“Yes! I’m Olaf,” the snowman repeated. He picked up Sir JorgenBjorgen. “Ooh! What’s this? Hi,” he said to her doll. “I’m Olaf!”
“Olaf,” she repeated, trying to calm down. Why did the snowman’s name sound so familiar?
“Elsa, you built me,” the snowman said. “Remember?”
“You know who I am?”
“Yeah, why?” Olaf toddled away to examine the window seat.
Elsa was stunned by what was happening, but what was more, for a split second she’d forgotten her sorrow. A memory of love had led her to create a walking, talking snowman.
“Ooh! This room is pretty,” Olaf said. “What’s that?” he asked, moving to the open window and looking out below. Elsa watched him in awe. “Ooh! It’s a village. I’ve always wanted to see a village with people and animals, and it’s summertime! I love summer! Watching all the bees buzz around and kids blow dandelion fuzz and—oh.” He turned toward her. The right side of his face was beginning to melt. “Small problem.”
Elsa swirled her hands around as she had before and thought hard about what she could do to help him stay cool in the heat. A small snow cloud appeared above Olaf’s head.
“My own personal flurry!” Olaf hugged himself. Then he saw the look on her face. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m still trying to understand how you’re here and how I created you.”
“Don’t you remember?” Olaf asked. “You made me for Anna!”
Elsa’s heart might have stopped for a moment.
Anna?
Could Anna be the A on the chest in the attic?
Elsa was almost too afraid to ask. “Who’s Anna?”
Olaf’s eager smile faded. “I don’t know. Who’s Anna?”
It was okay. This was a start. She had a name now. “I don’t know, either.” Elsa took Olaf by the twig and led him to her window seat. She planned on telling him everything she knew. “But together we’re going to find out.”
Three Years Later…
Elsa looked out her bedroom window and marveled at the scene unfolding in front of her. The castle gates were open and workers in green uniforms were readying the courtyard and the chapel for her coronation. Purple and gold banners, some with her silhouette and others with the family crest, were being hung from every flagpole inside and outside the courtyard. Her coronation was only days away.
Elsa was terrified.
She took a deep breath and tried to steady her heartbeat before the blue glow could appear above her hands. Don’t let them see your powers, she reminded herself. You need them to think of you as the good ruler your parents raised you to be, not someone who can do magic, or else…She exhaled slowly and thought about the worst-case scenario: One wrong move and everyone will know the truth. I’m not like everyone else.
There was a knock at her door. “Princess Elsa? Your presence is requested in the dressing room for a final fitting of your gown.”
It was Gerda calling her from the hallway. Elsa was thankful for her presence, as well as Kai’s and Lord Peterssen’s, the past three years. Her room had become her sanctuary after her parents’ deaths, and they had respected that, allowing her to take the time she needed before she was ready to join the world again. She spent a lot of time in her room and the adjoining one that was her dressing area, but didn’t like to linger in the castle’s other rooms. She was still haunted by the memories of her parents.
“Thank you, Gerda. I’ll meet you in the dressing room,” Elsa called through the door.
Gerda understood her better than almost anyone, and yet she didn’t know Elsa’s secret. Only one person knew that.
“Oooh, look! You got more flowers!” said Olaf, walking through the door between her room and the dressing area with a large bouquet.
“Olaf!” Elsa pulled him through the door before Gerda saw him. “You know you’re not supposed to be in the dressing room. You can’t leave my room at all without me. Especially this week. There are too many people in the castle.”
“Technically, I didn’t leave your room,” Olaf pointed out. “The dressing room is attached.”
Elsa took the flowers from Olaf and placed them on her desk. “I know, but you promised me you’d stay in here.”
The snowflakes over Olaf’s head fell faster. “But it looks like so much fun out there! I peeked through the keyhole and saw someone pushing a cart with a chocolate cake.”
“I will have some cake sent to the room,” Elsa promised. “I know it’s hard, but we can’t risk anyone finding a talking snowman roaming the halls today.”
Olaf frowned. “You say that every day.”
She grabbed his twiglike hand. “I know. I’m sorry.”
There were no words for how sorry she was. Olaf was the closest thing she had to family. He had been her constant companion the past three years, and she never let him leave the room unless she was absolutely positive they weren’t going to be seen.
Occasionally, the two of them escaped her room. A few times she had stuck Olaf underneath a tea cart and wheeled him to the staircase so they could dash up to the attic. Repeated trips had turned up nothing on Anna. The mysterious trunk with the letter A held tiny dresses and bonnets, but there was nothing there that suggested A was for Anna, or that it was a clue to who Anna was. Elsa had exhausted herself searching for information on this lost girl Olaf was sure she knew. Visits to her parents’ library also turned up nothing, and there was no record in the castle chapel of an Anna being born. Once, she’d even mentioned Anna’s name to Lord Peterssen, hoping to get a reaction, but he looked utterly confused. The only one who remembered her was Olaf, and he apparently had memory loss.
“After the coronation, we will find time to let you poke around the attic again,” Elsa said brightly, and Olaf’s eyes widened.
“Not just the attic!” Olaf said. “Once you’re queen you can tell everyone about your wonderful gift.”
Gift. Sometimes the gift felt more like a curse. She’d learned to control her magic a bit in the past few years, but only when it came to what she could intentionally create. Snow mounds, yes. But if she found herself getting upset or anxious, she couldn’t stop snow from falling, no matter how hard she tried. “I’m not sure that’s wise.”
“Why not? Everyone would love some snow on a day as hot as this.” Olaf walked to the window, his personal flurry cloud following, and looked out. “They’re roasting out there getting everything ready for your coronation. Oh, look! They have lots of banners for you. Hi, people!”
Elsa pulled him back from the window. “I am not sure the kingdom will be happy to know they have a queen who can make ice.”
“Anna always liked it,” Olaf offered.
That was what he’d do sometimes. He’d drop Anna’s name into the conversation as if they should both know who he was talking about. But the minute she tried to pull at the loose thread, the conversation unraveled.
“When did I make snow for Anna, again?”
Olaf clapped his hands excitedly. “Ooh…well…” He frowned. “I don’t remember.”