Every step Anna took across the frozen fjord was painful. The blizzard was so strong, she could barely see anything in front of her. The only thing that kept her going was the knowledge that Kristoff was out there, coming to give her a true love's kiss, which would thaw her frozen heart.
Anna looked down at her hands. The tips of her fingers were turning to ice. She knew her time was quickly running out. Olaf followed behind her as fast as he could, determined to help her reach her goal.
And then suddenly, everything went still.
She saw Kristoff, and he saw her. He was still at a distance, but he could make it in time. She knew he could. As soon as she saw him, her heart warmed and she smiled. "Kristoff?"
And then she heard a metallic sound behind her. She turned around to see what it was.
"Elsa?"
Elsa was kneeling on the ground, and Hans was advancing towards her back with a sword. He was about to kill her, just like he had said he would.
Olaf's words came to her unbidden. Telling her how Elsa had sacrificed her childhood to protect Anna. How she had never stopped loving Anna, even when they were apart. Anna felt a short twinge of anger at seeing the sister who, the last time they had met, had frozen her heart and sent a snow monster after her. But even then, she had never truly seen Elsa for who she was. She did now. She saw how alone and sad and vulnerable she was, and always had been. And even if Anna never got the chance to know her sister, at least she could make it up to her now.
Anna gave one last apologetic glance to Kristoff, then turned around and threw herself in between Hans and Elsa.
"NO!"
Anna's body turned to ice as soon as Hans' sword hit her hand. The sword shattered, and Hans was knocked backwards, unconscious. Anna stood as an icy statue, her eyes and mouth wide open, one hand reaching down towards Elsa and the other reaching up at the sky.
Elsa turned around and gasped when she saw Anna's frozen hand. "Anna?" She looked up in horror and saw Anna's entire frozen body. "ANNA!" She got up and stared into Anna's lifeless eyes, stroking her cheeks. "No… please, no…" And then her grief overcame her, and she threw herself over Anna's remains, collapsing into sobs.
Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf all looked on, shocked and saddened by Anna's death and Elsa's grief. Back in Arendelle, several of the dignitaries were watching from a balcony, and bowed their heads out of respect for the princess and the queen.
And then, something amazing happened.
The warmth began in Anna's heart and quickly spread through the rest of her body. As soon as it reached her fingertips, she took a deep breath and relished the sensation of being alive and well. Even the white streak in her hair was gone.
"ANNA!" Elsa was so relieved to see Anna alive that she forgot her fear and embraced her tightly. Anna hugged her right back. Olaf was right: warm hugs were wonderful.
"You sacrificed yourself for me?!" Elsa asked incredulously.
"I love you," Anna said. The words surprised even her. But it was true. And now that she knew the truth, she was determined to show Elsa as much love as Elsa had always shown her, in her own way.
Olaf gasped. "An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart!" he exclaimed.
"Love will thaw," Elsa said. "Love. Of course!" She harnessed all of the love inside her - for Anna, for Olaf, for her late parents, for her home and people - and let it go out into the world. The ice and snow melted away, and she gathered it into a giant snowflake in the sky before making it disappear.
Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, and Sven found themselves standing on a boat, which had risen up out of the fjord. Hans, lying in a corner, finally came to.
"Anna?" he said, getting up and approaching them. "But - but she froze your heart!"
"The only frozen heart around here is yours," Anna said coolly. Kristoff stepped forward to punch him, but Anna held him back. Then she punched Hans in the face and sent him flying off the side of the boat into the water. She and Elsa embraced, and Anna shot a loving look at Kristoff.
"This is the greatest day of my life!" said Olaf, who was rapidly turning into a puddle. "And quite possibly the last."
"Uh-oh," said Elsa. "Hang in there, little guy." She waved her hand and made a small cloud appear above him.
"Ooh, my own personal flurry!" Olaf said, returning to his normal self. "Thank you so much!"
Once they were back on shore, Hans was shipped away back to the Southern Isles. The other diplomats set sail for home. Kristoff was made Arendelle's official Ice Master and Deliverer, and he and Anna shared a kiss. Elsa turned the courtyard into an ice skating rink, and she and Anna skated around along with the other citizens of Arendelle. Elsa promised Anna that she would never close the gates again. And she never did.