The Elementalist: Sky City (Book One)

Chapter Twelve: Far Below

"Ha, ha," Wade replied sarcastically. "No, I don't get seasick. But the sea is gentle; it lulls you. It doesn't jerk up from left to down to right to–"

Raising his hand quickly, as though asking for silence, Wade took off, running to a set of snow-covered bushes by the road to be sick. Fred held her own stomach as well, feeling like she might too if she was not careful. Taking a few steps towards the front of the carriage, where Ben was talking to the seated woman, she began to feel a little better with solid ground meeting every step.

"The boy couldn't take my driving, could he?" Tilda smirked down at Fred as she stood at Ben's side.

They can hear Wade yelling from the bushes in response.

"I'm fine!"

"It's those Aqua Kingdom citizens," Tilda said. "They just can't handle any ride that isn't on the water."

Fred almost said that she couldn't handle Tilda's erratic driving either, and she's not an Aqua Kingdom citizen, but she chooses to stay quiet instead, and continue to fight back the fading urge to be sick.

"Thanks again," Ben nodded and waved as Tilda pulled the reins and the horses obediently began to trot, turning around in a circle, and going back home.

"You'd never see compassion like that back at Capital City," Ben said aloud, watching her go.

"What's it like?" Fred asked regarding Capital City.

"It's... different. I never knew how different until I left. Everything outside is so much more down to earth. People work with the elements, not against them."

What's strange to Ben was how homesick he felt at this moment. Although he preferred virtually everything about the Sky Kingdom, his mind raced to the small blacksmith cottage his parents must have been waiting at. Part of him wished he were there, warm under his covers instead of chilled in the white wool coat he wore then.

A few moans and groans accompanied Wade as he stumbled out of the bushes to join them. Color slowly returned to his face, and he bent and held his knees to catch his breath.

"You okay there?" Fred laughed.

"I'm... I'm good," he said, lifting his hand to give a thumbs up.

"Let's do it then." Ben said.

None of them were surprised to find the temporary town below the floating city to be filled with Imperial soldiers. Tilda had not been wrong when she had said they all were headed there. To their infinite dismay, the children found the outskirts of the town to be completely infested with patrols, guards, and towers that had recently been built.

Had Fred not been with them, Ben and Wade might not have made it past these Imperial soldiers that stood watch over the town either. Her instinct told her that they not only needed to wisely avoid the road, but also that they should take extreme caution in trying to cross the expanse of flat land before finding cover amongst the makeshift buildings.

Crouched behind snow covered boulders, Fred stuck her head out cautiously to watch a squadron of Imperial soldiers march past. Ben and Wade were silent as mice, waiting for her signal.

Beyond the boulder was a two-hundred-yard area of nothing but flat snow. With patrols of soldiers passing by every few minutes or so, it'd be hard, if not impossible, to cross without being seen. The large, black shadow of the floating city above blocked the sun and created a little cover, but not much. Certainly not enough. True darkness would have been much better.

"How are we going to do this?" Ben leaned in and whispered to her. His sword was already out, anticipating that they could be spotted at any moment.

"I'm not sure... Their patrols are slightly irregular, but there's so many that it's just... It's impossible." Grunting in frustration, Fred pulled her head back, behind the cover of the boulder. "They'd see us before we got even halfway across."