Darkness Gathering: Part Six

     Shine was lost in thought until golden light filled the area, and Shine and Blase both gasped.

     There were three figures, silhouetted against the light. The light behind them was so incredibly bright, it turned all of the black and gnarled trees a bright, deep gold. Blase's owner came running, but stopped, and fell on the floor. She could not stand in the presence of such powerful light. As it dimmed, Shine recognized all three of the figures that his faces he could not see.

     In the center was Aurora, the faerie who had sent him on his quest. She was producing the light. On her right was, Harmony, and on her left, Supernova. Shine and Blase saw Aurora's mouth move as she whispered something, but could not hear. The only one who had heard was the darkness faerie, who turned tail and ran into the forest. Aurora smiled, Harmony cheered and jumped up and down, and Supernova cave over to Shine. In the golden light still left, Supernova shone out particularly.

     "You're alright!" she said, relived. "I was afraid I lost you."

     "Yes, Nova. I thought I was lost too," Shine said, "Have you met my brother, yet?" And Nova stared as Blase's ghostly form caught her attention. Her aqua eyes met his and she smiled. Shine knew that she could see past his appearance, and see him for who he truly was. The eyes gave his true heart away. They still had tears in them.

     The light had faded now, but the sun was rising so light was coming in to form a new dawn. Aurora walked over slowly, followed by Harmony. Harmony, not unlike the other two, showed slight signs of being touched by light magic. Gold embers fell on her cheeks, but she did not brush them away, because they were not hot. Yellow glitter splashed her hair.

     "Shine," Aurora whispered, "you did it."

     "Its time to come home," Harmony said. "Come. Blase may come too. Are you ready?"

     "Yes," Blase said. His eyes shone. "Shine?"

     Shine replied, "I think I'm quite ready to go home."

     Aurora breathed on the lock. It clicked and the cage door swung open Blase and Shine were free. They stepped onto the damp grass. Shine noticed that his paws made small prints on the ground, but Blase's left no mark.

     Harmony bent down and hugged Shine. "I missed you," she said.

     "I didn't want to run away," Shine said. "I had to."

     "I quite understand." She was not her normal, hyper self. Her eyes were bright; her hair sparkled still. All the while, the strange golden embers look like metallic tears on her face. "I would have done the same thing, if it had been me. I wouldn't have sat at home and done nothing. You were brave, Shine, brave beyond what can be expected of you."

     "I'm not your average Gelert."

     "Shine," Harmony whispered in his ear, "I know."

     "Before we go," Aurora said, "I think we should explain how we got here."

     "I would like to know," Blase put in.

     "I found out you had run away," Harmony began, "So I looked around in your room. I found this letter and I followed it to Aurora's home. While I'm on the subject, you still owe me a bag of popcorn, Shine."

     "Popcorn?"

     "Anyway," now it was Aurora speaking. She cut Shine off before they could get off the subject, "I explained about the letter to Harmony, and decided that, once again, I would brew a cup of tea and do some crystal gazing. My thoughts, ever on you, were reflected in the crystalline orb. I saw you on a boat to this place. Harmony wanted to pursue you and I didn't bother to argue. We got on the next boat right after yours."

     Supernova took up her part of the story, "I lost you in the woods, and so I backtracked to the village just as the next boat was docking. And thank goodness I did, for I met up with these two. After that, it was a simple matter of Aurora providing enough light to follow your tracks."

     So that was how they managed it. Shine thought. I'm impressed.

     Aurora spoke once more, "And it will be simple enough, in the morning light, to follow the same tracks back to the village. Once the boats begin to leave, then we'll get on the next boat out of here!"

     "I've been here for so long," Blase said, "I think I'm ready to leave for somewhere new!"

     "It's not new," Shine said, "It's home."

     ********

Epilogue

     "The darkness faerie that had bewitched Blase was lost. Nobody ever saw her again. Perhaps the world is a better place now. She could only have done more damage. Also, no one ever found out the words Aurora used to make her flee. The only one who knows is Aurora, and she finds delight in not telling. She will, however, say that it was the first really strong bit of magic she ever used."

     "Siren's Desire, the mysterious letter-writer (Though I looked far and wide for her) was never found. If it hadn't been for her, I would have never started on my glorious adventure. Wherever she is, I am eternally in her debt."

     "Aurora returned home. She continued her studies and became a light faerie. She spent most of her time in future years trying to find the lost and lead them home. Eventually, she became a legend. As the legend goes, the lost and stranded follow a pure yellow light all the way to those looking for them, or to their home. Then they would see a glimpse of a beautiful faerie. Most of it is nonsense, but based on fact. But before this, she would give Blase a gift, but I'll get to that in a second."

     "Supernova just stayed Supernova. You can't really change her. She'll always be one of my dearest friends, loyal 'til the end. She makes a good nightlight, too. Supernova Always accepted Blase for who he was: before and after his 'gift'. She could always see through a Neopet's looks to see who they truly are. That's why she makes such a great friend. And, well, I would still be in that cage if it weren't for Supernova."

     "Harmony made me pop her that popcorn"

     "She also brought Blase and I home. She couldn't possibly turn him away. She said he reminded her of a Cybunny that she once used to have. When she said this, she tried to smile, but looked away. But I could see the tears were running down her face. She once told me to let go of my past, so I could meet my future. Harmony, however, I think she's meeting her past."

     "Blase came home with me, just as Harmony promised. And that gift I told you about…Aurora made him, not a ghost, but an angel. Now he has the most splendid feathered wings you can possibly imagine, pure white fur, and golden fire funning up his legs. His eyes, unchangeable, remained red. He became everything he wanted to be and had everything he wanted beyond his wildest dreams."

     "One more thing about Blase. Once I told him, in detail, about his house. The reason I wasn't thinking straight was because his owner had cured the house after she left it. The music I heard was real, I didn't imagine it. It was the tune that played every time she opened her music box. It was one of her favorite things, back when she was normal. Blase still isn't sure about her reason for doing this."

     "And me? I'm not exactly sure what I want to do with my life, but I believe, now, that the sky's the limit!"

     Shine stops writing and puts the book away. He begins so get up, but stops again and sits back down and pulls that book out again. On the first page, still blank, he writes "Darkness Gathering: the tales of finding the Crying Ghost" and smiles. Now he stands, for Harmony is calling his name.

     "Shine, did you clean your room yet?"

     Shine sighs.

The End

Author's Note: Hi! I'm Harmony1473. I am the Harmony in the story, if you're wondering. No, this adventure didn't really happen. I don't think there's any way on Neopets to actually experience something like this. This is just me, wanting to make my neopet and myself known. Blase, however, was a real pet. My friend created an account the same time as me and created Blase when I created Shine. They abandoned Blase, however. Siren's Desire (Sirens_Desire) was also a real neopet but her owner was frozen. Now, I have one new pet, along with Shine. Her name is Shade, and she is a Shadow Lupess. Do you think I should make a sequel about Shade? Write me! I always love Neomail! Bye for now, ~Harmony!