After a certain point, the sled was no longer useful, so Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, and Sven continued the journey to Elsa's ice palace on foot. There were no friendly words between anyone now; all were worried about the safety of Arendelle. Every member of the group knew the way to the palace, so the trip didn't take very long. They arrived just as the sun was beginning to set.
The ice palace and the staircase leading up to it still bore the scars of the aftermath of Elsa freezing Anna's heart. Part of the guardrails on the stairs and balcony were nonexistent, and a large chunk of ice could be seen on said balcony. And, of course, there was Marshmallow, the giant snow monster Elsa had created to get rid of Anna and Kristoff. Now, Marshmallow burst out of the front entryway and roared, beginning to lumber down the staircase. Elsa managed to stop him from grabbing her friends at the last minute. She told him, "Anna and Kristoff are not enemies. They are friends." She paused. "They are family." Unbeknownst to Elsa, Kristoff smiled shyly, while Marshmallow grunted and let the three people pass; Sven stayed behind. He grunted something to the snow monster, who burst out into laughter.
"What was that about?" asked Anna as Elsa worked on rebuilding the guardrail. Kristoff replied, "Sven told him the oldest joke in the book. I don't know why either of them thinks that one is funny." Soon, the staircase was flawless once more, and the group continued up to the door of the palace. Elsa opened it with ease, and they all stepped inside.
The entryway was every bit as breathtaking as it had been when the three had seen it last time, but there was one small change. On top of a pile of snow near the fountain sat Elsa's old crown. "Maybe you should take it, Elsa," suggested Anna. "At least the Ministers will be happy." Elsa smiled at her sister and picked up the crown. It wasn't nearly as attractive as the ice crown, but Anna did have a point. It would be nice to have the Ministers bothering her about one less thing. Keeping the crown at her side, she said to Anna and Kristoff, "I'll show you the bedrooms. We all need to relax a bit."
Up a staircase and down a hallway stood two bedrooms, one for Elsa and a guest room. Kristoff and Anna went over to the guest room, while Elsa entered her own bedroom. It had been a bit boring up there in the ice palace by herself, so Elsa had kept herself busy by experimenting with her powers - namely, trying to make her castle seem more like a home. In her bedroom, for example, Elsa had made a cozy armchair, copies of her favorite books, some shelves, a wardrobe containing more icy fashions, and a comfy, four-poster bed, complete with snowflake pillows. Now, she flopped face up onto the bed and let the thoughts come.
I just don't know, thought Elsa. Am I as warm-hearted as Pabbie thinks I am? Hans clearly has the ability to be kind, so why shouldn't I have the ability to be cruel? Of course, my goal right now is to kill him, so I must have a cold heart, at least right now, anyway.
Ice powers... she continued. No one in the history of Arendelle has ever had ice powers, or even any powers at all. People just aren't used to magic, I guess. And I did start our relationship off on the wrong foot with the Eternal Winter... But still, I need to find a way to convince them my intentions are all good...
Elsa's thoughts were interrupted by a scream from the guest room. It sounded like Anna. Elsa was aware that Anna had multiple screams for different situations - the that-hurt scream, the go-away scream, and the you-scared-me scream, mainly. This particular scream sounded like a mixture of the two latter. Elsa got off the bed and raced to the guest room, where she found a wide-eyed Kristoff standing next to a gaping hole in the wall, leading to the outside. Puddles of water surrounded the area. Elsa had no need to ask what had happened - it was all too obvious.
Hans had kidnapped Anna.
Next chapter: Hans tortures Anna, and Olga starts to feel guilty...