Chapter 43: Climbing Mount Everest

Alexandria

We walked with Merlin, Finn, and Ethan for a few hours, and it felt like we had barely moved. Merlin and Ethan were using their magic to clear most of the snow, but it still reached up to our knees. Since being in the front was the hardest to do, we each took turns in the lead, walking down most of the snow for the rest. Megan was walking with me, and being an Earth dragon, she had difficulty walking in this cold climate.

“Megan, are you alright?” I said.

“I’ll live, I’m just a bit cold,” Megan sniffled and shivered.

The wind was getting brutal, and we still had a couple of hours of walking left before we reached the cave where we could wait out the storm. The snow was getting colder as it melted on our faces. I held Megan close to me, helping her walk through the snow. She didn’t want to admit it, but I could feel her shivering from the cold. Being an earth dragon, she was more comfortable in warmer climates and was having trouble using the dragon flame within her to keep herself warm.

“Just a bit further, Megan. You’ll be alright,” I smiled.

“We have to pick up the pace; the storm is coming much faster then we thought,” Ethan said. Soon, we heard lightning struck somewhere on the mountain not too far from us.

“Let’s move everyone,” I yelled to everyone behind me.

The storm was hitting us hard, and the wind increased, threatening to blow us off the mountain. The snow had picked up, making it even harder to see the path Merlin was leading us through. Merlin and Ethan tried to conjure a shield before them, but the storm proved to be a formidable adversary.

“Ugh, I haven’t seen a storm this bad since The Great Blizzard of 1888 when I was in New York,” Merlin grunted. “We’re almost there!”

After walking a bit further, Merlin and Ethan stopped.

“Guys, why did we stop?” I asked.

“Just look ahead,” Ethan pointed.

In front of us lay a giant canyon, around six meters long, and no telling how deep it was. “Is there no other way to get across?” I asked.

“Afraid not,” Ethan shook his head.

“We’ll conjure a bridge,” Merlin said.

“But will it hold?” Megan said.

“Of course, it will hold,” Merlin said, taking offense. “The wind and snow will not make it easy to cross, so we’ll just have to wait and see,”

“Nothing he says is making me feel calmer,” Megan said.

“Merlin is quite direct with his words,” Ethan chuckled.

“No kidding!” I crossed my arms.

“Ethan, Finn, let’s get this over with,” Merlin said.

We watched as the three wizards bent down to the canyon’s edge. Soon, the ice started to shift, and with a loud rumble, it began to move, forming a large ice bridge over the canyon. “Now then, let us continue,” Merlin said as he casually walked across the bridge, not flinching. “See, easy,”

“Alright, guys, one at a time,” I said, and the girls started to cross one by one. The snow was blowing in their faces, so they had to cross slowly. “Audrey, you’re up,” Audrey approached the bridge, shaking with fear. “It’s alright, Audrey, you can do this,”

Audrey took a deep breath and crossed the bridge; I then turned to Megan. “Megan, are ready to cross?”

“Let the others go first, I’ll go over last,” Megan laughed nervously.

“No worries, next one,” I said. Kida stepped forward and walked calmly over the bridge. But just as she got to the end, a strong gust of wind hit.

“KIDAGAKASH!” Megan screamed.

Kida was about to fall into the abyss below, but a hand grabbed her. Ethan pulled her up. “Are you okay, Princess Kida?” Ethan said.

“I’m fine. I didn’t need your help!” Kida whacked his hand off her and walked ahead.

“I’m guessing she’s still mad about the fight,” Ethan told me.

“Can you blame her?” I said back to him. “You were trying to kill her,” I turned to Megan. “You’re up Megan, we are the last ones that have to cross,”

“You go, I’ll wait,” Megan shivered.

“Not in the picture. Don’t worry, you can do this,” I smiled. Megan looked down into the canyon. It was too narrow for a dragon, so if she fell in, shifting would not save her.

“I’m not sure I can do this,” Megan cried. I stepped in front of Megan, trying to calm her down. I hugged her, and I could feel her shiver. If this is from the cold or fright, I could not say.

“Just look at Ethan on the other side. Just don’t look down,” I said.

“The storm is getting worse, ladies; we need to keep moving,” Ethan said.

I glare at Ethan to tell him to shut up, as he’s not helping. Megan slowly moved over the bridge. The wind was picking up, so it took a while for Megan to keep her balance, but then lightning stuck above us out of nowhere. A large wave of snow came down, crashing into Megan. “MEGAN!” I looked in horror at the snow falling, unable to do anything.

“ALEXANDRIA, HELP!” As the snow cleared, I saw Megan barely holding on to the side of the bridge

“Hold on, Megan!” I ran over the bridge and grabbed Megan’s hands. “I’m pulling you up, just hang on,” I said.

“The falling snow damaged the bridge; it won’t hold you both!” Ethan yelled. “You need to hurry!”

“Oh no, Alex!” Audrey stood next to Ethan.

“Stay next to Ethan, Audrey!” I ordered.

The bridge was starting to give, and we could see cracks appearing. “You need to let me go, Alex,” Megan said. “Vincent still needs you, and I can see my sister again,”

“Not going to happen! You are not entering the Promised Land anytime soon!” I growled. I used all my strength and pulled Megan up to the bridge. Another bolt of lightning struck as we started standing up. Before we managed to get across, the snow and ice came crashing down hard, taking the bridge and us with it.

“ALEXANDRIA!” I heard Audrey scream.

Rosetta

We managed to get to a cave nearby, seeming unharmed before the worst part of the storm hit. All we could do was wait until it passed. You could sense the sorrow and anger from everyone, but no one said anything. No matter how sad the girls were, they had all been exhausted, and most of us fell asleep soon after arriving at the cave. I can hear them crying for my lost daughter and Megan. They need to digest what happened.

“Seems like the worst has passed,” Merlin said. “I think it’s time to keep going,”

“What?! How could we just leave them there!?” Hayley roared.

“There must have been something we could have done,” Daiyu cried.

“Well, it’s too late now,” Merlin shrugged.

“How can you say something like that!” Kida gasped. “You are nothing but an emotionless bastard. There must have been something you could have done!”

“Everyone, calm down,” Ethan said. “Shouting at each other won’t help,”

“Fuck this, and fuck you!” Kida stormed off.

“Okay, settle down!” I ordered. “I know it’s hard to hear, but there was nothing we could have done. I know it’s sad, and you have no idea how much it pains me to say this, but we have no choice but to keep going. Remember why you are here,”

“Queen Rosetta, we just lost two people who were supposed to take over as leaders,” Ashley said.

“I don’t know about the African kingdom, but we have another one from Varrfarrinn. Audrey, isn’t it? You are not blood-related, but you were legally adopted by the royal family, right?” Merlin said.

“Yes, but I’m not of royal blood. It was Alexandria’s place, not mine. I’m adopted; I have no right to the throne of Varrfarrinn,” Audrey shook her head.

“Yes, you do; you became royalty when your father and I adopted and welcomed you into our home. I know it’s not how anyone thought it would happen. But Merlin is correct, and since Vincent is not here, you are next in line,” I said.

“But, mom,” Audrey shook her head.

“I know how strong you can be, and it’s time for you to see that as well,” I smiled.

“Well if that’s settled then let’s keep going,” Merlin walked out of the cave.

“Anyone want to kick Merlin down the mountain?” Ashley grunted.

“You have my support, sister,” Haley high-fived Ashley.

“I wouldn’t recommend it for your health,” Ethan rolled his eyes. “Look, I apologize to him. I know he seems a bit harsh, but believe me, he is sad that this happened as well,”

“Sure doesn’t seem that way,” Renna scoffed.

“Since the Moon Goddess gave him immortality, he has become somewhat disconnected from his emotions. Just give him the benefit of the doubt. He fought against Morgana Pendragon, King Arther’s half-sister, for control of the European Kingdom. Merlin was the only survivor of that battle. So, is everyone ready?” Ethan said.

“Kida went somewhere inside the cave,” Renna said.

“I’ll go and talk to her,” Ethan said

“Might want to throw in an extra apology for nearly killing us yesterday,” Haley growled.

“Are you ever going to give me break for that?” Ethan groaned. “I was just doing my job,”

“Let’s just say we don’t take it too well when people try to kill us,” Haley scoffed again.

“I’ll talk with Kita, and then we’ll get moving. Give me a few minutes,” Ethan said.

Vincent

We waited patiently for the word from Elizabeth. Finally, as the sun began to rise, we got the call. “Elizabeth just called. They’re in position. Scott, I’m going to need you to meet up with them and join her,” I said.

“Yes, you’re highness,” Scott bowed.

“I’ll let you know as soon we are in postion,” I nodded at him. “Then you are clear for the attack and hold nothing back, that’s an order,”

“I never planned on holding back, it’s time for some payback. Good luck and Goddess be with you,” Scott said, and we walked off to meet with Elizabeth.

“Now, about the gaurds we captured?” I said.

“Tied up to a tree and painfully gagged,” Annabeth smiled.

“Good, are you all ready?” I said.

“Thought you’d never ask,” Caitlin smiled as she flexed her right arm.

“I think it’s best if we split up when we get inside to cover more ground,” I suggested.

“I’ll go with you,” Jacob said.

“I’m going to look for that son of bitch that killed my mate. I think it’s best that I go in the other group. I’m going to find Gabrial, and kill him,” Annabeth swore.

“Just make sure to not lose your temper,” I said.

“I’ll go with her to make sure she stays level headed,” Caitlin offered.

“Very well, and you Bao?” I looked at him.

“I’ll go with you and Jacob,” Bao smiled.

“Okay. Remember, keep the fighting to a minimum,” I said, and we made our way through the secret entrance. Now, we only had to hope that the girl’s intel was correct, and thankfully, we found a small passage into the castle. I pulled out my phone and called Scott. “Scott, we’re in position. It’s time to finish this once and for all!”

“Now what?” Caitlin asked me.

“We wait for the signal,” I grinned.

“Signal? What signal?” Bao shrugged his shoulders.

About a few minutes later, we heard a ground rumble and explosions. It didn’t take long for us to hear fighting outside. “That’s the signal!” I smiled. We dared a small look through the doorway that we entered through. Elizabeth has outdone herself. Elizabeth instructed the fighters to wear red warpaint, making them stand out from Sozin’s warriors. There was no telling how many dragons Elizabeth had gathered on short notice, but there were definitely in the hundreds. We could see a witch, wizard, or fairy with some weapon on the backs of Elizabeth’s forces.

“Seems Queen Mab has lended her aid,” Jacob smiled.

We could hear footsteps above us and the sounds of fear and panic. “That’s our window, good luck everyone,”