The Prophecy Faeries 3: Linisa's Return - Part Seven

At the Eyrie’s words, Clarisse and Hortensia gasped simultaneously.

     “Linisa, as in Linisa the light faerie who works as Fyora’s personal assistant?” asked Clarisse.

     “Worked as her assistant, you mean. Yes, Linisa worked for Fyora.”

     “Would you two please enlighten the rest of us?” Bernadette said, looking at Hortensia and Clarisse. “How do you know this Linisa?”

     “Don’t you remember when we first went to the palace? We were separated, and Clarisse and I ended up in Fyora’s chambers. Her assistant, a light faerie named Linisa, locked us up in the dungeon,” explained Hortensia.

     “I remember the dungeon part,” Bernadette said, “because we had to rescue you.”

     “So why is Linisa trying to capture us?” demanded Victoria.

     “Fyora fired Linisa and had her exiled from Faerieland,” said Tyrrin.

     “I’m guessing she didn’t take that too well?” said Bernadette with a laugh.

     “Linisa wants her revenge on Queen Fyora, and on the Prophecy Faeries who made her look foolish in front of the Queen. She also believes that Fyora is an unjust and tyrannical ruler who must be overthrown. Her plan was to hold you captive so that you could not stop her while she took possession of the Shining Sun, and threatened to use it if Fyora did not make her queen of Faerieland.”

     “The Shining Sun!” gasped Victoria. “How does Linisa know about its existence?”

     “She frequently spied on Fyora and her secret meetings. She overheard some of Fyora’s discussions about it with you. That’s also how she knew about the magic mirrors Fyora gave you, because Fyora had given her dozens of them through the years, to communicate with her when she was away from the palace. She knows everything about you, from listening to your conversations with Fyora.”

     “No wonder Fyora fired her, if she was a spy,” muttered Bernadette. “But surely Fyora would have cast a memory charm on her to make her forget what she heard about the Sun?”

     “Fyora did catch Linisa spying on her, but she didn’t realize that Linisa had knowledge of the Sun.”

     “How did she defeat the guards at the Sun?” Victoria demanded.

     The Eyrie looked surprised. “Do you really think Linisa is the only faerie who is upset with Fyora? There are dozens who blame her for everything from the loss of their job to the death of their loved ones. Many have been upset since the sorcerer Imagen attacked Faerieland a few months ago. They think Fyora should have done more to protect them, and shouldn’t have smoothed over relations with Meridell so quickly. Many have lost their trust in the Queen. They once thought she was invincible, but now they’re not so sure. They’re angry or deranged or just scared and looking for someone to blame.

     “Linisa knows this. She’s worked with Fyora for years, so she knows how many threats the Queen receives, and how many people are upset with her. She knows how many people come to see her to address their grievances, only to find that the Queen is too busy to be bothered with them. Linisa is angered by this. She thinks Fyora has lost touch with her people, and no longer cares about their needs. It was easy for her to seek help from the faeries she had known who were turned away by Fyora. Those faeries, in turn, contacted faeries that they knew, until the group grew large enough to outnumber the guards at the Sun and take control.”

     “What about you?” Bernadette asked. “Why did you help Linisa?”

     “Magicians must ally themselves with either the current ruler, or who will rule in the near future, if they want to make a living. I believe that Linisa is powerful enough and knowledgeable enough to succeed in her plans. When she does, she will have to reward me, her faithful magician. Fyora doesn’t need another magician, but Linisa does.”

     “Let me get this straight. You allied yourself with an evil and completely deranged faerie bent on world domination because you thought she’d further your career?” said Victoria incredulously.

     Tyrrin shrugged. “In a war, you have to pick the winning side. I have to be loyal to whoever the next powerful ruler will be. I believe that Linisa will be that ruler.”

     “So, what else is the all-powerful Linisa planning?” said Bernadette sarcastically.

     Tyrrin, however, realized that he had said too much. “I’m not telling you anything else,” he said. He attempted to look brave, but he looked wary as his eyes followed Bernadette’s hand, which was still tinged with the purple glow of her magic.

     “Wrong answer. Try again,” said Bernadette threateningly.

     “Never mind, Dette,” said Victoria. “We have enough information to go on. Let’s tell Fyora this right now.”

     Tyrrin laughed darkly. “There might be a small problem with that,” he said maliciously. “Fyora has gone to Brightvale to search for you.”

     Bernadette groaned. “Great,” she said sarcastically, “we just came from there to see her here!”

     Clarisse closed her eyes and blocked her surroundings from her head. The Faerie Queen’s magic prevented Clarisse from having easy access to her thoughts, but Clarisse had sensed enough of Fyora’s mind with her powers to search for it now. She had never attempted to find someone from this far away before, but her powers had been growing stronger and stronger ever since the first prophecy had come true. There was no doubt in her mind that she could do it now.

     Fyora exuded so much magical energy that it didn’t take Clarisse long to find it. Reaching out with her powers, she felt the Queen’s emotions, faint at first but growing stronger.

     “I can feel her,” she said aloud. Her three friends and the captive Eyrie stared at her in surprise, unable to understand what she was doing. Though her friends were familiar with the look of concentration that she wore now, they had no idea how Clarisse’s powers worked or what she was trying to do.

     After several long moments, Clarisse opened her eyes. “I... I found Fyora,” she said, not knowing how use to explain what she had done. “I kind of... searched for her, with my mind, and I could feel her emotions. I’ve never been able to read her mind, but I was able to sense the presence of people near her, so I read their minds. Fyora found the inn, but when she saw that we weren’t there she thought that Linisa had taken us to the Sun. She’s assembling the armies of all of Faerieland’s allies, and preparing to attack Linisa.”

     “We have to find her. We have to help,” said Victoria.

     “Is she still in Brightvale?” asked Hortensia.

     “No, she’s traveling to Meridell now. She’ll be traveling constantly. By the time we get to Meridell, she’ll be gone already, and no one seemed to know where she was headed after that,” Clarisse replied.

     “Then what are we going to do?” asked Victoria.

     “Wait a minute,” said Bernadette. “We know where Fyora is heading: to the Sun, to find Linisa and stop her. All we have to do is head for the Sun ourselves. We’ll meet up with Fyora and her army there.”

     “But what happens if we get there before Fyora does?” asked Victoria.

     “Then we fight Linisa ourselves,” said Bernadette. “After all, we fought Dinusa, Imagen, and Baerlin all at once there, and we won.”

     “We would have lost without Hentoff to help. Besides, Linisa is a powerful faerie; that spell she used to hold us captive was very powerful. Anyway, there’s no way she took over the Shining Sun without some help. It was heavily guarded, and there were scientists there working on it, remember? If Linisa managed to defeat all of them, she had some help,” said Hortensia logically.

     “Then we sit and wait for Fyora to get there,” said Bernadette grudgingly. “Either way, we don’t have any more time to lose. We need to leave now.”

     “What are we going to do with him?” asked Victoria, gesturing towards Tyrrin.

     “Let’s just ask the guards to lock him up in the dungeons,” said Hortensia. “Fyora can decide what to do with him once she gets back.”

     “You mean we can’t hex him?” complained Bernadette.

     “No, you can’t hex him,” said Victoria, laughing.

     “You never let me have any fun,” Bernadette grumbled.

     The faeries quickly called the palace guard, and explained that Tyrrin was a spy working for Linisa. The guards swiftly took him away to the dungeons.

     The faeries then exited the palace immediately and set off in the direction of the Haunted Woods.

     ***

     Set free from the dark faerie’s spell, Tyrrin was able to move once again. More importantly, he was able to cast a spell. The guards kept tight grips on his wings, but none of them had an ounce of magical talent, and the faeries had neglected to mention that the Eyrie was a magician.

     When the moment was right, Tyrrin cast a quick spell that sent the guards tumbling to the ground. Within moments, he had launched himself into the air. The Scorchio guard quickly followed suit, but Tyrrin hit him with an immobilizing spell and kept flying. The other guard, a Grarrl, ran down the hall to call for reinforcements, but he was far too late. As soon as he reached a nearby window, Tyrrin hurled himself into the sky and circled around the palace windows until he found the window to his small apartment, adjacent to the head magician’s rooms. Climbing through it, he entered his apartment and grabbed his things. In moments he was off again, heading for the mountains to the west—the mountains that contained the Shining Sun within their depths.

     It would not be hard for him to reach Linisa before the faeries, for they would need to rest before long, and he could fly much faster. He would get to Linisa first, and warn her of the faeries’ impending arrival. He might not be able to stop them, but he could ensure that Linisa would be prepared. When the faeries arrived, an ambush would be waiting for them.

     ***

     It had been a long, difficult meeting for the Faerie Queen. King Skarl was not as willing to come to Fyora’s aid as Hagan had been. Although Fyora and Skarl had made great efforts to reconcile their two lands after a dark sorcerer named Imagen took over Meridell and attacked Faerieland, the citizens of both lands were still wary of each other.

     As for Skarl, he wasn’t entirely convinced that Fyora was telling the truth about what had transpired after he had been abducted by the sorcerer. She continued to insist that four young faeries were responsible for the defeat of the sorcerer, and that the army of faeries she had brought into Meridell had invaded for the sole purpose of defeating Imagen; Skarl thought this explanation was too far-fetched to be believed.

     “Who is it that’s been abducted, exactly?” he said when Fyora finished her explanation, moments after bursting into his castle and interrupting his nap.

     “The Prophecy Faeries,” said Fyora patiently.

     “Right, them,” muttered Skarl. “The ones you say have special powers or something.”

     “They have been destined to save Neopia from evil forces; it was foretold in three prophecies made five hundred years ago—”

     “Yes, you’ve told me,” interrupted Skarl irritably. “Why does that constitute a worldwide emergency?”

     “The faerie who kidnapped them has taken possession of the most powerful source of magic in all of Neopia. She can destroy all of Neopia if she chooses. In order to preserve all of our lands, it is imperative that we take action to stop her at once.”

     “I see,” said Skarl slowly. “But she’s only threatened Faerieland, not the rest of Neopia.”

     “Yes, for now. But if she should gain control of Faerieland, it’s only a matter of time before she targets another land. She must be stopped immediately.”

     The conversation went on for several hours, with Fyora insisting that something must be done, and Skarl making excuses not to do anything. Finally, Skarl agreed to send a small portion of his army to the Shining Sun, along with Brightvale’s army, to defeat Linisa.

     Although Meridell’s support was crucial, gaining it had taken far too long. Fyora was running out of time. By the time the armies marched to the mountains, it might be too late.

     Fyora had a difficult decision to make. She could take her own army of faeries and fly ahead of the army on the ground, arriving far ahead of them and facing Linisa by themselves. The problem, however, was that she had no idea how many faeries were aiding Linisa. She suspected that Linisa had created an army of her own. Linisa also had the power of the Sun at her disposal. If she chose to use it, even Fyora did not have enough power to stop her.

     The only option, then, was to wait with the rest of the army, attacking all at once, so that they would have the advantage of numbers on their side. Fyora knew she could not endanger the lives of her faeries by sending them in without additional reinforcements, but she couldn’t help wondering if, by waiting, she was endangering the lives of the Prophecy Faeries, not to mention all of Neopia.

     So Fyora and her faeries waited for their allies to mobilize their armies and begin the long march to the mountains west of the Haunted Woods, clinging to the futile hope that they would reach Linisa in time.

To be continued...