There are ants in my Lucky Green Boots Circulation: 195,132,622 Issue: 824 | 23rd day of Eating, Y20
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Leave Room for the Impossible:Part Two


by unfogging

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     Eliss continued to stare at the rainbow fountain, still in disbelief. She looked down at her book in her arms suspiciously, but it still looked the same. What had just happened?

     However, her confusion was soon replaced by pure wonder as she gazed open-mouthed at the world around her.

     Faerieland. She was actually in Faerieland! Just like she had always dreamed of.

     In person, it was even more amazing than she expected. Buildings of bright purple and teal floated in clouds above her head. Waterfalls of the clearest blue cascaded in the landscape around her, complimented by the brightest of green grass and colorful flowers. Famous landmarks stood out to her: The rainbow wheel of excitement, offering Neopets the chance to win all sorts of amazing prizes. Jhudora's Bluff, where Faerieland's most notorious troublemaker gave Neopets fabulous rewards – at a cost.

     Faerieland had been number one on her list of places she wanted to see. As a young Aisha, when other Neopets were drawing pictures of the stones and rocks that occupied all of Tyrannia, Eliss had drawn pictures of rainbows and clouds. Her favorite poster was of the rainbow fountain, and rested above her bed in her room. She'd read everything possible about Faerieland and had been in love with it for as long as she could remember.

     And even though she had only been there a few minutes, she realized why.

     Everything about it felt like it could be home. She loved how beautiful all the Neopets were, and how happy they seemed to be there. She loved the rainbow fountain and its charitable faerie who made a living making dreams come true. She loved the excitement of Poogle racing, and even knew which one she would bet on if she ever was able to visit. She loved the rolling countryside and floating clouds, which were unlike anything she'd ever seen.

     And most of all, she loved the faerie library in Faerie City. In it were hundred of books on battling, faerie tales, faerie recipes, and all sorts of exotic, faerie magic. A lover of books at heart, Eliss wanted nothing more than to read every book the faerie library offered. She had managed to get a few using unorthodox methods, but she knew her best chance at getting them was actually visiting Faerieland itself.

     In her mind, she excitedly started planning what she would do now that she was here. She would start with Poogle Racing. She already knew she was going to bet on Poogle five; he had really turned his act around, exercising more and getting into better shape. Then, she would brave the Faerie Caverns and search for treasure. She'd spin the wheel of excitement, hoping to win 10,000 NP, which she would use to go to the library. Then, she'd play faerie bubbles, and try to find the hidden tower. Maybe it was her feeling overconfident, but she also felt like marching up to Jhudora's Bluff and giving that mischievous dark faerie a piece of her mind-

     "Hi, are you here to get painted?"

     Eliss turned around, snapping out of her thoughts. In front of her was the rainbow fountain faerie herself. Her bright blue eyes were kind and gentle, looking at her expectantly.

     Of course, Eliss had read all about the rainbow faerie. Her real name was Naia. She had founded the rainbow fountain in Faerieland. At the rainbow fountain, you could be changed into almost any color you wanted with just a single dip in its magical waters. Eliss herself had been taken there when she was much younger.

     "Oh, no," Eliss said, feeling nervous to be talking to a faerie she'd only read about in books and never dreamed she would be meeting. "I'm just…visiting." She didn't want to go in-depth about how she got here. It was too strange, and she still didn't understand it herself.

     The rainbow faerie still looked at her expectantly, and a small smile began to form on her lips. "What's your name?" she asked.

     "My name's Eliss."

     "Hi Eliss. I'm Naia. What's your story?" The rainbow faerie slid leisurely back into the pool, creating a ripple of rainbows. Eliss noticed Naia had blonde hair streaked with bright blue, the same color as her eyes.

     "Well," Eliss began. She tried to figure out where to start.

     "I was born in Tyrannia, but I never fit in there because of what I look like." She paused, and added, "But it wasn't just what I looked like. It was what I wanted. It seemed like everybody around me was really happy to be in Tyrannia. But I was working at a furniture store and I was bored. I was bored of playing keno, seeing concerts at the concert hall every week, and trying to win something at the wheel of mediocrity. I wanted to see the world. I read books on everything. I had posters all over my room of everywhere I wanted to see."

     Eliss was aware that she might have been over sharing, but she couldn't stop. She realized she had never said any of this out loud to anybody, not even Anna. It had just been to difficult to talk about. And now that she was finally saying it out loud, she couldn't seem to stop. There was so much she needed to say.

     "Everybody made fun of me. Nobody understood why I would want to do anything different. Except my owner. She seemed to be the one person who understood me and wanted me to follow my dreams. I turned 18 today, and she got me a magical book. The book took me here. So now here I am. I don't know how I got here or where to go next."

     She hadn't made eye contact with the faerie the whole time, nervous of what her reaction might be. But when she looked up, the faerie was smiling.

     "I visited Tyrannia once. Terrible place. No color, no life." Eliss laughed, surprised at Naia's honesty.

     "So your owner gave you a magical book, huh?" she asked. Eliss nodded. "I might have had something to do with that."

     "What?" Eliss asked, slowly turning back to look at Naia.

     Naia explained that when Eliss was adopted, Anna took her to the rainbow fountain to get painted. Anna picked a color that was unique, adventurous, and full of color and life. This one is special, Anna had told the faerie. She has a dreamer's heart and a traveler's soul. I can tell she will want to come back one day. The faerie had looked at her and said What if you wanted her to go even farther?

     With that, Anna had received a magical book from the rainbow faerie herself. It was also completely blank. At first, Anna was skeptical of its actual power. The faerie explained that the book would activate itself on Eliss' 18th birthday. In the meantime, Anna decorated the book with places Eliss dreamed of going. Every conversation they had over breakfast about castles and Draiks, or at dinner about spaceships and Dr. Sloth, Anna remembered. And now, it was all coming together.

     "All your life, you have hated being different," said the faerie. "And I understand. It's hard to be different. I never fit in with the other faeries. I didn't have an inclination to fire, air, water, or earth. I wanted something more, something I couldn't explain to anybody.

     "It wasn't until I got older that I realized I could still do anything I wanted to do, even if it wasn't what everybody else wanted. Once you know what you want and what makes you happy, nothing in the world can take that away from you.

          "Anna did all of this for you," continued the faerie. "Because she cared about you, and knew what you could become. She's wanted this moment for even longer than you have. She loves that you are different. She loves that you dare to dream. And she's always believed in you."

     Eliss looked down at her book, tears brimming in her eyes. "I wish I could tell her how much this meant to me. I wish she could be here to see all of this."

     "I can," came a different voice.

     Eliss whirled around to see Anna standing there, a giant smile on her face. She opened her arms wide for a hug. Elated, Eliss let out a gasp of happiness and ran into her owner's arms. She looked behind her to thank the faerie, but the faerie was gone.

     "Hi Eliss," Anna said. "Are you ready to see Faerieland?" Eliss noticed Anna was wearing a t-shirt that said I love Queen Fyora. She would have to have a talk with her about that; Faerieland culture found those shirts to be incredibly tacky, and they just screamed to the world that you were a tourist.

     After a pause, Eliss said "I've never been more ready for anything in my life."

     "Where do you want to go first?" she asked.

     Eliss grinned. "I definitely have a few ideas."

     To be continued…

 
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