On the morning of Elsa’s coronation, the heavy gates to the castle were finally opened. All of Arendelle wanted to celebrate the grand occasion. The streets in front of the castle were crowded with townspeople eager to see the new queen.
To add to the excitement, the fjord was filled with ships from other kingdoms, bringing dignitaries from far away. One by one, important people stepped onto Arendelle’s docks.
“Welcome to our humble Arendelle,” the royal handler called to the visitors. One of the visiting dignitaries was the Duke of Weselton, a small man with white whiskers. Two huge guards followed close behind him, carrying his luggage.
“Ah, Arendelle, our most mysterious trade partner,” the Duke said breezily. “Open those gates so I may unlock your secrets and exploit your riches!”
In the distance, Kristoff was making his way down a mountain path. Now grown-up and strong, he and Sven had become true ice harvesters, masters at hauling ice blocks down the mountain. To Kristoff, the coronation was a perfect opportunity to sell ice to the crowds who filled Arendelle.
“A coronation on a hot July day, you know what that means?” he asked Sven, who was harnessed to their rickety ice cart.
The reindeer raised his eyebrows. Sven couldn’t talk, but that wasn’t a problem for Kristoff. He often spoke for Sven, changing his voice to sound deeper and more reindeer-y.
“I sure do, Kristoff,” he declared, as Sven. “By noon I’m going to smell like a barrel of rabid skunks.” “Yes, you will,” Kristoff said, talking normally again. He grinned. “But also, people will be needing ice. Lots of ice.” He pulled Sven’s rope, and the two continued down into the town.
For Anna, the new people and the excitement were a dream come true. For the first time in years, every door in Arendelle was open. No one was shutting her out! She burst through the busy courtyard in front of the castle and practically skipped into town. People everywhere were getting ready for the coronation. She saw banners, a maypole, and flowers — all celebrating her sister, the new queen. There were dancing groups, musical bands, and food stalls. Everything looked so interesting.
“I can’t wait to meet everyone!” Anna exclaimed out loud. Then she stopped short as a thought occurred to her. “What if I meet the one?” Anna knew she wasn’t likely to meet someone special, especially since the castle gates would be open for one day only, exactly twenty-four hours. Still, she couldn’t help daydreaming just a bit. Today might be her only chance to meet new friends, have new experiences, and maybe, just maybe, find love.
In her room upstairs in the castle, Elsa did not share the happiness that pulsed through the kingdom. She worried about controlling her powers, and hoped she could just get through the ceremony without anyone learning about her magic.
As a test, she slipped off her gloves and picked up a candlestick and a little jar from the table. She concentrated, holding both with her bare hands. “Be the good girl,” Elsa whispered to herself. “Make one wrong move and everyone will know...” She was nervous. As she stood there, ice formed on her palms and moved onto the objects, turning them to ice. She hurriedly dropped them and tugged her gloves back on, concealing her hands — and her icy magic.
“It’s only for today,” Elsa reminded herself. After that, the gates would be closed again and she could go back into hiding.
第4章
在加冕日的早上,城堡厚重的大門終于打開。整個艾倫戴爾王國都沉浸在慶祝的喜悅中。城堡前的街道擠滿了國民,他們迫不及待地想一睹新女王的風采。
峽灣里停滿了外國的航船,很多貴族也遠道而來,增添了歡慶的氛圍。達官顯貴一一踏上了艾倫戴爾的碼頭。
“歡迎來到敝國艾倫戴爾。”迎賓大臣向來訪者表示歡迎。其中一位來訪的貴族是威斯頓公爵,他身材矮小,留著兩撇大白胡子。兩名健壯的護衛(wèi)提著公爵的行李,緊緊跟在他后面。
“哦,艾倫戴爾,我們最神秘的貿(mào)易伙伴,”公爵調(diào)侃道,“打開大門吧,讓我來揭開你的秘密,攫取你的財富吧!”
遠處,克斯托夫正沿著山路往山下走。如今他已長成了高大魁梧的小伙子,他和斯特也成了真正的采冰人,是采冰運冰的行家了。對于克斯托夫而言,加冕典禮是一個千載難逢的好機會,可以向這熙熙攘攘的人群售賣冰塊。
“炎熱的七月舉行登基,你知道這意味著什么嗎?”他問被拴在小破冰車上的斯特。
馴鹿挑了挑眉。斯特雖然不能說話,但這對克斯托夫來說不是問題。他經(jīng)常壓低嗓音,以斯特的口吻說話。
“我當然知道,克斯托夫,”他模仿斯特的聲音說道,“到中午的時候我聞起來肯定就像暴躁的臭鼬一樣。”“是的,肯定會這樣。”克斯托夫又恢復了正常的語氣,他呵呵地笑了。“人們到時候會需要冰塊,很多冰塊。”他拉著斯特的繩子,繼續(xù)向城里走去。
對于安娜來說,見到這么多新鮮的面孔,參加熱鬧的慶典就像夢想成真一樣。這么多年來,艾倫戴爾第一次打開了每一扇門。沒人將她拒之門外!她穿過城堡前面熱鬧的花園,一蹦一跳地溜進了城里。所有人都為加冕儀式做好了準備。她所到之處,盡是彩旗、花柱和鮮花——都在慶祝她姐姐成為新女王。有舞蹈團、樂隊和賣美食的小攤,一切看上去都有趣極了。
“我迫不及待地想要見所有人!”安娜興奮地喊道。這時她突然停了一下,腦中閃過一個念頭。“如果遇到命中注定的那個人將會怎么樣?”安娜知道不會見到什么特殊人物,尤其因為城堡大門只開放一天,僅僅24小時。然而,她還是不禁浮想聯(lián)翩。今天也許是她唯一的機會去認識新朋友,體驗新事物,又或許,僅僅是或許還可以找到真愛。
在城堡樓上的房間里,艾莎并沒有感受到彌漫在整個王國里的快樂氣氛。她擔心自己控制不了魔力,一心只希望能夠順利完成慶典,而不被任何人發(fā)現(xiàn)她的魔力。
她試著脫下手套,從桌上拿起一個燭臺和一只小罐。她聚精會神,徒手拿著這兩樣東西。“好好的,”艾莎自言自語道,“一步出錯,所有人就會知道……”她很緊張。她站在那里,手掌上開始結(jié)冰,冰雪慢慢轉(zhuǎn)移到手里的東西上,快把它們凍住了。她急忙丟下東西,重新戴上手套,極力把雙手隱藏起來,當然,還有她的冰雪魔力。
“就這一天。”艾莎不斷提醒自己。以后,城門又會關閉,她就可以像以前那樣隱居。