“Does that mean we're getting closer?”
“Yes ma'am it does. Shouldn't be too much longer now.”
She walked behind Freja, still holding her hand, like two pre-teen girls sneaking to their dollhouse at night. The tunnel opened out onto a shallow pool with iridescent, yellow fluid. Before long Elsa realized it was a pool full of liquid gold. Freja pulled her by the hand, as if to force Elsa to wade into the pool.
“Wait, I can't. Is it poisonous?” Elsa asked.
“Of course it is. That's how he keeps the outsiders from intruding. But here, I'll protect you,” Freja said. She pointed the tip of her wand to Elsa's forehead, sending a mild tingling from the crown of her head down through the rest of her body. Elsa felt warm and elevated and looked at her hands, which turned from the flesh color of her skin to a pale grey. She looked at Freja, who stood ankle deep in the pool, smiling. Then she followed her into the pool. They walked to the middle of the small lake of gold, until Elsa had to stand on her tip toes to keep her head from going under water.
“It's ok, doll. Follow me.” And with that, Freja disappeared beneath the placid surface, leaving not a single splash in her departure. Completely alone, Elsa looked around the hollowed out area, where the ceiling had dripping spikes and at the silver coins embedded in the rock wall. She remembered what she had read about dragons in her childhood fairy tales—namely, that they liked gold and treasure, and she tried to look for him under the surface of the lake, but it was too murky, and after a brief pause, she worried whether she should trust Freja. She wondered if it was all a trick to poison her, because Freja had lied to her in the past. But then again, Freja could kill Elsa single handedly if she wanted to, given that Elsa was a normal person and that Freja herself was a witch. So she had no reason to bother with an elaborate plot to destroy her. She took a deep breath and dipped her head beneath the liquid. She was afraid of opening her eyes, but suddenly a hand reached for hers and guided her along the bottom of the lake. Freja tapped Elsa's eyes softly to indicate she should look around. Once she did, there was no stinging or trouble seeing, and Elsa surveyed the golden crater, which was lined with cauldrons and cast iron buckets of gold coins, necklaces, and other assortments of pirate booty. All the treasure emitted a yellow hue bright enough to keep Elsa from seeing where she was going. As she followed Freja through the small pathway under the water, Elsa realized that she had not taken a breath since she placed her face underneath the water. She certainly didn't feel out of breath. She opened her mouth to take a breath, giving Freja a knowing glance, who nodded in approval. Elsa inhaled softly, expecting her body to reject whatever the hell the pool was made of. And yet she could breathe normally. They continued through a small hole which had been knocked into the wall of the lake bed. Then she followed Freja to the surface again. When they emerged at the top, there was no sign they had ever been wet. Elsa felt Freja's hair, inspecting it with her fingers. Dry as a bone.
“Amazing,” Elsa said.
“This is only the beginning doll.” Freja looked toward the middle of the lake, and Elsa could see that they were standing in some kind of moat, which surrounded a rocky plateau, fronted by an ornate stone staircase. They walked up the staircase, which Elsa couldn't immediately see what waited for them at the top. She stayed behind Freja, presuming the dragon might be startled and that Freja would protect her from the fire, should he decide to torch them.
But when they got to the top, she saw something she had not expected.
“Old friend. How long it's been,” a voice rang out in the cavern. Freja tried to smile through her cracked voice.
“You bet ya, boy. How ya been? Bet it gets lonely down here,” Freja said.
“You need my help, don't you?” Elsa looked around the cavern for the source of the voice but could find none. She peeked from behind Freja and saw a small stone sink, which reflected the image of a dragon's face staring back at them. The picture boggled Elsa's mind, and she figured he must have been watching them from a safe place somewhere hidden in the vast tunnels of the cave.
“Who's with you?” he shouted, the anger in his voice rising.
“Oh, just a friend. Please don't get mad. We need your help,” Freja said. “You see, my girlfriend here, she lost one of our own. We don't know who did it or where to find him. Or even if he's still alive.”
“He lives, that much I know.”
Elsa's heart leapt with joy. “Oh please sir, could you help me find him? I would be eternally grateful.”
“Silence, child. Tell me one thing—why should I help you?”
“Because I love—”
“I can see into your heart. You have malice and secrets. You hide the fact that you're not innocent.” Elsa felt a pang in her chest at the suggestion by the dragon she was anything less than pure. Freja said earlier that the dragon was clairvoyant, so maybe there was something, on second thought, that Elsa was hiding, even from herself. But she almost immediately threw the thought out of her mind. Even though she had many questions about what happened to Theo, why she was so drawn to the Forbidden Forest, whether Freja was telling the whole truth, and how long it would take to regain that brief moment of happiness she cultivated with Theo, but one thing was certain. She would trade anything to have Theo back, that much she was sure of.
“I am innocent,” Elsa fired back. “You don't know me.”
“Tell me something, dear. How far would you go to regain the love you have lost? Say you had to sacrifice your wealth, beauty, or youth?”
“I would do anything.”
“Anything, you say?”
“Anything,” Elsa said again. The dragon looked at her from the reflection in the pool, smiling, clearly up to something.
“What about your life, would you sacrifice that too, if it meant bringing Theo back?” Elsa stopped before answering, as she could smell the fire in the cave boiling the liquid moat surrounding her. She feared the dragon's blood lust, as there was no doubt he waited for a single legitimate excuse to murder Elsa. He was dangerous, and she should choose her words carefully.
“Yes,” she said, finally, “even my life. I care about him that much.”
“Very well,” the dragon said, and that was it, Elsa thought. This is how she would die, in a darkened cave, with a grandma she didn't trust by her side. But several moments passed, she was still alive, and the dragon remained in his distant hiding spot, watching her from the safety of the undulating water's surface in the stone sink. “If you will truly do anything to save the one you love, then perhaps I can help you.”
Oh thank God, Elsa thought. She would see Theo again.
“But first,” the dragon continued, “you must prove your intentions with a single test.”
“OK, I promise. What's the—”
“Prove to me your intentions are pure, that you truly love him and desire no one else. Do this and I will help you.” Before Elsa could answer, she saw the water in the sink drain slowly, out and over the stone basin and onto the floor of the rocky plateau at her and Freja's feet. The liquid seemed to have a mind of its own, forming the shape of a human body. Elsa stood frozen, in awe of the spectacle before her, the liquid person solidifying into someone recognizable, someone she knew and long suspected of being responsible for Theo's disappearance.
“Dorien,” Elsa said, looking up at Theo's older evil brother. “It can't be. You're the dragon Freja told me about.” Elsa's mind raced over the events of the past few days, trying to make sense of what was happening, but Dorien glided to her slowly, his eyes glowing blue. Elsa was transfixed on them. “How could you do this to me? To your brother? He was everything to me, and you knew it. He loved you, too.”
Dorien smiled. “Prove to me, once and for all, you truly love him. If you do, you will feel nothing when I place a single, lustful kiss on your lips.”
“Never,” Elsa said. “How can I trust you that you'll help me, even if I prove my love?”
“A passion-less kiss cannot be faked. If you have any desire for me, no matter how faint, this ruby will glow red hot; should the stone remain cold and lifeless, I will reveal to you Theo's whereabouts.” Dorien opened his hand and showed Elsa a scraggly, ugly rock, red but dim. It resembled a gnarled piece of glass broken from something larger; it was uneven, chaotic, and wild, cut straight from the natural world, unadorned with postcard prettiness someone might associate with beauty or love. “And,” Dorien added, “should the stone glow, you will lose him forever.”
Elsa couldn't think around her anger and despair. She stared first at the stone which Dorien presented to her, then she looked to Freja for help. “Can't you do anything?” she asked. Freja frowned, her eyes indicating to Elsa she would like to help her, but didn't have the power.
“I'm sorry, doll. He's got you in a pickle,” Freja said.
“Well what happens to me if the crystal glows?”
“The real question is,” Dorien said, “What happens to you if you don't take the offer?” And with that his emblazoned eyes lit up the entire cave with a lurid blue hue, so bright it almost blinded her. She shielded her eyes, terrified of what was about to happen. “Ok, ok, please just let me gather myself. I am so terrified, Freja.” Freja came over to her and put her hand on her shoulder. “Why can't we try using that spell you gave me? Will it not work?” Elsa asked her.
“If I were you, my dear, I would wait until you find out what happens when you kiss him. You only get one shot with the page I gave you.” Elsa swallowed hard and approach the center of the plateau, near Dorien who placed the crystal on the rock beside her.
“Are you ready for the truth?” he asked her.
He placed her hand on his cheek and moved his face closer to hers. Elsa anticipated that this moment would turn in her favor, because she never doubted for one second her love for Theo and the purity of her intentions. But she was still nervous because there was an obvious chance an evil warlock like Dorien might have ulterior motives for her, regardless whether the crystal came to life or remained dimmed. The moment Dorien's lips touched hers Elsa surprised herself by becoming ever so slightly excited—in the deep heart of her nature, a wildness emerged which she had no control over. She was two people in that moment. On the one hand, she was the busty girl who'd finally found someone to love her and who wanted to spend the rest of her life in marital bliss with Theo. On the other hand, she was a chaotic personality with an uncontrollable thirst for pleasure and fun, simultaneously destructive and passionate and guilty and ashamed of her lust and desire for freedom. A rift in her soul emerged when Dorien pulled away his thick, soft lips and looked over at the crystal. Elsa watched the rock for several seconds, praying to herself that it remain dead, so she could continue on the heavenly track she had shared with Theo until he disappeared. A few seconds passed, as all three people stood around the basin, watching the rock as if it had mesmerized them with an unseen power. Suddenly, the crystal became enlivened by hot, fiery, red illumination. Elsa's heart sank and she cried out, unable to bear what was to transpire. She was sure she had lost Theo forever now, because she had no idea where to find him and what Dorien had in store for Elsa.
“Oh God,” she said, under her breath. Panic shot through her body, electrifying every nerve ending. Her physical body tore itself from her heart and soul, sending searing pain throughout her entire being, and she summoned all her panic and energy to find a solution to her predicament before it was too late. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the spell Freja had given her.
Dorien laughed. “Oh, it looks like you failed the test, little Elsa. What are we going to do with you now. Such decisions.” His eyes began to glow blue again and Elsa ducked behind the stone basin, in order to deflect any violent witch rays he might send her way. She had no idea what Dorien was going to do to her, but she didn't want to stick around to find out. She jumped down into the golden moat surrounding the rocky edifice, ready to come back the way she came. Then she looked back at Freja, who stood on the edifice, quiet and still.
“Are you not coming with me?” Elsa just knew her back would be covered with flames any second if she didn't hurry, and the water in which she had steeped herself felt like a hurried safety. “Freja!” Freja looked back in the direction of Dorien, who's eyes dimmed enough so that Elsa could see his facial expression. He smiled at Freja and said, “Are you ready?”
“Ready for what?” Elsa shouted. Something was not right. The air was heavy with electricity on the verge of discharge. “Ready for what, Freja? What did you do?”
Freja looked at Elsa with a face that of a hurt mother, but then a writhing horror twisted itself across her features, like a snake gliding swiftly over them, and making one little pause, with all its wreathed intervolutions in open sight. Her face darkened with some powerful emotion, which, nevertheless, she so instantaneously controlled by an effort of her will that, save at a single moment, its expression might have passed for calmness. After a brief space, the convulsion grew almost imperceptible, and finally subsided into the depths of her nature. She looked at Elsa and placed a single finger on her lips. She held up her wand in Elsa's direction.