"Your Majesty. I have come to help you with your problem of a missing object from your treasure room," Arnie started in a weak voice. The King instantly stood up and pointed a finger at her. "Being a 'Borrower' I assume that you have taken it? What did you take!" As the King was rising from his throne, several of his guards had surrounded Arnie and her friends as they lowered their spears. This was not how Arnie had seen the conversation working out when she had decided her course, but if nothing, a 'Borrower' was steadfast and knew how to adjust to changes. "When a lock jams, you find another way in," was Arnie's motto. Speaking quickly, Arnie continued, "Your Majesty. I have recently heard that you possess a thing of knowledge but are unable to find it since it requires a special being to unlock the key to its discovery. I have brought him to assist you. Did I do wrong?" Few had ever seen the Gooblin King confused and this answer added a few more to that spectacle. "What are you talking about? I know nothing of this. Tell me more," Hir'aeth said to Arnie as he motioned for his guards to move back to their posts. "Tell me what you have heard."
"I have been told that this information could save the entire Realms, to include your Kingdom, and I then knew that I must help in finding it. My companions, Drat as a representative from Dulbbe the Troll King and Dree of the Dragons are here to assist in finding the item," continued Arnie. The Gooblin King sat on his throne and did not say anything for several minutes as Arnie and the others waited patiently to see if they were going to be welcomed or if the spiders in the dungeon were going to get some company. Finally, Hir'aeth spoke.
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The thought of being responsible for what you did both bothered her and excited her. "Leaving that beautiful purple feather behind for the book was worth it," she had thought at the time. But now, she was wondering if she would have been better off not knowing any of this. She didn't want her fellow adventurers to know, but she was having doubts of what she was doing here on this quest. "Is just looking at something that is not mine a good enough reason to just 'borrow it'?" she pondered. "I know that Drat and Dree are counting on me, but I just don't know. If I do this, am I still doing something bad though I am being told it is for a good cause? Doesn't that make it still a bad thing?" Her mind kept going around in circles as they grew nearer to their destination. As Drat was telling Dree that he knew of several ways to sneak into the Gooblin King's cavern, Dree glanced over at Arnie and realized that she was deep into her own thoughts. He had noticed that Arnie had been quiet during the trek. "I know she was at first reluctant to agree to help but what could she be thinking about so hard?" Dree thought to himself. It did not take much for Drat to also notice that neither one of his traveling companions were now listening to his plans. He too stopped talking and started to watch Arnie also. Arnie was so caught up in her thoughts that she actually walked right into Dree before realizing they had stopped and were staring at her.
"Yes, we are finding a book and you did say that we were not borrowing it, but at the same time aren't we finding something that belongs to someone else? Especially because we aren't asking them if we can look at it... is that the right thing to do?" In Drat's mind, the answer was instantly 'YES' but Dree's answer to Arnie's question even surprised him. "Arnie, I am still learning myself and I agree that it is not completely right, but it is necessary. It is up to you to decide if it is right for you so we are going to let you decide how we should to this. Do we continue or do we go back and find another way?" A tear came to Arnie's eye. Never had she felt like she had others who would follow her. It was a new sense of responsibility that she had not experienced before and it was because they trusted her. No one trusted a Borrower! "Thank you both. I have been thinking about it much and we must do this... but I think we need to do it a different way than sneaking into the Gooblin King's caverns and sulking around until we find it. I have a different plan." As Drat and Dree waited to hear her plan, Arnie looked at Drat and with a smile and a gleam in her eyes, "Can you get us an audience with the Gooblin King?" 
"I've got to send a message," she decided as she finished her packing and started to put her traveling bag over her shoulders. "Perfect for the job," she mutters as she adjusts the straps to her pack but then begins to lean backward a little too much. "Maybe I should take a few things out," she realizes as she finds out that the pack is so heavy that she cannot stand up straight... Meanwhile, Drat and Dree are sitting at a table outside of the Sugar Plum Bakery waiting for Arnie to arrive. "I heard a new one the other day," began Drat. "It goes like this... How may leprechauns does it take to empty a pot of gold?" Shaking his head from side to side, Dree answers, "I don't know. How many does it take?"
It was then that Arnie arrived with her friend Squirrel. Squirrel didn't stay long after Arnie ordered their snacks and everyone was told about the trip to the Outie world and the squirrel there. "If you only could see the look of frustration on that Outie's face when the other squirrel dived from the top of the tree and landed on the feeder... it was priceless!" laughed Arnie. "I could not have done better myself." When Squirrel left, Drat decided it was time to get back to business. "Arnie, we need your help. The Gooblin King has a scroll that we need to read. He doesn't know he has it and it can hide itself from anyone who wants to harm Dragons. We also know that it will take a Dragon to help find it otherwise it hides from anyone seeking its power."
"Arnie, this is important to all in the Realms. We must know what the other Dragons, and most especially Siate', are going to do now that they have returned. We are only going to read the scroll - we are not going to take it. The hard part here will be just to find it..." "Finding stuff is my specialty," Arnie mused to herself. It sounded like fun to her and in the back of Arnie's thoughts, it also may be a way to get others to accept her as she was beginning to enjoy being included by others and not always having to be a loner. "Everyone looses things," she thought. "Maybe I need to become a finder of lost things instead of a 'Borrower' of others things." "When do we start?" was her answer to her new adventure companions.
Usually the passageways between the two worlds were secured, but every now and then someone leaves a door open or forgets to move a rock back in place. Though for Squirrel to have traveled this far, there really must have been a huge temptation for him on the other side. Wandering around in the Outie world was so strange especially when trying to ask for directions and not letting any know that you are from another realm. Arnie was used to finding her way around by just following the light or the bling of something sparkly in the distance. Squirrel must have done the same thing Arnie realized, "though with his nose and tummy instead."
Though this "discussion" seemed to include a bit more as they kept gesturing to something over their head and waving their paws. Then after saying something, the Outie squirrel would break out in this infectious laughter. Hearing a squirrel laugh is quite hilarious.
"He's muttering to himself," whispered Arnie. "He is a strange one as I certainly didn't see any other Outies around him." From what Arnie could hear it sounded like "That Darn Squirrel! We'll see what he think of my new PVC protection?" "PVC??? What could that mean?" thought Arnie. "Is my friend even in more danger from this odd looking Outie?" The Outie then approached the "treasure" that my friend Squirrel and the other squirrel had been talking about earlier. He pulled on a rope and lowered this strange looking contraption that I could see why my friend had been so excited about it. It was pure candy on a stick! "Look at all those delightful seeds, nuts, and delicious goodies all wrapped up together to look like one BIG scrumptious banquet," Arnie thought to herself. "No wonder Squirrel left the safety of the Realm for this!"
Realizing that they had been exposed too long and could be seen by the Outies, Arnie leaned over and whispered to her squirrel friend, "We need to be going before they discover us... Now!" Tugging on her friend's tail, Arnie started back to the magical doorway dragging her friend behind her. "Quit struggling. We have got to get out of here." "But I want to see how my new friend gets past this 'PVC' trap," answered Squirrel sullenly.
Neither Drat nor Dree knew it would be the last time they were to see her again. "The Queen is sending me on an important mission that is going to take me into places unknown," Meen realized as she listened to the flutterby message again. "She even told me to pick someone to serve in my place as her chief, but who should I pick that will do as good as a job as I do?" With that thought, Meen continued hopping towards the Shadows' Queen's castle to pack for her journey. Meanwhile, Meen was not the only one packing... "Don't forget the spoon and my favorite shoes," Goodie2shues told her sisters.
"Hurry sisters. My vision told me that we must catch this next transport if we are to be timely. If you don't have time to pack it, we will just have to find another when we get there," Goodiegood told the others. "What about the stuff we have to leave behind? What's going to happen to that?" asked Goodie4u as she finished filling her traveling case. "I have taken care of that. Someone who the door guardian knows well will be in charge of the cottage for us," answered Goodiegood. It was then that the knock sounded at the door and the door opened wide letting in the Borrower. "Hi Arnie. Take a seat and we will be finished shortly. I already poured you a cup of that pumpkin spice tea you like so much," Goodiegood said as she resumed packing. As Arnie sat down, Goodiegood and her sisters started for the door with their traveling bags. "Sorry, we don't have time to chat, replied Goodie2shues. "And we can't tell you why but please consider this cottage your home," Goodie4u told her as they all left. "I can only tell you that what we have to do is important and it is taking us to a unknown place," and closed the door leaving Arnie by herself in the quiet cottage.
"This is a strange place," thought Arnie as she looked at the circular tangle of sticks that was slightly moving (as if breathing) hanging over the entrance door. She then pulled out her favorite keys and locks as she thought of new places to hide her treasures in this cool looking cottage.
"What are we to do now?" replied one member followed by "What do you think he will look like?" from another council member. In the middle of all this chaotic noise, Fiddlefaddle leaned over towards the Baron. Being the Baron's all around handy man and procurator of travel arrangements he quietly asked, "Do you know where he will be staying since we don't have what the Outies call a hotel here in our small village?" With that small question, the noise stopped instantly in the council chamber that one could have heard a pin drop if one was listening for that pin. Finally, Nemmer was the one who broke the silence. "There is a room over at the Rusty Nail Pub. I was just there this past week with my fellow archers and I am sure I heard the owner mention he had a spare room available." Which of course set up another flow of highly opinionated views on that suggestion.
"No, I don't think that is a good idea," replied Awena. "I walked by there on my way to the council meeting and heard that the little old lady that owns the place just picked up a set of Peerrots (in the Outie world would be known as parrots) that squeal 'Rise & Shine and Git Out' every morning now. I don't think we want our guest to think we don't want him here," continued Awena. At that moment a golden coach pulled up in front of the Village Council's building. All the members stood in anticipation for the Herald to exit the coach. As he did he simple stepped down, gave everyone a cold look, paid the coach driver, and then turned towards the center of the Village as if looking for something. He then proceeded to walk off and left without a word of acknowledgement or greeting as the coach departed in the opposite direction. So, just like the Pied Piper in tales of old, the Herald continued walking down the center of the small village neither looking left nor right with the Council members (now with a few curious villagers who were wondering where the parade was going and what was it for) all following behind him. Little did they know that Aralt was focusing on the ley lines of the area. He could feel them and though it had been many many years since being here, especially without the Dragons to feed them, the lines were still here, though very faint.
"If he thinks he is staying at my castle without an invitation or greeting, I don't think so!" Ffion growled to herself as the crowd all turned towards the Shadows' Queen castle. They all continued walking down the road like a gaggle of geese following the Herald's lead as he walked into the courtyard of the Shadows' Queen's castle and proceeded to the back upper garden where several of those following soon realized it was the same garden where the young Wish Dragon had transformed into a Moon Dragon. Aralt then went past the waterfalls (that covered the entrance to the secret cave that held the Dragon tablet recently taken by a Borrower) towards a wall covered with bramble vines that grow only in a darker corner of the garden. With his arms raised and the stone in the locket glowing that he always carried with him, Aralt spoke. " Rise to the left. Shift to the right. Reveal these doors to my Sight." Magically the brambles began to pull to the left with some shifting to the right, soon a massive stone door appeared that slowly opened for him. Apparently, by everyone's stunned reaction, Aralt realized that most of these simple people didn't know about the Dragons' Cave below. He finally decided to address the crowd of followers and turned to face them. "Excuse me. This is where I'll be staying. It has been a long day. I will meet with you tomorrow," and with that walked through the now open doorway with them shutting behind him. All the villagers stood there stunned with their mouths hanging open, wondering just what had happen.
The Baron sat on the left of his mother, the Dowager Griselda, while Awena was on her right side at the front of the room. Everyone else gave respect due to the new royalty of the Realm - the new Queen Ffion and Troll King Dulbbe, who sat facing towards the head table wondering what this meeting could be about. The Gooblin King was not into protocol. He preferred to sit off in the grey hidden shadows of the back of the room observing what was going on. He told others that he preferred to be off to himself, but most believed it was because he couldn't stand all the bright lights.
In the section reserved for the minions (so they could be called upon to deliver edicts from the council) Arnie had taken one of the seats because she had never sat at council before. It's not like a 'Borrower' is invited to many functions since they have a tendency to 'find' things that they take with them when they leave. Leaning over to Meen she asked in a low voice "What's so important about a dragonfly? I chase them all of the time when I am not out borrowing." Meen whispered "I am not sure if it's the same thing. It could be I suppose, but I remember once that the old King of Shadows' referred to having a relic of one posted in an ancient scroll. It was an ancient way of sending important messages when the Dragons where around."
"This is where we see if the recipe is right," answered the Goodie sister, "and if all goes well, the Wish Dragon will have undergone a transformation. This is rare and if enough magic is not released to finish the recipe, then the mixture will fail." It was then that enough of the haze had disappeared that everyone could see what was happening inside the egg. Both Hunter and The CAT were standing near the Wish Dragon, but the little Dragon had changed. Hungry had grown and turned blue! From the top of his head to the bottom of his claws - even his eyes were now a shade of blue. As most were looking at Hungry, it was the Goodie sisters that noticed the small magical portal opening behind the Dragon. "It will need more magic," each of the Goodie Sisters thought, but it would take more than they possessed to finish the transformation.
He had been watching Ffion through the crystal egg and already saw that his beloved daughter was approaching closer to the egg with the blue lights glowing around her. It was the time for him to act or lose his daughter forever. There had never been a choice, he knew what he must do. Stepping to the edge of the crystal egg, he started pushing his magic into it! Slowly, as as his magic swirled around in a circle, it began to expand... larger... and larger... and finally large enough to reach his hand through it. "Daughter, a young fae sacrificed herself to give magic to the dragons, I will not have you do the same," pleaded the King to Ffion. He reached out his hand taking hers. As soon as that happened the blue lights flowed into Hunter's hand turning him blue. "Hungry," Hunter told the Wish Dragon, "The Portal requires magic for magic. This was what was required for the young fae that first gave her magic to the dragons and why I told you the tale. When I step through the portal it will finish your transformation and begin your destiny. If I don't, you and the magic in the Realm will perish!"
"Ah, that's where the Dragon tablet went," thought Dulbbe as he stood behind Ffion's with one hand keeping her from going to the portal. For when the portal appeared, she had been slowly pulled towards it. If it wasn't for Dulbbe holding her back while the King held her hand, by this point she too might have entered it with the Dragon. "No! You can't have it!" yelled Druzzy. "I need it for my revenge," he screamed as he continued to cling to his crown with the Dragon tablet hidden inside as it pulled him towards the egg. Even the Gooblin King was startled by what was happening. "Let it go Druzzy," hollered Hir'aeth. "It's just a thing... let it go!" Glaring at the Gooblin King, Druzzy just smiled as he continued to clutch his crown, "Don't you wish. I will win this round!" It was then that three things happened all in a blink of a Dragon's eye. The Shadows' King let go of Ffion's hand and with a wave pulled the Dragon tablet towards him. He then stepped through the portal with the tablet following him... with a Troll King still holding on while the crystal egg shattered in a bright glittering glow like fireflies dancing in the evening. As Druzzy was being pulled into the portal, grabbing anything to stop the pull of the King, he grabbed The CAT's tail which pulled the CAT in as well. As Ffion watched her father, she saw him giving her one final look as he whispered "I love you" as the blinding flash occurred.
"Hungry," Hunter whispered to the little dragon, "Don't be afraid as I am here to help you." The king continued, "First, let me tell you a story about how dragons got their terrific powers... where it all started..." As the Shadows' King told Hungry how a Nyte Shade had given her powers to her dragon friend he also was trying to keep the Dragon calm so that he would not realize that the two of them were subtly changing and trapped inside of a large crystal. As the tale was being told, the Troll King, Druzzy, was standing by a tree and thinking of ways to get out of the garden with the Dragon tablet he had hidden under his crown.
The problem was he did not know which one did and a lowly bookkeeper does not accuse a King of taking something. "I will have to make sure neither leave with it before this is over," he realized. Making sure of how to do that was simple he quickly decided. Walking over to the Gooblin King he whispered, "Did you notice how King Druzzy keeps looking around. I wonder what he is up to." This started the Gooblin King to watch the Troll King even more than normal. "Now all I have to do is keep an eye on the Gooblin King," thought Dulbbe, "since then he will be watching the Troll King." By the time Hunter finishes his tale to Hungry, the Goodies had returned and were beginning their ritual with Ffion and The CAT. It is then that the Wish Dragon realized he was trapped inside of a crystal cocoon surrounded in a blue mist. At first startled, he stood up hitting his head. That is when the crack appeared throwing off the Goodie's spell and causing the release of the blue ooze. "Ouch!" Hungry yelled as he reached for the top of his head. Trying not to smile, Hunter took one of Hungry's hands and told him to relax. "This crystal shell will not last much longer. Look, there is already a crack in it," Hunter said as he pointed to the crack. As they were looking at it, something else started to appear inside of the crystal with them. Whatever it was looked like it had been stretched quite thin and shoved through the small crack. As they both moved back as far as they could, The CAT appeared (not looking too pleased ) in front of them. "I don't ever want to do that again!" The CAT growled when he fully materialized. Happy that his Spite was with him, Hungry moved up to give The CAT a hug. Too surprised to get away, The CAT let the Wish Dragon hug him (but only briefly) before telling him that was enough. "Not in front of the King," he whispered in Hungry's ear as he was being squeezed. Hunter only watched them, trying to hide his sad smile, before either saw it. "If things go right, then you two will be both be changed forever," thought the King. Also knowing that if things did not go right, all of them would be changed forever but not in a way each would have liked... Outside of the crystal and in the garden, Ffion, the Goodie sisters, and Hewy have joined hands as Hewy begins to sing. Soon, the others joined the circle and as the music became louder, everyone was holding hands and singing as they circled the large blue glowing crystal. Even Druzzy had to join in as Hir'aeth had grabbed his hand so he could not disappear. Inside the crystal, The CAT, having the keenest of hearing, all of a sudden perked up his ears. "Do you hear that?" he asked the others. Before they could answer he continued, "Hewy is singing." In a minute all three of them could hear the singing since it no longer was just Hewy. "It sounds like a whole bunch of Twitter Birds," thought the Dragon and he soon was tapping his foot to the beat of the music. Things were going along smoothly until Hungry accidently tapped too hard - on The CAT's tail! Leaping into the air, The CAT startled Hungry who stood up completely and again hit his head on the crystal ceiling in their cocoon causing the crack to start getting even bigger and spreading.
Off to one side was Hewy, the Troll, who was busy giving the Gooblin King, Hir'aeth, the evil eye as the Gooblin King wondered to himself where had Druzzy, the Troll King, snuck off too? Efem, the Tree Mother, was huddled with Dewin by a small bench and waving her hands in the air trying to make a point as she tried to get his complete attention. While Dewin was trying also to see where the Troll King had wondered off as well as try to keep one ear open to listen to Efem. Things were certainly tense and confusing. It was then, as Goodiegood was looking around at everyone, that she noticed the large crystal-like egg in the the middle of the garden. "I doubt that has been here very long," she asked without expecting much of an answer. She realized what it was as she looked closer seeing something blue swirling around inside of it. Turning to her sisters she said, "It looks like what we feared has happened. The Prophesy has begun with the Last Wish Dragon being lost. Now we must find out who sacrificed their magic for this to have happened." As the three sisters started looking around the garden to see who might be missing from the vision they had earlier, Goodie2shues finally hollered to the crowd, "Everyone! We don't have much time so listen up! We need to talk to Ffion or the Shadows' King. Does anyone know where they are?"
When the Dowager finished, Goodie4u mumbled loud enough for only her sisters to hear, "Now we know who sacrificed their power, as the King and Ffion being Nyte Shades are the only two beings strong enough to give up their power and not be swayed by the Darkness or Greed." Realizing that speed was now needed, Goodie2shues spoke again to the crowd. "We need to speak to Ffion immediately! The Realm depends on it!"
As her sisters disappeared, Goodiegood quietly mumbled to herself, "The best thing we can do now is get Ffion back to our place so we can whip up our 'Surrogare' recipe before this egg fully hatches. The Ntyemares are the best choice to fly us home in time." As the other two sisters flew off to do her bidding, Goodiegood thought about trying to explain to Awena and the Dowager what was happening, but there just wasn't enough time. All she could do was shout out "Trust ME!" as she ran to follow her sisters.
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GreetingsWelcome to my blog. This is where I will reveal the magic of my Fae and their stories and share with you some of the success and pitfalls through the journey of doll making, sculpting, and other crafts that all come back to my dolls in many ways. Archives
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