To Know The Dark ; frozen fanfic

chapter viii

It was strange to think how cold the castle felt. Hans hadn't realized how dreary it was here. Glittering and gilded in lieu of the coronation and upcoming balls and galas, the foreigner was naive to the real face of this gloomy building. Empty, barren - a mere shell of its former self, even if that former self was mere stone laid in the bed of a wagon. His chin rested on his folded hands, eyes trained on the statuesque body of (Y/n). The boy looked perfect, as if he'd simply fallen asleep. But Hans knew that wasn't the case. (Y/n)'s collapse was because of Emil.

Everyone was silent as they stared at the fallen boy before them, unable to tear their gaze away. His fleshless face gave way to ivory bone, mandible open and slack. The air was silently fearful and the atmosphere tense as the party guests and the three human royals waited for something to happen, to shatter this nightmarish illusion. A finger lightly twitched, then led to the creaky groans of (Y/n) staggeringly rising up to sit. Alexander could almost hear Emil's stomach drop to the ground like a lead ball at the revelation that (Y/n) wasn't dead. Although both Arendellians raised their hands as if to make a move, (Y/n) instead grabbed a handful of snow leftover from the ice chunk's flight and smashed it onto the front of his exposed skull, mushing it around like clay.

When his hand gave away, his face was back to normal, though twisted in displeasure.

"Emi, you can't hurt people! 'Specially not Hans." The pallid older brother fell to the ground, his knees no longer able to keep him standing as tears rolled down his cheeks. He tried to speak but all that came out were desolate squeaks, Emil lurching forward as he buried his face in his hands. (Y/n)'s face filled with concern, never having seen Emil cry like this. Before the ice fairy could follow suit and sit on his knees, the Duke of Weselton pushed his way to the front, eyes rimmed with red and a dark bruise forming on his cheek.

"Monster! The new king is a magic user of sorts! I'm sure he's used spells to enchant you all and brainwash you! The Devil! He's the Devil in disguise to raise a hand against an innocent civilian using magic!" His words were spiteful and chaos inducing, the throngs of guests starting to fearfully whisper and back further into the castle, away from the fallen king.

Emil turned to face them, strands of hair having fallen out of his ponytail and his face haggard with grief.

"No," he muttered, lips quivering. "No, I - That's not true! I - It was simply a spat between brothers; I never meant any harm - " Before he could fully get onto his feet, a small rock had sailed through the air and knocked him right on his brow. Recoiling in pain, Emil gingerly felt where he'd been struck right above his right eyebrow, eyes widening when his pale fingers came away crimson. He hardly had time to process the betrayal before more rocks flew his way, some smaller and some larger. He didn't fight back, only raised his arms in an effort to protect his head as the stones pelted him.

Behind him, (Y/n), Hans, and Alexander all tried to grab onto his sleeve or his cape and pull him towards them, away from the line of fire. However all that managed to accomplish was Alexander getting a cut on the back of his hand and Hans getting struck in the nose. Emil would've been stupid not to notice them getting hurt, (Y/n) being the only one left. He couldn't stand if (Y/n) got hurt - if any of them got hurt again - because of him. He shoved them aside, keeping them distanced with a hasty wall of ice as he dashed towards and out the palace gates. He ignored the calls of his brother and co., instead sprinting with all he had in him, wiping the blood that dribbled into his eyes and ignoring the ache of bruises covering his body.

He didn't look back at the lot of them, not wishing to be burdened with any more scorn.

The farther away he ran, the more lightheaded (Y/n) felt. Although he'd tried to stumble after him, he was held back by Hans and Alexander, the rain of rocks having stopped once Emil had disappeared beyond the gates. Now that the subject of ridicule had made himself scarce, the crowd started to slowly disperse back into the castle, noting the dark clouds in the sky. Nobody would chance traversing the seas tonight. While Hans watched the partygoers return to whatever conversations they'd previously been having, Alexander's eyes were focused on the frosty trail Emil had left behind. He'd never wanted his brother to face such humiliation. He had to apologize.