Fyora's Day

Often celebrated around all of Neopia, Faerieland is always the place to be for those wishing to attend a grand festival. Such an event takes a ton of planning, much of it without Queen Fyora's involvement.

Fyora Day has always been somewhat of an awkward day for her majesty. With all the things going on in Neopia, the Faerie Queen often doesn't get much of a break. Despite being told that she should relax on her own holiday, she still finds herself itching to get something done.

Then there's the large crowds where everyone tries to catch a glimpse of her. Some Neopians try to snag an autograph or even a photograph with the Faerie Queen. Fyora doesn't mind giving those but it can overwhelm her sometimes.

Still, Fyora has an interesting perspective about her own holiday and you'll definitely want to hear about it. Fyora was busy when I went to see her in her castle, but I did see her best friend. A well-groomed purple Gelert sat in Fyora's room and informed me that Fyora would be back soon.

Celandra often participated in the planning for Fyora Day festivities. She also fed Fyora the latest gossip about other faeries' Fyora Day plans down to the exact dresses they would wear. Perhaps it was my lucky day. I would also get Celandra's perspective.

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"Hello Celandra. I guess while we are waiting for Fyora to show, I wanted to ask. What does Fyora Day mean to you?"

"Hmm…well, it's certainly not every day when your best friend has a whole holiday dedicated to herself. I guess it's more of a time for me to reflect on all the days I've spent with Queen Fyora. I may have stumbled into her life as someone that volunteered to clean her room. However, I soon realized that more than anything, Fyora needed a friend. She generally had good relations with her faerie sisters, but as their ruler, it always seemed like they got along out of reverence, not necessarily meaning close friendship. King Altador and Lord Darigan were her other close friends. They were all rulers though, often busy with their duties. She needed someone that could always be there, and I am joyful to be that someone."

"Awww. That's so sweet!" said a familiar voice. Celandra blushed as she turned to face Queen Fyora.

The Faerie Queen stood in the doorway to her room in her usual outfit and her staff in hand.

"Your majesty!" I exclaimed.

"Oh dear, Geo, I'm pretty sure you and I have met enough times that we can forgo all this formality," she said.

"My apologies, Fyora."

"No need to be sorry. Anyway, I presume you are here to ask me about Fyora Day. But wait, you aren't finished with Celandra yet?"

"No, it's okay, you're much better at interviews than me," Celandra quickly responded.

"You sure? You gave such a great answer too," Fyora said, giving Celandra a playful nudge.

I looked at Celandra. "Can I ask you one more question?"

The Gelert nodded slowly.

"What do you like most about Fyora?"

Celandra turned to Fyora. They both smiled at each other.

"I like that she waves her staff around and everyone immediately complies with all her orders. Yep, nobody dares to mess with her," Celandra said as Fyora's smile grew wider.

"I guess I'll be going. Thanks." The Gelert left, still with a wide smile on her face.

My mouth must have been wide open because Fyora giggled at my facial expression.

"Oh come on you don't actually believe that...do you?" Fyora asked.

"Umm...can we get on with the interview? I uhh..."

"Hmmm? You didn't answer the question. You actually thought that was true? Oh dear, I'm not a tyrant. I don't rule like that," Fyora shook her head in denial and looked a bit sad. I had to reassure her that I did trust her.

"I know you don't. Now, I wanted to ask about how you feel about your own holiday."

"Oh. Right, Fyora Day. I guess it's nice to have Neopia celebrating. Holidays are nice in that way. I do have to say though, when other Neopian leaders turn up, I do sometimes feel awkward. There isn't a Hagan Day or a Altador Day. I don't see myself as greater than them. I consider them my equals. Why then should I have my own holiday?"

"So you would rather not have your own holiday?"

"Not necessarily; I love holidays. They can be so relaxing. Wouldn't it be nice if we did have holidays for all the Neopian leaders? I certainly think so. I do enjoy Fyora Day. It's always a fun time to see everyone at the dance and I get to meet with a lot of Neopians that I would be too busy to associate with on a daily basis. The only way I can be an effective leader is to listen to the needs of all Neopians. I will be first to admit that I didn't do a great job of that in the past and perhaps it made some Neopians feel alienated, especially in Faerieland. You know, Xandra, as misguided as she was, had a point. I don't think as faeries, we did a good job of welcoming Neopets in our community."

"So you see it as an opportunity to get to know others. That's fair, you are a busy faerie though. Do you ever see those you meet ever again?"

"I have a good memory. I remember names and faces along with what part of Neopia they are from."

"The entire Neopia?"

"Right, you may have noticed I'm not always in Faerieland for Fyora Day. You know all of Neopia is celebrating so the least I could do attend other celebrations as well. I'm in Faerieland all the time anyway."

"Ah I see. How different are the celebrations in each region then?"

"Oh you know, the common theme is pink right? Taelia has a spell that turns all the snow pink at Terror Mountain and there's a magnificent ice sculpture of me. In Shenkuu, it's more of a ritual where they choreograph a dance in honor of me. Brightvale hangs plenty of pink banners and the sorcerers, they put on quite a magic show. Yep, each land has their own activities based on their unique culture and I've enjoyed them all."

"That sure does sound like fun. I want the travel the world and see all the different celebrations. Hey so how long has Neopia celebrated Fyora Day?"

"It started in Faerieland with my coronation. It was quite a long time ago. Faerieland had a tumultuous past with different elemental faeries quarreling and attempting to wrestle control from the other elements. Prior to my coronation, the Faerie Queen was an elemental faerie and you'd imagine if a fire faerie took the throne, the water faeries might throw a fit. Well, indeed such a predicament was commonplace. I guess, somehow, the faeries saw me as a faerie that would unite everyone together peacefully. You see, at one point I was an air faerie. Using faerie magic, I was able to attain a neutral affinity toward each element."

She turned and gave me a piercing look.

"Nice try though, I'm not going to reveal exactly how long ago my coronation was. Does it really matter? Faeries don't exactly age."

"But if it doesn't matter then…"

Fyora gripped her staff more tightly and smiled.

"You're wandering into dangerous territory hm?"

"Right…how about a different topic. Hmm, ah, what is your favorite Fyora Day memory?"

"Oh great question. I would like to point to a rather recent memory. This was after Hanso and Brynn came to Faerieland. That year, I decided to stay in Faerieland since we were rebuilding the kingdom. Hanso had his eyes on all the jewelry the faeries were wearing. I'm glad I don't wear much jewelry; all I have is a gemstone in my crown. Well, Hanso joked to Brynn that all this jewelry will fetch a nice price in the Auction House. Brynn threatened to have Hanso arrested, you know the usual conversations they have. Hanso ended up snatching some bracelets while some of the faeries weren't looking. In the meantime, Psellia was looking for some pets to dress up as faeries as a part of a dance routine. She saw Hanso with the bracelets and made the assumption that he was volunteering for the part so Hanso ended up in a dance routine in honor of me. Yep, I don't think he's stealing anything from the faeries anytime soon."

"That sounds rather amusing. Did Brynn say anything afterwards?"

"No, I think she felt that Hanso got what he deserved."

Fyora and I laughed.

"I guess I'll finish with the same question I asked Celandra. What does Fyora Day mean to you? I mean aside from being your special day."

"You know, I truly appreciate all of Neopia honoring me on Fyora Day, but I didn't achieve anything on my own. Members of the Altadorian Council played a pivotal role in stopping the Darkest Faerie. Tormund and Roberta helped stop her the second time around. Many Neopians helped the faeries out when we were all turned to stone. The Space Faerie kept Sloth from forming an empire. I could list more things, but I think it should be a day to celebrate all that Neopia has accomplished."

"But aren't you the most powerful faerie in the world?"

"Maybe, but I don't think Neopia really wants to see my in my most powerful state. I want to work with Neopia, not overpower it."

"Thank you for your time, Fyora."

"You're most very welcome, Geo."