A Flight to Altador

     "Hey Aethia, maybe you should take a break now?" said a voice behind her.

     Aethia turned around to find a Pink Gelert wrapped in an apron.

     "Celandra, hello," Aethia said. Celandra surveyed Aethia for a few moments. The Battle Faerie breathed deeply; her body drenched in sweat.

     "You know Queen Fyora doesn’t want you over-exerting yourself," Celandra warned.

     Aethia sighed.

     "I guess she’s correct."

     Celandra handed Aethia a water bottle which Aethia promptly squeezed over herself, soaking her body with some cold water before drinking some.

     "Where is Fyora by the way?"

     "She’s visiting Altador."

     "By herself?" Aethia began to look deeply concerned.

     Celandra shook her head vigorously. "No, no, she’s travelling with one of her guards. Rest assured, she’s safe in Altador."

     Aethia nodded. "I suppose so. However, we usually have dinner arrangements on this day."

     Celandra shook her head. "I can assure you; I’ll still make you both a nice dinner. You just might not be able to enjoy it together today."

     "In addition, she’s advised me to rest, but all that travelling across Neopia must be tiring for her."

     "Aethia, I think what she’s doing is much less exhausting," Celandra attempted to reassure Aethia.

     "I suppose so, but I’d still like to have dinner with her. Perhaps, I’ll fly the cloud racer over to her."

     Celandra narrowed her eyes. "Do you know how to fly a cloud racer?"

     "It can’t be that complex, many faeries fly them," Aethia replied.

     Celandra shrugged and sighed. "I’ll go with you."

     ***

     Fyora struggled to keep herself from yawning as she sat as an honoured guest during the proceedings of the Altador Council. Despite her weariness, she remained focused on her purpose of being here -- the subsequent discussion where she was to work out a new trade agreement with Altador. With Faerieland now fully recovered from the Xandra incident, its abundance of goods had piqued the interest of other realms, leading to a need for updated trade agreements.

     Queen Fyora sat next to the other faeries on the council, Psellia and Siyana, known as Altador’s weather guardians. King Altador turned to address the two faeries about concerns with the local weather.

     "I appreciate the mild weather you maintain, but I think we need some rain. Florin says the farms are feeling the effects of the dry spell," King Altador said.

     After a thorough discussion, the topic of trade with Faerieland arose. King Altador and Queen Fyora reached an agreement for Altador to trade some of their crops for Faerie Foods and clothing. The two sides then signed the agreement. With that completed, Queen Fyora headed back to her guest quarters with a faerie Draik guard by her side.

     "Perhaps I should take a bit of rest before I head back to Faerieland. Oh, and you should too, Crow."

     "I’ll be fine."

     "Oh, it’s not a big deal. Siyana’s Neohome has more than one guest room."

     "I guess it’ll be nice to take a nap," Crow replied.

     ***

     "How may I take off?" Aethia muttered with frustration as she sat in a spare Earth Faerie cloud racer parked behind the castle.

     "Well, you’ve got to find the key first. Fortunately, I think the previous driver left it behind the steering wheel here. Just insert it into this keyhole and it should start," Celandra said, pointing out a green key with the handle shaped like an earth faerie.

     Aethia inserted the key, and the racer immediately began floating off the ground.

     "Ah, success!"

     Celandra looked at a few levers in the cockpit and shook her head.

      "I’ve observed Fyora when she’s flying her racer, but the controls on this one are all different. Hmm… if you pull this lever maybe it’ll… WHOA!"

     The racer lurched forward into the air and barely grazed the roof of the castle, causing a few shingles to tumble and hit an unsuspecting faerie.

     "HEY!" the Tooth Faerie shouted in response.

     "Oops, my apologies! I lack experience in flying one of these," Aethia apologized.

     The Tooth Faerie flew up to the racer.

     "Huh, is that right? All these times you’ve gone places with Fyora, and you’ve never flown once?" she asked, looking incredulous.

     "Negative, she did all of the piloting."

     The Tooth Faerie folded her arms.

     "Tsk tsk, you let her do all the flying. I suppose I can help you learn. Better late than never," sighed the Tooth Faerie.

     She floated on to the racer and stood behind Aethia.

     "See this dark green lever? Pushing it forward increases thrust. You want to ease it forward though… unless you wish to crash."

     "I’m sure Fyora wouldn’t miss a few more roof shingles," Celandra quipped.

     The racer slowly gained speed in the air as Aethia pushed the lever forward.

     "Oh, and just for your information, this button here controls whether the racer emits thick clouds or not. Never engage this unless you’re playing Faerie Cloud Racers!" the Tooth Faerie warned.

     "How might I slow down and land?"

     "Ah, the brake is this brown lever here and the landing button is on top of it. Anything other quest-whoooooaaa!"

     Aethia turned the steering wheel rapidly and narrowly avoided a Faerie Shoyru.

     "Keep your eyes on the skies!" the Tooth Faerie scolded.

     "In which direction is Altador?" Aethia asked.

     "Go east and be careful over the Drackonack Mountains."

     After cruising in the skies for a few Faerie Miles (1.5 km), the tooth faerie decided that Aethia could fly well enough.

     "Well, you seem to have the hang of it. One last thing, see this screen? It’s your map. Keep an eye on it when you’re close to Altador. Fly safe!"

     The Tooth Faerie whistled and suddenly her own cloud racer appeared right under the one Aethia flew. She jumped right into her own racer and flew away.

     ***

     Fyora slipped into her guest room at Siyana’s Neohome. Crow waited outside as she changed into more comfortable attire — a pink, floral short-sleeved shirt and light lavender jeans. She exchanged her crown for a Colourful Negg hat and her footwear for soft Bruce Tooth Faerie Shoes. From her room, she emerged to find Crow persistently guarding the door.

     "Crow? I know it’s the first time you’re travelling with me, but you can relax. Your room is right across the hall if you need to nap, change out of formal attire, or anything."

     "Ah, well I suppose it’s safe here. Thank you, my Queen."

     Siyana floated over and spoke to Fyora.

     "Ah, Fyora. Nice job on the negotiations today. I’m glad Faerieland is back on its feet."

     "Ah, thanks. I’ve decided that since it’s late in the day, I’ll stick around for the night. Is that alright?"

     "Not a problem. How’s Aethia doing?" Siyana asked.

     Fyora smiled.

     "She’s doing quite well," she began. Her smile then dropped slightly. "I just wish I could see her today, but sometimes, I have to put my role as Queen first."

     "Oh yeah, I understand. I hope you two can see each other soon," Siyana with encouragement.

     "Me too, but she also wants me to avoid running across Neopia so quickly all the time. All this travelling is tiring."

     Siyana nodded and embraced Fyora.

     "Indeed, it is, I hope your stay is comfortable. Let me know if I can do anything for you, Fyora."

     ***

     "It’s quite chilly up here," Aethia complained.

     Celandra reached over and pushed a button with a roof symbol on it. A cover slid over them and sealed off the cockpit. Fresh, heated air streamed in from vents on the dashboard.

     "Well, that’s a neat trick!" Aethia exclaimed. "Wait, you possess knowledge on how to pilot these? "

     "I watched Fyora fly cloud racers all the time."

     "Well, it’s more comfortable now. Thanks!"

     The racer sped over the Drackonack mountains. Aethia took care to fly way above them, but even then, the air still tossed them around, making it harder to control.

     "Steady now… and slow it down just a bit," Celandra said, calmly putting one paw on the table steering wheel. Aethia lightly tapped the brakes as they bumped through the turbulent air.

     "Whoa! It’s challenging to control this!" She clutched the steering wheel tightly with white knuckles. Celandra held onto Aethia. They stayed like this until they began their descent across the mountains.

     "Whew!"

     "Altador’s close. It’s tucked away at the base of the mountain," Celandra commented as she extended her right paw out and motioned to the right. The faint outline of the walled city appeared.

     ***

     Fyora emerged from Siyana's abode, basking in the comforting rays of the sun; her gaze drawn to the sight of Siyana descending from the sky. Having completed her observations of Altador's weather conditions, she landed.

     "Queen Fyora, there’s a cloud racer headed this way," she noted.

     Fyora glanced at Siyana with curiosity.

     "Oh? Now, what would a cloud racer be doing all the way here?"

     "Seems to be an earth faerie racer, but I don’t believe there’s an earth faerie piloting it, must be someone else."

     Fyora stared up at the sky as the racer drew closer. Crow stood next to her nervously, unsure who was coming their way.

     "You can relax, Crow," Fyora said. "I don’t think there’s any threat with this racer."

     She noted the light purple hair and green outfit and also a Pink Gelert.

     "Aethia and Celandra? What are they doing here? And is that Aethia flying?" Fyora wore an expression of simultaneous bewilderment and amazement.

     "Crow and Siyana, are you seeing this?" she asked.

     "We are coming in kinda fast!" Celandra said to Aethia. "Whoa!"

     Fyora held her hands up and suddenly a bunch of pink faerie bubbles surrounded the racer and gently brought it to the ground, prompting a round of relieved sighing.

     "Aethia, dear! Did something happen?"

     "No, my Queen. I simply- I wished to see you because it is… Valentine’s Day."

     Celandra stepped out of the racer.

     "And you assisted her in flying the racer?" Fyora asked.

     "Yes, Fyora."

     Fyora then ran over and gave Aethia a hug.

     "I’m so sorry, my dear. I was so caught up in my duties as Queen that I completely forgot it was Valentine’s Day."

     Aethia shook her head.

     "No, no. Don’t be sorry. You had very important things to address. I just thought I’d visit you instead."

     Fyora also gave Celandra a hug.

     "Thank you for helping Aethia arrive safely."

     "No worries."

     "Awww, that’s so sweet," Siyana said, standing next to Crow.

     Celandra glanced at Crow and smiled.

     "Ah hi, how’s Altador treating you?"

     "Very well, thank you."

     "Thanks for helping Fyora." Celandra patted Crow on the back. "I trust everything went well during your first time."

     "Yep, without a hitch!"

     ***

     That night, Siyana and Celandra cooked a traditional Altadorian dinner for everyone, a wonderful three-course meal starting with Altadorian Cobb Salad and Altador Buns, with an Altadorian Pastitsio and Altadorian Lentil Soup main course, ending with a dessert of Altadorian Ambrosia. Large Goblets of Altadorian Nectar also lined the tables.

     Siyana, Psellia, Celandra, and Crow all sat at one table, leaving Fyora and Aethia at their own table.

     "Thus, you made it to dinner after all," Aethia said.

     "Yes, this is nice. How did you manage to fly that racer?"

     "Celandra and the Tooth Faerie both instructed me in flying cloud racers!"

     Fyora nearly spit out her drink in laughter.

     "The Tooth Faerie? You learned from her? She’s like the most dangerous driver in Faerie Cloud Racers!"

     Aethia laughed. "Well, my adventures did not lead to any accidents."

     Fyora’s expression then became more serious.

     "Aethia, I’m sorry for getting so caught up on my work. How could I have forgotten it was Valentine’s Day?"

     Aethia smiled ear to ear.

     "Again, no need to apologize. We can all be extremely busy sometimes. I’m just glad we can see each other."

     "Aww, that’s sweet of you. But next time, I’ll promise not to get so hung up on my work and forget those around me that I hold dear."

     Aethia leaned over to Fyora. "You promise?"

     "Yes."

     Since that moment, Fyora always made sure to set time aside for her closest friends. Nothing became more important to her than those she held dear. Other Faerielanders noticed that their Queen was suddenly much happier and more relaxed. Gradually, they learned the story behind it, and it soon served as a stark reminder to all Neopians to cherish their relationships, and to never let anything else get in the way.

     The End.