Land, Ho!

"That is when my mother opened the cupboard and Nurlan came tumbling out covered in jam. I'm not even sure how he fit his body in such a small space." Schwinn recounted the tale as he acted it out for Brinn and the Empress. 

Had he not been so sure-footed on the deck of his ship, the Captain would have stumbled more than once while telling of Nurlan's childhood exploits.

Nearby, Alvar and Reyan were playing a game with dice. By the looks on their faces, they were listening to the stories as well.

"What kind of jam?" Brinn asked, wide-eyed. 

"Does it matter?" Schwinn laughed.

"I just want to complete my mental picture," the elven princess responded innocently. 

The captain touched the side of his nose. "It was a bunch of different kinds of jam, including my mother's famous brambleberry." 

"Quite a scene!" Aurora sat up in her seat with no small look of horror. "Your mother must have been quite upset."

"I assure you that she was livid. When mother asked what he was doing in the cupboard, Nurlan responded that two bears had raided her kitchen, and he had chased them off but got covered in the process. He didn't mention that the two bears were me and my sister, Mooney." Schwinn did his best impression of a bear.

"Oh my!" The Empress brought her hand to her mouth.

"Oh my indeed, Your Majesty. Nurlan had caught the two of us sneaking my mother's winter preserves and tried to stop us. When a few of them dropped and broke, he proceeded to clean it up. That is how he got covered. 

"By taking the blame, Nurlan saved us from my mother's wrath. I realize in hindsight it earned him a sound beating from his father, but I was too young to think about it at the time. All I knew is that at that moment, the general became my personal hero."

"That's not an embarrassing story!" Brinn objected. 

"It is an embarrassing story involving Nurlan. I'm just the one who should be embarrassed." Schwinn looked out to the sea. 

"What are you up to, Scooter?" Nurlan came from the bow of the ship two steps behind the Emperor.

"Nothing exciting, unfortunately. Schwinn was just telling us how you've been guarding people since you could basically walk." Brinn crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue. 

"I am sure he embellished," Nurlan shrugged. 

"Me? Never!" Schwinn seemed only half convinced by his own words. "I didn't this time at least."

The Emperor moved past the others and took the hand of the fiery-haired Empress.

"How are you doing?" Devrim asked his wife. Aurora stood and hugged him tightly. 

She closed her eyes, safe in her husband's embrace. "Better than yesterday. Not as good as tomorrow."

"I am glad." Devrim could see a marked improvement in the Empress's stamina.

She was nowhere back to normal, but she could stand and take a few steps by herself with the brace and a crutch. Aurora was on the road to recovery.

It had been over a week since The Freiheit had parted ways with her sister ship. Since then, the sailors and soldiers had seen mostly water and chunks of floating ice.

…and the back of the whale that was towing them along.

Once in a while, the mermaids would pop their heads up, but the frigid temperatures were making them bob less and less frequently.

Aurora was not sad to see less of Darya. Devrim finally felt free to roam the ship again without worrying that the flirting temptress would find a way to talk to him alone.

He only had eyes for his wife anyway.

"Are you tired? I can help you below. It is getting too cold up here, I think." Devrim picked up the blanket from Aurora's chair and draped it on her shoulders.

"I will be alright for a little longer. The sun does me good, and Schwinn's story did my heart good as well. Thank you for sharing." The Empress smiled warmly at Schwinn. "You know, Nurlan helped teach me how to cook. I am no great chef, but without him, I wouldn't even know how to light a cook fire."

"Mooney was right about you being worth marrying! She always said if you hadn't shipped out, you would be the first of us to be wed." Schwinn slapped the General on the shoulder.

"Too bad that the one I fancy isn't the marrying kind," Nurlan forced a laugh.

"Who would dare turn you down?!" The Captain seemed genuinely upset at the notion.

"I am not sure that anyone was rejected. I doubt that he has asked her for any kind of commitment," the Empress was not sure how much more she could say.

Nurlan turned his gaze northward. "She's far too good for me, and I'm committed to my work. It wouldn't be fair to her…"

"If I need to fire you just for you to talk things out, I will," the Empress threatened.

Nurlan furrowed his brow and gave a small smile. "Are you ordering me to confess my feelings to someone who was not gifted any?"

"I did," Zan appeared from nowhere. His skill in stealth extended beyond the magic of his cloak. "I told Lanassa how I felt, and I am glad I did. It might not have worked out as I wanted, but I wouldn't take back what I said for anything."

"Hm," the General pressed his lips together. "I shall think on it."

"And I'll not order you to do anything except what believe is right," Aurora shut her eyes. "We all want you to be happy, too."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Nurlan bowed.

"Any news from the bow?" Brinn had grown bored of the topic at hand.

"The whale is moving faster than any ship I've ever seen. Straight as an arrow and even more reliable. I only hope he knows where he is going." Nurlan shifted to lean on the railing.

"Darya insisted she knew where to take us," Devrim paused.

"How would a Mermaid know where something is located on land?" Aurora snipped. Then her face softened. "As long as we get where we are going, I don't care who pointed the way."

"It's the right way as far as I can see," Reyan looked up at the sky. "Though I'm usually portalling through the air and not riding on the water."

"I'm just happy the whale is parting the water for us. His wake makes it so the boat never rocks. I can actually enjoy the sea!" Brinn breathed happily.

"I'm glad not all boats are like this or you might never come home," Alvar said as he rolled three twos.

Reyan scowled at the dice. "At least she doesn't know how to fly. That is true freedom. Your little princess would be forever in the sky."

"I am not sure whether to be flattered or offended that you both think you know me so well." Brinn spared the males an indignant glance.

"I noticed she didn't address if the accusations were true," Devrim whispered.

"Sh, she'll hear you," Aurora laughed. She spun around to let Devrim support her and they moved to the railing.

The water here was getting darker with each passing day. That made the white ice look blinding as it poked out from the water's surface.

"We would never be able to go even a tenth of this speed under our own power in this mess." The Captain peered at the ever-growing number of white dots. "Whatever it is above the water is only a small part of those floating islands. Many a ship has hit an iceberg and sunk to her doom."

Devrim hummed softly. "Did the pirates accidentally do us a favor by disabling the rudder? We never would have met the mermaids and this whale otherwise."

"Thank the Maker, not the pirates, my husband," Aurora chided gently. 'Please keep helping us,' she pleaded silently.

In answer to her thoughts, the watchmen in the crow's nest straightened and peered out on the horizon. He cried two words.

"Land, ho!"