Child of the Drenched: Return to the Depths - Part Four

     "Something interesting?" he asked.

     "Yes, the ocean was bigger than I imagined," Mara replied.

     They had no time to say anything more; the Middle sister poked her head into the room.

     "Child, we're ready. Eldest sister thinks you should be there to hear the information straight from her instead of second hand. Bring your little friend, too. We like him." She winked at Jacques before she left.

     Mara turned crimson with shame and said, "I suppose you want to come?"

     "I'd only be giving that witch what she wants if I didn't come," Jacques replied getting up.

     ***

     Mara and Jacques swam up into the underwater cave with the air pocket. Neither of them had been in there since that fateful day all those years ago. They put their heads above the water and looked over at the shelf of land where the sea witch they had captured was sitting, surrounded by the Drenched.

     Jacques' face was blank and Mara reached for his hand under the water. He gave it a squeeze to tell her he was okay and then they both turned their attention to the sea witch.

     Her head was down and she looked half asleep. The eldest Drenched turned her eyes to Mara and nodded. Mara swam a little forward, but did not leave the water.

     "What did you do to King Kelpbeard?" Mara asked.

     "I did what I was asked. A spell that would end his reign. One that no other mere healer could undo," she moaned.

     "This spell is too strong for you to have cast on your own. How did you do it?"

     "He gave me a gift; it gave me the power to do it."

     "How do we undo what you have done?" Mara asked.

     "I don't know. The gift was used up; you cannot undo it without the gift," she said.

     "What gift?"

     The sea witch held up her hand and there was a ring on it. The youngest removed it from her hand.

     "You may sleep now," Mara told the witch.

     She dropped off to sleep and Mara looked inquiringly at her mothers.

     "I know this aura. Sisters!" The youngest held it out.

     The other two touched it and nodded in agreement.

     "You do? Then we can track down whoever it belonged to before it came into Scarblade's possession and ask them to help us undo the spell," Mara said.

     The eldest shook her head. "I'm sorry, Child, but we don't know who made this ring. We know the aura from previous association, but it was a mystery to us then as well."

     "How do you know it, then?" Jacques asked, speaking for the first time.

     "Four years ago, Child went missing for a week. She vanished from her bed one night and was gone without a trace. We searched everywhere but could not find her. As suddenly as she vanished, she reappeared. Exactly a week later, we found her sleeping in her bed, as if she never left. She had no memory of ever being gone. Upon investigation of how this could be we found that someone had suppressed the memories of that week. It was very strong and we could not immediately undo it. We decided it was better to stop trying so that Child would not be harmed. Mentally or emotionally, that is. After all, we didn't know what had happened to her and perhaps whoever had done it had been trying to protect her. Whoever suppressed Child's memories also created this ring," the youngest explained.

     "Can you undo it now?" Mara asked. "We need to find this person and fast."

     "No, we don't know how. We never gave thought to trying again. You were home and safe, that was all that mattered to us. Given weeks, maybe a month or so, but you don't have that kind of time. You'll need to go to Faerieland and see whoever is best qualified for this," the middle sister advised.

     Mara nodded. She made a wave rise out of the water to pick up the sleeping sea witch. Mara and Jacques left the caves with the Drenched in tow. They stopped outside to let Mara say goodbye. While the eldest and youngest embraced Mara, the middle sister swam around Jacques.

     "Dearest, since you are taking our new friend, can't I keep yours?"

     "Mother!" Mara all but whined.

     She just swam over to Mara and kissed her on the forehead. Mara smiled reluctantly and embraced her mother. Wit that, they left for Maraqua. When they reached it, they found Isca and two guards waiting for them at the gates. After turning over the sea witch to the guards, Mara explained what they had learned.

     "Zephyr Island is the closest island to here, and an Eyrie Taxi stops there once a day. I'll summon Goregas and have him bring you there. He can swim far faster than you can. He will have you there before the Taxi departs. If you return to Zephyr Island from Faerieland he can stay in the waters nearby to bring you back," Isca said.

     They agreed to the plan and Goregas was summoned. The Gulper was pleased to see Jacques again and let them up on his back. They said goodbye to Isca and he took off swimming as fast as he possibly could. They arrived on Zephyr Island just as the sunlight was fading. The Eyrie Taxi was just setting down; this was their last stop on the islands.

     "Never thought I'd be back here so soon," Mara said, glancing up the beach where her parents' headstones stood.

     She and Jacques hurried up the hillside to the town to where the Eyries were. Mara waved to the townspeople she knew while Jacques paid the Eyries. They got in the cab and the Eyries took off. There were no other passengers so they went straight to Faerieland.

     ***

     Mara awoke in her hotel bed and looked out the window. They had arrived in Faerieland a little after midnight and had decided to check into a hotel, as it was probably too late to see any faeries that night.

     Her mothers' revelation about the missing week was hard to believe. She wondered if the half remembered dream that had been bothering her lately had anything to do with the suppressed memories. She got dressed and went downstairs to the dining room. Jacques was already there, reading the paper and ordering their coffee. She wanted to laugh, it was like the first time they came to Faerieland.

     She sat down at the table and he looked over at her.

     "Did you send a note to Howl telling him we are here?" he asked.

     "Yes, I gave it to the manager and he promised to have it sent the school first thing in the morning. Howl should hopefully be waiting for us," Mara replied, sipping the coffee the waiter brought.

     "As soon as breakfast is over we should head over. I'm sure Howl is eager to see you, and there is some faerie who will be dying to pick your brain," Jacques teased.

     Mara frowned and kicked him under the table, but he just laughed at her. Mara ordered her breakfast and tried to stay annoyed, but found in impossible with him grinning at her. They finished and headed to the Royal University of Faerieland.

     A year and a half ago Mara had come there for the first time to meet her uncle, Howl. He had been framed for a crime and Mara and Jacques had exposed the true criminal. In the aftermath, the position of headmaster of the school had been open and Howl had gotten it. In spite of being a non-magic user and a Neopet he was doing an incredible job of running the school and had won the respect of even Fyora.

     Howl was standing on the steps, eagerly waiting for them. When he spotted them, the Darigan Yurble started flapping his wings to draw their attention. Howl didn't fly much, though he still could. He claimed he was too old and stiff. They hurried up the steps to him. Howl embraced his niece and shook Jacques' hand.

     "Delia, my child, I've missed you so much," he said, emotion making his voice more gruff than usual.

     "I've missed you too, Uncle. But, I'm afraid this isn't a social visit and I can't stay long. I need your help," Mara said.

     "Your note said as much. Come into my office and tell me all about it. I cleared my schedule for the day," Howl told her.

     They followed him into his office and sat down. As concisely as they could, they explained the situation to him. Howl listened intently and got up once they were done.

     "Stay right there, I'll be right back. We might have just the Faerie in the building," Howl said as he moved towards the door.

     He came back ten minutes later with six faeries of varying types in tow; five of them were obviously students. Howl waved a hand towards Mara.

     "This is my niece, Delia. Delia, Jacques, this is Dublin and several of her top students."

     Dublin stepped forward. "Nice to meet you, Delia. If you don't mind, I'm going to let the girls try their hand at unsealing your memories. We've been studying these types of spells over the last semester, and this will be a good exercise for them. The five of them together should have no problem with it. Howl and I will supervise, of course."

     "Okay, ma'am. Thank you," Mara said.

     "All right, then. Girls, you know what to do."

     The five faeries, looking both excited and nervous, made a circle around Mara, each laying their left hand on her head. They closed their eyes, and Mara did too. The air around them became charged with the magic as they worked. For a minute, things seemed to be going well. Then Mara started screaming. The Faeries immediately pulled back, rubbing their left hand and gasping in pain.

     "What happened?" Jacques demanded as he dropped down at Mara's side. "Mara, are you alright?"

     Mara took deep gasping breaths as she nodded. "It hurt."

     The girls echoed that, and one elaborated a little further. "It was okay while we were just probing the block, but once we tried to undo it, it fought back or something. I'm sorry, Delia. We pulled out as fast as we could."

     Dublin put a hand to her face as she thought about what they said. Finally she spoke. "Whoever put that spell there did not want it removed, which means that they were sure there was a chance someone might try. The Drenched raised you, correct? Did they ever try, or even know it was there?"

     "Not really. They knew, but they left it in place, afraid of subjecting me to whatever was behind it," Mara said. "But, if you girls can handle the pain, I can. I have to; I need to know who cast this spell."

     "No," Dublin said. "That is not wise. Your mind could be seriously damaged or you could even die. You don't just force something like that open. However, if you just need to know who cast it, there is another way. As a sorceress, you should know that all spells have the stamp of those who cast them."

     "I know that, but my mothers don't know who cast it. They know every Sea Witch, Faerie, and Neopet with any degree of magical capability in the ocean, and they still don't know who cast it. Even if I asked every Faerie in the city, finding one who would recognize it is a one in a million chance."

     "You need a one in a million Faerie, then," Howl said. "Our queen, Fyora."

     "Exactly," replied Dublin.

     "I'll send a petition to see her immediately," Howl said. "If we are lucky she'll be able to see us within the week."

     "We don't have that kind of time, really. There has to be a faster way. We can go see Captain Brynn and tell her it is a matter of international security. After all, if Scarblade takes control of Maraqua it will have worldwide ramifications. He could go on to try to conquer other lands. Faerieland isn't safe on a cloud anymore," Mara pointed out.

     "That might work," Dublin agreed. "Good luck, Delia. We'll be counting on you."

     Howl decided to accompany them to the palace, and they set off.

To be continued...