Jerdana The Protector

      “But Mom, I wanna stay here with you....”

      “You can’t Dana. I’m sorry.”

      An hour later, Dana was riding on a Uni to the Rainbow Pool. As she looked down at the beautiful Desert Aisha reflected, the Uni took a Blue Paint Brush and washed away Dana’s hope along with her beauty.

      “Come on, Dana. You know many spells. It won’t be so bad.”

      “Yes, it will. And don’t call me Dana. Only my mother can do that. You have to call me ‘Princess Jerdana of Sakhmet’.”

      “I’m sorry, but now you’re just Jerdana.”

      “I’m NEVER ‘just Jerdana’!” The blue Aisha ran off, and didn’t look back. The Uni looked stunned, but didn’t chase after her.

      Jerdana wandered through the streets until she came across a Starry Kau. Not many people knew her then. But Jerdana sensed her power, and asked her to teach her more spells. So Kauvara taught her for many years.

      But Jerdana grew restless. She knew she didn’t belong where she was now, just needed to stay there temporarily. So she wandered for even longer. She was searching for her calling, and didn’t stay in any one place for very long.

      But one day, she met a certain White Lupe. But we all know that story. This one is about something more. It’s about her life and her family. So we will continue to one day, when Jerdana was in her chambers in Altador.

***

      Jerdana sat, watching the waves wash ashore, thinking. Most people didn’t know this, but she was a lot like Psellia, a dreamer. After some time, a Red Lupe knocked on her door.

      “Lady Jerdana, you have a letter from Princess Amira of Sakhmet. One of her messengers brought it only moments ago. He said the Princess insists you read it immediately.”

      So Jerdana dismissed the Lupe and read the letter under her breath.

      “Jerdana, I ask you, my daughter, to please return. I have many regrets of sending you away, but now the two cities are at peace, so I invite you to return to Sakhmet. To return home. Please send a return letter back with my messenger; he can bring it to me. I know that you have found a new home, but I want you to remember your old home. Please come back.

     With love, your dear mother, Princess Amira of Sakhmet.”

      A tear ran down Jerdana’s cheek. After all this time, she had remembered. But she couldn’t go back. She was home. Altador was her home. She couldn’t leave.

***

      Princess Amira stared out of her window, waiting for a letter that would decide the fate of all of Sakhmet. Either her daughter was coming home, or she wasn’t. But deep inside, she knew her daughter was home, in Altador. She wouldn’t leave a city that needs her.

      A knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts.

      “Please enter,” she responded to the knock. Instead of her messenger, an elderly Uni entered the room. She was the same Uni that had brought her daughter to Neopia Central. “Hello, Mara. How are you doing? I’ve missed you so much.”

      “Hello, Amira. I have come here to tell you, your messenger has disappeared. The Defenders of Neopia think that this person wanted to stop you two from communicating.”

      “Is my daughter coming home?”

      “No, she wants to stay in Altador. I hear talk about the Darkest Faerie being the cause of this trouble. Your daughter is working with ten others to stop her. You should be proud.”

      “I am. I just want to see her again.”

      “Speaking of that, you have been invited to visit her in Altador. A Royal Escort can be arranged by morning.”

      “Could you do that, Mara? I’d like it very much.”

      Jerdana stared out the window, wondering if her mother would come to Altador or not. She knew her mother wanted to see her, and she wished she could go to the Lost Desert if only for a few days. But she knew she couldn’t leave her work, as the whole city of Altador depended on her.

      She heard a knock on her door, and her hopes soared like a Pteri in flight. But Psellia entered the room instead. Her hopes plummeted as soon as they had risen.

      “Jerdana, you're wanted by someone. You should meet her immediately, in the Hall of Heroes.”

      “Yes, I suppose I should go.”

      Princess Amira stood waiting in the Hall of Heroes. After a few moments, a Blue Aisha entered the room. Neither truly recognized each other, but both knew who they were. In only moments, they were embracing each other as if they had never been separated.

      “It’s so good to see you, Dana.”

      Jerdana looked puzzled by this, and Princess Amira said, “Oh, it’s nothing, just what I called you when you were small.”

      “But it’s not ‘just nothing’, Mom, it’s who I am. It’s who I could have been, but I was destined to live in Altador instead. Not nothing.” A tear rolled down Amira’s face, and for the first time in years, she wished she never left the Lost Desert. They continued talking for hours. Finally, Jerdana, reluctantly, had to work on the magical protection for Altador. She needed to find a way to save them from the Darkest Faerie.

     ***

     After days of working, the solution, the only solution, was finally clear. Though she would not see her mother, this solution would be for the greater good of every Altadorian. She had to erase them from time, from memory, and from the face of Neopia. Someday, they would reappear, but until then, Altador would be completely sealed off from time.

      Princess Amira watched as Altador, and her daughter, disappeared from the landscape. She had requested to keep her memory, so she was under an oath that she would not speak the city’s name until it reappeared some day.

      Psellia watched both with a magical crystal ball. Jerdana was her best friend; she would never let something like this happen to her. So, Psellia promised herself that the family would soon be reunited. She had seen the embrace, she knew even time would not be able to wear away their love, the love between mother and daughter, who had just met but had talked like they had known each other forever.

      Jerdana looked out her window and swirling mist set over the town. She would go ask Psellia for help when she finally found the strength to stand. She didn’t know that at the same moment, Psellia was working to help her. Psellia was working to find a way for them to still communicate with each other.

      Princess Amira finally had something good to think about after Altador disappeared. She had a letter from Jerdana telling her that everything was fine. She would keep that letter for the rest of her life.

      One day the city, and Jerdana, would reappear. One day, they would be reunited.

The End