Part 2: The Magical Journey

Queen Elsa started to recognize the land around Arendelle, and it was because she had fled after her coronation party. Things certainly looked different in summer, and from a sleigh that was going lightning speed. Arendelle's country side was farmland, where crops and animals were growing and grazing.

"Elsa!" Olaf wailed trying to hold himself together, "I'm melting!"

"Hang on little guy." Elsa said, whipping up some snowflakes for him with an elegant stroke of her hand.

Elsa had to use her ice powers again, for about the fifth time since they left. Olaf's little flurry was getting to be quite a hassle to keep snowing, but Elsa couldn't let it stop. If she did, Olaf would melt away.

As soon as they were up in the snow, Elsa wouldn't need to worry about his snow flurry.

Lately, her ice powers had been easier to handle, ever since she had loved her magic more. Then an ache formed in her heart, as she realized her parents would never be able to see what she had created, how she had learned to love her powers… she stifled a tear.

You'll never see me cry, she reminded herself.

Anna looked at her sister with a worried look.

"What's the matter?"

"Oh nothing. I just… miss mom and dad. Don't worry, though." she said with a shaky sigh. Besides, they were having fun and she couldn't spoil it.

"We can turn back. We don't have to go if you don't want to…" Anna said, "I miss them too."

"No, let's keep moving. We've gotten this far anyway." Elsa said, "I'll be fine."

Elsa looked away to the farmland. A few people were tending the land in the distance.

"Do you two need a moment alone?" Kristoff asked.

"No." Anna said, and took a glance at Elsa before she turned around.

Olaf whispered in her ear and said, "If you need to talk to someone you can talk to me."

"Thanks Olaf, but I'm really fine. I just was thinking of mom and dad, and my ice powers." she sighed, and looked at her hands. Thankfully they weren't trembling.

Olaf placed his stick hand on her leg and patted it gently.

"I'm sure they'd love to visit your ice palace." Olaf said innocently, but it really warmed Elsa's heart. She had put her whole heart and soul into making that, her very own place where she could be free to be herself. Of course her parents would be proud of her. She smiled.

They got into the mountains, and it got colder, but Elsa didn't notice. In fact, she found herself feeling happy. Up here in the cold thin air she could breathe much easier.

Then, the sound of thunder clashed from behind them. It was hoof prints in the snow. Elsa's heart raced as she turned around and saw a group of men on horseback, with crossbows and torches. Already we're being chased by ruffians? she glared at the bandits, gritting her teeth.

"Kristoff!" Anna shrieked, "We're being chased!"

Anna looked around and squealed nervously too, not knowing what to do. Kristoff couldn't turn around, and instead went faster.

"Hurry Sven!" Kristoff shouted, whipping up the reins. Snow flew back into his face and hit Anna's back.

"I don't want to do this, but they're not stopping." Elsa said, and kneeled down in the seat facing towards the bandits, "Stop in the name of the Queen!"

She shouted. When they didn't stop, she got her hands ready to use her ice powers.

"Queen Elsa of Arendelle orders you to stop!" Anna shouted fiercely, "You'd better listen to her!"

But they didn't. Elsa knew these people were outsiders. That meant they probably didn't know she had ice powers.

I'm not going to hurt them, I'm just going to get them to stop chasing us, she thought.

Since they were on horses, it was going to be hard to get them to stop. But Elsa came up with a plan.

"Go faster, Kristoff!" Anna shrieked with wide eyes, clinging to him, as the bandits were gaining on them.

"Sven is going as fast as he can!" Kristoff growled.

Elsa shot an icy blast at each of the bandits shoulders, in one sweep of her hand the ice spikes shot out in sharp shards. All twelve of the men fell off their horses, who abruptly stopped.

"Wait, Elsa, let me help!"

"I can handle them!" Elsa said, pushing Anna back. Elsa had to protect her kingdom from these bandits, and her kingdom also meant Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven.

Anna climbed into the back seat, and Olaf had to squeeze in between them. Anna looked around in the back for weapons, but wasn't having much luck.

"Watch out, Anna!" Elsa said as an arrow whizzed past, and Anna ducked just in time.

A few feet ahead of the bandits, Elsa then created a dangerous fence of ice spikes, that looked like teeth. She gathered her breath, and then made a five foot high ice wall several paces ahead of the ice spikes to slow the bandits down even more. It was likely it wasn't necessary, but it was better safe than sorry.

Elsa felt a wave of exhaustion roll over her, and she sat down in the seat. She saw a thin column of smoke rise in the sky, and knew they were close to Oaken's Trading Post. Olaf turned around and started digging around in the bags for something to eat since Anna was starting to climb back into the front since she wasn't much of a help. Olaf handed Elsa an apple, and it was better than nothing. She rinsed it off with melted ice, and bit into it.

"I can't believe you stopped them all by yourself." Anna said, looking back at her sister.

She bit into the apple again and shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Maybe we should stop in the sauna." Anna suggested.

Elsa shook her head. She didn't look forward to that, but she knew Anna was just trying to help. If there was one thing Elsa didn't like, it was the heat.

They approached the Trading Post, and Sven slowed down, panting. Soon they stopped. Elsa took a deep breath and continued to eat her snack. With each bite, she felt her strength return, but she was going to need a lot more than an apple if they encountered those bandits again. Kristoff went to the back of the sleigh and searched for Sven's carrots. He clearly deserved them after all that running.

Elsa and Anna hopped off the sleigh, stretching from the bumpy ride.

"I think they were scarier than the wolves Kristoff and I had to avoid." Anna told her.

"You were chased by wolves?" Elsa blinked, so shocked that Anna had to go through so much just to talk to her, "I'm so sorry Anna."

They hugged each other warmly, and then it was time to go into Oaken's shop and see what he knew about the treasure. Kristoff stayed outside, since he didn't want to deal with Oaken. He'd probably call him something offensive again.

Anna had told Elsa all about her journey to bring back summer and Elsa. It was a good thing to understand her sister, since Elsa had quite a different viewpoint.

The bell chimed as they entered Oaken's Trading Post, and Oaken greeted them with his famous "Hoo-hoo! Your majesty! Everything is 100% off, just for you!" he said cheerfully, "Even a free double visit to the sauna!"
"Thank you very kindly, Oaken. But we don't have time for the sauna. We're busy… we're on a treasure hunt. Here, maybe Anna can tell you about it." Elsa suddenly felt exhausted having to talk to others, especially since she had just used a lot of her ice powers for defense.

"A treasure hunt, eh?" Oaken said.

"Yes! But we don't even know what the treasures are. Here's the map!" Anna said, and put the map down on the counter and let Oaken look at it.

Olaf jumped into the shop, chattering happy about the sauna.

"I want to go in the sauna!" he declared, heading straight towards the cramped and steamy sauna. Oaken's children were relaxing in there, and Elsa didn't want Olaf to melt… it would be too much work and way too hot and crowded.

"No Olaf," Elsa grabbed his hand, hoping to stop him, "You'll melt!"

How many times to I have to warn him?

"Some saunas are worth melting for." Olaf laughed.

Instead she popped his arm straight off, and he stumbled over his little snowmen feet to get to the sauna door. Elsa picked him up before he could go inside, stuck his arm back on and took him over to the counter.

"Let's just talk with Oaken, okay?" she said and sat him down. He looked about he shelves behind Oaken and wiggled his feet about.

Anna was explaining how she found the map in the library. She pointed to the X over Oaken's shop.

"Well, I haven't seen any crystals around here…" Oaken said, "Oh, is who is that fellow outside? He seems awfully familiar…"

"Um, don't mind him. He's not coming in." Anna said.

Oaken shrugged and said, "Well, you're welcome to look around, but I don't know if you'll find any treasures. You can look in the barn if you want."

"Okay. Thanks for your help." Anna said, "See you around, Oaken!"

"Your beard is funny." Olaf commented, and jumped off the counter before he could say anything.

"Sorry." Elsa waved shyly, and ducked out the door.

Oaken blinked, too startled to say anything.

Once they were outside, Elsa took a deep breath and went to the back of the sleigh to find some food. She pulled out and unwrapped a muffin, and waited for Anna to tell Kristoff what happened inside. She took a another bite. It was the perfect mix of blueberry and cinnamon. Elsa enjoyed her muffin before Anna and Kristoff came to tell her the plan.

"So, let's go look in the barn." Kristoff said, "I'm kind of familiar with the inside. You three can look outside."

They nodded, and headed over to the barn. Kristoff opened the doors and went inside with Sven, who was still munching on carrots.

Olaf jumped around, spinning and twirling in the air and landing in the snow.

"This is so much fun! I wonder what it's going to be!" Olaf yelped excitedly.

Elsa felt much better after the apple and muffin, and was ready to look for the treasure. Anna went the other way to the left, and Olaf went with Elsa to the right. Thin trees and bushes surrounded the back of the barn, and then thick and tall pine trees grew into the forest, which Elsa stayed clear of because she couldn't afford to get lost.

Maybe it'll be a present for Anna, Elsa thought.

Then Olaf rushed ahead and spotted something in the bushes near the edge of the forest.

"Elsa, look!" he said, "Come on, hurry!"

She dashed after him, her snow boots making deep prints in the snow and her ice cape brushing the top of the flakes as she rounded the corner. Olaf lifted branches of a bush, and waved his other hand for her to come and look. There were sparkles dancing around a treasure chest when Elsa came and looked at it up close.

"Anna! We found it!" Olaf shouted.

"Where are you, Olaf?" Anna shouted, hearing him, but not knowing where he was.

Elsa stepped out of the bush and shot a snowflake sign up in the air. Within a flash, Anna and Kristoff were there. Sven came a few seconds later, lopping around in the snow.

"You found it! Alright!" Kristoff cheered triumphantly.

"Let's open it already! I want to see what it is." Anna clapped her hands gleefully.

Olaf and Elsa opened it with the help of Elsa making an ice key that fit perfectly. As soon as it turned and unlocked the chest, the key shattered. Olaf lifted open the lid, and everyone peered into the chest to see what it was. On top of a purple pillow was a beautiful crystal! Elsa couldn't help but gasp.

"It's a crystal." Elsa said, taking it out and showing it to everyone.

"Now who gets it?" Kristoff asked, "You two found it."

Elsa knew just who should get the first one. Sven, of course. After all that running, he certainly deserved the first crystal.

"Well, I was thinking Sven should have it." Elsa said with a smile.

"Really?" Kristoff's eyes sparkled, "That's just what I was thinking. Maybe I'll hold it for him."

Sven whined. He wanted it for himself.

"Let him have a look!" Olaf said.

Elsa showed Sven the sparkling crystal, and Sven gazed at it with wide eyes, and then tried to lick it. Typical reindeer, Elsa thought.

"Uh no buddy, that's not food." Kristoff said, and gave him a carrot, "Here, have this instead."

"Okay. This is Sven's crystal, but Kristoff, you can hold it for him. Maybe you can put it in his reins or something when we get back." Elsa said.

"That's a good idea!" Kristoff said, and rubbed Sven's head, "Sven agrees."

"Oh, good." Elsa smiled.

Anna giggled, and hugged Elsa.

"Good job! We found the treasure, and now there's only four more to find! Let's go!" Olaf said, jumping ahead of them.

Elsa nodded, and they headed back to the cart. Only, the sound of thundering horses approached again, and Elsa knew the bandits were hot on their tail. Well, she was done with them. This was her kingdom, and she needed to tell them they weren't allowed.

"These guys are starting to get on my nerves." Elsa said, "Let me handle them first, and then you guys can throw stuff at them."

"Okay!" Anna and Kristoff rushed to the sled, and Olaf slipped behind them as he was jumping too fast. Elsa handed Anna the crystal to put into the sleigh. She did, and buried it deep in the bags so it couldn't be found easily.

Kristoff and Anna lit two torches for the both of them, and were ready. The bandits came rushing into view, and came to a halt when they saw the Queen. Elsa stood regal and calm, which signaled to them that she was important.

"What is your business in Arendelle?" she asked with her authoritive voice.

One of the men said something she couldn't understand with a thick accent, and it sent the men rumbling with laughter. It was probably an insult of some kind. Elsa looked back and saw Anna clench her fists, getting ready to throw the torches at the bandits, but Elsa put her hand back to tell her not yet.

"You're trespassing on kingdom grounds. Please leave at once. This is your last chance." Elsa ordered, getting her hands ready to use her ice powers.

"You have something of ours." one of the men said, and Elsa was surprised to find his voice slightly familiar. It scared her. Hans. But it couldn't be him, since he was banished from Arendelle. It had to be one of his brothers.

"What?" Elsa blinked, and looked back at Anna who shrugged.

"The treasure." the man named Dinand said, as she heard someone mutter his name. He waved his fingers, signaling for Anna to bring the treasure to him.

"Sorry, but we found it. Finders keepers!" said Anna boldly, and tipped her head up.

"We're not leaving Arendelle until we get those crystals!" said Dinand, who was clearly the leader.

Dinand signaled for his men to move forward, and Elsa made an icy blast with all her might to make more ice spikes, this time thicker and spread wider. Good thing she had that muffin and apple, because she was going to need to use a lot more of her magic.

"Let's get out of here!" Kristoff shouted, and they all jumped on the sleigh. Kristoff quickly hooked up Sven and jumped into the sleigh and whipped at the reigns while the bandits struggled to get over the ice spikes.

Elsa was out of breath and dizzy as they zoomed ahead of the bandits. How on earth had they heard about the crystals already? How had they gotten here so quickly? Elsa was incredibly confused.

"Where to next?"

"The ice harvesting lake!" Anna said loudly, still filled with adrenaline from the chase.

"Okay!"

Thankfully, Kristoff knew where that place was by heart. They turned a sharp right and headed up into the foothills of the surrounding mountains. The air grew colder, and Elsa saw Anna shivering — even under her cloak, but Elsa was enjoying every moment of the cold. She quite appreciated for this adventure in the beginning of summer.

They bolted through the trees. The sound of the bandits caught up with them, but still lingered behind quite a few paces. Elsa was getting tired of these bandits.

"Anna, how many brothers did Hans say he had?"

"Twelve older brothers!" Anna replied, "Why? And can we not talk about him?"

"Sorry, but… well, I think Dinand is one of his brothers, the leader of the bandits. It makes sense. But how did they hear about the crystals? How could they have heard about them?"

"I didn't tell anyone… oh… no… but… Marie she'd never… and no one can get word around that fast!" Anna said, thinking as she spoke, "I had servant Marie help me get the map down, and I… we fell, so I sent her home for the day."

"That must've been a harsh fall." Elsa said.

"I didn't mean it." Anna said, embarrassed.

"I don't know. Maybe they just want to take whatever they can. Usually thieves do." Kristoff commented.

Elsa nodded. It was likely they saw the crystal, or knew there was treasure hidden around Arendelle well before Anna found out.

The bandits fell farther behind, since Kristoff knew these grounds so well. Elsa was grateful for him accompanying them on their search. Without him or Sven, they would be in very deep trouble.

"I hope those bandits get lost in the snow!" Olaf said, forming a snowball out of the spare flurries falling from his personal cloud.

"They'll most certainly get a harsher punishment, that's for sure, Olaf." Elsa nodded, forming a fist.

Soon they came up to the ice lake. Mountains grew up around them, and since it was sunset now, the sky was blushing pink and purple, and glimmering with yellow and orange. The clouds gathered around the horizon, making the sunset colors even more vibrant. Elsa found herself in awe. Kristoff and Sven slowed to a hault just before the ice.

"With all this extra weight, we shouldn't bring the sled on the ice." Kristoff informed them, and hopped off the sleigh to give Sven a carrot.

Anna and Elsa went around the lake, looking for a chest just like the previous one Elsa found.

Kristoff and Sven went the other way, staying off the ice. From a distance, Elsa saw Kristoff trip and land on his face. When he stood up, he was covered in snow.

"Kristoff!" Anna shouted, and rushed across the ice lake.

"Anna, be careful!" he was more worried for her safety than his own hurt. Elsa rushed after Anna, making a thick sheet of ice below Anna's steps, so she couldn't fall through.

"Kristoff, are you okay?"

As they caught up to him, Kristoff brushed the snow of his clothes.

"Yeah, I just tripped over something really hard." he pointed to a mound in the snow, that was covered by a shadow, and Sven was sniffing it excitedly.

The sky grew darker, and Kristoff, Anna and Elsa dug around the mound Kristoff had tripped over. It most certainly was another treasure chest! They heaved it up out of the snow, and Elsa opened it with her key.

Unfortunately, they didn't have much time since the whooping of bandits wasn't too far away.

"Hurry!" Anna encouraged, worry seeping into her voice.

"I'm trying!" Elsa trembled, hardly getting a hold of the ice key.

Thankfully Kristoff opened it, and the lid popped open even though it was starting to freeze shut. Kristoff reached in and pulled out the crystal, smiled, but they didn't have much time to admire it since the bandits were getting closer.

"This one is definitely yours, Kristoff." Anna said, nodding. Elsa agreed with a nod as well.

They quickly ran over to the sled, and Kristoff hooked up Sven again. They were too late as they tried to exit the ice lake… they met nose to nose with the sweaty bandits.

"How about you just hand it over, and the map too?" asked Dinand, "That's the easy way." He had an evil grin on his face, one that sent chills down Elsa's spine.

"I'm sorry, but we can't do that. Not if you're Hans's brother!" Anna shouted, and was about to hurl a torch at him, but Elsa held her arm back.

"Don't!" she hissed.

"Why not?" Anna struggled to get free.

"Here, I have an idea." Elsa said.

She took a spare bag from the back, and a receipt of Kristoff's purchases, (which was quite long) and whipped up three ice crystals and put them in the bag.

"Fine. We'll hand them over." Elsa said with a frown.

"What are you doing?" Anna asked horrified.

"No! You can't hand over the treasure. We still have to find three more!" Olaf whined, trying to stop Elsa from tossing the bag over to the bandits.

Elsa winked, showing them it was a flux. They nodded, but knew to still keep up the fight if to make it seem like she was actually handing over the real stuff.

"But… we've worked so hard." Kristoff said, pouting, as Elsa tossed the bag over his head. He tried to reach for it, and so did Sven, but it was already sailing through the air.

"Now leave us alone and go back to the Southern Isles and never return!" Elsa commanded.

Dinand caught the bag, and seemed satisfied with the weight.

"Sorry, but we're looking for all of the crystals, so we're not stopping until we have all of them. Like the snowman said, there's only three more left."

"Olaf!" Elsa said sharply to the snowman, who looked like he was about to cry.

"Sorry…" he looked down at his feet.

"We'll let you go back to your kingdom in peace." Dinand said coldly.

"This is my kingdom, you fools." Elsa growled like Marshmallow the snow monster.

Kristoff tugged the reins and Sven moved forward, but calmly. Kristoff had an idea, and Elsa had a gut feeling she knew what he was going to do. They made their way past the bandits, who were starting to turn around. Dinand was starting to look through the bag, and he was looking at the crystals and laughing manically. Elsa cringed.

"Hey!" he shouted, "This isn't the map! After them!"

When the bandits were confused, but Sven was moving swiftly ahead of them. Anna held on tightly to the map, and their next destination was Elsa's ice palace.

It was completely dark now, and the stars were beginning to twinkle over head. The aurora was starting to glimmer as well.

As they rushed forward, Elsa was then aware of Olaf's crying. But it wasn't because Elsa had fake given the bandits the treasure, it was because she was too cold to him.

"I'm sorry Olaf." Elsa said, putting more flurries in his snow cloud.

"What happened?" Anna turned around and looked at Olaf, who was wiping his eyes.

"I accidentally… um scolded him." Elsa coughed.

"It's okay Olaf. I think your crystal is going to be the next one, okay?"

"Okay." Olaf was feeling better now, and Elsa was glad. She couldn't stand to see the usually happy snowman sad for long.

Since it was getting late, and Kristoff and Anna were complaining about missing dinner, they stumbled upon a beautiful clearing and a frozen waterfall.

"Hey, this place looks familiar!" Olaf said, jumping out of the sleigh.

Perhaps the bandits were stopping for the night, too, since Elsa didn't hear them coming after them anymore.

"We'll camp here for the night." Kristoff said, and the girls nodded. Elsa handn't realized how sleepy and hungry she was until now.

Anna started up a small fire, careful not to make too much smoke — after Kristoff warned her that she could make a signal to the bandits and tell them where they were, just like how Elsa used her snowflake signal.
Elsa got out the food, and Kristoff put up the tents. One was for Elsa and Anna, and the other was for Kristoff and Olaf. After a long day, Elsa longed for rest.

Elsa was about to suggest she could make a small ice room for herself when Anna reminded her she had use enough magic for the day. It was true, she had, so she stopped. She sat down by the fire and ate her meal. Kristoff got the tents set up, and fed Sven. Then he came and sat down by the girls. No one talked for a while, not even Olaf, but it didn't bother Elsa. After a good meal, she was looking forward to sleep.

"I'm heading to bed. Don't stay up too late." Elsa warned, and headed into her tent.

As she drifted off, she could see the shimmering curtains of the colorful aurora through the little hole in the top of the tent.