The faerie still held her dignity, her pride. If nothing else had been left to her she at least still had this one thing. The chains that bound her wrists were seemingly meaningless to her, as were the tattered wings that graced her stiffly held back.
"I thought I instructed you not to harm her," a voice came from the figure silhouetted in the entrance to the cell that held the faerie.
"We tried," the second voice replied, "She did not come – willingly…"
The bound faerie shuddered slightly, too small to be seen. There had been one from each element. She was hopefully outmatched but her pride and her bitterness had forced her to fight. And the fire had consumed her wings and left them the mangled things they were now.
"Very well. Leave us."
The other figure bowed and retreated off down the hall. The silhouette calmly walked into the room, the door swinging shut behind her and plunging the room into semi-darkness. She stood before the air faerie who was in a kneeling position in the center of the room, her wrists in her lap and bound to the floor by heavy chains. Her wings were a ruined mess, tattered and torn beyond any hope of recovery. But her fierce blue eyes blazed with pride and rebellion.
"You brought this upon yourself in some respects," the figure standing before her said sadly, "but I will apologize for what has happened. It was necessary…"
"Necessary for them to destroy my wings?"
"I trust my agents to make good decisions. If that was the only way to bring you here, then yes, necessary that your wings be destroyed."
The two faeries stared down at each other. The air faerie finally sighed and looked down at her bound hands.
"Very well Fyora. Tell me what is so important that you should exert all this energy on the behalf of an exile like me."
"You forget the honorifics."
The air faerie laughed bitterly.
"Of course I do. You are not my queen. Why should I bow in your presence like the others?"
"Do you hate us so much?"
"I do," she replied defiantly.
"Diganis…" Fyora sighed, "I wish it didn't have to be this way."
"Too late for that," she retorted harshly.
The faerie queen was silent for a few more moments before speaking.
"You know someone whose services we are in need of once more," she said delicately.
Diganis was silent, gazing at the floor. A cold suspicion was worming into her heart, and once again the hatred was boiling up.
"You never give up, do you?" she said bitterly, "You drag me back here and cripple my wings. After all that was done… you still dare to interfere more. And now you seek to do it to another. It will kill her. Don't do this."
The image of a tear-stained face swam up into her memory again. The bitter words of denial echoed through her head. She had frowned on the girl running away and abandoning her duty, but now, she understood why. She understood the suffering every day brought and the pain of being something that was despised by all.
"You seem to be facing your past quite well," Fyora replied coldly.
"I am not!" she cried, attempting to be stand in a rattle of metal, "I am not. I see my disgrace and my fall all over again. They took me past the corridor, the very corridor where I dared attempt the Shadow magic. And I saw the gloating in their eyes. You think I enjoy seeing that? Being so blatantly reminded of why I was exiled?"
"You deserved this fate," the faerie replied scornfully, "You almost destroyed Neopia."
"Yes! I did. I admit it. But from what I have seen Neopia deserves such a fate. Wretched world that it is – it deserved what would have happened. All I wanted was power and I almost broke the barrier. Hah… what irony. Now I have no power. No wings, nothing. Do what you will with me; I will not betray anyone else."
The book had been there for anyone to read. It had promised power, infinite power. There was no price listed but Diganis had not read far enough. She spoke the words of the ritual and tore a hole in the barrier holding back the Shadows. And for a moment the power had been hers. All hers, enough power to make her worth something to the rest of Faerieland, until someone had caught on to what was happening and stopped her. Then there was the trial, a done deal before it was even started. Stripped of all rank and title, her name forever struck from the records of their kind, and exiled for all eternity. Some still claimed she deserved worse.
"You had no qualms in betraying your own kind."
"And I say I will betray no other."
Fyora was silent as she walked in a circle around the prisoner.
"And if betrayal was the kinder option?"
"What are you saying?" Diganis whispered.
"I am saying that I need this person no matter what. There is… a certain leverage… that can be used. But to obtain this others may be injured. They have wings too, you know. Do you wish for them to become crippled like yourself?"
Now it was Diganis's turn to be silent. Silent and sick at heart. They would fight, she knew that. But for her, yes, she could trap them easily. Another betrayal. For a moment her heart cried out against it, her very soul rebelled against such a deep and grievous injury she would inflict. Then the tattered and torn membranes of a dragon's wing sprang to her mind. Behind this was the cold laughter of a faerie, the same faerie that had destroyed her own wings.
"You wouldn't."
"I would if I had to. As you can guess, the situation is quite desperate. I need her back."
"So I betray my last friend and condemn her to become that which she hates the most?"
"Precisely."
"You want the four. Her pets. And you will stop at nothing apparently… It seems I have no choice. I will betray the Dragon Thieves."
The words fell like lead in the otherwise quiet room. Diganis felt ill at the sound of her own voice. So cheap. She had sold herself so cheap, but what choice did she have? Fyora had given her none. And perhaps she didn't deserve one. But the Dragon Thieves… they were relatively innocent. It would kill her. Her pets being caught up in this… it would break her spirit utterly.
"Very good. I will have you released. You will be told exactly what to do. Fail to obey my commands and I will not be responsible for the consequences. It is not just your own wings at stake this time."
"Yes. I know."
And Fyora left her alone with the darkness. Diganis doubled over, tears streaming down her cheeks, her hair falling in a ragged wave over her shaking shoulders.
"What have I done…?" she murmured, "Oh Kristen. I am so sorry. You will never forgive me for this. And I will never be able to forgive myself."