The Bittersweet had never seen an ambulance before, so they were curious. They watched its every move. A few children tried to run after it, but their parents held their arms up to them.
Evie, her friends, and her family nodded at one another.
"Well, it looks like it's time to go," Evie said.
"It sure is, Eve," said Charlotte. She patted her daughter's shoulder and said to Keegan, "Come on, Keegan."
"Wait, before you go, take this," Ms. Julie stated before Keegan could hop off the stage. She grabbed his arm to stop him and then nodded at Allister.
The gryphon tapped his feet for the third time. Another bittersweet appeared between them.
Ms. Julie snatched it from the sky. She placed the purple flower in Keegan's palm and curled his fingers over it. Ms. Julie gave his hand a gentle shake. "Take this bittersweet, Keegan, and give it to Mateo at the Guardian's Tree. Currently, this is the closest thing we have to an antidote."
"Ms. Julie, thanks," Keegan said, even though he was a bit bewildered. "Will it help him, though?"
"It should. You accept him now." Ms. Julie smiled to give him confidence. "Go meet the paramedics, and then bring your family back here, including Maria. Crystal and a few of Bittersweet's gryphons will be waiting for you. We need to come up with a battle plan if we are going to break through the undead army's border."
"Got it." Keegan nodded understandingly. He slipped the bittersweet into his pocket. "Thank you again."
"Working together, we will save Mateo," Ms. Julie cooed. "But right now, he needs you guys."
"I know he does." Keegan glanced at Embrose. "Are you ready, Embrose?"
Embrose had to admit... He was a little excited. It had been a good while since he did something good for a change. Nevertheless, it did feel a bit strange not killing for once, but he knew he would get used to the unusual emotion. He was just so used to the hunter's orders.
Embrose pushed those thoughts to the back of his head. Taking a deep breath, he joined Keegan. They faced Evie, her friends, and Charlotte, ready for action.
"Let's go," said the young boy.
***
Ranger Krysta, who stood outside Mateo's tent, waved the ambulance over. She held her walkie-talkie-like device in her free hand. She also noticed that Evie and her party had just appeared over a small hill. They rushed to the ranger and stopped next to her. Everybody was on edge, but they remained brave.
Evie dug Euphorbia's pebble out of her pocket. She closed her eyes and brought it to her forehead. To herself, she repeated, "The Pebble Masters will never shine the same again. Instead, they will regain."
The prophecy had been fulfilled. Evie and her family had regained lost trust with both the magical beings and their family. Now all that was left was for Mateo to become the Green Guardian so the forest could be saved.
The ambulance pulled up in front of the tent, with its lights still flashing. The paramedics/rangers inside moved quickly. They had to. "Operation: Save Ranger Anthony" was in full force.
The vehicle's back doors opened, and two young men appeared on the scene. They wore a cross between a paramedic and Pinta Ranger uniform. The theme colors, as expected, were orange and black. The boots on the medics' feet went up the length of their shins, and their walkie-talkie-like ranger devices dangled from their black belts.
One final paramedic–a woman–hopped out of the ambulance's driver's side. She held her long, curly brown hair in a bun. Including Krysta, there were a total of four paramedics. That was more than enough. Not only was it their job to get Mateo to the hospital, but they also needed to protect him from Fororli. There was no doubt that he would try to sabotage the rescue.
"Hi, Krysta," said Corrine, the brown-headed medic.
She shook her hand. "Hi, Corrine." Her eyes bounced from her to the two men. "Let's get this show on the road."
They nodded at her, "Right," and unloaded a gurney from the ambulance, setting it down on the dirt path that led into the tent.
It was just in time, too. Maria stumbled out of the tent, with her hand over her belly, and begged, "Please hurry." She looked as if a whole fountain had been dumped on her. She could not go an hour without crying over Mateo.
The two men and Corrine rushed into the tent, with Krysta close on their heels. She stopped Evie, her friends, and her family before they could follow them. "Sorry, but y'all can't go in there."
"What, why?" Evie asked. "Mateo is family!"
"You guys don't want to see him. Trust me," Krysta warned. "We're paramedics, so we'll take care of him. Right now, y'all need to come up with a plan."
"But Mateo is family!" Evie repeated. She tried to push past Krysta, but her parents pulled her back.
"Please, Evie," Krysta begged, "how you can help him is by returning to Village Square." She focused her attention on Maria. "Maria, go with them. Be strong for your fiancé."
"I'll try." Maria rubbed tears from her eyes. She took a deep breath and told her friends, "It's time to go."
***
Just as Ms. Julie said, Crystal and a few of Bittersweet's gryphons were waiting in Village Square for the party. Each gryphon had been decked out with battle armor: gold, plated helmets, and shin and elbow guards. A few of Bittersweet's villagers brushed their fur and feathers.
Crystal walked back and forth in front of the line of gryphons. She looked like she was thinking.
Ben searched the animals for his noble steed. Where was he? He remembered riding him to Seranet, but he did not know what happened to him after Anecka spelled him. He came within reach of Crystal and asked, "Where's Joey?"
Crystal gave him a small wink. "Don't worry, son. He'll be here before you know it. He went to go get somebody."
"Who?" Ben inquired, but Crystal said nothing more.
Ms. Julie, who put the finishing touches on Allister's armor, noticed Evie. "Evie!" she called. She flipped up a satchel that she had tied to Allister's side and pulled something out of it.
"Ms. Julie?" Evie said. She, her friends, and her family paused in their tracks. There was so much activity happening in Bittersweet; it was hard to keep up with it all.
Ms. Julie came within reach of the young girl. She smiled at her. "As a Pebble Master of the Paperblank Forest, we, the Bittersweet, bestow this gift on you, little one. You are going to be the one to lead us to the Guardian's Tree."
"Whoa! Whoa!" Keegan shouted, waving his hands. "Are you crazy, Ms. Julie? She's only eleven!"
"That's true, but she's also a Pebble Master," Ms. Julie elucidated. "Do you remember what the prophecy says, Mr. Madison?" She cleared her throat. "'The Guardian is weak, but the pebble speaks. Found in a stream, it climbs to its peak. Two shall find it. Two share its magic–the magic of the Green Guardian.' Autumn did not give Evie the pebble just for the heck of it. She knew she was a Pebble Master from the day she was born."
"Wait, really?" Evie asked, shocked. Now it made sense why Grandma Gilbert trusted her with the pebble and not Charlotte or Keegan.
"But she's a little girl," Keegan whimpered. He threw his hands forward and clamped Evie's shoulders. Keegan pulled her close to him.
"She needs to do this, Keegan," Ms. Julie said. "It's in the prophecy. Crystal will take care of her. I promise." As soon as she said that, Crystal trotted into the fray and stopped next to Evie. Ms. Julie re-offered her the gift. "Free the pebble from your pocket and accept our offering, young one."
Up close, Evie noticed that she held a gold uniform with a helmet. She gulped, but she followed through with Ms. Julie's orders. Evie once again freed the pebble from her pocket. She set it down on top of the uniform and took it from Ms. Julie. The second she did, the pebble flickered. A wave of golden light washed over Evie's small body and lifted her into the sky.
Keegan reached his hands out to her, but Charlotte lowered them. She trusted Ms. Julie, and she trusted Evie. Her daughter was truly a Gifted Human.
Sam, Embrose, and Evie's friends' jaws dropped. Sam missed his opportunity to transform into an epic warrior.
The pebble in Evie's hand changed its form. It was hard to see, but it definitely grew longer and slimmer. Nature sucked the magic away like a vacuum, and Evie reappeared looking completely different. Instead of her camp attire, she now wore the uniform of the Pebble Master. The gold, scaly jumpsuit fit her perfectly, as well as the tall boots and brown helmet. She wore it like a diadem. Over her forearms were gold gauntlets. Finally, her hair had been pulled up in a high ponytail. Euphorbia's pebble was no longer a pebble, but a golden staff.
Charlotte cried tears of happiness. "I'm so proud of you, Evie." She hugged her warrior princess as tight as she could.
"Thank you, Mom," Evie whispered. She offered a nervous Keegan her hand.
Taking it, he also joined the hug. "Sam, Maria, and Embrose, come here, too," he said, waving them over. "You're also family."
Maria needed a hug. Keegan was almost a completely different man than he was in the beginning. She, Embrose, and Sam tossed themselves into the family snuggle fest. "We're going to save your fiancé, Maria. I promise," Keegan said. "I have the bittersweet." He patted his pocket.
"I want a hug, too!" John the Red-Crowned Crane suddenly spoke. He threw his whole body on top of the humans. Stumbling, they pulled apart before they could fall. John ended up plopping onto the ground like a baby bird who had fallen out of the nest.
Charlotte and Keegan helped him up, but Evie came within reach of Crystal. She tightened her grip on what used to be Euphorbia's pebble. It felt smooth to the touch. "So, Crystal," she said, "what's the plan?"
"You and I will fly to the Guardian's Tree," she explained. "There, we will prepare it for Mateo's ceremony. Once we're ready, we will summon the others."
"The others?" Evie hopped onto the alicorn's back when she asked that.
Crystal peered over her shoulder at the little girl. "Bittersweet's army. A platoon has been sent to create a border between the undead army and the tree. Whatever we do, we must not let Fororli anywhere near it."
"What about my family and friends?" Evie said.
"Please don't worry about them," said Crystal. "We have a secret weapon that will protect them and Mateo."
"Is it a surprise?" Evie asked.
"It is." Crystal knew what she was saying. Surprises were always interesting, especially in Pinta Country. Crystal turned to face Ms. Julie, Evie's friends, and her family. "Evie and I are going to go ahead and head out. We'll meet you guys at the tree."
Ms. Julie gave her a quick salute. "Right on, Lieutenant Crystal! We'll be right behind you. We're going to wait until the ambulance leaves the village."
"Please be careful, Evie," Charlotte begged.
"We will be, Mom," replied Evie. "What's important is that y'all cover for the paramedics. Protect them and Mateo at all costs. They will be the army's main target."
"Why are you so mature?" Charlotte sniffed. Oh, wait, she knew why. Evie was a warrior. Charlotte felt so blessed to have such a brave daughter.
Evie smiled at her mother. She sat like a queen on Crystal's back and said, "Because I am a Pinta Park Ranger." And just like that, she kicked Crystal's sides.
The alicorn whinnied. She took off at a full gallop and hurried down Bittersweet's main road, toward the mushroom archways.
Evie clutched her mane to help her balance. She had to be brave. Bittersweet, her friends, family, and Mateo were counting on her.
Just before she reached the archways, Crystal opened her enormous wings. She leaped into the sky like a rocket and climbed up toward the gray clouds. Temporarily, she fell back to Village Square.
"Good luck, Evie! Good luck, Crystal!" Evie's friends called.
Crystal flew right over Evie's party. Her wings and body unleashed a gush of wind that threw every member forward. They fell on top of one another into a crowded pile. Crystal soared out of Bittersweet and into a lush, green meadow filled with wildflowers, rolling hills, and streams. It was the meadow Euphorbia passed through when she flew to the Guardian's Tree to meet the basilisk.
Crystal headed toward it, but she stayed close to the ground.
She and Evie stumbled into a group of centaurs who were out on an afternoon run. Evie smiled at the young ones racing their friends and parents. A few of the children waved hello to them, but then they returned to their game.
The centaurs broke apart and cleared the path for the human and alicorn. They were so majestic. Evie could not let her great-grandfather destroy such a beautiful home for so many wonderful magical beings. She urged Crystal to fly faster. "Let's go, Crystal!"
"As you wish, Evie," she said. She and her had almost reached the cluster of trees at the very end of the meadow. "The Guardian's Tree is through those ones. We're so close!"
"We are," Evie giggled. She temporarily peered back at the centaurs. "It's time for the fun to begin."