Around the grand council table Elena sat with her abuela Luisa and best friend Naomi on one side while on her other side sat her abuelo Francisco and her cousin Chancellor Esteban. The crown princess had her doubts that her abuelo should be attending grand council meetings so soon after coming down with Iverson's flu but he had told her, "Part of the responsibilities of leadership is that you cannot allow anything to hold you down, be it sickness, personal or otherwise."

She wasn't sure she entirely understood what he meant by that as she would gladly put her responsibilities on hold if it meant helping her little sister Isabel or if her family needed her. If she were honest with herself that was proof why she was not fully ready to rule, as she hadn't learned how tell the difference between the circumstances.

Right now though they were confronted with a different task, as before them stood both Mateo and Princess Isabel as they got ready to propose a project that would hopefully help the kingdom of Avalor. "This afternoon the Never melt Glacier will be passing several miles off the coast of Avalor." Mateo said to them.

"I have never heard of this glacier." Esteban noted dubiously with a small rap of his fist on the table in the middle of the grand council room where they sat.

"I'm not too surprised by that." Mateo replied simply. "It hasn't passed by Avalor in over fifty years."

"So what is it that you two hope to accomplish with this glacier?" Luisa asked now.

"We want to get onto that glacier and get a small piece of it." Isabel announced. It amazed Elena how composed her little sister could be about this when she could tell whatever it was clearly excited her.

"With a piece of that glacier and a little spell I have I can turn around and make a type of ice that we can use around Avalor that will never melt." Mateo started. "Nitra ice. It can also be magically melted to make nitra water."

"And I can start using that to make inventions." Isabel added, again very composed despite the fact Elena could see her excitement. "From ways that can keep things cool to ways to keep entire rooms cool, which will be more efficient than what we have now."

"That sounds kind of cool." Naomi said and then shook her head. "You know, no pun intended."

"It sounds like a great idea." Francisco agreed, his voice sounding a bit weaker than normal as he was still recovering. "We could send out a boat with you to the glacier."

Mateo seemed a bit embarrassed now. "Um, it's going to sink in twelve hours. Avalor's climate won't allow the glacier to stick around that long. It'll sink down to lower sea levels." He admitted. "It may not melt but it's just sentient enough not to like the environment."

"So how do you know it will allow you to take a small piece of it?" Esteban questioned.

"It's been done before." Mateo answered. "At least six different times that I'm aware of in the last twenty years." That explained to Elena why Esteban had never heard of it, she doubted that Shuriki had really cared about something as simple as that.

Luisa sighed. "It sounds like a great idea Mateo, nieta." She agreed softly. "But to have a boat ready to go and to get you there would take that long. You would never be able to do what you needed to."

"Not with a boat." Elena realized as she stood up and looked to the grand council. "But if we could get Skylar and the Jaquins to help us a small group could go over and get what we needed before the glacier sinks back into the ocean."

"That's a great idea Elena." Isabel said.

"An expedition of that size really should have more than a small group going about it." Esteban said. "The hypothetical safety concerns alone are enough to warrant…"

"We've already determined that we don't have that time." Elena interrupted as she moved around the table to stand by Mateo and place her hands on her little sister's shoulders. "If we want this to work we have to act now." She looked to Naomi. "We'll take Gabe with us and the five of us will go get it done."

"I do agree that it's rather risky to allow you to go practically unescorted." Francisco admitted. "But after knowing what you can do when you went to Bosque Mountain, I am sure you can take care of each other."

"Then let's put it to a vote." Elena said. In the end the only one opposed to it was Esteban and the decision was made. "Isabel, Mateo, get ready to go." She said to her sister and her friend. "Naomi, go find Gabe and have him meet us up front. I think Skylar is on my balcony, I'll see if he can get Migs and Luna to lend us a hand." Mateo and the two girls nodded in understanding and got up to go to the right even as Elena went to the left.

"Sometimes I feel as if I am talking to myself." Esteban noted dryly.

Elena ran up to her room and to the balcony, she must have made enough noise because as she opened the glass door she saw Skylar had sat up and was looking in her direction. "What's up Princess?" He asked. "Don't tell me that something else came along and kidnapped Princess Isabel. Or that someone else is sick."

Elena shook her head. "No Skylar, no one is kidnapped or sick." She replied. "But I was hoping that I could ask you, Migs and Luna for help with a quest." She pointed out to sea. "The nevermelt glacier is out there today. Isa and Mateo want to make use of some of the special ice out there, but the only way we can make it there in time is with you guys."

Skylar nodded. "Ah, I see. I'm game. Let me wrangle up the others. Hang on." He said.

"We'll be down in the courtyard up front." Elena called out as the Jaquin took to the skies. The crown princess then turned around and left her room to meet her friends and sister.

She came into the courtyard and Gabe stood up straight and saluted. "Reporting for duty your majesty." He said.

Elena laughed a little. "What are you doing Gabe?" She asked the royal guard.

He lowered his hand and shrugged. "I don't know." He answered. "I guess it just seemed appropriate. We are going on an official mission after all."

"As Esteban pointed out if this were official you wouldn't be the only guard here." Naomi pointed out with a small roll of her eyes.

"Yeah, good point." Gabe said.

"Just think of it as a social experience, except for the fact that we're going for something really specific." Elena suggested as she patted Gabe's arm gently. Her hand lingered just a moment longer than either really thought about before she moved it.

"Will Skylar and the others help us?" Mateo asked the crown princess.

"Skylar went to get Luna and Migs." Elena answered. "I think we can count on them."

"So how are we going to carry these icicles if we get them?" Gabe asked now.

"That's easy." Mateo said. He took out a brown messenger bag and his tamborita. He made a quick enchantment on it and then passed it to Isabel. "Once we get it and put it in there it'll protect the pieces."

"I thought it couldn't melt." Naomi noted.

"It can't." Mateo said. "But it can be crushed, and that might make it useless."

The blonde nodded. "Ah, gotcha."

It was only a few moments later before the three Jaquins landed. "At your service your majesty." Migs said with a small bow.

"Thank you so much." Elena said as she stroked each of their heads gently. With that she paired with Isabel on Skylar. Naomi got on Luna's back while the boys got on Migs's back. Then the three Jaquins took to the skies and headed north toward the ocean and the glacier.

"So what exactly is the plan once we get there?" Naomi asked.

"We need to head to a higher point on the glacier." Isabel answered. "That's where the purest point will be, which is what we'll need to make the nitra water." She had her arms wrapped around Elena's waist as they flew to their destination.

"I don't suppose we'll be able to fly straight to the top." Gabe said now.

"You're kidding right?" Luna now asked the royal guard. "The higher we go the thinner the air. We won't be able to carry you, stay afloat, and you know, breathe."

"Then looks like we'll in for a bit of a hike then." Elena said.

"We won't have to go nearly as high up as we did when we went for the herbs." Mateo said. "We'll be just fine."

The glacier came within their sights and the Jaquins went as far as they could before settling down on an incline to let the five of them off. "We'll wait here for you." Migs said to them. "If something goes wrong we'll find you as quickly as possible."

"Hopefully nothing goes wrong." Mateo replied just as he slid off, only to very nearly slip on the icy surface. He had to get a hold of Jaquin's side to stop himself from falling.

"Yeah, what are the odds of that?" Naomi drawled as she cautiously slid off Luna's back onto the icy surface.

Gabe had gotten off of Migs with surprising grace just as Elena had lifted Isabel off and set her down gently on the icy ground. The royal guard extended his hand to the crown princess. "Need some help?" He asked her.

"Oh please." Elena said but still held out her hand to allow him to help her down off of Skylar. Still despite their best attempts she could not quite hold her balance as she set foot on the ice and almost toppled over; only Gabe's presence stopped that and she ended up against Gabe's chest. "Um, thanks." She said as she abruptly pulled away with a blush in her cheeks.

"Anytime." Gabe replied with a blush in his cheeks.

Naomi couldn't help but laugh a little just as Isabel giggled too.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road." Mateo said. Naomi couldn't help but wonder if he had missed that somewhat cute exchange or if for some reason he was choosing to ignore it. With a shrug though they all fell into step behind him and up the glacier.

"You were right that this has been done before." Naomi noted as they started their climb. "So many of the handholds have been almost literally carved out for us." Some of course looked older than others.

"Are you doing okay Isa?" Elena asked her little sister as she saw her struggling just a little to reach a hand hold.

"I'm doing fine Elena." Isabel answered her. She was just able to reach up and get a hold of what she needed. "I'm guessing most expeditions were just adults in the past."

It had in fact occurred to Elena at the grand council meeting that allowing her little sister to come with them may not have been the safest option but knew she would not content to sit out of it when this was partially her idea in the first place.

"Some of these hand holds get pretty thin." Naomi noted as they were climbing up higher. "Why is that?"

"Probably the wind cuts down on those handholds as it gets higher up." Elena speculated. "Plus when this thing sinks into the ocean, it probably collects water again that freezes up again when the glacier returns to the surface."

"Do you think water is all it collects?" Gabe questioned as he grasped another hold though his thought drifted to Bosque Mountain and the Night Serpent that inhabited it. That had been created by Shuriki but none the less the oceans were pretty well unknown.

"Most ocean life would die out of salt water." Mateo answered. "But let's hope that we don't have to test that out."

Isabel didn't want to point out she wasn't seeing much in the way of dead ocean creatures or even any evidence of any. She however would be perfectly okay if they weren't able to get that answer. She was struggling to reach the next hand hold when she swore she saw some of the ice cracking a little. Then she thought she knew why as she swore she saw something burrowing in the ice. "Elena." She started.

The crown princess turned and at first thought that maybe it was because Isabel couldn't reach the next hand hold, but before she could figure out what to do about it the ice in front of the younger princess burst open and she was knocked back by a worm like creature, she vaguely guessed it to be about the same size of the Jaquins, but the thought was lost as she realized that Isabel would plunge down the glacier cliff side.

"Oh no." Naomi gasped, already trying in vain to climb down to lend a hand.

Elena didn't hesitate. "Gabe!" She called out to draw his attention. Then she took a bit of a leap herself, letting go of the hand hold she had to plunge downward at an angle. Elena caught Isabel in her arms, as soon as she was sure that her younger sister was secure by way of her wrapping her arms around Elena's neck, she extended her hand out.

Gabe reacted instinctively by reaching out his hand and grasping Elena's outstretched hand and then pulling them up and against the cliff as hard as he could. With amazing precision Elena's free hand managed to get a grip on a hand hold even as Gabe placed his hand on the small of her back to help balance the two princesses.

"Are you okay Isa?" Elena asked her little sister. She could feel hear heart trip hammering in her chest as the fear and adrenaline started to leave her body though she was sure she could feel Isabel's heartbeat fluttering wildly in her chest too.

"I'm okay, thanks to you." Isabel said.

"I would never let anything happen to you." Elena reminded her little sister softly and then turned her head sideways to look at Gabe. "And thank you for having my back like that."

Gabe nodded and gave a small smile that Elena thought was kind of charming actually. "Anytime Princess." He said. His face then turned serious, reminding her that regardless of their friendship he was still a royal guard of Avalor. "But we need to get some place a bit safer and rethink this plan."

"Move onto my back." Elena said to Isabel. She slipped under her older sister's arms and then wrapped her arms gently around the crown princesses neck while her legs lightly folded over her sister's waist. "Hang on; I'll get us up there."

"There's a small incline up and the right about two feet." Mateo called down to them. Gabe and the sister's looked up to see the wizard in training and the blonde already moving toward the area. "Let's regroup there."

"I've got your back Princess Elena." Gabe said to her. "Let's move." She nodded in agreement and stared to climb.

Naomi and Mateo were the first ones to reach the incline and the instant that they could do so they reached down and help Elena onto the incline. As she let her sister down they then helped Gabe onto the incline.

"Was that a big worm?" Naomi asked now. She looked to Mateo. "Was that supposed to be here?"

He shook his head. "I don't know Naomi." He admitted sheepishly. "I've never heard of it but we were just talking about any hitchhikers this thing may have picked up while crossing the waters."

Isabel shivered just a little. "To think there are things like that in the water is just creepy." She remarked. She shook her head a little. "But we're pretty close; we can't just give up on this Elena."

"What are we supposed to do?" Naomi asked now. "How do we deal with something like that?"

"Whether we advance or retreat we still might run into that thing again." Gabe reminded her. He had already moved his hand toward his sword in case he had to protect them while they were figuring out what they should do next.

Elena stared up at the glacier and then down at the ground before looking to south where she knew her kingdom of Avalor was. Aside from Naomi there was no grand council here, the crown princess knew she would have to make the call here. "If we have to deal with it either way we might as well continue on." She decided. "But we need another way. That ice worm can knock us off the edge just like it did to Isabel. Besides, it's getting to the point that she can't get a grasp on those hand hold anyway."

"But how do we do that?" Gabe asked her.

Naomi tapped her hand against one of the sides of the glacier against their incline. Then she looked to Mateo. "Is there some kind of drilling spell we could use to take us where we need to go?" She asked him.

"If I can get it to work." Mateo said. "That won't protect us from that worm thing though."

"No but it means it can't just throw us off the side." Elena commented. "And it gives us a better chance of defending ourselves when or if this thing pops up again."

"I'd hate to damage the glacier that much though." Isabel admitted. "I mean a few small pieces are one thing but this could destroy it."

"Not to worry." Naomi said. "Any damage done here is going to be taken care of once this glacier gets into the water. The water will flood in here and freeze right up."

"Okay, back up." Mateo instructed. Gabe and the three girls took a step toward one of the walls, though the royal guard made sure to keep an eye behind them. He didn't want that worm thing bursting through the ice walls to ambush them on that side as Mateo made their path.

Mateo's tamborita began to glow and he released it. The object started to rotate and drill through the ice. Elena wasn't entirely sure how that worked but supposed that was one of the mysteries of magic. It had kept her from aging for forty one years after all.

"Alright, let's follow it." Mateo said. Together they followed the spell enhanced tamborita. A couple of times Elena thought she saw the blurry form of the worm traveling in the ice but there was no attack.

The spell led up, something that Elena assumed was part of something Mateo had cast on it. She wasn't sure about those intracies. Isabel pointed up toward another incline though this one was much smaller and lead to what almost looked like a frozen fountain. "Those are the pieces we need." She said to Elena.

"Let's go get them then." Naomi said. Together the five of them started toward it.

Then the ice in front of them ruptured and the large worm that had almost knocked Isabel off of the side of the glacier rose out of it. Though the creature seemed to lack teeth it was actually of very little assurance to any of them.

"Okay, what now?" Gabe asked.

"Now you and I will distract it." Elena said to the royal guard. She looked to Naomi. "Go with Mateo and Isabel and get ahold of those never melt pieces." She let her little sister move past her to get to the blonde. "Hurry up, go."

Mateo had recovered his tamborita and used it on an icicle to create an icicle sword. "Elena, you're going to need that if you want to try to distract it." He said to her.

"Thanks Mateo." Elena said as she picked it up. It was cooler than she expected since she had thought magic would have kind of eliminated that aspect. But it wasn't cold enough that she expected to drop it and get frostbite. "Ready Gabe?"

He nodded as he drew his own sword. "Ready Princess." Together the two moved in to distract the worm before it could try to turn its attention to her sister and her two friends.

"We have to hurry." Naomi said to them. "I don't know how long Elena can really use a sword made of ice against anything. And I don't know how long Gabe can really fend that thing off."

Isabel was able to quickly climb the incline since she didn't have to worry about getting any hand holds. She knew Mateo and Naomi were behind her but she thought it best to just get what they needed a little quicker, plus she had the bag to place it in anyway.

Elena swiped at the worm, more intending to keep it at bay than anything else. She was only worried about protecting them all so they could get what they needed, but in reality she was aware that technically they were the invaders, who knew how long it had really been 'living' there.

It swerved its head to dodge and then moved quickly to break the icicle sword into two pieces. It dove straight at the crown princess and she moved to the left to avoid. Gabe moved in from behind it and tried to stab it, more worried about stopping it than about who had come first. It reared backwards and slammed him against one of the ice walls.

"Gabe." Elena called out. It turned toward her and tried to dive at her this time. She leaned back and allowed the icy path to slide her right under it and out of its grasp. She stopped just in front of the royal guard, who was already getting up himself.

Isabel had just gotten several pieces placed into the bag when she very nearly lost her footing. Luckily Naomi was there to stop the fall. "Okay, how do we get out of here?" She asked Mateo. "Can we go back the way we came?"

"We can follow the tunnel back." Mateo answered. "But once we reach the incline, we'd have to climb down again."

"Do we take that chance?" Gabe asked as Mateo and Naomi slid down to their level, the blonde still keeping a hold of the crown princess's little sister until they hit the ground. "Or do we find another way out?"

Elena didn't hesitate. "Down the tunnel." She answered as the worm was now turning around to look at the five of them again. "Hurry." They dashed off, fully aware the worm was right behind them. Taking the tunnel back was a lot easier since they didn't have to wait for the carving like they did when the spell had been initially cast.

They could see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. "Elena, what are we doing once we get to the incline, which is going very soon now?" Mateo questioned.

Her answer startled them all not surprisingly. "We jump for it." She announced.

"What?" Naomi questioned.

"No time to debate. Just go with it." Elena said as she scooped Isabel up and back onto her back as they saw the incline coming to an end. Elena jumped off with Isabel holding on tightly. Gabe followed her, then Mateo and last was a very reluctant Naomi.

The icy ground seemed to descend so rapidly that Naomi closed her eyes. Then she felt a solid impact though not really that hard. She opened her eyes to see that Luna had caught her on her back. She saw that Skylar had gotten both the guys while Migs had gotten the sisters. Together they started to fly back to Avalor.

"Where did you come from?" Mateo asked Skylar.

"We heard the ice breaking off from where you guys had gone." Skylar explained. "And we thought we heard Elena, so we rushed up as quickly as we could."

"Thin air closer up didn't help." Luna said. "Then we couldn't figure out where you all had gone. We didn't see the incline until you guys soared out like something was chasing you."

"Something was chasing us." Isabel told them and then proceeded to tell them the story as they flew back to Avalor.

That night at dinner where Mateo, Gabe, and Naomi had been invited, Isabel again relayed the story of their adventure to their grandparents and Esteban. "Well, it appears my concerns weren't unfounded after all." The chancellor noted and then as a quick afterthought added, "Your majesty."

Elena brushed it off. "We came out just fine and we got what we needed." She said. "No need to worry."

"I can start working on my invention now." Isabel said happily. "Hopefully sooner rather than later it will be ready to be tested out."

"And I can start working on some spells." Mateo added with pride.

"Hmm, yes." Esteban replied dubiously. "I just hope it will be worth it." He picked up his glass and took a sip. "Ah, nice and cool." He noted contentedly.

Naomi giggled a little and as he looked over at the blonde curiously it was Elena who answered, "Our drinks tonight have just a hint of the first created nitra water, courtesy of what we brought back." She told him sweetly.

The look on Esteban's face reminded Naomi of a deer trapped out in the open and with that she, Isabel and Elena burst out laughing.