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Many years passed, and Elsa learned to control her powers. She was now Queen of Arendelle. Although she was not a threat to anybody anymore, those questions from her childhood never seemed to be answered.

The gates were open wide, and several dignitaries were invited to a royal gala being held at the castle. All the guests gathered in a hallway, speaking to one another. Elsa stood staring into the fjord from an adjoining balcony. She seemed troubled, lost in her thoughts.

Within the hall, several dignitaries were engrossed in a discussion about Alex.

“And Prince Hans was like: No! This can’t be happening, guards!” one gentleman spoke aloud. Another dignitary concurred,

“Ha! You should have seen the look on the guard’s face!”

The first dignitary continued, “And the sergeant replied: Or do you mean ‘guard’?”

The men and women had a hearty laugh. Not long after, Alex arrived before them in his mess dress. The ‘Hero of Arendelle’ medal hung proudly above his uniform pocket. The laughter of the dignitaries simmered down, and many of them exclaimed in hushed voices, “The royal sergeant!” “It is him,” “Color Alex.”

Alex smiled warmly and greeted them aloud, “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen!”

“Good afternoon.” “Afternoon, color sergeant.” “A very good afternoon.”

He appreciated the greetings, beaming. As they got back to their chitter-chatter, he moved toward the balcony where the queen was standing. Realizing that something was bothering her, he took a few more steps to the relatively isolated balcony. However, he could hear whispered conversations manifest among the dignitaries, presumably about himself. Looking back at them, who were more or less looking at him, he stopped.

‘Why set all tongues wagging unnecessarily? I’ll talk to her later.’ he thought to himself, walking away in a different direction down the hallway.

Elsa absent-mindedly stared out into the sea, engulfed in disquietude. Kai entered the balcony from the hallway.

“Your majesty--” started Kai, refining his stance. Elsa was taken by surprise. A burst of magic from her hands froze the wooden railing of the balcony.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, as her hands jammed onto the railing.

“They’re ready.”

“Hehe, excuse me,” she said as she struggled to separate her hands from the ice. Kai looked astonished but held a reserved face nonetheless.

Elsa finally broke away from the ice and declared, “I’m coming.”

Suddenly, she heard a mysterious voice calling out to her.

“Did you hear that?” she asked Kai with seriousness.

Kai grew confused but considered what the queen said. After a brief moment, he was convinced that he heard nothing.

“What?” he asked, puzzled. Elsa decided not to bother him.

“Nevermind.” She said as they walked into the hallway.

Away in the bustling town of Arendelle, Anna roamed the streets, meeting all the people and talking to them. She liked to be in the town and the countryside much more than she wanted to be in the castle. She whistled through the street and ran around the plaza square. At the dock, she admired magnificent ships of foreign dignitaries. She declared to herself that this perfect corner of the earth was indeed her home.

Deep within herself, she felt that she had not yet done enough for all these happy, prosperous, and warm people that she knew. As she strolled through the marketplace, she nominated a new treat to be her favorite—krumkake!

She rode a bicycle all over Arendelle. Anna enjoyed every moment of it, save the moment she was chased by several seemingly friendly dogs. Later, she danced at the tavern and witnessed many other spectacular things that people did. In her overjoyed state, she went up to a little girl at the marketplace.

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“Hey! Come here,” she called her. Taking a coin out of her pocket, Anna told her, “Take this coin and go buy a custard bun for everyone!”

“Okay!” replied the lass, disappearing with the coin. Anna had a hard time explaining to the baffled onlookers that she did nothing awkward.

Even so, she loved the open gates and loved her family and close friends even more. They meant everything for her, and she could never fathom losing them. She celebrated this newfound happiness and wished these splendid days would last forever.

Back at the royal castle, a grand party was hoisted within the Great Hall. Guests from Arendelle and beyond flooded the hall, and the atmosphere became jolly. Kai stood in anticipation at the far end of the hall, on the dais—something was going to happen.

A grand party, lots of guests, merriment, and a harpsichord—what more could an inquisitive magic snowman wish for?

Olaf was overjoyed by everything in that hall, and he decided to steal the show: walking through the hall, he reached the harpsichord. He seated himself on the stool and started to play. This attracted attention, and very naturally, terrified and confused faces.

Olaf showboated: he sang about how he no longer needed a personal flurry and that he now had a permafrost to the amused people. To prove that he was really ‘unmeltable’, he smashed a candle onto his head. It was put out at the instant, leaving Olaf unscathed. He even went to the extent of standing within the ignited fireplace.

His torso played the harpsichord while his head and bottom ran about the place, flamboyantly parading the fact that he could now read and that he liked the big words. His head was thrown about after he startled an older gentleman by hiding his head within a chaffing dish in the buffet. The irritated people passed his head to each other like in a game of hot potato. However, Lord Frederik and the others found his head fascinating too. They threw it up in celebration, and as his performance came to an end, all his body parts regrouped at the harpsichord. Briefly pausing at the entry of Anna and Kristoff, he told them, out of breath, “Oh, thank goodness you’re here. Grab a seat, just about to bring it on home.”

They both only stared in disbelief. To finish, he played one last chromatic movement, but his tiny body was unable to hit the last note.

“Hmm…” he wondered briefly before shooting his carrot nose off his face and accurately at the desired key.

Rhapsodies of praise followed his performance. He bowed, “Thank you, thank you. Boy, I love people.”

Turning over to Alex, who was standing by the steps to the dais, he casually signed off, “See ya, Alex.”

The sergeant was in his red ceremonials and wore an amused look. Nevertheless, he smiled and waved back at the snowman. Olaf climbed up the window sill and looked at the guests for a bit.

“That’s all, folks!” he dived out of the window, and moments later, the cry of a child was heard.

“Mom! A walking snowman!”

“Winter’s two months away, Envid. Don’t be silly.”

Olaf spoke in his crazed yet jolly voice, “Hi! I’m Olaf, and I like warm hugs!”

The now terrified mother exclaimed, “Ah! And it’s talking!”

Both the mother and son screamed, running for their lives.

Standing on the dais, Kai cleared his throat to attract the guests’ attention. Their gaze thus shifted from the window on to him.

“Her Majesty, Queen Elsa!” he announced as the crowd applauded her arrival to the dais. She wore a magnificent ceremonial gown.

“Hey, I have a gift for you,” Anna told Kristoff with excitement. Kristoff was anxious. It seemed he wanted to say something to her but was having trouble getting up the nerve.

“Wha-- yea… Yeah! I love gifts! How sweet.” he phrased nervously.

“When I say gift, it’s more like ‘award’,” confessed Anna.

“What? Why should you award me?”

“Shh! Try to listen,” she exclaimed hushedly to him.

Kai was delivered a scroll by an attendant.

“In the midst of today’s grand celebrations, the Queen of Arendelle would like to have Kristoff Bjorgman at her behest.”

Saying so, he opened the scroll and glanced through Anna’s beautiful handwriting in it. However, as he glanced through the latter half of the scroll’s content, he felt uneasy at the thought of reading it, but did he have a choice? “For, protecting Princess Anna from imminent danger and bringing her safely back to Arendelle, Kristoff Bjorgman is awarded lordship. And--”

Kai stopped briefly and read the next part in his mind, confused. Hesitatingly, he went on, “For continuously supplying Arendelle with ice for the last three years, he is also awarded the title of ‘Royal Ice Master and Deliverer’. Could we have applause?”

The people found the latter announcement questionable. Yet, they showed their appreciation and clapped. Alex was standing beside the steps to the dais; he instantly realized that this could only have been written by Anna. He shot her a ‘what-was-that?’ face. Anna only smiled at him merrily, pleading for an apology.

As the applause died out, Alex marched up the dais and stationed himself at a respectful distance from the queen. Not long after, Kristoff found his way up the platform and presented himself before Elsa. The sergeant drew out the royal sword, its blade facing down and away from the queen. He presented it to her.

“Your Majesty.” he bowed low.

Elsa accepted the sword, and Kristoff decorously got down on his knees, bowing his head. She tapped the flat side of the royal sword on both his shoulders.

Kristoff rose: now Lord Kristoff of Arendelle. Elsa returned the sword to Alex, who accepted it with a bow and sheathed it. Kai announced to the crowd,

“Presenting, Lord Kristoff of Arendelle!”

Cheering and hurrahs accompanied the announcement as an attendant brought the ‘Royal Ice Master and Deliverer’ medal over. Elsa picked it up and pinned it onto his golden waistcoat.

With a start, the mysterious voice echoed in Elsa’s head. She looked troubled out of the window. Alex observed that Elsa was worried again.

‘What could be troubling her so very much?’ he thought to himself, glancing at the queen—he was tempted to ask her precisely that. But as they were in the midst of a ceremony, he decided against it.

“What’s the matter, Elsa?” quietly asked a concerned Kristoff.

“No, no. It’s nothing.” She assured, trying to keep her calm.