The Golden Quill: Part Six

     "After reading what you wrote; knowing what happened to you... we really didn't have much of a choice. You didn't deserve what they did to you."

     Fyora smiled. "Shall we go to Faerieland?"

     Zax laughed. "Yes, we shall. But first, you need to do a little writing."

     "What are you talking about?"

     "When you confront Leeana and Maricia, Leeana needs to be able to read what you wrote about everything that happened and how you felt. What you let us read was detailed, but it wasn't that personal. They need to be able to read a personal account, so that they can understand what they put you through."

     Fyora sighed. "You're probably right. Zanie, that quill gives me the words even when there are none, but in order to give me the words, I have to relive every moment of it. Every feeling is magnified ten times and I must relive every second of it. It's horrible, but you're right when you say that it has to be done."

     Xaz and Zax waited as Fyora wrote down her account so that Leeana and Maricia could read it. They could do nothing as they watched Fyora suffer the intense torrent of emotions brought forth by Fyora's golden quill. They wanted to help her, but they could do nothing but watch as tears poured down her face.

     Fyora finished her tale and wiped the tears away from her face, trying in vain to remove the streaks that now scarred her flawless complexion.

     "Well, should we be going?"

     Xaz and Zax grinned.

     Fyora led the two Kougras out of Zanie's shop and started wandering the streets of Neopia Central while trying to find Ayana. However, despite their best efforts, none were able to find the spotted Uni.

     Xaz asked Fyora, "Can you fly up to Faerieland? We can take you up if we must."

     Fyora sighed. "I don't think my wings are strong enough. I haven't been taught very much about the power that I possess. I couldn't even float here from Faerieland. I don't know how I'd get back while trying to fight gravity.

     Zax grinned. "We're here for you. If you need help, we'll do whatever we can."

     A grateful smile came across Fyora's face. "I don't know what I'd have done without friends like you guys."

     "Probably not going back to Faerieland to face the puppet and the one holding her strings."

     Fyora lightly chastised Xaz, "Don't blame the queen. She has no idea how she's being manipulated. Unfortunately, the queen's word is final."

     "How is that unfortunate? You were named the heir before that traitor."

     "That's true, but there are certain... exceptions."

     "Like what?"

     "The queen can only revoke commands if she has due cause. In my case, the people would support the revoking of my title and so it would be as though I had never been named the heir."

     "Is it really that bad?"

     "Yes."

     "Then let's get back so that we can reveal that traitor!"

     "Well, I'll give it a try. I just don't think that I can fly that far on my own."

     "You aren't on your own anymore."

     "I know, I know."

     "Well, are we going or what?"

     Fyora laughed. "Xaz, always the impatient one. However, he's right. We've got to at least try."

     With those final words, Fyora launched herself into the sky, followed closely by Xaz and Zax. When they were about halfway to Faerieland, there was a noticeable decrease in Fyora's speed. However, when asked by Xaz and Zax, she claimed that she was pacing herself. By the three fourths point in the journey, Fyora was barely doing anything more than hovering in the air. However, as Xaz and Zax were about to grab Fyora's arms and help her finish the trip, she suddenly sped up, flew beyond their reach, and continued on to Faerieland.

     By the time Xaz and Zax had caught up with her, all three were exhausted as they collapsed on one of the clouds at the edge of the city.

     Once the three had rested and regained their strength, Fyora led them through the expansive city while pointing out the various landmarks, such as the library, her old school, the employment agency, and, of course, the palace.

     The palace had majesty unparalleled by any other building. The purple buildings towered over the rest of the city and shone like diamonds. Every jewel known to Neopia could be seen on the castle, despite the fact that no jewels were used to create the castle. It was as if the palace was a living creature, eager to amaze and inspire.

     Fyora walked up to it as she would have any other building, but Xaz and Zax were so consumed with the building before them that Fyora nearly had to slap them just to bring them out of their daze and awe.

     When asked by the palace guards why she was at the castle, Fyora said nothing to them, but she turned to the gate and shouted, "The heir was betrayed and now we must reveal the traitor!"

     With those words, the gate slowly opened for Fyora.

     She walked past the frozen guards while Xaz and Zax flew behind her.

     As the walked the path from the gate to the palace doors, Zax and Xaz asked Fyora to explain what had just occurred.

     "I had always hoped that one day I would return and confront Maricia, so I took some liberty of adding a code, if it can really be called a code, to the gate so that it would open. It also kinda temporarily froze the guards."

     "I'm glad that it worked, but I admit that I wonder something. If you could barely float from here to Neopia, how did you have the power to do that?"

     "Trust me, so am I. Now, to answer your question, I don't know. I think it was similar to an adrenaline rush that gave me the power to do that."

     "That's really cool. Now, do you have something like that for the massive door in front of us?"

     "Unfortunately, no, but I do have something else in mind."

     "What?"

     "I can probably fly up to my room from here, if you'd care to join me."

     The two pets followed Fyora around the palace until they were about three quarters of the way to the back. Fyora slowly flew up approximately four stories and started looking in the windows, searching for her old room.

     After about five minutes, the room was found and Fyora tried to open the window. However, it was locked and Fyora knew that the palace would be so protected that nothing she did would open the window.

     Before Fyora could warn Xaz that it would be a bad idea, he had found a plushie on the ground. Right before he picked it up, Fyora pointed at it and mumbled quietly. Before she could tell him that he would accomplish nothing, Xaz and picked up the plushie and started using it to hit the window.

     "Xaz, that won't work!"

     "Sure it will!"

     To Fyora's shock, Xaz was right as, with one particularly forceful blow, the window was knocked into the room. To Xaz's surprise, the window wasn't even scratched. It had just been pushed into the room.

     "Zax, will you ever listen to anybody?"

     "Sure, I guess."

     Fyora interrupted the two pets. "I'm just glad that it did work and that we made it in."

     "Hey, what was all that muttering about anyway?"

     "Ever hear of a magical blue Grundo plushie?"

     "Sure. If you play with it, or even touch it, really, it'll turn you into a blue Grundo."

     "You just picked one up."

     Xaz started flailing about, searching for any sign of a species change, terrified that he would be changed by a simple plushie.

     Zax and Fyora laughed at his efforts.

     "Calm down, Xaz. Now it's just a regular plushie. However, perhaps it can have a better future and so bring a better future to others."

     Fyora then turned her attention to the plushie. As Xaz and Zax entered Fyora's old room and started looking around, Fyora floated to the cloud below and walked a bit away. She returned to Xaz and Zax about five minutes later.

     Zax turned to Fyora. "What was all that about?"

     "It shall now be known as the Discarded Magical Blue Grundo Plushie of Prosperity."

     "That's an awfully long name for a discarded plushie."

     "Well, it was prosperous for us, so now I hope that it's also prosperous for someone else."

     Zax shrugged. "Makes sense to me. Let's move on, shall we?"

     The three inhaled deeply, in a desperate attempt to be rid of their nervousness, and opened the creaky door. They cringed as one when the door made a horrendous noise as it opened, revealing that it hadn't been opened since Fyora had run off.

     Fyora told Xaz and Zax to hang behind her as they walked.

     "Why would we do that?"

     "I know where I'm going, and if I'm found, you won't want to be seen with me."

To be continued...