It's 7:00 in the morning, and I'm sitting at my orange and blue coffee table,
doing my Aisha's make-up. Her name is KiwiBonk, and she's painted with a desert
paintbrush. Underneath the table, Snuffs II, the abominable snowball, is having
another one of his screeching fits.
"Can't you make that thing shut up?" ChinoGod the green Aisha, shouted over
the din.
"Hey, you can't say much. Your pet is always making noise, too!" KiwiBonk
said quietly.
It was true. Chino's Flightning Bug, Peanut, was always screaming at the slightest
noise. Snuffs stopped, and went to screech in another room.
MinxJade, the white Aisha, entered the room, and seemed surprised to see KiwiBonk
sitting there. "Oh, yeah. I forgot it's your first day of school."
KiwiBonk, who had suffered severe injuries when the Faerie of Darkness tried
to consume her soul two months ago, was finally going back to school. Thanks
to the Uber Faeries, KiwiBonk was now leading a normal life again.
"Only until recess," I reminded her. "Your sister isn't strong enough to last
a whole day."
It was hard to believe that KiwiBonk was the oldest Aisha, and went to high
school by looking at her. She was shrunk to a third of her old size, so she
was by far the smallest Aisha I had ever seen. I was kinda scared someone would
step on her.
"I'll look after her, Alison," MinxJade assured me.
"I can look after myself."
***
When my pets had left for school, I headed to Neopia Central (Our NeoHome was
in the Lost Desert) to do some shopping. Rumples_Skin_Skin, my speckled Aisha
and the third oldest, needed a new toothbrush, and MinxJade needed school supplies.
On the way, I met my friend Gabby, who was on her way to the Tombola on Mystery
Island. Her pet Shoyru, Qt_the_Adorable, floated behind her.
"Hey, Gab!" I said.
"Hey, Alison! How are you? Did you hear that the Tombola is being especially
generous today?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, I heard it in a chat room. Almost every time you pull out a number,
it's a winning ticket!"
"Cool! I think I'll go over after I'm done my shopping."
"Okay! See you around!" Gab disappeared into the crowd of pets and owners.
First, I went to the bakery and bought some bread, jam pastries, and cinnamon
buns. Then, I went to the back to school store, and looked at the pencil cases.
I heard two Nimmos talking nearby, and I couldn't help but overhear what they
saying.
"I think it's terrible," the younger, starry Nimmo said.
"The Chia Police should really do something," the other Nimmo, a green one,
agreed.
"You mean they've done nothing so far?"
"Not that I've heard of. They've done a few interviews with Officer Pudge,
the head of the Chia Police Department for Neopia Central in the paper, but
that's it."
"I bet it has something to do with those things disappearing from the Hidden
Tower."
The two Nimmos made their purchases, and I was left wondering what the strange
conversation meant.
***
At 10:45 that morning, I left the Lost Desert, where my NeoHome was located,
to go pick KiwiBonk up at her school. She was waiting for me by the front door
of her school. When she saw me, she waved goodbye to the group of friends who
stayed with her.
"KiwiBonk, have you heard anything about things disappearing from the Hidden
Tower?" I asked.
"I was about to ask you the same question. Everyone's talking about it," she
said. "And I've also heard of the Tombola being really easy to win today, too."
"Yeah, I know. Let's go check it out."
We went to the Tombola first. I was surprised to see that it was closed, and
fat little Chias in uniforms were patrolling the perimeter. The grass hut was
surrounded by yellow tape that said, "Chia Police line, Do not cross." Quite
a crowd had gathered, some hoping to perhaps get in and win some items from
the fraud game.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Someone rigged the Tombola so every ticket had a winning number on it," a
striped Chia replied. "Anyone with information should go tell Officer Pudge,
over there." He pointed to an orange Chia sitting behind a booth that said,
"Information."
"What happens if somebody mistakes that for a tourist information outlet?"
KiwiBonk said.
I was about to answer when I spotted something very unusual on the other side
of the yellow tape. I reached my arm over and picked it up.
"What is it?" KiwiBonk said, craning her neck to see what I help in my hands.
I knelt down so she could see. "It's a key..." I said. It was made of brass,
curved, old fashioned, and slightly rusted.
"Wow, a mystery!" KiwiBonk exclaimed, a bit too loud, for Officer Pudge saw
what I was holding and grabbed it.
"We'll have to confiscate that, miss," he said smartly. "It could be a clue."
"I don't think so. I think it's just an old key."
"Hey, aren't you that little pet with the golden tail?" asked the Chia, squinting
his eyes at KiwiBonk, who nodded proudly.
"You made quite a splash there at the Rainbow Fountain a while back," Officer
Pudge said. A few other police officers came over.
"I've always wanted to talk to you, being attacked by a Faerie and all," said
another officer.
"She wasn't attacked by a Faerie, you idiot, she got taken over by one."
As the Chias relived all of KiwiBonk's adventures, I looked around for more
peculiar things about the Tombola. I saw a group of officers interrogating the
Tombola Man, a gaggle of Pteris cleaning up a puddle of purple liquid, a black
door that no one seemed to have noticed....
I crept away from KiwiBonk and her fan club to get a closer look at the door.
It was locked from the inside, but not the kind of lock like the key the police
had taken from us. It led into the Tombola. I suspected it led behind the counter
where the Tombola man stood, and where the prizes were displayed.
Wedged between the door and the door frame was a bit of paper. I took it by
the edge, and yanked, but that was a mistake. The piece of paper ripped in half,
and the other half was left on the other side of the locked door. But all was
not lost. The paper had writing on it. I could read, in scrawling writing, "Midnight
Sun, Canapy Dream."
I grabbed KiwiBonk and ran. "Here's your key, little miss!" Officer Pudge shouted,
and threw the key in our direction. I caught it with one hand and darted home.
***
"Midnight Sun and Canapy Dream?" KiwiBonk said when we materialised in the
living room of our NeoHome. "What are they?"
"I don't know. I came home to look them up in my NeoLog." I sat down at our
small computer and hastily typed in the two names. MinxJade, Rumples, and Chino
were still at school. The four PetPets, who stay at home most of the time, were
playing tag and running around in circles.
"Ah, I found something," I said, for immediately two results showed up.
"Don't forget, you only got half the piece of paper," KiwiBonk said, "There
could be more."
The first result was for Midnight Dream, a kind of magic multicolour pencil.
"Uh... I don't think that's it. What's the next one?"
The second result was called 'The Blumaroo Enigma'. It showed a picture of
two starry Blumaroos dressed in black and stealing a twisted fork from a golden
pedestal, while a Light Faerie looked away. I quickly skimmed the article.
"It's about two Blumaroos who stole a lot of valuable stuff from the Hidden
Tower," I told KiwiBonk, who was a much slower reader than I .
"I don't see why they stole the fork and not the pedestal made of gold," KiwiBonk
said, studying the picture.
"It says their names are Midnight Sun and Canapy Dream! Hey, it's probably
those two taking all that stuff from the Hidden Tower!"
"But it says here they were captured by the Faerie Queen and locked in a tower,"
KiwiBonk said.
"They probably escaped. They're on the loose again, and now they're robbing
the Hidden Tower and rigging the Tombola!" I exclaimed.
"Why?" asked KiwiBonk.
"I don't know. Just to cause trouble. They left this piece of paper by accident,
and this key... is probably just a piece of junk I found on the ground."
"I don't think so," said KiwiBonk. "Who would leave an old key like that on
the ground? It's probably..." She dropped her voice to a whisper, ". . The
key to the Faerie Queen's Hidden Tower!"
"I doubt it," I said. I typed in 'Hidden Tower' in the Search Box, but all
it said was that a Gelert named Celandra discovered it, and it was located somewhere
in Faerie Land.
"And what about this paper? Who would carry around their name on a piece of
paper?"
"Who knows?"
"Are you guys discussing The Blumaroo Enigma?" asked Spitfire, Rumples' Airax
and the only PetPet we have that can talk, suddenly swooping down and landing
on my arm. He usually didn't converse with anyone, and spent most of his time
brooding in Rumples' closet. KiwiBonk always insisted his bad disposition was
due to being named 'Spitfire'.
"Yeah," I said, shaking him off. "We found a piece of paper with their names
on it by the Tombola, and we think, well, I think it's Midnight Sun and Canapy
Dream plundering the Hidden Tower and rigging the Tombola," I said.
"I remember that. It was about fifteen years ago," he said, ruffling
his chest feathers. "Those two disseminated consternation across all of Neopia.
Everyone thought they must be powerful necromancers to penetrate the Faerie
Queen's protection, but when it turned out they were little Blumaroos, the public
was flabbergasted."
"What?" said KiwiBonk, after a pause.
"How did they get in the Hidden Tower?" I asked.
"A key," said Spitfire, "They won it from the Tombola. Weird, huh?"
***
When MinxJade, Chino and Rumples got home, I took KiwiBonk and Spitfire to
the Tombola to check things out. The other Aishas weren't interested in the
mystery, and neither were the PetPets, so they stayed home. Spitfire didn't
want to go, but we dragged him there anyway. As we stepped off the boat that
brought us to Mystery Island, he launched up in the air and refused to come
down. KiwiBonk was so sure the key opened the door to the Hidden Tower, she
didn't bother bringing it. She wrapped it in a blanket and shoved it under her
mattress.
We made our way through the crowd of islanders, pets, and owners to the Tombola
for the second time that day. The Chia Police were still there, as was the crowd
trying to get in.
"Stay away, unless you want the entire police force asking for your autograph,"
I warned KiwiBonk. She scowled, but stayed a safe distance away.
Officer Pudge recognised me instantly. "Well, if it isn't the little miss
with the Aisha. How are you?"
I shook the plump hand he offered to me. "Fine. Have you discovered who rigged
the Tombola yet?"
"As a matter of fact, we did. But it's confidential. I'm not allowed to tell."
The Chia winked, then whispered in my ear, "We think it's the two Kaus known
as the 'Moo Marauders'. We found a bit of paper stuck in the door leading to
where the Tombola loot is kept that had their names on it. But the paper appeared
to be ripped."
"Do you think they're the same people who are stealing stuff from the Hidden
Tower?" I asked.
"Probably. I'm on my way over there to check it out. Why don't you and your
pet come over, too?" He had evidently noticed KiwiBonk, standing nearby, who
was trying to look casual but was doing a bad job of it. "We sure could use
your help. Most of my detectives are investigating the break-in at 2900 Delta
Close."
"Sure, we'd love to.... Wait! Did you say 2900 Delta Close?"
"Why, yes I did, little miss."
"That's my house!!!"
***
I got a ride to the Lost Desert in a police cruiser, in a state of shock.
KiwiBonk kept asking questions the whole way, and nearly cried. Officer Pudge
came as well.
When we got there, I bolted to the door and threw it open. Chino was holding
his stuffed doll and bawling, and a dozen or so police officers with notebooks
on hand were asking a pale- faced MinxJade questions. Rumples was trying to
calm the three PetPets, but he looked pretty jittery himself. He held a cloth
to his forehead.
"What happened?" I gasped, as KiwiBonk skidded to a stop beside me, and Chino
buried his face in my leg.
"That's what we're finding out now, miss," said one of the detectives. I was
so relieved to find my pets safe and sound that I felt annoyed by how the officers
all called me 'miss' every thirty seconds.
"Alison!" Rumples cried.
"It was so scary!" MinxJade whimpered.
"Is this your house, miss?" asked one of the Chias. I felt like saying, 'No,
I'm just the cleaning lady.', but that would have been rude. "Yes, this is my
house."
"What happened?" puffed Officer Pudge. It had taken him all that time just
to waddle from the car to my door.
"It seems that four unidentified persons broke into this house in broad daylight..."
explained one of the Officers, "...struck this young pet here..." He pointed
to Rumples. "Rummaged through the house, until they came to...."
"KiwiBonk's room," said MinxJade.
"Yes, and turned everything upside down in their search for something, then
exited by one of the windows in that room," he finished.
"Oh no. All my stuff!" she breathed. I followed her to her jelly room. It
looked like a tornado had passed through. Her drawers had been emptied, her
bean bag chair ripped open, and her shelves tipped over. She picked through
the mess. "Nothing valuable is gone... Wait a second!" She felt under her mattress.
"Alison! It's gone! The key is gone!"
Of course, we had to explain about the key, how we got it, and how we suspected
Midnight Sun and Canapy Flier to be behind the robbery of the Hidden Tower,
the Tombola, and now our house. Then, another bunch of police officers showed
up, and MinxJade had to explain the robbery again, and KiwiBonk and I had to
tell our story. The police officers offered us a room at the Neolodge for free,
but I said that we could stay here for the night, if they would drive by a couple
of times.
Before they left, Officer Pudge took me aside and told me more about the Moo
Marauders. He really did think they were behind the three robberies. I remembered
that he found the other half of my piece of paper and I asked to see it. His
piece had, "Honor Sweetness, Flier Link" on it, which were the names of the
Moo Marauders. When I put the pieces together, they fit perfectly. The note
now read, "Midnight Honor, Sun Sweetness, Canapy Flier, Dream Link."
***
The night passed uneventfully. MinxJade, Chino and Rumples had recovered from
the shock, and regarded the whole incident as an adventure. "Wait 'til I tell
the kids at school my house was broken into!" Chino said, his eyes shining.
The next morning, my four Aishas went off to school again. KiwiBonk was strong
enough to stay until lunch today, but I had to promise not to do any clue hunting
today without her. I was left alone in the house with the four PetPets. Snuffs
was bouncing around the house, Sara Dippity, MinxJade's Bluna, was soaking in
the tub, and Chino had somehow shut himself in the microwave and was screaming
to get out. But where was Spitfire?
Then I remembered. In our rush to get home when KiwiBonk and I heard of the
break-in, we had left him behind. Spitfire was still on Mystery Island.
***
There was still yellow tape around the Tombola, but people were allowed to
play. I spotted Officer Pudge monitoring the area, and when he spotted me he
waved his baton and hit a Uni in the face.
"Hi, Officer. Have you seen my Airax around?" I said breathlessly.
"No I have not, miss. Why?"
"I left him here yesterday."
"Oh, I have to tell you something. I figured out what the names on those two
little bits of paper-"
"Actually, it's one bit of paper ripped in half," I corrected.
"Yes, well, I figured out what they mean. They are the names of four very
poor pets, who are homeless."
"Are they the ones who broke into my house?"
"We don't know that. Nor do we know if they rigged the Tombola so everyone
could win, or if they looted the Hidden Tower. We have yet to track them down.
We did find out what they stole from the Hidden Tower, though. Whoever 'they'
are."
"What?"
"Twenty Swords of the Air Faerie, ten Rainbow Swirly Things, seventeen Faerie
Fogs, fifty Faerie Acorns, and thirteen Crystal Boomerangs."
I was about to ask what a Rainbow Swirly Thing was, when I was pushed to the
ground. As I fell, I saw the crumpled bodies of the Chia Police Squad. "Nobody
move!" a voice shouted. Looking up, I saw Officer Pudge draw his gun and look
as ferocious as a chubby Chia can look. I slowly got to my feet, then dropped
again, because four dark figures with bent forks were standing in front of me,
commanding everyone to lie down. Officer Pudge was the only one standing. I
was afraid he was going to get hurt. But then he realised it was four against
one, so he put dropped his weapon, and slowly lay down.
It was dead quiet. I could have heard a pin drop, but of course, nobody had
any pins, and if they did, dropping it would have been the last thing on their
mind. I couldn't see where the figures were moving, but somehow I knew they
were the same four who robbed our house. They were dressed in black. Two of
them had wings, and one had fins. The other had spikes coming out of its back.
Whether the four were Midnight Honor, Sun Sweetness, Canapy Flier, and Dream
Link, I didn't know. They could have been the Bloomaroos and the Moo Marauders
working together, but none of them had hooves. I didn't dare move my head, but
from what I could hear, judging from the terrified whimpers coming from the
Tombola Man, they were looting the place they had rigged to make winning easier.
I guess their plan for winning hadn't working, so now they were just robbing
it. I wondered if the Hidden Tower was next on their list. What about my house!?
They're already robbed it once!
I don't know how much time passed. I felt like hours, but it could have been
minutes. The four had taken all the wanted, and left, still holding out their
bent forks. Everyone lay still for a few minutes more. At last, we all took
a breath. Then, complete chaos. Pets started crying, and owners made a mad rush
for the ferry. The Tombola Man started to sob.
"Come on, Officer!" I cried, leaping up. "They're on their way to the Hidden
Tower!"
Officer Pudge realised I was right. He grabbed his gun, and shouted, "This
way!"
He led me to the nearest police car. "How will we get in?" I yelled over the
noise of the crowd.
The Chia looked confused. "You're not that big."
"No, not the car, the Hidden Tower! We don't have the key, and I don't know
where it is!"
"Alison!!!" a voice called.
"Spitfire?!" The familiar shape of Rumples' Airax darted in and out between
the mob. He clutched something in his talons. He soared up above my head, and
the object landed in my hands. It was the key.
"I stole it back!" he hollered. "Now go!"
Officer Pudge and I got in the car, and he drove his car as fast as he could
to Faerie Land.
"Wait a second, Officer," I said. "We have the key, but we don't know where
the Tower is!"
"This old Chia knows more than you think," he said.
"You mean you know where it is? I thought practically no one did!"
"Practically know one does. It's careful guarded, and only a select few are
allowed in."
"You're part of the select few?!" I said in disbelief.
"Well, not exactly," he admitted. We were already in Faerie Land. It was especially
crowded today, so Officer Pudge and I got out of the car. The streets weren't
crowded with owners and pets though, instead Faeries were swarming around.
"Must be part of the security," the Officer yelled.
"What?"
"All these Faeries," I realised Pudge and I weren't the only ones who knew
about the four thieves. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Spitfire heading
for a small, shadowy tower of the Faerie Queen's castle.
"That's the Hidden Tower?" I asked.
Officer Pudge shook his head. "It's the Queen's private quarters. He's gone
to alert her."
I reached the gates before Officer Pudge did. "We need to get in," I gasped
to the armoured Gelerts guarding the entrance.
"Were you summoned.... Oof!' the Gelert asked, as Pudge caught up and pushed
him aside. He lumbered to the front doors as fast as he could. The Gelerts blew
his whistles and yelled, "Hey! You aren't authorised to enter the palace!"
"Which way?" I said. The Chia didn't answer. He went to a large picture of
a yellow Aisha with wings and tapped a corner gently. Nothing happened.
"Is it a secret entrance?" I asked. Five or six armoured Tonus were running
straight towards us. Pudge tried the other corner. "Quick! Come on!" He continued
tapping gently. A whole pack of pets were approaching from the other direction.
They were almost there. "Put down your weapons!" a Wocky shouted. "There's no
time!" I shouted, and punched a corner of the picture as hard as I could. It
swung open like a door. The pets stopped in their tracks.
"Ohhhhhhhh," they breathed. I was stunned too. The inside of the secret tunnel
were sparkling, as if the walls were encrusted with diamonds. Pudge grabbed
my hand and pulled me through. He kicked the door, or rather the picture, shut.
"Now where do we go?" I said.
"Straight," he replied.
When the door was closed, it was very dark in there. Officer Pudge turned
on his flashlight, and pointed it all around.
"How far does this tunnel go on for? Does the Faerie Queen know about this
tunnel? How did you find it?" I blurted as we ran.
"Just a short distance. Yes. It's a long story," said Officer Pudge.
"What?" Pudge stopped so suddenly I crashed into him. In front of us the tunnel
made a sharp turn.
"Beyond this turn is the Hidden Tower," he whispered.
"But we didn't go up! How can it be a tower?"
"It isn't. It's just a round room, but with a high ceiling, so it appears
to be a windowless tower."
Pudge motioned for me to stay put, then leapt out and yelled. "Put your hands
up!"
Silence.
Officer Pudge pointed his gun all around. "Nothing. You can came out now,
miss."
The room had beige walls, with shelves all around the circumference. On the
shelves were the oddest assortment of objects I had seen. I saw bent forks like
the thieves had used, crystal balls, swords, staffs, rods, amulets, and other
magic things. There was one door, with a lock that matched my key. I went over,
and turned the doorknob. It was locked from the outside, but I could unlock
it from the inside if I needed to.
"They're not here yet," I said.
"Maybe they're not coming at all." Pudge took a handkerchief out of his pocket
and mopped his sweaty face. "Take a weapon, just in case."
I picked up a sword. "I always wanted a sword."
"That's a Sword of the Air Faerie. It's very powerful. Now, let's hide until
the thieves come." Pudge climbed to the seventh shelf, and huffed and puffed
to squeeze his body in a vase.
"Where will I hide?" I asked.
"With that sword in your hand, you're invisible!" his muffled voice said.
Now all we had to do was wait.
To be continued... |