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Untitled Document
"Wake up! Come on! MASKEDHERO!!!" I heard an annoying
yelling in my ear as I got up sleepily from my Zen bed. I looked down at my
little green Zafara, Zoopy59. "Good morning, Zoopy." I groaned. He did this
every single day.
"Get up! TriLink already made breakfast!"
I slid off my bed, lazily pulling on a shirt
and walking to the kitchen, which held many surprises. The smell of egg filled
the air as I sat down and grabbed The Neopian Times off the table. LuckyRacer
and Zoopy both grabbed for the comics section, while I decided to read the news.
A picture of a weird ring was on the page, so I read the news aloud. "'Jhudora's
Bewitched Ring is now in the Hidden Tower, but beware, once you put it on, it
may never come off!' Wow, that doesn't sound like an item I want to save my
money for..." I gazed at the picture more, and decided I wanted to see this
item up close.
After TriLink, Leeallen, Zoopy59, and LuckyRacer59
finished our meal, we all headed for Faerieland. Since I had found the Hidden
Tower a long time ago already, it was a cinch to find it. Fyora greeted us happily,
as I knew her well and even did one of her quests.
"Why, hello, Maskedhero. Is Leeallen still pretending
to be evil?" Fyora smiled.
"For your information, I am not PRETENDING to
be evil." Leeallen growled, his Wocky fur fluffing up everywhere.
"Unfortunately, yes. But we are here because
I was curious about this one item that Neopets put in the tower..." I held up
the article with the information on the ring.
Fyora frowned. "Y-yes, I put that in stock just
now. If you want to see it, it's over here."
Fyora reluctantly led us to the shelf with the
dreaded ring. It sat there, even more menacing than the picture was. It glowed
unnaturally, and seemed to glare down on me. It reminded me of a certain other
ring from a book in the Real World. "This is it. Horrid, isn't it? Jhudora insisted
that the Neopets staff put it in here." Fyora's regal wings almost drooped at
the sight of the ring. If I had some, they would too. Just thinking about the
ring made my head spin.
We all bid farewell to Fyora and wandered about
Faerieland for a moment. The Poogle Races were almost on, so we went there.
Zoopy and LuckyRacer dug 30 NP out of their pockets and slapped it on the table,
both rooting for Poogle number one. We found a seat and sat down, Zoopy and
LuckyRacer watching closely, and cheering as loud as anyone. I smiled at my
over-entusiastic Neopets and looked down. A purple ring was down there, stirring
my curiosity. I just had to pick it up. I had to put it on, studying it. It
was right after I put it on when I realised, it was Jhudora's Bewitched Ring.
"What? Oh no! How could I have been so... so...
ARRRGH!" I cried out. I hid my hands in my pockets until we got home. "Maskedhero,
how did you find it?"
TriLink was worried, his usually soft, green
glow was pinkish in hue with worry. His ear stalks were back behind his head
as he studied the ring on my finger. It had a tight grip, and it wasn't letting
go anytime soon.
"It was just right there, under my seat. I had
to see what it was!" I cried.
"Maskedhero, will we have to cut off your finger?"
LuckyRacer asked innocently. He was as worried as everyone else was, for he
was my most loyal neopet.
"Now, where did you get that idea, LuckyRacer?"
I asked almost laughingly. But then it struck me. What if I really DO have to??
TriLink decided that the only way to get rid
of the ring was to see Fyora at the Hidden Tower.
"Ooh, she'll be mad at me... I hope she thinks
I didn't... Steal it..." I gulped.
"No way, Maskedhero. She's a forgiving soul!"
TriLink said reassuringly. "... I hope."
***
We got to the Hidden Tower, and I reluctantly went in.
"Oh, what brings you here again so soon?" Fyora
asked, looking absolutely cheerful. When we told her, she wasn't so happy then.
She said my real, full name, as only she and
a few certain people know. "How did you EVER get that ring in your possession?
I know you wouldn't steal but..." Fyora paused, looking at me with a look that
was absolutely horrid.
"B-b-b-but, Fyora... I didn't steal it, honest!
I just found it... Under a seat at the Poogle Races..." I stuttered. I didn't
like making people mad.
"Well, this IS a problem. I can't get the ring
off! No magic will do it!" Fyora announced. She then said gravely, "We'll have
to take this problem to the creator of the ring."
"Jhudora??" Zoopy cried. He looked close to tears.
"But she might hurt Maskedhero in the process of removing it!"
Fyora sighed, "That's a risk we'll have to take.
I am so sorry, Maskedhero."
"That's okay Fyora. I'll do almost anything
to get rid of this ring."
We soon came to the dreaded cloud where Jhudora
lived. The evil, purple ground boomed and thundered beneath our feet as we walked.
My little Neopets hid behind my legs as we walked up to Jhudora, who was obviously
thinking up new items she wanted for her quests.
"Why, Fyora, and little mortals... Heheh, to
what do I owe this visit?" Jhudora cackled, scaring Zoopy and LuckyRacer greatly.
Jhudora spotted the ring on my finger and smirked. "So, you got caught in my
ring's trap, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did. Now, could you please get it off
for me?" I asked, trying not to be scared.
I wasn't doing a good job of it. I was shaking
in my shoes, because Jhudora was VERY unpredictable. She swooped down on me
and grabbed my hand.
"This will be a very tough job to do. It's a
powerful curse," Jhudora cackled. Her long, purple and green fingernails dug
into my skin, leaving red marks when she let go.
"What will you give me for getting rid of it?"
she asked.
Um... We aren't very rich, and the only good
items we have are a cloud paint brush and a couple codestones..." TriLink said,
mustering up some rare courage to speak.
"No, actually, I want the ring after I get rid
of it," Jhudora said simply.
Fyora had a look of horror on her face, but
it turned soft. "Alright. Fine. Get rid of the ring without harming Maskehero,
and you can keep the ring." Fyora kept her gaze upon Jhudora.
Jhudora looked overjoyed... In an evil, bad
sort of way. She grabbed my finger and waved her hand over it, chanting a few
words. My whole body was filled with an evil emptiness and I gasped. I stood
there frozen for a moment while Jhudora slipped the ring off my finger. Overwhelmed
by the sudden emptiness, I fainted.
I awoke in the Neopian hospital, my Neopets
sitting by my bed, worried out of their minds. They lit up at the sight of me
waking up.
"Maskedhero! MASKEDHERO!" Zoopy cried, "You're
okay!!"
"What happened?" I rubbed my head. It was
throbbing with pain.
"When you fainted, you hit your head on an item
of Jhudora's and was hurt. We had to take you to the hospital because you weren't
waking up. Fyora wasn't happy with Jhudora using that particular spell." Leeallen
growled slightly.
I took a look at my index finger. There was
a red mark where the ring used to be, and it's still there. I guess that's what
you pay for curiosity.
The End
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