The Last Space Aisha

Part II: The Battle Has Begun

by aishagirl104

In the last installment, Adria and Daria's (or Emma and Lucy) big sister and mom both died escaping from their royal family home when it was being attacked and destroyed by rebels. The girls can save Neopia from the evil Fabina, the witch Aisha Morticia and their mutant NeoPet slaves, so the Uber Faeries have taken them to their home above the clouds… The Faeries came up through the hole in the clouds, the sleeping Aishas clutched to their chests. When they appeared, the other Faeries cheered.

"Let me hold one of them!" begged the Earth Faerie. The Light Faerie gently handed Emma to her and the Fire Faerie crowded in to see too. Emma opened her big dark eyes and stared straight up at the three of them. Meanwhile, the Dark Faerie was cradling Lucy while the Water Faerie looked on. The Faerie Queen clapped her hands and took the girls into her own arms. After a few minutes' close inspection, she decided. "Well?" asked the Air Faerie. "They're adorable!" was the answer, and the Faeries cheered again. "How long will we have to wait before we can begin their training?" asked the Dark Faerie.

"I hope it won't be too long…"

"Forty-eight days before we can begin the basics, and sixty before we can start the important work," answered the Faerie Queen.

"But they will only have to learn until they reach 192 days; then they can learn it for the important tasks we shall give them every twelve days. What do you all say to that?"

A cheer went up from all six of her council and the motion was agreed. Each Faerie glowed inside with warmth, care, protection and love for both girls - they would defend these two before everything else they had, except Neopia.

"Right now, they need feeding," said the Fire Faerie. "I shall conjure up something to give to them."

And an endless supply of magic-enriched baby food appeared. (It is exactly the same as the stuff you can buy in Neopia, but it increases magic powers of all NeoPets who eat it.) The Fire Faerie handed the Air Faerie a tin of the food and Emma and Lucy ate the whole tin, for they had not fed at all since their birth.

"Emma's 1½ pounds heavier than her sister - Lucy only weighs five pounds," said the Light Faerie.

"Lucy's the one I feel sorry for - I'm sure when everyone hears about this, they'll accuse Lucy of causing her mother's death and she's the one everyone will be out to get." (In Aisha culture at that time, if a mother passed away giving birth to her child, that child was seen as a sign of bad luck and was made to feel unwanted and unloved all its life. Girls were mistreated more often than not, and they tended to be despised anyway - boys were always preferred for some reason.)

"Not to worry," said the Earth Faerie, picking Emma up and holding her in her arms.

"We'll take good care of both of them. But I can't help wondering if we should have left them with their father. He didn't show it when you went to get them, but I think he must really miss them - he's gone from being a family of three, lost his first daughter and his wife, gaining two daughters and then losing them."

"They can't leave now…and besides, they are both protected by the kiss," said the Air Faerie.

"But does the kiss truly protect those who are blessed with it against evil? If that is not the case, then maybe not even all the magic we are putting into these girls can defend them and their race against the forces of evil that threaten to destroy their world!"

"The kiss is a sacred mark; it is the most valued weapon against a strong and forceful enemy," answered the Dark Faerie.

"We were all blessed with the kiss upon Neopia's creation and bless a certain few with it. These are the ones who need to be defended against attack, because they have to use every power and weapon they have before they can use the kiss. It's their last chance against the rebels and their last spell to erase those evil powers from their planet!"

"With the kiss, the powers they will learn from the many days and hours of training with us and the spells we will equip them with, they simply cannot be defeated," agreed the Water Faerie, whose strong, toned arms held Lucy safely and securely.

"The girls may be young, weak and in danger now, but when they are ready to fight, they will be almost impossible to beat. Their father doesn't know?"

"About their mother being magic, you mean?" The Faerie Queen approached to join in the conversation.

"Yes…she knew that two of her children were destined to save their people. I think she was worried about her husband finding out about her roots in the Power, so she decided to keep everything in her past and never tell him a thing about her history. It scares you, doesn't it?"

The Faeries nodded and the two young Aishas yawned. "Now I think these two are ready to sleep!" She lifted Emma and Lucy in her arms and put them into a beautiful bed each, where they slept soundly… The days passed and Emma and Lucy grew into sweet, cute, caring young Aishas. When they had reached the age of 48 days, the Faerie Queen summoned them to begin their training.

"You will each take separate classes and your day is broken into three periods. For the first period, you will both work with me and we will review what you have learned on the previous day - but today, I shall outline your courses."

She explained that the Fire Faerie was to teach them about how to use fire and also strength skills; the Light Faerie would help them with using the light and also build up their level. The Earth Faerie would teach them how to identify Neopia's plants and animals and improve their intelligence; the Air Faerie would increase their speed and help them to fly and understand the air. The Dark Faerie would increase their health and help them to fight the forces of darkness and evil; and the Water Faerie would teach them to swim well and fast and increase their defence. Then the Faerie Queen hurried them off to their classes - Emma to the Fire Faerie and Lucy to the Light Faerie. Neither of them was looking forward to learning these skills, which they felt were a waste of time. They knew they were special, but they didn't know why… The classes passed without interruptions and the girls grew stronger and wiser by the day. On the day they were 120 days old, the Earth Faerie brought a copy of the Neopian Times back from Neopia.

"There are two crucial articles today," she said thoughtfully, "and they are both of pressing importance in the quest against evil! Morticia has told the entire population of Neopia Central and the Mystery Island that the evil forces are advancing and threaten to ruthlessly rule over every inhabitant! And I have bad news for the girls…"

She looked around warily at this point, before dropping her voice. "Their father died yesterday, and the girls are penniless orphans. Listen to this:

The Aisha Pack is in mourning for the last king of the Aishas, Fabiola, who passed away yesterday. He has been plagued with ill luck, which he claimed was connected to the mutant witch Aisha, Morticia, ever since the infamous midnight escape from his burning home when he ruled his species' home planet. He died leaving half his life savings in two separate accounts at the National Neopian and giving the other half to two companies as shares in the stock market.

Indications in Nigel's Stock Exchange column confirm that the two companies he had shares in have crashed dramatically overnight, and his vaults at the National Neopian are sealed with two unknown passwords, so he has died virtually penniless and very much alone. His first daughter was killed in the midnight escape and his wife died giving birth to her second and third daughters. The two remaining daughters were taken at birth by the faeries and have never returned to Neopia, after Morticia placed a curse on them.

The Aisha Pack's members and their Aishas have refused to leave their hut empty for 100 days, so that they may mourn their once and future king. The leader of TAP delivered a statement earlier this morning, saying that 'the members of TAP will not let down the Aisha they will always see as their king, even after death.' Candlelit vigils will take place every night and Aishas from all corners of Neopia have come to walk past their king's last resting-place.

He lies in a simple white coffin decorated with white flowers and the silver inscription Dieti Estiala Livi, Donoti Grevius Aceptimus. This is written in an ancient Aisha language and translates as 'Death is an essential part of Life, do not grieve, accept'. His burial will take place tomorrow at sunset and all Aishas aged 40 days or over will attend a graveside vigil from sunset until dawn.

The Air Faerie looked stunned.

"There's a small fortune buried deep below the ground for each of the girls that they cannot gain access to? Then why would Fabiola do that?"

"He died suddenly of natural causes and shortly after his death, the rebels came and stole everything he had of any value and burned the rest. He would have gone with nothing left to show but ashes if a passing Kau hadn't spotted his body, taken it from the fire when the rebels were not looking and brought it to TAP," explained the Dark Faerie. The Faeries looked uncomfortable. Who would tell the girls about themselves now? Who would undo the wrongs and evil and dark deeds surrounding the girls' past? None of the Faeries looked forward to the impending task… Morticia cackled with evil laughter as she waved a paw over her cauldron and blurred everything.

"Those stupid Aisha kittens have no chance! Now Fabiola is not alive, there is no reason why Fabina cannot take over everything. And maybe, with my help…he will conquer every area of Neopia! And then…" fiddling with her cloak pin she continued, "I can give him whatever he wants from me…what we both want…"

The Water Faerie looked mad. "It's too late to stop everything now," she said.

The evil forces are advancing and growing stronger every day. The battle has begun! Uh-oh! With the girls penniless orphans, the Faeries have no choice but to continue with their training. Will the twins grow strong enough for the battle in time? Or will Fabina rule all Neopia? Read the next issue of the Neopian Times to find the answers to this and many more questions!