Sila of Eiswale

     In the following spring, Eiswale was part of a huge makeover project, funded by various lords and ladies. The village was expanded, and trading routes were set up. The once quiet village was at the turning point from countryside to trade port. And with its lush orchards, green hills, and bubbling streams, what family of knights and ladies couldn't resist such an offer of homesteading?

     I met the first females of such grandness as I was walking down the street to buy some cheese.

     I wore my best dress, which happened to be dirty brown and all patched up. My only dress. Apparently this wasn't a good impression for the posh and extravagant; because no sooner had I walked out of my house they began yabbering about in a fairly audible whisper. "Hey, Bethann, that Green Acara looks…"

     "Like she's wearing straws and dirt, Virginia?"

     Hysterical giggling - ominous signs of misery and making best enemies.

     I flashed them my dirtiest look with my icy blue eyes and, tossing my auburn hair, I walked away, but not before I got my best look at them. Compared to their clothes, my dress did look a bit primitive. They both wore large and puffy dresses that were not spattered with dirt and patches, but instead with gems and sequins. They wore pretty earrings and necklaces, and their fur, unlike mine, were perfectly flawless and clean. I felt a foreign feeling - jealousy. No, that's not right, I thought. What was the use of feeling jealous?

     Regrettably, on that very day, I made best enemies with Virginia and Bethann. I had no friends.

     As the school semester started, I got to know more of my newfound acquaintances. Virginia and Bethann did so horribly in class that saying they were Slorg brained would have been complimenting them. They got the worst marks ever, and teased me really loudly about only getting ninety-nine percent on a test. These would have resulted in getting rapped with a ruler or walloped with a broomstick, but strangely, the teachers seemed to like them in a rather teacher's-pet way. I felt that jealousy feeling again even stronger than when I had first met them. No, you'll never get anywhere with that feeling, Mother's voice said. No.

     The fall that I was thirteen brought such a good harvest that a good village dance seemed vital. For me, it just brought moans and groans of various natures. Exactly what I wanted to do - dance with Virginia and Bethann. You could say my luck was too lousy to be mentioned.

     For the dance I wore my dusty dress and a cornflower in my hair. Looking at Virginia and Bethann, I felt shameful. They wore big dresses decorated with ribbons and rhinestones, and their lipstick shone red like blood. They carried pocket fans decorated with lilacs, as if this were a court dance, not a simple country jig. And their hair had been curled into fancy arrangements, complete with the wax rose and bows.

     In that dance, I met Cinnamonelene.

     She had just come up to me at the end of the Mortog dance and said, "Hello! I'm Cinnamonelene, but you can call me Cinna. What's your name?"

     "I'm Masila, but everyone just calls me Sila."

     As I said these words, I took in Cinna's appearance. She was a very pretty Cybunny with long golden hair, blue eyes, and pink fur. She wore a dress and cloak of a midnight purple, fastened at her throat by a glimmering emerald brooch. She wore bright green earrings that shone in the candlelight like stars. They were even richer than those of Virginia and Bethann's. I suddenly was seized by a strong greedy feeling: I wanted to touch those clothes and wear them and have them… "Nice clothes!" I remarked.

     'Thanks," she replied. "Those are my favorite clothes. I would, like, die if I didn't have them."

     She replied with an air of snootiness and scorn, as if thinking that I was some sort of lesser Neopian with such a patchy dress.

     "Hey, Sila, why aren't you dancing with Beth and Gina over there? They're really nice!" Cinnamonelene pointed to Virginia and Bethann.

     "Yeah," I muttered, "They're the nicest inhabitants of Neopia, and Lord Kass is my hero."

     "What's that?"

     "Oh, er, nothing. Yeah, let's go dance with them."

     Doing the Dr. Sloth dance with Virginia and Bethann wasn't the greatest thing in the world, but the dream that I had that night was.

     I dreamed that I was wearing those clothes. I touched their velvety softness, and examined the glittering brooch with awe. And in the moonlit silence, I just knew that I just must have them.

     As the frost settled in, I got to know Cinna better.

     She was extremely slow, belonging in Virginia's league. She was overly snooty, belonging in Bethann's league. And all the villagers also loved her. The only difference was that she was nice to me, and she trusted me.

     I wasn't sure if I liked her or not, but then, a friend was truly a need for me. And she was a friend.

     The winter started with a grim note. It froze away half of our good crops, and left the other half in a malevolently pwned state. The prices rose sky-high, and I was forced to make a living out of weaving at the loom, something that I could fail at with great ease. Fortunately, these mishaps didn't happen, and so I lived.

     January moved in, and the wild wind howled, bringing snow and ice and misery. I sat in my cottage all day, weaving and longing to go outside.

     Then, the crops were stolen. No one knew who did it, but everyone starved. Farmers had to make daily trips to Trestin and White River to get food for the village, and half of them didn't come back. I was miserable.

     On one rare and well-earned sunny day, I decided to take a walk. I rounded a few corners, skipping and whistling. On the thirteenth corner, I walked upon Virginia, Bethann, and Cinna. I hid back in the shadows, for fear of being noticed and therefore suffering more misery than I deserved.

     They were huddled together in a small circle, whispering. I could barely make out what they said, but I listened anyways.

     "Do you seriously like that Sila girl, Cinna?"

     "Because if you do, then your taste is like, bleagh!"

     "Oh, no," came Cinna's voice, sweet and melodious. "I just trust her!"

     "With what?"

     "Oh, making sure that she's just the right person for you guys to tease!"

     They giggled at the remotely funny pun. I held my breath.

     "Oh, Cinna, but how do we know for sure?"

     "I'll prove it! You know those stolen bundles of wheat? I'll just tell the town that scraggly little Masila stole them! They'll all believe me!"

     She said it with so much eagerness that I knew she was serious.

     "Good idea!" I heard Bethann say. "We'll help you!"

     I could stay much longer. I turned away, my heart brimming with rage. "You filthy hypocrite!" I muttered my eyes stinging. "I'll get back at you if it's the LAST THING I DO!!!!!"

     And as an afterthought, I murmured, "You can't even tell the difference between gold and tinfoil!"

     Gold and tinfoil…

     I had a plan.

     Cinnamonelene did tell the whole village, and being the pet of Eiswale, everyone believed her. Of course, I couldn't be cast out of the village right away, as they needed a judge from the Meridell Castle to officially catapult me away.

     But my reputation fell like a stone in water.

     In the days that passed, my cottage was hit by everything known to Neopians, and so was I. People started writing threats to me, and the villagers began calling me a witch.

     Thus, it took much longer for me to get the tinfoil and the gold paint. Finally, I sneaked away on someone's out-of-town trip wagon, and bought what I needed in Trestin. It cost a lot, but I knew that it was worth it.

     To my surprise, Cinna was still (falsely) nice to me. She kept on coming to my house to console me, saying that she never believed any of those rumors.

     On one such visit, I made up a preposition. "Cinna, I have a really pretty gold necklace. Do you want to borrow it for a while?"

     "Lemme see it," Cinna replied.

     From a small dusty box, I pulled out a pretty necklace. It glimmered like Cinna's earrings, and every link in it was intricately made. "Ooooooo!" Cinna crooned. "It's too good to be just lent to me!"

     She seemed to struggle with herself for a while, before saying, "I'll lend you my special dress and cloak! Oh yeah, and the brooch and earrings - I'll clean them."

     This was turning out much better than I had planned. "Sure! Thanks, Cinna, trade done?"

     She high-fived me.

     "Trade done!" she proclaimed. Then she giggled a very girlish giggle, and I giggled with her, hoping that it was genuine enough. Fortunately, it passed the test, and Cinna went home.

     I watched her leave. Gold and tinfoil, I had said it myself. The tinfoil did look like gold, after all…

     The clothes were delivered promptly, and I put them on. They fit wonderfully, and matched well with my green fur. Cinna Lupe-whistled. "You look marvelous!" she exclaimed.

     "Thank you!" I replied vaguely. There were other things in my mind.

     I packed as soon as Cinna had left.

     I planned to run away, to flee from the scorn of the other villagers. I traveled light - I only had some Neopoints and some dried pork. And the clothes. The clothes that were now all mine.

     That night, I ran away.

     I run and ran from the dreaded village. From all my enemies, from that two-faced Cinnamonelene. As I thought of her, my heart filled with a dark hatred.

     As I reached the outskirts of the town, I turned, and viewed the sleeping village. So beautiful, yet so cruel and cold.

     And in the starlit night, I knew that I would no longer be Sila of Eiswale.

The End