The Path to Freedom: Part Five

     Sword followed the four Free Flyers. The Free Flyers took flight, with Sword behind them.

     Sampson stopped, treading air. "Sword should be welcomed as a full member of the Free Flyers!" he declared. Julie, Fayil and Jacoblee yelled their agreement.

     "Then, from this day forward, this Eyrie will be known as Sword of the Free Flyers!"

     The others started clapping, and Sampson was sure he saw Sword blush.

     The Free Flyers started flying eastward. They flew over water and land.

     Sword soon was welcomed into the group as if everyone had known him since he was created. But Sword stuck to Julie like a mootix on a warf. He wouldn't let her leave his sight, and they always talked a lot. It looked like Sword and Julie would be the best of friends.

     Sampson led the group to the ground early the next morning. The Free Flyers then watched a beautiful sunrise on the beach.

     Then the five Free Flyers decided to look around. They all agreed to go to the market.

     In the market, a bunch of shopkeepers were displaying items in shops. The Free Flyers decided to split up, and each one would try to find something of use.

     Sampson then suggested that they split up in pairs. Julie then said, "Great! Sword and I will go north, Sampson and Jacoblee can go south, and Fayil can check out the east and west."

     Sampson couldn't help feeling disappointed at the thought of being paired up with Jacoblee. It wasn't like he didn't like Jacoblee; he just really wanted to be with Fayil.

     Sampson and Jacoblee went south. They decided to look at a little shop first. In the shop were a few usukis, some food and a volcanic rock won from Tombola.

     The shopkeeper, an island Lupe, looked up. "Hello," he said warmly. "Would you like to buy anything from my shop?"

     Jacoblee reached for a flight attendant usuki. "I'll take this," said the earth faerie.

     "Jacoblee!" said Sampson, feeling a bit irritated. "We're only supposed to get stuff we need."

     "And this is one of the last two usukis that I need," she said, paying one hundred neopoints to the shopkeeper. "It's for my collection."

     Sampson grunted, and they left the shop. Jacoblee put her usuki in Sampson's backpack and the two Free Flyers started looking in more shops.

     In the end, Sampson and Jacoblee only bought a green makeup set (Jacoblee's), a Kougra shield for the Battledome (Sampson's), and a burger because Sampson was starving.

     The Kougra and the faerie made their way back to the middle of the market, arguing along the way about how important a usuki was.

     Fayil was already there, waiting for them. "Hello," she said in her feathery voice. "Have you seen Julie or Sword, by any chance?"

     Sampson shook his head. "Not a sight," he said. "Anyway, they were looking through the north, and we were in the south."

     Suddenly, the two Kougras and the faerie heard footsteps, and Julie and Sword appeared from behind a shop, accompanied by an island Uni.

     "There you are!" cried Jacoblee. "And who is…" she grimaced, "that?!?!"

     "This is Darlene," said Julie excitedly. "She was a shopkeeper, and-"

     "How about Darlene tells her story?" said Sword gently.

     "Oh, yeah," said Julie, looking faintly embarrassed. "Sorry, Darlene."

      Darlene stepped forward. "As you know from Julie," said the Uni, "my name is Darlene. I was born here, on Mystery Island, and I inherited my mother's island colour. But my mother and I were poor, and we needed jobs. We did get jobs, although there were a few conditions. The Neopian we worked for wanted eternal loyalty from his employees, so that meant we could never quit. We lived like that for a few months, hating all of it. We also got paid a very small amount. Then, one night, my mother snuck out, and decided to start a new life. She told me not to worry about her, that she would travel the world and come back for me someday. Now it is two years later, and she has not come back. I fear that she never will. And still, I am trapped, working for my evil boss."

     Everyone was quiet as Darlene finished. Then Fayil broke the silence and exclaimed, "Oh! You poor thing!"

     Fayil rushed over to Darlene and hugged her. Darlene seemed to brighten up. When Fayil pulled away from her, Darlene looked at the sky, and then slapped her forehead.

     "Darn!" she cursed. Then she turned to Jacoblee, Sampson, Fayil, Julie and Sword. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I will be late for work if I dawdle any longer."

     Sampson stepped forward, an idea coming to his mind. "You may come with us!" he said. "We are the Free Flyers, and we all finally have freedom from something; Julie and I are free from our unfair owner; Fayil was set free from her evil owner, too; Jacoblee had been a prisoner in Meridell; and Sword has been freed from depression. If you come with us, you will be free from your employer."

     Darlene looked thoughtful. "Okay," she said. "I'll come with you."

     The Free Flyers cheered, and Darlene stepped into the group. "Let's get going!" said Sampson, and his friends agreed.

     ***

     The Free Flyers decided to stop in Faerieland for a rest. Fayil seemed a bit jittery; Sampson dropped back behind the group to keep pace with her halfway through the flight.

     "What's wrong?" he asked her.

     Fayil turned to him. "What if I see my owner again?" she asked. "What if he demands to get me back?"

     Sampson looked at her sympathetically. "He won't," the Darigan Kougra said. "I promise."

     Fayil gave him a smile, and Sampson felt as if he had just eaten something sweet.

     Sampson flew up to the front of the group, and soon they had made it to Faerieland.

     Once they had landed, Sampson turned to the group, and he saw Jacoblee looking very determined. "What is it, Jacoblee?" he asked.

     Jacoblee held her head high. "I'm going to Jhudora's Cloud!" she said. "I will go there and find Jhudora, and Illusen, if that dark faerie has captured her."

     Sampson sighed. He knew that when Jacoblee made up her mind, she would not have second thoughts.

     "Change of plans," Sampson announced to the whole group. "We're going to Jhudora's Cloud."

     Muttering erupted from the Free Flyers in front of them. Then he explained the conditions, and they relaxed.

     The Free Flyers flew towards the purple cloud. "I would rather be heading to Illusen's Glade," whispered Julie into Sampson's ear.

     The Free Flyers landed on the menacing-looking cloud. Julie pulled towards Sword. "I don't like this," she said.

     "Nor do I," said Darlene, "but if Jacoblee can be brave enough to face Jhudora, then I am."

      Jacoblee looked at Darlene with surprise. Sampson guessed that Jacoblee had not counted on praise from Darlene.

     The group walked slowly towards Jhudora's main building, where she usually accepted quests. Jacoblee wiggled the doorknob of the twelve-meter high door. It was unlocked. She pushed the door open.

     The sight that met Sampson's eyes was intimidating. The ceiling was as high as the door, making Sampson feel small and weak. Magical objects were in glass cases dotted around the room, making it look like they were in a museum. Also, the shade of purple Jhudora had chose for the room just made Sampson shiver.

     The Free Flyers made their way across the room, until they came to the throne. It was caked in beautiful, purple gems and had the fluffiest pillows in all of Neopia on its seat and back. Jhudora must think highly of herself, thought Sampson.

     All of Jhudora's stuff was in the room; just not Jhudora. It was empty.

     "Well, we tried," said Julie. "How about we leave now?"

      Sampson looked at Jacoblee. Obviously, the earth faerie wanted to stay and wait for Jhudora, but she knew that they had to leave. "I guess," said Jacoblee, sounding disappointed.

     The Free Flyers left Jhudora's Cloud and headed for Healing Springs. They had decided to get as much health as they could so they could fly longer.

      The Free Flyers went into the office in front of the springs. The Healing Springs Faerie greeted them warmly. "Hello," she said in a syrupy voice. "Would you like to be healed, or see what's for sale?"

     "Healed, please, said Sampson. "All of us."

     The Healing Faerie nodded. "Let's start with this one," she said, pointing at Julie. She grabbed Julie's paw and pulled her out of the office and to the springs.

     Julie came back, looking more happy and refreshed than she ever had. "You have to go get some health," she said giddily to Sword.

     The Healing Faerie grabbed Sword's paw and pulled him out of the office. He too, came back giddy.

     Sampson frowned. "What's wrong with them?" he asked the faerie suspiciously.

     "Oh, just a post-healing side effect," she said, grabbing Darlene's paw. "It should last about five minutes."

     Soon, everyone except Sampson and Fayil had been healed. The Healing Faerie grabbed Fayil's paw and pulled her out of the office.

     Fayil also came back giddy. Julie, who had gotten over her giddiness, rushed to Fayil's side.

     The Healing Faerie grabbed Sampson's paw. Her hand felt cool to the touch. She pulled him out into the bright sunlight.

     Then they came to the one of the pools. The Healing Faerie pushed Sampson in the water.

     The pool was much deeper than Sampson had expected. But he only had time to notice this before he got the feeling like he was flying high up in the air. He felt like giggling nonstop.

     He made his way to the surface and the Healing Faerie once again grabbed his paw. She pulled him out.

     As they started walking back, Sampson started talking nonsense and about faerie neggs. The Healing Faerie just nodded, humoring his giddy brain.

     Julie rushed over to him as he entered the office. "Hello!" said Sampson unsteadily. "I like faerie neggs!"

     "I like them too," said Julie soothingly, and she walked Sampson over to an armchair.

     After five minutes, Sampson felt normal again. "Let's proceed to Faerie City," he said to the Free Flyers.

     The Free Flyers left and soon were in the heart of the city. In the city, Julie convinced all of them to go shopping. They all split up, agreeing to meet again in fifteen minutes.

     Sampson found nothing at all when he was touring Faerie City. Expert shopping was Julie's department.

     Sampson headed back to the meeting place. He was surprised, however, to see all of the other Free Flyers wide eyed. Julie looked the most frightened.

     "What's wrong?" asked Sampson. No one replied. Julie just handed Sampson a copy of this week's Neopian Times.

     The headline blared:

     CLARA GOOD CANDIDATE FOR RULER OF NEOPIA!

To be continued...