Main Page Go to Short Stories Go back to Articles Go to Comics Go to Continued Series Go to Editorial Go to New Series

Show All | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | Week 20 | Week 21 | Week 22 | Week 23 | Week 24 | Week 25 | Week 26 | Week 27 | Week 28 | Week 29 | Week 30 | Week 31 | Week 32 | Week 33 | Week 34 | Week 35 | Week 36 | Week 37 | Week 38 | Week 39 | Week 40 | Week 41 | Week 42 | Week 43 | Week 44 | Week 45 | Week 46 | Week 47 | Week 48 | Week 49 | Week 50 | Week 51 | Week 52 | Week 53 | Week 54 | Week 55 | Week 56 | Week 57 | Week 58 | Week 59 | Week 60 | Week 61 | Week 62 | Week 63 | Week 64 | Week 65 | Week 66 | Week 67 | Week 68 | Week 69 | Week 70 | Week 71 | Week 72 | Week 73 | Week 74 | Week 75 | Week 76 | Week 77 | Week 78 | Week 79 | Week 80 | Week 81 | Week 82 | Week 83 | Week 84 | Week 85 | Week 86 | Week 87 | Week 88 | Week 89 | Week 90 | Week 91 | Week 92 | Week 93 | Week 94 | Week 95 | Week 96 | Week 97 | Week 98 | Week 99 | Week 100 | Week 101 | Week 102 | Week 103 | Week 104 | Week 105 | Week 106 | Week 107 | Week 108 | Week 109 | Week 110 | Week 111 | Week 112 | Week 113 | Week 114 | Week 115 | Week 116 | Week 117 | Week 118 | Week 119 | Week 120 | Week 121 | Week 122 | Week 123 | Week 124 | Week 125 | Week 126 | Week 127 | Week 128 | Week 129 | Week 130 | Week 131 | Week 132 | Week 133 | Week 134 | Week 135 | Week 136 | Week 137 | Week 138 | Week 139 | Week 140 | Week 141 | Week 142 | Week 143 | Week 144 | Week 145 | Week 146 | Week 147 | Week 148 | Week 149

Neopia's Fill in the Blank News Source | 29th day of Running, Yr 26
The Neopian Times Week 61 > Short Stories > The Grass Beneath My Paws

The Grass Beneath My Paws

by tigerlizard5

One time in Neopia, sat a ragged old Dark Faerie named Eleptical, constantly plotting evil. She kept thirty Gelerts entrapped in her dark fortress. Most of the Gelerts were born in the fortress, and never saw the light of day; these Gelerts needed to be set free somehow...

     As I lay with my head on my forepaws, I sighed deeply as I looked out the bars of the darkened window. I turned to my best friend. "Clee, don't you wish you could see what it's like outside?"

     "Yes," Clee sighed and joined me in my yearning stare out of our tiny portal to freedom. "After all of those wonderful stories that the older Gelerts told us about outside, it makes me want to go out there even more; their stories make me happy, feeling like there's some hope in getting out of this horrible place."

     I nodded. "Maybe there is a way out of this place. We never tried fighting back."

     "That's true..." Clee hesitated. "But it may never work. The Dark Faerie is just too strong..." Her eyes became watery.

     I had never seen her cry. She usually was very brave at all times. I tilted my head and nodded sadly.

     Suddenly the door creaked open; we all knew why. The only time the door was ever opened was when the Dark Faerie came in to yell at us and try to make us evil. She would beat us brutally and then feed us the only food she ever allowed us to eat; Dark Food, she called it. It made us evil for twelve hours.

     "Well, I hope you Gelerts might have some sense in you and just eat your food." The loud shrieking of the Dark Faerie's voice boomed through the room and had us all shivering.

     Most of us; the only one not shivering to her evil voice was me. I wasn't evil, though, and the food that she fed us never seemed to effect me for some reason.

     Then Eleptical fixated her attention to me as she crept over with a terrible glare darting out of her eyes. "And what are you doing? Don't think that you can fight back." One of the worst things about Eleptical was that she could read minds. "I have been working on this food for a while and made it even more evil than before. I'm quite sure that even you won't be able to withstand it."

     I looked at her straight in the eyes and stood firm, not saying a word.

     "Fine, eat up your food or be beaten," the Dark Faerie cackled.

     She shoved the food toward me and I refused it boldly.

     "Once again, Delina, you are making a big mistake." A dark smirk spread across Eleptical's face.

     Eleptical pulled a dagger from behind her back. She held it high in the air, ready to strike. Yet I remained silent.

     "STOP!" Clee yelled.

     I looked softly at Clee, assuring her that I would be okay. I turned my head toward the Dark Faerie and looked into her eyes. I had no fear of the Dark Faerie. My look contained neither fear nor happiness; it was just serious and piercing. The Dark Faerie almost dropped her dagger as she stared into my fearless face.

     Surprised, she then regained her strength and slashed me in the side, tearing through my brown-spotted fur. As she made another swing at me I caught the dagger quickly between my teeth. My teeth held the dagger in a way where I didn't get a single cut in my mouth.

     Eleptical had a surprised and partially fearful face at how I swiftly had caught the dagger. She pulled on the handle of the dagger and tried to get it from my mouth. My teeth firmly held the dagger and she couldn't pull it free. She gave up and then snapped her fingers. Three evil snowballs dropped from the ceiling. Eleptical grabbed the snowballs and threw them at me. I jumped to the sides, dodging each snowball.

     "You think that you are scaring me, but really you are only making me more mad, which means you will be getting an even worse punishment." The Dark Faerie laughed.

     Eleptical snapped her fingers again and metal a club with spikes piercing out of it fell from the ceiling. She swung the razor-sharp club at me several times. One of her blows pierced me in my side; having me fall to the ground, dust flying everywhere. I struggled to get up. Eleptical slammed me in the side again and again, trying to force me to stay down.

     "STOP!! DON'T HURT DELINA!!!!" Clee screamed, running at Eleptical and biting her in the arm.

     "AAHHHGGHHHH!!" Eleptical angrily threw Clee across the room.

     I looked over at my hurt friend and then back at the Dark Faerie. "Why did you do that!?"

     I was just about to run at the Dark Faerie when she said, "I'll come back later when things aren't so crazy..." As she jumped into the air to fly away, she locked the sturdy door behind her, slamming it an inch away from my face.

     I sighed deeply and ran to Clee to help her up. "Are you okay, Clee? Oh, I'm just so mad at that awful Dark Faerie!!" I looked at the bolted door in anger.

     "It's okay," Clee said quietly as she stood up. "At least she won't make us eat until she comes back."

     I nodded as I continued to stare at the door. Then I thought for a minute and looked over at Clee. "Wait, Clee. We're not going to be here when she comes back." A smile spread across my face. And for the first time, I wagged my tail.

     All of the Gelerts perked up their ears as they saw me wag my tail.

     "What do you mean?" One of the Gelerts said, hope twinkling in his eyes.

     "We're going to escape." I turned my attention to the window and walked up to it. "We have to somehow get out through this window." I thought for a minute, then I turned around. "The Dark Faerie left these behind." I picked up the spiked club and dagger. "We can use these to break away the bars from the window." I looked over at a male Gelert. "Could you use this dagger and try chiseling away the bars?"

     The Gelert nodded. "Sure!" He hurried over to me and I handed him the dagger.

     "Anyone think they can use this?" I asked, holding out the spiked club.

     Three Gelerts came over to me.

     I handed the Gelerts the spiked club. "Slam this against the bars of the window and try to break them down after that Gelert over there," I pointed my nose over to the blue Gelert chiseling away at the barred window with the dagger. "Finishes chiseling some of the bars."

     The three nodded and anxiously waited behind the blue Gelert.

     "Try to stay as quiet as possible; the Dark Faerie might come," I said.

     Suddenly, we could hear loud footsteps coming from outside the bolted door. I looked back at the Gelerts, now with a worried face. The blue Gelert finished chiseling and the other Gelerts slammed on the window three times. The last blow burst the window open. Sunlight spread into the room

     "Everyone, quickly go through the window!!!" I said. I watched as the Gelerts jumped out the window.

     The door slammed open and Eleptical ran into the room. "WHAT???!!!!!"

     I made sure the rest of the Gelerts made it out of the fortress. Then only Clee and I were still inside. "Quickly, Clee!! Run out!! I'll be right behind-"

     I was interrupted as the Dark Faerie slashed me in the back with a dark sword.

     I got up to my feet and called. "Clee, run out of here and save yourself!"

     "What are friends for?" Clee ran at the Dark Faerie and bit her in the ankle.

     "AAAAAGGGGGHH!!!!!" Eleptical slashed Clee in the face with her sword, thrusting her back.

     "You have done too much damage to all of us Gelerts. You have done too much damage to everything. That's all you do, isn't it? Hurt innocent things?" I walked toward the Dark Faerie.

     Eleptical sneered. "Well, yeah. What else?" The tone of her voice had me unsure of whether she was being sarcastic or serious, but it seemed more like a twisted mix of both.

     After all of my years of being a loyal, loving Gelert, I had never been loyal or loving to the Dark Faerie. I cringed at the sight of evil. The Dark Faerie had pushed me too far. We had freed the other Gelerts, and now she was trying to stop my best friend from getting freedom. I couldn't let the Dark Faerie shatter our dreams.

     As I advanced toward the Dark Faerie, she swung her sword at me, I jumped up and dodged the sword and then bit Eleptical in the hand. She shrieked loudly, then smacked me on the head with the handle of the sword. A little dazed, I shook my head. Then stood my ground, snarling fiercely at the Dark Faerie.

     How can I defeat her? We might be trapped here forever... I thought. With all of my strength, I rushed at Eleptical and knocked her over, making her drop her sword. As she reached for it, I used that moment to bite her. Out of my razor-sharp teeth spread ice into the Dark Faerie. She froze. I jumped back, surprised. How did I do that?????? I thought. I looked over at Clee; I had defeated Eleptical.

     I blinked, still amazed. I moved my mouth, trying to talk, but nothing would come out. When I finally found my voice, the words came slowly. "I...defeated...Eleptical..." I looked at the frozen sculpture of what used to be Eleptical.

     Suddenly, Eleptical started to move in the ice, trying to break free. Her movements caused her to tip and start to fall. I turned my head and closed my eyes as she shattered onto the ground. Eleptical was no more.

     "We're..." I began. "FREE!!!!!!"

***

My eyes drank in the wonderful view around me. Trees, grass, flowers, birds, butterflies, and rivers were right in front of my eyes. The warm grass tickled my paws, and I let out a contented sigh.

     "Let's go to the river!!!!" I happily ran over to the water and leapt in.

     The refreshing water surrounded me. The other Gelerts joined me in the river. We swam for hours. When we were done swimming, we emerged from the water, and shook it off.

     "Why don't we go to the forest?" One of the Gelerts suggested.

     We all smiled in agreement to his wonderful idea and set off into the forest, running and playing happily as we went. We soon caught some food and had the scrumptious tastes lingering in our mouths as evening approached.

     Exhausted from our first day of freedom, we all rested in a large cave with the cool ground beneath us.

     Having learned my new power of ice biting, I found out that I only ice-bit something when I wanted to. Other times I bit normally.

     The days in the fields and forests were lovely, and the other Gelerts and I lived happily in a cave together. We lived in freedom, enjoying our lives and company. We finally had our dream.

The End

Week 61 Related Links

The Elements: Part Three
"Be nice, Animus," I told the Gelert. "Now, where could we find the Scepter? Coltzan said there was a new Guardian, but that could be anyone!"

by jade_dragon_faerie


The Magician's Apprentice
The small pirate Aisha was completely enthralled by the mystical battles that had taken place in his own home of Meridell and never got tired of learning about them.

by surrealdarkness


Shoyru Squadron: Agents of Faerie
This is the second-to-the-last installment of "The Battledome Crisis"... whee!

by the_darkjedi


The Journeys of Angel_the_Faerie
Sharing a room with a Noil?

by rainbow_faerie02



Search :
Other Stories

Boldheart: Of a Dragon's Den
She did not fully understand what had happened out there upon that dune, but she knew one thing--a dragon had saved her.

by meratocat


Dragon Thieves: Going Solo
Her pet was a silver Peophin named Lady_Ireland, who was as bad as her owner. Together, the two had a fantastic reputation of snootiness.

by child_dragon


A Dreadful Birthday
"WHO'S COOKING ROTTEN OMELETTES AGAIN? THEY'RE STINKING THE NEIGHBOURHOOD!"

by yasashiiyukiko


Kingbing's Goofy Smile (The Sequel)
If so you want me to continue the story of our family, after suffering many obstacles of Neopian life, then I shall tell you.

by coca_chia_cola


Krawk Files: Les than Nothing
All of Neopia lay before him, full of wonder and adventure. But all Les could think of was his comfortable room back at the Lair, his nice computer and his Florg.

by shidi


Neopets | Main | Articles | Editorial
Short Stories | Comics | New Series | Continued Series | Search