A Forgotten Friend

      "Oh my, a lot of these books really need to go. But where to begin?" she questioned herself. "Well, I'll just start…here!" The faerie's soft footsteps echoed on the cold stone floor. She knelt by a large box on the floor full of old papers and odd items. A puzzled look crossed her freckled face as she started to sort through the contents of the box.

      "These are my old school papers. Ah, well, I see I aced at least one paper at NFA," she held up an old parchment with a big A+ written in red pen across the front. She squinted in the dim light to get a closer look and chuckled as she read the test subject.

      "Of course. Earth spells."

      Something else in the box caught the faerie's eye. A purple leather bound book was buried under more school papers. Picking it up, she gently brushed off years of dust from the cover with a gloved hand. The corners were dog-eared and worn until the leather had gone soft. It was simply titled Quotes, in gold pen. A warm smile appeared on Illusen's face as memories flooded her mind. Opening the book, she began to read:

     "A task is never finished unless it is begun."

     "Dark faeries do NOT make good friends with earth faeries."

     "I will do my duty with pride and honor, no matter what the cost." - Queen Fyora, Year 5

     The list went on. Some had names beside them, and others did not. Some were humorous, some were serious. Even more were thought provoking. The faerie, still knelt on the floor, remembered the former owner of the book, and the last day they had ever spoken to each other.

      * * * * * *

      "Illusen! Wait up!"

      A small voice called to the young earth faerie. Illusen was still a young faerie, and still a student at the Neopian Faerie Academy. The freckle faced faerie turned around to face the owner of the voice. It was Kaily (which is pronounced Kay-lee, not Ky-lee, as most would guess by its spelling), a friend of Illusen's. She might have been an earth faerie, but you wouldn't have guessed it. Despite that fact that earth faeries were known for their grace, of which Illusen was an excellent example, Kaily was quite clumsy. Earth faeries were also known for wearing earthy colors, such as green, brown, orange, or even gold. But no, Kaily's favorite color was and always would be purple. Illusen had an inkling that it had something to do with the faerie's admiration for the faerie queen, Fyora. She had even dyed her wings purple (as only faeries can do).

      As Kaily caught up to her, Illusen took a moment to look at her. Her round oversized glasses dwarfed her petite face, and her mane of brunette hair was tousled in its usual way off to one side. Illusen had never thought Kaily was extremely pretty, but she was beautiful in her own way. What the faerie lacked charm, she definitely made up for in knowledge. The shy faerie always had her nose in a book, and could outsmart any faerie in the academy by far. The few who thought they could stand up to her brains were always replied with quick wit and cunning. Despite being a bit of a know-it-all, she remained humble and respected by most faerie students at NFA. But Kaily was also considered, to be completely honest, a nerd.

      "Hey Kaily, what's up?"

      "The sky, of course." Illusen smiled. An answer like that would only come from Kaily. "Anyway, I was just wondering if you could drop by my room later this afternoon. I have something to show you."

      "What is it Kaily? Did you find another stray Boween?" The curious little critters were always around campus, and Kaily had taken an affection to them. Kaily laughed to herself in return.

      "No, not this time. In fact, I doubt I'll be saving any more Boweens for a while." A slight hint of a sigh escaped her mouth.

      "All right, I'll be there. Right after seventh period sound okay?"

      "Yeah, that's good."

      "All right, see ya there!"

      Illusen watched Kaily walk away towards the library. She thought, That was odd. I wonder what she's got to show me? I never thought we were all that great of friends. Although, I'm probably one of the only friends she's got. Ah well. I'd better get to class.

      After seventh period, Illusen made her way up to Kaily's room, as promised. When she walked into the room, she found it devoid of all of Kaily's personal belongings. A bulging suitcase was sitting upright on the bed.

      "Kaily, are you being moved to another room?"

      "No, I'm leaving NFA. I got a letter from my aunt his morning. You know, the Library Faerie? She's always wanted me to succeed her when she retires, and she's decided to take me out of the academy early. I already have all the credits I need to graduate." Kaily was sitting on her old bed next to her suitcase, counting the fibers in the rug on the floor, it seemed.

      "Oh Kaily, I'm so sorry. I know you like being here. You can't beat NFA's library." Illusen grinned as she tried to sympathize, despite the fact she didn't really know Kaily all that well. They had been to a few sleepovers and parties together, and they took most of the same classes, but she had never considered it more than a casual friendship.

      "Don't be. Sorry, I mean. I think I'll like being a Library Faerie. I'll have all the books I need at my disposal, twenty four hours a day. I'll miss you though Illusen. I know we're not really all that close, but you're the closest thing I've ever had to real friend."

      "Oh…really?" Illusen wasn't totally surprised, but it was still a bit of a shock to actually hear. It was actually kind of flattering. Now she was counting the rug fibers as well.

      "Yes, really. Anyway, I wanted to leave you something before I left. Here," she said. A purple leather bound book was placed in Illusen's hands. "I've had it since I started attending NFA. It has all sorts of quotes in it. Some are from me, and some are from famous Neopians and such. Just little things I picked up in the library." Kaily grinned. "I finished writing on the last page yesterday, and I was wondering what to do with it. When I got my aunt's letter this morning, I had a feeling I should give it to you. I don't care what you do with it, it's just a little something to remember me by. But I hope you'll keep it."

      "Oh Kaily, this is amazing," Illusen's eyes went wide as she started flipping through the pages. "So much to work went into this book. Of course I'll keep it. Thank you so much. I don't make the time to get to the library all that often, but I'll try to, okay?" Illusen put the book in one hand and gave Kaily a hug with the other.

      "Okay. I'll hold you to it. But you'll have to keep quiet. It is a library, you know."

      They both laughed.

* * * * * *

      Illusen found herself still kneeling on the floor, the book open in her hands. She was still staring into space, lost in thought. Suddenly, an idea formed in her mind. Reaching for a pen, she flipped open to the last page of the book and started to write:

     "True friends are never lost." - Illusen, Year 7

      She put the pen down, softly closed the book and started to put the various papers back in the box. As Illusen left with the book in hand, the library's shelves still packed with books, she remarked to herself:

      "I do believe I'm overdue for a trip to the library."

The End