The heavy silence of the cave was broken only by Princess Karinne’s ragged breathing as she glared at the wall of boulders sealing their exit. With Kylo gone, the weight of the isolation pressed against her chest like a physical blow.
Suddenly, the air shimmered. Mother Gothel—or Dora, as the princess knew her—materialized out of the gloom. She looked radiant, her beauty sharpened to a lethal edge, but Karinne met her gaze with cold fury.
«You have caused us enough trouble, Dora,» Karinne spat, her voice echoing off the damp walls. «Move these rocks. Now.»
Dora tilted her head with a chilling, bird-like curiosity. «Rocks? I don’t see any rocks.» She turned her back to the princess, her eyes scanning the empty shadows. «Do you see them?» she whispered to the void, as if consulting invisible ghosts. «Where? Show me.»
Karinne planted her hands on her hips, her blood boiling. «I’m right here, your creepiness!» she snapped, the insult sharp enough to cut through the eerie atmosphere.
Dora spun back slowly. In her hand, a silver blade glinted, catching a stray beam of light. A sinister, toothy smile spread across her face. «Will you help me take the advantage?»
Karinne recoiled, her heart hammering against her ribs. «What are you talking about?»
A sudden, panicked thundering of boots erupted from deep within the tunnels. Kylo burst into the light, his face pale and eyes wide with terror. «We have to get out of here!» he shrieked. «The cave is haunted!»
He skidded to a halt beside his sister, but Karinne was frozen like a statue. She was locked in a hypnotic stare with the figure before them. Dora’s smile grew wider, more monstrous.
«No one is more haunting than me!» the witch hissed.
Kylo grabbed Karinne’s hand, his grip desperate. «If she’s the threat, we need to move! Come on!»
But Karinne didn’t budge. Her shock began to melt into a hard, diamond-like resolve. She narrowed her eyes, staring straight into the abyss of Dora’s pupils. «You think I’m afraid of you? I am not!»
«Karinne!» Kylo yelled, tugging at her arm. «What are you doing? We need to run!»
«No!» Karinne reached down to her boot, her fingers closing around the hilt of a concealed weapon. She whipped it out in one fluid motion. «We are more powerful than you!»
Dora’s brow furrowed, her confidence flickering. «What?»
Inspired by his sister’s defiance, Kylo stepped forward, his sword singing as he unsheathed it. The fear in his voice was replaced by a roar. «Yeah! Because we outrank you!»
Dora’s eyes flashed like lightning, her sinister aura crackling and then—suddenly—withering away. The shadows that danced around her began to dissipate.
«You haven’t seen the last of me!» she shrieked, her voice warping as she began to fade into the mist. «I’ll be back!»
«No, you won’t,» Karinne vowed, her voice low and steady.
With a final, piercing hiss, Dora vanished, leaving the siblings alone in the sudden, ringing silence of the cave.
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