Path to Destiny: Part One

      "Ok, class, I hope you've all learned your lesson and will not do anything like that ever again! Paper is a tool, not meant to be rolled up an used as a weapon." He shot a Kyrii who was sitting at the front a meaningful glare before she hid a few paper balls behind her seat. "Also, your homework is to do something unusual for the weekend. I know you all very well," I had to stop myself from bursting into laughter as he said that last bit. "...so come to me as you exit the room and I'll give you an idea of what you should do. On Monday you have to hand in a journal telling me how it went." He finished and students started pouring out of the room, stopping at the teacher's desk to check their assignment.

      "Dawn, your assignment is to explore somewhere new. Somewhere you've never been before," the Chomby said as I passed his desk. I froze and turned to him; I knew for a fact that he didn't know any of his students very well, why did he choose that for me?

      "Out of curiosity, why?" I asked, a slight edge to my voice and my ears flicked back indignantly. My owner was quite rich and I was a faerie Xweetok, did he think I never did anything dangerous? He replied as I'd expected him to: by pointing to the words on the board and I let out a growl before storming out of the class. Everyone at school treated me like I was a stuck up rich pet who spent her time brushing her fur and trying on NC outfits. I hated all of those stereotypes and did none of those things. I was nothing like the typical faerie hat you'd think was vain, cowardly and didn't like getting their paws dirty. I was short-tempered, tomboyish and loved exploring but no matter how hard I tried, they all; even the teachers, treated me like an air-headed faerie! Well, I would prove them wrong...

      As I exited the school building, I ignored the hushed whispers and cold comments about my shimmering pelt and evasive colour and tried to concentrate on finding a dangerous place to explore. I fluttered my wings, purposefully throwing up dust from the ground, and jetted into the air, towards my home on the edge of Neopia Central. As I flew, I saw many desperate owners look up and try to chase me but I was much too fast for them to chase me when I was in the air and they were using their clumsy legs.

      I swiftly landed in front of my neohome... ok; it was more like a mansion. And I hated how big it was and how expensive it looked. Sure, my owner was wealthy and I wasn't ashamed of it, but did really he have to blare it out to everyone in every way possible?

      I trotted up to the door and knocked. I didn't get my own key, my owner thought that the servants would just open the door for me; they were always there. I never had space to myself... At the same time I didn't have any friends either; my terrible temper and expensive colour seemed to ward off... everyone. Plus, I wasn't allowed to have a petpet, my owner, whose name was Bob, said they were too dangerous.

      A red Lenny wearing an apron opened the door. "Looking lovely today, Lady Dawn," she greeted me as I entered the house. She was referring to the expensive NC clothes Bob made me wear. I tore them off as soon as I got in and glared at the maid. "Lucy, for the last time; JUST. CALL. ME. DAWN!" I snarled and the Lenny just nodded and went back to the kitchen. I rolled my eyes, knowing that she would still greet me with the posh name of 'Lady Dawn'. Aside from despising the clothes, I also walked on all four paws like a 'wild' pet would, as Bob put it so kindly but he couldn't stop me from doing that. And whenever he wasn't home, I flew around the house instead of walking and played in the HUGE garden to try and cure my severe case of boredom.

      Knowing that by this time, Bob would still be restocking or whatever, I flew up to my room, upstairs, and dumped my backpack on my luxurious pink desk. That was another thing; PINK! Why did everything have to be pink! Just because I was faerie didn't mean I liked pink, frilly stuff, which Bob filled my room with. Shutting the door to my room and locking it, just in case, I jumped onto my king-sized bed and stared out of my window. One good thing about my room was that it faced the woods and not the town, so the sunset shone clear, blazing orange through the window and the sky was going twilight-purple. Little stars started to peek through the darkening sky and a full moon splattered the woods with silvery light.

      I sighed; there was a huge world out there... I'd never been out of Neopia Central unless it was to the Trading Post and I hated shopping as much as I did pink. I always wanted to explore Neopia but I was never allowed to do that either. Well, this was my chance. I sprang off my bed and bounded to my bookshelf and took out an old map of Neopia. It was fading and the edges were torn but when I was younger I'd take this map out and dream of having adventures in each place. Bob had told me that adventure doesn't bring the np in; if I liked this lifestyle, I couldn't explore the world all the time. What he didn't know was that I didn't like this lifestyle.

      I shook the memories away and concentrated on finding an exciting place to explore. I closed my eyes and randomly put my paw down on a spot on the map. I opened my eyes, one at a time, to see where I was headed.

      When I saw where my paw had landed, a grin spread across my muzzle. My pale cream paw was on a faded blue part of the map, between Lutari Island and Moltara. This had to be the best place I could have hoped for!

      I sighed. "Hmm, the middle of the ocean, this'll be interesting..."

      That night, I stayed up half the time; reading up on ocean survival. What would I do when I got there? Would I take a boat, or fly? Would I dive in or hover above the surface? All these questions buzzed in my mind but nothing could overcome the excitement that bubbled in my heart. I finally fell asleep, a book on ocean life still flopped open on my bed and my sleep was full of amazing dreams. Storms, monsters, adventures! I couldn't wait until the morning!

***

      "What?" I tried to at least look calm as my owner spoke but my fur was seething with anger and my voice was edged with a snarl.

      "Dawn, it's too dangerous! I won't allow you to go on some wild trip to the middle of nowhere! It's just plain idiotic!" Bob repeated himself. I had told him my plan for my assignment that morning and his answer made me feel like tearing something apart. "You'll just have to tell your teacher that you couldn't do it when you see him on Monday. It's a stupid assignment anyway; exploring, pah! How's that gonna help you in life?" he snorted and I felt it getting harder and harder to stop myself from exploding at him.

      "Have you ever cared about what I wanted? Have you ever considered that maybe I like adventure? No, you've only ever thought about how you looked and how much np you have! Well, guess what? I don't care what you say; I'm going whether you like it or not!" I snarled, my fur bristling up and I bared my teeth at him like a wild Lupe looking at its prey.

      Bob was speechless, eyes wide and mouth hanging open as if he never thought I could disagree with him, or at least have the courage to say it. But his stunned silence didn't last long.

      "Go. To. Your. Room," he replied more coldly than I'd ever heard him. I was about to growl a protest but he cut me off.

      "GO TO YOUR ROOM!"

      He roared and I backed away before scrambling up the stair, tears budding in my eyes. I rubbed my eyes, furiously trying to get rid of the tears. I didn't cry about anything but when I realised what I'd done, I knew Bob might trade me or abandon me after that outburst. After he realised I wasn't a trophy; I was a living thing.

      I slammed my door shut and locked it before leaping onto my huge bed and put my face into my frilly, pink pillow to muffle my cries. A mixture of fear and rage bubbled through me and my eyes stung with salty tears. My wings drooped and my throat felt dry and sore. I have no idea how long it had been but the sun was considerably lower when I heard a knock on the door.

To be continued...