Never Trust A Xweetok: Part Three

     “Come in,” a kindly voice said, and the exhausted fire faerie opened the door, and came inside.

     “Eithne?” the famous Illusen asked the tired faerie. “Is that you?”

     Eithne nodded, with a wan little smile on her face. “Yes, it is me, Illusen.”

     The two of them hugged. An onlooking red Eyrie said, “Is all the soppiness needed?” with a smile on his face.

     Illusen freed herself of Eithne’s grasp, and turned around to face the handsome Eyrie.

     “You’re right, Kowe. We should get moving now. Eithne, this is Kowe. He is one of my most trusted helpers.”

     Kowe smiled at Eithne. She smiled back at him.

     “We know the name of Jhudora’s minion. Her name is Briette, and she has dark powers, as well as earth powers,” Kowe said.

     Eithne butted in. “As well as fire powers.”

     Both heads, one famed, one not-so-famed, turned to look at her.

     “Fire powers?” Illusen asked.

     Eithne nodded gloomily. “Jhudora forced me to give Briette powers. First she made two guards twist my arm so it hurt like crazy, then she started suffocating me, by taking all the oxygen out of the air around me.” She briefly smiled. “Jhudora then ordered the sentries to take me back to the dungeons, but on the way I performed some magic that rendered them unconscious, and broke a window and flew here in good time. I imagine that Jhudora has found out I have escaped by now.”

     “You did a great duty today, Eithne. You escaped Jhudora, and instead of not telling anyone what had happened, you came straight here, and told me. I will get Fyora to reverse your banishment.”

     Eithne shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry sister, but Mystery Island is my home now. Faerieland has a completely different climate, and I don’t think I’ll get used to that. I need to stay in my home in Mystery Island.”

     Kowe raised an eyebrow. More family relations. First Illusen was a twin of Jhudora, and then she was a sister to Eithne. Older sister, by the way she was acting. What next? Fyora was her mother?

     “Now Eithne, we need to call the others for an emergency meeting. If this Briette defeats Kowe here, we could be plunged into a world wide war, and we don’t really want that.”

     Eithne nodded, and straightened. “I’ll go find the others, and get them to come here.” With that, the fatigued faerie flew off.

     Illusen turned to face Kowe again. “Can you do this, Kowe? Can you defeat your sister?”

     “My sister?” he asked his voice unbelieving.

     Illusen winced, and then nodded sadly. “Briette is your sister. You two were separated at birth. She was to be raised with your mother; you were to be raised with your father. This was done by Fyora, in an effort that you would not meet, lest you kill one another. She sensed that you would have to battle each other some day, and she didn’t want it to be too early.”

     “Briette is my sister.” He had to say it to get the feel of the idea. He could not imagine Briette, a deceiving Xweetok, as his sister. He knew that wasn’t the real her. Locked up somewhere in amongst herself was the essence of her. Jhudora had kept it captive, so she wouldn’t have any bad feelings about killing her brother.

     He shook his head despairingly. “You are saying I have to kill my sister.”

     “Not necessarily,” Illusen disagreed. “All you have to do is undo the enchantment Jhudora has laid upon her. Then she will be free of Jhudora’s enslavement.”

     Kowe smiled sadly. “Let’s just hope I can get to the battle field in one piece, first.”

     “You will, Kowe. At least if I can do anything about it.” It was a new voice, and it filled Kowe with hope. He turned around, and saw the speaker, with what looked like millions of faeries behind her.

     It was the Faerie Queen, and she had brought company.

       ---

     Jhudora was in a rage once she had found out Eithne had left. She was picking up ornaments and throwing them anywhere. Her rage had turned the Cloud red, and pets were fleeing the evil wrath of Jhudora.

     Except for Briette. She just sat there, watching her mistress rant and rave. Inside her, a battle was in the works. The goodness of her, being battled by the darkness. This skirmish had been going ever since she had met Jhudora. Before, she was a teacher’s pet, a goody-goody. Then she transformed into a bully, a mean person who stole little girls’ lollipops.

     Briette’s emotions had gone into turmoil ever since she had received the Staff of the Earth Faerie. It seemed as the goodness of the Earth Faerie had joined in the fray against the Dark Magic inside her. The Fire Magic however stayed neutral. It really didn’t want to get involved.

     Jhudora turned to Briette. “Did you have anything to do with this?” she demanded angrily.

     Briette mutely shook her head. Even if she had, she would never tell Jhudora. Jhudora would seriously crack it at her, and Briette valued her life.

     Briette was changing. Ever since she had met Kowe, something inside her had cried out. It was her soul, which had been repressed for so long. Instead of following Jhudora, she now wanted to follow her brother’s guardian, Illusen. Kowe had released something inside her, and she wanted it to be freed.

     While the time passed, Briette started writing a crucial note. Jhudora would have to find this, in order for her plan to work. Once she had signed her name at the bottom of the note, she smiled. She hoped this was going to work.

     Briette waited for her chance. When Jhudora was completely occupied with the screaming, and the swearing, and the throwing of fragile objects, Briette ran down the same hallway as Eithne had been taken, and transformed herself into a Fire Faerie, as well as dropping the note. She leapt out the window, and flew away from Jhudora’s tyranny.

     Briette’s soul had been partially freed.

     ---

     Illusen swept down into a low curtsey in front of the Hidden Tower Guardian. “Your Majesty, thank you for coming here.”

     Fyora smiled, a graceful smile that made Kowe’s heart leap into happiness. “When your sister Eithne told me you needed an emergency meeting of the faeries, I took steps immediately.”

     Illusen smiled a smile as heart-stopping as the Queen of Faerieland’s. She turned to introduce the scarlet Eyrie, who seemed out of place among all the different coloured faeries. “This is Kowe,” she said, gesturing to the winged pet.

     “Your Majesty,” he said as he bowed in acquiescence.

     “Hello, Kowe. It’s nice to meet you.” Fyora turned her attention to Illusen once more. “Illusen, we are going to have to hold this where there is space. No offence, dear, but your hut is too small.”

     Illusen grinned. “That doesn’t matter, your Majesty. I’m thinking about expanding it soon.”

     Fyora turned to address the assembled group of faeries. Something caught her eye, and she half-turned to see it better. She saw a Fire Faerie spiralling towards Illusen’s Glade in the distance. Nothing that much to worry about.

     “Fellow faeries, we are going to the meeting hall now, to hold council.” A few faeries nodded, and transported immediately. The rest of the faeries, however, took flight again, and soared up in the sky.

     The small Fire Faerie Fyora had spotted, flopped down on the deck of Illusen’s hut with relief. After some time she used for recovery, she sat up, and before long, she had recovered enough to start hovering in the air again.

     “Who are you little one?” Illusen asked curiously. The Earth Faerie sensed something different about this faerie, something scary and important.

     The faerie gave a wan smile, before admitting, “I am Briette.”

     ---

     “Briette?” the worrying Dark Faerie called. “Briette?”

     A scrap of parchment on the floor caught her attention. Jhudora picked it up, and started reading.

     ‘To the mighty Jhudora,

     I have gone out while you were … occupied. My destination is Illusen’s Glade, since I am going to try to trick the dumb faerie to come to your cloud, so you can annihilate her. You will obviously be a bit angry at first, finding me gone, but I hope you will be proud of me doing something underhanded and sneaky.

     Your faithful servant,

     Briette.’

     Jhudora’s worrying frown turned into a wide, evil smile as she read the note time and time again.

     It was true she had been angry at Briette’s disappearance, but now she had a reason for her departure, she was all the happier.

     Imagine that! Her devoted servant tricking Illusen to come to her, so she could destroy her. Double-crossing her opponent. That was underhanded, and Jhudora was completely suffused with the anticipation of tyranny.

     Never would she have thought that her ‘faithful servant’ would double-cross her.

To be continued...