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It was the prime of day and Neopia was in an odd state of
calm. Ramoose_, a rainbow Tonu, and his sister Puppy_Trix, a baby Gelert, were
returning home with their Faellie, Trini, after a small outing to the toy shop.
The store had been well stocked, but they had found few people browsing the shelves
and now as the trio walked back the streets were deserted of Neopians.
“My new marbles are so shiny,” Ramoose marveled.
“I’m really glad they had some in stock.”
“Just don’t lose them this time,” Puppy said.
“Who says he had any to begin with?” Trini asked
sarcastically.
“Oh, I had some. But they all rolled away,”
Ramoose said, his new bag of marbles in hoof.
“It’s really quiet today, isn’t it?” Puppy commented.
“I wonder where everyone is.”
“Probably in be. I could have slept until noon,”
Trini said.
“You’d sleep all day if we let you,” Puppy said.
“Look! A Pawkeet nest!” Ramoose exclaimed. He
pointed at a bundle of twigs in a nearby tree.
Trini turned to look and in doing so noticed
a small Neohome in the distance. It belonged to her best friend Dart, a friendly
Warf who was low in confidence but always supportive.
“Hey, I think I’ll stop by Dart’s on my way
back,” Trini said to Ramoose and Puppy. “I’ll come home later this afternoon.”
“There’s a Pawkeet in it!” Ramoose exclaimed,
his attention still caught on the nest.
“Okay, see you later, Trin,” Puppy said.
Trini parted ways with the Tonu and Gelert and
headed home down a side road, toward Dart’s small straw Neohome.
It wasn’t just Neopia’s low activity level that
was odd that day. Trini also had the sense that someone was following her. She’d
had it since they first left their Neohome that morning and it lingered with
her still. The Faellie listened closely for footsteps from behind her, but no
matter how hard she tried her large ears could hear nothing. When she peered
over her shoulder Trini saw no one. Although it could have been her imagination
Trini knew better than to dismiss her intuition.
When the Faellie arrived in front of Dart’s
humble home she paused to shake off the feeling and then rapped on the door.
After a moment a voice came from the other side
of the barrier. “Who is it?” The voice asked timidly.
“It’s me, Dart!” Trini hollered.
“Trini?”
“Open the door, Dart!” Trini said impatiently.
“I haven’t got all day, you know.”
The door was opened ever so slightly to reveal
a Warf eye peeking out through the gap.
“Oh, hi Trini,” the Warf said, opening the door
to let the Faellie in. “I wasn’t sure if it was you.”
“Do you know any other Faellies?” Trini pointed
out, standing in the hallway as Dart closed the door.
“Well, no, but…” he began.
“Forget it. It’s fine,” Trini said.
After closing the front door Dart stood with
Trini in the hall, making no sign of movement.
“Some host you are,” Trini said as she flew
into the Warf’s small living room and sat down on the sofa. “Have a seat why
don’t you,” she motioned to Dart.
“Thanks,” Dart said, acting as if it were Trini’s
Neohome and not his own as he sat down.
“Okay, down to business,” Trini said. “Have
you been stalking me?”
The Warf looked at her blankly. “Wh-what?”
“Have you been following me around?” Trini asked.
“Why would I do that?” Dart asked in bewilderment.
“Because you’re so impressed by me,” Trini said,
modest in no way whatsoever. “So have you been?”
“No,” Dart said. “I’ve been home all day. Is
someone following you?” The petpet looked around nervously.
“I don’t know,” Trini said. “I think so, but
if it’s not you then I don’t know who it could be.”
Dart shrugged. “A Mootix?”
“Why would a bug follow me?” Trini asked.
Dart had no reason and Trini clapped her hands
together. “Well then, I guess I’d better be going.”
“Okay,” Dart said.
“See you later,” Trini called over her shoulder
as she let herself out.
Once outside Trini looked around to see if anything
looked out of place. Perhaps someone was dressed up as a bush or perched in
a tree. Although the Faellie could find nothing she made sure she staid alert
as she began her flight home. Her large ears twitched at the tweet of a Pawkeet
and she jumped at the yells of youngsters.
Trini had not gone far, perhaps a couple of
blocks before she heard it. It was a distinct fluttering of wings. Small wings,
but wings nonetheless. Trini listened carefully, keying in on the suspicious
sound. She stopped abruptly, hovering in the air, then spun around to face whatever
was behind her. To the Faellie’s surprise there was nothing there and as she
gazed at the empty street she dismissed her rapidly beating heart to the fact
that she had been flying at a fast rate.
“I probably just heard a Buzzer,” Trini said
in annoyance.
Nevertheless, as Trini continued home she spun
around once more, certain she had heard it yet again. But for the second time
there was nothing there.
Trini brushed it off once more, determined to
forget the feeling and focus on her trip home. By now it was getting late and
the afternoon sun shone high, guarding its city with rays of warmth.
This time when Trini heard the rustle from behind
her, or thought she heard it, she disregarded it. After all, she wasn’t going
to give in to a little feeling.
Unfortunately for the Faellie she would have
been better off paying attention to her gut, for what happened in the next few
moments was none too ordinary.
The fluttering of wings was back, closer than
before and flapped right close behind Trini, who flew on as if nothing was behind
her.
The creature behind her, who also happened to
be a Faellie, used this to her advantage and caught Trini at this time of weakness.
In a quick movement she pulled a canvas bag out and forced it over the Faellie
in front of her.
Trini realized too late that she really was
being followed and as the bag closed in over her she exclaimed, “Hey! What are
you doing?” But her cries were to no avail. She was bagged.
“There, there,” the intruder Faellie said, patting
the bulky sack. Her eyes flashed menacingly and she said, “I’ll make sure you’re
nice and safe.” With that she turned back the way she came and headed toward
Dar’s house once more. While Trini had been inside the Faellie had spotted the
perfect place to store her newest possession. Now it was just a matter of keeping
it quiet.
“Let me OUT!” Trini yelled, punching at the
burlap in a rash attempt to free herself. “Let me out, you Pfish!”
**********
“Here we are,” the enemy Faellie said to Trini, who remained in the bag. They
had arrived back at Dart’s Neohome and were now inside his dreary tool shed.
Trini had failed to chew her way through the
sack and sat in a heat at the bottom, spitting bits of cloth out of her mouth.
When her kidnapper came to a stop Trini stood
up, only to be tumbled out f the bag again as the intruder Faellie dropped her
onto the ground. Trini was taken aback, but recovered quickly and was back on
her paws in no time. “Who are you?” Was the first thing she shot at the other
Faellie.
“Fawnie,” she answered.
Why Fawnie had kidnapped Trini, Trini wasn’t
sure and why they were back at Dart’s Trini had no idea, so she made it a point
to find out.
“What do you want with me, Fawnie?” Trini asked,
making a point of saying the name demeaningly.
“Your life,” Fawnie replied, unwilling to buckle
beneath Trini’s interrogative questioning.
Trini was worried for her well being until Fawnie
expanded on her statement and said, “Your family, your Neohome, your life. I
want to be you.”
“Considering I’m me I don’t see how you plan
on…being me,” Trini said, “But how do you even know who I am?”
Fawnie looked a bit hurt but quickly shook it
off. “I was part of the batch of Faellies your pet Ramoose looked at when he
bought you. We lived together.”
“Oh,” Trini said. “I don’t remember much about
life before Ramoose and Puppy. So why did you hunt me down after all of these
months?”
“I told you. I want to be you. You got the life
I’ve always wanted. It’s not fair.”
Trini rolled her eyes. When would petpets learn
life isn’t meant to be fair? “Then what are we doing here in Dart’s tool shed?”
Trini asked, looking around at the damp dank interior.
“Well, I have to keep you somewhere,” Fawnie
said. “But-hey-I don’t have to tell you my plans. Who are you, my mother?”
“Fine,” Trini said. “Just answer me one more
question. Do you really think that you’ll be able to pass as me with Puppy,
Ramoose, and SeaZ0ne?”
“Of course,” Fawnie said, but her voice lacked
confidence.
Trini shook her head. “They’ll never believe
you’re me.”
Fawnie looked extremely disgruntled. “You’ll
be staying here indefinitely.”
Trini looked around at the run-down shed. It
was dark and dismal. There were no windows and the only light permitted shone
through cracks in the wooden structure. “What will I eat?” she demanded.
Fawnie pointed at a frail apple tree in the
corner.
“Fine,” Trini said stubbornly as her look-alike
left the shed. The door closed with a jolt and Trini was left all alone.
To be continued…
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