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Untitled Document
A gnarled Dark Faerie sat on an equally gnarled tree
branch in front of a small hut. Seated in her palm was a Slorg with an onion
growing out of its head. The Faerie sighed.
"Bitsy is coming once again. I really don't want
to know what she's going to ask for this time." Her expression became thoughtful.
"Of course if I did, then I might be able to hide the ingredients and say I
couldn't make it. Whatever it is," she muttered.
"Yep. Could work," the Slorg croaked, his rather
chubby figure shifting as he nodded.
"Yes, but I can't see what they want so... wait,
I didn't notice that before! 'They' means more than one, and I see more than
two, so it can't be just Bitsy and Rin. There's... Morris, there's four of them!
An Eyrie and... a Kadoatie! I wonder," the Faerie said darkly. "Do they... do
those two want something? Oh, I hope not. I always found Eyries to be so disagreeable.
And Kadoaties are so squeamish," she sighed. "But it's not like there's much
I can do about it."
Morris cocked his head. (Well, cocked his upper
body.) "Kadoatie? What's that? Can you eat 'em?"
The Faerie shook her head. "I wouldn't want to.
But I suppose if you were really desperate you could eat one. But I mean really
desperate."
Morris sighed, "Oh well. What about the Eyrie?"
"No. They're too big for Slorgs. Just don't bother
with the Neopets. We were better off without them."
"Oh. Kyyli, why do you always do what Bitsy ask?"
Morris asked.
Kyyli sighed heavily. " I don't really know.
I guess I just feel that it's my duty as a Faerie to do favors for others."
"Oh." Morris twisted around so he could reach
the stem of his onion and started gnawing on it. Kyyli sighed and rested her
chin in her hand.
"Neopets are so dreadfully annoying. We really
would be better off without them."
***
Leye sat on a battered couch in her island-style bamboo hut. On her lap was
a bowl of cold ravioli. She stabbed a noodle with her fork and brought it up
level with her face. She glared at it, then jammed it into her mouth.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Leye
got and walked to the door, grumbling. She flung open the door to find that
Flaurin was standing on her porch, a frantic look on his face.
"Leye," he moaned, "you have to help me! See,
I've got a date in an hour, and when I set it up over the phone, I... well I
told her I was painted rainbow." Flaurin' s face flushed deep magenta. "I was
wondering if you still had that rainbow paintbrush, and if you would be willing
to pay for the boat trip to Neopia Central. I need to save my money for the
dinner."
Leye blinked, surprised that Flaurin had managed
to get a date. He frankly wasn't very charming, and looks were not his biggest
attribute, unlike Brak who could charm a Cobrall by raising his eyebrows.
"Well," Flaurin said impatiently, "do you still
have the paintbrush, Leye?"
Leye nodded dumbly. "Yeah, I think. I'll be right
back." She jogged up the steps and ran to her room where she quickly unlocked
her safety deposit box. The rainbow paintbrush was lying at the top of a small
pile of rare items and NP. She quickly shoved on a flannel shirt and jammed
the paintbrush into the breast pocket. You didn't board a crowded boat holding
a rainbow paintbrush.
Flaurin was waiting downstairs, wringing his
hands when Leye came down, motioning to her pocket. Flaurin nodded.
"Got the money for the trip?" Leye dug around
in her pockets for a moment, then nodded. "Then let's go!"
***
The trip to Neopia Central was quite uneventful. When they arrived at the docks
in Neopia Central, they departed and stayed a minute to watch the next load
of pets going to Mystery Island board. Then, they walked casually over to the
Rainbow Pool. At least Leye was casual. Flaurin kept glancing around nervously,
afraid that his date--a Faerie Nimmo he'd told Leye about on the trip over--didn't
see him and call his bluff. Thankfully, they reached the Rainbow Pool without
drawing the attention of any Nimmos, Faerie or otherwise.
At the entrance to the pool, there stood a grouchy-looking
red Wocky chewing a wad of pungent pink gum. Her lips were smeared with a very
loud shade of orange lipstick, and her eyes were practically glued shut due
to excessive amounts of puke-green eyeshadow. Flaurin drew back immediately
from the smell of her gum, and Leye's old rudeness poked out when she waved
a paw in front of her nose, saying,
"Whew, lady! Ever heard of Listerine!" Needless
to say, the Wocky looked a bit offended, and gave a pitiful sniff as she opened
the gate to let the two pets pass through.
Flaurin approached the actual pool, even more
nervous now, due to the fact that he was now holding a rainbow paintbrush. Tentatively,
he stepped into the icy waters of the Rainbow Pool. Slowly he ran the paintbrush
down his back. A streak of rainbow colors appeared and began to spread slowly.
It took a few minutes, but soon Flaurin was sporting
bright rainbow colors all over his body. "Cool!" he cried.
Leye nodded grudgingly. "Yeah. You look a lot
better. I guess. Kinda... cute. I guess. Kinda."
Flaurin shook his head vigorously. "No, no. You're
Brak's girl!" Instantly, he covered his mouth. "I shouldn't have said that.
You didn't hear that, Leye! Tell me you didn't hear that! Did you?"
The vehement expression on Leye's face was enough
to let Flaurin know that she had heard it.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Flaurin moaned, banging his
head against the side of the pool. "You really shouldn't have heard that! Leye,
please don't tell Brak I told you that! Please!"
"I won't," Leye seethed. "And I never want you
to mention anything about this again! I'm fine by myself, thank you very much!
I don't need anyone drooling over me. I don't need anybody!"
***
The boat ride back to Mystery Island was spent in silence. Flaurin was constantly
casting anxious looks in Leye's direction. Maybe she wasn't what he thought
she was. Maybe he should tell Brak to forget about her. He shook his head.
"No," he whispered. "I'm never going to mention
this again." And that was that. Or at least that was what Flaurin thought...
***
Bitsy had just about had it with walking. Luckily, the dramatic change in scenery
told her that they had not long to go before they reached Kyyli's hut. The clouds
were no longer pink and puffy, but humped and purple. Very dark purple. Teenage
dark Faeries leaned against knotty trees, jinxing any Neopet unlucky enough
to get in their way. Crouched and grimy huts dotted the sides of the uneven
cloud road. Older witches and Faeries stood in their doorways, screeching commands
and/or advice at anyone who passed. Their young offspring crowded the streets,
seeing who could zap the most petpets with their weak spells and charms.
Tellaie shuddered. "I definitely don't like these
Faeries. They don't look nice at all," she whispered to Lynchly. He nodded.
"No, they certainly don't. But you'd best hush
up, lest they hear you and cast some gruesome spell on you."
Rin, who was walking directly in front of them
heard all this and couldn't help agreeing. This was one part of Faerieland she
didn't like to visit. Secretly, she had a bit of a Faerie phobia herself. She
especially hated Dark Faeries.
Suddenly, Bitsy halted. "We're almost there,"
she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Now, let me do the talking and
you three just follow my lead. Kyyli dose not tolerate rudeness, impudence,
smart-alecks, or show-offs. Just keep quiet, and don't do anything that could
offend her. Got it?" Heads bobbed up and down. "Good."
Slowly, the foursome made their way to the end
of the road where a hut slightly larger than the all the others stood. A gnarled
beach tree stood in the front yard. Perched on the top branch was a withered
old, Dark Faerie who seemed to be muttering to the mutated Slorg perched on
her palm. She glanced over at Bitsy, unable to hide the slight frown on her
face.
"Hello... friends," she said. She paused. "What
are you in need of this... fine afternoon. Or is it still morning? It's easy
to lose track of time up here with no. . .sun to guide you."
"It's afternoon, Kyyli," Bitsy said in a manner
only she would call polite. "I am in need of a sort of love potion. Do you have
one on hand?"
"Hmm, meddling with love affairs are we?" Kyyli
croaked, forcing an almost playful smile.
"Not exactly. I'm really only dealing with business.
Heehee!" Bitsy laughed forcibly.
Kyyli winced at Bitsy's high-pitched laugh.
"Yes, well, I'll check my stores for a love potion." Kyyli hurried into her
hut, breathing deeply of the musty yet fragrant air of her storeroom. She swore
under her breath that this would be the last time she helped Bitsy. It didn't
seem right to meddle with love.
"Ignorant little brat," she muttered. "Needs
taught a lesson. I'd happily pay the person who puts her in her place." Her
gnarled hand ran across tattered labels. Bowls of glowing ooze set in the wall
provided her with some light, but not much. She squinted in the dim light, glancing
around the dusty shelves, eyes searching for a leaf-shaped vile. Several times
her eyes roamed around the room before she finally spotted the vile. She picked
it up gently and checked the label. Then, with a weary sigh, she stepped back
outside.
"Did you find it?" Bitsy asked anxiously.
"All yours," Kyyli said, holding out the vial.
"But I have to warn you."
"Warn me?" Bitsy said nervously. "Warn me about
what?"
Suddenly, Kyyli saw a way she could foul Bitsy's
plan--whatever it was. "Warn you that... you... You shouldn't give it to a human,"
Kyyli lied.
Bitsy's upper lip curled. "Whatever."
"Anything else I can do for you?" Kyyli croaked
as Bitsy tossed the vial to Rin who stuffed it in her jacket pocket.
"Come to think of it, there is," Bitsy said slyly.
"I need you to turn the Eyrie and the Kadoatie into humans."
Kyyli looked a bit more than mildly surprised.
"Well, I don't know. I'm not too good at transformations. If I had a little
pay, then maybe I could do it..."
"I'll give you 50,000 NP," Bitsy said immediately.
"Done," was Kyyli's answer. Slowly, she circled
Lynchly and Tellaie. "Are you sure about this?" she said softly, a hint of evil
in her voice. Lynchly nodded dumbly, remembering Bitsy's orders to keep quiet.
"Well then, prepare for a slight shock." Sparks flew from Kyyli's fingertips
as she mumbled an ancient dark spell.
When Kyyli stopped, two bedragled-looking humans
lay on the ground; a female with long golden hair and stunning blue eyes, and
a tall gangly male who looked about thirty. They both had dull, blank facial
expressions.
Bitsy cowered several yards away, eyes covered
so that she would never see them as humans.
Slowly, the two humans stood. Lynchly stared
down at his body. "At last, I have power over pets! Our first act as humans
will be to adopt the Aisha called Bitsy."
Bitsy sprang up suddenly. "Oh no you don't!"
she whipped out her dagger and twirled it expertly. "Goodbye, liar," she whispered
as she flung the dagger. It pierced Lynchly in the back and he fell to the ground.
Tellaie was too stunned to ran and could only stand there, gazing blankly as
Bitsy drew another knife. "And goodbye to you, Tellaie back-stabber." There
was a swish as the second dagger flew through the air, then a dull thud as Tellaie
fell to the ground.
Kyyli looked slightly unhappy. "I don't think
you should have done that," she said solemnly. "Their intentions were good."
"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions,"
Bitsy muttered, already walking away.
Kyyli glared at her. "You wouldn't know a thing
about 'good intentions'," she muttered. And it was true.
To be continued. . .
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