and admired the snowflakes as they swirled and clung to the windows, each white speck a bespoke and unique pattern, before they melted against the stained glass.
Ever since Tommy was born, he and Wilbur had been inseparable. They did everything together. They built snowmen, they went ice skating around the fjord, or they enjoyed having snowball fights with their parents. He knew Wilbur had ice powers, the ability to create winter in the palm of his hands, and with tonight’s snow, Tommy wanted to have some late-night fun, not just because he could but because the boy could not sleep.
“Wilbah?” Tommy whispered, his voice floating softly around the bedroom, as the brunette stirred in his bed, unfazed by his brother’s voice. Tommy drew closer, tiptoeing along the soft carpet. “Psst, Wilbah. Wake up!” He said a bit louder, shaking his brother, who still ignored Tommy’s efforts to try and get him to wake up. Determined, the blonde placed his fingers above Wilbur’s eyes and pulled them upward, to try and get his attention. “Wilbah! Wake up, wake up! The sky’s awake, so I’m awake!” Disgruntled, Wilbur begrudgingly sat up, glaring at Tommy in the midst of his drowsy disposition.
“Go back to sleep, Tommy. We can play when the sun’s up.”
“But I can’t sleep, Wilbah. Do the magic! Do the magic!” Tommy giggled, holding Wilbur’s cold and pale hands in his peachier palms. He looked up at his brother with eyes that you couldn’t say no to, as Wilbur sighed.
“Fine, but not in here.”
“Yay!” Tommy jumped dragging his brother out of bed, taking off his nightcap, as Tommy dashed to the door, Wilbur dragging behind.
Tommy opened the door to reveal a dimly lit hallway, the only light coming from candles against the walls which cast eerie shadows across the bright crimson and navy blue patterned carpet. The door’s creaks echoed down the corridors, as Tommy paused, worried that their parents would catch wind that he and Wilbur were sneaking out of their rooms late at night.
“Come on, down here, Toms,” Wilbur whispered as he brought Tommy along a lesser-known path towards the castle’s ballroom. They utilized the staff staircases which were more hidden-away and more inconspicuous to the naked eye. The stairs spiraled on for what felt like forever, until they came across a door.
An end was in sight.
A spruce door etched with a crescent moon surrounding a rose came into their field of vision, the stone stairs coming to a plateau, as Tommy opened the door, to reveal the ballroom. The ballroom was, in a word, opulent. Wooden pillars and archways lined the borders of the ballroom, the ceilings holding a pair of bespoke chandeliers, whose crystals danced elegantly in the night’s misty hue. Bright birch and spruce floors were sprawled out across the space, every pattern intricate and deliberate in their placement.
Wilbur closed the door before meeting Tommy in the middle of the ballroom, Tommy smiling from ear-to-ear. He loved it when his brother did the magic, how snow could magically appear in the palm of his hand, how ice can be transformed from a single stamp of his foot on the ground. How he can create such intricate sculptures without fail. It was mesmerizing.
“Do the magic Wilbah!”
“Okay, okay, but we have to be quiet. Don’t want Mum and Father to hear us.” Tommy nodded, as he watched with focused eyes as Wilbur’s palms began to crackle with frost forming at his fingertips, as they turned a soft periwinkle as snowflakes began to fall from his fingers. A blinding white glow soon filled the palm of Wilbur’s hand as he moved them around, slowly beginning the formation of a snowball, which he tossed into the air, sending a flurry of snow to appear in the ballroom, a more controlled version of what was outside the confines of the castle’s walls.
“You ready for more, Toms?” Wilbur asked as Tommy grinned, nodding his head intensely in response. Wilbur lifted his foot off the ground and stamped down, the hardwood slowly forming a thin layer of ice, which spread across the floor. Tommy nearly lost his footing as he slid away from Wilbur, his feet turned inward and his back arched forward to try and keep his balance.
Soon more snow came falling from the ceiling, coating the ice in its soft - and cold - splendor, as Tommy rolled around, creating snow angels, getting snow all over the back of his sunny blonde hair.
“You wanna go sledding, Tommy?” Wilbur asked, a cheeky grin on his face as Tommy immediately sprung up at the thought of that.
“For da tickle bumps?”
“Yes, for the tickle bumps.”
“Yay!” Tommy squealed, as Wilbur built them their own hill to slide down together, complete with snow pillars that extended upward. They each hopped up until Tommy, who went first, got to the top and sat at the edge of the slide Wilbur created, waiting for his brother to accompany him.
“You ready?” Wilbur asked, as he sat down, holding onto Tommy as he used his magic to encase the slide in a smooth layer of ice so they would go down the hill faster. Tommy screamed with joy like a child going down a roller coaster hill. He smiled more than he ever had in a while, and he felt that energy being reciprocated in his brother, who, while not sleeping because his brother woke him up, was having a lot of fun.
“Do you wanna build a snowman, Wilby?” Tommy asked, as Wilbur conjured up more snow, enough so they both could create a snowman together, which was one of Tommy’s favorite things to do.
“Absolutely I do, Tommy.” The two smiled and laughed together as they made the snowman, complete with some icicle arms and nose, they glided against the slippery ice, dancing with this oddly shaped snowman, but the two of them loved this being they both created.
“What do we name him, Wilbah?”
“Charlie.”
“Why Charlie?”
“Why not,” Wilbur giggled.
The two set Charlie aside, as Tommy pressed his rosy cheeks against the window, admiring the nighttime world outside. He thought the snowflakes were like frozen stars falling from the heavens trying to make the world more magical, as the sunlight would often make the snow glisten upon the ground when it decided to make an appearance. Tommy started jumping, trying to see the fjords as the top of them began to slowly get a thin layer of glassy ice draped across the deep, cerulean surface.
“Do… do you ever wonder what’s out there?” Tommy wondered, pointing out towards the nearby mountains which spanned for miles upon miles, the horizon clouded by the encroaching snowstorm.
“I do. But as much as I’d love to explore it… I can’t.”
“Why can’t we both explore it? Mum and Father always go on trips together. Why can’t we?”
“Because… Because I can’t, Tommy.” Wilbur looked away for a moment, as Tommy looked back at Wilbur. He was hiding something and Tommy knew it. But he didn’t want to intrude.
And Tommy was right to think something was going on. Wilbur, as next in line, but also next in line with magical powers, had to undergo many programs that his father enrolled him into in an effort to control his magic. But, they never always worked, so Wilbur stopped going and said he was gonna control them on his own. He didn’t need the classes. He was determined to figure it out independently. Sometimes the ice would flare up and cause his veins to freeze, as his muscles seized, locking him in place as the blood within would run cold. He couldn’t control it no matter how hard he tried.
Eventually, Wilbur turned back around and built a hill that plateaued near the top of the window, allowing for Tommy and him to sit and watch the snowstorm grow stronger as it cascaded down the mountains and devoured the fjords, and later on, the kingdom.
“Well… how do you like this view, Toms?”
“I like it. I feel like a big man.” “You are, Tommy. You are.” The pair sat in blissful silence as the snow from the mountains cleared away, the night’s darkness slowly becoming more colorful as these vibrant sheets of lights began to dance across the sky. Tommy’s eyes widened in childlike wonder.
“It’s the aurora!” He exclaimed excitedly. “I’ve never actually been awake enough to see them. They are so pretty!” Wilbur whispered in awe, as Tommy then rested his head on Wilbur’s shoulder. The two sat in sweet and serene silence for what felt like hours watching time and its passing. The castle still remained quiet, no signs of any stirring from any staff or Wilbur and Tommy’s parents.
“I wanna jump down and hop on big snowballs, Wilby! Can we do that, please?” Tommy pleaded, tugging on Wilbur’s nightshirt, as Wilbur obliged, creating a pile of soft snow for Tommy to safely jump into at the bottom of the hill his brother created. Tommy giggled as he fell, disappearing into the void the snow had enveloped around the blonde.
He reemerged with snowflakes still frozen against his hair, before melting away into water. Wilbur eventually came down as well, hopping into the plush snow, relishing creating a flurry atop his brother’s head, followed by his brother doing the same.
“You wanna do some parkour, Tommy?” Wilbur asked, a keen and eager look in his eyes.
“Yeah! Parkour!” Tommy giggled as Wilbur began to create pillars of snow as Tommy jumped from pillar to pillar, going higher and higher, faster and faster until he began to struggle to keep up. Tommy kept on giggling, daring Wilbur that he could make it to the top of the chandelier if he wanted to.
“Toms, slow down. I-I can’t keep up,” Wilbur said, his voice concerned, as Tommy heeded his older brother’s warnings.
“Again! Again! Catch me!”
“Slow down, Tommy. I mean it. Please!” Wilbur shouted, worry taking over as he felt his muscles freeze on him, his lower body (and soon to be upper body) frozen in place. “No, don’t do this now,” Wilbur muttered to himself. Tommy kept on jumping until Wilbur nearly froze…
“Come on Wilby! Don’t slow down! Catch up to me!”
“Please slow down, Tommy, I cannot keep up,” Wilbur said as he felt his powers almost burning at his fingertips, his fingernails nearly purple and encrusted in frosty patterns around the nails. His hands began to tremble from the sheer amount of pain the powers were causing him.
Soon, the world froze. Not in a good way, unfortunately. Tommy leapt to the next pillar, but he misstepped and fell down, nearing the floor, which was coated in a little bit of ice still where he had been projected to land. Wilbur was frozen in place so he could do very minimal amounts of magic without overexerting and causing himself more distress than he was already in.
“Tommy!” Wilbur shouted, as the magic left the palm of his hands, as he tried to aim it for the ground for a soft landing. Only, it didn’t land on the hardwood floor.
The magic was launched right into the side of Tommy’s head, as he slid across the icy floor, knocked unconscious.
Wilbur immediately unfroze and ran to his brother’s side as a snow white streak emerged on one of his short blonde curls. Tears formed in Wilbur’s eyes as they froze on his cheeks. He held onto his brother and screamed for his parents. He screamed until his voice went hoarse, as the snow and ice around Wilbur began to crack and crumble.
“Mum! Father! Help! Please!” Wilbur continued to call out, his voice echoing around the ballroom and throughout the rest of the castle. Footsteps drew closer as Phil and Kristin entered the ballroom to see the horrific sight in front of them. They immediately ran to Tommy’s side, as Phil shoved his son away.
“What happened?”
“I-It was an accident, I’m sorry, Father,” Wilbur sobbed, as Kristin lay her hand on Tommy’s forehead.
“He’s ice cold,” she muttered in a hushed, yet panicked voice. Wilbur bowed his head down in deep regret and guilt, as Kristin picked Tommy up, Phil crowding around him, to ensure that Wilbur couldn’t see anything. He trailed behind them, almost cowering as the frost seemed to nip at his palms from stress. He couldn’t feel anything in his hands and he was terrified for his brother. What if I killed him ?, was a recurring thought that percolated within the young prince’s mind, as Wilbur followed his parents into their library.
Wilbur had been in the library once before, but never at night. The shelves lined with ancient texts and runic symbols etched into leatherbound covers seemed to be much more scary with the limited glow of a candelabra neatly placed against a long spruce table. Phil scoured the shelves in the search of a book with a matching scroll – a map. The book was filled with the legends of rock trolls that lived within the valley outside of Essempi’s primary borders. Their oldest, and wisest troll was known as the Grand Blade, whom the King and Queen visited when Wilbur was a toddler as he began to exhibit his magic powers.
It was then that Wilbur was warned of the dangers of having such a precious gift, for there were always two sides of a beautiful and pristine coin: one that showed the joyous properties and the other that showed a more menacing and less-desirable one. He could barely sleep for weeks after that, finding solace in sleeping in his parent’s bedroom, for they were the only people he never wanted to hurt – his family.
And yet, here Wilbur was now, having hurt, albeit by accident, his own brother.
“Kristin, you get a blanket for Tommy and Wil and I will go to the stables and get the horses. We need to see the Blade.” Phil ordered as Kristin ran, holding Tommy in her arms. He didn’t once stir or open his eyes (he hadn’t done so since he got hit). She ran into Tommy and Wilbur’s room and hastily grabbed a large blanket to wrap around him before running in a mad dash to the stables.
The castle was a blur, the corridors seeming to mesh into one, as torches still eerily flickered and casting ominous shadows against the portrait-dense passages. Phil seemed to have left the door with access to the stables open for Kristin so she could get out there safely.
“I got the blanket. Can you take him, sweetheart while I get on the horse?”
“Of course, my love,” Phil said as he scooped Tommy in his arms, rocking him from either side. Wilbur watched from the back of one of their horses, barely making any eye contact with either of his parents. His eyes were locked on Tommy as he prayed to whatever gods were above that could hear his cries. Let him live .
Phil passed Tommy back to Kristin as he hopped on the horse Wilbur was on, not saying a word to Wilbur, who held onto his father’s cloak, guilt-ridden tears melting into the fabric. Wilbur hated to admit it but he was scared. He was terrified of what he did to Tommy, his brother, the one person he wanted to protect the most. His angelic blonde hair would be forever stained by this one white streak that he put there. His eyes may never see Wilbur the same way again. He may think he was a monster like what everyone in the kingdom thought of him.
“I-I’m sorry, Father,” Wilbur weeped, but Phil didn’t respond. He was too focused on trying to get Tommy to the trolls, racing through blurred forests and blinding snowflakes which only made Wilbur cry more.
Behind them a trail of frost brushed against the frozen blades of grass, somehow glistening in the dead of night. The world around the family was cold, dire and deep within an annual snowstorm which swept across the kingdom, locking nearby ships within the confines of the expansive fjords.
Phil and Kristin raced through clearings until the winding grass path became rockier – a sign that the trolls’ home was nearby. Phil dismounted his horse, helping Wilbur get down, before putting Tommy in his arms so Kristin could dismount her horse. Phil then took the leads for both horses and guided the four of them deeper into the woods. The world was peaceful, albeit reverberant howls from wolves higher up in the mountains echoed within the trees of the forest, spooking Wilbur a bit as he stayed close to Kristin. Wilbur could barely speak at this point, terrified to say the wrong thing. The ground became more uneven as grass and dirt was soon replaced with rock protruding from the forest floor, imposing evergreens looming above the prince as they approached a series of round boulders within a clearing, covered in moss, some sporting mushrooms as they added some color.
“Hello? We come in peace. My son… he’s hurt,” Phil called out into the open clearing, his voice trailing into the darkness of the night. “I am sorry for intruding, b-but my son has been struck by his brother’s ice magic. We need the Blade to help us.” Silence followed Phil’s words as Wilbur took notice to a few stray pebbles beginning to jump around on the ground, a rumbling following it, as the pebbles skipped about, these boulders now moving. Wilbur hid behind Kristin as the rock came to life, revealing these, clearly, tired, trolls. They all began to mutter amongst themselves that the king returned, noting that his wife was holding the prince.
The king? What’s happened?
There’s the child. Poor thing.
As soon as the other trolls came to life, the largest - and the oldest - boulder came rolling towards the family as they were taken aback a bit. The Grand Blade, or as most referred to him, Blade, appeared, a moss cape billowing in the winter’s harsh wind behind him.
“Let me see the child,” Blade spoke, as Kristin passed Tommy over to Phil, who knelt down, showing Tommy, still asleep. Blade looked over at Wilbur, motioning for him to come closer.
“Is there anything you can do?”
“There is. Thankfully, Tommy was struck in the head, which can be very easily helped, it’s the heart that is the most dangerous spot to hit.” Blade got closer to Wilbur, holding his hands in his rocky ones. “Wilbur, your powers hold great beauty, but also grave danger…” Wilbur shuddered at the thought, as Blade created an image in the air, as it moved about, telling a story.
It first showed two children playing, just as Wilbur and Tommy used to, then it showed something more horrifying: one of the kids getting struck in the heart, as their heart turns to ice, thereby turning their body to ice. Wilbur felt more tears trickle down his face. He was horrified, as the images showed spikes and pandemonium among the general public following, everyone screaming and running in fear as the one person stood there, looking at their hands in fear at what they have done.
“If you do not control your powers, Wilbur, you pose a threat to the greater society. People will view you as a monster, so you must learn to control your powers.”
“What about Tommy? Will he be okay?”
“Since you struck him in the head, it can be much more easily changed as the mind can be persuaded. If he is struck in the heart, only an act of true love can thaw it. If not, he will be turned to ice… forever .” The last sentence rattled Wilbur’s mind as he felt his breathing grow more uneven. If he wasn’t careful, he could be responsible for his brother’s death, or anyone’s death.
“As the mind can be persuaded, I will be removing all memories of magic from Tommy’s mind. Any fun you may have had with the magic will be attributed to what normal children would do during winter with their siblings, not created by, or associated with your magic, Wilbur.” Phil and Kristin nodded, as Wilbur leaned against Kristin, as she rested her hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him a bit..
“So Tommy won’t remember I have powers?”
“It’s for the best, Wilbur,” Kristin reassured him. “It’s for his safety, as well as yours. It’s going to be hard, but it’s what is best for the two of you.”
“We’ll do everything we can to protect them. When we return, I’ll order that the gates be closed, the staff be reduced and Wilbur will be isolated from everyone… including Tommy.”
Wilbur’s world stopped.
5 years of memories the two shared since Tommy was a baby disappeared in the blink of an eye. Would Tommy even remember who his brother was?
Wilbur fell to the ground in tears, profusely apologizing, as he tried to reach for Tommy’s hand to hold it one last time before he would never see him again. Phil pushed his hand away gently, which made Wilbur feel worse. He couldn’t even hold his brother’s hand out of his dad’s fear of him hurting Tommy again.
Blade placed his hand on Tommy’s forehead and changed his memories, a warming glow emanating from his palms. The young boy didn’t once move or stir, as another winter breeze whirred through the forest.
***
Back at the castle, Kristin put Tommy to sleep in his own room while Phil moved the toys the two used to play with out of Wilbur’s room and into Tommy’s. Wilbur watched from outside as the door to his brother’s room closed, and that was the last time he ever saw his brother.
Phil and Kristin then went into Wilbur’s room and closed the door. Wilbur sat on his bed, scared at what Phil may say to him.
“We’re going to be working together to get your powers under control, Wil. Until then, you stay in here, except when we go down to my study to work on controlling them, alright?”
“Okay, Father. I-I’m sorry about everything,” Wilbur whispered softly. Phil and Kristin gave Wilbur a hug and assured him that it was an accident and everything they are doing is to protect him and Tommy.
“We’re doing this to protect you, Wilbur. We’re not punishing you, it’s for your own good. If you don’t control your powers now, you’ll never control them when they get stronger. And… they will.”
By the time Wilbur awoke the next morning and looked out his window, the gates were shut, the castle now deserted. Outside the door, the windows that peered outward were shuttered closed, the corridors now silent and deserted. Wilbur could hear the faint laughter of Tommy from the room across the hall, as his giggles broke the newfound silence of the castle.
No matter how much Wilbur wanted to interact with Tommy, he couldn’t. For the greater good, he had to ignore his own brother. It broke his heart but Wilbur knew it was for the best.
“Gonna miss spending time with you Toms,” Wilbur whispered through the door, a single tear falling from his eyes, as he slowly began to realize he’d be the most alone he’s ever been since before Tommy was born.