A Journey To Faerieland

     Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there lived a blue Kacheek. Now, this Kacheek, she had a dream. It was her dream to work hard enough to one day be able to have the Neopoints needed to journey to the Hidden Tower and buy herself a Royal Paint Brush. She knew she would never be royalty, but she loved nothing more than the thought of looking like royalty. She was a little afraid, of course, of leaving her home to journey to a place she had never been, but the time to go was fast approaching.

     The time soon came when she had finally earned enough Neopoints to not only buy a royal paint brush, but to journey across the lands to the Hidden Tower. So, she packed up her things, said her goodbyes, and started on a journey she would never forget.

     Two days into her journey she came upon a strange little town settled around a pond with water so clear you could see all the way to the bottom. She was tired and, to be honest, not used to camping outside on the cold hard ground, so she decided to spend a little time here to see if this town had an inn she could stay in for the night.

     "Glass bottom tours," she muttered to herself, "I wonder what…"

     "Hello there Miss! Welcome to Kiko Lake!"

     She turned to face the strangest Neopet she had ever seen. He was bean shaped and had a bandage on his head! She couldn't help but stare; it took her a few minutes to realize he was waiting on her to say something.

     "Oh hello! I'm on my way to Faerieland to visit the Hidden Tower and I thought I might stay here for the night. Does your town happen to have an inn or someplace I can sleep tonight?"

     "Well, we don't have an inn, but you are more than welcomed to stay with me tonight! I run Kiko Pop! Right over there and I have an extra room you can sleep in."

     "Kiko? What is a Kiko?"

     "Why, I am, of course! And so is everyone who lives here, that's why we named our little town Kiko Lake. Have you ever been outside of Neopia Central before?"

     "Well... no, not exactly. This is my first real time being away from home. Do you mind showing me around? I would love to see everything Kiko Lake has to offer!"

     "Of course, Miss. I would be happy to!"

     At the end of the day, after experiencing everything she possibly could at Kiko Lake, she headed to bed to dream of the most wonderful things. When she woke the next morning, she almost didn't want to leave. She went downstairs to find her Kiko friend making breakfast.

     "Thank you for yesterday, I had an amazing time. This town is quite special."

     "It was my pleasure, Miss. You'll have to come back and visit us sometime. We'd love to have you again! Everyone has told me how much the enjoy your company. We don't get very many visitors here, but have all just loved having you around."

     "Oh, I absolutely will come back to visit! I'm afraid I have to leave soon. Faerieland is still a few days journey away, so I better get back out there before too long."

     "Here, have some breakfast first, then I will help you refill your supply pack before you're off again."

     After finishing what might be the best breakfast of her life, her Kiko friend helped her pack up her supplies (and gave her plenty of fresh foods to take with her) and she was back on track to make it to Faerieland.

     Three more days had past when she found herself at the edge of a rather spooky forest. There was a road leading into the forest, which likely meant there was a town inside. She didn't want to go in (it was scary looking, after all!), but she was running low on supplies again and needed to refill her pack or she might not be able to make it all the way to Faerieland. So, she took a deep breath and kept going… into the dark and spooky forest.

     A few hours later, she saw the gates leading into a town. This town seemed to be a bit bigger than Kiko Lake (from what she could tell looking through the gates), but she didn't see a single Neopet inside. With shaky hands, she pushed the gates open and walked through.

     Once she was on the other side of the gates, she noticed that the town looked completely different. Where she saw not a single Neopet before, she now saw hundreds! Hundreds of spookily painted Neopets going about their day.

     "There must be some sort of magic here that changes the appearance of this town from the outside," she must have said out loud.

     "That's right! Our resident witch, Edna, put a security spell around our town here to help keep us all safe. You never know what kind of creatures are lurking out there in the woods."

     She had never seen such a creature! It looked like an Aisha (she had a few Aisha friends at home), but she could see right through it! The Aisha's insides were visible through her skin!

     "I'm sorry," she started, "but what ARE you? Are you an Aisha?"

     "I sure am! Transparent, of course, but definitely an Aisha. I live here in the Haunted Woods, just on the other side of town! Are you from around here?"

     "No, I'm actually on my way to Faerieland to go to the Hidden Tower. You said you were… transparent? I've never seen anything like you before, are there others?"

     "Yeah, of course. It's a pretty common color around here, so is Halloween of course, and we have a few Darigan painted Neopets running around. Most everyone is really nice, though. You want a tour?"

     "Absolutely! Oh, I also need to refill my supply pack before I get back on the road. I'm low on food and I'm afraid I won't have enough to finish my journey. Could you point me toward a food shop while I'm here too?"

     "Yeah! Let's go!"

     Once night came, they headed back to the Aisha's house to eat dinner and get some rest. The day had been full of all kinds of spooky fun and gross treats, but the day could not have been better.

     Morning came all too quickly. She woke up, got ready to continue her journey to Faerieland and headed downstairs to say goodbye to her new Aisha friend.

     "Thank you for such an amazing time yesterday! I can't believe I was scared to come into these woods at first! Everyone here is so nice and I had so much fun! The food here can be a little … gross looking, but I enjoyed everything!"

     "Hahaha! I'm glad you enjoyed yourself! Here, I went ahead and got some more supplies ready for you while you were sleeping. I packed a few extra of those gummy rats you liked so much. I imagine you'll be leaving soon?"

     "Yeah, I just need to figure out which way to go and then I'll be on my way. I think I'm pretty close to Faerieland."

     "You are! It's actually just a days walk to the east! I can walk you to the edge of town and show you which way to go whenever you're ready."

     "Thanks! I think it's time to head out, then."

     Saying goodbye to a friend is never easy, even if you plan on seeing them again soon, but it was time to continue her journey. She was so close, she couldn't stop now, no matter how much she wanted to spend more time with her new friends.

     It didn't even take her a full day before she saw the pink and purple hues of Faerieland. Just a few hours after her first sights of Faerieland and she found herself smack dab in the middle of a beautiful city. The only problem was, she couldn't find the Hidden Tower anywhere! It didn't occur to her that the Hidden Tower would actually be hidden somewhere in the middle of this wonderful city.

     "Oh no. I'll never find the Hidden Tower!"

     "Sorry, but did I hear you say you were looking for the Hidden Tower?"

     A beautiful faerie Draik had startled her. She didn't even notice the Draik glide up beside her while she was trying to figure out how to find the Hidden Tower.

     "You startled me! I didn't see you there, I'm sorry."

     "Oh, it's my fault! I do that sometimes, never on purpose of course, but I forget that non-flying Neopets aren't always used to us flying ones showing up beside them. You're looking for the Hidden Tower, though?"

     "Yes, I am! I'm hoping to buy a Royal Paint Brush for myself. I've been traveling for days and I'm so close, but now I can't find it! I didn't consider that it might actually be hidden!"

     "Haha! That's alright, I know exactly where the door is. You look famished, though! How about we grab a bite to eat first?"

     "That sounds lovely! Thank you."

     They shared a nice lunch full of the most wonderful faerie foods and set off toward the outskirts of Faerie City.

     "Are you sure we're in the right place? I still don't see anything. I'm not sure we'll ever find the Hidden Tower!"

     The Draik smiled wide and pushed the air in front of her. It wasn't for nothing, though. She had opened an invisible door wide enough to reveal the inside of the Hidden Tower!

     "Wow, I can't believe I'm really here! Thank you so much for helping me!"

     "What are friends for? I've got some shopping to do, but head back to my place later! You can stay with me for however long you want until you have to head home! I've got an extra bed for you!"

     Her new Draik friend turned and headed back into the city and left her to explore the Hidden Tower on her own. There wasn't much on the way to the top, but once she got there, she was greeted by Baelia.

     "Oh hello, I thought that Queen Fyora ran the Hidden Tower. Is she okay?"

     "I'm afraid not," Baelia looked down as she said, "Queen Fyora has been hurt quite badly and has been in the infirmary for a few weeks. We're trying our best to heal her, but while she's there I've been running the tower so Neopians can buy whatever they might need."

     "I came here to buy a Royal Paint Brush for myself, but I think I have a better idea."

     After getting directions from Baelia, she ran to the infirmary to see Queen Fyora (making a few stops along the way for some supplies Baelia mentioned). When she got there, she was greeted by Taelia.

     "Hello," said Taelia, "Are you here to help? Lots of Neopians have been by to help us heal Queen Fyora but it's taking longer than we anticipated. You're welcomed to try, if you'd like."

     She used the supplies she grabbed on her way over to the infirmary and began mixing potions to give to Queen Fyora. It wasn't enough though; she just wasn't healing fast enough. If she was going to help Queen Fyora she was going to need more Neopets to mix potions.

     She ran out of the infirmary to find her Draik friend. After letting the Draik know what was going on, she wrote letters to her friends back in the Haunted Woods and Kiko Lake asking for their help.

     A few days had past and she was still mixing up potions for Queen Fyora, her new Draik friend by her side. She was ready to take a break when her Aisha and Kiko friends walked through the door.

     "You came," she started, but was cut off by the Aisha.

     "Of course we did! And we even brought some friends of our own! What do you need us to do?"

     Taelia helped everyone mix potions and together they began healing Queen Fyora faster than ever before. With the help of so many Neopians, Queen Fyora actually seemed to be getting better.

     It took them almost a full week, but when Queen Fyora was fully healed, she requested the Kacheek to visit her.

     "I want to thank you. There's no telling how much longer I would have been stuck in the infirmary if you hadn't come along. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

     "No, I'm just happy I could help."

     "Tell me then, why did you journey so far. Surely you didn't come all this way just to help me?"

     "Well, no, I didn't," she tried to look away, but Fyora just smiled. "I came to buy a Royal Paint Brush from the Hidden Tower. I want to be a royal painted Neopet."

     Fyora thought for a second before she said, "I think I am healed enough for this."

     The room began to fill with light as Queen Fyora raised her arms. She couldn't see what was going on, but the Kacheek felt a warm sensation take over her entire being.

     When the light faded, she saw Queen Fyora smiling at her. Fyora gestured for her to turn around. As she turned she saw herself in a mirror that had conveniently appeared right behind her.

     "But! How? Queen Fyora, I can't pay you for this!"

     "It's my pleasure. You came to my land to become a royal painted Neopet, so I want you to go home having achieved that goal. Without you I would not be here right now, it is my way of saying thank you."

     The Kacheek didn't know what to say, so instead, she ran up and hugged Queen Fyora tightly.

     Her journey had come to an end and it was more than she had ever hoped for. She had made some amazing friends (that she made sure to visit regularly), she helped save Queen Fyora, and she had finally achieved her dream of being painted royal. Life was good.

     The End.