Faeries Land

     Ivima, a Water Faerie, swam through the Faerieland stream, searching for her friend, Yenil. Yenil was a Grey Faerie who lived in the forest next to Faerieland. She remembered how her friend had told her she didn't want to bother anyone with her Grey sad energy. Yenil's wings had gotten clipped in a freak accident one day when a group of young Faerie Petpets were flying around and got in a fight. The Faerie, caught in their struggle, tried to get away. Some of the Petpets had very sharp claws, and Yenil was left tattered and torn, and her wings ripped off.

     The Water Faerie couldn't wait to tell Yenil the good news. The witch, Xenia, had worked some magic, and the Rainbow Fountain could now grow back the Grey Faerie's wings, but only if she got there before midnight. But, when she finally found Yenil, she was surprised to hear her reject the offer of the Rainbow dip.

     "Thank you for coming to tell me, but I just don't think I'm meant to be happy," Yenil told her.

     "That's just your weakened state talking. Once you've gotten your wings back," Ivima argued. "You'll be happy and strong again."

     "No!" Yenil declared. "And you're doing it again." She turned away. Yenil never enjoyed being showered with so much of Ivima's "wishy-washy love" back when they worked together creating clouds in Faerieland. Once a Fire Faerie, she was bold and brave, and they quickly had become the closest of friends. But, their friendship came with its own issues. Being her co-worker and best friend, Ivima cared deeply about Yenil, but all Yenil cared about was the well-being of Neopets. After all, she did give Shoonee the Kacheek cupid her bow and arrows, which were all enchanted with powerful love magic straight from the flames produced in Yenil's hands at the time.

     Ivima capitulated. "I'm sorry, I'm just trying to help."

     "I know, and I love you for it."

     Ivima only ever wanted the best for Yenil. So, she let her friend stay Grey. She said goodbye and somberly swam back to her post at the Rainbow clouds. It was another day at work after all.

     Yenil felt uneasy seeing her dear friend leave, a tear running down her cheek. She knew she couldn't fly without any wings, but she felt too guilty about disappointing Ivima. So, she decided to run as fast as she could, trying not to trip with her frail, little legs as she followed Ivima.

     When Shoonee and her Lupe friend, Trevorance, found the Water Faerie, they told her what had happened to Xenia, the Wocky witch, who was reponsible for painting Trevorance Rainbow without permission. As the witch was about to escape from one of Faerieland's hidden castle libraries, Trevorance foiled her plan. They didn't know who she was, but they assured Ivima that the castle was safe.

     "I'm sorry you got painted without being asked, Trevorance. But you look great!" Ivima's words comforted the Lupe, who had felt odd about his new paint colour. "You're full of dazzling colours, all glittery and handsome."

     Trevorance blushed. His owner had never wanted to paint him, instead choosing to keep him the way he was made, Green. Bashful, he shook off the warmth reddening his face.

     "Well, at least the witch can't do anything now, because she turned into this." He held out the Xenia card.

     She grabbed the card. It appeared normal, but then, when she looked closer, she gasped, and her eyes widened. "What . . . happened to her, exactly?"

     "I don't know, but for some reason, I can paint things now . . . into cards." When Ivima didn't interrupt, he continued by telling her how he discovered his new ability.

     "Oh," the Faerie gulped. "I hope that witch didn't do anything more than just change your appearance. Some witches are known to be . . . well . . . ." She looked back down at the card, studying its portrait of Xenia. "Pranksters."

     "But she did! I know she did!" Shoonee shuddered. "Otherwise, why would Trevorance be able to turn people into cards? What if . . . ?"

     Ivima stopped her with a raised hand. "There's no need to look for trouble where it may not exist." Ivima examined the Xenia card. She read the curious text on it to herself in her head. She knows more about my home than me? Her brow furrowed. She was taken aback by the description for Xenia's card. How could the mischievous Wocky know more about Faerieland than the Faeries themselves?

     The Water Faerie tucked the card into her robes as she returned her attention to the two Neopets. "Thank you for saving Faerieland, you two. I'll take over from here."

     "But, we can't just leave it at that . . . !" Shoonee objected.

     "No, of course not. But this is beyond my knowledge, and I suspect yours as well. Queen Fyora will know what to do about this." She knew she would eventually have to report this, but, for now, she decided she'd keep the card and do her own research.

     While Shoonee wanted to argue further, she caught the sight of Yenil running towards them. She squealed with excitement, then jumped into her arms. Weak, the Grey Faerie had a tough time catching her.

     "Yenil! I missed you so much!" The Kacheek hugged her tighter, her head resting on Yenil's shoulder.

     "Yenil? What?" Ivima wasn't sure what to say to her friend who'd rejected her solution only a short time ago.

     "Hi, everyone. Hi, Ivima." She investigated Ivima's eyes. "After thinking about it, I decided . . . well, I'm . . . sorry about before, but I think I'm . . . ready for that dip in the fountain now."

     "Oh no!" Ivima pulled out the Xenia card and handed it to her friend as she explained what Trevorance and Shoonee had done and found out. "I'm afraid it was all just a silly prank, after all. I'm so sorry, Yenil!"

     Yenil handed back the card. Despite her sadness as a Grey Faerie, she managed to giggle when she saw how much her friend still cared about her. "You tried, though."

     A distinct whistle was heard coming from afar. Trevorance's head came up, recognizing his owner's call. "Sorry, gotta go." After a quick goodbye, he ran to his owner.

     Shoonee told the Faeries more about Trevorance's new ability to magically paint. It surprised Yenil to learn Trevorance could summon clouds, particularly because of the gloomy rainclouds that formed whenever she was exceedingly sad.

     "Thank you for trying, Ivima. I think I'm going to try visiting some old friends in the city."

     Ivima smiled, glad to see her friend trying to make even the smallest change in her life.

     Trevorance's new appearance surprised his owner. Psellia, the Air Faerie who had created him shortly after Faerieland fell, told him he looked nothing like the cute Green Lupe she'd made in the image of the forest now surrounding the city.

     Trevorance's head drooped. "I'm sorry. I didn't choose this, I swear!"

     His owner reassured him quickly. "It's OK. I don't blame you." She hugged him. "And you are very handsome in your new colour. You're just going to have to give me a little time to get used to the change."

     "So, you don't mind?" He asked shyly.

     "No, of course not. The question is, do you mind? Are you happy about the change? Or do you want me to change you back to Green? . . . Or something else, if you'd rather."

     "I don't know. This is all so new." He thought quickly, then continued before he could change his mind. "And, there's something else . . . ."

     Trevorance quickly told her about his new magical talent, then demonstrated it on a potted plant in the room.

     She was immediately worried for him. "This is no small talent. In the wrong hands, you could be . . . ." She gasped and looked away, covering her mouth with one hand. She refused to finish her sentence, wishing instead to keep her Lupe innocent. She knew Trevorance could be easily manipulated by anyone wicked enough to use him for dark acts or personal gain. "Promise me you will never use this magic again unless Faerieland needs your help." Psellia felt she had to remind him of his roots in some way.

     Her Lupe nodded, and they spoke no further on the matter.

     About an hour later, hidden deep in the forest next to Faerieland, Nigel the Chia spoke on the phone to Balthazar. He told him the Wocky witch had gotten a scuff on her arm, so the job would likely take longer than expected. He joked that they could probably get away with sending her only half of the promised goods because of just how easy she was to convince. They decided to give her one more hour, then they'd deal with her.

     Ivima swam by herself in a corner of the highest cloud above the Rainbow Fountain as she examined the Xenia card, whispering to it and asking if Xenia could hear her.

     "It's all my fault that Trevorance got tricked," she kept repeating to herself. "It's up to me to fix it."

     Rospa finished her break and was ready to get back to making clouds with Ivima. Fire sparked between her bare hands, happy that it was time for work again. But when the Water Faerie turned towards her, Rospa asked, "What's wrong? Why so sad?"

     "Just thinking of Yenil," Ivima lied, not sure how to explain her entanglement with the witch on the card in her hand.

     Rospa flew closer, the fire between her hands vanishing. She shared Ivima's sadness at Yenil's condition, then asked. "I know it's hard. How are you doing?"

     Before Ivima could respond, the card flew from her hand and zoomed into the sky. The sound of a witch's cackle was heard coming from all around, before finally fading away. Distracted by the cackle, the two Faeries caught only a glimpse of the card as it disappeared along with a crowd of flying Faerie Neopets racing by to see who could finish their Faerie's quest the fastest.

     The card was run into by a Techo, who peeled it off his body as he flew. Seeing no value in the card, he handed it off to the nearest Faerie Petpet. The Noil was overjoyed to have something new to play with.

     Ivima and Rospa looked down over the city as they thought of leaving their cloud pool to search for the card. Gripping the cloud firmly with her hands, Ivima suddenly shrieked when she got poked by what felt like a sharp needle. Her tail fin splashed in reflex, and the water sparkled as it sprayed lightly over both her and the Fire Faerie. Ivima, confused that a pointy rock could be lodged in the clouds, looked more closely and saw the rock slowly poke out further until it stopped, completely visible.

     "What happened? Are you okay?" Rospa asked, wondering why Ivima shrieked.

     Still focused on the rock, though, since it was still partially hidden by mini clouds, Ivima responded. "This poked me!"

     The little clouds started to shrink and revealed something far more beautiful and valuable than any ordinary rock. It was a diamond! The magical clouds floating around it swooped to the top, making it look like a glittering ice cream cone. The diamond was warm, and very hot to the touch.

     The Faeries knew they had to report this, so Rospa let Ivima go to look for her card, while she went to deliver the diamond to the Queen.

     Once the Water Faerie had finished swimming down all the waterfalls of the Rainbow Fountain, she found a small group of Petpets standing in a circle around something small. They looked like they were all standing in fighting stances, ready to pounce. In the centre hovered the Xenia card, trying to keep the Petpets from ripping it to shreds.

     Ivima jumped out of the Rainbow Fountain and waddled over to stop the Petpets. The card shot out a spark of magic and formed a flash of light strong enough to blind a lesser foe momentarily.

     What Ivima had failed to notice earlier when she tried talking to the Xenia card for answers, was the tiny text written at the bottom explaining its special skill: You may use 1 spell on your turn, if you know your opponent is lying. It seemed that the Noil, who'd been given the card, told the other Petpets it'd been given a quest item because it didn't want them playing with its new toy, causing Xenia to gain her attack movement.

     Ivima pushed her way through the Petpets, then reached down and snatched the card out of the air. "I've been looking for this. Thanks for finding it for me."

     The Petpets surrounding Ivima enjoyed the warmth of her kind aura and snuggled against her tightly. But, the card didn't seem very happy. It fought her, and she had to grip the card firmly to keep it from flying away again.

     It was time to take the card to the Queen. So, she waddled on her tail, a little hesitant, towards the castle.

     On her way, she heard an explosion coming from somewhere in the city, possibly near the castle. Following that was the sound of hundreds, maybe thousands of Neopoints dropping everywhere. The clinking lasted for quite some time, attracting many around to come see what was going on at the castle. Ivima was one of those who quickly made their way to the site of the explosion, right outside the castle entrance.

To be continued…