Purple Pebble: Part Six

     Feri tapped her chin. "I'm not quite sure. What if we get-"

     "What if, what if! That's all you say. What if you never take any chances, Feri? Sure there are loads of what ifs that could happen. What if we can't get back here, what if we're stuck there forever? What if those stones hurt us? What if, Feri? What if."

     "You know, Ollie, you really have changed. I used to think you were the sensible one, and always hating all of my ideas, never wanting to go anywhere. This whole experience... It's changed us, Ollie. But yes. Let's go. Just one last time," Feri nodded in agreement.

     They each picked up a pebble, not minding whose was bigger or more gleaming. The rocks stuck hard to their paws, tickled and burned. Ollie looked at Feri, and Feri looked at Ollie.

     "Where to?" Feri whispered.

     "I can't say where or it will take me there! How about I spell it?" Ollie asked, coming up with a very good idea.

     "Hope that works," Feri said.

     "J-E-L-L-Y W-O-R-L-D," Ollie smiled.

     "No way! We both know that Je-That place. It doesn't exist," Feri protested.

     "H-I-D-D-E-N T-O-W-E-R," Ollie suggested.

     "Fine, fine. Let's go there. But you know we can't afford to buy anything. Now on the count of three. One, two... THREE!"

     Both pets screamed: "Hidden Tower!" in unison. They felt themselves swirling through space, twisting, and spinning. Purple lights flashed all around, almost blinding. Then Feri and Ollie dropped hard onto the ground. Well, not ground. They were on a sparkling and perfectly clean pink and purple tiled floor.

     "Who's there?" a feminine voice called, sweetly and coldly at the same time. It sounded like a royal voice would.

     "Queen Fyora," Ollie whispered to Feri.

     "I know," Feri whispered back. And then more loudly: "Feri. And Ollie!"

     "Oh, I know you. I went to your first concert, and your last one. Touching they were, very interesting," Queen Fyora replied, appearing at the bottom of a long flight of stairs.

     "Well, it's an honor," Feri mumbled, bowing.

     "Hello, your majesty. An honor indeed," Ollie agreed, curtsying.

     Feri blushed. Why hadn't she curtsied? Bowing was so... not feminine.

     "What are you here to purchase, Feri? Do you still have wealth left over?" Queen Fyora asked, flashing a dazzling and blinding white smile at Feri, but completely ignoring Ollie.

     "Oh, we don't have enough neopoints left to exactly get anything," Feri explained, fumbling with her feet.

     "Oh. I see," the Queen said, a little more coolly. She apparently only liked the higher class, the rich.

     "May we have a look, though?" Feri entreated.

     Queen Fyora looked horrified for a split second. "No, no. You may only enter her highness's top of the tower if you desire to purchase something." She paused. "But... Maybe for you, Feri."

     Queen Fyora took Feri's hand and began to drag the latter up the staircase.

     "My sister!" Feri exclaimed, jerking away.

     "Fine, fine," the Queen said, glaring at the Blumaroo.

     On the way up the stairs, Ollie spoke. "You know how I'm a baby painted pet? Well. I kind of bought my paint brush here, maybe a year or a little more ago. Remember?"

     "No," came the blunt reply. "I don't want to remember you. It took you years to save up 600,000 probably. Didn't it?"

     "No!" Ollie declared.

     "We're here." Queen Fyora opened the large double doors to reveal a sparkling room full of amazing items. "Feri. I want the world to think I'm caring and nice, so you may have a free item under four million. Just make sure everyone learns about it, but they think I'm doing it out of the kindness of my heart and not to make a good image for myself, mkay? I like good reputations, like mine."

     Feri started stuttering. "Four whole million? Oh, wow. Thanks!!!"

     "Make it seven million," Fyora said, looking at her purple fingernails.

     "What to pick, Ollie?" Feri whispered.

     Fyora heard. "That scoundrel, Ollie, doesn't get to pick."

     "Oh, I just want her opinion. I know. I get last word," Feri said, agreeing.

     Ollie and Feri both looked at everything, especially things under seven million.

     "I wish I could have the Amulet of Thilg. But it's 8.5 million! Or... How about Hubrids Puzzle Box? But it's eleven million. I can afford the-"

     Queen Fyora interrupted. "That's it! Just hurry up. You can pick anything. But hurry. I have a meeting in five minutes and I have to poof away. I can't leave you two unattended HERE of all places!"

     Feri gasped; Ollie did, too. Feri snapped her fingers. "I want the Pirate Captains Cutlass," she said with a smile.

     "Oh yes, take the most expensive thing," Fyora said dryly, taking the sixteen million worth item off a shelf and handing it to Feri.

     "Thanks," Feri and Ollie said in unison, rushing down the stairs as fast as they could manage, Feri carrying the awkward-feeling sword.

     "How will we explain this to Tay?" Ollie asked breathlessly, once they were outdoors.

     "Who cares? Let's tell the truth. Now, get out your pebble. I'll stuff this sword in my shirt so I won't lose it on the way home. Now, get your pebble. We'll say 'neohome', okay?" Feri asked, stuffing the sword in her shirt and getting the pebble.

     And on the count of three. "NEOHOME!"

     Both pets appeared on the sofa in their living room, Feri still with the sword in her shirt. But her shirt was torn halfway down the middle. But she didn't care.

     "When are you going to sell it?" Ollie asked.

     "Sell it?" Feri repeated, dumbstruck.

     "Yeah!" Ollie confirmed what she had said.

     "I dunno. You always want to sell everything. I thought I'd keep it, you know. As a token to remember this by," Feri said.

     "We have the pebbles!" Ollie exclaimed.

     "No we don't," Feri whispered.

     "What do you mean? Mine's in my-"

     "No it's not! They're gone. Both of them. Your hands are empty. See, no pebble! I don't know why, but the pebbles are gone and I doubt we'll get them back. So let's keep the sword, okay? I think it's the best idea," Feri said sadly.

     "Oh my. You're right. The rocks are gone. What will we do?" Ollie asked, almost sobbing, tears welling in her eyes.

     "Whatever we used to do before we went to the Lost Desert. It'll just be... Like we never found the stones. Like life is normal again. I'm sorry Ollie. That was all fun - smashing, it was! But I think that it's time to return to normal, and the stones thought so too. That's why they left us and went back to the desert. They knew our time with them was up. All I'm glad is that we took that one last adventure, Ollie," Feri replied.

     "Hey guys!" Tay yelled, coming into the living room. "Why the long faces? OH MY GOSH. What's that you have, Feri?"

     "Queen Fyora gave it to me, free. It's worth sixteen million. And I'm not selling it. Our rocks are gone. This is our last object of to remember things by," Feri growled.

     Tay stood there, confused, but she didn't ask anymore. She saw that Feri wouldn't really want to answer.

     "When are we eating? I'm starved," Ollie said, breaking the silence.

     "Why, right now?" Tay asked.

     So they all sat around the small table: Feri, Ollie, Tay, Carla, and Fidele. And never again in that household did anyone mention the pebbles. Everything about them kind of faded from everyone's minds, and life returned to normal again. Feri had stashed the sword away in a trunk, and no one remembered anything about it or the adventures anymore. Until...

     Four years later, Feri and Ollie were cleaning to throw out some old junk. They seemed sad, like something in life was missing. But they didn't know what it was. They couldn't remember anything about times past. It was old news. Feri opened the trunk and gasped.

     "I remember that!" Ollie said, screaming. She jumped up. "I remember those rock things, too! Oh, don't you! Those rock things! And remember - you were famous! And we were in the desert, and the Hidden Tower, and Fyora gave this to you and... Oh. And I remember Carla and Fidele, too."

     Carla and Fidele had moved out shortly after Feri had gotten the sword.

     "Ollie. Let's not focus on our past. Let's focus on our future. Let's be the best we can be, in everything we do. Let's make something out of ourselves. Let's not dwell on things long gone. Let's do something to change Neopia so everyone is kinder. Let's make Neopia a better place, Ollie," Feri said, wiping away a tear.

     And so it was done. Feri and Ollie grew to be pets that made the largest guild in all of Neopia. And that guild? It brought all of Neopia together again, to unite as one friendly group of people.

     Life is good. Live it like you should.

The End