What is it?

Aurora's dream, thankfully, did not take place. With an army of soldiers and sailors surrounding the Emperor, Darya did not try anything foolish.

The Merfolk seemed quite eager to leave the icy water. They bid the humans farewell and chose not to linger.

"Do not forget that you owe us a favor," Darya said as they parted for the last time. "Don't go dying before I can collect it…"

Dozens of shimmering tails broke the surface of the water before diving toward the open ocean. Finally, the whale groaned and turned northward as well.

"I do hope Lucky is right and you can fix it. Or else I just dismissed our best chance at getting home." The Emperor knew that the Merfolk would not have stayed either way.

That had been their deal. But by dismissing them instead of asking them to wait, Devrim felt some responsibility if they were now stranded.

"Don't worry, Lucky can fix anything. You worry about getting that Seed, he will get the rudder repaired," Schwinn's confidence eased Devrim's mind.

If the captain wasn't worried, then surely it would get done.

More and more of the sailors and soldiers descended the ladder and tied the metal spikes to their shoes. Devrim was very glad they had remembered to get the cleats from the other ship before they left so that everyone would be able to walk without slipping. It made things go much smoother.

Walking on the surface of the ice was bitterly cold, but after so long on a moving ship, it was still nice to have solid ground beneath their feet.

Next, supplies were lowered over the side from those still on deck.

Tents, tools, wooden planks, thin metal runners, and implements to make fire were all brought down from The Freiheit. With the tools, the ice was carved out and shaped to be more suitable for the human's needs.

By late morning, a base camp had been set up on the ice. It was very basic, but it suited the people's purposes.

Within the largest tent, Zan, Alvar, Devrim, and Nurlan spoke in hushed voices as they poured over a rudimentary map.

"Her Majesty is very anxious to come down," the General informed them.

He had been the last one to leave Aurora's side and got an extra dose of pressure to get her off of the ship.

"When things are all prepared, we will. Until then, Aurora stays where she is. My wife is very lucky that I am letting her come at all considering she can barely walk. I know Rafa would prefer she stays onboard…" Devrim would have preferred that as well if he were honest.

The Empress was not able to walk far. Even on the ship, she could only do a short shuffle with her crutch and leg brace.

Rafa was reluctant to take off the brace while on a rocking ship. Devrim guessed that was part of the reason that Aurora wanted to get to the ground.

'She is going to be very disappointed,' Devrim chewed the inside of his cheek. 'Hopefully, she will be reasonable.'

The Emperor focused back on the paper spread on the ice before them. "Based on Schwinn's calculations, we are somewhere around here."

Zan pointed to a spot on the map. It was hand-drawn by Reyan based on his memory. It had been many years since he had made the trek, but he had assured the others it was accurate.

The fairy had been the one to select the closest cove to their goal. Thankfully the whale had been obliging in making it so the ship could dock to be repaired.

If only the fairy hadn't shot off without a word, then they would have a better idea of their exact location.

"Do we wait for Reyan to return or do we start moving in the direction he went?" Alvar was as anxious as the rest to be on their way, but he also didn't want to travel blindly.

Waiting wasted time, but so did wandering without direction in the frozen tundra. There was no good answer.

"We will wait until they are done building Aruroa's transport, then I think we will have no choice but to head out," Devrim stroked his chin.

Outside hammering could be heard. The project should be completed soon.

"How long do you think this will take?" Alvar walked his fingers toward the center of the landmass.

"You heard what Reyan said. He has only ever flown over the ice. We have no idea how long it will take for us to walk especially with these cleats on our feet. My hope is to be there in less than a week, but that may be unrealistic."

The men continued to plan. Their breath blew clouds of mist into the air, making them all look like dragons having a meeting and not humans.

The tent was by no means warm, but somehow it felt comfortable with the company and hope for the final leg of the journey.

They were looking over their supply list when the hammering outside suddenly stopped.

A rustling outside the tent came before a gentle knock on one of the tent pegs.

"Yes?" Devrim called.

"It is ready, Your Majesty." The soldier did not dare enter without explicit instruction.

"We will be out in a moment." Devrim looked around to see if the others had any more to add. When they remained silent, he pulled his scarf tight around his mouth and threw back the flap.

He closed his eyes and raised a hand against the sun. It bounced off and was magnified by the world of white. The effect was blinding.

"Over here, Your Majesty," a voice called.

Carefully, Devrim picked his way through the frozen land until his shin bumped up against the wood. He grabbed onto the side of the structure and waited for his vision to adjust.

When it did, a huge smile bloomed on his face.

"It's perfect."

—————

Aurora did not like missing out on the planning. But she had promised to rest before they left. It was a condition of her going at all.

So after releasing Nurlan and sharing her displeasure, she laid down in a hammock and did her best to relax.

Of course, sleep did not come. Aurora fought and failed to keep her eyes shut. They always popped open with another thing she remembered.

"Close them," Brinn chided.

"Are you watching me?" Aurora turned her head but was unable to see through the cloth wrapped around her.

"No, you just jump every time you think of something new, and I know your eyes are darting open to do it." Brinn teased.

"Sometimes I wish you didn't know me so well," Aurora grumbled softly.

She attempted to roll over only to be unable. It was a lot harder to be comfortable when the hammock was not rocking naturally.

'I should have taken the Captain up on his offer to use his quarters.'

Aurora forced her eyes shut once more and wiggled to get her brace unstuck from the cloth.

"Aurora," Brinn broke the quiet.

"I'm trying to get comfortable!" The Empress defended herself.

"No, I know that. I think someone above deck is trying to get our attention." Brinn pursed her lips.

Aurora cocked her ear towards the stair. Someone was calling for a deckhand to get her.

Rather than waiting for the runner to come. Aurora sat up quickly and leaned to get out of the hammock. In her excitement, she tilted too far and dumped herself on the wooden floorboards.

"Rory!" Brinn rushed to her side.

"I'm fine!" The Empress with too excited to be hurt. "Help me up!"

Above deck, a few of the sailors were moving to complete tasks. One was hurrying towards them, stopping with an awkward bow.

"Your Majesty. Your Highness. You are requested," he spoke as formally as he could.

With her crutch and Brinn's help, Aurora stumbled across the deck to the railing.

She looked down, astonished at the transformation that had taken place. The white ice now looked like a tiny village. How had they even stored so many things on board!

But the thing that caught Aurora's eye was the long, sleek object on which her husband was leaning.

Devrim smiled a little too wide. "So, what do you think?"

The Empress cocked her head to one side. "What is it?"