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A Knight at the Neopian History Museum


by pikapi20

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A gentle, cooling breeze swept across the heart of Neopia Central as bustling crowds of shoppers tried to snatch a bargain on what was an unusually warm early Autumn afternoon. With bright sunshine filling the clear blue skies above, the turning of the season hadn't deterred any pet from enjoying the wonderful weather - or affected the ice cream sales from the Neopian Fresh Foods Shop. Indeed, Kau Kau Farm hadn't seen so many orders for frozen treats this late in the season before. As such, the wooden benches next to the Cheeseburger-shaped building all the way to the other side of the Money Tree were packed with happy customers enjoying their sweet snacks.

     Sat atop one of the many benches was Sir Jeran, Champion of Meridell. The dark blue Lupe seldom left his adopted kingdom and even rarely returned to the land of his birth. He had far too many responsibilities to even entertain the notion of having a holiday. When his younger sister, Lisha, insisted that he accompany her on an important quest to Neopia Central though he felt duty-bound to comply. The ice cream cones the duo were now enjoying were a just reward after a tense meeting with the Wizard that resided in the Marketplace. The Knight couldn't remember the last time he had had ice cream. Refrigeration wasn't really a thing back at the Castle.

     Their peace was ended by a piercing scream.

     Instinctively Jeran leapt to his feet, eyes darting from side to side looking for the danger. Noticing the still-seated Yellow Aisha pointing to something on the opposite side of the sandy pathway, the dark blue Lupe stood to attention wielding his mighty Chocolate Ice Cream. His foe? A pair of Techos froze to the spot, the colours draining from their faces. Confused, he took a step towards the pets. Only for it to snap them out of their shock. "IT'S THE GHOST OF SIR BORODERE!" screamed the Red Techo to his travelling companion, "RUN!!" In an instant, the duo ran off towards Kauvara's Magic Shop. To the bemusement of not just the Knight but pretty much all the shoppers around him too.

     "Uh..." he couldn't help but trail off. The dark blue Lupe had specifically chosen to leave his ceremonial armour and various weaponry back at his quarters in Meridell Castle so as not to intimidate the locals of Neopia Central or to look like he was entering any upcoming Halloween Costume Contests. He was dressed as casually as he could muster. And yet. "...what was that about?" He certainly didn't look like any spectre he had ever come across.

     Lisha, by contrast, was unmoved by the whole affair. With her attention still firmly on the remnants of the Strawberry Ice Cream in her paw, the Yellow Aisha shrugged halfheartedly before musing out loud, "They must've recognised you from that painting of 'Sir Borodere' in the Neopian History Museum."

     The Knight wrinkled his nose before sitting back down next to his sibling. "I have never had an official portrait commissioned of me by the King before," Jeran stated plainly, "and my name is certainly not 'Sir Borodere'. Are you sure you are not confusing me with another Lupe Knight? Tor, perhaps?"

     Finishing her ice cream with one final bite, the Spellcaster shook her head before insisting, "Nope, it's you alright." Grabbing the satchel that sat on the ground by her feet, Lisha slung the strap over her shoulder as she explained, "It was painted to commemorate the King granting you the lands of Borodere. That all should've happened after the first Meridell and Darigan War but with all the timeline changes it hasn't happened... yet. Since the portrait still exists though that means it'll probably happen in the future. Well, our future. It's already happened here." Jeran's eyebrow twitched. The other reason he didn't leave Meridell that often was because time travel hurt his head. "I can show you it, if you like."

     "Won't that create a parad-"

     Jeran sighed as he watched his sister run off down the road.

     -----

     Down the sandy pathway that meandered between the local Tourist Information Centre (complete with its large, welcoming gloved hand) and the Rainbow Aisha-adorned Plushie Palace lay what remained of the ancient, eastern city walls of Neopia Central. In the west, a surviving stone arch acted as an entrance to the Neopian Marketplace and the plethora of small shops that stretched towards the verdant hills beyond. As for the east, it stood as a boundary for where the shops ended - with warehouses and factories of varying sizes being found between it and the nearby docks. The last building before you reached the eastern gate and the more industrial side of the land was a suitably impressive sight.

     With a central building standing two storeys tall and made from reclaimed stonework from the ancient ruins, the Neopian History Museum was Neopia Central's premier edutainment attraction. Sure, the Defenders of Neopia's Headquarters had a Gallery displaying their most heroic feats and the Art Gallery in the deep Catacombs had some of the best artwork on the planet but if you wanted a thorough and detailed exploration of Neopia's faraway past then this was the place to be. Which was why Lisha was so surprised by the complete lack of crowds. Or any pet at all. As the pair of siblings approached the usually busy attraction, it was unnervingly silent. Until a Green Lenny walked out of the entrance.

     "Sorry kids," the flustered Director of the Museum called out in a melancholic tone before striding towards the Knight and the Spellcaster, "The museum is closed until further notice." The suited Administrator sighed heavily having just spent the day cancelling a whole swathe of NeoSchool trips. He couldn't help but imagine how disappointed all the little school pets would be when they found out.

     Jeran winced. The dark blue Lupe had been secretly hoping the Museum would be closed for the day so as to avert any potential collapse of the spacetime continuum... but now he just felt bad. Lisha was undeterred. And nor did she appreciate being referred to as a 'kid'. Adjusting her red-framed glasses with a paw, the intrigued Yellow Aisha enquired, "May I ask why?"

     "I'm afraid we've got a haunted painting on our paws," the Green Lenny groaned, shaking his head.

     "Cool!" Lisha blurted out, unable to contain her excitement.

     The Administrator's melancholy turned to irritation. "No, it's not 'cool'," he pointedly responded, unimpressed at the suggestion, "it's been flying off the walls and attacking our visitors!" His annoyance diminished as he rubbed his sore beak with one of his wings. The artwork hadn't just been attacking the tourists. "I went to the Defenders of Neopia," he elaborated in a softer tone, "but they suggested that I phoned the Ghoul Catchers as they have more experience with these matters." The Green Lenny shook his head again. "Unfortunately, they haven't got back to me yet." Before letting out another heavy sigh. "So please, for your own safety, go home."

     Watching as the Director left, Jeran couldn't help but ask his sister, "What's a phone?"

     "I have no idea," shrugged Lisha as she continued towards the Museum.

     "Uh... where do you think you're going?" queried the Knight, confused.

     Stopping on the stone cobbles that led up to the Museum's large wooden door, the Spellcaster turned to face her brother with a confident grin. "I'm pretty sure I can deal with one tiny little painting, Jeran," she proclaimed, pulling her Ultranova-topped wand out of the satchel by her side. The Yellow Aisha was a Royal Wizard in the court of King Skarl and had been for some time. She had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of spells that could be cast by uttering a pawful of verses. Potions were very much her best friend Kayla's speciality but if you needed a few magic words? You needed Lisha. ... Especially to open those jars of jam that Hagan kept sending his brother as gifts on special occasions.

     Her brother just frowned. "Lisha. This isn't Meridell." The dark blue Lupe paused for a moment as he collected his thoughts. "As far as any pet around here knows," he attempted to reason as his sister's smile faded, "we're just two perfectly ordinary tourists browsing the many shops of Neopia Central. We can't just barge into events that don't concern us when the proper authorities have already been notified. I'm sure they have the situation under control." The Knight certainly wouldn't appreciate the Defenders of Neopia suddenly turning up in the kingdom of Meridell and interfering in, say, the delicate peace treaty they have with the Darigan Citadel. There was no dishonour in deferring to local experts.

     Which was precisely what Lisha saw them as being. Neopia Central was a world away from Meridell. She had come back a few times since relocating to several hundred years in the past and each time the land felt ever more distant. It was in part why she had dragged her brother along this time. But all that said she still felt a connection. The lands may have been different but pets are the same all over. The Spellcaster crossed her arms before stating, "Didn't you take an oath to protect your home?" Jeran felt a pang deep in his stomach. "To protect the vulnerable and downtrodden? That poor Lenny looked pretty downtrodden to me."

     "That may well be," he responded, sympathetically, "but I am not breaking into a locked building."

     Lisha smiled.

     Approaching the Museum's large wooden door, she simply pushed it open.

     The Director had been so flustered that he had forgotten to lock it.

     Jeran couldn't help but roll his eyes.

     -----

     Wandering through the gloomy half-light of the closed Neopian History Museum's main picture gallery, the pair of siblings methodically checked each of its narrow corridors for the possessed painting or any switches that would shed some light on the matter. The neutral-coloured walls of each hallway were full of artworks on both sides with every single one stoically guarded by a pair of waist-high brass bollards joined together with a deep red velvety rope. The hallways themselves were themed on different eras of Neopia's varied past, with more recent events detailed with historical accuracy and earlier ones by original works of the time or modern artistic impressions.

     Stumbling on the medieval section, a musty scent from the period paintings hung in the air to greet the cautious duo. Slowly walking down the corridor, their eyes were drawn to the artworks that depicted their everyday lives back in Meridell. The dark blue Lupe stopped for a moment, his gaze captured by a picture of Meridell Castle in its pomp. Jeran didn't like the feeling it gave him. He felt... uneasy. Like his feet weren't touching the floor. The Knight shook his head sharply. His life was not a museum exhibit. It was his own. Oblivious to her brother's existential crisis, Lisha gasped as she spotted a portrait at the end of the hallway. "Look! Jeran!" the Yellow Aisha beamed, pointing at her find with her wand, "That's your-"

     The Spellcaster froze.

     As soon as she spoke, an eerie blue light began to emanate from the intricately carved wooden frame of Portrait of Sir Borodere by Artist Unknown (circa 300 BN). A soft, faint glow lit up the end of the corridor as it floated off its hook... and straight at our heroes at speed!

     "Lisha!"

     Grabbing the closest brass bollard to paw, Jeran leapt in front of his sister and batted away the possessed painting with all his might - sending it flying back down to the other side of the hallway and crashing to the floor as quickly as it had arrived.

     As the other, connected bollard clattered to the stone ground below, the sharp noise snapped the Yellow Aisha back to her senses. She'd seen a lot of... different things back home in Meridell but this was definitely a first for even her. "Well," she mumbled with a wry smile, "that might explain why those Techos thought you were a ghost."

     The possessed painting was far from done.

     Floating back into midair with not a scratch to show for the tremendous impact, the artwork violently shuddered from side to side before repeatedly colliding one after another with the two walls on its flanks. "Enough!" the dark blue Lupe called out, tired of this seeming madness. That caught the portrait's attention. Once again, it lurched towards our heroes! Dropping the cumbersome bollards, the Knight chose instead to attempt to grab and wrestle with his opponent. Only for his foe to evade his movements or slip from his grasp each time. It was pretty nimble and strong for a painting.

     Following the tussle from afar, Lisha was perplexed. If the artwork had intended to hurt her brother, it was clearly capable of doing so. But it hadn't. The way it was writhing around... it was as if it was stuck. The Spellcaster's eyes widened. Tightening her grip on her wand, she attempted to get her brother's attention, "Jeran!" Momentarily pausing in his skirmish, the Knight spotted her determinedly pointing her wand in their direction. He couldn't help but smile. Emboldened, in one movement he grabbed the possessed painting and threw it in the direction of his sister.

     Muttering something about jam, Lisha sent a blast of magical energy at the portrait!

     Causing the artwork to crash to the floor.

     And its eerie glow to slowly fade.

     As our heroes breathed a collective sigh of relief, they opened their eyes to find a ghostly figure stood at the end of the corridor staring back at them. With ribbons of undulating mist rippling from his back and tail, the appearance of the Ghost Lupe sent a chill through the air and down their spines. Yet he was the one that was wide-eyed. "Y-you're..." the mysterious figure trailed off, not sure how to react to the presence of two of Meridell's legendary figures. After what felt like an age, he merely concluded, "Thank you." And with that, the spectre jumped back into the Portrait of Sir Borodere before floating it back onto the wall behind.

     "That was... weird," commented Jeran, his breath condensing in the air.

     It was almost as though he had been the one to see a ghost.

     The End.

 
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