Home > Frozen 2_ Forest of Shadows

Frozen 2_ Forest of Shadows
Author: Kamilla Benko

THE SKY WAS AWAKE, and so was the forest.

Anna of Arendelle hugged her cloak tight as the bare branches clacked like teeth above her and the wind tugged at her braids. She peered into a bush. As far as she knew, bushes weren’t supposed to have eyes. But then again, five-year-old princesses weren’t supposed to be alone outside the castle at night, either. And yet here she was…although Anna hadn’t started off the night alone. Her sister, Elsa, was somewhere out here in the snowy woods, too. Possibly hiding in the very bush that Anna tiptoed closer to at this moment.

Three years older than Anna, with wide blue eyes and a shy smile, Elsa was the kind of girl who could sit for hours without swinging her legs and whose tidy white-blond plait always hung straight down her back. Grown-ups often remarked how well-behaved Anna’s big sister was…but they didn’t know Elsa the way Anna did. Underneath the polite and poised exterior was a mischievous sense of fun. All Elsa needed was an excuse, and Anna was happy to be just that: Elsa’s excuse to slip into her cloak and sneak out of the castle to build a snowman and play hide-and-find under the northern lights. Which was exactly what they were doing now. Elsa had already found Anna in a tree’s hollow, but Anna had been looking for Elsa for what seemed like forever…or at least five minutes.

The leaves rustled again, and Anna clapped her hands over her mouth to stop a giggle from escaping. Yes, there was definitely someone watching her from the snow-covered thicket. Holding her breath, she stepped closer. She was pretty sure it was Elsa, but there was always a chance it could be a Huldrefólk, one of the rumored hidden people who dwelled in the streams, under the rocks, and in the bedtime stories told by their mother, Queen Iduna. Anna’s heart beat faster. If it was a Huldrefólk, she just had to see their tail. She’d always wondered if their tails were flowing like a horse’s, or bushy like a fox’s, or long and skinny like a mouse’s.

But Anna had a feeling she knew who the figure hiding behind the bush was. Anna parted the leaves, and in the colorful glow of the dancing sky, she caught a glimpse of blond hair. So, not a Huldrefólk. Just a sister.

Laughing, Anna shook the bush. “I found you! Your turn to be the Crusty Troll!”

Elsa didn’t respond.

“I said, I found you.” Anna peered through the foliage. “It’s my turn to hide—that’s the rule. Come on out!”

Anna’s sister turned her head, and that’s when Anna realized her mistake. It wasn’t blond hair she had spotted in the shifting light.

It was white fur.

Anna’s scream stuck in her throat as a giant white wolf prowled out from the thicket with unusual grace, its long limbs uncurling like smoke. Its fierce yellow gaze fixed on her, and Anna’s eyes ran down its huge, horse-sized body…to see four fearsome paws, each the size of one of the large shields of her father, King Agnarr. But that wasn’t the worst of it.

No, the worst was the red-stained fur around its claws and jaw.

Red. The color of blood.

What had happened to her sister?

“Elsa!” Anna screamed. “Where are you?”

The wolf leapt.

Anna ran.

Her heart slammed in her chest, each breath a sharp knife as she tried to run faster, and faster—but she knew she couldn’t outrun a wolf. Spotting a fallen log, she dove behind it, her knees tucked to her chest as she tried to make herself as small as possible. Though her lungs ached for air, Anna held her breath, not wanting to give herself away with even the tiniest exhale. One second passed, then another, and another. Had she lost the wolf?

Snow fell thick and silent. Anna shivered, wishing she’d listened to Elsa when she’d told her not to wear her most beautiful green cloak but to put on her everyday thick woolly brown one instead.

Elsa. Where was Elsa?

As quiet as a shadow, Anna peered around the log, half expecting to come nose-to-snout with the wolf. Instead, all she saw was an army of trees casting ghastly shadows onto the snow-covered ground. And as the wind picked up, so did Anna’s ice-cold fear. If she walked through the fresh snow, the wolf would be able to see exactly which direction she’d gone. And if she didn’t walk through the snow…she might never find her sister.

Red on white.

Blood on fur.

Anna couldn’t stay behind the log forever. Peeling off her cloak, she arranged it on the ground, bunching it into the shape of a five-year-old girl taking a nap. Then she moved into a crouching position. So far, so good. She took a slow, steady step backward. And then another, and another, carefully weaving her way in reverse between the trees, the same way the Huldrefólk in her mother’s bedtime stories were said to travel so they could keep their tails hidden. But Anna didn’t have a tail to hide. Instead, she was leaving a fresh trail of footprints in the snow—footprints that would always lead away from where she actually was.

“Elsa,” she whispered, “you’ve won hide-and-find. Please come out.”

But still there was no reply. The snow fell faster, so Anna moved faster, darting between trees, diving behind boulders, and all the while scanning the snowy woods for a sign of her sister—any sign. But there was not a footprint to be seen. It was as though her sister had been erased. As though…but the thought was too horrible for Anna to finish.

From somewhere nearby, the wolf howled.

Anna froze. She knew that sound. It was the same sound her father’s hunting dogs made when they’d picked up the scent of a fox. The wolf howled again, but this time it was a little farther away. Anna’s decoy had worked! She spun around and ran. The snow fell faster, the thick flakes clumping on her eyelashes and making it hard to see.

“Elsa!” The name ripped from her throat. “Elsaaaa! El—” She choked on the word.

There, standing in front of her, wasn’t her sister, but the wolf.

Once more, its fierce yellow eyes were fixed right on her.

How had it gotten ahead of her? There was no time to think—only to run.

Anna pumped her legs, sending snow flying up around her. She couldn’t stop. Her entire world was snow and fear and cold, and then suddenly—endless sky! Anna stumbled to a halt. She was at the edge of a cliff. An inky expanse of nothingness lay before her, but she knew whatever she found lurking behind her would be far worse.

Hot breath.

Sharp claws.

Sharper teeth.

“ELSA!” she yelled again.

But Elsa did not appear. If her sister wasn’t here by now, something horrible must have happened. Pain seared itself across Anna’s shoulder blades. She had hesitated for too long. The wolf’s claws had connected with her back. Anna stumbled forward.

She plunged over the edge—

And woke up.

A cool, comforting hand was on her forehead, and as she blinked, Anna saw her mother’s face sharpen into focus. The queen’s blue-gray eyes shone with concern, and her chestnut brown hair cascaded down one shoulder, loose from its usual upsweep of braids and bangs. A large burgundy scarf, stitched with a multitude of snowflakes and complete with purple fringe, had been thrown over her shoulders and was covering up a lavender nightgown.

Anna shot up. “Where’s Elsa? Did the wolf get her?”

“Anna, it’s all right.” Her mother sat and wrapped an arm around her. “All is well.”

Hot Books
» House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1)
» A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire
» From Blood and Ash (Blood And Ash #1)
» A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime
» Deviant King (Royal Elite #1)
» Den of Vipers
» House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2)
» The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #
» Sweet Temptation
» The Sweetest Oblivion (Made #1)
» Chasing Cassandra (The Ravenels #6)
» Wreck & Ruin
» Steel Princess (Royal Elite #2)
» Twisted Hate (Twisted #3)
» The Play (Briar U Book 3)