Cerena's Song 2: The Amulet's Curse - Part One

     With a look of concern plastered across her face, she glanced down at the object held in her hands. A beautiful, large amethyst was surrounded by a golden border shaped like the moon. Engraved within the gold were little twinkling stars that you could almost make out as constellations. A gold chain was fastened tightly to it so that the holder could wear it around their neck. The amethyst necklace emitted a beautiful purple color from deep within. This magnificent glow was what led her into the abandoned shack in the first place, and once she laid her eyes on this tantalizing piece of jewelry, the urge to steal it was just too strong. As the Acara departed with her new treasure, however, a devilish water Faerie came back to spot the intruder. As the Faerie released a chilling high pitch screech, the chase ensued.

     Although the Acara was fast, she was no match for the Faerie whose sharp claws reached out to snatch at the thief. “Come back here, Fay Silva, you silly little fool! To think you can escape me!” The Faerie gained ground quickly and was enjoying this game of cat and mouse they were playing.

     Fay continued to stay just out of reach and wondered to herself worriedly how the wicked Faerie knew her name. She had never even set foot near the old shack before, and surely never had a run in with this creature previously. It didn’t much matter to her at this moment in time; all that mattered was getting away with her life.

     Scouring the area ahead back and forth, Fay searched for any place to hide. It would almost be impossible to sneak into a hiding spot without the Faerie seeing, being that she was so closely following her. The cliffs were fast approaching, the same cliffs that a few decades from now will harbor a small town, and soon enough she would be cornered. There was no way she could turn back, and no way could she jump down with hope of surviving. She was done for.

     The water faerie beamed a nefarious grin at the panic she noticed in the small Acara. As she realized the chase would be coming to an end soon, she delivered a maniacal snicker for the Neopet’s fate.

     Fay reached the cliff and looked down into the dark abyss. She glanced back in distress at her pursuer, who was now slowing and creeping closer and closer to her. Fay uttered some words, desperate to find a way out. “Please... I don’t want any trouble!”

     “It’s too late for that, child,” the Faerie hissed. “You have no idea what you have gotten yourself into.” The Faerie reached out once more with her sharp nails and beckoned the Acara to come closer. This was Fay’s first real good look at the Faerie. Her torn clothing was barely attached to her pale skin and her tail was nearly as sharp as the spikes protruding from her back. Her hair was stringy and unruly, flowing in all directions. The piercing dark blue eyes were unbearable to look at for more than a few seconds with fear that her gaze would cut straight through her.

     She choked from fear. Her tentacles backed as far as they could to the edge of the cliff without falling off. A small pebble slipped out from under her and tumbled down to the black void below, causing Fay to let out a shriek as she watched it fall.

     “Give me the necklace, Fay!” the water Faerie hissed. She would have lunged by now, were it not the risk of falling off the cliff along with the Acara.

     “How do you know my name?” Fay asked curiously, a hint of fright in each of her words.

     The Faerie smirked at her. “It is written clearly on your mind,” she mocked, drawing one step closer.

     Almost by instinct, Fay held the necklace out over the cliff. The water Faerie screamed in terror as though she had just witnessed a terrible incident. “I’ll drop it! I promise you I will!” Fay threatened, letting go with one of her fingers.

     “Don’t you dare,” the Faerie droned, eyeing her closely. “You don’t know the power that it holds!”

     The word raced through Fay’s mind. “Power?” she said in a whisper, glancing quickly to the amulet and back to the Faerie. This could be her chance, she thought. If she gained some sort of power from the necklace, she could use it against the Faerie. It seemed so perfect, using the Faerie’s amulet against herself. The only thing that worried her was the fact that she didn’t know exactly what power she was obtaining.

     The Faerie seemed to know what Fay was planning on doing. As she looked back at the Acara, she almost dared her to do what she was thinking about.

     Fay slipped the necklace around her neck. Before she could even blink, the purple light coming from within the amethyst consumed her. Her eyes began to glow a deep purple and a stinging pain shot through her entire body. Two sounds could be heard at that moment in time: a cry of agony from Fay and the crazed cackle from the Faerie. Fay was brought to her knees as she reached up to take the necklace off. It wouldn’t budge. “What is happening?” she screamed.

     The water Faerie giggled evilly as she watched the Acara struggle on the ground. She began to chant an ancient spell, setting a curse upon the Acara. The water around them began to rouse, the ground was shaking, and Fay slowly slipped into unconsciousness. All around them was a purple body of light. Her chanting filled the air, magic coming from her bony claws and into Fay, lying motionless on the ground. When the curse had been set, the Faerie muttered in a low voice a series of insults and disappeared swiftly into the sea.

***

     When Fay opened her eyes, she found herself beside the cliff where she had been before she lost consciousness. The surrounding area was calm and she noticed the Faerie was gone. “Was it all a dream?” she asked herself aloud. It all seemed too real to be a dream, though.

     Her hand reached up and felt the jewelry around her neck. She gasped in horror at the realization that it had all been true. She tried once more to remove it and was more successful this time, pulling it off and looking fearfully into the necklace. There was a swirling magic deep inside that she had not noticed before. In a way she felt as though her own soul had been locked inside of the necklace. The connection between the amulet and her was incredible.

     She stumbled to her knees, trying to find the strength to stand up. The whole world was spinning around her. She knew that she had to get the necklace back to the shack. It was the only way to make things normal again. If the necklace was out of her life, she had nothing to worry about. It took a few tries to get the energy to walk again, and still then it was a mess trying to get back, occasionally falling to her knees.

     The walk back was much longer than she remembered. It took her until dawn to finally arrive back to the tiny building. Its old, rotting wood was nearly falling apart and the window was broken into several tiny pieces. It certainly wasn’t a good enough shelter for anyone to live in. With caution, she slowly pushed the door open and peered inside. Nobody was there. She crept over to the dusty table in which the outline of where the amulet once laid could still be seen. She reached out and gently set it back into place, then quickly turned to leave.

     Suddenly, from deep within her, she felt a churning pain. It was a feeling she had never experienced before. She looked down at her hands which were now radiating a faint purple and growing stronger with every passing minute. Soon after, her mouth and eyes emitted the same glow that lit up the entire room. Her panic sent her fumbling against the back wall in fear, as an uncontrollable sound began to flow from within her. The song was even too loud for her own ears as she clutched her hands over them and clasped her eyes shut in anguish. It wasn’t stopping. Fay frantically glanced around the room and noticed the necklace, too, was glowing, just as it had when she found it earlier in the day. She reached out for it, clumsily trying to get it around her neck. Once it was on, she could still feel the vibrations from her singing releasing from her body, but all went silent.

To be continued...