Applause echoed throughout the Assembly Hall at my mother's bold pronouncement. The Icehearts clapped in synchrony- a demonstration of the precise perfection that they so desperately craved. If it had been performed by anyone but the robotic elites of the Empire, the motion would've been creepy. 

Most of their faces suggested that they were genuinely glad to have me back, which was a good sign. The last thing I needed was a suspicious, killer Iceheart attacking me in the middle of the night. 

"If you would all like such a thing, we will hold a ball tonight, to celebrate my daughter's return," the Queen announced. 

"A ball? That would require immense planning and coordination across the province, especially at such an incredibly short notice. If we hold a ball, we will not be left with enough time to properly prepare for the purging of the Flame base tomorrow," Chief Valior objected. "This could compromise the precision of the strike we are about to carry out."

"We have waited for over three hundred years," Chief Kandain sighed. "We can wait for one more day. The Flame base isn't going anywhere, and our Ice Guards are ready. We can always attack it on Thursday." 

"You?" Selaeyah snorted. "I am surprised. You've never struck me as one to put entertainment over the strategic needs of the Empire." 

Of course. Selaeyah Valior was just as I remembered her: opinionated and always eager to pick fights. She was involved in at least one prolonged struggle with every noble family at any given time. I always marveled at how someone as objectionable as her had managed to stay friends with the Queen for so long. 

"Councillors?" My mother raised an eyebrow, throwing a discreet glance at her advisers. As usual, she was careful not to openly support either side of the disagreement before formally consulting the Council of Icehearts. Despite my hatred of her depravity and general smugness, I found myself beginning to admire her outstanding, clear-headed ability to stick to the principles of the Foundational Documents even in sticky situations. 

She truly was a great ruler...

If only she wasn't a maniac. 

"I vote to postpone the invasion," Chief Kandain raised his hand almost immediately. 

"As do I," Chief Soren nodded her head. "She's a princess, for goodness' sake! It would be a disgrace if she didn't have balls in her honor! And, you'd like a nice little ball, wouldn't you, Honey-Berry?" 

"Yes, that would be nice, Aunt Dolly," I smiled, perhaps a little too brightly, at the adoring woman as her quirky nickname for me brought back a whole host of distant memories. She was a little on the chubby side- well, downright fat for an Iceheart- but she had always been full of love and childlike excitement. I fondly recalled the many times she had stuffed me full with fresh Linaberry tarts at her Rhenan manor while telling me how much I'd grown, and how I was starting to look just like her brother- my father, the late King Fenorel.  

*Dolores Soren*

"Dolores," my mother hissed threateningly, openly reminding my aunt to keep her behavior strictly professional while in court. Such chastisements were not uncommon. Aunt Dolly was very smart, but wasn't exactly Chief material. I had always thought she was more at home in her kitchen than in court. 

"Yes, My Queen," she rolled her eyes, looking visibly annoyed. If she had been anyone but the Ice Queen's sister-in-law, I was sure that she would have been killed for such a reaction. 

"If there are no objections to this change of plans, the invasion will be moved to Thursday," my mother continued, scanning the room with her eyes. Seeing no signs of concern in the bluish hall, she held out her palm and then rapidly curled it into a fist while turning it to the side, signifying the sealing of a royal decree. "It is done." 

I was forced to turn away from the Assembly to conceal the pure delight and mild shock that lit up my face. 

I couldn't believe the amount of sheer dumb luck that had just been thrown my way. I had just won Aron and Eleanna a whole day to clear the base. A day was more than enough time to evacuate almost all of the Flames securely from their current location to different areas in the cluster of surrounding villages. 

Mission accomplished. 

"Viviana?" My mother blinked at me innocently. "Do you need something?" 

"No, of course not!" I lied. "I'm just- the sudden change in altitude is giving me a headache. Coming up from sea level to the Greater Glaisse mountains, you know." 

"I understand. You've been through a lot. You need some rest. A slave will show you to a spare room." 

A small Rhenan girl crept out of the tiny space behind my mother's throne with exceptional agility. Following the wordless command, she approached me timidly, wringing her hands repeatedly with nervousness. 

"Y-Your Highness?" She gestured to a back door that led deeper into the palace, and I followed her through it. As I navigated the blue hallways, my posture instinctively improved tenfold, and I held my head high, flaring my Aura confidently. 

There was something about the place that made me relax, and forget that at any second, my mother could come to her senses and throw me out. The clashing vibes of serenity and tension that filled Icicle Hall, which often filled newcomers with discomfort and possibly even a bit of dread, seemed to wrap around me like a well worn cloak, encasing me in a protective cover of familiarity. 

Icicle Hall was home, in the truest sense of the word. It was the place that echoed with my childhood dreams, and my fantasies of tomorrow. It was the place that had watched my small failures and successes: all of the little stepping stones that made me who I was. 

In these halls, I wasn't a Glitch. 

I wasn't a Flame goddess. 

I was Princess Viviana, daughter of the Ice Queen.