The Curse
Sometimes people hide from their problems by trying to forget about them. That
is exactly what I did.
"Tiana, I'm home! I'm gonna grab a Chokato and then head over to Bubbleina's,"
Tali yelled. I ran downstairs to stop her. I skidded across the marble floor
in my socks, "Wait a minute! It's pouring outside and look at you! You're going
to catch a chill! Ah! Look at the mud you tracked in! You aren't going anywhere
in this weather!" I nudged her out of my parlour and led her firmly down the
hall to the mirrored bathroom. Every wall was a mirror. Every thing was a mirror!
Tali squirmed under my grip and it became as tight as ever. Everyone agreed
that since the kidnapping, I had become a lot firmer with my pets.
"TiTi! You're overreacting! I really don't need a bath! And besides, you just
got you're manicure! You don't want your polish to come off do you?" she said.
I was about to agree. But than I realised that she was being sly.
"You're right," I said, as if it had just dawned on me, "I guess I can't give
you you're bath. Hmmm. Now wait a minute, I have servants to do this for me!"
The look of hope on Tali's face disappeared as quickly as it had come. I gave
a stupid little giggle and shut the door. I snapped my fingers and at once,
a glass Flotsam appeared at my side. She was the one that did the water stuff.
As the Flotsam opened the door, I could hear Tali's protests. I smiled and climbed
into the instago (my name for an elevator).
As I reached my gold lounge and climbed out, I headed straight for the hidden
glass room where I watched the rain, or composed songs or wrote stories or just
napped on the gel bed in there. Not even the servants knew it was there. I sat
on the glass floor and watched the water droplets trickle down the glass. I
brushed a single tear away with my hand. Where are you? Haven't you escaped
by now? Two months is an awfully long time Magic_girl, I thought to my self.
I reached over and grabbed the worn, tattered pages that Magic_girl had written
her prize-winning story on. Smiling to myself as I looked over the familiar
words, a small tearstain appeared on the page I was reading. I ignored it. Looking
out the window once again, watching the rain drip off the tree leaves. I saw
Neopia Central. Of course everyone was inside the shops, trying to get away
from the rain.
"Mother, I finished my bath! Tiana?" Tali called. I heard the gold lounge
door creak open. She wasn't supposed to know about the glass room, and I had
left the panel wide open. I closed it just before she got a glimpse. I grabbed
a melting potion from my stash and tossed it on the glass that would get me
around the hall corner in time to catch her in the lounge. Peeling the glass
apart like wet glue, I could hear Tali rooting through some of my magical items
and paint brushes. The glass closed behind me as I ran to the door. Smoothing
my hair I turned the knob.
"Tiana!" Tali exclaimed.
"Why are you in here, you didn't get permission. Go to your room, NOW!" I
yelled. Cowering, Tali flew out the door and down the hall. Feeling guilty,
I returned to the glass room. I screamed, for inside my secret chamber was the
Dark Faerie, lounging on my gel mattress. I instantly regretted shrieking, because
with a flick of her hand, the Dark Faerie slammed the door and bound me with
purple magic.
"Hello Tiana. I must say that me and 'Magic_girl' are getting along wonderfully.
And by the way, she has given up hope of ever escaping, and has legally accepted
me as her new master. So now, I'm taking you and your pets back to my castle
to wait on me and do my bidding. Your pets have already been caught, so don't
attempt to struggle," she said. I tried to protest, but found my voice was gone.
The Dark Faerie was guiding a silvery light into her necklace. Suddenly, it
felt as if someone had jerked me backwards. Then, as the whooshing and spinning
stopped, I realised that I was inside her necklace!
Magic_girl lifted her head as she heard the Dark Faerie returning. But instead
of hearing her usual demands echoing down the hall, she heard not one but two
voices floating her way. One sounded like the Dark Faerie, and the other sounded
young and defiant, nervous and, and… Beautiful. Every word she said was like
water flowing from her lips.
"Stop it! Let me out! LET ME OUT!" the girl screamed. Magicgirl still couldn't
see them.
"Fine out you go!" screeched the Dark Faerie. The voice was louder now and
Magicgirl could easily hear a note of panic in her voice. She hoped that she
wouldn't be tortured. Through the door walked four Kacheeks, restraining a sassy
creature. She kicked one in the stomach and it backed away, doubled over in
pain. She threw herself at another one, and it fell groaning to the stone floor.
The two remaining Kacheeks grabbed her arms and poured a binding potion over
her head. Instantly, as if a large hand had just shoved her, she slammed painfully
into the brick wall. Purple chains wrapped themselves around her as she regained
her sense. If that hadn't calmed her down, what would? Magicgirl looked at the
pretty face of a girl no more than 17. Her violet eyes looked tired and sad.
The Dark Faerie stalked into the room smirking. Magicgirl looked more closely
at that face. It seemed familiar…
"So I have finally captured you Tiana, and I must say you put up a good fight."
She snickered. Tiana? TiTi, mommy? Magicgirl finally made sense of it. This
was her owner, who she had waited for since…She was here now and that was all
that mattered. Tiana lifted her head and tried to talk, and fainted. The Dark Faerie brought out a crystal amulet that glittered without light. The amulet
appeared on Tiana's neck and she woke up.
"What do you want? You took away my neopets, not to mention me. So if there
is nothing else we can do for you will you let us go?" she seethed. Her eyes
glittered fiercely. The Dark Faerie clapped her hands twice and a shimmering
pond appeared. Magicgirl looked on curiously. It was the Rainbow Pool.
"We are going to try a little experiment. No one has ever really told me what
happens if a human being is painted. Well I guess I am about to find out," the
Dark Faerie said.
I tried to contain my fear as she said those last words. She was going to
paint me! And probably something nasty like a mutant Chia or something. The
Dark Faerie carefully stared at the line of potions and brushes that now lined
the walls. Her hand hovered over a mutant potion. I gasped in spite of myself.
"Scared are you?" she smiled evilly. She chose a Lost Desert paint brush from
the rack and then a yellow Nimmo potion. A small drop fell from the bottle and
landed in the Pool. The water turned gold. Then the paint brush was thrown in.
"You will regret this!" I screamed as four Kacheeks shoved me into the
water. Shock coursed through me. I felt things shrinking and growing and then…it
stopped. I was thrown out of the Pool and found myself standing in front of
an amazed Magicgirl. I looked in the mirror on the wall fearfully. What I saw
I could barely describe in words.
To be continued... | 
