Part 5: The Final Pain...And How My Story Ends
I remember it as if it was yesterday.
I was sitting on the red velvet-cushioned windowseat by the giant picture window in the front of the Mansion. My "siblings" (who I was still not even close to thinking of as my real sisters and brother) were still in bed. I was an early riser; it was a habit that the red Lupe at the Pound had taught me, and even several months of living in the Master's Mansion had not cured me of it. My own personal legion of Shadow Skeith bodyguards was crowded several feet behind me, standing in their usual straight, stiff postures, hands at the hilts of their weapons.
Greenox sat beside me, his ears and tail limp, his eyes on the floor. The terrible ways in which I had changed had saddened him so much. He knew how ashamed I was of him, how disdainful, how infuriated I was that the Master didn't have the time to worry about my getting a half-decent PetPet. The number of times I had snapped at him, or slapped him away when he tried to nuzzle me or cuddle with me as he used to, had subdued him into this pitiful creature. Faithful Greenox...even then, he continued to stand by me, praying, he later confessed, that I would eventually come to my senses.
But I am getting off track. I need to focus on the story I am supposed to be telling.
As I was saying, I was perched primly on the windowseat, with a pair of Desert Aisha maids brushing my long silky fur, the fur I so obsessed over cleaning, grooming, and decorating to compensate for the utterly disgraceful fact that it was not painted. I had been admiring my new Blizzard Ring when suddenly, my head snapped up.
I had heard a noise, coming from some distant point outside the window. Or had I imagined it? The Aishas stopped grooming me, confused, as I cocked one ear.
Yes! There it was again, this time so loud that Greenox jumped, the Aishas dropped their brushes, and the Shadow Skeiths, who I had almost forgotten were live NeoPets and not statues, whipped out their weapons and surged forward, ready to defend me.
But I was not the one who needed defending. I was the only pet present with ears keen enough to tell me that the scream which had startled us all was a cry for help.
I leapt from the windowseat and ran to the door. At that point, I had no notion whatsoever of helping whoever had voiced that cry; my only concern was making sure that there was no danger to the Mansion or its property.
Without thinking, I glibly picked the dozen heavy padlocks on the door, causing the Skeith bodyguards and Aisha maids to goggle at me in shock; lock-picking was not a technique that the prim and proper NeoPets of the Master were expected to have any knowledge of. That skill was reserved for the dregs of Neopia, the poor, worthless, street-smart, hard-scrabbling pets of the streets and the Pound; it was just another relic of the pet I used to be.
Ignoring the servants' astonishment, I bounded out the door, across the vast courtyard, and into the woods which covered much of the Master's property. I had no fear for my own safety; fighting, like lock-picking, is a skill which is difficult to unlearn. I, for one, had not unlearnt it.
Claws flexed, teeth bared, hackles raised, I leapt and swerved and dodged through the forest, picking up numerous bruises and scratches on the way, getting sprayed with dirt, and having my newly-groomed fur tangled by outstretched branches and thorns.
Being who I now was, I should have been horrified by such atrocities, but I was not. Lady Galleymyst had been left behind way back at the Mansion; and so had the homeless Myst, the Pound-imprisoned Myst, the terrified Myst in the Necromage's laboratory. The old Myst was back, the oldest Myst there was, the Myst who had a kind, brave, loving owner...an owner named Marina. That Myst who, like her beloved owner, was not afraid of anything.
I came skidding to a stop at the edge of a large clearing. There in the middle of it, I witnessed an incredible scene.
A beautiful Striped Shoyru, her eyes full of courage and defiance as much as fear, was standing with her legs apart and her arms spread wide, defending a lovely Blue Uni who lay badly wounded and apparently unconscious on the ground behind her.
The creature from whom she was attempting to shield her sister was like no other I had ever seen before. It appeared to be a tall, imposing woman with wild ebony hair and a devious sneer on her face, clad in pale twilight silk. But around her neck she wore a menacing crimson amulet upon which a gaunt, horrible face was portrayed, and from her shoulders arched two billowy black wings. Her eyes glittering maliciously, she stood there taunting the Shoyru, obviously having some fun before finishing off both pets.
Although I had never before set eyes on one of her kind, I had heard legends of them, and read about them in the picture books Marina used to buy me on Half Price Day. I knew that this evil creature could only be the legendary Jhudora, the Dark Faerie. I also knew that her powers were nothing to laugh at. That she was among the most dangerous beings in all Neopia. That she was vicious, ruthless. That if I went up against her, there was no way in Neopia I could win.
But I could distract her. I could step between her and the Shoyru and Uni. I could allow her to do whatever she wished to me, giving the two pets time to get away.
Of course, then there would be no chance for me to get away myself.
I've gone mad! I thought. Sacrifice my precious noble life for these two lowly, disgusting, pathetic NeoPets? What a joke!
Yet somehow...for some reason...I wasn't laughing. Something, some little voice in my mind that I had suppressed all these months, was trying to speak to me, struggling to get through.
You're not precious, Galleymyst. You're not noble. You aren't even happy. You've never been happy. Not since Marina left you. You're nothing but a cruel, conceited, depressed, corrupt monster with a heart that was shattered into a million pieces long ago, and was never, ever repaired.
It was true. And there was no way in the world that I could pretend anymore that it wasn't. I knew in that moment that I, the NeoPet I had become, wasn't worth anything, and didn't deserve to live. I thought then that there was no hope of healing or redemption. Why live a life that wasn't worth living?
If I saved the lives of those two innocent NeoPets, I would pay with my own life. I would die. But at least I would know that because of my sacrifice, two others would live.
The moment had come for me to make a life-or-death decision; and yet there was no decision to make. I realized then that I was willing to suffer, willing to die, willing to be broken once again, for at least I knew it was to be the last time.
I uttered no cry. I did not leap heroically into the midst of the battle. Instead, I merely stepped calmly out of the shadows to stand between the Dark Faerie and her two intended victims.
A look of surprise crossed Jhudora's face, but it did not last long. She quickly regained her composure and, smirking broadly, sent a bolt of dark magic into my chest, a bolt powerful enough to electrocute stone. It sent me flying ten feet into the air, and I landed with a sickening thud.
Pain lanced through my body, like nothing I had ever felt before; it was like being run through with a dozen razor-sharp, white-hot metal spears. The Striped Shoyru screamed and ran to my side, but then the evil Faerie crowed with triumph and turned to murder the unconscious Uni.
The Shoyru had no choice but to leave me and leap in front of her helpless sister. Her eyes darted quickly back and forth, assessing the situation, and even through my pain I saw the lightbulb go on in her head, saw tears spring to her eyes as she realized what was happening. If she left her sister's side to help me, even for a moment, her sister would be killed.
She knew then exactly what I was doing, and what I expected her to do. I was sacrificing myself for her and her sister. She was to take the wounded Uni and flee. I was to remain to prevent Jhudora from pursuing them...remain...and die.
Sobbing uncontrollably, the Shoyru, with great effort, lifted the Uni into her arms. Enfolding the delicate creature protectively in her wings, she turned and, with one last look over her shoulder at me, a look so filled with grief that it seemed to pierce the broken fragments of my heart, she sped away into the woods. Her burden was too heavy for her to fly.
With a few flaps of her violet wings, the wicked Faerie thrust herself into the air and took off after her prey. I was prepared for this, however; I bunched up my muscles and leapt at her, determined to cut her off.
We collided in midair, and fell together to strike the ground. Spasms of pain ran through my head, still throbbing from my previous fall. Gasping with the effort my leap had taken after the Faerie's powerful attack, I rolled over onto my back, shaking with physical exhaustion.
Outraged at having her fun interrupted and losing her victims, Jhudora scrambled to her feet and swung her fist, connecting squarely with my stomach. Every ounce of air rushed from my lungs, and I howled with agony as I felt several ribs break.
Leering triumphantly, Jhudora closed her eyes and grasped her frightening amulet. Another bolt of power, like black lightning, came crackling out of the amulet to strike me in the leg. With no air in my lungs with which to howl, I could only whimper softly.
The Shoyru and Uni had gained enough distance now, even if Jhudora pursued them. I was free to leave, to escape. But even as I considered it, I knew the idea was laughable. Nevertheless, I staggered drunkenly to my feet and took a few halfhearted steps toward the woods, but I soon collapsed like a ton of bricks. Making it back to the Mansion, or anywhere else, was impossible for me in this state. My plan, I saw grimly, would be carried out to the bitter end.
Another coil of dark magic slammed into me, searing my back and attacking my nerves. Toppling back to the ground, this time I did not get up. I cringed and curled up in a ball. I didn't even feel the next blow. I was somewhere else by then, somewhere beyond pain, hovering in some dim nexus between this world and the next.
As the waves of agony rolled toward me, I drew away, deeper into this nexus, closer and closer to the blissful darkness that lay on the other side. As spots of black and crimson swam before my eyes, as my vision dulled and my soul drifted further and further from my body, till it was connected by a mere thread, I tried and tried to reach beyond the pain, and waited for the bolt that would strike my heart.
That bolt never came. For it was then that something strange and marvelous occurred, something I cannot explain to you now, esteemed reader, any more than I could then.
A face appeared before me, floating, hovering high above me, a worn but beautiful face surrounded by a wild halo of golden hair. There before my eyes, clear as day, I saw the one thing in all the world which could possibly convince me to hold onto my own pitiful life...the one creature in all the world who had ever loved me.
I did not feel the need to say her name, and nor do I feel that it is necessary to do so now; suffice to say that her hands were calloused and etched with the faintest traces of salt, and her azure eyes were filled with the music of the sea.
Neither of us spoke. There was nothing that needed to be said. She reached out and lovingly touched my paw with her gentle hand, and I relaxed. Forest or nexus or land of darkness, rich or poor, painted or plain, even alive or dead, it did not matter anymore. Somewhere there was someone who loved me...and somehow, that was enough.
I awoke to pain. Raw, jagged, shattering pain. It was not a nice feeling to wake up to. But I also heard sounds, saw light and color, felt softness and warmth, and I thought, I'm alive!
With that revelation, I blinked several times and looked down at myself. My injuries must have been pretty severe, because I was wrapped up in so many bandages and casts that I resembled a mummy.
Then I looked up from the bed in which I was lying. A smile spread across the tear-stained face of a short, slender girl standing over me. Her blue-green eyes lit up when she saw that I was awake. Blonde hair cascaded down her back.
"Marina?" I whispered.
The girl reached out a slightly trembling hand. She took my paw and squeezed it. Her hand was soft, not like Marina's oar-calloused palm.
"Shh. Don't try to talk if it hurts, darling. Don't you worry about a thing. You're safe now."
"The Dark Faerie?" I managed to choke out.
"I uncorked a Stream of Light. Its brilliance blinded her temporarily and disabled her powers. She won't be bothering anyone else for quite a while."
The girl poured some water between my lips, which I swallowed gratefully. She smiled, but I could still see worry in her eyes as she stroked my forehead, and I heard it in her voice when she spoke again. "You need to rest, honey. You've been through quite a lot. You're lucky to be alive."
"Thank you...for saving me," I choked out.
Looking surprised, the girl shook her head earnestly. "Please don't thank me, darling. It's my beloved pets who saved you, and it was small payment for what you did for them. They owe you their lives."
I gaped up at her. "Your pets?"
She nodded solemnly, and stepped aside, revealing, to my surprise, a second bed behind her. And there in that bed lay two bandaged female NeoPets, about my age: a striped Shoyru and a blue Uni. Of course, I recognized them instantly. They both rolled over to face me, and the Uni smiled weakly.
"Thank you," she whispered. I could only stare at her.
"What's your name?" the Shoyru asked to fill the awkward silence.
"Galleymyst," I replied. "Galleymyst. But you can call me Myst."
The human girl nodded, her eyes shining. "That's a beautiful name." She walked over to the other bed and put her arms around the Shoyru and Uni. "Myst, meet IsadoraMoonChild and Twlight414. Isadora, Twlight, meet your new sister."
My eyes widened. Slowly, I turned to take another look at this girl. Somewhere, somewhere deep in the sea of sharp, broken, pierced, and mangled shards that had once been my innocent, trusting, loving, hopeful heart, some tiny microscopic spark of that old familiar hope was rekindled. In my eyes, I know it warred with the lesson of disbelief and mistrust that I had learned so well over and over again ever since my heart was broken for the first time.
"Sister?" I croaked.
The girl walked slowly back over to my bed. Slowly, she eased her arms around me, lifted me out of bed, and held me tenderly against her chest, her lips buried in my fur.
"Yes, Myst. I am your new owner, HauntedMoon."
That name.
It had been so long, and I had gone through so much since then, so many terrible changes, that the fact that I still remembered it was nothing short of a miracle. But immediately, my eyes filled with tears.
Resting my exhausted head on HauntedMoon's shoulder, letting the tears run down my face in torrents, letting myself cry as I had not cried since my first owner abandoned me in the Pound, I whispered, "And you once had another Gelert...a beautiful Cloud Gelert with a heart of gold...and her name was Jetzu."
And now, reader, we approach a point in this story which I will be profoundly relieved to reach, as my voice has tired from this lengthy telling, and my eyelids are drooping with my need for rest. I have recounted all of the important events that have taken place in my life up until this very moment. I have arrived at the present. The end.
The sky is clear tonight, a deep midnight blue, and filled with trillions of glittering golden-white stars. The moon is shining down on us, and appears almost full. Its surreal silvery light shimmers in pools on the crashing, rolling inky black waves of the nighttime sea.
Isadora and Twlight are farther up the beach, playing tag in the moonlight, but before I join them I would like to spend a few minutes alone here, at what is, in a way, the place where it all began.
As the cool, refreshing spray dampens my fur, as the salty, fishy smell fills my nostrils and its taste fills my mouth, I am reminded of the happiest era of my life before this one, of a time that is gone forever, but not in my memories, not in my heart.
A storm has just ended, and a beautiful silvery-white mist has descended over the ocean. As I watch it drift and swirl, I can't help but wonder; wonder what secrets that mist is hiding, what mysteries it conceals. Wonder if, beyond that mist, a ship is rolling slowly across those ebony waves, and a girl, young for her job, is standing at the helm, her indigo eyes wandering for a moment from the course ahead of her, as she pauses briefly to remember fondly the little yellow Gelert who once shared her life, and to wonder what has become of her.
I said this was the end of my story, but endings are funny things, you know. Eras end, like leaves falling away to slowly crumble into dust and be lost forever. Some friendships don't end at all, even when friends are separated forever. Lives may seem to end, but then you open your eyes and find that you've been given yet another chance.
The sea, when you look at it, seems to go on forever, yet it too ends, somewhere far away, where it meets that hazy indistinct horizon. Stories end, like this one, but how can it end just when I have begun another life so new and full of promise? Can the ending of one story be just the beginning of another? And how do you know, then, when something has really come to an end? You might just turn the page and find another chapter.
My thoughts are interrupted by the nuzzle of Greenox. He crawls up my arm to my shoulder and nestles against my cheek. I smile fondly as I stroke him, remembering HauntedMoon describing to me how he must have followed me from the Mansion to that clearing in the woods. He was with me when Isadora brought her back to me, when the two of them found me unconscious in the grass with Jhudora standing over me, when HauntedMoon uncorked the Stream of Light, rendering the evil Faerie harmless, and brought me home with her, home to heal, home to stay.
I raise my head from my front paws, upon which I was resting it, when I hear footsteps approaching quietly across the coarse shell-strewn sand. I turn to see HauntedMoon kneel down beside me. She smiles her gentle, radiant smile and opens her arms. Happily, I crawl into them, and she enfolds me in her embrace. Snuggling up to my new owner, with Greenox perched contentedly on my shoulder, I feel warm and secure and safe.
I have gone through so much throughout my life...the pain of rejection, of loneliness, of hunger, of horror, the pain of a warped and poisoned soul, making my personality foreign to my own heart, the pain of the Dark Faerie's brutal attack.
There are all kinds of pain, both physical and emotional, and I'm afraid I have probably experienced just about all of them. I came out with a lot of scars...some on my body, many more on my heart. Those are the worst ones, the ugliest and most painful, and over time some of them will heal a little, but I will never be the same sweet, brave, carefree, and happy Gelert that I was as a pup.
However, there will be times when I will smile, when I will laugh, when I will romp and play with my sisters, although I will always be a little bit different from them, a little bit apart, because of the things that I have experienced. Nevertheless, I am content with the lesson that I have finally learned, with the knowledge I have gained which I needed so desperately: that life goes on, and love is eternal, and even after all that has happened to me, I can learn to love again.
"I still can't quite believe it," I softly confess to HauntedMoon. "That I finally have a home. A family." I turn to look straight into her eyes, so kind, so full of love. "It really is forever...isn't it?"
"Yes, Myst," my owner whispers as she holds me close. "Forever, for always, unending."