Noelle appeared back in Carmen's home in Amaranthine Town with the other girls in tow. They were empty-handed, much to Carmen's disappointment.

  "Awww, no dragon pics for me?? I really wanted to see it!”

  The girls chuckled at Carmen's playful complaint, each of them reminiscing about their adventure in Frigid.

  "Maybe next time," they said simultaneously, their faces sporting bright smiles.

  Carmen chuckled, crossing her arms. "Well, I'll hold you to that promise," she replied, winking at them. "In the meantime..." she continued, her smile turning into a sly grin. "Can I ask you something?”

  The girls exchanged curious glances before nodding. "Of course. What is it?" Alice asked, her curiosity piqued.

  Carmen's grin widened. "During your time in Frigid... tell me, how did you deal with the Dragon?”

  The girls exchanged glances, remembering their encounter with the ancient dragon.

  "Oh, you mean the sleeping dragon?" Rachel asked, a smirk forming on her lips.

  Carmen chuckled, a glimmer in her eye. "The very one. Come on, spill the details. How did you handle it?”

  The girls hesitated for a moment, unsure if they should reveal the secret of how they dealt with the dragon. Finally, Alice spoke up.

  "Well, as a quick summary, we did a ritual to keep her asleep. I had to read a passage from an ancient language, Rach had to fight this monster, and Zalgo had to break the barrier surrounding the Dragon so that the dark elves could make a new one."

  Carmen nodded, her interest piqued further. "Fascinating. And this ancient language you mentioned, where did you find it?”

  "There was this dragon girl who guards the volcano. Her name is Esato," Rachel explained. "She told us all about it.”

  "Esato..." Carmen mused, a thoughtful look on her face. "I've heard that name before. She's an ancient guardian, born alongside the dragon herself and chosen to watch over her.”

  The girls nodded, surprised that Carmen knew about Esato. "You knew her name?" asked Alice, her curiosity growing.

  Carmen chuckled, a hint of smugness in her smile. "Of course. I've studied the history and folklore of Frigid, the dark elves, and their guardians for a long time. I know quite a bit about Esato.”

  "Oh, really?" Rachel said. "What else do you know about her?”

  Carmen smirked, enjoying the opportunity to be a lore nerd. "Well, let's see... Esato is ancient, older than even the volcano itself, the daughter of the legendary dragon who ruled Yushalia before entering her slumber, Draka. Esato's an immortal guardian, bound to Draka and the volcano. She's rumored to have powers over the volcanic forces, and she can control the very lava that flows within the mountain. And..." She paused, a sly glint in her eye. "Rumor has it she isn't all that foreboding as they say. Apparently she is affable and easily flustered underneath that cold exterior.”

  The girls exchanged amused glances, chuckling at the idea of a stoic guardian being easily flustered. "Yeah, we saw that side of her for ourselves," Rachel confirmed. "See, there was this other girl in the volcano with us and she was something else, I tell you. She went crazy over Alice's and Esato's dark skin and fetishized the ever living hell out of 'em just for that, and boy did she break through Esato's hard shell.”

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  "Ah," Carmen mused, a smirk on her lips. "May I ask where she's from?"

  "Well," Noelle began. "She didn't say, but on her uniform she wore before she left, there was a Euphorian flag badge on the left sleeve."

  Carmen snapped her fingers, her smirk morphing into a grin. "Ah, there it is, Euphoria. I knew it. Those mofos are crazy, I ain't surprised.”

  The girls chuckled, knowing exactly what Carmen meant. "You can say that again," Rachel quipped. "She was all kinds of crazy. Did I mention she banged Alice and tried to do the same to Esato?”

  Carmen burst into laughter. "Oh boy, she sounds like a real character. So this Euphorian girl was all over Esato and Alice, huh?”

  "Oh yeah," Zalgo confirmed, grinning. "She's absolutely nuts for dark-skinned women. It was almost painful to watch how bad of a fetish she has for that. The cringe was real with that one.”

  Carmen chuckled, shaking her head. "Sounds like she's quite the handful. So Alice, be honest, how was it? Did she getcha real good?”

  Alice rolled her eyes, her cheeks lightly turning pink. "Oh goodness, don't remind me. She was obsessed with me, it was...awkward, to say the least.”

  Carmen chuckled, her curiosity piqued. "What did she do, if I may ask?”

  Alice sighed, casting her gaze to the side. "She was…all over me, you know? She kept talking about my skin, how 'exotic' and 'sexy' it was, and how I'm like a 'chocolate bar' or something... It was really…something else.”

  Carmen cringed in sympathy, her smile gone. "Ugh, that sounds awful. I don't understand how some people think that fetishes are okay or even sexy. Same with the people that go crazy over pale skin. Skin color is just...skin, you know? It's stupid.”

  "Yeah," Rachel agreed, nodding. "It's like they're reducing people to their skin color instead of seeing them as individuals."

  Noelle chimed in with a firm look on her face. "Exactly. It's disrespectful and degrading, regardless of the skin color involved.”

  "Couldn't agree more," Zalgo added, her arms crossed. "It's messed up to fetishize someone for their skin color and turn them into a 'thing' instead of seeing them as a person. And what made it worse is that she had this ability where anyone who she touches or vice versa becomes obsessed with her, and she uses it against Esato, but especially Alice.”

  Carmen's eyes widened at this revelation. "Wait, she has the ability to alter emotions and affect people's feelings with touch?!”

  "Yep," Zalgo confirmed, her expression hardening. "It's like a curse that makes anyone who comes into contact with her obsessed with her.”

  "Whoa..." Carmen exhaled, her fascination growing. "That sounds like very powerful and potentially dangerous magic. What happens to those who are under her influence?”

  "Well...to put it boldly...shit like this," Rachel started with a sigh, pulling down the collar of Alice's dress to reveal a few love bites on Alice's lower neck and collarbone.

  "Oh…My…Goddess," Carmen mumbled with a smirk, observing the love bites on Alice's skin. "This Euphorian girl must be a real handful.”

  "Yeah..." Alice said, her hand shooting up to cover the marks on her neck.

  Carmen chuckled, a glint in her eyes. "Looks like she marked her territory, huh?”

  Alice cringed, her cheeks turning red from embarrassment. "Uh...yeah, something like that…”

  Carmen smiled, her gaze still lingering on the marks on Alice's neck. "Well, you certainly left quite the impression on her. She seems quite taken by you, if the love bites are anything to go by.”

  Alice groaned, her hand still on her neck. "Tell me about it. I felt like I was being stalked by a lovesick puppy all day.”

  Carmen chuckled, her smirk growing wider. "Oh, I can only imagine. But hey, at least you made an impression, even if it was a bit...over the top. So anywho, the Ruins is the next stop, eh?" she asked.

  "Seems like it," Alice agreed, her mind already whirling with thoughts of who or what might be living in the Ruins' remains.

  "Guess we have a plan then," Noelle said, giving a slight nod of approval.

  "But hold up," Carmen interjected. "You guys just came back from an adventure out there, why not relax here in Amaranthine for a second before jumping out again?”

  The girls shot her a guilty look. They knew she was right. They were exhausted from their recent quest, and they definitely needed a break first.

  Carmen chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, I thought so. You girls need some downtime before your next adventure. Trust me, you'll need it."

  "Well..." Alice began, reluctant to admit the truth. "We do kinda feel exhausted..." She looked to the others, and they nodded, all of them looking like they were dragging.

  With the girls' drained appearance, Carmen couldn't help a small smirk. "Told you so. How about you guys use the rest of today to recharge, and then move forward with your plan tomorrow. Okay?”

  The girls looked at each other. They knew they were exhausted, but they also knew they had missions to complete.

  "All right," Alice finally said, her voice weary. "We'll stay here in Amaranthine for the day and rest up. We'll head out for the Ruins of Enigma tomorrow.”

  Carmen nodded, glancing once more at Rachel, Alice and Zalgo's resolute faces. "Good.”