A Sister's Wish

      "I don't see what the big deal is, sis. You know as soon as the shops open, we'll be flooded with customers fighting over the potions. What's the worst that could happen?" The small blue Kau leaned forward to place the freshly brewed potions atop a dust-covered shelf. "When are you going to teach me how to make potions too?"

      Kauvara sighed from behind the counter, having tired of answering Allita's question long ago. "Lita, you're my sister and you know I love you dearly, but I don't feel you're ready for that responsibility. Besides, where would I get another great helper like you?" She offered a smile to her younger sister, hoping she would understand. "You've done a fine job there, Lita. I think we'll be ready to open up soon."

      "...You know, sis, I've been thinking..."

      "If this is about becoming a faerie, you can forget it."

      "Kauvara, please, hear me out," Allita begged. "I've given this a lot of thought. I think if I painted myself faerie I could be a much greater help to you. I could complete errands faster - "

      "You do a fine job as it is - "

      "I could stock items on the taller shelves easier - "

      "Wings are a hazard around such delicate items as these, Lita, you could bump into and break something - "

      "I really think I could help you out better if I was a faerie!"

      "Lita, enough! You are not becoming a fairy, and that is final!" Kauvara stamped her hoof on the floor, irritated at her sister's insistence on the matter. She had said no before, and no meant no. "Now why don't you go take inventory of the supplies? I think later I'll teach you how to make a basic healing potion if we have the materials."

      "Yes, sis," Allita mumbled, returning to the back room of the magic shop. "I suppose you'll be wanting me to go to Roo Island for some more berries soon?" she called, taking inventory of ingredients. She didn't dislike running errands for her sister, but she had grown tired of doing nothing more than that. Gathering ingredients, stocking potions, staying out of the way of customers... She felt as if Kauvara was embarrassed of her somehow. After all, her sister was a great magician and the owner of one of the most visited shops in all of Neopia. Kauvara's coat was adorned with the blue of the night sky and gold, glittering stars, but Allita? "I'm just a boring, plain ol' blue Kau, and that's all I'll ever be," she sighed.

      The small bell above the door rang, and almost immediately the quiet shop filled with the sounds of customers, fighting and haggling over the freshly stocked potions. Allita stayed hidden in the back, pretending to count ingredients as she daydreamed.

      "Lita, I need your help out here!" Kauvara called from out front, barely audible over the noise in the shop. Allita entered the shop and eased her way through the crowd to reach her sister, overwhelmed with purchases. "I told you, I can't accept any less than ten thousand for that – oh, Lita, there you are. I need you to deliver a purchase for me." Kauvara waved away the disgruntled customer and pulled a small bag out from behind the counter. Allita recognized it instantly, it was the same bag she used for collecting ingredients. "Inside this bag is a very, very powerful potion. It must be treated with the utmost care."

      "I know, sis. Who's it going to?" Allita asked, carefully taking the bag away from Kauvara.

      "The Queen herself," Kauvara answered, a small smile appearing on her face.

      "Queen Fyora? Really?" Allita couldn't believe it. What would the queen of all faeries want with a potion from her sister's shop? Faerie magic was something far different from Kauvara's magic and potion-brewing skills. Not that Kauvara's magic wasn't special, but... faerie magic was something far more powerful and magical.

      "Really," Kauvara replied, a small laugh escaping with the answer. "She's in Neopia Central for a visit today, and you need to take this to her. She should be at the Rainbow Pool." Before she could add anything else, Allita was out the door, making her way toward the mystical pool where Neopets painted themselves.

      "Wow, a meeting with Queen Fyora herself!" Allita said quietly to herself, ignoring the crowds around her. "What do I say? Is it even acceptable for me to speak to her? I'm nothing special, just a plain blue Kau... Oh, I don't even look presentable, I can't possibly meet her like this!" She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she barely even noticed she had already reached the pool until she nearly stumbled into it.

      "Watch where you're going!" a Tyrannian Uni shouted at her, snapping her back to reality.

      "Oh, I'm terribly sorry – " Allita apologized, backing away, but unfortunately found herself backing into a Darigan Aisha.

      "Hey, watch it! Clumsy unpainted goof," the Aisha mumbled, ignoring Allita's attempts at apologizing as he marched away.

      Allita moved out of the way as quickly as she could, then carefully opened her bag to check on the potion. The bottle wasn't very large, and the contents inside were a rich lavender color that sparkled if viewed in a certain light. "It must be something made special just for the queen," she mused to herself, as she hadn't seen a potion like it before. Gently placing the delicate potion back inside the bag, Allita looked back up to the crowd around her, looking for Queen Fyora. She finally spotted the faerie queen among a group of newly-painted faerie Neopets at the pool's edge, all eagerly chatting with the regal figure before them.

      "...You, over there," Queen Fyora announced, spotting Allita amongst the crowd. "You must be the one I sent for." She gestured for Allita to come closer, and she nervously approached the faerie. The faerie Neopets around her all gave her a look as if to ask why the queen would want to see someone as plain as herself, which didn't go unnoticed by her.

      "Queen Fyora, it is an honor to be in your presence," Allita stated, bowing as she did so.

      "You needn't bother with formalities, young one," Fyora replied, smiling. "Tell me, what is your name?"

      "I-I'm Allita, younger sister of the great potion master Kauvara, though she and my friends call me Lita..."

      "Lita... May I call you that?"

      "Y-you may call me whatever you wish, Queen Fyora." Allita couldn't believe how polite she was, how genuinely interested she seemed in her.

      "I see your sister has sent you here with the potion I requested. Very well, let's see it then."

      Allita carefully opened the bag and gently picked up the small glass bottle from inside, handing it to Queen Fyora with extreme care.

      "Your sister is quite talented," Fyora remarked, examining the contents of the bottle.

      "So I've been told..." Allita sighed, thinking she should have known better than to think the queen of the faeries had any interest in a plain Kau like herself. Always things were about her sister, the great Kauvara.

      "Are you curious as to what this potion is?" Fyora asked, noticing Allita's interested expression. "It's a special potion that needs a little faerie magic to help it be finished." Fyora waved her hand across the surface of the bottle, and a small pair of wings appeared on it. "...There, all finished. Why don't you take it now, Lita? It is for you, after all."

      "For me?" Allita asked, surprised at the queen's comment. But she took the potion from her, wondering what it was for.

      "Do you wish to become a faerie? That's what your sister told me."

      "...She told you about that?" she asked, more than a little embarrassed.

      "Drink the potion if that's what you want," Fyora instructed Allita. She did as the queen said and opened the bottle, then slowly drank the potion inside.

     Within seconds of finishing it, Allita felt herself start to change. She looked down and noticed her blue fur begin to turn a stunning lavender. Amazed, she turned to look to see what was causing this funny feeling on her back, when she saw a pair of large lavender and pink wings appear on her. She flapped them and began to hover a few inches from the ground, unable to keep her look of pure excitement and joy off her face.

     "Oh, thank you," she whispered to Queen Fyora, tears starting to form.

     "Don't thank me, Lita. Thank your dear sister."

     "Oh, I will, I will!" Allita assured her, thanking her and excusing herself from the queen's presence to fly back to the magic shop. Landing outside the door, she thought she'd make a more subtle entrance so Kauvara wouldn't get too upset with her. Pushing open the door, she heard the small bell jingle, alerting her sister of her presence.

     "Lita, good, you're back," Kauvara greeted her, not even looking toward the door, busy restocking potions for the next rush of customers. "I could use your help over here..."

     "Oh, sis, thank you," Allita said, flying toward her sister to hug her, to thank her for letting her become a faerie. "I promise I'll be able to help you with my wings, I promise I won't break anything – "

     "I know, I know," Kauvara laughed, happy to see her sister so happy. "Now why don't you help me out with these potions here? I can't quite reach there and I've misplaced the ladder, and the customers will be here any moment expecting a fully restocked inventory..."

The End