Before the Fall: An Air Faerie Story

     I like to reminisce sometimes, about my life before the tragedy, when I was Baelia, the air faerie with the bright future. I'd been doing so well. I was one of the youngest faeries to be recommended to the Faerieland Elevator System (or FES). It wasn't so much that I thought weather and quest duties were beneath me—I just found the idea of floating the clouds that allowed faeries access to Neopia intriguing. The Elevator System had been around for over ten years, after a very young faerie almost plummeted into the Maraquan Sea trying to reach Neopia using only her underdeveloped wings. Since then, the Elevator had been running, getting faeries to and from Neopia daily. It was one of the few faerie duties that was exclusive to a certain type of faerie. I felt so proud every time I saw the posters of the air faeries raising the clouds.

     The Elevator System Training application requirements had two courses that I was not looking forward to. Advanced Weather Control and Advanced Air Magic were both taught by the same air faerie, Professor Avaray. I remember showing up to my first day of Advanced Air Magic, shyly sitting near the back, not talking to any of my fellow students. All of them were older than me, and I thought most had been at the Faerieland Academy for at least three years. It was only my second year at the Academy. Most of the reason why I dreaded the two classes was that I was worried the older faeries would be rude to me since I was their junior. I was pretty sure most of the other faeries were in there for weather patrol duties, with a couple applying to the FES like I was. Most faeries only spent a couple years in the academy before going on to quest-giving or shopkeeping abilities. The really skilled ones stayed in for a few years for programs like weather control and the Elevator System for us air faeries, tide control and marine observation for water faeries, and object enchanting for any faerie with enough raw magical power.

     I can't remember the topic of the lesson that day, but I do remember that I only spoke when Professor Avaray called my name for attendance. Advanced Weather Control was directly after Advanced Air Magic, so I stayed in my seat and quietly doodled, waiting for the 5-minute class transition period to be over. A few of the older faeries, who'd apparently taken the class last year, floated out the door. The last one to leave, a clumsy-looking third year, bumped into a dark faerie on the way out.

     "Watch it, would ya?" The dark faerie hissed. The little air faerie cowered down, slipping quickly past her. To my shock, the dark faerie continued into the doorway of our class, and fluttered into the seat right in front of me. She dropped her bag on the floor and leaned back in her seat, her long, dark ponytail swishing across the font of my desk.

     It's about then that I prefer to stop reminiscing. I still wonder, though. If I'd done things differently, would I have ended up the way I am? It's impossible to say and ridiculous to fantasize about. The only way to change my fate was in the present.

          I hurried into the Faerieland Library, tightening my shawl around my shoulders. It covered the remnants of my wings and dress well, but nothing could cover the unnatural sound of my bare feet against the tile. The Library Faerie looked up sharply at the noise.

     "Baelia? I haven't seen you for weeks!"

     "I know, I've been… busy. I'm sorry, do you have any books on Faerie names, wingless faeries, things like that?"

     "That's dark stuff, Baelia," she warned me, scanning through the library catalogue. "Are you sure you can handle it.?"

     "Yes." I whispered, feeling my face scrunch and tears in my eyes. I didn't want to look through any scary dark faerie books, but if I wanted answers, I would have to.

     "So far I'm only seeing Air Faeries of Neopia for possible names, Faerie Rules could be good for information about wings, hmm… maybe The Strengths of Faerie Magic?"

     "The Strengths of Faerie Magic sounds good, I'll take that one," The Library Faerie handed it to me. I thanked her and ran outside, where my friend Tavi was waiting.

     "You alright?" she asked, jogging up to meet me. She hadn't even wanted to go home and drop off her mountain-climbing equipment before we came to the Library to see if I could find a new name.

     "I'm fine, Tavi. Thank you." I tried to smile at her but it felt oddly wrong. I looked down to see she'd purchased some assorted faerie bubbles for me.

     "I wasn't sure if all air or a variety would be better, so I figured this way you'll definitely have something you can eat."

     "Thank you, Tavi." I felt my eyes well up. Why was I crying again? Ever since I lost my wings I'd been more prone to tears. I'd even cried at how pretty Terror Mountain looked when the Elevator System was taking us up to Faerieland. I wiped away my tears and started eating the faerie bubbles. They still tasted good, but it was as if I couldn't feel the happiness that usually came with eating something delicious.

     "First we have to rule out malnourishment," Tavi said, writing in a notebook she'd produced from her pack. "We should do as much research as possible to see if there's an easy fix. If not, we might be able to petition Queen Fyora's help. At the very least, Jennumara shouldn't be able to reach you here." I choked back a sob at the sound of her name. Jennumara, the only dark faerie to ever enroll in Advanced Weather Control, and the one who had stolen my wings, my name, and my power. I doubted a few faerie bubbles would give a wingless, nameless faerie any magical power, but I ate them dutifully anyway. Tavi was just trying to help me.

     "My home is this way." I tried not to show my embarrassment as I led Tavi down to the Underclouds, where the poorer faeries lived. My mother had been so pleased that I was recommended to the FES, since it paid a little better than weather control and was much more prestigious. If I'd been selected it would have meant a nicer home in the regular Faerie Housing area of Faerieland.

     "This place is crazy… what is it called?"

     I winced. I know that most Neopians believe the Underclouds are a made-up place in NeoQuest II, but that setting was based in reality. Officially, the name is Lower Cloud Layer Residences, but since the game came out everyone who lived there just called it the Underclouds. It was taboo to even speak about it to neopets, as it was widely believed knowledge of the faerie hierarchy would make neopets less respectful to faeries. Most of the quest-giving and shopkeeping jobs were taken by low-caste faeries, after all.

     "This is the Lower Cloud Layer. There isn't enough room for all faeries to live on the top layer of clouds," I explained.

     "That's ridiculous…" Tavi muttered. I felt my face flush and my eyes tear up again. What was with all this crying? I'd had a few horrible weeks, to be sure, but I wasn't a crier. Especially not over little stuff, like being embarrassed to bring a friend to my home.

     We arrived at the small three-room apartment. I stepped inside, holding the door open for Tavi, who stood in the doorway, looked shocked at how small our kitchen/living room was. It only had a refrigerator, a stove, two cupboards, a dining table, and three mismatched chairs. There was just enough room to open the refrigerator and oven without bumping the table. To the right was the entrance to the room I shared with my mother, the two small beds dominating the space.

     "I thought all faeries lived in nice places. Why are you so packed in like this?"

     "That's just how it is," I told her more sharply than I intended. My face was flushed from my embarrassment. She looked down, realizing she'd embarrassed me, and stepped inside quietly. I shut the door and peeked into the bedroom. The bathroom door was ajar, the light off. My mother was working, I was sure, shopkeeping for some Neopian, probably for a couple of days. Some shopkeeping faeries were lucky enough to get contracted by mall owners, and got room and board since they worked there all the time. My mother's longest job that I could remember lasted ten days in a fairly well-kept shop, until they sold out and she was no longer needed. Tavi distracted my from my wandering thoughts.

     "You should get some rest, Baelia. I'll start reading this and when you wake up, well… we can go from there."

     "There's a bean bag in the bedroom, if you want somewhere more comfy to read," I told her, already halfway towards my bed. The cloud floor felt odd to my feet. It had never before occurred to me that the ground outside and inside my home was the same. I tumbled into my bed, snuggling into the blankets. For the first time in weeks I felt comfortable. It was intoxicating. I closed my eyes.

     "Goodnight," I heard Tavi whisper as she settled into the beanbag with the book.

     "Thank you, Tavi," I mumbled again before falling into a deep sleep.

     To be continued…