A Snow Queen's Tale- a Frozen Fanfiction

Chapter 21: Walk in the Woods

🌨Elsa's Pov🌨
"After you finish unpacking, who's ready for a walk to the fjord?" Mother called from downstairs. We were putting our clothes and bags away. The dolls, Hildy and Hanna, waited patiently on the windowsill.
"We're ready right now!" I called back. We hurried down the steps to join our mother.
The sky was blue and the sun bright as Anna and I followed our parents into the afternoon. A trip to the sparkling fjord was always a highlight of our family's first day away from home.
Mama led the way behind the cottage and to a hidden path near the edge of the forest. The path wove around some tall trees, and soon the cottage was out of sight. Our family was alone with the wonders of nature.
I wondered what people in Arendelle would say if they could see their queen right then. Our mother was practically skipping along the path. "I can't wait to put my toes in the water," she said. I giggled. Mother sounded like Anna.
Our father was watching the sky intently. "Could that be a hawk?"he wondered aloud, pointing at something as it swooped overhead. Not many people knew that our father had a special interest in birds.
The grassy path gave way to a rougher trail studded with stones, leading up a gentle incline. As our family climbed higher, there were some larger rocks in our way Anna and I raced around them, and soon we were ahead of our parents.
"Don't touch the ground!" Anna dares me
This was one of our favorite games. Instead of stepping directly on the trail, we hopped from stone to stone. If there were no stones, we walked on roots or tree stumps or clumps of leaves—anything to avoid the ground.
Anna reached a stretch of trail with nothing else to step on. The only way to avoid the ground was to swing from a tree branch like a monkey.
When I got to that same part of the trail, I decided to do something else. Sure, I could swing like a monkey . . . or I could avoid the ground in my own way.
I looked around to make sure no one outside my family was around. Then I stretched out my hands and waved them over the path. I could feel my magic building, but I never quite knew what was about to happen. Would it work? I held my breath. But in no time, the ground was covered by a thin sheet of ice about as long as I was tall, and I could walk right on it. Success!
Anna looked back and saw the ice glinting in a patch of sunlight. "No fair!" she said. "That's against the rules!" But Anna also saw the possibility for fun. She raced toward me and took a flying leap onto the ice, gliding from one end to the other.
      "Too bad I don't have my ice skates," Anna said.
      There wasn't enough ice for skating, but as I slid to the edge of the ice and continued on, I wondered if I could make more next time.
      By the time our parents came up the trail, the thin layer of ice had melted to a trickle in the heat and we had scrambled farther ahead. I was near the top of the hill when I heard my mother's voice through the trees.
      "Anna! Elsa!" she called.
      Soon our father chimed in. "Wherever you are, stop and wait for us!"
      It was only a few minutes before father and mother reached us, but father seemed worried. "Please don't get too far ahead," he said. "It's important that we all stay together for safety's sake."
      Just ahead, the trail ended at a bluff. Our whole family walked together until they reached the very best view in the kingdom. From the top of the bluff, we could see a wide vista of shining blue water, with- snow covered mountains in the distance. The fjord was dotted with colorful boats and a few rocky islands covered in pine. I took a deep breath. There was no place I would rather be.
      Mother scrambled down the bluff toward the water and the sandy shore, calling"Follow me!"  It was a tradition for us and our mother to wade in the water before the end of their first day at the Sommerhus.
      Quickly, the three of us took off our shoes and dipped in our feet. "Too cold!" said Anna, running away from the water as soon as she felt its bite. I waded in your to my ankles. I didn't mind the chill one bit.
      After the dip in the water, me and Anna made sand angels near the shore until it was time to go back to the cottage. Mother led the way down the trail but stopped short. "Oh, how wonderful!" she cried, crouching in front of a bush. "Girls, come and see!" She plucked fresh strawberries  off the bush and dropped them into our outstretched hands. "Nature feeds our spirits and our bodies," she told me and Anna.
      "Look, there are more!" I said, venturing away from the trail and into the forest. I could see many more strawberry bushes growing in the shadows.
      But father put a hand on my elbow. "Remember, Elsa. We need stay together. There could be dangers hidden in the forest."
      I stepped back so as not to worry my father. With my power, though, came a growing confidence. Whatever dangers came my way, I would always have a means to face them.