True Words of A Grey Faerie

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     I have no hope; only despair lives in my body and mind. I am laying in the grass with grey clouds hovering over my head. Once the grass so green, but with my magical touch, it rots and crumbles into grey ashes. I have nothing to live for, not after Faith was gone. Who is Faith? I'll tell you, for after all, I have nothing else to do. Nothing is worth doing anyway...

     Faith was my beautiful sapphire Uni and this is her story as much as mine. We lived happily together in Faerieland. Ugh - that word feels like poison on my mouth. How could I have ever been happy? But I was - for a time.

     The day began like any other. I woke up and quietly tiptoed into Faith's room to wake her as well. She was - is I suppose, though I don't know - so peaceful when she slept. I sat down on her bed and stroked bits of her pearl white main gently.

     "Faith... time to wake up," I whispered close to her ear.

     Faith turned over and stared up at me sleepily. A smile crossed her face as she saw me. Oh, how I wish I could only see that smile once again...

     But history is history, not something that you can just turn backwards. Not even the most powerful faerie, Queen Fyora, could turn back time. It's just simply something forbidden and also dangerous.

     Faith woke up that morning so calm, beautiful, tranquil, and happy, but she had no idea what fate had in store for her. I remember bringing her to Neopia Central, that I remember. She was so happy, despite everything. I guess you could call us a perfect match. She was a beautiful uni, and I was a honorable light faerie. For a time, we had all we ever wanted- happiness and each other. The word, happiness, comes out my mouth now so rough, unused for so many years.

     I had brought Faith to Neopia Central to see everything. The stores, the busy Neopians, and everything that would be going on today. I even still remember what we talked about on our walk...

     "Cylsia, what are we going to do today?" Her voice had always been like a crystal, beautiful and shining through everything. I smiled- it's been so long since I have done so- and showed her what I had hidden in my pocket.

     "Fai," I called to her, just using my nickname for her. "Here is a paintbrush for you. It's a starry paint brush. I know you wanted one for a while..."

     "Oh Cylsia, you shouldn't have..." she answered back to me. I simply handed it to her. She felt the wooden ridges of the handle and sighed happily.

     She was right about one thing, though. I shouldn't have given it to her. I should have held her hand when she first stepped into the Rainbow Pool. All these "should haves" are just useless words, unable to change history.

     Faith stepped into the shimmering pool with grace and beauty. Slowly the waters rose above her slender legs and she slipped under its surface. I stooped down and dipped the paint brush into the pond. Golden stars spread out into the pool which turned a lovely navy blue shade. Other pets and owners flocked around the Rainbow Pool, but all I saw was Faith. She occasionally dipped her head out, each time her fur grew darker and the last time faint yellow stars had began to form. Then she stopped coming up. After ten minutes I was worried.

     "Faith?" I asked. There was no response from anywhere. I looked desperately around the pool, "Faith!" Still nothing. The laughter of owners echoed through the air but the sound became haunting in my ears. I frantically rushed around but I couldn't find Faith anywhere. The tears streamed down my face until I couldn't see anymore. My knees crumpled and I fell into darkness. All I perceived was a dark grey.

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     When I awoke, I was all alone. It was a starless night, and I groaned. I was starting to feel a large headache, but something wasn't quite right. What was I doing? Where was I? Then, staring off at the sky, it all flooded back to me.

     The horrors of the day had been reality. Faith was gone from me forever. I breathed heavily, observing my surroundings. I staggered and got up. Slowly, I waded into the water as if I was searching for Faith, though I knew she couldn't be found. Slapping my clammy hands through the water, I felt nothing. The only thing I saw was my reflection. What happened to me? I wasn't the light faerie I had been earlier that morning. My clothing was grey and torn, hanging loose on my slender figure and my hair, now a deep grey color, hung matted and tangled on either side of my gaunt white face. My wings shed their feathers, making me a wingless faerie with no ability to fly.

     Trying all the spells I could remember, I could not will myself to transport to Fyora's castle to inform her the day's events.

     For years I spent trapped in my own world of sorrow and depression, blind to everything that surrounds me. Every day the thought of Faith and her absence caused more of that terrible aching than ever before. I traveled from place to place, my head hung down. I cannot see the color or life of the world around me - just my own pity.

     Something inside me, died when Faith was gone. Something that I had never known was there was now gone.

     Now I have managed to come to this place. I could be imagining you and all this. It doesn't matter if I am or if you are real - all that I care about is that Faith is gone.

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     The grey faerie pulls her own pale hand from my hand. I look at her, with tears in my own eyes. Her eyes are red, swollen with tears that cannot come out. I know what died in her. Life died with Faith. She is nothing but a corpse moving around, aimlessly, with no purpose.

     "Owner!" cries a starry ixi gliding down towards us.

     "H-hey," I manage to stammer out. Htiaf smiles, brightening the situation.

     "This is a grey faerie," I simply say. She nods and looks - rather, stares at the faerie. The faerie just stares back. I'm lost, words have been spoken, but I can't hear their conversation. Surprisingly, the grey faerie finally speaks first. The first time since I've been touched by her and saw her story.

     "Faith?" The words come out rough, like unsanded wood.

     "It's me." With this my starry Ixi prances into the light faerie's arms.

     I watch as my Ixi is embraced by the tortured faerie. The grey faerie's wings gradually grow back before my eyes and color returns to her gaunt white cheeks. Locks of her hair turn a golden yellow and become a healthier texture. My pet drew back with tears in her eyes. But I know her too well to think that she was upset.

     "I'm so glad I found you," the light faerie says, her voice sounds like soft bells in the distance now.

     "I am too," Faith says. "You know that I must stay with my human?"

     The faerie nods, "I am fine now. Better than fine. I know that you are safe and happy and that is all I could ask for. But before I go, tell me, what happened at the fountain? I could not find you..."

     "The paintbrush that you bought was cursed by a dark faerie, apparently. The curse nearly became the death of me. It made me so that only my owner -you- could not see or hear me. Everyone else could. I was there all along. I have always been there, but you needed to realise that I would never leave you. But, Fyora said that you needed to recognize that yourself. She sent me to the adoption agency. And now, I have a new owner."

     "But how can I see you now?"

     "I am no longer the starry Uni, as you can see. I was morphed into an ixi and repainted with an uncursed paintbrush. By getting changed, it removed the curse."

     "Then I am pleased."

     My Ixi beams more. "Grey no more," she whispers as the faerie finally flies away and I draw her close to my side. We see the faerie flying with the glorious set of wings, finally freed from all her misery. She was no longer lost in the world; she had found her Faith in the most unlikely place. The faerie flies higher into the sky until she is just a speck of gold among the clouds. Then, she disappears, but we know that she is going back to where she belongs; Faerieland.

The End