Christabel

Every fairy tale needs a shadow, and in The Mystery Love of Dragon that shadow wears lilac silk and a sweet smile. Christabel is Princess Natali's "friend" — the quotation marks are part of the character. She is beautiful, envious and dangerous, and she believes that everything in life comes far too easily to Natali.

Who is Christabel?

Christabel is a striking young noblewoman with very long, straight copper-red hair parted in the middle, grey-green eyes, pale skin and red lips. She carries herself with poise and dresses like royalty: a heavy, smooth lilac-violet satin gown with a laced corset embroidered with silver, pearls and amethysts, a closed square neckline, sheer puffed sleeves and a jewelled silver belt. An amethyst pendant rests at her throat, and an amethyst ring glitters on her hand. Her favourite backdrop is the castle garden with its stone arch and rose bushes — a place that looks peaceful until she walks into it.

Her first appearance: three dark drops

Christabel enters Part 2: The Poisoned Roses before we even see her face. The episode opens on a quiet, chilling close-up: a woman's hand with an amethyst ring tips a tiny glass vial over a white rose, and three dark drops fall onto the petal one by one. A stain slowly spreads through the white. It is one of the most memorable openings of the series so far, and the amethyst is the first clue to whose hand it is.

Envy under the arch

Later in the same part, while Natali walks through the village in a commoner's cloak, handing out bread and medicine, Christabel stands under a stone arch across the street and watches. The villagers welcome the princess like one of their own. Christabel's lips tighten. Her murmured comment is soft and sugary, but there is real bitterness in it: she cannot bear that everyone loves Natali.

This is the key to her character. Christabel is not a monster who appears from nowhere; she is someone who stands close to the light and resents it. Natali's kindness, her popularity and her easy smile feel to Christabel like an insult — proof that the world gives some people everything without asking anything in return.

The gift of white roses

The confrontation, if it can be called that, happens in the castle garden. Natali strolls along the stone path among the roses in her light-blue princess gown, and Christabel appears with a bouquet of white roses, offering it tenderly and calling her "dearest". Natali is genuinely delighted. In a close-up, the petals tremble in the breeze while Christabel narrows her eyes behind them. Then she turns away and whispers to herself — words that change the meaning of the entire gift.

It is a masterclass in quiet villainy. Christabel never raises her voice, never threatens, never breaks the mask. Her weapon is affection, and her poison is hidden in the most innocent thing a friend can give.

Personality: honey and thorns

• Envious. She measures her life against Natali's and always finds it unfair.
• Patient and calculating. She prepares in advance and waits for the right moment instead of acting on impulse.
• A perfect actress. To Natali's face she is warm, tender and generous; the truth only shows when she turns away.
• Elegant and controlled. Even her cruelty is graceful, which makes it all the more unsettling.

Why she matters

Christabel is the first real threat in Natali's bright world, and she is the one that Natali does not see coming. While the Dragon King is far away on his cliff, searching for a girl he lost sixteen years ago, the danger closest to the princess walks beside her in her own garden. Christabel also shows the series' central theme from the other side: where Natali gives freely and asks nothing back, Christabel gives only in order to take.

Part 2 ends with Natali breathing in the roses — and with a soft pale-blue glow flickering among the bushes behind her, as if someone is watching over her. Christabel does not seem to notice it. Whether her plan works, and what those roses truly do, is left for the next part.

What to watch for

Keep an eye on the amethysts — they are Christabel's signature. Notice how often she smiles when she is most dangerous, and how she always seems to appear exactly where Natali is happiest. And remember that in this story, magic notices things that people do not: Natali has a guardian, the Unicorn, a gift that sees magic and dispels poison.

Meet the rest of the cast on the series page or read the viewer's guide.