A Charity Yooyuball

     Chapter One: A Meeting of Minefields

     The dim light of the gothic chandeliers that hung in the Throne Room was quite a contrast to the bright, sunny skies that usually bathed the Kingdom of Meridell in warmth during the early summer months. But as it was an atmosphere that the dark Blue Lupe had encountered on more than one occasion, he was no longer fazed by the darkness. Still, the expression on Lord Darigan's face was a challenge to decipher. A combination of mock horror and a smidgeon of contempt was hard enough to read in any setting. On one knee in front of the leader of the Citadel, Sir Jeran would be forgiven for feeling a tad exposed.

     After a few quiet moments had passed, the Korbat offered a response to the Knight's... surprising offer. "I take it then, Sir Jeran of Borodere, that this was one of your ideas... rather than one that originated in the mind of your master?" Lord Darigan tellingly paused before slowly leaning back in his magnificent stone chair, decorated with all manner of sophisticated gothic carvings. Many years had passed since the second Meridell and Darigan War and since that time the Korbat had learned a great deal about his former adversaries. Most notably that if a notion sounded thoroughly pleasant and lacking in malice then it usually started in the mind of King Skarl's most trusted advisor. And not the Monarch himself.

     "Not at all, your Lordship," responded the Champion of Meridell most diligently, "I am merely the messenger upon this occasion." The leader of the Citadel suppressed a small smile at the Lupe's seeming acknowledgement of his previous meddlings. "This invitation to the Altador Cup comes courtesy of Lady Psellia, of the Kingdom of Altador, and is only graciously delivered by my Lord, rightful ruler of the Kingdom of Meridell, King Skarl." Sir Jeran hazarded to continue but decided that he ought to at least apologise, "Lady Psellia begs your forgiveness for not being able to deliver this message personally. She feared that she would not be... welcome in your realm."

     A deep laugh reverberated around the Throne Room. "That's one way of phrasing it," General Galgarroth retorted carefully, before taking a few steps forward from his position next to his master's exquisite stone chair and towards the kneeling Knight. Armour could be heard flexing behind the Lupe. Sir Jeran wasn't foolish enough to travel to the Darigan Citadel alone and his three minders were prepared to act if things became... tense. The crimson Grarrl heard these sounds before snorting, "Oh will you please refrain from clunking. There is a truce that at least some of us here intend to keep." Rolling his eyes at the Meridellians' antics, the veteran turned to his leader, "My Lord, you cannot honestly be entertaining this idea. A Charity Yooyuball Match between our two lands? It is an insult to that which we have lost."

     "I disagree," interrupted a Green Mynci, stepping out from the opposite side of his master's Throne, "I believe that this is a perfect opportunity to show how our two realms have moved on from the conflicts and losses of long ago." General Galgarroth crossed his arms, displeased. The Grarrl didn't approve of the niche that Hadrak had carved out for himself since the armistice. He had morphed himself from a battlefield strategist to a political spin doctor, worming his way into any situation that he believed he could benefit from - with the odd nudge here and there. It was... unbecoming, to the old warrior. "And to showcase how fantastically humble the Citadel is to the Kingdom of Altador, who we have always struggled to negotiate trade and economic deals with."

     It was that matter with which Lord Darigan was most interested in. Although many of the lands of Neopia were more than happy to do business with his realm, Altador always seemed more reticent when it came to trading arrangements. He had always put that unfortunate situation down to the dark magic that emanated from his Citadel, Altador not being particularly keen on such sorcery due to episodes in their recent past. If this Altador Cup Charity Match could act as an ice breaker between him and King Altador then that was certainly a worthy reason to at least entertain the idea. "Sir Jeran, please inform Lady Psellia that the Darigan Citadel humbly accepts her offer to participate in her Charity Yooyuball Match. I look forward to hearing further details of the event soon."

     -----

     A cooling breeze blew in from over the turquoise seas that lapped against the meandering Altadorian shoreline, a refreshing gift from beyond the horizon to the thousands of recently arrived visitors that crowded the paved streets around the realm's bustling Colosseum. With the Altador Cup only a few days away, Yooyuball fans were busy browsing all sorts of merchandise in the stalls that had popped up in many lanes around the wider area. There wasn't a cloud in the sky when the group of special guests all the way from Meridell disembarked from their specially laid on chariots and entered the arena's hospitality wing to greet their excited host.

     Curtsying ever so slightly with the epitome of grace, the Air Faerie and one of the Founders of Altador respectfully welcomed her esteemed guests with the utmost dignity. "King Skarl the First of the Kingdom of Meridell," began Psellia warmly, "may I be the first here to welcome you to my beloved home. I trust that you found your journey to our Colosseum most pleasant and I will happily be here to cater to your every concern during your short, but hopefully ultimately enjoyable, visit." This address was followed by a beaming smile that almost outshone the light that streamed into the room from the surrounding arched windows. The Blue Skeith nodded before muttering a respectable enough appreciative response.

     The Air Faerie's glance couldn't help but be drawn to the entourage of players that were slowly but surely funneling themselves into the hospitality area. The rules that she had laid down for her Charity Match had been quite simple in nature, involving no magic, flight or professional players on either side. However... when she saw Sir Jeran of Borodere - the Champion of Meridell - and Sir Tormund Ellis - co-saviour of Altador and current Chief Guard of Meridell Castle - strolling in whilst wearing the red and blue kit of their Kingdom... she was taken aback. And when they were quickly followed by her good friend Illusen the Earth Faerie... the Dreamer of myth was wondering what on Neopia she'd done.

     "Sister!" Illusen called out to her blonde counterpart before wrapping her arms around her in a casual embrace, "It's so good to see you again! It feels like an eternity..." Psellia's beaming expression only brightened, before being mirrored onto the Earth Faerie's freckled face. After asking if her friend's red and blue uniform meant that she intended to take part in the festivities, the brunette only grinned further. "Of course I do! Sir Jeran was kind enough to inform me of your noble intentions regarding this event and I insisted on being involved. I'm not terribly good at Yooyuball... but this is for charity and I figured that I ought to give it a go. What's the worst that can happen, right?"

     Clapping to herself with glee, Psellia had some hugs of her own to hand out. Respectability thrown to the wind, the Air Faerie scooped up Sir Tormund in a warm embrace. She hadn't seen him in such a long time and thought it only right that her first hug was reserved for the co-saviour of her beloved land. Proper as always, Sir Jeran only smiled as he watched his colleague trying to escape the carefree Faerie's tight grip. It was at this point that the dark blue Lupe felt some Pet walk into him from behind. Turning around, he saw his younger sister on the ground with the book she had been poring over since the party had left Meridell. "Lisha," the Knight reassured, "this is only a bit of fun."

     Shaking her head, the Yellow Aisha got back to her feet with no help from the nearby smirking Kayla - the dark red Zafara making up the last member of the five-strong Yooyuball team. Grabbing her tome, titled 'Beginner's Guide to Advanced Yooyuball Strategy', the self-appointed player-coach of the Meridell Team was in no mood for playing around. "You can treat this as a game as much as you want to, Jeran," lectured the bespectacled Spellcaster, much to her older brother's amusement, "but the aim of any game is to win. And I plan to do exactly that."

     "And so do we," mused a much deeper voice from beyond the doorway. The quip caused King Skarl's golden armour-clad Personal Guards to jump ever so slightly, a situation that wasn't particularly improved when Lord Darigan himself slowly walked through the hospitality entrance along with his entourage. The Ruler's arrival caused Psellia to drop her plans to hug her old friend Sir Jeran next and instead revert back to her far more formal mode of earlier on. After receiving a similarly proper address from the Air Faerie as King Skarl had before him, the Korbat was a tad more gracious than the Blue Skeith, "Why, thank you. I look forward to this afternoon's match, Lady Psellia, and to the State Banquet your King Altador will be laying on for all of us this evening."

     Having managed to compose himself in a relatively becoming manner, Sir Tormund quickly found his ribs being spiked by the elbow of his knightly comrade. Wrinkling his nose at this move, the Yellow Lupe was about to respond in kind when Sir Jeran covertly gestured towards the entrance. The Chief Guard's eyebrows were raised by the appearance of a somewhat irked General Galgarroth, an equally embarrassed Advisor Hadrak, a less than retiring Commander Haskol and a somewhat distracted Master Vex arriving amongst their master's bodyguards... all wearing the purple and black uniform of the normal Darigan Citadel Team. Noticing the Knights' surprise, Lord Darigan merely stated, "You will see, Lady Psellia, that my court has got into the spirit of things." Whether they wanted to or not.

     "You're one player short," smirked King Skarl to his opposite number, assuming that he had caught the Korbat out. The master of the Citadel just smirked back. Whereas counting potatoes was generally regarded as the national sport of the Skeith's Kingdom, Yooyuball had been taken to the heart of the denizens of the gothic realm. It was something they excelled at. And as a result, Lord Darigan just happened to know how many players it took to make up a team. Unfortunately, his fifth player was just a tad late. One of those things that couldn't be helped. When she arrived moments later, the Monarch's face wasn't the only one to drop.

     Illusen was aghast, to put it mildly. With her happy demeanour vanishing in an instant, Sir Jeran was wise enough to put his arm in front of the Earth Faerie in a premeditated move to stop a full blown confrontation. Although the brunette saw this, she still took as many steps forward as she could before asking loudly, "What on Neopia are YOU doing here?" Jhudora, wearing her Team Darigan Citadel uniform, just smiled as she approached the Ruler of the realm she was due to represent. It was a simple action that sent a shiver down the spine of all those in the Meridell party - and made both Lupes feel underdressed. Neither Knight had seen fit to wear their swords atop their Yooyuball kits.

     "Lady Jhudora," declared Lord Darigan in a particularly courteous manner, "has been kind enough to agree to represent my Citadel in this charitable endeavour. I will admit that there were not a great deal of... volunteers amongst my most gallant of followers but that is understandable given the high level of skill we demand from those who wear our uniform." King Skarl snorted. In his eyes, a bit of Yooyuballing success had clearly gone to his counterpart's head. Turning to the occasion - now regretful - host, the Ruler pointed out, "Nothing in the rules stated that we were forced to use players that reside within the confines of my most humble realm."

     Psellia stumbled for a moment. "Well... that is true..." she eventually mumbled, much to her close friend's annoyance. Aggrieved, Illusen protested that her rival's inclusion was not in the spirit of the competition but the Dark Faerie retorted that the Dreamer had made up her mind. The Air Faerie was clearly unhappy at the situation but was powerless to do anything about it - as much as she didn't really like nor trust Jhudora, she couldn't disqualify her. This was a Charitable Match for good causes. Though it was odd that she wanted to compete and probably had ulterior motives, Psellia was a creature who stuck to her word. She couldn't just make up a rule now, even if Illusen was an old friend. She sighed softly as the two continued to argue in front of her.

     Holding her tome tight, Lisha was the next to sigh. "This isn't going to end well..." the young Aisha muttered to herself, before spotting the player-coach of the opposition team. Master Vex was just as distracted as he had been the moment he walked into the hospitality wing. And it had nothing to do with neglecting his duties as the Citadel's Chief Jailer nor trying to come up with a plan to counter an especially challenging Cellblock opponent. The Purple Mynci had his nose buried in a book. Tilting her head, the Spellcaster read its title. "Beginner's Guide to Advanc..." Master Vex looked up from the page before smiling as politely as he could.

     To be continued…