Elsa's Garden

After beating the Blighttown raid segment, the sight of the beautiful landscape that surrounds the castle is a welcome change.

“An ‘ice garden’?” Ivy asks.

I shrug. “That's what she said.” I tell her.

“Hurry up!” Mia calls from in front of us, her and Elsa leading us into the snow covered forest.

The tranquil girl hums happily, looking for the perfect spot in the woods.

The four of us trapse through the woods until Elsa stops, looks around at the forest, and smiles. “This is it.” She says in a happy tone.

She’s led us to a beautiful clearing in the forest, a snowy glade with plenty of room to shape the terrain, if we so desire.

I have to admit, it is a really pretty spot, and it’ll be even more gorgeous after Ivy and I finish with it.

“What would you like first?” Mia asks.

“Well…” Elsa starts.

At Elsa’s instruction, I clear a large space of the forest on one side of the clearing, putting a large frozen lake in the space where some of the trees were.

At her request, I create a few small hills and slopes, and even a ramp or two and a loop for the daring. I’m barely finished the landscape editing through my Kingdom menu, when some of the foxes sitting on the edges bound out onto the ice and begin to play on the slippery surface of the ice.

It makes for an adorable sight.

Within the clearing itself, Elsa starts by asking for a central fountain, a beautiful and ornate thing, which I sculpt with my magic, according to her wishes.

There’s a space for an ice sculpture on top of the fountain, but Elsa asks me to leave that bare for now.

“I’m not sure what I’d like to put there. Maybe I’ll figure it out sometime in future.” She says with a smile.

With the fountain done, Elsa asks for seats around the frozen fountain, which Ivy and I are happy to create.

Some of the trees around the glade grow taller and wider, hollowing themselves out at Ivy’s bidding to create cozy spaces for resting out of the cold.

I use my magic to sculpt benches, with Elsa instructing every detail, from the height and placement, to the ornate and beautiful designs on them.

“Now make an archway behind them all. And shape it with ice crystal patterns!”

Little by little, she grows more animated as she continues to ask for more things. With each request, Ivy and I shape the glade with our magic.

“Now some pillars and trees for decoration!”

White trees sprout from the ground around the edges of the clearing, pillars of ice not far behind as the two mix in a beautiful display of nature and frost, the pillars seeming to support the branches of each beautiful tree.

“And some fruit! We need to eat!” Elsa continues.

Bushes full of magical berries sprout around the edges of the glade, and next to the benches and resting spots, each enchanted to be a nourishing and delicious source of food, forever bearing fruit in the brilliant cold.

At Elsa’s request, we build a huge, magnificent archway as an entrance to the glade.

Like the other structures we’ve built in the area, it’s ornate, beautifully decorated with ice crystals. Plants with blue-white flowers wrap around the archway, adding a florid touch to the entrance, and harmonising perfectly with the ice.

The flowers hang downwards, just far enough down to be noticeable without being overpowering to the beauty of the rest of the structure.

When all is said and done, the garden is a beautiful resting spot. A tranquil spot in the forest to relax, watch the scenery, eat snacks, read, and overall to forget about your problems.

Its beauty and serenity matches that of its designer. Elsa walks around the clearing, smiling to herself and taking in the wonder of our magic.

She stops in front of Ivy and I, and unexpectedly hugs us. “This is exactly how I pictured it. Thank you!” She says. We hug her back, as Mia smiles affectionately.

“Do you have them?” The aeromancer mouths the words rather than speaking them.

I nod softly in response.

“Show her!” Mia mouths.

When Elsa lets go of us and steps back, I reach into my inventory and pull out a pair of ice skates that we all picked out together, as a surprise present for Elsa.

“I know you were planning on getting these after everything is all done. We wanted you to have these now, as a thank you for everything you’re doing for us.” I tell her, offering her the skates.

Her face lights up when she sees them. “How did you know?” She asks, admiring them. “They’re blue too, that’s my favourite colour!” She says, softly but excitedly.

“I told them.” Mia says, giving the smaller girl an affectionate smile. “I thought you deserved a little something.”

“Ah!” Elsa squeals in excitement, throwing her arms around Mia and giving her a kiss on the cheek. I raise an eyebrow amusedly as Mia’s face shows the slightest bit of red.

“Can I?” Elsa asks us, after hugging Mia.

“Of course!” I say, handing her the skates, unable to stop the smile from spreading across my face.

Elsa admires them for another few seconds, before walking to the edge of the frozen lake. She puts the skates on, and steps out onto the ice.

For the first few seconds, she’s a little unsteady. But then, her old talent from plenty of time spent ice skating growing up, kicks back in. She steadies herself and soon begins gliding across the ice with all the skill of a practiced skater.

The peaceful smile on her face is more beautiful than all the scenery we just helped create for her.

She giggles with the laugh of a free woman, who hasn’t got a care in the world. The sight fills my heart with warmth, as she skates over the hills, in circles and creates beautiful patterns over the icy lake.

As she skates, she begins to sing. The words easily carry across to us over the frozen landscape. Mia, Ivy and I settle onto one of the benches to watch Elsa enjoy herself, smiling like fools.

“The snow glows white on the mountain tonight, not a footprint to be seen. A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I’m the queen.”

Elsa begins to dance as she skates, pulling her arms in with the emotion of the song.

“The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside. Couldn’t keep it in, heaven knows I tried.”

Her voice is beautiful. Practiced at singing the iconic song from her favourite movie.

“Don’t let them in, don’t let them see, be the good girl you always have to be. Conceal don’t feel, don’t let them know! Well now they know!”

A tear makes its way to my eye, watching her skate and sing so freely. Her voice is breathtaking, her movements graceful.

“Let it go, let it go, can’t hold it back anymore! Let it go, let it go, turn away and slam the door!”

Elsa goes into a quick pirouette before she finishes the chorus.

“I don’t care, what they’re going to say! Let the storm rage on! The cold never bothered me anyway.”

Elsa skids to a stop just in front of us, giggling with joy.

She allows herself to collapse into Mia, hugging her tightly. It soon turns into a group hug as she pulls Ivy and I closer. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you all so much!” She says happily.

The three of us hug her back, and I feel warm and fuzzy from the sheer joy this girl radiates.

“You’re welcome dear.” Ivy says affectionately.