Day 5

扫一扫收听英文朗读

On the canvas, a handsome man stood beside a beautiful woman. A delicate crown of flowers rested on the woman's head, and her arm was raised so that her fingertips ever so gently brushed the bright petals. Turning her head slightly, Anna looked over at her other favorite painting. This one wasn't a portrait but a landscape. In it, the castle gates were thrown open. In the distance, the mountains rose up majestically, the tips covered in snow. In the foreground, a market had been set up in the middle of the village center. Dozens of brightly colored stalls were filled with goods of all kinds.

In one corner, two young girls stood giggling and holding on to each other. Looking at the two girls now, Anna felt a familiar pang of bittersweet sadness wash over her. She and Elsa had been like that once. They had probably even been to a market just like that one ... back when they could leave the castle. Back when the gates were always open ... Sighing, Anna lowered her eyes and opened her book. Maybe escaping into the words on the pages would make her forget the way her sister had ignored her again that morning ...

Suddenly, she heard someone clear his throat. Looking over, she saw that Kai had come into the gallery, his footsteps nearly silent.

“Kai!” Anna said, startled. “Do you need ...?” Her voice trailed off as she took in the expression on his face. All thoughts of her sister and the paintings vanished from her mind. Something wasn't right.

“Princess Anna,” Kai said, his voice filled with sadness. “There's been news.”

“Yes, Kai?”

“Your parents, Princess ... they're gone.”

Three years later ...

Anna was having the most wonderful dream. She was sitting in the middle of a huge field of the brightest green grass. The sky above her was a picture-perfect blue, and the air was warm, a slight breeze bringing with it the smell of freshly baked pastries from a nearby picnic basket.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Lying in her bed, Anna groaned and squeezed her eyes shut, unwilling to let go of the dream.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

There was another knock, and this time Anna heard Kai call out, “Princess Anna!” The voice sounded distant through the thick door. “Sorry to wake you, ma'am, but ...”

“No. You didn't,” Anna called back. “I've been up for hours.”

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Anna sat up, startled, the last of her dream fading away. In its place was the reality that her parents were still gone and her sister still wanted nothing to do with her.

After a while, Anna stopped trying as often. Instead of once a day, she would knock once a week. And sometimes not even then. The months dragged into a year, and then another year, Anna growing older and lonelier.

“Time to get ready!” Kai called out.

“Ready for what?” Anna said, her thoughts still caught someplace between her dream and her musings.

“Your sister's coronation, ma'am,” Kai clarified.

Anna's eyes flew open. Elsa had recently turned twenty-one, and after years of hiding away, it was time for her coronation! Today!

Anna slapped her forehead. How could I have forgotten?She thought as she leaped out of bed and ran over to the wardrobe. Her coronation dress sat waiting for her on a dummy, the brilliant green gown bright and spotless—which was not something that could be said for most of Anna's clothing. “I'm just effervescent,” she told Gerda whenever the maid good-naturedly grumbled at another stain created by one of Anna's more enthusiastic moments. “It's hard to keep all this ... this ... bubbliness inside,” Anna would tease. Then she would give the little maid a kiss on the top of her head and bounce off, forgiven as she always was.

“Oh, Gerda, can you believe it?” Anna asked, clasping her hands to her chest and twirling about. Her dressing gown flared out around her, nearly knocking over a hamper. “I thought this day would never come. It's been forever! Well, almost forever. I didn't think Elsa would ever go forward with the coronation! And then bam! She asks the bishop to show her the ritual, and she gets you to send out the royal invitations, and here we are! I swear that was the most Elsa has talked to anyone since ...” Her voice trailed off.

“Since your dear mother and father passed,” Gerda finished for Anna. She reached up and gave the princess a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. “They would be proud of you girls today. Very proud. Especially your mother.” She smiled, her words easing the darkness that had started to creep in on Anna's mood.

Anna smiled. “Today is all about new adventures, Gerda! I am going to be able to go outside! Beyond the gates! For the next twenty-four hours, the gates will be open, and I'll be able to do whatever I want!” She paused, suddenly overwhelmed by the concept. “What am I going to do first?”

Gerda shrugged as she helped Anna into the dress. “You can do what you want, Princess,” she said, guiding Anna's legs through the hoopskirt.