EUREKA!
"Breakfast?" Clobo asked holding up some omelette the next morning as I
walked down the stairs to the kitchen. I glared at her and snatched the omelettes
out of her hands and sat down quietly.
"Look I know your mad at me, but I didn't mean what I said. I still love you,
I-" She began to explain in her high fake voice, it was choked, but it was choked
with pain not fake sweetness like Hanna's.
"Don't worry about me," I growled, "I've been unwanted all my life and I didn't
expect anything different from being adopted." I still had my back facing her.
"Bronzeya, it came out all wrong last night--" She reached for my shoulder
but I jerked around and gave her a threatening glare.
"I said don't worry about me, I'm used to being unwanted." I took the finishing
bite of my omelettes sat staring at the wooden table. Clobo wiped some tears
from her eyes and let out a little choked sob.
"Look, I got to go. Maybe we can solve this tonight. I'll give you some time
to calm down." She leaned over to kiss me on the head.
"Don't go all fake with me, Clobo, don't even bother to pretend you love me."
I jumped up from the table and stormed up to my room. I quickly pulled a book
called The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly out from the shelf in my room
and began to read it, but I couldn't concentrate. The knot in my stomach was
worse than it ever was with Hanna. I heard Clobo go out the front door and walk
off to her job. After she was out of sight from my window I quickly ran down
stairs and out the front door. I didn't know where I was going to go, but I
didn't want to stay in the new house the whole day.
As I walked down the stone sidewalk of the neighbourhood listening to the jingling
of the charms on my charm bracelet, which I had fastened to my wrist. I kicked
a pebble, which reminded me of the lake back home. I shook my head. Not home,
I corrected. Hanna's house was never a real home to me. Neither is Clobo's
house. I don't have a home. I smiled proudly. I'm a stray! Then
a thought struck me. Why do I just stay here at Clobo's house and suffer!
Why not.... I grinned evilly. Runaway! But.... I shivered thinking
of the cold nights with an empty stomach. Though Hanna had treated me like I
was dirt at least she fed me, same thing with Clobo. I wasn't like those wild
Neopets from The Neopian Times, I wasn't a brave rogue Kau, and I was a simple
home Kau. Nah, I wouldn't survive for a day out there in the cold.
My feet kept walking as my mind kept spinning and before I knew it I found
myself in the forest that surrounded Neopia Central. I knew it wasn't the Haunted
Forest since I had read about the Haunted Forest in many pass-down books of
Bahinda's. I studied the area around me; it was a lovely forest and the sun
dappled through the spaces between the green leaves of the tall trees that spread
a fresh smell in the air. The leaves crackled under my hooves and I just stood
there for a second taking in the beautiful sight. I began to gallop forward
between the trees, I felt free. I jumped over a log and expected to land gracefully,
but my hoof hit something and I tumbled onto the ground and came to an abrupt
stop by knocking into a tree.
I lay on the ground moaning, since my head hurt from the collision. I heard
a grunting noise and some shuffling from the leaves. My eyes were slits from
the pain and I could barely see anything, but something kicked a leaf onto me
and I turned my head slightly to see the strangest animal in my whole entire
life. I screeched.
Gemini
It screeched back. I screamed and it echoed. I sat up and tried to take
a good look at it since I was still dizzy and my vision was still blurry. As
my sight came back my eyes made out a short Petpet like figure. It was a cross
between a Hopso and a Triffin. It had a Hopso's shape, but a Triffin's blue
furry skin and two big yellow eyes, but it had big furry Quiggle like fingers.
It's big eye blinked and it examined me.
"Hello," I said awkwardly hoping to figure out if this creature spoke English.
"Hello," it answered. I recognised the voice--it was my own. It was like
hearing a recording which just bounced what I had said back.
"I am Bronzeya."
"I am Bronzeya," it repeated. I smiled, it smiled.
"I am stupid," I joked to make a fool of the creature without it knowing.
The creature blinked again blankly not repeating me.
"Didn't want to answer that one, eh?" I laughed. It bounced back my same laugh.
I sighed, it sighed. I raised my hoof which had the charm bracelet on it. It's
big yellow eye widened. It lips formed an 'O' and it made a long slight happy
purring sound. It's long Quiggle fingers fingered with the comet charm.
"Kameto!" It traced the figure of the comet and cooed quietly, "Ztora!"
it said pointing to a charm bracelet fastened around it's neck with a little
star charm dangling from it.
"This is a charm bracelet I found at the Money Tree!" I explained, "And this
is a charm of a comet that is attached to the charm bracelet."
"Kameto avo Giputore," it said petting the charm. He pointed to his charm,
"Ztora avo Giputore."
"What?" I asked not understanding a word of his.
"Uyo er fa jasona wona," he said touching me with his pointer finger which
began to glow. He grabbed my hand and gave me a grin as if to say 'Go, walk
home. Bring me to your house'. For some weird reason something inside of me
tickled and I smiled. I began to walk out of the woods towards the street that
goes home.
***
I sat down at the dinner table across from Clobo who was silently was sawing
away mindlessly at the piece of turkey on her plate. When she looked up at me
she had deep circles under her eyes like she had been crying all day. I looked
back at her my eyes just empty of feeling. I didn't care anymore if Clobo was
mad, sad, happy or anything else, she didn't want me so I didn't want her.
"So Bronze, how was your day?" She forced a fake smile.
"It's Bronzeya and don't talk to me," I snapped back harshly leaving Clobo
looking hurt and stunned. I gave her a look as if to say Two can play the
same game.
"Bronzeya, I know what I said yesterday might of.... no really, really hurt
you, but it came out all wrong. I didn't get you because of Adam..." she apologised.
"Look, you don't seem to understand I don't care anymore! You don't care about
me, so I don't care about you" I shouted distracting her from me shoveling a
roll and turkey into my napkin.
"Bronzeya," she choked, "There's no reason to shout. Keep calm. We're going
to figure this out together..."
"Clobo, we'll never be together. The only together you'll ever have is Adam,"
I growled wrapping up the napkin under the table. I got up from the table and
stomped up the stairs and ran into my room. On my bed sat the little creature.
"I brought food!" I said opening the napkin and spilling the food on my bed.
It made a long purring sound.
"Do you like it... by the way, you need a name!" The creature purred again.
"Shhhh... we don't want Clobo to hear you." I stroked its blue fur.
"Let's call you...." I thought when all of a sudden it jumped off my bed and
began to study the poster of Gemini.
"Brytta..." it purred again.
"That's it! I'll call you Gemini!" I cried.
"Gemini. Gemini. Gemini," it repeated over and over. Then it smiled and
pointed a finger to its chest and chanted under it's breath, "Gemini,"
"That's right," I answered, "Now please eat!" It nodded and then began to stuff
the food I brought into his mouth.
***
I quickly jumped off the bus which stopped in Neopia Central in front of Kauvara's
shop. I ran down the street to my neighbourhood. Clobo had put me in a Mystery
Island school that taught defence and as Clobo called it: The three 'R's, reading,
writing, and arithmetic. It was OK and I entered in the middle of second term
so I didn't have any friends, but I was used to that. Just as long as I had
Gemini to come home to I would be fine.
I pulled the key out of my backpack and opened the door to my house and ran
upstairs to my room. As usual Gemini was sitting there on my bed. It made a
purring noise when it saw me. I quickly shut the door and sat on the bed next
to Gemini. I passed her some bread I stole from the cafeteria.
"There you go," I said as Gemini began to munch on it. I pulled a History book
from school out of my backpack,"I have some homework to do before Clobo gets
home...." I opened the book to the pages I was supposed to read for homework.
Gemini looked over at the page while munching on it's bread, then suddenly it's
eyes froze and became big, VERY big. I looked at where Gemini was transfixed
on and it's eye's trail led me to the picture of the wand at the bottom of the
page. Quickly I read the caption to the picture it read: The Native Neopian's
Wand which they left behind before Dr. Sloth invaded Neopia, the Native Neopian's
Wand is a treasure that no one has seen in a thousand years.
It didn't makes any sense so I began to read from the top of the page: Before
any Neopets lived on Neopia, there lived other creatures we like to call Native
Neopians, since they lived here long before we did. They escaped as Dr. Sloth
invaded Neopia and left behind their biggest treasure, the Native Neopia's Wand
(see picture right below) . The Native Neopia's wand was found by Dr. Sloth
and when modern day Neopets inhabited Neopia, scientists found the Native Neopian's
Wand in the ruins of what Dr. Sloth's hideout had been. They put it in the National
Neopian Museum in Faerieland and a few months ago the wand was stolen from the
National Neopian Museum. The Neopian Police are still working on it. They only
know it was a female with short hair and very light and quickly moving. The
page ended there showing picture of the National Neopian Museum and the Native
Neopian's Wand. I watched as Gemini pointed at the picture of the wand.
"Handow, HANDOW!" Gemini began to chant louder and louder. Gemini pointed to
it's charm bracelet around it's neck, then mine on my wrist and pointed to the
picture. Quickly I turned the page and saw a picture of my charm bracelet and
Gemini's charm bracelet next to each other, glowing. The caption read: The
two charm bracelet's of the Native Neopian's, the one with the shooting comet
was left behind also, and the one with the star was taken and it is the sign
of royalty among Native Neopians. The comet one was the sign of 'the chosen
one' every century there would be 'a chosen one' chosen from the royal family.
One person every century would wear both, the royalty bracelet and the 'the
chosen one' bracelet. I looked up at Gemini.
"You're a royal Native Neopian and I'm.... the chosen one? How is that possible?
I'm not a Native Neopian!" I cried out loud to Gemini. It looked at me and sighed
and shook its head.
To be continued... | 
