Chapter 3

3 Rosie landed gently on the grass and turned to face the force field. The air shimmered before her. Carefully, she pressed a paw against the glowing screen. It went right through! Rosie could faintly see her paw on the other side. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Rosie walked into the force field. Her scales tingled as she passed

through the shining air. It felt like stepping into a magic sunset. When she opened her eyes, Rosie cried out in delight. She was in the most beautiful glade filled with sweet-smelling flowers and colorful butterflies. Everything glowed gold in the rich twilight. Nearby was a deep pond, its water so clear that Rosie could see jewel-like fish swimming just below the surface. And there, right in the middle of the glade, grew a magnificent tree. Rosie couldn't stop looking at its branches, laden with rustling leaves and fresh blossoms. In fact, Rosie was so entranced that it took her a moment to notice that she wasn't alone. Two other dragons were in the glade! One had a crescent moon on her forehead, and the other had a bright, shining star on hers. The dragons were also different colors than Rosie. The moon dragon was the soft, glowing blues and whites of moonlight. The star dragon was deep purple and gleaming

yellow. Both dragons glimmered in the twilight. They were looking around in the same amazed way that Rosie was. "Hi! Are you Night Dragons?" Rosie called. "I hope that you guys know what is going on, because I'm new here." "Rosie?" the star dragon asked. "It's me, Stella! And this is Phoebe. We just got here as well. Isn't

this wild? We're DRAGONS!" Rosie felt a surge of happiness. There was only one thing better than coming to this magical place and discovering she was a dragon: discovering that her friends were, too! She rushed over and wrapped a wing over each of them. She figured that was probably how dragons hugged. "I'm SO happy to see you!" she roared. "Roaring is fun, isn't it?" Stella laughed. "It really is," agreed Phoebe. "Almost as good as flying!" The three friends roared as loudly as they could, until the air was filled with swirling pinks and purples and blues. Rosie suddenly stopped. "Oops! I just remembered. I was told to come here to meet the Tree Queen. We probably shouldn't be messing around. She might catch us being silly." Just then, something extraordinary happened. The majestic tree in the center of the glade began to sway back and forth. Its leaves rustled and

shook. To Rosie's amazement, the tree began to change. The trunk became a flowing dress, and two of the strong branches transformed into elegant arms. Moments later, a regal-looking figure appeared before them. Half woman and half tree. Her kind, wise eyes twinkled. "Welcome, Night Dragons," she said in a warm, woody sort of voice. "I am the Tree Queen of the Magic Forest. I am so pleased you are here. And I am delighted to hear that you are so good at roaring. That will be useful on your quest." Rosie and her friends looked at one another and laughed. The Tree Queen had heard them! She didn't seem upset, though. Rosie felt questions burning inside her. Maybe it wasn't polite to ask questions of a Tree Queen. But Rosie found it impossible to hold them in! "What IS this quest, exactly?" she asked. The Tree Queen's face became serious. "You have probably noticed that it is twilight here," she

said, her leaves swaying gently. "Yes! I love this time of day," said Rosie. "It's just always too short." "Usually it is," agreed the Tree Queen. "But right now, we have the opposite problem. We are stuck in twilight and cannot move on to night." "That's weird," said Stella. "Why?" "It's the work of the Fire Queen and her Fire Sparks," the Tree Queen said.