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The Wish: Part Two


by newmoon653

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The guards were just handing me my things in Illusen’s Glade. “You don’t have a lot of things,” one of the guards remarked.

      “My parents aren’t exactly fond of me, you know,” I told them. “What happened when you told them I had gone missing and that you needed my things to conduct a proper investigation? And I want the truth.” No matter how bad it was. My turning into a faerie needed to be covered up somehow, and that was how it would be done.

      “They shoved your stuff at us and slammed the door,” one guard said sheepishly.

      Another guard, who seemed a lot more confident, said, “And while we waited, they did a happy dance!” That was not what I had wanted to hear. But it was the truth.

      “Thank you,” I murmured, sadness ringing my voice. I loved them. Turned out they didn’t love me back. I guess what’s done is done. They’ll never see me and they’ll be happy.

      “Get in here,” Illusen called. “I have some ground rules to explain to you.” I walked over obediently. “NO touching my stuff,” she ordered. “You can play or do whatever in the glade, but do NOT touch my stuff. And don’t venture into the halls of my house that I don’t show you. They’re not meant for young faeries. And if you meet another young faerie, tell them your name is Destiny, student of Illusen, daughter of... What was your mother’s name?”

      “Dreena,” I said. My glamorous mother had never actually paid attention to me, so I didn’t know much about her. I barely knew her name.

      “Destiny, student of Illusen, daughter of Dreena,” Illusen repeated. “That’s all there is to it. I’ll show you to your room.” She led me up the stairs. Then I realized something.

      “Wait, you said student of Illusen, right?” I questioned, my voice high with enthusiasm.

      “Right,” she confirmed. “Where are you going with this?”

      “So that means you’re going to teach me magic?” I gasped, my voice breaking on the last syllable with excitement.

      “Yes,” she answered, beaming. “Someone has to teach you more about faeries, right? And that person is me.” Her smile got even wider. “You couldn’t know how to help us unless you have some background on what we do. C’mon, let’s get upstairs.” As we walked up the stairs, I thought about Illusen teaching me. Wow. One of the greatest faeries in all of Neopia is going to teach me. I couldn’t wait.

      We finally got up the stairs and she showed me my room. “Here it is,” Illusen said proudly.

      I could understand why she said it proudly. It was stunning! There was a fountain bubbling with lovely crystal clear water. I was so tempted to go over there and just drink all the water myself! And then I saw the walls. They were gorgeous. It seemed as if I was in the middle of Illusen’s glade with the babbling brook and the enormous garden. Then I saw my bed. My bed was a grassy green, and it seemed to be made of silk. I flung myself onto the bed. It was made of silk! And the bed was soft as a Yurble’s fur. The bed had a large canopy made of leaves shading the bed. As I looked up I saw the ceiling, I gasped in wonder and awe. It was so beautiful and rich in detail! It looked as if I was looking at the daytime sky of Neopia! There were wispy clouds blowing across the ceiling and burning sun that seemed to be high in the sky. It was delightful!

      “Come on,” Illusen laughed. “You don’t want to get yourself lost in that ceiling. I know I have,” she said with a smile. “But that’s not the best part of the ceiling. You’ll figure that out tonight, though. C’mon, I have something to show you.” She led me to a door that I seemed to have not noticed before. Though I don’t know how I didn’t notice it. It was ornately carved, leaves and vines etched into the side panels. A single emerald leaf lay in the middle, shining with a subtle light.

      “This,” she said, “is a—”

      “Door,” I interrupted.

      “Yes,” she said impatiently, “but this isn’t just any door. It’s a door that will transport you to any place in Neopia,” she said proudly. “All you have to do is open the door, think of the place you want to go, and you’ll be there. Every faerie you’re going to help has this. But if you go somewhere without this door,” she warned, “you are going to have to find your own means of transportation back. Well,” Illusen said as she looked at the ceiling, “it’s three o’clock. I’ve got work to do. You should explore Neopia while I’m busy. I recommend stopping by at the Faerie Academy. They have a wonderful library. You should stop by there first. You might find something that will intrigue you.” She winked, as if she knew how preoccupied I had been with books when I was a Draik. And with that, she left to go do her business.

     ***

      I decided to take Illusen’s advice and go to the Faerie Academy. I ran my hands on the ornate carving of the door as I opened it. It was beautiful, nothing I had ever seen before. But, then again, in this world, there were many things I hadn’t seen before. “I want to go to the Faerie Academy,” I whispered, and stepped into the doorway.

      I emerged in what seemed to be the front hall of Faerie Academy. The floor was made of coral pink and purple tiles, but as I looked closer, they shimmered... I wonder why that was? The walls were made of the same things that the floor was made of, and as I looked up, I noticed the beautiful ceiling. It was similar to mine, except that it showed the marvelous sky above Faerie Academy. The great columns depicted grand stories, each changing with the slightest touch or look. I saw Illusen’s story, the Grey Faerie’s story, and many others.

      At last, I took a final glimpse and headed forward, to the great desk to which a stern water faerie stood behind. She had blond, wavy hair that shimmered, and her blue eyes were crystal clear pools of water. Her dress was the color of the sky, and her bright pink lips were chewing equally pink bubble gum.

      “Are you gonna stand there gawking, or are going to you tell me what you’re here for?” she snipped, as if she had better things to do than talk to me, which I suspected she did. But even then it was rude. What were they teaching young faeries these days?

      I composed myself and responded—as she popped another bubble—“May I please go into the Faerie Academy Library?”

      “What is your name?” she questioned, popping yet another fluorescent sphere.

      “Destiny, student of Illusen, daughter of Dreena,” I answered confidently despite her insolence.

      She went through her papers as I waited patiently for several minutes listing to the annoying pop of her bubble gum. Uch, why couldn’t she stop chewing it? It was so horrible for her teeth! She finally looked down at me sternly with a businesslike tone that clashed with her childlike bubble gum and said, “Well, I’m sorry, but unless you are a teacher or student here, you may not have permission to go into the Library.”

      “But Illusen sent me here,” I protested. This was not a complete lie, as she had suggested I visit.

      Recognition bloomed in her eyes. “Oh, I-I’m sorry,” she stuttered, her voice sincere. “I hadn’t realized. Here is your card,” she said, handing me a starry blue card embossed with my name in gold. “Just give this to the Library Faerie in the Faerie Academy Library Hall and she’ll let you in. Have a nice day!” she called out to me as I walked through the door leading to the library. I doubted she really meant it as she turned back to her crystal ball to instantly chat with her faerie friends.

     ***

      I followed the maze of corridors that led to the library. The walls were painted in sparkling sky blue, lilac, and pink. Resting upon them were paintings of many great faeries, most of whom I had no inkling of knowledge about. But one I knew was Fyora’s.

      As I stopped to look at it, it transformed before my eyes, telling the story of Fyora and how she came to be the Faerie Queen. I watched, perplexed, as I saw her grow into the wise, influential, and knowledgeable faerie she was today.

      I soon remembered why I was in this corridor. I continued down the path to the library, catching glimpses of the faeries in the portraits as they smiled down at me in their own wistful ways.

      At last I had reached the doors of the Faerie Academy library Hall. They were gold, embedded with rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. Golden arches framed the doorway, along with curly ringlets that danced along the edges of the precious stones. The handles seemed to be made of topaz, and as I opened door, I felt some come off in my hands. Uh-oh.

      As I walked up to the Library Faerie’s desk, I battled with myself on issue of whether or not to tell her about the topaz piece in my hand. I decided to, even if it did kick me out.

      “Excuse me?” I murmured sheepishly against the greedy and scared voice that shouted words inside me. “Some of the door came away in my hand, and...”

      “Don’t worry about it, dear,” she replied as she turned around and looked at me with a warm smile. “Every faerie has it come off when they first enter. It’s the door’s way of saying, ‘Thank you for visiting the Faerie Academy Library.’ Now what can I do for you?” she asked sweetly.

      I handed her my azure card. It sparkled in the florescent light. “I would like permission to enter the library, please,” I asked politely. I sounded so oddly formal, even to myself. Maybe because it was something felt different in this literary atmosphere?

      “Of course,” she replied. “Go through that door”–she pointed at another door to my left, which was plainly gold--“and you’ll be right in. But before you go, would you like a library card? It only costs 50 Neopoints.” She looked at me with such hope in her eyes; I couldn’t refuse, even if I had wanted to.

      I accepted the offer and she handed me the card. It was blue and white, just like me. It had an aura around it, making me more excited about diving into the bookshelves upon bookshelves that awaited me past the massive door. I thanked her and walked through the large, ornate, and suspicious wooden door at my left.

     ***

      I was greeted with the wonderful sight of bookshelves, going far as the eye could see. As I walked down the aisles of bookshelves, I noticed they had all manners of books there. I could easily get lost in the literacy.

      I ran down the aisles, my skirt flowing behind me in a flurry of pink, blue and white. I turned around and watched all the aisles disappear before me and—uff! I had bumped into someone in my fearless wandering. She was a small dark faerie, and her hair, which was mauve, was cropped near the shoulders, a purple dress with black highlights swirling around her body. Her wings were plum on the outside, scarlet on the inside with just a hint of glitter. Her hands were covered in two long amethyst gloves with shimmering sparkles around the edge, which played along the elbows. I knelt down to help her with the books I’d dropped as I apologized.

      “I’m so sorry,” I said. Even if she was a dark faerie, she deserved an apology. “I was running backwards and not paying attention and—”

      “It’s okay, it’s okay,” she interrupted, a warm smile on her face. “I don’t mind. But thank you for helping me clean up the mess.”

      Her response baffled me. I thought she was a dark faerie? “Um, excuse me,” I pardoned, “if you don’t mind my asking, why are you so nice?”

      She laughed and explained, “I know I’m a dark faerie, but I really don’t like hurting other faeries the way they do. Deep down inside, I know I’m not a bad faerie. I just know it.” Her eyes had turned sincere and determined, fire raging. She was obviously persevering in cause.

      “Well, you look like a dark faerie,” I stated. “How’d they let you in?”

      She laughed again. “That was a trick of my own. But why don’t we talk somewhere else?” We were both standing now, and she started to lead me down the aisle.

      “You’re gonna need to fly for it!” she teased, laughing merrily and rising freely.

      I suddenly got nervous. I had never flown as a faerie before, and I might mess up. I was sure it was nothing like flying as a Draik. These wings had two segments, and my old ones had two. Well, I said to myself, it’s now or never. I commanded my wings to flap just as I had when I was a Draik.

      I was right; it was nothing like when I was a Draik. I felt freer than ever and as if nothing could stop me. I did a couple loop-de-loops and somersaults in the air before remembering why I was doing this joyous thing, and I hurried up to catch the dark faerie.

      “Where are we going?” I inquired curiously.

      “You’ll see,” she said, laughing again.

      I followed her for what seemed like forever until abruptly we stopped. She pulled out a specific book from the wall and, in turn, the wall opened itself up. “Come in,” she whispered, and walked into the dark hole.

To be continued...

 
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Other Episodes


» The Wish: Part One
» The Wish: Part Three
» The Wish: Part Four
» The Wish: Part Five



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