Chapter 14

          “How dare you reprimand me like that?” Gwen yelled, her voice sounding like a teapot about to whistle.

“Gwendolyn Sephora Keeper of Nocotee!” the dragon’s voice grumbled like the sound of a volcano about to erupt.  Immediately Gwen froze.  A minute ticked by.  Two.  Three.  After five heart wrenching minutes of nothing but grueling silence Gwen took a step back.  She had the look of anger in her hazel eyes, the green around her pupil soon began to overtake the brownish tint in her glaring eyes.

“You have been proven unworthy Gwendolyn Sephora.  Unworthy of the title of The Keeper’s Daughter.” The Keeper’s voice boomed, rattling my ears like wind chimes. 

            My heart had crashed through the ground at what The Keeper told Gwendolyn, and that’s when I knew I needed to step in.  No matter the risk.  I grabbed onto the edge of the leaf trying to make a graceful and casual entrance, however that wasn’t going to happen.  As I pulled myself up onto the leaf I crawled closer to the tip of the leaf, planning to slide down without a problem.  I sat down and scooted closer to sliding down, but the moment I prepared to slide, the leaf’s stem broke.  I felt as if my life had flashed before my eyes as I found myself on the ground wrapped up in the oak leaf.  I felt like a humiliated leafwich. 

            The dragon’s eyes quickly went from glaring at Gwendolyn to staring directly at me.  Aw shoot, I thought as I scrambled to get to my feet but my feet punctured the leaf and I went from being a leafwich to wearing a leaf diaper. 

“Annabelle?” the dragon called to me, his voice not cracking once,

“Y-yes?” I stuttered.

“We need your help,” The Keeper whispered before scooping me up in his wing and holding me up until we were nose to nose.

Chapter 13

          There.  Before my eyes.  He stood a mighty dragon as tall as the heavens.  He didn’t have scales, no, but he did have millions of jagged crystals covering him from the tip of his lip to the very end of his serpent like tail.  His eyes held the vicious glare of Medusa, glowing, yet never turning anything to stone.  He wore a crown of ten golden, perfectly pointed stain glass spears with a twinkling oval shaped sapphire holding them together.  The sapphire was surrounded by more gold stain glass which was built into his crystalized skull.  He had wings at least a sequoia tree in length per wing.  Each wing also had a pine needle length crystal spine on their tips, held by the thinnest of glass wings.  There was none, if little color to the dragon.  His body was completely clear with no veins, muscles, bones, or heart, as was his head.  How could he be alive?  

“G-Gwen?” I asked, shaking.

“Yes?” she replied.

“What do I do?” I whispered, my voice cracking underneath my breath.

“Nothing-only he does what he wants,” Gwen sighed, curtsying slightly.  I too followed her lead and curtsied, but instead I found myself with a mouthful of ground.  I sat up immediately, rubbed my face, and stood next to Gwen who had her stomach sucked in and chest broad.

“Don’t even try Annabelle,” Gwen whispered to me, folding her hands neatly across her skirt.  I nodded, knowing I had obviously embarrassed Gwen.  Heaven knows what she was thinking of me at that moment.

            The dragon growled slightly before letting out a deep groan, sounding of disappointment.

“My daughter,” The Keeper growled again, specifically at Gwen, eyes cold.

“H-huh?” Gwen asked in nervous confusion.

“My daughter, give her to me.  Now!” He roared, like the winds of a hurricane.  Gwen quickly blinked back tears which the dragon’s short temper had brought to her eyes.  That’s when her fists clenched and her face turned scarlet.

            I backed up into the bush again knowing something was going to go down and I didn’t want to be in the midst of it.  I peered out through a hole on one of the leaves as Gwen walked over towards the dragon, her head held high.  Then that’s when things went downhill.  Fast!

Chapter 12

          I quickly clung to Gwendolyn’s arm for dear life before looking out from behind the safety of our bush. 

“Wh-what is that?” I exclaimed, springing to my feet.

“That’s The Keeper,” Gwen replied, cautiously standing up and placing a completely still hand upon my shoulder.  I didn’t add onto Gwen’s reply, instead I stared long and hard at the moving trees while waiting for something to appear. 

“Where is it?” I asked, cowering back slightly.

“I don’t know, He never shows up unless it’s serious,” Gwen answered sternly, hazel eyes keen.  I wanted so badly to know what it was, but at the same time was kind of intimidated by this unknown keeper, or so Gwen calls it.

            We waited for a second more,

“Is it goi-,” before I could finish, I was cut off by a roar like the agonizing cry of the sky.  The wind picked up faster and stronger until Gwen and I had to cling onto a rock to prevent being blown away.  As we hung on for dear life that’s when the crystal trees began to rattle and clash together like rivaling tribes at war.  The trees parted by a powerful stomp slamming into the face of the earth, making the dirt arise.  I looked out of the bush once again but this time my mouth dropped.

“Umm, Gwen? Is that The Keeper?” I asked, eyes wide.  She nodded, grabbing my hand in hers and looking me in the eye.

“G-Gwen?” I whispered softly, knowing this was serious.

“Annabelle, meet The Keeper,” Gwen replied, placing her hand on my face and turning my head to the sky.  That was the moment my whole world had changed-for good.