Slowly, the gates to the palace began to swing open. Behind them was a beautiful stone plaza with a bubbling fountain at its center.
Marisol took Elsa and Anna by the hand. “I’ve met most of the kings in the area, but it’s so nice to meet another queen,” she said. “And a princess, too! Please, won’t you come to the castle? I’m sure you and your friends are tired after such a long trip.”
Elsa was a little confused. On the one hand, she was delighted to meet the Summer Queen. Marisol was kind to her villagers. And she was planning a feast in her visitors’ honor. It seemed like she would make a wonderful friend. On the other hand, Elsa had seen the evidence of an eternal summer with her own two eyes. She couldn’t quite figure it out.
Elsa looked at Anna. Anna gave her an encouraging look. Elsa took a deep breath. Then she leaned toward Marisol and whispered, “When my sister and I heard that the gates to your kingdom were closed, we thought it was because you hadn’t yet learned how to control your…magic.”
Marisol stopped in her tracks. “My what?” she asked, clearly confused.
“You know,” Anna chimed in. “Your magic? The spells of fire and heat?”
Marisol furrowed her brow in thought. Then she burst into a fit of giggles. “What do you mean?” she said, laughing. “I don’t have any magical powers.”
Elsa was amazed. “If you don’t have powers, what about the heat?”
“And the sandstorm?” Anna asked.
“And the dried-up lake?” Kristoff chimed in.
Sven snorted and stamped his feet.
“Queen Marisol,” Elsa said in her most serious voice. “My friends and I have traveled all the way from Arendelle to help rid Eldora of its eternal summer.”
Marisol smiled. “That’s very kind of you,” she said. “But Eldora isn’t trapped in an eternal summer. It’s just always warm here. We have tropical weather year-round.”
Marisol went on to explain that everything Elsa and her friends had seen was natural. It was hot in Eldora, but the villagers were used to the weather. Sandstorms were common, but they weren’t all that different from rain or snowstorms.
“In fact,” Marisol continued, “the only dangerous things around here are the wild boars. That’s why we have villagers standing guard with bows and arrows.”
Elsa couldn’t believe it. All this time, she had been convinced that the people of Eldora were in danger. Now she was discovering that there wasn’t any danger after all.
A serious look spread across Marisol’s face. “I hope you’re not disappointed to find out that I’m only a regular queen,” she said quietly.
“Of course I’m not disappointed!” Elsa cried. She took Marisol’s hands in hers and gave them a reassuring squeeze. How could she possibly be disappointed? She had a wonderful new friend. And she was delighted that the people of Eldora were happy.
“I don’t have any powers,” Anna told Marisol jokingly. “Elsa seems to like me.”
Marisol chuckled. She seemed to be feeling better already. Elsa, however, was a little embarrassed. After all, she had come to Eldora because she’d thought the Summer Queen was in danger. After Olaf had gone on and on about Summer Land, what was she supposed to think?
Suddenly, Elsa turned to Olaf. She raised an eyebrow at him.
“Olaf…” Elsa began.
“Yes?” Olaf said innocently.
“Olaf, I need you to tell me everything you heard about Summer Land.”
“Okay!” Olaf said, waving his stick arms around in excitement. “One day, I was visiting with the ice harvesters. They were talking all about the kingdom of Eldora, where it’s always summer—”
“Pardon me for interrupting,” Marisol said suddenly, “but did you say ice harvesters?”
Elsa and Olaf nodded. “Yes!” Olaf said.
“You have ice in your village?” she asked.
“Yes!” Olaf said again.
Marisol clapped her hands together and hopped up and down in delight. “It’s the most wonderful news!” she said happily. She grabbed Elsa’s and Anna’s hands and danced around with them in a circle.
“What is it, Marisol?” Elsa asked.
“This is exactly why I have been visiting neighboring kingdoms!” Marisol exclaimed. “We need ice to keep our fish fresh and to preserve our crops. I had been hoping to trade with another village, but there wasn’t any ice to be found!”
Elsa’s face broke into a huge grin. She thought she had come to Eldora to help end an eternal summer. Now she realized she could help in a different way. She was delighted.
“Marisol, we have all the ice you could ever want in Arendelle,” Elsa said eagerly. “Why, Kristoff here is an expert. He knows more about ice than anyone I’ve ever met!”
Kristoff’s cheeks turned bright red. Sven snorted in protest.
“Sven knows a lot about ice, too,” Elsa said, petting Sven’s head. She turned back to Marisol. “I would be happy to send you all the ice you need.”
Marisol’s eyes teared up in gratitude. She threw her arms around Elsa’s neck. “Thank you!” she said. “You have made me and the people of Eldora happier than you know.”
News of the partnership between Arendelle and Eldora spread quickly through the village. At the evening feast, villagers presented Elsa and her friends with gift after gift to show their thanks. Anna and Elsa received presents of sugar, spices, and beautiful jewelry. Kristoff and Sven were given woven rugs and carpets, which would come in handy in the chilly Arendelle winters.
Elsa smiled. The grand ballroom of the Eldora castle was filled with people singing, dancing, and eating. Everyone was having a splendid time.
Then Marisol leaned over the arm of her throne to speak to Elsa. “When you arrived in Eldora, you said you thought I needed help learning to control my magic,” she said. “But I’ve never known anyone with powers before. So that got me thinking….” Marisol paused and peered into Elsa’s eyes. “Do you?”
Elsa took a deep breath. She wasn’t sure she should tell Marisol the truth. After all, they hadn’t been friends for very long. What if Marisol was frightened?
Anna gave Elsa a tap on the shoulder. “It’s okay,” Anna said. “You can do it.”
Elsa nodded. Anna was right. She slowly stood up from her chair and made her way to the center of the room.
Elsa was a little bit nervous. Even though she was a queen, she was still getting used to being the center of attention. Now everyone was staring at her. She took a deep breath. She smoothed the front of her dress with her hands. Then she gingerly pointed her foot and tapped her shoe once against the floor.
All of a sudden, the entire floor of the Eldora palace was covered in ice, just like a skating rink! Elsa could hear the collective gasp of the villagers. They had never seen anything like it before. There was a sudden chorus of claps and cheers and whistles. People began to slide across the ice in wonder. Some of them even dropped to their knees to feel the chill against their hands and cheeks.
Elsa raised her arms high, and a flurry of snowflakes rained down from the ceiling. Villagers stuck out their tongues, gleefully catching snowflakes in their mouths. Others formed snowballs or began making little snowmen in honor of Olaf. Elsa gave a small, shy curtsey and returned to her chair amid a thunderous round of applause. Anna gave her an approving wink.
“That was incredible,” Marisol said, shaking her head in disbelief. She grabbed Elsa’s hand. “Elsa, you are a great queen. I am honored to call you my friend.”
Elsa beamed with pride. The trip to Eldora hadn’t gone as planned, but she was glad she had made the journey. She had traveled the seas. She had visited foreign lands. She had made a wonderful new friend in Marisol. And she had helped the villagers of Eldora. Maybe Olaf had been right after all. Summer Land had turned out to be a wonderful place!
Elsa was happy to see that her magic wasn’t melting quite so fast now that she was inside the castle. But whenever it began to melt, she simply tapped her foot and a new
layer of ice spread across the floor.
The following morning, Elsa and Anna exited the palace and prepared to say goodbye to the Summer Queen.
“I’ll arrange for a shipment of ice just as soon as we arrive home,” Elsa said to Marisol.
Marisol took Elsa’s hand. “I will miss you so much. Please return to Eldora as soon as you can.”
“We will,” Elsa said. “But I insist that you come to Arendelle for a visit as well.”
Marisol gave Elsa another big hug. Then she threw her arms around Anna. “You are so lucky to have each other,” Marisol said. “Take care. Farewell.”
Elsa and Anna lifted their arms and waved to the people of Eldora. Villagers had turned up by the hundreds to say goodbye. Elsa realized that she felt a little sad.
“I’m really going to miss Eldora and Queen Marisol,” she said with a sigh.
“I am too,” Anna said, taking her sister by the arm. “But do you want to hear a secret?”
“Sure,” Elsa said.
Anna leaned in close to Elsa and whispered in her ear. “I can’t wait for winter.”
Elsa and Anna laughed and, arm in arm, began their long journey home.
Anna & Elsa Page 4