Heart of Gold: Part Three

by Baloyarn

The Encounter

"Where were you!?" Katrycia exclaimed, relieved and angry.

"Don't be mad, sister," Mysteey calmed her down. "I'll explain later. Quickly now!"

"You'd better have a good reason, Twincklezz!" scolded Amanda.

"Like I said, I'll explain later."

It was a quiet lunch, but a tasty one. I kept letting my mind wander back to the figure. I jerked myself back to reality when I recalled the constant repetition of, "You will pay." I hated it. I was miserable and in constant fear.

We rushed home through the pouring rain. It was late. I had returned the Neopoints with a, "What a surprise" from Amanda, an "Are you crazy" from Katrycia, and a "How thoughtful" from Mysteey. I had given the gifts and we were all sitting by the fire.

"You never told us what happened today," Mysteey recalled. I bit my tongue.

"Well, it's the same thing as yesterday. That figure with the repetition of, 'You will Pay'. I couldn't control anything. What do you suppose it was?" I asked.

"I don't know, but watch your back," Katrycia advised.

"Good NeoPets go to bed early!" shouted Amanda from the next room.

I almost forgot to mention we had snuck down. I immediately herded the others into bed. "I just thought of something," I said as we all tucked the warm quilts about us.

"What?" they asked.

"Why is this happening to me?" I asked.

"I had no part in this little battle and..." I began.

"That's just the way things are." Katrycia interjected.

With those words spoken, I fell asleep...

I awoke before dawn the next morning. I shook slightly and tiptoed downstairs. The black logs in the fire had a few red embers still shining. I sat by it, staring deeply into it. I thought for a moment of my past experiences, and decided next time that I would win over it. I paced around the living room.

I heard something, something... I don't know what, I thought. I stopped dead in my tracks. Panicking, I tried to move. I was paralyzed with fear, again. A hot flash, soon followed by a sharp pain, plagued me. "You will pay... you will pay..." The repetition of it again followed by the vision of some glowing creature. The glow was purple, with an evil outline. Suddenly, I began a chant under my breath. "You aren't real, you aren't real...." The pain was gone. "I am real, foolish child, real as the stars in the sky. And you will pay, child, you will." This time there was no mistake. I opened my eyes, and what lay before me was shocking and frightening.

I was in a sort of trance where I had temporarily entered another dimension, with only that purplish glowing figure. "What do you want?" I demanded angrily. "Foolish child." She replied as black lightning tore across the sky. "If I could, I would destroy you now, but I can't. Those blasted siblings of yours." She cursed. "I know who you are, and I won't forget you cursing my sisters like that!" I countered. "Like I said, you are very foolish, for it is your heart of gold that will someday get you killed." And with that, the dimension vanished, and I was again in the living room with the embers and the fire. Those blue twinkly things were around me again.

"We shall see, Uber-Darkness Faerie." I said aloud as those twinkles faded. "We shall see."

I erected myself, having been in a fighting position, alert, poise for the attack. I peered about me. It was light outside now, but it was not yet sunrise. I picked myself up and leapt upon a chair. Curling up into a tiny ball, I fell asleep.

When I awoke, Mysteey was tapping me on the shoulder. "Huh?" I questioned.

"Let me guess.." Katrycia began in an irritated tone. "You had another vision..." she inferred.

"Not a vision... it was.. an.. encounter!" I shuddered.

"Impossible.." she replied in disbelief.

"I would never lie like that! I had a real encounter with the Uber-Darkness Faerie! She was in this weird dimension! That's right, and there was black lighting and everything. She said something about me being foolish and that my heart of gold will someday get me me in trouble..." I began.

"Probably just dreamed it all up," Mysteey interjected.

"Come on, breakfast is getting cold," Katrycia said, changing the subject.

After a hearty breakfast, we went into the back yard to play with the Red Bouncy Ball. We were bouncing it back and forth when Amanda gave us each 250 NP to go to the market place with. I was a bit reluctant, but did what I was told. As we headed toward the market place, I had my doubts. I could not shake the feeling that my next encounter with the Uber-Darkness Faerie was not far off.

To be continued...