Faerie Wings III: The Nightmare of Dreamland: Part Nine

      Kira shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Are you even sure Fyora’s still monitoring Dreamland?”

      “Well somebody out there is monitoring our every move,” Aiken insisted. “How else do you think that tornado was formed? Some faerie in the real world created it to mess with us!”

      “Who would want to do that?” asked Kira.

      “I don’t know for sure,” said Aiken, “but nonetheless, how were you able to enter Dreamland?”

      “I remember going to the Faerie Bookshop with two of my friends,” Kira recalled. “After we were done shopping, I returned back home and began studying for my midterms–” Suddenly, the Air faerie screamed. “Oh no, I completely forget to study for my upcoming midterms! I’ve been so preoccupied with…this place that I didn’t even think about what I was going to do in two weeks!?!?!”

      “Get a hold of yourself!” Aiken shouted. “Just tell me that happened after your visit to the bookshop, and stop crying over some stupid midterms!”

      “Okay, I will,” said Kira, taking a few short breaths to calm herself down. “So after I studied for a short while, I decided to take a break by reading a book my new friend Suzette gave me. I opened the book and then this strange dust came out from the pages, and I accidentally choked on it.”

      “Was the dust red?” pressed Aiken.

      “Yep,” said Kira, nodding. “After I was done coughing, I closed my eyes and, well, I wound up here with you…and this Uni.”

      Aiken’s eyes widened. “So Fyora mustn’t have been responsible, then!” he insisted. “If the spell was transferred to you through an inanimate object, then it was a trap! You were tricked into coming to Dreamland!”

      “But why would Suzette do that to me?” asked Kira, feeling baffled. “Maybe it was all just an accident?”

      “This was no accident,” Aiken retorted. “Your ‘new friend’ wanted you to enter Dreamland, knowing you would be trapped here for an eternity if no one’s able to rescue you. Now all you need is her motive.”

      Too surprised to speak, Kira kept her mouth shut. Could it really have been a trick played out by Suzette? Did Suzette have prior knowledge of Dreamland, and knew exactly what she was doing? Why would she send me to Dreamland when I had never met her before our encounter at the Faerie Bookshop? Did I ever do anything to her to deserve being trapped here?

      “Have you thought up a motive yet?” asked Aiken, breaking Kira’s train of thoughts.

      “No, I haven’t,” Kira admitted. “No matter how hard I try, I can’t think of any reasons why Suzette would betray me!”

      Aiken stroked his chin thoughtfully. “There must be a reason why your new friend did this to you. Do you know happen to remember which faerie type she is?”

      “Actually,” said Kira, “I was never able to see her face. All I remember of her appearance are her dark red eyes–almost the same color as blood, may I add.”

      “Blood coloured eyes…” Aiken echoed aloud. He looked at the teal dress Kira was wearing and asked, “Why were you wearing that as you studied?”

      “I woke up wearing this dress,” Kira explained. She held of the skirt and smiled. “Isn’t it beautiful? I feel just like a faerie princess!”

      Aiken was silent for a moment, lost in his personal thoughts. Then he piped up, “Faerie girl, what year is it now?”

      “It’s Year 17,” Kira answered casually. “Why?”

      “Then I think I understand your friend’s motive,” said Aiken confidently. “It’s not a kind one, either. So if I were you, I would discredit this ‘Suzette’ girl as your friend immediately.”

      “Why should I?” asked Kira.

      “Because you are in grave danger…princess,” Aiken said, his eyes narrowing.

      “What in Neopia are you talking about?” Kira demanded. “Come on, tell me!”

      Brillare looked down the hallway, anxiously waiting for Illere to meet her, Sirena and Ardore in front of Fyora’s office. “Where could she be?” Brillare asked aloud. “I was certain Illere would be the first faerie to meet us, not the last.”

      “I bet she’s getting herself a scoop of ice cream,” said Sirena.

      “Well I don’t care where she is,” Ardore admitted, “nor do I understand why I’m here when I have nothing to do with Kira’s hibernation!”

      “Kira’s not hibernating Ardore,” insisted Brillare. “Remember what I told you about–”

      “No, and I don’t care either,” Ardore interrupted. “As a successful boutique owner, I can care less for the fashionably-challenged.”

      “Girls!” an eager voice cried down the hallway. Despite knowing Fyora’s viewpoint on flying within her palace walls, Illere zoomed towards her friends and landed right beside Sirena, who yelped when the Top Earth faerie tripped over her dress and fell over, the purple hardcover book that was clutched in her hands skidding towards Brillare.

      “What’s this?” asked Brillare as she picked up the book.

      “It’s...the book...we were...looking for...” Illere panted frantically, attempting to catch her breath. “Shopkeeper…with ponytail…poofed it…onto my bed…”

      Sirena poofed up a cup of water and handed it to Illere. “Let’s hope Brillare will find something important,” she said with a reassuring smile.

      Brillare opened the book and began to skim through the pages, her eyes super-focused, until she stopped half-way and announced, “Girls, I found it! The section on Dreamland! Our questions will finally be answered!”

      Illere and Sirena cheered and clapped their hands. “So, what does it say??” Illere asked eagerly.

      Ardore rolled her eyes as she filed her fingernails. “Oh yes, please elaborate your findings for those who care to hear garbage.”

      After clearing her throat, Brillare read aloud a passage from the book: “Dreamland is an alternate dimension that exists only through the subconscious minds of its inhabitants. Rumoured to being over a thousand years old, the original purpose of Dreamland was to use the spell as a type of ‘prison facility’ for Neopia’s most dangerous villains. For many years this spell was used to keep many heinous Neopians in a slumbering state, their bodies glowing pink as they were drained of vital life energy.”

      “Life energy?” gasped Illere. “So every time Kira remains asleep, she’s losing her energy?”

      “It seems so,” said Brillare, sounding astonished by the book’s claims. “I’m surprised Dreamland was ever used as a prison for Neopian villains–and Kira is now trapped with them!”

      “What else does the book say?” asked Sirena. “Let’s hear more until Fyora summons us!”

      Flipping the book’s pages, Brillare continued to read: “No one knows exactly who had developed Dreamland, and yet many historians agree that the spell was locked up by Fyora after she was crowned queen of Faerieland. Some speculate the reason Fyora forbade the use of the Dreamland spell is because of its main side effect–anybody who has been put to sleep will have their bodies dissolve after a short period, with only their subconscious minds remaining for an unknown amount of time.”

      Illere’s eyes widened with fear. “Oh no! This means we must work as quickly as possible to get Kira out of her coma! The fate of her life depends on us!”

      “On you three, maybe,” Ardore retorted as she admired her fingernails.

      “This is indeed very serious,” said Brillare. “Thank goodness that shopkeeper was able to help us out. Now if only we could find a way to save Kira…”

      “Doesn’t the book have any suggestions?” asked Illere.

      “It’s doesn’t,” said Brillare, shaking her head. “A true shame, since we know the dreaded fate Kira will have befallen onto herself in the near future.”

      “Well–” Illere began, then stopped short when Fyora’s office door opened by itself. “Girls, it’s time! We must tell Fyora about Kira and Dreamland!”

      “Yes,” Brillare agreed as she followed the other three faeries into Fyora’s office.

      Right as the four Top faeries approached Fyora’s gleaming wooden desk, they all dropped to one knee and chanted, in unison, “We’re here to serve you, my queen.”

      Fyora turned from the office’s wide window and nodded briskly. “I apologize for not responding as soon as I heard of your urgent crisis, but I have been busy preparing for an important upcoming event.” She sat down on her chair and pressed, “So, how may I help you girls today?”

      Brillare stepped forward and curtsied deeply. “Queen Fyora,” she said solemnly as she lifted her gaze off the floor. “I thank you for your patience to meet with us today, and I guarantee that our problem is very severe. You see Your Majesty, Kira has fallen victim to a terrible spell known as ‘Dreamland’.”

      “Dreamland, you say?” asked Fyora, her eyebrows raised with alarm.

      Illere stepped forward next and curtsied deeply. “It’s true, my Queen. Kira has been attacked by a faerie named Suzette, who somehow has access to the Dreamland spell. Right now her victim is still in her slumber, and we know not how to awaken her.”

      “This is why we had wished to speak with you, Queen Fyora,” Brillare continued. “We needed to warn you after this cloaked faerie attacked two other innocent faeries! If neither one of us stops her, she would surely cause mass chaos around Faerieland.”

      For a moment, Fyora was silent. Then she decreed, “We shall all be very aware of this faerie you speak of. If she thinks she could ever get away with such atrocities, then she is wrong.” The Faerie Queen eyed the four faeries standing in front of her intensely. “Together, we must all watch out for this faerie…especially if she chooses to attack at the upcoming Princess Coronation.”

      To be continued…