Hubert and Hotdog Soup

      He took the rather light bag of Neopoints and stepped out of the little pull-along cart. Glumly, he headed across the street to a small diner where he got dinner every night for free.

      "Hey, Hubert! How's business?" A happy white Lupe smiled at him from behind the counter, a wet rag in her paws.

      Hubert remained silent until he sat down. "Terrible, Mindy!" he muttered, and a few other customers looked over. "I seriously think that people just don't like hotdogs like they used to."

      Mindy took the rag and made a large circle on the counter. An obvious look of shock was sprawled across her face, and she tried to hide it with a subject change. "Have you tried my new Magical Pink-Berry Soda? It's quite good, with a hint of honey and a pinch of salt and sugar! Oh, and there's Chewing Dung in it too, Hubert!"

      Several customers spit out their drink and took to wiping their tongues with their napkins. Mindy took no notice, and continued on, "I heard the Breadmaster experimented with Kauvara's Orange Spots Be-Gone potion and ended up with a rainbow loaf of bread."

      Hubert chuckled, and accepted the glass of ice water Mindy offered him. "Mindy, I think I'll take this to go." Hubert handed the water back, and ignored the look of surprise of Mindy's face; he usually stuck around until closing.

      "Thanks," Hubert said, taking the plastic to-go cup and getting up. He put five Neopoints on the table; he felt bad for leaving Mindy all alone - all of her customers had left, choking on her Magical Pink-Berry Soda.

      Hubert pushed the door open and walked off down the street. He didn't live far away from his hotdog stand, so he stopped every so often to talk to the fans he rarely saw coming to his stand anymore.

      Hubert's small, one-room home was next to the Wishing Well. He flicked a golden coin in and silently wished for better business. He trotted into his home, a heavy feeling weighing on his heart. The purple walls of his bedroom/living room seemed forbidding, unwelcoming. Hubert sat the Neopoints down on a table next to his sofa-bed and proceeded into the kitchen.

      He opened the dusty cupboards and found nothing but a large supply of emergency buns, ketchup and mustard. He sighed; Hubert hadn't used the emergency supply for about a month now, and he usually had to get emergency-emergency supplies.

      Suddenly, Hubert heard a knock on his door, and walked slowly to answer it.

      "Hi, Hubert!" Hubert looked up, and saw the beautiful yellow wings and apron and knew it was the Soup Faerie. He beamed at her.

      "Er, do you want to come in them? Can I offer you a hotdog?" Hubert asked, blushing. The Soup Faerie stepped inside and nodded.

      Hubert returned to find the Soup Faerie in a cozy red arm chair. He handed her a plain hotdog. She dove into conversation at once. "Hubert, I found that your business isn't on the high side here. Neither is, surprisingly, mine."

      Hubert gasped. "What? Surely there are still poor pets!"

      "Poor pets: yes. Disgusting soup: yes! Hubert, we need to come up with a plan. Do you have any ideas?"

           Hubert gasped again. "A - what? How are you and I supposed to have a... a plan?"

      The Soup Faerie gave a short, impatient growl. "Come on, Hubert, think! I make soup and you make hotdogs. Put them together and what do you get...?"

      Hubert thought for a moment, and trying to ignore the Soup Faerie's chants of 'quickly, quickly!'

      Hubert gasped for a third time- how could he be so stupid to have missed it? "Hotdog Soup!"

      The Soup Faerie nodded happily and took Hubert's paw and led him out the door. Once she was away from Hubert's house, she shouted, "Hold on!" and took flight.

      Hubert had never seen the world this high up before. The few Neopets that were doing their evening shopping looked like tiny petpetpets, or smaller! Even Hubert's own hotdog stand looked quite small, and it got smaller and smaller the higher the Soup Faerie rose. Soon, his hotdog stand looked like a red and white speck!

      Eventually, Hubert began to get quite cold, and he forced his eyes away from the ground, which had now become a calm sea. He saw a great, massive pink cloud with buildings and homes and stores, and nearby was a blue cloud with a beautiful healing spring on it. Not far from there was an ugly purple cloud with a type of green highlight to it. Hubert realized with a shock he was facing Faerieland!

      "Why are we coming here?" Hubert asked, awestruck.

      "I thought you might ask that!" she shouted, her voice too soft to be heard in the whipping wind. "We have to see if Fyora agrees - she's got to know practically everything that goes on with us Faeries, you know!"

      Hubert shouted a reply, but doubted the Faerie could hear. A soft murmur of voices and laughter filled his ears and he noticed they were soaring just out of paw's reach from the ground in the Faerie City.

      A small earth Faerie looked up from her shopping, and nudged the Lenny next to her. They both gasped and waved. The Lenny shouted, "Hi, Hubert!"

      Hubert smiled - was he really so famous that people in the great Faerie City knew about him? Must be, he thought.

      With much more pointing and gasping, Hubert and the Soup Faerie reached the oak doors of Fyora's castle. The Soup Faerie wrenched her hand off of Hubert's wrist and smiled.

      "Well, look at that!" Hubert muttered, lost for words completely. "I never thought I'd live to see these great doors before me! What's the inside look li-"

      But Hubert had not finished his sentence before the doors opened and an air Faerie looked down her glasses at him. "Why, it's Hubert and Amelia!" she said, and gasped.

      Hubert looked at the Soup Faerie, but she spoke first. "Amelia is my first name. What, you thought my name was in fact the Soup Faerie?" She giggled, and led Hubert inside.

      The ceiling was as tall as about five million plushies stacked up. The walls were a light plum, the same color as Fyora's dress. To the left and right of the doorway were two sets of stairs, meeting together to create a walkway above Hubert and the Soup Faerie, in front of them was a desk, where the air Faerie sat back down, and behind that was another set of oak doors.

      "Well, how do you do?" she asked, sticking out a hand to Hubert. He shook it, and felt a breeze run through him. "And Amelia, you look older!" She placed her hand with the Soup Faerie's and shook it. "Here to see Fyora, check Faerie Rights and Wrongs, or are you in need of a place to stay, dears?"

      The Soup Faerie smiled and said, "To see Queen Fyora, please, Sage, if she's available."

      The air Faerie, Sage, grinned. "For you two, she'll certainly be available! I trust you know your way around, but if years of soup-serving changed your mind a bit, it's down the hallway and you'll see a painting of the Money Tree and Fyora. Tickle the Money Tree's nose and the portrait will swing forward to reveal her office."

      Sage waved them on, flicked a wand, and the doors behind her opened. The Soup Faerie took Hubert's paw again and led him at a run through the doors. They magically closed behind them.

      The Soup Faerie stopped running and panting; she started walking briskly. "Amazing, isn't it? What magic can do?" she said, and noticed Hubert's flushed face. He too was panting. "Here," she said, and took a gold wand from her pocket. She flicked it, and a glass of water materialized in front of Hubert. Gratefully, he took it.

      They reached the portrait of the Money Tree and Queen Fyora and the Soup Faerie reached out a finger and tickled the Money Tree's nose. It giggled and swung to the side, revealing a purple office with cozy bean bags, and rolling white chair behind a wood desk, and a table which cookies, milk, juice, and gummy treats had been placed. The Soup Faerie took a seat in a green bean bag and Hubert took a white one next to hers. The only thing the room lacked was, as Hubert noticed, the Faerie Queen.

      The portrait that had been a door closed and looked like a bare strip of wall. Until, at least, it opened again and there stood the grand Faerie Queen Fyora!

      Fyora strode into the room, carrying some heavy-looking books, all which seemed to have something to do with 'Raising a Neopet'. She set the books on her desk and walked to the food-table, where she got a cookie. She ate the cookie, and turned upon the Soup Faerie and Hubert. She grinned.

      "Amelia! And, could it be, the famous Hubert?" Fyora said, beaming. She hugged the Soup Faerie and shook hands with Hubert, who's mouth had fell open.

      "Your... your majesty!" Hubert said, sinking into a low bow.

      The Queen pulled Hubert up and shook her head, saying, "Oh, dear Hubert, you have much to learn! Now, why have you two come to see me? Sage said you sounded excited!"

      Hubert had never seen the Faerie Queen and admitted she did look just like the pictures: wavy, brown hair, a broad smile, and a flowing purple dress.

      "Well, Queen Fyora," the Soup Faerie began, nibbling on a half of strawberry jelly, "Hubert's business isn't going to well. No one seems to like the hotdogs! And amazingly, not one single poor Neopet came to visit me in the last week. All except for a very shy-looking Gnorbu who said his friends told him to tell me that my soup was bitterly disgusting and that he was dared to try every bowl! Of course, I gave him an apple instead; the poor pet was quivering from head to toe!"

      The Faerie Queen's mouth fell open. "Seriously? Well, do you have a plan?"

      What is it with Faeries and plans? Hubert thought. "Yeah," he said, "we have a plan."

      The Faerie nodded, and Hubert told of their plan to make Hotdog soup. The queen never interrupted, but sat in the rolling chair with her fingers pressed together and her brow furrowed in thought.

      "Hmm," she said once Hubert had finished. "Hmm... What a wonderful idea! You'll be selling it, Hubert, and you, Soup Faerie, will be giving it, I assume?" The pair nodded eagerly, hope rising in their chests. "Yes, of course you can do it!!"

      Hubert and the Soup Faerie chatted with Fyora for a few minutes before they left, soaring high above the lands once more.

      When they reached Hubert's home, at once they set off to his stand with a big bowl. They came across no other shoppers, for it was dark and every store was closed.

      At the hotdog stand, Hubert took the bowl and set it on the ground, where he placed chopped hotdogs inside it. He added a squirt of ketchup and stood back to let the Faerie do her magic. "There!" she exclaimed minutes later, having created a red soup with a very, very good smell. "I think this'll sell for around 500 Neopoints. Of course, I'll be giving it out for free!"

      Hubert nodded, and took the large bowl and poured it into two smaller bowls; one for him and one for the Soup Faerie. "Thanks for your help," he said gratefully, having handed the bowl to the Soup Faerie. She repeated the thanks, waved, and took off in the direction of her kitchen.

      That morning, Hubert arrived early with plastic bowls and spoons. He made a few hotdogs, just in case, and had the soup recipe so he could make more soup if necessary.

      It was.

      The largest line Hubert had ever had seen spiraled its way to his counter. Happy faces with hungry expressions were everywhere he looked; he doubted the diner had any service right now! He made a mental note to tell Mindy of his success.

      The Soup Faerie had pinned a large sign in her window that read: Teaming up with Hubert's Hotdogs: Try Our New Hotdog Soup! and had gotten a large line herself.

      That night, Mindy was highly impressed and asked for a sample. Hubert gave her one for free and she begged for more; as with everyone else. He told Mindy to try and get something from the Soup Faerie; with Hubert's new success, Mindy had gotten no customers that day!

      From that success soup to another, the Soup Faerie and Hubert made different hotdog soups daily, fighting to keep up with mail orders as well!

The End

Author's Note: This is my first NT submission!! I hope you like it! Hopefully there are more to come... :)