Sakura Tree

~CHAPTER FOURTEEN~

Grasshopper had tried to use Manchineel's advice. He had contemplated visiting Mantis, but overall decided it wasn't worth it. He had spent as much time as he could with Sakura before night fell and he slept. He woke up to a start the next day and rushed to the library.

He waved to Softwood, the librarian, when he came in and slowed. The library's silence would normally be comforting and soothing, but the fact that he was meeting up with Rainbow made the silence eerie and foreboding.

He looked at the large, painted hanging signs that guided dragons to certain scroll genre's. He slowed even more as he got closer and closer to the history section. He glanced around the Fiction section's bookshelf and saw Rainbow standing in the center of the hallway. She was adorned with necklaces and bracelets and rings, so much that Grasshopper pitied her. Large and long gemstone earrings hung from each ear. Her wings were covered in drapery.

"Do you still have your necklace?" She immediately snapped when she saw him. He sprinted over in front of her. He pulled the necklace over his head and laid it in his palm.

"The one you and Mezereon gave to me? Yes." Grasshopper yelped when Rainbow snatched the necklace from his talon so quickly and carelessly she scratched his talon. A few droplets of blood dripped onto his palm, but the scratch merely stung a little.

She stared at it for a moment, as if it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. "Perfect... Now to see if it actually works," Rainbow turned and started walking, still very quickly considering all the metal and jewels weighing her down. She almost seemed like the Rainbow Grasshopper was used to. Secretive, sure, but successful and brave and awesome in her own way.

She stopped when she reached the wall. Because that was the last place she could go. But she started walking along the wall, inspecting it as closely as possible. Grasshopper followed behind her, knowing this was the start of something he didn't know. Probably. Or she was evil and this was a trap. Rainbow suddenly spread her wings and started screeching and acting as loud as possible, wiggling around like crazy. Grasshopper heard a loud rustling noise somewhere near the roof, or the tops of the bookshelf. Grasshopper looked around, seeing that Rainbow had, thank Clearsight, stopped going crazy. Softwood had peeked around the corner, but quickly bolted away when she saw Grasshopper glance at her.

Rainbow sighed with relief. "He isn't watching anymore." She went back to the part of the wall where she had been going crazy, and for the first time Grasshopper noticed an indent in the wall. The only angle he could see it at was straight forward, despite it being so deep and obvious. No dragons would have seen it before. Rainbow placed the leaf pendant into the indent, and it fit perfectly.

She turned the pendant and cracks appeared into a door shape. It was very loud, and both dragons winced. "It's so old and unused..." Rainbow mused admiringly. "So much hidden knowledge," She mumbled. Rainbow shoved the door open and beyond it was...

Pitch black. Rainbow snorted at Grasshopper's confused frown. She scrunched up her face with concentration. Grasshopper recognized it as when a Forestwing was trying to grow either a really difficult plant to deal with, or something huge.

Tiny glowing spots appeared in random places, but some were half-blocked off by giant blocks. Those tiny buds of light quickly grew into huge balls of blue light in the darkness, their majestic and ancient-seeming light lighting up the whole room. Rainbow shoved Grasshopper forward, down a few steps that made up short stairs. Giant scroll-shelves and bookshelves rose to the ceiling.

It was some sort of second part to the library. The cause of the blue light were giant flowers that spread from the walls and the ceiling and the floor. Nearly everything was covered in cobwebs and overgrown moss and wild plants that had grown there.

Rainbow shut the door behind them and any sort of natural, more yellow light that entered the room disappeared. The plants were bright, but it was still kind of dark in the room. It seemed like it was midnight and stars flickered around the room.

"These are the royal archives. Filled with documented knowledge that only royals are dubbed 'responsible enough' to have. And yet nobody ever uses it. Rainbow tapped lightly forward, her talonsteps giving the room an even eerier, unexplainable feeling. Rainbow ran a talon along the edge of one of the bookshelves.

Rainbow faced one of the bookshelves and pulled out one of the books with a sharp gasp. "I've wanted to be in this scenario my whole life. Ever since I began working for the royal family and unlocking amazing secrets, I've dreamed of this." Rainbow caressed the book she had picked up like a dragonet egg.

"This is the most ancient book in this library. If you've read The legend of the Forestwings, this is her diary. Or, what's left of it." Rainbow carefully flipped aside each old, crinkly page. She pulled aside one page when a small sheet of paper slid onto the floor, slowly floating onto the floor. Rainbow picked it up. "This is the translation of the journal..."

Rainbow shook her head suddenly. "We need to stay on track. I'm going to find something about animus dragons or flamesilks or... SOMETHING! GAH!" Rainbow roared in frustration. Well that sort-of surely answered Grasshopper's question. Rainbow was most definitely probably on Grasshopper's side.

Or maybe she was trying to make him think she was on his side. Grasshopper and Rainbow spent what felt like days searching the royal archives for something to help them against Chinch. Both spoke to each other very little during the search, but when they did it was questions about loyalty or sides. Now Grasshopper was sure that Rainbow was on his side, and this was going to make everything a lot easier.

They exited the library and Rainbow pur back on the adornments that she had removed in the royal archives. Grasshopper yelped as he was face-to-face with Chinch. "Where have you two been?" Chinch snarled.

"I-In the library," Grasshopper stuttered nervously. It was technically true.

Chinch tapped his talon suspiciously. "Well, Queen Rainbow is needed elsewhere," Chinch explained, with yet another held-back growl. He gripped Rainbow's talon harshly and she yelped. She didn't protest, but the way she walked told Grasshopper she wanted to.

Grasshopper stared as Rainbow was dragged away. He stormed to his room in the palace, angry at himself for letting this whole mess happen. He saw the small vine protruding that he held his two pouches on. One was the old leaf pouch from home that he kept the pink praying mantis jar in, and another was a much fancier and professional and new pouch that currently homed the small crow that Chinch had given him. Grasshopper had avoided wearing the crown, afraid that it might be enchanted, even if the leaf-pendant key thing wasn't.

And yet now Grasshopper pulled the elegant, specialized crown out of the pouch and stared at it, contemplating whether or not it could help him defeat Chinch. After a few moments of staring at the glimmering golden crown, embedded with mainly emeralds, he dipped his head and slid the crown around his horns.

A/N

OH DAMN

YES THATS TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY hA

MAYBE THREE