Chapter 2

The Map


When they arrived at the meadows early the next morning, Anna was the first to exit the sleigh. She took the blanket, and the picnic basket, and began to set up.

"I'm so hungry! I could eat all the food in this basket," she said.

"Well, at least save some for us, please," Elsa said, taking a seat on the blanket.

Olaf saw a butterfly fly by, and it immediately caught his attention. "Come back little guy! Join us for our picnic!" The snowman chased after the butterfly, darting in whichever direction the insect flew.

"I think that's going to keep him busy for a while," Kristoff said, smiling. "Let's eat."

Elsa pulled one of the waterskins out of the basket, and handed it to Anna. "Drink up. You're going to need it on a hot day like today.

Anna took a sip, but made a face because the water tasted tepid. "It could use some ice," she said.

Elsa took the waterskin from Anna, cupped her hands around it, and let a light film of frost coat it before returning it to Anna.

"That's so much better," Anna said, after taking a big gulp. "Thank you, Elsa."

"You're welcome. I could do the same for you if you like, Kristoff," Elsa offered.

"That would be great," Kristoff said, handing his waterskin to Elsa; allowing her to repeat the process of cooling his drink.

Kristoff took a big sip, and smiled. "That hits the spot. Thanks."

"My pleasure," Elsa said. "Now let's eat."


After eating, the gang ventured into the forest nearby. Elsa was determined to show Anna the cabin that they had stayed at when they were children, provided she remembered where it was. Elsa instructed Kristoff to lead Sven down a narrow path that led to the right. It was cool in the shade cast by the branches above them. Anna could tell that the path wasn't used very often due to the overgrown vegetation surrounding them. As they traveled further down the path, the more they were surrounded by trees.

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Anna asked.

"I'm pretty sure. It's starting to come back to me now," Elsa answered. A few minutes later, the forest thinned out, revealing a large lake in front of them. To their left, nestled on the edge of the woods was a wooden cabin. Once they parked the sleigh in front of the cabin, Anna wandered around the area for a few minutes. Slowly the memory of this place returned to her. She remembered going swimming here as a child. Anna walked down the pier until she reached the edge. Looking down, she saw her reflection in the water; clear as day. Elsa came and stood beside her.

"Remember now?" she asked.

Anna smiled. "Oh, yes. I remember papa and I sitting here fishing together. I remember once we caught a catfish so big, we both had to reel it in.

Anna suddenly got an idea. "Hey, Elsa! Let's go fishing!" Kristoff brought his poles and everything."

"Anna, I've never been fishing before. I never even went with papa. I don't know how."

"It's easy, Elsa. Come on, I'll show you."

Anna retrieved the two poles from the sled, and went back to the edge of the pier. Meanwhile, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven went for a walk in the woods.

"Ok. Now watch what I do," Anna said. She took a piece of bread from her pocket, broke off a slice, and attached it to the fishing lure. She then cast it out into the center of the lake, reeling it in ever so slightly.

Elsa repeated the process; smiling when she saw her lure land right beside Anna's.

"I did it! Now what?" she asked.

"Now we wait until a fish comes along, and takes the bait," Anna explained.

Twenty minutes passed, and still there were no takers. "Nothing's happening, Anna," Elsa said, sounding worried.

"You got to be patient, silly. The fish don't always come right away," Anna said.

A few more minutes rolled by; causing Elsa to grow more anxious. She wanted something to happen. She wanted to catch a fish!

Suddenly, she saw ripples in the water around the end of her line. Elsa felt a tug on her rod; causing her to stumble forward a bit. "I think I got something!" she cried.

"Quick! Reel it in before it gets away!" Anna cried.

Elsa started to reel the line back as fast as she could. The Snow Queen was surprised at how strong whatever was pulling back on the line. The lure was coming closer, and closer towards the edge. As it got closer, Elsa could feel just how heavy the fish was that she had snagged. "Anna, I might need some help here," Elsa said.

Anna stood behind Elsa, and wrapped her hands around the fishing rod. Together they pulled, bringing up a nice largemouth bass in front of them.

"Wow! That thing is huge!" Anna cried.

"I'll say," Elsa agreed. She took the line that held the fish, and brought it over to the pier. "Now I guess we got to get the hook out?" she guessed.

"Yep. I'll do that for you," Anna said, taking the fish from Elsa's hands.

"Yuck. That thing is all wet and slimy," Elsa said, wiping her hands on her dress.

Anna laughed. "Welcome to nature."

Anna removed the hook from the fish's mouth. She then brought the fish back to the cabin where she saw Kristoff and Olaf building a fire. Kristoff had brought his axe with him from home, and had cut several large pieces of wood to use. In addition, he bought a box of friction matches along so that they could easily start a fire. Upon seeing the fish Elsa had caught, his eyes lit up with delight.

"Nice catch! I know what we're eating tonight!" he said.

"Elsa caught it. This was her first time fishing too," Anna said.

"Well, hand it to me, and I'll prepare it for cooking," Kristoff said, reaching out to take the largemouth bass from Anna.

"Let's go inside the cabin," Elsa said. "I wonder how it looks after all these years."

"Probably dirty as can be if no one has been taking care of it," Anna said.

"Actually, the servants come here from time to time to make sure the place is clean," Elsa explained. "You might not have known this, but this cabin in very, very old. It goes back over a hundred years. Over the years, the kings and queens that have come and gone have used it as a vacation house. They've renovated the cabin as well to make sure that it's still structurally stable, and appealing."

"Well, that's good to know. I wouldn't want to sleep in some musty old cabin," Anna said.

Elsa unlocked the door with a key, which she kept in the pocket of her dress. Together, they stepped inside the building that they hadn't been to since they were children. Inside the cabin, the walls were unadorned; there were two doors on the right wall, and a single one on the left, which were the only features other than the windows. The room that they were standing in was neatly furnished; there was no rug on the wooden floor, but there was a large table with four chairs, a couch, and a small bookcase that didn't contain any books.

"Wow! This is nice!" Anna commented.

"It is! Being in here brings back so many memories," Elsa said, looking at the table in the corner of the room, where she and her family used to have dinner.

The sisters explored the rest of the cabin, and discovered that there were two beds in one room. The beds were clearly meant for children; there was no way they would be able to fit in them now. The only other bed in the cabin was their parent's bed, which was in the main chamber. Anna and Elsa opened the door, and stepped inside. In the center of their parent's old room was a large double bed with a intricately carved headboard.

"This would probably fit the two of us," Elsa said. "But where's Kristoff going to sleep?"

Anna thought about it for a minute. "How about the coach? It's not as comfortable as a bed, but I brought extra blankets and pillows for him. Olaf can even have some too if he likes."

"Sounds like we have a plan," Elsa said.

They spent the next hour unpacking their things, while Kristoff prepared the fish for cooking. When they were finished, Elsa went back outside to see how Olaf and Kristoff were doing. Anna, on the other hand, chose to explore the cabin more. It really was a nice little place. A regular home away from home as one might say. Anna went up to the dresser to take off her earrings for the evening. When she removed the first one, it accidentally slipped out of her hand, and fell through a small hole in the floor.

"Oh come on!" Anna cried. "These are the earnings Kristoff got me for my birthday!"

Anna knelt down on the floor where she saw the earring fall. When she placed a hand on one of the floorboards, she noticed that it was loose.

"I bet I could lift this up," she said. Anna dug her fingernails in around the loose board, and pulled back. Just as she suspected, the floorboard came off. And there lying in plain sight was her earring.

Wow I'm lucky this board was loose, she thought, picking up the earring. But there was more than just her earring lying in the floorboard. Anna could see what looked like a piece of paper buried in the dirt. Carefully she dug around it; revealing that it was indeed a piece of paper. It looked like it had been there for centuries. Anna unfolded the paper; it looked like a map with various locations marked. On the back was some writing. Though the ink had greatly faded over the years, she could still make out what it said.

My dearest children,

If you have found this, then you have found the key to finding my riches. I hope you understand why I could not have told you exactly where the treasure is hidden. It is much too risky. After this war with Labraza I can't trust anyone. I want you to have it; you're the rightfully heirs, but I fear that it's too dangerous to tell you face to face or in my will. On this paper is the map, which marks the key locations of clues to the whereabouts of my fortune. However, I do not intend for this to be an easy task. Finding the treasure will be a long, arduous quest; one in which you will be tested in many ways. By completing this quest, you will grow stronger as both leaders, and people. First, you must find the halves of my amulet. I received the amulet long ago during one of my many voyages. One half of the amulet is hidden in the Dover mansion in France; the other half is hidden in the Tower of London. In addition to my map, I leave you with my journal, which contains additional clues to help you find the amulets once you've reached their destination. They are not hidden in plain sight, I assure you. Once you have both halves of the amulet, you'll know where to go to find the treasure. I wish you all good hunting.

Your loving father,

King Nicholas of Arendelle

Anna looked down at her feet. She continued to dig further into the ground, and found a small brown booklet with fragile pages inside. Flipping through the book, she found the same handwriting that was on the back of the map. This was it. This was the map and the journal to finding King Nicholas's lost treasure!

Without wasting a second, Anna ran back outside, heading straight for Elsa.

When Elsa saw the look on her sister's face, she grew alarmed.

"Anna, what is it?" What's the matter?"

"Elsa, I've found the map to King Nicholas's treasure!" Anna cried, showing her sister the map and the journal.

Taking both items in her hands, Elsa stared at them in silence for a few minutes before finally meeting her sister eye to eye.

"I didn't think it even existed!" she confessed.


A/N: Now the treasure hunt can begin! How are you liking the sisterly bonding so far? Anything in particular you'd like to see in the story? Like a topic of conversation for Anna and Elsa to have?

Thank you all for your reviews so far. I'm glad you're liking it.