The Bottled Faerie Escapes

     The store owner, a bulky Tyrannian Skeith with colossal spikes running down his back and monstrous hands ran the store. She would never forget those dark brown rough hands, because they were the same hands that sniped her away as she walked home years prior. She believed the store was located in Faerieland, but she had no idea if she had been transferred to another part of Neopia or not. The worst part, though, was that she had been in this bottle for so long, she was beginning to forget what her life before imprisonment was like.

     Luckily, she still had a faded picture of her home life back in Faerieland embedded in her mind. Her mother was usually found playing the harp in their grand foyer. She could still faintly hear the notes to her favorite song, like she was still lounged in her favorite chair, soaking in the beautiful music. She could also still picture her sister, Kastel, practicing her magic well into the night. It was a better home than she could have ever imagined, and it was her sole mission in life to go back and find it.

     As she stared out of her glass container, a husky green Usul bounced in with his mother trailing right behind him. Even though the sound was muffled, Karissa could make out the conversation between the owner and his customer. The owner started the conversation with a long list of positive adjectives to describe his store, and the young Usul was in awe as he stared around the store's shelves and racks that were filled with colorful potions and elixirs. Suddenly, his eyes fell right on Karissa's shining glass bottle, the sun catching her yellow hair making it sparkle in the light. He suddenly couldn't contain himself anymore. He started to yank and tug on his mother's arm even though she was still patiently waiting for the store owner to stop talking about the multitude of discounts he could provide her. Eventually the mother turned toward her anxious son, who immediately pointed toward the shelf of bottled faeries. Normally, Karissa wouldn't be worried, the finger usually pointed toward the earth faeries who blessed the pet with food fit for a king, but this time, it was different. The finger was pointed directly at her glass bottle.

     The shop owner exclaimed how wonderful of a choice that was, and how that faerie's blessing would raise his level up, making him more powerful than ever before, especially when battling. It seemed after that comment, the Usul almost jumped out of his trousers he was so excited, and he almost fell over he was jumping up and down so fast. Karissa's last hope was quickly diminished when his mother pulled out her bejeweled sloth wallet and pulled out the amount of NP required to purchase the bottle. Did she not realize she was buying a living breathing faerie? Did she not realize how wrong that truly was? Memories rose up in her mind of the countless grey faeries she saw slouched over after getting their wings cut, and she knew she needed to use every last breathe to break free from this inevitable fate.

     As the shop owner happily glided over to Karissa's resting spot at the sight of a few thousand NP gleaming in the mother's hand, Karissa had to think fast. What did her mother always tell her what was special about light faeries? As the shop owner picked up the bottle and Karissa bounced against the sides of the glass, the answer thankfully popped into her head. As he uncorked the cap, Karissa bounded through his grasp, and with every ounce of magic she had within her, she lit up the store.

     Light blasted from every inch of her little body, and all three of the pets in the store were immediately blinded by the dazzling strong light. As the store owner swatted his hands aimlessly through the air, trying to reach the escaped light faerie, Karissa flew faster than a Poogle in the races, past the stunned Usul, right out the open window above the cash register.

     Karissa flew what seemed like forever until she finally settled down on a tree branch nearby. She could barely make out the screams of the shop owner in the distance, and for the first time in forever, she felt safe. After taking a couple of deep breathes, Karissa finally started to take her surroundings into account, and what she saw astonished her.

     Karissa was surrounded by sand that stretched out farther than she could see (and as a light faerie, she could see rather far). Pyramids rose up in the distance almost touching the clouds, a variety of bugs roamed the ground beneath her, and there were countless neopets gathered in a square to her left, which was the direction in which she fled the store. This was the complete opposite of the house she had lived in before, perched high in the clouds, with the smell of magic always lingering in the air. She had no idea what her new surroundings were, and how far away the store owner had taken her from Faerieland. All she knew was she couldn't ask for help from any of the countless customers, because they could easily trap her and bring her back to the store, where she would be placed back on the dusty old shelf, awaiting her eminent purchase.

     She decided to travel north, hoping to find somewhere she recognized, or even better, another faerie she could trust to guide her back to her home. The days quickly turned to nights, and she grew tired and hungry, while her hope of finding home was dwindling. Eventually, the vast landscapes of the desert she was lost in opened up to a forest, with dark, dying trees. She knew it was either go back into the hot burning sun or venture into this looming forest, and eventually she flew towards the trees.

     After an hour or so of dodging branches and hiding from dark shadows, she made it to the opening of the trees, where a metal gate stood, separating the shops from the forest. The town wasn't much. It was basically just a patch of dirt with a couple of hastily built houses, a camp with pitched tents, and a deserted carnival that now housed a couple of rigged fair games and carts filled with gross looking food. In the distance, though, perched on top of a small castle, sat a small dark faerie, and with that faerie, Karissa's hope returned. Normally the sight of a dark faerie would send chills down Karissa's spine. They were known for the cunning ways and tricks. However, she had no other option but to hope that this one was different.

     She quickly approached the faerie and fluttered her wings to signal a peaceful greeting. The dark faerie met Karissa's gaze and nodded a sign of welcome, and motioned for her to sit. Accepting this as a friendly gesture, Karissa sat next to the dark faerie, who said that her name was Lynn. Karissa spoke of her imprisonment, her escape, her long journey through the desert, and continued through her adventure up until she met Lynn. Lynn said nothing, just sat and listened to the light faerie's tale. As Karissa finished up, she ended with this simple, but most important question. Do you know where Faerieland is? Lynn nodded, and pointed to her right, signaling that the land Karissa so desperately was seeking, was located to the east of this abandoned town.

     Karissa wanted to leave right away, her anxiety to see her family almost exploding inside of her. But she questioned why Lynn seemed so solemn. So instead of jolting off to the right, she asked Lynn why she was alone in this haunted place. Lynn explained that she too, was taken from her home, but she managed to escape the hands of her capturer. But when she went back to look for her family, she found that they were no longer in Faerieland, where her home was also located. So she spent days wandering Neopia until she found the Haunted Woods, and decided to take residence there. It was interesting enough, and the people here were always very peculiar and fun to watch. Karissa instantly felt worried. What if her family had left like Lynn's had? Would she end up sitting on top of a perch wondering where her mother and sister were?

     Karissa, without thinking, told Lynn that she should accompany her on the journey back to Faerieland. Her house had plenty of room, and she was positive that her mother would enjoy somebody else who could listen and compliment her on her music. Lynn pondered the offer for awhile, until she agreed. With that, the two faeries flew off towards the rising sun in the East.

     Soon, the rising towers of Faerieland were in the distance, and the purple glittering castle sparkled in the light. Everything was just how Karissa had left it! The flowing water of the Healing Springs still shone, the Rainbow Fountain's colors were still radiant and bright, and Faerie City was just as bustling as before. They soon entered the City's gates, and they were swept up in the crowd's movements. There were faeries carrying books from the bookshop, faeries eating baked faerie corn and faerie crisps from Faerie Food, and even neopets picking out petpets from the Faerie Petpet store. As much as Karissa wanted to just stop and soak up all that was Faerie City, she knew she had one more stop on her journey, home.

     Up high into the clouds to the left of the Faerieland Employment Agency, Karissa's cozy purple home sat peacefully. The pink flowers were still placed on the windowsill and the fire in the lanterns still blazed next to the doorway. It was just how she had left it that early morning she was captured. With this new installed hope, Karissa grabbed Lynn's hand and flew inside the open door. Music echoed throughout the entire house, the smell of baking cookies rose from the oven, and Karissa's mother sat at the open chair, strumming the chords of the harp. Her mother's head rose to see who the visitor was that had just entered her home, and her eyes met Karissa's. In that instant, the music stopped, and her mouth dropped. And faster than light, she flew towards her long lost daughter who fluttered in the doorway.

     Wondering what all of the commotion was, Kastel peaked her head into the foyer, where she saw her mother and sister in a gripping embrace. She quickly joined the family hug, and in that instant, Karissa's family was reunited. After Karissa tore herself from her family's grasp, she introduced them to Lynn, the dark faerie who had guided her back home. Suddenly, Karissa's mother scooped up Lynn into her awaiting arms and exclaimed that she could stay with them as long as she would like, anything for the faerie who brought their Karissa back home.

     They talked all evening huddled in the foyer. Karissa spoke of her imprisonment, the shady store owner, the bouncing Usul, her escape, her journey through the Lost Desert and Haunted Woods, meeting Lynn, and finished up with the reunion of her and her family. After Karissa's story was finished, her family explained that the days and weeks after her disappearance they searched far and wide around Neopia looking for her, but could never find the store that held her captive or person who had taken her. But even after the searches died down, they never gave up hope.

     In this Karissa realized that with hope, anything was possible. It didn't matter the distance or the time or the energy, with that one feeling, you would always find your way. With that, her mother positioned herself with her harp, and began to play Karissa's favorite song.

The End