3 Chapter 3

3 Willa and Delphina landed near the shimmering air.

威拉和德尔菲娜降落在闪闪发光的空中。

"I'm not coming into the glade," said Delphina. "But I'm never far away." With a flutter of her tail, she sent silver stars flying as she swished away. Willa turned toward the glade's protective force field. She took a big breath and stepped into it. The air pushed past her, warm and a tiny bit tingly. A moment later, Willa was through the force field and safe within the glade. She closed her eyes and breathed in the sweet smell of flowers and fruit. She loved this place. All of the Magic Forest was incredible, of course, but there was something extra special about the glade. Somehow it always felt like the forest's heart. "Uh, Willa?" said a voice. "Did you just fall asleep?" "Maybe she's power-napping," said another voice. Willa opened her eyes to see a rainbow dragon peering at her curiously. Behind her was a golden

“我不去林间空地，”德尔菲娜说。 “但我永远不会远离你。”她甩了甩尾巴，甩得银星飞扬。 威拉转向林中空地的保护力场。 她深深地吸了一口气，走了进去。 空气从她身边吹过，温暖而又有点刺痛。 片刻之后，威拉穿过了力场，安全进入了林中空地。 她闭上眼睛，呼吸着花香和水果的芬芳。 她爱这个地方。当然，魔法森林的一切都令人难以置信，但林中空地还有一些特别之处。 不知怎么的，它总感觉像是森林之心。 “嗯，威拉?”一个声音说。 “你刚才睡着了吗?”“也许她在打盹。”另一个声音说。 威拉睁开眼睛，看见一条彩虹龙好奇地盯着她。 她身后是一个金色的

dragon, laughing and sending little puffs of sparkling glitter into the air. "Hi, Naomi! Hi, Azmina!" Willa grinned. "I'm not napping. I'm just really, really happy to be here. And to see you two, of course." "Yeah, I always close my eyes when I'm happy to see someone," teased Naomi. "Well, I'm pleased to see the three of you," said a warm, familiar voice. Willa turned to see the stately tree in the center of the glade transforming into the Tree Queen. Willa thought the queen was very beautiful. Her long wavy hair flowed around her face and across her mossy green gown. But Willa couldn't help noticing that the queen looked a little tired. Were her arms thinner than usual? And her big brown eyes weren't quite so sparkly. "Excuse me, Tree Queen, are you feeling okay?" she asked anxiously.

龙笑着，向空中喷射出闪闪发光的小泡泡。 “嗨,拿俄米!你好,Azmina !”威拉咧嘴一笑。 “我没有打盹。我真的，真的很高兴来到这里。 当然是来见你们俩的。” “是的，当我很高兴看到某人的时候，我总是闭上眼睛，”娜奥米开玩笑说。 “嗯，我很高兴见到你们三个。”一个温暖而熟悉的声音说。 威拉转过身来，看到林间空地中央那棵庄严的树变成了树后。 威拉觉得王后很漂亮。 她长长的卷发披在脸上，披在长满青苔的绿色长袍上。 但威拉不禁注意到王后看起来有点疲倦。 她的胳膊比平时细吗? 她那双棕色的大眼睛也不那么明亮了。 “对不起，树后，你还好吗?”她焦急地问。

The Tree Queen smiled at Willa, but her smile was not as wide and bright as usual. "I am feeling better now that my Glitter Dragons are here," she said. "But it is true that I am not as strong as usual. The Shadow Sprites are still at work, you see." "I thought we were safe in the glade." Naomi frowned. "Everything within the glade is safe," confirmed the Tree Queen, "but my roots go deep into the earth and draw water from an underground river. And the Shadow Sprites are attacking the water."

树后对威拉笑了笑，但她的笑容不像往常那么灿烂。 她说:“现在我感觉好多了，因为我的闪亮龙乐队在这里。” “但我确实不像平时那么强壮了。 你看，暗影精灵还在作怪呢。” “我以为我们在林间空地是安全的。” 拿俄米皱起了眉头。“林中空地里的一切都很安全，”树后肯定地说，“但我的根深深地扎进了泥土里，从地下的河里汲取了水。 暗影精灵正在攻击水面。”

Willa thought about the strange inky swirls she'd seen in the river and shuddered. She remembered what Delphina had said. "Is it true that they work for the Shadow Queen?" The others looked at her curiously, but the Tree Queen just nodded. "She has been quiet for a very long time. But she is gathering strength." Willa, Azmina, and Naomi exchanged worried looks.

威拉想起她在河里看到的奇怪的墨色漩涡，不禁打了个寒颤。 她想起了德尔菲娜说过的话。 “他们真的为影子女王工作吗?”其他人好奇地看着她，但树后只是点了点头。 “她已经沉默了很长时间。 但她正在恢复体力。” 威拉、阿兹米娜和内奥米交换了担忧的目光。

The Tree Queen stretched out one of her long branch arms, from which hung a tiny apple. It was no bigger than an acorn. As the Dragon Girls watched, the apple rapidly began to swell until it was a giant silver fruit—much bigger than an apple in the normal world. The Tree Queen had grown a magic apple when they had last visited. But that time it had been gold. "Look into the apple," said the queen in her soft, rustling voice. The Dragon Girls leaned in and gazed at the shiny fruit. Slowly, images began to play like a movie across the apple's surface. Willa felt like she was flying above the river again, although now she was much closer to the water. She had already seen the gray swirls wriggling through the water, leaving ashy trails behind them. But Willa was still shocked when they appeared in the bright turquoise water.

树女王伸出一只长长的树枝手臂，上面挂着一个小苹果。 它还没有橡子大。 在龙女们的注视下，苹果开始迅速膨胀，直到变成一个巨大的银色果实——比普通世界的苹果大得多。 他们上次来的时候，树女王种了一个神奇的苹果。 但那一次是金子。 “看看苹果里的东西。”王后用她轻柔、沙沙的声音说。 龙女们俯下身来，凝视着闪闪发光的水果。 慢慢地，图像开始像电影一样在苹果表面播放。 威拉觉得自己又在河上飞翔了，虽然现在她离水面更近了。 她已经看到那些灰色的漩涡在水中蠕动，留下了灰蒙蒙的痕迹。 但当他们出现在明亮的绿松石水中时，威拉仍然感到震惊。