A Reunion in Meridell:Part Four

     Behind the marble and decorum of the Faerieland Castle laid the dungeons. They were bare, damp, and identical to the castle Jhudora was standing in. She didn't know if the memories of Fyora teaching her in the dungeons of the Faerieland Castle made her feel nostalgic or sick, so she just tried to block them out of her mind and keep herself in the moment.

     She looked over at Illusen. Illusen was somehow making it seem as if she truly loved Meridell. She looked pleasant and happy . . . and she looked like someone who didn't call Neopians 'pet things.'

     They both stood near the entrance, waiting for someone to invite them into the hall where the banquet was to be held. Suddenly, a Lupe in a full suit of armor appeared before them. Jhudora glanced over at Illusen as Illusen knelt down and smiled at the Lupe through the slats in his helmet. The lupe attempted to nod before calling out, "Presenting! Illusen and her dearest friend!"

     Jhudora blushed deeply as Illusen took her hand and led her into the banquet hall. Jhudora gasped as she took in her surroundings. While every Neopian she had seen in Meridell thus far were simple farm folk, the Neopians surrounding her were draped in the finest garments and covered in expensive jewelry. Her vision drifted to the tables. They were covered in the most opulent food available to an agrarian society.

     Illusen gently elbowed Jhudora before whispering to her, "The royalty can pull strings to import fruit from Mystery Island . . . But I can't even install plumbing into my home."

     Jhudora glanced over at Illusen. She wasn't sure if it was an injustice to the earth faerie, but she did agree that it wasn't exactly fair.

     Illusen began to walk between two of the tables towards one shorter table set up in the very far end of the room. Jhudora followed her. She tried to keep her head down, but she couldn't help but quickly glance around and the Neopians surrounding her. Some obviously had heard stories about her. She saw some of the Neopians turn their heads with expressions of disgust painted on their face. Her only solace was that an equal number were staring at her in awe. Maybe they knew of her, maybe they didn't. As long as they didn't hate her the way the faeries did, she was happy.

     Once they reached the table, Illusen stopped. Jhudora stopped a few steps behind Illusen, instinctively hiding behind her.

     "Illusen," a large purple Skeith bellowed as he lowered his head in a shallow bow, "You have brought your friend."

     Jhudora nervously stepped out from behind Illusen. She noticed that the Skeith was wearing a crown. She quickly fell to her knees and bowed.

     The Skeith laughed. "To a fae, a Meridellian is nothing. Why do you bow?"

     Jhudora blushed as she stood up. "In my eyes, all creatures are equal. However, you are a king and I am a common faerie. That is why I bow."

     The as the Skeith paused, a mischievous glint played across his eyes. "Is the Baabaa we use for wool equal to the queen of Faerieland?"

     Jhudora let out a soft giggle. She was extremely grateful that the king was making her comfortable. "Yes, but the world is not fair."

     The king gave a laugh before standing and making his way around the table to Jhudora. Once he was standing before her, he held out his hand. "I am King Skorth."

     Jhudora took his hand and shook it. "I am Jhudora, the dark faerie."

     "I told you, Skarl!" A small green Skeith with blonde hair jumped up and scrambled down to stand before Jhudora, "A dark faerie! Not a draik faerie!"

     Noticing his children acting up, a dejected King Skorth went back to his seat.

     Another small Skeith, this one blue, groaned from his seat behind the table, "So you're right, Hagan! Who cares!"

     Jhudora knelt down so that she was at eye level with Prince Hagan. "You're very smart. Other Neopians have made the same mistake."

     "I read books!" Hagan exclaimed, "And when father gives me my own castle and my own kingdom, we will all read books!"

     Jhudora glanced up at Illusen. Illusen was distracted watching the Neopians whisper about the dark faerie. Jhudora whispered to Hagan, "Close your eyes!" Once Hagan's eyes were closed, a small book appeared with a puff of green smoke in Jhudora's hands. "Open your eyes, young Prince."

     Once Hagan opened his eyes, Jhudora handed him the book. "It's written in Faerie," she winked, "So it will take you a long time to read it. But every intellectual loves a challenge."

     Hagan looked down at the book, his eyes wide. He threw his arms around Jhudora to hug her. Jhudora laughed as the Skeith pulled away and ran back to his spot at the table next to his father.

     King Skorth held up a glass and tapped a spoon against it before bellowing out, "This banquet is to honor the friendship between our patron Fae and her dear friend. Let us honor them by feasting and being merry!"

     Illusen grabbed Jhudora's hand and led her to two empty seats at one of the long tables. Jhudora smiled softly. Illusen wasn't roughly grabbing her wrist - she was holding her hand! Maybe this really was the beginning of an actual friendship.

     Jhudora wasn't raised with decorum. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. Once Illusen guided her to her seat and sat her down, she just looked over at Illusen in a silent plea for help. Illusen glanced over at Jhudora and nodded before standing up and making her way towards the kitchen to grab them fresh plates of food.

     "So," A royal Kyrii cleared her throat. Jhudora looked up at her. Jhudora was nervous to interact with anyone who was raised in this environment, but she promised herself she would do her best. "You're a dark faerie?" The Kyrii sneered.

     Jhudora's eyes widened as she saw the contempt on the Kyrii's face. She stammered a bit before giving up and whispering, "Yes, I am a dark faerie."

     "Funny you're here," the Kyrii laughed loudly, "I thought that all of those were thrown away for their crimes."

     "Their . . . crimes?" Jhudora furrowed her brow. Maybe the diaspora had a problem with crime, but the village in Faerieland never did one single illegal act. Perhaps the old queen had deemed their existence illegal, but that didn't count.

     "Oh," The Kyrii feigned embarrassment. Jhudora knew it was an act, but she forced herself to pretend it was genuine. "You've never committed a crime?"

     Jhudora fell back in her chair as she stared at the Kyrii. No, she had never committed a crime. However, the story was that Jhudora had done the unspeakable and erased Illusen's memory to hide the horrific act she had performed. Fyora had never figured out what to say the horrific act was, so Jhudora was left just saying that she 'did something evil.'

     "Illusen is such a wonderful faerie," the Kyrii laughed, "To forgive you and to bring you into her world."

     With that, Illusen placed one plate down in front of Jhudora. She then sat down and glanced over at Jhudora. Jhudora was defeated. Her eyes had glazed over and her mouth was slightly agape.

     Jhudora tried to understand what was happening. She tried to understand why, after all of those Neopians loved her, she was seated across from one that hated her.

     "I guess you're just like that one," the Kyrii laughed, "That one who tried to destroy Altador!"

     For Jhudora, the world began to slow as she realized what was happening. Due to cultural contamination laws, no one outside of Faerieland was supposed to know about Altador. She stared at the Kyrii as she began to realize that the Kyrii had a slight Faerieland accent. She stared at the Kyrii's perfectly groomed mane. It wasn't just perfectly clean, it obviously had products in it that could only be obtained by someone exempt from cultural contamination laws. This was Illusen's Faerieland connection. This was Illusen's work.

     Jhudora's eyes began to glow green as she stood. She needed to find a place to confront Illusen. As she searched the hall in her mind's eye, she grabbed Illusen by her upper arm, digging her nails in as forcefully as she could. Illusen stood, feigning confusion. Once Jhudora located a broom closet, she began to march to it. Illusen followed her, smirking.

     Jhudora roughly shoved Illusen into the closet before joining her and slamming the door. Jhudora's glowing eyes were the only source of light, yet the entire room was bathed in the bright green glow. They stood in silence, Illusen's smirk growing by the second.

     "You set me up," Jhudora's eyes started to dim as she spoke, "You brought me here to upset me. I thought you wanted to be my friend. You betrayed me again."

     Once the room was completely dark, Illusen laughed. What began as a small giggle morphed into a loud cackling. Jhudora pressed herself against the door as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Of course Illusen wouldn't remember that Jhudora could see in the dark. But what would Illusen care now that her cover was broken?

     "You caught me, dark scum," Illusen laughed, "You're an idiot. You thought I could care for you?"

     Jhudora slumped down. All of the anger had left her body. She looked up at Illusen. She sighed and whispered, "Why?"

     "Well," Illusen smirked, "If I make you mad like I did before, you will do something evil to me! Then you will get locked up in the dungeons and I will go back to Faerieland!"

     Jhudora sighed as she stood. "Illusen," She reached out and put her hand on the earth faerie's shoulder, "I would have taken Meridell from you if you had just asked. I would have happily given up my life and my home for yours. If you had asked me, I would have taken it. But now . . . Illusen . . . This is all yours." Jhudora turned and opened the closet door. "I hope you learn to love it the way I would." With that, she stepped out and began to make her way to the exit.

     Illusen stood dumbstruck. Why didn't Jhudora attack her?! She chased after Jhudora and grabbed her wrist. Jhudora looked back at Illusen.

     "You dark scum," Illusen whispered, "Do you know what they say happened to that blue skinned monster you loved?"

     Jhudora turned to Illusen, her eyes glowing. However, she paused and thought about her situation for just a moment. She couldn't let Illusen anger her enough to use magic. She had to control herself. However, she also knew that Illusen's plan was doomed to fail. All she had to do was prove it. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She remembered all of the times Illusen hurt her. Her eyes began to glow so brightly that the flames spilled from her closed eyes as if they were tears. But in just one moment, she opened her eyes and the flames vanished. In that moment, she glanced back at the Neopians. They were all watching her and Illusen with bated breath. Jhudora nodded and pulled back her fist before punching Illusen squarely in her right eye.

     There was a loud, collective gasp as Illusen fell to her knees, rubbing her eye. She stared up at Jhudora. She wanted to scream at her that she wanted Jhudora to attack her with magic. Of course, that would blow her cover for the entire kingdom.

     Jhudora held out her arms so that the guards that were running towards her could easily shackle her wrists. She looked up at the ceiling and waited for them to apprehend her.

     The King stood from his place behind his table. He stared at the situation in front of him. He slowly made his way towards the two faeries. As a king, he prided himself on always knowing what the right thing to do was. However, he had never witnessed one faerie assault another in the way that a normal Meridellian would. If the dark faerie had used magic, he would know what to do. However, she hadn't. She had just lashed out the same way one farmer's child would lash out at another farmer's child.

     Once King Skorth finally stood before the two faeries, he began to proclaim his decision, "Jhudora, the Dark Faerie . . . " He trailed off as he heard a loud popping noise. The entire hall gasped in unison as they watched Jhudora mindlessly scratch the side of her nose after freeing one of her hands from the shackle.

     Jhudora looked down at her hand and blushed. She held out her arms and asked nervously, "Can someone please fix this for me?"

     The King sighed. "Dark Faerie, please be honest . . ." Once he saw Jhudora nod, he continued, "Can you escape from our dungeons?"

     "Yeah," Jhudora sighed, "I'm really good at escaping . . . Unless there are faerie guards."

     "But if we banished you," The King nodded, "We could trust you to stay away?"

     "Oh, it would be a diplomatic nightmare for Queen Fyora," Jhudora nodded, "If you told her I came here after you banished me, she would lock me up with faerie guards."

     King Skorth stroked his beard as he pretended to think. He already knew what he had to do.

     "To keep our Patron Faerie safe, we must banish the evil Dark Faerie, Jhudora," he bellowed out.

     Illusen let out a cry of anguish as she stood. "No! You should lock her up! Then I can be safe!"

     "Illusen." King Skorth made his way to the earth faerie and took her hand, "We will always keep you safe."

     Jhudora smirked. Without saying a word, she gloated to Illusen that her plan had failed.

     "Oh," Jhudora called out, "I can teleport, Illusen."

     With one blinding flash of green light, Jhudora was gone.

     ** ** **

     As soon as she materialized in her own home, Jhudora fell backwards onto her own bed. She stared up at the ceiling, trying to understand why she was stupid enough to believe Illusen could ever change.

     "You were in Meridell?" Fyora whispered as she sat down next to Jhudora.

     Jhudora didn't even feign surprise. She had a feeling Fyora would chide her. She just didn't expect Fyora to be in her home when she arrived. "I believed her."

     "I know," Fyora sighed. "Things will change in time, Jhudora. Things will change in time."

     Jhudora sat up and turned her head towards Fyora. She feigned a smile, "Oh, at least I got a vacation out of it. And a lifetime ban. You'll hear about it soon."

     Fyora sighed before falling back onto the bed. She knew she had failed Jhudora. She knew that if she had worked harder to keep Jhudora company, this would have never happened. Jhudora stood and walked across the room to pick up one of her bartamuses. She sighed as she held it close to her. "Did you know that she's miserable," Jhudora laughed, "She has everything I could ever want, and she hates it!"

     "Do you hate your life here, Jhudora?" Fyora asked, still staring at the ceiling.

     "No," Jhudora sat down the bartamus and picked up another one, "I do things to make myself happy. I have everything I need. The only things that I can't have are things that I don't need."

     "I promise," Fyora sat up, "I will bring your sisters back . . . someday."

     Jhudora nodded as she hugged the bartamus in her arms.

     "I promise," Fyora whispered as she stood, "I will be back soon." With a flash of lavender light, Fyora was gone.

     Jhudora sighed as she fell into her bed. After everything that had happened, the only thing she truly wanted was sleep.

     The End.