Far down the mountain in Arendelle, the air was still frigid and snow blanketed the land. People wondered if warm weather would ever return. The fjord was frozen solid, and all the dignitaries who had arrived for Elsa’s coronation were forced to stay since their ships were stuck. In the meantime, men and women were working hard to unload supplies from the marooned boats and haul them to the castle, where they could be stored and distributed.
Hans moved through the crowded village, handing out heavy cloaks. “Who needs a cloak?” he asked. “The castle is open. There’s soup and hot glogg in the Great Hall,” he said, referring to a special drink of hot wine.
“Arendelle is indebted to you, Your Highness,” a woman said.
The Duke approached. “Prince Hans!” he said.
“Are we just expected to sit here and freeze while you give away all of Arendelle’s tradeable goods?”
“Calm yourself,” counseled Hans. “Princess Anna has given her orders.”
The Duke went on. “Has it dawned on you that your princess may be conspiring with a wicked sorceress to destroy us all?”
“Do not question the princess,” Hans responded forcefully. “She left me in charge, and I will not hesitate to protect Arendelle from treason.”
The Duke was put in his place. “Treason? No, I—I... ” he stuttered.
Hans didn’t have a chance to reply. At that moment, Anna’s horse galloped into the village square.
“Whoa!” Hans called to the horse, catching his reins. “Easy, easy.”
“Princess Anna’s horse!” a man shouted. “What happened to her? Where is she?”
Panic grew among the villagers. Hans looked toward the North Mountain. “Princess Anna is in trouble!” he cried. “I need volunteers to go with me to find her.”
A number of men immediately stepped forward. The Duke ordered his two huge guards to join the search party as well. But he gave them a little advice before they left.
“Should you encounter the queen,” the Duke told his men quietly, “be prepared to put an end to this winter. Do you understand?”
The men nodded and smiled. They enjoyed a good fight.
Soon they all trailed Hans across the frozen fjord and up into the mountains.
In her ice palace at the top of the mountain, Elsa looked out the window and felt her own panic rising. She hadn’t meant to hit Anna with her magic, and she wished she could take it back.
“Get it together,” she told herself, trying to use all those strategies her parents had taught her years ago. “Control it. Don’t feel, don’t feel.”
Just then, ice cracked behind her. Looking around, she realized a trail of ice had formed behind her — and it was going up the wall!
Frightened, she gave a sharp cry and continued working to keep herself under control. “Don’t feel. Don’t feel. DON’T FEEL!”
The ice on the floor began to change and grow into a series of sharp spikes. Alarmed, she glanced out the window. The wind was rising as the weather whipped up to match her feelings of worry.
Hans and his volunteers made their way through the snowy woods and braved the steep incline of the North Mountain. Some were on horseback, while others walked. Many of them carried torches and swords. The Duke’s guards carried crossbows.
All around them, the storm was growing worse.
At the top of mountain, Hans led the group around the rocky cliffs, and eventually they came upon the ice palace. He turned to the men as they all gaped at the spectacular structure. “We’re here to find Princess Anna,” he reminded them. “Be on guard, but no harm is to come to the queen.”
Suddenly, a mass of snow rose from the ground behind Hans. It was Marshmallow! The huge snowman refused to move away from the palace entrance. As the volunteers pressed forward, Marshmallow reacted quickly, knocking men to the ground. Hans rolled to safety and grabbed his sword.
Then Elsa, still upset from Anna’s visit, stepped out onto her balcony to see what was happening. She was spotted by one of the Duke’s guards. They ducked around Marshmallow’s legs, raced into the palace, and charged up the stairs.
“Stay back!” Elsa warned. She didn’t want her powers to hurt anyone. The men had their crossbows aimed at her. She held up her arms and summoned a wall of ice for protection.
But the Duke’s guards kept coming. Desperate to keep them away, she waved her arms, and the wall of ice forced one of the attackers onto the balcony. He teetered on the edge, trapped.
The other guard was still coming after Elsa, with his crossbow ready to shoot. With another wave, Elsa created a series of icy spikes, pinning the man in place against the wall. The spikes came right up to his jaw, barely allowing him to breathe.
Outside the palace, Hans and his fighters continued to battle the powerful snowman. Hans swept Marshmallow’s leg with his sword, forcing the snow giant to fall. Marshmallow rolled away and off a cliff. Hans and his men raced into the ice palace.
There, he immediately spotted the guard trapped against the wall and the other one pushed to the very edge of the balcony. The man was just inches from falling to his death!
“Queen Elsa, no, please!” Hans called out. “Don’t be the monster they fear you are!”
Elsa saw the fright in the guard’s eyes and hesitated. With a start, she realized she had gone too far; this was exactly what she had worked so long to avoid. As she looked down at her hands, the wall of ice retreated. She had always tried to keep people safe, not put them in more danger — and now her self-control seemed to be dissolving entirely.
But as the icy spikes melted away from the Duke’s other guard, he aimed his crossbow at Elsa. Hans acted quickly. He pushed the man’s crossbow aside, causing it to shoot at the ceiling. The loose arrow hit the chandelier above Elsa, sending it crashing to the floor. Shards of ice through the air... and Elsa fell, knocked unconscious.
Hours later, Elsa’s eyes fluttered open. She was in a stone room with one tiny window high on the wall letting a cold light into the room. Elsa rose from the bench where she lay — and realized that she could not bring her arms forward. Her hands were encased in thick coverings, which were connected to long chains and bolted to the floor. She could see out the window well enough, though, to know that she was back in Arendelle. She was imprisoned in the castle dungeon and could see the snow continuing to fall over the kingdom.
“No!” Elsa cried, looking out at her frozen kingdom. “What have I done?”
第16章
遠(yuǎn)在山腳下的艾倫戴爾,此時(shí)仍然天寒地凍,冰雪覆蓋著大地。人們懷疑溫暖的天氣是否還會(huì)回來(lái)。峽灣被冰封住了,所有來(lái)參加艾莎加冕儀式的貴族們都被困在了這里,因?yàn)樗麄兊拇急粌鲎×?。同時(shí),男男女女們紛紛努力將補(bǔ)給品從困住的船只上搬下來(lái)運(yùn)進(jìn)城堡,儲(chǔ)存并分發(fā)。
漢斯在擁擠的村民中走動(dòng),正在發(fā)放御寒的斗篷。“誰(shuí)需要斗篷?”他問(wèn)道,“城堡開放給大家,大廳里有熱湯和熱格拉格酒。”他指的是熱紅葡萄酒所制成的一種特殊飲品。
“艾倫戴爾會(huì)感激您的,王子殿下。”一位婦女對(duì)他說(shuō)。
公爵走上前說(shuō):“漢斯王子!”
“難道我們?cè)撟谶@受著凍,看著您把艾倫戴爾所有的商品白白送掉嗎?”
“你冷靜點(diǎn),”漢斯安慰說(shuō),“這是安娜公主的旨意。”
公爵接著說(shuō)道:“難道您沒(méi)看出來(lái),您的公主可能跟一個(gè)邪惡的女巫合謀要害死我們大家嗎?”
“不許質(zhì)疑公主殿下,”漢斯堅(jiān)定地說(shuō),“她讓我留下照看這里,我會(huì)毫不猶豫地阻止一切叛國(guó)行為。”
公爵的謀反意圖被識(shí)破了。“叛國(guó)?不,我……”他支支吾吾地說(shuō)。
漢斯還沒(méi)來(lái)得及回答,就看到安娜的馬飛奔回了小鎮(zhèn)的廣場(chǎng)。
“喔!”漢斯連忙拉住了韁繩,安撫馬兒說(shuō),“別緊張,放松。”
“是安娜公主的馬!”有人喊道,“發(fā)生什么事了?她在哪里?”
村民們不安起來(lái)。漢斯向北山望去。“安娜公主可能遇到了危險(xiǎn)!”他大喊道,“我需要幾個(gè)人跟我一起去找她。”
幾個(gè)人立刻站了出來(lái)。公爵命令他的兩名高大的護(hù)衛(wèi)也一同前往。但是在出發(fā)前,公爵對(duì)他們小聲交代了一番。
“如果你們找到了女王,”公爵小聲地跟自己的人說(shuō),“做好一切準(zhǔn)備,把冬天徹底結(jié)束。聽明白了嗎?”
護(hù)衛(wèi)們點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭笑了。他們做好了大干一場(chǎng)的準(zhǔn)備。
他們立刻跟隨著漢斯,穿過(guò)冰封的峽灣,向山林前進(jìn)。
在山巔上的冰雪宮殿里,艾莎看著窗外,心里越發(fā)恐懼不安。她不是故意用魔法傷害安娜的,她多么希望可以收回魔法。
“集中精神,”她告誡自己,努力使用多年前父母教她的所有辦法,“控制它,別想它,別去想它。”
就在這時(shí),她身后的冰破裂開了。環(huán)顧四周,她注意到自己身后的冰蔓延開了,正向墻上延伸!
她嚇壞了,大喊了一聲,繼續(xù)努力控制自己。“不要想它,不要想,不要想它!”
地面上的冰開始變化,變成了一排排尖銳的冰柱。她害怕地看著窗外。隨著絕望的情緒糾纏著她,天氣變得更加寒冷,吹向王國(guó)的暴風(fēng)雪更大了。
漢斯和護(hù)衛(wèi)們?cè)谘┝掷锲D難地穿行,勇敢地向著北山陡峭的山坡前進(jìn)。有的人騎馬,有的人步行。他們大多都舉著火把,帶著刀劍,公爵的護(hù)衛(wèi)們還帶著弩。
暴風(fēng)雪在他們周圍變得更加猛烈了。
在山頂上,漢斯帶領(lǐng)大家爬上了峭壁,最終來(lái)到了冰雪宮殿。所有人都驚嘆于眼前的這座壯觀的建筑,漢斯提醒他們說(shuō):“我們是來(lái)找安娜公主的。大家提高警惕,但不要傷害到女王。”
突然,漢斯身后刮起了一陣風(fēng)雪。棉花糖出現(xiàn)了!雪巨人擋在了宮殿門口。護(hù)衛(wèi)們沖上前去,棉花糖一下子就把他們擊倒在地。漢斯?jié)L到了安全的地方,一把拿起了他的劍。
艾莎對(duì)于安娜的來(lái)訪仍有些不安,她走出房間來(lái)到陽(yáng)臺(tái)看到了外面發(fā)生的事。她被公爵的一名護(hù)衛(wèi)發(fā)現(xiàn)了。他們從棉花糖的腿下鉆過(guò)去,溜進(jìn)宮殿,沖上了臺(tái)階。
“退后!”艾莎警告道。她不希望自己的魔法傷害到任何人,但兩名護(hù)衛(wèi)用弩對(duì)準(zhǔn)了她。她揮手變出了一堵冰墻保護(hù)自己。
但是公爵的護(hù)衛(wèi)緊追不舍。情急之下,她揚(yáng)起手,冰墻將一名護(hù)衛(wèi)推到了陽(yáng)臺(tái)邊緣。他踉踉蹌蹌地站在懸崖邊上,被困住了。
另一名護(hù)衛(wèi)仍然追著艾莎,并且準(zhǔn)備用弩射擊。艾莎又揮了一下手,變出了幾根尖銳的冰柱,將他釘在了墻上。冰柱尖直指他的下巴,使得他快喘不過(guò)氣了。
宮殿外面,漢斯和護(hù)衛(wèi)們繼續(xù)和強(qiáng)大的巨雪人搏斗著。漢斯揮劍砍中了棉花糖的腿,巨雪人倒下來(lái),滾下了懸崖。漢斯和手下立刻沖進(jìn)了宮殿。
他一眼就看到了被釘在墻上的一名護(hù)衛(wèi),而另一名被困在陽(yáng)臺(tái)邊緣的護(hù)衛(wèi)差一點(diǎn)就要摔下去了!
“艾莎女王,請(qǐng)住手!”他大喊道,“別讓自己真的變成他們說(shuō)的妖怪啊!”
艾莎看見了護(hù)衛(wèi)眼中的恐懼,遲疑了。她發(fā)現(xiàn)自己正在慢慢變成這些年自己最害怕變成的樣子。她低頭看著自己的雙手,冰墻后退了。她一直都盡力不傷害別人,不給別人造成危險(xiǎn)——但現(xiàn)在她似乎完全無(wú)法自我控制了。
但就在冰柱從伯爵的另一名護(hù)衛(wèi)身邊消退的時(shí)候,他舉起弩瞄準(zhǔn)艾莎。漢斯立刻撲上前去推開了弩,一支箭射向了天花板。射出的箭擊中了艾莎正上方的吊燈,吊燈碎了一地。冰花四濺……艾莎被擊中倒了下來(lái),瞬間失去了意識(shí)。
幾個(gè)小時(shí)以后,艾莎微微睜開眼睛。她發(fā)現(xiàn)自己正躺在一間冰冷的小石屋里,冰冷的光線透過(guò)高墻上的一扇小窗照進(jìn)房間。艾莎從躺著的長(zhǎng)椅上站起來(lái),發(fā)現(xiàn)手臂抬不起來(lái)了。她的雙手戴上了沉重的鐐銬,長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的鏈條緊緊鎖在了地上。她可以清楚地看見窗外的景象,知道自己被帶回了艾倫戴爾。她被關(guān)在了城堡的地牢里,眼睜睜地看著冰雪繼續(xù)席卷著整個(gè)王國(guó)。
“不!”艾莎看著冰封的王國(guó),大叫道,“我都做了些什么?”