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Doumeh looked at Ara like he was going to dismiss her from
being queen right there. "Trust me!" whispered Ara to the king, seeing his angry
face. "We must earn the people's trust before they join forces with us." The king's
temper cooled. The crowd left after everything was over and the group was left
standing in the gardens. The guards had left back to their places and Doumeh,
Ara, and Cedric stood by the door.
The group walked up the deck to meet them. Keira
stood the closest to Doumeh. "You will stay in your room, not to come out,"
said Doumeh. "Get inside." Cedric looked at Keira with no emotion on his face
as she walked in. Nick, Laura, and Darren followed -- until Doumeh stopped them.
Keira turned around to see what was going on.
Doumeh had his paw blocking them from getting in. "You could very well be guards
for us," said the king, looking at Nick and Darren. "But I know better, you
will just turn on us." Keira was about to say something but decided not too.
Ara pushed her back inside while she went in herself followed by Cedric. Doumeh
stayed out to take care of Keira's friends. Keira went back to the door, her
paws pressed on the glass.
"If you don't leave now, I'll have to make you,"
said Doumeh. Laura started leaving down the steps and so did Nick, until he
saw Darren still up there glaring at the king. Nick went back up and grabbed
Darren's shoulders, pulling him back.
Keira watched her friends leave, until Doumeh
turned and saw her pressed against the glass. She pulled back into the shadows.
Moments later she was locked in her room. She sat on her soft four-poster bed
staring around the room. It was a nice sized bedroom, and surprisingly not dark
like the rest of the castle. It was shades of khaki and white -- probably to
match her island colors.
Fake tropical plants were here and there, like
the tropical leaf vines that were swirled around the four posters of her bed.
Finally, two big windows stood in one wall. Keira got up and walked to the windows,
pulling the white drapes open. She peered out the window, to see the wind pick
up and the cloudy sky move steadily. She looked down to see she must have been
at least on the third floor.
* * *
Later that night, Keira lay awake on her bed, holding the jeweled tiara that
was rightfully hers. She put it on and looked in the mirror. It was a shimmering
silver color with a blue diamond hanging off the front, onto her forehead. She
tried to focus on getting memories back. Nothing at all, but she thought the
tiara would help. The only thing she could remember was the voice of her mother.
Sometimes she thought she had heard her mom
while walking down the streets of Smellyworld, but found it was only the wind.
This brought a memory of one of her past dreams -- when she thought her mom
had called her name, but a terrible grey shadow was there instead. This grey
shadow, was this the Grey Faerie? thought Keira. I bet it is.
There was a knock at the window. Keira turned
to see that is was Darren, Nick, and Laura. Keira took off her tiara and set
it on the bed before running to the window to open it.
"Oh I'm so happy to see you!" she said. Darren
was flying in the air holding Nick and Laura on his back.
"C'mon quick! Lets get in!" said Laura. "I was
only able to distract the guards for a little while. Once they find out that
there wasn't a huge fight in the town square they will be right back to their
positions!" Keira let them in.
"Nice place," said Darren looking around. After
showing them around her bedroom, Keira decided to tell them about her dreams.
"So," said Nick. "We've got a lot on our hands.
How should we take care of --"
Just then, there was a click of the door lock.
"Quick! Hide…!" whispered Keira to the others. They hid in the bathroom as quickly
and as quietly as possible. Keira was able to hold him off a little by holding
the door closed. She let go and ran to her bed, pushing the tiara under a pillow.
Cedric blasted the door open, with a running start.
"Oh," said Cedric. "I guess the door wasn't
broken." He picked up the door and fit it back into the doorway. "Keira," he
said, walking toward her. "I want to show you how great it is being evil. You
can do anything you want, you can rule. Under our leader of course, who is also
your father. Not to mention that he practically adopted me for the prince. He
makes all the right decisions so not to worry." He walked to the window staring
at the city.
"So I give you a choice. Join your father, Ara,
and myself in the great journey of evil power. Don't make the same mistake that
your mother did… she doesn't know what she's missing."
Nick and Darren almost fell out of the bathroom,
being pressed against the door, trying to hear the conversation. "I am never
going to join you. Not even if my life depended on it. I can't believe you would
actually do something like this!" said Keira.
Cedric turned, staring evilly at Keira. "You've
made the wrong choice," he said. He made a strike for Keira, who just barely
missed him. She kept trying to dodge his claws while the fight led out the door.
They were standing on the balcony overlooking the ballroom now, which had a
dead palm tree standing in the center. Cedric had Keira pinned against the railing.
He struck her in the face, a scar now across
her cheek. She nearly fell down onto the floor below when she saw Nick, Darren,
and Laura sneaking out of her room. Darren mouthed to her "shhh," and "good
luck," before quietly sneaking into the hallway with the others. Keira didn't
want Cedric seeing her eye contact with her friends so she tried to get him
on the nose.
She made only a small scar, but Keira was able
to get out of Cedric's grip now. She swung around the grand staircase's post
and slid down the railing, making a back flip onto the ground before hitting
the bottom post.
Cedric did this with ease also, except he went
too high and hit the dead palm tree. He quickly got up and over the railing
surrounding it. He started chasing Keira around the room, striking whenever
he got close. Meanwhile -- Darren, Nick, and Laura were sneaking about in the
hallway. They got close to the library when they heard voices. They stopped
at the half closed doors of the library and listened. It was Ara and Doumeh.
"Yes, two years ago I collected the princess's
memory and kept it in your scepter," said Ara. "The only way she can get it
back is if it breaks, the liquid spilling on her."
"And she will get these memories right away?"
asked Doumeh.
"She will instantly fall asleep, the memories
will come back to her in a dream. The most memorable that is."
There was a long pause.
"Did you put the queen in the tallest tower,
the dream portal?" asked Doumeh.
"Yes, your highness I did," replied Ara.
"No need to call me that, now that you are queen."
"Right. I wonder, if the princess did get her
memories back, would her powers be returned to her as well?"
"I would think so," replied Doumeh. "What is
all that racket?"
Cedric and Keira were still fighting in the
ballroom and they were making quite a lot of sound now. Nick, Darren, and Laura
hid in a near by closet while Doumeh and Ara were coming out of the library.
They walked to the ballroom balcony and saw the two fighting. "Cedric, Keira!
Stop this at once!" yelled Doumeh. They stopped and stared at Doumeh. Cedric
opened his mouth to say something, but decided it was too risky and closed it.
The king left into the library.
"Clean this ballroom up," said Ara glaring down
at them. "There is to be a ball tomorrow night. You remember our plans, right
Cedric? The guards have been informed. Guests will be here at 7:00 pm." After
Ara left, Keira saw that her friends were trying to sneak back into her bedroom.
Cedric was about to turn and see them, but Keira distracted him.
"How are we suppose to get that out?" said Keira
pointing to a dark smudge on the floor while her friends snuck in safely. "We?"
replied Cedric. He laughed and went up the grand staircase, probably going to
the library.
Keira went back to her bedroom. "Hey guys, did
you find out anything new?" asked Keira. Her friends were sitting on her bed.
They exchanged what they had heard and planned for tomorrow.
* * *
It was 5:30 pm the next day. Her friends had gone back home and were coming
to the ball dressed as nicely as they could. Servants were decorating the ballroom
and Doumeh, Ara, and Cedric were getting ready. Keira was as well. She stood
in her bathroom in front of the mirror brushing her fur. She picked up her tiara,
which was sitting near the sink. "Should I wear it tonight?" Keira asked herself.
She put it on her head -- a perfect fit.
Ara came to get her and they stood by the grand
doors with Doumeh and Cedric. Guests started lining up outside the castle. The
guards opened the doors, and two by two, they walked into the castle. Bowing
to the royal family as they went in. The guards led them to the ballroom, which
wasn't that far away. Doumeh and Ara sat on the largest royal thrones that were
in the middle.
Cedric and Keira sat on either side of them,
Keira sitting next to her father. The thrones had white (now grey) seat and
back pads. The rims of all of the thrones were gold. Keira looked around the
ballroom. It had sparkling purple drapes that hung from the balcony railings
as well as the staircase. The palm tree in the center looked as dead as usual
-- which some Neopets were taken aback by.
Overall, the ballroom had quite an evil theme
with shades of purple and black. Doumeh watched the crowd's effect on the evil
theme carefully. Music started playing from the band on Keira's right. It was
as evil music as you could get. Doumeh closed his eyes happily and started humming
along with the tune. Keira searched the crowd for her friends.
Nick came into view, looking dashing in the
silver cloak Laura had lent him. Darren and Laura were close behind, looking
good as well. Nick gave a nod to Keira, not wanting to make a scene. Keira nodded
back as Darren smiled at her. A while later, during the middle of the ball,
Doumeh wanted to make an announcement.
Keira knew this was time to act. Otherwise Doumeh
would convince the whole city to join him in his evil plans. She saw her friends
coming nearer. King Doumeh stood up, cleared his throat, and said, "I would
like everyone's attention." The music stopped.
To be continued…
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