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Truth's look turned from spacey to angry. I could almost
see flames burning in her eyes. "They decided to end our gatherings. They really
ended for us life as we knew it. They kidnapped the most prominent Night Faeries.
They were also after me, but I got away.
I had known what they were doing, but I had no
idea that I was a target. I had no real authority among us. I was flying back
to my house in Faerieland one day, when I saw a dark figure go by my window.
This might not have been so strange, if I had not lived alone."
I ducked behind a neighbor's house and looked
more closely. There were two other faeries outside my door. One had a burlap
sack, and the other had a rope. That was all I needed to see in order to know
what they were doing. I flew away as fast as I could, keeping to the shadows.
I was near the edge of Faerieland when I ran straight into an Aisha.
That Aisha, the pet of the first human to come
upon a gathering of Night Faeries, helped me get away. When she heard that some
of the Night Faeries had been disappearing, she went looking for one of us.
She brought a dark purple, hooded robe for me to wear. She told me I could keep
it.
If it were not for the fact that the owners of
Neopia are frequently walking around in the oddest clothes, I might have called
unwanted attention to myself. Instead, I managed to walk around less noticed
than I would have if I had left as a Faerie.
We stopped at Neopia Central for supplies. We
bought some food, material for new clothes, tools, a Pinceron, and a few miscellaneous
things. I also withdrew all my Neopoints from the bank. She then dropped me
off at a cave in Tyrannia and went to get more stuff. She promised to come back.
I'm sure she did, even though I never saw her
again. I couldn't let her help me. I couldn't let her be caught. I left her
a note thanking her for her kindness and telling her why I was leaving. I know
it was foolish of me, but I also left my bracelet, which made of the same purple
stone that paved our glade.
I walked to Terror Mountain, the nearest place
to Tyrannia. After a bit of exploring, I came upon the Ice Caves. Figuring that
one might be suitable to live in, I decided to investigate. After exploring
several deserted ones, you can imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon one
that was inhabited. It was a fairly large cavern, filled with items and in the
middle of it was the creature you may know as the Snowager.
He happened to be asleep then, and because I
felt that I had nothing to lose, I decided to explore. It was in the shadows,
behind a large rock, that I found the opening to a tunnel. Hoping that I had
found a place to stay, I lit a candle from my bag and went down the tunnel.
After walking for about ten minutes, I reached here, where I have stayed ever
since." The Faerie finished with a grand wave of her slightly wrinkled hand.
I have to admit that I was speechless. What she
had just said contradicted everything I had ever been told about faeries. Fyora
was supposed to be kind and just, not ruthless and jealous. How could everything
I had ever read about them be wrong? How could the Neopedia, the official history
book of Neopia, be false? Unless it was not…
"So," I began in a voice seething with fake innocence.
"Why does the Neopedia tell a different story?"
I saw a flicker of annoyance cross Truth's face,
but it quickly disappeared. "History was written by the victors, and, obviously,
we Night Faeries did not win."
"Well, what about the story of the Kougra, Fenton,
who was tricked by a Dark, I mean Night, Faerie into attacking Faerieland,"
Jewel asked pointedly.
"The Neopedia does not say what that Night Faerie
told Fenton. She very well could have told him the truth. Perhaps he felt the
need to fight for justice."
"I have a question," Shimmer cut in. "You said
that you have not left here since you first came, right?"
"Yes," said Truth slowly, as though she was trying
to figure out where Shimmer was headed.
"And you said that you just came with a Pinceron
and some very limited supplies, right?"
"That is correct."
I thought Shimmer was going to ask how Truth
managed to get food, but instead she asked, "So how is it that you get the Neopian
Times?"
There was no doubting the relief on Truth's face
at Shimmer's question, but she quickly changed it to an expression of seriousness.
"Mostly this Raindorf, who wandered in from the Snowager's lair, gets it for
me. He also gets most of my food and such. My Pinceron brings me the larger
things I ask for. Plus, when I said that I had never left here, I included right
outside the entrance that you came in from as 'here'."
I knew there was a question that I needed to
ask. I just could not seem to…
"So," I began, trying to sound as casual as possible.
"Why were those faeries after you, anyway?"
For the first time I saw a look of cold amusement
on Truth's face. "That is a rather funny story really," she said. A faint smirk
became visible on her lips. "I am actually the sister of Myorla, the Night Faerie
leader."
Truth paused. She looked like she was waiting
for us to say something.
"You were next in line to become leader or something?"
Jewel finally asked.
One look at the delight in Truth's eyes was all
that was needed to know that Jewel had asked exactly what Truth had wanted someone
to. Oddly enough, Truth giggled. "No," she said with a laugh. "The next in line
was not I, but the eldest daughter of my sister, Fyora herself."
I barely noticed the mock bow Truth finished
off her sentence with. "B-but Fyora does not look like a Night Faerie,"
Jewel stammered.
"That is because she is half yellow Faerie, known
now as Light Faerie." Truth was obviously enjoying herself.
"Why was she after you just because of that?"
"Fyora was never satisfied with the idea of ruling
just the Night Faeries. As she grew older, she spent less and less time with
Night Faeries and more time with the others. Many of the Night Faeries forgot
she existed. Myorla was even thinking about choosing one of her other daughters
to succeed her. Then the humans came, and when Fyora saw she had a chance to
rally the other faeries behind her, she took it. Of course, since she was fighting
against us, she could not let the other faeries remember that she was one of
us. One of the first things she did was get those who still remembered her origins,
pretty much just those who were related to her, out of the way.
Something still bothered me. "Okay, so you told
us your story, and you answered our questions." I made sure to look Truth straight
in the eye. "What have not done is given us proof. Prove that
what you have just told us is true."
For the first time I saw Truth unnerved. "Exactly
what kind of proof to you want?"
"I don't know. What kind of proof can you give
me?"
"Well," Truth said thoughtfully. "I suppose I
could send you to see another Faerie. I'm fairly sure that faeries like Jhuidah,
Taelia, and the Water Faerie at the Healing Springs are really spies for Fyora."
"We were going to go talk to Taelia," said Jewel
brightly.
Shimmer and I shot her dirty looks
"In that case, why don't you go see her now?"
"I think we will," Shimmer said calmly as she
got up. "Come on, Sakura, Jewel."
"I am afraid that Jewel may not come with you."
"What?" All three of us stood there, staring
at Truth incredulously.
"What do you mean Jewel may not come?"
Shimmer asked.
"It is simple really," said the Night Faerie
with a shrug. "I can see that you do not completely believe me, and I want you
to come back so I can convince you. Also…" Truth gave us a wicked grin. "I want
to have some reassurance that you will not tell anyone about me."
"So you expect us to go talk to the Snow Faerie
while you hold Jewel hostage?"
"Yes."
"You know, it is not like we would tell anyone.
If what you told us was true, then telling someone might make us targets of
Fyora."
"I do not trust humans. After all, it
was a human who got me into this mess in the first place. Besides, you said
'if', which means you do not believe me."
I could see that Shimmer was mentally kicking
herself, while silently calculating the risks of taking on a Dark Faerie. She
then gazed at Jewel, who nodded. Shimmer sighed. "Okay," she said. "Sakura and
I will go. But if anything happens to Jewel, no matter how small it may
seem, you will pay."
Truth laughed. "Threatening a Faerie? Well, okay.
You tell no one, and nothing happens to your little Kougra."
I wondered what Truth defined as "nothing".
Shimmer and I silently walked down the tunnel
through which we had entered. There was another way out in the back of Truth's
cavern, but it seemed foolish to try to walk through the Snowager's cave. Neither
of us uttered a word until we were outside and well away from Truth's cavern.
The storm had stopped, and the sky was clear.
Once we had reached the top of the mountain,
I turned to my owner. "Shimmer?"
"Yes?"
"Could you talk to Taelia by yourself? I have
to go get something."
"Sure."
I then flew off, leaving Shimmer behind. I knew
exactly what I was going to get. Just in case…
To be continued…
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