The Path: Part Five

      She was now facing Terask, experiencing the same horror she once did, but this time she was not hypnotized. Fyora realized that during all these years, hate had made Terask weaker.

      But the Queen, she got stronger.

      Amelie came close to the dragon and hit him with her slingshot. He walked back and screamed in pain, "Stupid pets!" then mercilessly attacked the Zafara. The flames would hit her straight if it was not for Ronnie, who came in time to push her and save her life.

      Terask looked back at Fyora. "Enough! I'll end this right now!" he shouted, irritated.

      The dragon took a deep breath to spit out a strong blast of fire on her, but just when it would happen, he froze like a statue. Terask got paralyzed.

      Someone was approaching holding a medallion to the top; only the brightness of the artifact could be seen, but as it got closer they all recognized who was holding it. It was Rose.

      "It seems that I came at the right time," said Rose, while staring at Terask and conducting the paralyzing spell. "This is your chance, Queen; end this monster!"

      Fyora recomposed, raised her staff and pointed to Terask, "You may have done us great harm, you may feel you have all the power in the world, but there's something you don't have." She began to release the petrification spell. "Friends! And they are the true source of my strength against evil. Where are yours now?" Fyora said, confidently.

      The spell of petrification for a creature so large required much energy, Amelie and Ronnie joined Fyora and held her by the arm transferring vital energy needed to drive the spell to Terask. An incandescent light was getting out of Fyora's staff toward the monster. After a few seconds he had been totally petrified.

      "You did it!" Rose lowered the medallion and said to them with joy.

      They had won.

      They celebrated the victory in a beautiful scene of friendship. But then, Fyora remembered about Yadira, who was seriously injured. The Queen ran to the tree where she was. Yadira was now leaning against the trunk, and even hurt, had watched the astonishing battle.

      "Oh, Yadira, what have I done? Forgive me, please..." Fyora said, with tears in her eyes.

      "You're still the toughest Queen of all Neopia," Yadira said, joyfully. "I waited so, so long for this moment..."

      They hugged each other with smiles on their faces. They were a friendship model that had overcome distance, spells, and a huge dragon.

      Rose approached. "Here's your medallion, faerie. It is a powerful artifact, but I think you haven't used it the right way," said the Christmas Zafara, who had arrived during the battle and seen Yadira fallen under the tree. Recognizing the artifact that was in her hands, she knew exactly what to do.

      "Thank you so much! You saved us all," said Yadira.

      Rose smiled, with sense of accomplishment. The old lady then walked toward the dragon, now petrified as a sculpture, and saw the Farlyn Stone sticking out of the concrete. With a little force she managed to remove it. The gem began to shine again as soon as Rose held it. She smiled and thought, "Oh dear Terask, you were really on a poorly path..."

      And so, in the castle garden were Amelie, Ronnie, Rose, Yadira, Fyora, and a huge petrified dragon. The night was beautiful, and the brightness of the moon and stars reigned again.

      ***

      In the castle, during dinner, everyone was celebrating and commenting on what had happened. Yadira and Fyora were happy, with a smile on their face and a twinkle in their eyes. After so much time apart it was like their friendship was even stronger.

      Amelie and Ronnie looked like two excited kids about the battle; they talked about their attacks, the fantastic weapons, and the danger they went through.

      "What a crazy story! So Terask really existed, not only as a virus, and not only in a game, but in real Neopia, twice!" said the Red Zafara, stupefied about the unfolding of the events.

      "I just wonder if Terask was the ultimate weapon of Dr Sloth... There may be a lot more where that monster came from," said Ronnie, imagining a whole scheme behind it.

      "I think we'll never know..." said Amelie, "The only thing I know is that Neopia is a much more dangerous place than I imagined."

      "Indeed, it is!" said Fyora, who until then was talking to Yadira. "We'll always face danger, and we'll always have to take risks, therefore we will always need heroes. I want you to know that you can keep the weapons. It's a small reward for your help, and I know they will be in good hands."

      Ronnie and Amelie smiled in excitement and thanked the Queen. They owned some of the best weapons of all Neopia.

      ***

      They all had spent the night in the castle, and in the morning, it was time to leave. Fyora and Yadira said goodbye to everyone and left them at the castle gates.

      Rose called Amelie, holding the Farlyn Stone in her hands.

      "Little Amelie, you helped me a lot. You brought some adventure to my life, helped saving the Queen and whole Faerieland, and have a huge, huge heart. My instincts tell me that the Farlyn Stone must belong to you," said Rose.

      "To me? But... you went through all this trouble to retrieve it, and you had this stone like forever, it's important to you..."

      "Yeah, I went through all this work, I had it all my life, and it was important to me, but I think it's time to let it go. You are a warrior with a pure heart and will be able to find the way of happiness with the help of Farlyn, and well, you can even help all of Neopia in the process."

      "I... don't even know what to say; it is an honor." Amelie picked up the stone with both hands and admired the beauty of it that was shining. "But... you had told me that the stone purpose is showing the right path; what exactly does it mean?"

      "The right path in your life is the one that will bring you peace and happiness in your heart. Many times you may have questions between making a decision and another. The Farlyn will help you with that. If you are taking the right path, it will shine, and it is shining now because it must go with you..." She paused to admire the brilliance of the gem. "This stone is wise, and will often help you making the right decision that your naive heart can't see. It knows your past and your future, it knows exactly what you need to be happy, and if it is shining, do not hesitate, this is the path you should follow."

      "Oh, this is... Wow! Thank you so much, I will use it wisely!"

      "You deserve to be happy, little Zafara," concluded Rose, and then hugged her as if she was her own daughter.

      "Can I visit you from time to time?" Amelie asked.

      "Sure, you should! I just don't know how long I will stay in Meridell, I believe that my time there is over," answered Rose, "but I'm sure we'll see each other again!"

      They said goodbye to Rose, who had to leave hurriedly because she felt that she forgot a pot of herbs on the fire.

      Finally, there were just Amelie and Ronnie still close to the castle gates. Ronnie talked about his plans for the week. He was heading to Mystery Island to enjoy a few days with his friends.

      "Come with me! It'll be fun!" Ronnie said.

      "I... maybe... There's something I like to do first. Could you maybe accompany me to Meridell, so I can talk to Derek?"

      "Yes... of course Amelie..." Ronnie responded, concerned about her intentions.

      And so, they left towards Meridell.

      ***

      They were walking slowly through the trees inside the neighborhood where Amelie lived. Returning there after an intense week made her feel like an eternity had passed. They kept walking, until she saw the blue Kyrii from the distance.

      Derek was sitting on a rock, alone with his album. He seemed to have no expression, except for the instant he looked at the album and smiled. Amelie was sure that for a moment he looked at where they were and saw her, but he acted like he didn't.

      She then saw him going to talk with somebody - a very rich collector from Brightvale. Derek seemed to be extremely attentive and gracious with the individual. Amelie recalled that he used to treat her the same way, when she was up to help him with his goals.

      "What are you going to do now?" the Kacheek asked, wondering if she would get some sort of revenge.

      "Nothing..." she replied.

      "Nothing?" Ronnie asked, surprised.

      "Someday he'll find himself totally alone, and maybe then he'll realize what he really did to me, but then... then he'll have to defeat his own monster."

      Ronnie looked at Amelie with empathy and admiration.

      "I just wish he could know how much I'd be willing to be by his side in every accomplishment, and every disillusion..." Amelie sighed, with tears in her eyes. "But going by that path was his choice, and moving on today will be mine."

      She looked at Ronnie, who was on her side and cared about her during all the time of misfortune.

      "I'll go with you!" she said and then hugged him, feeling the warmth and affection of a true friend. At that very moment, all the problems and wounds in Amelie's heart seemed to have disappeared.

      From the distance, Rose observed them. She smiled to see that Amelie had made the right choice. Rose turned out to be a very mysterious Christmas Zafara. No one knows how powerful she was, where she came from, or how much she knew, but she was able to change Neopia's destination for the better, forever.

      The brave Amelie and the Kacheek were running through the trees, playing, and having fun with each other. They were moving increasingly away from the neighborhood.

      "And then, what do we do after the trip to the island?" Amelie asked.

      "We can be heroes!" Ronnie said.

      They didn't know it yet, but they would be.

      Running over the fields, they were talking and laughing. The day was calm, the sun was bright, and the trees were peacefully blowing in the wind.

      Inside Amelie's pocket, the Farlyn Stone was shining stronger than ever.

The End