The two heroes followed the dragon in her human form into the forest, allowing them to observe her closely. She was a head shorter than Britina, with long, straight black hair and skin the color of soft ebony. But her eyes, one green and the other blue, truly struck them.

When Britina looked into her green eye, it reminded her of the ocean, with a depth like the deep sea. Prunhiline saw the blue eye and thought of the endless plains, with skies so blue and vast they seemed to go on forever. The dragon's musical voice struck them both.

“I am Lady Britina, and this is my companion, Prunhiline,” Britina said, hoping to start a conversation with the dragon.

“Hey, Bri. I can introduce myself.” Prunhiline said, to Britina’s annoyance. “I am Prunhiline of the Plains, defeater of…”

“Ah, yes, the plains people's titles are vast and interesting.” The dragon interrupted with a musical chuckle. “But Prunhiline, I’m afraid we don’t have time for the full title, and it would be disrespectful to interrupt once you begin.” The dragon said with some amusement in her sing-song voice. "I’m afraid you can’t pronounce my name, but you can call me Nel.”

“Nel, that’s an interesting name,” Britina said.

“I am the sentinel of this forest,” Nel explained. “The children here eventually shortened my name to Nel.”

“Children?” Britina asked.

“The druids of the forest. They have lived in my forest for a century. I remember their grandfather’s grandfather.” Nel said, casting her two odd-colored eyes at Britina.

“A century?” Britina asked, intrigued. “I’ve read that only elder dragons can shapeshift.”

Nel laughed, a sound like wind chimes. “That is mostly true.”

“How old are you?” Britina’s curiosity was getting the best of her. Nel would have knowledge beyond what Britna’s library would have.

“Hey, Bri, I don’t think it’s polite to ask a dragon how old they are,” Prunhiline gently scolded.

“Oh, I’m sorry if I offended you,” Britina said, flushing with embarrassment.

Nel laughed. “No offense. I don’t have an answer for you. We don’t track time the same way humans do. I remember when the dwarves first appeared and dug into the mountains and when humans fell from the sky and built a beautiful tower, part of which, I believe, still stands in a great city.”

“Hey, that’s the Mage’s Tower!” Prunhiline said. “It’s super old.”

“Then I’m super old.” Nel laughed again.

“So, why did you allow the villagers to try to burn you at the stake?” Prunhiline asked.

“That was meant to scare the villagers and teach them a lesson. I hope it worked.” Nel continued, “My children, the druids, live in this forest. The villagers carved out their settlement two generations ago, and I allowed it. But recently, they’ve started chasing my children, trying to capture them.” Nel paused and appeared to take a breath to calm her anger, “I don't know why. Today, I had had enough and allowed them to capture me with the help of one of the children. I didn’t know they were going to burn me at the stake.”

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“That’s terrible. They kept chatting, witch.” Britina said.

“Druid, witch, is there a difference?” Prunhiline asked.

“Yes.” Nel and Britina said together.

“I mean, we have a wise woman in our village. She's like a druid and a witch.” Prunhiline said.

“Not exactly,” Nel replied. “But I’m glad they captured me, not one of my children. There would have been a price to pay.” Nel’s voice dropped to a growl, making Britina and Prunhiline’s hearts race.

They both knew Nel would have burned the whole village down. It seemed she loved her children very much. They walked for some time deep into the forest. The dragon led them to a small brook and what appeared to be an odd village. The huts were constructed around, under, and sometimes in the trees. That was when they met the dragon’s children.

A woman who looked to be in her late twenties approached. “Greetings, Nel.” The dragon bowed her head in acknowledgment. “It’s unlike you to bring visitors to our small village; they must be special.” The woman smiled at Britina, then looked up to the tall warrior with another warm smile.

“These are heroes of the realm, and they attempted to assist me by scaring the villagers,” Nell said with some amusement.

“Ah, yes,” Britina said. “There was some confusion.”

Nel laughed, “There was pandemonium. This is Lady Britina.” She gestured to Britina and then up to Prunhiline, “And this is Prunhiline of the plains.” She gave the warrior a sly glance, “I’m afraid we don’t have time for her full title.”

“A pleasure to meet you. I am Faull.” Faull said, bowing to the two women.

Faull had black hair and a tan complexion, but what struck them were her eyes. Like Nel’s, one was green, and the other was blue. They realized then why Nel loved the druids as she did: These were her descendants, her children, or even her great-great-grandchildren.

Nel smiled at the two women. “Come,” she said, “Let’s have dinner.” Nel and Faull led them into the village. They were met with dancing children who raced around the strangers and many adults doing various chores. They were all female.

Nel sat down at a wooden table that appeared to be carved from a fallen tree. Britina and Prunhiline joined her. Food was brought out, and they were joined by all of the women in the village. There were about thirty or so of various ages, from newborns to elders. The elder sat beside Nel and gently touched the dragon’s shoulder. Nel placed her hand over the elder’s, giving her a warm smile.

“This is Wisp,” Nel said, “She is the village elder.”

Wisp laughed with a toothless smile, “I would say you are still the elder, but yes, I’m the oldest human here.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Wisp,” Britina said.

Prunhiline bowed her head and said, “Elder, may your hunt be fruitful and long.” Britina was surprised by Prunhiln’s seriousness.

“Ah, a plains woman.” Wisp said, “I’ve met a few plainsmen. I believe that the father of my child was a plainsman.”

“The father of your child, you mean your husband?” Britina asked.

“Oh no, child. He was the father of my child.” Wisp said, “We druids do not take husbands.”

Faull explained, “Once we are adults, we go out into the world to seek a suitable mate. We stay with them for some time, and once we have a child, we return here to raise them.”

“So you don’t ever meet your father?” Britina said.

“Well, sometimes we do. There have been a few times that men have followed us here. A few have stayed.” Wisp said her gray eyes seemed to see off into time.

“Wisp’s mate came here and stayed. He was a protector of the forest for many years. He was my father.” Faull said. A small child climbed onto her lap and waved at Prunhiline, who waved back.

They were served an assortment of fruits and vegetables and a light broth. To Prunhiline’s dismay, there was no meat, though Britina enjoyed the vibrant flavors of the forest fare.

“I apologize, Prunhiline.” Nel said, “We druids do not kill animals; we live in harmony with the forest.”

Prunhiline gave Britina a playful smile as she took another bite of vegetables. “No problem. We live in harmony with the plains, too. We take only what we need and use everything.”

After the meal, the two were given bedding near the fire, and many of the younger women and children were sleeping nearby. There was no danger in this village; no wild animal or man would dare approach a dragon’s nest.