The Dragon's Keeper

Stepping into the Midnight Forest, I understood why it was called "Midnight." It was pitch black! I can't see my hand a few inches from my face! How were we supposed to find our way out of here?

I tried to see a light anywhere to give us a direction, but there was nothing.

Something heavy in the air made my skin crawl. It felt like a pressure on my chest making it hard to breathe.

I was starting to panic. What if we got lost and we are stuck in here forever? What if some wild beast happens upon us and gobbles us up for supper? What if we trip and fall down a cliff?

My mind started to race with crazy ideas. Each more horrific than the last.

Wind blew my hair in my face, and I started getting tingles on my skin.

The whole place was so quiet I was almost convinced that we had been sucked into some kind of dark void. Maybe this was where all the magic disappeared to. I would believe it if someone told me that.

"Jamie, what do we do?" I whimpered.

I'm not afraid exactly. I just really don't like the dark! It's like spiders. They are little and you can squish them. I know that if I leave them alone they will not bother me. But that still doesn't help me when they scurry across the floors or crawl down their webs. And I definitely didn't want to touch them!

Okay, maybe I am a little scared of the dark. At least this dark, where I can't see anything around me. So far on our journey it seems like anything can happen. And that was what I was afraid of here.

"I don't know, Tash. I don't have a torch, and I don't think lighting the whole forest on fire will make us any new friends," James teased.

I huffed. This guy and his teasing!

"Well, the story says to bring the light of a new dawn. But that doesn't make any sense! I mean, I doubt they could get the light of an old dawn in here," I grouched.

Jamie leaned over and squeezed my shoulder. "Don't worry, Tash! We'll figure it out!"

Then he must have thought of something because he leaned over and talked to Midnight.

"Hey! What about you, little buddy? You have been helping us the whole time. Do you have any new tricks that will help us see in the dark?"

Why didn't I think of that? Maybe James was just more observant than I was. Or maybe it's his ability to think clearly and calmly in scary situations. Either way, I was more than grateful.

Midnight cooed at James in response. Then he jumped out of my arms and dashed straight into the forest.

"Midnight!" I shrieked in surprise. What if he got lost? He was just a baby.

But I didn't need to worry.

He stopped a few yards ahead of me.

Then he did the most amazing thing! I almost could not believe my eyes. Being in the dark I was sure they were playing tricks with me.

He dug his claws into the ground and made a low grumble, and the forest echoed him.

It was like he was singing with the forest. It was the most beautiful and haunting sound I've ever heard. It brought tears to my eyes.

Then, one of the trees ahead dropped blue orbs of light from a few of its lower branches. They made a tinkling noise.

One by one, each tree dropped a few bulbs in their lower branches as well.

Then, Midnight changed his pitch. Accordingly, the earth and trees also changed their pitch, and the trees started lighting orange bulbs as well.

He changed his pitch one more time, and other trees lit yellow globes, causing light to shine through out the forest.

Many animals came out, curious about the lights. I saw a fawn poke her nose at a blue globe; a colony of rabbits decided to come out and hop around their trunks, pawing at the bulbs; even the birds and small fairies floated along the branches to inspect the beautiful lights.

"It looks so pretty," I cooed.

For some reason I was so giddy, I clapped my hands and bounced on my toes. I just couldn't help myself. I giggled and spun around watching the lights flash before me.

Midnight purred in satisfaction. He also went to inspect the beautiful lights.

Jamie grasped my hand and lightly tugged. He spun me around in the pretty lights like we were dancing. Suddenly he dipped me. I squealed in delight and shoved him lightly on his chest when he pulled me back up, but not before he kissed my cheek.

I turned completely red, from the top of my head all the way to my toes.

Bashfully, I turned away and looked around again.

It really was a magical sight to see. I almost wish we could stay here just a little longer, enjoying each other and the lights together, but we couldn't.

It was like Jamie read my mind... He does that on occasion.

"Well, now we can see where we are going. We don't have to stay here any longer," he said.

He was right! As beautiful as it was to watch the lights, we had a mission to accomplish!

"Lead the way, Captain!" I teased.

James laughed as we made our way through the forest.