Soup For the Soul

by mystiquerose

Her name was Lorelei. She was the sister of the Light, Air, Water, and Fire Faerie, more commonly known as the Faerie Cook. Lorelei had the power to create wonderful, elaborate meals fit for the magical creatures themselves and, not only did she have her own show on the Neocooking Channel, she was very beautiful, as all Faeries are.

But what distinguished Lorelei from her sisters was her self-centered personality. At times she would even entertain the idea of usurping the Faerie Queen's position as ruler of Neopia, but knowing the danger of such a risk, she suppressed those greedy notions.

Still, it did not prevent her from acting as if Neopia revolved around her.

"You coming to the Bookshop with me today?" she asked the Air Faerie one morning as she brushed her long, light brown hair.

"Sorry, I can't. I've got a meeting with the Center for Disease Control at three. They say Neopox has become so common that certain people believe it's spreading through the air."

Lorelei's beauty faded in the flicker of a Faerie's wings. "But you told me last week you would come!" she cried as a temper tantrum reared its ugly head. "For Faerie Heaven's sake, who cares about Neopox anyway? Come on, Lighty, you said you would!"

The Light Faerie sighed. "I did not and you know it. I'm tired of you twisting my replies into what you want to hear. And for as much as it's worth, Neopox is affecting the Neopets and some of the owners can't afford to pay for the remedy."

"Argh! Why can't you think about me for once?!" she screamed. The Light Faerie was sure the mirror beside her was going to break.

"Listen here, Lorelei," the good Faerie spoke kindly. "Why don't you think about others for once? Come with me to the meeting. You'll appreciate what I'm trying to do for these creatures."

Lorelei stomped her foot and threw her brush across the room. "Forget your stupid meeting! I guess I'll just have to go to the Bookshop alone. For cryin' out loud, why do you have to be such a vegetable?!"

And with that, the Faerie Cook ran out of the room, stomping her feet like a marching band as she headed for the Faerie Bookshop.

"Something needs to be done about her," the Light Faerie said that evening while the Faeries minus Lorelei had a secret meeting. "She called me a vegetable today just because I wouldn't do what she wanted!"

"Hey, that's nothing!" interrupted the Water Faerie with a flick of her shiny blue tail. "Why, just a week ago she splashed me right in my eyes because I mixed up a spell and gave her a Healing Potion I instead of Healing Potion IV."

"Sounds like we're dealing with a spoiled brat!" the Earth Faerie agreed, and the Fire Faerie nodded her head. "She called me a melted candlestick because I accidentally burnt her hot-dog!" said the Fire Faerie. "A melted candlestick! The nerve!"

During this time, the wise Faerie Queen kept silent, although she had her own experiences with Lorelei to tell. She knew her silence was overdue when the Darkness Faerie replied, "Let me just have a minute with her; I'll put that sorry excuse for a cook in her place!" she slammed her fist angrily on the table as an exclamation to her point.

"Enough!" cried the Faerie Queen. She tucked a wisp of purple hair behind her ear. "I've heard your complaints. There's no need to become anxious, Darkness Faerie."

The Faerie scowled but immediately held her tongue.

Continuing, the Queen said, "Certainly, Lorelei needs some admonishment. I can't deny that I have been exposed to her selfishness as well."

"What are we going to do, then?" asked the Air Faerie as she inquisitively gazed at her wise sister.

"Not to worry," the Faerie Queen answered. "I have a plan."

For the next few days, the Faerie Queen and Kauvara found the ingredient for a the most foul potion ever in Neopia. This was a Faerie's potion, to be used only by a Faerie, but it was created for Lorelei herself. It stunk of dried eyeballs, leaves from the Haunted Woods, and even the marinated intestines no pet would ever consume.

"Finished!" Kauvara exclaimed as the potion made its final poof and sputter. "What's this for anyway? Don't tell me that Dr. Frank Sloth is back."

"Oh no," the Queen replied, smiling. "This is for a far more important use. Let's just hope it works."

The very next morning while Lorelei slept, the Faeries placed the potion--which had been coloured pink to disguise its vile contents--on the table next to Lorelei's bed. As they left the room to carry on their duties, the Faerie Queen whispered, "If you hear a scream like the sound of a Jubjub, pay no mind. It's just Lorelei."

When she awoke to find the bottle which had been gift-wrapped to appear as if it was a present, she was thrilled. "Finally! Someone thought of me!" She began ripping through the paper, eager to find the contents.

"Ooooooh, a potion! This must be a special one! I'm sure it will make me even more beautiful since it is my favorite colour!"

She greedily swallowed the entire contents and licked her lips with satisfaction. Kauvara sure knew how to make things taste delicious, even if they were made with things you'd find at the bottom of a sewer.

But Lorelei's satisfaction was short-lived. When she sat down at her vanity to gaze at the newly-found prettiness, she let out a scream like a Jubjub, just as the Queen had predicted.

Her skin was greenish-brown and covered in hairy warts. Her long tresses were now short and oily, and her face displayed wrinkles like that of the Brain Tree. Her body that made the "Dangerous Curves Ahead" sign a reality, was nothing but skin and bones.

She hastily snatched the bottle and read the fine print at the bottom. The letters were in gold. "Treat unto others as you want to be treated." The Faerie Cook's anger boiled hot and she threw the bottle against the wall, breaking it into a million pieces.

The Faerie Queen opened the door. Lorelei immediately fell to her knees and started crying.

"Please change me back! I can't look like this!"

The Queen smiled gently. "Of course I'll change you back. But first I want you to make five million slices of Neopox pizza for the suffering pets on the planet. With your cooking ability, you're sure to cure them."

"Five million!!!" Lorelei cried. "I can't do that! I won't do that! Kauvara should make me some potion that will change me back to my original self!"

"If you don't help these pets, you'll remain this way forever."

Lorelei kicked the ground and punched the wall.

"Aaaarrrrgggghhh!" she cried, sounding much like the Monoceraptor did when he paid a visit to Tyrannia. Knowing her next move, the Faerie Queen banished Lorelei from the castle for disrupting the peace and stripped her from her magical powers. The poor helpless creature had to fend for herself on the streets of the Marketplace.

There she found a hungry Lupe who sat off to the side of the road, howling because of the hunger pangs. Sniffling like a baby, Lorelei sat next to the pet and stared at the ground.

"I'm hungry too," she whispered. "I wish I could make me some food."

"Where's that Faerie Cook when you need her, eh?" the Lupe chuckled. Lorelei smiled weakly. "I bet she's making some delicious meals for the Faerie Queen."

"No, she's not. She's in dire straits."

The Lupe said nothing. Lorelei absentmindedly fished through a pocket in her torn dress and was surprised to find ten Neopoints. She automatically jumped.

"I just found some money! I can go buy some food!"

The Lupe followed her to a shop, hoping she'd be generous enough to share. Fortunately, someone was offering the leftovers of an omelette for ten points, but it certainly wasn't enough for two people. Just as Lorelei was about to devour the morsels, she noticed the sadness in the Lupe's eyes. He'd have to go another day without food.

Her heart banged in her chest. The Lupe was even more worse off than she was, and probably had an owner who abandoned the poor pet. For the first time in her life, Lorelei didn't care about her ugliness and her hunger. She handed the Lupe the food and sadly walked away. However, he continued to follow her, licking his paws.

"Wait!" he cried as he caught up with her. "Thank you so much. I haven't eaten in weeks. I promise to make it up to you somehow."

It was then that Lorelei began sobbing and explained her situation to the Lupe. He took pity on the creature and promised to help her in any way he could. Since he had more strength from the omelette, he offered to take her back to Faerieland and talk to the Queen herself.

The brave Lupe told the Queen of how generous Lorelei was when he was dying of hunger, and he begged her to show compassion on the Faerie, just as she had shown compassion for him. The Queen smiled and instantly Lorelei's beauty was restored.

"Your magic will be limited," the Queen told her. "You will only be able to make for yourself a very simple soup for your nourishment. If you eat anything else, you will return back to your ugliness. This is to keep you humble."

"I understand," she said meekly. "I'm so happy that I'm not that creature anymore, I don't care what I look like, so long as I'm not that!"

She skipped out of the castle with the Lupe at her side, but suddenly she had an idea. They returned to the Marketplace to find a huge pot large enough to fit a whole crew of Neopets inside. Lorelei was so pleased with the kind reaction of the Lupe that she vowed to help the pets in any way she could, even if it meant not receiving a reward. She worked night and day to make her soup. Soon pets began lining up at the door to have a taste of the Faerie's fine work, even if it wasn't extravagant. It was just what they needed from a kind Faerie with a good heart.

The Faerie Queen watched from above, pleased.

Lorelei was never called by her name again. Her Marketplace pot was officially named the "Soup Kitchen," and she became the Soup Faerie.

The End