Elizia and the Krawk Island Boat Race

      Elizia gasped, eyes widened. “A Marafin! An actual Marafin!” She almost couldn’t believe it, but here the Petpet was, starting back at her, smiling. The thing swam a couple laps around her, at incredible speed. Then it grabbed her life jacket in its mouth, and started pulling her. The thing had astonishing strength for its size, as well as speed. Elizia could see her boat getting closer, closer… They were catching up to it!

      Elizia climbed back into it, chilly, but otherwise unharmed. She looked down into the water. The Marafin was nowhere to be seen…

      “Elizia!” It was Gable. The Gelert sounded very alarmed. “Are you okay? What happened?”

      Elizia continued scouring the water, before looking up at her concerned friend. “I’ll explain later!” They were past the tidal wave, and the other competitors were closing in. They had to hurry.

      How much longer? The adrenaline had made Elizia not notice the chill from her sodden fur, but it was starting to catch up. How she longed for a warm blanket and a cup of Borovan. Ace chirped, bringing her back to reality. Soon, she thought. But first she had to win this! She and Gable were able to keep a similar pace, but it wasn’t enough. The opposition was getting closer and closer… Perhaps they were not as worn down as the two friends and their Petpets had become. The currents also continued to grow rougher. It was hard to navigate them.

      Then, beneath the surface, Elizia saw it again. The Marafin was back! It was darting to and fro beneath the waters, then came up to the boat and stuck its head out of the water. It made a gurgling sound, and went back under. It swam just in front of the boat. Did it want Elizia to follow it? She complied, and the Marafin led her through the rough waves and currents, Gable just behind her.

      All seemed to be going well, until Gable let out a cry. “Get off!” Elizia looked around. The Skeith from the beginning was right next to him, hands clenched against the side of his boat.

      “Hahaha!” The Skeith bellowed. “Old Captain Krockins is sure paying me a lot to make sure that his son wins!” The Skeith continued laughing maniacally. Gable was losing speed. Suddenly Negg leaped out and nipped the Skeith’s finger. The Skeith cried out in pain, and let go. But now Gable had fallen behind, and all the other boats were passing him.

      “Gable!” Elizia cried.

      “Just go!”

      Elizia reluctantly continued, the Marafin leading the way. “Stop her!” Came a cry from the Skeith. “Don’t let her get away!”

      The Pink Korbat was right on her tail, and looked as if he intended to ruin her chances at victory. “Get away!” She hissed at him.

      The Korbat began to laugh. “Oh no, I wouldn’t even think of coming near you. I don’t want my ship to suffer the same fate as yours will!” He held up a jar… It was full of vicious-looking Charnie. He undid the lid, and poured them into the water, cackling madly. The Petpets began to swim up to Elizia at breakneck speed.

      The Petpets began gnawing at her boat. Ace cawed horrifically, but there was nothing he could do. They began to tear at the planks. They were going to pull the ship to pieces! There was nothing for Elizia to use to knock them off, or keep them away. Then, just as suddenly as it began, the attack ceased. She looked back to see the Marafin fighting them off, keeping them away from her. It looked at her, and gave what looked like a nod. Then it gurgled. It wanted her to keep on going. And so she did.

      After a while, she turned around again. She couldn’t see Gable. She couldn’t see the Marafin. All she could see was… Jimmy! Roaring along behind her came the Orange Krawk, his face even angrier than before. He hadn’t anticipated that Elizia would get through all of his traps and cheats. “You’re toast!” He yelled. Elizia began to paddle harder, but couldn’t get away. The Krawk was simply too fast. BANG! His boat nudged against hers. “I won’t be just satisfied with winning now,” Jimmy muttered. “I’m also going to sink your ship!” BANG! Ace began to tremble in a panic.

      “Get away!” Elizia yelled. She tried to counter his next attack by banging into his own ship with hers at the same time… CRACK. A flurry of wooden shards flew up. But none of them were Jimmy’s. Elizia’s boat was now cracked at the front. Water was coming in!

      Jimmy began laughing. “Like I said, you won’t even MAKE it to the finish line! Who do you think you are, did you really think you could win this race? I am the son of—“

      BANG! Jimmy’s boat stopped moving. It had crashed into another boat, but not Elizia’s. In front of Jimmy’s boat, horizontal, was Gable’s boat. He had deliberately steered into Jimmy’s boat, which had now stopped moving. He grinned at Elizia. “Go! Your ship won’t last much longer, go! I’ll see you at the end… after you’ve won!”

      Elizia knew there was no time to lose. She began to paddle, but the boat was… heavy. Too heavy, with a constant flow of water continuing to come in. “Ace, handle the paddling!” She said. Ace chirped in compliance. Elizia got to the front of the boat, and began throwing the water out with her paws. Without her paddling, the ship was slowing… But there was no other choice. Up ahead, she could see a red ribbon. The finish line! So close, but behind her came the other competitors… and they were catching up!

      Elizia began to weep into her paws. “We can’t get there in time,” she said to Ace. “It’s over. All our effort, our work to win this race honestly… It was for nothing.”

      But then, removing her paws from her face, Elizia could see an object in the water, speeding towards her. It was the Marafin! Without a moment wasted it leapt into the air, and straight into the water-filled boat. It began pushing up against the front of the boat, moving it faster. Elizia gasped. Could they really get there in time? She grabbed the oars, began rowing like the fate of Neopia depended on it. Faster, faster, while the ship sunk lower, lower… The water was up to her waist now. The finish line was metres away, but the ship would be completely submerged in a moment. Still forward they went, other competitors metres away, drawing closer, closer, just like the finish line. Elizia closed her eyes. Then, with one final push of her paddle…

      A horn blew. This meant that the race was over, a winner had crossed the line. Elizia opened her eyes. She had done it. She had passed the finish line, seconds before a swarm of other racers had done so. She had won.

      Elizia was now floating on the water, her boat nowhere to be seen. Next to her floated Ace in his life jacket, and on the other side of her was the Marafin. “Come,” she said to it, scooping it up. “I have someone for you to meet.”

           Back on the dock, Elizia emerged from the water to a number of cheers. Captain Krockins stood in a corner, looking furious. He had rigged the race for his son to win, and it hadn’t worked. “Elizia!” Barney came up to her, beaming, Spoteye at his feet. His expression turned to one of sheer shock as he saw the Petpet in Elizia’s arms. “That’s…”

      Elizia held it up to him. The Marafin gurgled, and jumped out of her hands and into his.

      “Hogules,” Barney muttered, tears in his eyes. “I’d recognise that stripe pattern any day.

      “He helped me win,” Elizia said. “I couldn’t have done it without him.”

      Barney looked up, and smiled. “Yes, indeed, you are the winner. And that means you’re going to go off and explore the world, does it not?”

      Elizia beamed. “You’re right. I can finally go and do what I’ve always wanted.”

      Barney exhaled loudly. “You’re going to forget about me, aren’t you? Forget about this island? So many more exciting things to see and experience!”


      “Oh Barney, of course I’m not going to forget about you! You’re my friend, and I still love this island. I’ll be back long before you start to miss me, and that’s a promise!”

      “I’ll miss you the moment you leave,” Barney said. He looked at Hogules in his arms, and Spoteye at his feet. “But I suppose I won’t be short of great company!” He began to laugh.

      “Elizia!” Gable had reached the pier. Elizia ran over and hugged him. Ace chirped happily, and Negg looked as serious as always. “Oh Gable, I can’t thank you enough! How can I ever repay you for all you’ve done for me?”

      Gable laughed. “You can thank me by enjoying your trip around the world. You getting to live your dreams, that’s enough of a prize for me.

      Jimmy had emerged too, standing next to his father, looking twice as miserable as the old man next to him. He glared at Elizia. She smiled, and winked back. His cheating hadn’t paid, after all.

      There was, of course, an awards ceremony, but Elizia didn’t care about this too much. To her the best part of that evening was seeing the happy faces of Barney, Gable, and all the Petpets. Ace had even received his own little medal, for winning along with Elizia.

      “So,” Gable said after the ceremony had concluded, “what now?”

      “Now, I go home, pack, and tomorrow head off to explore the world! Me and Ace would love to have company, you know.” Ace was perched on her shoulder.

      “Ace should be enough company for you,” Gable said. “I’ve got to help my father with his work on the island. However, I wouldn’t mind catching up with you somewhere to have a cup of Borovan. Shall we say Faerieland?”

      Elizia smiled. “Faerieland it is.” She looked up at the starry night sky with Gable.

      “But for tonight, get some rest,” Gable said. He laughed. “After all, you’ve earned it.”

     The End.