Chapter Twelve

The Dragon of the West

Five days had gone by without a hitch. No wolves, no bad weather, no nothing. They managed to cover an incredible amount of ground in less time than Kristoff had originally predicted, and Elsa's hopes were higher with every passing day. The weather hadn't really warmed any, but as they inched their way closer to the western mountain range, their surroundings began to change dramatically. As cold as it remained, the snow had completely disappeared, revealing a stony ground. An extreme adjustment from the soft grass and snow from where they came from. The trees were no longer green, their branches were bare of any lush leaves. Any leaves that were around them were on the ground, brown and cracked. The land was completely desolate and seemed to be void of any apparent animals. The only thing that seemed to take any life was the howling wind that pushed and pulled them in all different directions. The brown, leafless trees acting as their only form of shelter.

The entire landscape itself seemed to be...dead. Elsa's high hopes began to dwindle at the dismal sight before them. The farther they went in, the more unlikely it seemed that anyone would be living in the Western Mountain. If there is a Dragon of the West up there then it must be a real dragon to be able stand this place, Elsa often thought to herself.

At nights the wind was even worse, so they would take up camp inside one of the many caves or crevices that covered the area. They weren't the most comfortable, but it at least protected them from the cold and allowed them to build a fire without it being blown out.

"How much longer until we get there?" Elsa complained. The blisters on her feet were usually the cause of her slight nagging. She asked this question at least four times a day, hoping the answer would get better the more times she asked it.

"Not sure," was always Kristoff's answer. "It all depends on where this dragon guy is."

She sighed. All she wanted to do was get there already. But as positive as she tried to remain, there was still slight doubt in the back of her mind. She had no idea where this guy would be, if he even existed! The whole thing was completely improbable, with the landscape backing up this theory, but she just had to believe that someone would be up there to help. There just has to be, she constantly convinced herself.

It was late in the afternoon when they reached a stony path that led upward into the western mountain range. The tree tops were intertwined amongst vines with three inch spikes protruding from them. They twisted around one another creating an arch, forming an entrance to the mountain pass. It stood approximately twenty feet into the air, scratching the sky with its thorns. It was both menacing and glorious at the same time. The group stared at it for a solid minute, both out of pure amazement and terror.

The only thing Elsa was able to mutter was, "The gates." She thought of the intricately designed iron gates that led from the town onto the North Mountain trail, beautiful and professionally crafted by the best blacksmiths in the entire kingdom. But these...these were created by nature. Something more powerful than any blacksmith in any country, it's sole purpose to ward away any intruders. But Elsa would not be deterred. What lie beyond these thorns was exactly what she needed to save her sister, and she was willing to face whatever forces were in front of her to get what she needed.

She started walking again, looking at the giant barbs sticking out at her as she passed through.

"Are you sure about about this?" Kristoff said hesitantly, his feet still planted where he stood.

"I'm positive," Elsa responded, determination rising in her voice.

Kristoff exchanged wary looks with Sven before finally shuffling his feet in Elsa's footsteps.

They walked for a few hours until the sun began to set, all of the cliffs and mountains making it seem darker than it really was. The quiet was unbearably loud, just causing the tension to rise in each of them

"So," Kristoff finally said. "What do you think this dragon guy is going to be like when we find him?"

"I don't know," she replied. "I haven't really given it much thought. What about you?"

He shrugged, "I don't really know either. Every time I think about it I guess it's different. Sometimes I imagine him being like some heroic person, other times I think maybe he's just some crazy old hermit."

She laughed, "Looking around at this place the more likely I'm thinking that the Dragon of the West is a real dragon." She looked up and noticed a black falcon, decorated with red feathers on the tips of its head and wing feathers. It was the first form of life she had seen the entire time they had entered the mountain range.

His expression became perplexed, "Let's hope he's more of a long lost hero and not a real dragon."

"What?" she teased. "Are you afraid of a little fire?"

He gulped. "No, I'm just more of an ice guy. Fires not my thing," he said, timidly.

She laughed. She sometimes forgot how sensitive Kristoff could be. It was a great source of entertainment to tease him during their journey. Each day was a little different. Sometimes they walked in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts about Anna and worrying about her safety, wondering if she was even still alive. Other days they traveled deep in conversation. Talking about Kristoff and Anna's upcoming wedding, new countries that Arendelle was trading with, ice harvesting stories, or they would even find pleasure listening to Olaf's constant babbling about anything and everything. They would talk mostly to keep their minds off the task at hand, but at the same time Elsa and Kristoff could feel themselves bonding with one another. They had never felt more like brother and sister since they've known each other.

After three days of navigating the cliffs and gorges of the western mountain range, they hadn't even gotten a glimpse of the true Western Mountain. Honestly, Elsa didn't really know what the mountain even looked like. They were constantly surrounded by rock and stone that they could have passed it long ago and not even know about it. The Dragon of the West could be located anywhere in the dense sheets of rock and thorny vines, it was next to impossible to be able to find them.

"What is that?" Elsa called out, noticing something ahead of them. As they came closer, it became apparent that the path they had been following the entire time was completely covered by an old rockslide. Some rocks as tiny as pebbles and others as large as a house. It was difficult to tell how long it had been there, but there was no way they were going to chance climbing over them in case they were at all unstable.

"How are we going to get around that?" Elsa asked, slightly nervous.

Kristoff looked around. They were deep in a crevasse, on each side of them there was a cliff at least 50-100 feet tall. However, the cliff to their left was slightly slanted and not as tall as the one on their right.

He went to Sven and removed a large bag and began digging through it. He pulled out a long rope along with a hammer and large metal stakes.

Elsa eyed the unfamiliar items. "What are we gonna do with those?" she asked. She tried to think of how her ice powers might be able to help. Maybe she could make a staircase to go over the cliff, but she only had one good arm and that wouldn't be enough to create a whole staircase.

Kristoff eyed the cliff. "I'll climb up this cliff and hammer the stakes into the side to create steps where needed. The cliff is slanted enough to scale and if I can get to the top I'll be able to pull Sven up." He began tucking the stakes and hammer into the fabric of the red sash tied around his waist.

"Great," she said, nodding. "What if you fall?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Let's just hope I don't."

She narrowed her eyes as he began to place his feet into the divots and cracks in the cliff. He climbed with seemingly zero effort, and had already almost made it half way up, driving the stakes into the rock wherever there was no sturdy foothold.

After putting in the fourth stake, he stepped on it in an effort to continue climbing, but as he did it broke off, causing him to slip. The foot that broke it flew beneath him, causing the entire left side of his body to fling downward. His right hand was the only thing holding him up and keeping him from crashing down the cliff side.

"Kristoff!" Elsa screamed. She stood in terror watching her companion nearly fall to what would have been his certain death, he threw his left hand above his head trying to find a solid piece of rock to grab onto but slipped again. His fingers began to burn with pain. Elsa tried to think of something, anything she could do to help. She thought maybe she could shoot some ice under him for him to step on, but he was thrashing around so much she was afraid she would hit him, and it could cause the side of the cliff to just become more slippery. Before she could come to any conclusion, Kristoff grabbed hold of a small ledge and managed to pull himself onto it, stabling himself against the rocks.

Elsa breathed a sigh of relief. "Your not allowed to fall off, Kristoff!"

He was slightly shaking but managed a single laugh, "Don't worry, I-I got it." He looked down at the broken stake, "Well just have to be extra careful around that spot. He climbed the rest of the cliff with ease, putting a couple more stakes into the rock, more stably this time, and reached the top. But as he did, there was a sharp ripping sound below him. Everyone looked to the spot where Kristoff broke off the spike, and a huge crack was beginning to race along the rock, causing a few of the boulders in the rockslide next to them to shift and tumble.

Kristoff's heart skipped a beat as the crack grew larger, quickly approaching the rockslide. "Catch, Elsa!" he yelled from the top, throwing down the rope. "Tie that around Sven! Knot it good behind his forelegs!"

Elsa caught the rope and quickly did as she was told, triple knotting the end of the rope around Sven. "Okay! I got it!"

"Alright, boy!" Kristoff called to his partner as he tied his end of the rope around a boulder as big as Sven was. "Start walking up!"

The cliff was slanted just enough so the reindeer could keep all four of his hooves on the side of the cliff as Kristoff pulled him up. Olaf held onto his antlers, keeping the rest of the gear on Sven's back in place trying not to let it fall off.

Elsa looked at the crack as Sven stepped over it. It was getting uncomfortably close to the rockslide, and who knows what would happen when it finally reached it. She looked up into the sky which was becoming dangerously dark with storm clouds, the rumbling from approaching thunder mingling with the ripping sound the crack was making as it became bigger. She noticed the black and red falcon soaring just above them, the same one she had seen from before.

Kristoff pulled the reindeer up without faltering and threw the end of the rope back down to Elsa. "Hurry!" he shouted, his voice afraid and intense.

The second Elsa caught the rope, there was a massive snapping sound, like a rock being sliced in half. She looked at the giant crack and it had reached the rockslide. There was a stillness for half a second that could stop a beating heart, then all of a sudden the ground beneath her feet began to vibrate with a ferocious intensity, as she watched the first rocks begin to tumble down next to her.

"Elsa!" Kristoff and Olaf yelled at the same time. "Tie the rope around your waist! I'll pull you up!" Kristoff shrieked.

Without time to think, she began to knot the rope around her waist. Before she could finish, Kristoff began pulling her up as more and more boulders began to roll down around her. She held on as she was being pulled up, dodging boulders as big as she was. Her heart was racing and her breaths were loud and shallow. Suddenly, the knot she had tied became undone. She felt herself slide from their grip and she grabbed onto the end of the rope.

"No!" she screamed, using whatever upper body strength she had to hold herself up., which wasn't much.

"Oh no! Elsa!" Olaf gasped watching the boulders tumble by her, only missing her head by inches. Both he and Sven began pulling on the rope as well, in an attempt to save the queen.

Elsa shut her eyes tight, her sweaty, shaking hands slowly slipping further and further towards the very end of the rope. She grasped tighter, her palms were burning and her right arm was searing with pain, but she was determined to not fall of another cliff again.

With one final pull, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven managed to slide Elsa to the top. She collapsed on the ledge as the rockslide came tumbling down, completely covering the spot where the four of them were standing just moments ago. She refused to open her eyes for fear that she was dead. Her right arm was throbbing with pain from holding on and she was afraid it was about to fall off. Kristoff walked over to her and helped her sit up.

"Elsa it's okay, you made it," he comforted. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

She finally peeked her eyes open to see Kristoff looking at her, his eyes full of worry and concern. She looked at herself. She was a bit dusty and her hair was disheveled, but she counted all her fingers and had all of her limbs.

"My arm hurts, but I think I'm okay," she said. "Just a little...shaken."

"I'm sure you are," he replied. "Look, there's a small tunnel over here with a light at the end of it," he said looking passed her.

She turned to see what he was looking at. He was right, there was a small tunnel that lead to somewhere on the other side of another cliff. She stood up with stiff legs, and walked over to hold onto Sven for support.

"Are you okay, Elsa?" Olaf asked, walking by her side

She smiled at the snowman. "I'm alright, Olaf," she assured him. "Just a bit shook up is all."

They walked into the mouth of the tunnel, both Kristoff and Elsa had to duck their heads because the ceiling of the tunnel was so low. The walls rumbled and vibrated along with the sound of the thunder that came from the growing storm.

When they emerged, they were met with a sight that none of them could have ever imagined. The sky was black and purple with raging clouds, lightning streaks danced and crackled across their field of vision. But right in the center of the storm directly in front of them, standing into the swirling clouds, was a magnificent, stoic mountain. It's edges were sharp and ragged, unlike the smooth beauty the North Mountain portrayed. It's image compared to every tragedy ever written, every death ever witnessed over the course of time. It spoke words that could never be repeated, and scarred the eyes of anyone who looked upon it.

"The Western Mountain," Elsa managed to murmur. There was no doubt in her mind. None of the others could say a word. Their eyes fixed on the sight before them, their lips numbed with pure shock and fear. Even Olaf looked mesmerized like a child.

Elsa looked into the sky where a lightning bolt caught her attention, and saw the same black and red falcon as before. It flew along a path against the edge of a cliff to their right and flew straight into a cave in the side of the Western Mountain.

"Kristoff," she had to yell over the noise of the storm. "I've seen that falcon before!"

Kristoff looked around, "What are you talking about?"

She left Sven's side and ran passed him, following the narrow path around to the cave. Kristoff grunted and followed close behind her. The raindrops began to fall, heavy and large against their faces and backs as they ran. The rocky path ran about 200 yards before they reached the mouth of the cave. Elsa stopped at the entrance soaking wet now, looking for the falcon, or for anything in the depth of that cave. But all she could see was complete blackness in the giant abyss.

She took one step into the cave, then suddenly there was a spark. She barely had time to react before the spark grew larger. It became a ball of fire, growling and sizzling and crackling as it grew larger and larger. Kristoff caught up to Elsa and pulled her back so hard they both fell to the ground, just in time before the fireball became a body and then a head. It became larger than any animal they had ever seen before as it began to sprout limbs and wings as giant as a a ships sail.

Both Elsa's and Kristoff's eyes glowed with the red and the orange of the fiery beast that unfolded before them, hissing and snarling as flames licked over its entire body. It's entire being took up the whole mouth of the cave.

A dragon, made completely out of fire.

It opened its mouth and snapped at Kristoff and Elsa. Kristoff picked her up effortlessly and threw her to the side, but not without getting burned on the shoulder in the process. He yelped in pain as pieces of his favorite sweater fell to the ground as ashes. He scurried away before the dragon could burn him again.

Elsa ran to his side and looked at the charred skin now red and blistering. Furious, she looked at the beast who was reaching back at them with its long neck, mouth opened at the ready. She threw her left arm up, and a thick sheet of ice forced up out of the ground over them as the dragon snapped its massive jaws. It's snout hit the ice with great force, but it pulled away as if the ice caused it pain, sizzling and crackling louder than any bonfire.

Recognizing this, Elsa threw up another ice sheet over Kristoff, who's eyes were tearing up from the agony in his shoulder, just to be safe. She left his side and ran back up to the smoldering dragon, the ends of her hair singeing off from the immense heat. The beast opened its mouth once again and came down upon Elsa. She threw up her left hand, her powers swirling and building up in her palm, and shot an ice beam directly down the beasts throat. The dragon raged and gurgled as the ice over powered it's flame riddled body, and before it could completely engulf her in fire, it evaporated, causing steam and fog to completely fill the opening of the cave.

She was momentarily paralyzed in the spot where she stood, left arm still straight out in front of her where she had stuck it into the mouth of the dragon. When she came to she was shaking. Had she just slayed a dragon? She heard Kristoff moan in pain as he stood up, the sheets of ice he had for protection melted over him, soaking right through his clothes to the bone.

"Kristoff!" she ran over to him along with Sven to help prop him up. "Kristoff, you're hurt."

"It's not bad," he lied, trying to hide the pain.

"Phew!" Olaf shouted. "Even I'm sweating after that one!"

"We need to get out of here," Elsa cried, still scared of another attack, or another dragon. She began to help him onto Sven when all of a sudden, she saw a figure walking towards them through the remaining steam. She squinted her eyes, trying to catch any details on the lean shape as it came closer. She couldn't make anything out until the shadow raised an arm and waved the steam away with a warm waft of wind.

What stood before them completely shocked them.

From the fog emerged a young woman, hooded, with crimson hair tied in a disheveled braid with a few strands framing her long face. Her complexion was pale, possibly even more pale than Elsa, but her lips were red as blood and her cheeks were flustered with blush. She wasn't in a dress like most traditional women of Arendelle would be: she was sporting a black trench coat as tight as a corset that was cropped at the waist in the front, and long and tapered in the back. She had black, leg tight trousers and black riding boots decorated with grey and red pinstripes. She even had a red sash tied around her waist like Kristoff did. She was as thin as Anna, and taller than Elsa, probably pushing six feet. She was actually quite stunning, her features long and eerily familiar. She stared at them with piercing black eyes, searing through their souls with anger.

"Who...who are you?" Elsa asked in a hushed tone, afraid that if she spoke too loudly the strange woman would burst and turn into a dragon herself.

"You need to leave," her tone was menacing but harmonious at the same. "Now!"

"Where in the world did that dragon come from?" Kristoff asked, somewhat irritated. "It nearly killed us!"

"That was the point!" she growled. "It's a...spell. To keep intruders like yourselves from bothering me! Now go!"

Angry at the woman for trying to kill them, Elsa replied, "We're looking for someone!" She left Kristoff's side and stood in front of the strange woman, her palms tingling with ice. "We were told that a man called Dragon of the West lived in the Western Mountain, and were trying to find him!"

The woman raised one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows at her, and started howling with laughter. "You idiot," she spat at Elsa. "I am the Dragon of the West."