Minseok keeps a hand over his heart, feeling it pound under his palm. “W-who are you?” He gasps, trying to regulate his breathing. “Did you follow me?”

  “Follow you?” The person standing in front of him looks mock-offended, and Minseok is confused. “This is my mountain. You’re the one invading.”

  Minseok takes a long look at the man, much taller than him, skin almost white with a touch of pink on his cheeks, hair a bright blond and styled off his forehead. Never before had Minseok seen the man, but the mans presence feels so familiar, so comfortable that Minseok is sure they’ve had to spoken at least once.

  “What do you mean, your mountain?” He asks, finding his heart beat going back to its original pace and his breathing returning to normal. “This is my kingdoms’ mountain.”

  The man rolls his eyes, spinning around to walk to the other side of Minseok’s ice castle. “So you’re the new king. I guess it makes sense why I was exiled here.”

  “W-wait, exiled?”

  “So, you didn’t know?” The man paces, trailing his hand on the wall, creating different patterns of frost on it as he goes. “Your parents –I’m assuming are the late king and queen, bless their hearts- back a good few years ago, exiled me here when they found out I had magic.” He shrugs at Minseok’s confused expression, he shrugs. He zaps a part of the frozen fountain in the middle of the room, adding his own branch that twists up higher than Minseok. Minseok wonders why it looks like a competition. “I don’t know. The King thought I had something to do with you being cursed-”

   “They said I was blessed?”

  The man fixes him with a blank stare. “Does it really feel like a blessing?”

  Minseok’s eyebrows furrow. No, it’s never felt like a blessing. Minseok always thought having these powers was the worst thing in life. They kept him isolated, away from his brothers, his parents, his kingdom. They drew him away from his kingdom, forced him into more isolation. He shakes his head. “Okay, no, but-”

  “But what?” The man shrugs. “We were both cursed. The only difference was that I was thrown out of my home, and you were protected.”

  “I –excuse me, I don’t know your name- I’m so sorry,” Minseok apologizes, even if he doesn’t know. He doesn’t know anything. He thought he was the only one like… him. And now, to find out there’s another, someone who was treated badly because of the same power he had... It wasn’t fair. “I know I can’t make it better, but, I’m sorry.”

  “I’m Sehun,” the man tells him, walking to the other side of the castle. He trails his hand on the wall as he walks, snowflakes creating patterns going up the ice, disappearing onto the ceiling. “I hope you don’t mind me adding my own touches to your castle.”

  “N-not at all,” Minseok answers, repeating the name over in his head. “You’re probably better at decorating than I am.”

  Sehun said nothing and continued going around the first floor of the castle, ice and snow zapping out of the tips of his fingers. Minseok has never had control like that. Sehun looks like he manages it easily, like he enjoys it. The ice and snow is all clear and perfectly sculpted. Minseok is jealous.

  “Can you…” Minseok trails off, changing his mind. “What else about my parents? What did they say to you?”

  The blond sighs, turning to face him. “Your Highness-”

  “Minseok.”

  “Minseok,” Sehun continues, “This is a long, long story, and I don’t know how long you will be staying here. I’m not sure that you’ll have the time.”

  This time, Minseok rolls his eyes. He waves his hand around the air, searching for words. “I’m not exactly planning to go back to the kingdom soon.”

  Sehun studies him, and Minseok can’t tell what he’s thinking. Finally, he nods, flicks his wrist, and two chair appear around a table near the fountain. “Then let’s talk.” He takes a seat first and gestures for Minseok to do the same. He studies him for a moment before speaking, “How old do you think I am?”

  Minseok guesses, “Uh, 22?”

  “I’m 19.”

  “W-wait, what?”

  “I was exiled here when I was 14,” Sehun tells him, leaning back in his ice seat, closing his eyes. “I was at home when it happened. Your father, and his guards, they just came in and demanded they take me away. My parents were against it.” He opens his eyes and stares straight at Minseok. “But your father was the King. He can do anything,” he narrows his eyes, and Minseok fidgets in his seat. “So your father had my parents thrown in the basement of the palace prison. He said that they were criminals for having me cursed and they’d be there until ‘the end of their days.’ And me?” He shrugs now, “I was brought here, kicking and screaming. They left me with only a blanket and a bag of rice. I’ve been here since.”

  “You didn’t try to go back?” Minseok stands from his seat, fists shaking at his sides. Sehun shakes his head. “B-but you were a child! W-why?”

  Sehun shrugs, leaning forward in his chair and resting his elbows on his knees. “Because I was threatened,” he says it simply, like it’s no big deal, but Minseok is fuming. A sharp piece of ice shoots out his palms and wedges itself into the wall. “Easy there,” Sehun tells him. “Your father said that if I went back, they’d kill my parents. If I stayed here, they’d feed them well and let them bathe everyday, which is more than what they do for most prisoners. So, I stayed here.”

  “This can’t be true,” Minseok shakes his head, “Are you sure it was my father? It doesn’t sound like him at all.”

  “It was the King, I’m sure.”

  Minseok feels himself crumbling. He sits down on the floor, breathing heavily. “M-my father is not that kind of person… he-he cared about his-his people.”

  But now it makes sense.

  His father, the King, tried to help him, Minseok knows. But he didn’t, not really. His father did what he could to protect his Kingdom. He protected his sons, and isolated his eldest son without a thought. There was hardly ever word from his father save for when he checked up on him once a week. Minseok was never fine, but his father didn’t care, just told him how to manage his powers and he’ll be fine.

  Hurt the ones around you. That was a threat. Minseok can hear the coldness in his tone as he remembers him saying it.

  “You asked.”

  “I know,” Minseok nods, dropping his head. “I just can’t believe… My mother?”

  Sehun makes a snowball in his hand, then lets the snow fall between his fingers. “She was in the carriage when your father took my parents and me away. She sat by the entire time. Minseok, I hate your father. But I don’t believe your mother is a bad person.”

  Minseok can’t even remember what she looks like. There’s no memory for him to rely on to create her face in his mind. “We were not close.”

  “Why’d you ask about her?”

  “I wanted to know if I was the only one she isolated,” Minseok carves designs into the floor beneath him with an icicle, “I think she was more cruel to you than she was to me.”

  It’s quiet. Minseok hears the sound of his heartbeat, the wind blowing outside. He thinks if he listens closely enough, he can hear the sounds of his village, of horse hooves crunching on the snow.

  “You wanna build a snowman?” Sehun questions, standing and grinning down at him. He holds his hand out, and Minseok takes it, smiling.

  “My brothers used to ask me that all the time.”