Chapter 17

          “Gwen, what’s this?” I asked picking up the book, blowing dust off of it.

“That’s what I need to discuss with you,” she replied, sitting on her bed.

“I’m listening,” I said softly as I took a seat next to her.  Gwen sighed before taking the book from my hands and gently opening it.

“This is my journal, Annabelle.  Every chapter holds a new adventure, but recently things haven’t been the best,” Gwendolyn spoke softly before pointing to a picture on the page.

“Ah!” I screamed at the picture before toppling over backwards on the bed and onto the floor with a loud thump.

“It’s a bug! Gwen is it dead?” I squealed, peering over the edge on the bed.  She gave a small smile before looking at the picture again,

“It’s not a bug Annabelle, it’s a Crognard,” Gwen said softly.

“A w-what?” I asked cautiously as I slowly made my way onto the bed again.

“A Crognard.  Annabelle I will tell you right now, you have no idea how much damage these horrible things have caused up,” she added with tears forming in her sparkling eyes.

“What damage…?” I asked shyly.

            Gwendolyn placed her hand over the Crognard before she began to talk,

“The Crognards are the sworn enemy of our kind Annabelle, we have lost several of our kind to them, including my parents.  They have been trying for years to attack and destroy us, but all that the king wants is this-,” Gwen stopped as she lifted up a small pendant necklace which was around her neck and held it out to me.

“This pendant holds every dream that is occurring right now, and I have the power to make the new dreams every night and send my dream carriers, the fairies, to deliver those new dreams and bring back the old ones which are in the leaves.  However, if Varkus, the evil king, gets ahold of this pendant he has the power to change those dreams to nightmare.  Thankfully it’s just him who can do that, not his Crognards.”

“Why do they want it if all it does is control dreams?” I asked.

“It doesn’t just control dreams, if they get this necklace and if they kill me, they will officially have the power to destroy the entire forest.”

            I immediately felt my face flush white of fear as I swallowed hard,

“T-they want you d-dead?” I choked out the words.

“Unfortunately…,” Gwen sighed.

“What now…?” I asked.

“I’m going to let you spend the night with me, and tomorrow I will send you off with Nixie for some fun activities,” she replied before snuggling under the petal and shutting off her lamp.  I sighed before soon falling asleep at the foot of Gwen’s bed.

 

Illustrated by Kristen Strutt