So this is another new story :) fantasy, which I love. See, ages ago I had an idea to write a Tangled based kames fic because it's one of my favourite Disney movies. At least in the princess ones :P later on I had an idea for a modern type Tangled fic with no magic? It made sense, honestly. But then I watched Frozen and my mind started to wander...now I have this concoction :) I hope you guys like it.
In the town of Sherwood, Minnesota, there were many regular, middle class families living in houses with one bathroom and taking the bus to school. Or walking, though in the winter that wasn't a pleasant experience. There were also many rich families, fenced off in fancy housing estates. They all lived in harmony; their children went to the same schools, they shopped at the same stores. One of these families, the Knights, were actually quite an old bloodline, and there was an old story that much of the town knew, but didn't really believe. Why would they?
Over the centuries, there had been a few sets of Knight twins. They had been mostly girls, and so for many of them, the Knight name ended. There were many mixed sets. Some sets were boys, all identical. Not a single fraternal set or at least, that was that old family records said. Not that Jennifer Knight or her husband Will really cared about that. They didn't know why this legend had even come to be, but apparently, the first fraternal set of boys would be blessed with powers the moment they were born, simply because it had never happened before. Perhaps the first set of every kind of twins had been given similar gifts, but there was no record of it.
Well, Jennifer did have fraternal twin boys, as it turned out. They had similar dark hair, but their faces were quite different. And when Jennifer woke up the following morning, the first born's crib was covered in frost, and the second born had glowing golden skin. Like many would naturally react, she screamed and a nurse came running in. Will was called to the hospital to see the phenomenon for himself. The Knights tried to keep it quiet, but the news spread like wildfire.
Many people were fascinated by the kind of powers the boys had; they did research on the Knight legend to try and solve the puzzle for themselves. And Jennifer and Will just focused on raising their two beautiful, albeit slightly strange, baby boys. However, a man from out of town, Arthur Griffin and his wife Celia, did much more excessive research, and after months they discovered the true origin of the twin's powers; the sun and and the snow. It was the powers of the sun that truly fascinated them; it was understandable, given that these powers caused people to heal, and to stay young and healthy for as long as they had access to the power. It was limitless; all that was required to use it was an old song, about a flower, which in the story, was believed to have originated from the power of the sun itself. It took Arthur and Celia a very short time to learn this song off by heart. And then they put their plan into motion.
Arthur Griffin was a powerful man, with many people he could control and manipulate with both money and intimidation. And so he paid two kidnappers to break into the Knights' house and kidnap the baby. However, the man they hired, as he approached the two cribs side by side, had no idea which baby had the right power, and he couldn't afford to just guess. So he settled on taking them both. When he delivered them to Arthur and Celia, at first they were furious. But then they realised that ice powers, while not quite as useful, could come in handy some day. Perhaps starting a storm that wouldn't end until people obeyed their commands. Anything like that. So they took the children, and they hid away for a while.
The twin boys were six months old when they were taken, and Jennifer and Will were heartbroken. They put all their efforts into trying to find their children, but there was no sign of them. Eventually, there was a tip off, clues that the twins had been spotted out of state. Arthur had given them that little tip. He and Celia moved into one of the elite housing estates of Sherwood, hidden in plain sight. By now the twins were over a year old, and one of them had lighter hair than he did before. It was quite a handy coverup; these twins were christened Kendall and Logan Griffin, Kendall the blond and Logan the brunet. Logan had the powers of the sun, and as soon as he began to learn how to speak, they taught him the healing song.
Meanwhile, Jennifer and Will never lost hope of finding their sons. In a last desperate attempt to bring it to people's attention, they released a television interview, talking about their children and the powers they possessed, so that they would be recognisable. They followed it up by starting the Knight Foundation; a charity dedicated to funding searches for missing children, and donating to the families affected. It ensured that their own children' names and stories were not forgotten, and they could help other people in their situation along the way. Every year, on the twins' birthday on the 14th of September, they had a charity event in the centre of town, and in the evening, released a small group of lanterns into the sky. They started off with just two; and a year after that they added another. They continued to add on, for each year their children were missing. They hoped that some day, by some miracle, their sons would be returned to them.
"Kendall! Kendall, wake up!"
Kendall groaned, swatting in the direction the whispers were coming from. He could feel his bed dip as his brother jumped up onto it, bouncing up and down before throwing his little body on top of his. "Go to sleep, Logie," the seven year old grumbled, trying to pull his blanket over his head.
Logan giggled, yanking his twin's blanket away and revealing his messy head of blond hair. "I can't sleep!" Logan whispered urgently, rolling around on top of him and prodding his sides. "Look out the window, the sky is waking up, we have to play!"
"Why can't we play later," Kendall whined, rubbing his eyes. "I'm not awake."
"But Mom and Dad are sleeping so we can play by ourselves and do whatever we want!" Logan beamed with excitement, then scowled when he saw Kendall's eyes closing again. "Kendall!" he huffed, bouncing on his stomach and making him huff. "Come on!"
Kendall squirmed away, yawning and curling his hands up over his face. Logan sighed and scowled. Getting off the bed, he was about to consider going off and playing by himself. But then he smirked, coming up with a solution and turning around. "Kendallllll," Logan sang, grinning and poking his cheek. "Do you wanna build a snowman?"
Kendall's eyes opened instantly, and he grinned back.
The two put on their slippers and pulled jumpers on over their pyjamas, running out of Kendall's room and down the stairs. They stopped in the large hallway and looked around, trying to decide which way to go. "How about the kitchen?" Logan whispered between giggles. "There's no carpet there."
"That's good," Kendall replied thoughtfully. "But what about the big party room? There's more space."
Logan agreed and the two ran off towards the drawing room. It was a gigantic room with French doors at the back that led out to the garden. Logan shut the door, squealing with laughter as at last, they were alone. "Come on Kendall!" he whined, running over. "Hurry up! Make snow!"
"I wish you could make snow too," Kendall sighed, twirling his fingers around and watching the blue white sparks flicker and swirl around them. He waved his hand across the floor, creating an even blanket of snow. "You've just got doctor powers."
"I can be a big light too," Logan argued, skin beginning to glow and turn warm on point as he started to hum his song. "See?!"
"You'll melt the snow," Kendall told him, giving him a comforting little pat on the shoulder. "But that's cool, Logie."
Logan smiled sweetly, cheeks flushed. "Thanks. So's yours."
Kendall grinned, laughing and throwing his arms in the air, creating large piles of snow around the room, little snowflakes beginning to fall from the ceiling. "I am the Snow Queen!" he chanted, squealing with laughter when Logan flung a snowball at him and he toppled backwards onto the snow. "I'll get you!" he yelled, creating his own snowballs and throwing them at a much greater speed, simply conjuring them up and flinging them in the same second.
"You're cheating!" Logan laughed, hiding behind a chair. "Play fair!"
"Melt them!" Kendall retorted, throwing one more before turning and getting distracted. "Wait, let's build a snowman!"
Logan cheered, running back out and falling to his knees in the middle of the snow, beginning to roll some up into a big ball. Kendall did the same, deciding to do it by hand so it would be fair to his brother. Logan made the body, and together they heaved the second ball on top. "I think it should be a tall snowman," Kendall said thoughtfully, folding his arms and looking up at it. "What do you think?"
"We can't reach that high," Logan sighed. "But it would be nice."
"I'll take care of it!" Kendall said with a wink, giving his wrist a little flick and creating a perfect head on top of the snowman's body. "There, perfect."
"It looks great!" Logan squealed, hugging Kendall close. "Let's give him a name! What about Olaf?"
"No," Kendall scoffed, patting at the snowman's body, modifying the edges of the balls together to make a body shape. "That's silly. Will I give him a face?"
"We haven,t got any carrots," Logan reminded him. "Or coal."
"That's true." Kendall sighed. "We can just pretend he has a face. And . . . and wings!"
"Like a snow fairy." Logan hugged the snowman, beaming. "I like him." He jumped away suddenly and fell back in the snow, waving his legs and arms and making a snow angel, laughing. Kendall lay beside him and did the same, sighing happily. "I wanna jump on snow piles," Logan announced, sitting up and shaking the snow out of his hair. "Will you help me? Make the piles!"
"I never get to do the jumping," Kendall whined, standing up. "But yeah, get up!"
"If I could make them I would," Logan giggled, squealing in delight as Kendall created a snow hill underneath his feet, lifting him high in the air. "I'm jumping!" he shrieked, much too loudly. They had probably woken their parents up. Logan leaped and Kendall struck the ground where he was going to land, creating more hills. Logan kept jumping, laughing. "Watch me!" he said, jumping and jumping again.
Kendall tried to keep up with him but it was starting to become a little difficult. "Slow down!" he huffed, conjuring another one and another, but Logan was already in the air again. "Wait!" Then suddenly he slipped, falling backwards and tried to send another out for Logan to land on. But he struck the boy right in the temple and he dropped down onto the floor. "Logan!" he screamed, crawling over to his brother and shaking him. "Logie," he sniffled, hefting the boy onto his lap and hugging him close. The snow was becoming heavier above their heads. "I'm sorry," he wailed, cradling him close just as the drawing room door burst open, and their parents ran in.
"Kendall, what have you been doing?!" his mother demanded as they sprinted over, his father taking Logan from his arms, looking terrified out of his wits.
"We were playing," Kendall cried, trying to reach out and hug her for comfort. "It was an accident, I-I'm sorry."
She turned away and sat with her husband as the two of them cradled Logan in their arms. "Oh god, Arthur," she groaned. "Is he alive? Please tell me he's alive."
"He is," Arthur replied grimly. "But he's so cold, I don't know if his power will . . ." Suddenly, Logan's skin began to glow golden like the sun, and his skin warmed up. "He's healing himself," he exclaimed in relief. "We're saved!"
"L-Logie?" Kendall said timidly, tears still falling as he shakily reached out to touch his brother. Arthur pulled him away, scowling down at him.
"You've done enough already," he said coldly. "And stop snivelling, he's waking up."
Logan blinked a few times and sat up, rubbing his head. "Ow . . ." He looked around and gasped, eyes widening. "Oh wow, look at all the snow! How did it get here?!"
Arthur and Celia looked at each other, frowning in puzzlement. "You don't know?" Celia inquired gently. "You don't remember?"
Logan shook his head, looking confused.
"Okay, um . . . answer me this. What does this song mean to you?" She began to sing Logan's healing song, but as she neared the end she realised that Logan didn't recognise it at all.
"It's nice," he said sweetly. "Is it a lullaby?"
Kendall didn't know what to do or say. He opened his mouth but Celia shushed hi, harsly, before turning and saying, "Yes, it's one your dad and I made up. Whenever someone is hurt, and they need to be healed, or they need a bit of warmth and comfort, we sing that song. It works every time." She then picked Logan up in her arms and started towards the door. "Come on sweetie, let's go to bed, okay? You need some rest. We'll sing the lullaby before you go to sleep, so you can learn the words again."
"Okay, Mommy," Logan said tiredly, snuggling into her arms and shutting his eyes.
"Logie," Kendall called softly, trying to go after them. But Arthur yanked him harshly back. "Daddy, why did you lie?" he asked timidly.
"He doesn't remember that either of you have powers," Arhurt said quickly, gripping Kendall's shoulders tightly and staring him dead in the eyes. "Listen to me, Kendall. It's safer that he doesn't remember, so that nothing like this can happen again. You almost killed him, don't you see that? Do you want that to happen again?"
"No," Kendall whimpered and shook his head, tears dripping off his chin.
"Good, then you understand that your powers are dangerous, don't you? You clearly need help controlling them."
"I didn't mean to hurt Logie . . ."
"We have to make sure you never hurt him or anyone else again, got it? We'll have to make some changes around here to make sure of that. Don't worry, we'll take care of you. We'll make sure you don't lose control."
Kendall nodded, drying his eyes and letting his father bring him back to bed.
Arthur and Celia decided to take drastic measures to make sure that a) Kendall couldn't harm Logan, b) Kendall couldn't harm anybody else, and that he wouldn't snow any outsider his powers, and c) that Logan wouldn't find out about either of their powers. It turned out it worked very well with Logan; he fell for that lullaby lie easily, and he did sing it when people needed a hand. Nobody suspected a thing. They stopped inviting people over, however, especially those with children, and Logan began to grow lonely. Kendall stayed in his room, and they brought him his meals and sat with him at times to talk, and to try and teach him how to control his powers. His scare with Logan seemed to have permanently affected him.
After some deliberation, the two hired Kelly Wainwright as a housekeeper, and let her in on the secret. They kept Logan's powers to themselves, but they did tell her of the accident, and Kendall's difficulty with control. At first she didn't believe them, but when they let her into Kendall's bedroom and saw the weeping boy surrounded by frosty pillows, she had to accept it. She spent more time with Kendall than they did, and taught him through comfort rather than fear. It didn't do a whole lot better, but it did make him happier.
Winter soon approached, and Logan happily came home from elementary school with snowflakes falling onto his cheeks. He ran upstairs immediately, throwing his backpack aside and running to Kendall's bedroom door. "Kendall?" he chirped, knocking on the door; two fast raps, then three fast ones. "It's snowing! Do you wanna build a snowman?" He had memories of such events with Kendall, but to him they were nothing out of the ordinary. "Come on, let's go and play!"
Kendall stood on the other side of the door, tiptoeing closer to it and pressing his ear against the wood. He wanted nothing more than to join him. He bit his lip and listened carefully.
"Come on, Kenny," Logan pouted, leaning against the door and knocking again. "I never see you anymore, we used to play all the time! Maybe we can make snow angels instead? Or a fairy? Or snowballs? Or—"
"Go away," Kendall cut in before he could stop himself, eyes watering.
Logan's jaw dropped and he stepped back from the door, sighing sadly. "Okay, I'll play by myself . . . bye." He slumped down the hallway, bumping into Kelly on the way. "Sorry, Logan," she said kindly, carrying a tray. "I'm just bringing Kendall his lunch. Go down to the kitchen and I'll give you yours. Then you can play in the garden."
"Okay," Logan said sadly, going down the hallway and downstairs.
Kelly walked along to Kendall's room and knocked a little awkwardly with her elbow. "Kendall, sweetie, it's me," she called.
Kendall unlocked the door and opened it, and she walked inside. She placed his tray down on the table, turning to shut the door and frowning when she saw a large icy patch over it, with little pieces of frost scattering the floor. "Logie wanted me to play outside with him," he said, walking to her and hugging her around the waist, trying to hold the tears in. His dad always told him not to cry, not to show what he felt. It made his powers go haywire.
"I'm sorry sweetie," Kelly sighed, sitting him on her lap and brushing the ice off her skirt. "I know it's hard. But these are your parents' orders. They know best."
"I love you, Kelly," Kendall said softly, snuggling into her shoulder. "You're so nice."
"I love you too, honey," she said sweetly, not wanting to admit that her emotions were getting the better of her. "I brought you something." She reached into her pocket and took out a pair of little blue gloves. "These should help, since your hands will be covered. It'll be easier to control it."
"Thank you," Kendall beamed, putting the gloves on his little hands.
"I have to get Logan his lunch," she said apologetically, sitting him down on the chair. "Enjoy your food, and if you want more just ask me when I come back, I don't mind. And remember what your mom said, okay? Conceal it . . .?"
Kendall sighed, clenching and unclenching his gloved hands. "And don't feel it . . . don't feel anything."
"That's right," Kelly said, nodding and trying to smile encouragingly. Why such a cruel lesson was being taught to such a small child, she would never understand. She could just offer him any comfort possible. "I'll be back soon." She kissed his forehead and went to serve Logan's lunch to him. Arthur and Celia called in to see Kendall later on, and were happy with the idea Kelly had come up with. But they still wouldn't let him leave his room. He understood it was probably better that way. Logan was safe when he stayed on the other side of the door.
And summers and winters passed. Lanterns rose and snow fell.
Logan bounded up to the door, knocking cheerily and hoping his brother was awake. "Kendall!" the eleven year old shouted. "Get up, it's Saturday! And it's snowing again! And the pond down the street is frozen over, people are skating on it. Do you wanna come? We can build snowmen too!"
Kendall sat up on his bed, looking out the window and seeing the snow falling outside. His breath caught in his throat. Skating? He'd never been skating . . . but he held his tongue.
"Come on, Kendall," Logan pleaded, leaning back against the wall, watching the door. "We never see each other anymore. It's so lonely around here now, this house has a lot of empty rooms since Mom and Dad stopped having people over . . ." He sighed. "The hours are passing so slowly. Please?" He was met with no answer. "He sighed. Fine. Doesn't matter. I've made new friends in middle school, I'll meet them there instead. Bye." He walked off down the hallway to his own room to put on his jacket and fetch his ice skates. When he'd been given a decent amount of money to go buy a pair with Kelly, he'd bought a pair for Kendall too. But they'd never been used and they were just arranged neatly by his own worn pair. He left the house, calling goodbye to Kelly and his parents.
Not long after, Arthur and Celia went to check on Kendall. The child was lying curled up on his bed, hands clenching the blanket, chest heaving. The room was covered with a thin layer of snow. It was already melting, but the blanket around Kendall's fingers was frozen. "Mom, Dad," he croaked, crying. "It's getting stronger . . . I'm so scared . . . Logan—"
"Look, don't freak out," Arthur said impatiently, moving to close the curtains and block anyone's view from the outside world. "Getting upset will only make it worse. Don't feel it!"
"I'm trying," he roared at them. "Can't you see that I'm trying?!"
Celia sighed, taking Arthur by the arm and retreating to the door. "We'll get Kelly."
Kelly walked in five minutes later, Arthur and Celia having returned to their own selfish pastimes. She took a step towards the trembling Kendall, who quickly held up his hand to stop her. "Stay away from me," he begged. "P-please Kelly, I don't want to hurt you . . ."
With tears in her eyes, Kelly stepped closer, ignoring his repeated pleas to stay back. She sat on the bed and pulled him into her arms. His hands were so cold they stung her, but she just let him tuck his head under her chin and sob into her shoulder. She rocked him gently and sang Logan's song in his ear. Eventually, his sobs calmed to quiet whimpers, and soon after they quietened to soft even breaths as he finally fell asleep. Kelly tucked him into bed and left the room, dusting the frost off her clothes.
Logan celebrated his sixteenth birthday with those friends from middle school; they were friends from high school now. He did end up letting it slip that he had a twin brother; his best friend Carlos made evil twins jokes for about five minutes, until he realised that Logan was sensitive on the subject. Logan told them Kendall was being homeschooled; he could only assume that he was. That's that his parents told him, anyway. And Kelly too. They left it at that, and so did he.
Kelly had a family a few miles away; she only visited them a few times a year and spent the rest of the time living with the Griffins. She said that her place was there with Logan and Kendall. Logan knew that it was mainly Kendall she stayed for, but it didn't always bother him. Kendall didn't seem to have anyone else. On the other hand, it was Kendall's own fault for staying in his room all the time.
It was Kelly's birthday in November; she shared a birthday with her mother, as it turned out. She was going to spend the weekend with her family. Logan tried to get Kendall to let him in while she was gone, but only their parents were allowed in. He wondered how Kendall could just stay in there all this time. He spent time with his friends instead.
On Kelly's journey back, she was involved in a crash with a truck driver at an intersection. She was killed instantly; she didn't suffer. Logan was kept awake all night after he heard the news; when he left his room to get a drink of water, he heard wailing coming from Kendall's room. He wanted to knock on the door, but he knew that now wasn't the time. Not that any time was the time, but especially not now . . .
Kelly's funeral was held the following Sunday. Logan and his parents travelled out there; Arthurt and Celia may not have viewed her in particularly high regard, but they knew that her help had been useful for them, so they attended. Logan began to cry silently halfway through the funeral. He was asked to say a brief few words and he did the best that he could. Kendall should've said the words, not him. Kelly had mentioned a second son to her family; they asked him where he was. He didn't know what to tell them.
The trip back to the house was silent. He left the car the second he could and walked up the stairs, taking off his black coat and letting out a shaky sigh. He glanced in the mirror he passed; his eyes were swollen and his cheeks were red from crying. He sighed and walked further down the hallway.
Then he stopped in front of the large white door. He hadn't wanted to believe Kendall wouldn't attend the funeral. He swallowed, raising his hand, and knocked three times. "Kendall?" When he was met with silence, he sighed and added, "Please, I know you're in there." He bit his lip, resting against the door. He tried to listen for any sounds on the other side. He heard a little scuffle, and realised with a jolt that Kendall had come closer to the door. He took a shaky breath and continued. "People were, um, they were asking about you today. Wondering where you've been." He paused. "Look . . . I know losing Kelly, it must be really hard for you. I'm here for you, okay? Just let me . . ." He heard a shaky sigh on the other side and smiled shakily, "J-just let me in." He wondered if today would be the day. He could hear Kendall moving, was he reaching to open the door?
"I mean, it's just you and me now," Logan added before he could stop himself. "So you might as well." Then he heard the unmistakable sound of a muffled sob. He felt a sudden chill through the door and looked around, looking out the window across the hall. Snow twirled around outside, gathering on the sill and painting the garden white. He turned back to the door. "It's snowing again . . ." He could see he was getting nowhere. He'd pushed too far again. He turned away from the door, leaning his back against it with a weak laugh. "Do you want to build a snowman?"
He received no answer. Eventually he sighed, straightening up and wiping the tears from his cheeks. "Okay . . . bye." He walked down the hallway towards his room, leaving the chill of the hallway behind.
Kendall knelt by the door of his room, pressing his cheek against it for that last bit of warmth from the outside. "Logan . . . " he sniffled. "Don't go. I'm sorry . . ." But Logan was gone. He hugged his knees, fists clenching as he eyed the gloves covering his white hands. He looked up at the frozen ceiling of his room. All around him, ice clung to the walls and floors and furniture, a few lonely snowflakes drifting down and landing on his face.
The cold was more numbing than he'd ever felt.