The Roomies Ruin: Part Two

     Where is that petpet? she asked Jesc impatiently. The air faerie was in her home with her, her new stone body positioned rigidly near the kitchen table. But unlike Jhudora, whose limited movement made her skin crawl, she seemed rather at ease.

     Scotchmel will be here soon, she replied serenely, her words floating inside Jhudora’s head since she couldn’t open her mouth to speak. You have to be patient, Jhudora. Why don’t we play a game while we wait? Do you have any cards?

     Jhudora felt her blood boil as she glared at the grey statue faerie across from her. How do you expect us to play cards if we can’t move our hands?!

     Oh, Jhudora, why do you always ruin my fun?

     Jesc, I’m going to—

     Jhudora suddenly stopped her rant. She had heard a heavy creaking sound: her front door opening. Someone was walking into her lair!

     The dark faerie thought of all her valuable heirlooms in the front room, the tomes of rare books and her beautiful newly-refurbished throne. If whoever walked in dared to lay their grubby paws on even a single item...

     I hear wings flapping! Jesc interrupted, her voice filled with glee. Scotchmel must be back with Jim!

     Sure enough, a moment later a timid yellow Aisha with large round spectacles scuttled into the kitchen. In his hands he clutched what appeared to be an issue of the Neopian Times, and lazily flying behind him was a white Weewoo. Jhudora had met Jim a few years earlier when her cloud had been set on fire, and she had gotten to know him a little bit better throughout the years. Despite this, Jim was still completely petrified of her. But being feared had its perks; Jhudora knew it made it easy to get what she wanted.

     Jim! she barked. It took you long enough to get here!

     The yellow Aisha jumped in fright, his eyes widening as they latched onto the gigantic statue in front of him. “J-Jhudora? Is that you?”

     No, Jhudora mumbled sarcastically. It’s Illusen. Of course it’s me!

     “Oh dear,” Jim muttered, a paw to his mouth. He turned to the other statue in the kitchen. “Jesc...?”

     Hello! came her chipper reply as Scotchmel landed on her shoulder, nuzzling his head against her neck. We’ve been turned to stone, Jim!

     “I see that,” he said. “Just like all the others.”

     Others? Jhudora said, her stomach flipping. What do you mean “others?”

     Jim looked nervous. “Well, uh, it’s all in the newspapers.” He held out the Neopian Times so Jhudora could see the headline: “Faeries Turned to Stone!” It showed an image of the Faerie Festival with hundreds of faeries all frozen in place, their skin, hair, and clothes all turned grey. Queen Fyora was in the center of the picture, her face stuck in a perpetual smile.

     Oh my goodness, Jesc gasped. Everyone is like this?

     “All the faeries are,” Jim clarified. “The paper says that they have some Neopets trying to figure out what caused it. King Altador, Jazan... a bunch of famous Neopians are working together to get things back to normal.”

     Altador? Jazan? Jhudora said incredulously. What do they think they can do? This was done by powerful magic! They’re crazy if they think they can reverse it on their own.

     “Well, they’re going to try,” Jim said, folding up the newspaper.

     Jhudora wanted to groan. Spells that turned people to stone were tricky and nearly irreversible; that’s why they made such great punishments. A group of powerless Neopets wouldn’t be able to undo the spell. She knew that for a fact.

     Don’t be so pessimistic, Jhudora, Jesc said optimistically. I’m sure we’ll be right as rain soon enough!

     Easy for you to say, Jhudora grumbled. You’re a faerie who lacks the blasted capability to be upset! What are we going to do in the meantime? Just stand here in my kitchen and stare at each other? We can’t move, we can’t eat. I’m not even sure if we can sleep! All we can do is blink and talk to each other!

     “Well,” Jim said a bit uncomfortably. “I guess you two can stay at my house with me until things are straightened out. My sisters, Jerra and Julie, finally moved out and got their own houses in Maraqua, so my neohome is basically empty. And at least you can have a change of scenery.”

     Oh, Jim, you don’t have to do that for us-- Jesc started, but Jhudora immediately cut her off.

     Perfect! the dark faerie crowed. Jhudora’s violet eyes flitted around her kitchen. You’ll have to bring some of my things there, of course, to make it feel like home.

     “Er, Jhudora,” Jim said, raising a finger, “I can’t bring everything you have all the way to Mystery Island...”

     Jhudora glared at him and Jim immediately got the message. “Y-Yes, ma’am, anything you say!” And he scurried off to grab her things.

     * * *

     Jesc had to give it to Jim; what he lacked in size, he made up in perseverance. The yellow Aisha managed to lug herself, Jhudora, and a gigantic purple suitcase filled with Jhudora's belongings all the way down to a fairly busy Faerieland street to hail an Eyrie Carriage. The two Eyrie drivers drilled Jim with questions as to why he was transporting two stone faeries, especially one who appeared to be the notorious Jhudora. However, after a lot of nervous stuttering on Jim’s part, Jhudora finally got impatient and threatened to turn the two Eyries to stone. And, seeing as they didn’t realize she couldn’t perform even the simplest of spells in her current state, they immediately stopped hassling Jim and even gave him a pretty significant discount for the trip.

     “Here we are,” Jim said after an hour of flight. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief; it had been tiring to lug both faeries down the long pebble pathway into his home.

     Oh, Jim, did you redecorate? Jesc asked, looking around the gigantic foyer with her eyes. She and Jhudora had been to his Mystery Island home once before, and it was truly a sight to be seen. As Head of the Neohome Planning Committee, Jim had a rather nice neohome. Right at the entrance there was a large polished wood staircase that led to the upper two floors. Two Altador-looking columns supported the ceiling while small pedestals supported urns filled with bright green tropical plants and colorful flowers. Paintings of various scenes of Neopia hung on the walls, and a long hallway stretched to the left and the right that led to the many different rooms of his house.

     “Slowly through the years,” he admitted. “I get a lot of free furniture samples so I tend to redecorate every so often.”

     You get free things and you don't think to send any to me? Jhudora asked.

     Jim looked at the dark faerie. She was creepier than usual as stone, but the fact that she was completely immobile gave him a slight sense of security. She wouldn’t be able to turn him into a Mortog while she was petrified; at least, that was what the Neopian Times had claimed. “I did refurbish your throne for your birthday,” he said carefully, feeling a burst of courage whilst hoping that she wouldn’t suddenly spring to life, “if you happened to have forgotten.”

     And she loves it! Jesc butted in, stopping Jhudora before she could start threatening Jim.

     Jim was much too tired to carry them up a flight of stairs, so instead he dragged them down the hall and into one of his family rooms. This one was decorated in a calming shade of blue with comfy plush chairs, a deep purple sofa, a coffee table, and a Neovision set positioned against one wall.

     Since Jesc and Jhudora were frozen into standing positions, Jim leaned Jesc awkwardly against the couch, being careful not to chip any of her delicate skin.

     Watch my wing! Jhudora said sharply when she was moved. Her heart, which apparently could still beat, was racing in her stone chest. I'd like to still be able to fly once this horrendous ordeal is over with.

     “S-Sorry!” Jim stuttered, taking extra care. When both faeries looked stable, if not exactly comfortable, he flicked on the Neovision set and reached for Jhudora’s suitcase overflowing with stuff. “I’m going to go make sure two of the bedrooms on this floor are all set for you. I’ll even unpack some of your stuff, Jhudora. In the meantime, you two can watch some Neovision. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

     We can't change the channel-- Jhudora began, but Jesc cut her off with a courteous Thanks, Jim! See you in a bit!

     Jhudora watched as Jim hastily scurried out of the family room, carrying a bag of her stuff. He better be careful with my things, she told Jesc. If I see that even a single page of a single spell book is bent, I’ll make sure that Aisha finds out what it’s like to be made of paper and leather!

     Jesc laughed. Oh, Jhudora, I’ve missed you!

     Jhudora felt herself smirk on the inside. That was something she liked about Jesc. Yes, the air faerie was bubbly and intrusive and talkative and annoying... but Jesc also understood her in a way almost no one else could. At least her sense of humor. Well, I guess I’ve sorta missed you too. But not really. She looked over at Jesc’s stone form: the solidified dress, the grey skin, the frozen smile. It was a bit odd talking to a statue, but she had nothing better to do. So, anything new?

     Obviously this was the best thing she could have said... or perhaps the worst, depending on whether you looked at it from Jesc’s or Jhudora’s point of view.

     Well, Jesc gushed. Jhudora could imagine her gleefully clasping her hands together. After I graduated, I decided I wanted to work as a healer, so I interned for a little bit with the Healing Springs water faerie, Marina, and we got pretty close because she gave me so many healing tips, like focusing on your center and then focusing reeeeeeeally hard on what you want to heal, say a paw or a wing or something, and in the meantime I taught her some cool flying maneuvers, even though she doesn’t have wings... which is really sad because I love flying and she said she’s always wanted wings, so I decided that for her birthday—it’s in the Month of Swimming, which is ironic since she’s a water faerie—I would stop by the NC Mall and maybe buy her a pair...

     Jhudora groaned as Jesc flooded her with mental image after mental image of her and her new “vo” friend. Please, Fyora, she said, wondering if her thoughts could actual reach the Queen of Faeries. Let this whole statue thing be over soon!

     Unfortunately, she didn’t know that all faeries would be stuck as stone for a very long time.

To be continued...