Anna, Kristoff, and Sven followed Olaf through a maze of icicles, hoping to find Elsa. But it looked as if whoever had built the path did not want visitors. Sharp ice daggers stuck out of the ground everywhere. Kristoff just missed being jabbed in the chest by one of the thick spikes.
“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 lining the path.
“I was just literally 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 mound. When Olaf realized his body was no longer connected, he began to laugh. “Oh, look at that,” he said. “I’ve been impaled.”
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 hips. “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 scoffed. 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 boulder.
“But I found a staircase that leads exactly where you want it to go.”
Relief spread through Anna, and she dropped from her perch 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, standing next to a shimmering 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...”
第13章
安娜、克斯托夫和斯特跟著雪寶穿梭在迷宮般的冰柱之間,希望能找到艾莎。但好像造出這條路的人并不想被任何訪客打擾。尖銳的冰柱拔地而起,無處不在。克斯托夫小心翼翼地避開這些堅硬的冰柱,以免被戳傷身體。
“你打算怎么結束這種天氣呢?”他問安娜。
“我會跟我姐姐談的。”她說。
“你就這計劃?”克斯托夫回應道,“我的全部生意就取決于你和你姐姐的談話?”
安娜邊走邊說:“是的。”
“你一點也不怕她嗎?”克斯托夫問。“我干嗎要怕她?”安娜說。
克斯托夫仔細看著眼前這一路的尖銳冰柱。
“我和安娜想的一樣,”雪寶說,“我覺得艾莎是世界上最善良、最溫柔、最熱情的人。”說著他徑直走向一個尖冰柱,尖冰柱刺穿了他的身子。他的下半身繼續(xù)往前走向了一個雪堆。當雪寶意識到身體分家了時,他大笑起來:“哦,看哪,我被釘住啦!”
安娜和克斯托夫沒有回應他,他們正全神貫注地看著面前的峭壁。從這兒往前已經沒有路了。
“現在怎么辦?”安娜問道。
克斯托夫長嘆一聲,說道:“這里太陡峭了。我只有一條繩子,而你根本不會爬山。”
安娜把手搭在腰間。“誰說的?”安娜反駁道,徑直走向峭壁。
克斯托夫和斯特看著安娜在陡峭的山坡上艱難地向上爬。
“你在干嗎?”克斯托夫問。
“我要爬上去找我姐姐。”安娜用力在冰上找到抓手或立足點。
“你這是在玩命呢,”克斯托夫評價道,“我可不會把腳放在那兒。”
安娜轉過頭來說:“別分散我的注意力!”她剛把腳放下,腳下就滑了一下,她差點摔到地上。安娜停了下來,深吸一口氣??怂雇蟹蛘f得沒錯,這座山確實太陡峭了,實在爬不了,但她又不甘心放棄。
“你怎么知道艾莎會想要見你呢?”克斯托夫問。
“我要屏蔽你,因為我現在得集中注意力。”她說。
克斯托夫雙手交叉放在胸前,說道:“我只是說大部分躲進深山里的人都只想一個人待著。”
“沒人想一個人待著,”安娜看著他說,“可能除了你吧。”
“我又不是一個人,”克斯托夫說,“我有朋友。”“是哦,就是那些愛情專家吧。”安娜奚落他??怂雇蟹蛘浀卣f:“是的,那些愛情專家!”安娜再次轉過頭,再次向上爬。“拜托你告訴我快到了。”她扭頭沖克斯托夫喊。安娜覺得空氣似乎變得稀薄起來,而且她也有點堅持不住了。
但是安娜才爬了幾英尺高!克斯托夫嘆了嘆氣,從包里取出了登山鉤。“堅持住。”他說。
“不知道這能不能解決問題。”雪寶從一塊被雪覆蓋的大石頭后面喊道。
“但我發(fā)現了一條樓梯,通往你們要去的地方。”
安娜終于找到了些安慰,她從剛爬到的地方跳下來時,對克斯托夫喊道:“接住我!”安娜不偏不倚正好掉進了他懷里。“謝謝,”她咧嘴笑著,“沒想到你還挺靠得住的!”
一行人圍著一塊大石頭站成了一圈,雪寶就在石頭那兒,旁邊就是一座熠熠發(fā)光的冰臺階。抬頭看去,這座臺階一直通向一座龐大而華麗的冰雪宮殿。無數的雕花冰柱閃閃發(fā)光,支撐著這座宏偉的建筑,表面裝點著精致的水晶般的雪花圖案。安娜和克斯托夫都驚嘆不已。
“看看這切工、顏色和凈度,”克斯托夫欣賞著眼前的冰雪宮殿,“我都要哭出來了。”
“哭吧,我不嘲笑你。”安娜說。
安娜走到正門前,小心翼翼地推開門。她回頭示意克斯托夫和雪寶,讓他們留在外面,她不想讓艾莎不開心。“上次我?guī)€男人去見她,她把一切都凍起來了,”她解釋道,“等我一分鐘。”
安娜一進去,雪寶就開始數數:“一、二、三、四……”