There was an icy silence as Elsa strode through the palace. Nothing but the sound of her flat pointed steps and the twinkle of her dress catching stray snowflakes. The sounds echoed like they had done before but Elsa did not feel as lonely. The ice Pegasus was merely two doors away. Strictly speaking, the creature did not do much. Elsa had never been so bemused about something before. It had never eaten, but it slept. It was a little playful at times, but it had spent a few empty hours standing at the edge of the palace, looking out towards the fjord. It shook its mane occasionally but other than that Elsa never noted a slight movement at all. She often wondered if it had lost the life she had provided, and it had just become a sculpture; beautiful and poised for the skies. But she'd approach it and run her fingertips down its silk mane to let it know it wasn't alone in wondering. Wondering what it was like down there. The creature would turn its head and push its nose into the marble of Elsa's neck to thank her.

The snow doves had also fluttered their way back to the palace since their birth in the skies. They had nestled themselves up in the rafters of ice. Elsa helped create craters in the glossy walls for the birds to perch in. Every time she opened the balcony doors they would explode into a sweet chorus of coos and whizz past her into the sky. They loved being outside. Elsa wanted to craft them a garden.

On a particularly golden white morning Elsa stepped out into the snow and set ablaze the fiery ice between her fingers. She waltzed in a large arc, sending short bursts of light into the ground from her fingers. Each light sank into the ground and from it, there blossomed a mountain flower. Elsa had first began planting purple gentians at first but then moved on to harebells. Elsa felt disappointed when she couldn't completely capture each colour of the flowers when they were made of ice, but the way the light refracted through each petal was absolutely beautiful. Next, she created a pathway through the beds by stamping softly into the ground, where patterned ice tiles dusted up from the ground and curled into a wide path edged with glittering wire fences. In the centre of the garden she raised her arms slowly and a trunk of ice began snaking up from the ground and up towards the sky. Elsa then darted around the bare trunk and coaxed out branches with waves of her arms.

Once the garden was complete, Elsa threw open the balcony doors. Instead of the doves fluttering towards the open sky they cooed in surprise. Elsa was pleased to watch them waver towards the garden in excitement. The sight of them twirling around the trunk and hopping through the nests of flowers made Elsa release another of her soft laughs. It felt right being here. She herself twirled into the garden. Her arms were delicate and she arched them above her head as the doves flew in circles around her. She spotted the Pegasus trotting gently out the large doors, wondering what was going on. Elsa beckoned for it and it burst into a gallop towards the flowers, snuffing the beds with it smooth nose. Elsa was surprised yet satisfied to see it pull up a few flowers with its teeth and munch them down, its jaw circling as it chewed the crisp ice.

For a moment the palace felt alive. Elsa could see the joy she had given to the creatures. However, the whole scene felt wry. They were creatures of her own creation so she knew what could make them happy – they were born into ice and snow, that's what they needed. But Elsa couldn't provide for the living; they were born into warmth - beating hearts and rosy cheeks. Her cold hand couldn't fit a hand made of comfort.

Everything will end with either melted ice or frozen hearts.