The Wish: Part Four

      Then I remembered something. Couldn’t I fly? I took to the skies, leaving the Skeiths, once they saw me, reeling in confusion. I looked back at them, seeing that they had found their wits as they saw the Zafara in my arms and were now picking up rather large rocks. I swallowed, knowing exactly what they were going to do with those rocks.

      I flew even faster, thinking that if I flew far away, maybe they would see that they couldn’t reach me with their hurtful rocks.

      I was dead wrong.

      As soon as they got their ammunition ready, they fired the rocks. Lucky for me, they had terrible aim and only three of their rocks hit me, their hurt only stings as I continued on, soaring higher above the clouds, enjoying the wind in my face and the speed at which I was traveling. The baby Zafara was enjoying it, too, as she giggled another pealing bell, pointed at the tiny Neopets below, and running her fingers through the clouds. I chortled with her. Her happiness was so contagious.

      Laughing, we continued on into the night, headed for the place where my friend was waiting for me.

     ***

      I stopped at Kiko Lake. My wings were tired, and I couldn’t fly another inch. The baby Zafara was sleeping in my arms, her hands clutching the locket tightly. Hopefully her owner wouldn’t be worried; I would be terribly sad if I were to lose something as precious as her.

      I figured I couldn’t fly across the sea, so I decided to rent one of the sturdy Kiko Lake boats. As I walked in, the Kiko Lake Carpentry’s Kiko gawked at me. Apparently he had never seen a light faerie before. But I couldn’t blame him. Everywhere I went around Neopets, I was gawked at.

      “Could you please fashion a boat for me?” I asked him delicately. He seemed on the edge already.

      “Well,” he grunted, “I could, but it would cost quite a lot of Neopoints.”

      “What if I want it by this afternoon?” I inquired, a businesslike air coming into my voice that I didn’t even know I had.

      “It would cost twice as much, as it is a rush order,” he told me, the same gruff look on his face.

      “How much?” I demanded.

      “Well,” he said uncertainly—he didn’t want to anger a faerie, “if you add the rush order times the amount of Neopoints, you’ll get a—” I cut him off.

      “How. Much,” I commanded again. I needed a boat before dusk came so that I could change back.

      “Two thousand Neopoints,” he said fearfully, hoping he didn’t anger me.

      “Only two hundred thousand?” I scoffed and handed him the necessary amount. There were tons of things that cost much more than this small boat. Maybe this was expensive years ago, but now inflation was on the rampage.

      “Thank you,” he murmured, a greedy glint in his eye as he took the heavy bag of Neopoints. “Come back at 3:00 and your boat will be ready.” And with that I left to go to Kiko Lake Foods to get some food for our journey.

     ***

      “It’s beautiful,” I whispered, and it was. The boat had a glass bottom and sides that were a light blue, blending with the scenery. It had an opaque canopy that retracted at the slightest touch of a button, and had storage big enough to hold the food we had needed.

      “Mine always are,” the Kiko Lake Carpentry’s Kiko boasted proudly.

      “I’ll take it now, please,” I said in a hurry. “I have to go!” I bid a farewell to the Kiko and went on my way, the baby Zafara looking bemusedly at the glass, wondering why we didn’t sink.

      We went faster than if I had flown there, and the speed was necessary. There wasn’t much time. Who knew if those Skeiths were following my every move? I looked at the baby Zafara again, watching her tap the glass experimentally, and I realized I did not know her name.

      “What is your name?” I asked her, wondering why I hadn’t noticed this before.

      “Mai Bwelle,” she answered in a voice that even Fyora would envy, sounding as smooth as butter and as soft as silk. It had a babyish touch to it, making it sound as sweet as sugar.

      I looked at her, still gazing in awe at the glass floor and smiled. She was so precious, and I dreaded to think of what her owner was thinking, missing her unbearably.

      I was so caught up in my reverie that I didn’t detect Faerieland coming up, only noticing when Mai Belle pointed up at it, her face lit up in wonder.

      I sighed when I thought of what I would have to face. Picking Mai Belle up, I flew into the clouds above me, and heard her sweet guffaws at the wetness, taking away my uncertainty.

     ***

      I emerged on the alley connected to a busy street, full of faeries trying to sell their wares or shop. There were no Neopets here at all. Would I attract attention with the little Zafara in my arms?

      “Get your Hot Faerie Baked Potatoes!”

      “Skipping Harris Paintings right here!”

      “Air Faerie Pens for sale!”

      I continued down the bustling street, staying in the shadows, glad that no one noticed me. I was on a mission now, and I didn’t want anything to slow me down.

      I soon found my destination: Faerieland Academy. Its walls loomed over me, tall and impressive, imposing on me to come in. In truth, I’d never seen a building this big, and I caught my breath. I could only hope my answer lay in the walls of the Faerieland Academy Library, where all answers usually lay.

     ***

      I dashed into the library, the Zafara still in my hands, running past the many immense bookshelves, ignoring the things that would fascinate me, if I had the time. I had a mission here, and I could not get sidetracked.

      I kept running, running towards the place my friend would meet me. I thought of why I was doing this, and ran even faster still. If those two menacing Skeiths got their hands on her... ugh. I shuddered at the unpleasant thought. It was amazing, in only one day, that this little Neopet had become my whole world, the thing that I was desperate to keep, despite the danger she would put me in.

      I finally reached the place where my friend was waiting for me, a book in her lap, which she seemed to be absorbed in.

      Hearing my footfalls, she looked up. “Destiny!” Arian cried, a smile lighting her face. “I was wondering that maybe we could find which faerie you were if we looked in...” Her sentence trailed of as she looked at who I was holding. Her eyes widened in horror, acknowledging something that I hadn’t yet grasped. “I thought that maybe I was wrong,” she muttered to herself regrettably. “Maybe if it hadn’t been so exact...” She looked up at me again. “I have to get out of here!” she shouted at me, turning quickly, about to run for it.

      But I was quicker, grabbing her waist with one arm so she wouldn’t be able to escape. “Please listen to me!” I pleaded with her, trying to get through the frenzied state of mind she was in. “Please!”

      She seemed to hear the panic in my voice and stopped struggling. She looked at me intently, waiting for my explanation. I sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy. So I told her about what happened when I got to Illusen, all about the angry Skeiths, the way I got here—basically the whole story.

      When I finished, she sighed. “I should have known I couldn’t escape the future,” she muttered darkly. What did she mean by that? I looked at her, expecting an answer.

      She continued talking as if she hadn’t noticed my look. “So if we’re going to get this crystal to Fyora, we’re going to have to get some things prepared.” Her eyes turned brooding. “Should I take my Neopian History Book? No, probably not... Destiny,” she said, addressing me, “will you wait here while I get some things? I won’t take long.” Before I could answer her, she flitted off, flying past the high bookshelves.

      I sighed, hoping she wasn’t avoiding my questions. I wanted nothing but the absolute truth with her. Was that so much to ask? I told her the truth all the time.

      While I was pondering over this, Arian came back with an armful of maps. “These are to navigate the streets of Faerieland,” she explained, answering my questioning look. “Now let’s go.” She motioned for me to follow with her head, as she couldn’t move her arms with all the maps. I followed her quick pace, wondering what lay ahead of us.

     ***

      We were walking through the dark alleyways of Faerieland, shrouded in the darkness of night. Arian’s hands were free now—she had picked up a large bag at one of the shops we passed as we continued on our quest to find Fyora. I remembered how close she had nearly come to a Neopet... I shuddered. That Neopet would no doubt turn us in to the Defenders of Neopia, and then the two large Skeiths would certainly find us.

      Arian suddenly stopped, and I stopped, too, grateful that I hadn’t bumped into her, snapping out of my thoughts. “What?” I whispered fearfully. Was there something bad on the streets?

      “Just... try to use glamour again,” she said quickly, as she used glamour herself, casting the appearance of a fire faerie. I smiled. I loved the feeling of changing appearances. It felt as if you had so much power, that you felt that you were on top. But it was bittersweet, because it felt like leaving something behind, like at a party and ditching a friend, except with faint regret. Now I changed into a light faerie, like I had the first time. It was even easier than the first, and Arian nodded at me in approval.

      We changed and walked into the streets that were now crowded with Neopians. Even though it was crowded, all the Neopians gave us a wide berth—I supposed that they didn’t want us to give them quests. Like I needed anything else to slow me down!

      Out of the crowd, two large figures were coming our way. I trembled when I realized that I recognized them. I hid Mai Belle in my hair, trying to hide her from the two Darigan Skeiths that were now coming towards us with fierce determination.

      Arian noticed this, too, pulling me along more quickly in her haste to get to the large castle that was now looming in front of us. It was pink and purple, shining even in the darkness.

      “Hey!” they called, seeing through our façade. “Hand over the Zafara and no one gets hurt!” We were running now, and they were, too, trying to keep up with our quick strides. My wings fluttered nervously behind me as we tried to escape the two that wanted to hurt the darling snuggled in my arms.

      Abruptly, I looked at our surroundings, panting from our exertion—the glittering front steps of Fyora’s castle.

      We had made it.

To be continued...