mother cried harder. Papa put his arm around Anna. “When she turns twenty-one, she will take her place at the throne. But for now…”
“That poor girl,” Anna whispered. She imagined her all alone in that big castle. She rubbed her chest. She couldn’t get warm. “I can’t believe the princess lost her parents.”
There was silence in the room. Finally, Papa spoke. “Tomally, we must tell her,” he said.
Anna looked from her mother to her father. “Tell me what?”
“Yes,” her mother agreed, and reached for Anna’s hands. “There is something you don’t know.” She sighed heavily. “Anna Bear, the queen had several ladies of the court with her on the ship. One of those ladies was Freya.” Ma burst into tears again, and Papa put his arm around her shoulders.
“Freya? No! Freya?” Anna immediately started to cry. “Are you sure? What about her family? Were they with her?”
Ma looked at Papa. “Her husband would be lost as well, but Freya told us their daughter was staying home.”
“Should we send for her? Does she have other family?” Anna whispered, her grief overwhelming her. “Will she be all right?”
“She will be fine,” Ma said, but she couldn’t stop crying.
“Papa, this can’t be true, can it? Are you sure Freya was on that ship?” Anna asked.
Her father hesitated. “Yes.” His jaw shook. “This was the trip Freya spoke of on her last visit. She didn’t like to boast, but she traveled with the king and queen.” His eyes filled with tears. “Our dear friend is gone.”
Yes, Anna was sad the king and queen had perished, but Freya was family. Anna felt weak in the knees. Her father reached out with his free arm to steady her. She sank to the floor, reaching for her mother to comfort her. “Not Freya. No!” She buried her head in her mother’s chest.
Her mother stroked her hair. “Anna Bear, I’m so sorry. So terribly sorry,” she choked out. She pulled her daughter away from her so she could look her in the eyes. “There’s something else you should know, too.”
“Tomally!” Papa’s voice was sharp. “You made a vow. You cannot break it now.”
Anna winced. She’d never heard her father raise his voice to her mother before.
“I have to, Johan! She deserves to know the truth! If not now, when?”
“It’s not your truth to tell!” he argued.
What truth? “I’m fifteen. If there is more, I want to hear it.”
Ma smiled sadly. “Nothing, darling. I’m sorry. I’m just terribly upset. Freya was my oldest and dearest friend.”
Anna reached for her mother again, and they clung to each other. Papa put an arm around each of them.
They were grieving; it made sense their emotions were high. She could feel the tears coming harder now. Freya wasn’t coming back. Their king and queen were gone. The walls seemed like they were closing in, but Anna refused to let them.
Her eyes searched for a comforting sight. Over her mother’s shoulder, she found the living room window. The image was hard to see with her eyes filled with tears, but Anna knew it was there. If she peered out between two rows of houses and looked toward the bottom of the mountain, Arendelle was still there, calling for her. She couldn’t help wondering what was happening inside the castle walls at that very moment. Who was comforting Princess Elsa?
Anna clung tighter to her parents. More than anything, Anna hoped Elsa wasn’t alone.
Elsa stared up at the ice-covered ceiling while snow fell around her.
It had been three days since she had learned her parents’ ship was lost at sea. She hadn’t left her room. She didn’t sleep in her bed. She hardly touched the food left outside her door. She refused to see anyone, including Lord Peterssen, who was the closest thing she had left to family. All she wanted was to be left alone.
Snowflakes fell onto her nose and cheeks as she stared at the icicles hanging from the ceiling. Icicles she had somehow created.
How ironic that she had been given these strange powers at the exact moment she no longer had anyone to share them with.
She lifted her hand, fingers trembling, and felt the ice slipping loose again. The ice formed a frosty path across the ceiling. Elsa still wasn’t sure how it worked, but at least she could sense when it was about to happen now. She would feel tingling in her fingers and her heart would speed up. She noticed it always happened when she was thinking about her parents. Did