Faerie Forest: Part One

      Also, there once was a clearing. It was a small one, but a magical one where flowers grew and pets occasionally visited. This was around the place where Meridell would some day be, but it, of course, did not exist yet.

      On this particular day, there was only one neopet in the clearing- a spotted Cybunny who was dancing around happily as she picked flowers. A gentle wind blew her fur around, cooling her off from the heat of the summer day. She smiled and, being tired from running around all day, allowed herself to fall over and lay down in the tall, soft grass. She closed her eyes as she thought about the day. She promised herself that she would get up in a minute and go back home to show her two older sisters the flowers that she had picked. But for now, she could rest.

      ~*~

      The Cybunny opened her eyes again. It felt like she had closed them only a minute ago, but it must have been longer than that. The previously cloudless blue sky was now covered in a thin fog, and the air felt so much colder than it had before.

      The Cybunny sat up, rubbing her eyes. She noticed that the flowers that she had picked were gone- the wind must have blown them away from her while she slept. But there was no time to pick more flowers- her sisters must be wondering where she was by now.

      The Cybunny pushed herself up from the ground and prepared to walk home. But she realized a problem- she didn't remember which way was home. Every direction looked the same. Right as she was starting to panic, she heard a voice call her name.

      "Tamika..." The soft voice floated throughout the clearing. The Cybunny didn't recognize the sound of the voice, but hoped that it was one of her sisters. Maybe they had come looking for her. She headed in the direction of the voice.

      "Tamika," it called again. The Cybunny followed the sound, but to her surprise it did not lead her to the familiar village where she lived. Instead, she reached a grouping of trees. As she continued through the trees, she noticed that there were more and more of them around her. Soon, when she turned around, it was hard for her to see the clearing through the thick trees.

      For a reason that she couldn't explain, the Cybunny was beginning to feel afraid. This place was unlike anywhere she had ever been before. There was just something about it that seemed somehow not right. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was wrong. However, despite her sudden doubts, she continued onward. She had to find whoever it was that had called her name.

      "Tamika," the voice called again, only this time it was coming from right in front of the Cybunny, who looked up to see who had spoken. In front of her stood what must have been a faerie. The Cybunny had never seen one of these magical beings before, but the figure that stood before her fit every description of them that she had ever heard.

      "There you are, Tamika," the faerie said, smiling. Her wavy hair hung down to the middle of her back, and her brilliant green wings matched the dress that she wore.

      "Call me Tammy," the Cybunny whispered, shaking with fear.

      "Alright, Tammy," the faerie said. "Don't be afraid. Let me explain where you are." Tammy nodded slowly, and the faerie continued talking.

      "Welcome to Faerie Forest," she said. "This is a magical place, home of the faeries. I'm Ila, queen of Faerie Forest."

      Tammy looked around at the trees in Faerie Forest, trying to find the faeries Queen Ila had told her about. She heard giggling coming from all around her, but couldn't see anything.

      "What faeries?" Tammy asked, shyly, "I don't see any, and I thought all faeries lived in Faerieland."

      "Some do," Queen Ila said, smiling, "But some of us live in Neopia. And as for not being able to see them, well, maybe you just have to look harder." She then took a pouch of some sort out of the pocket of her green dress, and opened it, sprinkling glittery dust around the trees. Tammy watched as the dust passed through the woods. Everywhere it touched, small, green creatures became visible. They were all over, flying through the air. They weren't much bigger than Tammy's paw, but their laughter and the sound of their voices as they talked to each other filled the forest.

      "I don't understand," Tammy began. "Why are they so much smaller than you?" Queen Ila merely laughed.

      "I am the queen," she said. "Now let me show you something. Come with me."

      Suddenly, Tammy remembered that she needed to get home.

      "I really should be going," she said. "You see, Queen Ila, my sisters are probably wondering where I am. I need to go home. I got lost, you see, and I heard you calling me…"

      "Don't worry," Queen Ila said, "You won't be gone long. I just want to show you around and introduce you to a few people. Then I'll show you how to get home."

      "Alright, then," Tammy said. She wasn't so sure that this was a good idea, but what could go wrong? Queen Ila seemed nice enough, and this would probably be the only way that she could get back home.

      "Good," Queen Ila said, smiling, "follow me." She turned around and began to walk off through the thick trees. Tammy walked quickly to stay right behind her, afraid of getting lost. The faeries still filled the sky, flying quickly through the trees. Tammy wondered what it was like to be a faerie. It must be so exciting to be able to fly and cast magical spells.

      "Tammy," Queen Ila said. "There's someone I'd like you to meet." As she spoke, a large blue Skeith stepped out of the trees in front of Tammy.

      "This is my loyal assistant," Queen Ila said, gesturing towards the Skeith, "He's the one that helps me keep in charge here in Faerie Forest."

      "Nice to meet you," Tammy said.

      "You can just call me Sir," the Skeith grunted, obviously not very happy to see her.

      "Well I'm very pleased to meet you, Sir," Tammy said, trying her hardest to sound polite. The Skeith gave her an acknowledging nod before turning to Queen Ila, giving her a look that seemed to say, "do I really have to talk to that little Cybunny?"

      "You may go, now," the queen told him. He then turned around and went back into the trees from which he had come, muttering something to himself. Tammy said nothing.

      "He's really quite nice once you get to know him," Queen Ila said in what seemed to be an attempt to excuse her assistant's behavior. "He just needs to get used to you. He's been the only neopet around here for quite some time."

      "But I thought you said I'd be going home after you showed me around," Tammy said, starting to get a little worried. Queen Ila was making it sound like Tammy was going to be here forever.

      Queen Ila was silent for a moment, but then the confused expression on her face turned into a smile.

      "Of course you'll be going home," she said, laughing a little, "I never said you wouldn't be. Now let me just show you something really quickly. Follow me."

      Queen Ila turned to the right and began to walk. Tammy followed her. There didn't seem to be much to see- every part of the forest looked the same. There were green faeries flying through the sky, and trees surrounding the land. The ground was dry and covered in twigs and a few green leaves.

      Then, as they continued to walk, Tammy noticed a small pond of crystal blue water off to her left. Queen Ila paid it no attention and walked right past it, but Tammy couldn't help staring. Something about it seemed magical, and drew her attention. She stopped walking, taking a moment to look at it more closely.

      Queen Ila must have noticed that Tammy was no longer following her, because she stopped too to look at the pond.

      "That's the pond of the future," Queen Ila told Tammy, "It predicts what's going to happen. It would normally be very difficult for a pond to have that kind of magic, but as long as all of the faeries that live here are in the forest, it works just fine. The powers of all of the faeries combined make it work."

      "Wow," Tammy said, quietly. "So you just look into it, and you see the future."

      "Well," Queen Ila said, "it doesn't really work quite that well. First of all, you have to know how to use it. If you know how, and stare into its water, you somehow know what's going to happen. It's very vague, sometimes, and hard to figure out, but it's just a feeling that you get. Now, let's move on."

      Tammy nodded her head, following Queen Ila as they continued through the forest, leaving the pond of the future behind. After going only a little ways, they reached a tall fence covered in ivy. It was too tall for Tammy to see over. Queen Ila pushed the fence open, revealing a beautiful garden. Flowers and beautiful plants grew everywhere, filling the land with a beautiful blend of purples, yellows, blues, and greens for as far in the distance as Tammy could see. The absence of trees in this special area allowed the sunshine to pour in, giving the whole place a happy, uplifting feeling.

      "Wow," was all Tammy could say. She paused for a moment before adding, "What is this place?"

      "Why, it's the Earth Garden," Queen Ila said, "a magical little place I thought you might like to see. But, like you said before, you have to be getting home now. Should I show you the way?"

      "No," Tammy said, mystified by the garden. "Can I stay here for a little while?"

      "Of course," Queen Ila said. The expression on her face was so unusually pleased that it was almost frightening. "You can stay here as long as you like."

      ~*~

      Tammy didn't know how long she had been in the Earth Garden for, but it felt like it had been a long time. This place was so peaceful that Tammy could stay here forever.

      But just then she realized that Queen Ila never did say why she brought Tammy here. Why had she called her name and wanted her to come into the forest? Once again, something felt not right. Tammy decided that she had to find out why.

      She left the garden, heading back the way she had come to look for the queen. She found her sitting by the pond of the future, her Skeith assistant standing behind her.

      "I still don't understand why we had to invite that little monster into our forest," the Skeith said.

      "I told you," Queen Ila said, "It's the future. It's what the pond predicted. Tamika is the one who will change this place. She alone holds the power to make things the way they should be, you know what I mean? We won't have to worry about any spells the faeries that live here might cast, and we can use our powers for other things. We can change Neopia forever. She will help us. She has to. And, of course, we can build a kingdom. A wonderful one, just like you wanted. And you can rule it as I promised."

      The Skeith grinned. "And if she won't help?" he asked.

      "You know what to do in that case," Queen Ila said.

      Once again, Tammy got that feeling that something wasn't right. She had to get out of here, before it was too late. Or was it too late already?

To be continued...