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The ship from Weselton reached the harbor well before the one from Arendelle did, and so did the vessels of numerous other guests.
“Welcome to Arendelle!” greeted the dockmaster as the guests piled in.
“Merci Monsieur!” returned one of the foreign dignitaries.
“Watch your step! The gates will be opening soon.” informed the dockmaster.
In the plaza, people festively erected a maypole. A grown ice harvester and a reindeer stood along with their sled at the marketplace: little Kristoff and Sven were now all grown up. Drawing out a carrot from the sled, Kristoff decided to play a little game with his friend.
“What do you want, Sven?” he asked, hiding the carrot behind himself.
He spoke in a goofy voice for Sven, as if he could, and demanded, “Give me a snack!”
With a smile, he asked Sven, “What’s the magic word?”
“Please?” he guessed, as Sven.
Kristoff offered the carrot. The reindeer tried to swallow the carrot whole, but Kristoff quickly resisted, “Ah, uh-uh-uh! Share.”
Sven agreed and pushed half the carrot out of his mouth. Not the least bit disgusted by the slimy reindeer saliva, Kristoff ate the other half.
A couple rushed toward the entrance of the castle bridge, thrilled. The husband said to his wife, “I can’t believe they’re finally opening the gates!”
His thrilled wife exclaimed, “And for a whole day! Faster, Persi!”
She pulled her husband along, and he held his hat firmly on his head. The Duke of Weselton and his two most trusted guards also moved toward the castle not very far away from them.
“Ah, Arendelle. Our most mysterious trade partner. Open your gates, so I may unlock your secrets and exploit your riches.”
Alarmed that the words slipped from his mouth, he asked worriedly, “Did I say that out loud?”
Unfortunately, no one knew his true and evil intentions save his guards. Further ahead, two foreign ministers discussed among themselves.
“Oh, me sore eyes can’t wait to see the queen and the princess. I bet they are absolutely lovely.” expressed the Irishman.
The Spanish dignitary in his company agreed, “I bet they are beautiful!”
While all this was unfolding, Anna was still fast asleep in bed. She drooled, clueless about what was happening outside her window. An attendant knocked at her door and called out,
“Princess Anna, Princess Anna!”
Anna stirred and responded, “Huh? Yeah?”
The voice from behind the door apologized, “Sorry to wake you up.”
Anna slowly opened her eyes and started, “No, no, no, you didn’t. I’ve been up for hours!”
Her bedhead suggested otherwise.
“Who is it?” she questioned.
“It’s still me, ma’am. The gates will open soon; time to get ready!” reminded the voice.
“Of course! Ready for what?” she asked, dizzy with sleep.
The voice outside seemed perplexed, “Your sister’s coronation, ma’am?”
Opening her eyes, she said to herself, “My sister's ‘conoration’.”
Then she looked at her dress briefly. All of a sudden, her eyes flung open, and she remembered, “It’s coronation day!”
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She jumped out of bed and got ready in a jiffy. She gyrated around the attendants holding plates and celebrated, “It’s coronation day!”
Just as always, the castle became her playground. Later, she went to play with the geese in the garden. She also got a glimpse of ships sailing in from the vast open ocean as she used her own pulley lift to move higher up the castle building. In her jolly and excited state, she also hoped that she would be noticed by a handsome prince and find true love. In the excitement, she did ruin a number of other things, so to speak—chiefly the grand cake for the guests at the coronation!
Elsa, on the other hand, did not share her sister’s elation. She had to make sure everything went just as planned and keep her powers hidden from everybody. Elsa knew that she had to handle this for just one day. After much deliberation within herself, she gave the orders to open the gates. Though it was risky, it was a necessary decision. She practiced all she could to keep her powers hidden, but it was clear to her that no matter how much she tried, it was never entirely in her control.
As the gate opened, Anna rushed outside. Guards at the gates now wore warm and welcoming faces. A thrilled Anna dashed into the crowd and capered joyfully between the pillars of the marketplace. Indeed, now nothing was in her way. Besides, it was her first time in forever!
She ran along the dock, utterly immersed in her new freedom and company. With a start, a muscular horse pushed her into a nearby boat. The boat began to tip over, and Anna gasped in disbelief at the water below her. The rider directed the horse to place its hoof on the boat and held it in place. Anna was relieved but instantly angered.
“Hey!” she called out to the rider.
When she did get a glimpse of him, she admired his three-piece coat and his princely features.
“I’m so sorry! Are you hurt?” he asked, worried.
Anna fancied him at first sight.
“Yea… No, no. I’m okay.” she reassured, smiling.
“Are you sure?” The rider wasn’t convinced.
Butterflies filled Anna’s stomach as she justified,
“I… I just wasn’t looking where I was going, but I’m great, actually.”
The rider alighted from his horse and offered help. Both of them gazed at each other. Anna simpered as she put her hand in his. The rider introduced,
“Prince Hans of the Southern Isles.” He said, bowing. Anna too curtsied and began,
“Princess Anna of Arendelle.”
“Princess?!” he wondered.
He then realized and quickly knelt before her, “My lady…”
The horse observed and did the same. Unluckily, it lifted its hoof off the boat, and both Hans and Anna ended up on top of each other. The horse swiftly recovered the boat, and it hinged in the opposite direction. As a result, Anna ended on top of Hans. Both of them exchanged an awkward moment. Stunned, Anna spoke, “This is awkward, not because you are awkward, I’m awkward, you’re gorgeous! Wait, what?”
Anna never really had much control over what she said. Hans only smiled and expressed his regret, “I formally apologize for hitting the Princess of Arendelle with my horse and every moment after.”
Anna replied, “No, no, no. I’m not that princess. If you hit my sister Elsa, it would be… yeesh!”
Then, she turned over to the horse and rubbed its chin, “Hello!”
She again turned to the prince and continued, “But, lucky you, it’s just me.”
Satisfied, Hans repeated, “Just you.”
Both of them were absorbed in each other’s eyes. Soon, Anna heard the bells.
“The bells, the coronation. I… I better go, I have to go. I better go. Bye!”
Saying so, she waved to him and hurried toward the castle. Prince Hans did the same, and very unluckily, so did his horse—he fell into the water with the boat, and it capsized. However, Prince Hans wasn’t mad at his horse; he only smiled, thinking of Anna.
By this time, the Arendellian ship finally docked, and both Alex and Kai hurriedly got off the ship. Alex was worried sick.
“Kai, unload the ship; equipment and everything. I need to get to the castle urgently,” he spoke in a hurry.
“Yes, don’t worry. I will take care of that.” Kai assured him. Alex sprinted through the marketplace and into the castle. The soldiers at the gate snapped to attention as he rushed in—Princess Elsa was soon going to be Queen of Arendelle!
He reached the door of the royal dressing room, where an ensign in the Royal Guard stood sentry. Using both his hands, he stopped Alex.
“What do you think you are doing, sergeant?!”
Alex answered, “Ensign, I need to see Princess Elsa; I desperately need to!”
The young officer standing guard started, “I’m afraid you can’t. No one is allowed to meet the princess until sundown.”
Alex pleaded once more, “But you must understand, sir! I MUST see the princess right now!”
However, the young officer was hardly commissioned a few months ago and had no clue who Alex was.
“No! For two generations, we have abided by every rule laid down by Arendelle, and now there’s you!” Moving in closer to Alex, he questioned, “You ARE still loyal to Arendelle, aren’t you, sergeant?”
At attention, Alex complied, “Yes, sir!”
“Then be off already!” ordered the ensign.
Alex saluted, dispirited. Still wearing that unwelcoming and agitated face, the young officer saluted back. The sergeant had no other choice but to walk away.
Later, the coronation began at the chapel. The guests filled the pews and waited for the ceremony to commence. Elsa stood at the altar. Standing off to one side was her sister. Anna searched the audience. Elsa was worried but kept that to herself. On the other hand, Anna glowed as she noticed Hans among the observers and waved to him. Very naturally, he waved back.
In her concealing gloves, anxiety and fear engulfed Elsa. With the crown placed on her head, the bishop presented the orb and scepter to her. Her hands began to shake as she moved to grasp them, only to be interrupted by the bishop.
“Your Majesty, the gloves,” he whispered.
She hesitantly removed her gloves and accepted the scepter and orb.
“Sem hon heldr inum helgum eignum ok krýnd í þessum helga stað ek té fram fyrir yðr…”
As he recited, the objects in her hands began to freeze over.
“… Queen Elsa of Arendelle.” the bishop formally ordained her as queen. The observers rose and chorused,
“Queen Elsa of Arendelle!”
They all applauded and cheered. Elsa instantly put the orb and scepter away and put her gloves back on.