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It was a cloudy day in Faerieland.
The Dark Faerie Jhudora grumbled something about
time-wasters as she waited for the Ixi to come back with the Kacheek T-shirt.
She had been waiting for five minutes now, and most other pets had come back
before then. She tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair.
Then, the bang of a door slamming made her look
up, expecting to see the Ixi, but what really did arrive inside her tower made
her even madder.
“Illusen!” she hissed at the approaching Earth
Faerie, walking down the hall toward her. “What are you doing here?!” Illusen
stepped toward Jhudora.
“I knew you would be… surprised,” Illusen said
with an air of sarcasm. “I just wanted to say… the Sworn Sisters reunion is
tomorrow, and they’re meeting at Faerie City Park. But of course, it wouldn’t
be complete if you weren’t there…” She broke off, waiting for Jhudora to answer.
Sudden memories started flashing in Jhudora’s
mind, and she shook her head to clear them. What was going on? She didn’t remember
those…
“I’ll let you- I’ll let you know later tonight,”
Jhudora replied, almost speaking without her intended icy tone. Illusen didn’t
smile.
“Fine,” she said, and walked out, slamming the
door again. Jhudora sat back into her chair and started rubbing her temples.
Some sort of Sister Group was joining again, and that Ixi still had not come
back yet…
Later that night, Jhudora got into her four-poster
bed and pulled the covered up to her chin. She was still thinking about Illusen,
how she had entered her tower, that stupid-
She rolled over onto her side and sighed, staring
out the window. Maybe it would be better tomorrow.
Almost as soon as she closed her eyes, a wave
of memories flooded her mind, pulling her into a dream, a recollection of what
happened 7 years ago…
* * *
Little Illusen was 9 years old. With red hair and small, freckles, a short
green dress and not-fully-grown green wings, she had a young innocent look.
She was walking by herself in the park in Faerieland, stopping occasionally
to pick a daisy, to make a daisy crown. The soft green grass tickled her bare
feet, and the sunlight’s warm rays were browning her pale skin a little. A butterfly
landed on the daisy she was about to pick, and she left it there, looking for
another daisy.
“Oof!” she said, surprised, as she bumped into
another young faerie. This faerie had dark purple hair, fair skin, purple leathery
wings, a long dark purple dress, and looked to be the same age. The faerie was
knocked off balance and sat down hard on her bottom.
“I’m sorry!” Illusen exclaimed, and helped the
Dark Faerie up. The faerie brushed herself off.
“Sorry about that,” she said, and smiled slightly.
“I’m Jhudora. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” Illusen replied. “I’m sorry;
I think it was my fault-”
“Don’t worry about it, I wasn’t looking where
I was going.”
“Well, I wasn’t either.” They both laughed.
“What’s your name?” Jhudora asked.
“I’m Illusen!” Illusen replied. “Hey, you want
to help me make a daisy crown?”
“Sure!” They both began searching for more daisies,
joking around and learning more about each other as they walked around.
After a little while, they had enough daisies
to make two crowns, and they sat in the shade of a nearby tree to twine the
flowers together. The sun was just starting to set, turning the blue sky orange
and yellow.
“Hey… how come you’re not with the other Dark
Faeries?” Illusen asked curiously, after they were both silent for a moment.
Jhudora looked down at her half-finished crown.
“Well… I don’t think they like me very much.
They’re always playing mean pranks on me, and sometimes they really hurt me.
I don‘t really like to play pranks that much, and I’m not really mean like a
Dark Faerie should be, so they‘re always teasing me.”
“Oh… I’m sorry,” Illusen apologized.
“Nah, it’s okay,” Jhudora shrugged. “Then how
come you’re not with the other Earth Faeries?”
“I don’t think they like me, either.” Illusen
leaned back against the tree and sighed. “They’re mean to me because my wings
aren’t completely grown in yet, and theirs are bigger than mine. Then I need
help getting to school, since I can’t fly. You know, it’s in a tree and everything…”
“That must be horrible!” Jhudora exclaimed.
Illusen nodded glumly. Off in the distance, a bell sounded. The two leaped to
their feet.
“That’s the home bell!” Illusen said.
“We better get home soon.” Jhudora added.
“Want to meet here tomorrow?”
“Yeah!” The two faeries said goodbye and ran
off in different directions.
Panting from running, Jhudora walked into her
tower and shut the door behind her.
“You’re home late, honey.” Her sister’s voice
floated in from another room. It paused, there was a rustle from that room,
and an older Dark Faerie walked in. She had black hair and was wearing dark
blue robes that could nearly touch the floor. “What were you up to?” she continued.
“…I was playing, Athena,” Jhudora replied.
“With whom?” Athena asked suspiciously.
“Just one of my friends.” Jhudora prayed silently
that Athena wouldn’t know-
“You haven’t been playing with one of your friends,”
Athena said, with a smirk. “Confess, Jhudora. You’ve been playing with an Earth
Faerie.”
“No!” Jhudora cried.
“Yes. As you probably know already-” Athena
pulled out a small notebook from a pocket of her robes, and flipped it open-
“ ‘for the past twenty years, we the Dark Faeries have been in argument with
the Earth Faeries, and it is strictly forbidden to acquaint with them’ and etcetera.
What you did was clearly wrong, and if the authorities know, both of us are
in big trouble.” Athena’s smirk turned into a small frown, she slammed the hardcover
notebook shut, and went back into one of the other rooms.
“What have I done?” Jhudora wept. She managed
to drag herself into her room and flop on the bed, not bothering to take off
her black boots.
“I wish she didn’t have that stupid crystal
ball,” she cried, muffling her sounds with her pillow. “She shouldn’t have found
it…”
Only a few years ago, her sister Athena, who
was four years older than Jhudora, had found the crystal ball in the hollow
of a tree in the park. She had brought it home, and after studying, figured
out how to use it. She was then able to see what was going on in the outside
world. Ever since then, Athena had spent most of her time indoors, sitting in
front of that crystal ball.
Jhudora groaned and rolled over onto her back.
She thought about how she and -what was her name again? - Illusen agreed to
meet at that tree the next day. She would have to figure out some way to get
rid of that crystal ball, so that Athena wouldn’t be able to spy on her again.
She would have to do it tonight.
She found the family Floud, and told it to watch
the clock, and wake her up when it was twelve ‘o clock at night. Then, she had
a snack, and went to bed. However, she was too eager to fall asleep, and was
still awake when the Floud finally floated in. She jumped out of bed, and tiptoed
out of her room.
There was a hallway outside of her room, and
a stairway that connected the first and second stories. Her sister’s room was
on the first floor, so Jhudora sneaked downstairs, in the darkness, to the door
of Athena’s room. The door was slightly ajar, so she pushed it open a little
more. Luckily, it did not squeak. She snuck in and looked around.
She heard Athena’s slow breathing, meaning she
was asleep, from the corner. Apparently her bed was there. And on the table
in front of the window was the bright clear sphere. It did not look to be crystal
at all; in fact, it looked to be glass. Jhudora crept forward, step by step,
wincing whenever the floorboards creaked. Smirking, she finally was able to
put her hands around the ball.
It felt cool, but not cold, and it felt like
there was some sort of force radiating from it. It was about the size of a small
grapefruit. She tucked it under her arm and snuck back out of the room. Mission
accomplished!
However, even though she had the ball, she did
not know what to do with it. She decided she could wrap it in a cloth, and hide
it under her bed until tomorrow morning. Athena usually woke up late in the
morning, so Jhudora knew she could sneak out of the house easily. She smiled,
went up to her room, hid the crystal ball, crawled into bed, and slept.
The next morning, the first thing Jhudora did
was tuck the crystal ball into her robes and run out to the park. There, Illusen
was waiting with a basket.
“What did you bring?” they both asked in unison.
They laughed.
“Okay, I brought breakfast for both of us, since
I’m sure you didn’t have it yet,” Illusen said, and opened he basket. She pulled
out a checkered tablecloth and spread it out on the ground, and Jhudora helped
her pull out two covered plates of steaming Faerie Pancakes.
“Mmm!” they both said.
“What did you bring?” Illusen asked as they
settled down. Jhudora looked around before slowly pulling out the crystal ball.
Illusen’s eyes grew wide.
“Wow, that’s really pretty! Where did you get
it?” she asked excitedly.
“Well… did you know about how there is some
sort of argument between Earth and Dark Faeries?” Jhudora asked, and Illusen
shook her head. “Well, when I went home yesterday, my sister said that I shouldn’t
have been playing with you, because there was some sort of, I dunno, rule keeping
Dark and Earth Faeries from playing with each other. She knows because she used
this crystal ball to watch us.”
“So that must be why my sister got angry when
I told her I played with you yesterday!” Illusen realized. “But I wonder why
we’re not allowed to play? I mean, we only look a little different…” All Jhudora
could do was shrug. They took a few bites of the Faerie Pancakes.
“Now, I want to find some way to get rid of
this ball,” Jhudora said, mouth full of pancakes, and swallowed. “You think
you could help me?”
“Of course I can!” Illusen exclaimed. “We’re
friends now, right? We should help each other whenever we can.”
“Okay, Illusen!”
“I have a glass collection at home. Maybe I
can take that ball and add it to my collection.”
“That’s a great idea! Thank you so much!” Jhudora
exclaimed, and they both looked around nervously before hugging for a second.
“May I show you something?” Illusen asked as
they were packing away the plates and tablecloth.
“Yup, what is it?”
“It’s this…” Illusen pulled out a key chain
out of her pocket, and handed it to Jhudora. It was a key chain that she had
never seen before; the chain looked to be real gold, and the half of the yellow
star was outlined with sterling silver. It felt a little heavy.
“It’s a key chain that will remind us of our
first meeting,” Illusen explained shyly as Jhudora examined it. “If we ever
get torn apart, or… something else… we’ll still be together. I have the other
one, see…” She pulled out another key chain from her pocket, but it seemed to
be the other half of the yellow star. The two faeries stood close together and
fitted the pieces together. They fit perfectly. Smiling, they quickly embraced
and walked off in different directions, bidding farewell.
Three years passed, and they were still sneaking
out of their homes and visiting each other by the same tree. Every single time,
they would share experiences and adventures, one of them being when they discovered
an Airax with broken feathers, and tried to heal it.
For Jhudora’s 12th birthday, Illusen gave her
a green choker with a shiny green emerald on it. For Illusen’s 12th, Jhudora
gave her a brown choker that sparkled. Despite the protests of their sisters,
they both colored green highlights in their hair to show their friendship. They
never had a fight since. Even though other faeries their age were teasing them
about meeting, they ignored them and kept spending time together. Until one
fateful day…
A twelve-year-old Jhudora walked toward the
tree in the park, expecting Illusen to be there. Finding herself to be alone,
she sat down and waited.
And waited…
And waited…
A Fire Faerie walking by noticed Jhudora sitting
by herself. She flew over and introduced herself as Navi.
“I have some news, and am trying to spread it
around… Earth Faeries have been restricted from Faerieland. Apparently some
prankster Dark Faeries played a nasty trick on a young Earth Faerie, ‘bout your
age, and so she -- well, I’ll spare you the details. Anyway, the Earth Faeries
are at the gates, leaving right now!”
“WHAT?!” Jhudora cried out in outrage, and jumped
up from her spot. Not even bothering to say thank you or goodbye, she took off
running toward the gates. However, her long dress was tripping her steps, so
she spread her wings and flapped them. A few seconds later, she was flying at
top speed, three feet above the ground. The gates were in sight, and so was
a group of Earth Faeries-
“ILLUSEN!” Jhudora yelled. Illusen turned around,
surprised, and saw Jhudora. A look of hate crossed her face. She broke off from
the group and flew toward the approaching Jhudora.
“What do you want?” Illusen snapped, as they
both landed. Jhudora took a step back in shock.
“I just wanted to say goodbye!” Jhudora said.
“Since we’ve been best friends-”
“Why would you?” Illusen interrupted. “After
what those nasty friends of yours did-”
“What? No! They must have tricked you!” Jhudora
realized, and Illusen rolled her eyes. “I don’t have any friends except for
you!”
“Yeah, right.”
“Please, Illusen, you have to believe me. Whatever
those faeries did to you I was not a part of. Please.”
“Jhudora, will you quit it? We’re not friends
anymore, we never were, and that’s final--”
Illusen was cut off by a shrill whistle from
the gates, and without saying anything, she turned and walked briskly toward
them, leaving a heartbroken Dark Faerie behind. Jhudora wept silently as she
watched the Earth Faeries’ descent to Meridell.
Someone behind her tapped her shoulder, and
she spun around to see an Earth Faerie that had not flown down yet. The faerie
leaned forward, and whispered a lie into her ear….
And then Jhudora’s sorrow slowly grew to hate….
That same night, Jhudora took the old friendship
key ring from three years ago, and threw it into a drawer in her bureau. And
there it lay for nearly four more years, still shining in the darkness…
For Jhudora had become a true Dark Faerie, and
did not know love anymore.
* * *
Jhudora’s eyes snapped open. She yawned, sat up, stretched. Sunlight was filtering
through the window and various cracks in the ceiling, filling the room with
light. Normally she would have closed the dark purple curtains, but she decided
to leave them open. Well, she thought, sunlight actually does feel good.
What an amazing dream she had last night --
was it all really real? And that remark the stranger said about Illusen- that
she tricked her, that soon enough she would hurt her- was just a measly lie!
There was only one way to find out if the dream was true.
Jhudora slipped on some slippers and walked
out of her room, through the hallway, down the stairs, through a door, and some
stone steps that led down into the basement. She scrunched up her face in disgust
as she descended the stairs.
“Jeez… they haven’t been cleaning this place
up…” There were cobwebs all over the place, and rats were scurrying around,
hiding in the corners. The air had a definite bite to it; she could see her
breath. Finally, she spotted an old bureau in the corner. She pulled open one
of the drawers, sneezing from the dust. Laying in the empty drawer was the old
half-star key chain.
A wave of emotion washed over her. So, the dream
really was true- but now she was longing to see Illusen again… She took the
key chain and was dusting it off on her way back to her bedroom. There she slipped
on her best dress, which was dark purple and a green stripe running down on
both sides and the sleeves. She pocketed the key chain and walked out the front
door toward the park.
The walk didn’t take long; it was only half
a block. When she arrived, she saw a large group of faeries gathered by the
statue of Fyora. Illusen was by the old tree, leaning against the trunk. Jhudora
flew over to her and stood by the tree too, but a short distance away.
“Um, hello,” Jhudora said in her normal voice.
Illusen looked up, and turned to see the friend she had forgotten years ago.
Lost for words, Jhudora pulled out the star key chain, and held it out to Illusen.
“Since we’re not friends anymore…” she started
to say. “Well, you can take this back…” Illusen’s expression softened.
“Then the trick wasn’t your fault, was it?”
she asked. “I- I’m sorry.”
“Me too,” Jhudora replied. One of the members
of the group saw Jhudora and Illusen together, and yelled, “Hey! They’re talking
together!” Jhudora winked at Illusen briefly before shouting back:
“You DOLTS, STOP IT! Illusen and I are in the
middle of an IMPORTANT PRIVATE ARGUMENT!!” The group fell silent and moved a
little farther away.
“You’re just the way I remember you,” Illusen
said with a shy smile. She pulled out the other star key chain, and the two
faeries fitted the pieces together. Just like before, they fit perfectly.
“Let’s promise to be friends again!” Jhudora
said.
“And no one will know that we’re back together,”
Illusen continued. The two looked around nervously before shaking hands, as
they were too nervous to hug, and bid their farewells. They flew off in different
directions as the group parted also.
So, although the two faeries seem to hate each
other, both are hiding the same secret; that they are friends and deep in the
pockets of their dresses there will always be that star key chain. And that
from the day they were sixteen, they were friends, once again, and will be for
as long as they will.
The End
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