Anna, Kristoff, and Sven followed Olaf through a maze¹ of icicles, hoping to find Elsa. But it looked as if whoever had built the path did not want visitors. Sharp ice daggers² stuck out of the ground everywhere. Kristoff just missed being jabbed in the chest by one of the thick spikes³.

 

"So how exactly are you planning to stop this weather?" he asked Anna.

 

"I'm going to talk to my sister," she said.

 

"That's your plan?" Kristoff replied. "My whole business is riding on you talking to your sister?"

 

Anna marched forward. "Yep."

 

"And you're not at all afraid of her?" Kristoff asked. "Why would I be?" Anna said.

 

Kristoff peered at the sharp ice spikes lining⁴ the path.

 

"I was just literally⁵ thinking the same thing," Olaf said. "I bet Elsa's the nicest, gentlest, warmest person ever." He walked right into an icicle that pierced his torso. His bottom section continued to walk forward into a snow mound⁶. When Olaf realized his body was no longer connected, he began to laugh. "Oh, look at that," he said. "I've been impaled⁷."

 

Anna and Kristoff didn't respond to Olaf. They were too busy staring at a cliff in front of them. They had hit a dead end.

 

"What now?" Anna asked.

 

Kristoff sighed. "It's too steep," he said. "I've only got one rope, and you don't know how to climb mountains."

 

Anna put her hands on her hips⁸. "Says who?" she countered, and headed straight for the mountain face.

 

Kristoff and Sven watched as Anna struggled to pull herself up the sheer slope.

 

"What are you doing?" Kristoff asked.

 

"I'm going to see my sister," Anna said, straining to secure a handhold or a foothold in the ice.

 

"You're going to kill yourself," Kristoff observed. "I wouldn't put my foot there."

 

Anna turned. "You're distracting me!" As soon as she put her foot down, it slipped and she nearly toppled over. Anna paused and took a deep breath. Kristoff was right. The mountain was too steep to climb, but she didn't want to give up.

 

"How do you know Elsa even wants to see you?" Kristoff asked.

 

"I'm just blocking you out 'cause I've got to concentrate here," she said.

 

Kristoff crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm just saying, most people who disappear into the mountains want to be alone."

 

"Nobody wants to be alone," Anna said, observing him. "Except maybe you."

 

"I'm not alone," Kristoff said. "I have friends." "Oh, right, the love experts," Anna scoffed⁹. Kristoff was not amused. "Yes, the love experts!" Anna turned to face the mountain again and started to climb. "Please tell me I'm almost there," she called over her shoulder. The air seemed thinner to her, and she was growing tired of holding on.

 

But Anna was only a couple of feet off the ground! Kristoff sighed and reached into his bag for climbing picks. "Hang on," he said.

 

"Not sure if this is going to solve the problem," Olaf called from around the side of a snow boulder¹⁰.

 

"But I found a staircase that leads exactly where you want it to go."

 

Relief spread through Anna, and she dropped from her perch¹¹ on the ice wall, yelling "Catch!" to Kristoff. She fell right into his arms. "Thanks," she said, grinning. "That was like some crazy trust exercise!"

 

The group formed a circle around a large rock formation, and there was Olaf, standing¹² next to a shimmering¹³ frozen staircase. Looking up, they saw that it led to a huge and elaborate ice palace. Massive pillars of gleaming ice supported the structure, which was covered with a delicate pattern of crystalline snowflakes. Anna and Kristoff were awestruck.

 

"Talk about cut, color, and clarity," Kristoff said, admiring the ice. "I might cry."

 

"Go ahead. I won't judge," Anna said.

 

Anna approached the front door and pushed it open. She turned to Kristoff and Olaf and motioned for them to wait outside. She didn't want to risk upsetting Elsa. "The last time I introduced her to a guy, she froze everything," she explained. "Just give us a minute."

 

As soon as Anna left, Olaf began to count. "One, two, three, four..."

 

安娜、克斯托夫和斯特跟着雪宝穿梭在迷宫般的冰柱之间，希望能找到艾莎。但好像造出这条路的人并不想被任何访客打扰。尖锐的冰柱拔地而起，无处不在。克斯托夫小心翼翼地避开这些坚硬的冰柱，以免被戳伤身体。

 

“你打算怎么结束这种天气呢?”他问安娜。

 

“我会跟我姐姐谈的。”她说。

 

“你就这计划?”克斯托夫回应道，“我的全部生意就取决于你和你姐姐的谈话?”

 

安娜边走边说：“是的。”

 

“你一点也不怕她吗?”克斯托夫问。“我干吗要怕她?”安娜说。

 

克斯托夫仔细看着眼前这一路的尖锐冰柱。

 

“我和安娜想的一样，”雪宝说，“我觉得艾莎是世界上最善良、最温柔、最热情的人。”说着他径直走向一个尖冰柱，尖冰柱刺穿了他的身子。他的下半身继续往前走向了一个雪堆。当雪宝意识到身体分家了时，他大笑起来：“哦，看哪，我被钉住啦!”

 

安娜和克斯托夫没有回应他，他们正全神贯注地看着面前的峭壁。从这儿往前已经没有路了。

 

“现在怎么办?”安娜问道。

 

克斯托夫长叹一声，说道：“这里太陡峭了。我只有一条绳子，而你根本不会爬山。”

 

安娜把手搭在腰间。“谁说的?”安娜反驳道，径直走向峭壁。

 

克斯托夫和斯特看着安娜在陡峭的山坡上艰难地向上爬。

 

“你在干吗?”克斯托夫问。

 

“我要爬上去找我姐姐。”安娜用力在冰上找到抓手或立足点。

 

“你这是在玩命呢，”克斯托夫评价道，“我可不会把脚放在那儿。”

 

安娜转过头来说：“别分散我的注意力!”她刚把脚放下，脚下就滑了一下，她差点摔到地上。安娜停了下来，深吸一口气。克斯托夫说得没错，这座山确实太陡峭了，实在爬不了，但她又不甘心放弃。

 

“你怎么知道艾莎会想要见你呢?”克斯托夫问。

 

“我要屏蔽你，因为我现在得集中注意力。”她说。

 

克斯托夫双手交叉放在胸前，说道：“我只是说大部分躲进深山里的人都只想一个人待着。”

 

“没人想一个人待着，”安娜看着他说，“可能除了你吧。”

 

“我又不是一个人，”克斯托夫说，“我有朋友。”“是哦，就是那些爱情专家吧。”安娜奚落他。克斯托夫正经地说：“是的，那些爱情专家!”安娜再次转过头，再次向上爬。“拜托你告诉我快到了。”她扭头冲克斯托夫喊。安娜觉得空气似乎变得稀薄起来，而且她也有点坚持不住了。

 

但是安娜才爬了几英尺高!克斯托夫叹了叹气，从包里取出了登山钩。“坚持住。”他说。

 

“不知道这能不能解决问题。”雪宝从一块被雪覆盖的大石头后面喊道。

 

“但我发现了一条楼梯，通往你们要去的地方。”

 

安娜终于找到了些安慰，她从刚爬到的地方跳下来时，对克斯托夫喊道：“接住我!”安娜不偏不倚正好掉进了他怀里。“谢谢，”她咧嘴笑着，“没想到你还挺靠得住的!”

 

一行人围着一块大石头站成了一圈，雪宝就在石头那儿，旁边就是一座熠熠发光的冰台阶。抬头看去，这座台阶一直通向一座庞大而华丽的冰雪宫殿。无数的雕花冰柱闪闪发光，支撑着这座宏伟的建筑，表面装点着精致的水晶般的雪花图案。安娜和克斯托夫都惊叹不已。

 

“看看这切工、颜色和净度，”克斯托夫欣赏着眼前的冰雪宫殿，“我都要哭出来了。”

 

“哭吧，我不嘲笑你。”安娜说。

 

安娜走到正门前，小心翼翼地推开门。她回头示意克斯托夫和雪宝，让他们留在外面，她不想让艾莎不开心。“上次我带个男人去见她，她把一切都冻起来了，”她解释道，“等我一分钟。”

 

安娜一进去，雪宝就开始数数：“一、二、三、四……”

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