Piccolo and The Ice Maiden

3. The Lone Woman and Her Magical Garden

There looked to be no signs of a mode of transportation on the river. Still, Piccolo continued forward, hoping she'd eventually find one. Luckily, a few miles later, she saw a small dock jutting out into the river. And, better yet, there was a rowboat! It didn't look to be tied, so Piccolo walked across the dock and climbed inside the boat. As soon as Piccolo got inside the boat, the boat started taking her away from the dock. Piccolo looked under the boat, but the river was still. Piccolo couldn't wrap her head around what was happening, but the boat kept going.

After a full hour of going down the river, Piccolo spotted a strange little house in the distance. It had red, yellow, and blue windows, it sat on top of a small hill, and a brick path lead up to it. Surrounding the house was a brick fence with a metal gate, and standing on each side of the gate were two, giant toy soldiers. Piccolo hoped someone was inside the house, so she decided to scream for help. She stood up, waved her arms around to get the attention of any potential inhabitants and started screaming. "Help! Help!!" Piccolo screamed, waving her arms around, wildly. Piccolo hoped the toy soldiers were alive and would help her, but to her disappointment, the soldiers were just giant toys. Piccolo then saw someone open the door of the house and start walking to the gate. When the boat got nearer, and the person came to the gate, Piccolo saw who it was.

A kind-looking woman came up to the gate and unlatched it. She had honey-blonde hair, green eyes, rosy cheeks, and cherry-red lips. She wore a frilly, floor-length blue dress with long sleeves, and painted on the dress was every flower in the world. The woman wore a straw sunhat with a pink ribbon, and she carried a wooden crook.

When Piccolo's boat was within reach, the woman used her crook to reel Piccolo onto the shore. She also helped Piccolo out of the boat. When Piccolo had a good look at the woman, she discovered that she looked to be in her late 20's, no older than 30. "You poor thing!" The woman said, concerned. Piccolo took this opportunity to question the woman. "Have you seen Larry?" She asked. "He's my best friend, and he was taken by the Ice Maiden!" "I haven't seen either of them," the woman replied, "but why don't you come in and have some sweets?" Piccolo wasn't sure if she wanted to go inside the house, but since the woman looked so warm and friendly, she decided to let her guard down. The woman led Piccolo up the brick path to the house. Once inside, the woman asked Piccolo to remove her winter wear, and to sit down in a stool next to a table. On the table was a glass bowl of sweets (or candy). Piccolo sat on the stool.

"Now, child," the woman said, "tell me how you got here." Piccolo, in detail, told the woman how she ended up in the way she did. As Piccolo told her story, she unwittingly removed the pale green hair tie in her hair. When she was done telling her story, Piccolo dug into the sweets bowl. The woman had a comb in her hand, and she started brushing Piccolo's hair with it. With each stroke, Piccolo forgot Larry more and more. The woman was a witch, but not a wicked one.

The woman had a lovely flower garden, where every flower from every season grew. The woman was concerned about the blue flowers growing in her garden, knowing that if Piccolo saw them, she'd remember Larry and leave the woman alone. Using her magic, the woman made every blue flower in the garden go under the ground. The flowers in the garden were a talkative bunch, and whenever Piccolo was in the garden, they would tell her all sorts of stories.

One morning, Piccolo was in the garden as per usual, when she realised there was something off about the garden. She looked at every flower, but still, she couldn't quite tell what was wrong. She then looked at the back of the woman's dress, there was a blue flower painted on it. The woman had completely forgotten to get of it. Then everything came back to her: Larry, The Ice Maiden, everything. She ran back through the garden and looked at all the flowers. None of them were blue. Feeling so foolish, Piccolo broke down and fell to the ground. As she wept, her tears fell onto the spot where the blue flowers once grew, and they rose out of the ground as Piccolo's tears soaked the soil. "Hey! Great news!" They said, at least Piccolo thought they said. "Your friend is not among the dead!" The flowers continued. "At least...not yet."

That thought never crossed Piccolo's mind, but thinking about it now, Piccolo grew rightfully concerned. She got up and made her way to the end of the woman's garden. She tugged on the back gates, they were locked shut. Piccolo sensed someone behind her, she turned around, and there stood the woman. She had her arms crossed and looked quite upset. "I hope you're not leaving me." She said to Piccolo. The latter got on her knees and folded her hands. "Please let me go," Piccolo explained, "what you did wasn't nice! You held me hostage and tried to make me forget about Larry! I want you let me go now!" The woman looked even more upset. "But I don't want to be alone, I've always wanted a little girl like you."

That's when Piccolo began to feel a bit of pity for the woman. She was just lonely and wanted a child. Still, what she did could not be excused. "Please. I don't want to stay here anymore. Let me go!" It looked like Piccolo's words got through to the woman, as she reached into her sleeve and pulled out a key ring. She walked over to the gate and unlocked it. She opened it for Piccolo, and Piccolo could see just how heartbroken the woman was. Still, Piccolo had to continue the quest. Piccolo walked through the gate, silently, and when she was a good distance away, she turned around and waved goodbye to the woman, who waved back, and looked like she was on the verge of tears. Piccolo turned around and went further into the woods, hearing the gate close behind her.

Piccolo had been walking for some time in the woods, so she had to sit down for a break. She suddenly noticed how warm it was all of a sudden. That's when it struck Piccolo. "It's summer!" She exclaimed, she couldn't have guessed it back in the woman's garden, where it always spring. After resting, Piccolo got off the rock she was sitting on and continued looking for Larry.