Who is That Lupe in the Mirror?
Keeta kicked Bombay forward, trying to escape into
the trees with Chargoun at her heels and FireCannon and Charcoal in the skies.
The red Lupe stood in the doorway, crying out for them to stop as Moonstruk
went to hold off the army. She didn't hold them off for long, however, as she
galloped towards the two and brought the terrifying news: They had captured
WizardWalfoulm, the silver Eyrie. They turned back and trotted into the
army's hands, giving themselves up without a fight, for fear of Walfoulm being
tortured or destroyed.
***
When they made it to the Queen's castle, Keeta was immediately sent to her
mother who was overjoyed to see her daughter. Keeta, on the other hand, wanted
to be far away from this stranger who called herself Keeta's mother. Keeta had
no recollection of her two sisters and brother, either. Her brother, Ales, was
a very sick young pup. Her eldest sister, Trea, was vain and mean while her
youngest sister, Ales's twin, Leana, was sweet and imaginative. She was told
she had a sister, Querin, who was currently in the island country of Trestile
with her husband, Prince Tero, a skunk Zafara. Keeta had scant memories of this
sister, and was glad she was not totally lost.
When Keeta mentioned her father, whom she remembered
quite vividly, the subject was swiftly changed. Why didn't anyone want to speak
of her father? Wasn't he the king? Keeta continued to press the subject and
everyone she knew in the castle avoided it at all costs, it seemed. If she asked
her mother when there was nothing going on, Queen Tiatha would suddenly remember
some important affair she had to attend to.
So, Keeta set off to find out on her own. Her
first step was to break the rules and speak to WizardWalfoulm, the silver Eyrie.
"Do you know who my father is? Where he is?"
she asked the second she saw him.
Walfoulm sighed. "Your father… was a great man.
But he was a Lovian*, and it is well known that
Tallists hate Lovians. Keeta, your father is an exile. He's a Lovian exile and
a Kastillian exile. He currently lives in the giant desert of Lovia. Why do
you ask me this, Keeta?"
"No one would tell me. They all change the subject
so fast," Keeta sighed.
"Well, he was a disgrace to your family. He
called himself a Kastillian noble and pretended to be such until they found
out of his true past," Walfoulm explained. "Which is why he was exiled. Do you
remember the day he left?"
"Yes," Keeta said softly. "It was at the
boat harbour. They wouldn't let me near him and he was walking away, looking
back constantly. He was so sad. I could see the tears dripping down the yellow
fur of his face. I ran away from the guards and leapt into his paws and cried
over his shoulder. It took them ten minutes to pry me away." She smiled slightly.
"Even now, I miss him."
Walfoulm nodded. "Such is understandable. You
know, you fought back in your stable for Sparklene and he taught you to fight.
He taught you everything you know. Your mother thought such things were irrelevant
and refused to help you."
Keeta sighed. "She's still like that."
"I bet she is."
*Lovian/Lovia - A Lovian is an inhabitant
of Lovia, Lovia being a country just north of Kastillia. Those who live there
are Neopians who were lost in space and saved by the Tallists when they had
their own space-traveling age.
***
FlameKeeta couldn't remember ever wearing a dress*.
She despised them. Detested them. Hated them. No word was bad enough to describe
how horribly she felt about dresses. She screeched and screamed as the frantic
yellow Nimmo got her measurements.
"Odd… Very odd," the Nimmo muttered. "You are
the exact size as your great grandmother was your age. Your great grandmother,
though…" The Nimmo shivered. "She was not only Queen, she was the dark goddess
of the underworld, Heyla. She grew like a tree, however, and got the same dress
tailored for her over and over again. She ended up being as tall as the goddess
she was."
Keeta grinned. "I think I'll actually like this
particular dress…" She whispered.
* The dress was emerald green. It was quite plain. With
sleeves that flowed delicately outward at the ends, matching the bottom just
under Keeta's waist. The sleeves went down her front legs and brushed the ground
gently under her paws. The dress had a V-neck that exposed the gray and black
fur just under her neck. It then flowed out down her back legs and brushed the
ground. To top it off, around her neck was a simple sterling silver necklace
with a dull, yet radiant, minute emerald was placed in the centre of a silver
rectangular pendant.
However, she looked like a glowing green, fiery
star to Chargoun as she walked down the stairs. He gaped at her as she fumbled
down the steps. Even ungracefully, he still thought her beautiful.
"Don't say a word!" she cried as she collected
herself and walked past him. However, she was not aware that even if he wanted
to, Chargoun couldn't bring himself to say so much as a 'hello'.
Although Keeta had quite a few other dresses,
none were worn as much as the emerald green one. It was never stained, ripped
or faded no matter what Keeta managed to accomplish in it, which included not
only dancing but also things like sword fighting and archery. (Also, if anyone
knows, it's very hard to shoot an arrow in a dress. You can never get the right
stance.)
It was Keeta's reluctance to follow her etiquette
teacher and mother's orders as well as her fiery personality and new-found beauty
that made Chargoun drool in her presence. For anyone who knows Chargoun, this
does not happen often. As a matter of fact, it never happens at all. Not to
mention that if Keeta knew that at the time, he would be little bits of ash
in less than a second.
Chargoun's unusual infatuation with Keeta wasn't
the only strange thing going on. Charcoal had become completely unmanageable.
Keeta was the only one who could get him into his barn without taking at least
one life. But Keeta was forbidden to go near the Scorchio, Shoyru, Draik, Uni
and Peophin stables. In other words, any Dragon Master*
who came to the castle was welcome to try - at their own risk.
*Dragon Master - One who tames, trains and/or handles dragon-like
creatures.
The Dragon Master
The "Dragon Masters" were not long in coming.
Most were foolish enough to be cruel towards FlareCharcoal, the shadowed Shoyru
who was their test. A few of those who tried died in Charcoal's fiery wrath.
But one came, who Keeta saw, who seemed perfect.
He was a small, brown Krawk who almost always wore a tan-coloured trench coat
and sometimes even a tan cowboy hat. Needless to say, he was picked on and laughed
at by the already-hired Dragon Masters and those who tried out. Keeta believed
in him, however, and didn't make fun of him. By listening to the others, she
found out his name was Feliren. Feliren meant 'dragon' in the old Kastillian
language. It made Keeta chuckle to think about it. Those who made fun of him
would be sorry later on, and Keeta knew it.
***
"Get him out of the sky, at least," Keeta told Feliren, pointing to the black
Shoyru circling low in the sky.
The Krawk nodded, handed her his cowboy hat,
bowed, and left to do his task. Keeta watched as he coaxed the Shoyru down and
got Charcoal safely in his stall without a fuss in just under 15 minutes. No
violence needed. Keeta was so shocked, she hired him on the spot herself. If
anyone had any objections, she would threaten to run them through with her sword.
Not that she would, of course… (That was a shifty statement!)
Feliren soon gained more and more respect as
time went on, but he rarely spoke at all. Not to mention that he had no friends
or acquaintances but FlameKeeta, WizardWalfoulm, and LoveChargoun.
Keeta would get Feliren to grin by telling Feliren
of the more hilarious moments that Keeta witnessed. Such as when Keeta asked
Egsfa, politely, to fold and put back the laundry the Peophin replied, "Do it
yourself!" Which caused Feliren to grin out of the left corner of his mouth.
But Feliren would never laugh, never give a full-blown smile. Until, that is,
he met Egsfa.
He had heard a lot about Egsfa from Keeta, but
didn't really believe that she should even exist. Then, he saw Egsfa, storming
out of the castle while the head maid, Liartra, a chubby red Poogle, yelled
at her about the floor.
"I don't care about your darn floors! For the
sake of the Great Goddess above me, leave me alone!" She shrieked and half-ran,
half-flopped out of the place before bumping into Feliren. "Oh! I'm sorry!"
she said and helped him up.
Feliren grinned and laughed slightly. "It's
all right, really."
Egsfa smiled. The little Krawk had one of those
contagious smiles that made everyone else within a 50-mile radius grin just
because he was. In that instant Egsfa knew this Krawk was a friend, and he knew
it, too. From then on, the two were inseparable best friends. They would be
found joking and laughing at their breaks and pulling pranks on the snooty nobles
until they were too tired to continue. Feliren found his castle life happy with
his five friends, and was finally content.
***
Keeta was deep inside of her new book, Robin Lupe, when there was a
hard knocking on the door and a weeping sound. The voice cried out for help,
trying hard not to sob. Keeta dropped the book and ran over to the door, opening
it hastily. "What is it, Egsfa?" she asked.
"It's… It's Feliren. He's hurt bad." Egsfa bit
her lip and took a deep breath.
Keeta's body went numb. "How -Why?" she demanded.
"Some… Some of the old Dragon Masters got fired
earlier today. They blamed Feliren for getting fired and they... They beat him
up so badly... When Charcoal found him he was hardly conscious and hallucinating.
He doesn't even remember what they did to him or who they were! Oh, Keeta! It's
terrible! Quickly, come with me to the hospital wing," Egsfa explained hurriedly
as she ushered Keeta down the twisting stone halls of the castle.
When Keeta finally saw Feliren, the little Krawk
was a mess covered in bandages. He moaned and strained to open his eyes and
squint at FlameKeeta. "Ka?" was all he managed to utter.
"Sh, Feliren...Just relax," Keeta said soothingly.
The look of the poor fallen Dragon Master made her heart heavy, her stomach
sick and her head pound. Who would do such a thing? What did he do to deserve
this but be a quite, kind guy? The fire Lupe was suddenly enraged. But she knew
better than to go looking for trouble. Feliren's flesh wounds would heal, but
his heart's wounds would not. This is what the nice ones are put through, and
especially the talented Dragon Masters. Especially someone so quiet.
To be continued...
I know that Feliren getting injured may not have been needed, but to me it
had to be mentioned. Although I may babble and scream out insanity on the Neopets
chat boards and The Neopian Times Appreciation Guild boards (anyone who actively
posts in that guild knows) I'm an unnervingly quiet person. I've had people chase
me down the streets (I chased them back with a knife, they got me back by running
me down with their brother's car) and such annoying, snide remarks that you wouldn't
believe (mostly because of the pronunciation of my last name and my reading several
books at once and bringing them all to school, stacked on my binder over my eyes)
as well as my not caring how I look. (I don't wear make up, that stuff is nasty,
I don't wear the "latest fashions", I don't dye my hair or highlight it - though
black highlights might be fun enough to scare people away }:D, or any of that)
I seriously think that a lot of people just don't care to think about other people's
feelings and what they're really like, as is the case with Feliren. Though not
myself because I am evil. :) I mean, hey, I'm the heiress to the underworld! Me
and SilverGryphon128, that is... ;) That would be today's long, long moral. | 
