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Male! Elsa x Reader: VERSUS

Fire and ice: ancient and bitter enemies. Extremities defined: both became the cause of discomfort and even hate to the human race when in overabundance. It just so happened that you had a gift that allowed you to control the fiery half of the spectrum. And at the same time, your opposite counterpart, a man by the name of Elias, controlled the freezing portion.

“Time to say hello to your rival, [Y/n],” you muttered to yourself.

The road to Arendelle had been a very long one, considering you had to walk across three other countries to get there – and all but one of them had basically run you off to their borders once they found out about your talent. Well, it flip-flopped between a blessing and a curse, most days. And the grander majority of those who knew of it called it a curse when you accidentally set things on fire, so… Mostly a curse.

To keep your hands busy, you snapped your fingers to light a spark, tossing it lightly, like a ball, between your hands as you walked closer to the city's outer limits. It was a nervous habit you had acquired as a child, and it was one your mother had tried to break… You shook your head and extinguished the spark with a sigh before any of the people you approached could see it and run you off. After all of this effort, there was no way you were going to get run off now. Not after getting so close.

You could almost feel that crisp scent of the King's winter magic in your bones. It was so unlike your own: ice magic was, of course, colder and more starkly rigid. Compared to the breezy, whimsical nature of your power, ice was stone-like and frigid. You could taste the King's touch, his power, in the air and all around the city. All unbidden, a smile pulled at your lips.

It was easy to ask the townspeople for directions to the palace. So long as you carried yourself pleasantly and kept an innocent demeanor, they retained whatever suspicions they had to themselves. Rather refreshing, really, after all the trouble you went through to get there. And that moment when you laid eyes on the castle was something to be remembered! A shiver ran up your spine, like you hadn't felt in ages, and it only sent your senses ablaze. Cold didn't bother you so much anymore because you were always warm, and the heat didn't phase you, either. The summer sun may have been beating upon the backs of the people of Arendelle, but it greeted you like an old friend. But this – this was something far better.

A brief breath, to settle your excitement, and you continued on towards the castle.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Nodding to the baker on his way past, the King of Arendelle smiled and waved to the people. Eager children raced each other, half-bowing to their King as they ran, in their excitement. And as he walked, the blonde man took note of a particular stranger. Sure, traders were due to the city for the duration of the warm season, but such a cloak? He'd never seen the like of it before. It hid the face of the wearer as much as wearing a mask might have. Granted, he could understand that the ice rink would cool off the city quickly, and the suddenness of the change might overwhelm the newest of traders, but it wasn't cooled yet. Surely the heat must be suffocating… He wouldn't really know, though. His ice powers kept him naturally cool at all times. Brushing off the odd appearance of the stranger for now, he continued on his way.

At the behest of his people, King Elias stood in town-square, preparing himself to cast the spell to give his citizens their beloved summer ice rink. Their cheers and calls for relief from the summer heat brought a satisfied smirk to his lips. After all that time of hiding his powers and hating them, it was nice to be needed. No longer fearful in the least, Elias began forming a ball of shimmering blue energy, his sense of pride growing as he noted the cheers emanating from the children from the corners of his eyes. With a flick of his wrist, the energy-mass launched high into the air, powdering the air with gentle snow and slicking the road with ice. Gleeful cries rent the air pleasantly, and the people of Arendelle – young and old, male and female, of all shapes and sizes and colors – took to playing in the faux winter.

Then, someone sneezed. A harmless little sneeze, rather reminiscent of a kitten…

And the ice at the edges began to melt.

Elias' merry countenance faded at the rim. Sure, the heat was strong that day, but to melt his ice so quickly? Just as a frown introduced itself to his visage, Elias, thinking only to keep the fun going, sent small, wispy tendrils of blue energy to the melting parts, refreezing them carefully to avoid creating a super slick portion of the rink that would endanger the safety of the those who stumbled upon them. But even that couldn't stop the on-rushing flood of watery death.

“Oh, no,” he heard a feminine voice, so very close to himself, mutter under her breath. “Stop, stop!”

But it wouldn't stop. The puddle continued to grow in size, engulfing the edges entirely of the rink. In a blazing panic, he tried to refreeze the melting ice, but succeeded in only fighting it back to the walls. “Keep away from the edges!” he called to the people.

Something in his expression, pained and worried as it was, caused some of the skaters to pause and ponder, and others to continue what they did with only a little more caution than before.

Elias' younger brother skated to the King's side, his sweet face furrowed in confusion. “What's up, Elias? Is something wrong?” he questioned sincerely. “Are you feeling alright?”

The ice King was looking a little sick, though with worry rather than a physical ailment. But he hesitated. He may have overcome the inhibition to share his feelings in a constructive way, but the need to protect his little brother, to keep the young man from unnecessary worry, was still there. It was instinct to protect his little brother. “… I'm fine. Probably just been out in the sun without a glass for water to refresh me, for too long,” Elias replied, a weak smile tugging at his pale lips.

Aaron's brows furrowed in concern, but he nodded anyhow. He might not entirely believe his brother's reassurances, but he was willing to let Elias come to him on his own terms. After all, after the whole mess a few years back with unleashing an emotional ice storm, Elias had willingly opened up more to his brother. Aaron could wait until Elias was ready. He had learned that being patient with his older brother did wonders for the both of them.

As Aaron skated off to join his girlfriend-now-fiancée, Krissta, King Elias took note of the shady figure wrapped in that dark cloak scurrying away from the rink. And as soon as the stranger was gone from the square, the ice became controllable once more, no longer unstable from the sudden heat. With a humid breath of relief, Elias stabilized the ice and redacted his earlier warning to the people, all of whom took it in stride without much more than a bat of an eyelash.

It wasn't until late afternoon that the young King finally called in his people from the rink and returned the square to its original state. Keeping up the magic for so long over an area so large in the heat was difficult at best, and when considering the outer influence of the stranger – as Elias had surmised has somehow happened – fighting against him, he was absolutely exhausted. And besides that, he knew he couldn't stall from his duties for much longer. There was too much he was responsible for, as King of Arendelle.

With a sigh, Elias bid his people a good evening and retreated back into the castle to attend to matters of the kingdom until sunset. There, he had a brief hour of complete isolation set aside either before or after dinner meal (whichever he could sneak in more easily) to sort out his thoughts and decompress from the stress of being king. That day, he chose to unwind in the garden, enjoying the bright, fiery colors of the sunset from a cool bench tucked away beneath a sycamore tree.

A rustling sound in a nearby bush, however, alerted the young King of another's presence. Immediately on guard – knowing that no one could enter the garden unless they either scaled the tall walls (which was unlikely because they'd be spotted far too quickly) or went through one of the guarded entryways, the guards of whom would turn away any and all who sought entry unless it was an emergency – Elias got to his feet to watch with eyes wide as dinner plates.

But who should stumble out of the bushes, but you! The same shrouded figure that he'd seen in the market before the sneeze and losing control of the ice…

“Stupid squirrel,” you muttered in a huff. You brushed small bits of debris from your clothes and hair angrily before straightening and glancing up at the startled King of Arendelle.

“Who are you?” he demanded immediately.

With a low, flourishing bow, sweeping your hood off your head on the way back up, you gave the King a roguish grin. Simpering softly, you announced your name with a smirk. “And I, my fine, young Ice King, am your rival.” Snapping once, you lifted your dominant hand up to chin level, a walnut-sized ball of red, yellow, and orange swirling innocently just above your palm. “Let the games begin.”

THE END... (?)