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"So how exactly are you planning to stop this weather?" he asked Anna.

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.

"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."

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."

"And you're not at all afraid of her?" Kristoff asked. "Why would I be?" Anna said.

"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.

Kristoff sighed. "It's too steep," he said. "I've only got one rope, and you don't know how to climb mountains."

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.

"I'm going to see my sister," Anna said, straining to secure a handhold or a foothold in the ice.

"What are you doing?" Kristoff asked.

"What now?" Anna asked.

Kristoff and Sven watched as Anna struggled to pull herself up the sheer slope.

Anna put her hands on her hips. "Says who?" she countered, and headed straight for the mountain face.

"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.

"I'm not alone," Kristoff said. "I have friends."

"Nobody wants to be alone," Anna said, observing him. "Except maybe you."

Kristoff crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm just saying, most people who disappear into the mountains want to be alone."

"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 I found a staircase that leads exactly where you want it to go."

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.

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!"

"Not sure if this is going to solve the problem," Olaf called from around the side of a snow boulder.

"Talk about cut, color, and clarity," Kristoff said, admiring the ice. "I might cry."

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.

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…"

"Go ahead. I won't judge," Anna said.