The Way It Was

      I, Illistia, the weakest of light faeries, clung to life, in hopes of someday ending the bitter days of these two lonely souls, perhaps restoring the friendships that might've been. Alas, my hope has shrunk, but perhaps, light will prevail over dark at last. For, as only a few would say, words can overpower the strongest adversaries.

      It was many years ago, beyond the memories of any mortal Neopian. Before the first pet set foot upon the lands of Neopia, we were here. We dwelt upon our hidden cloud, high in the skies, overseeing our empty world. Preservation of knowledge was our main task. For a clever dark faerie, there was very little evil to perform to satisfy that need they all feel to wreak havoc upon the unsuspecting. All were at peace, or so it seemed. But in the shadows, the dark faeries lurked, and they plotted their greatest hurts of all.

      It was in those days that Illusen and Jhudora came into being; on the same day, the same hour, the very same moment. Fyora read this as a great omen, but few others gave as much notice to Jhudora as they did to Illusen.

      Illusen was raised in the sunlight. She was favored in the sight of many, and she was spared the chore of serving her elders. Instead, she sat laughing and chatting with other great faeries, recording great knowledge, mixing powerful medicines and potions. As Illusen grew older, her beauty increased until she was, as fairy tales would say, the most beautiful of them all. Her lips were a pale rose red set in a face of pure white, edged with silken green hair streaked with pale brown. Those eyes that hovered above her straight nose were legendary: glowing green depths burning with shimmering hues of all colors. She had been blessed with a modicum of unique wisdom and a gentle heart, underneath which lurked a warrior's spirit, buried deeper than the molten lava of Mystery Island.

      Jhudora was left to fend for herself in the shadows. Her dark faerie sisters had not deemed her fit to join their circles and left her in Faerie City to serve her elemental kin, smoldering in her bitter loneliness and anger. Unlike Illusen, Jhudora wasn't trusted. She had no friends and no special talents to speak of, except for one: manipulation. But like Illusen, Jhudora became very beautiful: her dark purple and black hair, her shimmering purple eyes, her pale pink lips, and her perfect nose. Jhudora had been given intense emotions; her very spark of anger lit up a hundred fires.

      And so they grew, older and wiser. Illusen grew overconfident in the bright favor of her elders; Jhudora brooded in the darkness on how to escape them all and make her name known. She was jealous of Illusen's abilities, and Illusen greatly envied Jhudora's powerful spells and freedom to come and go when she pleased. No one saw this but the two of them, and thus they went out of their way to avoid each other.

      Neither of them desired a conflict, since it would bring dire consequences upon both of them.

      But then the dark faeries, plotting for years in the shadows, finally came forth and accepted Jhudora into their black councils. The embittered faerie eagerly accepted whatever assignment they gave her, even if it was committing a heinous crime, until that one fateful day.

      The circle told her to dispose of Illusen's power and send her crumpled form to the farthest corner of Neopia.

      It should've been a simple thing to drain the naive faerie's magic, or so the council thought. Jhudora was not a friend of Illusen, but nor did she hate her, contrary to tradition. Every time Jhudora had the opportunity to do away with Illusen, something within her rebelled and stayed her hand. The circle grew impatient and demanded the job to be done immediately. To prove that it had, in fact, been done, Jhudora was to lure Illusen into the lair of the dark faeries and there drain the earth faerie's powers.

      Now, Jhudora was unique. Everyone knew this, for it was an obvious flaw. She possessed a conscience and deep-seated feelings. Somehow, a spark of goodness had embedded itself deep in her soul. Every time she had the opportunity to perform her task, she felt her heart wrench within her, and she was struck with such violent pains that she could not. At last, one day, Jhudora hardened herself to the facts; if she did not do this thing, she would never be accepted by anyone, and she might lose her own life. Being a grey faerie couldn't possibly be that bad, she reasoned weakly. After all, at least you were alive.

      She saved her plan for the night of the Watracia Festival, a feast for the water faeries. Illusen would be easy to distract; the damp faeries' customs were notoriously boring. Even so, Jhudora snuck food from the kitchens as often as she could during the preparations to calm her strained nerves.

      It was halfway through the fourteenth ceremony. Jhudora had made a point of leaving after the second one, so Illusen would have no reason to suspect a ruse. Avoiding the tightly packed tables of delicious food, solemn faeries, and light poles, the dark faerie plastered a false panicked smile on her face and darted over to Illusen, panting hard. "I... Illusen, I... nee... need your help."

      The earth faerie was instantly concerned. "What's wrong, Jhudora?"

      "Come with me; I'll explain along the way."

      She'd already planned what she was to say. Illusen was an earth faerie, and she cared deeply for animals. It was child's play to concoct a story about an adorable pink harris getting trapped somewhere, and it was too scared of Jhudora to let her help effectively.

      They dashed haphazardly through hundreds of gardens, their flowers glowing in the moonlight and giving off a sweet scent of drowsiness. But gradually, the plants and trees grew dark looking in the pale light, leafless and rustling in a cold wind. They had left the lands of peace.

      When they reached the lair, Illusen faltered; I watched her from the bushes, a young faerie fascinated by her majesty. "Jhudora, are you sure... "

      "Yes!" the dark faerie cried impatiently, struggling to keep her frantic face from faltering. "He's right in here!"

      Illusen braced herself and darted in.

      BOOM. The place, a darkened circle of blackwood chairs beneath a canopy of dead trees, was filled with a horrible dark green glow; Illusen was trapped, as though frozen in time. Dark faeries both beautiful and terrible leered at her from the shadows, but she could feel Jhudora lurking behind her, sense the guilt and mental struggles wrangling in the dark faerie's mind.

      They began the incantation to drain her powers from her, permanently. Illusen recognized it from classified records, panic striking her system.

      "Lesto mi doran dhiaja goarani, lesto mi farade, lesto mi ricaro..."

      She struggled uselessly before realizing that Jhudora wasn't chanting with the rest of them.

      "Lesto mi safraoi, leston hairsho..."

      Jhudora might help.

      "Lasono toi mhy lemnon..."

      The spell was nearly complete, the clearing now glowing crimson. Illusen summoned up the last of her strength and whispered, her eyes roving to where Jhudora stood frozen, "Please..."

      The dark faerie's internal struggles ceased immediately. Illusen had never caused her any harm and had even been kind to her on occasions; what had she done to deserve this fate? Jhudora leapt forward and shrieked, seizing Illusen by the arm and jerking her backward, "Dihela!"

      The lair exploded into black flames; screams rose up all around them. I watched in horror, frozen behind my bush, chill wind licking my prone form, as they stumbled out together, the fire licking at their heels. Surely things will be alright now, I thought.

      Silence settled uncomfortably around us. The moon peeked in and out of thick clouds, casting an eerie light upon the firey glade. Jhudora stood stiff, watching the destruction impassively, but as Illusen recovered from her shock, she found herself feeling guilt: those faeries had been destroyed because of her, her fellows...

      Jhudora felt a hideous joy at the loss of her tormentors. She felt that she now had a friend in Illusen; after all, she'd saved the earth faerie's life. For the first time in her life, Jhudora allowed herself to hope.

      Earth was the first to speak out.

      "Why?" Illusen demanded. "You just destroyed your faerie kin for me! I wasn't worth that." They perished because of me... me...

      Jhudora glowered, averting her gaze. "Those abominations are no kin of mine." I saved you; why are you so angry?

      "I refuse to let this pass!" the earth faerie shrieked. "How dare you break all our laws, assist them to draining my powers, and then turn on them like that? You're worse than them!" Must get rid of this horrible feeling...

      "I saved you!" Jhudora screamed back, her eyes sparking furiously. "I'm not like them!" This is wrong! So very wrong! My last chance... friend?...

      "Yes, you are! You're every bit as hateful and despicable as they were." Illusen's face twisted into a sneer. My fault... all mine...

      They parted ways then, shooting fire and leaf-bolts, earthshakes and darkness after one another. Illusen had every plan to tell Fyora why the majority of the dark faeries lay not breathing in a circle of scorched earth, but a powerful magic held her back.

      Jhudora had saved Illusen's life. They were now bound by enchantments deeper and more powerful than any conjurable in the world. Until Illusen repaid that debt, no one would ever know what happened. Why Illusen abruptly ran off to Meridell, and Jhudora set up her dark clouds. The reason why they hate each other so bitterly: life is a precious gift that binds them together forever.

      I, Illistia, am certain that these things are right and true. I witnessed all these events, and I alone have survived to tell the truth of what happened that fateful night, when life and death, light and dark, bound themselves together irreversibly.

      May the lights shine bright upon you. Farewell.

The End