The wheeled sled bounced over the snowdrifts as Sven raced Kristoff, Anna and Olaf back toward the palace. The snow and frigid wind stung Anna's cheeks. She was dressed for summer travel and was quite cold, but she had been colder. She was also far too worried about her sister to be concerned about her own comfort. The rough ride was more than simply uncomfortable, however. Anna had to clutch the dashboard to keep from being thrown from the sled with every bump.
The sled suddenly hit a particularly large snowdrift, nearly throwing Anna out of her seat and bouncing Olaf's head off of his body and into Anna's lap.
"Hi!" Olaf said, looking up at the surprised Anna.
"You know," Anna said to Kristoff as she returned Olaf's head to his body, "I don't remember ever having this rough of a ride with you before."
"It's because we're on wheels in the snow," Kristoff explained. "The runners would be smoother and faster, but we're in a hurry and it would take more time to switch than we'd save."
"Well," Anna said as they hit another bump, "maybe you should put in something to keep us from being bounced off of the sled."
"You want to be tied to the seat?" Kristoff asked.
"It sounds silly when you say it like that," Anna said. She motioned to her waist. "I'm just talking about something across here."
"You mean like a belt?" Kristoff asked.
"No, not a belt," Anna said. "More like a... um..." Anna thought for a moment, trying to come up with a better word to describe her idea, but nothing seemed right. "Okay, fine, I guess it's like a belt, but it keeps you from falling out of your seat. I don't know what to call it."
"Well, don't look at me," Kristoff said. "It's your idea. How am I supposed to know what to call it?"
"I don't think I can wear a belt," said Olaf. He looked down at his stubby legs. "Or pants."
The conversation came to an abrupt end as they crested the top of a rise. They were shocked to see something ahead of them that they never expected. A massive wall of ice blocked their path, stretching as far as they could see in either direction. Anna and Kristoff exchanged worried glances. Kristoff pulled on the reins to signal Sven to slow down and they came to a stop at the base of the wall.
"What is this?" Anna asked rhetorically as she climbed down off the sled.
"Um, I might be wrong, but it looks like a giant wall of ice," Olaf replied. He jumped down from the sled. "Hey, do you think Elsa made it?"
"Of course Elsa made it," Kristoff said, rummaging around in the sled. He found what he was looking for, a carrot, and hopped off the sled. He broke a piece off the end of the carrot which he tossed to Anna before taking a bite of the carrot and giving the rest to Sven.
"But why would Elsa do this?" Anna asked before eating her share of the carrot.
"I'd say she either wants to keep something in, or keep something out," Kristoff replied.
"Well, we have to get inside," Anna said, her mouth still full. She swallowed. "Can we climb over it?"
"I didn't pack any climbing gear," Kristoff said. "We weren't planning on doing any climbing. I might have a rope, but there's nothing to anchor it to."
Anna retrieved a bottle of Oaken Cola from the sled and took a drink to wash the carrot down with. The cold weather had chilled the liquid, and Anna decided it was better that way. Meanwhile, Kristoff examined the ice wall. It was perfectly smooth, with no cracks or joints. Despite the snow that had been driven up against the base of the wall by the wind, Kristoff could tell that the wall was thicker at the base than it was at the top with a slight slope, though it was still far too steep to climb without at least an anchored rope. The top of the wall was flat with a slight accumulation of snow, but nothing to tie a rope to, even if they could get up there.
Neither Anna nor Kristoff noticed that Olaf had wandered off. The diminutive snowman had slowly made his way up to the top of the rise from where they had first seen the ice wall. He looked around for the steepest slope down to the wall. Once he was satisfied that he had found it, he dove off the top of the rise down the slope, sliding head-first on his belly toward the wall and quickly picking up speed. The snow that had piled up at the base of the wall formed a ramp that launched Olaf upwards along the wall. He had just enough momentum to grab onto the edge of the top of the wall and hoist himself up.
"Hey, guys," Olaf called out, "I don't know if this helps, but I'm on top of the wall!"
"Olaf!" Anna exclaimed. "How did you get up there?"
"Never mind how he got up there," Kristoff said. "Olaf, if I throw you a rope, do you see anything on the other side you could tie it to?"
"Hmm, let me see," Olaf said, looking over the other side of the wall.
The ground began to rumble. It was faint at first, but it quickly built in intensity. As the sound grew louder and the vibrations intensified, Anna and Kristoff started looking around, trying to figure out what was happening.
"What is that?" Anna asked.
A dozen soldiers on horseback suddenly thundered over the top of the rise and headed right for them. Before Anna and Kristoff realized what was happening, the soldiers had closed in around them, cutting off any means of escape. The soldiers jumped off their horses and drew their swords. They split up to separate Kristoff from Anna. Kristoff desperately looked around for something he could use as a weapon to defend himself and Anna, but there was nothing around him but snow. He quickly found himself surrounded by a half-dozen swords with his back against the wall of ice.
Meanwhile, Anna was facing off against the remaining soldiers. One of them tried to approach her, sword in hand. She was still holding the bottle of Oaken Cola and desperately swung it, holding it by the neck. The bottle struck the solder in the temple and shattered, and the soldier fell down in pain. The other soldiers tried to respond, but Anna held them off, brandishing the jagged remains of the broken bottle at arm's-length.
The officer in charge of the soldiers grabbed Kristoff and drug him out where Anna could clearly see him. He forced Kristoff to his knees and motioned for two of his men to hold him there. He then drew his sword and held it against Kristoff's neck.
"Drop it," the officer said to Anna, "or I kill him."
"I am Princess Anna of Arendelle," Anna protested. "I demand you release him at once!"
Kristoff had never heard Anna try to use her title to intimidate others into submission. The authority in her voice certainly got his attention, but it didn't seem to have the same effect on the officer.
"I know who you are," the officer replied. "I have orders to capture you if I get the chance." He looked at Kristoff. "My orders don't say anything about him." He turned back to Anna and pressed the sword against Kristoff's throat. "Now, drop it, or your marriage comes to an abrupt end."
Anna considered her adversary. She recognized the uniform as being from the Southern Isles, and the stripes on his sleeve indicated he was a lieutenant. She looked into his eyes, and she knew he wasn't bluffing. Besides, she was vastly outnumbered and was armed only with a broken bottle. Reluctantly, she dropped the bottle in the snow, defeated.
"Just wait until my sister hears about this, Lieutenant...?" Anna said as the soldiers tied her wrists together and did the same to Kristoff.
"Lieutenant Verner," the officer replied, introducing himself before giving Anna a snide grin, "and I believe that's part of the plan."
Suddenly, a snowball came out of nowhere and struck Lieutenant Verner in the face. He wiped the snow away and looked up to see the snowman on top of the ice wall.
"You leave my friends alone!" Olaf shouted.
"Olaf!" Anna exclaimed.
"Don't worry, Anna!" Olaf said. "I'll save you!"
"No!" Anna yelled back. "Go tell Elsa!"
"Yes, Snowman," Verner shouted. "You tell Queen Elsa that if she ever wants to see her sister or the ice harvester alive again, she has until tomorrow to surrender Arendelle to the Southern Isles."
"Wait, what?" Anna said in surprise.
"Right," Olaf said. "I'll tell Elsa."
"Olaf, wait!" Kristoff said, but before anyone could say anything else, Olaf jumped off the top of the wall and began running toward the distant castle as fast as his little legs could carry him.
Meanwhile, Sven was still harnessed to the sled. He began to buck in an attempt to free himself to help Kristoff and Anna. The soldiers tried to restrain him, but the powerful reindeer was too much for them.
"What do we do about the reindeer?" one of the soldiers asked.
"We have no need for it," replied Verner. "Just tie it up and leave it."
The soldiers managed to get a heavy loop of rope around Sven's neck and tied the other end to a sturdy tree. Sven strained against the rope, but struggling only served to tighten the knot around his neck, and he had to accept the restraint.
"Sven!" Kristoff called out as he and Anna were being dragged away. "Don't be afraid. It'll be okay."
As the soldiers led Kristoff and Anna away, the reindeer watched until they disappeared over the top of the rise. Sven then found himself very much alone for the first time. He and Kristoff had almost always been together, and when they weren't, Sven always knew Kristoff would leave him in a safe place. Now he was left alone and tied up, with no way to even find food or shelter. Despite Kristoff's parting words, Sven was scared.
Sven heard movement coming from the sled. He twisted his neck around to look and was surprised to see two young trolls peeking back at him over the top of the seat. They had hidden in the back of the sled while playing hide and seek with Olaf. Olaf had said to stay hidden until he found them, and since Olaf never officially ended the game, that is exactly what they did, and they remained hidden from the soldiers out of fear and simple instinct. Now, with only Sven around to see them, they cautiously emerged from their hiding place and climbed down out of the sled.
"They're taking them to Lillehaven," one of the trolls said, pointing at the tracks leading away from the scene.
"How do you know?" asked the other troll.
"Because I've earned my tracking crystal," replied the first troll.
"Don't worry, Sven," said the second troll. "We'll tell Grand Pabbie. He'll know what to do."
The two trolls curled up into round boulders and rolled off toward the Valley of the Living Rock. Sven watched them go and slumped down in the snow, frustrated that the little trolls hadn't thought to untie him before they left.