Frozen Junior Novel

by Disney Book Group

  “Olaf!” cried Anna, racing over to Olaf’s head.

  “Watch out for my butt!” he warned.

  Anna and Kristoff jumped out of the way just as the rest of Olaf’s body slammed into the snowbank.

  Anna picked up a handful of snow and molded it into a ball. Then she flung it at the huge snowman. “It’s not nice to throw people!” she shouted angrily.

  Marshmallow roared—and charged after them!

  “All right, feisty-pants,” Kristoff said to Anna. “Now you made him mad!”

  “I’ll distract him,” Olaf said. “You guys go!”

  Olaf’s belly and butt took off in opposite directions. “No, not you guys!” he yelled to the two body balls, then sighed. “This just got a lot harder.”

  Anna and Kristoff slid down the mountain. When they reached the bottom, Marshmallow was already there!

  “Look out!” Kristoff called.

  They quickly got up and ran through a maze of trees and snowbanks, with Marshmallow close behind them.

  “This way!” Anna shouted. She grabbed a stick and knocked the heavy snow off a tree. With the extra weight lifted, the tree snapped upright and knocked Marshmallow back. Anna and Kristoff laughed and ran ahead of the snowman. But Marshmallow was not giving up.

  Anna and Kristoff continued to run until they reached the edge of a steep cliff.

  “Whoa, stop!” Kristoff yelled.

  Anna peered over the edge. “It’s a hundred-foot drop,” she said.

  “It’s two hundred,” he countered. Taking a rope, Kristoff tied a loop around Anna’s waist. Then he dug a U shape in the snow.

  “What’s that for?” Anna asked.

  “I’m digging a snow anchor,” Kristoff told her.

  “Okay. What if we fall?” Anna said. She looked over the edge again.

  “There’s twenty feet of fresh powder down there,” he answered. “It’ll be like landing on a pillow.” He paused, and then added, “Hopefully.”

  Anna’s eyes widened.

  Kristoff tied off the rope in the snow anchor. “Okay, Anna,” he said. “On three…”

  Anna moved closer to the edge.

  “One, two…,” Kristoff counted. Just then, a tree sailed through the air. Marshmallow had thrown it at them!

  “Tree!” Anna yelled. She jumped over the cliff, pulling Kristoff with her.

  “What? Whoa!” Kristoff hollered as the two plummeted. Seconds later, the rope caught their fall and they were dangling in midair.

  At that moment, Olaf emerged from the trees, a complete mess. His body parts were in the wrong order as he staggered toward the cliff.

  “Oh, man, I am out of shape,” he mumbled, winded from the chase. He quickly put himself back together properly. “There we go,” he said. “Hey, Anna! Kristoff! Where’d you guys go?” He searched all around. “We totally lost Marshmallow back there!”

  Marshmallow stepped forward and stood behind Olaf.

  Olaf peered up and smiled. “Hey, we were just talking about you,” he said. “All good things, all good things,” he quickly added.

  The big snowman roared and went for the snow anchor that held Kristoff and Anna. Olaf took action and jumped onto Marshmallow’s leg. “No!” he shouted. Realizing he was no match for the giant, Olaf shrugged. “This is not making much of a difference, is it?”

  Marshmallow shook off the little snowman and kicked him over the edge of the cliff. Olaf flew past the dangling Anna and Kristoff.

  “Hang in there, guys!” he called.

  A tug on the rope told Anna and Kristoff that Marshmallow was pulling them back up to the ledge! They started spinning out of control. Kristoff reached down for Anna and hit his head on the cliff.

  “Ugh!” he shouted.

  Marshmallow pulled them almost to the top. “Don’t come back!” he bellowed.

  “We won’t!” Anna answered. She reached up and cut the rope with a knife. She and Kristoff fell down, down, down…and landed in a deep pile of soft snow.

  Suddenly, everything was quiet. “Hey, you were right,” Anna said, sitting up and shaking the snow out of her hair. “Just like a pillow!” She looked over and saw Olaf.

  “I can’t feel my legs!” Olaf screamed, panicking as he stared at two feet coming through the snow in front of him. “I can’t feel my legs!”

  “That’s because those are my legs,” Kristoff said, sitting up just behind Olaf.

  Suddenly, Olaf’s lower body came running over. “Oh, hey,” Olaf said to Kristoff. “Do me a favor and grab my butt.”

  Kristoff took Olaf’s chatty head and slammed it onto his body.

  “Oh, that feels better,” Olaf said happily.

  Sven walked over and sniffed Olaf’s carrot nose.

  “Hey, Sven!” Olaf greeted the reindeer and then turned toward Anna and Kristoff just before Sven could bite the carrot. “He found us!” He looked back at Sven. “Who’s my cute little reindeer?” he cooed.

  Kristoff pulled Olaf away from Sven. “Don’t talk to him like that.”

  Then Kristoff went to help Anna. “You okay?” he asked, pulling her out of the snow.

  “Whoa! Strong man,” Anna said. “Okay, thank you.” Anna’s and Kristoff’s eyes met. They held the gaze for a long moment and then looked away.

  “How’s your head?” Anna asked. She touched the spot where Kristoff had banged his head on the cliff.

  “Ow!” he shouted. “I mean…it’s fine. I’ve got a thick skull.”

  Anna giggled.

  “I don’t have a skull,” Olaf remarked. “Or bones.”

  “So now what?” Kristoff asked Anna.

  The question sent Anna into a panic. “I don’t know! What am I going to do? Elsa threw me out, I can’t go back to Arendelle with the weather like this, and then there’s your ice business.…”

  Kristoff felt bad for Anna, but he knew panicking wouldn’t help. He tried to steer her back to their current situation. “Hey, don’t worry about my ice business,” he told her. “Worry about your hair.”

  Anna’s hands flew to her head and she tried to smooth down her hair. “What? I just fell off a cliff,” she said. “You should see your hair.”

  “No, yours is turning white,” he said, concerned.

  “White?” Anna cried. She grabbed her long braid just as another section of hair lost its color.

  “It’s because she struck you with her powers, isn’t it?” Kristoff asked.

  “Does it look bad?”

  Kristoff thought for a moment. “No,” he said.

  Olaf popped up. “You hesitated,” he said.

  “No, I didn’t,” Kristoff said. He knew that Anna needed help. And he knew where to go—and who to ask. “Come on.”

  “Okay! Where are we going?” Olaf asked.

  “To see my friends,” Kristoff said.

  Anna’s eyebrows rose up. “The love experts?”

  Olaf was surprised. “Love experts?”

  “Yes,” Kristoff answered. “They’ll be able to fix this.”

  Anna followed Kristoff and Sven, with Olaf trailing behind. “How can you be so sure?” she asked.

  “Because I’ve seen them do it before.”

  “I like to consider myself a love expert,” Olaf said sweetly.

  Far down the mountain in Arendelle, the air was still frigid and snow blanketed the land. People wondered if warm weather would ever return. The fjord was frozen solid, and all the dignitaries who had arrived for Elsa’s coronation were forced to stay since their ships were stuck. In the meantime, men and women were working hard to unload supplies from the marooned boats and haul them to the castle, where they could be stored and distributed.

  Hans moved through the crowded village, handing out heavy cloaks. “Who needs a cloak?” he asked. “The castle is open. There’s soup and hot glogg in the Great Hall,” he said, referring to a special drink of hot wine.

  “Arendelle is indebted to you, Your Highness,” a woman said.

  The Duke
approached. “Prince Hans!” he said. “Are we just expected to sit here and freeze while you give away all of Arendelle’s tradeable goods?”

  “Calm yourself,” counseled Hans. “Princess Anna has given her orders.”

  The Duke went on. “Has it dawned on you that your princess may be conspiring with a wicked sorceress to destroy us all?”

  “Do not question the princess,” Hans responded forcefully. “She left me in charge, and I will not hesitate to protect Arendelle from treason.”

  The Duke was put in his place. “Treason? No, I—I…,” he stuttered.

  Hans didn’t have a chance to reply. At that moment, Anna’s horse galloped into the village square.

  “Whoa!” Hans called to the horse, catching his reins. “Easy, easy.”

  “Princess Anna’s horse!” a man shouted. “What happened to her? Where is she?”

  Panic grew among the villagers. Hans looked toward the North Mountain. “Princess Anna is in trouble!” he cried. “I need volunteers to go with me to find her.”

  A number of men immediately stepped forward. The Duke ordered his two huge guards to join the search party as well. But he gave them a little advice before they left.

  “Should you encounter the queen,” the Duke told his men quietly, “be prepared to put an end to this winter. Do you understand?”

  The men nodded and smiled. They enjoyed a good fight.

  Soon they all trailed Hans across the frozen fjord and up into the mountains.

  In her ice palace at the top of the mountain, Elsa looked out the window and felt her own panic rising. She hadn’t meant to hit Anna with her magic, and she wished she could take it back.

  “Get it together,” she told herself, trying to use all those strategies her parents had taught her years ago. “Control it. Don’t feel, don’t feel.”

  Just then, ice cracked behind her. Looking around, she realized a trail of ice had formed behind her—and it was going up the wall!

  Frightened, she gave a sharp cry and continued working to keep herself under control. “Don’t feel. Don’t feel. DON’T FEEL!”

  The ice on the floor began to change and grow into a series of sharp spikes. Alarmed, she glanced out the window. The wind was rising as the weather whipped up to match her feelings of worry.

  Hans and his volunteers made their way through the snowy woods and braved the steep incline of the North Mountain. Some were on horseback, while others walked. Many of them carried torches and swords. The Duke’s guards carried crossbows.

  All around them, the storm was growing worse.

  At the top of mountain, Hans led the group around the rocky cliffs, and eventually they came upon the ice palace. He turned to the men as they all gaped at the spectacular structure. “We’re here to find Princess Anna,” he reminded them. “Be on guard, but no harm is to come to the queen.”

  Suddenly, a mass of snow rose from the ground behind Hans. It was Marshmallow! The huge snowman refused to move away from the palace entrance. As the volunteers pressed forward, Marshmallow reacted quickly, knocking men to the ground. Hans rolled to safety and grabbed his sword.

  Then Elsa, still upset from Anna’s visit, stepped out onto her balcony to see what was happening. She was spotted by one of the Duke’s guards. They ducked around Marshmallow’s legs, raced into the palace, and charged up the stairs.

  “Stay back!” Elsa warned. She didn’t want her powers to hurt anyone. The men had their crossbows aimed at her. She held up her arms and summoned a wall of ice for protection.

  But the Duke’s guards kept coming. Desperate to keep them away, she waved her arms, and the wall of ice forced one of the attackers onto the balcony. He teetered on the edge, trapped.

  The other guard was still coming after Elsa, with his crossbow ready to shoot. With another wave, Elsa created a series of icy spikes, pinning the man in place against the wall. The spikes came right up to his jaw, barely allowing him to breathe.

  Outside the palace, Hans and his fighters continued to battle the powerful snowman. Hans swept Marshmallow’s leg with his sword, forcing the snow giant to fall. Marshmallow rolled away and off a cliff. Hans and his men raced into the ice palace.

  There, he immediately spotted the guard trapped against the wall and the other one pushed to the very edge of the balcony. The man was just inches from falling to his death!

  “Queen Elsa, no, please!” Hans called out. “Don’t be the monster they fear you are!”

  Elsa saw the fright in the guard’s eyes and hesitated. With a start, she realized she had gone too far; this was exactly what she had worked so long to avoid. As she looked down at her hands, the wall of ice retreated. She had always tried to keep people safe, not put them in more danger—and now her self-control seemed to be dissolving entirely.

  But as the icy spikes melted away from the Duke’s other guard, he aimed his crossbow at Elsa. Hans acted quickly. He pushed the man’s crossbow aside, causing it to shoot at the ceiling. The loose arrow hit the chandelier above Elsa, sending it crashing to the floor. Shards of ice through the air…and Elsa fell, knocked unconscious.

  Hours later, Elsa’s eyes fluttered open. She was in a stone room with one tiny window high on the wall letting a cold light into the room. Elsa rose from the bench where she lay—and realized that she could not bring her arms forward. Her hands were encased in thick coverings, which were connected to long chains and bolted to the floor. She could see out the window well enough, though, to know that she was back in Arendelle. She was imprisoned in the castle dungeon and could see the snow continuing to fall over the kingdom.

  “No!” Elsa cried, looking out at her frozen kingdom. “What have I done?”

  Kristoff and Sven led Anna and Olaf through a rocky area of the mountains, weaving through valleys and hills. Darkness had fallen, but the northern lights lit the sky with a green glow. Anna hoped Kristoff’s friends wouldn’t mind that they were stopping by so late.

  Kristoff could see that Anna was shivering. “Are you cold?” he asked.

  Anna grinned. “I’m fine.” It made Anna feel better that Kristoff was concerned about her.

  “Good,” said Kristoff, coming to a halt. “Well, we made it. Meet my friends. They’re more like family, actually.”

  Anna looked around, confused. It was a valley of rocks. “They’re rocks,” she pointed out.

  “They’re love experts,” Olaf said.

  “They’re experts on everything, really,” Kristoff explained. He looked very serious.

  Anna thought Kristoff had lost his mind. She started to back away. “Right. Well, thank you for your help, but I’m thinking I’m going to go. Now. Right now.”

  Suddenly, rocks began to roll toward them. Strange voices called out, saying, “Kristoff’s home! Kristoff’s home!” As Anna watched, the rocks rose from the ground one after another and transformed into trolls. Suddenly, they were surrounded!

  Hulda pushed her way to the front, thrilled to see Kristoff. Clearly, she knew him well. “He’s brought a girl!” she exclaimed with a grin.

  The trolls climbed over each other to get a good look at Anna.

  Hulda examined Anna. “Let me see. Bright eyes. Working nose. Strong teeth,” she said. “Yes, she’ll do nicely for our Kristoff.”

  Anna finally caught on. They believed she was Kristoff’s girlfriend, and that he’d brought her to meet them! “Wait. No. H-he and I aren’t…,” she stammered. “I mean, he’s not, we’re not…”

  Kristoff jumped in. “What she means is, that’s not why I brought her here. We need—”

  A troll named Soren cut him off. “We know what you need,” he said confidently. And with that, the trolls began to tell Anna all about Kristoff’s shortcomings. According to them, he was a bit of a fixer-upper, but a little love would make everything right.

  Anna wasn’t sure how this information could help solve her problem, but Kristoff didn’t seem worried. “Just do whatever they say, and you’ll be fine,” he advised her.<
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  The trolls started dancing and singing about love being a force that brings out the best in everyone, even if people have made bad choices in the past. Their excitement was infectious, and Anna and Kristoff were soon swept up in the celebration. Anna actually enjoyed the dancing, and she even let the troll women decorate her hair. Before long, she and Kristoff were moved to an area where they stood in front of the entire troll crowd.

  “Do you, Anna,” a serious troll began, “take Kristoff to be your troll-fully wedded—”

  “Wait! What?” Anna exclaimed.

  “You’re getting married,” the troll said.

  Just then, a mighty shiver shot through Anna and she collapsed. Kristoff caught her.

  “I think someone has cold feet,” Soren said.

  Hulda sniffed. “Nervous jitters is all.”

  Kristoff held Anna tight. “No,” he insisted. “Something’s wrong.”

  Pabbie pushed his way through the crowd. “He’s right. Something is wrong,” he said. Pabbie walked up to Anna, took her hands, and looked into her weakened eyes. A shiver went through her body as he lifted a lock of her hair, which was now all white.

  “Anna,” Pabbie said in a low voice, “your life is in danger.”

  A hush fell over the trolls. Anna looked at Kristoff as Pabbie continued.

  “There is ice in your heart, put there by your sister. If not removed…to solid ice you will freeze,” he told her. “Forever.”

  “What? No!” Anna gasped.

  Kristoff tried to stay calm. “So remove it, Pabbie,” he said.

  “I can’t. If it were in her head, that would be easy,” Pabbie said. “But only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart.”

  “An act of true love?” Anna repeated.

  “A true love’s kiss, perhaps?” suggested a nearby troll.

  Kristoff paused, thinking. “We’ve got to get you back to Hans,” he said.

  “Hans,” Anna answered weakly. “Right. Hans.”

  Quickly, Kristoff scooped Anna into his arms and placed her on Sven’s back. He climbed up behind her, nodding his thanks to the trolls.

  Hulda sighed. “Ugh. We’ll never get him married, Soren,” she muttered.