Disney Before the Story

by Kate Egan

  Beside the fire, Anna bounced in anticipation. “When are we roasting marshmallows?”

  “Right now!” said Queen Iduna, carrying a bowl full of marshmallows to the fire. Elsa put one on the end of her stick and roasted it patiently. She waited to eat her marshmallow until it was golden brown all around.

  Anna, on the other hand, strung five marshmallows along her stick and stuck it into the hottest part of the flames. Soon her marshmallows were black on the outside and raw on the inside, but she didn’t care one bit. She tugged them from her stick one by one and devoured them in seconds. As soon as she had finished them, she asked, “Can I have some more?”

  “Not tonight,” said King Agnarr. His face was lit by the soft glow from the fire. Their father reached down and lifted one of his fiddles to his chin. Keeping time by tapping his toes, the king began to play one of their favorite tunes.

  Anna and Elsa sprang up to twirl in circles around the fire, their favorite kind of dancing. And then, when they were tired after a dozen songs, they lay on the grass and watched the twinkling stars.

  Elsa imagined connecting the stars to form the shape of a rabbit and thought some more about the snow hare. Why would she need his good luck anyway? Maybe she could use it in the future. Good luck might help her master her magic. Maybe it would even help her when she became the queen. Too bad no one ever caught the snow hare. It was sad he was only a legend.

  When the fire died down, it was time for the girls to go to bed. They ducked into their fort and checked on Hildy and Hanna before snuggling into bed. Queen Iduna sat with one arm around each of her daughters as she read them fairy tales; then she tucked them in for the night.

  “Sweet dreams,” she said. “Tomorrow will be a new adventure!”

  The room was dark when their mother left, and shadows moved across the ceiling. Next to Elsa, Anna propped herself up on one elbow. “Want to tell ghost stories?” she asked.

  Elsa could already hear the wind howling through the trees. It did sound a little like ghosts, she thought. “Sure!”

  She was careful not to make her story too scary for Anna, though. Hers was about a friendly ghost who returned to the same cottage summer after summer to visit the place he loved the most.

  Anna’s story was darker and more dramatic. “This is about the ghosts of the people who looked for the snow hare but never found him,” she began. “They never found good luck. Actually, all their luck was bad. . . .”

  Elsa couldn’t let Anna give herself nightmares. “Let’s save that one for tomorrow night, okay?” she said. She hugged her sister and closed her eyes, pretending to sleep.

  In no time, Anna was breathing evenly, lost to the world of dreams. Elsa wasn’t tired yet, but she knew a good way to put herself to sleep. All Elsa needed to do was start reviewing her list of Arendelle’s rulers, and she drifted off at once.

  In the middle of the night, though, Elsa awoke with a start. For a moment she forgot where she was, but soon she remembered. Their little room, the summer, the fort, the dolls, the plate, the future. But something wasn’t right.

  Elsa was still half asleep, so it took a moment for her foggy mind to realize what was wrong.

  The spot beside her in bed was warm, but her sister wasn’t there.

  Elsa blinked. Maybe Anna had gone downstairs for a drink of water or a midnight snack. Maybe she was with their parents, or somewhere else in the Sommerhus.

  Elsa wouldn’t be able to sleep until she knew, so she rolled out of bed and stretched. Lots of people woke up in the middle of the night, Elsa told herself. Anna’s usual way at the Sommerhus was to go to bed late and wake up at the crack of dawn, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t break her pattern. Maybe nothing was wrong at all.

  It was possible. But Elsa had a bad feeling.

  She ran her hands along the other side of the bed to make sure her sister wasn’t huddled under the blankets. Anna wasn’t there.

  Elsa slipped out of the room. Should she wake her parents? She did not want them to worry. For now, at least, she decided to search for Anna by herself.

  Elsa tiptoed downstairs. The glow of moonlight washed over everything, but the corners were dark and the grandfather clock cast an ominous shadow. Elsa darted into each room, scanning for Anna. “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” she whispered, but no one answered.

  Would Anna have left the Sommerhus? Most kids wouldn’t dare go outside at night alone, but Elsa knew her sister. Anna was fearless and bold, a girl who wouldn’t let anything get between her and her next big idea.

  But why? What could Anna want outside? Elsa had no answers, but she knew that Anna shouldn’t be alone. She was too little, and it was too dark. Her skin prickled with goose bumps.

  Elsa opened the door, taking care not to make any noise, and propped it open with a stone so she could get back in without waking her parents. There was no need to worry them, she decided. Anna couldn’t have gone very far.

  Stepping outside, Elsa crisscrossed the gardens of the Sommerhus, softly calling, “Anna? Anna? Are you out there?” But there was only silence.

  When a cloud drifted over the moon, the grounds around the cottage turned pitch-black. In another section of sky, the stars still winked, so Elsa would have to rely on their dim light to see.

  She took a deep breath. Where was she going to go?

  Elsa thought again about waking her parents but decided to put it off a little longer. Any minute, she expected to find her sister.

  She walked along the edge of the gardens and spotted Anna’s cloak near the hiking path. Had she worn it outside, then grown too warm? She had to be close, Elsa thought.

  Anna probably wasn’t scared, but Elsa shivered as she hurried along the path. Wasn’t her father always cautioning against the dangers of the woods? Elsa’s imagination ran wild. There could be animals out there, hungry and fierce. There could even be monsters. And Elsa knew that a person could get lost among the trees without anyone ever realizing they were there.

  That was the most frightening thing, Elsa thought—being alone. And thinking of Anna alone, in danger.

  Elsa paused for a moment to calm her racing heart, and when she stopped she remembered something: Anna might be alone, but Elsa didn’t need to be. Elsa had magic to keep her company.

  Her worries made the magic difficult to manage at first. After a few misshapen lumps, though, Elsa finally conjured something that resembled a snowball. Its cold weight in her hands felt reassuring; every time she felt a new surge of worry, she squeezed it to relieve the pressure. Soon the snowball was dented and melting, but Elsa’s spirits were restored. Anna couldn’t have gone that far, Elsa told herself. Any minute, she would find her.

  As she rushed ahead, Elsa’s eyes tried to take in every inch of the trail. Strangely, she was getting used to the dark, and as time went on it seemed almost like the forest was allowing her to see things she had never noticed before.

  The wind had been howling, but now it tickled Elsa’s nose, teasing her like a friend. Leaves rose in a gust, and it looked like they were dancing. Even the taste of the air was sharp and fresh, like lemon or mint. Was this why her mother loved the outdoors so much? Maybe these natural wonders were the true treasures of the kingdom.

  Elsa was almost at the top of a hill, which ended at a bluff. She could hear the gentle lapping of water far below. Would Anna have gone down there? Elsa panicked. Could she have been swept out to sea? She squeezed her snowball for comfort, digging her fingernails into its cold center, and then she remembered what Anna had said. The water was too cold. She wouldn’t even walk into it. She wouldn’t have come this way, Elsa thought. She could feel it in her bones.

  She turned around on the trail and headed back the way she had come, relieved to sense Anna wasn’t in the water but frustrated that there was still no sign of her sister. If only she had woken her parents at once! She needed help, and she was too far into the forest to turn back. For the hundredth time, Elsa wondered what Anna was thinki
ng. Why was she out there at all?

  Elsa was walking near the strawberry bushes, feeling her way past a row of pines, when suddenly she heard a faint voice. Was it the wind? Was it just her imagination? She wasn’t sure until she finally made out the words.

  “Elsa, come! I found him! I found the snow hare!”

  Elsa froze in place. It was Anna.

  Her voice was louder now. “Elsa! I’m over here!” she said. “I knew you would find me.”

  Elsa’s eyes scanned the forest, but she could barely see beyond the trees in front of her.

  “Help me!” Anna called. “I’m stuck!”

  Elsa moved toward Anna’s voice, keeping her arms out in front of her so she would not crash into anything. She knew that her sister was nearby, but she wanted to see her.

  “Help!” Anna cried out again.

  Elsa looked up, scanning the treetops, but it was only when she looked down that she understood the problem. She gasped. Only a few steps ahead of her, hidden by shadow and brush, was a deep hole. In the dark, she could barely make out Anna sitting at the bottom.

  “I found him, Elsa!” Anna said.

  Elsa was confused until she caught sight of her sister’s eyes, which were lit with excitement. And her sister’s arms, which were full of something white and fluffy, and kicking furiously.

  Elsa took a cautious step backward. “What is that?” she asked.

  “I told you!” Anna exclaimed. “It’s the snow hare!” Now Elsa could see that the white fluff had long ears and a puffy tail. It was larger than any rabbit she had ever seen, but otherwise it looked perfectly normal.

  Whether or not it was the legendary bunny, Anna struggled to keep hold of it. “I followed him down here, but now we’re stuck. You have to help us out!” she said.

  Elsa walked closer to the edge of the hole and peered down. Someone must have been digging there, maybe to plant or to build something. The hole was deep and wide enough to hold their room in the Sommerhus.

  “Oh, Anna . . .” said Elsa. Her sister was asking her to do something that seemed impossible. “The hole is huge!” She didn’t want to scare Anna, but she had to be honest. “I don’t know how to get you out.”

  “It’s not just me,” Anna reminded her, “but also the snow hare. He’s coming with me! I saw him outside the cottage from our window and followed him all the way here.” She sounded quite proud of herself.

  Elsa sighed. She was pretty sure it was just a regular rabbit. But when Anna got an idea into her head, it was hard to talk her out of it. “Yes, and the snow hare,” she agreed. There was no point in fighting about it.

  She stretched her arm out to Anna. “I can’t reach!” Anna said, extending her own arm as far as it would go. Her fingers grazed Elsa’s, but she was too far away to grab it.

  “I have a better idea,” Elsa said. “I think you have to run and jump to reach my hands.”

  Anna tried jumping once, and then again, but she lost her footing and landed back at the bottom of the hole. She fell on her back, and the rabbit wiggled free from her grasp. In a flash, he scrambled up the side of the hole and disappeared into the darkness.

  Anna began to cry. “Noooo!” she wailed. “He was supposed to bring us good luck!”

  “Shhh, Anna, don’t cry,” Elsa said, trying to sound calm. “I will get you out of there!” She just had to think for a minute. She sat down at the top of the hole, careful not to fall in herself.

  Elsa frowned, feeling hopeless. Someday a whole kingdom would be hers, but what good would that be if she couldn’t even rescue her sister? She didn’t have the power to do the one thing she wanted to do the most.

  Elsa sat up straight. That was it.

  She did have power—the power of her magic.

  True, her magic could be trouble, like when it led to her breaking the plate. It could be unpredictable. But when it worked right, it could let her do almost anything.

  Maybe even save her sister.

  “I’m cold,” Anna piped up. “It’s dark down here.”

  Elsa stood and forced herself to sound cheerful. “Think of it like our fort,” she said. “It’s your own special hideout! You’re perfectly fine in there for now.” Elsa did not want Anna to lose hope. She did not want her sister to doubt what she was about to try next.

  Anna sniffled and put her head in her hands. “I miss Hildy and Hanna.”

  “You’ll be seeing them in no time,” Elsa assured her. If she could get her magic to do exactly what she wanted, that was. It was a big if, but she had to try.

  Elsa closed her eyes and summoned her power. She would need more than snowballs or icicles. Taking in a deep breath, Elsa concentrated harder than she ever had before. She’d conjured up a sheet of ice. Could she make stairs? A rope? A slide?

  After a few minutes of intense focus, she heard Anna’s reaction from below. “Oh!” she said. “I’m skating!” Without realizing it, Elsa had spread a thin layer of ice around the bottom of the hole.

  “Sorry!” said Elsa. “Let me try again.” That was not quite what she had meant to do. “Anna, can you step off the ice for a second?”

  Elsa stared below and concentrated hard. Stairs would be too difficult, she decided. A rope was too likely to break. But what about a ramp? That meant Elsa had to come up with a sheet of ice that would stretch from the bottom of the hole to the top, where she stood, plus be strong enough to hold Anna. If it broke, Anna would fall.

  This was more than Elsa had ever asked of her magic before, and her instinct was to scrunch herself up to control it. Unless . . . would it be better to let her powers go? At once, Elsa knew what to do. She flung her arms out and let magic pour from her fingertips.

  She did not dare to look, but Anna told her what she needed to know.

  “There’s a ramp, Elsa,” Anna said with wonder. “Can I walk on it?”

  How long would this burst of power last? Elsa finally glanced down at the ramp she was building. It was hard to make out in the dark, but she could see the uneven slope of snow and ice inching to the top of the hole.

  “Yes!” Elsa said, once the ramp was long enough for Anna to get out. “But it’s very slippery! Please be careful, okay? And hurry! I don’t know how long we have.”

  Elsa’s heart felt still as her magic kept flowing. She was almost frozen with fear, until she saw Anna emerge from the hole. Her sister was fine, and it didn’t matter that the magic was beginning to fade. Elsa was brave, and Anna was safe; and if they were really lucky, they could get back to the Sommerhus before sunrise.

  The first hints of dawn spread across the sky as the sisters walked back home. Anna was unusually quiet, and Elsa was lost in thought. How would they explain to their parents what had happened? Even if they might get in trouble, Elsa wanted her mom and dad to know how she had used her magic to help Anna. It was a good sign for the future, she thought. Maybe someday she’d have full control over her power!

  Control over her little sister was another story, she thought. Turning to Anna, Elsa said, “What were you thinking, sneaking out like that? Something terrible could have happened.”

  “Something terrible did happen,” Anna pointed out. “But you saved me, just like I knew you would.”

  Elsa had to smile. Her sister had so much faith in her.

  “I woke up in the middle of the night,” Anna explained, “and I was thinking about our ghost stories. And then, from the window, I could see a bunny. I knew it was the snow hare! I just had to chase him. What if I never got another chance to catch his good luck?”

  “What do you need good luck for?” Elsa asked.

  “No, no, it wasn’t for me,” explained Anna. “The good luck was supposed to be for you.”

  “For me?” Elsa asked. She looked at Anna in surprise. She didn’t understand.

  “To help you when you become queen,” Anna said. “I thought you could use a little extra luck. Just in case.”

  Elsa’s heart warmed. She didn’t need good luck when she had a
sister like Anna. Her sister might be the kindest girl in the whole world, she thought.

  “I’m sorry you lost the snow hare,” Elsa said, hugging Anna.

  “It’s okay,” replied Anna. “I’ll find him again someday, I just know it.”

  Did her sister even understand the difference between real life and legends? There was no such thing as a snow hare, or at least not one that could change your life forever. But there was no convincing Anna, so Elsa just smiled and said, “I hope you do.”

  When they reached the Sommerhus, they tugged open the door and listened carefully. They couldn’t hear their parents at all. They were still in bed!

  “Let’s make them breakfast!” Anna said.

  But her idea of breakfast was more like dessert. Elsa didn’t have the heart to tell her that no one else would want to eat a bowl of strawberries stuck together with syrup and chocolate.

  Elsa set the table with her mother’s special plates and sat down with her parents after they had come downstairs rubbing their eyes.

  “What is this?” asked King Agnarr. “A party?”

  Elsa and Anna nodded. Before Elsa could explain why they were awake so early, Anna beat her to it.

  “We went on an adventure!” her little sister exclaimed.

  The king and queen were not happy to hear of their daughters’ nighttime outing.

  “The forest can be dangerous,” King Agnarr pointed out, as he had many times before. “Anything could have happened, and we would never have known where to look for you.”

  But the king and queen were happy to eat the strawberries—or they acted happy, anyway—and happy to hear that Elsa’s magic had saved Anna from the hole in the woods.

  “The magic did exactly what you asked?” said Queen Iduna. She put an arm around Elsa and hugged her. “I’m so proud of you!”