Frozen 3

Chapter 51

Anna

I ran out of the room, barefoot and barely clothed, and rushed through the long corridors of the palace. I rushed down four to four the steps of the staircase leading to the ground floor and threw myself on the massive door with the huge shutters which gave onto the courtyard.

"Anna! Anna, wait!"

Kristoff was calling me. But he was too far away. Curiosity and worry drove me to see what was going on outside. I opened the heavy door and slipped quietly outside. Though it was at night, a thick heat that squeezed the chest and lungs of all who ventured out reigned in the atmosphere. It was dark; all the street lamps were off and no one could fix it. I had to settle for the white light of the Moon that dominated the cloudless sky. Its whitish glow reverberated on the windows of the castle, making it impossible to spy on what was happening inside. With a little luck, this mysterious horse thief had not been able to see us, Kristoff and I, watching his every move. I advanced silently, fearing to be surprised. My bare feet caressed the smooth surface of the paving stones of the courtyard. They slowly released the heat accumulated during the day, so that I could not stay in the same place for too long, for fear of burning myself.

"What are you doing?"

I jumped and let go a little cry before turning quickly.

"You scared me! Don't ever do that to me again!" I whispered as I saw Kristoff behind me.

He looked hopelessly at my feet and sighed.

"You are completely crazy.

"Yes, I may have rushed. But you know me, I want to see what this person is up to and potentially stop him."

"In a nightgown?"

"Well, uh, I'll improvise!"

I took the young man's hand and we cautiously crossed the yard as far as the stable. Care was taken to close his little wooden door. I pushed it slowly, letting the Moon's rays into the interior. A horse – mine – straightened his head, certainly disturbed again. However, there was no one left. Only an empty box assured me that we had not dreamed, that this individual had indeed existed and had not been invented by our imagination.

"It's still weird..." I whispered as I closed the barn door.

« That this person ran away in the night? I think it's normal. Generally when you commit a crime, whatever it is, you avoid staying at your place by wearing a sign around your neck saying «stop me,» Kristoff teased me.

« Haha very funny! I laughed. No, what I mean is why steal a horse and then put everything back in order and take the trouble to close the door behind you when we know full well that this flight will not go unnoticed?"

The young man shrugged his shoulders, unable to answer my question. Suddenly the sound of hooves came back. They seemed a little further away than before.

"The cobblestones! He's still on the cobblestones! He hasn't left the village! I'm excited. Follow me!"

I then began to run, ignoring the pain that the stones littering a large part of Arendelle inflicted on my bare feet. I almost twisted my ankle several times, missing to spread all my length on the ground because of this excitement. Kristoff caught up with me in extremis by grabbing my arm from behind, just as eager as I was to discover who was hiding behind all this. We crossed a few streets, barely paying attention to what surrounded us. I suddenly stopped in my mad race and stopped in the middle of an alley. The young man who was following me closely hit me head on, surprised at this stop.

"What the hell are you doing?" he got angry, leaning against my shoulders to regain his balance.

« Shh! »