Wish-Granting

     Light.

     Crealiana's Lightmite.

     She forced her eyes open.

     She was in a small room with wooden walls and a single curtained window. The curtains were tied back with a colourful ribbon, and the light she'd sensed before she opened her eyes streamed through it--not sunlight, she thought, it flickered too much for that, but firelight.

     Carefully, she sat up and looked around.

     Small was an understatement. Apart from a narrow path that ran along the bed, it took up the entire space. There was a double door at the footboard wall--strange, Skyleur thought--and a single door at the headboard one, and a row of shelves hung on the other two walls, burdened with pots and pans and other household wares.

     Not a room, she realised. A wagon.

     Where was she?

     How had she gotten here?

     Her heart began to race.

     She couldn't remember.

     She remembered leaving home to pursue her quest. She remembered pausing under that Bent Tree for a while, thinking about Nicarina about how--she shuddered--how she'd turned her oldest and best friend to stone. She remembered pushing on through the Haunted Woods, and then--

     And then she'd gotten tired.

     So very tired.

     She sat up.

     Where was she?!

     The heavy thing that had been weighing her down was a patchwork quilt, brightly coloured like the curtains, and sewn, she could tell in the flickering light, with great skill and care. She'd seen equally beautiful work at the Wanderer's Camp between the Haunted Woods and Neovia, but if she'd followed Eviamnora's maps in the right direction, the Wanderer's Camp was farther behind her than home was when she fell asleep.

     Skyleur's hands trembled as she threw the quilt aside. Her fingers were sore, and when she looked down at them, she noticed that the skin around her usually perfect nails was cracked from a long night in the cold.

     Who had brought her here?

     Bandits?

     But as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she noticed Eviamnora's bag perched at the foot of the bed, as full-looking as it had been when she took it from her sister's room.

     Bandits would have taken the bag and left her in the woods, to face whatever found her.

     If they weren't bandits...

     She shuddered, then drew in a deep breath and twisted herself to look through the window. The movement made her painfully aware that it wasn't just her hands who had spent too long out in the cold night--

     A campfire burned beyond it. A motley crew of Neopets sat on logs around the campfire, bowls and spoons held with their wings and paws and hooves. The spoke in a quick, clipped way, almost like they were speaking some sort of code, and Skyleur could only make out a phrase here and there, not enough to be sure what they were talking about.

     She watched for a few minutes, straining her ears. When their conversation slowed, she picked up the sound of spoons scraping on bowls, the crackling of the fire, and the chittering and flapping and screeching of petpets moving through the dark trees that stood beyond the circle of wagons.

     Apart from the nearness of the deep woods, the camp seemed perfectly normal. Skyleur was just drawing up the courage to leave when she noticed a Gelert standing at the edge of the firelight, watching her.

     She started.

     A Stealthy Gelert.

     Whatever ease she'd found in watching the camp evaporated.

     She'd encountered a Stealthy Gelert once, in her old life. Zinifar. A huntress. Skyleur had hired her to track...something that had been snuck out of the tower, to find out who had taken it, and why. She'd been effective--frighteningly effective--at revealing the traitor, but--

     Skyleur shook herself. Was it fair, anymore, to think of the people she had known then in such black and white terms?

     The Gelert cleared its throat and extended an ear in her direction. The other Neopets assembled around the fire turned to look toward her too, and Skyleur instinctively ducked beneath the windowsill.

     A moment later, a knock sounded at the double doors at the footboard side of the room.

     Skyleur took another deep breath, stood in the cramped space, and smoothed her skirts. How did she answer a knock like that? It wasn't her wagon, so telling whoever was on the other side of the door they could come in felt entirely wrong, but what else was she supposed to say? After a few heartbeats, she settled for "Hello?"

     The door creaked open.

     "Don't be frightened," a scratchy voice said.

     The hair on Skyleur's neck stood up. She knew that voice.

     Another memory returned.

     No, I'd told him. Exceptions cannot be made. If you don't have wings, you can't reach the uppermost levels of the tower quickly enough. I'm very sorry, but perhaps a position in the kitchens would suit you? The cook needs--

     I'd expected the Meerca to be disappointed, but his eyes lit up, and he said in the same scratchy voice he used as he opened the wagon door, You mean it? I can stay?

     At his excitement, I changed my mind. Anyone that excited about a job in the tower kitchens had to have some ulterior motive, and the tower was so full of dangerous things, it couldn't be risked.

     Oh, I'm so sorry. I've just remembered that position was filled this morning.

     And I sent him away.

     Sruthair.

     The steel-blue of his Mutant fur had streaks of grey in it, and his front tooth was chipped, but his eyes still held all the warmth she'd seen in them that day at the tower.

     Oh, oh, of course. I understand--so much going on, too much for one lady to keep track of. Thank you for your time, madam. It means the world to me that you'd considered it, even if there's nothing suitable available for me. Most Neopets...

     Were afraid of Mutants. That's what he'd meant, though he was ushered out of the room by a liveried Draik guard before he could say the words.

     Skyleur had never been afraid of Mutants, but she had lied. The kitchen position was still unfilled. It would never be filled, because a fortnight after she sent Sruthair away, an army arrived at her doorstep.

     "Miss?" he asked.

     Skyleur shook herself back to the present and searched Sruthair's face.

     Did he recognize her?

     She hoped not.

     "Are you all right now?" he asked. "You were half-froze when we found you, but we got you inside and under those covers, and the petpets all piled on as the afternoon wore on, and Miss Amumita--she's one of those strange Sroom Chias, but she knows the second most about herbs and healing of any Neopet I've ever met--said all you needed was some good, sound sleep. "But you look like you've seen a ghost. I told her we should've left someone in here with you, to tell you as soon as you woke up that you were safe. Falling asleep in the deep woods like that... You must've been lost for quite--"

     Skyleur shook her head vehemently. "I wasn't lost."

     A heartbeat later, she realised he'd said afternoon. She glanced out the window. It was night now, but just barely, she thought. An hour after sunset, by Kreludor's position in the sky.

     A whole day. She'd spent the whole day asleep in this wagon.

     The Meerca's ears twitched. "If you're sure about that, Miss."

     Miss. If he was calling her Miss, he certainly didn't recognise her.

     Any why would he? They'd met once, so long ago, and though she still wore silk gowns and hats, they weren't the star-dusted dresses that had hung in her tower wardrobe. She had to believe that her crown had met the tower's fate after she'd been transformed into a star, and without the raiments of her old office, who would know her?

     Skyleur's thoughts flashed briefly to the Gelert outside. Could she be Zinifar? Could this troupe of wanderers be full of Neopets she used to know? Neopets linked to her old life at the tower?

     What would they think of her, if they knew? Would they pity her? Would they remember the ways she had failed them? Wronged them?

     She glanced down at the wagon's wooden floor in case her expression betrayed her.

     "You probably shouldn't set out again until morning. I can't imagine what possessed you to move through the Haunted Woods at night, but it's best, even if you know where you're going and how to get there, to move when the sun's up, like we do."

     Like they do. "How did you find me?"

     "Oh." Surthair's tone shifted abruptly. His next words were somber, consoling. "We looked for near an hour, walked out in circles until we could hardly see each others' lights anymore in the dark. It's too dangerous if you can't see anyone else's lights, the lurkers can get you then, and we thought you'd understand that. We really did try our best, Miss, but..."

     Skyleur looked up at him again, puzzled. What was he talking about?

     "Your Petpet, Miss. We couldn't find the poor thing. Not a trace. He or she might've just run off, might have made it back to wherever you're from. They didn't freeze out there, if that's any comfort, but we couldn't find--"

     Skyleur laughed with relief.

     Surthair shifted uneasily. "Miss?"

     "I didn't bring my Petpet. She's safe at home!"

     "Oh, but the Lightmite--we thought the Lightmite was yours. Little critter came and buzzed around Zinifar's, that's our Gelert, Zinifar's ears until we followed it to you. Maybe it just--"

     Skyleur quickly explained that the Lightmite was indeed Crealiana's. "Where is it?"

     "Oh, it's been dancing around the campfire. My Neucloop's been trying to snap it out of the air the whole time. I think the two of them have made a game of it. Your Petpet--it couldn't eat a Neucloop, could it?"

     Skyleur laughed again. "She's a Faerie Ghostkerchief. She can hardly touch things, let alone eat them."

     "Come sit by the fire. You can keep an eye on them and get some dinner in you."

     Skyleur hesitated. "I should get going. I need to--"

     "Nonsense. No one leaves camp after dark. That's our rules. Besides, someone out there might know something that'll help you get where you're going."

     A shiver ran up Skyleur's spine. Did Sruthair recognize her after all? Did he suspect where she was going?

     Could she tell him?

     If he'd been wandering through the Woods since way back then, he might know exactly where her old tower stood. The Neopets in camp might be able to take her straight to it, or else answer her questions about what had happened to it. What the world thought of her.

     What would they think of her, though, if they knew who she had been?

     Skyleur wished she could tell him--them, if the Gelert in the shadows turned out to be Zinifar. She wished desperately that she could feed the connection she felt to him, but until she knew what the Meerca thought of her old self, she couldn't risk being thrown out of camp while she was still so shaky on her feet.

     And she had no idea how to find that out without giving everything away.

     No, it would be better to pretend she was just a traveller passing through the woods. Better to accept their hospitality, get warm soup and a proper night's sleep, and continue on in the morning refreshed--if a night's sleep was enough to ease the aches and pains that her unintentional nap on the frozen forest floor had caused.

     She nodded.

     Sruthair stepped back from the wagon's door and offered a hand up to help her down.

     Skyleur nearly refused it, but as she bent to lower herself from the wagon, she felt the full brunt of her night in the Haunted Woods: Her joints ached. Her fingers stung with every movement, and the bottoms of her feet, she was sure, were blistered. Her back and neck were both stiff, and when she turned her head to get a better look at the Neopets gathered around the campfire, her vision swam.

     She stumbled out of the back of the wagon more than stepped, and Sruthair caught her. "Easy, Miss. Soup will be good for you. Then rest."

     As Skyleur hobbled to a seat by the fire, she realised that there was no way she would be fit to leave in the morning. Probably not for many mornings.

     One night with Sruthair and Zinifar was going to be hard enough. How was she supposed to keep her secret for days?

     With the Meerca's help, Skyleur settled herself onto a log close to the fire. Crealiana's Lightmite landed on her shoulder a moment later, flashing gleefully, and a Green Nimmo pressed a bowl of Rest in Pea Soup into her hands.

     The Aisha took it gratefully, but a new question crossed her mind, one that worried her with every sip of soup she took:

     Would these Neopets let her stay with them until she could continue on her way?

To be continued…