I am not called Snoop for nothing as I realized this could be another story for the newspaper. Granny then started to tell me about a frog family that has lost it's lily pad. She was trying to help them move into a tree stump by the river by raising funds to make sure their new home would be safe and secure. "Especially by flooding," she told me as I was leaving. But I couldn't leave until I knew her secret in staying cool in this heat as she certainly looked tidy. She too winked at me and said "My secret? I spray it on first thing in the morning and it keeps me cool and comfortable." Not wanting to get more details in her grooming technique, I left it at that for if I stayed another five minutes by her ovens I might be the next heat victim Thinking of what Granny had told me about this poor frog family, I decided to check out the river. Would anyone be down at the local swimming hole trying to keep cool? When I got there, it was empty. Not a person in site, but when I put my foot into the water I understood why. Even that was hot! Out of the corner of my eye I did see Meen, the Pyksee, bouncing from toadstool to toadstool in a nearby meadow but she disappeared before I could talk to her about how she was staying cool.
"We should all have something like that!" I realized. "Instead of sitting in a tub of water, we could have cold water poured into a bucket with a bunch of holes in the bottom and have it drip down. I'll call it a 'shower'. This is brilliant!" Snoop then rushed off to Ironmonger's Hammer and Spike shop to pick up his bucket list of supplies to build his own 'shower' to keep cool.
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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."
It was that new style of cleaning she had shown to some of the other house Brownies at her last convention that he had written about. She called it 'vak-u-ming' (whatever that was). "It will never replace the broom," Snoop thought as he continued watching her clean. "There must be a meeting going to happen today," he realized when he also saw the brewing tea pot and cookies. "There sure are a lot of cookies and cups, so it must be for a full council meeting. Maybe even some VMPs (Very Magical Persons) " Snoop muttered to himself.
"At least the tea is better than what I brew at the Bellwether," Snoop thought while he slowly sipped a little. "I might have to make this cup last a long time since it doesn't appear that anyone has arrived yet but Granny Flare."
"You were right," Dulbbe said to Drat. "It was uncomfortable besides being dirty too. I don't want to have to use that route again unless we absolutely have too. I mean, I can usually see well in the dark, but not in that pitch black hole you took me through. I don't know how you did it because I could not see my hand in front of my face! And don't tell me what was making that sound when were were walking around down there... I don't even what to know who or what it was," Dulbbe finished with a shudder as he brushed his clothes with his hands. "Sorry Sire, but you did say you wanted to get here fast," Drat answered (but not before Snoop noticed that the rat had answered with a small smile on his lips). Still smiling, Drat stepped aside and motioned for his King to enter the council chamber first as he followed. "Interesting," thought Snoop. "I wonder who else will appear." Just as he said that, the coach with Queen Ffion pulled up being pulled by no less than four Nytemares. "She must have been in a hurry," he decided. "This must be important!" As Snoop continued to sip on his tea, he was able to observe several more arrivals for the meeting. There was Hewy, Hir'aeth the Gooblin King, the Goodie sisters, Awena from the Sleeping Sisters, the Baron and his mother the Dowager, and even Dewin the Wizard. All VMPs indeed! It was the last guest that appeared the made Snoop realize that he had to get into the meeting somehow. It was that young Wish Dragon who had transformed into a Moon Dragon, Drai'ochtluan. "I am glad that he likes to go by 'Dree' for short," Snoop sighed to himself. "I would have to look up the spelling every time I want to write it down."
Not realizing that Snoop meant it as a bad thing because she liked to jump everywhere, she shrugged his comment off and pulled on his sleeve again. When she thought she had his full attention, she delivered the message she was sent out with. "The Council asks if you would join them in the council chamber. They said they did not want to start without you." Snoop was flabbergasted... how did they know that is exactly where he wanted to be?
Gently he sat her on one of padded chairs to recover as Awena continued. "The question is, what do we do now?" It seemed that no one had an answer. Finally it was the newly re-born Dragon who spoke. "It's all my fault," he said with a tear in his eye. "If it wasn't for me none of this would have happened." "Nonsense! Now listen everyone... this was but one of two possible outcomes from the moment the Dragon tablet was found. With what it foretold would happen long ago, I am glad for one that goodness prevailed," said Goodiegood. "It could have gone either with a new beginning or a recipe for despair and the ending of the Realm. We should rejoice that the Shadows' King gave us a new beginning!" Realizing that the Goodie sister was right, the Dowager decided it was time to start that beginning. "Goodiegood is right. The proper time for mourning will come when we know for sure that those who entered the portal are truly gone."
Both surprised and flustered, at first Ffion did not know what to say. Seeing everyone bowing was a shock to her. "This is an honor for my father, not me," she thought. It is when she looked at Hir'aeth looking at her and seeing him nod his head is when she realized that she would have to make some decisions - she was now the Queen of the Shadows' Realm! Slowly raising from the chair, she started to speak but it came out more like a squeak. After taking a breath and a few swallows (which also gave her another second to gather her thoughts) she began. "I thank you all for your allegiance and your good wishes. In the absence of the King, I will do my best to keep our Realm prospering. My first acts are to make the Dowager Griselda one of my advisors and as my father had requested that Awena of the Sleeping Sisters be the royal tutor." Deciding this would be the best time for him to act, the Gooblin King waited until the Princess (" I must remember she is the Queen now," thought Hir'aeth) had finished - he made his move. "Queen Ffion. With the absence of the Troll King, someone should take his place to guide his kingdom. As the nearest monarch, I offer my services until his return." "Ah... the politics begins," muttered the Dowager. As she was sitting near Ffion, it was only the new queen that heard her. Being raised in a royal household, the new queen smiled to herself as she had learned quickly what to do from the many times of watching her father. "Oh great King. I thank you for the offer of your service, but another has already been selected to replace the Troll King. A distant relative of Druzzy is already here in the room. Hewy, I ask if you will be the acting Troll King until his return?" Ffion said as she looked at the startled troll.
"It must be Dulbbe!" she whispered so that only the Queen would hear. Shocked at hear this, Ffion turned to look at Dulbbe who was still bowing and looking at the floor. "Dulbbe, is this true?" she asked. "Yes my Queen. It is. I am the younger brother of King Druzzy," the troll answered, still not taking his eyes off of the floor. "Your father knew but he told me when he made me the keeper of his accounts that it was because of my skills with numbers and not because of who I was. That is why I told no one else. Hewy, being a troll knew because he often would perform at the Troll King's events and would see me there with my brother." This revelation surprised even the Gooblin King, but before he could speak again, the Queen asked her question now to Dulbbe. "Will you be the acting Troll King until his return?" Not wanting to let her down and only now partially realizing that as a King he might actually have a chance at winning her heart, Dulbbe finally looked up at her as he told her "Yes, I will do as you ask." At this announcement the crowd began to stand and clap as Dulbbe walked to Hewy and shook his hand, while Hewy, being the only other troll in the group, bowed to his new sovereign. "Ahh, the fun begins anew," smiled the Gooblin King wondering how this adversary will 'add up' (accountant humor). It was during the clapping and applause that the new Queen noticed a feeling that she had not felt before. It first started as a tingling at her fingers which soon was covering her whole body like the magic that flowed through her when she was at the Goodies cottage. Soon the others in the room also saw the glow forming around her as the room became quiet. As all eyes were looking at her, one set of eyes was watching another who was having the same issue. "As the prophecy stated - forever joined by the sacrifice of magic will they be," smiled Goodie4U as the glow slowly disappeared around Queen Ffion and the new Moon Dragon. 
"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.
Meanwhile, Druzzy, the Troll King, and Hir'aeth, the Gooblin King, are both in their throne rooms wondering why they have not heard back from their minions. "I must have that tablet," mutters Druzzy to himself and not for the first time grumbles about replacing Drat if he doesn't show up soon. Hir'aeth, on the other hand, is thinking of ways to embarrass Druzzy by getting the book first. "I can picture the look on that stupid Druzzy's face when I get that Dragon tablet. Wonder what would happen if I was to then give it away to that little Wish Dragon, Hungry?" chuckles the Gooblin King. "It will be bad enough for me to get it first, but even worse to give it away... old Troll face will be burning red!" As the others are out looking for the Borrower with the Dragon tablet, still others are stuck waiting for answers and some of them were not waiting very patently with their tempers fraying just a little...
While Ffion is wearing out the tiles from her pacing, Hunter, the Shadows' King, is in room 101 of the library seeking the crystal ball that Dulbbe had just recently discovered. Hunter is so concern about losing the Dragon tablet and that a Borrower is now involved, that he is distracted enough not to realize that the green cloth that normally covered the crystal is now laying on a nearby table. "Where is that tablet?" the King muttered to himself. Since the crystal was uncovered it responded with "Your question is incomplete. What knowledge to you seek?"... Speaking of Dulbbe, he found his way to the address that he discovered on the back of the key tag and was now waiting at the door after knocking several times. "The Borrower must not have returned yet," he realized. Soon he decided to hide behind a bunch of bushes to wait for the Borrowers so he could catch Arnie when she returned. Little did he realize that close-by another minion had also been watching the Borrower's cottage and was now watching Dulbbe too.
While Drat sat and ate, the Troll King was plotting what he would do when the Dragon tablet was finally delivered to him. "That stupid Gooblin King's eyes will bulge when he sees that I have the tablet. Finally I will have the power to destroy him!" laughed Druzzy. "The power it will give me will make me the ruler over all of these realms as I know one thing that Hir'aeth doesn't. The tablet is supposed to be the secret of Dragon magic and with that, I will be Ruler Supreme," Druzzy said as he smiled. "I am a busy troll as I have an Empire to create and pillars to topple." 
At least the King sent one of his Nytemares to pull my coach." As horses are few in the Realms, when a Nytemare is willing to take you somewhere - it is only because they wanted to or the Shadows' Realm King commands them to. Griselda was being given an extra treat, being able to ride in one of the King's coaches. "It is nice not to have to walk," she thought. "But he still is going to get an earful about this!" As the Dowager traveled and was going over in her mind what she was going to say to the Shadows' King, little did she realize that the coach was being watched. Actually, all approaches to the King's castle were being watched! But by whom (or what) is the real question.
But with all of these minions on the lose, no one thought to check with Meen to see the invited guest list. Of all the guests she had delivered an invitation to, one was skipped over... No, it was not Hungry (as he had already arrived the day before the party so he could visit with Meen and see the Nytemares). It wasn't Snoop who already was sitting next to the entrance doors to the ballroom so he could keep a list of all of the attendees for the morning edition of the Bellwether.
Nor was it the Baron who was presenting the Dowager to the Shadows' King while trying to hide his grin since he knew how mad she was that her little private tea party plan had become a huge event. It seemed everyone who was someone was there except... the Borrowers! Now, why Meen had not added them to the invitation list would probably be based on the Borrower's history. Anytime a Borrower showed up anywhere, they had the habit of 'borrowing' something. It was worse at parties! So much bling and things to see, that they just could not keep their hands in their own pockets. Forks, knives, spoons, small furry animals, even shoes were known to have disappeared when the Borrowers appeared. (Most instances the items were returned eventually and in some cases even something better had been left behind as in the one instance when a glass of milk had disappeared but in its place was left a milk cow - even if the cow was someone else's, the fact that something better had been left cannot be overlooked.) It didn't take long before everyone realized (as nothing had gone missing still) that one of the main reasons they had decided to show up for the party wasn't there! No Borrowers which meant no Dragon tablet. Yes, there was a real Dragon, and usually that would have been something of a spectacle, but this group wanted to see what all the hullabaloo was about regarding this newest find... or at least what the latest gossip was about. Since it wasn't here soon the guests started to make excuses as to why they needed to leave (but not until after filling their pockets with food from the buffet tables).
"What tablet?" Hungry asked, but before Hunter could answer the Baron said, "This tablet that might have untold power." As he continued, Hunter only nodded his head affirming the Barons chilling words. "Hungry, some rulers are benevolent and just, while some are looking to expand their treasury or reputation. There are some who quest for more knowledge or power and some want to change things to be the way they want them to be. Several here tonight attended so they could see the Dragon tablet and had hoped to learn something that the others did not know. Since the tablet wasn't here, each is now heading to their realm to start the race to see who can find the Borrower with the tablet and get it for themself."  "A race you say? asked Hungry looking at the Shadows' King. "Are we in it?"
Passporte' had been a little hesitant to enter the small cottage as the entire meeting was held in total darkness. He never learned what was told to Drat as he did not speak of it even after they left (which only added more mystery to the whole event).
Dragon script is ancient with only a rare few outside the circle of Dragons that can read their written language. The thing was that Drat had heard the Gooblin King was one of those individuals. Drat knew that Atian, the Village on the Wall historian, was also one of those but he had left and nobody knew when he would return leaving just the Gooblin King... or so he thought. As he was racking his tiny brain, Drat knew that when he informed Druzzy he would be ordered to find out what was on the tablet... but who to go to? Then it hit Drat. One other may know how to read the tablet or possibly might know of someone else with the knowledge. The Dowager! She had been a Wish Dragon Clan Guardian and knew many of their secrets. "How do I get her to tell me," he pondered. "I may have to resort to that method I seldom use."
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