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The wind whipped through the field with a quiet whisper,
gently rippling the long grass that stood there throughout the years. It was
quite a strange place indeed, marking the boundary between the end of Neopia
Central and the Haunted Woods, a place that many feared to enter. It was almost
the comparison of black and white between the two places, the dark twisted trees
contrasting drastically with the peaceful wildflowers and grass that swayed
in the gentle wind.
The Faerie Queen had touched down not more than
a minute ago, taking no notice in the scenery or the beautifully peaceful midday
sky. Her eyes were set directly on a tree up ahead, which was one of the many
that lined the border between the two worlds. This particular tree was much
different than the others and possibly more menacing than any other tree Fenella
had ever seen before.
It was fat and ancient, perhaps having withstood
the test of time since before any Faerie or Neopet had set foot upon the planet.
The dark knotty surface was rough and jagged, indicating more about it’s awesome
age and resolve. An odd gaping hole in the center made the tree was its charm
point, making the tree appear as if it had a large, cavernous mouth. Mothers
used to tell small Neopets that wandered too close to the woods that the tree
was a guardian of the forest, and if any little Neopet walked too close it might
just trap you in it’s mouth forever…
As Fenella drew closer to the tree, she silently
hoped and prayed that her letter would be inside. If anything… anything at all
happened to that kind girl… Fenella would never be able to forgive herself.
She reached into the ancient mouth of the tree
and felt around for something… anything. Quickly though, her delicate grasp
wrapped around a piece of parchment that she was sure was her note.
Relief quickly spread through her body as if
caused by simply touching the note itself. The queen ran her fingers through
her silky blond hair, trying to quietly console herself from yelling out with
joy.
Fenella withdrew the scroll to simply stare at
it in loving adoration for a few seconds. It was almost funny how a simple piece
of paper could cause her such a worry to an individual, but then again it was
always the simplest things that give everyone worries and woes.
“…Oh my,” Fenella said in mild surprise. Nendlitha
had, apparently, already sent her a reply from her note, for the scroll that
she withdrew from the tree was not hers as it was missing the official seal
of the Faerie queen. Instead on the back was a black wax seal, embossed with
a spider.
“Hmm, I must commend Nendlitha on her quick response,”
Fenella conversed with herself as she unfurled the note. But after the first
word she felt her blood freeze in her veins while her heart beat wildly and
erratically. For the words on the page were not those of Nendlitha…but someone
else.
Dear Queen Fenella,
Please stop sending weak faeries to be your messengers.
They really don’t make fun adversaries.
See you soon…very soon…
It could not be… but it was, it surely was. And
suddenly Fenella realized that her status, power, wealth… nothing mattered anymore.
She was completely and utterly alone in the matter and she felt much more weak
and vulnerable than she had ever felt in her life.
Fenella sat in the field a long time, too guilt
ridden to go back to the castle. The thought that she had failed not only those
faeries who had disappeared before this day… but also her trusted friend was
overwhelming. Of course, she had to make the next step in determining who was
behind this, but how?
But every minute that she sat among the flowers
and grass, she felt more and more alone, almost as if the darkness that nestled
among the trees in the forest had eyes that were watching…ears that were eavesdropping…
A wind howled through the trees, hissing, laughing
at her, egging her to go back to her castle and send more people to act as her
shield. She narrowed her eyes in anger at the malicious wind, but it was right
on many accounts.
Soon the sky became a dazzling pink as night
and day melded together in this last spectacle of the day. By this time Fenella
had returned back to her castle, feeling almost like an empty shell in comparison
to how she had felt earlier in the day. Surprisingly it appeared that no one
had bothered her room while she was gone, instead opting to send her a copy
of the minutes that were discussed (or yelled at each other) during the meeting.
Also slipped among the notes was that there was to be an emergency meeting among
both the council and guardians of each land in addition to other faeries of
special ranking.
A thought crossed her mind when thought of all
the powerful Faerie delegates that were to meet together; perhaps she should
explain to everyone just what Nendlitha had told her. Perhaps, upon hearing
the horror that just may well come to pass, they would be more eager to work
hand in hand with the dark faeries to prevent such an atrocity from proceeding
any further.
But a promise was a promise, be it to Dark Faerie
or other wise, and she could not have the heart to comprise the safety of another
Faerie…
And so Fenella stashed her cloak in the back
of her wardrobe, brushed her hair a bit before straighten the crown upon her
head, and walked towards the hall where the meeting would be held, making sure
to wipe the tears from her eyes.
***
Many of those who dwelled among the clouds that made up Faerieland watched
the palace with much more interest tonight than any other night. Normally the
palace had few, if any, visitors during the night, but tonight was an entirely
different story. Though none of the guests could be distinguished from one another
(for they had disguised themselves in heavy traveling capes and cloaks), but
each one who set their eyes upon the sight knew that they were all faeries of
high status.
But why were they meeting? Everyone whispered
this question among themselves, for faeries rarely met in such large numbers
unless it was a coronation or something else. What this ‘something else’
was, no one knew, but they feared it as if they knew exactly what it was.
Once inside the palace, the Faerie quickly shed
their camouflage and were lead into the largest hall in the entire palace. The
Faeries casually conversed with each other, asking one another the same question
as those who watched the faeries enter the palace. No one outside the court
and the Faerie queen herself knew what tonight’s discussion matter was about
(the court having decided to keep the matter strictly to themselves until the
queen addressed everyone at the same time about it). All seemed fine with the
idea except for Fenella, who felt as if she had been given the short end of
the straw. Why did she have to be the bearer of such terrible news?
At around 11:00 at night the guest list appeared
to be fully accounted for with every Faerie who was invited in attendance. As
each Faerie took a seat around the highly polished oak table, the Faerie queen
quietly stood up, instantly becoming a powerful figure in the room. The Faeries
all hushed their voices immediately, staring up in awe at their queen, eager
to hear what had brought them all together on a night such as this one.
“I would like to begin this meeting with a warm
welcome to you all. Although I am glad that we all could finally meet once more,
I am dismayed that it must be under such a time of sadness instead of delight,”
Fenella announced heartily to the audience. They nodded in acknowledgement,
their suspicions of something amiss in Neopia being confirmed. The queen looked
from the interested eyes of the guardians and others from the corners of the
world, and then at her court. They eyed her warily, knowing what she was going
to say next would send the room into pure panic, but they all watched her, never
wavering in their allegiance to her.
Though it may seem like a small gesture you or
me, to Queen Fenella it gave her the necessary strength that was needed. And
so she took a deep breath and looked into the eyes of her hushed audience.
“My sisters, today is a dark day in our history.
It has come to the attention that since two in the afternoon almost fourteen
of our sisters have gone missing,” at the mere mention of these words the hall
erupted into shouts of fear, anger, and sadness. The guardian of a small, medieval
village began to demand to know who did this, while the guardian of an undersea
palace quietly wept for those who were missing. But as the tumult of the noise
washed over the room, Fenella stood steadfast, waiting patiently until the faeries
calmed down so she could continue.
“As I said before, this is a time of sadness,
but not weakness. We will stand together as one and find the cause of this disturbance.
Any information you have is welcomed, and any help you may offer is requested
and needed! My sisters, this is a time of…” But what it was a time of, no one
ever found out, for at that moment an ear-splitting blast echoed through the
main hallway with a thunderous roar. The guards which stood by the entrance
to the room quickly ran through the doors, ready to fight whatever adversary
there was. They managed to get a whole foot out the exit before another blast
echoed with a fearsome proximity, kicking up a cloud of dust that silently descended
over the hall.
The queen’s stance did not waver nor jump at
any of theses noises. She stood staring at the space where the door used to
hand, her eyes narrowed as she tried to discern the figure amid the dust and
debris.
“My apologizes for my lateness sisters, but I
enjoy arriving fashionably late,” snickered the shadow from amid the rubble.
It stepped into the bright light cast by the magical chandelier on the ceiling.
Some faeries screamed, while others began to wildly curse in the Faerie tongue.
For there standing amid the chaos and destruction was other than Nendlitha.
“Did I miss anything important?" she asked
in a falsely innocent voice, not bothering to conceal her mirth.
To be continued...
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