Frozen Junior Novel

by Disney Book Group

  Out of nowhere, an ax slammed into the snow just inches from his face. He heard Anna’s voice from above.

  “Grab on!” she yelled.

  The ax was attached to a rope that was secured around Sven.

  “Pull, Sven!” Anna ordered.

  Sven heaved and walked backward, lifting Kristoff to safety.

  Anna and Kristoff peered over the edge at the burning sled. “I’ll replace your sled and everything in it,” she promised. She looked sadly at Kristoff. “And I understand if you don’t want to help me anymore.”

  Kristoff watched as Anna walked away. Sven nuzzled him softly with his cold nose.

  “Of course I don’t want to help her anymore,” he told the reindeer. “In fact, this whole thing has ruined me for helping anyone ever again.” He watched as Anna turned and started to walk in the opposite direction.

  “But she’ll die on her own,” he said, speaking in Sven’s deep voice.

  Kristoff looked away. “I can live with that,” he said.

  Anna turned this way and that, unsure which way to go.

  “But you won’t get your new sled if she’s dead,” Kristoff continued in Sven’s voice.

  He sighed. “Wait up,” he called to Anna in his normal voice. “We’re coming.”

  Anna grinned. “You are?” she said happily. Then she composed herself. “I mean, sure, I’ll let you tag along.”

  Anna wasn’t sure what lay ahead, but she was very glad that Kristoff and Sven were coming with her.

  Together, Kristoff, Sven, and Anna walked through the night. As dawn crept over the horizon, the three travelers found themselves on the rim of a mountain. Looking down, they could see Arendelle in the distance.

  But it wasn’t the summertime view they were expecting. The kingdom was completely frozen, covered with white ice.

  Anna gasped in shock. Then she pulled herself together. “It’ll be fine,” she said. “Elsa will thaw it.”

  “Will she?” Kristoff asked skeptically. “Just like that?”

  “Sure,” Anna replied. She pointed straight ahead. “Come on. This way to the North Mountain, right?”

  “More like this way,” Kristoff said, pushing her pointing finger upward. A huge, steep mountain towered above them.

  With no other choice, the group continued, moving forward and up. As the sun finally rose completely, they rounded a corner and came upon a clearing surrounded by tall trees.

  They gasped as the morning light danced on the snowy area before them. The terrain was different from what they had seen in the rest of the woods. They had found a gorgeous winter wonderland.

  The view took Anna’s breath away. “I never knew winter could be so…beautiful,” she said, looking up at a willow tree covered in ice. The branches looked as if they were glistening with a crystal coating. Then she noticed Sven. The reindeer had gotten his antlers tangled up in icy vines, and he looked like a twinkling Christmas tree!

  “Yeah, but it’s so white!” said a voice that came out of nowhere. “Does it hurt your eyes? My eyes are killing me. You know, how about a little color?”

  Anna and Kristoff looked around. They stared at Sven for a moment. Could he be the one speaking?

  “Must we bleach the joy out of it all?” the voice went on. “I’m thinking like maybe some crimson or chartreuse. How about yellow? No, not yellow. Yellow and snow? Brrrr… No-go.”

  A goofy little snowman with twigs for arms, but no nose, appeared. He laughed at his own yellow snow joke. “Am I right?” he asked Anna.

  “AAAAHHH!” Anna screamed. She’d never seen a talking snowman before, and she reacted quickly. She kicked him in the snowball head, which went flying right into Kristoff.

  “Hi!” the snowman head said.

  “You’re creepy,” Kristoff told the head. He tossed it to Anna.

  “I don’t want it!” Anna shrieked, throwing it back to Kristoff.

  “Back at you!” Kristoff called, chucking the head to her again.

  “Please don’t drop me!” the snowman head pleaded.

  Anna frowned at Kristoff. “Don’t!”

  Kristoff grinned. “Come on, it’s just a head,” he said.

  “All right,” the snowman told them. “We got off to a bad start.”

  “The body!” Anna cried. She quickly dropped the head onto the body, but somehow it landed upside down—and stuck that way.

  “Wait!” the snowman said, gazing at the upside-down world around him. “What am I looking at right now? Why are you hanging off the earth like a bat?”

  Anna walked over to the snowman. “All right,” she said. “Wait one second.” She turned his head around so he was right-side up.

  “Oh, thank you!” he said.

  “You’re welcome,” Anna said, smiling at the little snowman. He wasn’t so scary now that she’d gotten a chance to look at him properly.

  “Now I’m perfect,” the snowman said.

  “Well, almost,” Anna replied. She grabbed a carrot from Sven’s pack and pushed it into Olaf’s face to give him a nose. She pushed a little too forcefully, though, and the carrot went right through his head! “Oh, too hard!” Anna said. “I’m sorry! I—I was just…”

  The snowman spun around. “Woo!” he exclaimed. “Head rush!”

  Anna bent down to him. “Are you okay?”

  He beamed. Even though only a tiny point of the carrot was sticking out in front, he was happy. “Are you kidding me?” he asked. “I am wonderful! I’ve always wanted a nose.” He looked down, cross-eyed, at his new feature. “So cute. It’s like a little baby unicorn.”

  With another shove, Anna pushed the carrot from the back of his head so the carrot nose was in the proper place.

  “What? Hey! Whoa!” the snowman cried out. “I love it even more! All right, let’s start this thing over.” A smile spread across his face. “Hi, everyone! I’m Olaf, and I like warm hugs.” He opened his twig arms wide for a hug.

  The name struck Anna. “Olaf?” she asked. Anna thought for a moment. She remembered building a little snowman with Elsa when they were young. Elsa had given that snowman the same name.

  Olaf gazed at Anna. “And you are?”

  “I’m Anna,” she answered.

  “And who is the funky-looking donkey over there?” Olaf inquired.

  “That’s Sven,” Anna told him.

  “Uh-huh,” Olaf said. “And who’s the reindeer?”

  “Sven!” Anna said, laughing at Olaf’s mistake.

  Confused, Olaf stared at both Sven and Kristoff, thinking they had the same name. “Oh, okay. Makes things easier for me,” he said.

  Sven moved closer to the talking snowman and tried to take a bite of Olaf’s carrot nose.

  “Aww,” Olaf said, laughing. “Look at him, trying to kiss my nose.” He smiled at the reindeer. “I like you, too!”

  “Olaf, did Elsa build you?” Anna asked.

  “Yeah, why?” the snowman replied.

  “Do you know where she is?” Anna said, moving closer.

  “Yeah, why?” Olaf said, innocently oblivious to the line of questioning.

  “Do you think you could show us the way?” Anna asked, full of hope.

  “Yeah, why?” the snowman asked again.

  Kristoff was busy examining one of Olaf’s twig arms, which had fallen off. “How does this work?”

  The hand on the arm smacked Kristoff across the face!

  “Stop it, Sven!” Olaf said, calling Kristoff by the wrong name. “We need to focus here!” He turned to face Anna. “Why?”

  “I’ll tell you why,” Kristoff said. “We need Elsa to bring back summer.”

  “Summer?” Olaf said. “Oh, I don’t know why, but I’ve always loved the idea of summer and sun, and all things hot!”

  Kristoff raised his eyebrows. “Really? I’m guessing you don’t have much experience with heat.”

  Olaf shook his head. “Nope, but sometimes I like to close my eyes and imagine what it’d be like when summer doe
s come.”

  As Olaf went on and on about all the wonderful things he would do in summer, Kristoff looked over at Anna. “I’m going to tell him,” he whispered. It was killing him to hear Olaf talk about summer’s heat—which is a snowman’s worst nightmare!

  “Don’t you dare,” Anna scolded Kristoff. She couldn’t bear to ruin Olaf’s dream with the harsh truth.

  Olaf took Anna’s hand. “So come on! Let’s go bring back summer!”

  “I’m coming!” Anna said. She looked over her shoulder at Kristoff.

  “Somebody’s got to tell him,” Kristoff murmured, shaking his head. He and Sven followed Anna and the little snowman.

  Anna, Kristoff, and Sven followed Olaf through a maze of icicles, hoping to find Elsa. But it looked as if whoever had built the path did not want visitors. Sharp ice daggers stuck out of the ground everywhere. Kristoff just missed being jabbed in the chest by one of the thick spikes.

  “So how exactly are you planning to stop this weather?” he asked Anna.

  “I’m going to talk to my sister,” she said.

  “That’s your plan?” Kristoff replied. “My whole business is riding on you talking to your sister?”

  Anna marched forward. “Yep.”

  “And you’re not at all afraid of her?” Kristoff asked.

  “Why would I be?” Anna said.

  Kristoff peered at the sharp ice spikes lining the path.

  “I was just literally thinking the same thing,” Olaf said. “I bet Elsa’s the nicest, gentlest, warmest person ever.” He walked right into an icicle that pierced his torso. His bottom section continued to walk forward into a snow mound. When Olaf realized his body was no longer connected, he began to laugh. “Oh, look at that,” he said. “I’ve been impaled.”

  Anna and Kristoff didn’t respond to Olaf. They were too busy staring at a cliff in front of them. They had a hit a dead end.

  “What now?” Anna asked.

  Kristoff sighed. “It’s too steep,” he said. “I’ve only got one rope, and you don’t know how to climb mountains.”

  Anna put her hands on her hips. “Says who?” she countered, and headed straight for the mountain face.

  Kristoff and Sven watched as Anna struggled to pull herself up the sheer slope.

  “What are you doing?” Kristoff asked.

  “I’m going to see my sister,” Anna said, straining to secure a handhold or a foothold in the ice.

  “You’re going to kill yourself,” Kristoff observed. “I wouldn’t put my foot there.”

  Anna turned. “You’re distracting me!” As soon as she put her foot down, it slipped and she nearly toppled over. Anna paused and took a deep breath. Kristoff was right. The mountain was too steep to climb, but she didn’t want to give up.

  “How do you know Elsa even wants to see you?” Kristoff asked.

  “I’m just blocking you out ’cause I’ve got to concentrate here,” she said.

  Kristoff crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m just saying, most people who disappear into the mountains want to be alone.”

  “Nobody wants to be alone,” Anna said, observing him. “Except maybe you.”

  “I’m not alone,” Kristoff said. “I have friends.”

  “Oh, right, the love experts,” Anna scoffed.

  Kristoff was not amused. “Yes, the love experts!”

  Anna turned to face the mountain again and started to climb. “Please tell me I’m almost there,” she called over her shoulder. The air seemed thinner to her, and she was growing tired of holding on.

  But Anna was only a couple of feet off the ground! Kristoff sighed and reached into his bag for climbing picks. “Hang on,” he said.

  “Not sure if this is going to solve the problem,” Olaf called from around the side of a snow boulder. “But I found a staircase that leads exactly where you want it to go.”

  Relief spread through Anna, and she dropped from her perch on the ice wall, yelling “Catch!” to Kristoff. She fell right into his arms. “Thanks,” she said, grinning. “That was like some crazy trust exercise!”

  The group formed a circle around a large rock formation, and there was Olaf, standing next to a shimmering frozen staircase. Looking up, they saw that it led to a huge and elaborate ice palace. Massive pillars of gleaming ice supported the structure, which was covered with a delicate pattern of crystalline snowflakes. Anna and Kristoff were awestruck.

  “Talk about cut, color, and clarity,” Kristoff said, admiring the ice. “I might cry.”

  “Go ahead. I won’t judge,” Anna said.

  Anna approached the front door and pushed it open. She turned to Kristoff and Olaf and motioned for them to wait outside. She didn’t want to risk upsetting Elsa. “The last time I introduced her to a guy, she froze everything,” she explained. “Just give us a minute.”

  As soon as Anna left, Olaf began to count. “One, two, three, four…”

  Anna cautiously entered Elsa’s palace. She found herself in a huge room with an impressive winding staircase leading to a second floor. The palace was gorgeous, but it was absolutely still and eerily quiet.

  “Elsa?” Anna called nervously. “It’s me, Anna.”

  “Anna,” Elsa replied. Anna followed the sound of her sister’s voice and saw her at the top of the staircase. She was surprised by Elsa’s new appearance.

  “Elsa, you look beautiful,” she said. “And this place is amazing.”

  Elsa smiled. “Thank you. I never knew what I was capable of.”

  Anna started up the stairs. “I’m sorry about what happened. If I’d known…”

  “No, it’s okay,” said Elsa, backing away. “You don’t have to apologize. But you should probably go, please.”

  Anna was startled. “But I just got here.”

  “You belong in Arendelle,” Elsa explained. “I belong here. Alone. Where I can be who I am without hurting anybody.”

  “Actually, about that—” Anna began. But Olaf ran in, interrupting her. The minute was up, and he couldn’t wait another second.

  “Wait,” said Elsa, wide-eyed. “What is that?”

  Olaf ran up the staircase. “Hi, I’m Olaf, and I like warm hugs,” he said. Suddenly, the little snowman felt shy. “You built me,” he told Elsa. “You remember that?”

  Elsa stared at him. “And you’re alive?” she asked in wonder. She looked at her hands, amazed at her own power.

  “I think so,” Olaf replied.

  “He’s just like the one we built as kids,” Anna said. “We were so close. We can be like that again.”

  More than anything, Elsa wanted that to be true. But the white streak in Anna’s hair was a constant reminder of that night long ago when she hit Anna with her dangerous powers.

  Elsa turned and headed back upstairs. “No, we can’t,” she said. “Goodbye, Anna.”

  “Elsa, wait!” Anna said. “Please don’t shut me out again.”

  Anna ran to the upper floor and tried to reason with her sister. Now that Elsa’s secret was out, Anna thought they could be happy together for the first time in forever.

  But it wasn’t that simple for Elsa. She was sure no one in Arendelle would ever accept her again. She couldn’t hide her powers anymore—and she didn’t want to! What if she injured someone? What if she hurt Anna? Elsa felt that if she could just keep to herself, no one would be hurt by her magic. But there was something Elsa didn’t know.

  “You kind of set off an eternal winter everywhere,” Anna said.

  “Everywhere?” said Elsa, shaken by the news.

  Anna wanted to be encouraging. “It’s okay, you can just unfreeze it.”

  Elsa looked away. “No, I can’t. I don’t know how,” she admitted.

  Anna wasn’t worried. “Sure, you can. I know you can.” Anna ran to her sister. She was sure they could work it out.

  For her part, Elsa was having trouble keeping her emotions under control. The news that she had accidentally put Arendelle into a deep freeze was very hard
to bear. Maybe she was the monster that people thought she was. The walls of the palace started to ice over. Elsa wanted to get away from Anna. She backed farther up the stairs, and the banister frosted over as she passed.

  But Anna kept pressing Elsa. “Everything will be all right,” she insisted.

  Elsa was torn. She did want to go home, she did want everything to be fine, but it just wasn’t possible! Frustrated and upset, she exclaimed, “I can’t!”

  With those words, Elsa’s bottled-up emotions rose to the surface. A wave of icy magic was released from her body, and it struck Anna right in the chest! Anna fell backward as Elsa gasped.

  Olaf ran to Anna and helped her stand up. Kristoff entered the room and ran to Anna, as well.

  “I’m okay,” she said bravely. “I’m fine.”

  “I told you to stay away!” said Elsa in horror.

  “No, I’m not giving up,” Anna said. “I know we can figure this out together.”

  “How?” Elsa shouted. “What power do you have to stop this winter? To stop me?”

  “I don’t know,” Anna said, tears welling up in her eyes. “But I’m not leaving without you!”

  Heartbroken, Elsa looked at her sister. “Yes,” she said. “You are.” She waved a hand, and magic shimmered in the air. Suddenly, a giant snowman rose from the floor, conjured by her powers. The snowman grew and grew, until he towered over Anna and her friends.

  “You made me a little brother!” Olaf exclaimed happily. He turned to the huge creature. “I’m going to name you Marshmallow!”

  Marshmallow grabbed the unwanted visitors and tossed them down the icy steps. “Go home!” roared the snowman.

  But Olaf remained in Marshmallow’s arms, having come apart with all the jostling. “You are a lot stronger than I think you realize,” he told the snow giant.

  Marshmallow howled and threw Olaf, one piece at a time, down the mountain.

  “Heads up!” Olaf’s head shouted as it soared past Anna and Kristoff.

  The head crashed into a snowbank.