Faerie Wings III: The Nightmare of Dreamland: Part Two

      Illere tapped Kira’s shoulders. “I think somebody’s following us,” she whispered.

      Kira looked over her shoulder and said, “I don’t see anyone.”

      “But I was certain somebody was following us just now,” Illere insisted. “I’m too nervous to check, in case my gut was correct.”

      “Everything’s fine, Illere,” Kira said casually, waving her hand.

      Suzette, who had escaped into a nearby alley after following Kira by foot, snuck her head out and watched the three faeries walk down a street aligned with neohomes. “I’ll check up on her tomorrow instead,” she mumbled as she teleported herself out of the alley.

      As she approached her neohome, Kira turned to her friends and said, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow at the gazebo, okay?”

      Sirena, whose eyes were still glued to her picture book, nodded quickly. “Okay, we’ll see you tomorrow at…that place.”

      “I’ll go visit Brillare and see if she would like to join us,” said Illere. She grabbed Sirena’s hand and pulled her away. “Bye Kira! Have a nice night.”

      “Bye guys!” Kira hollered, and she entered her neohome with a warm smile. Feeling a bit tired from her walk to the Faerie Bookshop, she flapped her wings and flew up the suitcase and into her bedroom, despite knowing very well how her mother felt about flying within their neohome.

      And now to begin my studies, Kira thought as she sat down at her desk and opened a textbook. She read and flipped the pages of the book until she was certain the knowledge was permanently wedged into her brain. After only fifteen minutes of studying, Kira closed her textbook, flopped onto her bed, and opened the storybook Suzette had given her. “I’ll just read one short story before I continue studying,” she told herself as she opened the pink hardcover book.

      As soon as the book was opened, Kira saw a puff of red smoke rise up from the first two pages and drift towards her face. She breathed in the smoke, coughed, and created a slight breeze with her fingers to blow the rest of the smoke away and out of her bedroom window. “What a…strange…book,” Kira said between coughs. When her coughing fit had ended, she turned to the open-faced book and then, without warning, felt her eyelids droop and her head nodding slightly. She yawned loudly and laid her head forward, near the edge of her bed, and soon found herself drifting off to a peaceful slumber.

      Kira opened her eyes, yawned lightly, and gasped at where she had woken up. Instead of her bedroom in her familiar neohome, she found herself in a wide, green meadow adorned with various wildflowers in every colour of the rainbow. The sky was a bright blue and the clouds that drifted above her were perfectly fluffy and white.

      Where in Neopia am I? Kira wondered as she looked up at a sparkling pink-purple rainbow. She got up and noticed immediately that she was wearing a glittering teal dress with long sleeves and a flowing skirt. The dress made her feel just like a faerie tale princess! All she would need now would be a gold tiara, and then she would truly feel like royalty.

      “This must be some sort of wonderful dream,” Kira realized, twirling in her new dress. “Of course, I must be dreaming that I’m…um, somewhere with beautiful flowers and an oddly-coloured rainbow.”

      “But the rainbow always looks like that,” said a voice as sweet as honey. A pink Uni smiled widely as Kira approached it cautiously. “Hello, and welcome to my home!”

      Kira reached over and petted the Uni’s nose, which was as soft as velvet. “Excuse me; do you know where I am?”

      “Why, don’t you already know where you are?” asked the Uni, giggling.

      “No, I don’t,” said Kira, feeling confused. “I thought maybe I was having some sort of dream.” She petted the Uni’s nose again. “This is only a dream, right?”

      “It can be if you want it to be,” replied the Uni.

      “So you’re not a real Uni, then?” Kira pressed. “Am I still lying on my bed, taking a nap?”

      The Uni shook her head. “No you’re not, sweet faerie. In fact, as we speak, you are wide awake and still ever-so-adorable.”

      This Uni is not helping at all! Why isn’t it answering any of my questions seriously? Kira thought, feeling agitated.

      Before she could be asked another question, the Uni looked up towards the rainbow and flew towards it, shouting as she took off, “Your world is a wonderful dream that’s coming true!”

      As soon as the Uni was out of sight, Kira sighed and looked around the scenery again, this time noticing a deep blue stream flowing through the valley on a slow pace. “Never noticed that steam before,” she mumbled as she approached it. She gazed at the waters, but couldn’t see anything crawling or swimming within the stream. “Why are there no aquatic creatures here?” Kira asked aloud, as if she were speaking to someone else.

      “It’s because we are alone,” a deep voice replied.

      Kira turned around and saw a tall, blue Kougra staring down at her. He was wearing an indigo-coloured cloak and hood, which had a striking resemblance to the purple set Suzette had been wearing. “Who are you?” she demanded, standing up to stare the Kougra’s icy-blue eyes and the scar that lay underneath his right eye.

      The Kougra crossed his arms. “What is a puny Air faerie like you doing here, anyway?” he boomed.

      Without answering, Kira ran away from the Kougra, and ran for a short while before she collapsed and found herself out of breath. She was surprised how exhausted she felt all of a sudden. Normally she considered herself as a much stronger runner, yet now she felt as if her energy had been drained. This is…very weird… Kira thought as she panted, trying to regain her breath. She looked at two red wildflowers and picked one up to sniff it. The flower’s fragrance was that of a rose, which was strange as its appearance was that of a common wildflower.

      “Maybe I was just pushing myself too hard for no reason,” Kira said, talking to the wildflower. “Don’t worry, little one. I’ll be fine after I take a little rest. I’m positive.”

      Cyprina, Kira’s mother, knocked on her bedroom door. “Honey, would like to eat some cookies while you study?”

      After waiting a few moments for an answer, the Air faerie opened the door and saw Kira lying on her bed, completely motionless. Cyprina walked over and rotated her daughter’s body so she could see her face-to-face. When she saw that Kira’s eyes were closed, she gasped and patted her daughter’s cheek to wake her up. Instead of her daughter’s eyes opening, her body began to glow bright pink, the sight frightening Cyprina deeply. “Kira, please wake up!” she urged, shaking her daughter’s shoulders fervently. When she still refused to wake up, Cyprina placed her head onto her pillow and poofed up two urgent messages to Brillare and Illere. With a snap of her fingers, the two letters were mail to their recievers.

      When they arrived moments later, both faeries flew in through Kira’s bedroom window and examined Kira’s glowing body. Brillare placed her hand on her friend’s forehead. “She doesn’t seem to be having a fever,” she reported to Cyprina.

      “Why did you call us over, ma’am?” asked Illere. “Did you also invite Sirena and Ardore, too?”

      Cyprina shook her head. “I’ve only called upon you and Brillare because, as the Top Earth Faerie and Top Light Faerie, both of you should have some healing spells that could be used to help Kira. I would have asked Sirena to come as well if she was, well, ‘more experienced’ with her powers.”

      “Do you have any idea what has happened to Kira?” Brillare asked. “I don’t think she has any known illnesses.”

      “What happened to Kira has nothing to do with any illness,” Cyprina insisted. “In fact, I’m not quite sure what has happened to her either, though I do have my guesses. And one guess, one terrible spell from years past, could be responsible for her strange condition.”

      “Is it some sort of sleeping spell?” Brillare wondered.

      Illere looked at Kira and twirled her front braid with her finger. “Why is her body glowing bright pink?”

      “What Kira has been struck with is not a sleeping sickness,” Cyprina explained, “and the reason she’s glowing is because she’s losing energy, and a lot of it by now, I’m certain. You see girls, there is an ancient faerie spell that dates back many years, before Fyora was crowned Queen of Faerieland. When I was the Top Air faerie years ago, I was told there was a secret spell that only the Faerie Queen could possess if she chose to. It was a powerful spell that was held not in any scroll or book, and its origins remain a mystery to this very day. This spell has captured many souls and is used for only special purposes…purposes that even I never knew about, and still ponder on from time to time. But now it seems as if this wicked spell has descended itself on an innocent faerie who must now deal with the effects of this dark, mysterious magic. And only you two and Sirena, if she’s able to, can save Kira and seal this spell for good.”

      “What’s this spell called?” Illere asked hesitantly.

      Cyprina lowered her head. “Operation: Dreamland,” she said in a low voice.

To be continued…