The Gift of Winter: Part Four

      Taelia got up from her chair and moved past Farden, standing still and looking straight ahead. She stood before the three Aishas and put her hands in her coat pockets. The Draik’s shrieking slowly began to fade as Farden cradled him until it was almost silent, but for the occasional cry.

      “What would you like?” Taelia asked the visitors, quiet but firm.

      The Aishas looked at one another, as if communicating by gazing into each other’s eyes. The first Aisha narrowed her eyes. “We would like to ask you about the Draik your servant has.”

      Taelia turned towards Farden, who was calmly observing the sisters. He rocked the Draik back and forth.

      “Why does he concern you?” The Faerie crossed her arms.

      The second Aisha stepped forward. “We had heard about a young Draik who has gone missing, and we were simply wondering where you found him.”

      “It doesn’t matter where we found him. He is in my possession currently. Could you please explain what this is about?”

      The Aishas smirked. “There is no need to act that way. After all, it was just a question,” the first Aisha pointed out. “But we shall explain, nonetheless.”

      At that moment, Insa remembered the snow globe she had tripped over just before the visitors had come in. She slowly withdrew it from her apron pocket and wiped off the glass. She observed the scene within the globe for the second time: the three identical Aishas building their snowman. With a sudden realization, she held it up to eye level and shook it. Through the glass, she could see the visitors who called themselves the Three Sisters next to the small figures in the snow globe. The chef gasped; the visitors were identical to the miniature Aishas. She quickly placed the snow globe back in her pocket. It had to be a coincidence; it was just too strange.

      “As I said, we heard about a lost Baby Draik,” the first Aisha was saying, “and we decided that we would look into it for the sake of the owner, who is a close friend. We knew he was lost somewhere on Terror Mountain, so my sisters and I decided it would make sense to come to you, as you know of everything that occurs here.”

      Farden cleared his throat. “They have a point, madam.”

      “This does not involve you, Farden. Please remain quiet,” Taelia snapped. The Eyrie withdrew, annoyed.

      The third Aisha cleared her throat. “The point is, Miss Taelia, we would like to recover our friend’s Draik, as she is worried sick by his disappearance.”

      Taelia looked uneasily around the room. It was evident that a Baby Draik would be a burden, without a doubt. She had a lot of responsibilities as the Snow Faerie, and he would only get in the way. Yet, these so-called Three Sisters were odd visitors. She wouldn’t trust them, but it would be so much easier to just hand the Neopet over and then everything would return to normal. She sighed. Of course it would be easier, but sometimes the right choice isn’t the easy one.

      “Insa, come here,” the Faerie ordered. The chef rushed to her side, past the bemused sisters.

      “Don’t do it, miss,” Insa whispered. “I’m not sure why these Aishas would want a Baby Draik, but there’s something strange about the fact that they came and not their friend who lost a Baby Draik.”

     Taelia nodded, somewhat ashamed. She nearly always made decisions independently, as she didn’t like to ask others for help. She fulfilled her duties by herself.

     The Faerie coughed. “Why did you not bring your friend along? After all, it is her loss, is it not?” she questioned.

     “She had something to attend to at this time, so she was unable to come, unfortunately. We are very sorry for the inconvenience,” the second Aisha explained.

     “You could have come at another time, obviously,” Taelia pointed out.

     The Three Sisters paused. Farden, noticing their hesitance, went towards the visitors and turned to face Taelia. “Don’t give them such a hard time, madam. They are simply asking for this young one,” he said, nodding at the bundle in his arms.

     Taelia raised her eyebrows. “You just want to get rid of him, I know.”

     Farden chuckled. “I know it’s not the most ideal situation, but I’m sure he is going to a good home. Another burden lifted, madam.” The Eyrie’s gaze remained steady as he looked into his mistress’s eyes.

     “How do you know, Farden? Maybe I have suddenly decided I wouldn’t mind having this Draik around.”

     “Please,” Farden remarked sarcastically, “You couldn’t care less, Taelia. If you cared, you would have given him a name. If you cared, you would have tried harder to calm him down and make him comfortable. If you cared, this Draik would be in your arms, not mine.”

     Taelia looked taken aback. Insa observed the conversation with an amused expression on her face. Farden suddenly realized what he had said and how he had said it. He was speaking to the Faerie for whom he worked!

     The Eyrie blushed. “I’m so very sorry, madam. I was out of line. Please forgive me.” He bowed clumsily, trying to avoid dropping the Draik.

     The Snow Faerie did not respond. She motioned for Farden to step aside and then turned her attention back to the Three Sisters. “I don’t believe I can give you this Draik.”

     “And why not?” the Aishas hissed in unison.

     Taelia shrugged. “I do not want to.”

     At that moment, Farden went back over to the visitors. “Here, you can have him,” he announced, and handed the Draik to the third Aisha. “We don’t want him.”

     “Farden, what are you doing?” Taelia yelled. The Eyrie stepped aside, refusing to look at his mistress. He did not respond. “Farden, what are you doing?” she yelled again.

     The Three Sisters bowed. “We appreciate it very much, Master Farden.” They began to exit the room.

     “Stop!” the Snow Faerie shouted. “Why are you doing this?”

     The Aisha carrying the Draik turned her head to look at Taelia. “It has been a long time since we have seen our fourth sibling, Miss Taelia.” She cackled. “A very long time indeed. But now we are reunited, and soon his enchantment will be broken.” The Aisha followed her sisters out the door.

     At that very moment, Insa ran towards the door with a panicked look on her face. She took the snow globe out of her apron and threw it as hard as she could at the Three Sisters. The glass hit the ground at the feet of the Aishas and broke into thousands of pieces as the sisters turned towards their attacker, screams frozen on their faces. They fell to the ground as shards of glass flew by them.

     When everything was over, Farden, Insa, and Taelia were left staring at a floor covered with glass pieces and a Baby Draik shrieking amongst them. The Three Sisters had disappeared.

     “It can’t be!” Farden cried, desperately looking at the sight. He looked at Taelia with a sad face, as if he was trying to apologize without words. He walked through the glass forest, opened the front doors to the castle, and went out into the snow without another word.

     Insa picked up the Baby Draik fondly, who stopped shrieking once he was in the chef’s arms. She walked back to Taelia. “I’m sorry I broke your snow globe, but it was the only thing I could think of. There were three Aishas inside it; identical to the Three Sisters.” Insa paused. “I guess it wasn’t a coincidence after all because they disappeared.”

     Taelia smiled. “Thank you, Insa. Maybe what Farden said was true, but after all this, I don’t think I would mind having our little Draik friend stay.” She laughed.

     The chef was surprised at the Faerie’s sudden gentleness. It was like there had been an icy wall that had kept her stiff and insensitive, but the wall had melted away.

     “I guess Farden knew they were coming and agreed to help them,” Taelia continued, a regretful tone in her voice, for Farden had been a servant of hers for many years. She suddenly gasped. “The Three Sisters! Illusen warned me about them in a letter of hers that Farden took. I should have remembered.”

     “It’s all over now, though. It will be alright.” Insa smiled and handled the Draik to Taelia. “Who gave you that snow globe anyway?”

     The Snow Faerie began to laugh. “I’m not sure how I still remember, but it was given to me by a young Aisha who came to me once long ago for a quest. He told me he was seeking rewards to help feed his three sisters.”

     Just then, the Baby Draik in Taelia’s arms made a strange noise. The Faerie and Insa laughed: it sounded almost like he was chuckling too.

The End