The Legend that Lurks Behind the Tree

This is a continuation of "The Beast that Lurks Behind the Tree," which I never felt ended quite right.

Ever since her encounter with the beast that lurks behind the tree, Samantha the Wocky had been searching for answers. What was the beast? Why was it there? Why did the Brain Tree guard the entrance to its lair? She had sworn to herself that she would find answers. And now, hopefully, she had her chance.

     She was sitting in a small room in the Faerie Library, looking desperately at the dusty tomes piled around her. She had read about every detail of the Haunted Woods (many of which made her quite sick), but she still could not find anything about the elusive beast.

     Samantha threw down another useless book with a sigh. At least my intelligence will be higher when I leave here, she thought to herself. Giving up hope, she pushed her chair away from the desk, in the process knocking off one of the books piled there. As she bent down to pick it up, she noticed a small book lying under the desk. She got down on her hands and knees and reached under the desk to get it. Sitting once again in front of the desk, she wiped off the thick coating of dust on the cover so she could read the title: The Tragedy of Two Brothers. Samantha pulled the candle a little closer and began to read:

     Once in the Haunted Woods, there lived two brothers. Murik, the younger, was continually picked on. Brion, the older, was supposed to watch out for him, but usually failed.

     One day, a group of bullies decided to pick on Murik. Being too weak to fight back, he called out to his brother. Brion tried not to show it, but he had always been afraid of the bullies. Because of this he ignored his calls for help.

     That night, Brion discovered his brother was missing. He went looking for him. He looked everywhere. Finally, he noticed a gap between some of the trees. He entered it and walked down a path that led to a small grove. In the center, he saw his saw his brother kneeling in a triangle made of three stones. He was about to call out and apologize when he saw the shadowy form of a dark faerie standing behind Murik.

     Peeking out from behind a tree, he heard the faerie say to his brother: "This will help you beat up those bullies." Laughing evilly, she began to chant:

     "By the powers of the dark,

     Take this one within the stones,

     Fear and Hatred, my words do hark,

     And teach him now what shadows know."

     All of a sudden, a dark mist began swirling around Murik. Brion let out a yelp, which caused the faerie to turn and look at his hiding place.

     "Run while you still have time," she called to him. "Next time you will not be as lucky."

     And run he did, all the way to the opening between the trees. When he finally reached the open air, he fell on his knees and began to cry. He sobbed for hours, knowing, deep in his heart, he had caused this. When he returned home and told his parents what happened, they insisted on going to look for Murik. They never came back.

     The years passed. People grew curious about the rumored "Shadow Beast," and despite Brion's warnings, ventured in and never returned.

     Brion took to the habit of standing guard at the entrance to the grove. Passing Neopets would give him food and Neopoints because they felt sorry for him. One day, an earth faerie passed by him. He called out to her to end his misery. The kind faerie took pity on him and turned him into a tree. To keep his mind off his miserable thoughts, she gave him a thirst for knowledge.

     Still, if you visit the Haunted Woods, you will be able to see Brion, now named the Brain Tree. And if you look carefully behind him, you will see the entrance to the lair of the beast that lurks behind the tree.

     Samantha shut the book with a thud and stared at it. Now she knew the terrible secret. As she left the library, she recalled the Brain Tree's parting words to her:

     "It is my pain to bear."

     I finally understand what he meant, she thought to herself. She began to walk towards the palace. There was someone she had to talk to.

     ***

     Samantha felt a rush of excitement as she stood before Fyora. She had just presented the Faerie Queen with her problem. Would she be able to help her?

     Fyora slowly raised her head, and Samantha jumped to attention. "I have heard of such spells, of which you speak," she began. Samantha's heart leaped. "But I do not know the spell to counteract them." Samantha's heart fell back.

     "However," Fyora said, "I will grant you permission to enter my personal library so you may try to find the counter spell."

     "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" shouted Samantha. "Your Majesty," she added humbly.

     "Go, my child. May you find what you seek."

     Samantha was led to up a couple of flights of stairs to a wooden door. Upon entering, she was amazed by the sheer beauty and staggering size of the Faerie Queen's personal library. As if in a dream, she walked over to the Light Magic section, where she collected a pile of books. She carried them over to a very comfortable armchair, and began to read.

     Samantha woke with a start. She looked out the library's huge windows and saw it was already dark out. I must have dozed off, she thought to herself. While she was sleeping, someone had placed a blanket around her shoulders. At her side was a warm cup of hot chocolate.

     She turned her gaze to the book she had been reading before she fell asleep. She began to scan the pages for something that might help her. When she reached the last chapter, she noted that it was titled Counter curses for Dark Magic. She began to flip through it with increasing interest. Finally she reached a page that held counter curses for transformations and found what she was looking for. It read:

     And for the transformation of body to shadow, take a crystal pure and place it in the center of stones in which the beast was created. When the beast doth appear, chant thy words:

     "By the powers of the Light,

     Hark my words and come to me.

     Destroy the powers of the Night,

     And let the chained now be free."

     Samantha stared stupidly at the page for a minute. Then it hit her. "I found it!" she cried.

     A minute later, Queen Fyora came rushing into the room. "You found it?" she asked quietly. "I knew you would. But now we have not a minute to wait. You must get to the Haunted Woods as soon as possible. We cannot let those two brothers suffer any longer." She pulled a short wand from her belt. "The Wand of Transportation," she explained.

     Fyora tapped Samantha twice on the head. Before she disappeared, Samantha felt the Faerie Queen slip something cool and smooth into her paw. One minute, she felt herself spinning through space and time, the next, she had landed on the same bone-lined path she remembered from her last trip to this place. She opened her paw and saw a beautiful crystal sitting there.

     A crystal pure, she remembered with a smile. She began walking up the path. When she reached the grove, she slowly approached the triangle of stones and placed the crystal in the center. She slowly stepped back. After a few minutes, the space inside the triangle darkened, and the beast began to appear. This time, though, Samantha was not afraid. She began to chant:

     "By the power of the Light,

     Hark my words and come to me.

     Destroy the powers of the Night,

     And let the chained now be free."

     A bright light radiated from the crystal. Samantha threw up her arms to protect her eyes. When the grove finally darkened, she saw, kneeling in the triangle, a young Wocky around her age dressed in rather old-fashioned clothing.

     "Who are you?" he asked fearfully. "Why am I here?" Then it dawned on him. "The dark faerie. Where is she? I remember her saying some words, and then it all went black."

     "It's all right, Murik. You were under a curse and I undid it," Samantha said soothingly. She felt it wise not to tell him he had spent the last century devouring Neopets.

     "You know my name? How? Did my brother tell... my brother. How is he? Did he escape the faerie?" Murik asked with increasing worry in his voice.

     "Don't worry," said Samantha. "I'll take you to see your brother right now."

     As they walked to the entrance, Murik explained that he had been upset that his brother had not stood up for him when he was being bullied and he had wanted to teach him a lesson. "Once I see him, I'll apologize for running away," he said.

     They reached the gap between the trees. As Samantha stepped in front of Brain Tree, he opened his mouth to speak. Then he noticed the Wocky beside.

     "Murik?" he whispered. "Murik! It's you."

     Murik looked confused. "Brion? Is that you? Why are you a tree?"

     The two brothers looked at each other for a minute. Then Murik ran up and hugged his older brother (the best way a Wocky can hug a tree).

     The Brain Tree/Brion looked over the top of his brother's head at Samantha. "Thank you," he whispered.

     Samantha smiled at him, despite the tears in her eyes. As she walked away, she wondered what her next adventure would be.

The End