Explanation of Demona's Assignment to Tor's Family and Jhudora Fluff

Before Demona arrived in Fyora's court…

"So, what now, your majesty?" Roberta asked as Thomas ran out of the room. King Altador leaned against the side of the now empty light-faerie chair and Tor stood on the other side of it.

"You will need something," the queen replied thoughtfully. "I fear that your Darigan companion will be especially susceptible to this kind of magic."

"Why?" Tor asked, looking up in surprise. "She's a dark pet, isn't she immune to the magic?"

"Of course not!" The queen answered in surprise. "Do you not realize? She is a dark pet, a creature subject to judgment and feelings of total displacement among us. She is tormented by the harsh words of those who believe her to be evil. Despite what she probably tells you, no creature can take such judgments their whole life without some emotional turmoil. Even Lord Darigan has kindness in his heart, and he has declared himself a neutral acquaintance of the darkness, but he will not join forces with it."

"I did not think of that…" Roberta mumbled. "She is still in the room, all by herself. I told her not to come with us. I was afraid…"

"You feared my reaction," Fyora finished for her. "You thought I would react the same way as my faeries." She put an understanding hand on Roberta's slumped shoulders. "It is alright for now; Thomas has gone to fetch her. But you must understand that she was probably hurt when left behind. Please; do not do that again unless you have good reason to."

"Yes, milady." Satisfied, Fyora turned and walked back to her chair just as the door opened at the other end of the room. A Darigan Kougra- presumably Demona- waltzed in with a wide, joyful smile.

After the meeting came to a close, Tor was too tired to either scold the happy Kougra or drag her out by her ear, so he just walked out, his back as straight as he could force it. Roberta shadowed him, her forehead furrowed in worry.

"Sir Tormund," the kind called after him, closing the door to Fyora's chambers behind him. "I see you as still struggling. There is no need to keep up appearances."

"I am a knight of Meridell, my lord," he answered with a half-smile. "I wish to represent my kingdom well." Altador smiled before putting a paw on the Lupe's shoulder. Tor winced from the unexpected pain shooting down his back.

"You need to rest," countered the king. "However, you must all go to your lands. Well, almost all of you." He turned to Demona, who was grudgingly helping a smoldering Thomas walk through the castle behind everyone. It was her punishment for putting him in such a state. She looked at the king and tilted her head in question. "You will be living with Sir Tor and his family in order to charge your protection talisman. I have met them; they are good people and good farmers. I'm sure you will have plenty to do as Tor recovers."

Tor turned, expecting her to object loudly for all to hear. Instead, she simply nodded at the king and continued to silently help Thomas along. He almost fell from shock, and the king caught him before he tumbled.

"This could be a long recovery yet," he laughed shakily. "I don't understand, though; why does it hurt? I mean, I know why it would emotionally drain me, since that's what the clouds do, but this pain…"

"The dark power is able to recognize a true threat when it sees it," said the king simply. "It knows that you will try to resist it, so it retaliated harshly when it felt your presence."

"How would it know that I'm here?" Tor inquired quietly. "The Queen said that the darkness was only just starting to infiltrate this kingdom."

"I fear it already has infiltrated it. I think there is an agent hiding in the darkness. I have suspected Jhudora, but I have my doubts."

"That dark faerie would jump at a chance to hurt Fyora, though, wouldn't she?"

"Perhaps," Altador mused, "but she would never obey a master. If she wants Fyora to suffer, she would do it herself, and not under another's banner. She is a very proud woman, and that pride is perhaps her saving grace here." Tor's head began to ache from trying to comprehend what was going on. As the group walked out of the castle, however, they were almost in the face of the dark faerie herself. She was standing right outside the door with her arms crossed.

"Holy Harris!" Tor gasped in surprise. He was caught by Roberta as he nearly fell backwards. Was every creature in Neopia trying to give him a heart-attack?!

"So, the king of Altador is here after all," Jhudora huffed. "And of course he gets his audience before me, and I've been waiting all day." She looked to the right and saw Roberta helping Tor stand up straight. "And the heroes of Neopia!" she mocked. "Truly, the love she has for her faeries shows in her priorities."

"She has allowed you to stay in Faerieland," Altador retorted, crossing his arms across his chest. "I think her love does show quite nicely, considering what you get away with here." Jhudora growled at the Lupe and they thought it would turn into a fight.

Before it could escalate any further, they heard someone scream "OMG, it's Jhudora!" Realizing the voice was behind them, both Roberta and Tor turned to see Demona standing alone and Thomas on the floor. She was staring at the faerie as if her head was a giant lolly-pop. "I never thought I'd get to see you in person!" Pushing Roberta out of the way, the happy Kougra stood right in front of the dark faerie, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Yes, and you are?" the faerie snarled. Without uttering so much as a syllable, Demona reached into her bag…

And pulled out a Fyora Faerie Straw.

"I saw it on your list of requested items!" she chimed with a grin. "I was going to drop it off before we left-"

"GIVE IT TO ME!" Jhudora grabbed the straw from her paws and immediately began eating it. "I've wanted one of these for AGES! They kept telling me they were sold out." She devoured the straw within moments, and was licking her fingers obsessively. Behind Demona, everyone sweat-dropped as they watched the faerie loom over the Darigan once more. "Where did you get it? Are there more?!"

With an energetic nod, Demona grabbed the faerie's wrist and started running, practically dragging the purple-green faerie behind her. As they disappeared from sight, King Altador let out a hearty laugh.

"So, that's why she was so upset," he chuckled. Tor and Roberta threw him glances that were a mix of confused and disturbed. "It's not common knowledge, but Jhudora has quite the sweet-tooth. She's particularly fond of anything with Fyora's name on it. I haven't been able to figure out why, but I have two theories. Theory one: she sees eating anything with the Queen's name on it as a symbol of victory. Theory two…" He looked around before leaning closer to them and covering his muzzle. "She's secretly in love with the Queen."

The king let out another laugh and continued forward as the knight and mage stared after him, wide-eyed and very, very disturbed.

This is what I like to call a "Troll Chapter." Basically it's a very short chapter that's meant to either explain what's going on or act as a sign that I am still alive and will continue updating but I'm too lazy to do a full chapter. This is a combination of both, yay :) Enjoy!