The bolt hit the enormous snowflake chandelier. Elsa watched in horror as it shattered and fell toward her. She tried to dive out of the way but wasn’t quick enough. The crystals rained down on her, knocking her to the ground. By the time she got back up, she was face to face with Arendelle guards. Men who had dedicated their lives to protecting the crown were now holding swords aimed at their princess. Two larger men in red overcoats ran into the room behind them. Elsa recognized them immediately. They were the Duke of Weselton’s men.
“We’ve got her!” one shouted. “Come quietly if you don’t want to be hurt.”
How dare they threaten her? They had no authority in this kingdom. Elsa’s fingertips began to glow, and the two men raised their crossbows in unison.
“I’m not coming with you,” Elsa told them. “Just stay back!”
She heard the crossbows before she saw them coming for her. She put up her hands, creating a wall of ice as a shield. Their bolts pierced the frozen surface, and it started to crack. Elsa ran around the wall, trying to find a way out of the palace. She needed to find Hans and keep him from getting away, but the men kept coming. Elsa fired again and again, building icy barriers around her.
“Go around!” one of the Duke’s men shouted as he fought his way around daggers that sprung up from the floor. They came at her from opposite directions.
Elsa flung out her hands to protect herself. “I don’t want to hurt you! Stay back!”
“Fire!” One of the men threw his crossbow to the other one.
Elsa shot a steady stream of snow until it froze like an icicle, pinning one man to the wall and holding him there. With her other hand, she shot another stream across the room, creating a wall of ice that pushed the Duke’s other henchman into the next chamber, hiding him from her sight. Still, she kept pushing, thinking of Hans’s betrayal and her sister, who was unknowingly the prince’s target.
Her own guards ran into the room again.
“Princess Elsa!” one cried. “Don’t be the monster they fear you are!”
At the word monster, she dropped her arms in defeat. One of the Duke’s men took advantage of her hesitation and fired his crossbow again in her direction.
Angry, Elsa swirled her arms, and the walls around her crackled as new ice formed over old. Elsa imagined a great protector, and the ground began to shake. Ice flew around her fingers, spiraling like a cyclone until it formed a snow beast several stories tall. The beast’s eyes glowed blue as it let out a ferocious growl.
“Go away!” it seemed to bark, although even Elsa couldn’t be certain. It could have been the sound of the rumbling walls starting to fall around them. The guards raised their swords again and prepared to fight the beast.
Elsa took that moment to run for it. She burst through the palace doors into the snow and came face to face with more guards.
Fear entered their eyes as soon as they saw the giant snow beast. All of them raised their crossbows and aimed at her heart.
“Please.” Elsa’s voice was barely audible over the wind. “Let me explain.”
They didn’t listen. “Fire!”
Crossbow bolts flew toward her at the same moment the snow monster tumbled backward out of the palace, his icy left leg cut off. He lost his balance and crashed into the staircase, breaking through it and falling straight into the gorge. The remaining steps started to shake and tumble. Elsa tried to outrun the collapse, jumping before the steps fell into the gorge below. She fell down hard on the other side, ice crashing around her. Then the world faded to black.
The sun didn’t come up the next morning. The kingdom was shrouded in darkness thanks to the swirling blizzard that continued to drop snow onto Arendelle at an alarming rate. With the poor conditions, it apparently took Kristoff much longer than it normally would to reach the Valley of the Living Rock.
“I don’t understand,” Kristoff muttered to himself. “We’ve been traveling for hours. We should be there by now.” Kristoff pulled the sleigh to a halt.
“Are you lost?” Anna asked.
“You look lost!” Olaf commented.
Anna wouldn’t blame him if he was. It was snowing so hard she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face.
“Shhh!” Kristoff lifted the lantern off its hook and waved it into the darkness. Sven pawed the snow uneasily as Kristoff peered