Rosalina and the Way-Weird Beast

     “Dahling, I’m coming!” Rosalina tripped slightly. The purple dress she’d chosen to wear had too long of a trail, making it difficult to navigate down the stairs. At least the matching shoes were the right size, and the wide-brimmed matching hat with pink flowers was the perfect thing to top off her old-but-eh ensemble. “Now if only I can get down this stupid stairs,” Rosalina murmured to Beanie, who was hopping down beside her.

     After she was done inching her way down the seemingly never-ending staircase, Rosalina lifted the skirt and, head held high, entered the dining room. She gleefully took a seat across from Wilbur and dramatically placed her napkin on her lap. “Well, isn’t it a fine-dandy day for us rich folk to dine on fancy pancakes and bacon?” asked Rosalina.

     Wilbur rolled his eyes. “What in Neopia are you wearing?”

     “Hey, I found these things in your guest room,” Rosalina retorted. “It’s not my fault you have an affinity for tacky Neovian clothing.”

     “Just, uh, try not to get any stains on that.” Wilbur took a sip of water and watched as a tall Werelupe in back-tie presented two trays of sausages and eggs. The Werelupe gave Rosalina a sharp glare before departing.

     “Pfft. What a weirdo,” said Rosalina. “Speaking of which, you never told me, your beloved guest, that you had servants here!”

     “Must I inform you of every little thing in the world?” Wilbur banged his fist on the table.

     Rosalina took a bite of egg. “It would have been nice if you could have, oh I don’t know, handed me some kind of brochure for this prison instead of confining me in a dusty guest room with tacky clothing I’ll be wearing every day to spite you.” She sipped her water. “Do you think Mr. Waiter will serve me some juice? Or at least some ice cubes for this warm water.”

     “How about you zip your mouth and eat before you do your duty,” said Wilbur.

     “What duty? I demand payment if it involves any cleaning,” said Rosalina.

     Wilbur facepalmed. “Just eat your food. The more time you waste, the less time you’ll have tending to them.”

     “They better be adorable, cuddly Meepits.” Rosalina devoured her breakfast. “There we go,” she said, daintily wiping her mouth with her napkin. “Now then, where shall I partake in the caregiving of Meepits?”

     “Let’s just get this over with,” siad Wilbur, facepalming.

     ***

     “So this is where you tend to the Meepits?” asked Rosalina. The hallway was mostly dark, with only two lamps serving as lighting. Rosalina couldn’t care less for the black and white checked flooring either. After Wilbur opened the door in front of them, Rosalina peered into the dark room and asked, “Are there any Meepits in there? How could they see if you’re too cheap to leave a lamp on in there?”

     “Firstly, the lamp inside has had a burned-out bulb for weeks,” Wilbur explained. “Secondly, I never said you were going to tend to Meepits. The patient in there needs your attention more than anybody else.”

     If it's not an adorable petpet, what’s the point? Rosalina entered the room, once again appalled by the interior; dark purple and indigo striped wallpaper, boring grey carpet and a four poster bed with ugly pink and purple diamond-checked sheets. Venturing toward the atrocious bed, she noticed a small figure shivering underneath the sheets; it looked like a small Werelupe.

     “Great, now he's cold again,” Wilbur whispered behind Rosalina’s ear.

     Rosalina jumped. “Cheese and crackers, you startled me! Also, what’s the hairy thing?”

     “That ‘hairy thing’ is my little brother,” Wilbur hissed

     “And he’s also a Werelupe? Are there Werelupe children too?” asked Rosalina.

     “He may be a Werelupe now, but he was once a baby Lupe,” said Wilbur. He watched Beanie tottle toward the little Werelupe and, after a few moments, snuggle next to his head. “The Meepit was Luke’s petpet, by the way,” Wilbur explained. “Don’t know if he ever named it, though.”

     “It’s name is Beanie because I say so,” said Rosalina. “Also, you never said you had a brother. Even though you got to know my pain-of-a sister, Margo the Malicious.”

     Wilbur pressed a hand on Luke's forehead. “He's burning up. Go downstairs and fetch me some cold water in a bowl. Also, a towel.”

     By the time she reached the kitchen, Rosalina was hungry. After filling up a bowl with water, she rummaged through the cupboards for anything to snack on. By the time Rosalina returned, she was carrying Wilbur’s requested items, an apple and two bags of chips. “I don’t know why you like salt and vinegar chips,” she said, handing the bowl to Wilbur. “At least you have the plain kind.”

     “Did you not get a towel?” asked Wilbur gruffly.

     “Forgot.” Rosalina bit a few chips. “Seems you like ruffled chips.”

     “Nevermind. I’ll just use this,” said Wilbur, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket. He dipped it into the water and, after rinsing it, placed it on Luke’s forehead. The little Werelupe slowly relaxed. “There, that’s better,” Wilbur whispered tenderly. “Be strong, little one, and you’ll recover in no time.”

     Rosalina crunched a few more chips. “Is he sick because of that epidemic that’s going on?” she asked, kneeling beside Wilbur. “Margo said the sickness was beginning to spread beyond Brightvale. Then again she also insisted Werelupes and two-headed Unis don’t exist, so I don’t know if she can be an accredited source anymore.”

     Wilbur sighed. “Your sister is right about the Unis and the sickness.” He stroked Luke’s head. “This illness had actually struck the Haunted Woods first, then came it’s way here to Brightvale because ...um….”

     “Because Werelupes are capable of spreading terrible diseases around Neopia?” gasped Rosalina.

     “No, you’re, uh, kind of wrong,” said Wilbur hesitantly. “I mean you’re right about one thing; this epidemic is because of us. I’ll admit that. But to say all Werelupes are disease-carrying monsters is completely false.”

     Rosalina bit a chip. “So what’s the big deal with you guys, anyways?” she asked, her mouth full of chips. “What are you Werelupes doing in Brightvale? Why are you living in this filthy, ugly house?” She swallowed. “Also, do you have any more snacks? Preferably anything cheese-flavoured.”

     Wilbur stared down at the covers. For a long while, the only sounds heard were Luke’s muffled groans and Rosalina biting the occasional chip. After what felt like hours, Wilbur banged a fist onto the bed and said, “We were living happily around here until she came and cursed us all!”

     “Wow. Just when I finish one chip bag, you reveal quite a shocker,” Rosalina remarked. “So, uh, you were cursed by somebody?”

     “It’s been a month, but this curse of hers is definitely taking a toll on everybody around us,” said Wilbur wistfully. He gave Rosalina a softened look. “She’s the reason why Luke and I, as well as our staff, are Werelupes. She cursed us for her own amusement, I’m sure.”

     Rosalina opened the second chip bag. “Who cursed you exactly? Edna? Sophie? A random nutjob with magic powers?”

     “She was a Faerie; a Dark one.” Wilbur turned away, disdain tainting his voice. “She accused us of being greedy and self-indulgent ...all because I refused to let her seek shelter inside our house. I said no, and she decided to curse us into being Werelupes! What an idiot!”

     “Yes. All faeries are idiots,” agreed Rosalina.

     “Before I became a hairy beast, I was once a proud royal Lupe,” Wilbur declared proudly. “Luke was a baby. Even after the change we were still happy; Luke even insisted he wanted to remain as a Werelupe.” Wilbur’s smile faded. “But then he became sick, and everything's gone downhill. I don’t know what to do, but I was hoping that somebody around here could at least help care for Luke.”

     “And then Margo threw a gigantic wrench into your scheme, and now you’re stuck with me.” Rosalina laughed, then stopped after seeing Wilbur’s sorrowful expression. “I mean, um, it’s a real shame. Did the Faerie also relocate you all to the Brightvale woods?”

     Wilbur nodded. “I don’t know why. Maybe she thought we’d be better off around here than in the Haunted Woods.”

     “Yeah, that logic makes no sense,” said Rosalina.

     “Agreed. She really is a confusing character.” Wilbur gave Rosalina a watery smile. “Anyways, thanks for staying around. I know you’ve mainly been useless, but having your company around here has surprisingly cheered me up.”

     Rosalina rolled her eyes. “Thanks. I’ve never felt so flattered in my life,” she said flatly.

     “If you want, I can show you the library,” Wilbur offered. “It has a collection of almost every single book ever published in Neopia.”

     “Nah. I’m not the bookworm type,” said Rosalina.

     “Oh. Then how about the game room?” asked Wilbur. “Luke loved playing the games we have in there: Meerca Chase, Dubloon Disaster, Wingoball….”

     Rosalina squealed. “You have your own version of Wingoball??? I thought only TNT members could own their own games.”

     Wilbur raised an eyebrow. “Are you any good? Because Luke and I were able to win a gold trophy once.”

     “Pfft. With all my practice time, I can easily get gold or higher,” Rosalina boasted. For the first time since she’d arrived, Rosalina was finally beginning to warm up to her oh-so-hairy captor.

     To be continued…