Friends and Harmony

Chapter 12

Violet's Selflessness

As the group of friends continued onwards through the Outcast Woods, the boys decided to bring up the rear while the girls had their turn to go up front.

Henry then decided to bring up a simple question that had been bugging him since they left the library. "Hey, Ritchie? Can I ask you something?" He asked, turning to the cowboy next to him.

"Sure." He replied. "What is it?"

"Do you have a thing for Cosette?" Henry questioned, trying to sound indifferent.

Ritchie froze in his tracks, his face turning a bright red from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. "Uh, what do you mean by 'thing'?" He asked.

Tobias and Felix gave him snarky smiles. "Oh, he does have a soft spot for her, all right." Felix teased.

"No, I don't!" Ritchie tried to deny. "We're just friends!"

"Yeah, sure." Tobias gave him a teasing smirk. "You've had a thing for her since kindergarten."

Ritchie crossed his arms and huffed. "Knock it off, Toothless. We're done talking about this."

Tobias and Felix just held up their hands grinning mischievously, while Henry smirked devilishly.

"What about you, Felix? Anyone special for you yet?" He asked, since they were on the subject anyway. "We already know that Tobias has the hots for a girl pilot who's probably pretty awesome like him."

Tobias blushed pink and gave Henry a quick glare. "I thought we ended that story a while back." He said.

Answering Henry's question, Felix shook his head while rubbing his platinum blond locks nervously. "Not yet. No girl has caught my eye."

Ritchie then spoke up, the blush gone from his face. "And you, Henry?"

Henry stopped in his tracks, and looked down. "Well, no. Not yet. Besides, I don't think girls would want to go out with guys like me."

"What are you talking about?" Tobias demanded. "A good-looking guy like you doesn't have a special someone to think about?"

"Nope." Henry replied, shaking his head.

Ritchie raised a curious eyebrow. He doesn't know about a certain girl's feelings towards him? "Not even Astrid?" He asked as plaintive as possible.

Henry paused again, lifting up his own brow. "What about Astrid? We're just friends."

Ritchie just shrugged indifferently, and Henry dropped the subject. As he went ahead to catch up with the girls, Tobias and Felix came up to Ritchie.

"So, you know something about that?" Tobias asked.

Ritchie nodded with a small smirk. "Astrid has a soft spot for Henry."

Felix snickered. "Oh, we're gonna get a hoot out of this."

"Best not." Tobias said. "Girls like Astrid will keep denying it, no matter how embarrassed they get. And if you keep pestering her, you might end up with a broken arm and leg."

"Good point." Ritchie said. Then, they hurried over to the others.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the river Henry spoke of earlier. The water was roaring and rushing.

"Yikes!" Cosette exclaimed. "This river is crazy wild."

"I agree." Violet said.

"Are you sure this is the right way, Henry?" Ritchie asked.

"Positive." Henry said, looking over the water to the other shore. "But, we definitely need a boat to get across this rowdy current."

"Help me!" Someone cried out. The group turned and saw a homeless woman dressed in a plain tunic, and her braided hair was dirty. She didn't seemed injured in any way, though.

"What's the matter, ma'am?" Tobias asked.

"I owe a man some money, but I don't have it." The woman explained. "If I don't pay him back soon, he'll take my boat." She gestured to a large canoe still floating and rocking around on top of the river. "It's all I really have."

"Oh, dear." Violet said. She came up to the woman, patting her shoulder. "I might have something that might pay off your debt."

She reached into her satchel and pulled out a purple diamond bracelet. The others gawked at its amazing beauty and worth.

"Sell this, and it may be worth much more than what you owe." Violet said.

The woman was stunned. "But, I couldn't." She stammered.

"Please, I insist." Violet took the woman's hand and placed the bracelet in her palm. "You have much more need of it than I ever will."

The woman's eyes filled with grateful tears. She then enveloped Violet in a huge embrace. "Oh, thank you! You are too kind." She then ran off into a shack near the river.

Cosette then came up. "Violet. Wasn't that your favorite bracelet?" She asked.

Violet nodded. "Yes, it was. But, she needs it more than I do. I can always get another one." She turned to her friends. "Besides, being selfless is putting others' needs before your own. And I like to help others."

Suddenly, another flash of light appeared in the sky. The teens looked up and saw a luminous purple dragon. Its scales matched amethyst gems, and its eyes were as clear and bright as diamonds. It roared and circled above Violet, a trail of pink and lavender jeweled dust trailing behind it. Finally, it transformed into an orb of light and absorbed itself into Violet.

Cosette and Felix helped keep her steady. "Are you okay?" Felix asked.

"A bit faint, but I'll manage." Violet assured them as she regained composure.

"Well, that's four Guardian Dragons." Ritchie said. "Two more left to find."

Henry nodded, then looked over at the river, that strangely, was starting to calm. "But we still have to cross this river."

The woman then rowed over to the teens in her huge canoe. "Allow me." She said, beckoning them to hop in.

The teens smiled, and climbed in. The woman then rowed them over to the other side of the river.

"Thank you, ma'am." Tobias said.

"Don't mention it." The woman replied as she turned the canoe around. "It was the least I can do in return."

The teens waved goodbye to the woman as they entered into another grove of trees and briars again. But as they left and the woman was paddling back to her shack, the wisp of blue magic popped out of the river. It flickered furiously, then zoomed into the forest, tracking the group again.

Author's Note

A/N: If this chapter may seem short to you, I'm sorry. It was all I could come with for this scene. But, I hope you all enjoyed it. Please let me know about what you think.

Got to fly! ;)