Snowflakes drifted gently from the night sky, painting the forest path in soft white as we stood in a quiet daze, looking down at the most ridiculous and magical thing we'd ever seen.
A snowman.
Not just any snowman—but one that was blinking, smiling, and talking.
"Hi! I'm Olaf, I like warm hugs," he said cheerfully, his twig arms raised in the air like he was asking for one right that second.
His carrot nose was slightly crooked, and he had these wide, round eyes that sparkled with innocence. I couldn't even speak at first.
Then Anna did what Anna always did—reacted with her whole soul. She squealed like a child getting candy and launched herself straight at the little guy, scooping him up into the tightest hug I'd ever seen.
Olaf—yes, he said his name was Olaf—let out a happy squeaky sound and hugged her back with his twiggy little arms.
Elsa stood perfectly still next to me, eyes wide, breath shaky. But there was no fear on her face this time, just wonder and warmth.
I clapped slowly, breaking the silence, still standing a few feet behind them with a wide toothy smile. "I gotta admit," I said, chuckling to myself, "that might be the most impressive thing I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot."
Elsa looked at me with this sort of quiet awe, brushing her long pale hair behind one ear. "I didn't mean to create him," she whispered.
"Yeah, well… neither did nature, probably," I said, motioning toward Olaf, who was now holding both Anna's hands and spinning in a clumsy little circle with her in the snow.
"But here he is."
She glanced at me, then at Olaf, then back at her own gloved hands. "How is this even possible? You're the magic expect, can you make something like that?"
I shook my head. "Nope. I can control all natural elements, bend space and time, but life? Consciousness? That's something else. And you, princess…" I leaned in a bit, lowering my voice, "…you've just stepped into a whole new league."
Elsa didn't say anything, but I saw the way she bit her lower lip. There was pride there, yes, but also fear.
The kind of fear you have when you're holding something beautiful and dangerous at the same time.
It was getting late. The stars were glinting down from a velvet sky, and I could feel the cold starting to nip at the tips of my ears.
"Come on," I said gently, motioning toward the palace in the distance. "Let's get back before your mother sends out a search party."
Anna, already linking arms with Olaf, gave a thumbs up. "Let's goooo!" she sang, skipping ahead through the snow like this was the best day of her life.
Elsa and I followed a few paces behind. We hadn't gone far before I heard a soft crunch and then felt something cold explode against the back of my neck.
I spun, wide-eyed, to see Anna giggling with a snowball in hand, looking very proud of herself.
"Oh it's on," I growled, already forming a fireball in my palm—not hot enough to burn, but just enough to steam. With a quick motion, I slapped it into the snow and made a huge puff cloud to blind them.
Elsa laughed and picked up a snowball of her own. "You're going to regret that."
Olaf screamed, "Snowball fight!" and promptly dove into a mound of snow, throwing handfuls everywhere, even hitting himself in the face once or twice.
Chaos broke loose.
Anna was ducking behind a tree like a soldier in the trenches. I saw her tiny head peeking around the bark, eyes narrowed. I returned fire with a perfect arc of snow that hit her right in the hood.
Elsa—sneaky thing—somehow made a miniature wall of ice and fired snowballs through holes she created in the structure like a cannon. I barely dodged the first one, which grazed my shoulder.
"Oh, now it's war."
I conjured a small flame to melt a bit of snow and launched a slushy projectile straight toward Olaf. It bounced off his belly and he just blinked up at me. "That tickled."
We chased each other down the trail, laughing like kids. Elsa wasn't hiding her joy anymore. She was moving freely, breathing deeply, and throwing snow with a wild sparkle in her eyes.
Anna, of course, was trying to ride Olaf like a sled at one point, and it ended with them both tumbling into a drift.
Eventually, we all collapsed into the snow a little ways away from the palace gates, our sides hurting from laughter and our faces flushed with warmth despite the cold. Somehow we had managed to go further than we already were.
Elsa was lying back in the snow, staring at the stars. Anna was curled up next to Olaf, who was still muttering happily about "fluffy clouds in the sky" and "why snow tastes like nothing."
I rolled onto my back, arms spread. The cold seeped in through my jacket, but it felt… good. I turned my head to look at Elsa. "Feel better?"
She nodded. "I haven't had that much fun in… ever."
"Good," I said. She closed her eyes. "Thank you, Camden."
"Anytime."
We laid there in silence for a bit, just breathing in the night air, until Anna sat up and pointed. "Hey! There's a shooting star!"
We all looked up. A streak of silver light tore across the sky, trailing fire and silence behind it.
"Make a wish," I muttered.
"I already did," Elsa whispered.
We were about to get up and move our frozen behinds out of here, when the sharp clopping of hooves tore through the evening calm.
We all turned our heads at once. Two horses thundered toward us from the palace direction, their hooves slicing through the snow like hammers on ice.
One rider was unmistakably Queen Iduna—her posture regal even atop a galloping steed—and the other was a heavily armored knight, a full helm covering his face, his dark blue cloak flapping behind him like a banner of authority.
"Uh-oh," I muttered, already sensing the shift in mood.
Anna winced and started to shuffle behind me like a guilty child. Elsa merely sighed and stood straighter, her arms falling quietly to her sides, still gloved.
They reined in hard. Snow kicked up, swirling around the horses' legs like fog. Iduna dismounted gracefully, her eyes sweeping from Anna to Elsa—and then to me. The royal guard didn't dismount.
His gloved hand hovered above the hilt of his sword like he was prepared for any possible threat, even if that threat came in the form of a snowman holding a stick.
"Anna. Elsa." Iduna's tone was firm. Her gaze snapped toward the sky, where the last streaks of twilight were bleeding into the stars. "Do you two realize how late it is? We've had staff searching the gardens. I was about to dispatch riders to the forest—what were you thinking?"
"Mom, we were just—"
"We were training," I interrupted gently, stepping forward with a polite smile and just enough confidence to draw the tension down a few notches. "I asked the princesses to accompany me so Elsa could have some space to practice safely."
Iduna's eyes flicked to me. Her frown deepened slightly. "In the forest?"
"I was better this way, safer too." I gestured behind me at the now-partially-iced field. "Don't worry nothing dangerous happened. I was with them the entire time."
Iduna's brow softened a touch, though her lips were still a tight line. "Even so—"
"Hi! I'm Olaf!" a squeaky voice interrupted from near her boots.
Olaf—grinning as wide as a banana and twice as cheerful—stood proudly beside her, tugging gently on the hem of her dress with his twig arms.
"You look just like Anna! Only older! You're very pretty, and you smell like a warm pie."
Queen Iduna stumbled back half a step, startled. I saw her hand twitch at her side, possibly debating whether or not she was hallucinating.
"I… what is that?" she asked, pointing stiffly at Olaf like he might explode into a snowstorm.
"That," I said, unable to keep the chuckle out of my voice, "is Olaf. Elsa accidentally made him."
Iduna's head jerked toward Elsa. "You made him?"
Elsa, still standing there like a guilty cat caught on a bookshelf, nodded slowly. "I didn't mean to. I was just… letting go, like Camden said. And then... he just appeared."
Olaf proudly raised his arms. "I like warm hugs!"
Anna, unfazed by all this, reached down and scooped him up into her arms like a baby seal. "Isn't he just the cutest thing ever?"
"I am?" Olaf tilted his head to one side. "I am!"
Iduna blinked slowly, then turned her head toward me with an expression that was an odd mix of shock, awe, and motherly concern.
"And this was… your idea?"
"Well, I didn't say, 'Hey Elsa, let's accidentally create a living, talking snowman.' But yes. The training part? That was all me," I said with a shrug, only half-joking.
The royal guard finally dismounted, probably realizing I wasn't a threat after all, though he still glared at me like I'd insulted his mother.
"Your Majesty," he said gruffly, "perhaps we should return to the palace before it grows colder. It's unsafe this far from the walls after sundown."
"Yes," Iduna sighed, brushing a hand through her silver-blonde hair. "Yes. Let's go. We'll… talk more later."
I held out my arm to help her mount her horse again, but she shook her head and gestured for us all to walk (Damn). It was a peaceful stroll back. Anna was busy spinning in circles with Olaf in her arms while the little guy commented on every snowflake they passed.
"I love snow. And ice. And air. And carrots!"
Once we reached the palace gates, the guards let us in without question, though a few of them did raise an eyebrow at Olaf. The snowman waved cheerfully every time and said something like "Nice armour!" or "Hi, I'm Olaf!" as if that explained anything.
We passed the great fountain in the courtyard, its edges now crusted with frost thanks to the earlier display.
A few servants opened the doors as we entered, and the warmth inside hit us like a blanket fresh from the hearth.
Iduna turned back to me as we reached the main hall.
"Camden," she said with that same thoughtful tone she'd used earlier. "Thank you. For… all of this."
"Anytime," I replied, bowing slightly.
She smiled. It wasn't the smile of a queen—it was that of a mother who was grateful her children were safe and smiling.
Anna and Olaf raced down the corridor, giggling like children, which I suppose they both kind of were.
Elsa walked quietly beside me, arms folded, looking ahead with something like wonder on her face. It was clear she hadn't felt this kind of lightness in a long, long time.
As we turned toward the staircases that would lead to our respective rooms, she paused and looked up at me.
"Camden?"
"Yeah?"
"Goodnight," she finally said with a warm smile. Well, that was unexpected. Is the Ice Queen falling for my charms? Bah, not likely.
-*-*-*-
[A while later]
[Elsa POV]
And there I was—alone in my room, lying flat on my back, staring up at the painted ceiling.
I didn't really see the swirls of clouds and dancing stars that decorated it. My thoughts were somewhere else entirely. They were back in that sunlit forest clearing, surrounded by pine trees and snowy fields.
Back with Anna's laughter echoing across the woods… and Camden's steady, encouraging voice guiding me through every unsure motion.
I thought about the way the sunlight had hit the snowflakes I created. About how they sparkled like tiny diamonds. And I remembered how Camden stood just a few feet away, arms crossed but with that easy grin on his face, like nothing I did could ever worry him.
Even when my powers went wild. Even when I froze half the forest in a panic.
He never looked at me with fear. Not once.
I bit my lower lip and sighed. The sheets beneath me were soft and cool, but my cheeks were burning. I turned to my side and hugged a pillow, burying my face into it.
Why was he so nice to me?
And why did it make my heart do that fluttering thing whenever he looked at me with those bright, curious eyes? He treated Anna like a friend, a little sister, like someone he could joke and laugh with.
But with me… it felt different. He was patient and gentle. Almost like he saw something in me I didn't even see in myself.
I rolled onto my back again, brushing strands of my platinum hair away from my eyes.
"Make a wish," he had said earlier. I hadn't said it out loud, I was too shy to say it out loud. But inside, right there in my chest, I had made a wish.
I wished that I could stay like this—this happy—for the rest of my life.
The thought made tears well up in the corners of my eyes, but I didn't let them fall. I just smiled, a soft, private smile that belonged to no one but me.
A gentle thump suddenly broke the silence. My ears perked up as I turned my head slightly toward the door. There was a rustling noise, like soft little feet padding across the wooden floor.
And then—
"Elsa?"
I sat up slightly, surprised.
Standing at the foot of my bed was a small figure with stick arms and a carrot nose. He looked up at me with the most innocent pair of black pebble eyes.
"Olaf?" I asked, blinking.
The little snowman tilted his head and gave me a goofy smile.
"I couldn't sleep," he said in his high-pitched, cheerful voice. "I got lonely in the hallway… and then I thought—hey! Maybe Elsa's not asleep yet!"
I couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped me. "Well… you thought right."
He waddled over without waiting for an invitation and, with a small hop, clambered up onto my bed. He flopped down beside me with his stick arms out wide, then turned onto his side and hugged my arm like a child curling up to a teddy bear.
"This bed is warm," he sighed happily.
"Maybe that's not the best thing for a snowman," I said gently, amused.
"Maybe," he mumbled, already starting to nod off, "but I like warm hugs more."
I lay back beside him, staring up at the ceiling again. But this time… I didn't feel so alone. Olaf's tiny weight against my side was comforting, and the little puffs of snow magic that escaped from his body glowed faintly in the dim moonlight.
A part of me still couldn't believe it.
I made him.
He had thoughts, feelings and a personality. He made little cute jokes. He was alive. And he was a part of me.
I turned to look at him, his soft snoring already starting, and something tight inside my chest loosened. For so long I had thought my powers were dangerous. Destructive. Something to be locked away and feared.
But Olaf was living proof that they weren't just that. That there was beauty and joy and… life in my magic too.
Camden had seen that before even I did. Maybe that's why I felt the way I did when I looked at him.
I turned back to the ceiling, one hand brushing over Olaf's tiny head.
I wanted to see him again tomorrow.
I wanted to keep training.
I wanted to laugh like I did today… to talk with Anna freely again… to create without fear.
I closed my eyes slowly.
"I wish…" I whispered this time, so softly even Olaf couldn't hear, "I wish I never forget how this feels."
And with the warmth of the day still lingering in my chest, I let myself drift off to sleep.
-*-*-*-
[Meanwhile]
In the hush of the night, the castle was a silent sanctuary. Deep within its corridors, hidden behind the grand tapestry-lined halls and behind closed bedroom doors, the royal inhabitants slept undisturbed—except for one.
In her own room, tucked beneath billowing pillows and weighted blankets, Anna lay curled like a child in a cradle, soft snores escaping her lips.
Unusually, her restful sleep was punctuated by occasional giggles—tiny bursts of laughter that echoed faintly into the quiet.
She tossed and turned, mumbled innocently in her sleep, and at one point sent the quilt tumbling off the bed entirely.
The glimmer from the moonlight spilled through her window, creating a silver path on the floor. Anna's eyelids fluttered, and without waking fully, she sat up in the dark, her blanket falling away as she stood on bare feet.
The soft ivory-colored slippers she wore fell from her feet and landed with a small thud against the plush carpet.
Barefoot, Anna began to walk with eyes closed, expression peaceful, a playful yet unconscious traveller in the dead of night.
Her tiny feet padded carefully across the wooden floorboards. Halls stretched out before her, lined with armour-clad mannequins that silently watched as she passed.
Her soft giggle exhaled like a drifting leaf, and she hummed her favourite tune—some halfway between melody and dream—blissfully ignorant of how far from bed she was.
She reached the landing near the grand staircase and paused, listening to the distant echo of her own sleep-song. Back in fellow dreams, she murmured something incoherent before continuing down the hallway.
The portraits lining the corridor, all former kings and queens, gazed down with stern expressions that somehow softened as Anna passed, still wrapped in moonlit innocence.
Finally, she drew near Camden's room.
[Camden POV]
Through the wood-paneled door, muted light leaked out—the last glow from a candle Nocturnal Night Guard had left to help me sleep. I lay half-upright on the bed, still dressed but curled under layers of a soft coverlet, enjoying the peace.
I was restless—my mind still swirling with thoughts from the day. Sleep felt near, but my thoughts lingered.
I caught sight of her then—Anna, unhindered, drifting through the dim corridor with arms out just a little, like a child pretending to be a tightrope walker. She turned a corner, her small silhouette lit softly by castle lanterns.
I sat up.
"Anna?" I whispered softly, not sure if I was awake or dreaming.
I slipped from the bed and padded across the stone floor toward the door. As I approached, she turned her head slightly, smiled dreamily, and keep walking—right to my open door.
My heart softened.
"Anna," I whispered again, gently, and she looked at me for a heartbeat. But her eyes were clouded with sleep, not with awareness.
I crossed swiftly to her and mustered my magic. A small puff of warm energy gathered beneath her gently booted feet, enough to lift her into my arms. Leaning down, I cradled her, smelling the faint scent of lavender and snow—like comfort in perfume.
"Easy, little puff," I murmured. "Let's get you back to bed."
Her snore turned into a smile in her sleep. She snuggled against my chest. I raised her higher, like a parent carrying a child, and floated—yes, floated—her fully into my arms. Despite the enchantment surrounding us, I wouldn't let her feel I was doing anything but walking across the floor.
I carried her into my room, careful not to wake her. She was lighter than I expected, but not delicate—dawn-bare resilient, that's my Anna. I tucked her into the far side of my massive bed and pulled the blanket up to her chin.
She stirred, blinked once, then nuzzled the warmth beneath the covers and fell deeper into sleep.
I stood for a moment in the moonlit hush of my room, looking down as her chest rose and fell. The soft snow-white of her blanket matched the colour of her hair, and she looked angelic.
I smiled.
Then I quietly returned to my own side, arranging the blankets so we shared one without touching. My head rested on the pillow, angled toward my sister's younger mirror-magic—the sister I'd come to adore and protect.
Sleep washed over me again.
I glanced at Anna's peaceful face one last time before darkness consumed me.
=========================================
A/N: Might focus on other characters for a bit