Inner Light
By child_dragon
I was back in the central room. I grinned smugly at BrightSong.
"One more, open the gate," I said.
He turned quickly, and his movements were jerky, as if disguising anger. I
looked at him, considering. Something was up.
"You know, its kinda odd that you're here," I said idly, watching for his
reaction.
He didn't reply, but just touched the wall, a gate of white appearing.
"I mean, if the Shadows are intelligent, then why do they allow you in
their realm?" I persisted. "You're opening the gates and all for me, when
they could just never allow a way in, and I'd never get the spear, and
never be able to defeat them. Then they'd have their way. They're making
evil take over the world mistake number one, letting someone who knows how
to defeat them remain."
He just eyed me sternly.
"I held the Essence, in case you forgot. I don't know what you're trying
to say, but the Shadows can't touch me. Now, are you going to get the last
shard or not?"
I just smiled and walked past him, into the realm of light.
"You don't trust him, do you?" a voice said.
I blinked, adjusting my eyes to the all present brilliance. I turned to
the voice and saw a lady, dressed in white, sitting on a gleaming rock of
white. Light seemed to stream from her face, and her gaze was serene, her
long white hair resting in a gentle wave over her shoulders. In her lap
sat a spotted zafara.
"Aldrai?" I said, surprised.
"Of course," he replied. "You really didn't think the Guardian of light
would be violent, did you?"
"BrightSong said all elements have their violent side."
"That's true," the lady said, "But you don't seem to trust him, do you?"
I shook my head.
"No, I don't."
"Listen to your heart, then," Aldrai said. "You did when you dove into the
river to save me. You did when you faced the dragon. And when you
accepted the Essence."
The zafara looked up at her.
"Shi'kly, I've got to have a word with my owner," he said softly.
She nodded and stopped stroking his fur, and he leaped off. I picked him
up and held him to my chest. Shi'kly faded from view.
"She's nice," he said.
"Yeah, I guessed. But how am I supposed to get the shard?"
"I don't know. I'm only here to see you." He sighed. "You've always been
so good to me. Someone else might not of risked their life to save me like
that. I don't miss my mother anymore. I know she's gone, and I wish I
could of known her more, but I have you. I know she loved me, but you're
love is as great as any she could of shown."
I buried my face in his fur, feeling tears spill from my eyes. I gently
set him down and knelt to look him in the eyes.
"I am so blessed to have pets like you," I said, "and I don't know what I
would of done without you."
He smiled, and hugged me around the neck.
"Come back. And never forget about love."
And with that he was gone. I stood, brushing tears from my eyes. Shi'kly
was back, gazing at me serenely.
"So how do I get the shard?" I asked.
Her smile vanished.
"This is the hardest shard to get," she said softly. "And not because I am
hard to fight or anything like that. There is no violence here."
"That tells me nothing," I said. "I need the shard, I've got to defeat the
Shadows."
"What is light?" she demanded.
I thought on that.
"It's the good part of life. It's life itself, and hope, love, gentleness,
caring, mercy, giving, and everything else that's good."
She walked towards me and looked me in the eyes.
"And how did you defeat the Darkness Guardian?" she questioned.
I was having trouble understand where this was going.
"Well, I was the opposite of darkness. I don't claim to be perfect, but
enough so that the thing couldn't bear my touch."
She nodded.
"You're more light than you think, child_dragon," she said. "But that is
good, modesty is also a virtue of light."
"Is patience?" I questioned.
"It is."
"Dang," I muttered. "Guess I've fallen short there."
She laughed.
"Very well then, I will hurry up my explanation. Now, I do not have the
shard."
"What!?" I said, startled. "If you don't have it, then where is it?"
She turned away from me and didn't reply for a while.
"Only a person with a good heart can claim the final shard," she said.
"That was not one of the traitors designs, but one of mine. I didn't want
the spear to go to one that would be taken over by the Shadows. The
traitor is furious at that, of course, but after he spelled me into
existence, it was too late."
"What happens after I take the shard?" I asked.
"I vanish. But don't be worried," she said hastily. "I'm the embodiment
of light, I'll still be around, but not like this."
"Okay then. Now, the shard?"
She nodded.
"Yes. You see, the shard is in you," she said, turning to face me again.
"You have a good heart, so the shard must come from you. An evil heart
would not posses the shard."
I paused, taking that in.
"I'm confused now," I confessed. "How do I get the shard?"
"Give me the spear."
I looked at her, then reluctantly handed it over.
"An evil person would be too concerned with self-preservation and would not
trust me. Do you?"
"What, trust you?" I asked. "Yeah, of course! I just gave you my spear."
She nodded and looked at the pointed tip. She gently placed it against my
chest.
"How much do you trust me?" she demanded.
I stared at the shaft, feeling the point through my shirt.
"You've got to be kidding," I muttered. "This is how you get the shard?"
She nodded.
"That's why I ask if you trust me."
I took a deep breath.
"Lying isn't a character of light," I said through gritted teeth. "So,
yes, I trust you."
And she punched the pointed shaft through my chest. I cried and fell to
the ground, feeling a numbing pain spread through me. I gasped and stared
at the spear shaft, finding it nearly impossible to breath. Shi'kly pulled
it up, the point coated with my blood. A light surrounded the tip, and
when it vanished, the head of the spear was there. A pointed crystal,
devoid of color, as was the shaft. The Elemental Spear was complete. My
vision seemed to dim, then suddenly all weakness and pain was gone. I sat
up slowly, looking at my chest. Not a mark remained. I stared at Shi'kly
in disbelief.
"Death isn't part of the light element either," she said matter-of-factly.
"Take your spear, Essence of Neopia. You've earned it."
I reached out and grasped it, feeling power run through me. The light
surrounded me, and I returned to the center room.
****
Feel free to neomail me, I encourage it. I like feedback. Sabreur is
really my brother, you can neomail him also, though I ask you to go easy on
that. He's in college right now, and I'd rather not have him mad at me for
getting a ton of battledome challenges, etc. Melody is also real, my best
friend. She's in college too, her neopets name is horngodess, but I
wouldn't suggest bugging her, she has a very demanding major and hardly any
free time. Sakuko is also real, she's a really nice person.
