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A glimmer of sunlight breaks through the otherwise dark
sky, creating a ray of light upon Neopia. It seems that all is still, the birds
in their nests, the Neopets in their beds. That is except for one small Faellie
who rose early on that particular day.
Trini had been living with SeaZ0ne and her pets
Ramoose_, a rainbow Tonu, and Puppy_Trix, a baby Gelert, for just a few weeks
now. She had been a surprise for SeaZone's birthday and had immediately been
welcomed in their family.
The young Faellie had no complaints about her
family or their living style. In fact, she rather liked it. Ramoose_ with his
big hooves and wide grin was always happy to go galloping off with Trini holding
tightly to his ear, and Puppy_Trix with her childish personality loved getting
into fixes with her. Then there was SeaZ0ne, who always had a treat hidden for
her.
Her family remained in bed, SeaZ0ne breathing
heavily, a wisp of hair rising and falling on her face as she did so, Puppy_Trix
curled up in a tight ball, her bed covers snug around her, and Ramoose_ sprawled
across his bed, his hind right hoof hanging over the edge, and his covers crumpled
at the foot of it. Puppy_Trix held her paws against her ears, still sleeping
soundly, as Ramoose_ snored loudly in the neighboring bed.
However, Trini was up and about, packing a little
knapsack in the corner of the room she shared with Ramoose_ and Puppy_Trix.
She tossed in some of the items scattered on the wooden floor, and then shoved
the rest aside and tied the knapsack closed.
Trini swung the pack onto her back, gazed around
the room at her brother and sister and quietly headed for the door.
At the far side of the room, Ramoose_ groaned
and lifted his head to peer at Trini through a partially opened eye. "Oh, see
ya Trini," he said sleepily and then put his head back down.
"Bye, Ramoose_," Trini said calmly as she left
the room.
Without another distraction she left the small
NeoHome, closing the door quietly behind her.
"Ready to go?" barked a pudgy pup waiting at
the street.
"You bet, Dart!" exclaimed Trini, patting the
Warf's creamy colored head. "Now let's get going. I have a brilliant plan!"
The two headed down the twisting road toward
an awaiting adventure.
In the meantime, Ramoose_, Puppy_Trix, and SeaZ0ne
had gotten up and were loitering around the kitchen.
"Have either of you seen Trini?" asked SeaZ0ne
as she set a box of Neoflakes on the table. Ramoose_ and Puppy_Trix shook their
heads.
SeaZ0ne sighed. "Puppy_Trix, would you mind
checking on her?"
"Sure!" With that Puppy_Trix began down the
hall for their room.
After a minute Ramoose_ and SeaZ0ne heard paws
scampering back toward the kitchen.
"Trini's gone!" yelped Puppy_Trix worriedly.
SeaZ0ne's jaw dropped and her eyes became large
with concern.
Suddenly, Ramoose_ recalled seeing Trini leave
that morning and a guilty look crossed his face. "Umm… actually…" he mumbled.
"I…uh… saw Trini…"
SeaZ0ne and Puppy_Trix turned to face him, their
expressions inquiring. As if on queue, they both said, "Well?"
"Heheh… I just saw her leave… this morning."
"And you didn't ask where she was going?"
"It was early. And I was half asleep," Ramoose_
said defensively.
"Ugh," said SeaZ0ne shaking her head. "Now what
should we do?"
"So where are we going?" Dart asked excitedly.
Trini laughed as she looked at the Warf practically
bouncing in his step. "I've got a hunkering for a far-off land," she said as
she raised her eyebrows mischievously.
"Faerieland?! We're going to Faerieland? Oh
boy!"
Back at the NeoHome, the three sat around the
kitchen table in a cloud of thought and worry.
"She's a clever Faellie, she won't be gone long,"
SeaZ0ne said, trying to convince herself more than anything.
"Yeah," says Puppy_Trix. "She'll come home…"
"We're on the edge of Faerieland!" Trini said,
pushing through a lavender mist of early afternoon.
"What are we going to do once we get there?"
panted Dart curiously.
"Ever heard of Jhudora?"
Dart stopped in his tracks.
"I thought we'd pay her a little visit. See
what she's really like."
The Warf eyed her nervously.
"Awww... come on, Dart," Trini said, urging
him onward. "It's not like she'll do anything to us."
"Ha," said Dart disbelievingly, "that's what
you think." But he began moving forward again.
"Should we send out search parties?" Ramoose_
asked worriedly. "Maybe they'll be able to find her."
"Should we go look for her?" asked Puppy_Trix.
"No, no. Let's just stay here for a while. She's
bound to call, or come home, or something!' SeaZ0ne said, trying to remain calm.
"So what'd you tell your Cybunny?" Trini asked
Dart. "Does she know where you are?"
"I told her I had some business to attend to
and she didn't ask too many questions."
"Cool," said Trini distractedly. "Hey, look!"
she shouted, pointing at a large castle towering above them amidst an array
of clouds. "Now, Jhudora's Cloud is West of here… so let's go this way," she
said, changing her path so she was facing a dark cloud in the distance.
"You're sure you don't want to go to the Wheel
of Excitement instead?" asked Dart worriedly.
"Nah, that's okay. Let's get going."
And with that Trini headed on, Dart following
reluctantly.
After a time, Trini stopped, took the pack off
her back, and took two green apples from it. She hungrily took a bite from one
and passed the other to Dart.
When they began walking again a light sprinkle
of deep purple rain drops started to fall.
"We must be getting close," said Trini.
All around them was a haze of clouds, the light
purple gradually turning dark as they neared Jhudora's Cloud.
Heavy rain pounded down upon the two Petpets,
Trini with a determined expression forged through it, and Dart sloshed through
the drowned clouds, pouting.
"Come on, Dart. It's not that bad," and with
that Trini pulled out two umbrellas from her pack.
Dart took his and opened it so he was protected
from the rain, while beside him Trini did the same.
A boom of thunder beat through the air and a
flash of lightening lit up a huge castle. Purple lined with lime green, it gave
off a scary yet enchanting feeling.
Trini looked on with awe, while Dart shook uncontrollably.
Trini bravely stepped up to the large front
door and picked up the knocker. With a Ka-Thunk, Ka-Thunk, she knocked on the
door.
Time there was lost, for it was always dark
and Trini waited impatiently at the door.
Annoyed, she knocked again, harder this time.
With a crash the door was thrown open, revealing
Jhudora in an elegant purple dress, a scowl on her face.
With a pleased look, Trini let herself in, turning
to see Dart still out in the pouring rain. She motioned for him to come inside,
and he did so, cowering behind Trini.
Jhudora looked at them both with disgust. "What
is your reason for disturbing me?" She asked Trini.
"Well, we were out and about and I just thought--"
"Silence!" booms Jhudora. "You must leave at
once!"
Dart headed for the door, but Trini stepped
in his way, her wings beating angrily and her small eyes alive with rage.
"You have no right to tell us what to do!"
"Do you dare to question me?" thundered Jhudora.
Trini took a step forward, her eyes locked with
Jhudora's. "And if I do?"
A glimmer of respect entered Jhudora's eyes
as she looked at the small Faellie at her feet. Then with a wave of her hand
she sent Trini and Dart out of the door to land on her doorstep. Behind them
the door slammed shut and Trini and Dart picked themselves up and headed for
home, Trini glaring at the closed door over her shoulder.
As Trini opened the door of SeaZ0ne's cozy brick
NeoHome, SeaZ0ne, Ramoose_, and Puppy_Trix jumped up from the couch and rushed
to the front door.
"Trini! Where have you been? You missed dinner…"
"You're home!"
"What happened?"
Trini made her way to her bedroom, "Yeah, yeah.
I love you all too," she said.
Then she entered her bedroom, closed the door
behind her, and retreated to her corner as if nothing happened.
Still in shock, SeaZ0ne, Ramoose_, and Puppy_Trix
looked at each other disbelievingly and then shrugged.
What could they say? Trini was home safe and
sound, and obviously not in the mood to talk.
That's Trini for ya, thought SeaZone
smiling.
The End
Author's Note: This story continues with the characters from my previous
story, 'The Birthday Secret'. However, Puppy_Trix was originally spelled without
the underscore, but after a Gelert under the same name was created, I edited
the character's name. The same goes for SeaZ0ne, whose name was originally spelled
with an o rather than zero.
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