Love and Conscience

Chapter Five: Treading on Thin Ice

"I need a big favor, Aunt Georgia."
"Anything for my handsome nephew," She chuckled.
"Would you be willing to take us to Rohan and Zandra?"
A lightning bolt of concern hit Georgia's cheerful smile.
"Ochie you know I'd do anything for you, but it's dangerous out there!"
"Georgia,  I'm nineteen going twenty I can handle myself. I'm not a little kid anymore."
"I understand, Ochie, are you sure?"
"If it will bring humans and ghosts together again then I'm willing to risk my life for anything," A wave of determination swept over Ochius's pail skin.
"Well?! What are we waiting for? Let's go get Ferra!"
Aura and I followed Georgia around to the back door of the house.
Georgie patted a winged creature on its scaly back where she had a padded white saddle. Ferra had white scales with blue tips, and her silver wings sparkled in the sunlight.
"Ferra is a frost-breathing dragon," Georgia gave her a big kiss on her snout.
Ferra turned to us,
"So, where to, Georgia?" I felt Ferra's frosty cold breath tickle my face.
"The Ice Palace"
"I haven't been back to see my family in ages!"
Georgia helped Ochie up onto Ferra first, and then she helped us on behind him.
Ferra flapped her wings and before we knew it Georgia's home turned into a gray square underneath us.
It turned out Ferra was a very fast flyer. We flew over a series of forests, Screma's trees smiled up at us with their fluffed green faces.
After flying nonstop, it was time for the moon to take its nightly shift.
Ferra decided we would stay the night in a grass-covered valley.
We were too exhausted to argue, when Aura helped me down from Ferra's back, I could hardly stand on my own two feet.
A light flashed and Ferra turned into a strikingly beautiful woman, her hair was as white as snow, and it flowed down her shoulders. Ferra's eyes were as blue as the sky. Her soft skin was a pale cream and her blue dress had dragon scales embroidered from top to bottom.
"That's much better, I'll keep my frost breath just in case."
I  lay down to rest my eyes after the long journey. I awoke to Georgia and Ochie's faces.
"You slept the whole night through," Aura laughed.
"And almost half the day, we should get going, if we are lucky we should reach the palace before sundown."
Ferra nodded and she turned back into a dragon.
Aura and I got on behind Georgia, and Ochie followed. As soon as we were in the air I gripped Aura's waist, we passed through heavy rain and clouds until something white fell on my nose.
"It's snowing!" I reached out my hand and could a snowflake.
"We are almost there!" replied Ferra.
Mountains and frozen lakes passed under us, soon we reached a magnificent castle made entirely out of ice, dragons circled the castle walls.
We landed outside the front door and Ferra changed into a human.
Ferra opened the door and the five of us stepped inside.
I immediately hugged Aura for warmth, it felt like walking into an ice cube.
"Ferra!" Zandra and Rohan shouted.
"It's so good to see you!"
Ferra wrapped her arms around two young children, their hair resembled the sky just before dark, that familiar shade of dark blue.  They smiled up at her with tear-streaked grins.
"Would you mind bringing my friends some coats," She whispered.
"Anything for our big sister!" Zandra cried.
Rohan and Zandra went to a shelf with several folded coats, they returned with four of them. Aura and I each took one, but Ochie and Georgia politely declined the offer.
"We don't feel the cold as strongly as humans," Georgia explained.
Rohan handed the coats to a young woman who put them back on the pile with the others.
"What brings you home, Ferra?" Zandra asked.
"I need your help," Ochie replied.
The twins looked at each other and then back at Ochie,
"I want to reform the alliance between ghosts and humans.  Screma is crumbling without the alliance, face it, ghosts and dragons need humans to survive and they need us." His tone was strong and very convincing.
"You'll have to get the queen's permission, we would love to help but we can't leave without mother's consent," Rohan explained.
Ferra, Zandra, and Rohan headed to the castle doors, and a strong gust of freezing wind blew into the castle. I soon realized it was coming from a dragon's mouth, a white dragon with golden patches on her wings landed outside. Then, she changed into a human, a golden tiara sat atop her perfectly styled icy white hair.
Ferra's resemblance was shocking, Rohan and Zandra flapped their hands insisting that we bow our heads.
"There is no need for that, children. Ferra! It's been ages since I saw you last! How have you been?"
"Georgia keeps me busy. Ochie would like to speak with you,"
Her snowflake-like gown twirled as she clapped.
"I want to bring humans and ghosts back together again," Ochius blurted.
The Queen clapped her hand over her freezing blue lips.
"Ochie needs Zandra and Rohan's help, please mother. Give Ochie a chance," Ferra could sense the air of terror in her mother's expression.
A silver-haired man holding a staff with a golden snowflake entirely made of ice came over to the Queen.
"Queen Isis I'm not sure I approve..."
Isis held up her hand to silence him.
"I have made my decision, Zandra and Rohan will accompany Georgia, Ochie, Ferra, Conscience, and Aura to Earth."
"But Isis! Think about what you are saying!"
"Not another word, Blizzard." Queen Isis rested her pale blue hand on his.
Zandra and Rohan led us out of the ice palace.