Chapter Text
"The way to solve for the circumference of the field is to first obtain its diameter…"
My mind tried to listen as the master droned on and on the geometry lesson. After all, princes should know these things and it was only proper that I should be paying attention. But my mind was somewhere else. It was wandering across the fjord and into the great ocean to where I knew my aunt was desperately waging a battle to defend her realm, her people, and our freedom. How I wish I could be there by her side. Anything was better than to sit and wait in the castle not knowing whether victory or defeat was at hand. But there wasn't much choice when you're only twelve.
"And the answer is… your highness?"
I shook my head and realized the master was expecting an answer. I immediately looked at him with a contrite expression. "I'm sorry Sir, I didn't… I wasn't thinking…"
I was expecting an immediate reprimand. He was one of my more stern professors. So I was quite surprised that he gave me a kind nod instead. "I understand Prince Fredrik. I suppose we can skip geometry for the moment. I think we all need a break." He started packing up the books and I realized I was being let off early. I gathered my own things.
I saw his hands shaking, and noticed the bags under his eyes and the worried frown on his face. It was a familiar expression. Everyone in the kingdom wore it lately.
Impulsively, I put a hand on his—the first time I've done so. It felt like the right thing to do.
"We'll be okay," I said. "The Queen will defend us. I know she's alright, just look outside." I pointed to the clear afternoon summer skies without a hint of a cloud. The sun was blazing in its usual heat and my hint was clear—there was no trace of snow.
"You really think she's fine?" he asked. His worried expression remained.
"If she was calling on her powers we wouldn't have such fine weather. And I would know." I didn't know what made me say that. It was a complete lie, of course. I had no clue whether Arendelle would be affected by a change of weather this far if my aunt was indeed using her powers an ocean away. I also had no way of knowing whether or not she was alive or dead, much less using her powers at all even with the common connection we have.
Still, my little white lie had a way of decreasing the worried lines on my professor's face and I considered it worthwhile.
"I'm glad your highness." He squeezed my shoulder almost affectionately.
I thanked him and left the study. I wish someone could reassure me as well as I reassured him. I walked over to the garden and saw my mother sitting by the flowers listlessly watching over my younger siblings. My two sisters were playing tea time. They alone seemed immune to the melancholy that had plagued the kingdom for weeks since the war started. As I watched them in their innocent pouring of tea in little cups I was envious that they were too young to understand what was going on in the kingdom to care. My mother pretended to play along while every so often gently caressing her round belly heavy with my soon to be brother or sister. But when five-year-old Andrea waddled over and offered her unborn sibling a cup, my mother's eyes lit up and a faint smile graced her lips.
I walked on, certain that my sisters can cheer her better than I could. I decided to go outside for a bit of fresh air. I passed the quiet halls of the castle. I haven't heard anybody whistling a tune for so long when singing from the servants as they did their work was a normal thing to hear while passing the corridors.
Outside the gates the same dreariness had affected everyone in town. I couldn't take it anymore and decided to head into the ports. Surely, there must be someone that must have heard news by now even if it was only fishermen that can assure me the gigantic wall of ice that stood in the middle of the ocean five miles from Arendelle's shoreline is still standing. That wall of ice is the only thing preventing us from sure defeat.
Our country's crisis began as a simple matter of one unnamed captain discovering the smuggling of Arendelle goods without going through the proper customs boards. Investigations on this led to the discovery of illegal trading by Weselton—a state that Aunt Elsa cut relations with almost two decades earlier. When the queen imposed tighter security measures that killed off the blackmarket, privateers began to appear more and more frequently and targeted Arendelle's trading ships. It wasn't hard to trace and prove that these privateers were sanctioned partners of Weselton in an effort to economically sabotage Arendelle and force it back to open trade.
That aggression escalated into a full war five months ago when Weselton openly attacked a royal navy ship that led to the death of Admiral Rochport, the head of Arendelle's military. Queen Elsa was forced to launch a fleet herself to defend her country. She met the enemy at sea in an effort to lead them away from Arendelle. There had been reports of fierce sea battles that went on for months and two ships were destroyed. But for most part it was a game of cat and mouse for the two navies, with neither one gaining much ground. The crucial point occurred when twenty large privateering ships—allies of Weselton—managed to cut through our naval blockade and made a direct attack on our homeland. Queen Elsa stopped them by creating a wall of solid ice 50 feet high and 20 feet thick in the narrow part of the fjord that was the only passage from the open sea to Arendelle. It effectively protected our nation from a sea attack as the snowy mountains that naturally surrounded the rest of the country already provided a formidable fortress. However, it also cut off our navy from any contact or hope of reinforcements and supplies.
For the last six weeks since the wall was created, we had no news of the Queen or the Arendelle fleet. The home seaguard reports that the privateers were still lingering outside the wall. We were a nation under siege.
We were fortunate that this incident happened in the summer. We had the advantage of resources to supply the populace compared to the ships outside. But how long will it take for them to figure out a way to break that ice and attack. Even if wall did hold, how long could our supplies last us through winter when all trade from our neighbours has ceased?
And what about the Arendelle fleet? Can they survive without reinforcements when they were caught between Weselton's navy and the privateer ships?
My mother, the princess regent, has been trying to keep everything together. She has been busy in the efforts to stock up on supplies from this last harvest. When she's home she tries so hard to carry on things normally. She insists I attend to my lessons and encourages the staff to go about on their daily business. But everyday I can see the weariness in her eyes that were often lidded with tears.
Father leads the home guard of civilian volunteers patrolling the coasts and mountains in case any of the privateers decided to get in through other means. With most of our military beyond the wall, the handful of ice harvesters, farmers and fishermen were our last line of defense if the wall comes down.
And of course there was me—the crown prince that inherited my aunt's ice powers. I knew that if the wall comes down, people expected me to repair it. But I don't have the skill that she has, not in making solid objects. The most I can do is create tiny snow storms and freeze little bodies of water. Even then I don't have complete control of those yet.
I reached the castle square that was filled as usual with people. I can sense everyone felt the same as I did. We were all waiting. Waiting for our fates.
The sound of clashing bells ripped the air. My heart quickened at the noise. I felt the ground beneath my feet turn to ice and I fought to control it before it spread.
Breathe, I told myself, remembering the exercises Aunt Elsa used to teach me. But the bells were still ringing and it was getting harder to concentrate on controlling my powers.
People began nervously murmuring:
"Is it an attack?"
"What is going on?"
"Are they coming?"
I saw a middle-aged man push through the crowds shouting. "The prince! The prince! Someone get the prince quickly!" He stopped when he saw me and he fell sobbing on his knees in front of me. "Your majesty, you must come quick! The wall is down!"
I heard the words and forgot all attempts to control my powers. Ice formed under my shoes and began spreading over the square. A woman dropped a jug of milk a few feet from me and the liquid froze as it came in contact with growing layer of ice beneath her feet. One man slipped and fell next to her just as a storm erupted in the heavens above my head.
Then pandemonium broke loose.