How did it turn out like this?

  Morrigan barely suppressed a groan as she took careful steps on the icy ground. Boreas was walking to her right, occasionally extending his hand towards Morrigan to help her get over some more slippery parts. She pointedly ignored his offers for help instead gingerly continuing her way forward.

  Meanwhile on her right walked Galandir who was constantly glaring at Boreas with unhidden malice. Unlike the noble, he'd grab her hand whenever she was about to slip and only let go once she asked him to do so. Each time that happened, Boreas would glare at the boy. It was likely that he would have complained about the elf's behavior if it wasn't for Haku, who was diligently padding right behind them and staring at the ice demon suspiciously.

  After Haku came Viana, Deziara, Azrael, half a dozen of the best demon guards, a few of Count Etheles's knights, and half a dozen ice demon guards. And Melanos was also somewhere nearby although his exact whereabouts were a mystery. No servants or maids were allowed to come to the Garden of Frozen Memories since it was sacred. Even guards would have to remain outside the garden as only those with royal blood or descendants of house Snowden were allowed to enter.

  Apparently, the Snowden family had been tasked with upkeeping and guarding the place, although the Duke admitted that they didn't go to the Garden very often. According to him, it wasn't a pleasant place to visit which made Morrigan a bit nervous.

  I just hope everything goes smoothly this time around. That black orb that was embedded in the Glittering Cave still gives me the creeps.

  Just as she thought that, her leg slipped again and Galandir once again caught her, almost tumbling down along with her. Thankfully, Haku caught him by his jacket and stabilized the boy and Morrigan both.

  "You really don't have to catch me every time," Morrigan blushed, embarrassed by her own clumsiness. She would have liked to just travel in her shadow form but apparently, it was forbidden to use shadow form in this sacred place. Typical. Whenever you needed shadow form the most – it was forbidden.

  Maybe I should just shape-shift into a penguin and slide on the ice? Do penguins even exist in this world? I don't know. But it certainly would make things easier.

  "If I didn't, then you'd be already covered in bruises," he retorted smugly.

  "And if it weren't for Haku, you'd be covered in bruises too," he grumbled.

  "Princess Morrigan, if you would allow me, I could hold your hand. I am accustomed to walking on this terrain and would not slip," Boreas said with the most charming smile. Unfortunately, for him, Morrigan's image of him has already been marred by his ulterior motives so it did little to soften her disposition towards him.

  "Why don't you go and help out my sisters? They seem to be struggling too," Morrigan retorted and looked back. It was actually Viana who was struggling, taking the tiniest, most careful steps while trying to remain graceful. Deziara had no issues with the ice as instead of walking on it she was content sliding on its surface with all the grace of a figure skater.

  Boreas looked behind him, doing his best to avoid Haku, and his eyes met with Viana's. At that moment, she slipped on the ice and Morrigan winced fully expecting her to collide with her ground. But before she could, Boreas had already rushed forward and caught her.

  "Are you alright, Your Highness?" he asked Viana.

  "I am fine," she replied coldly and with his help, slowly rose to her feet.

  "Allow me to help," he said, holding out his hand to her.

  "I am alright," she said stubbornly, turning her head away from him. But then she looked down at the slippery ice. Viana clearly had some internal struggle as she no doubt wondered how she was likely to retain most of her dignity.

  "I would hate for Your Highness to get hurt. Ice is no joke. The only reason I am able to walk on it so confidently is because I've lived here all my life," he said and offered his hand to her again. She looked at it and then reluctantly took it without a word.

  "Great! Now he's finally gone," Galandir smiled victoriously.

  "Yeah, and we can both keep sliding forward like ducks on ice. Maybe I should ask for his help after all?" Morrigan snickered, taking slow and measured steps forward.

  "Why would ducks go on ice?" the elven boy cocked his head.

  "Oh, nevermind. Let's just get this over with," Morrigan sighed, praying that they would arrive at their destination sooner rather than later.

  ***

  After about an hour of a very slippery trek in the cold of Alterion, the group finally reached the entrance to the Garden of Frozen Memories. Morrigan wasn't sure what she had imagined when she first heard of the name but it certainly was not this.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  First of all, the place was very light, or better to say it was well-illuminated, unlike the rest of the Underworld. There were these long icy pillars that stretched from the cave floor all the way to the top and they emitted a blueish kind of light. Second, there were flowers, bushes and trees everywhere growing the same way one would imagine a normal garden to look like. The key difference was that every leaf, every branch and every petal was made out of ice.

  "I HAVE to paint this," Morrigan gaped at the unearthly beauty before her.

  "I will not stand here for hours waiting for you to paint this frozen place. It's enough that I'm waiting for you to complete the ritual," Viana grumbled, shivering like a leaf in the wind.

  "Then I'll come back and paint it afterward," Morrigan said as she admired the frozen rose bushes growing closest to the entrance.

  "Only if we have the time. For now, we need to go in and complete the ritual. Lord Boreas, if you were so kind as to lead us to — achoo! — Damn cold. To lead us to the ritual site," Azrael said, blowing his nose in the handkerchief.

  "Of course, that is the reason I am here," he said gracefully.

  "You stay here, elf boy. Make sure the dragon doesn't burn this place to the ground," Azrael pointed a finger at Galandir and grumbled.

  "Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Galandir scoffed and sat down on Haku's front paw. The dragon whined forlornly at the garden – it was clear that he wanted nothing more than to run around in it and play with all the icy plants. However, if he did then the end result would be clear – the sacred place would be reduced to melted puddles in a matter of minutes.

  "I'm sorry, Haku, but this place is really important. We'll find someplace else for you to play at later," Morrigan gently rubbed at the dragon's snout. He calmed down understanding the meaning of her words and dutifully laid down his head on the icy ground. After a few seconds, the ice around him began to melt and soon Haku was sleeping in a muddy sort of puddle.

  I'll wash him when I come back. Or rather when we leave this icy place. I haven't really had much time to interact with Haku aside from riding on his back occasionally. Galandir has been taking care of him all on his own. There are just too many things going on with this tour and then those mysterious attackers and that weird black orb.

  Morrigan shook her head and focused on the task at hand. She followed Boreas into the Garden of Frozen Memories, accompanied by both of her sisters and Azrael. Nobody else was allowed to go in further, however the fact that this time Viana and Deziara could both come along put Morrigan's mind at ease. The fact that the road wasn't slippery anymore also helped. Somehow the pathway within the garden had shifted from ice to what appeared to be snow.

  But it can't snow in the Underworld, just like it can't rain. How did it appear here then?

  "Please, do not get frightened, Your Highness, when you notice some reflections and images appearing in these pillars. The magic in this area is very sensitive to its surroundings so it quickly absorbs the thoughts, feelings and most importantly memories of those who come here," Boreas explained as he pointed toward one of the closest icy pillars.

  As if on cue, the light within it shifted and Morrigan saw herself and all of her retinue as they rode into the Snowden mansion territory. Except that she most definitely saw it from Boreas's perspective.

  "Yes, as you see here, the pillar was quick to absorb one of my memories. It's a bit eerie, but completely harmless. The image will disappear after a while," he said with an awkward sort of chuckle.

  "Can it show any of our memories?" Deziara asked, peering suspiciously at the pillar. As if to answer her, its image shifted to change the garden behind Demon Castle with Haku and Morrigan playing somewhere further away. The princess winced at the image.

  "Yeah, any memory. Although the pillars like to focus on the strongest memories. Something that is either really fresh or something that is really emotional," he explained, and Morrigan could feel cold sweat forming on her forehead. If she thought of the wrong thing, she could…

  No, do not think about it. Think about flying on Haku's back and eating dinner with Father. Harmless things. Harmless things.

  Two pillars shifted, one displayed Morrigan flying on Haku's back and shooting fireworks high above the Demon Castle, and the other – Alphegor smiling at her while they ate dinner.

  "Oh, look! It's Father. Hi!" Deziara giggled and waved at the image.

  "You just had to remember this specific incident, didn't you?" Viana grumbled, no doubt recalling the time when she was still trying to take Morrigan's place as Crown Princess. Thankfully, that was in the past.

  "But those are some nice fire- fire flowers, aren't they?" Morrigan fumbled a bit as she almost said 'fireworks'.

  Oh, no. My mind is wandering where it shouldn't again. Think of Deziara dancing and your time in the magic maze and being chased by that landwyrm construct.

  As they kept walking, the images in pillars kept shifting as Morrigan tried to deliberately control her thoughts. It was exhausting and she wanted to leave the place as soon as possible. Or at least go to an area where there weren't so many of these mind-reading pillars around.

  "It's alright to relax a little. The more you try not to think about certain things, the more pillars seem to pick up. They react really strongly to emotions," Boreas explained.

  "Oh, look, here's the moment when I spilled tea on Viana's dress," Deziara snorted and pointed toward one of the pillars.

  "That was you?!" Viana growled. Then the image in the pillar changed to a vision of Alphegor rubbing at his temples while a pile of origami sat on his work desk. Morrigan looked curiously at the image and noticed Viana's cheeks blushing.

  "Did you–?" Morrigan looked at her sister and snickered.

  "I was very little at the time. No older than nine," she said, not daring to meet their eyes.

  That's cute. It's odd to imagine that Viana was a child just like anyone else. Turning his documents into origami animals. Although, I'm pretty sure it's not called origami in this world.

  Then as they continued deeper into the garden where icy flowers hung down from the ceiling, the images in the pillars suddenly stopped.

  "That's odd. They should be getting more frequent as we go in deeper," Boreas said, narrowing his eyes at the icy pillar.

  "Dammit! Not this shit again," Azrael swore and pointed towards something deeper into the garden. Morrigan looked at where he pointed and her heart sank. It was yet another black orb sitting in the middle of the serene garden like a black stain on a pure, white dress.