The New Prophecy: Part Five

      “Why have you done this?” Illusen asked, her voice strained as she struggled and shivered against the feel of the ice holding her still. Her chestnut hair wasn’t faring any better. “It doesn’t make sense!”

      “Oh yes,” Arisca said with a nod, her eyes narrowing at the earth faerie. “I almost forgot about the little prophecy that the three of you were working on when I first saw you today. I was a bit nervous that you would actually figure it out, being the prestigious faeries you are, but I’m guessing it all didn’t work out.” Her arms opened in a shrug and her cold gaze turned to Jhudora who was stuck besides Illusen in her own ice trap. “Maybe I can help you both figure it out now. After all, we have plenty of time.” She was right. The Happy Valley was deserted except for the three of them and the frozen figure of the Faerie Queen situated behind them. “What did it say?”

      Jhudora normally would have spit out some harsh comment or just barked, “None of your business!” but she needed time to think, time to stall Arisca and force her brain to think about someway to escape her icy clutches. Her arms were still free, which could come in handy, but without her wand which was inside of her frosted-over pocket, it was hopeless... unless if she could somehow melt the ice in that area so she could get to her wand! It was a long shot, but so far it was her only hope for escape. So, slipping her hand casually to her frozen pockets, she recited the prophecy:

     “A green-eyed fiend reflection makes

     Upon a hill that always wakes

     Some cunning words, a tale they spin

     And nighttime dreams among us dim

     For soon the light will start to fade

     And dark will set into the day

     Reversible? It may be done

     If two bitter enemies can become one.”

     Arisca seemed thoughtful for a moment as she pondered over the New Prophecy, gently pacing on her ice creation. “Well, most of it makes sense, I’ll give you that,” she said finally. “The hill was Terror Mountain, and I used my great skill with words to trick those foolish little water faeries into being in the display with me and reciting a spell that would give me all of their powers. And I suspect that you, Jhudora, had the ‘nighttime dream,’ am I right?”

      Jhudora paused from trying to inconspicuously melt the ice with her hand. “You made me have that dream about those green eyes?” she asked, her own violet eyes glaring at the power-hungry faerie seated before her.

      “Well,” Arisca amended, “not entirely. I didn’t know the words to your little prophecy, but I cast a spell that would affect whoever fell asleep, making their dreams change so that they would find some reason to come to the Faerie Display, whether or not for entertainment purposes or, as in your case, the ‘solution’ to your problem. It was the one thing I learned from that dreadful academy where I went to school, and it worked, didn’t it? The place was packed.” She gave a little smirk.

      “What about the green eyes, though?” Illusen asked from her frozen spot, still squirming uncomfortably as coldness seeped into her bones. “You have blue eyes.”

      It was then, as Jhudora was rubbing the ice near her pocket, that it hit her. “When the prophecy,” she said slowly as it dawned upon her, “said ‘green-eyed, it didn’t mean that the person had green eyes. It was talking about being green-eyed, about being jealous.”

      “Jealous?” Arisca asked enraged, her voice gaining volume and the wind whipping around her in a frenzy. Her eyes glowed and Jhudora realized that she shouldn’t have verbalized her conclusion. “Is it jealousy that allows for every other type of faerie to have their powers yearlong except for snow faeries?” Arisca asked angrily. The weather seemed to be linked with her emotions; snow was coming down heavier and heavier until it was practically a blizzard and the wind blew relentlessly. “Unless I’m in the cold, I’m absolutely powerless, POWERLESS, and being at that wretched Faerie Academy in Faerieland all year long is like being trapped in a dungeon! And then, of course, there’s Aunt Taelia, who gets to stay here on Terror Mountain for the entire year, keeping her magic, while I can’t even levitate a pencil! So tell me, is it wrong for me to be upset that she deprives me of my powers, my birthright, by keeping me away from the cold? Is it wrong for me to be jealous?”

      Jhudora didn’t know how to respond. She couldn’t imagine not having her magic, that steady flow of energy that ran in her veins. It would be absolute torture. For a moment she almost felt bad for Arisca, but being trapped as a semi-ice sculpture makes you quickly lose all compassion you have for anyone.

      “Well, not anymore,” Arisca continued on harshly, “because now that I’m in control, winter is here to stay! With my new powers, spring ends now and I’ll stay powerful forever while everyone else, including Aunt Taelia, gets to feel what it’s like to be powerless!” Her eyes narrowed. “And that includes you two. When I was younger, you used to be my favorite role models. The earth faerie and dark faerie who were complete and utter enemies, yet so powerful. So in control of their elements! You were my heroes. But now I see that you two are nothing but worthless faeries that aren’t even capable of putting up a decent fight.” She raised her wand, her eyes cold and emotionless, and snarled, “I hope you enjoy being icicles!”

      Jhudora gave up trying to melt the ice. Her hands were numb from the cold, her nails were chipped beyond compare, and there was no possible way that she would be able to stop the attack even with her wand. They were doomed and she finally realized it, a feeling of defeat taking over her. Arisca was too powerful, despite her young age, and there was no way they could stop her, not even with the help of the stupid prophecy.

      Arisca then began to wave her slender white wand and her mouth began to mutter an ancient ice spell, but as Jhudora watched, the final lines of the prophecy slipped into her head. “Reversible? It can be done, if two bitter enemies can become one.”

      There was only one way to stop her, Jhudora realized suddenly, glancing over at the petrified earth faerie next to her. It was a total gamble, but the dark faerie had nothing to lose anymore. She had to make the final line come true. So, closing her eyes, swallowing her pride, and thinking hard, she reached out her left arm as far as it could go and shouted, “Illusen, grab on!”

      Illusen was shocked at the request, but obeyed and clutched Jhudora’s hand just as Arisca’s spell powerful ice spell shot out of her wand. The flash of blue light hit them hard and cold like an icy blast of wind, but magic flowed between their clasped, united hands and much to Arisca’s horror, the spell bounced off them and reversed itself.

      “What?!” the snow faerie shouted as her own spell rebounded back at her, her eyes wide with fear and no longer threatening. “It can’t be possible!” But it was possible, and the spell hit her with a burst of blue light, turning her into nothing but an ice sculpture, frozen in her look of disbelief.

      Suddenly, the ice holding Illusen and Jhudora stuck began to melt, turning back into water, and the sky cleared up, revealing a crisp black sky speckled with silver stars and a crescent moon.

      And although they were soaked through, they were relieved when Fyora’s form behind them melted as well, revealing a wet, but gracious queen with a smile on her face.

     ***

      A few hours later, the Happy Valley looked more like the Happy Lake since the ground was completely soaked with melted ice. But by that time, every single innocent neopet had been unfrozen and a few hundred mind wipes had been performed.

      “I still don’t get the point of mind wiping,” Jhudora said with a growl as Fyora finished up her final spell on Arisca who was still unconscious on the ground. “Don’t they say that those who fail history (or in our case don’t remember it) are doomed to repeat it? What will stop Arisca from doing this all over again?” Jhudora didn’t particularly like the idea of Arisca freezing her again. Ice was cold and her hands were still a tad numb from rubbing the ice block she had been encased in.

      “Don’t worry, Jhudora,” Fyora said, “I have everything planned out. I talked with Taelia and a few of Arisca’s teachers back at the Academy and I managed to convince them that it would be better for Arisca to stay here on Terror Mountain as her aunt’s apprentice. That way, she won’t be suffering from magic withdrawal and will never have the urge to take over again. Besides, I happen to believe in second chances.”

      Illusen nodded, her hands still tucked inside of her jacket for warmth, but she wasn’t really thinking about Arisca. What she was wondering about was Jhudora. If it hadn’t been for her quick thinking, they still would have been frozen and Neopia would have been doomed! So what did that make her and Jhudora? Friends?

      Fyora noted the earth’s faerie’s visage and took the thoughts right out of her head. “So...” she said slowly, her eyes flickering back and forth between the two faeries, “has this little adventure made you two put aside your differences and realize that your endless bickering is useless?” The Queen of Faeries crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping for a “yes.”

      But Jhudora just looked at the Queen and Illusen incredulously... and laughed. “Yeah right,” she said as she gasped for breath. Although she had realized that somewhere deep inside there was a part of her that respected Illusen, there were still some things that she couldn’t stand about the earth faerie and she knew that she wasn’t about to become best friends with her anytime soon.

      Illusen, too, realized that it would never work out, but still, inside of herself there was a part that softened a bit.

      Fyora just sighed... she had been so close!

      “Well,” Jhudora said fixing her hair and examining her chipped green nails, “now that this stupid ‘New Prophecy’ is over with, I plan on heading back to my cloud. There’s a warm fireplace and book waiting for me and I plan on relaxing for the last two hours of my day off.”

      Illusen sighed. “Yeah, and I need to get ready for all the questors tomorrow.”

      “Okay.” Fyora nodded. “You two head home then. I have a few more things to take care of here. But before you leave, I just wanted to thank you for all your help today.”

      “It was no problem,” Illusen said with a bright smile and nonchalant shrug as she kicked off it the sky.

      “Yeah, it was,” Jhudora contradicted before flying off. “And next time there’s a prophecy, make sure it’s not on my day off.”

      “Fine, fine,” Fyora said with a light laugh as the two faeries flew away.

      The Queen looked around at the barren valley, waved her wand, and turned the water into the light snow that had littered the ground earlier in the day. Then, gently picking up Arisca and smoothing back the young faerie’s black hair, she kicked off into the sky to return her home, not realizing that she was forgetting someone.

     ***

      Kauvara the starry Kau finished off her seventeenth helping of Tigersquash Swirly Cake, thanked the Orange Shoyru who ran Ye Olde Coffee Shoppe, and left the underground catacombs as the clock that hung on the wall struck midnight. She had been waiting since noon for Fyora to come back to the shop after her little “prophecy” rant, but enough was enough. She was heading home.

      She made her way up to Neopia Central, weary and confused, and as she glanced up at the moon shining above, she couldn’t help but mutter, “What a day off!”

The End