The Last Space Aisha

Part I: The Escape and the Curse

by aishagirl104

King Fabiola and his wife, Queen Juana, are the king and queen of the Aishas on their home planet, but the evil Fabina has stirred up a rebellion and driven them off their throne. They already have a daughter named Saria, who is 48 days old when this tale begins, and at this time, Juana is expecting her second child. The story opens with Saria's dream…

Chained and helpless, the line of Aishas walking away from their burning homes and lives seemed never-ending. They were walking into a new life of destruction and slavery, and nothing could ever be the same again for any of them. They were being lead by a band of strange mutant NeoPets to a huge black, spooky castle that sent shivers down Saria's spine. The heavy wooden doors swung open on creaking hinges to reveal a long dark corridor that lead to another set of huge doors.

The Aishas marched on, cruelly whipped with sticks studded with thorns and yelled at by the mutants as though they were a lower form of life, although it has been said that Aishas have an advantage over all other NeoPets because of their talent for magic. When they reached the end of their long march, a pair of mutant Jetsam stood either side of the doors, dressed in silver armour and looking very fearsome. One Jetsam opened a small hatch in the door and yelled, 'Master, a fresh batch of slaves has arrived!'

A low, grunting voice answered, 'Bring them in so that I can inspect my new stock!' The doors swung open again, revealing a room that Saria did not know at first but soon recognised as her parents' throne room. Cold grey stone had replaced the brightly decorated walls. The delicate golden chairs dotted around the room had been swapped for heavy carved wooden seats. The fire that had once burned brightly in the back corner was now just a niche in the wall, and Saria shivered.

The throne, made in the same way as all other seats in the room, was the only chair that was draped in black cloaks. The steps leading up to it were covered in the brown furs of animals, and two mutant Skeith stood guard on either side of the throne. A mutant Grrarl dressed in a black hooded cape with a vividly painted red and black face stood there, clapped his hands for attention and began to speak. "Ladies, gentlemen, boys, girls, lords, and slaves," he sneered as he said the last word, "I would like to present to you the almighty master of the Universe!"

A figure in a black cape with a hood was sitting on the throne. It stood up, and began to draw back its hood…Saria held her breath, not daring to wake up before she saw the terrible monster…

"Get up! Go!" Saria was pulled out of bed and dressed her in her cape and space boots by her father. Her mother staggered towards the door, puffing and panting under the weight of her unborn child, but desperate to escape from their cruel pursuers…

"Run!" The short, sharp order broke into Saria's brain. Clinging to her father's cape, she was rushed away from the palace. Her mother struggled to keep up with them…fighting to run…to even walk…but she knew she had to keep on fighting to reach them…to save herself and her family…

Saria was bundled into a carriage while her father ran back to help her mother into a second one. They had reached the bottom of the palace steps when her mother crumpled to the floor with a faint cry of "Fabiola…" The sound faded into the darkness and silence, only broken by her father's yells for the midwife, who came running towards them. Unlike her, many of the other servants were fleeing into all directions of the night…trying to get away from the flames and the spies hiding in the palace…the palace that had once been white with blue tower tops…where they had all been so happy…

Then the shots of black magic rang out. Her mother's scream of pain and her father's shout of fright were nothing compared to her own cry of fear. A shadow came over the moonlight and a thud came from her carriage…the last sound she ever heard.

Her father helped her mother and the midwife into the second carriage, shouted, "Take good care of Juana and the child!" and then ran to Saria's. He sat down on the seat alone…but where was his daughter? Looking around, he had no idea…and then he saw her dark, limp shape on the floor. She was dead, and nothing could help her. "Their gunman must have been good…if he could cause Saria's death, then there's no telling what they'll do next to this family…" He signaled to the driver and wept as the carriages pulled away…sobbing for his lost daughter…

The next morning, Fabiola woke up in a tiny room. He hadn't slept much that night and was very confused. Looking through the open, draught window, he saw that dawn was breaking…and then he remembered - the rebels had taken Saria and he should have another child. The midwife came in as he turned to the door. "My lord…" she began and then fell to the floor in a flood of tears, "you have two daughters and no wife…we could not do anything for her…the Faeries do not smile on us…I'm so sorry!" And then Fabiola understood that in less than a day, he had lost a daughter and a wife.

His silent tears choked him, but he managed to gasp, "My daughters…my girls…I have to see them…can I?" The lamenting midwife nodded and led him through to a tiny room. The first thing he saw was Juana lying on the bed, as snow-white and beautiful as she had been on the day they met. But she and Saria were gone from him and living high above with the faeries and all the other NeoPets who had left the ones they love. And then he noticed them - his daughters, two fine girls who were to grow tall like their father but, although grey, with their mother's light colouring.

The midwife left him with his daughters, now his most valuable possession. He reached out to pick up the one closest to him, but a shaft of bright white light flashed around the room and a black mutant Aisha appeared, floating in midair. She wore a long black hooded cape decorated with mystical symbols stitched in silver thread. Her ears poked up through a mop of white Uni hair that fell to her shoulders. "What do you want?" Fabiola asked, his voice shaking as he tried to fight the urge to be controlled by this mysterious figure.

The Aisha laughed - a high, cold laugh that seemed to echo around the room. "I am Morticia, a witch Aisha. If I favour you, I practice white magic. If you are not in my favour, I practice black magic. As I am against you, I have brought ill luck to you, and now I must place this curse upon your two remaining daughters. These girls will never know the names you will give them…unless they can complete seven dangerous tasks to free you and their people. Now, what do you name these girls?"

Fabiola thought for a split second. "The eldest is Adria, and her sister is Daria," he told Morticia. "Now what will you do to them? And how can you stop me from telling them their names?"

Morticia considered this. "Adria, Latin for Dark. Strange that you should choose that name…but each to his own. And Daria…Persian for Preserver. Strange choice for both girls…but if that is your wish, then so it shall be. You must call them each by a perfectly plain name. Adria shall be known as Emma, Latin for Excelling, and Daria is Lucy, Greek for Light. Is that clear?" Fabiola nodded, and crashed to the floor as Morticia vanished in a flash of brilliant white light…

"Now you see why we have to take them from their father?" The Fire Faerie looked triumphant as her Queen made the proposition. Five of the Faeries nodded, but the Dark Faerie shook her head.

"Your Majesty, I must disagree. These girls have lost their mother and sister in a short space of time. Their father is grieving for two members of his family and you see the way he is…he will be double this if he loses four!"

"But the girls need someone to give them the powers they will need to fight the invaders, and those people are us!" the Light Faerie argued. "Then all Aishas - and who knows, maybe even all NeoPets - will be wiped out!" The Earth, Air and Water Faeries nodded.

The Dark Faerie sighed, then nodded. "Someone must go now - I think it should be the Air Faerie and the Light Faerie." And with the Faerie Queen's permission, the two chosen faeries vanished through the hole in the clouds.

They found Fabiola in a daze, and after helping him to recover with some sweet water (the Faeries always carry sweet water to restore their magic powers when they need energy), the Air Faerie said, "Fabiola, your daughters have been chosen to save their race. For when they are of age at 216 days, or 5146 hours, they will have to save their race from being destroyed, and we must teach them how to use their powers wisely and well."

"We will have to take them from you to complete this task, Fabiola," said the Light Faerie gently. "They will return to you once they have completed their seven tasks. May we take them to the Faerie kingdom with us now?"

"Of course, if that is the only way to save the Aishas," answered Fabiola. "I assume that you know about the curse that Morticia placed on them?"

"We would have stopped it," said the Light Faerie, "but the rebels back her; she feeds on their powers and grows stronger. We cannot stop her until she is alone. The war with the evil ones may be long, but we will do it with your daughters."

Fabiola gave his daughters one last kiss, and shining marks appeared on their foreheads. "That kiss will protect them from all evil," said the Air Faerie, as she gently took Lucy and the Light Faerie lifted Emma, and they floated and flew back to their kingdom in the clouds.

"Good-bye, my daughters…Adria and Daria," whispered Fabiola…

Whoah! What do you guys think about that? The twins' big sister and mom have both died and their dad has handed them over to the Faeries! Can they survive against the dark forces in that big dangerous world out there? Read the next issue of the Neopian Times to find out!