Chapter 2: The Calm Before the Storm

Arendelle

Arendelle Castle

July 31st, 2307

Elias is now 5 years old, almost 6, and has begun his heir training. Both King Agnarr and Queen Iduna wanted to prepare their son for when he leaves the dome, as well as prepare him with plenty of skills before he is tossed into an unknown world, where the laws and the rules of modern society are far different than what he will know. They threw him into a variety of lessons, ranging from sword play, all the way to ballet as fighting any battle can be done elegantly, plus the flexibility would come in handy. Agnarr himself brought out the japanese lesson books he had received from his father, who received it from his grandfather. It was important that Elias knew japanese so that if All for One came by, he would not be out of the loop if they suddenly switched languages. Along with japanese, which he was excelling at, Elias began to learn snippets of english at a very slow pace.

Elias himself found that his least favorite lesson was most likely diplomacy. He really wanted to be a good king like his papa, but it was so boring listening to grown men go on and on about different issues. He would rather dance in his room, with his mother as his audience.

Teaching a child is difficult, as they lack the focus needed to truly stay on task and Elias was no different. He whined and groaned whenever a lesson began. He just wanted to be with Artie. At least then, he could create pretty snow animals and Artie would laugh at them, wanting to play with the snow animals he created.

At first, both Agnarr and Iduna believed that Elias was somewhat obsessed with his brother, to an unhealthy degree. It took some time before the reason behind his obsession clicked, Elias was lonely. In order to hide the truth of Elias and his powers, the couple decided to slowly isolate Elias from his peers. It was a necessary sacrifice or at least, they believed it was. Neither had any idea how to combat his loneliness because there was no child, aside from their own son, who could be trusted to not blab about Elias's magic.

It was hard for the couple to also take Elias away from his brother due to the sheer joy that would radiate from him whenever they were together. The only thing they could truly do was have Arthur be present during Elias's lessons, as they believed Elias would want to impress his baby brother and would therefore put far more effort into what he does.

There was, however, one class Elias found beyond enjoyable, which was singing lessons. Technically, it was unimportant whether or not Elias learned to sing, for a king was much better off learning about diplomacy, the economy, and other such shenanigans. Elias actually did not take a shine to singing until his mother sang to him on one specific evening.

Flashback

Elias was having his first mental breakdown within the confines of his room. Ice slowly trickled throughout the room, forming over anything available, to the point where all that could be seen with the eye was ice. Iduna and Agnarr rushed through the castle corridors, having felt the chill through the air. They both knew exactly where the chill came from and felt fear, for they knew no one could catch wind of their child doing anything out of the ordinary. When both arrived at Elias's room, Iduna gasped, noticing how ice was escaping from under the door. She could also hear her poor baby crying. Instantly, Iduna felt like a horrible mother, because she knew Elias would eventually reach a breaking point. Agnarr on the other hand stared at the door in shame, realizing his wrongdoings. Children were not meant to be isolated, nor heavily pushed for it was too much for their minds to handle. He sighed, before watching as his wife slowly opened the door to their son's room.

When Iduna stepped into the room, she quickly wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the coldness run beneath her bones. She spotted her beautiful son surrounded by terrifyingly sharp icicles, wondering how she was to reach her baby to comfort him without hurting himself. Suddenly, the perfect idea came to her and she sat down. "Sweetheart, mama is going to sing a song to you, ok? I can't come to you with all the ice but i'm right here the second they go away," she gently exclaimed, watching as her son slowly glanced in her direction. She took a deep breath, cleared out her throat, and then began:

"Where the North wind meets the sea

There's a river full of memory

Sleep, my darling, safe and sound

For in this river, all is found

In her waters, deep and true

Lie the answers and a path for you

Dive down deep into her sound

But not too far or you'll be drowned

Yes, she will sing to those who'll hear

And in her song, all magic flows

But can you brave what you most fear?

Can you face what the river knows?

Where the North wind meets the sea

There's a mother full of memory

Come, my darling, homeward bound

When all is lost, then all is found"

Elias's tears and sniffles turned into tiny hiccups as he began to calm down. He was mesmerized by his mama's voice, wanting to sound just as pretty as her. Slowly, the ice began to melt, though Elias was unable to do it consciously. As soon as the ice was gone, Elias rushed into his mama's arms, seeking comfort and safety. "Mama..I want friends. I want to learn less. Please let me have more fun," he begged, placing his head into his mama's chest. Iduna felt her heart break a little bit. Oh, she knew this was going to be the case, but was truly unable to do much. As she gently rubbed his back, she softly uttered an idea that was sure to make Elias more happy. "I know sweetie, but we are doing this to keep you safe. How about we cut down on your lesson time and I will teach you to sing just like mama. Sounds good?" She chuckled as she noticed Elias's gleeful eyes.

Flashback Over

With the introduction of singing, Elias became far more elated and less focused on his brother. Yes, he still lacked friends, but with being constantly occupied came a tiredness that deterred him from caring much. However, Iduna still sought out ways to make her precious boy happy, even if she were awfully busy with her other baby who still needed a fair amount of attention.

It didn't take long for another fascinating idea within Iduna's mind to form and she quickly summoned her husband to her own office as soon as possible. Her office was far more homey in terms of decor and it felt as though one was walking into a mother's embrace. It was often used for having tea breaks as both her and her husband were easily overwhelmed as it is, but also was used in case Iduna had any remarkable ideas and needed her own space to truly elaborate on said ideas.

"My love, I have the most perfect solution to combat our son's loneliness," she bellowed, joy visible throughout her face as she grabbed onto her husband's hands. The sparkles within her eyes added to the delightful beauty Agnarr was able to see every single day and all he could do was helplessly smile at her, knowing she would do everything in her power to have her idea become a reality.

"Enlighten me, my dear," he gently led her towards the fluffy chairs that took up quite a fair amount of space within the room. If there were two words to describe Agnarr as a husband, it would be a push-over. He could easily put his foot down when needed, but watching his wife light up whenever she got passionate made his own heart flutter, each and every time.

"Well….," she suddenly trailed off, before launching into an explanation of her newest plan to help her son combat his loneliness without truly risking him. It was going to be perfect and effective, as well as something that would benefit the entire kingdom. Agnarr found himself wholeheartedly agreeing with her newest idea, as he also felt as though it was the best way for Elias to make new friends.

Arendelle

Town Plaza

September 21st, 2307

September 21st marked the first ever Arendellian talent show, which was open to all children who wished to show off something that made them different from the rest. This was not a competition however, nor would a prize be won. Specifically, a competition was not included in order to avoid any possible bias when Elias participated, as some more loyal citizens may attempt to help Elias win as a sign of unwavering loyalty. In the end, the talent show was the most subtle way of helping Elias find a few friends from the townspeople's children without endangering anyone by being around them constantly.

The talent show would take place in the town's plaza, surrounded by colorful streamers and other decorations to give off the feeling of a celebration of sorts. It could be attended by anyone in the kingdom, including the king and queen themselves. In actuality, both Agnarr and Iduna planned to attend with only a few guards so that their own son could easily attend and it would also show how both rulers wanted to be closer to their citizens. Agnarr's father, the previous king, did not believe in frolicking amongst the townspeople, as he believed it would show a sense of weakness, but Agnarr himself believed otherwise. If they connected with their people on a more personal level, it would most likely inspire more loyalty, as well as bring everyone together as if they were in a large family.

As the king and queen arrived, with Elias in tow, the townspeople seemingly gasped in surprise as one. They did not believe the young heir would participate amongst the commoners and it was quite a sight to see. Elias himself was radiating joy, excited to finally be able to make friends with someone. He was super loney all the time, no matter how long he was near his parents, Artie, or the servants. It just didn't make him happy, but the talent show would surely bring him a friend or two.

Elias spotted a young boy with dark brown wavy hair and jewel-like emerald eyes that seemed to hold a thousand stories, despite the boy being close to him in age. Elias, wanting to have his first friend, introduced himself, "Hello, my name is Elias Oldenburg, firstborn heir to Arendelle, I am pleased to make your acquaintance." He put out his hand, awaiting the other boy's response with barely hidden eagerness. "Well, hello there. My name is Arvid Larsen, 8 years old and son of the greatest baker within Arendelle," Arvid said, casually gripping Elias's hand and shaking it at the pace of a snail.

Elias was absolutely proud of himself, feeling as though he made his first friend. Together, both Arvid and himself walked towards where all the talent show participants lay, awaiting the show's start. The two continued to make small talk, eventually expanding each other's knowledge of the other. Elias learned that Arvid planned to continue his father's legacy once he was of age, while Arvid learned that Elias preferred traditional and contemporary ballet to sword-play. It was the start of something beautiful.

From the sidelines, where the townspeople were meant to stay so that they had a far better view of the children, Iduna and Agnarr were ecstatic as they noticed their son laughing and communicating with another boy. Iduna was especially proud of herself for having figured out the perfect way for Elias to make a friend, without throwing him to the wolves per say.

The talent show had finally begun and boy were there some interesting talents. Elias was especially impressed by the young girl with auburn hair and cherry eyes, who was able to communicate with her barn owl on an impressive level. She would speak to the owl and they would nod back. Elias quickly spotted his parents and used his puppy-like eyes in full force, wanting something similar. Agnarr, who had noticed his son's stare, covered up his snort with a cough, needing to have some decorum in public. With a sigh, he simply nodded, which was neither a yes or no, but would be enough to satisfy his son for now.

As more and more children went up and presented their talents, Elias's turn was getting closer and closer. Before he was up however, Arvid presented his own talent. Up on the makeshift stage that had been created showed Arvid using tools and ingredients brought from home in order to create a delectable Multekrem. Elias could feel saliva escaping from his mouth and quickly wiped it away, keen on always showing a presentable face whenever he was outside his home.

After having cheered on Arvid, it was finally his turn to shine and he was extremely excited, readying himself to impress the masses. Once Elias had gotten up on stage, he was given immense support from his people and that brought a fluttering feeling right to his stomach. Flustered, Elias covered his face for a second and tried to school his emotions back to a less flushed state, but hadn't quite succeeded. He quickly grabbed a microphone from a box of miscellaneous items meant to support any of the children onstage and sung his mother's lullaby.

An angelic voice could be heard throughout the kingdom, soothing even the most broken of hearts. While the townspeople were bewitched in a sense, Agnarr noticed something was off with his son and once he realized what it was, he quickly ran over, intent on removing him from the stage. Ice was quickly forming beneath Elias and though it wasn't extremely noticeable, it simply wouldn't do for anyone to notice it.

Elias was in paradise, to say the least. He felt as though he had ascended in a way, though he had no idea what that meant. It took only a second however, for his little world to break apart as he felt someone grabbing him and running from the stage. Elias had noticed it was his father and was gearing up to yell at him as he was upset from what had just occurred, when he too noticed the ice that was slowly melting away. In all honesty, Elias wanted to cry because he couldn't even control his powers enough to be outside with other people for one day.

Iduna, who noticed her husband's quick escape with their son, walked onto the stage herself with the perfect explanation. "My lovely people, I must apologize for the abrupt ending to our first ever talent show, but while my son was up there singing, my husband noticed he was swaying a bit. We knew he hadn't felt well this morning, but he was so excited to attend today. I do, however, hope that we will be able to have a talent show each year," with a graceful nod and the cheers of her people, Iduna walked off the stage, led back to the castle by the few guards they had originally brought with them. On the way back, she spotted her son and husband hugging one another. She knew her baby would be distraught by today's end and the progress they had made with him may go back a bit, but at least they were able to help him a little bit.

While the townspeople had begun cleaning up the plaza and leaving one by one, only one person, or better yet a child, noticed the unnatural formation of ice that occurred during the prince's singing. Arvid, whose intelligence was far beyond his peers and maybe that of a few adults, decided to keep his newfound discovery to himself, in hopes of possibly confronting Elias at a later date. He could have easily told everyone, though there was a much higher chance of him being patronized for "lying". Arvid wanted to keep Elias as a friend, as his intelligence made it difficult to truly relate to other children, yet Elias himself had a fair amount of intelligence as well. With one last thought, Arvid strode back towards home, with hopes of seeing Elias in the near future.

Arendelle

Arendelle Castle-The Town

November 1st, 2307-March 19th, 2308

Within four exciting months, filled with laughter and joy showed both Elias and Arvid becoming the best of friends. Elias wasn't often allowed to hang out with Arvid, as his studies often kept him extremely busy. There was also the matter of his magic, but that was quickly solved when Arvid confronted Elias. At first, Elias attempted to steer the conversation elsewhere and act ignorant, but Arvid put his foot down and told Elias he had seen the whole fiasco during the talent show.

It took some time from then on for Elias to feel comfortable going outside again. He felt as though he was too dangerous, but luckily Arvid was there to comfort him. Arvid told him that as long as he was calm, that nothing could go wrong. At first, Elias refused to believe him because while he was singing, he himself was beyond calm. Arvid refuted by saying that Elias may have been calm, but he was also excited by the prospect of singing in front of an audience. He believed that maybe his excitement overrode his calmness, which then caused the ice to form. It took some more reassurances before Elias finally agreed to go back out again.

Elias, frightened he may have to leave behind his friend if his parents found out on their own, quickly told them of the situation. It took a ton of convincing, but in the end, the two were able to keep their friendship. One of the reasons this was allowed was because Iduna felt that if her son didn't have anyone aside from themselves and Arthur, that he would lose his childhood through all the training he had to do.

Having a friend worked wonders for Elias, as he began improving during his lessons as he wanted to impress his friend. Arvid, who found Elias to be similar to that of a tiny puppy, would simply ruffle his icy-blonde hair as a means of showing affection. The two weren't quite the same age, as Arvid was a year older. On Elias's birthday, instead of having a large party of sorts, it was instead decided that he could invite Arvid and his family, as well as have his own family attend. It was a small affair but a meaningful one nonetheless. Through his own family meeting Arvid's, more meetings were planned. Some days, Arvid would venture over to the castle and on others, Elias would have a day out in the town, with a guard or two following behind for his safety.

There were, however, days where despite having Arvid as a friend, Elias would still feel fairly lonely. At first, neither Agnarr nor Iduna knew what exactly to do, as they originally believed they had combatted his loneliness. Quickly, Agnarr remembered how Elias wanted his own animal companion because of the tailor's daughter, whose own bond with her owl showed immense understanding between the two. Iduna understood where Agnarr was going with his newest idea and the two brainstormed which animal would be perfect for Elias.

They decided on getting him his own personal horse as they believed he would benefit from being exposed to the outside more. The horse they bought Elias was a pure white stallion with blue eyes like himself, named Snow. The name clearly wasn't the most creative but Elias felt as though it fit.

As time continued to fly by, the bond between Elias and Snow grew to crazy proportions and it was hard to find one without the other. After the first time Elias fell asleep overnight in the stables did the king and queen reluctantly allow Snow to have a room of sorts in the castle. It was something they'd never have thought would happen, but here they were.

Another thing that occurred within the four months was Elias gaining his first crush. At first, he hadn't known it was a crush and simply believed it was just the excitement of having his very first friend. Though, as time passed by, he noticed he would easily get flustered around Arvid and didn't really know what to do, resulting in a special talk from his parents.

"My precious boy, it's ok if you like him. It's alright if you find boys more attractive and never think of a girl in that way," she gently told him, as Elias had been freaking out earlier that day. He believed he was the weird one as every couple he had come across had traditionally been one male and one female. "Are you sure mama?" Elias questioned, still unsure of what to feel or think. It was a bit odd that Elias was having questions about his sexuality at seven years old, but Iduna chalked it up to him being a bit more advanced in terms of intelligence when compared to his peers.

Agnarr also attempted to reassure Elias. In most cases, Agnarr would prefer that Elias found a lovely wife and had beautiful kids, but something in the back of his head told him it would never happen. Luckily, Arthur still had the possibility of having children and if Elias one day decided he preferred the world outside, then they would pass the throne over to Arthur. His own father on the other hand would probably be rolling in his grave as he believed in a traditional marriage and often scorned those who loved the same-sex.

So far deep in reassuring Elias, the two did not notice the ice that formed around the walls, causing the room to feel progressively colder. It took far more time than before for the ice to melt away after Elias had been completely calmed down, which was worrying. It showed that despite Elias's current ability to wield his magic fairly well, he lacked the ability to make it all disappear. This caused both Iduna and Agnarr to put far more importance on Elias's training, as they feared what his lack of control would cause to happen. Instead of training for at least 30 minutes a day, the time jumped to at least an hour and a half, with his parents wanting to maximize the amount of time he could use as much as possible. Elias didn't really complain as he found using his magic to be relaxing at times. There were days where he would have to keep it all inside of him because his parents were far too busy and on those days, he felt as though he would explode. It was scary to say the least.

Arendelle

Arendelle Castle

July 10th, 2308

Elias is still seven years old when his magic begins to send out warning signals to his body. At first, he cannot make heads or tails of what is going on. It was subtle at first, where he would casually walk past the ballroom and a spike of energy would spark in his mind. Now, every single time he crossed the path of the ballroom, Elias would want to run away screaming from the area. Every bone in his body pleaded for him to stay away from that room, as far away as he could possibly be. He told his parents about what he was feeling, but neither had any idea what it could mean.

Maybe a tragic accident would occur or something of the sorts, but his magic gave him no answer as to when it would happen whatsoever. It was as though there was a constant ticking from a broken clock that wouldn't stop no matter what one did. It annoyed Elias because he could not turn it off. Instead, Elias simply avoided the room for the time being. He was far more focused on Artie, who he could finally communicate with more and more.

Artie's birthday had been an interesting event, as Elias wanted to show off his magic a bit and created a tiny pony made of snow. Somehow, it kept its shape and once he handed it to Artie, he felt as though he made his younger brother proud. It was also the start of Artie's heir training himself as his parents wanted both of them to have a similar yet different skill set depending on who truly succeeded to the throne. This was important especially with Elias's coming out per say.

It wasn't as though Elias and his possible future husband could not rule the kingdom, the issue was that they would need an heir. Elias could find a surrogate, but Agnarr felt as though despite his son's love for the kingdom, he may choose to live out in modern society. It was a feeling that grew with every year. There were days that Elias seemed far too ethereal to be human and yet, far too human to be anything but. He wasn't completely sure if Elias were truly human as his powers did not seem to correlate with that of a quirk. That, combined with his other feelings, made it feel as though Elias would simply not have children for that reason. It was an outlandish thought but a reoccurring one. On the other hand, Arthur may have a higher chance of ruling in the end. He wasn't going to, however, decide that for sure yet as anything could truly happen. As of right now, there were more important things to focus on, such as having Elias control his powers in a way that would allow him to use them constantly without fearing for other's safety. The other issue was making sure All for One never found out. Luckily, Arvid was most likely already visited and had his quirk stolen, meaning there is a low chance All for One would ever seek him out. This would keep Elias and his powers safe for the time being.

Another far more pleasant event that occurred as Elias was seven was that he finally mastered japanese enough to hold conversations. Agnarr, who was fairly fluent himself from his father's teachings, would converse with Elias as much as humanly possible to keep the language and grammar fresh in his head. With one language down, Elias also wanted to learn english at a faster rate, yet he struggled because unlike japanese, the grammar was difficult and the way words were pronounced made no sense. Some words were spelt the same and then sounded so different from one another that Elias felt his mind explode. Those languages were taught in order to make the next heir a better king, but Elias simply wanted to learn because he found languages fascinating. Similar to ballet, languages played out like beautiful dances that required one to be very precise during the sequence itself.

Elias was growing into himself, learning new topics that were sure to aid him in the future. He picked up on "healing" per say, learning how to use herbs and other natural resources to make salves for those who needed them. He also learned first-aid as it was an extremely useful skill to know. Elias did not succeed at every new concept he learned, such as strength building. His body type was far more suited for agility and flexibility, rather than brute strength. This first became noticeable when Agnarr realized that his son, no matter how much he worked out, simply was not gaining the muscles proportionate to how he exercised. It was odd, until Iduna pointed out that maybe the magic within their son took that extra muscle and used it as an energy of sorts. It was far-fetched but it was the only explanation either of them could come up with. They told Elias what they thought was the case, as to not discourage him as he noticed how little muscle he was gaining. After their explanation, Elias's self-confidence went right back up, but he did feel less inclined to exercise as much and tended to avoid the strength building lessons. After a month of those lessons and no progress, it was switched out for martial arts instead, something Elias could learn despite his more lithe body. It worked out well for everyone, as Elias was learning self-defense, an extremely important skill for a king as assassination attempts, while unlikely, are always a possibility. From then on, Elias continued to improve upon himself.

The first seven years of Elias's life could be said to be the happiest, as he had nothing aside from controlling his own powers to worry about. His mother and father were happy, their people had no grievances, and Elias had a great relationship with his brother. He also made his two very first friends, Arvid and Snow. There were ups and downs, all mostly related to his magic and lack of control at times, but he never quite felt dissatisfied. He wished nothing would ever change and that in the future, he would be as happy as he is now. It was wishful thinking, as life simply wasn't that kind to anyone, but Elias was a child who had not known much hardship.

If only Elias had listened to the warnings his own magic had screamed at him, maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't have completely damned his family and himself to years of unending despair.

Arendelle

Arendelle Castle

February 8th, 2309

At eight years old, everything Elias had ever known and loved changes in the worst way possible.