Through the Emerald Forest

Chapter 10 The Meadow

             *Deep in the forest*

    Amethyst had been walking for hours. The forest was thick here, the bushes and trees closer together. It had slowed her progress down quite a bit. She kept pressing forward, she had to reach the meadow that Khol had told her about. She tripped and fell over an exposed root, landing on her face. She sat up carefully checking her knees and hands for any injury. Khol had mentioned because she had been dosed with a strong batch of wolfsbane it may take some time to fully recover and to be able to shift again. Thinking about Khol makes her hear hurt. She sat on the forest floor for a few minutes pulling a snack and a bottle of water from her pack and taking a small break. She could feel the tears roll down her face again causing her to sigh and quickly wipe them off her face.

            *Flashback the woods a few hours ago*

    Khol had been running, slowing only slightly as they started to approach the boarder. Amethyst was clinging to his back, her fingers tangled in his soft fur. She was lost in thought when she felt a small pressure in her mind, bringing her back to the present and she realized that Khol was slowing down. She quickly let his voice fill her mind.

    -You need to make your scent disappear, or at least blend in with the woods. Just concentrate on having no scent at all.- Khol said quickly in the mind-link. She closed her eyes and started to concentrate like he said. She noticed that his scent had also faded.

    --Is everything alright?-- She asked nervously after a moment. She noticed he had come to a stop behind a thick bunch of brush. They were hidden from sight.

    -Everything is fine. We are at the boarder a little sooner then I had planned so we need to be careful of the patrol.- As he explained, there was a rustle out ahead of them. Amethyst froze as three wolves walked out of the underbrush. One was light grey, one was a darker grey but had a white underbelly and socks, and the last was a dappled brown. They quickly moved on quickly. Khol waited just a little longer making sure they were fully gone before quickly running over the boarder and heading north and west. -We are crossing the boarder much further south then I had originally planned. We can stick to this course and we can reach the meadow in a few hours at this pace.-

    Khol's pace was ground eating and hypnotizing. Amethyst founder herself daydreaming as the trees rushed past. After about an hour and half Khol started to slow down. Amethyst shifted slightly on his back carefully. Khol came to a complete stop. Amethyst slide off his back and he laid on the ground in front of her.

    "I-is everything alright?" Amethyst asked nervously. Khol rubbed his nose with his paws a few times as a sign of annoyance. Amethyst knit her eyebrows together, concern washing over her.

    -I am so sorry but I-i can't continue.- He said. His voice was strained. -I can feel Collin. He is trying to take control and I am not sure how much longer I can hold him back.- Amethyst felt a knot in her throat. She took a couple deep breaths before reaching out and stroking his head. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes.

    "Then I guess we are out of time. I-i w-wish it could be d-different." Amethyst pushes her head against his before continuing softly. "I, Amethyst Green, r-re-reject you, Collin Silverpine, as my mate and alpha and forfeit my right to be luna by your side. I sever my connection to the Silverpine pack becoming rogue." Tears streamed down her face as her chest clenched. A low growl startled her slightly.

    -I, Collin Silverpine, accept your rejection.- Khol spoke softly in her mind. Her knees gave out as she felt their bond break. They sat together for a few more minutes. Khol gently stood up. -I need to go. Its getting harder to keep him at bay. He is very angry now. Keep moving in the northwest direction and you should reach the meadow in a few hours. I am so sorry. Goodbye Amethyst.-

            **End flashback.**

    The tears were still running down her cheeks. She stood and wiped her face; she still had a long way to go. She took a deep breath and headed out in the direction the meadow should be in. After about an hour and a half of careful traveling through the forest she saw a break in the treeline. She sighed in relief and made her way to the last tree on the treeline; she gasped at what she saw.

    The meadow was huge; it was half a mile wide and over a mile long. It had wildflowers in ever color she could imagine. She stumbled slightly out into the flowers. She only made it a few feet before falling to her knees in relief; she made it. She dropped her bag on the ground then rolled onto her back and laughed as tears ran down her face.

    Her joy was short lived as several low growls broke through the silence. Amethyst sat up quickly and sniffed the air. A slight breeze drifted up from the southern treeline; bringing with it the distinct scent of several rogues. She scrambled to her feet and grabbed her bag and started running deeper into the meadow. She felt fear grip her heart as she ran. She couldn't reach Sky or Jas, there was still too much wolfsbane in her system, even after so much time had past. She heard the pounding of several sets of paws behind her.

    Amethyst kept running, she could feel the rogues presence behind her. She risked a glance behind and saw three filthy and dirty wolfs crossing the treeline. She kept running, only making it another 200 yards into the meadow before tripping over her own feet and sprawling on the ground. She could almost feel their breath on her neck. Amethyst curled into a ball as best she could. She waited in terror for the teeth and claws and pain, but it never came.

    Suddenly there was a deafening roar and Amethyst felt the air above her grow warm then hot. Behind her closed eyes she saw an orange then red glow. She was terrified. The heat and light died out after a short time but she was too terrified to move. She flinched when a pair of hands touched her shoulder.

    "Hey, hey, Amethyst. It's ok. You are safe now." A deep but gentle voice told her. She froze for a minute before slowly lowering her arms and peeking at the source of the voice. She felt her eyes tear up when as she recognized the person standing close to her. She sat up quickly.

    "M-m-mr. O-obstran?" She fumbled over her words as she glanced around the meadow. She was searching for any signs of a blaze. She figured with the heat from before there should be something. She was shocked when she noticed almost no damage. "W-w-what are y-you doing here?"

    He chuckled and reached a hand out to her. She took it and stood up. As she dusted herself off, she noticed he was scanning the treeline as if looking for something. After a moment he looked back down at her and smiled.

    "Khol called me to pick you up. He said he would meet me here." He looks around the field again. Amethyst sighed and looked down at her feet.

    "He had to go back, Collin was waking up and he said he couldn't risk Collin taking control back." She said sadly, tears starting to well up in her eyes. Mr Obstran, why did Khol have you meet us...me..here?

    "He didn't tell you?" He sighed when she shook her head in response. "Last night he called me. I was surprised to hear from him after so long. He told me he needed my help and you were not longer safe there. He begged me to meet you here and take you home with me. Please call me Conrad." He kept glancing around before brushing past her looking slightly distracted. After a few long strides he knelt next to a bag. He started pulling a long sheet of fabric out of the bag while looking distracted.

    "Mr. Obs...i mean...C-conrad...what is going on?" Her voice was strained and it made him look around at her with a raised eyebrow.

    "Amethyst, I promise I will answer all of the questions once we are on..." Conrad begins to speak then stops; His eyes kind of cloud over like answering a mind link. After a moment, he smiles and nods then continues "I'm sorry about that. Pitch just had a great idea. He is anxious to get going but you need answers. He is proposing that he take over and get the things prepped while you and I have a conversation via mind-link." Amethyst nods nervously, and Conrad smiles. His eyes change from hazel to gold and his teeth almost seemed sharper in his smile. When he spoke his voice was deeper yet still similar. "Hello Amethyst. I am Pitch and there are a few things I need to have in order before we can leave. Conrad should be trying to get in contact with you now." He spoke quickly and with purpose before turning back to the fabric that was halfway out of the bag.

    Amethyst felt an itch in her mind; just behind the eyes. It felt similar to when Khol had used the mind link. Amethyst took a deep breath to steady her nerves and clear her thoughts. She let the itch open to the mind-link. Conrad's voice echoed in her mind.

    -Hello Amethyst. I know you have a lot of questions that need answering.We have questions as well. The easiest way to answer our question is to share your memories. Since that takes a lot of energy, we will answer your questions first.- Conrad said through the link. His voice was so full of confidence it made Amethyst smile slightly. She had so many questions; they raced in her mind. She hardly knew how to start.

    --What...I mean..Who...no...how...why...do...ugh!-- Amethyst just sighs heavily and just sat down on the ground. She heard a deep chuckle and glanced over at Pitch, who was still fiddling with the bag and fabric. She raised an eyebrow at him and he winked at her.

    -Take a deep breath and just think of the questions that you want to ask. I will answer what i can now and the rest later when we arrive home.- Conrad said softly. She blinked at him; her eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

    --Home?-- The question floated through her mind faster then she could comprehend it. She quickly shook her head and thought of the other questions that had caused her to become tongue-tied before. She could hear Conrad chuckling slightly at her confusion.

 -Yes, Amethyst. Home. We are taking you to our home where we can discuss in detail some of the questions you have. For now, no, we are not wolf. We are a dragon, and before you freak out no we won't eat you. My father up to recently was filling in as the steward of the Shifter Queendom, he recently retired and left it up to me. We can get into that more later.- Conrad told her quickly. Although he did answer her first questions, the answers only let to more questions. As these questions flooded her mind, she heard Conrad chuckle. -I know, I know. Those answers really didn't clarify anything, but we want you to know that you are safe with us. We will never harm you. Now, just like you are thinking of all the questions, think back to after the day I was sent away from the school. I would like to know everything that happened till now. Just relax and remember.-

    His voice echoed strangely in her mind as she thought back to the last time she saw Conrad. The memories flooded her mind. Everything that happened after she left his classroom. All the pain and torment that followed for the next few years ending in the night that guards broke into her small room and dragged her down to the cells in the basement. She felt the tears pool in her eyes. She brought her knees to her chest and laid her forehead on her knees as the tears fell in waves. She started to share what had happened the last night she was in the cells. The memories were filled with terror and pain.

    She jumped when she heard a deep rumbling growl. She risked a glance up to find Pitch kneeling in front of her. His eyes were vibrant gold, almost glowing in anger. She knew, somehow she knew, the anger wasn't at her. He reached out and touched her shoulder. She shuddered at the touch but did not pull away. He wrapped his arms around her and lifts her up. She felt warm and safe. She buried her head in the crook of his shoulder and sobbed.

    "You have my solemn vow: They will never hurt you again." He spoke softly but from his tone she knew that he meant ever word. His voice grew gruff. "If they should ever even think about it..I will burn them to the ground."

    Amethyst sniffed weakly. She tried to pick her head up from his shoulder but found it was too heavy. Pitch was carrying her over to where he had laid out the cloth he had been messing with before. She tried to speak but found she was exhausted. Pitch set her down in the cloth. It appeared to be similar to a hammock. She looked up at Pitch in confusion.

    "This is like a sling. We need to travel quickly and the fastest way is for me to fly. The memory share is extremely taxing and you would be too tired to hang on effectively, so we figured this would be easier and much more comfortable. Just lay down and relax. We will be on the way soon as I shift." Pitch explained. He placed his hand on her shoulder and stepped away. Amethyst noticed her bag and what she assumed was Conrad's bag next to her.

    She propped herself up to watch Pitch walk away. He had pulled his shirt off and was unbuttoning his pants. She blushed bright red when he glanced at her and winked. She covered her eyes quickly with her hands. Pitch laughed loudly, a deep laugh like waves crashing against a cliff, causing her to peek out between her fingers. She gasped and dropped her hands when she saw Pitch.

    She was astonished at his size. His head was as long as she was tall. He nearly filled a quarter of the meadow. His scales shimmered black in the sun like obsidian. His eyes were glowing gold standing out brightly against his scales. His massive head swung down towards her and nudged her gently. 

    -Don't forget to breath, little one.- His voice rumbled in her head. She took several deep breaths but she was speechless.

    --Gorgeous-- Amethyst thought to herself. Pitch roared in laughter. She blushed furiously and buried her face in her hands again. She had forgotten about the mind link. She thought she was going to die of embarrassment. She laid down in the hammock as Pitch kept chuckling.

    -Forgot about the link huh, Little one?- Pitch asked with amusement. -Now just lay on your back please it will be easier that way.-

    Amethyst laid down, her face was still red. Pitched moved down out of her sight and rustled around with something. She felt the fabric around her tug in a odd way she glanced down to see Pitch slip a loop of fabric past his horns. She watch as he moved up the fabric past her body, he winked at her as he passed by her. He kept moving passed her until she felt a similar tug above her head. His neck was right over her and seeming to grow in size. She braced herself to feel rough scales but when it touched her she found it was like cashmere: soft, warm,and comfortable. She gasped as she felt the ground give away under her but she was surprised when the cloth under her support her weight. She heard a loud rushing sound and felt a slight shifting in the hammock then it started swaying; it felt like she was being rocked gently. After just a few minutes she drifted off to sleep.