Lula and the Stars

      Lula tugged at her satchel straps, pulling the satchel further up her back as she wiped a bead of sweat which began to roll down her brow. The Acara took heavy footsteps under the weight of the satchel which caused Lula to walk with a hunch.

      The Acara had been trekking for the most part of the day and as she reached the outskirts of Altador, she released the satchel from her shoulders, causing the bag to hurl the ground with a thud.

      Weary, Lula slumped to the ground with relief, I have finally reached Altador. The Acara thought to herself as she looked up at the sky to see the sun gently disappearing behind the silhouette of Altador.

      The night sky had always caught the Acaras attention as she had great interest in astronomy and every night she would sit and map the stars, looking for constellations.

      On one particular evening. Like always, she sat and waited for the light to fade and the moon light to shine upon the stars, when she noticed something different, something rather big, flickering in the night sky.

      Lula hurried inside her small understated house, where she lives with her parents, just on the outskirts of Neopia Central and gathered the scrolls which kept all the information she had been collecting about the skies above her.

      This is when she realized that she was indeed right, this mysterious star was not noted down on any of the scrolls, which meant that is star was new!

      This was the moment that caused Lula to want to travel to Altador, to seek the help of the members from the astronomy club. Maybe they could identify the newly found star and tell Lula the story of its existence.

      As the stars glittered the skies of Altador, Lula squinted as she looked at the mysterious star. I'll get to the bottom of this. The Acara whispered under her breath with a determined tone.

      In that moment, she unzipped her satchel and began to count the scrolls which were crammed into the bag in an unorderly fashion. Happy with her count, she swung the satchel around her shoulders and continued to venture further into Altador.

      With excitement, Lula headed towards the building which contained the library of the Altadorian Archives.

      She approached the entrance door and carefully reached for the handle, she pulled down and slowly opened the door. With a loud squeak, the door opened to revel complete chaos.

      A confused looking Wocky stood, frantically waving his arms, he was trying to gain the attention of a Korbat and a Buzz who were both deep in conversation. The Wocky started to shout. Lula could not make out anything that the Wocky was shouting about but Lula knew something was horribly wrong.

      "Excuse me!" Lula shouted over the top of the wockys noise.

      The room fell silent as the Neopets shifted their attention to the Acara.

      Lula continued. "I've come here to see if you could help me."

      The Buzz stepped forward and began to speak. "If you are here about the mysterious star, then please leave. We are in danger and would not want you to be tangled up in this horrible mess."

      "What do you mean danger?" Asked the Acara.

      The Buzz sighed with sadness. "Our club is under attack by a pesky Quiggle."

      Lula gasped in shock. "Not Old Man Withers?"

      Nodding the Buzz looked over at the Korbat, inviting him to take the limelight.

      The Korbat repositioned his glasses as he stepped forward. "He has managed to gain great powers, of which he is using to take over our club and use its knowledge to take over Altador. The bigger that star gets, the more power he has."

      With that being said, the Acara rushed over to an open window and gazed into the night. "The star...it got bigger." She shouted.

      "See, you should leave. It's too dangerous for you to be here." The Korbat worriedly warned Lula.

      Lula scoffed. "I cannot leave, I want to help."

      The astronomy members gathered in a huddle, whispering with the occasional loudly spoken word they discussed how the Acara could possibly help and bring peace for them and their club.

      Finally, the three Neopets broke away from each other.

      The Wocky took a deep breath and began to explain how Lula could help. "Ok, you're in! If this plan is successful your name will be well known within our community and great things will lie ahead of you."

      The Acara smiled as she continued to carefully listen to the Wocky.

      "You will need to visit King Altador, if he is impressed by your knowledge of the skies he will pass you a special amulet. You must then hunt down the Quiggle and somehow get him to wear said amulet, it will magically capture all his powers, leaving him unable to take over the club and therefore save Altador and its residents."

      Lula gulped, this was a much bigger mission than she first expected.

      "I can do that." Replied the Acara.

      Lula once again picked up her satchel and began the short walk to the council chamber, in hopes of catching the King this late in the evening.

      Upon arriving at the chamber, the Acara was disheartened by the patrolling security. Who is going to believe a story like this? Lula asked herself. She knew very few took interest in the skies, she also knew what happens to Neopets who claim that the nation of Altador are in danger.

      She bravely walked towards the council chamber, nervously she hurried past a few of the security guards before she was rudely pulled back by a strong hand.

      Lula spun round to see a hardy looking Lupe.

      "And where do you think you're going?" Groaned the Lupe.

      "I... I need to speak to the King." Lula stuttered as she brushed off the Lupe.

      The Lupe laughed hysterically, he didn’t notice the King appearing from behind the chamber doors.

      "Silence Lupe, this child is clearly in trouble and all you can do is laugh? Shame on you!" The King shouted, embarrassing the Lupe in front of his coworkers.

      The King knelt down and addressed Lula. "Now my child, how may I help?"

      The Acara, grabbed hold of the Kings hand and dragged him into the council chambers, slamming the door behind her.

      She pulled the King to the only window in the room and pointed to the growing star.

      "Look, can you see it? That star represents the power that Old Man Withers has. He has great plans to take over the astronomy club and cause further damage to your people." Lula explained with deep emotion.

      "He must be stopped." The King cried.

      Lula started to pace the room nervously twiddling her fingers as she approached the conversation regarding the amulet which the wocky spoke of.

      She took a minute to gather her thoughts and began to speak. "One of the astronomy club members mentioned that you could give me an amulet that will capture the Quiggles powers."

      "I could, but only to those who are one with the skies. You see the amulet you talk of is called, The Cosmic Amulet." The King replied.

      The Acara grinned as she pulled the zip of her satchel, uncovering the scrolls, she began to pull them out from the bag.

      One by one she presented the scrolls to the King, showing her knowledge of the stars and their constellations.

      Shocked, the King walked over to his desk, opened a drawer and picked out a shiny looking amulet.

      "I'm impressed young Acara." The King said as he reached for Lulas hand. "Please take the amulet, use it wisely and remember, it must be destroyed in order for the powers to be truly gone!."

      Lula grasped the amulet and dashed out the door, thanking the King as she left.

      "Oi, over here!" An unfamiliar voice shouted. As Lula exited the building.

      The Acara looked over to see a friendly Jubjub hiding in the shadows, she gingerly walked over, pocketing the amulet so the Jubjub didn’t see it.

      "I heard you talking to the King and I know where you can find the Quiggle you both spoke of." The Jubjub whispered.

      Confused Lula let out a nervous laugh. "Who are you?" She asked the Jubjub.

      "My name is Zander, follow me." He cried as he disappeared into the distance.

      Quickly, Lula sprinted behind him, dodging buildings and greenery as she ran. Suddenly Zander came to a holt.

      "He is hiding in there." The Jubjub exclaimed, pointing to an abandoned house. "He should be sleeping considering how late it is, sneak in and place the amulet around his neck."

      Lula looked confused.

      "Yeah, I heard you talking about the amulet as well, in fact I heard it all." The Jubjub explained.

      "Oh, I didn't realize you heard all the conversation, but that sounds like a great plan." The Acara replied as she crept through a small hole in the door which had once been patched but evidently not good enough.

      Once inside, Lula tip toed around the creaky floor boards, trying to find the sleeping Quiggle.

      There he is! Lula muttered. She took big strides towards the Quiggle and carefully wrapped the amulet around his neck.

      Old Man Withers momentarily took a break from snoring as he rolled over, nearly squashing the Acara.

      Once he had settled, Lula quickly fastened the amulet making sure, it was secure. She took a step back as the amulet started to glow

      The glow woke the quiggle from his slumber, which angered him.

      "What's going on? Who are you?" He shouted before noticing the amulet hanging from his neck.

      The amulet started to glow brighter, until the glow became blinding.

      Lula closed her eyes tight and hoped for the best. A few minutes passed until the Acara relaxed her eyelids and began to open them slowly.

      With blurred vision, she blinked until finally she managed to focus her sight on the Quiggle, who led on the floor unconscious,

      "Oh no." She screamed. "What have I done?"

      Zander rushed into the room. "Don’t worry, he's fine. Now get that amulet!"

      "You're right." Agreed the Acara as she bent down and released the clasp of the amulet, which still had a glow.

      Clutching the amulet Lula and Zander exited the Quiggle's house and scurried back to the library, where they were both welcomed by the three club members that Lula had meet earlier that evening.

      "So... have you got the amulet?" The Wocky asked.

      Lula nodded as she proudly passed the amulet over to the Wocky who threw the amulet onto the ground with great force. He lifted his right leg and stomped on it until it shattered into millions of tiny pieces.

      "Look at the star" The Korbat bellowed, pointing out of the window.

      All the Neopets hurried to the window to witness an amazing phenomenon.

      The once growing star had exploded, sending smaller stars dancing into the sky.

      "What's happening?" Lula uneasily asked.

      The Wocky smiled. "You'll see... "

      Lula channeled all her concentration into the sky, when she noticed the smaller stars starting to settle,

      Wasting no time, the Acara rushed over to one of the many desks in the room and started to scribble their position in the sky, this is when she realized just how much of an impact she had made.

      "LOOK!" She screamed.

      "The stars, they have created a new constellation... it looks like... an Acara, it can't be!"

      The Wocky ran over to the desk and embraced the Acara.

      "The Acara, The Young Savior,"

      "Yes, that’s got a ring to it, from this day forth, that is the name of the newly formed constellation." The Wocky announced.

      The entire room erupted into cheers and laughter.

      Lula was thanked for saving the astronomy club and Neopia.

      With heavy eyes, the Acara left the library with adrenaline pumping around her body,

      "Hey wait for me!" A voice shouted.

      Lula looked back to see Zander running to catch up with her.

      "That was really amazing, Lula you did great."

      "I'll make sure you get home safely."

      So as the first light of dawn started to appear, the Acara and the Jubjub disappeared into the distance, side by side.

          The End.

      The End.