The Royalty Club

     Spotted neggs and purple Kaus,

     Silliness is all this place allows.

      I read over the two lines and snickered for a moment at my horrid attempt before crumpling up the paper into a ball and throwing it over my shoulder, aiming for the growing pile of failed attempts. Of course, I managed to miss the pile completely and hit Kimm, my Purple Jetsam sister, on the head. Well, to be more accurate, she was yawning and it went straight into her mouth.

      After swallowing it whole, she glared at me and asked, "What do I look like to you, a trash can? Come on, princess. You should know better."

      I stuck my tongue out at her in response and went back to my writing attempts. Sometimes I wished I wasn't related to Kimm, but she did make a nice trash can at times.

      I had started a new line when my owner (followed closely by Tran and Atche, both suddenly without their NC clothes) literally ran into the room, nearly tripping over the rug as she did so. She then used the table as a brake and caused me to draw a big jagged line across the paper and then snap my Water Faerie Pencil in two.

      "Flosflosflos! SinceIfinallygaveuponbuyingaMaraquanPBforTran, IwentandboughtyouaRoyalPBattheHiddenTower!!" she exclaimed in one breath.

      I gave her a weird look and threw my now ruined pencil at Kimm (who once again protested about being treated like a trash can but ate it anyways) before saying, "Mom, calm down, and put spaces between your words."

      "I finally got you a Royal PB!" she said, clearly this time. She held up a beautiful sleek handled paint brush on a red velvet cushion, grinning the whole time.

      My jaw dropped, literally, and the Black Meowclops Pen I'd just picked up clattered onto the table. I'd wanted to be Royal since before Mom had adopted me, for as long as I could remember. I almost started drooling, but that wasn't a very appropriate thing for a Royal-to-be to do, so I wrenched my mouth shut and carefully took the paint brush from her.

      "Thank you so much!" I finally managed to gasp after getting my mouth to work again.

      "To the Rainbow Pool!" she yelled, causing a few of my other siblings to poke their heads around doorways (and, in the case of my Ghost JubJub brother, through the ceiling). She grabbed my free fin and ran out the door with me in tow. I did the only thing any sensible pet would do- I held onto both the paint brush and her hand for dear life.

      We arrived at Shenkuu's spring of Rainbow Pool water about ten minutes later. Mom was still grinning from ear to ear, managing to be even more excited about my painting than I was. Wow, I guess I underestimated how much she loves painting pets. I glanced in large mirror by the pool before getting in, seeing my Yellow Flotsam form for the last time. I then took a deep breath, grabbed my paint brush, and dove in, enjoying the way the cool paint felt against my skin. After a few moments underwater I felt cool metal form on my head, neck, tail, and fins while cloth formed on my back. I swam back to the surface, letting my eyelids lower a bit to show off my new permanent layer of sky blue eye shadow. Water quickly slid off my coat as I got out, and my new gold accessories glistened in the afternoon Shenkuu sun. I looked in the mirror again, but this time saw a stunning Royal Girl Flotsam staring back at me, Wings of Ice sparkling almost in time with the gold.

      "I'm beautiful.... Thank you," I said, my new Royal voice sweet and melodic. My owner only smiled and nodded. We headed back home, happy as was possible.

     ~*~

      The next morning I headed out of the house with my Faerie Backpack on one shoulder, accompanied by the five of my siblings that currently attended Lunar Temple Middle School along with me. The regal walk (can it be called a walk? I've been a Flotsam my whole life and never figured out what the right word for an aquatic pet moving about on land is) I'd practiced for so long was suddenly polished and fitting. I attracted more stares than Flite (Glowing Pteri) did that one time he flew into the side of the school building, only these were awestruck stares, not ones accompanied by pets falling over laughing. As I headed for my first class (which, incidentally, was English) several pets walked into lockers and trash cans. The novelty of having everyone staring at me was starting to wear off, so I headed to class as quick as I could.

      As I sat down, I noticed Adencia, the leader of the Royalty Club (a rather exclusive club open only to Royal pets), look at me for a moment then whisper something to Leni, her Pteri club mate/follower. Leni nodded in response and then followed the Kougra as she stood and made her way over to me. I had never liked the snobby members of the extremely small Royalty Club, but I had always wondered what all the hype about it was, so I sat up a little and tried to look as important as possible.

      "Since you are now Royalty and worthy of the honor, we are inviting you to the Royalty Club. If you so wish to accept this prestigious offer, and I'm sure you do, come to my house on Kentari Crescent at 4 o'clock sharp. We'll be seeing you..." she said, turning back to her seat with a flick of her tail without waiting for my response.

      Leni twittered something then, rather ungracefully, half-walked half-flew after Adencia. I wasn't totally sure, but it sounded like she said, "Please don't come."

      I started after her, wondering if I heard right, but my thoughts were interrupted by the bell that marked the start of class, but her pleading, worried look remained in my mind for the rest of the day.

     ~*~

      3:59 PM found me standing in front of the largest, grandest house on the most regal street in Shenkuu. This was, save for the Emperor's palace, the most stunning home in Shenkuu. I would have been awestruck if I hadn't noticed that most of the exotic flowers were fake. So much for natural beauty.

      I headed up the winding path and knocked on the front door just as a large clock (located at the very top of the house, apparently) struck three. A rather surly looking Grarrl butler answered the door and guided me to a lavish parlor, announcing me as "Madam Flos Triplicate" before bowing lower than I ever thought a Grarrl could bow. Taking a moment to be thankful that he hadn't called me "Madam Flossie112005 Triplicate", I looked at the four pets in the room. Along with Adencia and Leni (the latter of whom looked rather pale), there was a Royal Boy Lenny that I knew as Regan, and Sir Serce, a Royal Boy Shoyru who had recently move here with his father, the Meridellian ambassador to Shenkuu. All four were sipping tea from delicate bone china and eating Strawberry Crumpets in tiny little bites. I couldn't help but think how Rena could eat one of those Crumpets in a single bite, and only barely managed to suppress a giggle at the thought.

      "You are very punctual. Please, sit here," Adencia said, gesturing to a rather uncomfortable looking chair between Leni and Sir Serce. I sat down with as much grace as I could muster, and, just as I felt like this wouldn't be so bad, Sir Serce spoke.

      "Triplicate? What a strange family name. Is it from a noble family I am yet to meet?" he scoffed.

      "No, we're no nobles. It's the second half of my mom's main username," I responded. As soon as I said it I knew it wasn't the right answer, as Regan nearly dropped his tea cup.

      "You are a commoner?! Lady Adencia! You dare allow a commoner, one who takes their surname from their owner no less, into this club!" he nearly yelled with a hint of a rather un-Royal squawk at the end.

      "Don't be a fool, Regan. She's merely an initiate right now. We will test her before she becomes a true member," Adencia said with a rather annoyed glance at Regan.

      "Then let us delay no longer and test her," Sir Serce said.

      "Naturally, my dear Sir Serce. Leni, take Flos here into the next room and explain the tests while we prepare in here," Adencia said. Leni nodded and got up, gesturing to me. I stood and followed the Pteri into a much less formal room.

      "Oh, why did you have to come? They're so dull; all they do is take about politics and sip tea. I've heard of your siblings and I just know you'd hate it. I know I hate it," Leni said, collapsing into a nearby chair.

      "I just wanted to see what all the fuss is about. But if you hate it so much, why are you still here?" I said, taking a chair next to her.

      "My owner is good friends with Adencia's owner, and when we moved here, I didn't have any friends. She introduced us and I stuck around because she seemed so happy for me. I meant to slowly detach myself from her as I got real friends, but since Adencia made me stick to her like glue, I couldn't make any other friends aside from Regan the Fool and Sir Self Centered in there," Leni sighed.

      "I'll be your friend. I intend to skip out on these guys after these tests. Why don't we have a bit of a laugh before we go? Tell me about what they're going to do," I said, feeling rather sorry for the poor Pteri.

      Leni looked a little surprised. "You would, really? Oh, thank you so much, Flos! Ok, here's what they're going to ask....."

      Ten minutes later, we were back in the parlor and I was ready for the questions.

      "First of all, who are the pets of influence in your family?" Adencia asked.

      I did my best to look thoughtful for a moment, then answered, "Well, my sister Lop has a reputation for blowing things up, my brother Flite flies into the side of the school building from time to time, and my sister Kimm holds the Lunar Temple Middle School record for most pencils eaten in a week."

      My answer was greeted with silence. Leni was suppressing laughter behind the other three, who looked rather shocked.

      "Well, moving on, what does your owner do for a living?" Adencia asked, apparently still trying to prove to the others that she had made a good choice.

      "She plays some games, sells things she finds and wins, and collects interest at the bank," I said honestly. Sir Serce looked almost disgusted at my owner's rather lazy habits.

      "I... You... LENI! I told you to prep her properly! You traitorous little-" Adencia yelled, fuming. I cut her off before she could say anymore.

      "Why don't we all stop making fools of ourselves? I'll leave now before you break something. Leni, if you want to come, then come," I said. I didn't think this would end well if things went any further. I turned to leave the room.

      "Leni, if you leave, your life will be miserable. I'm the only friend you'll ever have!" Adencia threatened. Regan and Sir Serce took a few large steps away from the angry Kougra.

      "I... You were never my friend. I'm leaving with Flos!" Leni said. She started to follow me, then stopped and turned around and added, "I've always wanted to do this," before sticking her tongue out as far as it would go at the three stunned Royal pets. She then laughed and flew after me, her tail feathers swishing behind her gracefully.

      We exited the house and ran down the street and onto Tomamu Road before collapsing into happy laughter in my front yard.

      "Welcome to Triplicate Manor. Population twenty pets, twenty petpets, and one crazed human," I said after catching my breath. "You are welcome at any time; just watch out for exploding experiments and sarcastic sisters." Leni nodded in response, a smile stretched across her face.

      As we went inside, I took a moment to admire the real, if rather random, plants around the well used path.

      "Oi! Princess! Move it or lose it," Kimm said from behind me. I stuck my tongue out at her as I usually did and moved on down the path to where Leni was having a conversation with my insane owner.

      It was right then that something in me finally realized that this might not be Kentari Crescent, my owner might be totally out of it most of the time, and some of my siblings might be annoying, but this place was home, and I'd take Kimm the walking trash can over spoiled Adencia any day.

The End

Author's Note: Flos is one of my many side account pets, found on the account animetriplicate2. The first paragraph of this story really did happen (the giving up, the trade, and the painting, at least) happened on October 24th.