A Missing Invitation

     “Can I help you, Jhudora?” she sighed, brushing the lingering threads of smoke off her skirt. They were nearly alive, clinging to her, drawn to her energy. “I’m very busy, you know.”

     “Yes, I’m sure giving little Meridell peasants chores to fill their days is very taxing,” Jhudora scoffed. Illusen did her best to brush off the scorn. She knew Jhudora spent all day in her bluff doing the exact same thing. “But I was hoping… that you could do me a favour.”

     Illusen had to hold in the laugh that bubbled up her throat. Jhudora was asking her for a favour? It was absurd! Jhudora was just as powerful as she was, even though her magic favoured darkness. Just like herself, Jhudora would get other Neopets to run errands for her and get materials for her spells. (Or just things that she wanted.) What could Illusen possibly help her with?

     “Go on,” Illusen urged her. Jhudora fidgeted with the hem of her robe, clearly not wanting to say whatever the flavour was. “Would you like tea?” Illusen offered. “Or some cream cookies? I just made the cream fresh.” She didn’t tell her that she’d made the cookies for the Kacheek. Something told her she wouldn’t like that.

     “Tea wouldn’t be the worst thing,” Jhudora grumbled. Illusen led her to her treehouse, a huge oak that was even larger on the inside – impossibly large, if you spent too much time thinking about it, but it was faerie magic, after all. If you followed a ladder up you would find a bedroom that sprawled out with branches, but at the base of the tree was her kitchen and her dining room, where she liked to host the occasional party. She reached into her icebox and pulled out a cold-brewed tea – she didn’t mess with trying to use fire in the tree after the last incident, and Meridell was often hot anyways. Jhudora scrunched her nose, but accepted the tea anyways, and Illusen led them to the table with a plate of her minty cream cookies.

     “So,” Illusen said as they settled, sipping on their rose teas, “what is it that you need help with? Meridell is a long way from Faerieland. It must be really important for you to make that journey.” For you to come ask me, she thought, though she didn’t say that part out loud. She knew from experience that pushing Jhudora too hard would just as quickly get her to storm back to her bluff, huffing and moaning the whole way.

     Jhudora gulped some more tea down, which Illusen noticed was already half-emptied. She stuffed a cookie in her mouth so she’d have to swallow before speaking. Finally, Jhudora had nothing to distract her. She stared at knot in the tree-trunk wall as she asked her favour.

     “I need to find out why Fyora didn’t invite me to her birthday party.”

     The words came out so quietly that Illusen wasn’t sure she’d heard her correctly. “Come again?” she asked.

     “I wasn’t invited to Fyora’s birthday!” Jhudora snapped, reeling on Illusen. Her eyes flashed a noxious green, and the clouds rolled in again. She took a deep breath, steadying herself. “I mean, I don’t really care, I wasn’t going to go anyways, but how rude of her, don’t you think? So I need to find out what happened to my invitation, and I need to take it straight to the Queen and-“ she went on like this for several minutes, and Illusen tuned her out while she let out her steam.

     “You know,” Illusen said, “maybe your invitation got lost in the mail. It happens sometimes. Have you thought to ask Fyora about it herself?”

     Jhudora scowled. “My mail-Chia knows not to lose my mail or I’ll turn them into a slorg. Not for good,” she added at the horrified look on Illusen’s face. “Just a day or two, so he knows to be more careful. I haven’t had to do it in years.”

     Illusen wasn’t sure why Jhudora had come all this way to ask her when her time would have been better spent asking Fyora. It wasn’t like the castle was closed off – anybody was welcome at almost any time, including Jhudora. “I’m not sure what you want me to do about this. I didn’t write or send or hide any invitations.” In fact, she just remembered she hadn’t responded to the one she had received over a week ago, and made a mental note to do that.

     “I thought…” Jhudora sighed. Was that a flush of colour coming to her purple cheeks? “I thought the faeries would be more willing to talk to you if you asked. Because you’re… nicer,” she said, gritting her teeth on the last word as if it were physically painful to say.

     Illusen grinned. “I’m what?” she asked, exaggerating her words and pointing to her ear. “Not sure I could hear you over the breeze.”

     “I said,” Jhudora muttered, practically sinking into her chair. “I said that you’re… nicer. Kinder. They’ll be happy to see you. Me… when my smoke fills the room, faeries tend to turn the other way.”

     Illusen patted her hand. “Jhudora, any faerie would be lucky to call you their friend. You’re just a little more prickly than the rest of them. Come on, let’s go!” In a whirlwind of leaves and spring breeze, Illusen transported them to the heart of Faerie City.

     Jhudora grimaced at the hustle and bustle of the city. Not to mention the amount of pink that coated every imaginable surface. This was why she kept to her bluff, where everything was a nice green and purple. Besides the normal pink stone that the buildings were made of, there were banners between the turrets, pink faerie dust lingering in the air, pink posters of Fyora’s face advertising her birthday – almost every inch was covered in something about Fyora’s birthday, making Jhudora feel more bitter. The thought of all the other faeries having fun, and celebrating the Queen… it made her angry, but underneath that, she found she was just sad. She wasn’t even sure she would have attended the party, but she at least wanted to be invited.

     She was so caught up in all the preparations for the festivities that she didn’t realize Illusen was leading them straight to the palace. “Illusen, I don’t want to go in there!” she hissed, digging her feet into the cobblestone. Illusen was surprisingly strong despite her lean frame, and Jhudora found she was still being dragged despite her best efforts. When she had asked Illusen to petition on her behalf, she meant without her.

     “Nonsense,” Illusen said, marching right up to the gate. The guards gave them a strange look – Jhudora’s stomach flipped again, knowing it was because of her – but they let them in with no questions. “All you have to do is talk. You know Fyora is very kind, right? I’m sure she’ll clear this up right away.”

     Jhudora knew there was no point in arguing when Illusen set her mind to something, so she allowed her to lead her through the weaving maze of the palace, feeling sicker by the moment. She was immediately lost and didn’t know how Illusen knew her way around the palace – as far as she knew, Illusen spent all her time in Meridell with those peasants. After a few more minutes of climbing stairs and navigating strange halls, she realized they were going to the Hidden Tower.

     Illusen knocked the password on the heavy wooden door and ascended until they got to the store. “Fyora?” Illusen called. “Are you here?” She knew the Queen tended to spend most of her time up here rather than in the throne room, enjoying its privacy and getting to talk to citizens who came to purchase her wares.

     “Illusen, is that you, I hear? What a pleasant surprise – come in, come in, I’ll get a cup of tea for us!” Illusen gestured for Jhudora to enter, but she shook her head emphatically.

     “Illusen, I can’t,” she whispered, not wanting Fyora to hear that she was there. “Please don’t make me go in there.”

     Illusen stared at her for a moment, lost in thought, then nodded and went in to meet Fyora. Jhudora let out a sigh of relief and folded her wings around her, settling in. Illusen had closed the door behind her, and it was so thick that she was unable to hear anything on the other side. It was better that way.

     “Hello, my Queen,” Illusen said, bowing deeply. Fyora gestured impatiently for her to stop.

     “You know how I feel about the bowing. Come, sit. What do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”

     Illusen hesitated. This had seemed like a great idea in the comfort of her glade, but now that she was here in the presence of Fyora, she was having second thoughts. She’d been so confident that this could easily be resolved by simply talking, but now she wondered – what if she was wrong? If Fyora really hadn’t wanted to include Jhudora, what was she going to tell her?

     “I wanted to ask you a question,” Illusen said, staring into her cup of steaming tea. Like everything else, it was a light pink shade, and she wondered what flavour it could be. “So, um… it’s about your birthday party coming up.”

     “Ah, yes,” Fyora said, sipping on her tea herself. The heat of it didn’t seem to bother her. “It really is a bit much, isn’t it? But Kaia really wanted to plan something, and she’s really been enjoying it, so I haven’t had the heart to tell her to tone it down. Everyone loves a big party, so I’m sure it’ll be fun.”

     “Yes, about that. Everyone, I mean. Are you sure she invited everyone?”

     Fyora frowned. “I know she did. I signed each invitation myself, and I even brought them to the post office. I would never exclude anyone who wanted to come.”

     “Well, that’s just it.” Illusen braced herself for whatever reaction her next words would garner. “Jhudora didn’t seem to receive one.”

     Fyora’s frown deepened. “That can’t be right. I made her a special one. Like yours – decorated to match your elemental prowess.”

     Illusen remembered her invitation. It was covered in greenery and leaves, and she loved the personal touch. The Queen – or Kaia, if she had made the actual invitations – was very creative, a quality Illusen didn’t find within herself.

     “Well, she never received it. She came to me very upset, though don’t tell her I told you. She’s actually outside right now – I wanted her to come talk to you, sure it was a misunderstanding, but she thinks she has some tough reputation to uphold.” Illusen rolled her eyes, knowing Jhudora was much softer than she let people know.

     “Oh, how horrible! It must have gotten lost, or perhaps stuck to another invitation. Come, I’ll talk to her right away.” Fyora gathered her skirts and swept out the door, leaving Illusen behind. She decided to let the Queen have her privacy – she didn’t need to know what was said. After a few minutes, Fyora and Jhudora swept in. She noticed Jhudora’s blush was a deep purple, but that she had a tiny smile she couldn’t hide, no matter how hard she tried.

     “See?” Illusen said, unable to keep the hint of a gloat out of her voice. “I told you it was a misunderstanding, and all you had to do was ask.”

     “We love you, Jhudora,” Fyora said, turning her full radiance on the dark faerie. “You are always invited here, any time you want. You are always welcome, and you have good friends.”

     “I guess I do,” Jhudora said, smiling at Illusen. The three of them enjoyed their tea together, laughing the hour away until Fyora had other duties she had to attend to. Jhudora and Illusen walked back to her bluff, taking in the city.

     “Thank you,” Jhudora said, staring at her sharp green nails. “I… was really nervous, and… I don’t think I would have done that without your help.”

     Illusen squeezed her hand, forcing Jhudora to look at her. “You never have to be alone at your bluff. We’ll always be here for you. You just have to ask.”

     Jhudora stared at her a long moment and squeezed back, grateful that she had chosen to go to Illusen’s Glade. What a good friend she had, indeed.

     The End.