Princess Elizabeth: A Fantasmical Adventure

Dragon Heart ~ Part One

Princess Elizabeth tossed and turned in her bed every night for a week straight, after piecing together the artifact. A side effect of the powers her body consumed from the artifact, drawing energy from the four elements around her. Being that the first stone slab she touched was the Earth element, she felt drawn to the image of a stone in the shape of a heart.

That wasn't what terrified her. It was the flashing images of fire burning away at her flesh as she heard gut-wrenching screams. Everything she had ever known and loved had been scorched to the ground. She would wake up sweating, horrified, and out of breath. Feeling a burning sensation in her throat as if she breathed out fire, and her lungs were full of ash and dust. On the eighth night, she didn't sleep. She couldn't.

On top of the repetitive nightmare and the after-effects, she also worried that it was a vision of what was to come. She had seen decorations, people dancing, and her father sitting on his throne wearing his most formal clothing. Fearing that the fire would happen on her 18th birthday at the ball her father planned, she only had one option.

Elizabeth was determined to find the stone that called to her. Facing whatever it was that beckoned her now rather than later seemed to be the only way to stop the nightmares. She left in the middle of the night while her father was asleep. With Theodore accompanying her on the search for this mysterious stone.

Based on what she remembered from her dream, it appeared to be located in a dark cold place hidden among a pile of rocks and gravel. They rode their horses along the beach, hoping Elizabeth could sense the stone nearby. Just as they were about to turn around to search The Dark Woods, Elizabeth felt a burning sensation in her chest.

The pair turned in every direction, searching for a clue. Elizabeth's eyes suddenly darted toward the mountainside that leads from the beach up to The Dark Woods on the cliff. In the water in front of the cliff were pointed rocks that almost looked like spikes on the boney spine of a strange sea creature. It terrified all the children who swam in the water beyond the beach, even Elizabeth when she was younger.

Although she was forbidden to step foot in the ocean. It was no surprise that no one had discovered the gaping mouth of the cave that burrowed into the mountainside of the cliff. If it wasn't for her sensing the stone, no one else would have discovered it either.

Elizabeth and Theodore tie the horses to a nearby tree, before dragging an abandoned rowboat he found on the beach near the water. When the tip of the boat meets where the water stops, Elizabeth sits on the seat inside the rowboat, while holding the paddles. Theodore then pushes the boat into the water, and he quickly jumps inside before it sails away on the ocean's tide.

Once they are close enough to the spikey rocks, they are amazed by the scenery. It was similar to what Elizabeth had seen in her dream, a skeleton's hand holding a black heart. Elizabeth finds herself drawn to the cave and points in its direction. Theodore rows toward the cave. Slowly maneuvering his way around the sharp rocks.

Upon entering the cave, water continuously splashing can be heard echoing throughout. Inside the cave was a beautiful waterfall. The coins must have dropped from The Ol' Wishing Well at the top of the hillside where the beach meets The Dark Woods. When the moon's light hit the cave just right, the coins became shiny and shimmery, adding to the beauty of it all.

When they reach the land inside the cave, Theodore hops out to push the boat onto solid land. Then he helps Elizabeth step out. She is so mesmerized by the beautiful waterfall, she almost forgets why she is there in the first place. After Theodore sat the boat off to the side, he joins Elizabeth in front of the waterfall.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I think there's something behind the waterfall," Elizabeth said while reaching out to touch it.

Her hand reaches the other side, and there is nothing solid, just a cold draft. She pulls her hand back and shivers.

"I wish there was a way to separate the water so we could pass through," Elizabeth said.

With a wave of her arm, the water parted ways, and the path revealed a dark space behind the waterfall. Just as she took a step toward darkness, Theodore grabbed her arm. She pulled away from his grip.

"Stay here, I'll be just a moment," she assured him.

Once she passed through the waterfall it closed behind her, but she was more focused on the stone that pulsated and glowed among the other rocks. She slowly walked forward, listening to the soft sound of whispering coming from within it.

The sound stopped once she picked it up. Touching the stone sent a ripple through the opening behind the waterfall where she found the stone. It felt like the floor had shifted below her feet, making her fall to her knees. She held on tight to the stone as she stood up and turned towards the waterfall, noticing it had closed behind her.

After many failed attempts to reopen the waterfall, to pass through again, she finally gave up. Her only option was to swim through it. Elizabeth carefully tied her hair back into a ponytail and secured the stone inside her satchel. She took a few steps back before running and leaping through the waterfall.

It wasn't until she burst through and hit the ground that Elizabeth realized what had happened when she touched the stone. It was the key to opening a portal to another realm where the waterfall coexists.