Young Faeries: Illusen and Jhudora

      Hurrying along the road of dark clouds, Jhufola the Kind Dark Faerie pulled the hood on her cloak over her head. Her dark purple cloak was drenched, and her wings hung limp and soggy at her side. She peered through the fog. "Lady Fyora is angry," she whispered ominously. Raising her voice, she called, "Jhudora! Slow down!"

      A small Faerie came running back towards Jhufola. The young Faerie was tiny, only 3 years old, but she still had the long purple and green hair, large folded wings and annoyed scowl that indicated she was unmistakably a younger version of Jhudora.

      "Hurry up, Jhufola!" the young Faerie whined. "I wanna go home!" She was Jhufola's apprentice, and Jhufola would keep her and teach her about Dark Faerie magic until she was 10 years old, old enough to venture into the world by herself.

      Jhufola went over, crouched down and lay one of her long fingers on Jhudora's mouth. "Shh," the older Faerie whispered. "Do you hear that?"

      "What, the rain? Please, can we go home now?"

      Ignoring her apprentice, Jhufola swept over to the edge of the cloud, her cloak trailing behind her. "Why, there's a child here!"

      Jhudora started over towards her, but drew back when she saw what Jhufola was looking at. "It's an Earth Faerie," Jhudora said uncertainly.

      The thing Jhufola was now cradling in her arms was indeed an Earth Faerie, only 1 year old. She was an adorable Faerie, with streaks of green running through her brown hair, just like Jhudora. She had beautiful green eyes, with matching leaf-like wings.

      Jhufola stood up, her decision made. "We will take her home with us."

      "The Dark Faerie leader will never let you keep her."

      "We can't just leave her here!" argued Jhufola. "I already have a name for her… Illusen."

      "That's a horrible name."

      "Come, Illusen," said Jhufola sweetly. "Let's get out of the rain."

***

"Come, Illusen!" called Jhufola from the doorway of their house. "Get out of the rain."

      A few seconds later, a beautiful young Earth Faerie girl came flying out of the bushes on a pair of sleek green wings, giggling and laughing as she did a twirl in the air. Jhufola smiled fondly as the Earth Faerie, a 9-year old Illusen, flew into the house.

      Jhufola closed the door behind her. "Why don't you go play with Jhudora now?" she suggested.

      Illusen nodded eagerly. "I'd like that."

      Jhufola cupped her hands around her mouth and called up the staircase, "Jhudora! Come down and play with Illusen for awhile!"

      "I don't want to," came the reply.

      "She's your sister!"

      "No, she's not!" Jhudora shouted back. "Just because you took her as a second apprentice doesn't mean she's my sister!"

      Jhufola frowned and put her hands on her hips. "Don't worry," she said soothing, nudging Illusen up the first stair, "go up to her room." The Earth Faerie nodded politely and flew slowly up the stairs. Behind her, Jhufola sighed unhappily. Why wouldn't Jhudora accept Illusen?

      The brunette landed in front of the door to Jhudora's room. She paused for a second, and then knocked. When there was no answer, she opened the door a crack meekly. "Jhudora?"

      The young Dark Faerie, now 11 years old, was sitting cross-legged on her bed, playing with a Drackonack Yoyo. "Fine," she grumbled, "come in."

      Illusen shuffled inside the room and closed the door carefully behind her. A shelf beside Jhudora's bed was occupied with all sorts of odd potion bottles and jars. The floor was covered with assorted Darigan toys, headless plushies, and other disgusting artifacts. On the wall was a The Three Poster. Illusen looked around for a place to sit. She picked a large tome of Dark Faerie Magic off the floor (the room was horrible messy), and sat down in it's place.

      A few moments passed in silence, and the only sound that could be heard was the whooshing noise as Jhudora's Yoyo sped up and down. Finally Illusen asked timidly, "Jhudora… why don't you like me?"

      The sound of the yoyo stopped. Jhudora let it drop to the floor and roll out of sight under her bed. "Why don't I like you? Why don't I like you? I'll tell you why!" Jhudora's voice rose, and she stood up on her bed. "You're the reason we had to leave the Dark Faerie Clouds! The Dark Faerie Leader gave us a choice that day… either you left, or we all left! But nooo, Jhufola cared about you so much that we had to move here! To the Earth Faerie Clouds! And I hate it here! I haven't got any friends because I left all of them on the Dark Faerie Clouds, and everyone here points at me and whispers behind my back! Do you know how that feels? I tried to fit in, but I can't. Even when I go back to visit my old friends, they laugh at me, and call me names! Jhufola can't fit in either, and we hafta put up with the taunts and stares everyday all so you can be happy! I can't even leave this wretched place to go live in Neopia by myself. I was supposed to leave a year ago, but Jhufola made me wait for you to turn 10 as well, so that we could live together! I don't want to live with you anymore! You're the reason for everything wrong in my life!"

      Illusen's lower lip trembled, and her eyes started to fill up with tears. "I didn't mean… I don't want to ruin your life, Jhudora! Oh… how I wish that Jhufola had just left me on the clouds that day!"

      "And now you're crying again!" yelled Jhudora, "and Jhufola will blame it all on me, because you're younger, and you're innocent! I wish I could just leave!"

      Illusen threw open the door and tore down the hallway, tears flying from her eyes, until she reached her own room and locked herself in.

***

Late at night, Illusen was still awake, drying her eyes on her pillowcase. She could hear the arguments loud and clear from Jhudora's room.

      "Why did you yell at her like that!?"

      "Why are you yelling at me!? It's her fault! Everything was so perfect until she came!"

      "You're so selfish, Jhudora! Can't you think about anyone other than yourself!?"

      "Me!? She's the selfish one! We moved here just so she could be happy! I have nothing anymore!"

      "She didn't ask me to take her home!"

      "Can't you see the way they stare at us when we're flying somewhere, and minding our own business? The way they point? I didn't ask to be a Dark Faerie! I didn't ask to come here! How is that any different from her situation?"

      "You just have to live with it, Jhudora…"

      "WELL, I CAN'T!"

      Illusen burst into a fresh wave of tears and buried her face in her blanket. A few moments later, Jhufola came in. "Hi, Illusen," she said in a fake cheerful voice. She came over and sat beside the Earth Faerie, letting out a sigh.

      "It's all my fault," sniffed Illusen.

      "No, it isn't!" Jhufola replied encouragingly. "I probably should have taken you to Queen Fyora instead, and she would've found a nice Earth Faerie for you to live with… I didn't know you would both be so miserable if I took you with me." She lay her hand gently on Illusen's shoulder. "Dark Faeries and Earth Faeries just don't mix well."

      Illusen raised her head an inch off the blankets. "Why not?"

      "Well… they just don't. It's always been that way. Dark Faeries don't really mingle with other types of Faeries."

      Illusen smiled, just a little. "I'm very happy here with you, even if you are a Dark Faerie." The smile disappeared off her face. "But I wish Jhudora would be happy too."

      "Yes, so do I," agreed Jhufola.

***

That morning, Illusen was woken up by someone shouting. She sat up groggily, pushed the covers off her bed and trotted down the hallway to Jhudora's room, where the noise was coming from.

      "Jhufola?" said Illusen, noticing the older Faerie sitting on Jhudora's bed. "What is it? Where's Jhudora?"

      Jhufola stretched out her hand silently, fear and sadness in her eyes. Illusen took a crumpled up note from her shaking hand.

      To Jhufola: I am leaving. I just can't take it anymore. You can look for me all you want, but even if you find me, I'm not coming back; at least, not willingly. There's nothing you can say or do that'd make me want to stay. Even if you kicked out Illusen, it's too late to take away the pain I've been through. To Illusen I merely say: I hate you. You're not my sister. I wish I'd never met you. - Jhudora

      The note fell to the ground, dancing through the air like a feather before it slid onto the wooden floor. Illusen fell to her knees beside it. "Wh-what are we going to do now?" she whispered, tears flowing to her eyes once again. It seemed like she'd cried straight through yesterday.

      "Well, you saw what she wrote," sniffed Jhufola, dabbing her eyes with the blanket. "She's not coming back willingly. I don't want to force her to come back." She stood up and helped Illusen to her feet. "Well just have to make the best of it. In another year, you'll be leaving too. Come along now. We can go study some Earth Faerie magic together."

***

A breeze brushed through the grass, whispering it's message quietly. A mature Illusen, already 15 years old, knelt down gracefully and nimbly, her ear pressed to the ground. "What is it you're trying to tell me?" she murmured to the wind. Suddenly, she sprang up, uncharacteristic horror in her eyes. "Jhufola!" she cried.

      The Faerie spread her wings and cut through the air, flying faster than she ever had before. That's how fast you fly when a loved one is at stake.

***

Shrouds of foggy purple clouds twirled around Jhudora, hiding her feet. "So," she jeered, "we meet again."

      Jhufola, hearing the familiar voice, turned around. At first glance she would've thought it was just another Dark Faerie, if it weren't for that strand of green hair… "Jhudora!" she gasped. The cup in her hand dropped to the floor and shattered.

      "Yes, it's me," Jhudora said coldly. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

      "It certainly has!" said Jhufola in surprise, her mouth still agape. "You look beautiful, Jhudora, just like a Dark Faerie should… Oh, I haven't seen you in such a long time!" Questions swirled in her head like a tornado, but she felt it would be rude to ask them all at once. So she asked, "What brings you back?"

      Jhudora sneered. Instead of answering the question, she replied, "Yes, I am beautiful. And you are crumpled. Wrinkled. You look terrible."

      Instead of taking offence, Jhufola chanced a weak smile and said, "Old age has gotten the better of me."

      "It's not old age. For a Faerie, you are not old. I know what it is… there's no one to take care of you. You're lonely. Illusen finally left, did she?"

      Jhufola stiffened, sensing that Jhudora hadn't come for a nice visit with an old friend. "Yes. She went to Meridell." She paused, and then blurted out, "Why did you run away, Jhudora? Oh I know I was foolish, and I shouldn't have yelled at you, and I shouldn't have forced you to like her--"

      "Here's a better question," said Jhudora icily, cutting through her old master's babbling. "Why didn't you come looking for me? I knew you didn't care about me, and you loved Illusen more, but I thought you at least had the heart to see if I was alright…"

      "I didn't look for you because you said you didn't want to come back!" cried Jhufola. "If you wanted me to find you, why did you write that in your letter?"

      Jhudora squirmed. "I-I didn't say a lot in that letter. There was more I could've written. But you were supposed to ignore that note and come looking for me anyways! That's what you do, if you care…"

      Jhufola looked at her hopefully. "It was just a misunderstanding… maybe we can fix that now…"

      "Its too late!" screeched Jhudora. "Don't you know the pain you and Illusen have cause me? Well, of course you don't… no one does… you've only had a taste of what I feel… no one knows the whole story…" She glared at Jhufola with loathing. "I hate you, for what you've done for me."

      "You were my first apprentice," whispered Jhufola, "and you'll always have a special place in my heart…"

      Jhudora's face twisted. "You horrible liar," she hissed. She raised her hand, and something black flew out of it and into Jhufola's chest. The older Faerie gasped and stumbled to the kitchen floor.

***

"Oh, Jhufola!" cried Illusen, crashing through the window and dashing to where Jhufola lay. "I am too late," she moaned. "I'm so sorry, I should've been here earlier…"

      "Shh," Jhufola whispered, putting a finger up to Illusen's mouth. "I'm fine."

      Illusen held Jhufola's hand in hers. "Even now, I cannot cry," she whispered. "All my tears are spent… they were wasted on Jhudora…" Rage appeared in her eyes. "That filth! She did this to you! Where is she?"

      "Illusen," croaked Jhufola, laying a hand on the Earth Faerie's knee. "I forgive Jhudora for what she has done. It's not her fault. You must look at it from her point of view. Besides, had she wanted to really hurt me, she could have. I've grown old and frail without companionship. She held back, so she must forgive me too. Please don't hurt her. I couldn't bear to see the two of you fight."

      Illusen patted her hand reassuringly. "I will do naught but defend myself, and you." She flew into the next room.

      "Well, look who it is," spat Jhudora. She was leaning against the couch, her arms crossed. "I knew you'd come."

      Illusen stepped forward. "Before you do anything, I have something to say--"

      "I don't want to hear it!" snarled Jhudora. She extended her claws like a Kougra and flew at Illusen.

      The Earth Faerie grabbed her wrists. "Listen," she said forcefully. "Jhufola forgives you. And even thought I despise you for what you did, I forgive you too. Because I know why. If I were you, I'd probably hate me too. I've had a lot of time to think, and I've realized that it's no one's fault for what has happened. Jhufola did what she saw best by taking in an abandoned infant. I merely lived out my life as I could. And you got angry for a good reason. We can't even accuse the Dark Faerie Leader, because she was just doing her job. Maybe the real ones to blame are society. Why should they kick you out just because you sheltered an Earth Faerie? Why do people think that way? But there's no way you can change the past, so you'd better live with it. Fate has played a cruel trick, but it's not too late to change things. I forgive you. Jhufola forgives you. Now you're the only one left who has to forgive us."

      Jhudora winced at Illusen's harsh tone. "We'll be in touch," she muttered, and she disappeared, leaving Illusen clutching the air.

      Illusen's hands dropped to her sides. She sighed, and then remembering Jhufola, went back to the kitchen, and knelt down by the Dark Faerie's side. "Will Jhudora forgive us?"

      Jhufola looked out the window, to the sky. "I don't know," she sighed.

      The End