As soon as they were in the walker it was as if Deryn and Alek had never been separated. He treated her as if she were still a boy, and for that Deryn was thankful. The last thing she needed was a clump of awkwardness between them while they were stuck together in a walker for the next few weeks. Between the two of them they would take turns piloting as they neared the capital of Alek's empire. Of course that meant that Deryn had to learn how to pilot a walker which turned out to be much more difficult than she first realized.

Beasties were natural creatures that only needed hints and a bit of airsense to steer them in the correct direction. The contraption Alek had designed may have been made from lifethreads but it was all Clanker engineering underneath. Every movement had to be skillfully plotted out by her feet or arms and she couldn't let her mind go for an instant otherwise the contraption would topple over.

"You're doing marvelously!" Alek shouted from her side. She could only snort at his words because talking would require too much distraction from piloting.

Most of it was just balancing; trying to figure out the pattern between her feet and arms as she steered the Draufganger forward. The beastie-walker, as she liked to call it, was almost as large as the Turkish walkers Alek had piloted back in Istanbul. But unlike the Minotaur or the Dauntless, this walker was not built out of steel and hydraulics. Instead, Deryn's nostrils were filled with the familiar scents of the inside of a beastie. As Alek had asked, Dr. Barlow had created a creature that drove like a Clanker machine. The Draufganger was one gigantic amoeba that had absolutely no thought process of its own. Instead the entire machine was hinged to Deryn's control. It may be common sense for a Clanker but to Deryn it was downright terrifying.

They had barely made it out of the suburbs of London and Deryn was slowly trying to place one foot in front of the other. At first she had been ecstatic to pilot a new beastie yet after several miles she was really wishing she had never started. Just walking was hard enough. She couldn't fathom what it would be like to run with these controls.

Out of nowhere Deryn felt something trip up the left leg of the walker. Her stomach started to flip as she tried to catch her footing but the walker was falling fast. Thankfully Alek was right there to grasp the hand controls from her and somehow twist the arms around so they regained their balance.

"Why don't I take over for awhile?" He asked with a smile.

"PLEASE!" She gasped and quickly moved over so he could take her spot. Within a heartbeat Alek skillfully took control of the beastie and had them smoothly walking over the terrain with ease.

"It takes a little getting used to but once you understand the balance of the machine you'll never know why you thought it was difficult, like riding a bicycle."

"Speak for yourself." Deryn grumbled. Her hands ached from grabbing the controls so tightly and she could feel a migraine coming on, probably from clenching her jaw so much as she piloted.

Even while at the controls Alek was still able to turn around and face her every so often as he continued to talk. "Maybe you should lie down. You look exhausted."

Deryn gave him a nasty snarl. "I'm fine!"

That didn't seem to appease his worry. "That was a long run for your first time. I admit that I'm quite impressed. My first walk only lasted several minutes but you were able to keep going for at least an hour. I don't blame you if you're exhausted. If you like I could stop for a minute and pull out one of the cots for you. You can rest and I'll wake you when we reach the next town."

As sweet as that sounded Deryn wasn't going to let his chivalry convince her to sleep while he had to pilot a brand new walker by himself.

"I said I'm fine! I like my chair, thank you."

Alek grinned and continued to walk forward. "You may not realize it, but this is a dream to drive. My congratulations to Dr. Barlow, she has made an extraordinary machine."

"It's no machine." Deryn commented. "But I wouldn't call it a natural beastie either. I have to say, Alek, you've created something that completely stumps me."

What she said made him smile so much she worried he wouldn't be able to see straight.

"It's absolutely perfect!" He beamed. "Once the Austrian and German aristocrats see this thing they are going to thank me profusely! Dr. Barlow has created a miracle!"

"Really?" Deryn asked doubtfully. "How is this mixbreed a miracle?"

"My country is starving, Deryn. There is no work anymore now that the war is over. After the Clankers lost we had no way to replenish our resources that were completely devoured during the war. The mines are empty and the factories can't build stormwalkers when we don't have the supplies to do so. That and we have lost all of our funding. The last of my family's fortune was used to purchase this machine."

Deryn had no idea that the Clankers had been suffering but it did make sense now that she thought about it. She did recall that Alek had paid for the walker with some old jewels and a few historical paintings. They had probably belonged to his family's private collection. It made her sad to think of Alek's last remaining heritage being given up to the British government in return for a Darwinist war vessel.

"But the benefit is far worth the cost!" Alek gushed. "Darwinist walkers don't need steel and coal in order to operate. All they need is food, sunlight and water. And they can reproduce their own offspring! They're a reusable source of energy and profit! Our nations will be as wealthy as the Darwinists' once we start breeding beasties. And without the godless manipulation of an actual animal, my cohorts will flock to these natural machines! It's brilliant!"

Deryn swallowed slowly. She didn't want to upset Alek after he had just bubbled up his entire plan for saving his empire but what he was saying scared her. Yes it was a brilliant idea but she was doubtful that the Clankers would be excited to build giant amoeba walkers. If the Draufganger made her feel uneasy there was no way that the Austrians and the Germans would be comfortable around it.

"I don't know," she mumbled. "I wouldn't count your chickens."

Alek ignored her comment and steamrolled her with a completely different subject.

"Are you courting anyone, Deryn?"

…

"WHAT?"

"Well, I was just wondering. I suppose that isn't the polite thing to ask. I forget that I must keep the same manners around you that I must with any lady. My apologies."

As offended as she was that he didn't think of her as a lady, she supposed he had a right to know. Blisters, she was awful curious about his suitors, if he had any, and she dare not ask first.

"No, I'm not going with anyone. Much to my mother's dismay I have completely ruined my chances of getting a decent husband. Men don't flock to the girls who wear trousers and work as lab assistants, unfortunately."

"I see." He said matter-of-factly.

"What about you? Any young ladies in your life?" She asked with a grin. She meant it in a joking way but the comment made Alek frown.

"Ah yes. Something I am not looking forward to when we get home. There are far too many young ladies that I am supposed to meet. It's my responsibility to find the perfect bride but I haven't the heart to do so. Perhaps if these women actually seemed interested in the prospect maybe it would be better. The fact is that no duchess or princess wants to marry a broke emperor with a failing empire. However, Volger keeps finding them and asking them over to visit." He gave a smirk. "They're pleasant enough to look at but I can tell that none of them see me as more than a boy king on a dying throne. The people do not love me and any day I may be overthrown by a rebellion. What woman would want to marry a man that may threaten the safety of her future unborn children and her namesake."

Deryn didn't mean to bring up such a tender subject. Thoughts of the Russian Czar whose entire family had been slain in order to make way for a rebellion came to mind and she knew Alek was thinking the same.

"Sorry." She said quietly. Alek only shrugged and they continued for a few miles in silence as he steered the walker and she struggled to keep her eyes open while the contraption threatened to rock her to sleep with each step.

"DERYN!" He shouted.

Horrified, she stood immediately, scanning the horizon for any threats.

"I just had a fantastic idea!" He was beaming again with a blissful far off look. "What if you were to marry me?!"

She gaped at him. Had he been drinking while she wasn't looking?

"BARKING SPIDERS!"

"I know, I know, it sounds crazy, but think about it. You're of common blood, yes?"

"I'm well aware of that, Alek. Thank you for pointing that out."

"But in this day and age that's actually a benefit! The people of Austria-Hungary would love you because you would relate to them. And in turn they would learn to appreciate me because I had the notion to take a commoner as my wife!" He was so overwhelmed by the idea that Alek pulled the walker to a stop so he could look Deryn fully in the face. Deryn took a second to sit back down and rub her now pounding migraine.

"But I'm a Darwinist." She tried to explain. "Your people aren't going to love me at all!"

He shook his head. "That's even more perfect! You can help me win them over to this machine."

"It's not a machine." She repeated again.

"SEE! You're already able to talk about it!"

"Blisters." She rubbed her aching skull again and closed her eyes for a moment. Was he actually proposing to her? Hadn't this always been a dream of hers? Marrying Alek would be wonderful, sure, but….

"Alek, I'm flattered, really. But I can't be an empress!"

"You'd do wonders over any of those other girls. They can talk elegantly and wear pretty dresses but none of them are half as smart as you are. I know I'd be able to keep a marriage with you far better than with any of them. I can actually hold a conversation with you and I consider you my friend! If I picked a noble lady I would have to marry a complete stranger."

His friend. Deryn thought bitterly. I'm still just a friend to him. Even if I did marry him would he ever see me as more? She supposed that royal marriages usually were held together with less but she still believed that Alek only saw her as Dylan, not Deryn. Or in this case he sees me as another tactic to win his empire back. Like I'm another beastie-walker.

"You don't have to marry me tomorrow." Alek stated, obviously seeing Deryn's uncertainty. "Just promise me you'll think about it."

She sighed. "I suppose I can do that much."

"Excellent!"

And with that he ended the subject and was once again piloting as if they had never spoken of it.