Anna knew that she should not have eaten the magic beans.
She knew that she should have run to get Elsa or Kristoff when the children showed her the moldering gingerbread house and the strange plant growing beside it. Or at least taken a sample to Grand Pabbie for analysis.
But her impatience and curiosity got the better of her. Again.
Plus, they had been so tempting. The entire bush looked to be coated with granulated sugar, and the aroma was so fruity -although she could not put her finger on which particular fruit- that she had to try some.
Breaking open a pod revealed a series of brightly colored beans. Their outer shells were somewhat hard, but easily gave way to her teeth. Their interiors were gel-like and translucent. And they were delectably sweet, with the same vaguely fruitlike taste, similar to their bouquet.
The children had watched in fascination, and she had the sense that she was setting a bad example. So Anna had felt obligated to eat all of the beans. In order to prevent the children from doing anything ill-considered.
Now on the way back to town through the forest clad in all the splendor of autumn, she suspected she had made a horrible mistake. There was an increasing pang in her stomach. Only now did thoughts of poison or of a gigantic bean stalk enter her mind.
She broke into a cold sweat and held her side. The children stopped walking, unsure of what to do. She felt something moving in her abdomen, and now visions of a gigantic bean stalk were frantically racing through her head. The pressure was mounting; something was definitely pushing against her viscera, and she was now in mortal terror of how it would get out. She could not take another step. The oldest boy in the group drew closer to her, trying to offer assistance.
"Leif," Anna gasped to him, "go get Queen Elsa."
The pressure suddenly released itself in a most un-princess-like way, and the bottom of her skirt was lifted almost up to her ears - and Leif and the fallen leaves were lifted high off the ground in a whirlwind. Leif landed with a thud, but didn't seem to be hurt. The children looked on in surprise.
As much of a relief as it was to know there wouldn't be a vine high enough to reach the clouds growing out of some part of her anatomy, Anna realized she wasn't out of the woods yet, literally or figuratively.
Her stomach rumbled. She felt another twinge, and the heaviness intensified in her gut. She grabbed a tight hold of her skirt and braced for the next round.
This time all of the children were picked up in the swirl. Fortunately, they landed again without injury.
The youngest girl clapped with glee and exclaimed, "Do the magic! Do the magic!"
Anna knew her troubles were just beginning.
Author's Notes - If wind is any kind of important plot point in "Frozen II," you know Screen Junkies' Totally Honest Trailer for it will call it "Frozen II: A Mighty Wind" if it's OK-ish, "Frozen II: Breaking Wind" if it's bad, or "Frozen II: Wind Beneath My Wings" if it's great.
And so help me, if any important new character in "Frozen II" is named Leif, I'ma get medieval on someone at the Big D. I understand they need to have some humor for eight-year-olds, but it has to be more subtle than that. I mean, I can get away with it because I'm not charging you US$10 a ticket for groaner puns.
I could add a few more short chapters because I can imagine Elsa (and by extension Idina Menzel) singing the "Beans, beans the musical fruit" refrain. Now you can imagine that, too. I'm so evil.