A Frozen Heart

by Elizabeth Rudnick

  Copyright © 2015 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

  Cover art by I Love Dust

  Cover design by Scott Piehl

  All rights reserved. Published by Disney Press, an imprint of Disney Book Group. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information address Disney Press, 1101 Flower Street, Glendale, California 91201.

  ISBN 978-1-4847-3663-0

  Visit www.disneybooks.com

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Prologue

  Ten Years Later

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Three Years Later

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  About the Author

  To Dad, for teaching me to dream big and always believing in me. And to Caleb, for showing me that some people really are worth melting for.

  —E.R.

  Love conquers all.

  —Virgil

  “FIVE!” PRINCESS ELSA SHOUTED, her cheerful voice bouncing off the castle walls. “Four! Three! Two! ONE! Ready or not, here I come!” Uncovering her eyes, she brushed a long strand of blond hair behind her ear and scanned the large ballroom for her sister. “Anna! Are you in here? I know you’re here somewhere!”

  From behind a large stone pillar, Princess Anna watched as her big sister began tiptoeing around the ballroom. A giggle threatened to escape, and she slapped a hand over her mouth. She couldn’t laugh. Not this time! That was how Elsa always found her. Playing with her big sister made her happy. And when Anna was happy, she giggled. A lot. But she was determined that today, she was going to win the game of hide-and-seek. Forcing the giggle back, Anna distracted herself by watching as the late-afternoon light streamed through the huge stained glass windows, casting wonderful warm shadows over the whole room. She smiled as she watched rays of sunshine dance over the floor, like the couples she saw swaying to music at her parents’ royal balls.

  Distracted, Anna began to hum softly. At five years old, she didn’t get to attend the balls or other official occasions that took place in the palace. But that didn’t stop her from sneaking out of her room to watch from the balcony as women in brightly colored gowns entered the room with men in handsome suits. Anna loved the moment right before the music began, when the room grew silent and the men bowed and the women curtsied. Anything could happen. Any song might play. Any dance might begin. It was like the beginning of a brand-new adventure.

  But when she had said that to Elsa, her big sister had looked down at her and shaken her head. “An adventure? It’s a nice idea, but it doesn’t work that way. Every dance is planned out before the party, every song played at exactly the right moment,” Elsa had said.

  Despite her sister’s practical view on balls, Anna remained convinced that she was missing out on all the fun by not being there. She couldn’t wait for the day when she and Elsa would be allowed to attend balls. All that noise and color and light. Even if her sister didn’t think so, Anna knew that balls were places where amazing things happened….

  “GOTCHA!” Elsa shouted, grabbing Anna by the shoulders.

  “AHH!” Anna screamed.

  “I found you!” her sister shouted, clapping her hands together and then playfully tugging on one of Anna’s pigtails. “I always find you.”

  Anna put her pudgy little hands on her hips and blew her bright copper bangs out of her eyes, trying to look upset. It lasted for all of a minute. Then she smiled.

  “Wanna play again?” Anna asked hopefully.

  “Sorry, Anna,” Elsa said, leaning down and giving her tiny sister a hug. “I can’t play again now. I have a lesson with Erlingur. But maybe later?”

  Anna pouted and crossed her arms. She wanted to play now!

  Elsa smiled. “If you let me go to my lesson now, I super sister promise, we can play later tonight. Maybe I’ll even do something…. special.” With a wink, Elsa turned and headed out of the ballroom, her footsteps echoing until they finally faded away.

  The frown disappeared from Anna’s face. Something special? That could only mean one thing. Elsa was going to use her magic!

  THE REST of the day seemed to drag by for Anna. At lunch she didn’t even protest when Cook gave her ärtsoppa. Usually she hated the thick pea soup, but today she barely tasted it. During history with Erlingur, she barely noticed when he made her recite the names of all the Seven Isles. Normally she’d be excited to learn more about neighboring countries, but today all she could think about was playing with Elsa.

  By bedtime, Anna was practically crawling out of her skin. She just needed everyone else in the castle to fall asleep, and then she and Elsa could play! Lying in her big canopied bed, Anna tried to slow her rapidly beating heart. No matter how many times she experienced it, she still couldn’t quite believe that her sister was capable of something so cool—literally. Elsa, it turned out, had the power to make things freeze! She could make it snow with a flick of her fingers and turn water into ice with a wave of her hand. She could conjure up snowmen out of the thinnest air and make ice crystals dangle from the chandeliers.

  Anna’s parents knew about Elsa’s magic, but Anna liked to pretend it was her and Elsa’s secret. She loved sneaking off with her sister to play when the rest of the castle was asleep. Their magical adventures were such fun that Anna was ready for the next time before the last time was even finished!

  And now, Anna thought as she lay in bed watching the clock tick painfully slowly, another adventure was about to start. Finally, she couldn’t wait any longer.

  “Elsa!” Anna whispered, jumping out of her bed and popping up beside her sister’s bed. “Psst! Elsa!”

  Her sister didn’t even move. She had clearly forgotten her promise.

  Anna jumped up on the bed and began to bounce up and down. “Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!” she chanted until Elsa finally groaned.

  “Go back to sleep,” Elsa said sleepily.

  “I just can’t,” Anna said, lying down on her back so that all her weight was now on Elsa. “The sky’s awake, so I’m awake. So we have to play.”

  “Go play by yourself,” Elsa said, shoving her sister off the bed.

  Anna landed with a thud on the floor. She let out a sigh. Elsa had promised! How could she have forgotten? And then Anna smiled to herself. She knew just how to make her sister get out of bed. “Do you wanna build a snowman?” she asked mischievously.

  Instantly, Elsa’s eyes popped open and she smiled.

  Anna smiled back at her older sister. She hadn’t forgotten after all. It was time to go play in the snow.

  Moments later, the sisters were back in the ballroom. But now the entire space was filled with snow. Standing in the middle of it all, Elsa laughed as she waved her hands together. Snow
flakes burst forth and danced between her palms as she magically created a snowball. Anna tilted her head back and opened her mouth to catch snowflakes on her tongue.

  “This is amazing!” Anna shouted.

  “Watch this!” Elsa said, stomping her slippered foot on the floor. Instantly, a layer of ice began to fan out around her, starting at her feet and quickly spreading. Soon the entire floor had become their very own private ice rink.

  Anna clapped her hands in glee as she began to slip and slide around the rink. Her laughter bounced off the walls as she windmilled her arms to keep her balance. Across the room, Elsa began to slide across the icy surface, too, a broad smile on her face.

  As they reached each other, Anna took Elsa’s hand and tried to twirl in a circle. “Wheeee!” With a thud, Anna fell onto her bottom, laughing.

  Elsa grinned at Anna. “Ready?” she asked. Raising her hands above her, Elsa wiggled her fingers. In front of Anna’s eyes, snow began to form in the air, falling softly to the ground. Elsa rolled some of the snow into a giant ball.

  Yes! Snowman time! Anna thought with delight as she began rolling a second ball to serve as the snowman’s tummy. Five pieces of coal, a carrot, and two branch arms later, the sisters had finished their masterpiece.

  Elsa quickly ran behind their creation.

  “Hi,” she said in a goofy voice, pretending to be the snowman. “I’m Olaf, and I like warm hugs.”

  Anna laughed. An Elsa snowman was almost as good as a real live one.

  “I love you, Olaf,” Anna said, giving the snowman a hug. Then she looked up at her sister, a gleam in her eye. “What else should we do?”

  Elsa concentrated hard and reached out toward the ceiling of the ballroom. Anna watched with pure joy as her sister began to turn the entire ballroom into a winter wonderland. Long glittering icicles soon hung from the large chandelier, and Elsa turned the windows into works of art with intricate snowflake-shaped etchings. With every movement of her fingers, it seemed as though Elsa’s powers—and her ability to take control of them—were getting stronger and stronger.

  Running over to the base of an Elsa-created snowbank, Anna craned her neck to look upward. Then she glanced over her shoulder at Elsa. They had played this game before. Anna would run up the bank and jump, and Elsa would create another bank for her to land on.

  Scrambling up the snowbank, Anna took a deep breath and jumped off the edge. “Catch me!” she cried. The forward momentum of her body propelled her until she hovered in midair. Then she began to fall. Just when she thought she was going to hit the ground, Elsa flung out her arms, creating another snowbank. Landing in the soft powder, Anna let out a laugh and then leaped again. Over and over she ran and jumped, and over and over, Elsa caught her. Anna’s breath was coming fast in her chest and her little legs and arms ached from the effort, but she didn’t want to stop.

  “Again! Again!” she shouted.

  “Slow down!” she heard Elsa call back.

  But Anna didn’t want to slow down. She wanted to fly! With another burst of speed, she raced to the edge of the largest snowbank yet and leaped.

  Anna flew through the air, convinced that this was the best moment of her life so far. But then she looked down. Elsa was racing to catch up with her. Anna had only a moment to register the fact that Elsa had lost her footing and was falling down before she saw an icy stream of snow headed straight for her.

  And then everything went black.

  Anna’s head hurt. A lot. She opened her eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the light. Anna was surprised to find herself lying in her bed. A thick quilt was tucked up to her chin, and a fire roared in the fireplace. Despite the warmth, Anna couldn’t stop shivering. But it wasn’t just the chill in her bones that was causing her to shake. It was the confusion. She had no idea how she had gotten back to her bed.

  The last thing Anna remembered was sledding down a big hill with Elsa. She remembered the feeling of weightlessness as the sled hit a bump and hovered, suspended in the air, before heading back toward the ground. She remembered laughing and the feeling of her sister’s arms around her waist. She remembered how safe Elsa’s arms made her feel. And then…nothing.

  Lifting a hand, Anna gingerly touched her head. A wave of pain flooded her body, momentarily replacing the chill with burning heat. The sled must have crashed. That would explain the bump that Anna felt under her probing fingertips and why she was resting in bed. I bet Elsa is going to say “I told you so” when she gets up, Anna thought. She never likes going fast.

  Smiling ruefully, Anna called to her sister softly. “Elsa?” She waited for the rustle of sheets as her sister turned over. But there was no sound from across the room. “Elsa? Elsa, are you awake?” Still nothing. Glancing out their bedroom window, Anna saw that the moon was now sinking in the sky. The dark blue of night was giving way to the brighter colors of day. Elsa was probably just sleeping.

  Gingerly, Anna sat up. Her eyes grew wide as a fresh wave of shivering overtook her small body. Elsa wasn’t sleeping—she wasn’t there! And she wasn’t the only thing missing from their shared bedroom. All of Elsa’s things—the dresser full of pretty clothes and shoes, the vanity, with its elegant mirror and matching stool, even Elsa’s collection of toys—were gone. In their place was Anna’s smaller furniture, rearranged to try to fit the empty spaces. It was as though her sister had never lived there at all.

  Worried and confused, Anna pushed off the covers and struggled out of bed. She swayed on her feet for a moment as blood rushed to her head and made her dizzy. When the moment had passed, she pulled open her door and looked into the hall. All the candles were lit, their flames making shadow shapes on the wall. Grateful for the light, Anna took a deep breath and began to tiptoe down the hall. Passing by a series of large doors, she turned the corner that led to the East Wing of the castle. This was where her parents slept and where the larger bedrooms were found. The nursery, which Anna had always shared with her sister, was located between the East and West Wings—the perfect place to sleep when you were between a baby and a grown-up, her mother told her.

  Standing in the East Wing now, Anna wanted nothing more than to put her hands on her hips, stomp her feet, and throw an adult-sized tantrum. Where is Elsa? she wanted to shout. Why isn’t she in our room, and why is all her stuff gone? But before she could open her mouth, she saw the door to her parents’ room open. A stream of light illuminated the ornate carpet in front of the room, the royal purples and golds bright against the surrounding shadows. A moment later, her mother and father appeared. To Anna’s surprise, they were dressed in their riding clothes. Her mother’s hair, which was usually styled and smooth, was coming loose from its bun, the wisps of brown catching the light and making it appear as though there were a halo over her head.

  “Mama?” Anna said, racing forward. “Mama, where’s Elsa? Why are all her things gone?”

  The queen didn’t respond right away, and Anna felt her chill deepen as she saw her parents exchange serious looks.

  Suddenly, Anna’s chill was replaced by fear as a new thought entered her mind. “Is…is Elsa…okay?” Anna asked. “I’m sorry we went sledding. I know we weren’t supposed to, but I just love sledding, and I didn’t know we were going that fast, and…” Her voice trailed off. She had been so focused on how strange it was that her sister was gone that she hadn’t even thought about why she might be gone.

  Kneeling down, Anna’s mother gently touched her cheek. “Your sister is fine, dear heart. She’s perfectly safe.”

  “Then why isn’t she in our room?” Anna asked, her lower lip trembling. “Is she mad at me? Did I do something wrong?”

  “No one did anything wrong,” her mother insisted, although now she was looking at the king. Then she turned back to Anna. “It was just time for Elsa to move out of the nursery. She needs her own room now that she’s older. Aren’t you excited to have the nursery all to yourself?”

  Anna shook her head violently. “No! No! NO! I am NOT e
xcited. I want Elsa to come back. Can’t she come back? I promise I’ll be good. I’ll never go sledding again. I don’t even need my own dresser if that would help. I just want Elsa back!” As she spoke, her voice got higher and higher and the words came faster and faster. None of this made sense. Why would Elsa move out so suddenly? Unless…Another thought popped into her mind.

  “Does Elsa not like me anymore?” she asked in a tiny voice. Looking up at her mother through teary eyes, she waited.

  There was a long pause, during which Anna’s mother and father seemed to carry on a silent conversation over Anna’s head. With each passing moment, Anna felt her heart sinking deeper and deeper. She was just about to collapse with sadness when her mother finally spoke.

  “Your sister loves you very much, Anna. I promise you,” the queen said. “This is just what needs to be done. You must trust me that this is the right thing to do. Someday you’ll understand. Now, you should go back to bed. You need your rest.”

  “But—”

  “Bed, Anna,” the king said.

  Sighing, Anna turned to go. “Please, Anna. Trust us,” her mother said behind her.

  But as Anna made her way back to her room, she felt anything but trustful. It was as if a piece of herself had been taken away, and her parents’ only words of comfort were that she would understand “someday.” Anna wanted to understand now. If she could just talk to Elsa…

  Just then, she heard a thud. Looking up, she saw two men carrying Elsa’s armoire into the empty bedroom down the hall. Rushing forward, she saw that all the missing furniture from the nursery was, in fact, now in this room. And standing there, in the middle of the big space, was Elsa herself.

  “Elsa!” Anna called out hopefully. She took a few steps into the room. “Elsa, why are you in here? Come back to our room! I know Mama and Papa said it’s…” Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of her sister’s expression. It was cold as ice.

  “Go to your room, Anna,” Elsa said, frowning. “You can’t be here.”

  “But…”

  “I mean it!” Elsa shouted, her voice cracking. “Go away!” Walking forward, Elsa reached to push Anna out of the room. But just before she touched Anna’s trembling shoulder, Elsa recoiled as though she had just remembered something terrible. That hurt Anna more than any of Elsa’s words had.