Chapter Three
(Song in this chapter is "Frozen Heart" from the movie Frozen.)
"W-what's happening?" I stammered staring at the second portal.
"Well, your voice is saying Krylock but I'm guessing your heart is saying something else," Catherine quietly said.
Moving forward, I touched the second portal with my fingertips. "Tulio."
He suddenly looked up through the portal window at me. "Aralyne," he said, but when I gazed into his eyes... they seemed pretty dead.
Hearing a distant scream, I looked over my shoulder to see various mutants chasing frightened Nesidy citizens. I looked back at Tulio and stared at him a moment longer before pulling my hand back. "I'm sorry," I whispered before diving headfirst into the krylock's portal.
This new dimension was a hellish place with volcanic lava spewing everywhere. I faced the krylock with Excalibur raised. I leaped at the creature, swinging my sword at it. The damn thing kept dodging! It finally pounced on me, pinning me to the ground, and knocking Excalibur from my grasp.
"No!" I grunted out, stretching for it, but it was just out of reach.
"Aralyne, hurry! The portal's closing!" Alyss shouted out. The Krylock's stinger inched closer to my chest. Right as it was about to impale me, I finally grasped the sword's hilt and drove it into the krylock's stomach. It screeched in pain and exploded into dust. Jumping to my feet, I dove out of the portal right as it sealed itself shut. Looking around I saw every single mutant transform back into their original forms, and I sighed in relief. The dragons and the sisters surrounded me.
"Well done, young one," said Grandpa as he and Jake turned human, "Now about that portal spell..."
I hung my head with guilt. "I'm sorry, Grandpa. This was all my fault. I was just so obsessed with finding Tulio..."
Grandpa nodded sympathetically. "I understand. The heart wants what it wants. But what matters is - in the end, you didn't do what you wanted, you did what was right, and that is what a true Queen does."
"Yeah. Right," I said turning and walking away. For some odd reason, when I was upset, my feet either took me to the forest or to the beach. This time, it was the beach. I set down Excalibur and sat in the sand, hugging my knees. I was there for a while when Catherine and Alyss arrived, each taking a seat on either side of me.
"Crazy day, huh?" said Alyss.
I didn't say anything.
"You know, you really impressed me back there," said Catherine, "You could have chucked everything to be with him, but you didn't."
I shrugged and said, "I've been obsessing over Tulio for too long now. It's just... it's time for me to let him go."
"Is that what your heart tells you?" Alyss inquired.
I thought about it and shook my head. "No. Not really."
"Then keep looking for him. Just... don't let it take over your life," Catherine said.
I smiled warmly at them. "Thanks, guys. For the potion. For everything."
"We're your friends. It's what we do," said Alyss.
For the past three months Siren had been collecting as much information as possible on Aralyne, especially from Tulio. One of the things he mentioned that caught her interest was the fact that another man was in love with the little goody-goody. Someone else actually cared for Aralyne, and Siren just couldn't have that.
No. She decided to take a little trip to the kingdom of the Southern Isles to pay this prince a visit. For a while, she remained in the shadows watching Prince Hans, and was particularly interested in the abuse he suffered from his older brothers and parents.
When night had fallen, Hans was in his bedroom staring up at the moon in the sky, looking hurt and dejected.
With an evil smile, Siren blew out the flames in the fireplace, making the room completely dark except for the shaft of moonlight Hans stood in.
"What?" said Hans in surprise, turning away from the window. He couldn't see a thing.
"Don't be afraid," she said remaining in the shadows.
"Who's there?" Hans demanded.
"A friend," said the villainess, stepping into the shaft of moonlight.
Hans gaped at her. "Aralyne?"
"No," she said, "My name is Siren. I'm Aralyne's other half. A more powerful half." He remained silent, but stared at her. "I have been watching you, especially when you're near your family." Hans scowled. "They don't see how special you really are. But, I do." She sashayed up to him and placed a hand on his chest. "I can see your true potential, Hans. I want you. I want you to work with me." For me, is more like.
"What do you want?" he said a bit nervously.
"What if I told you that I can help you achieve greatness? That you will be better than your brothers? You could rule the Southern Isles with an iron fist. All you would have to do is help me become the Queen of this world."
"And why would I do that?" Hans demanded, "Aralyne is the rightful Queen of Incantationen!"
It took all of Siren's willpower not to slap him. Instead, she gave me a knowing smile and said, "A bonus for helping me is you can keep Aralyne to yourself."
A hint of greed flashed in his green eyes. "It's a deal."
As Grandpa had said to me when I accepted the job as Queen of Incantationen, the whole world was my responsibility, including everyone and everything living in it. A part of my duty was making sure that everything within my kingdom remained at peace. Of course, checking up on the whole world was a bit out of my league right now, so I decided to start with just Nesidy and the area around it.
I had gone on night patrol with Excalibur in hand. I told Catherine and Alyss to stay at the inn and not wait for me. Thankfully, they listened, and I was now out on my own. Everything within town was fine, so I made it out of Nesidy and patrolled the surrounding forests. At first I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but then I saw a male figure clad entirely in black armor, including wearing a helmet so that I couldn't see his face. He had a bow and arrow in hand, and was aiming for a pack of unicorns drinking from a pond.
"Now, tell me, what did these poor creatures ever do to you?" I inquired sneaking up on the Black Knight and slicing his bow in half with my sword. The unicorns heard the commotion and took off running. He turned to me with a growl, and all I could see were a pair of cold blue eyes from deep within the helmet.
"You shouldn't have done that," he snarled dropping his archery equipment and raising his fists. I knew I had a job to do and kicking this guy's butt was part of it, but I did believe in a fair fight. I put away my sword and stood there waiting for his attack. The Black Knight kicked out at me, but I jumped back. When I threw a punch, he dodged out of the way. His fist went for my head, but I ducked, grabbed his arm, elbowed him in the gut (not the brightest move. I had forgotten he was wearing armor), jumped behind him and twisted his arm behind his back. Strange. It was almost like this man wasn't even trying to hurt me. With his free arm, the Black Knight reached behind him and snatched Excalibur from its sheath before twisting from my grip and pointing the sword at me.
I warily took a step back. Nice move, Aralyne! Before I could do anything, however, a green light appeared and struck the Black Knight's hand. He dropped Excalibur with a cry of pain, and we both turned to see Danny Phantom heading our way, his fists glowing. My opponent swore before turning to flee.
"Aralyne, are you okay?" Danny inquired landing beside me.
"Fine," I replied picking up my sword, "Thanks for the save. What are you doing out here, anyway?"
"Same as you," said Danny with a shrug, "I'm on night patrol. So who was that guy, anyway?"
"I don't know," I admitted, "I just hope he doesn't cause too much trouble. I have enough to deal with as it is."
"Come on. I'll take you back to the inn," said Danny taking my hand. He flew us out of the forest.
The Black Knight didn't go very far. Once he was sure he was out of sight, he stopped and watched Aralyne and Danny leave. He was annoyed the girl had interfered with his job. He was supposed to collect unicorn horns. Why? He didn't know. He was just to do as he was told, no questions asked. Well, it looked like he would have to try again later and make sure the Savior didn't get involved again.
The next morning, I was down in the dining area eating porridge for breakfast with the sisters when Grandpa arrived.
"Are you ready to perfrom another duty, young one?" he asked stopping at our table.
My mouth was open, ready for another bite, but I lowered my spoon. "Another one?" I asked, blinking up at him.
Lao Shi nodded and said, "One of your jobs is to make sure each kingdom and country has a fit ruler. This afternoon you will be going on a journey to the kingdom of Arendelle and will arrive in time for the coronation of Queen Elsa. You must make sure she is a right choice for Arendelle to prosper."
I sighed. "Yes, sir."
"Do not despair, Aralyne. You will not be the only one going. Rapunzel will be attending the coronation as she is Elsa's cousin, and I know of some others that are wishing to go," said Grandpa before turning to leave. "Good luck."
"Oooh! Arendelle! How exciting!" Catherine exclaimed, "Come on! We have to pack!" She grabbed my arm and Alyss's and hauled us both upstairs so that we could get ready to leave.
Within a couple of hours, we had our bags packed and headed on down to the docks. There we met up with Timon, Pumbaa, Merida, Aurora, Eilonwy, Irenie, Anne-Marie, Aladdin, Jasmine, Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Danny Phantom, and Sam Manson.
"This is going to be so much fun!" Rapunzel gushed, her hair still brown and short, "I haven't seen my cousins in years!"
We all climbed onto Captain Amelia's boat, manned by her usual crew (except for those that died, of course) and took off for Arendelle. There was no way trouble would pop up over there, right?
"Born of cold and winter air
And mountain rain combining
This icy force both foul and fair
Has a frozen heart worth mining
So cut through the heart, cold and clear
Strike for love and strike for fear
See the beauty sharp and sheer
Split the ice apart
And break the frozen heart
Hup! Ho! Watch your step! Let it go!
Hup! Ho! Watch your step! Let it go!
Beautiful! Powerful! Dangerous! Cold!
Ice has a magic can't be controlled.
Stronger than one, stronger than ten
Stronger than a hundred men!
Born of cold and winter air
And mountain rain combining
This icy force both foul and fair
Has a frozen heart worth mining
Cut through the heart, cold and clear
Strike for love and strike for fear
There's beauty and there's danger here.
Split the ice apart!
Beware the frozen heart."