A few days later, Elsa was alone. She had finished all of her duties as queen for the day. Kristoff, Anna, and Olaf were on a sled ride with Sven pulling them. Elsa had been asked to go along, but she declined, knowing she had work to catch up on.
Elsa created a few snowflakes. Just then, a face popped into her mind. It was the Ice King's face, and it made her blush thinking about him. Maybe she could pay him a visit.
The queen of Arendelle told two of her servants that she was leaving for a few hours. Then she went up to the North Mountain, where her ice castle still stood. Marshmallow and thousands of Snowgies were inside.
"I need you all to make a tower," Elsa ordered.
Marshmallow stooped down to let all of the Snowgies climb onto him. They formed a tall tower. Unfortunately, the tower was wobbly due to the tiny snowmen's wiggling. Elsa lifted her hands and created a casing of ice around the Snowgies. They were frozen in place, and Elsa began to climb up the tower. She reached the top, which was just inches below the clouds.
Thinking quickly, Elsa created an ice stairway. She climbed it and stopped at the top of the clouds. Tentatively, she put her foot on the clouds.
She didn't fall through! Elsa stepped her other foot on the cloud. She wobbled around but didn't fall. The constantly moving clouds made it hard to walk.
In the distance, Elsa saw a magnificent castle. She walked towards it unsteadily. It was hard to get a grip on the slippery, moving cloud blanket. When she finally reached the castle, she knocked on the huge doors.
Small creatures opened the doors. They were about the size of children, but they spoke in a strange babble-talk and had animal-like features. A booming voice said, "Enter!"
Elsa stepped into the palace. It was easier to walk there, as the ground was not constantly moving. She walked farther in until she saw the Ice King on a throne. The palace was magnificent, and the throne was designed with a snowflake. It seemed to be made out of ice.
"Hello, Queen Elsa," said the Ice King. "I was not expecting you!"
Elsa smiled. "Please, just call me Elsa," she said.
The Ice King came down from his throne. "Tell me, what brings you here?"
Elsa replied, "I finished all of my queenly duties, and so I decided to come up and see you."
"Not many are able to climb up to the clouds," said the Ice King. "I am very surprised that you were able."
Elsa nodded. Then, one of the strange, childish creatures raced past, babbling.
"What are those?" asked Elsa.
The Ice King chuckled. "Ah, the pixies. They work here as my servants."
Elsa smiled.
"I believe they are part animal and part human," the Ice King continued.
Elsa said, "That explains why they look so strange."
The Ice King nodded.
"Would you like to go to my dining room?" asked the Ice King.
"That would be very nice," Elsa agreed.
The Ice King and Elsa went to the dining room. It was large. All of the tables and chairs were made of ice.
"Wow, this is amazing!" Elsa gasped.
The Ice King smiled proudly. "I created the tables and chairs myself."
Elsa replied, "You must be very talented with your powers."
"You could say that," the Ice King said.
Elsa and the Ice King sat at a table for two. Pixies carried out trays of food for Elsa and the Ice King as the two talked.
"Where did the pixies come from?" Elsa asked.
The Ice King scratched his head. "They have always lived here in the clouds. Long ago, they were called pyxes. They have a long history of serving the winter kings and queens."
"Fascinating," Elsa said.
They talked for a long while. The sun began to get lower, and it went below the clouds. Elsa gasped. "I've got to get home!"
"I'll walk you," offered the Ice King.
They went out of the castle. Elsa found the hole she had climbed through. She put her foot down, expecting to step on her stairs. But there was nothing there!
"Oh, help!" Elsa cried as she started falling.
The Ice King grabbed her wrist. He pulled her back up and set her safely on the clouds.
When Elsa's heart stopped pounding, she looked at the Ice King. "You saved my life," she said.
The Ice King smiled. "I couldn't let you fall."
Elsa looked down. She saw the problem. The tower of Snowgies had fallen, and there were broken pieces of ice all over the floor of her ice castle. The ice stairway was also broken on the floor. Snowgies raced around madly.
Elsa pulled back her hands and created a new ice staircase. Then she wrapped her arms around the Ice King.
"I guess this is goodbye," she said.
"Goodbye," the Ice King repeated. "I look forward to seeing you again."
Elsa walked down the stairs. She patted Marshmallow's shoulder, and then she went back to Arendelle. Anna and Kristoff were waiting.