"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.

As Goodiegood was thinking about the missing one, Goodie4u was thinking about the ritual they needed to do.  "Ffion has reached the age where she should be able to survive the ritual.  I just hope that the Crystal Egg will wait until everything is mixed and ready." 

The third sister, Goodie2shues, was busy keeping an eye on Princess Ffion.  The shock of her father's, the Shadows' King, disappearance was still evident.  Ffion did not do much more than watch the countryside as the Nytemares sped her to where the sisters were taking her to.  "I hope she can take what is soon to be dished out to her," thought Goodie2shues as the Nytemares stopped in front of the Goodie cottage.

Quickly Goodiegood and Goodie4u opened the small wooden door to their cottage and disappeared inside as Goodie2shues helped the princess from the Nytemare's back and ushered her to go inside while she talked to the Nytemares.  "Please wait for us as we won't be long," Goodie2shues told the Nytemares.  She knew they agreed when they all bobbed their heads and knelt on the ground.

As Ffion sat, she noticed Goodiegood now standing in the kitchen, mumbling to herself as she held a small bouquet of moonflowers.  As she watched, the flowers suddenly glowed brightly with a blinding flash causing Ffion to jump up from her chair seeing bright spots before her eyes.  As she blinked several times to clear her vision, she saw Goodie2shues entering in the doorway where the wreath was hung.  Suddenly it looked like the Goodie sister appeared to turn into a green snake and was now sliding in and out of the circle of branches.  Startled, Ffion rubbed her eyes and when she looked back up, saw that Goodie2shues was back to normal and no longer a snake.     

As Goodie2shues approaches, Ffion shrinks back and squeaks "What did you just have me drink?  You were a snake!"  Goodie4u, realizing that Ffion being a Nyte Shade, must have seen the magic of her sister combining her energy with that of the Circle.  Goodie4u answered"  We only gave you a healing brew, so you don't need to worry about it, but Goodie2shues needed to strengthen the energy of the Circle of Snakes for the ritual."

Before Ffion could say anything, Goodiegood continued.  "​The Circle of Snakes is actually a circle full of love by those that have gone before us to create this foundation of protection.  We are simply adding to it so we can help you now.  That is why you are here."

"Ffion, you are a Nyte Shade," said Goodie4u interrupting Goodiegood.  With a brief look of irritation Goodiegood continued, "What you do not totally understand yet is what it means to be a true Nyte Shade.  You are now part of that history and ritual which seems to be needed again.  For a Nyte Shade once gave it's power to a dragon which made the Dragons the powerful creatures they are today.  Our magic is lesser than the Nyte Shade since we are part witch and part fae.  We can cast spells and help by way of ritual, much like the wizard, Devin, but we can only assist."

Ffion sat back down in the chair stunned.  She had never even thought to ask her father more about what it meant to be a Nyte Shade when he had told her.  Before she could start asking more questions from the Goodie sisters, Goodie2shues spoke.  "Time is of the essence and we must hurry before this recipe of disaster is completed and we are truly cooked! ​

Deciding she had little choice, Ffion slowly nods her head and replies.  "The others back at the castle must have trusted you to let you take me away.  Plus the Nytemares would not have taken us here if they didn't trust you too," she told the sisters.  "Yes, tell me what I must do."   Goodiegood approached Ffion and took one of her hands while the other sisters joined their hands to complete the circle.  Together the sisters looked at the candle in the middle of their circle as it suddenly flared to life while calling on the powers they needed to complete the ritual.  The room began to shimmer and Ffion took on a blue glow.   With that the Goodie sisters  knew that they had completed the ritual.  They had provided all the protection they could even though Ffion looked more haggard and distracted than she did when her father had disappeared.  The Goodies had opened a portal through Ffion and now they needed to finish the transformation by heading back to the crystal egg.  Goodiegood lead the others back to where the Nytemares were waiting.  As they left the cottage, Goodie2shues whispered to Goodie4u, "Do you think the portal is draining her?  We need to hurry if we are to help her as well as what is in the egg."  In the meantime, Goodiegood helped the princess to slide on the back of her Nytemare and soon the four were rushing to the Shadows' King's castle and the crystal in the garden.

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.

It had been several days since Hunter, the Shadows' King, had disappeared into room 101 of his library.  Meals were even being sent down to him, left at the door, and later empty trays were picked up - so everyone knew he was still there, but what was he doing?  "One of the servants reported seeing a green glow coming from under the door where they were leaving the trays," remembered the Dowager.  "I wonder what he is doing?" ​

Griselda figured that the King knew more than he had been saying, but how much to tell Ffion was the quandary.  After a short pause, she made her decision and told the princess some of what she knew.  "I have heard that it is rumored that a Borrower has found an ancient Dragon tablet.  What it is in the tablet I have not heard, but that there are several who are looking to get it has been mentioned."  Deciding that now probably was the best opportunity she would get, Griselda continued, "Do you know what is in the tablet or why it is so important?"

"Awena was right in part," she realized, "but even the Sleeping Sisters do not know the whole story it appears." When Ffion finished, the expression in her eyes were both of hope and dread as she stared at Griselda and waited for her to say something.  Hope that the Dowager could help her and dread that there was no hope. 

Immediately the Dowager smiled and took the princess' hand and as if reading her mind and replied, "There is always hope.  Don't despair.  This is something I should have done right away and have put off for too long.  First, we must send some messages by the fastest means you have available.  Flutterby would take too long, so we need the speed of the Nytemares!  Go send for the King's farrier, Scarlet, while I write the messages.  After he sends them off, you and I will go and see the Shadows' King!" 

He too wanted to hear what the Goodies had to say and maybe learn something else about the Dragon tablet for the Troll King.  The problem was that when Arnie crossed the threshold of the door, what looked like a circular bundle of sticks over the doorway turned into a tangle of snakes!  Since rats and snakes don't get along very well together (unless one knows he is invited to be the dinner which doesn't usually turn out well for the rat), Drat jumped back from the doorway just in time to hear Goodie2shues tell Arnie to close the door.  "Ugh!  I hate snakes," shuddered Drat as he heard the lock on the door click shut.

Knowing he was now locked out of the cottage did not slow Drat down though.  Quickly he started walking around the cottage trying to peek into the windows to see if he could at least see what was going on.  But as he approached every window either they closed their shutters or the curtain hanging over it blew together tightly.  "Oh Drat!" muttered the rat.

Watching the two laughing so hard finally got the rat to start smiling and even he started to snicker.  "All right, fun time is over.  Now what was so funny?" again asked Drat. 

"You are!" answered the Wysp.  When you said 'Drat' we thought you were talking to yourself until we realized you were frustrated... When Drat finally figured out what the Wysp was telling him, he just shook his head from side-to-side and groaned, "I have got to get different traveling companions."

With the three waiting on the doorsteps discussing what they were going to do now (especially with two of them hoping to get another chance at the obtaining the Dragon tablet), and Arnie inside the cottage, the Dowager over at the Shadows King's castle was planning her next steps also.

​Soon she was in one of the guest rooms and was preparing for her next conversation with Ffion.  "I must see how much the princess knows about her heritage and if she is aware of the connection with the Dragons," thought Griselda.  "But first, I must get a message to Awena."

Realizing that using a flutterby to send a secret message might not be the best option at the moment (especially if they were attracted to Ffion), the Dowager decided to use the next best thing.  Quickly she took out a small package that she had been carrying with her and began her message.   Opening a window in her room, she soon spotted a small Bee-G buzzing around a strange looking flower (it was in fact B-Glad who had been sent by Cornelia for some pollen from one of the plants that only grew in the Shadows King's garden).  She waved the package in the air so the Bee-G could see it.   

"No, I don't know.  As far as I have found, nobody even knows what they looked like for sure," answered the Sleeping Sister.  "There are no sketches in any of the scrolls and no descriptions.  For the power of the magic they had, we can only assume that they could probably also change shapes and may be with us still." 

Soon they were sipping tea and slowly Griselda was beginning to come to terms with this discovery.  "I felt betrayed by them not telling us, but now that I think more about it," she told the Sister, "I guess that it was never my place to know.  It's just hard to fathom that Dragons were at one time just another being in the Realms and not the powerful creatures they became..."

After a long pause, and when Griselda did not continue, Awena decided it was best to tell her old friend of her concerns.  "Griselda, I believe that the finding of the tablet by the Borrowers and your discovery of this book were meant to be.  Somehow they are tied together and you are going to be a major player in the game."  What the Sleeping Sister did not say but was in her thoughts was, "and I hope you have the strength for it."

Startled as a jolt of lighting went through his arm,  he dropped the book to the floor and jumped back.  The book acted like it had heard the question, opened and flipped through several pages, finally stopping partway through the book.  

"Be careful son," warned the Dowager when they realized that the book was finished moving and not going to close,  the Baron started to pick it up from the floor.  He  slowly placed it on a reading table near the bookshelf it had come from keeping his hands from the front of the book incase it decided to close like teeth chomping together.

Awena stepped up to the book and saw the page it had opened to, smiled and then stepped back, motioning for the others to read the page.  "I think there is your answer."

If you would like to read the story with Griselda and the Baron...
click here or on the book below.

"Come, I will take you to the library."  Rising smoothly from the cushion, Awena and the Dowager started towards the door. ​

​"Hummm... Don't worry about me," grumbled under his breath the Baron as he struggled to rise from the floor.   He wasn't going to let two "old ladies" beat him to the door.

Soon they stood before an ornately decorated entranceway with no door.  "Aren't you worried about someone getting in here with all of these books and scrolls," asked the Baron thinking about how even Atian had a lock on his door.  Awena just smiled and said that "they are well protected".  What that meant, the Baron did not know, but after thinking about the power the Sisters had, decided it was probably better if he didn't.

Finally the Sister stopped in front of a large bookshelf and asked the Dowager if anything looked familiar.  "We try to copy everything exactly the same from other books to include the cover and binding," she explained.  "Anything look familiar?"

Slowly Griselda pulled back a portion of her sleeve, revealing her dragon tattoo and started to approach the bookshelves.  All at once, a book started to glow!  "It looks like we found it," the Baron grinned as he pulled the book from the shelf.

As the Baron turned to the others he realized that Awena was no longer smiling.  Catching his mother's eye, he gestured toward the Sister and then Griselda saw it too.  "Is there something wrong?" she asked her friend.  "What is it?" 

​"What are Nyte Shades and what connection do they have to the Dragons?"