Chapter 16

          I sat there motionless in the crystal wing of the dragon, our eyes locked upon each other. 

“Help?” I whispered timidly.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Help with what?” I asked as I sat cross-legged, getting comfortable in his wing.

“Protecting this entire civilization,” the dragon said calmly.

“From what?” I asked, at this point I was beginning to feel like a nuisance to the dragon for asking so many questions, but I couldn’t help it! He wasn’t giving answers!

“Has Gwendolyn here told you about the Crognards?” he whispered as he gave a cold glare over at Gwen.

“First off, no.  Second of all, how many unknown creatures live here?” I exclaimed as I rose to my feet.

            Without a word The Keeper placed me on the ground next to Gwen, looked intently at both of us, and then vanished in a spiraling whirlwind of crystals and fog.  Gwendolyn stood there silent with her hands placed gently against her soft petal skirt as she stared at the ground.

“Gwen…?” I whispered quietly.

“Annabelle?” she asked, looking up at me.

“Yeah?” I replied.

“There’s something I need to explain to you,” she said quietly. 

“Okay,” I replied.  Gwendolyn took my hand as she lead me past the trolls, up the slide, and back into the tree. 

“Where are we going?” I asked looking around at the gold wooden ceiling.

“My room,” she replied and took me up a pair of ivy stairs.  As we walked up the ivy I noticed the slight look of concern on some of the people and creatures in the main entry.  Within seconds two men dressed in clothes made of leaves carrying a piece of wood with a dead leaf on it walked in the room.  Several of the people wept, hugged, and whispered amongst each other.

“Gwen, what happened?” I whispered.  Gwen turned around to see the people and sighed.

“Another great warrior has been lost…those Crognards won’t give up on destroying us,” she choked, holding back tears.

“Crognards…?” I asked softly, placing a hand on Gwen’s shoulder.

“I’ll explain when we get upstairs,” Gwendolyn replied.  Before we made it up the stairs Gwen gently moved her index finger in a spiral motion which swiftly covered the leaf in vines and pink rose petals.  The people looked up at Gwen and slightly nodded their heads at her with tears on their faces before resuming crying and talking.  After a silent walk up the stairs Gwen slowly creaked open the door which led to her bedroom.

            The room had tiny white crystals all around, buried in the cracks in the wooden walls.  The floor was a light maple wood color, and perfectly polished.  There weren’t any windows, but there was a small glowing mushroom sitting on a carved out nightstand which provided light to the room.  There also was a violet colored orchid in the corner of the room with two rolled up leaf pillows and a white rose petal blanket on in.  Then I noticed a small book on her floor.