Baelia's Detective Agency

      Despite what the Faerieland Tourism Board would have you believe, Queen Fyora's realm is not all sunshine, Unis and rainbows. A dark underbelly runs throughout this land, fuelled by the activities of the Dark Faeries. A subject that I know about all too well. Unwilling to stand idly by, I launched my Detective Agency in order to help my sisters protect themselves from this very real threat. Nestled in a small turret on the edge of the city, my door was and still is always open to any Faerie in need. Regardless of the cause. Opening it this morning though, I was in for quite the surprise.

     "And here's me thinking you'd flown off somewhere, sister," quipped the Dark Faerie, Jhudora, stood in front of the desk in my office. Needless to say, I was a little taken aback but I did my best to remain stony-faced. It wasn't every day one of the most powerful beings on the planet walked through my door. Being insulted by her on the other hand, that was pretty commonplace. Holding my head high as I walked past her and towards my seat, she couldn't help but continue, "I know you're the 'Grey' Faerie, Baelia, but you should really pay a visit to the Furniture Shop. This place is depressing even to me. It's so... well, grey. At least open the curtains."

     I could feel my eyebrows lowering as I sat down. My office was grey - by design. I liked the ambience; I did a serious job and it was right that my colour scheme reflected that. As for the thick blackout blinds... well that's what happens when you have overly-friendly Light Faeries living next door. Leaning back in my chair, I crossed my arms. It was obvious that she was deflecting. Jhudora was always at her most hurtful when she herself was hurting. "I assume you came here for something other than sharing Interior Design tips."

     For a split second, her face crumpled.

     Before she slammed both her hands on my desk, causing me to jump in my seat.

     "That traitorous Illusen," Jhudora declared with all of her might, "has taken my babies!"

     I am ashamed to say that she had lost me at this point. But she really had.

     Standing up with tears welling up in her eyes, my counterpart reached into one of the pockets of her long flowing gown before pulling out a cache of papers. Scattering them with force across my desk, I could finally see what on Neopia the Dark Faerie was alluding too. Sarah and Daisy, her pet Gruslens. Clearly she liked drawing them. "I was taking my babies out for their daily walk to the Caverns when some obnoxious Neopet started haranguing me for a quest. Unfortunately, they ran off before I could turn them into a Bletchy." I winced. "Anyway, by the time I returned they were gone! I looked everywhere to no avail." Slamming a fist to the desk, she repeated, "I just know that Illusen is behind this..."

     Despite Jhudora's passion, I wasn't so convinced. I knew the Earth Faerie happened to be in town today to promote the launch of her latest book, Hiking With Illusen, but this just seemed so out of character for the brunette. As much as they enjoyed tormenting each other, it was rare for others to be drawn into their feud. And now I was. Although I had opened this Agency to counteract the malign influence of the Dark Faerie's colleagues, I wasn't in the business of turning away a Faerie in need. "Look, I will find Sarah and Daisy for you," I assured her with a nervous gulp, "but you have to promise me not to go after Illusen. She probably has nothing to do with this."

     My client scowled at me.

     "I promise nothing."

     -----

     By the time I had walked to the Faerieland Bookshop, a large crowd of Neopets of all ages had gathered around the establishment's entrance. Apparently even the most damp of weather wasn't enough to put off Illusen's most ardent of fans from getting their tomes signed. Grabbing a Faerie Punch from the nearby Faerie Foods Shop, I waited by the large crystal ball in the townsquare for the hubbub to die down. The last thing I wanted to do was create some sort of scene. After my third Faerie Punch and with most of the pets having dispersed, I headed inside the wooden-clad building to talk to my only suspect.

     When the weather was fair, rays of light would stream through the glazed windows of the Faerieland Bookshop and illuminate the premises with a warm ambient glow that welcomed visitors inside. But the weather, much like many things in life, wasn't always fair and instead today a shadowy gloom hung around the shelves. Navigating my way through the darkness to the back of the store, I found the Earth Faerie sat behind a table that still contained a handful of copies of her newest publication. Business had been brisk. As I approached I was spotted and was soon beckoned over with a waving hand. "Oh hey, Baelia!" Illusen enthused, "Are you after a copy?"

     I couldn't help but frown. "Um, no. No, thank you." The novelty of walking large distances had very much worn off for me a long time ago. Trying to be as delicate as possible, I began, "I'm actually here on business." The brunette raised an eyebrow at my remark. She had employed my services on more than one occasion and had first hand experience with just how seriously I approached my line of work. Steeling myself for the reaction I was likely to get with my line of questioning, I attempted to be as straightforward as possible. "You haven't seen Sarah and Daisy recently, have you?"

     Illusen wrinkled her freckled nose, not even trying to mask her displeasure. As an Earth Faerie she was meant to care deeply for all living things. But apparently even she drew a line somewhere. "You mean Jhudora's... pets?" She shook her head at her own words, seemingly wrestling over just how to proceed. "No, I haven't... I try my best to avoid them." Frowning, she crossed her arms before sinking down into her chair. Clearly they had had some sort of run-in in the past. "Why are you asking, anyway?"

     "They're missing," I stated simply, causing the brunette to look understandably perturbed. The thought of those fiends lurking around the mists of Faerie City didn't exactly fill my heart with joy either. Unfortunately, it was my job to find them. "Jhudora has hired me to track them down," I elaborated, much to my former client's surprise, "and has... alleged that you are in some way connected to their disappearance." I sighed softly. "So I thought I'd better get your side of the story first."

     "Oh, of course she has..." the Earth Faerie muttered bitterly to herself, narrowing her emerald eyes before rolling them. "This may come as a shock to you, Baelia," she spoke pointedly, "but I am not some Master Petpet Kidnapper." It did not. And Illusen knew I wasn't genuinely accusing her. She uncrossed her arms before regaining her composure. "I have been here since sunrise setting up this book signing," she explained with a slight yawn, "and if you don't believe me you can ask the proprietor yourself." As she gestured to one of the freestanding bookshelves, I noticed the Library Faerie doing her best to hide behind it. At least she knew better than to get involved in this mess.

     -----

     With my prime suspect having a severe allergy to Jhudora's cats, I decided that my best course of action would be to thoroughly investigate the scene of the crime for any evidence that would point me to the true perpetrator of this heinous act. Even if that did involve walking halfway across the kingdom on a mostly empty stomach. In the looming shadow of the Poogle Racing Circuit, skipping my lunch break felt like a drastic but necessary decision in the interests of what passes as justice in these lawless parts. The gentle flow of punters back and forth through the thick low-lying clouds and towards the pavilion did nothing to quell my unease or hunger.

     Below the Races and by the entrance to Faerieland's mysterious subterranean world, the usually glistening waters of the spring that is the source of Faerie City's moat were decidedly still and dull. The mist was so thick that you could only hear the majestic waterfall in the distance that leads to the citadel, certainly not see it. Undeterred, I pulled out my trusty magnifying glass from one of the pockets on my dress and began combing through the dew-rich grass for even the smallest of clues. My tattered dress soaked through, I was about to give up hope of cracking the case before a flickering of green that did not match the surrounding foliage caught my eye.

     "I wonder what this is..." I thought out loud as I carefully examined the dark green object through the equally damp lens of my magnifying glass, small droplets of water having condensed on its surface. It appeared to be... fabric of some sort. Racking my brain, I tried to think where I had seen such material before. It then dawned on me. "Ah, yes, it all makes sense now," I mused openly to myself, having potentially solved the riddle of the missing Gruslens, "...it's a scrap of Earth Faerie dress."

     "I KNEW IT!!" declared a booming voice, causing me to jump to my feet. With the mist as dense as ever, the only clue to the direction of the Faerie was the faint green glow towards the bridge that led to the Race Track. Not that it mattered where she was. The voice was instantly recognisable. "I knew that dastardly Illusen was behind all of this!" shouted Jhudora for all of Neopia to hear. I should have known she was following me around Faerieland. The Dark Faerie would never trust anyone else to track down her beloved pets. I'd fallen right into her trap.

     "Jhudora, wait!" I pleaded, "It wasn't Illusen!!"

     It was too late.

     She was already gone.

     -----

     Running down the cloud-strewn cobbled streets of Faerie City as fast as my two barefeet would take me, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. And ringing in my ears. Having walked these lanes a thousand times or more over the years, I could still navigate the way to my destination with relative ease despite the poor visibility. I couldn't stop Jhudora. With no magic of my own I would stand no chance against the most powerful Dark Faerie who haunted these parts. My only chance to stop the ensuing chaos was to find her Gruslens. And I had a pretty good feeling I knew where they were. The only problem? I... was sorta banned from there. Too much window-shopping or something. Whatever. This was an emergency.

     Arriving in the mist-covered townsquare at great speed, I burst through the doors of the cream-coloured tower without a moment's hesitation. And was instantly upended and pinned to the floor. Slowly opening my eyes, I could only see a blur of green and purple fur. Before a chain pulled the two Gruslens back. Nervously sitting up, I was greeted by the sight of the Faerie Petpets Shopkeeper trying her very best to keep both Sarah and Daisy under some kind of control. The scattering of cages throughout the shop made me realise that the Earth Faerie had probably had a worse day than me. "So that's where you guys are," I tried to make small talk with the Petpets, "Jhudora has been looking everywhere for you!"

     "Figures these... delights belong to Jhudora," grumbled the brunette, having managed to get some sort of grip of the heavy metal chains that acted as the Gruslens' leashes, "I found them by the entrance to the Caverns. With all this awful mist the poor things were soaked through so I thought I'd bring them back to the Shop to dry them off." Just as I had suspected. The only real mystery left was how on Neopia she'd managed to get them to her store in the first place... but that was for another time. Not when the final battle between Jhudora and Illusen was about to erupt outside. "Where is Jhudora anyway? Not that they haven't been... wonderful company, I just have to get back to work is all."

     I was about to make my last mistake of the day. "If I had to guess, across the square at the Bookshop," I ill-advised. In an instant, Sarah and Daisy's ears darted up. And they made a break for it. Straight through me.

     Scrambling to my feet, I headed out of the door before the Shopkeeper could enforce her ban. Heading straight towards the Bookshop, through the mist I could see Jhudora at the store's entrance. With Sarah and Daisy. "My babies!" grinned the Dark Faerie from ear to ear, "You're safe!!" With her arms wrapped around her Petpets, it was safe to say that it was the happiest I had ever seen my client. My ex-client on the other hand had been happier. Perched atop the tiled roof above, Illusen looked as though she had no intention of coming down. At least any time soon.

     "Tell me when they're gone," the Earth Faerie mouthed to me.

     The End.