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Illusen's Bad Hair Day: Part Two


by ummagine3284

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They landed on a hill near Neopia Central. Illusen was very grateful for the cloudy skies; they were easier to travel in without the fear of being spotted. Quickly, they trotted over to the Neopian Bazaar. As they predicted, it was busy. If Illusen were to be seen, they would be caught in a mess involving fans and autographs. Illusen shivered. What if her hair was revealed to the public?

     At last, they entered the Grooming Parlor. They strolled by the customers without sensing a single ounce of suspicion and stood at the front desk. A red Usul strolled over to them and grinned.

     “Hi, may I help you with something?” the shopkeeper said cheerfully.

     Illusen spoke before Trevor could think of what he should say. “We are desperately looking for Herbal Shampoo, and we were wondering if you happen to have any.”

     The Usul shook her head. “I’ve never sold an item called Herbal Shampoo or anything with a similar name. You would probably have to find someone who specializes in homemade hair care products to get what you need.”

     Illusen replied, “But I am certain you sell that shampoo; I’ve been given it numerous times as a gift and the price tags say they were from here or imported from here.”

     “I’m certain I am right.” The shopkeeper’s voice was now a little aggravated. “I’ve been doing this job for many years now and I know and memorize each of my products the day they come in. The item that you are looking for has never sold here, but we do have other shampoos that you may be interested instead.”

     Unfortunately, trying another shampoo was not an option. She got extremely strange allergic reactions with every shampoo in Neopia, and she had never been successful at making her own.

     “We have to go now,” Illusen said politely, yet somewhat bitterly. “Thanks for your help.”

     As they left the shop, Trevor confronted Illusen. “Why are you trying to find a shampoo that doesn’t exist?”

     “It does exist,” Illusen mumbled. “I’ve used it many times and it is the only shampoo that works for me. Something is definitely going on here, and I think I may know what’s happening.”

     Trevor wore a face of curiosity. “What?”

     “I think that someone is trying to mess with me, since it is Illusen Day. I believe that it was none other than Jhudora who somehow wiped my shampoo from existence.”

     “Jhudora is so evil! Let’s go find her and tell her how we feel!”

     “She will get what’s coming to her,” Illusen promised, “but aren’t you hungry?”

     “Yes, but I can wait if it means we can get your shampoo!” He smiled and at that moment, his stomach growled loudly.

     “We’ll have to eat first or we cannot move on,” Illusen said wisely. “Now where would you like to eat?”

     * * * * *

     After their pizza, they were ready to ascend into the skies. It wasn’t the best thing to do after lunch, they decided, but they had no time to waste.

     At first, Illusen did not want to bring Trevor along on her dangerous quest, but later, she felt that she needed Trevor by her side. Her bad hair day was bad enough already, but he cheered her up a little. Trevor saw her not as a powerful Faerie that could give out powerful artifacts, but as a friend, a rather trustworthy one.

     Suddenly, a young, joyful blue Blumaroo passed by and handed a flyer to Illusen. She gasped the second her eyes met with it.

     “Oh no,” Illusen said fearfully. “I can’t believe I forgot about this. This is not good at all.”

     Trevor hopped up to read the note until Illusen lowered it so he could see. It was truly a problem. Illusen was scheduled for a public appearance in front of the Defenders of Neopia Headquarters. And to make matters worse, it was in four hours.

     “Let’s go now!” Illusen snapped while she tightened the blanket around her head and floated a few feet above the ground.

     Trevor rapidly jumped inside the bag Illusen was carrying and again he grinned with excitement. In seconds, they found themselves traveling in the clouds. Trevor was about to say something, but stopped. A blank expression was on Illusen’s face. He figured that she was planning something important, so he decided to keep quiet and admire the view of green from down below him.

     After over an hour of flying, a giant cloud was now in front of them: Faerieland. More of its elaborate details revealed themselves every minute. The towers ranged from tall to small and as they went higher into the air, they could see patches of vivid flower gardens. No matter how beautiful Faerieland looked, there was always one area, one cloud that stood out far more than the rest.

     Jhudora’s Cloud loomed in front of them.

     The eerie purple clouds made them feel slightly frightened, but they expected to be. Jhudora may have already known she was coming, but she had no idea what her new potion was capable of. Illusen smirked.

     “Are you ready?” Illusen asked Trevor.

     He nodded promptly. “Of course.”

     “Then let’s do this!”

     They stealthily made their way to the back of her cloudy lair and waited. Illusen explained her plan to Trevor. It seemed simple, but one wrong move could cost them the shampoo and Illusen’s reputation. He was to distract Jhudora by asking her for a quest while Illusen snooped around for something strange.

     After a few minutes, they started their plan. Trevor shivered at the ominous green smoke and purple clouds that made up the entrance. Deeper inside the room were some long tables and chairs that were also purple and green. Above them hung portraits of the evil faerie herself, but they weren’t as nearly as repulsive as the faerie that sat in the throne at the end of the room.

     “I’ve come to ask you for a quest,” Trevor said blandly.

     “Fine,” Jhudora said without even looking at him. “Go get me a—”

     “Wait!” Trevor snapped. “I may not be able to afford the item you tell me to get because I don’t have many neopoints anymore. You see, yesterday a bunch of Meepits that were dressed as Usuki dolls came to my house...”

     * * * * *

     Whatever Trevor was doing, he was doing a great job so far, Illusen acknowledged. She then frowned. The one thing she could not stand about Jhudora’s place was its messiness; second to the horrid color scheme, of course. Her shelves were overstuffed with unlabeled potions and glass bottles. Unfortunately, she had to tiptoe slowly because one touch of any bottle would cause everything to collapse.

     Illusen ventured into a large room. It was empty, except for a purple crystal ball in the center of the room. She quickly rushed over to it and placed one of her palms on its cold surface. A blurry picture formed inside the crystal ball and became clearer every few seconds. Soon, the picture was clear enough for her to identify it. It was Herbal Shampoo.

     Jhudora had captured all of the Herbal Shampoos with a powerful spell. She had heard of a spell like it before, but she didn’t think Jhudora could ever be skilled enough to get it to work. The spell required many ingredients to be obtained, so Jhudora must have been planning her bad hair day for quite some time. She had to admit, Jhudora’s plan had worked very well.

     Suddenly, she heard Jhudora yelling from a few rooms away. She snatched up the crystal ball and dashed out of the room. But then, Illusen realized she had forgotten about the shelves in the back hallway and she ran into them hard. The potions came crashing to the floor, making earsplitting sounds.

     An angered Jhudora now faced the faerie. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the blanket covering her hair. “Having a little hair problems, I see?”

     “It’s nothing,” Illusen lied. “I’m just drying out my hair, that’s all.”

     Jhudora laughed. “I suppose you don’t need any more shampoo for your little shed, then. And why is my crystal ball in your filthy hands?”

     “Your little prank is over! Give me back my shampoo or I will have to take it from you!” Illusen threatened.

     “I think I’ll just keep holding on to them. It’s exciting to watch you beg from me, especially when I messed with your last bottle of shampoo. Did you even notice the side effect of forgetfulness? Besides, I’ve been using them longer than you and I always add just the right amount of darkness to make my hair shine like crystals.” Jhudora spoke slowly.

     The dark faerie swung her head slowly to reveal her glossy purple hair with green highlights. Each strand of her hair was so straight and smooth; Illusen couldn’t help but burn with envy.

     “You’re going down!” Illusen slipped her hand into a sack she was carrying a pulled out a light purple potion with some orange particles that were almost too small to see.

     Jhudora showed no intimidation by Illusen’s potion. “You’re no match for me!”

     Illusen pulled the cork off the top of the bottle while she held on to the blanket on her head. She poured the thick substance by Jhudora’s feet and realized she had made a horrible mistake. She had grabbed the wrong potion back at her glade! The odds of her winning were now very slim, she thought.

     “What is this stuff?” Jhudora shouted as the purple goop grew around her feet. “This is Jelly!”

To be continued...

 
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Other Episodes


» Illusen's Bad Hair Day: Part One
» Illusen's Bad Hair Day: Part Three



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