Elsa burst into the courtyard. She was so afraid now that her secret was out. She hoped she hadn’t hurt anyone. Regardless, everyone in Arendelle would soon know about her magic.
“There she is!” cried a townswoman, excited to get a glimpse of the newly crowned queen. The woman obviously had no idea what had just happened in the ballroom. “Your Majesty! Long live the queen! Queen Elsa!”
Elsa backed away from the woman and quickly weaved through the crowd, trying hard not to touch anyone as she backed away. She didn’t want to cause any harm with her powers. She just wanted to leave the kingdom and hide!
A young woman with a small child in her arms called to her. “Your Majesty, are you all right?” she asked, full of concern.
Elsa put her hands behind her and moved away. She slowly walked backward, accidentally bumping into the fountain in the center of the courtyard. As soon as she touched the fountain, the water in it froze to solid ice.
There was a loud gasp from the villagers. People turned and ran away from Elsa.
The Duke and his guards ran down the castle steps. “There she is!” he shouted, leading the charge toward Elsa. “Get her!”
“Just stay away from me! Stay away!” Elsa cried. She held her hands up, causing the castle steps to ice over. The Duke’s guards slipped and tumbled down to the ground.
“Monster!” the Duke hissed.
The crowd panicked. A swirl of cold air traveled through Arendelle as Elsa ran along the streets, leaving ice and snow in her wake.
Anna watched from the castle gates. “Elsa!” she called. “Wait, please!” She rushed from the castle and ran after Elsa. Hans trailed behind her. “Elsa!” Anna cried desperately.
Elsa looked over her shoulder as she neared the water. When she turned, her foot touched the lapping waves — and the water in the fjord immediately froze. She took another cautious step... and another sheet of ice bloomed under her foot.
“Elsa!” Anna called after her.
Feeling her panic grow, Elsa ran across the fjord. With each step, more water froze underneath her. Soon she was moving at full speed, heading toward the mountains on the other side of the lake. As she passed, the ships belonging to the visiting dignitaries creaked and locked into place, frozen in the ice. The gorgeous summer day had turned into a growing winter storm.
“Elsa, stop!” Anna pleaded. She rushed onto the fjord after her sister but slipped on the ice. She was too far behind to catch up.
Hans reached out for Anna and helped her to stand. “Anna, are you all right?” he asked.
They both watched as Elsa reached the far shore and made her way into the mountains. Anna strained to see the path Elsa had taken.
“Did you know?” Hans asked Anna.
“No,” Anna replied. Then she nodded. “But it makes so much sense.”
They walked back through the village and overheard the Duke speaking. He was addressing a growing crowd of concerned people. “The queen has cursed this land,” he said. “She must be stopped! You must go after her!”
Anna rushed over to him. “No!” she shouted. “No one is to go anywhere.”
“You!” The Duke shook a finger at Anna. “Is there sorcery in you, too?” he shouted. “Are you a monster, too?”
“No, I’m completely ordinary,” Anna replied.
Hans took her hand. “That’s right, she is,” he told the Duke.
“And my sister is not a monster,” Anna added.
The Duke scowled. “She nearly killed me,” he said dramatically.
“You slipped on ice,” Hans pointed out.
Anna stepped forward. “It was an accident. She was scared. She didn’t mean it. She didn’t mean any of this.” She paused. “All she’s ever wanted is to be perfect and good. Tonight was my fault. I pushed her. So I’m the one who needs to go after her.” Anna turned to her royal guards. “Bring me my horse, please.”
“What? Anna, no!” Hans shouted. “It’s too dangerous.”
“I’m not afraid of Elsa,” Anna said. “I’ll bring her back and make this right.”
A royal guard brought Anna’s horse to her. She took her cloak, which was hanging over the saddle, and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“I’m coming with you,” Hans said.
“No,” Anna told him. “I need you here to take care of Arendelle.”
Hans saw the desperation in Anna’s eyes. He put his hand to his chest. “On my honor,” he said, bowing his head.
“I leave Prince Hans in charge!” Anna told the crowd.
“Are you sure you can trust her?” Hans asked as Anna mounted the horse. When Anna didn’t reply, he leaned in. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“She’s my sister,” Anna said. “She’d never hurt me.” Urging her horse into a gallop, Anna took off over the frozen fjord toward the mountains as snow continued to fall.
Elsa trudged up the steep North Mountain. Ever since she was a child, she had been taught to conceal her powers. Now that was all over. She felt sad and worried as she gazed back at Arendelle far below. She knew no one in Arendelle would ever see her in the same way again.
But a tiny part of her also felt relieved. Her magic had been a hard secret to keep, and she didn’t have to hide it anymore. Being alone was easier, too. She didn’t have to worry about hurting anyone.
As she continued up the mountain, her steps actually became a little lighter. Now that everyone knew what she was capable of, she was free to be herself!
With a wave of her hand, Elsa started to experiment with her magic. Snow and ice whirled around her as she created snowmen and icy patterns in the air. The farther she got from Arendelle, the more confident she felt. As she took each step, her ability to draw forth ice and cold grew stronger and more powerful.
Elsa plucked off her crown and threw it aside. She tossed her head and her tightly bound hair came loose, cascading over one shoulder in a thick, wavy braid. Twirling around, she conjured up a flowing new outfit of ice, a crystal-blue gown with a cape of gossamer frost. Snow was her element. She was the Snow Queen!
Thrilled to let her powers loose at last, Elsa found that she could do more than she realized. As released her magic, a staircase of ice extended upward ... to an exquisite ice palace that grew as she raised her arms!
This was where she would live. When the castle was finished, Elsa slammed the door. She was home at last.
第8章
艾莎跑向了庭院。她的秘密已經(jīng)被大家知道,她心里十分害怕。她多么希望沒有傷害到任何人。然而,艾倫戴爾的所有人很快都會知道她的魔法。
“她在那兒!”一位婦人看到了新加冕的女王,激動地喊道。這位婦人顯然不知道舞會大廳里剛剛發(fā)生的事,歡呼道:“陛下!女王萬歲!女王艾莎!”
艾莎躲開了這名村婦,很快穿過人群,盡量避免再觸碰到其他人。她不想因為自己的魔力而造成任何傷害。她只想離開王國,躲起來!
一個抱著孩子的年輕婦女叫住了她。“女王陛下,您沒事吧?”她關切地問道。
艾莎雙手背在身后,走開了。她慢慢地向后退,不小心撞到了庭院中央的噴泉。她剛碰到噴泉,水就結成了厚厚的冰。
人們倒吸一口氣。他們轉身跑開,遠遠地躲著艾莎。
公爵帶著他的護衛(wèi)們沿著城堡的臺階追了出來。“她在那兒!”他大叫著發(fā)號施令,“攔住她!”
“別靠近我!別過來!”艾莎大喊。她揚起手,城堡的臺階都變成了冰。公爵的護衛(wèi)們滑倒在了地上。
“妖怪!”公爵發(fā)出噓聲。
人群都陷入了恐慌。艾莎沿著街道跑遠了,她所經(jīng)之處都變成了冰雪,一陣陣冷空氣也慢慢開始侵襲艾倫戴爾。
安娜在城堡大門口望著姐姐。“艾莎!”她叫道,“求你等等!”她從城堡沖了出來,奮力追趕艾莎。漢斯跟在她身后。“艾莎!”安娜絕望地喊道。
艾莎靠近海邊時,回頭望了一眼。她轉過身時,腳碰到了微微晃動的波浪——峽灣的水立即結成了冰。她又小心翼翼地走了一步,腳下立刻又結冰了。
“艾莎!”安娜在后面呼喊著。
伴隨著內心的恐懼加劇,艾莎穿過了峽灣。她每走一步,就有更多的水結成冰。她很快開始奮力奔跑,向湖對面的北山跑去。她所經(jīng)之處,來訪賓客的船只都嘎吱作響,被凍在了厚厚的冰里。美好的夏日就這樣變成了刺骨的寒冬。
“艾莎,停一停!”安娜懇求道。她追到了峽灣邊,但在冰面上滑倒了。姐姐跑得太遠,她實在追不上了。
漢斯伸手拉住安娜,扶她站了起來。“安娜,你沒事吧?”他問。
他們倆看著艾莎抵達很遠的岸邊,跑進了山林里。安娜努力想要看清艾莎逃跑的路線。
“你以前知道嗎?”漢斯問安娜。
“不知道,”安娜回答,然后她點了點頭,“但現(xiàn)在我明白了。”
他們經(jīng)過城里,無意間聽到了公爵的話。他正在對涌來的不明真相的民眾說:“女王詛咒了這片土地,必須有人阻止她!你們快去追啊!”
安娜沖到他跟前。“不!”她大叫道,“任何人哪兒都不能去。”
“你!”公爵對安娜指指點點。“你是不是也會巫術?”他喊道,“你也是個妖怪嗎?”
“沒有,我只是一個普普通通的人,”安娜回答說。
漢斯拉起她的手。“沒錯,她很普通。”他告訴公爵。
“我姐姐也不是什么妖怪。”安娜補充說。
公爵怒氣沖沖,夸張地說:“她差點殺了我。”
“你在冰上滑倒了。”漢斯馬上指出。
安娜走上前。“這只是個意外。她是嚇壞了,并不是故意的。她不是故意要這樣的。”她頓了一下,繼續(xù)說道,“她一直都想做個完美、善良的人。今晚的事是我的錯,是我把她逼成這樣的。所以應該我去追她。”安娜對皇家衛(wèi)士說:“請把我的馬牽過來。”
“什么?安娜,你別去!”漢斯喊道,“這太危險了。”
“我不害怕艾莎,”安娜說,“我會帶她回來,讓一切恢復正常。”
一名皇家衛(wèi)士牽來了安娜的馬。她拿起了馬鞍上掛著的斗篷,披在了肩上。
“我跟你一起去。”漢斯說。
“不行,”安娜告訴他,“我需要你留在這里照看好艾倫戴爾。”
漢斯看到了安娜眼神中的堅定。他的手放到了胸前,鞠躬說:“我用名譽擔保。”
“我授權漢斯王子負責這里!”安娜告訴大家。
“你真的可以相信艾莎嗎?”安娜跨上馬時,漢斯問道。但安娜沒有回答,他湊近了一點說:“我不希望你受到傷害。”
“她是我姐姐,”安娜說,“她絕對不會傷害我。”雪繼續(xù)下著,安娜騎馬從冰凍的峽灣向山林一路狂奔。
艾莎沿著北山山坡艱難地行進。自從她兒時起,父母就告訴她要隱藏魔法。然而這一切都結束了。她回頭看著越來越遠的艾倫戴爾,沮喪而憂傷。她知道艾倫戴爾的所有人以后都會用異樣的眼光看她。
但她甚至感到了一絲輕松。她一直刻意地隱藏著自己的秘密,而現(xiàn)在再也不用像以前那樣了。獨自生活也更加自在,她不用再擔心傷害到任何人。
她繼續(xù)向北山跋涉,腳步卻更輕松了。既然所有人都知道她有魔力,她可以輕松做自己了!
艾莎揮了揮手,嘗試著使用自己的魔法。她在空中變出了雪人和雪花,冰雪在她身邊飛旋。她離艾倫戴爾越遠,越發(fā)自信。她每走一步,她的冰雪魔力就變得更加強大。
艾莎摘下了皇冠,扔到了一邊。她甩了甩頭,原本緊束的頭發(fā)松散開來,厚厚的波浪發(fā)辮披散在肩上。她手一揮,為自己變出了一襲冰雪紗袍,那是一件水晶般湛藍的長裙和綴滿銀霜的薄紗披風。雪是她生命的一部分,她就是冰雪女王!
艾莎看到自己的魔力終于釋放了而感到興奮,她發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的能力超乎想象。她抬起手臂,一道冰做的階梯高高地延伸到空中,接著一座華麗的冰雪宮殿出現(xiàn)在眼前。
這是她將要生活的地方。當冰雪城堡建成的時候,艾莎毅然決然地關上了大門。她終于回家了。