The Rainbow Pearls: Part Three

      "What's wrong, Kirra?" said Jovan sleepily in his deep cello voice, startling her a little since he blended in with the shadows, but nevertheless concerned.

      "Oh, Jovan!" cried Kirra with tears streaming down her face and wrapped her arms around her companion. She told him what happened at the palace, not that he didn't know about it, but what he knew what was going on in the palace.

      After she finished, the shadow Eyrie thought for a moment then said, "Well, no offence or anything, but I've always thought Maelstra a bit of a strange mallard."

      "Yeah, she is a little bit weird," replied Kirra, feeling a bit better now that her thoughts were off her chest.

      "Can I go back to sleep now?" asked Jovan.

      "Okay. But, will you please try not to snore?" she replied sarcastic and giggly, trying lighten the mood.

      "Yeah, yeah. Very funny." He closed his eyes, laid his head on top of his enormous paws and grinned as he drifted off to sleep again.

     The next day, reporters were swarming the faerie palace trying to get an interview from the queen or even better the princess, herself. After last night's incidents, Lucrece stayed the night with her pets at the palace for her safety and her friend. Rina was most delighted. During the day Rina and Lucrece stayed--more like hid--in her chambers so not to be crushed by the thousands of reporters camping outside the palace gates. As they ate their breakfast, they talked about who was wearing the most fashionable dresses or who had a crush on whom, normal gossip so that the ruined birthday party wouldn't be brought up.

     "Hey! Maybe I should say I will reward some Neopoints to whom ever brought the circlet back!" exclaimed Rina suddenly.

     "Isn't Queen Fyora already doing that?" replied Lucrece.

     "Good point. But who would seriously want to steal it?"

     "C'mon Rina. You should know that the rainbow pearls would sell really well on the black market."

     "But who would want to put themselves in that kind of jeopardy?"

     However right around teatime, one of the royal messengers came with a document giving Rina the permission to be able to control the investigation.

     "What's this?" Rina asked of the messenger.

     "Her majesty, the queen, believes that you should have the responsibility of finding the circlet. As it now signifies your position in court," was the answer Rina and Lucrece received.

     So, it was proclaimed that whomever who found and brought back the royal circlet would be rewarded a vast amount in Neopoints and gifts. With this much money and fame on the line, Neopians were looking everywhere for the circlet. Chailyn, Quenelle, Esne, Lucrece and even Kirra, who just needed to find her mother's hide out was, were looking for it.

     For the next few days as Kirra was searching the woods hoping to find where Maelstra hid the circlet and her lair, get the money and hopefully escape from her horrible future. One cloudy morning, she heard rustling in the bushes from all sides. Jovan who had been with her, stood straight up, eyes and ears alert. When all of a sudden, four other figures jumped out of the bush each pulling out some sort of self-defense so that the other could not attack with ease. The young faeries looked at each other, somewhat confused. Esne broke the silence.

     "What are you doing out here?" She asked suspiciously and quickly, addressing the others.

     Quenelle answered first, "Most likely the same reason you are."

     "We're going to find that circlet first," Trevet proclaimed, staring at each of them, sadly doing a pathetic job of making Lucrece look successful. Then his gaze landed on Kirra. His expression changed to horror in realization, "Oh My Fyora, you're the daughter of Maelstra!" Trevet leaped in front of Lucrece protectively instantly.

     "You're point being?" replied Kirra, trying to remain dignified while tired of hearing the same response from people over and over again at the same time.

     "You just stay out of my way," Esne bit out, in her sudden nervousness.

     "Whatever," said Kirra, walking over to a stump and seating herself." None of you have tried to incinerate me yet so I think it is safe to say our personal safety is pretty secure here."

     "What exactly is your name?" Chailyn said to Kirra out of the blue. "No offense, Chosen One, but it's not like you're really talked about in most homes."

     "Kirra," she replied calmly. "This is Jovan, my Eyrie and personal-"

     "-More like only-" Jovan muttered.

     "-Companion." Kirra finished and waited for the others to make their introductions.

     "Chailyn," said the Water Faerie. "This is one of my Primellas, Sammi."

     "Esne. Faris, my Lupe."

     "Quenelle. Shalin the ixi. I'm under the guardianship of the earth faerie, Illusen."

     "Lucrece; my Kau, Trevet. I'm aquatinted with the princess," she said. Alas, no one seemed all that impressed by her statement. "So, do you think its fate that we meet, hunting the same thing with the same goal?" she continued.

     "Earning some easy cash?" Esne inquired, with the impression that it was really obvious. "Duh."

     "If we work together, we could find the circlet faster," suggested Chailyn, "and we could split the money."

     "What? I need that money!" Esne exclaimed.

     "So do I, Red," Kirra said, not looking up from examining her fingernails.

     "It could work. I mean, Kirra knows Maelstra better that any of us, and the rest of us know our own part of Neopia," Lucrece supplied and before Esne could utter a sound, she added. "And we'll see about the money thing." They each thought for a moment, then gave their answer.

     "Sure."

     "Fine."

     "Okay with me."

     "Sounds good."

     "Super. But I get to divide the moolah," Esne declared. A burst of laughter erupted from their little group.

     So, for the rest of the day they hunted for circlet, looked for Maelstra's hide out, and somehow became friends.

     "Okay, so it's agreed. We go meet at what's left of the whirlpool to meet Chailyn, tomorrow. Or other wise, get each other up during the night if you find something important without waking everybody else. Agreed?" said Quenelle.

     "Agreed," they all chorused.

     During the night, Kirra crept out of her house wearing a black jumpsuit and her hair in a braid, without making a sound. Maelstra was home, snoring so loud that she could be heard in the house next door, so she was extra careful. Once she was out, she turned to Jovan, who wore mittens over his feet so his claws would not click against the stone floor of the tower they lived in.

     "Ready to take off?" whispered Kirra, climbing atop her Eyrie

     "Ready," whispered Jovan back. So they took off into the night. The silent wind carried Kirra and Jovan to Lucrece's cottage, where they got in without breaking a window, however they accomplished it not even Kirra could figure it out. She crept through the house, peaking in rooms, trying to see which one of them was Lucrece's. She finally found the right one, a bedroom decorated in pastel tones and a lot of lace. Kirra tiptoed toward the bed, leaned over and shook Lucrece lightly, so she would, with any luck, wake quietly.

     Lucrece opened her eyes to the Dark Faerie's face, which startled her beyond belief. As she opened her mouth to scream, Kirra quickly covered her mouth.

     "Sshhh," whispered the Dark Faerie, putting her finger to her lips and uncovering Lucrece's mouth as she sat up in bed, "it's me, Kirra. Jovan's with me."

     "Sorry," replied Lucrece, a little sheepish and sleepy. "Why the heck are you here? It's like three a.m."

     "I think I know where dearest Mother's hide out is," replied Kirra.

     "What?" whispered Lucrece.

     "I found a map," Kirra answered proudly and patted her pocket.

     "Have you woken the others yet?" Lucrece asked as she tried to find some reason in her clouded mind.

     "No. You're the one who lives closest."

     "Fine, I'll get dressed," and Lucrece poofed herself into an outfit, "and we'll transport ourselves to see the others."

     "Okay, the map says go twenty paces to the right," said Kirra, who was leading the girls to what the map said to be the hide out. "One, two, three, four, five, six…"

     "How much longer?" whined a very tired Shalin.

     "This is supposed to be the last phase," said Kirra who was not all that confident that they would find anything. Though twenty paces later, all the girls found was just a clearing in the forest.

      "Are you sure we're in the right place?" Esne asked.

      "Yeah…" Kirra answered, looking into the night trying to see something, anything.

      "Well we better find the circlet Soooonnn!" cried Lucrece as she fell, the ground collapsing under her. The girls screamed as they plunged into the darkness of the hidden pit beneath them.

To be continued...