A moment later he reappeared with the requested clothes and dumped them in Winter’s hands, who handed them around to Chris, Daniel and Julia.

“Whitelake is not so close to the Openings, so we need to turn up the pace once we get to Northland.”

“Thanks. But, uh, can’t we just take a train?” asked Chris as he put the surprisingly warm sweatshirt on. Meanwhile, Julia had used the one handed to her as a cover on top of a chair she’d propped herself on. She waited while Chris and Daniel replaced their sports shoes with boots.

“There are no trains to Whitelake.” Ian scuffled past them. “We go- we will get-- ah...”

At this point he paused and gave Winter a somewhat pleading look. She finished the thought for him:

“We will take a train to Polarshade and reach Whitelake on foot.”

“Chris,” he heard Daniel murmur across from him, and looked up. Daniel was still fiddling with the laces of the boots. “You okay? You look pale.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Daniel gave him a long, studying gaze.

Chris stuffed his now unused shoes in his backpack and tried not to think about the upcoming trip through an Aurora Opening. He had only passed through a few of those, and he wasn’t too keen on repeating the experience.

He concentrated on what he was doing instead and gave Daniel a smile, then said:

“I’m just tired.”

(Pause)

The region closest to the Aurora was the Middle Frontier and right next to it was Whitelake - the most seemingly ‘forgotten’ of all regions. Whitelake's one town consisted of boats and ships of all sizes and kinds that served as houses for the inhabitants. These previously moving vessels were now lodged in the ice underneath, not having moved for years upon years. That was Whitelake: a frozen lake where the ice ran for over twenty meters in thickness, where holes had been drilled in by Summer Witches at certain spots so that people could sit by and fish or pull up water. Long decks had been built to get from one entrance of ship to another. The decks were wide enough so that even a wagon, or a sleigh, could pass them without a problem. Whitelake was also the place where people who didn’t want the commotion of the cities and other regions, lived – Bezdlapi, ex-criminals, few Witches who weren’t too keen on the Crown, as well as many humans and Hacches who, for one reason or another, didn’t want to be looked for easily. As Ian had said, even the railway line (which by itself did not stretch to many places) didn’t have a stop there. The only way to get there was a train ride to Polarshade, the town on the very edge of the Middle Frontier region.

(Continue)

Passing through the Aurora Opening, the small walk to the train station and the ride to Polarshade all felt like a dream to Chris; it helped that there were few passengers besides them, and even fewer who seemed in a state awake enough to notice their surroundings. Chris had no idea how many hours he spent just staring out at the scenery that was lit by the Northern Lights, fighting to keep his eyes glued on the outside and not, say, at Winter, who was sitting across from him. With a small delay he realized that someone had been rambling on for a while.

“--And our suitcases!” Julia finished, throwing her hair back.

“Your suitcase,” corrected her Daniel tiredly.

“This is our stop,” Winter announced, getting up.

Daniel yawned and fixed his sack more comfortably on his shoulder as the small group dragged themselves towards the exit. Julia’s hand was wrapped around his elbow for balance and they were last to get down.

“Whatever!” Julia pouted. “My point stands! We have to go back, not further in! I signed on for the South, not Eternal Snowla--”

“Enough!” Ian snapped at her, his eyes twitching. “We have not heard anyone else’s voice since the Frontier, so quiet down, human girl! If you are so much--” he paused to think. “--so against this place, you should not have come at all!”

“First of all,” Julia raised a finger, “I’m not human, I’m a Summer Witch, my name is Julia and I don’t believe I know yours, so--”

“A Summer Witch?”

Ian stopped on his steps and looked at her directly, then at Winter.

“We have taken a Summer Witch with us?” His voice grew quieter, “Miss Winter, this is--”

“—this is no reason to stop walking,” Winter cut him off. “I want to get there before midnight, Ian.”

“What does it even matter if I’m a Summer Witch?” Julia’s face turned red and she stopped, forcing Daniel to do so, too.

“Summer Witches are bringers of bad luck!” Ian replied huskily, his words directed at Winter. It seemed that he didn’t want to acknowledge Julia at all now.

“Shut up! Daniel, aren’t you going to defend me?”

“Mm… she hasn’t brought me any bad luck so far,” Daniel said, but it was clear his heart wasn’t really in it. Ian gave him a long, measuring look that said ‘the very fact that you’re with her is your bad luck’.

“If something bad will happen--” Ian huffed and corrected himself, “Happens, I will hold her responsible.”

He had been gesturing enthusiastically and nearly knocked down a closed down newsstand.

“How dare you!” Julia protested.

“Come on, Ian, that is a bit of a stretch… sorry!” Chris’s last remark was directed at a person he’d just bumped into on their way out of the dimly-lit station. The young man only gave them an indefinite nod and hurried along.

Ian sneered. “You, Hach, do not know a thing about this, so keep your maw shut.”

“Well, I know enough to say you’re being a big d--”

“Quiet!” Winter barked, turning to look at them all. “We are wasting time. We cannot afford a sleigh and we’ll have to walk by foot, so move!”

Julia cursed quietly and leaned on Daniel so she could take off her boots; the snow had been too much for them, but fortunately she wasn’t one to care for the cold weather.

Getting wet, however, was another thing altogether.

“Daniel, give me a piggyback, won’t you?”