- This page is about the book. For the score track, see Conceal, Don't Feel.
Conceal, Don't Feel: A Twisted Tale (ISBN 9781368052238) is a novel based on Frozen and is the seventh book in a A Twisted Tale novel series, written by Jen Calonita. Like the other books, it imagines a well-known Disney story where the events that take place deviate from that of the original.
Synopsis[]
What if Anna and Elsa never knew each other?
As the future Queen of Arendelle, Princess Elsa’s life is full of expectation and responsibility—not to mention, questions. What type of ruler will she be? When will she have to pick a suitor? And why has she always harbored the feeling that some critical piece of herself is missing?
Following the unexpected death of her parents, Elsa is forced to answer those questions sooner than she’d hoped, becoming the sole ruler of her kingdom and growing lonelier than ever. But when mysterious powers begin to reveal themselves, Elsa starts to remember fragments of her childhood that seem to have been erased—pieces that include a very familiar-looking girl. Determined to fill the void she has always felt, Elsa must take a harrowing journey across her icy kingdom to undo a terrible curse . . . and find the missing Princess of Arendelle.
Plot[]
In the kingdom of Arendelle, Princess Elsa is called forth to a raised platform with her parents King Agnarr and Queen Iduna. Elsa accepts a bouquet of purple heather from a child as they unveil a statue of the royal family by Axel Ludenburg. Applause came from the kingdom as Elsa reflects her lonely life in the castle despite playmates from the stewards and noblemen’s children. Iduna and Agnarr looked melancholy at the statue as it made Elsa wonder why they were sad, but they left to get ready for an honorary dinner. Later that night in the Great Hall a toast was made to Axel’s work along with Arendelle’s partnership with Weselton. It was Elsa’s first time meeting the Duke of Weselton. He question’s why Elsa doesn’t attend many public events, Iduna says it’s due to her studies that they haven’t asked her to join many outings yet. The duke says that Elsa is too much of an asset to be locked out away, which Lord Peterssen agreed and felt she was ready to partake in kingdom conversations. The duke felt it was a shame that Elsa was the only heir compared to the King of the Southern Isles having thirteen sons. Iduna felt that there will be time to find a suitor but for now she and Agnarr wanted Elsa to focus on kingdom duties.
A few days later, Agnarr told Elsa that he and Iduna would be leaving on a diplomatic voyage for two weeks. Elsa was nervous about her parents being away that long despite assistance from Lord Peterssen. Agnarr took Elsa to their bedroom to a secret passage behind a bookcase and brings out a green wooden box. Elsa opens it to find nothing but lined with rich green velvet. Although she says she doesn’t need it now, Agnarr said that she will someday and that whatever she puts inside will be her own eyes, and Kai and the other staff know where the box is. He also makes her promise that if he is not there to guide her, look to the box for guidance to which she promises. Later when Elsa wakes up from a nap, she passes her parents room where she hears them arguing. Agnarr tells Iduna that they had to wait but Iduna said she was tired of waiting and lived like this too long. Agnarr told her when it came to magic, there is no timeline and that her visits to the village were getting too risky. Elsa wondered who and what her parents were talking about.
Far from Arendelle in a village called Harmon, Anna wakes up to the sound of her father Johan that Freya is coming. Anna jumps out of bed to get dressed. She always dreamed of moving to Arendelle to start her own bake shop. As Anna got ready, she went to the connecting bakery her mother Tomally was working in to help. She then left to pick up some tea and eggs. As she was passing through, she heard a voice she never heard only to find it coming from a boy of her age talking to a reindeer. As soon as she reached home, Freya had arrived to meet Anna and her parents. Later when Anna was baking, Freya asked when she made her snowman cookies, and Anna said she felt she knew him as she has seen him in her dreams and started drawing him, eventually leading to her father making a cookie cutter of him. Freya said that her husband would enjoy meeting her and was much like her daughter. She told her that she would be going on a journey and that her daughter would be staying home. Anna stated she never traveled outside of Harmon and would like to visit Arendelle and bring her cookies. Tomally would speak to her father to decide but couldn’t guarantee it. Freya said that her meeting her daughter was way overdue and would find a way to meet her daughter when she got back. A week later, Elsa was feeling the weight of her parent’s absence. Having done her studies for the next three days, attended the visits her father outlined, and walked around the courtyard daily Olina said she need some friends and asked when the last time she went outside the castle walls and enjoy her free time. Kai came through the door with a large box with hats and scrolls falling out. He said they cleared several boxes from the attic. Elsa became curious and grabbed a lantern to go up to the attic. Up there, she went through many trunks that had quilts, old capes, and ice climbing equipment. She came upon one trunk that was like her hope chest but found out it had an A marked on it. As she wondered who this “A” person was and could she have been the “she” her parents were talking about. Just then, Kai called out to her, and Elsa came downstairs. She noticed Olina was crying, and serval people were in tears too. Lord Peterssen came up to her and told her that her parents ship didn’t make it to port. Elsa felt a tingle in fingertips and asked for a ship to find them. Lord Peterssen said they have and received word from every kingdom and nearby port and their ship never arrived. Elsa ran to her room in despair and opened her green wood box taking out her stuffed penguin Sir JorgenBjorgen. The shaking in her hands became worse until she let out a scream. Once she opened her eyes, she discovered that in the air in the front of her fingers was ice. It shot clear across the room and crawled up the celling, Elsa jumped back in fear and wondered how this was happening.
Anna was in bed when it was still day out since she had been up late the night before making a traditional Arendelle wedding cake for Larsen family. She pictured the Larsen’s telling the guest about Anna’s cooking and if the king and queen would have Anna bake for them. When she drifted off to sleep, her dream was unpleasant and felt cold with snow flying around. She even sensed that someone was calling for help but she couldn’t see the person. Anna woke up with a startle and decided to get some fresh air. A carriage arrived at the village church and a palace guard stepped out. Soon people gathered around to see what was posted on the church. Anna found out the king and queen of Arendelle had perished at sea. She ran back to her parents and told them the news, which they were devastated. Tomally revealed that Freya was one of the court ladies on the ship and she had died too which made Anna break down in tears. Tomally was about to reveal something else to her, but Johan told her she can’t break her vow. Elsa refused to see anyone and wanted to be left alone. Lord Peterssen called through the door saying he was leaving for the memorial service and asked for her to come. Feeling unable to handle the situation and fearing she’d be branded a monster, she refused to do so even by word of the Duke of Weselton. Moments later for a split second, Elsa recalled a memory of her younger self building a snowman with a young girl. She got up and tried to remember that love feeling of the snowman for her ice magic. In her amusement, her magic formed into a snowman and grabbed a carrot, coal and kindling to finish it. Suddenly, the snowman came alive introducing himself as Olaf. Elsa tried to remember why that name sounded so familiar, as Olaf approached the window looking at the village. As he began to melt, Elsa created his own personal flurry. Olaf told her that she created him for Anna, which made Elsa wonder if that was what the A on the chest stood for. Although both didn’t know who she was, Elsa said they would figure out together.
Three years later, the castle was preparing for her coronation. Gerda told Elsa that she was needed for her final dress fitting. Olaf comes walking in with a bouquet of flowers, but Elsa pulls him in before anyone could see him. Elsa felt bad for keeping Olaf from the public eye. After all the time they had checking the attic and library in the past three years, they couldn’t find anything on Anna. Olaf told her that after the day, she could show everyone her gift. Although Elsa managed to gain some control of her powers, she can’t make snow stop falling when she gets upset ad was still convinced her people wouldn’t accept her powers. As Elsa practiced for her coronation, ice was forming up on the candle and porcelain jar. She then picked out a card from the bouquet of flowers that said “I enjoyed spending time with you yesterday. Could I entice you with another walk around the garden this afternoon? I think it will help put your mind at ease about your big day.” Elsa knew that this came from a prince that the Duke of Weselton had accompanied on a trip to Arendelle a few months earlier. As Elsa left, Olaf knew what he had to do but also volunteered to clean up a bit since the room was dusty. As Olina helped with her final fitting, a crash came from her room which she quickly went to check. Olaf came across her hope chest which she hasn’t seen in years. She told Olaf she’ll be back as she was told her visitor was here, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. He had been there for Elsa and give her a lot of time. Even though they weren’t officially courting, they seemed very close but didn’t want to scare her off with such a declaration. The duke wanted a proposal before the coronation, but Hans knew that would be tricky.
Since Anna has turned eighteen, she has been practicing what she was going to say to her parents. She went out to get carrots but ran smack into man carrying a block of ice. She immediately recognized him as the boy who talked to his reindeer. A villager named Goran found the ice that Kristoff was delivering had been ruined. Before a fight could escalate, Anna offered to put the carrots and ice ax on her tab and a delivery of cinnamon rolls to keep him while Kristoff gets fresh ice. As Anna arrived home, she heard her parents taking about their daughter deserving to know the truth. As Anna gathered bowls and spoons, she asked what was going on. Her parents told her they didn’t want to keep her in the dark anymore, but Johan lets the word curse slip out. Tomally tells Johan if things don’t change, Anna will live her life not knowing she had another family. Anna asked if it’s about her birth parents, and said it was okay if they didn’t want to tell her. Tomally said it’s not their secrets to tell which Anna understood. Since they were sharing secrets, Anna shared her dream to move to Arendelle to open her own bakery. Johan blurted out she was too young and that it wasn’t safe. Tomally said they want Anna to have her own life, but it wasn’t her time yet. Three years felt a long time for Anna. On coronation day, Elsa was ready but her mid not at ease. Olaf was trying to move her hope chest saying he was looking for Anna thinking she was hiding in there. Before Elsa could reply, he hid behind her bed wishing her good luck as Hans arrived to escort her to the chapel. The Duke of Weselton appeared out of nowhere commenting it was a picture of young love. Hans reminded him that Elsa’s royal duties came first. Lord Pettersen agreed with Hans much to the duke’s prescience. Just then a crash came from Elsa’s room as Hans got down on one knee to propose Olaf yelled for Elsa. Worried he was in trouble; she ran back to her room. Olaf showed her something was behind the green velvet in her lockbox. Elsa pulled away the material revealing a family painting of her and Anna. Memories started to flood Elsa’s mind as she collapsed on the floor.
Thirteen Years earlier, Anna and Elsa were making cookies in the kitchen with Olina. Anna wanted to help using the griddle but Iduna declines saying she’ll burn herself. When she Olina step out of the kitchen for a moment, Anna burns her fingers on the griddle, but Elsa uses her ice magic to treat her burns not knowing their mother just came back in the room. Olina wonders how her pot was covered in ice. That night Elsa apologized for using her powers, but Iduna replies it wasn’t her fault, she or Olina should’ve stayed in the room, but she also wanted to keep Elsa’s powers between her close family. A few hours later Anna woke Elsa up and they went to the ballroom to play. Elsa used her magic to create a snowman with Anna. When Elsa accidentally struck Anna with her magic, her parents took them to the Valley of the Living Rock where they met Grand Pabbie. He suggested to remove all magic including memories much to Elsa’s horror. She didn’t want Anna to forget but her parents and Grand Pabbie told her it will endure her safety. Just as Grand Pabbie was about to alter her memory, Elsa intervened causing her magic to connect with his and an explosion of light filled the land until everything went black. Back in reality, Elsa woke up gasping for air with Olaf standing over her and calls came from outside Elsa’s door wondering if she was okay. Elsa then realized her parents knew that she had powers and Anna was her sister worried she may have killed her. Meanwhile in Harmon, the bakery was packed as people were celebrating Arendelle’s coronation day. While Anna was working, she saw Kristoff and Sven outside the door. She asked them if she could serve them something, but Kristoff came to bring her carrots that he owed her and that he has a delivery in Arendelle. Anna told him that she’ be going down there in three years and open her own shop. Kristoff notices a silver stripe in Anna’s hair, and she explains that she was born with it and that what her parents were told since she was adopted. She said she dreamt that she was kissed by a troll, which sparked curiosity in Kristoff hurrying after her.
Olaf wondered if Anna was dead as Elsa grieved as people were banging outside her door. She felt that’s why her parents hid her existence or felt so forlorn. She wondered how her parents could forgive her for such a thing or didn’t keep her memory alive. Olaf pointed out a letter that was under the painting. Elsa read as Hans and Lord Peterssen were calling for her. She skimmed through learning that her parents had loved them, but circumstances forced to separate them which brought some joy to her. As she was about to properly read the letter her door flew open while Olaf dove into the dressing area. Hans asked if she was alright to which she said she was fine. The duke said they thought she’d ran away from Han’s marriage proposal, but all Elsa could think about was Anna as the duke held the door closed saying she spent enough time shutting people out much to Hans’s anger leading the two to an argument. Elsa said she wasn’t doing this right now and after more commotions, Elsa accidentally reveals her powers. Seeing no other options, she flees Arendelle accidentally causing an eternal winter that spreads through Arendelle and reaches Harmon. Anna was worried about what was going on in Arendelle, after 72 hours her family was running low on supplies. She thought Arendelle was cursed but felt her parents weren’t telling her something. Mr. Larsen arrives and asks why no word has come from Arendelle regarding the blizzard. As Anna went to the kitchen, she wondered if curses were real and knew that someone had to go to Arendelle to get answers. Anna slipped away to get gear to Kristoff in exchange take her to Arendelle right now.
As Elsa traveled, she wondered about everything, including leaving Olaf behind but she knew that they were many hiding spots throughout the castle for him they planned over the years. She then remembered about trolls mentioned in the letter and their leader Grand Pabbie in some valley. When she reached the North Mountain, she thought about what she could do with her powers creating her Ice Palace and ice dress. She felt Anna would love the place she created but still wondered the name of the valley her family went to, then it occurred to her, The Valley of the Living Rock. Elsa decided to get some sleep before her journey tomorrow. As Anna and Kristoff went on their journey, she wondered how she was going to save the kingdom from a snowstorm along with a stranger. When they got tired, they made camp in a barn then left before the sunrise. As they arrived, Anna was in awe of the kingdom as she pictured. She came across the duke talking to people about Elsa cursing the kingdom. Anna told him that she came down from the mountain to find out, but Lord Pettersen assures her that Elsa didn’t mean to and was frightened. He offers Anna and Kristoff hot glogg in the castle, but Anna got the sudden feeling she was supposed to help Elsa and going inside the castle felt familiar to her. As she climbed the stairs, she saw in the royal painting that she recognized the queen as Freya but didn’t understand. A few moments later, they encountered Olaf who Anna recognized from her dreams and inspired her cookies. Olaf explains that Elsa was looking for her much to her shock as she started having visions of her as a kid playing with somebody. He agreed to help them bring back summer.
As Elsa was about to start her journey, she needed a map to find the Valley of the Living Rock. She conjured up an ice sleigh and started down the mountain until she came across Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna. Fearing that she maybe recognized, she created a royal blue hooded cloak and went inside. Oaken greeted her with a big summer blowout but rarely anything left for the winter department. Elsa thanked him but all she needed was a map. He pulled out a large map pointing out different landmarks, one that had a rocky area. Elsa then payed for the map and set off. When she arrived, she called for Grand Pabbie, and she was looking for Anna. The trolls gathered around as he approached Elsa. She explained how no one in the kingdom remembers Anna until she saw a picture of her as a little girl and the memories came back to her. She also explains how she learned she still had her powers after learning her parents had died. Grand Pabbie gave his condolences to her regarding the former king and Queen, and Elsa also explained learning that she still had a sister gave her hope again. Grand Pabbie said she cannot try to find Anna, to Elsa’s confusion. He explains that the curse that kept them apart is something he couldn’t fully understand, but if she was starting to remember the magic of it is starting to fade and she can’t interfere until it’s fully broken. He then asks the last thing she remembers, and Elsa replies that in her vision he was about to erase Anna’s memories, but she felt she killed her with her magic. Grand Pabbie uses his magic to show what happened after her vison. After the explosion of white light, Agnarr and Iduna wondered what happened as an unconscious Anna started to freeze up her shoes to her legs. Telling Agnarr to get Elsa to higher ground, the distance between the two girls caused the ice forming on Anna to melt. Grand Pabbie explained that his magic connected with Elsa’s resulting in a curse due to them having different goals and causing Elsa to forget her powers. He explains that her powers were wrapped in fear for her sister and won’t remember until the magic of the curse fades.
Agnarr asked if he could reverse the spell, but Grand Pabbie said he couldn’t but told them the curse will break at the time when the two sisters need each other the most. Knowing that it wouldn’t be safe for them in different wings of the castle or be pawns to an enemy’s advantage, he offers another spell that will hide one of the children’s identities from all but them. Deciding it was the only way, they agreed and wondered which child would stay. Iduna said that Elsa was next in line for the throne, and she’ll need help to control her powers once she remembers them. For Anna, Iduna knew a friend that could raise Anna as her own but felt it was a lot to ask. Grand Pabbie reassures that nothing is too much when it’s done out of love. When the spell was completed, he shows them two visions of Elsa studying in the library with her father, and Anna playing with village kids. Even though Elsa remembered Anna, Grand Pabbie that the whole kingdom would remember her sister if the curse was truly broken. Elsa then left the valley soon after.
References[]
- ↑ Conceal, Don't Feal: A Twisted Tale. Disney Books. Retrieved on January 9, 2020.