Elsa burst into the courtyard. She was so afraid now that her secret was out. She hoped she hadn't hurt anyone. Regardless, everyone in Arendelle would soon know about her magic.

 

"There she is!" cried a townswoman, excited to get a glimpse of the newly crowned queen. The woman obviously had no idea what had just happened in the ballroom¹. "Your Majesty²! Long live the queen! Queen Elsa!"

 

Elsa backed away from the woman and quickly weaved through the crowd, trying hard not to touch anyone as she backed away. She didn't want to cause any harm with her powers. She just wanted to leave the kingdom and hide!

 

A young woman with a small child in her arms called to her. "Your Majesty, are you all right?" she asked, full of concern.

 

Elsa put her hands behind her and moved away. She slowly walked backward, accidentally bumping into the fountain in the center of the courtyard. As soon as she touched the fountain, the water in it froze to solid ice.

 

There was a loud gasp³ from the villagers. People turned and ran away from Elsa.

 

The Duke and his guards ran down the castle steps. "There she is!" he shouted, leading the charge toward Elsa. "Get her!"

 

"Just stay away from me! Stay away!" Elsa cried. She held her hands up, causing the castle steps to ice over. The Duke's guards slipped and tumbled down to the ground.

 

"Monster!" the Duke hissed⁴.

 

The crowd panicked. A swirl⁵ of cold air traveled through Arendelle as Elsa ran along the streets, leaving ice and snow in her wake.

 

Anna watched from the castle gates. "Elsa!" she called. "Wait, please!" She rushed from the castle and ran after Elsa. Hans trailed behind her. "Elsa!" Anna cried desperately⁶.

 

Elsa looked over her shoulder as she neared the water. When she turned, her foot touched the lapping waves — and the water in the fjord immediately froze. She took another cautious step... and another sheet of ice bloomed under her foot.

 

"Elsa!" Anna called after her.

 

Feeling her panic grow, Elsa ran across the fjord. With each step, more water froze underneath⁷ her. Soon she was moving at full speed, heading toward the mountains on the other side of the lake. As she passed, the ships belonging to the visiting dignitaries creaked and locked into place, frozen in the ice. The gorgeous summer day had turned into a growing winter storm.

 

"Elsa, stop!" Anna pleaded. She rushed onto the fjord after her sister but slipped on the ice. She was too far behind to catch up.

 

Hans reached out for Anna and helped her to stand. "Anna, are you all right?" he asked.

 

They both watched as Elsa reached the far shore and made her way into the mountains. Anna strained to see the path Elsa had taken.

 

"Did you know?" Hans asked Anna.

 

"No," Anna replied. Then she nodded. "But it makes so much sense."

 

They walked back through the village and overheard the Duke speaking. He was addressing a growing crowd of concerned people. "The queen has cursed this land," he said. "She must be stopped! You must go after her!"

 

Anna rushed over to him. "No!" she shouted. "No one is to go anywhere."

 

"You!" The Duke shook a finger at Anna. "Is there sorcery in you, too?" he shouted. "Are you a monster, too?"

 

"No, I'm completely ordinary," Anna replied.

 

Hans took her hand. "That's right, she is," he told the Duke.

 

"And my sister is not a monster," Anna added.

 

The Duke scowled⁸. "She nearly killed me," he said dramatically.

 

"You slipped on ice," Hans pointed⁹ out.

 

Anna stepped forward. "It was an accident. She was scared. She didn't mean it. She didn't mean any of this." She paused. "All she's ever wanted is to be perfect and good. Tonight was my fault. I pushed her. So I'm the one who needs to go after her." Anna turned to her royal guards. "Bring me my horse, please."

 

"What? Anna, no!" Hans shouted. "It's too dangerous."

 

"I'm not afraid of Elsa," Anna said. "I'll bring her back and make this right."

 

A royal guard brought Anna's horse to her. She took her cloak, which was hanging over the saddle, and wrapped it around her shoulders.

 

"I'm coming with you," Hans said.

 

"No," Anna told him. "I need you here to take care of Arendelle."

 

Hans saw the desperation in Anna's eyes. He put his hand to his chest. "On my honor," he said, bowing his head.

 

"I leave Prince Hans in charge!" Anna told the crowd.

 

"Are you sure you can trust her?" Hans asked as Anna mounted the horse. When Anna didn't reply, he leaned in. "I don't want you getting hurt."

 

"She's my sister," Anna said. "She'd never hurt me." Urging her horse into a gallop¹⁰, Anna took off over the frozen fjord toward the mountains as snow continued to fall.

 

Elsa trudged¹¹ up the steep North Mountain. Ever since she was a child, she had been taught to conceal¹² her powers. Now that was all over. She felt sad and worried as she gazed back at Arendelle far below. She knew no one in Arendelle would ever see her in the same way again.

 

But a tiny part of her also felt relieved. Her magic had been a hard secret to keep, and she didn't have to hide it anymore. Being alone was easier, too. She didn't have to worry about hurting anyone.

 

As she continued up the mountain, her steps actually became a little lighter¹³. Now that everyone knew what she was capable of, she was free to be herself!

 

With a wave of her hand, Elsa started to experiment with her magic. Snow and ice whirled around her as she created snowmen and icy patterns in the air. The farther she got from Arendelle, the more confident she felt. As she took each step, her ability to draw forth¹⁴ ice and cold grew stronger and more powerful.

 

Elsa plucked off her crown and threw it aside. She tossed her head and her tightly bound hair came loose, cascading¹⁵ over one shoulder in a thick, wavy¹⁶ braid. Twirling around, she conjured¹⁷ up a flowing new outfit¹⁸ of ice, a crystal-blue gown with a cape¹⁹ of gossamer²⁰ frost. Snow was her element. She was the Snow Queen!

 

Thrilled to let her powers loose at last, Elsa found that she could do more than she realized. As released her magic, a staircase of ice extended upward ... to an exquisite²¹ ice palace that grew as she raised her arms!

 

This was where she would live. When the castle was finished, Elsa slammed the door. She was home at last.

 

艾莎跑向了庭院。她的秘密已经被大家知道，她心里十分害怕。她多么希望没有伤害到任何人。然而，艾伦戴尔的所有人很快都会知道她的魔法。

 

“她在那儿!”一位妇人看到了新加冕的女王，激动地喊道。这位妇人显然不知道舞会大厅里刚刚发生的事，欢呼道：“陛下!女王万岁!女王艾莎!”

 

艾莎躲开了这名村妇，很快穿过人群，尽量避免再触碰到其他人。她不想因为自己的魔力而造成任何伤害。她只想离开王国，躲起来!

 

一个抱着孩子的年轻妇女叫住了她。“女王陛下，您没事吧?”她关切地问道。

 

艾莎双手背在身后，走开了。她慢慢地向后退，不小心撞到了庭院中央的喷泉。她刚碰到喷泉，水就结成了厚厚的冰。

 

人们倒吸一口气。他们转身跑开，远远地躲着艾莎。

 

公爵带着他的护卫们沿着城堡的台阶追了出来。“她在那儿!”他大叫着发号施令，“拦住她!”

 

“别靠近我!别过来!”艾莎大喊。她扬起手，城堡的台阶都变成了冰。公爵的护卫们滑倒在了地上。

 

“妖怪!”公爵发出嘘声。

 

人群都陷入了恐慌。艾莎沿着街道跑远了，她所经之处都变成了冰雪，一阵阵冷空气也慢慢开始侵袭艾伦戴尔。

 

安娜在城堡大门口望着姐姐。“艾莎!”她叫道，“求你等等!”她从城堡冲了出来，奋力追赶艾莎。汉斯跟在她身后。“艾莎!”安娜绝望地喊道。

 

艾莎靠近海边时，回头望了一眼。她转过身时，脚碰到了微微晃动的波浪——峡湾的水立即结成了冰。她又小心翼翼地走了一步，脚下立刻又结冰了。

 

“艾莎!”安娜在后面呼喊着。

 

伴随着内心的恐惧加剧，艾莎穿过了峡湾。她每走一步，就有更多的水结成冰。她很快开始奋力奔跑，向湖对面的北山跑去。她所经之处，来访宾客的船只都嘎吱作响，被冻在了厚厚的冰里。美好的夏日就这样变成了刺骨的寒冬。

 

“艾莎，停一停!”安娜恳求道。她追到了峡湾边，但在冰面上滑倒了。姐姐跑得太远，她实在追不上了。

 

汉斯伸手拉住安娜，扶她站了起来。“安娜，你没事吧?”他问。

 

他们俩看着艾莎抵达很远的岸边，跑进了山林里。安娜努力想要看清艾莎逃跑的路线。

 

“你以前知道吗?”汉斯问安娜。

 

“不知道，”安娜回答，然后她点了点头，“但现在我明白了。”

 

他们经过城里，无意间听到了公爵的话。他正在对涌来的不明真相的民众说：“女王诅咒了这片土地，必须有人阻止她!你们快去追啊!”

 

安娜冲到他跟前。“不!”她大叫道，“任何人哪儿都不能去。”

 

“你!”公爵对安娜指指点点。“你是不是也会巫术?”他喊道，“你也是个妖怪吗?”

 

“没有，我只是一个普普通通的人，”安娜回答说。

 

汉斯拉起她的手。“没错，她很普通。”他告诉公爵。

 

“我姐姐也不是什么妖怪。”安娜补充说。

 

公爵怒气冲冲，夸张地说：“她差点杀了我。”

 

“你在冰上滑倒了。”汉斯马上指出。

 

安娜走上前。“这只是个意外。她是吓坏了，并不是故意的。她不是故意要这样的。”她顿了一下，继续说道，“她一直都想做个完美、善良的人。今晚的事是我的错，是我把她逼成这样的。所以应该我去追她。”安娜对皇家卫士说：“请把我的马牵过来。”

 

“什么?安娜，你别去!”汉斯喊道，“这太危险了。”

 

“我不害怕艾莎，”安娜说，“我会带她回来，让一切恢复正常。”

 

一名皇家卫士牵来了安娜的马。她拿起了马鞍上挂着的斗篷，披在了肩上。

 

“我跟你一起去。”汉斯说。

 

“不行，”安娜告诉他，“我需要你留在这里照看好艾伦戴尔。”

 

汉斯看到了安娜眼神中的坚定。他的手放到了胸前，鞠躬说：“我用名誉担保。”

 

“我授权汉斯王子负责这里!”安娜告诉大家。

 

“你真的可以相信艾莎吗?”安娜跨上马时，汉斯问道。但安娜没有回答，他凑近了一点说：“我不希望你受到伤害。”

 

“她是我姐姐，”安娜说，“她绝对不会伤害我。”雪继续下着，安娜骑马从冰冻的峡湾向山林一路狂奔。

 

艾莎沿着北山山坡艰难地行进。自从她儿时起，父母就告诉她要隐藏魔法。然而这一切都结束了。她回头看着越来越远的艾伦戴尔，沮丧而忧伤。她知道艾伦戴尔的所有人以后都会用异样的眼光看她。

 

但她甚至感到了一丝轻松。她一直刻意地隐藏着自己的秘密，而现在再也不用像以前那样了。独自生活也更加自在，她不用再担心伤害到任何人。

 

她继续向北山跋涉，脚步却更轻松了。既然所有人都知道她有魔力，她可以轻松做自己了!

 

艾莎挥了挥手，尝试着使用自己的魔法。她在空中变出了雪人和雪花，冰雪在她身边飞旋。她离艾伦戴尔越远，越发自信。她每走一步，她的冰雪魔力就变得更加强大。

 

艾莎摘下了皇冠，扔到了一边。她甩了甩头，原本紧束的头发松散开来，厚厚的波浪发辫披散在肩上。她手一挥，为自己变出了一袭冰雪纱袍，那是一件水晶般湛蓝的长裙和缀满银霜的薄纱披风。雪是她生命的一部分，她就是冰雪女王!

 

艾莎看到自己的魔力终于释放了而感到兴奋，她发现自己的能力超乎想象。她抬起手臂，一道冰做的阶梯高高地延伸到空中，接着一座华丽的冰雪宫殿出现在眼前。

 

这是她将要生活的地方。当冰雪城堡建成的时候，艾莎毅然决然地关上了大门。她终于回家了。

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