Next Time, Don’t…

"We need to get down there now!" Aurora exclaimed as she looked down the ice barrier at the escaping Abominable.

Its white fur quickly faded into the trees of the whispering forest, making it a perfect hiding spot for the stark creature.

"How do you propose we do that?" Brinn looked at the Empress incredulously. Usually the elven princess was the one to make outlandish suggestions, and even she didn't like Aurora's implication.

Looking at the rest of the barrier, the fiery-haired woman plotted her next move. There was still quite a bit of the wall to traverse. It would take close to half the day to get down if they did not want to risk slipping, less if they were not as careful.

However the barrier was not a straight drop here. It was more of a slope, albeit a steep one. What if they were to slip...on purpose... They were close to one of the switchbacks. If they went over the side, it was a relatively straight shot to the bottom.

"We will slide down." Aurora announced, moving toward the edge of the precipice as she tied up her skirts between her legs and around her waist like pantaloons. There was no reason to expose herself just because she was falling.

"Are you crazy?!" Brinn cried.

"You know it is bad when my wife is the one call you out," Alvar said as an aside to Zan.

The Guardian nodded. "We can track him once we get to the bottom, Your Majesty. We will find the monster soon enough."

"In that time it could hurt or kill another creature like it did the harpy. We must find it before the Abominable does more damage!" Aurora knit her brows in determination. She had no plans on letting the creature get away.

"I don't know what you are afraid of Brinn. You can use your magic as you get closer to the bottom." Aurora pointed out.

"I should be able to use it. There is no guarantee of when that will kick in. In the meantime we could all end up flatter than a frying pan." The red-headed elf crossed her arms.

Realizing her friend was right, Aurora sighed. "Fine, but I don't like it. Chasing him on foot will be next to impossible if we let him get too far ahead. Did you see how fast he ran into the--?"

Aurora's feet gave way beneath her as the edge of the switchback crumbled under her feet. She hadn't even noticed the fissures before she was falling through the air like a ragdoll. Brinn, who was closest to the Empress, lunged, but only managed to grab the woman's cloak and rip it from the Aurora's body.

Aurora fell a short distance before colliding with the slope of the ice barrier. The cold mountain was merciless, bruising her bottom and back as they hit against the surface.

If that had been the worst of it, it would have been enough, yet the terror was only beginning. Aurora began to slide at a dizzying speed down the ice in an uncontrollable spin.

The Empress had flashbacks to her abduction by the gnomes. Then she had been falling through the earth, but at least then someone had been controlling her descent. Right now, nothing was slowing or guiding her fall except her own clumsy movements.

With great effort, Aurora was able to stop her spin and move her body to mostly vertical with her feet facing down. Rolling onto her stomach, the fiery-haired woman tried to grasp at anything and everything that came her way. All of it slipped through her hands as if she were a ghost.

As she passed another of the switchbacks, Aurora reached out and clamped onto the landing. For a moment she caught hold of it, but her body whipped into the out jut and nearly knocked her unconscious.

The force was more than she could bear, and Aurora was unable to stop the downward pull as her grip slackened.

Trying to master her panic, the Empress rolled on her back and aimed for the next switchback. If she could slip her body onto it from above, perhaps her nightmare would be over.

A precious second passed as she watched the ice outcrop coming toward her far too fast for comfort. Aurora relaxed her knees for impact, but not enough.

The impact nearly crushed her legs, but the slippery nature of the barrier redirected her fall outward. Suddenly, Aurora was no longer in contact with the icy slope.

The Empress had gone over the edge of the pathway and was falling freely through midair.

"Seriously?!"

Aurora realized that although it was her thought, she had not been the one to speak it aloud. Her suspicion was confirmed as a golden hand pulled her arm back toward the ice with a jerk.

Brinn's leap had been directed towards the Empress's waist, but the woman's sudden change in trajectory made her lithe arm the only thing that the elf could reach.

Using the smallest burst of air—all that the barrier would allow this time—Brinn cushioned the two ladies collision with the icy slope. Huddling together, they careened wildly down the frozen plane.

Brinn used her foot to keep them from slamming into an icy boulder. They bounced like a ball in the oppostite direction along the glassy surface.

From above, a disturbance in the ice sent shards flying, pelting their heads with sharp needles.

Aurora didn't dare look up as the ground was coming at the pair at a blinding speed.

Grunting, the elf embraced her friend. "Hold on to me, this is gonna be bumpy…if it works at all. If not, it's been nice knowing you!"

There was no time for Aurora to respond to the morbid goodbye. As the last bit of ice flew by beneath them, Brinn thrust out her hand and focused all her energy to push the two ladies upward.

The force was so great that it caused a large crater to be carved into the barrier. Aurora felt like she was flying for a moment before the sensation of falling overtook her again.

"Blast it! Come on!" Brinn screamed.

The ground closed in on them, and Aurora's body tensed as she imagined her bruised body finally breaking.

"Ugh!" The she-elf tried one last time to force a cushion of air beneath them. The burst of magic was stronger than anticipated, but the upward thrust slowed the ladies just enough.

Instead of becoming fleshy pancakes, they hit the ground and rolled one over the other in a jumbled mess.

Behind them, screaming came from the barrier as Alvar and Nurlan skidded to a stop next to them in a similar fashion. The General gutturally growled as they came to rest against a tree.

"You alright?" Aurora called out to them.

"I'm alive, Your Majesty. But I'm glad to be on solid ground again." Nurlan grunted again as he stood. Nothing seemed to be broken, which was no small miracle.

The doctor and Reyan came in much more gracefully. The fairy's wings, though not able to fly, were able to glide in such a way that neither of the older males had the same harrowing journey as the four before them.

When they came down, Reyan lifted them both from the ground and glided them over the Empress to land safely on the other side.

"Piece of cake," Reyan said, not realizing that the expression would make Aurora cringe.

"We do make a nice pair," the doctor agreed.

"We? I did all the hard work!" Reyan brushed himself off indignantly.

That made six of the group who had made it safely to the bottom. Aurora furrowed her brow. "Where is Zan? Did no one help him?"

"He said he was fine," the fairy answered, "Not that I could have carried him anyway."

A spray of snow flakes trailed behind a tall figure, his non-magical cloak flapping in the wind of his descent. He stood with his arms outstretched slightly, his feet sliding effortlessly along the incline.

Aurora had seen a similar stance of a man on an elongated board riding a wave in the ocean once, but Zan had nothing beneath him to ride down the frigid mountain.

The Guardian came to a smooth stop when he reached the grass. Everyone just stared at the spectacle.

"What?" Zan asked innocently.

"Show off!" Reyan grumbled.

"I think you may have done that before," Alavar chuckled as he nodded his approval. "Can you show me?"

Zan shrugged slightly. "The key is balance and anticipating rather than reacting. You see..."

"Ah!" Brinn was not amused. Her back hurt and her magic was all over the place. She glared angrily at the Empress and pointed an accusing finger. "Have you lost your mind?! I thought you said you wouldn't jump! What kind of lunatic does that without a plan?!"

"Who do you think I am? You? I fell!" Aurora defended herself, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Brinn snorted. "Next time, don't!"