VI

“What an interesting little man he was, that Gimny.”  Anna looked at the two butterflies that perched on her finger.  “Now please stay with me; I’m lost without you.”

 

Anna walked away from the woods into a huge plain covered with a sea of rocks, boulders, and crags.  She had never seen rocks so big; some were larger than the faun’s cottage.   They rose from up from the ground, grey and vivid against the greenest grass that Anna had ever seen.  She walked through the rocks, grazing her fingers along them as she passed.  She was so awe struck at the vastness of the field and the massiveness of the stones.  She wondered how they ever had gotten there.  Turning around one large boulder, Anna saw a wide river with the clearest water she had ever seen.  It winded around the plain and off into the distance.  Soon, she lost track of time walking through the great plain and the sun was drooping low in the sky.  Finally, Anna realized how dim the day had turned.

 

“We must find a safe place to spend the night.  Can you help me find somewhere?”  The fairies flew away and around a rock.  “Wait!  One of you please stay with me!”  However, they both were gone.  Anna stood in the silence of the fading day, waiting for the fairies to return.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move.  She turned to see nothing but darkness.  Squinting her eyes, she tried to see what it was.  Just as she was about to turn away, thinking that it must have been her imagination, a figure moved in the shadow.  Anna gasped as the figure stepped into the moon light, revealing its black cloak.  She tried to run but she could not move.  The creature slowly moved toward Anna.  As it moved, it made no sound; there was only the sound of the wind blowing between the rocks.  Managing to begin to retreat, Anna walked backwards but found herself up against the face of one of the crags.  The creature was only a short distance in front of her.  Slowly, it raised its hand, reaching out for Anna.  As it did so, Anna saw its hand emerge from the sleeve.  It was boney and pale.  At the ends of its long, thin fingers were sharp nails.  The hand steamed slightly once exposed to the moon light.  Anna looked up into the face of the creature but saw nothing, no features, no eyes, nothing.  She turned her face away, cringing and unable to get away.  Just as its hand was about to reach her neck, the fairies flew from around the boulder between Anna and the monster.  Quickly, the creature pulled back its hand and turned its face away from the glow of the fairies.  They advanced toward the creature and it dashed away, around one of the surrounding stones.  Anna breathed a heavy sigh of relief and weakly sat down in the grass.

 

“Thank you…thank you.”  Anna paused for a moment to collect herself.  “I told one of you to stay with me.”  Anna pulled her knees up to her chest and the fairies flew down to land on them.  “Did you find a place for us to stay?”  The fairies took off once again into the air, inviting Anna to follow them.  She got up, wiped the dirt from her dress and followed them.  After walking around a few larger boulders, they started to change in appearance.  They were more than just large jagged stones; they looked as though they had been shaped to specific forms.  Finally, Anna realized why.  Coming around one of the larger stones, she saw a large stone platform, aged from many years.  The steps that climbed to the top of the platform were half covered in green moss.  At the top of the steps, on either side, there stood two statues of lions.  However, they were not lions like she had known.  They were much larger than any lion, she was sure.  The creatures had a lion’s body but with immense eagle-like wings, each of which was folded to the side of their bodies.  They also had very long tails that curled all the way up to the front of their bodies and across their massive paws.  Vines grew up the sides of the stone structure and around them.  Anna could feel that this was of some great significance many, many years ago.  As she climbed the stairs, she noticed the same writing and symbols that were on the fauns table.  Some of the carvings depicted the same scenes.  Once she reached the top of the steps, she saw a stone balustrade, partly crumbled from its old age.  However, where the two ends should have met in the middle, there was a gap which seemed purposefully left for something, but Anna did not know what.  As she walked to the edge, she looked over and nearly fainted from surprise.  She stood on a balcony on the top of the largest cliff she had ever even imagined.  To the left and to the right, the large stones and crags formed a barrier from the immense field and the certainty of death if one should fall.  Far off to the right, the river poured over the cliff in the most magnificent waterfall she could ever have imagined, feeding the land below.  Looking out over the view, she saw a vast land filled with moors and marshland stretching out as far as she could see.  The moon light reflected off the patches of water, lighting up the surroundings.

 

“It is beautiful.”  Anna turned and smiled at the fairies.  “Must I cross the marshes?”  The fairies flew up onto each of her shoulders.  “I know you will be with me.  But now, I must get some rest.  You will watch me over the night?”  The fairies jumped into the air and flew over to a rusty old lantern, one of many that stood around the platform.  They began to fly around in a tight circle, spinning faster and faster with every moment.  All at once, a flash of light burst from the center of their ring and the lantern was lit, its fire flickering in the night wind.  As Anna found a soft spot to sleep on, the fairies flew around to each lantern until each glowed with fire.  Anna took from her bag a blanket that the faun had given to her.  To her surprise, the small fairy that the faun kept from going flew out from the pack.  “My, and how did you get in there?”  The tiny fairy rested on the edge of the pack as the other two fairies returned to Anna.  “Well, now I have three of you to help me.  You will behave yourself, little one.”

 

Anna pulled the blanket over herself.  Looking up into the clear sky, she gazed at the stars.  They had never seemed to shine so bright before in her life.  The sky was so clear and clean.  As Anna’s eyes dropped, heavy with sleep, she quietly spoke to the fairies.  “Good night, friends.”  With that, she fell asleep, safe in the light of the lanterns.

 

———         

 

Anna blinked in the morning light.  The smell of fresh dew on the grass and moss wakened Anna.  She looked around herself, remembering last night’s events with The People of the Dark.  She looked down at the fairies; all three perched on a nearby vine, still fast asleep.  Stretching and yawning, Anna slowly got to her feet.  She walked to the balustrade and looked out over the land that lay so far below.  She could see birds flying around, in and out of the few trees that speckled the marshes.  Then she saw something that seemed out of place on the horizon.  Rising up from the ground were three pillars of smoke, smoke from fires.  Anna’s heart leapt at the thought of more creatures, partly because of the unknown but mostly because she thought that they would be able to help her.  She turned around to wake the fairies to show them what she had found when she stopped.  Something caught her eye, or rather the lack of something.

 

On the one side of the stairs, sat one of the lion statues, but on the other side, there was only an empty pedestal.  Anna walked over to where the statue had been and ran her hand over the surface.  Its outline lay on the top, surrounded by the dirt that encompassed where it had been.  The vines that had crawled over the lion lay snapped all around the floor.  Suddenly, she felt a strong gust of wind and turned around just in time to see the great statue of the lion land down hard onto the old stone platform.  Anna turned to run down the steps but the stone lion jumped into the air and landed at the base, blocking her escape.  It walked up the steps toward her, each stone foot making a loud thud on the platform.  The sound shook Anna off her feet.  She crawled backwards away from the beast, her fear growing with each thunderous step.  Soon, she had backed all the way to the edge of cliff.  She looked over her shoulder down the side.  She could not even see the bottom; it was covered with the fog of the morning.  She turned back around to call to the fairies but found herself looking straight into the stone face of the lion that now towered directly over her.

 

“Please...please.  Do not hurt me.”  She could feel its hot breath on her face as it opened its mouth, revealing its sharp stone teeth.

 

“Thank you.”  The deep, soothing voice took Anna by surprise.  She looked back into the face of the beast with much confusion.  She did not even know what to say.  “I was asleep for so long, I had forgotten what it was like to fly.”  The lion jumped happily into the air, laughing and spinning with delight before landing once again onto the platform.  He then looked back at Anna who still had a bewildered look on her face.  “I’m sorry, did I frighten you?”

 

Anna climbed up onto her feet, wiping the dirt from the back of her dress.  She spoke with a tone of annoyance toward the lion.  “Yes, in fact, you did.  How could you come at me like that?  You nearly pushed me off of the cliff!”

 

The lion hung his head, but looked back at Anna with sheepish, ashamed eyes.  “I am sorry.  I did not realize what it must have looked like from your prospective.”  He paused but felt the need to add something about the near cliff disaster.  “I would have caught you…if you had fallen.”

 

“Well, thank you.  But you really should be more careful.”

 

“That is what my mother always used to tell me.  I am always getting myself into trouble.  My older brother was always the good one.”

 

“Your brother?”

 

The lion looked back over his shoulder at the other statue which still sat motionless on its pedestal.  “That is my brother.  Do not worry, though, he will be up soon.”

 

“I am sorry, but I am a little confused.”  Anna stumbled with her words in her bewilderment of the events.  How…what are…what is going on?”

 

“I do not know.  What is going on?  Did something just happen?”

 

“How did you come to life?  Just last night, you were a statue.”

 

“Oh, I see what you mean.  Let me explain it to you.  My name is Gleep and that is my brother Crof.  We are Drigons, half dragon and half lion, but with eagle’s wings.  We have been imprisoned for many years, turned to stone because we did not want to follow The Shadow Dwellers.”

 

“Are they the same as The People of the Dark?”

 

“Yes, and we would have stayed imprisoned if it had not been for you.”

 

“What did I do?”

 

“You lit the lamps.  Once every lamp was lit, it freed us from our slumber.”

 

“I did not light the lamps, my fairies did.”  The fairies, now awake, landed on Anna’s shoulders.  “We were just trying to find a safe place for the night.”

 

“Well then, thank you fairies.  We much appreciate it.”

 

“If you are free, why are you still stone?”

 

“We must have been asleep for too long.”

 

“Will you ever turn back to your original forms?”

 

“Yes, but there is only one way.”  The voice took Anna by surprise for it did not come from Gleep.  The voice was even deeper than his and wiser.  Crof walked slowly around the side of Gleep.  Anna stood speechless in his presence.  His appearance demanded attention.  He looked down at her and smiled.  “Good- morning.  I am sorry for my brother, he can be a bit troublesome.”

 

“He was no trouble, I assure you.  He did startle me, but nor harm was done.”

 

“Good.  I must thank you as well for freeing us.”

 

“You are very welcome.  I am glad that we could help.”

 

“Let me introduce myself, though I’m sure that my brother has already.  I am Crof, son of Iduth.”

 

“Very nice to meet you Crof.  My name is Anna and these are my fairies.”

 

Gleep saw an opportunity to talk once again.  “You are welcome to stay here as long as you like, Anna.”

 

“Thank you very much, but I can not stay long.  I must continue on in my journey to The Dead Tree.”

 

Both Drigons looked shocked that Anna, a young girl, would want to travel to The Dead Tree.  It was Crof who confronted her.  “What business do you have at The Dead Tree?  You are but a child and it is such a dangerous place.”

 

“I have to.  The faun at the edge of the woods explained to me everything.  If I do not save the creatures of old, then they may be lost forever.”

 

“The faun told you this?”

 

“Yes.  He saved me from The People of the Dark.  I spent a night at his cottage and he told me the story of the earth.”

 

“You must be wary of the faun; some say that he is a very deceitful creature.  I would not trust him if I were you.”

 

“And why do you say that?”

 

“It may be just a story, I have never been sure, but it goes this way.  Many years ago, the faun was a very rich creature, one of the richest on the earth.  But he lost everything in one night.  It was taken from him and hidden away.  It is believed he will do anything to get back his wealth, even gamble the lives of others.

 

“How can you be sure what you have heard is true?”

 

“I cannot.  I can only go by what my brothers have told me and what I have seen.”

 

“And what have you seen?”

 

“The faun wears the cloak of The Shadow Dwellers.  I have seen it with my own eyes.”

 

Anna thought back to when she and the faun passed the black cloak of The People of the Dark.  He had grabbed it and placed it in his bag.  She wondered why he would do such a thing.  “I do not understand.  Is he with The People of the Dark, The Shadow Dwellers?”

 

“I do not know.  Some say that he is not pure evil like The Shadow Dwellers, but neither is he good.  That is why he lives alone.”

 

Anna became sad and confused.  She sat down on one of the stone fragments and bit her nails.  “Is what I have been told a lie?  Is nothing he said true?”

 

“I am not the one to tell you.  I can tell you that The Dead Tree is real, but it is very dangerous.”

 

“You know where it is?  Can you take me there?”

 

“I have seen it.  I know where it is, yes, but I would not venture into such a dark place if I were you.”

 

“And, I am afraid that in this state, we can not do you much help.”

 

“What do you mean, Gleep?”

 

“We are Drigons, true, but we are made of stone.”

 

“My brother means that we cannot come with you.  Like this, we are not able leave The Green Plains.  The spell remains and we are bound to this place as long as we are like this.”

 

“And if you were not?”

 

“We would help you.”

 

“Then how can I help you turn back to yourselves?”

 

“We cannot expect you to do anymore for us; we could not put you in harm for our own freedom.”

 

“But I want to help you.  I could not go on knowing that I could have helped you.”

 

“Anna, please.  Let us be, we still have much freedom in these fields.”

 

Anna looked at the majestic creatures.  She tried to think of a way she could make them help her.  “If you let me help you, you will be able to repay me for freeing you from this platform.”

 

“And how is that?”

 

“If I free you, you must take me to The Dead Tree.”

 

“As you wish; we are indebted to you.”

 

“Perfect.  Now, what must I do?”

 

“The only way for us to be cured is from The Rare Scarlet, which only grows in the marsh lands below.  If we eat this flower, it will heal us of this stone and we will be fully free once again.”

 

“So, I need to go pick a flower from in the marshes?”

 

Both Drigons nodded their heads.

 

“Is that all?  Then why did you make it sound so dangerous?”

 

“Do not be fooled, Anna.  The marshes are a very dangerous place.”

 

“The Marsh Folk live there.”

 

“Who are they?”

 

“They are a strange, pale creature that lives in the muck and mud.  They seem innocent, but they are not.”

 

“And what are they?”

 

“They are one of the most cunning creatures.  They trick you into thinking they are weak and sickly.  And just when you let your guard down—”

 

“—they attack!”

 

“Gleep!  We need not frighten her any more that she must be.”  Crof turned his attention back to Anna.  “But, if you do have some fear, that is good.  It will provide a protection for you.”

 

“I understand.  And the flower?”

 

“Ah, yes.  In the middle of the marshes, at the center of the village, The Rare Scarlet grows.  It is treasured by the Marsh Folk, they will not give it up easily.”

 

“And how will I get it, then.”

 

“That I cannot tell you.  I do not even want you to go, but it is your wish to, so I cannot protest.”

 

“And once I have this flower, I bring it back to you and you will take care of the rest?”

 

“Yes, but you must be careful not to damage it, for the cure may not work if the flower is harmed in any way.”

 

“I understand.”  She looked into the faces of the giant creatures standing before her.  They were so majestic and just the thought of seeing them in their full glory gave her a feeling of awe.  They were powerful creatures, she could tell.  “I will get this flower and you will be free again.”  Anna grabbed her belongings and prepared herself for the task ahead.  “How do I get down there?”

 

“We would fly you down, but we cannot.”

 

“Yes, this platform on which you stand is a landing dock for us and all who were like us.  Instead, we must take the other way.”

 

“And what way is that?”

 

Gleep jumped into the air and flew over the side of the platform onto the grass below.  “You will have to take the stairs.”

 

Anna walked down the platform stairs and around its corner.  There, in the wall, was a wooden door.  She opened it and as the light poured in, it revealed an old stone spiral staircase right down the inside of the cliff.  “So I must go this way then?”

 

“Yes, I’m afraid so.  I will take a bit longer than if we could help you.”

 

“That is alright.”

 

Anna and the Drigons walked down the tall staircase, which seemed to take forever to descend.  Finally, they reached the bottom, where they found another door leading out to the marshes.

 

“This is as far as we can follow you.”

 

“Thank you for coming this far.  I will return soon with The Rare Scarlet and we will be on our way to the Dead Tree before long.”

 

“We have faith in you Anna.  Good luck.”

 

“Thank you both.”

 

Anna walked to the door and pushed it open, the light shining into the dark stone room.  As she was about to close the door behind her, Crof gave one last reminder.

 

“Remember, do not let yourself feel sorry for the Marsh Folk.  They will trick you, they only have hate inside them.  They will do anything to persuade you to feel sorry for them and just when you do, they will turn on you.  Always keep a way out for they will be watching you.”

 

Anna nodded and closing the door behind her, walked out into the boggy marsh morning.