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Grey Despair
My name is Treali, Tree-daughter of the Everforest
Earth Circle. And from now on, the story will be told through my point of view.
I had been walking through the tunnels for the
entire day, feeling the mud squelching between my toes, the light of torches
flickering, faintly illuminating the paw prints of my friend Tessa. Lady Darkmoon
the shadow Lenny led the way, carrying an oil lantern. Despite the fact that
her long, flowing maroon robes dragged through the mud, she didn't get a single
speck of dirt on her. Must be some sort of sorceress talent.
"I leave you here," Lady Darkmoon whispered,
turning to face us. "Keep walking straight. You'll come to an opening that will
lead you to the mountain peak. I dare not go any further. That place is evil."
"We wouldn't ask you to go any further, Lady.
You've done more than enough already," Tessa said. I bobbed into a brief curtsy
to show my appreciation. The Lady nodded wordlessly, then disappeared into the
shadows.
"Looks like it's just you and me now," Tessa
said, picking up the lantern that Lady Darkmoon had left behind and handing
her staff to me.
I nodded. "We're off to face the Guardian with
just our claws and this puny little stick."
"And each other," Tessa said softly. "For one
person's dreams can come true if you have the will and the friends to back you
up." Without another word, she bounded forward, racing down the tunnel. I followed,
sprinting to keep up with her. A light at the end of the tunnel. It grew bigger
and brighter as we approached it. Finally, we were in the open again, a few
meters away from the Peak of Mist Mountain and the Star of the Elements.
It was twilight. The faintest traces of sunlight
still graced the horizon, painting the west rose, indigo, and gold. To the east,
the indigo sky stretched on forever, pierced by the silver light of the evening
stars.
The ground was rocky, covered in boulders and
the occasional sharp pebble. Even though the air surrounding us was cold as
ice, the boulders seemed to emit a burning sort of heat that made it painful
to stand in one place for prolonged periods of time. The wind whipped my hair
to and fro. At the peak of the mountain, a flaming lake steamed like a witch's
cauldron and on an island in the center of that lake stood… the Star of the
Elements.
It was impossible to say exactly what the Star
looked like. It was constantly changing, shifting in shape, size, and color.
In fact, I wasn't quite sure if it was solid all of the time. But it was only
a few meters away. In a wild frenzy of excitement, Tessa darted towards the
lake.
Then someone appeared, materializing out of thin
air, blocking Tessa's path to the lake.
And worst of all, that someone was Jennumara.
I'd seen her a few times while I was imprisoned with Grindomara. The dark, plum-colored
hair, the charcoal-rimmed eyes, the silver crown studded with black opals, and
that cold, sneering face that I'd never forget, even if I lived a thousand years.
Seeing my shocked look of recognition, Jennumara
cackled. A terrible cackle that ripped into my soul and seemed to tear apart
the lake, the Star, the mountain, and the very heavens with its cruelty. It
was the type of cackle that had sounded across many scenes of devastation. It
even made the valiant Tessalea roll into a ball and cower, covering her ears
with her paws. "Foolish Lupess," Jennumara hissed. "You thought that getting
the Star of the Elements would be that easy?"
"I h-hoped…" Tessa stuttered, but a hiss from
Jennumara made her squeal and shiver in terror. "Hope. Lupess, there is no hope
so you might as well give up right now. If you do, I might let you and the Dessro
escape in one piece. And if not… well, I can't guarantee the wretch's safety."
As if suddenly remembering my presence, Tessa
regained a bit of her former boldness. Getting to her feet, she backed slowly
away from Jennumara until she was beside me again. By now, tears were pouring
down my cheeks. "I can't leave without the Star," she said quietly, deliberately.
"Treali needs it. Neopia needs it. We can't let the Darkest Faerie return."
Then, out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the
most peculiar sight. A faerie… it looked like a darkness faerie… swimming in
the lake. I gave a little shout of surprise, causing the faerie to lift her
head above the flaming waves. It was Grindomara. Glaring at her sister, Jennumara
cursed under her breath and started to dive after her sister, preparing a purple
and black fireball in her hand. With a gasp, I realized that that fireball was
similar to the one that Grindomara used sometimes. Judging by the troubled look
on Tessalea's face, she recognized it too. "I had a close call with one of those
fireballs," she explained. "But… Grindomara said that her sister couldn't wield
them."
"Evidently, Grindomara was wrong."
"Treali?"
"Yes?"
"I think we've gotten ourselves into deep, deep
trouble."
I put my hand around Tessa's shoulders. "But
we're not going to give up, right?"
Tessa smiled. "Of course not."
Grindomara had reached the island. Seizing the
Star of the Elements, she cackled in triumph. Enraged, Jennumara dove into the
water, losing her crown to the lake's smoky depths. It seemed as though she
and her sister were unaffected by the flames, probably because of some magical
shield. Jennumara reached the island and tackled her sister from behind, sending
the Star flying. It landed in the shallow waters of the lake. Tessa darted forward,
stuck her paw in the lake and scooped the Star out. "I need that star!" Grindomara
cried. "I didn't escape from that cursed striped Eyrie for nothing!" Seeing
Grindomara swimming towards her, she tossed the Star into the air. "Catch, Treali!"
Her face now beet-red with fury, Jennumara used
some sort of teleporting spell, landing in front of me and catching the Star.
The purple and black fireball still burned in her hand, blazing around the Star
but not consuming it. In that same instant, she created a second fireball and
hurled it at her sister, who fell in the shallow waters of the pond.
Tessa took a deep breath. "Treali, I hope you
understand why I'm doing this," she whispered to me. "You just have to grab
the Star and make a run for it, okay? Don't worry about me." With that, she
ran towards Jennumara and bit her in the leg, hoping that she would let go of
the Star as easily as her sister had.
No such luck. The moment Tessa let go of her
leg, the wound healed itself, without a scar or any trace that there had been
a bite.
Jennumara ripped my insides with that cackle
again. This time, Tessalea stood her ground. "Foolish Lupess. You don't seem
to get it, do you?"
"Get what?" Tessa asked densely, still reeling
from the shock.
"I'm the Guardian of the Star," Jennumara said.
"I'm invincible. And I have a duty to protect the Star from your thieving paws."
"But… but I thought the Guardian was a Neopet!
Not a faerie!" Tessa said, still in shock.
"No one has proved that," Jennumara said testily.
"And why did you have to kill Grindo…"
"I'm getting sick of your questions, Lupess!"
Jennumara interrupted, rage flaring in her eyes and another fireball flaring
in her hand. "I think it's time we put an end to your questioning forever!"
"NO!" I cried, darting toward Jennumara and
Tessalea. But it was too late. I couldn't stop that blazing orb of darkness
as it drew closer and closer to Tessalea's chest. It hit her. The shock reverberated
through me, as though I were a gong that had been hit with a sledgehammer.
She fell. And this time, I knew that she would
not rise again.
Overwhelmed with grief and despair, I fell to
my knees, crying hysterically. Jennumara laughed and laughed. Then, chanting
a few words of power, she split the Star of the Elements as a hammer and chisel
would break stone. The two halves fell to the ground and ceased changing. Now,
they were no more than two lumps of black coal.
There was no hope of me getting my wings back.
All is lost…
To be continued...
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