A tale of a Zafara Double Agent. The nimble, stoic, and clever spy who helped bring down the war. WRONG. This is the REAL story of a clumsy, shy, and good natured agent who only wanted to help bring peace to the lands she loves.

I would like to inform everyone right now that this story is based off the lesser known character, Zafara Double Agent. She has no name, and as far as I could find, she never did. So I have given her the name Zephyrne instead of letting her go on as just Zafara Double Agent. And I do warn you now; she won't be what you'll be expecting. I do hope you all will enjoy my version of this story. I had a wonderful time writing it.

Now onto the story! Enjoy! Oh, and eventually this will have hinted JeranxDouble agent!

There are many wars in my country. Some were made by fair reasons, while others stood on the grounds of the unjust and cruel.

I am but a humble servant woman of the King Darigan who sent my home into war. And then I was once a spy for the evil General Kass, who almost sent the two kingdoms I loved into another terrible war. Needless to say, I have a bad choice in these "rulers" I serve under. But I have a trick up my sleeve that got me out of a few tight situations. Something, as a little girl, scarred me for life; leaving me with a curse…and a blessing.

My story is untold but plays an important part for the side of good, evil…and integrity.

I am known as the "Zafara Double Agent", very few others as "Grace", but to many as "traitor."

My name is Zephyrne.
And this…is my story.

The wars between Meridell and Darigan Citadel were pretty much over, but were not at peace either. It was the after effect of the one sided battle years before, where the Meridell knights had taken the sacred orb from their home, leaving the land to waste. It was a dark time for the people of the Citadel; having lived for so long in peace and happiness, that it came as a great shock to be reduced to the monsters they are now, and cursed to live the remainder of their lives in the skies.

But it wasn't long before the sacred orb was found once again…

A dark hooded figure walked among the joyous Meridell dirt streets, where Neopets of all kinds joined together in laughter and amusement. Many were laughing and many more had that glint in their eyes for the upcoming tournaments. They gossiped and laughed at the might be winners and the obvious losers. One name kept coming up among them all. The so called Jeran the Knight was spoken very highly among them, saying he was the youngest yet strongest knight of them all.

The Neopets went on in their conversations on their theories of the tournament. The children however, had the blissful gift of innocence of all things evil and troublesome, and scurried around the legs of the adults, shrieking with laughter.

The hooded one moved through the crowds without a single word uttered to anyone. Though the mysterious pet was dressed entirely different from the others, it blended with the joyous people perfectly; like a lone yellow leaf in a swarm of green leaves that would come into view for a second and them disappear again. The dark figure was both visible for all to see, but also invisible to anyone who came across its way, as though it wasn't really there at all, but only in spirit. And even those who came close to the figure couldn't get a good look at the face, or even catch a hint of what species it was.

The only thing that could have identified this mysterious individual, despite it was wearing a cloak that covered it from head to toe, was the fact two floppy blue spotted ears hung from two holes on the hood, bouncing slightly to every step. Though this stranger may have looked to be oblivious to everything around, the truth was it heard every conversation nearby with the skills of an eavesdropping ear. It kept its head down most of the time, as though its life depended on keeping its face hidden from sight. The figure walked quickly, but not in a great haste; through the pets and away from the great castle, never once lifting its head.

There was however a small Usul who stood alone from the crowds that caught the attention of the hooded individual. Even more so were the tears gathering in the eyes of the child that made the pet come to a stop. The large sad, glistening eyes darted at the passing pets, as if searching for a familiar face. But at the rate the tournaments were closing in, and the fact most of the villagers were hurrying over to the castle to get good seats did not help the matter at all for the young spirit.

The figure stood there staring at the child for a long while. If anyone could see into its mind right then, they would see all the questions bouncing in the head about the lonely child. But there was also the secretive info stashed in the back that it knew it must return, or else it would be in a dire situation.

But the child looked to be in one too…and the stranger wanted to know so badly why she was so sad.

After the mental battle in the stranger's mind had subsided, the figure rubbed the temples on its head, as though exhausted by its own silly curiosity, before taking a deep sigh. It took a quick glance around then hurried over to the little girl's side. The young carrot top yelped out in fright at the sight of the stranger kneeling beside her with an aura of a faerie, filled with a mysterious sense of calm reassurance despite the dark appearance it held.

Almost as though there was a sort of magic hidden under all those clothes…

"Young one…," the cloaked one spoke, surprising the little girl to find the voice was feminine. "What is the matter?"

The Usul backed away slightly from the figure. Her eyes told the stranger that despite having a gentle aura, she still feared her strange and foreign form nonetheless. "Please…do not fear me child…Please," she said in a gentle tone that sounded pleading. When the young Usul did not move, the figure gave off another sigh. It took one more glance around, this time looking at every passing face and making sure no one was looking their way. Then it pulled the hood away from her face a little to reveal the face of a faded blue Zafara with mysterious droopy eyes staring at her through pale gray bangs. But neither the bangs nor the hood could hide the brilliance shining in the sockets that glinted in a beautiful sapphire color, glittering with both concern…and secluded mystery.

But there was also something else in those eyes that captivated the child. She could not explain, but the look in her eyes was the same as the magical aura she held.

For a moment, the Usul stood rooted to the spot. She never saw anyone like the Zafara before with her dark clothes and strange colored fur. The child would have thought creatures with this appearance were evil beings that came to cause havoc to her home, but never in her wildest dreams would she have believed to have seen such a strange beauty like her appearing out of the blue in such a gentle manner.

In many ways, the girl saw her as a faerie, coming when least expected, holding an aura to awe people for hours, and then disappear without a trace. It just came as a shock to see a normal, if not abnormal, outsider to hold such a presence.

While the girl stared in awe, the Zafara smiled sweetly, maybe a bit shyly, at the child. "Remember something young one, for you might want to tell others the same thing. Do not judge someone by first appearance, but rather look beyond their form and see into their eyes, for that is where the soul is hidden and shall be the open window to who they really are inside," the blue haired maiden said calmly to the wide eyed girl.

A moment passed by between them until finally the girl nodded to her, looking a little unsure. The woman smiled back warmly as she figured that was the best she would get from the young Usul. "Tell me then. What troubles you?" she asked in a warm motherly tone.

The Usul blinked then sniffled lightly and wiped her watery eyes. "I lost my mama…," she choked out.

Pale bangs bounced as the maiden nodded in understanding. She figured as much that the girl was scared alone without being at the safe side of her mother. Pulling her hood back over her eyes, the woman stood up to her feet. "Well then, we must find her then, shan't we?" she asked extending her hand.

The girl looked hesitantly at the offer from the female Zafara, but took her hand nonetheless with a shaky smile. Under her hood, the woman shared the gesture, though she hid it well from even the girl.

"Come along," she said and tugged the girl along her side entering the scurrying crowds. They walked for what seemed like hours, all over Meridell, searching for any sign of the girl's mother. During the time together, the elder Pet made sure with everything in her power to make the child has happy as possible. She took her to the shooting range for a short minute, letting the girl soak up the sight of both clumsy and skillful shooters hit the red and white targets. They came across the Petpet stand and cooed at the small baby-like creatures, and then to the Turdle racings where they cheered and saw the winners scream happily. And after some persuading, the child managed to convince the Zafara to play "Kiss a Mortog", where she purposely lost. The delight beaming in the girl's eyes was enough for the Zafara to swallow her pride…and the mouthful of slime.

Though the two females had a lovely time, they did not forget their goal and continued their search. By then the little girl had warmed up to the woman and acted as though she was enjoying her time with her favorite aunt. This didn't bother the Zafara for two reasons. One, no one would look their way twice with such an innocent child at her side. And Two, she was truly enjoying herself with the Usul, much more than she had anticipated at least.

To keep the child's spirits up, the Zafara had bought her a shiny green apple covered in chocolate. Still the girl's spirits were diminishing along with the setting sun as she looked all around for any sign of her parents. Under her hood, the Zafara bit her lip. There was one more place they hadn't gone near…one more place to be searched, and the same place the mysterious woman dared not go near.

The castle….

But looking at how distressed the child grew by the hours made her change her mind. Gathering her courage the woman started to guide the girl to the white castle.

"Do not worry little one. We are close to finding your parents," she reassured calmly. Her beautiful blue eyes shined with sincere honesty that relaxed the fretting girl. She gave a nod and smiled back at her.

"What might be your name young one?" the Zafara asked smiling down at her through her hood and wanting to change the subject. In all the excitement she forgot to even ask her name, and was quite curious as to what the little angel's name might be.

The child beamed up in reply. "My name is Ginger!" she piped.

The woman held a warm smile as she pulled along the crowds with ease. "No doubt for your orange hair I suppose." she said.

The girl giggled at her side, bouncing slightly in her steps. Whatever had made the child suddenly so happy did not change the uneasy feeling in the pit of the Zafara's stomach. "Careful now. Mustn't get separated." the blue haired woman said.

"What's your name?"

"What?"

"What's your name lady?" the girl repeated.

The Zafara hesitated for a minute, but couldn't say a lie to Ginger's sparkling blue eyes. A smile spread across her face. "My name is…Grace," after some hesitation she added, "but you can call me Zephyrne."

A brighter smile spread over Ginger's face as she bounced again. "That's a pretty name!" she cried out happily. "Are you graceful?" she asked the woman.

At first Zephyrne said nothing. She brought her hood more down over her eyes as guards from the castle walked by. Once they were gone, Zephyrne led Ginger around the corner towards the white castle. She turned back to the child while holding her hand more tightly as the crowds grew. "No, not at all. I'm quite clumsy really," she admitted. A sour expression came to her face as memories of her "clumsiness" came back to her. "I really do need to be more graceful though," she added in a sigh.

Ginger said nothing in reply, in far too much awe by the banners hanging around the white towers. Zephyrne felt her heart warming up at the innocent curiosity bestowed before her and wished for the times of childhood for herself.

By the time Zephyrne was crossing the bridge and reached the gates, she felt her insides churn and twist with nerves. She had long released her hand on Ginger and carried her in fearing she would get lost in the big crowds, or worse, possibly fall into the moat. Passing the gates and entering the large courtyard, Zephyrne placed Ginger back on her feet. She let out a small whine of losing her ride before a voice entered both their ears.

"Ginger! Oh Ginger! Where are you?!" shouted a brunette Usul, walking around the passing villagers with tears pouring down her face.

"Mummy!" Ginger screamed and ran to her mother, completely forgetting Zephyrne. She ran to her mother and enveloped her in a big hug. While the parent smothered her with kisses and hugs, Ginger looked back to thank Zephyrne, only to find she was gone.

Ginger was beside herself with shock. In her mind's eye, she completely believed that she had walked alongside with a real faerie, just as the fairytales had told her as a baby. A brightened smile came to her face as she buried herself in her mother's arms.

"Thank you Graceful Faerie…," she whispered.

Woo! First chapter done! Hope you all liked it! Not much going on, but more will happen later on! :D Thank you!