the official Arendelle ice master and deliverer.”
She pointed to a shiny silver medal hanging from Sven’s neck.
Kristoff scoffed. “That’s not a thing.”
“Sure it is!” Anna said. Call it a sisterly bond, but even without Anna’s saying so, Elsa seemed to know how much Anna wanted Kristoff around. “And,” she said, hoping to sweeten the deal, “it even has a cup holder. Do you like it?”
“Like it?” Kristoff swung Anna high in the air. “I love it! I could kiss you.” He quickly put her down and ran a hand through his hair. “I mean, I could. I’d like to. May I? We me? I mean, may we? Wait. What?”
Anna leaned in and kissed Kristoff on the cheek. “We may.”
Kristoff didn’t hesitate. He pulled Anna into his arms and kissed her the way Anna had always imagined he would. Anna threw her arms around his neck and kissed him right back.
After a storm comes the sun.
Arendelle truly had a new beginning, and people couldn’t wait to celebrate the kingdom’s rebirth. Villagers flooded the castle to celebrate not only Elsa’s coronation but their lost princess. Anna had been returned to them. After so much sadness, Arendelle was basking in joy. The sisters’ silhouettes appeared on new banners hanging from every flag post in the kingdom.
And when it was finally time for Elsa to stand in front of the bishop and accept her crown, Anna was exactly where she was always meant to be: right by Elsa’s side.
“Queen Elsa of Arendelle!” the bishop declared as he presented her to the people in the chapel.
Elsa beamed with pride as she held the scepter and orb in her hands. Her fingers didn’t tingle and she felt no fear. She knew now her purpose was to serve her people, and she’d do it with every fiber of her being.
After the ceremony, there was a banquet in the Great Hall with a large chocolate fountain and a beautiful cake. There was dancing, laughter, and merriment. The castle itself seemed to sigh with contentment. For so long, the castle had lived in sorrow. Now it truly was a happy place.
While people enjoyed one another’s company, Elsa and Anna slipped away to the entrance hall and studied their family’s newly restored royal portrait. The one with the king, the queen, Elsa, and Anna had been returned to its rightful place of honor. Mr. Ludenburg had already declared that he would complete a new sculpture for the castle courtyard fountain that reflected the family of four.
“Tell me something about them I don’t know,” Anna said as she slipped her arm through Elsa’s.
Anna asked her questions like that daily, and Elsa loved to answer them. The two stayed up late into the night, sitting on each other’s beds, talking about anything and everything they could imagine.
“They loved sweets almost as much as you and I do,” Elsa said as they turned to walk back toward the party. “Especially krumkaker.”
Anna grinned. “I remember baking those! You always ate half the batter before Miss Olina could cook them.”
“That was you!” Elsa said accusingly, laughing.
“Maybe it was Mama,” Anna said, but she was laughing, too.
Kristoff and Olaf watched the sisters from the doorway with smiles.
No one seemed to want the party to end, so it didn’t. Not for a long while. But when the banquet hall grew warm and people needed air, Elsa knew exactly what to do to help them cool off. She gathered everyone outside.
“Are you ready?” Elsa asked the crowd.
Their cheers and applause told her all she needed to know.
Her magic no longer felt like a shackle. It was truly a gift, as her mother had always told her, and now she used it with joy instead of fear.
Elsa tapped her foot on the courtyard ground. A sheet of ice slowly spread throughout the plaza. Next Elsa lifted her hands to the sky and made the lightest of snowflakes fall. On a hot summer night like that, an impromptu ice-skating party was the perfect gift.
People skidded around the square, enjoying the magic she had long kept to herself. Anna slid into place beside her.
“This is so much fun!” Anna smiled. “I’m so happy I’m here with you.”
Elsa held her arm tight. “We will never be apart again,” she promised. Then she transformed Anna’s shoes into an elegant pair of ice skates.
“Oh, Elsa, they’re beautiful, but you know I don’t skate,” Anna said.
Elsa grabbed her arms and swung her around the ice. “Come on!” she said, shouting encouragement to her little sister. “You can do it!” The two of them laughed as they spun around the fountain in the courtyard.
“I got it! I got it! I don’t got it!” Anna laughed as she kept slipping.
“Look out! Reindeer coming through!” said Kristoff as he and Sven slid by.
“Hey, guys!” Olaf joined them on the ice. “Glide and pivot! Glide and pivot!” he advised as he grabbed hold of Elsa’s cape and went for a spin around the square.
Elsa smiled, her heart full and her head in a good place. Her people were happy. She was content. And she was very, very loved by a sister who had finally been returned to her. Things were exactly as they should be.
Jen Calonita is the author of the award-winning Secrets of My Hollywood Life and Fairy Tale Reform School series. She lives in New York with her husband, two boys, and two Chihuahuas named Captain Jack Sparrow and Ben Kenobi. A huge Disney fan, Jen dreams of moving the whole family into Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World. Visit her online at jencalonitaonline and Twitter jencalonita.