购买
下载掌阅APP,畅读海量书库
立即打开
畅读海量书库
扫码下载掌阅APP

CHAPTER 2

The castle's library was dark, but the king knew what he was looking for: an ancient book filled with knowledge from centuries past. When he found it, he pulled it from the shelf and quickly flipped through the pages to the section he needed. In it was a drawing of a troll, which seemed to be holding the northern lights in its hands. In front of the troll, a wounded human lay quiet while the troll used the magic of the northern lights to heal him. The king turned the page and spotted a crumbling document tucked into the book. He carefully unfolded the yellowed map.

Wasting no time, the king and queen threw on their cloaks, bundled up their daughters, and ordered that the horses be saddled. The royal family hurried away from the castle. The queen traveled on her own horse with Elsa, while the king held Anna in his arms. The horses thundered up the mountain path.

Kristoff and Sven were walking down the rocky mountain path under the bright glow of the northern lights. But as the rumble of hooves filled the air, they moved aside, wary of the approaching horses. They watched the riders gallop past, leaving a trail of ice behind them.

Curious, Kristoff and Sven followed the travelers to a ridge above a mountain valley. The two hid behind a rock and watched as the horses whinnied and came to a stop.

The king and queen dismounted. The king held a young girl to his shoulder; the queen held the hand of a slightly older girl.

“Please, help!” the king cried out. “My daughter!” The hillside appeared empty at first. Then a pile of rocks rolled down the hillside. Suddenly, the rocks unfolded themselves into legs and arms and stood up, revealing themselves to be small gray creatures—they weren't rocks at all! “Trolls,” Kristoff whispered to Sven.

At that moment, a rock next to Kristoff jumped up, turning into a short troll woman covered with moss. Her name was Hulda.

“Shush,” Hulda told Kristoff absently. “I'm trying to listen.” Then, startled, Hulda looked more closely at Kristoff, realizing for the first time that he was not a troll. Her face broke into a grin, and she reached out to give Kristoff and Sven big hugs. “Cuties!” she said, laughing.

In the valley, the king stood with his daughters as Pabbie, a very old troll, made his way through the crowd to gaze at the princesses.

First he looked at Elsa. “Was she born with the powers or cursed?” he asked.

“Born,” the king answered. “And they're getting stronger.”

The troll then turned his attention to Anna, who was still unconscious. “You are lucky it wasn't her heart that was struck,” he noted. “The heart is not so easily changed, but the head can be persuaded.” He paused. “We should remove all the magic, even memories of magic, to be safe.”

The king nodded. “Do what you must,” he said. With a gentle touch of his fingers, the troll pulled a series of glowing memories from little Anna's head. The memories hovered in the air as the troll transformed them into more sensible scenes. Instead of a magical snowman in the ballroom, Anna would now remember a winter scene in the courtyard. Instead of snowflakes in the hallway, she would remember snowflakes falling outside the window. All the magical moments she had shared with Elsa were gone, replaced with normal moments. The only remnant of her magical accident was the streak of white in her hair.

“There,” said Pabbie when he was finished. “She will remember the fun, but not the magic.”

“She won't remember that I have powers?” Elsa asked.

“No,” Pabbie said.

“It's for the best,” the king told her.

“Listen to me, Elsa,” Pabbie said. “Your power will only grow. There is beauty in it, but also great danger.”

As he spoke, the troll conjured up an image of an older Elsa in the sky. The image twirled gracefully, surrounded by beautiful snowflakes.

Then, amid the northern lights, the snowflakes turned into sharp spikes. The spectre of a crowd joined Elsa in the sky—the people used the icy spikes as weapons, attacking Elsa's glowing effigy.

“You must learn to control your power,” Pabbie continued. “Fear will be your enemy.”

The king hugged Elsa close. “We'll protect her,” he promised. “We'll lock the gates. We'll reduce the staff and keep her powers hidden from everyone... including Anna.” NZkelLsU/dPv5CMLM+egC8JK70h2bfAQpte9R1tVIGnmhpNjAB6MNdSdlvt4R0V9

点击中间区域
呼出菜单
上一章
目录
下一章
×