The moss-green cobblestone path was surprisingly even. The trail wound its way through the canopied forest of maple, oak, and pine trees into the valley below.

Someone had taken care of the edge of the path. Tiny flowers were planted with care. The flowers were neither too bright nor loud. Nothing to draw the eye of a traveler in a hurry. Yet, the display of beauty was not natural this deep into the woods, nor was a path where a branch or twig couldn't be seen.

This morning found a slow-paced traveler making her way down the cobblestones. A deeply worn dark wool cloak with a silver broach kept the wearer warm on such a cool morning. You could see finely knitted fingerless gloves peak out when she bent down on one knee to touch one of the pale golden flowers. The forest descended into silence when she did.

She pulled herself back up with her left hand firmly holding onto her staff, decorated with the seeker of dreams symbols. With a flick of her right hand, she grabbed a fine thread hanging from her staff and pulled. The sun picked this time to come out from behind the clouds. The large clear crystal, the size of a man's fist, brought rainbows throughout the woods. The ordinary woods melody is restored.

Keeping to the middle of the path, the woman unwound her dark long curly hair. She was now encased in a cloud of shiny hair that traveled past her waist. More rustling could be heard as the woman dug inside her cloak. With a whisper of exasperation, out flew in her right hand an ornate silver circlet with a deep purple stone set in the delicate scrollwork in the front. With ease, she chucked it on her head to keep the cloud of hair at bay.

In a matter of seconds, the woman had turned from an ordinary traveler to the Queen of Dreams. With shoulders back and head held high, the Queen slowly walked deeper into the forest.

Tirty tree and a turd! Tirty tree and a turd! Tirty tree and a turd!

Could be heard coming from a high-pitched voice in the small, well-built, two-story cottage set back a ways from the cobblestone path. An ornate, water well decorated the front garden of the place. To the right, three chairs made of willow were set in a semi-circle around a small stone fireplace. Tiny, intricately woven tables were seen nestled between the chairs.

The front door to the cottage split into two sections offering a glimpse inside. In the golden candlelight, a colorful parrot could be seen perched high above a lady sitting at her writing desk. The lady had long, thick red hair held back from her face with a silver circlet. The front of the deeply etched circlet held a milky dark stone. From the candlelight, shadows could be seen playing inside the stone.

Next to the lady, a wooden staff stood upright. On the top of the staff was a craving of a small cave. Deep in the cave's shadows, another stone lay. A perfect match for the circlet. The Queen of Shadows was not disturbed by the noise surrounding her. Her two cats eyed the parrot with deadliness and had other thoughts. A hand would reach down now and again to soothe the cats, but the Queen knew it was just a matter of time before the wait was over.

Deep in the forest, a bright blue portal opened. The lighting around it was silent. A grown-sized fairy with dazzling blue opal wings popped out from the middle of the swirling center. Her long white hair was piled on top of her head, with strands popping out with pins attached. She stood on the ground checking inside her warm cloak and could be seen nodding her head.

With a flick of her hand, the portal closed. Her wings danced, getting ready for flight. It had been too long since they had been hidden away. With a giggle and laughter echoing thru the forest, the Queen of Hope settled her circlet of silver and blue firmly on her head.

Taking her tiny wand, she jammed it into her hair, securing it in place. As the Queen flew thru the woods, the blue stone from the wand sent sparks of joy and hope to those lucky enough to be in its path.

The golden hour came to the small cottage. If one looked closely, one would see the fireplace start by itself. The parrot flew multi-colored pillows and blankets to the three willow chairs. A down bed was also laid out for the cats.

As if on cue, the women three all appeared near the fire simultaneously. Each took a chair and settled in for a long night. Gobblets were filled, while plates of delicious-smelling food appeared on the tiny tables.

Laughter could be heard as the three, some say, Sisters, caught up with each other. First on the agenda was the parrot. Queen Shadows explained the parrot showed up as a gift for Queen Dream. The card said it came from Ireland. If she could not make it to Ireland, they would send the spirit of Ireland to her. As if following right along, the parrot chirped in, "Tirty tree and a turd!"

Queen Hope burst out laughing and agreed it was talking Irish.

What of the poor bird's name? Hope asked, "It can not be Thirty-three and a third, or can it?"

Hope reached inside her cloak and was seen fiddling with something inside one of many pockets she seemed to have in there. Out popped her smiling face while she quoted the philosopher Google.

'The angel number 333 encourages to set plans into action and let your personal strength be the guide; to trust yourself and put thought into your choices. This angel number also is connected with optimism, creativity and intuition.' source

"Oh, Dream! His name is Trust!" Hope ended with. "You trust most of all, and now have a great daily reminder!"

The look between Dream and Shadows was a whole other conversation, but Hope didn't mind.

Next on the agenda was where Queen Hope had been off to. At the question, Hope jumped up and walked around the fire, poking it with a stick. Her blue crystals sent sparks of hope hither and yon. Out of the blue, Hope asked Shadows if the house was still black and was given the short answer, "No."

Trust, the parrot, even got bored waiting for Hope to say something. He flew to Dream, landed gently on top of her head, and promptly fell asleep feeling safe in his new home for the first time.

The sound of a cat meowing seemed to break Hope's daze. As fast as she could, the words jumbled out.

"Well, You see, Dream broke her N key and then tried to fix it, and when I was sleeping, I am very sure she took mine to use during the day. She finally got a new N key of her own and stopped using mine, which I didn't mind, really, I didn't, until my N key stopped working, but not all the time! Just when it was most vital for it to work! Do you know how many times you use the letter N? Lots! A very LOTS! More than I ever knew! So I snuck into the future.......Shhhhhhhhh...... and came back safe! But, but, I bought a really pretty new letter N that glows purple in the dark. There. I said it. BUT I AM safe! So it wasn't so bad of a thing. Right? Right?"

Shadows and Dream again looked at each other and had a whole conversation. Hope waited quietly, watching the fire die down after being fanned by her wings while she had talked.

Queen Shadows looked Hope in the eyes with a smile and said, "You have a lot of beans to plant this year to make up for getting that fancy purple glowing N."

The End.