Prologue

Jaejoong was and had never been normal. He was born as a prince; heir to the throne of ruling over the warm and peaceful village of Rising Sun. Everyone adored and idolized the young prince, not that Jaejoong minded or anything. He enjoyed the warm love of the village people but hated the hopeful eyes they looked at him with. The fact that he wasn't the perfect prince they envisioned left a knotted bitter feeling within Jaejoong's stomach every time.

Ever since Jaejoong could remember, he had a special power. Somehow, Jaejoong was born with the rare genes of a sorcerer. His parents were perfectly normal humans. No one ever knew why Jaejoong was, as the village medic had described "cursed" with this power. His parents however called it a blessing and told Jaejoong that he was granted sorcery magic only because he would be able to do great things with it one day.

With a flick of a wrist, he could create magic like snow. The strange ability was exciting and fun for the five year old Jaejoong but when his little brother Yunho was born, his parents had warned him about the dangers that could happen. It was the first time his parents had ever spoken of his powers as a caution.
"Jae, you have a baby brother now. You mustn't use your powers so recklessly. You may be able to control them now but anything can happen. Just promise me you'll protect Yunho." Was what his mother had asked Jaejoong.

Of course during that time the thought of Jaejoong’s power hurting anyone was unthinkable. Jaejoong would've never expected the events that were to occur. So he smiled a big toothy grin at his mother and replied, "Of course mother. I would never hurt our precious Yunho."

~~~~~

It was late at night and Yunho was now an energetic child of five years when he sneaked into his older brother’s bedroom. Of course Yunho knew of Jaejoong's powers. It would be pointless for him not to know. Yunho remembered the first time his older brother showed him his sorcery. He was in his crib, unable to sleep and crying because of the lack of attention he was receiving. Jaejoong, like the best older brother he was, had come to the rescue and told him keep quiet for a second and just watch. It was the most incredible thing Yunho had ever seen. His brother's palm began to glow a bright swirl of blue and white and a glass like shape began to morph from the center of his palm. Yunho never forgot how beautiful it was. His parents had told him before that Jaejoong was blessed with a skill no one else had. He would've never imagined the powers to be so beautiful. The ice magic was certainly not the dangerous images he had in his mind. It was like a form of crystal art. He actually really adored his brother’s ability and always wished he could do the same.

So that’s how it started. Whenever Yunho couldn't sleep at night, he'd tip toe into Jaejoong's bedroom to play.

The tiny movements Yunho created as he climbed onto his brother's bed caused Jaejoong to startle awake. Jaejoong awoke to a pair of twinkling brown eyes full of adoration.

"Jae! The sky is awake so I'm awake too~ that means we have to play!!!!" Yunho reasoned, lying on top of Jaejoong who was still half asleep in the covers.

Jaejoong groaned and lightly shoved Yunho off of him. There was a soft thud as Yunho fell on the floor.

Yunho sulked and thought of another way to get his older brother to play with him. There was one way. It usually worked so Yunho scrambled back onto Jaejoong's bed.

"Jae! I can't sleep! Can we make a snowman? Pwease!" Yunho whispered pleadingly. He added puppy dog eyes for effect and bit his lip in anticipation.

Just one look at his baby brother's pleading face was enough for Jaejoong to give in. He had such a soft spot for Yunho! Jaejoong sighed and ruffled Yunho's brown locks.

"Alright, come on. We'll have to be quiet okay?" Jaejoong whispered back with a smile.

Yunho's face brightened instantly and he let out a little "yay!" and followed his brother out the room enthusiastically.

The two brothers hurriedly ran off into the main room, careful to not awake their parents sleeping in the room a few doors down. The main room of the castle was the largest and had the highest ceilings. Vast amounts of old portraits covered the walls and the only furniture placed in the room was an elongated burgundy couch and a grandfather clock.

As Jaejoong and Yunho entered the room and closed the door with a soft click, they instantly skipped to the middle of the floors whilst giggling in excitement.

"Ready?" Jaejoong grinned and poised his hands above his head in elegance. He tried to appear majestic in front of Yunho.
"Yes, yes! Jae!" Yunho jumped while flapping his arms in eagerness.

With a grand flick of his hands, Jaejoong summoned hills of white, powdery snow. The main room floor was instantly blanketed in snow and clouds that infinitely precipitated snow floated above them near the ceilings.

Yunho squealed in happiness and dove into the large mounds of white fluff. Jaejoong watched happily as Yunho rolled and played in the snow as if this was the best thing that could ever happen. He loved bringing happiness to his baby brother by using his magic because it made him feel as if their parent's words were actually true. That the sorcery was really a blessing not curse.

"Jae, Jae! Let's build a snow elephant together! Come on!" Yunho grabbed Jaejoong by the arm and pulled him toward the area of the floor that was covered in more snow than others.

"Alright! Slow down!" Jaejoong laughed as he followed his baby brother.

With another easy glide of the arm Jaejoong created a large ball of snow made from the nearby mounds and guided it over to Yunho's feet.

"There, now we have a good start for our snow elephant." Jaejoong said to Yunho with a smile.

"Thank you Jae!" Yunho beamed back and began working on the next part of the body.

Jaejoong loved these nights with his brother. There was a sense of freedom with his powers and most importantly, Yunho was happy.

Soon the two began stacking the body parts so that the snow balls formed a body for their elephant. The final part of the head was always made by Jaejoong and placed on top by Yunho so that both had equal parts in building it.

"Almost done!" Jaejoong said. He jutted out his tongue and concentrated on the snow in front of his outstretched hands. Slowly but surely, the ball of snow began molding into the shape of an elephant with the ears, trunk, and everything.

Once the head was complete, Yunho carefully placed the head on top.

Yunho giggled and cheered. "Yay! We did it! Popo is finished!"

"Popo seems happy too!" Jaejoong manipulated the snow elephant with his powers so that it made the elephant smile and move. He grabbed the branch arms of the snow elephant and crouched behind it so that it made the illusion of Popo being alive. "I'm Popo and I love warm hugs! Yunho, why don’t you give me one?"

"I do too Popo!" Yunho exclaimed in glee and gave the snow elephant a bear hug. Jaejoong grinned at the warm sight. "Come on Jae! Give him one too!"

"Alright, alright." Jaejoong laughed and he too hugged Popo with Yunho.

"Hey Jae! Watch me jump from this hill!" Yunho said as he released Popo and ran over to the largest pile of snow. "You'll catch me right?"

Jaejoong nodded and poised his hands. "Of course! Go on, jump!"

Yunho took the first leap and with ease Jaejoong summoned another mound in time for Yunho to land safely. They began playing the stair game for a while and Jaejoong kept with Yunho’s pace perfectly. It wasn't until Yunho started gaining speed, a little too dangerous and fast for Jaejoong to keep up.

"Come on Jae!" Yunho shouted, still hopping from one mound to the next.

"Yunho! Slow down! Slow down!"

"Jae, you're slow!"

It all happened at once. Jaejoong made a turn too quick on his foot and slipped. With horror, Jaejoong saw as Yunho leaped from the snow, oblivious to the fact that he had fallen.

"Yunho!" In a panic state, Jaejoong shot out a blast of magic to save him. But their timing was off. Instead of creating another step for Yunho's feet, it knocked the side of his head and Yunho’s head jerked sharply from impact. Jaejoong watched in terror as his baby brother fell onto the floor with an ugly thud. Yunho's body lay lifelessly in a heap on the bed of snow.

Without thinking twice, Jaejoong dashed to Yunho's side. Tears began to prick his eyes as he cradled his brother's unconscious body.

"Father! Mother!!" Jaejoong shouted in panic. He hugged Yunho closer to his chest. "Yunho! Oh Yunho! I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Yunho.”

In less than a minute, their parents busted through the grand doors and gasped at the sight before them.

"Jaejoong! What happened?" The father demanded. Both parents hurried over to their two son's side.

The mother took Yunho into her arms. "His body is so cold. What should we do?" She cried and embraced Yunho in her arms.

"It was an accident. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Yunho, oh Yunho my baby brother." Jaejoong began whimpering. The tears began flowing down his cheeks, hot and heavy.

"The trolls, they'll be able to know how. We'll have to hurry. Come on!" The father commanded for the guards to set up a sleigh. After the guards filed out of the main room, their father placed both of his sturdy but gentle hands onto the devastated Jaejoong’s shoulders.  

“Jaejoong, look at me.” His father commanded with a stern voice.

Jaejoong’s lip wobbled and tears continued to flow from his icy brown eyes. He obliged and locked eyes with the old and kind ones of his father.

“This was an accident. It was not your fault, do not blame yourself. Do you understand me?”

Jaejoong nodded and wrapped his arms around his father’s neck and began sobbing.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, father.” He cried.

“Stop saying that Jaejoong. There’s nothing to be sorry about okay? Now, come on, we have to hurry onto the sleigh so that we can save Yunho.”

“Jae sweetie, your father is right. No matter what you think, this was not your fault.” His mother added with a small grin. “We must hurry to the sleigh but honey, I don’t think the medics will be able to help Yunho.”

“That’s why we’ll have to visit the trolls.”
 ~~~
The woods were already dark but Changmin refused to give up. He dreamed of becoming the best ice company owner there was in Rising Sun. If he failed to get ice from the pond then his logic was that he would fail to retrieve ice from anywhere else.

Changmin's only friend, a trusty young deer sat patiently beside him. To tell the truth, Changmin was always alone. He had no family or other friends except for the animal.

Just as he was getting up to stretch his cramped legs, a sleigh zoomed past him, spraying him and his deer friend with snow shavings.

"Watch it!!!" Changmin huffed in annoyance.

He dusted off his hair and shirt and was about to do the same with his pants but he noticed that the ground the sleigh had come on was frozen solid when it definitely wasn't before. How weird he thought to himself.

The sleigh stopped only a couple feet ahead of him in a large clearing of the forest that had more than ten large rocks scattered around. Curious, Changmin and his deer hid behind one of the large rocks and peeked out from the side. He could hear the roughness of a man's voice speaking with worry and plead. The woman that stood beside him had on elegant purple dress robes and she held a little boy who looked no more than five in her arms protectively.

Changmin squinted his eyes for a better look at the family. He gasped when he saw how the little boy's head lulled to the side and strands of hair began to fade into a white blonde streak.

"Did you see that Bambi? His hair color changed!" Changmin whispered in bewilderment.

He then turned his sight to the older looking boy that held one of the man's hands in his. The boy had the lightest blonde hair Changmin had ever seen. The blonde had a flawless face. Light hair gently slanted over a pair of icy doe like eyes and framed his porcelain features perfectly. The only word Changmin could use to describe the boy was beautiful. It was obvious now that the blonde was with his parents and the little boy was probably his little brother. From the way the family looked elegant and flawless, Changmin assumed they were of royal blood.

"Bambi, I think that might be the king and queen! That blonde kid is probably the prince!"

The little deer's eyes widened and it nodded back in agreement.

Changmin couldn’t hear what they were saying from his hiding spot but suddenly the rock he was leaning upon moved!

"Wha-" Before Changmin could finish, he fell to the ground and the rock he was just on was standing. It now had gruffly ears and a round grayish blue body that mirrored the shade of the rock.

For a moment the two just stared at each other; Changmin in fear and the creature out of curiosity.

"Oh my! You are so cute!" The rock said suddenly in an extremely friendly voice. It grabbed Changmin by the arm and pulled him into a strong embrace. Changmin was still very confused and terrified.

"Don't be scared cutie!" It assured and pinched Changmin's cheeks.

"Bambi!" Changmin called in panic.

The creature seemed to not notice earlier that Changmin had been with a little deer. When it saw the young fowl glaring a few feet away, it hurriedly ran to its side, with Changmin still trapped in its big arm.

"You're such a cutie too!" It said and grabbed Bambi with its free arm.

"Let us go!!" Changmin struggled to be released but the rock creature simply kept still. It seemed unaffected by Changmin's tiny movements. Changmin was only seven and lacked the strength.

"Do you two have anywhere else to stay? Are you guys alone?" It asked with concern but still with a friendly smile.

Changmin calmed down but eyed the creature wearily. "It's only me and Bambi. We don't have family." Changmin turned his eyes to the snowy ground of the forest, his tone sounding a bit sad.

"Then welcome to the family!" It said and again squeezed the two against its rocky chest.

~~~

As the sleigh came to a halt, Jaejoong and his parents hopped off. They were in the middle of the forest clearing and Yunho's body was slowly becoming colder.

His mother with Yunho in her arms began to walk toward the center of the large group of greyish blue rocks.

"Oh please help us. My youngest son has been hit by ice sorcery in the head. Oh please." His father pleading with sorrow and slowly knelt to the ground.

It took a while but slowly the rocks began to move and the shape of stubby trolls emerged. Out of the crowd of trolls, a particularly old one stood out and made its way past the others to reach Jaejoong and his family.

"I can help you because thankfully, it was a head injury. However, if it was the heart then I’m afraid there would be nothing I could do." The elder said as he swirled his finger in the air and placed the other on top of Yunho's forehead.

"Oh thank you grandfather." Jaejoong's parents said in union. Jaejoong watched with sad eyes, still feeling terrible about inflicting pain on his own baby brother who he swore to protect.

"There will be consequences though. Your child will not remember the powers that caused him harm."

"Yunho won’t remember my powers?" Jaejoong questioned incredulously.

"No my boy he will not. I will have to remove the magic from this child’s memory but the fun shall remain.”

Jaejoong watched as the memories of him and Yunho played palm of the troll’s hand. Each memory of him using his sorcery to bring Yunho happiness was slowly disappearing.

The first time Yunho saw Jaejoong’s magic in the crib to stop him from crying altered into Jaejoong singing him a lullaby instead.

The first time Yunho played in the snow with him and Jaejoong had created a bigger hill for them to sleigh on was replaced with just the two sleighing on a regular hill.

Jaejoong’s eyes watered again when he saw how the memory of building Popo the elephant in the main room all those years was changed into the two of them building Popo in the back yard like any normal siblings would do.

Once the many memories were altered, the elder troll removed his palm from Yunho’s forehead and replaced it with the one that held the new memories.

“The little one should be fine now.” The troll said as he finished converting the memories.

A small smile came across the now warming Yunho. Now it was as if Yunho had been in a deep slumber the entire time.

“Thank you, oh thank you.” Jaejoong’s parents smiled great fully at the group of trolls.

“Ah, yes. Anything for our generous king. However, I must warn you, as beautiful as this ice sorcery is; it will bring upon great danger to those all around if not controlled. You must promise to not allow people to be near this magic unless it is controlled.”

Jaejoong immediately tensed and gripped his father’s hand tighter.

“I understand. From tomorrow on, I shall close the castle gates to everyone and Jaejoong shall not have any contact with anyone until his powers are controllable.”

~~~~~

After the incident with Yunho, Jaejoong was never able to control his powers the same. True to his words, his father had locked up the castle and isolated the siblings from the village people.

Though his parents repeatedly told him that the accident was not his fault, Jaejoong was terrified. Everything he'd touch would freeze instantly. His powers were growing stronger day by day and soon he began to lock himself inside of his bedroom; too afraid of harming anyone.
 

This was the beginning of a very happy but tragic tale.