WITH THE LAST of her strength, Anna rubbed her hands up and down her arms, hoping the motion would make her feel warmer. It didn’t. The energy required was too much, and her hands were basically just bricks of ice at that point anyway. As her body was racked with another spasm of shivers, Anna let out a pained cry. The spasms were coming harder and faster now.

Anna knew it was futile to think about the future. It was only a matter of time now before her body, like the room around her, froze over completely. After Hans’s sudden revelation and subsequent departure, anger had fueled a small fire in Anna’s belly. Fantasies of finding the slimy beast and calling him out in front of everybody warmed her heart.

And then there had been the fantasy where Elsa returned to Arendelle to avenge her sister’s death. In a billow of snow and ice, she came down from the North Mountain and found Hans, shivering and quivering in the corner of the courtyard. His hands would be held up in front of his face, tears falling down his cheeks and snot pouring from his nose as he realized just how much trouble he was in. Elsa would stare down at him, no sympathy on her beautiful face. “You are a sad, sad excuse for a man, Hans,” she would say. “Do you honestly think you are special? That Anna didn’t see through your act? My sister was amazing. She was wonderful and kind and I loved her. I loved her so much. And you destroyed her. So now I’m going to destroy you.”

Her favorite fantasy, though, was far less vengeful. In that one, Anna made it out of the room and found her way back to the North Mountain. There, she found Elsa waiting, arms outstretched. “I’ve missed you so much,” her sister would say, pulling her close. They would stay that way for a long, long time, and when they finally drew apart, Elsa would vow to return. “Together,” she would say. “We will save Arendelle together.” Then Elsa would end the winter, and the sisters would open the door to the rest of their lives—together.

Overcome by the sudden emotion, Anna closed her eyes. Her breath slowed. She just needed to sleep for a few minutes. Then she would feel better. “Just for a minute,” she said softly. “Just need to rest my eyes…”

Above her, the door handle jiggled.

Anna’s eyes flew open. Had she imagined it?

The door jiggled again. No! This was real! “Help,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

The handle jiggled one last time and then—with a loud groan—the door swung open. From her prone position on the floor, the first thing Anna saw was a carrot sticking out of the lock. A moment later, Olaf, minus his nose, wobbled into view. Seeing Anna, the little snowman let out a cry.

“Anna!” he said happily, grabbing his nose and shoving it back in place. Then he saw the state she was in. “Oh, no!”

Anna tried to smile, but a fresh wave of shivering made it impossible. She could only watch helplessly as Olaf tried to figure out what to do. She had no idea how he had gotten inside the castle, but she didn’t care. Just seeing him made her feel better. Unfortunately, it didn’t make her feel any warmer.

But Olaf was on it. Spotting the fireplace, the snowman wobbled over as fast as his little snow legs would let him and began to put fresh wood in the hearth. When there was a rather significant pile in place, Olaf grabbed a match, lit it, and then tossed it into the kindling underneath. Instantly, the fire roared to life.

Even from her spot by the door, Anna could feel the first fingers of heat flickering across her face. It felt better than eating chocolate fondue or dancing in her slippers. It felt better than the first time she had jumped Kjekk over a fence or when she had seen her first shooting star.

Unfortunately, Olaf seemed to think the fire was pretty amazing, too, and was standing directly in front of it. “Whoa!” he said, watching the flames flickering higher and higher. “So this is heat….I love it!”

Anna watched in horror as the snowman reached for the fire—with his twig finger. “Oooh! But don’t touch it!” he added, as his finger caught on fire. Laughing, he shook out the flame and then focused his attention back on Anna. “So, where’s Hans?” he asked, wobbling over and helping Anna to her feet. “What happened to your kiss?”

“I was wrong about him,” Anna said sadly. “It wasn’t true love.” Gingerly, she lowered herself down on the couch. Letting out a sigh, she closed her eyes and let the fire warm her. But even with the flames roaring, she still felt chilled to the bone.

“But…we ran all the way here!”

Anna’s eyes opened, and she looked down at the little snowman. He had not left her side and was now staring at her with big, confused eyes. Anna sighed. He was right. Olaf, Kristoff, and Sven had raced her back to the castle. The three had done everything in their power to get her safely home to Hans. But it had been for nothing.

“Please, Olaf,” Anna pleaded, gently maneuvering the snowman away from the fire. “You can’t stay here; you’ll melt.”

Olaf crossed his stick arms and shook his head. “I am not leaving here until we find some other act of true love to save you,” he said stubbornly. He did, however, move away from the heat slightly. Taking a seat on the ground behind her, he put a twig finger to his mouth, thinking. “Do you happen to have any ideas?” he asked after a minute.

Anna didn’t respond right away. All this time, she thought she had known what love was. She had been sure she knew better than Bulda back in Troll Valley. She had been convinced what she felt for Hans the moment she first saw him was true love. She had even laughed when Kristoff had questioned her ability to recognize love, choosing instead to believe her foolish heart. Yet as it turned out, she really hadn’t had a clue. Looking over at the sweet snowman, she couldn’t even pretend anymore. What was the point? “I don’t even know what love is,” she said to Olaf.

“That’s okay. I do,” Olaf said, standing up and putting a hand on her shoulder. “Love is…” he began, oddly confident. “Love is putting someone else’s needs before yours, like, you know, how Kristoff brought you back here to Hans and left you forever.”

Anna raised an eyebrow. “Kristoff loves me?” she asked, bewildered.

“Wow,” Olaf said. “You really don’t know anything about love, do you?” As he had been talking, Olaf had once again moved closer to the fire. Now he was practically right on top of it, and the heat from the flames had begun to melt his face.

“Olaf!” Anna cried, watching in horror as his eyes began to sink toward his mouth. “You’re melting!”

“Some people are worth melting for,” the snowman said. He tried to smile at Anna, but his mouth had begun to drip and so it came out crooked. Realizing what was happening, he panicked and moved away from the fire. “Just maybe not right this second,” he added.

As Olaf began to push his face back into place, Anna stared at him, her mind racing and her heart pounding. Olaf was a genius. This, she realized, watching the snowman struggle, was love. Olaf had been willing to put himself in danger because he didn’t want to see her get hurt. Love wasn’t the canned romantic declarations. That was nothing but fluff. That was what Hans had thrown at her and what she had mistaken for love. Pure, true love was what Olaf was showing her right now—sacrifice. And, she realized, that was exactly what Kristoff had been showing her all along. She had just been too blind to see it.

Love was telling someone the truth even when they didn’t want to hear it, like Kristoff had done when he pointed out that she didn’t know Hans as well as she thought she did. It was putting others before yourself, like Olaf had just done, or like she had done when she went up the North Mountain to find Elsa. It was Kristoff racing back to the castle because he thought that what Anna needed was Hans. When, all along, she just needed Kristoff!

Kristoff loves me! The thought burst inside her like a volcano. She smiled, warmth flooding her body and filling up her heart. How had she not seen it? Kristoff, she thought again. Kristoff loves me. And I…

Just then, a gust of wind blew open one of the windows. Instantly, the flames began to flicker, and the small bit of warmth Anna had felt returning to her fingers and toes vanished.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it!” Olaf shouted, weaving and wobbling his way over to the window. He managed to pull one panel shut, but when he tried to close the second one, it wouldn’t budge. “We’re going to get through…”

The snowman’s voice trailed off, and Anna craned her neck to see what had gotten his attention. All she could make out was snow. Breaking off an icicle hanging from the window, Olaf held it up to his eye. Then he gave a shout. “It’s Kristoff! And Sven! They’re coming back this way!”

“They…they are?” Anna asked. She was shaking even harder now, but she wasn’t sure if it was the cold or the fact that Kristoff was coming back. To her! At least she hoped that was why he was coming back.

Olaf nodded. “He’s really moving fast. I guess I was wrong,” he said over his shoulder. “I guess Kristoff doesn’t love you enough to leave you behind.”

But she knew that wasn’t true. Kristoff loved her enough to risk coming back even if it meant facing Hans or being rejected by her. She struggled, trying to get to her feet. “Help me up, Olaf,” she said when she couldn’t do it on her own. “Please.”

“No, no, no, no, no!” Olaf said, wobbling back over and pushing her down on the couch. “You need to stay by the fire and keep warm.”

She shook her head. “I need to get to Kristoff.”

“Why?” Olaf asked, unaware of the impact his words had had on Anna.

She smiled and shrugged sheepishly.

Olaf’s eyes lit up and he clasped his hands together. “Oh! I know why!” he cried happily. He began to hop around the room excitedly. Then he pointed out the window. “There’s your act of true love! Right there! Riding across the fjords like a valiant, pungent reindeer king!”

Anna looked over at Olaf and smiled. She hoped the little snowman was right and that Kristoff’s kiss would be the one to save her. But she wouldn’t know that until she got to him. Which I need to do—she shivered again, more violently this time—before it’s too late.