you all right?” the woman asked.
“No,” Elsa whispered, her eyes darting left and right as she backed up again. She bumped into the fountain with the family statue behind her and put out her hands to stop herself. Instantly, the water in the fountain froze. The geyser that was shooting high into the sky crystalized in midair, as if it were reaching out to grab her.
The villagers shrieked.
“There she is!” she heard the Duke shout from the castle steps. “Stop her!”
Elsa saw Hans and Lord Peterssen and hesitated. Hans was her safety net, but she couldn’t risk hurting him. She couldn’t risk hurting anyone. She thought about which way to run, but people were on all sides of her. Didn’t they realize? She couldn’t control what she was doing. She needed to be alone.
“Please, just stay away from me. Stay away!”
More snow shot straight from her hands and hit the castle steps, exploding with such force it froze them. The motion knocked the Duke off his feet again, sending his glasses flying. Elsa was breathing hard in shock.
The Duke sat up, reaching for his glasses. “Monster. Monster!” he shouted.
She wasn’t. She didn’t want to hurt a soul. She looked around for someone who understood her, but there was no one. Her people looked terrified. Even the kind woman now seemed to be shielding her baby from Elsa.
Sister.
Anna had once known that Elsa had the ability to do magic. Surely, Anna would be able to understand her again. Elsa had to find her at all costs.
Elsa started to run again and didn’t stop till she cleared the castle courtyard and reached the village.
“Elsa!” she heard Hans calling. “Elsa!”
But she kept running. She spotted the steps leading down to the water and descended them, running until there was nothing but water in front of her. There was nowhere left to go. She stepped back as she saw Hans approaching, and her foot landed in the water. Instantly, the water froze beneath her shoe. She looked down in wonder as tiny crystals of ice spread. The wind started to whip up and snow began to fall as she took another step. The ice spread again, forming a pathway for her escape. She took it.
“Wait, please!” Hans begged, running after her with Lord Peterssen on his trail. The snow was falling harder. “Elsa, stop!”
Elsa wouldn’t stop now. Finding her sister was more important than anything in the world. All thoughts of her coronation slipped away. Elsa took a deep breath and continued onto the ice, praying it wouldn’t crack beneath her feet. The ice held firm, spreading as she ran across it. Her cape billowing around her, Elsa felt resolve coursing through her veins as she took off across the fjord into the gathering darkness.
Suddenly, there was a rumbling beneath Kristoff and Anna’s feet. A flock of birds shot by overhead. Sven started snorting and shuffling as a family of squirrels scurried past them across the street. Anna heard someone shriek and saw an elk run past. Sven tore off.
“Sven!” Kristoff shouted.
Anna and Kristoff chased Sven into the village square. People had started coming out of their homes and shops to see what was going on. Birds and animals began streaming out of the woods in every direction.
“What’s happening?” Anna asked as the rumbling grew louder.
The sun vanished behind the clouds, and a cold wind whipped through the trees, causing them to sway.
“Look!” someone shouted, pointing down the mountain.
It was one of the finest summer days Anna could remember, but the fjord somehow appeared to be freezing over. A blue glow hovered above the water as it froze, knocking the boats in the harbor sideways. Suddenly, the freeze began to trickle up the mountainside, heading right toward them.
“Ice,” Kristoff whispered.
Anna didn’t understand what was happening, but she knew they had to get out of the way of whatever was coming. “We need to warn the others. Quickly!” Anna yelled. “Sven!”
Sven ran straight toward her. Anna jumped onto his back.
“Hey! Wait for me!” Kristoff ran after them. “Go, Sven! Through the village!”
“Take cover!” Anna shouted as the blue glow grew closer, ice trailing along right behind it, threatening to overtake them. “Everyone get inside!” Kristoff finally caught up with them and jumped onto Sven’s back behind Anna.
People began running as the wind whipped up. The temperature plummeted and the sky became completely gray. Suddenly, there was a whooshing sound. Sven stopped short, throwing Kristoff and Anna off him as the blue haze washed over them