To The Fairest

     Illusen read the Neomail to herself a few times over. "How exciting!" she thought to herself. "This party is sure to be a blast! Now to find a gift…" she turned to peer around the room, looking for a gift that would suit Fyora well.

     ***

     Jhudora smiled when she received her invitation. "This will be the perfect time for me to finally persuade Fyora to ban Illusen from Faerieland!" she said to herself and quickly wrote out a Neomail to RSVP. She too went to find a fitting gift for the Queen.

     ***

     It was a Fyora Day to remember. Fyora had been pleasantly surprised by a reception held in the famous Faerieland Gardens. All of the respectable Faeries had attended. Everyone was enjoying herself.

     It was a few hours into the party when it happened. The presents had been opened, games had been played, and the gathering was coming to a close. Fyora and Illusen were deep in talks of an alliance with Meridell.

     CRASH.

     Shards of glass soared everywhere. Some faeries screamed. Fyora looked up, instantly serious. Whipping her head around in every direction, she looked for the cause of the explosion. She turned to face the fountain in the center of the courtyard. She gasped.

     Water in the fountain was rapidly changing colors, first green, then red, and finally orange. In fact, it seemed as if the water was boiling away. Then, the whole fountain erupted into flames. An ear-splitting screech exploded from inside the fountain. Fyora clapped her hands over her pointed ears while staring at the fountain. A figure was emerging from within. Fyora moved closer to see who was rising out of the basin.

     "I heard you were having a party, Fyora, but I was horribly upset when you didn't invite me!" said the figure. "You must have known I wanted to attend! Fyora glanced up through the flames, still trying to decipher the mystery of who the figure was. However, she didn't have to guess for very long. The figure burst into the air and unfurled her wings, revealing her true self.

     "Eithne!" Fyora said, watching her shoot fireballs throughout the Gardens, setting everything on fire. "Eithne, we must have overlooked your name, it was a mistake! Please forgive us!" Fyora shouted up to the raging Faerie.

     "Oh, yeah, now you come crawling to my feet, because I'm a threat!" she yelled back. "No, I'm not here to wage war with my fellow faeries, my lovely Queen. I too have brought a gift!" she said, and grinning, pulled something out of her clothing. It glinted in the sun.

     Eithne blasted it down to the Gardens with such force that it burned a hole in the cloud. Fyora cautiously walked towards it, curiosity peaked. The object shone brightly in Fyora's eyes. As she got closer to it, she figured out what the mysterious present was. She noticed it was a golden apple with a tag on it. The strange tag read To the Fairest.

     Instantly, Fyora claimed it as her own. She knew that the apple surely belonged to her. It was a gift for her, of course. But she knew that others would want it. Fyora shook her head. No one could be fairer than her! She was the fairest in the land. As she leaned down to snatch the apple, she felt two pairs of eyes watching her move. Fyora glanced over to where Illusen and Jhudora stood, each eying the apple with a burning desire. Fyora leapt into the air to keep the apple.

     "It's mine! Mine I tell you!" Fyora screeched as she hovered above the ground. "Nobody can take it from me! It's my gift!" The other Faeries stood watching their Queen, appalled at her behavior. What sort of present could change Fyora from her cool, levelheaded self to this greedy witch?

     "That's not fair!" Illusen retorted as she flew into the air after Fyora.

     "We want the apple too!" Jhudora snapped as she too pursued the Queen.

     Eithne was grinning so hard her smile touched her pointy ears. She cackled over the three Faeries' bickering and vanished, convinced that her job was done.

     As Fyora flew on, she began to form a plan. She wanted to win this apple more than she wanted to continue being Queen of the Faeries. She smiled; she had the perfect idea. Her wings came to a stop, and she turned, midair, to face the trailing Faeries.

     "Let us stop this bickering at once!" she said, smiling falsely to reassure them. "I have a proposition. Let's have a Neopet choose the winner of this competition. That way, it will be a totally fair way for me to win the apple!" Fyora smiled evilly.

     Both Illusen and Jhudora opened their mouths in protest, but Fyora continued speaking.

     "Each of us will give him one offer to…how do I say it…sweeten the deal," Fyora said with a bit of a smirk, already knowing she had the best gift to this Neopet.

     Illusen found a flaw in Fyora's plan. "Who will choose this Neopet? How can it be fair?" she asked.

     "Easy. Faeries can sense pure souls. You should know that. It won't be that hard to choose an unbiased pet," Fyora replied matter-of-factly.

     Illusen still looked unsure, but she and Jhudora complied after a moment of consideration.

     "Now then, let's search." Each faerie set off in a different direction to search of a wholesome Neopet to decide the dispute.

     ***

     As Fyora looked around Neopia Central, Illusen searched around Meridell, and Jhudora explored the Haunted Woods, not one single pet was found. It took two whole months of scouring Neopia until one quiet evening.

     It was a warm, muggy night in Faerieland. Something important was in the air. Fyora trudged through the castle, depressed. This hunt had been taking way too long. All three Faeries were exhausted. They had even forced their fellow Faeries to stop their jobs to search. Fyora, Illusen, and Jhudora had become quite unpopular. But none of the three cared. All the wanted was the golden apple. It meant everything to them.

     Suddenly, Fyora stopped walking. She felt something change. Instantly, she felt happier and more content. She knew what this feeling was. Finally, she had located a pure at heart Neopet.

     She searched frantically all around for the pure pet, and when she rested her eyes on a Faerie Lenny; she knew she had found the right one. She rushed towards the Lenny, and breathlessly, asked its name.

     "Please, Lenny, tell me your name."

     The Lenny looked taken aback. "Uh…Killiam."

     "Killiam. What a beautiful name. Come with me please." She grabbed his wing and pulled him towards the castle.

     ***

     "You mean to tell me that this Neopet is the purest one we could find?" Jhudora asked skeptically.

     Fyora nodded. "This is the best we have. If you want to continue this feud with more searching, by all means go ahead."

     Killiam had been watching the three Faeries debate in front of him for over an hour. He cleared his throat. All three faeries turned to stare at him.

     "Um, my Queen, may I ask what I'm supposed to be doing for you?" he asked.

     "Well, we were waiting to tell you, but you have the right to know. We want you to choose the fairest faerie. These two," she gestured to the others, "believe they are fairer than I and wish to steal my golden apple. We want you, the purest soul we could find, to choose the real winner."

     Killiam looked stunned. How could he choose one of them as the fairest? How could they place him in such a predicament?

     "And how am I supposed to choose?" he asked, grimacing.

     "We will each give you a promise, an offer so to speak, to help you choose. We will present these to you one at a time, and then, you will choose one of us. It's that simple."

     "And if I refuse?"

     "You'll be placed in my dungeons for the rest of your life," Fyora replied coolly, without flinching. Killiam looked stunned again.

     "My Queen, this behavior is most surprising coming from you. I have always thought you to be levelheaded and sensible. I finally see this isn't true. I am ashamed, at all three of you. I will do this for my own safety, but you must all know you are no better than witches. You are witches!" he cried.

     All three faeries stared at him without blinking.

     "Are you quite done?" Fyora asked. "Because if you are, we will begin our brib-I mean our offers."

     Killiam looked thunderstruck. Had his speech done nothing to them? He sighed, and nodded his head. Fyora clapped her hands.

     "Jolly good. Let's get started, then. Jhudora, go first."

     Jhudora opened her mouth to argue, but Fyora stopped her.

     "Do not disobey me anymore. Go," she said sternly.

     Jhudora grumbled and left the room to prepare her gift. She returned a few moments later with a piece of purple paper. On it had green writing that promised Killiam riches.

     "I promise to you, honorable Killiam, millions of Neopoints for you if you select me as the fairest." Jhudora bowed and truthfully smiled to Killiam before giving Illusen and Fyora scowls.

     "Thank you, Jhudora. Now then, I will go next," Fyora said and gracefully floated to the center of the room, smiling.

     "I give you, handsome Killiam, anything and everything that is in the Hidden Tower for you to use!" she said, grinning at the Faerie Lenny. Killiam already knew this would be a hard choice.

     "Now then, Illusen, it's your choice." Fyora and Jhudora turned to the Earth Faerie sitting in the corner. Illusen stood up and walked to the center. She thought for a moment, then decided.

     "Killiam, I have watched you for a while, and I think I know something that you want more than these other offers." Jhudora and Fyora exchanged worried looks quickly.

     "I have been watching you closely this evening, and I can tell you don't have an owner. You don't look as happy or content than pets with owners. But I can change that with a snap. I've decided to offer you an owner. A loving and caring owner; one that will always watch over you. That's all I have to say. Thanks," Illusen said, and carefully watched Killiam for a response.

      She didn't have to wait long. Killiam suddenly broke down in tears. "I…how…you…oh…yes…yes…I choose you…" he said between sobs. "Thank you…for giving me the opportunity…oh, thank you."

     Illusen smiled gently. The other two Faeries screeched and stormed out of the room. Killiam looked up at the earth faerie.

     He mumbled, "Did you mean it? Will you really get me an owner?"

     She nodded. "Of course. Faeries never go back on their word."

     Killiam beamed and wiped away the tears. He leaped up and hugged Illusen tightly.

     ***

     So ends our story. Fyora and Jhudora eventually acknowledged Illusen as the winner, and the golden apple was placed in her possession. All three faeries returned to their normal posts, and best of all, Killiam got his owner. His owner, a small girl named Melissa, loved him more than anything. Killiam was the happiest Neopet alive. As she watched them play in Neopia Central, Fyora knew that although her Fyora Day hadn't been the best, she'd made another creature happy, and that was the best gift she could have asked for.

The End