A Wraithy Valentine's Day...

      Yes, Cassandra the Wraith Uni didn’t mind being a Neopian citizen during most days of the calendar… except for one single day: Valentine’s Day. In the days prior to February 14th, she told herself that she didn’t really mind that people thought of Wraith pets as very evil creatures. She told herself that love and friendship were most likely only for very special people, like Fyora the Faerie Queen, so there was no shame in feeling lonely at times.

      The Uni performed a yearly ritual for the purpose of preparing emotionally to get through each Valentine’s Day: she went for a vacation in Darigan Citadel during the day of love and friendship. Valentine’s Day really isn’t that big of a deal in the home of the Darigans. This year however, as Cassandra was flying with her Uni wings across the lands and towards the flying castle of shadows one more time, she received notice that the citadel’s aerial dock was closed for reparations. The Uni received an emergency message which detailed the situation, along with a Neopoint reimbursement for the Citadel-Pass which she had purchased just days prior. At that moment, Cassandra began to panic because she was already flying steadfastly right above Faerieland when she received the alert on her portable phone. By that point, she was too far away from her home back in Altador. As a result of everything, she was going to have to spend the day in Faerieland and return home the next day, on the 15th.

      “Oh gosh,” Cassandra sighed to herself as she landed upon the land of the Faeries.

      Faerieland loved to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The entire land was decorated with heart-shaped banners. The Rainbow Fountain had been magically painted pink for the day. The Healing Springs smelled like roses and chocolate. At the Poogle Races, the Poogles were wearing cupid wings as they ran towards the finish line. And if all of this didn’t seem like enough to Cassandra, Jhudora’s Bluff had been decorated with a huge image of a Valentine’s Bartamus Petpet.

      “Valentine’s Bartamus don’t even exist yet!” An overwhelmed Cassandra yelled.

      Then, as the Wraith Uni started stomping on her way towards Faerie City in order to find a place to rest for the night, she encountered a parading group of Faerie Unis which hugged her and called her their ‘lovely Uni friend’. They wished the Wraith Uni a wonderful Valentine’s Day and left towards the Healing Springs.

      “Are these Neopets crazy? I don’t even know them!” Cassandra grumbled.

      When she finally reached the city, the Wraith Uni saw that Fyora was at the top of her tower. The Faerie Queen was casting a spell with her staff so that hundreds of heart-shaped motes would fall down from the clouds like rain. One of those motes fell on Cassandra’s nose and popped like a bubble, disappearing into the thin air and leaving behind a scent of flowers along with a shower of glittering sparkles.

      “Wow, I have never seen anything like that!” Cassandra said in utter amazement. She couldn’t help but smile in the face of Fyora’s wondrous magic.

      At that moment, Fyora noticed Cassandra from atop her tower. Then, the Faerie Queen asked one of her helping Faeries Lennies to invite the Wraith Uni to come inside her tower. All of a sudden, the Uni noticed that a Faerie Lenny was joyfully flying right towards her.

      “Oh no! What is going on now? Are Wraiths even welcome in Faerieland, after everything that has happened? Am I about to be sent packing?” Cassandra whispered to herself in a very worried tone.

      “Hello, hello, hello there! Happy Valentine’s Day!” the Faerie Lenny celebrated.

      “Uh, what?” Cassandra said with startled confusion.

      “My dear, you’re invited to come into Fyora’s Tower! The Queen asks that you come share a… what did she say… a Sunset Gummy Slushie with her!” the Faerie Lenny announced happily.

      “A Sunset Gummy Slushie? Those are my favourite!” the Wraith Uni said without thinking twice.

      In that moment, Cassandra forgot about her concerns. She didn’t even remember it was Valentine’s Day. She was thirsty from her long flight… and she had always admired Fyora, even though she wouldn’t admit it to anyone. She had also been sure just a few moments before that she was about to be expelled from Faerieland. So things looked really bright all of a sudden.

      The Wraith Uni followed the Faerie Lenny into Fyora’s Tower. Cassandra entered the castle and noticed that the place was still under repair. All of Faerieland was still under repair. After its fall, everyone was continuously working together towards the goal of making it look one hundred percent again. But that goal still was still some time away.

      “I don’t understand how everyone can be so cheerful after everything that happened…” Cassandra whispered to herself.

      The Faerie Lenny asked the Uni to wait in a lobby outside of Fyora’s Room. Just a few moments later, Queen Fyora came out of her room and greeted Cassandra. She brought two colourful slushies with her, one for each.

      “Hello, my dear… how is your Valentine’s Day going along?” Fyora asked.

      “Uh, well…” the Uni responded as she took a sip of Sunset Gummy Slushie. “This is my favourite slushie!” Cassandra shouted hastily, as she attempted to change the topic.

      “I know,” Fyora answered.

      A few seconds passed and Fyora kept looking intently at the Wraith Uni with her beautiful, deep, regal eyes. The Faerie Queen was waiting for her question to be answered.

      “Queen Fyora, I don’t celebrate Valentine’s like you Faeries do…” Cassandra said with sorrow in her voice. In that moment, she felt like she confide in Fyora.

      “Cassandra, that’s where you and I differ,” Fyora stated. “We don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day because we’re all always filled with romance, or with love, or even with happiness. We’re celebrating so enthusiastically because even though we’re heartbroken because of Faerieland’s fall, we still choose to believe that love and friendship will save us in the end.”

      Cassandra hadn’t really thought of it that way. She thought that the Faeries were simply being silly and that they were unable to grasp their painful reality. But after listening to Queen Fyora’s words, the Uni couldn’t help but shed a tear at the thought of how much the Faeries were working to rebuild their land.

      “But don’t you worry about it,” said Fyora as she gently wiped off the tear which ran down the Wraith Uni’s cheek. “Like I said, we'll be just fine! We choose to believe that love and friendship will save us in the end.”

      “But Fyora, I don’t understand how you do it… As a Wraith, I feel like life in Neopia is a little harder for me…” the Uni said as she finished whimpering.

      “I understand, my darling.” Fyora interrupted as she looked directly into Cassandra’s eyes and put her delicate hand on the Uni’s shoulder.

      Cassandra could see that Fyora was heartbroken about many things, but that it only made her want to love more.

      “We all have a reason to feel like life isn’t enough… whether we are Faerie, Wraith, Darigan, Maraquan, or whoever we are. But it’s our duty to honour our own selves. Because if we don’t give ourselves permission to be happy, then who will, Cassandra?” Fyora asked with great prowess.

      Cassandra understood Fyora’s words. Maybe the Uni couldn’t relate to what the Faerie Queen had said in every way, because really, their lifestyles were very different. But the Uni knew in that moment that she needed to give herself the chance to be a happier Wraith, even if it meant to celebrate life in a very Wraithy way.

      “Thanks Fyora… I really appreciate your words of wisdom,” the Wraith Uni said.

      “It’s no problem! I must go now… If you so desire, you can buy yourself some treats while you’re here in Faerieland! Maybe a cake, or a how about a Petpet? It’s on me! Just tell the shopkeepers that you’re my friend! I'll pay for it. Have a very happy Valentine’s Day, Cassandra!” Fyora said as she turned around and returned to her room.

      “Have a happy Valentine’s Day, Queen Fyora!” Cassandra responded.

      As that crazy encounter came to an end, Cassandra felt like she had been hit with the most insane ‘Something Has Happened!’ random event. But she also realized that she wasn’t the same Neopet that she had been before. Maybe her dark, sinister Wraith looks didn’t attract the eyes of most Neopians in the kindest of ways… but Cassandra suddenly thought that she looked beautiful exactly as she was.

      Then, Wraith Uni proceeded to exit Fyora’s Tower. After that, she decided to spend the rest of the day bathing in the Healing Springs, where she drank yet another Sunset Gummy Slushie. She even ate three whole Chocolate Faerie Cakes as she relaxed in the springs.

      “Just one day a year… right?” Cassandra said as she looked at her reflection in the springs. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Cassandra,” the Wraith Uni lovingly said to herself with a shining, content smile.

     The End.