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Sunlight streamed in through her windows, slowly alerting
her that it was morning. The queen slowly sat up, her head aching and throbbing
as if a heard of Tonu were inside it, angrily stamping around.
“I’m… home…” she said disconnectedly. This was
true for she was back in her own room and in her own bed, far from the scene
of last night. Was it last night? She couldn’t tell…
Slowly Fenella inched herself out of bed. Her
legs were horribly weak, but she was able to walk somewhat normally. Her hands
reached the doorknob before the doors were opened from the outside.
“Oh! My Queen! We were just coming to check on
you,” said Yelian of the fire Faeries. Fenella looked behind her and saw the
entire court, teary eyed and pale as they tried to peak into the room. It struck
at her heart to know that they actually cared for her as an individual and not
simply for the position that she held.
“I’m fine, I really am,” she smiled, but something
was nagging her at the back of her mind. “Yelian… do you possibly know what
happened last night?” she questioned delicately. The fire Faerie gave a nod
and twisted at her fingers.
“You hadn’t returned from the castle, so someone
sent a note to the guards of the Dark Queen’s castle. We, naturally, received
no response,” she spoke the last words with a strong sense of bitterness in
her voice. “And so the court and I began to worry and came over.”
“We knew that you might have enjoyed some help,
so that justified us all coming,” spoke Reltyla the Water Faerie from the back.
“But when we came in we knew something wasn’t
right. We tried to ask those Lupe guards where you were, but they didn’t help
us at all,” Reltyla continued sadly.
“They were right down the hall, we knew they
could hear everything,” cried Menshlia the Light Faerie, wiping a tear off her
cheek. Fenella looked down at the floor somewhat bitterly, thinking about how
the guards had left her only moments before hand.
“In any case, we came in and there was that Dark
Faerie Yelian managed to hold her off, but barley, while the rest of us surrounded
around you,” explained Fiona the Earth Faerie She withdrew a scroll from her
pocket and pressed it into Fenella’s hand.
“This arrived only minutes ago, and we’re sure
it’s from her. We tried to open it, but it has a magical seal… so only you can,”
she sighed. The tired queen took the letter but didn’t open it, instead staring
all of her court in the eyes.
“Fenella, why didn’t you simply fend her off?
You’re… I mean you’re the Faerie Queen, surely you have enough power in your
little pinkie to destroy half of Neopia!” inquired Yelian. The queen looked
down at the floor and shook her head.
“Yes… and no Yelian. Yes, I must admit that my
predecessors have endowed me with a great amount of power, however,” she said
sternly as Yelian opened her mouth to speak. “These powers are not like yours,
they are under certain restrictions and guidelines…”
“Guidelines?” Yelian narrowed her eyes. “I never
heard of any guidelines!”
“That you have not, I will tell you that. They
are kept a bit of a secret handed down from each generation of Faerie queens.
Even now I have broken one of the first things that I was taught when I was
a child.” Fenella heaved a sigh as she sat on the bed. The court all watched,
knowing very well that inquiring more of her would be a gross breech of etiquette,
so they stayed back simply hoping that Fenella would tell them more. The queen
looked up at their faces, hungry for information and launched into an explanation
with another heavy sigh.
“The Faerie Queen’s magic is not a ‘set’ thing,
as you may think. It is based on the collective belief and trust the queen has
from each of the elements. If one element does not trust the queen, then their
power is not given to her and mastery over that one element is not granted.
“Power, you see, is not given; it’s earned with
the Faerie queens. So it has been and so it will be till the last stars stop
shining in the sky,” Fenella explained.
“But why is that the case, dear Fenella?” inquired
Keylita the Air Faerie
“Why else do you think, Keylita? Power corrupts,
simple as that. Even Faerie queens are not immune to the impurities of heart
as much as history has lead you to believe,” Fenella gave a chuckle. “Though
we as queens are naturally more kind and light hearted, we still have things
that we have done that we are not proud of. And so if power is to be earned,
then the queen must have purity of heart for Faeries to trust in her as their
ruler. Would any of you let your element follow someone who is dark and impure?”
she questioned them all. Each shook their heads, some mumbling a quiet ‘no’.
“But I still don’t understand what is so secretive
about that information,” Yelian piped up.
“I will get to that Yelian, I promise you. But
to give you a bit of elucidation on the prior subjects being so secretive, it’s
mostly because of the Dark Faeries. If they knew the power they had over the
queen they wouldn’t be as tame as they are now, well…tame in a relative sort
of idea,” She added in a bit of afterthought. A quiet nervous laugher circulated
the group as some made to sit down in the chairs that littered the spacious
room.
“Also, it would make things like a takeover far
too commonplace. If a Faerie discovered that simply bullying others to not believe
in the queen would make her weak think of the problems! Why, we’d have a régime
change almost daily!”
“But of course these aren’t the only restrictions
on power. I myself can not bring serious to harm any Faerie… ever,” Fenella
said. The room let out a dramatic gasp as two of the Faeries let slip a rather
rude word.
“That can’t be true! Look at all the times the
Faerie Queen has defended her kingdom from an evil force of power! Surely those
Faeries were injured and in a severe bit of pain!” Yelian argued hotly. But
the queen simply shook her head and pointed to a bookshelf in the far corner
of her room.
“Ahhh… but that is where you are wrong Yelian.
History has been altered in one or two cases to make it seem that way. But every
time the queen either sealed off the foe (which is not hurting, but simply imprisonment)
or gave them a small taste of the pain that they could endure. If you do not
trust me I invite you to check the books, but I will say it again, they are
tainted with false information,” Fenella explained sternly. The Faeries in the
room became silent, either piecing together the information, or having it all
together and possessing neither the courage nor the heart to say it aloud.
Finally, the silence was broken by the quiet
Reltyla, who simply stared at the ground with his misty eyes.
“And so you cannot touch this Dark Faerie because
of the promise, which you are bound to with your wings and crown,” She explained.
The court turned to Fenella, hoping that she would say otherwise giving them
some beacon of hope…but she lowered her head bringing all the court crashing
down to a harsh, cold reality.
“Well, if that is the case, then why don’t we
simply seal her away?” inquired Menshlia the Light Faerie, twirling a strand
of her golden hair around a finger.
“Ahh, astute observation! However that will not
work either. If she has indeed taken mastery over the other elements by capturing
the magic of the wings, then a sealing gem cannot work. Those talismans are
designed for one element and one element alone,”
They were defeated. Some Faeries simply dissolved
into silent tears, feeling as if they had lost horribly. If Fenella, the queen
of the Faeries, couldn’t banish the foe, then who possibly could? If Fenella’s
power was nothing more to this Faerie than a mere game, then surely those who
were lower in their status were even less capable of beating Drentylia.
But as some of the Faeries mulled the darkness
over in their heads, Fiona of the earth Faeries was reflective in her gaze.
Fenella noticed this with interest.
“My queen,” said Fiona, breaking the morbid silence
that lingered around the room. “You mentioned that you cannot harm a Faerie…
correct?” Fenella gave a nod and indicated the Faerie to go on. She could see
the gears in her head spinning and slowly coming up with an answer.
“Then why do we not pick one of the stronger
Faeries to go and fight this adversary? I myself have heard from a sister who
lives near the Haunted Woods that there is a Faerie by the name of Valeane who
is one of the most fearsome fighters among us all,” the Earth Faerie explained.
Fenella instantly began to make each of the connections, as if mentally deriving
them from the Earth Faerie, but the court, still dwelling in misery, did not.
“You really think that some common Faerie could
do what the Faerie Queen cannot? Really you—“
“You don’t understand, though,” Fiona interrupted
the depressed Light Faerie The court was listening with rapt excitement hoping…just
hoping that perhaps someone had found a solution.
“Queen Fenella, you spoke of this power granted
to you as if…as if it’s more or less a tangible thing… as if it could be transferred.
So perhaps we could find a suitable fighter and transfer the power granted to
you into her,” she said, looking at the queen.
“It is tangible just like you spoke of it,” Fenella
explained. The court looked around hopefully. It was akin to the sun breaking
through dark storm clouds, finally showing the way…that it wasn’t as hopeless
and bleak as they thought it had been before.
“But, I must assume that this power is extremely
strong. After all, power from five different elements is not a common thing
to behold! Everyone except the Faerie queen, and this monstrosity, only has
power from one element! If the Faerie is not used to such power it may indeed
harm them,” the Water Faerie chipped in quickly, hoping not to deter the possible
solution. They felt somewhat defeated as this turn of events, until Fenella
spoke up.
“No, you are right… but if she was to tap into
a power source almost like a talisman then it would be removed enough power
as to not crush her,” Fenella meditated. She quickly stood up and looked out
the window for a second, then turned back to the court. Where once there had
been a pale face, depressed and scared was not a smile. A smile of hope.
“Please find Valeane and escort her here as soon
as possible. We have a plan of action now and we cannot dawdle upon it. If this
Faerie is indeed as powerful as you imply, then we may very well be able to
best the beast,” and without another word Fenella quickly jogged out of the
room and towards the ancient library for some research.
To be continued...
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