Book 2: The Mysteries of Winter

Chapter 4: The Flowers of love

A few months later after the start of spring...

Endor and Airis had been engaged for all of winter and most of the beginning of
spring their wedding was only two days away and still Airis couldn't believe it! It was still sinking in for her as she stared at her silver ring. The Dwarves really out did themselves with her ring it was stunning as she was busy admiring the green emerald leaves and crystal snowflakes surrounding the diamond. It was the most beautiful gift he ever gave her. Airis sighed she was sitting on her ice covered throne wondering when Endor would arrive it wasn't like him to be late.

Suddenly a young winter dryad ran into the room she looked frantic she had green chlorophyll tears falling from her eyes. Airis's motherly instincts instantly kicked in as she ran over to the frantic crying dryad her voice full of concern.

"Holly what is it dearie are you alright?" She knew every Dryads names by heart she acted like they were her children and cared for each and every one of them equally.

"My lady it's Endor! There's been a terrible avalanche at Dead Man's Gorge, you must hurry!"

"WHAT!!!!!! Take me to him now!" She ran down the mountain with Holly leaving no footprints behind. She ran down to Dead Man's Gorge a minefield of crevices; it is the deadliest side of the mountain face. When she got there, her eyes widened at the devastation the avalanche had caused. Phil was helping rescue survivors not many were trapped thankfully as he pulled the last yeti that was trapped from the snow, her mind was on finding Endor as she ran over to Phil.

"Phil where's Endor?"

Phil looked out over the devastation and shook his white head slowly his giant half-moon glasses leaned to one side; they haven't found him. Airis's eyes widened in horror as lightening pulsated in her eyes Phil saw her eyes glow with fear as the air tattoos on her hands and feet glowed yellow. Airis's hair pulsated with lightening as she walked out onto the snow she breathed in scanning the snow for a heartbeat that belonged to Endor. She found him her eyes widened as she ran over to him and quickly removed the piles snow with her bare hands. She saw him buried alive beneath the snow and stepped back before turning the hardened snow into powder around him. Endor's eyes were closed he was breathing faintly as she fell to her knees leaning against him his eyes opened slowly.

"Airis...avalanche, es everyone alright...?"

"Yes everyone is fine, are you?"

*crack...crack...crack*

Airis looked down and realized to her horror that they were sitting on a thin ice sheet that was over the edge of a steep crevice in the gorge with a sixty-foot drop into nothing before they hit a thin layer of snow and rocks. She hated these kinds of avalanches. Endor's eyes widened in fear.

"Airis...!"

"Endor do you trust me...?" She said as she stared into his emerald coal colored eyes.

"What?"

"We are going to fall through I need you to trust me. I'm going to make a snow drift for us to land on. Do you to trust me Endor..."

"I trust ye with my life..."

"Good now don't let go..."

*CRAAACCCCKKKKK*

Endor held onto Airis as the ice gave way they fell sixty feet down. He lost his grip around her as she formed the snow around the bottom to make a snow drift big enough to cushion the fall, but she was losing strength and using up all of her energy as they neared the snowdrift. Endor saw that by the way Airis was going to land that it would seriously injure her so at the last second he grabbed her and held her in his arms with his back towards the drift. He landed hard on his back upon impact. Airis's eyes widened in horror when she opened her eyes and saw Endor lying in the snow beneath her, he wasn't moving.