Hit the Road: Part Two

by aishachick100

"Ar... we're here, lassies," said the Koi, "Onee a few minutes to go. I'd git your bags a-ready if I were ye." Purrows and Fionnavar grinned at each other. They had already figured out the ferryman's accent was exaggerated just a bit. They had been on deck, watching the sea. Neither Fionnavar nor Purrows had ever seen it before, so they grumpily trudged into their cabin. They didn't have very much stuff to 'get a-ready', so they just brought their stuff back up on deck so they could watch the ocean some more.

"I'm so excited!" exclaimed Purrows suddenly as they were gazing out over the water.

"Me too!" said Fionnavar. "I hope my owner doesn't miss me... I miss her... I've never been away from her for so long," said Purrows wistfully.

"Same here," agreed Fionnavar, "Once we get to Happy Valley we can send a letter... although we'll have to be careful they can't figure out where we are. Maybe we can send her a postcard from Lilac Island?"

"Good idea!" said Purrows.

"Ahoy, young missies! Off y'go!" said the ferryman, gesturing toward the dock they were approaching.

The second the boat hit something and it became very cold. Purrows and Fionnavar could see why. "SNOW!" they both exclaimed at the same time. Fionnavar quickly paid the ferryman and they leaped off the boat. "G' bye!" Purrows yelled to the Koi as they scrambled onto the mainland. It was a very beautiful sight to behold, indeed. There were huge mountains of crystal ahead of them, just beyond a small village called- "Happy Valley!" piped up Fionnavar.

"Yippee! We're here!" said Purrows happily.

"Wait, Purrows... first things first... we need to get ourselves a place to stay!" pointed out Fionnavar.

"Oh, right!" said Purrows, remembering. They walked into town, Fionnavar carrying her duffel bag and their groceries, and Purrows carrying her pink sack.

"G-g-goodness," shivered Fionnavar as they were a few blocks into the town, "It's f-f-frreezing!"

"I-i-it is!" agreed Purrows. She put down her bag and got on her sweater. Fionnavar did the same.

"Ahhhhhh" sighed Purrows, hugging herself, "Warmth!"

"Ditto!" said Fionnavar, "Now let's go there!" Purrows looked where she was pointing and saw an Information Booth.

"Perfect!" said Purrows.

They walked into the small brick building. They looked around. They were in a cavernous structure, which looked a lot bigger from the inside as it had first appeared. Fionnavar and Purrows exchanged quizzical looks, but shrugged. It WAS a new world, after all. Fionnavar walked up to a rather bothered-looking Wocky at the 'Tourist' information booth, with Purrows trailing behind her. "Hello?" said Fionnavar.

"Hmph," snorted the Wocky, "New to this place, eh?"

"Erm..." began Purrows, "Yeah! So, where should we stay...overnight I mean..."

"Newbies!" said the Wocky loudly, as if making a public announcement, his mouth twisting into a weird sort of grin. All of a sudden, Purrows and Fionnavar saw everyone in the room was staring at them with wicked smiles on their faces. "Um, Fionnavar?" said Purrows nervously, "L-let's go." They began to walk out but before they reached the door a circle of pets had surrounded them. Before Fionnavar could protest she and her friend were hit over the head with something... and everything went black.

***

Purrows woke at about the same time Fionnavar had. "Uuuuuuugh," she groaned, her head throbbing.

She reached a paw up and touched the sore spot. She grimaced as she felt her paw connect with a raised bump. "Owwwww...." moaned Fionnavar, feeling her head too.

"Gosh, what happened?" asked Purrows.

"Darrrrk..." began Fionnavar, shuddering with pain.

"Dark?" inquired Purrows.

"Dark faeries," groaned her companion, "It was all in 'All About Dark Faeries'. They turn ordinary-looking buildings into traps. They brainwash all the inhabitants and turn it into their lair."

"Oh..." said Purrows, not really understanding, "Why?"

"Don't you know ANYTHING?" asked Fionnavar sharply, "Sorry. I'm not in a great mood. Anyway, they live off... NeoPets. Did you really think they eat FLOWERS? These are evil creatures, Purrows!"

"Oh," replied Purrows, feeling rather hurt.

"I'm sorry, Purrows!" insisted her friend.

"Okay, that's all right," said Purrows, understanding, "Now what are we going to do?"

"Be eaten," said Fionnavar simply, "We can't escape. They use magic to lock us in... here."

For the first time Purrows noticed her surroundings. She was in a small cell-like room with a torch on the wall. The walls were made of stone, and there was hay on the ground. It rather reminded her of a book she had read on Medieval dungeons.

"By the way," added Fionnavar, "don't touch anything. See that torch?" Purrows nodded.

"Touch it, and you'll be destroyed. Dark faeries have SOME decency, and they can't stand the thought of killing things themselves. So they use ordinary-looking objects with dark spells on them to do their dirty work," explained Fionnavar. Purrows nodded, wide-eyed.

"Don't look so scared. Dark faeries hate pain, and when you die-- it's quick," said Fionnavar.

Purrows stared at her in astonishment. "Aren't we going to DO anything?" she asked incredulously.

"We CAN'T, Purrows!" insisted her friend.

"Well, at least we can try! What have we got to lose?" asked Purrows unbelievingly.

"Our sanity. They say if you see the Uber Dark Faerie herself you'll go insane. That's what they do to people who try anything... they don't want."

"Wow," said Purrows, "They really thought of everything, didn't they?"

"Yep. They're evil, but they aren't stupid." Purrows didn't say anything. In HER opinion, anything evil qualified as pretty stupid. All of a sudden, Purrows noticed something she hadn't before. There was a very faint purple glow emitting from under some hay.

"Don't touch it!" Fionnavar snapped, seeing the same thing.

"I won't, I won't," Purrows assured her companion as she groggily walked over to the light.

She carefully threw some hay on it. It shimmered brightly. Careful not to touch whatever was causing the glow, she removed the hay from on top of it. A small purple figure in purple robes lay motionless on the stone floor. The Queen Faerie! Purrows gasped, and beckoned to her friend...

To be continued...