"The prince on your right is playing a dangerous game. Don't fall for his charms, especially not after all those passionate kissing lessons."
Elsie's eyes flew open beneath the cloth. Elsie ran after him, her hands bound by magic, flapping uselessly at her sides. Her father's warnings echoed in her mind but now wasn't the time to wonder how Marcus knew about her and Prince Mason.
"Damn it! I gotta get that egg!" Elsie hissed, accidentally bumping into another candidate and knocking them down.
Elsie's heart hammered against her ribs, remembering Marcus's mention of the golden egg. He'd said it belonged to a rare golden dragon that only appeared once every decade. The previous king's second daughter had ridden one, and legend claimed that anyone who could acquire and raise this dragon would be granted immense power and prestige. In Eventide, the rider of a golden dragon would be revered and treated almost like royalty.
Behind Elsie, Prince Mason roared, "Larousse, is that you?" The burly man was scrambling to catch up, hating to be outpaced by a girl, especially Elsie. "Hand over the egg, Larousse!" he bellowed. "That dragon egg!"
Elsie froze, her name echoing through the air. Giving up wasn't an option, but her body was paralyzed, and the rope snagged on the thorny vines. She flinched as Prince Mason shoved her, the thorns tearing at her hand.
"Elsie! Control yourself!" Marcus' voice boomed in her mind. Adrenaline surged through her. She pushed another contestant off the bridge, the scream fading into the distance as they plummeted. The prince stiffened in shock. "Good! Keep going!" Marcus urged.
Elsie limped after the prince, his heavy footsteps echoing in the silence. She felt him turn, approaching. Behind her blindfold, her amber eyes widened. 'Did you push her on purpose, Larousse?' Prince Mason growled, his teeth clenched. Elsie took a deep breath. 'What do you mean, Your Highness?' she asked, confused.
The prince took a step closer. 'Did you push Sonja on purpose? Answer me, Larousse,' he repeated, his growl unchanged. Elsie pursed her lips, her jaw tightening. She hated being called by her surname. The two alone in his secret room contrasted their usual intimate moments. Disappointment washed over her. The rumors must be true. He was dating every girl competing in the Harvesting; she was just another name on his list.
Inside Elsie's head, Marcus roared, 'Move, Elsie! You're almost at the golden dragon's room!'" Elsie's body obeyed instinctively. She even shoved Prince Mason aside on purpose. Elsie didn't respond. She couldn't remember who she had bumped into earlier.
Prince Mason's voice echoed across the bridge as he yelled, "Larousse, answer me!"
Elsie shook her head. "We'll talk later, Your Highness," she replied, her voice lacking enthusiasm. She continued running through the hallways, following Marcus' voice.
The golden-haired girls, their earlier collaboration forgotten, now wrestled each other away as Elsie approached. A cacophony of slaps and frustrated shrieks filled the air. The committee chairman's booming voice echoed from the cave roof: "Five minutes remain! Achieve your goal by any means necessary!"
Elsie stumbled, nearly plunging off the cliff as she tried to maneuver between the two blonde girls. Thankfully, she hadn't cast any spells on her hands, which remained frozen at her sides. She grabbed one of the girls and shoved her over the edge. Time was running out, so Elsie fled, leaving the other blonde girl gaping in shock at the betrayal of her former friend.
At the intersection, Elsie sprinted ahead, no longer needing Marcus's guidance. The dragon's heat radiated, a wave of warmth washing over her. This was her second competition, and the memory of her humiliating defeat was still fresh. This time, she was determined to succeed. The golden dragon egg was her prize. She yearned to impress everyone back in Eventide, especially those in Midford Hold and the dragon riders at Vertex. Elsie refused to be remembered as the weakling who couldn't even keep the dragon eggs she found.
Her instincts, usually her guide, betrayed her. Elsie was trapped in a narrow passage, a labyrinth of razor-sharp stalactites and stalagmites. There was no turning back, only the agonizing forward crawl, her body a canvas for the jagged rocks. As she cried out in pain, the mocking laughter of her rivals filtered in from the other passages, a cruel symphony of her failure.
"Ouch!" Elsie cried out, wincing as a sharp rock sliced her ear. She ripped off the blindfold, gasping at the sight. Horrifyingly beautiful, the sharp crystals pointed at her like accusing fingers. She checked the back of her hand and the part of her sleeve peeking out from under her armor. 'How can I keep going? I'll probably bleed to death out here. But returning the way I came is just as dangerous, if not more so."
"I hope you can survive this hallway, Larousse!" sneered the blonde girl from the other hall.
Elsie examined the still-damp wounds on the backs of her hands. She frowned suspiciously at the girl's mocking laughter. Her sense of smell was off, or someone had deliberately manipulated the situation.
"Hey, Tatjana!" Elsie shivered, her teeth chattering. "If I reach the end of the hallway and retrieve the egg, can I...kill you?"
Tatjana let out a mocking laugh. "You wouldn't dare try that. Why even pretend it's serious?" she sneered. "You can't even keep a dragon egg safe, and now you're trying to off me? No way. You're such a loser, Larousse!"
She hopped over a series of sharp rocks, each a tiny obstacle. Elsie took a deep breath. "You think I was joking?" she retorted.
"There is no fear in the life of a Tatjana Skornicki."
Elsie laughed, a brittle sound that barely concealed the agony as a rock tore through her arm. She hauled herself to her feet, her movements deliberate, and pressed on. Another laugh escaped her lips, this one sharper, as the shoulder plate of her armor clattered to the ground. She grimaced, the pain a dull throb beneath the surface.
Tatjana's laughter boomed across the distance. "Don't be so brave, Larousse! You'll be stuck in there for ages!" Her voice carried far, a mocking echo. "I'll petition the King to knight you for your bravery... in getting yourself stuck!"
Elsie grinned, a chilling glint in her eye. "I'll cut your tongue out when I get that egg."
Tatjana said, "Just try to get out of there alive!"
Elsie was desperate to escape the narrow passage, its walls lined with jagged crystals. Torn and bloody, she just wanted to get out alive. One thing was sure: Tatjana had to be silenced. Elsie would cut off her tongue. She needed to prove herself, to show everyone that she was capable, that they had underestimated her.
Elsie burst from the tunnel just as a girl with hair the color of spun gold emerged from the shadowy cave mouth across from her. Only a few steps separated her from the golden dragon egg, shimmering in the cavern's center. Above, a gaping hole in the ceiling revealed the shadow of a golden dragon, its wings beating as if awaiting the arrival of a new master for its nascent offspring.
Elsie and Tatjana exchanged nervous glances, swallowing hard. With a faint grin, Tatjana assumed a running stance, as the distance to the egg was four times the length of the hallway Elsie was in.
With a final burst of strength, Elsie hobbled towards the egg, just two meters away. Unexpectedly, amidst her struggle in the cave, Elsie declared, "Just take the egg. You deserve it."
Tatjana giggled. "Oh, come on," she teased. "Don't you want to cut out my tongue?"