Grumbling, I tossed away the novel I’d been reading; it puffed away into a satisfying wisp of green and purple smoke. The novel had come with such good reviews too, and honestly, it had shown promise - the writing was good, the characters absorbing, and world-creation on-point. And then…and then, the mysterious villain had proved to be none other than myself, and worse yet, as always, I was miraculously thwarted in mere moments.

As. If.

I may not be a philanthropist like our benevolent and wise, ahem, Queen, but I take great pride in my darkness. Darkness Faeries have an important role in Neopia, and I…I am the Queen of the Darkness!

Okay, I probably shouldn’t say that around Fyora. But whatever.

Anyway, the point is, I’m not always the villain in every dark event, and I’m certainly not as inept as these…these…publications…would make it appear. I put in my time against the invading wraiths too, and suffered as hard when Faerieland fell. Perhaps it’s time to remind Neopia of my greatness - my true greatness, not the punchline I’ve become.

Of course I won’t be the hero, per se. That would be far too ridiculous. But the villain…no. Definitely not the villain.

Staring outside my window at the land-bound Faerieland, I smiled. I had just the plan…

The irony of that situation did not escape me. Neopians had all the respect in the world for me when they were completing my quests for my various rewards (which are, by the way, objectively better in every way than what that do-gooder Illusen gives out), but as soon as they had their prize, they were off writing horrible stories about how I wasn't so powerful after all.

The blue Nimmo cowered before me as I opened the door with a puff of billowing smoke and a scowl on my face. "You have five minutes remaining, do you have my item?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pristine Darkest Faerie Plushie. I snatched it from his outstretched hand. "You did well," I repled with my evilest smile. "Be sure to come back tomorrow for another quest." And I promptly slammed the door.

"Now where was I?" I mused as I walked back into my Bluff to continue planning. I was about to toss the Plushie aside; occasionally I asked for rare and expensive, but ultimately useless, items to thin the herd of Neopians who were able to complete my quests. Normally it was successful, but some of them were able to procure even the rarest items under the threat of my wrath.

As my hand squeezed the plushie to get a good grip to toss it, I heard a strange crinkling sound. I felt a surge of anger; did that little half-wit think he could fool me with some knock-off plushie?!

I snarled and ripped the plushie's head off in one smooth tear. Nestled into the padding was a scroll of paper held together by a black and purple seal. I dropped the remains of the plushie and examined the scroll. With one of my long fingernails, I broke the seal and unscrolled it to reveal a hand-written message.

I read the first line of the message and a grin spread across my face. Perhaps I can use this to my advantage, I thought as I continued to read...

Not to any location, but for something far more serious and sinister. My older sister. Well, not by any relation, but someone who I looked up to. Enough to consider her something of a mentor.

Her true name was lost to time, but those Neopians out there knew her as The Sleeper, or The Betrayer.

The Darkest Faerie.

Now there was someone who would never be caught dead in some of these rag stories about random, everyday Neopians thwarting her grand schemes. No, she meant business. Always with a plan, and a counter-plan, and a counter-plan-plan.

Considering how quickly she took over once she was freed from her statue after a thousand years, I can only imagine she had planned for that as well.

I should know, because what I had in my hand, written on this scroll, was another one of my dear older sister's contingency plans for if she was trapped in a statue again. To anyone else reading it, it would seem like just ordinary instructions to make a powerful enchantment and magic item. But I knew the true purpose of all of those items and spell ingredients listed.

This is perfect!

They always thought of me as the villain. Well, perhaps with The Darkest Faerie freed once more, they'd see what true villain was...

I had to get to work on this spell immediately. Most of the items on the list were super common, the only hard to find item from the list was a Storm Amulet. Storm Amulets were very rare and most of them were hidden deep inside the Snowagers cave.

I looked around my Bluff, scanning my piles and piles of items for the things I needed from the list. The first item on my list was five Bogie Berries. I knew I had some of those laying around.

As I collected the Berries there was a knock on my door.

I walked over to the door and opened it. A young uni was standing there looking brave. I recognized her, she must have done 45 quests in a row for me. She was the perfect one to get me the amulet I needed...

"Y-y-yes," stammered the little thing. I nearly cackled with glee, but thought that might give the creature the wrong impression, and I really didn't want to scare her away since I needed her help. I did heave a dramatic sigh, though, then smiled a tight smile.

"Fine, you may fetch me a Storm Amulet," I growled. The Uni hesitated, and I rolled my eyes. "What are you waiting for?" I snapped. "I don't have all day!" I glanced at my hourglass. "You have 16 minutes and 34 seconds remaining, so get moving" I added tersely.

The Uni spun on her heels and galloped away about as fast as I ever saw a Uni gallop. Guess I put the fear of, well, me, in her.

I gathered the rest of the supplies together; it appeared I had everything else on hand. Perfect.

I set to muddling the berries, glancing at the hourglass occasionally. As the seconds ticked away, I grew a little anxious. What if the Uni failed me? It was a rather rare item I had asked her for, after all, and the occasional foolish Neopian had been known to fail me. I shook my head and continued mixing ingredients. This was going to work out; I just knew it.

A firm knock on my door startled me; I had been musing so deeply. I wiped my hands on a towel as I strode to the door. I opened it, expecting to see the petite Uni, but frowned when I saw instead...

"Why are you here?" I scoffed.

"Hi Jhudora," she said cheerfully.

Illusen was always so cheerful, it sickened me.

With a smile Illusen said "I came to visit, I haven't seen you out an about in Faerieland for awhile."

I glanced at the hourglass, time was ticking down. I had to get Illusen out of here before the Uni came back. For if Illusen were here when the Uni gave me the Storm Amulet, it would not be good. Illusen would figure out exactly what was going on and she would try to stop me.

"I am busy, you have to go." I said turning my back to her.

"Jhudora, don't be like that." Illusen Laughed.

Before I could reply I heard a knock on my door. With a deep breath I opened the door to see the Uni standing there with a proud smile on her face...

"Ooh, is this a brave Neopet on your quest?" Illusen asked, poking her head out from behind me.

I scowled and crossed my arms. "Yes, it is." Hoping my sister wouldn't notice, I kicked the hourglass over. "And you have run out of time! Do you have what I asked for?"

"N-no, I do not," the Uni lied. "I'm so sorry to have failed you."

"Hmph! Well, you're lucky my sister was here, or I might've had to put a spell on you!" I grinned, glad the Uni was following along. "You'll just have to go back to quest number one."

"Aw, poor thing!" Illusen said. "If you ever want to do one of my quests, I live in Meridell. Please do come visit me. I'm going to head back, you do seem to be so busy with quests. Farewell, dear sister!" Before she left, she turned and looked at both of us carefully, as if there was something on her mind. But she walked away without a word.

As soon as Illusen had walked out the door, I breathed a sigh of relief. "So, you have the amulet?"

The Uni pulled it out of her knapsack and handed it to me. "What do you need this for anyway?"

"Would you like to see?" I asked. The Uni nodded, so I led her over to where I was mixing the berries and other ingredients. "Now, all I have to do is chant this incantation holding the amulet, and the spell will be ready..."

As you wake from everlasting sleep."

I whispered the words with every ounce of my being and swelled with pride when the concoction of ingredients glowed a silvery hue. I slowly dipped the amulet into the bowl as the Uni watched open-mouthed at my side.

The necklace picked up the silvery sheen and I knew that I now held in my hand, the antidote to the Darkest Faerie’s incarceration. I, alone, of all Faeries had mastered to procure such a powerful item. I smiled at the idea of what Queen Fyora would think of such success.

“What is it?” the Uni asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“We are taking a little trip,” I said to the Uni, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder and leading her towards the door. I could see the towers of Queen Fyora’s castle in the distance. “Think of it as your next quest”…

Score one for the evil guys! But wait, this plot is sounding a little too familiar? Use Uni as a diversion, sneak into palace and free the Darkest Faerie. No hiccups, no complications, no individual with knowledge about the plan who would interfere - oh wait...

Illusen.

It's always Illusen. What was that bit I said earlier about being 'miraculously thwarted in mere moments'?

"Change of plans," I said, tossing a pack of provisions at the Uni in case we should encounter trouble along the way.

"We're not going to the Castle?" the Uni replied.

"No, we're going to take care of some business..."

"Meridell? Isn't that where Illusen lives?" The Uni cocked her head to one side in puzzlement.

Of course it was, Illusen had just mentioned that before she left.

Illusen, who would be ruining my plans should I not act any faster.

So I only nodded half-heartedly at the Uni, mind brainstorming for plans to counter that problem. I scanned the room, examining every item that I had gathered throughout the years. Finally, my eyes landed on one particular object.

"Perfect," I purred, lips twisting into a grin. Just what I needed...

How will this story end?

"That's right," I confirmed, giving the flask a slow swirl to check its content. Hmm, good as new. "Now, I'll assign you a very important task."

"What is it?" She interrupted.

Normally, I would be very annoyed over this, but I had more pressing matters. "Time is of the essence here. Your job would be to go to Meridell and make Illusen drink this. Disguise it or whatever, I don't care, just get it done."

I handed over the glass bottle, and the Uni received it carefully with both hooves, staring at the liquid in wonder.

"Do this well, and you would be rewarded greatly," I promised.

The Uni could only nod.

When Neopians mention the Stone Statue of the Darkest Faerie, they'd immediately think of the Mysterious Statue under the sea, in the Ruins of Maraqua. Indeed, that statue was of my older sister.

But it was only mere carving upon stone, made to look like her. A decoy.

The real one, sat right in Haunted Woods, and the exact location was mapped out on the piece of paper I held in my hand.

Unlike kingdoms and empires, in Haunted Woods, guards were still quite controversial, and the Neopians would rather set traps or curses. Like how the Statue was hidden by meticulous weaving of spells, such that if one did not know the actual location of the Statue, one could never find it.

But I did.

Lo and behold, the Stone Statue. The Darkest Faerie trapped underneath all that layers herself.

"Now, all I need to do is..." I murmured, trailing off as I fished out the antidote to the Darkest Faerie’s incarceration and the Storm Amulet. A hand gripping the amulet, and a hand holding up the antidote, I begun to chant as I splashed the antidote onto the Statue.

The skies greyed, rumbling. A stroke of thunder split the sky into two, striking hard right at the statue. Stone chips fell, and unnaturally pale skin was revealed beneath.

"Sister," I began.

And everything went downhill from there.

What I underestimate, was the Darkest Faerie's thirst for revenge. After being sealed in stone for thousands of years, then having been liberated once just to fail in her revenge, the Darkest Faerie's anger and hatred had redoubled, so much that it had only cause her to attack indiscriminately.

"Sister, please wait," I cried, dodging her blasts of flames in between words. "I am the one who freed you!"

She only snarled, "and you caused me to be cursed in the first place! You and the rest of all those pesky Faeries!"

The Darkest Faerie's strength was nothing to scoff at. While I knew I was strong, I was nowhere a match for my older sister. I did the next sensible thing, which was to retreat.

A stray fireball hit my wings, cutting my thought off as bars of pain shot up from them. Fear enriched on my heart as I realised my only escape plan was ruined.

"N-No..." I whimpered, defeated, closing my eyes awaiting for the final blast to hit.

Nothing.

"Don't you dare hurt her!" It was a painfully familiar voice.

I opened my eyes. Illusen was glaring right at the Darkest Faerie, hands clenching her favourite, and most powerful wand.

Behind her, dozens and dozens of Faeries, and more were coming, eyes trained on their opponent. Not just Air, Water, Fire, Earth, but also Dark Faeries.

I almost cried at the sight.

For once, Queen Fyora only watched from the sides as Illusen shouted commands, eyes observing my fallen form. Without a word, a warm glow lit up from her hands, which gently stroke my wings.

"Your Highness," I started, but she only waved me off.

"I've heard everything from a kind, brave Uni," she explained. "And the Shenkuu Princess, who is on a diplomatic visit to Faerieland, tipped us off. She has an amulet which allows her to get wind of the situation."

The Queen shook her head, her brows furrowed in apparent worry. "You are only being manipulated this time. The Shenkuu Princess speaks of an evil mastermind behind all this. I'm afraid this is only the foreshadowing of a larger event."

The lightning crackled ominously, even as the Darkest Faerie was pushed back once again to her eternal slumber.

The End.