The Path: Part Four

      Getting there, Fyora led them to a large room on the top floor of her castle. She put a beautiful golden key in the lock and opened the large door. Inside there were the most valuable and powerful weapons of all Neopia. Many of them were so rare that would be worth billions, but they were not for sale. That room was Fyora's personal safety deposit box, and the artifacts would only come out of there in case of war or emergencies.

      "Wow!!!" Amelie and Ronnie said exactly at the same time.

      "You need to be equipped with some good weapons. I don't want anything bad to happen to you," Fyora said as she walked in search of what would be more appropriate. Then she delivered a Ghostkersword to Ronnie and a Faerie Slingshot to Amelie. In addition, she gave a Jade Scorchstone, Grapes of Wrath, Thyoras Tear, and appropriate battle clothing for both of them.

      "I know it sounds uncomfortable but it's better to be ready from now. I don't want you to participate in a battle, but you must be ready if Terask attacks the castle," Fyora said.

      Ronnie and Amelie dressed up. They looked at each other and were amazed by what they saw. The two grown up kids looked like warriors, heroes, and they were loving it.

      "You look marvelous!" Fyora said when she saw them ready. "You can go to test the weapons and train a bit in the next room," she said, pointing to a large room where there were some punching bags and plenty of space, everything they needed to test their weapons. Amelie and Ronnie looked at each other with a smile in their face, as if at the same time they were realizing a dream of becoming a great warrior.

      ***

      The night arrived. They all spent the afternoon very busy testing weapons, training and getting prepared to any eventuality. They were now resting in the kitchen, and Fyora was reading one more book.

      "This is the last book about dragons that I found... nothing about Terask. I give up!" Fyora said to them, frustrated.

      The Queen then headed to the library to put the book on its place. She was walking through the hallways when she encountered Yadira. The faerie had her right arm injured, and seemed to be very nervous.

      "Yadira, your arm... What happened?" Fyora asked, concerned.

      "Hi, Fyora! Hm... There was a problem with the castle stoves and I burned it a little bit... but I'm fine, don't worry," Yadira responded, flustered.

      "You also know about Terask... don't you?" she asked, noticing the nervousness of the faerie.

      "Te... Terask? What?" said the faerie, stuttering.

      "I was informed that you know about it."

      "I don't remember that... I need to go."

      Yadira ran down the stairs, but Fyora did not bother to chase her.

      The Queen returned the book to the library and went to her bedroom. She sat on her bed and sighed, her head was full of worries. She looked out the window and saw the beautiful night outside, the stars and the full moon were shining strongly. For a moment, she relaxed and felt delighted by the beautiful sky.

      But the lull was broken. She heard a thunderous roar outside, and Terask appeared at the window. Immediately, he spit out huge flames toward her. The flames made the windows explode, causing shards of glass flying all over the room. Fyora unblinkingly took her staff, got up and ran out, slamming the door behind her.

      She ran downstairs and went straight into the garden, right below her bedroom window. She started walking quietly, always looking both ways, with the staff ready in her hands. She looked up and saw nothing, then looked at the many trees of the castle, and everything seemed to be calm. But Terask was there, she could feel his presence nearby. He was just hiding, ready to attack.

      And so he did. Terask came flying fast towards Fyora, roaring furiously. He looked at the Queen and bawled in a merciless deep voice, "Revenge!" and then, he attacked her with flames.

      Fyora quickly made a protective shield with her staff that blocked the fire attack. While inside the barrier, struggling to keep it, she realized something glowing next to her. She turned and saw Yadira, holding a gold medallion and reciting words while looking directly at Terask.

      "She is controlling him!" Fyora thought, and without stopping to ponder, directly attacked her with the very strength of the barrier. The strong movement made Terask's flames turn to himself, and Yadira was thrown away, hitting on a tree.

      Fyora ran to the tree where the faerie was, very hurt. "Why were you controlling him? What were you planning to do? Traitor!" she exclaimed.

      "No... no... that's not it!" said Yadira, struggling.

      "What do you know about it all? Tell me!" Fyora was overwrought.

      "You... did the spell that erased your own memory, my... best friend," Yadira murmured with tears in her eyes, and then, they closed.

      The Queen was unable to absorb or understand what had just happened. Yadira was only a servant of the castle and she had just referred to Fyora as best friend. Her expression made it seem that it was true, but all that made no sense. She was lost in her thoughts, and for a moment she left her shield down, making Terask see the perfect opportunity to attack.

      "Fyora! We're here!" shouted Amelie, who was with Ronnie. They arrived before Terask could make his move. Amelie attacked him with the Faerie Slingshot right in the face, causing Terask to roar in pain. At the same time, Ronnie hit him with the Grapes of Wrath.

      Fyora was still confused and lost inside her mind. Then she remembered Rose's words, "You have to be faced again with what caused you the flashes."

      "I need to remember," Fyora said to herself, as she was approaching Terask.

      "ROARRRRRR!" Terask was even more angry because of the attacks, and began to roar louder and furiously. He looked at the Queen and said with his rough and deep voice, "All these years I waited for this moment, all these years I dreamed of revenge!"

      He started walking toward Fyora, that walked back until she hit against the wall. The Queen was trapped.

      "I want you to know that your land will burn, its inhabitants will suffer, and they will have to kneel before me. But first, you will suffer!" Terask was now so close to the Queen that she could feel the warmth of his breath. She was looking straight into his eyes, they were burning in anger and hate.

      A wave of anxiety went through Fyora's body, and at the moment fear got into her soul, a flurry of flashes and memories enlightened her mind.

      Rose's potion had been effective.

      ***

      "What do you want for dinner?"

      "Something simple, maybe a salad."

      "Oh, stop, I know you want burritos!"

      "Holy Kau, you got me! Yes, I want burritos!" said Fyora to Yadira, laughing.

      The Queen of Faerieland and the beautiful faerie had been friends since childhood. One knew the other like the back of their hands, and they liked each other as if they were sisters. Faerieland was still over the clouds, floating up in the sky, and it was considered one of the safest lands of Neopia. But that night security had been broken. After they finished dinner, they heard a loud noise from the library, it sounded like a monster. The faeries looked at each other apprehensively and Fyora got ready with her staff. It didn't take long until he got in the dining room.

      "Oh well, what do we have here?" Terask raised his head and roared frighteningly. "Dr Sloth sends you greetings! This place does not belong to you anymore, Queen!" he said, staring Fyora deeply, and then threw Yadira against the wall.

      Fyora tried to attack him with her staff, but the spell was not working and barely caused scratches on the hard skin of the dragon. It was too late, she had looked deep into his red and burning eyes. Terask had hypnotized her and she lost control of her powers. Nothing like that had ever happened to the Queen.

      "I hope you don't mind not seeing the light of the day." He grabbed her and took her to the dungeons of her own castle. Terask was in control.

      Nobody outside the castle knew what was happening, Terask was waiting for Dr Sloth's orders to attack Faerieland. Meanwhile, he was keeping all the servants and guards as hostages.

      But what Terask didn't know is that they all united for one goal: kick him out of the castle and rescue the Queen.

      So Yadira had a plan. She made him follow her to the top of the castle. There, all the servants were waiting with chains, and they made the monster get entangled in them. After that, Yadira used Fyora's own staff to weaken his wings and feet, and the guards pulled him to the edge of the castle. Terask fell and got suspended in the chains, until they were destroyed with a sharp blow of the staff.

      Terask fell for miles and miles across the clouds.

      In the castle, everyone was celebrating the defeat of the dragon. But there was something absolutely wrong with the Queen; she was no longer the same. The hypnosis and the days of isolation weakened her.

      After a week of recovery, Yadira came to Fyora's room with a book in her hands. "The Forgetting Spell! I think it's the only solution. Please Fyora... it's for your own good. You're the only one who can cast a spell of this magnitude."

      "I'll do it," Fyora said, recognizing that it was the only way to forget those days of terror.

      First, she led the spell to all the servants and guards of the castle. They would never remember what happened. Then, it came the time to cast it on their own.

      "Fyora," said Yadira, "that's not right, some of us need to remember it, in case of... well... I don't want the spell to be cast on me."

      And so it happened. Yadira left the room for a few minutes as a precaution. Inside, Fyora did the magic of making all the fear and weakness of her mind go away. When Yadira entered the room she saw a reinvigorated and strong person, with the attitude and might of a Queen.

      "Fyora! You are... wonderful! Nice to see you!" Yadira was careful with her words, now that she could not mention anything about the incident.

      "How dare you get inside my room without permission?" Fyora said, annoyed, for Yadira's surprise.

      "Fy... Fyora? What are you talking about?"

      "Go back to work, please, I'm busy with important projects now, I can't stand being interrupted all the time by servants!" said Fyora, naturally.

      Everything collapsed for Yadira at that moment. Fyora talked as if she did not remember their years of friendship. She went out slowly, looking back at the Queen, confused.

      Yadira went to look the pages of The Forgetting Spell again. And she was startled to see something that she had not seen before.

      "The spell can come with a price,

     to be erased everything of who caused the worst memories,

     it will also be erased of who caused the best ones."

      The price for having Terask erased was to have Yadira erased as well.

      The faerie was sad and upset about the circumstance, but she knew Fyora would be much better without the terrible memories that were consuming her. Yadira worked as a servant in the castle over the years, always close to the Queen and doing everything to protect her. Fyora always treated her well, but never again looked at her like a sister.

      The years passed. Faerieland had its fall and came to be on the ground. Fyora went through many challenges and achievements along her path.

      No one suspected that under the kingdom, near the mountains, Terask lived all this time in underground tunnels recovering himself, rebuilding his power, and desiring revenge.

      "Now I understand!" Fyora had remembered.

To be continued...