The Clash of Two Faeries on their Special Day

      “We interrupt your regularly scheduled programme to bring you a special report!” announced the news reporter. “Due to a spell gone wrong, Jhudora Day and Illusen Day have been mixed up, so they are both occurring on the same day---TODAY!!! While the powerful Queen Fyora has managed to keep Faerieland under control, riots have broken out all over Meridell as Jhudora and Illusen supporters clash. Vandalism and fighting are everywhere!”

      At that moment, a large rock flew past the reporter, barely missing her.

      “Ummmm.... We will bring you more updates as they occur.”

      Then the reporter was caught grumbling on a hot mic: “They REALLY need to stop sending us to such dangerous sites to report on stuff!!!”

      Walda turned off the TV with a look of disgust. Then her sister, Maldice the Stealthy Draik, ran into the room. “Walda!” she exclaimed. “I just got off the phone with the Defenders of Neopia, and apparently, there’s chaos in Meridell!”

      “Yeah, I know,” grumbled Walda. ‘I saw it on Neovision. Can we trade this planet in for a new one? I don’t want to live on this planet anymore.”

      “I know, right?! Horrible! Anyway, your Battledome skills and my dark magic skills will help get these clowns under control!”

      Walda’s other sister, Sellescha the Pastel Kacheek, heard the commotion and walked into the room. “Ice cream for breakfast, Walda?!” she commented.

      “Who cares?!” answered Maldice. “There are riots going on in Meridell right now. Wanna help, sorceress-in-training?”

      “Um, sure,” replied Sellescha. “Why are there riots?”

      “Because Illusen and Jhudora can’t stand each other. Now, let’s go!”

     ---

      When the trio arrived in Meridell, they saw buildings that were smashed, on fire, and covered in green and purple graffiti. Furthermore, agitated citizens were fighting in the street with Battledome weapons.

      “Listen up!” yelled a Jhudora supporter through a megaphone. Everyone turned to look at her.

      She gestured to a cardboard cut-out of Illusen. “This goodie-two-shoes faerie is NO FUN!” she exclaimed. Then she brandished a Sword of Reif and cut the cardboard in two while also setting it on fire.

      Jhudora supporters in the audience cheered, while furious Illusen supporters barged through the crowd, struggling to reach the Neopet who had set the cardboard on fire. Meanwhile, Walda had been fighting off the thousands of rioters... slowly but surely. “This is taking forever!” she groaned with exhaustion.

      “I have a better idea,” stated Maldice. She flew above the crowd and cast a spell on the rioters, causing them to fall asleep. Like dominoes, the whole crowd collapsed and dozed off, revealing a certain Earth Faerie standing and watching... who was feeling unhappy at the moment.

      Illusen sighed. “Why does everyone feel the need to fight?!” she complained. “Anyway, thanks for stopping them, Miss Draiky... er, what’s your name?”

      “I’m Maldice, and these are my siblings, Sellescha and Walda. We came here to stop the riots.”

      “Well, thank you. We don’t need violence in Meridell---”

      Just then, purple smoke filled the area, and a certain dark faerie emerged from a teleportation spell. “ILLUSEN!” screamed Jhudora. “How DARE you! Trying to overwrite my holiday with your own!”

      “This was not my doing,” replied Illusen. “Do you REALLY think I want riots in the streets?! Maybe YOU don’t care, but I sure do.”

      “You liar! Everyone knows you envy me!”

      “Yeah, right. Who would envy YOU, a creature of evil?!”

      “Anyone would envy a creature of POWER!” Without warning, Jhudora fired her Wand of the Dark Faerie at Illusen, who swiftly defended herself with a shield.

      Before the conflict could get any worse, Maldice tried to cast the same sleeping spell on Jhudora, but she was too powerful to be affected by it. “Ha! Is that the best you can do?!” she sneered.

      Walda, unwilling to let the fiend win, snuck up behind Jhudora and ambushed her with a Lens Flare, Sword of Malum, and Blazing Embers. Jhudora fell to the ground. When she tried to get up and use her Wand of the Dark Faerie, Walda used her Warlock’s Rage faerie ability, stopping her for another turn, and finished her off.

      “You rotten brat!” snarled Jhudora as she fell unconscious.

      Maldice clapped her hands. “Alright. Now we have to find the source of the spell. If we don’t, the riots will resume when everyone wakes up later. I sense a magical presence coming from Brightvale Castle...”

      “Yeah, that’s probably where it’s coming from,” agreed Sellescha. “But why?”

      “Your guess is as good as mine. Let’s find out.”

     ---

      Illusen had decided to stay back to clean up the colossal mess made by the rioters. Meanwhile, the other three ladies headed to the castle. When they arrived, hostile guards blocked the entrance. “No unauthorized personnel are allowed into the castle!” barked one of them.

      “But---” began Maldice.

      “I have a better idea,” smirked Walda. She used her Freezing Potion on the guards, pushed them out of the way, and strode inside, along with Maldice and Sellescha.

      They followed the magical signal into a room that held many statues. There, they immediately noticed King Hagan scolding a very unhappy Green Kacheek. “Blast it, Magon!” bellowed the king. “You are just no good at magic. You always mess up your spells! Have you considered a career change?!”

      “No... It’s what I enjoy.”

      “Unfortunately, you can’t always be good at what you enjoy. If you can’t fix this, then please leave, and I will find someone who can.”

      As Magon despondently walked out of the room, King Hagan noticed that Maldice had arrived. “You’re here!” he exclaimed with a smile. “Please fix this, and sooner, rather than later.”

      “Sure thing.” The display in the room consisted of a circular formation of faerie statues. The statues of Illusen and Jhudora were both glowing, whereas the other statues were not. Maldice said a few magical words and waved her wand.

      Then the lighting in the room turned dim. “Welcome,” a mysterious voice greeted everyone.

      “W-Who was that?!” asked King Hagan incredulously.

      “Relax. I will not harm you. I am the spirit of the curse that was erroneously placed by Magon. I see that you wish to dissolve the curse. Well, to dispel it, a puzzle must be solved.”

      “What kind of a puzzle?” asked Maldice.

      “A word puzzle, but you will not be the one solving it. Sellescha must answer.”

      “M-Me?” asked Sellescha.

      “Yes, because the one with the purest and noble heart must be the one to break the curse.”

      “Ummmm... Okay.”

      A grid of squares appeared before her. “You must guess the word in six tries or less, or the curse will remain. With each word you guess, you’ll see how close you are.”

      “...This is a Jordle, right? I saw those on Jellyneo.”

      “Yes. Start guessing.”

      Sellescha, although nervous, realized that the only way to break the curse was to solve the puzzle. She was worried about what would happen if she failed, but she knew that if she didn’t try, then the curse would definitely stay in place. Thus, she put in her first guess:

      AISHA

      “There is one A, but it is not in the right place,” the voice answered.

      Maldice and Walda, eager to help, started yelling out guesses. “She can’t hear you,” the voice told her. “I’m blocking out your voices because she must do this on her own.”

      “That’s lame!” grumbled Walda, crossing her arms.

      Although Sellescha’s next guess didn’t have an A in it, she wanted to gather more information about what letters were in the word. Thus, she put in her next guess:

      EYRIE

      “There are 2 E’s, and the second one is in the right place,” the voice answered.

      “Does the answer have to be a strictly Neopian word?” asked Sellescha.

      “Not in this case,” answered the voice.

      The board looked like:

      _ _ _ _ E

      ...with an A and an E in spots 2, 3, or 4.

      Then Sellescha put in her next guess:

      SEECE (Meridellian Petpet)

      Thus, the board looked like this:

      _EACE

      Sellescha’s face lit up. The answer she had in her head made perfect sense. “I’ve got it!” she exclaimed. “The answer is PEACE!”

      “You are correct!” answered the voice. “Peace is what we need in Neopia. The curse has now been lifted.”

      Thus, the room returned to its normal lighting, and the statues stopped glowing. “It looks like the magical presence has disappeared,” commented Maldice.

      “Thank you to the three of you!” exclaimed King Hagan.

      “Sure. I won’t put up with RIOTS in my own backyard,” answered Maldice.

      The trio left the castle and saw that the buildings were undamaged, and that the townsfolk were out and about as if nothing had happened. Then Walda saw Illusen eating dessert at the food stall. “Illusen!” yelled Walda excitedly. “We broke the spell!”

      “What spell? What’s wrong?” asked Illusen. “And... have I met you somewhere? I don’t recall your name...”

      “Don’t worry about it,” Maldice reassured Illusen. Then Maldice turned to Walda. “Sometimes, when spells are reversed, not everyone remembers what happened.”

      “Why not?”

      “Ancient laws of magic. Not exactly something I could explain in layman’s terms.”

      “Oh... Well, I’m hungry,” announced Walda.

      “Yeah, a nice meal sounds great, because after all that work, I’m starving!” answered Sellescha.

      The End.