Fyora and Celandra: From Servanthood to Friendship - Part Six

     Unfortunately, Fyora didn’t know who was in need. Thinking that it was just a spontaneous incident of insomnia, she went to her window to gather some fresh air and calm herself. She stared up at the full moon and the stars. Fyora’s Castle was the best place to view the stars. There were no clouds to obstruct the view and the castle towered over the city, dodging away from all the lights of the Faerie City. Fyora then looked down and saw four dark faeries dart out of the Faerie Caves. Fyora thought this was strange. Faeries didn’t normally play Faerie Caves II. The game would have been too easy for any faerie that was trained in sorcery. Fyora saw a flash of dark green and the faeries disappeared.

     “Hmm... only Jhudora and Illusen would possess such a distinct color of magic. I do not sense an earth faerie presence though. Perhaps I should investigate, but I mustn’t disturb the other faeries,” Fyora thought.

     Fyora slipped a dark cloak on so as to disguise herself. This was not the time for a queen to draw attention to herself. She knew that the general population would be cheering and asking for autographs if she went out without a disguise. Fyora then slipped out the window and slowly glided towards the ground. Upon landing, she made sure her staff was secure and hidden away on an inside pocket. Now it was decision time. Was Fyora to go after the dark faeries or go investigate the cave?

     “The dark faeries disappeared and who knows how far they could have gotten, perhaps it would be easier to find out what is going on in the cave,” Fyora thought.

     Fyora looked around to gather a sense of direction and set off in a westerly direction, toward the cave.

     ------

     Celandra tried to look for a way out of her predicament, but the iron bars inside the faerie caves had spikes at the top end. She risked being impaled upon the iron bars. Perhaps someone would rescue her. Pets that played Faerie Caves II always got rescued soon. It was only a matter of waiting patiently. It was a matter of time. If only she hadn’t ran away from Fyora, if only she hadn’t tried to steal from the hidden tower, if only she hadn’t tried to carry out her foolish plan, if only she had been frank with Fyora and told her how she truly felt. It was too late for regrets.

     ------

     Fyora stepped into the cave and noticed a set of paw prints followed by footprints on the ground.

     “Hmm... these paw prints look quite familiar and so do these footprints,” Fyora thought to herself.

     Fyora was careful not to set off any of the traps the faeries and she had come up with earlier when setting up the cave for pets to challenge. She came up to a mound of dust that did not seem to be in sync with the surroundings.

     “Somebody must have been here. That’s funny; everyone knows better not to play Faerie Caves II at night,” Fyora whispered to herself.

     -----

     “Umm, sister Jhudora, we just observed a cloaked Neopet enter the Faerie Caves. What if they find Celandra?” asked a dark faerie that was left behind to watch the premises.

     “You fool! I told you to guard the cave entrance, not stare at it,” Jhudora shouted.

     “My apologies, sister,” she replied.

     “Quick, we’re all going back in to find this foolish Neopet,” Jhudora commanded.

     The dark faeries quickly tiptoed down an alleyway to the faerie caves.

     -----

     Celandra heard some footsteps near her premises.

     “Hello? Who’s there?” she cried out.

     Fyora was startled to hear Celandra’s familiar voice but maintained her disguise. She walked toward the little trap where Celandra was, unharmed but unnerved.

      “I am in charge of the Faerie Caves II game tonight. Are you ready to quit the game?” Fyora asked.

     “Yes, I’m ready,” Celandra replied.

     “Well, your score earns you 250 NP,” Fyora said.

     She approached the trap to reset it and allow Celandra out. Suddenly there was a loud crash.

      “Foolish Neopet, step away from the trap at once!” shouted Jhudora.

     “Hmm... more players? Since when did this game get so popular?” Fyora said.

     “Stop the sarcasm or we’ll make you,” Jhudora cackled.

     “Must you all be so threatening? Is something wrong? Are you dissatisfied about the game?” Fyora asked.

     “That’s it. Draw your wands!” Jhudora commanded.

     “Please stop; you’re making a terrible choice,” Fyora warned.

     “How can you, a lone neopet stand up to all of them?” asked Celandra.

     “Don’t worry about me. I will be fine,” Fyora said.

     Fyora dodged out of the way as a purple blob hurled her way. Fyora drew her wand and whispered a spell. It was a light faerie spell that gave a yellow flash. The dark faeries scattered for a moment but once again were in position.

     “Muahuahua! Your weak spells don’t stand a chance,” Jhudora laughed.

     Jhudora launched a dark green spell that missed Fyora and hit the trap. The trap burst open and Celandra was free. However, it was far from over, for now the dark faeries were angry that Celandra escaped from her trap.

     “Stay behind me,” Fyora warned.

     Celandra dashed forward and barked at the dark faeries, trying to scare them off. Jhudora continued her cackling as she aimed her wand at Celandra.

     “I said stay back!” Fyora shouted. She dashed forward and dragged Celandra behind her.

     Jhudora released the spell. Fyora quickly reacted, repelling the dark spell.

     “Who are you? Can you really fight all of these faeries off?” Celandra asked.

     “Shh... just stay back and everything will be fine. I don’t want you to get hurt,” Fyora said.

     “But why rescue me? I’m of no importance,” Celandra said.

     “Nobody is more important than anybody else in Faerieland, even the queen herself,” Fyora said.

     Jhudora and the other dark faeries pooled their magic power together to create an uber-dark spell.

     Fyora gathered all her magical strength and focused it into her staff. With a quick burst, both spells were sent hurling at each other. Fyora’s spell appeared pink this time. Jhudora stared in disbelief.

     “F-F-Fyora... s-she’s here in disguise... we’re done for. Our spell can’t hold her magic off any longer,” Jhudora said in shock.

     The dark faeries turned and ran from the giant ball of magic that was now heading straight after them. Jhudora muttered another spell and the faeries disappeared. The ball of magic smashed into the cave wall, causing a very strong tremor in the ground.

     “Fyora!”Celandra said in shock.

     “Shhh. Waste no time; this cave will collapse on itself. We can talk later,” Fyora said. She quickly grabbed Celandra and began to hover above the ground.

     “Are... are you fl-flying?” Celandra asked.

     “Yes, it’s the fastest way out,” Fyora replied.

     “But... I’m... I’m afraid of flying. What if you can’t hold on to me?” Celandra asked.

     “I won’t drop you, I promise. There’s not much time. We better hurry,” Fyora advised.

     Fyora flew out of the way just in time to dodge a stalactite that fell. Soon more stalactites began to fall.

     Fyora flew in a zigzag pattern to dodge the stalactites. Boulders began to roll from their positions.

     “Close your eyes if you have to; this will be rough,” Fyora warned.

     Celandra closed her eyes. Fyora twisted her flight pattern into a spiral and zoomed through the cave entrance. Behind her, the roof of the cave collapsed. Fyora broke out of the spiral and landed right on the cloud.

     Celandra sat on the cloud, gasping for a breath.

     “Are you okay, Celandra?” Fyora asked.

     Celandra slowly stood back up.

     “Yes, but a bit dizzy,” Celandra replied.

     “Are you sure? Need a healing potion?”

     “No, I’m fine, Fyora.”

     Fyora turned to face the collapsed cave.

     “Ah well, guess I’ll gather some faeries to rebuild the cave later, but in the meantime, let's head back to the castle,” Fyora said.

     “You’re allowing me back in? After the mess I’ve created?” Celandra asked.

     “Yesm but there are a few conditions I’d like you to accept. We’ll talk about those later,” Fyora replied, smiling.

     Fyora took Celandra and gave her a warm bath to wash off all the dirt from the cave. They didn’t speak a word to each other as Fyora scrubbed the grime from Celandra’s fur. Celandra closed her eyes, enjoying the gentle back and forth motion of the brush and the warm water. After drying her off, Fyora took her back to her room and sat her down.

     “Now, first condition in order to stay here. Tell me why you were acting so strangely,” Fyora said, with a slightly demanding tone.

     “Well, it’s a long story, but I’ll try to keep it short. A while ago, I overheard that several faeries were unhappy with me because I was receiving a disproportionate amount of attention from you. They believed that it was unfair for a non-faerie to receive more attention than a faerie. I guess I thought they were plotting against me. I wanted to do something wrong in order to get you to distance yourself from me a bit, but look where that plan got me,” Celandra stated.

     “Is that all?” Fyora asked.

     “Yes, Fyora.”

     “I see, did you ever think of speaking to me directly, or am I just this horrible queen that zaps everyone that sees me into meepits?” Fyora inquired.

     “Yes, I did, I just didn’t think you would listen.”

     “Celandra, if you told me it was important to you, I would have listened. I really would have.”

     “I know my mistake; I should have told you directly and asked you for your advice.”

     “I also have the power to keep the other faeries in line. I could have offered protection too.”

     “Yeah, after I saw you scare those faeries off, I know who can protect me.”

     “What’s that supposed to mean? You didn’t think I could protect you before that? Just because I’m a faerie doesn’t mean I’m a helpless winged creature that carries a staff around.”

     “Sorry, Fyora, for underestimating you.”

     “I guess I’ll try to give you less attention then. That’ll be something I’ll have to work on since you’re around so much, not that it’s your fault. Ok, the second condition is no stealing. If you really want a faerie queen doll, I’ll give one to you, but don’t sink down to a lower level for it.”

     “Oh okay, I’ll remember that.”

     “Good. Third condition, keep me up with the faerie gossip. I’m interested. That way I can best protect you and other faeries in case another group tries to wreak havoc.”

     “Ok, I’ll be sure to do so.”

     “Okay, one final condition. Do you truly wish to work for me and be my loyal servant? I do not want to hire somebody that doesn’t want to be hired. It’s one of the worst things I can do to somebody. I don’t want you to be unhappy because it will make me unhappy.”

     “Yes, Fyora, I want to work for you. I want to be your loyal servant. I want to assist you when you wish for assistance.”

     “Fair enough, but don’t forget friendship. I can’t have you assist me out if you and I aren’t friends. I want this to be more than just servant and boss.”

     “And friendship,” Celandra added.

     From then on Celandra and Fyora entered into an unbreakable friendship. Celandra was always there to support Fyora during times of trouble and praise Fyora for her successes that others took for granted. Fyora gave Celandra her protection and care. What made this friendship so special was how Fyora and Celandra were always there for each other, and always meant always. Their unbreakable friendship would help Faerieland be the place it is now, a happy, prosperous and powerful nation of Neopia.

The End