A Frozen Heart

by Elizabeth Rudnick

  “Sorcery!” Anna heard the Duke of Weselton say as he ducked behind his men. “I knew there was something dubious going on here!”

  Anna looked over at her sister, all thoughts of a wedding gone. Surely she couldn’t have seen what she thought she’d seen. Yet ice was still trailing from the tips of Elsa’s fingers. And the look of pain on Elsa’s face was almost too much for Anna to bear.

  “Elsa?” she said softly.

  For one brief moment, the sisters’ eyes met, and then Elsa turned and ran.

  Anna watched her sister race away. What have I done?

  How could I have been so blind? Anna thought as she chased after her sister. Is this why Elsa has always been so scared to be near me? Was she scared I would see her powers? How long has she even had these powers? Did Mama and Papa know? Is that why they kept us hidden behind the castle gates?

  The questions kept coming as Anna ran after her sister. All her anger had faded in the moment Elsa had revealed her powers. It made so much sense now. Her sister’s coldness. Her isolation. And here I was thinking I was the lonely one. I can’t begin to imagine what life must have been like for Elsa all these years. I’m sure Mama and Papa told her never to speak of this, which makes sense. They didn’t want people to fear her. Anna grimaced. It had taken the Duke only seconds to label Elsa a sorceress. What else might people be thinking of her? Anna had to go after her sister. Elsa needed her help.

  As she made her way out of the castle, Anna could see just how right she was. Everywhere she looked, things had been frozen over. July had turned to December in mere moments. The staircase leading down from the castle was slick, ice covering each step. Below, she saw that the fountain’s spray was now solid. Coins glinted at the fountain’s bottom under a thick layer of ice. And then, as Anna watched in disbelief, snow began to fall from the sky. In the distance, she could see Elsa running toward the gates of the kingdom.

  “Monster! Monster!”

  Scanning the crowd below, Anna saw the Duke standing with his men. Anna realized the men were scared of Elsa. They were all rubbing their backsides while they shouted curses at her sister’s retreating back. I hope they fell down the stairs, Anna thought. No one calls my sister a monster.

  Anna made her way down the staircase as quickly and carefully as she could. She was vaguely aware of Hans’s voice calling her name, but she didn’t care. She needed to reach her sister. “Elsa!” she called as she ran. “Elsa! Wait!”

  Elsa was already down at the fjord’s edge. Pausing, she looked back, and Anna felt a flash of hope that this could end right here and now. But then her sister turned back and tentatively stepped onto the fjord. Instantly, the water beneath her feet froze. She took another step and then another, each one faster than the last.

  Anna, not as sure-footed, slipped on the ice and fell. She watched in despair as Elsa made it to the far side of the fjord and then disappeared into the trees.

  “No,” Anna said, looking down at the single glove still clutched in her hand. This was all her fault. If she hadn’t pushed Elsa…

  “Anna!” Hans shouted as he reached her side. Sinking to the ground next to her, he put his arms around her. But Anna barely registered it. All she could see was the frozen fjord. All she could think about was her sister, racing away into the mountains as someone called her a monster.

  “Are you all right?” Hans asked again.

  He had been asking Anna over and over again since they had left the fjord and made their way back to the safety of the castle. A part of Anna realized it was sweet of him to be worried, but another part, a larger part, could only think about Elsa and wished he would just go away. She needed time to think.

  “No,” she finally said as they passed through the panicking crowd. She could hear people murmuring, “How can this be?” and “Snow,” and “It’s July!” Already it was getting colder, the snow beginning to pile up.

  “Did you know?” Hans asked, trying to pull Anna out of her shock.

  She shook her head. “No.” And what kind of sister does that make me? A horrible one, that’s what kind.

  The Duke of Weselton’s panicked shouts broke through Anna’s thoughts. “The queen has cursed this land! She must be stopped.” He turned to his men. “You have to go after her.”

  No! No! NO! If the Duke’s men went after Elsa, there was no telling what they would do. I made this happen, Anna thought as she pulled free of Hans and raced over to the Duke. When he saw her, the little man let out a squeak and ducked behind two of his men.

  “You!” he shouted. “Is there sorcery in you, too? Are you a monster, too?”

  Anna tried not to roll her eyes. The Duke was an imbecile. “No,” she said. “I’m completely ordinary.”

  “That’s right. She is,” Hans said, stepping up beside her. “In the best way,” he clarified.

  For the first time since ice had shot from her sister’s fingers, Anna smiled. She had forgotten how this whole thing had started. The marriage. True love. It was nice to have someone in her corner. But now Elsa needed someone in her corner.

  “My sister’s not a monster,” Anna announced.

  The Duke pointed at the staircase. “She nearly killed me!”

  “You slipped on ice!” Hans corrected him.

  “It was an accident,” Anna said, though she had to admit it made her a little bit happy to know the Duke had indeed taken a tumble. “She was scared. She didn’t mean it. She didn’t mean any of this….” Anna gestured to the courtyard, which now resembled a skating rink. “Tonight was my fault. So…I’m the one that needs to go after her.”

  “Fine,” the Duke retorted. “Do.”

  Anna didn’t bother to respond. She had made up her mind before the words were even out of her mouth. Nothing anyone could have said would have made a difference. But there was one person here she wanted to reassure. Putting a hand gently on Hans’s arm, she gave him a squeeze. “Elsa’s not dangerous,” she said softly. “I’ll bring her back…and I’ll make this right. Until then, I need you here to take care of Arendelle….”

  “I NEED YOU HERE to take care of Arendelle.”

  Hans felt Anna’s small hand on his arm and heard her request, but for a few moments, he barely registered either. His head felt fuzzy, as though it, like the kingdom around him, were filling up with snow. Hans still wasn’t sure what had happened. One minute he and Anna were getting engaged and telling Elsa, and the next the sisters were airing some major grievances in front of everyone. Then—BAM!—Elsa was shooting ice out of her fingers. It was the craziest—and scariest—thing he had ever seen. He had just wanted to turn and run. But then Anna had stepped up and taken charge of the situation. She had stood up to the Duke and now had this great big plan to go after Elsa. It was, he admitted reluctantly, rather impressive. And if Anna could find it within her to be strong in the face of something like this, Hans knew he had to as well. Who knows, he thought, some of his discomfort fading as he began to try to think like Anna, maybe this will work out better for me in the long run….

  “Hans?” With a start, Hans realized Anna was staring up at him, waiting for an answer. She seemed desperate to be on her way. She kept looking over her shoulder at the cold mountains in the distance. He couldn’t help wondering if she had any idea of the amount of power she was putting in his hands.

  Looking down into Anna’s eyes, he finally nodded. “On my honor,” he answered. His voice quavered slightly as he said the words, and he hoped Anna would chalk it up to nerves, not excitement.

  She didn’t even notice. Letting out a visible sigh of relief—after all, the temperature was now well below freezing—she grabbed her cloak from Kai’s outstretched hand and then hopped onto her horse. Turning, she addressed the crowd. “I leave Prince Hans in charge!”

  Instantly, the gathered crowd began to murmur. He made out a few confused “Prince Hans?” and “Who’s Prince Hans?” questions. He could hear others saying things like “The princess shouldn’t leave now,” and “
What will happen to us if she’s gone?”

  The thought gave Hans pause. He needed Anna if he was going to pull off his plan. What if something happened to her? He reached up a hand and placed it on Anna’s knee. “Are you sure you can trust her?” he asked. “I don’t want you getting hurt.” And it was true. He didn’t want to see Anna hurt. Elsa he didn’t care about. In fact, Elsa’s getting hurt or disappearing might just solve all his problems. But Anna…everything hinged on Anna now. Everything.

  “She’s my sister,” Anna said. “She would never hurt me.”

  Then, snapping the reins, she turned her horse and galloped off.

  Hans watched as the pair grew smaller. It was foolish of her to go alone. Hans was sure that after years locked in the castle, she knew nothing about tracking people, and surely she had little in the way of negotiating experience. And while Anna might not want to admit it, that was exactly what was going to happen when she finally found her sister—a negotiation. A give-and-take. I’ve spent years doing that with my brothers, Hans mused.

  But if Hans had gone, what good would that really have done? They might have both ended up lost in the snowy mountains, and then Arendelle would be left without a leader. Or worse, the people, in their fear and desperation, would turn to someone like the Duke of Weselton. No, staying behind was the thing to do. It was actually a blessing in disguise. With Anna and Elsa gone and Arendelle in crisis, Hans would have a chance to prove himself—to make the people love him.

  By the time Anna comes back, he vowed, I’ll have everyone begging her to marry me.

  Composing his features, Hans turned to the crowd. “People of Arendelle!” he shouted into the wind. “Princess Anna has put her faith in me, and now you must as well. I promise, I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe. I don’t want anyone to worry needlessly. I’m here for you!” And for myself, he added silently….

  I might have bitten off more than I can chew, Hans thought a few hours later as he looked out over the courtyard. The situation was dire, to say the least. A layer of solid ice covered everything, and the snow was still falling fast. The sky was a dull slate gray, the sun swallowed up completely. And it was growing darker by the minute. In the port, Hans could hear the wood on the ships’ hulls groaning with the growing pressure from the ice in the fjord. He knew it was only a matter of time before the ships would be reduced to little more than wreckage. And shortly after that, they’ll probably become fuel for all these fires, Hans thought. Desperate for warmth of any kind, Arendelle’s visitors were building fires all over the courtyard. The problem was it was July. No one had anticipated bad weather, and kindling was scarce. It’s only a matter of time before people start fighting over it, Hans thought with worry.

  He needed to do something. He had promised Anna. And the people. But every time he made his way off the castle steps and into the crowd, people grabbed at him, begged him to help, and asked him why this was happening. And he really had no answers. His bravado slipped away with each person he passed, and he began to question Anna’s decision as well as his own bold words.

  Sighing, he turned and made his way back into the castle. Gerda and Kai were rushing about, trying to keep candles lit and fires blazing. But the wind was whipping, and for every fire that stayed lit, two burned out.

  “Gerda!” Hans called out. The older woman paused and looked over at him.

  “Yes, sir?” she asked, her voice weary.

  Hans opened his mouth to bark an order but thought otherwise. He could tell Gerda was scared. It wouldn’t do to act like the bully. He needed to show her he was on her side. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

  Gerda looked surprised. “I’m fine, sir,” she said, giving him a quick, shy smile. “We must carry on. It’s what the princess and the queen would want. I just don’t know what to do is all.”

  “You leave that to me,” Hans replied. “First things first. We need to make sure people are warm, right?” She nodded, and he felt a surge of confidence. “So I’ll need an inventory of all the blankets we have. Both in the castle and in the stables. I don’t need them to be clean. I just need them to be in one piece.”

  “Horse blankets, sir?” Gerda said.

  Hans nodded. “At this point, I don’t think anyone cares, do you?”

  “I’ll begin immediately.” Gerda turned to go.

  “Wait,” he called out. “What else do you have to fight the cold? There must be a storeroom of the royal family’s winter clothes, no? Send someone to collect everything they can from there, as well. Cloaks, stoles, muffs. Anything.” He paused as another idea came to him. “And then let’s go check out the Great Hall. We should be able to fit quite a few people in there. We can remove the furniture and then…”

  Gerda nodded, her eyes wide as the prince continued to rattle off a list of to-dos: setting up cots; getting food from the pantry; providing toys for the young children to keep them distracted. Finally, noticing her look, Hans stopped and smiled sheepishly. “Am I asking too much?” he said.

  “No, sir,” she replied. “Not at all. I was just thinking…well, I was just thinking it is nice to have someone here to support the girls. It’s been so long since the king…” Her voice trailed off.

  Hans walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t fret, Gerda,” he said, giving it a squeeze. “I’m here now.”

  “Yes, sir. Yes you are.” Gerda turned to go and then paused. “I’ll get going on the blankets first, Prince Hans. I’ll find you as soon as we have some gathered.”

  As Gerda shuffled down the hallway, Hans let out a breath. This was more like it. He felt in control now. He was going to get the Great Hall set up as a relief station for Arendelle’s visitors and get them inside, out of the elements. This day had confirmed what Hans had always believed to be true: he would make an excellent king.

  It didn’t take long for Gerda to gather up a large number of blankets and cloaks. Finding Hans in the library writing lists of what still needed to be done, she gestured for him to join her. When he walked into the hall, he was shocked to see at least a dozen castle staff standing there, arms loaded down with blankets in various colors, sizes, and shapes. A few more held warm cloaks in their hands. It was exactly what Hans had wanted.

  “Good job, Gerda,” he said. Gerda blushed at his praise. “Now, let’s start getting these outside and delivered to our guests. If you see children, be sure to get them the warmest of the blankets, please. Same with the elderly. They will not be able to fight off the cold as well.”

  As the staff began to head toward the main castle door, Hans looked over at Gerda. “I’m going to go outside now. But I need you to stay here and work with Cook to get the soup and hot glogg into the Great Hall. I’ll start sending people in shortly.” Turning, he followed the staff out the door. It was time to show everyone the leader he could be—and would be—if they let him.

  HOT CHOCOLATE with fluffy marshmallows. Tea in a perfectly warm cup. Bed, right before I get out of it in the morning when it is all cozy and slept-in. Fuzzy slippers and mittens. Logs burning brightly in the big stone fireplace in my room. Warm. I just need to keep thinking warm and maybe I’ll actually feel that way, Anna thought as she rode Kjekk through the deepening snow.

  Who am I kidding? she thought a moment later as a particularly strong gust of wind sent thick snowflakes flying onto her already numb cheeks. There is no way I’m going to feel warm.

  As Kjekk continued to trudge along, nickering worriedly every few steps, Anna looked around. It was hard to believe that it was July. Tree branches bowed almost to the ground under the weight of the snow and ice. The smaller shrubs and flowers that should have been blooming in abundance at this time of year were now buried. Every once in a while, Anna caught sight of a bird or a squirrel trying to find morsels of food in the frozen landscape. Poor things, Anna thought. They weren’t prepared. None of us were.

  Shivering, Anna pulled up the collar of her cloak, trying
unsuccessfully to block the flakes of snow that were making their way down the back of her dress. “Elsa! Elsa!” she called out, hoping her sister hadn’t made it too far. “I’m sorry! It’s all my fault!”

  She was met with silence. Sighing, she urged her horse to move faster. So far away from the lights of Arendelle, it was completely dark. But since Anna had no intention of going home without her sister, she would have to keep looking, light or no light. I just need to fix this. Then I can go home and see Hans….

  The thought of Hans gave Anna a momentary rush of warmth. Hans. Wonderful, perfect Hans. Thank goodness for him. If he hadn’t been there? Anna shuddered to think. She couldn’t have left Arendelle without someone in charge, and there was no way she trusted the Duke of Weselton—or any of the other dignitaries, for that matter. The only person she trusted was Hans. She had immediately felt better when he stepped up so gallantly and heroically accepted the reins. It had been like something out of a love story. I wonder what he’s doing now? she thought, clinging to the warmth that thinking of him brought. Probably something amazing and adorable, like tucking a young child under warm blankets and reading him a story…I’m sure he’s already secured the kingdom and ensured everyone’s safety. Anna’s heart fluttered. Thank goodness for Hans. Elsa needs me right now, and without him, I never could have gone after her.

  As Anna got lost in her thoughts, her hands loosened on the reins and her legs no longer gripped the saddle quite so tightly. So when a branch snapped from the weight of the snow and Anna’s horse reared up, she didn’t stand a chance of staying on. She felt herself being flung forward and then, with a thud, found herself lying facedown in the snow.

  Well, that’s just peachy, she thought, sitting up and spitting out a mouthful of snow. Then she caught sight of Kjekk—running back down the mountain. And that just happened, too. Perfect, she thought. Next thing you know, some hungry wild animals are going to show up.