Waiting

Aurora's heart sank. There was no doubt that she had heard the sled breaking from its harness.

All of her things…all of their extra supplies were lost to the storm.

"No!"

But Aurora couldn't even scream. As soon as she opened her mouth, the cold air pushed through her scarf and burned her throat. The Empress was forced to bury her face in Isbora's fur.

Time passed slowly. Each small step felt like a massive victory, and every time the bear was pushed back by the wind felt like a crushing defeat.

But they were moving forward. At least Aurora thought so.

Her body ached. But at least aching meant it wasn't completely frozen. As long as Aurora could feel, it meant that she was alive.

'It cannot be much farther,' she told herself over and over.

But it was.

The stormed seemed intent on her destruction. Although she was safe at first, the tiny snowflakes began to sneak into her hood and every other crevice of her clothing.

The tiny bits of ice melted and refroze against her skin. A thin wall of ice grew around her.

After a while, Aurora found she did not need to hold on as tightly. Her gloves were frozen in place. All of her was.

"Don't give up. You can still feel!" The Empress fought against the sleepy sensation. Her body was near its limit.

If she gave into sleep just now, Aurora knew deep down that she wouldn't awake.

Then her ears heard something. Or at least heard something less.

The wind was no longer deafening. The force against her was lessening. The blinding white changed slightly.

'Can it be?' Aurora struggled to lift her eyes enough to confirm what she was perceiving. Was her mind playing tricks on her?

She wasn't sure, but the layer of ice around her kept her from moving. Aurora felt like she was in a frozen coffin.

Then. All at once the ice encasing her lit with pure and radiant sunlight. The wind was gone.

They were out of the storm.

'But how do I get out of here?' There was no way to free herself from Isbora's fur.

Would she have to wait until the snowbear's warmth caught up with the weather? Surely the ice would melt now that it was no longer being fed by the ferocious storm.

Aurora did not have the chance to find out. Isbora reared into the air like a horse and slammed the ground with her paws. The force of the landing sent a shockwave through the bear's body, which sent a pulse through Aurora.

Then the ice around her trembled and shattered. The shards shimmered in the sun before tinkling on the ground like broken glass.

Aurora gasped, she had no idea how starved for air she had become.

"It's ok little one. You are safe," Isbora cooed. Her voice was tender but laced with concern.

The Empress could see why. Just like Aurora had been cut off from communicating with her soldiers, Isbora had been cut off from her pack.

They were the first ones in to the wind and the first ones out of the storm. And at the moment…they were the only ones free from the snowy hurricane.

Had the others turned around? Or had they gotten turned around and returned from where they came?

Or worse. Had the others frozen solid inside the storm, never to be seen again?

"Devrim!" Aurora screamed. Her heart beat wildly, warming her body as her mind raced. "Where is he? Where are all of them?"

Dreadful, agonizing moments passed. When the Empress could stand it no longer, a black dot appeared in the storm.

A snowbear's nose!

The bear carrying Brinn pushed through to the open air and leapt like Isbora had done. The ice casing around the bear and rider fractured and fell away.

Like the Empress before her, Brinn gasped for air.

"You made it!" Aurora had no other words.

"So did you, Rory," the elf smiled wearily.

More bears pressed through. More ice shattered and clattered to the ground. Happy gasps and relieved cries.

"I guess that isn't the first time you have shaken ice from your body that way," Aurora observed as each newcomer performed the same move.

"It is a trick passed down by our ancestors. We have a song that we teach our little ones. When the ice gets too thick, shake like the trembling earth and it won't stick." Isbora paraphrased the words into the Ancient Tongue.

"I see," the Empress continued to watch as each bear and rider came through the storm. When a snowbear came through riderless, Isbora had to assure the Aurora that no one had been aboard the beast to begin with. 

When enough men with packs were through, the group set up a small camp to wait and get warm. 

Once it started, the number of beings coming through the storm rose constantly. But the stream of survivors could not go on forever. Eventually, the breaks between each newcomer became wider and wider. After an exceptionally long break, a he-bear pushed into the open air. A man in a black cape was frozen to his back. 

After the ice shattered, Zan was brought to a fire to help ease the chill. Aurora waited for him with bated breath. 

"Are you alright?" The Empress asked. She reclined against Isbora, who also seemed to be enjoying the blaze. 

"Surprisingly this is not the first time I have been frozen to the back of an animal. This particular occurrence had a much better outcome." Zan held out his gloves to the fire, and Aurora decided not to question him. 

"Could you see anyone behind you?" She asked tentatively. 

"In the storm, I couldn't see my own nose if I wanted to," Zan shook his head. He looked around. "I am glad to see so many made it through before me. How many are we missing?" 

Aurora bit her lip. "Now that you are here. I think we are just missing one." 

"Oh? And who is the unlucky soul still stuck in that frozen prison?" Zan looked through the faces around the fire. "Oh no..." 

Brinn, Alvar, Gandr, Reyan, Nurlan, and Schwinn all were huddled close to the little fire which was already dwindling. With the sled gone, no one dared to use their entire supply from their pack to keep the flames burning. 

One figure was noticeably absent. 

"Has His Majesty gone to check on the rest of the troops?" Zan's hope was crushed almost instantly as he saw the forlorn faces. 

"He is our missing man," Nurlan answered. 

"Emperor Devrim entered behind me. He was the last to go into the storm. I think he hoped to sweep for anyone who got off track. We didn't know that the weather would be so thick and unforgiving." Zan explained.

He looked back at the wall of the storm with a shudder. There was no sound outside the clouds. Who knew that inside the ominous whirlwind, the icy storm could howl like a banshee? 

They fell silent as they watched and thawed out their bodies. There was nothing to do but wait. The waiting stretched out. Time seemed to stand still. 

"Do you think they are lost?" Aurora asked Isbora. "Maybe the storm was too much and they turned back." 

"Umaru would not get lost. He knew my grandparents and is the strongest among us. He could have turned back, but he would have needed a good reason." Isbora growled at the end of her words. 

"What did she say?" Schwinn was dying to know. He and the general were the only ones among the central group who did not speak the Ancient Tongue. 

"Isbora is confident in Umaru's skill and I am confident in my husband's will to live." 

"So what are we going to do?" Brinn asked.

Aurora's mouth hardened into a determined line. "We will do the only thing we can do...wait."