Part 1 (if this ends up being a series. It might just be a short story because I don't have enough words to divide this into separate series stories.)

I twirl around in my new silk dress in front of my owner, Sir M. "Beautiful!" he exclaims. "Now go off to bed. You need your rest." I smile. Today was yet another great summer day. Sir M is so nice. I don't know what I would do without him. I am his only pet; his treasure. I guess I am kind of spoiled because of that. I walk gracefully over to my bed, with it's gold posts and silk sheets. Sir M follows me. He bends down over me. "Goodnight Amriett." He smiles his usual smile and leaves. Only this time, his smile seems different. It has a longing look to it.

I climb down the marble staircase, hungry for breakfast. Oh what to have today. Scrambled neggs? Cinnamon Toasties Blast? Hm. I grab a box of Cinnamon Toasties Blast from the cabinet and select a glass bowl. I sit down at the table after getting milk and a spoon. Where is Sir M? He is usually here, waiting for me. "Sir M?" I call. "Sir M?" My voice echos through my huge house. No Sir M. I eat in silence, slightly alarmed. Where could he be? He's always here. After I finish breakfast, Sir M is still gone so I retreat to my room. I halfheartedly play with my Magical Hair Usuki. I set it down in about a minute, bored already. I look around my room at it's fancy bay windows, marble walls, marble high ceiling, my huge king-sized canopy bed, the pure pearl alarm clock. So beautiful and perfect. Just like a dollhouse. You almost are afraid to move anything. I sit on the seat of the bay window and glance upon the fenced in yard with it's tennis court and Olympic sized pool. Sunlight dances on top of the crystal clear water. Suddenly, I hear a key click into a door. The front door. My delicate faerie Xweetok wings flutter in excitement. I race down the steps, grinning. I'm almost positive that Sir M went out to get me something. He wouldn't go out otherwise, would he? "Amriett! I'm so sorry I'm late. I had to er, take care of some business." I turn my head to one side. Business? Hm. "Um, okay then." I mumble to him. I don't feel so great anymore. "Amriett, we are going somewhere in an hour, okay?" Sir M says. "Where?' I question. "Um, it's a surprise." I feel dismayed. Something is up.

One hour later, Sir M knocks on my room's bamboo door. I don't want to open it. I have a headache with a queasy feeling in my stomach. Whenever I get that feeling, I know something is wrong. I have no choice but to open my door, though. I set down my usukis and put on my best fake smile. The door silently opens when I turn the handle. "Come along, now." Sir M commands. He does not sound happy. I stop fake smiling. He leads me out to the road. Sunlight glows on my neatly combed fur. We walk silently until we reach an abandoned building. Sir M goes inside. "Come on." he whispers coldly. I follow, confused. It turns out that the building is not that abandoned after all. There are people there. Many unfriendly-looking people. Sitting in plastic chairs under the dim lights. A big wooden stage runs along one wall. Sir M motions for me to follow him onto the stage. A man sits on the stage. He reaches for the microphone. "Next, we have a female faerie Xweektok named Amriett. Yup, none of those darn numbers or underscores. Just Amriett. A very high-quality pet. Her owner here, Sir M, wants bids to start at 1 million neopoints. Do we have any bidders? " Thoughts run through my head faster than a meepit running to steal marshmallows from innocent neopets. High-quality? Bid? Offers? Wait, what?! That can only mean one thing- illegal neopet selling. Great Fyora! Is this happening? Speaking of Fyora, isn't she supposed to stop things like this? But is this really even happening? My head spins. I black out.

~*~

I blink my eyes open slowly, expecting to see the marble and gold ceiling of my room. Instead, I see those unfriendly people sitting in the plastic chairs, calling out bids while I lay on the floor. Memory of what happened floods back to me. I start to get up, ready to run. But Sir M grabs my arm firmly. "I'LL BID 8.5 MILLION FOR THAT JEWEL OF AN XWEE!" I hear someone scream out suddenly. "8.5 million going once.....twice.......SOLD!" The man on the stage cries. Just like that, I get thrust into my new "owner". "Name's Smudge. You'll be staying with me till I can sell ya off for more!" My new "owner" says, laughing. I turn to Sir M. "You jerk! You greedy, greedy jerk!" I scream, trying to break free of Smudge to lunge at Sir M. Smudge holds onto me tightly, laughing again. Sir M turns to me. "Amriett, I had to. I was running out of neopoints." Anger boils inside of me like never before. "SO?! What did it matter? We could have moved to Neopia Central in those cheaper houses or we could have played games or...." Tears stream down my face. Smudge pulls me away from Sir M and out the building before I can say anything else. I continue crying while we pass all the stores I love but can no longer go in. "Just get over it!" Smudge mutters. Now, the sunlight is glowing off of my fur again. Only now, my fur is matted with tears.

Smudge leads me to his house. It's a row house in Neopia Central. I think of my old house, biting back more tears. Smudge opens the door and pushes me. in. He leads me to a room, painted blue, with a cardboard box in one corner. "This will be your room until I set up an action to sell ya off. Don't ya dare think of escaping- I have Meepit guards. Here's an omelette. Now go in there and be quiet!" Smudge laughs and slams the door. I just stand there, shaking. How did my life turn around so fast? From elegance to omelettes. The answer is simple: greed. It all happened so fast. Just to get neopoints fast. Now everything has slowed down. There's nothing for me to do but sit or sleep. No bubble baths in the diamond bathtub, no tennis court to use for letting out my anger, no pool to sooth my tired self on warm nights, no music to chill out to, no usukis to play with. Nothing but a cardboard box. I walk over to the cardboard box. Still shaking, I lay down. Somehow, I manage to fall asleep.

The next day is the same thing: Boredom and hunger. I only get one omelette a day. I don't do much at all. Mostly, I stare out the window, wishing I was one of those smiling neopets. Today was going exactly the same until Smudge knocked on my door. "Hey Xwee! I set up the action! It's tomorrow morning. Be ready!" He shouts. My heart pounds. I am getting out of this place?! Really? I will be happy once again? Then I remember that if those people are breaking Fyora's rules by buying pets, they can't be that nice. My happy mood fades away. I look at my fur. It's uncombed and dull. My wings are dull too. They used to be so bright and happy looking. My sad mood increases. I decide to just go to sleep before I can't bear to stay awake any more.

The next morning, Smudge immediately drags me out of my room and out into Neopia Central. The leaves outside are starting to turn brown, red, and yellow. We walk along those pretty trees until we reach "The Building" as I call it. Sad memories race through my mind. I look around for Sir M. I don't know why, though. I guess I was just hoping he would come to take me back. However, he's not here. Just another bunch of unfriendly-looking people. Smudge leads me onto that all too familiar stage. The man with the microphone starts to speak. Here we go again.

~*~

I stand while the bids are being screamed, wondering which unfriendly-looking person will buy me. Why hasn't Fyora found out about this yet? Is she really- "10 MILLION!" A booming female voice interrupts my thoughts. I know it's over now. The lady has already won. "10 million going once...twice....SOLD!" The lady smirks and walks up to Smudge. "I'm sure this beauty will resell well for me. Ha ha, see you around Smudge. Come on now Xwee." I suddenly feel like I should speak out. "It's not Xwee, it's Amriett!" I hiss. The lady gasps. "Well, look at you. Aren't you just a fussy one? Go outside. NOW." I go outside, thinking that this lady does not sound nice at all. A few moments later, I hear footsteps behind me. It's the lady. "Hi LADY! Come on LADY! Where do you live LADY?" I coo to get revenge for her calling me Xwee. The lady takes her purse and swings it at me. "What is your problem?! I'm Charline and ma'am to you! You better stop right now or you're sleeping with the Meepits!" I dodge the swing and stay silent. We arrive at her house on Kiko Lake. It is tan with a black front porch. To the side of the house, there is a big wheat field, obviously owned by Charline. Behind the house, there is a black windmill and a large blueberry patch. "Get inside. Go to the attic. It's your room. Just go past the kitchen and up those steps. You better behave here or else. Speaking of that, don't try to escape, I've got Meepits at every corner. Now GO." Charline commands. I go exactly where she tells me to. The door is tan. The steps on the other side of it are wooden boards painted black. This lady must have some thing for tan and black.... The room itself is not that big. It has tan walls with brown carpet. There is a huge cardboard box in the room, but nothing else. Just like Smudge's house. Sunlight from the setting sun is shining onto the carpet. I sigh and look out the window. "Um... hello. Who are you?" A soft voice whispers behind me. I jump and turn around to face a desert Aisha. "Ahhh! Who are you?!" I yell. "I'm Cinalista. I live here. Well, at least until I'm sold again. You?" Cinalista asks nonchalantly as if she's been sold a lot of times. "I'm Amriett. I just got sold to Charline. So I'm here until I get sold again too." I explain. "Oh. Just a heads up- Charline never feeds me. She won't with you either. She believes that skinnier pets sell better. Oh, and she makes you work in the fields from the crack of dawn to when the sun starts to set." Cinalista says, being nonchalant again. "What?!" I exclaim. "Oh, I've been through worse. You get used to it. You just go with the flow, you know? Oh wait, you're new to this, right? I can tell." She jumps onto the windowsill and looks down at me. "Yes, this is only my second time." I answer. Cinalista nods. "Okay. You can call me CC if you want. Cinalista is a mouthful. What may I call you?" She smiles sweetly. "Um, Amri is fine." "Okay then! Well you can make yourself at home. We don't have to work right now, it's past sunset. So what should we do? I'm not used to being with anyone, so this should be interesting."

By night time, CC and I have become close friends. I never had a friend before. I was always home schooled, so I never met anyone else but Sir M and my teacher. Though there is nothing to do, we can talk to each other about anything. I tell CC about my fabulous past life, Sir M, Smudge, everything. "Oh, I remember Smudge! He owned me once." CC adds. "As for your past life, it must have been awesome. See, I was first created by some noob whose name I forget. Then the noob pounded me. I was adopted and painted by this group that paints pounded pets and re-pounds them. I was adopted by this guy named Sam who sold me. Then, I got caught in this selling mess. What a great life, eh?" CC continues. "I'm sorry to hear that." I comment. "Don't be. I turned out just fine! In fact, right now I'm happier than ever because you're here!" I smile. I haven't smiled in a long time. "Oh how I wish we could stay together! We'll probably be separated because we'll be sold to different people. But we can hope, right?" CC winks. I am amazed by her optimistic attitude. I've always been a bit of a pessimist. "We'd better get to bed. We have to work tomorrow! Plus, I'm just tired. Goodnight Amri!" CC murmurs. I am already half asleep.

~*~

Charline knocks on the door to wake us up at literally, the crack of dawn. "You'll be picking blueberries today! Don't you dare eat any!" She glares at me and leaves the room. "Let's go! I'll race you down the steps!" CC challenges. CC and I scramble down the steps. We walk out the door in the kitchen. The sky is a pale blue. "Grab a basket." CC orders, pointing at a pile of wooden baskets up against the house. "Just start picking. Oh, and eat some if you want to. Charline always threatens me about that, but she never really notices." she explains, picking some blueberries and shoving them in her mouth. I mimic her by picking blueberries and shoving them in my mouth. They are tart, but it's all there is to eat. "There's some raspberries and strawberries behind this patch, but we don't have to worry about those today. Unless you want to eat them." CC says with a mischievous grin. I run to the back of the field as soon as she says that. I love strawberries. I have missed their sweet taste. Strawberry juice runs down my face as I try to shove multiple strawberries in my mouth at once. CC giggles. I start to laugh and strawberries fly out of my mouth. This just makes me laugh harder. Soon, I'm on the ground laughing with tears in my eyes. CC is too. Suddenly, a door slams. I look up to find Charline standing at the back door looking furious. She is staring right at us. "WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING?! DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO PICK BLUEBERRIES? BECAUSE APPARENTLY THAT WASN'T CLEAR ENOUGH! What are you doing in the back of the field anyway? The blueberries are up HERE! Hm, I think you should be punished. AISHA, YOU GO TO YOUR ROOM, XWEE, YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!" Charline barked. I was scared out of my fur. CC shot me a sympathetic glance as she went to our room. Charline lead me into the basement of her house. "I am absolutely furious with you. You are the baddest pet I have ever had! First, you mock me, then you goof off in the fields. You are in deep trouble. In fact, tonight, you will sleep here, on the basement's cold cement floor. Keep it up and I'll take you to Dr. Sloth." Charline whipped around and left, just like that. I heard the door to the basement make a clicking noise. She had locked me in. Great. The basement was a medium sized rectangular room with concrete floors and gray brick walls. Thin rectangular windows lined the front wall. Little light came in. The only other source of light was the bare light bulbs on the ceiling. Many wooden shelves lined the walls. They were mostly full of farming tools, but one self held two Red Xweetok Morphing Potions. Now why would Charline have those? That was the thought I drifted to sleep thinking about.

Get up and go out to the blueberry patch! You know what to do! Now go!" That's the sound I wake up to. Yawning, I head out to the blueberry patch. CC is already there. She grins when she sees me. "Hi Amri! I'm sorry about yesterday. It was my fault." "I'm fine, really, it's okay. but I saw something odd. Charline has two Red Xweetok Morphing Potions in her basement." I inform CC. CC's eyebrows raise. "Hm. I wouldn't worry about it." We continue to pick blueberries until the sun starts to set. "Let's go." I say, stretching. We walk up to our room. Little did I know, things were about to change again.

~*~

The next morning, Charline is acting jumpy. She tells us to stay inside. CC and I can hear voices from our room. This is the first time Charline's had people over, according to CC. We have our ears pressed against the air vent, hoping to hear something. "Well, what are we going to do?!" Charline's loud voice comes out clearly through the air vent. I hear a muffled male voice. "Well, she's onto us! And gosh, the pound problem! And the trading post problem!" Charline's voice booms again. More muffled voices. Then Charline again. "Fine! It's what I can do, so I must. You guys can do the same. I mean, I'm not living on the street!" I shoot a quizzical look at CC. She shrugs. "So, go do what you must and do not get caught." After that, I hear the front door open and close. Whoever was here has left. I wait for Charline to come up here and tell us something. She doesn't come. CC and I resume talking normally. I start to think that nothing is going to happen when Charline suddenly barges in our room. She is holding the two Red Xweetok Morphing Potions. "Drink up." Charline says as she hands one potion to CC. "Why?!" CC demands. "I am running out of money. I can't sell you because Fyora is onto us pet sellers. I can't pound you as you are because the pound is currently not accepting painted pets as a way to try and stop us. Finally, I can't sell these potions because the Trading Post is down. Fyora has boxed us in. But with these morphing potions, you'll be basic colored so I can abandon you. And with your high levels, you'll make me a good amount of money. Aisha, you are going today. Xwee, you're going tomorrow. Now Aisha, drink up." CC looks about ready to cry. Just like me, she knows that we will be separated. CC has a good name, so even though she will be basic colored, she'll be snatched up right away. Then, I'll be pounded and I'll never see her again... Tears build up in my eyes. Charline just sighs and leaves with the other potion, slamming the door. The Red Xweetok Morphing Potion remains in CC's paw. "Don't do it!" I plead, even though I know she will. CC just shakes her head. Lifting the potion up to her mouth, she takes one last look at herself as a desert Aisha. Then she squeezes her eyes shut and drinks the potion. I turn away, not being able to bear the sight. After about a minute, I cautiously turn around. Cinalista stands there, but as a red Xweetok. I gasp, causing CC's still closed eyes to open. "Is it that bad?" she asks, forcing a weak smile. "No, not at all it just looks so different..." My tears finally fall. CC walks over and tries to comfort me. "I'll see you again, I promise. I'll find you after I go to my new home. I will! I promise, I promise."

Later that day, CC is dragged out the door by Charline, leaving me forever. "Bye!" I manage to call out through more tears. "Remember what I told you!" she calls back. I know she promised to find me. I just don't think she will. Neopia is a big world. I try not to think about it and walk back up to my room. It feels so empty without CC. Just like my heart.

~*~

The next morning, I am forced to drink the potion too. "Hurry up." Charline orders. I take one last look at my gorgeous wings. Then, just like CC, I close my eyes and drink the potion. The mixture feels fine until I swallow. That's when it feels hot. In fact, my whole body feels hot. I can feel my wings shrinking away. I desperately try to flap them to try to make them stay, but soon they're gone. Opening my eyes slowly, I see brown and red fur. I look like I could be CC's twin. "Let's go." Charline commands, dragging my out the door. I look back at the house until I can't see it anymore behind the hills. When I look forward, I see a dock. Only one boat is there. We get on the boat. It is headed for Neopia Central according to the captain. While the boat glides through the clear water, I think of CC and how yesterday she was on this same boat. What was she thinking about? Was she being her usual optimistic self or was she doubting what she said? I feel as though she's right beside me. Making an imaginary conversation with her helps me pass the time until we dock at a port near Neopia Central. We get off the boat and walk on a dirt path until we are in Neopia Central. I marvel at all the stores, wishing I could go in if only for a minute. But Charline leads me straight to the pound. Dr.Death approaches us. "Are you pounding?" He questions. "Yes. That is all." Charline answers while she leaves the pound. I'm alone again. "Have a seat over there while I get you registered." Dr.Death gestures to one corner of the room. I sit in one of the blue plastic chairs. Nearby, I notice a cork board on the wall. It has recent news articles pinned onto it. One of the titles reads "PET SELLERS BUSTED!" I rip the article of the cork board. The article says that Sir M, Smudge, and other pet sellers I don't know have been "arrested" by Fyora. Fyora has sent them to the dungeon cells in Darigan Citadel. Apparently, that's where all bad Neopians go, neopets and people. I think of Sir M, alone in a cell. I don't know what to feel. Hooves clicking on the tile floor stop me from thinking any further. "Hello! My name is Rosalie and I will take you to your room." I look up to see a pink Uni. Room? Don't they have cages here? Hm. Though I know I shouldn't, I stuff the article in the pocket of the jeans that I've had to keep wearing ever since I first got sold. I turn to follow Rosalie. I quickly found out that the answer to my question is no. The pound has lots of long, twisting, and red painted hallways. Each hallway has a white sign hanging down from the ceiling that says what species is in that hallway. There is small square rooms to the left and right of each hallway. The rooms have normal sized doors only the doors are made of black metal wires and have locks like cage doors. It is a long walk to the Xweetok hallway since the hallways are in alphabetical order. We pass many miserable looking neopets. I glance at the names written on the sheets of paper attached to doors. Most of the pets are badly named pets. Rosalie stops me when we get to the Xweetok hallway. "Since there is no open Xweetok rooms, you can pick which one you want to go in." Rosalie offers with a smile. "Amri!" I hear someone say. Someone that sounds just like CC. Only there's one problem with that- CC's not here. She can't be. However, I can't help looking in the direction of that voice. I see a red Xweetok sitting alone in a room. The Xweetok smiles at me. I immediately know who it is without looking at the name. "I'd like to go in that room please." I tell Rosalie. "Okay! I'll be around later to bring you your food. The other Xweetoks can tell you how things work around here." Rosalie writes my name on the piece of paper attached to the cage door. The sign now reads "Cinalista: Female Red Xweetok, Level 15. Amriett: Female Red Xweetok, Level 29." She opens the cage door and I run in. "CC! Oh CC, I missed you! I thought I'd never see you again!" I gush. The room door clicks shut behind me. "Amri! I knew I would see you again, I knew it!" CC cries. "How did you manage to stay here?" I ask, very curious. "Whenever someone stopped by to look at me, I hissed and hit them." CC giggles as she says that. "You ruined your chances of being adopted to see me again?" "Yes! Now, we can impress one person together so we can be adopted together!" I am astonished. "Aw CC..." "Really, it was nothing! It just came to me when I got here! I don't mind staying here longer... it isn't that bad." I look around and find what she said to be true. There is Tan tile floors. In one corner, three small bedding piles sit. In another, two metal food dishes sit. One dish contains water, the other holds two omelettes. "So we sleep on the soft bedding?" I ask. "Yup. It's better than that old cardboard box! So now we wait until people come to look at us. Then, we charm them!" CC grins her mischievous grin. "Look, here comes someone now!" I point my tail to a guy walking down the hall. "He looks like a noob..." CC warns. The guy walks up to us. "Hi little neopets!" He screeches. I wince. "Act mean!" CC hisses. I growl at the guy. CC tries to hit him. "Ahhhhh!" He shouts and runs away. "Score one for the Xweetoks!" CC cheers. I grin while other Xweetoks look at us as though we are alien Aishas. The sound of shoes hitting the tile floors cause me to look up and stop CC from cheering. A girl with brown hair and brown eyes is jogging up near our cage. "Hm, she looks okay." CC approves. I sit up straight, lick my fur, and smile my best smile. The girl's gaze lands on our cage. It rests there for a while. Then, slowly, one foot lifts up. It moves forward a bit and hits the floor. The other foot lifts up, moves forward, and hits the floor. She is walking this way. Her eyes stay focused on us while she bends down. Her arm reaches out and her hand grabs a bar of the door, fingers wrapping around it. The aroma of vanilla perfume fills my nostrils. Unlike many human girls, her nails are unpainted and she wears no jewelry but a gold heart necklace. "Um....h-hello there." She stutters. "Hi!" CC and I say in unison. The girl gets up and walks away showing no emotion. CC looks frustrated. "What did we do wrong?! Man, what is that girl's problem! We just said hi! Amri, what did we do wrong?" I honestly did not know what to tell her. I was not getting this either. My high hopes were crushed once again. But there's always another person. I mean, there has to be, right? With our good names we can't- "Cinalista! Amriett! This lady wants to adopt you!" I hear Rosalie call from down the hall. What lady? The girl from before? A girl walks in front of our room. It is the girl from before! This time, she is smiling. "Hi! My name's Katie! You'll be coming with me! Haha, I was trying to hide my emotion from you before to not give it away." she exclaims. "Why us?" CC wants to know. "Why you? You are cute little Xweetoks with beautiful names!" CC and I exchange nervous smiles. We find out that Katie has a ten month old account, so she's not a noob. She has many other pets. A chill runs down my spine. I've never liked a lot of people around me at once. This will be so different. Katie fills out many forms while CC and I chat about what we think will happen. We have a good feeling about Katie. "All done! Let's go girls!" Katie happily leads us out of the pound. "I live in Shenkuu. You'll have to share a bedroom, I'm really sorry about that. It's just that I have so many pets and all." "No problem! It'll be lots of fun!" CC is smiling so big that I think her head will explode. She bounces up and down while we amble to the train station. On the way there, we stop in some shops and buy thing like cloths, toys, and toiletries. By the time we reach the station, we are all carrying a small suitcase (we had to buy them in one of the shops). Katie is still trying to get to know us. We tell her our favorite foods, toys, bands, everything. That's how we pass the time until the train comes. We are sitting on a wooden bench right near the tracks when the big black train moves into the station and looms over us. "Let's get on! I call the window seat!" CC squeals. I race behind her, my suitcase rolling furiously behind me. I am not about to give up the window seat that easily. Running up the train steps, I look to the left and right to see where CC went. I see her darting down the left hallway towards an empty booth. Oh no you don't! I think as I run to her. However, I'm too late. I just lost the game. I slouch in my seat, scowling nastily at CC. "Oh Amri! You can have the window seat if you just have to!" "I don't absolutely have to! I am just kidding. I'll have to get used to sharing the window seat." CC sighs and shakes her head as Katie approaches. She is holding her suitcase and two candy bars. "Eat up!" She says as she throws the candy bars at us. "Thanks!" we say in unison. I look at CC and crack up. We are always talking in unison. Katie sits down beside me, filling up the last of three seats. There is a table in front of the seats. Our suitcases are piled up on it along with our candy bar wrappers. "So may I call you Cina and Amri?" Katie inquires. "Sure!" We agree in unison. I laugh again. A loud whistle startles me. The train is now moving! The station seems to fly by. In a flash, it is gone and rolling plains are the only thing to see. I get bored easily, so I take out a Magical Hair Usuki from my suitcase. It looks exactly like the one I used to have. But is it just me, or does this usuki have a wider smile?

~*~

I wake up with my head on CC's shoulders. I must have fallen asleep. She is asleep too, as well as Katie. My Magical Hair Usuki is on the floor. I want to pick it up, but I don't want to disturb CC. Outside the window, steep hills and mountains are present. We must be near Shenkuu. "Chocolates? In the safe? How much seashells? Should we buy the cheese or open the safe..." I hear CC sleep talking. I poke CC to wake her up. "Huh, what?" she says, yawning. "We're almost in Shenkuu! Can you believe we came all this way?" "I really can't. It's too good to be true! Now let's wake up Katie." While she says this, one thought runs through my mind- Sir M. I make a promise to myself that I will go see him and give him a piece of my mind. I now know exactly what to say and how to feel. Katie is stretching beside me. "We are arriving in Shenkuu! Please gather all of your belongings!" A train employee comes out to say. I grin at Cinalista. The train gradually slows down. I can see the Shenkuu train station right outside the window. It is just like the one in Neopia Central, but it is painted differently. Red, black, and gold are the colors that it is painted along with many other traditional Shenkuu buildings in the distance. "You may now exit the train. Thank you for choosing Cross Neopia Transit." another employee appears to say. "Finally! Get you're suitcases and I'll lead the way!" Katie exclaims, glowing with joy. We walk through the maze of a train station to get outside. I gasp when I see the many towering mountains with multiple pretty petite buildings perched perfectly on top. Katie giggles. "Yeah, it's pretty amazing. We live on Cherry Creek Mountain or Cherry Creek for short, the shortest mountain to the west." "We have to walk all the way up there?" CC whines. "No, of course not! We can take the lift." In a matter of minutes, we have ran over the hilly plains and to the base of Cherry Creek. It really doesn't look that tall from here. Cable lines wrap around the mountain for the gondola to cruise along. Cherry blossom trees dot the mountain. A small stream winds through the mountain and drops off as a waterfall at the edge. The water falls into a medium sized lake at the foot of the mountain. Cherry Creek is the most beautiful sight I ever saw. And I get to live on it! "Hello? Neopia to Amri!" I drift out of my thoughts and see CC waving at me. "Oh, sorry. Let's get to the gondola." I blush. There is no line to get onto the ride. The man smiles at us and opens the gate leading to the car. I sit on one of the plush seats. No windows are closed in the gondola. CC sticks her hand out the window as we start to ascend. "Hello Shenkuu!" she shouts. I shake my head but find myself waving rapidly out the window to. "We're almost there! It's only a short walk from the gondola station to our house. Cina, Amri- are you ready or what!?"

Katie's house is gorgeous. Of course, it looks almost identical to the other houses, but Katie put personal flare into it by adding colorful flowers, calming fountains, a cute welcome mat, comfy rocking chairs on the porch, and a mini lamppost in the middle of the yard. "Well, come on now!" Katie invites. I skip gleefully up the porch steps and into Katie's- no, my- house. My hands fly to my mouth as I walk inside and I burst into tears. "Welcome Home Cina and Amri!" a banner that's strung across the entrance hallway reads. Beyond that hallway, there is a kitchen. A huge cake sits on the table and balloons are tied to the chairs. There is presents sitting on the table. Other neopets are standing around the table. CC and I plodded up to the table. Katie turns to us, and with gesturing movements, names each neopet. "The striped Xweetok is Evie, the starry Kacheek is Mae, the camouflage Usul is Elysonde, and the ghost Xweetok is Claudae. They're all girls, so don't worry!" she announces. "Hi!" CC and I cry in unison. I glare at her in false anger for saying "hi" the same time I did, then laugh. "Who wants to show Cina and Amri their room?" Katie asks. "ME!" All her other pets yell at the same time. "I should have known you would do that. Claudae, how about you do the honors." Claudae grins and bounds up to us. "Hi! You're bedroom's upstairs, just follow me!" We dawdle behind Claudae. There is a door in the kitchen that leads to the stairs. Climbing the stairs gets us to the second floor and final of the house. Five bedrooms and one full bathroom are passed before we get to our room. Claudae points out who has each room. "The purple room is mine, the green one's Evie's, the pink room is Mae's, the red one is Ely's room, and the yellow room belongs to Katie. Now, here is your own!" Claudae swings open the door of the final bedroom. It's painted orange, with a wide green and purple stripe running along the middle of the wall. Light wooden boards make the floor. A wooden bunk bed with green quilt bedspreads sits in the left corner. Books are packed into a bookshelf against the back wall with two beanbags next to it. Light flows into the room from a half circle window at the top of the back wall. A regular size square window is located to right of the room. Beside that window, a vanity rests with some chap stick already on top. CC is investigating a dresser against the front wall. "Th-this is s-so perfect." It was definitely not as elegant and pristine as my old room, but it was cozy. I loved it even more.

Laying in the bottom bunk (yes, CC called dibs on the top bed) that night, I looked at the stars through the square window. "Goodnight Amri. Goodnight Cina." I replay Katie's previous words in my mind. I remember how my old room was so neat, open, elegant, made of rare minerals. This room is just so normal and cozy. Earlier this year, I wouldn't have dreamed of living in a place like this. I would have been disgusted to see a place like this. But this house feels like more of a home than a pristine palace. I feel comfortable and at peace with the world right now. Except good old Sir M. Katie is taking me to Darigan Citadel tomorrow to speak with Sir M. When I'm done with that, I think I will finally be able to put the whole mess behind me...

~*~

The next morning is magnificent. I got to sleep in to what ever time I pleased and Katie made the best pancakes in the whole world once I came downstairs. "Ready to go?" She asks me. "Only if I can take CC too." I beg. "Okay then. CC, come on! Amri wants you to come to Darigan Citadel with us!" CC's ears perk up from where she is sitting on the couch. "Coming!" She replies as she races towards the door. "How will we get there?" I question. "We are riding the Lightning Train, a new, high-tech train that can get us there or anywhere fast. Let's go!"

An hour later... I can see Darigan Citadel floating above Meridell. A weird cage lift is the only way to get up. You sit in this cage while many strong neopets in the Citadel pull you up and over the edge. Let me say this right now: It takes forever! An elevator would be nice, but elevators don't quite work in taking you 150 feet off the ground and through the core of Darigan Citadel to finally come up at the surface. Nope. No way. Not going to happen. So there I sit, being slowly lifted up in this flimsy cage that won't stop swinging. I've never liked heights, so I cling to CC for dear life. The swinging makes it even worse. I feel like the chain will suddenly snap and I will never see Neopia Central again. "Close your eyes and imagine that you are just on a swing." Katie soothes. I nod, or at least I think I do. I'm screaming to much to pay attention. Ten minutes of torture later, we are finally on solid ground. I get out of the cage, shaking for the horrible ride. The dungeon castle looms over most of the buildings. I brace myself for whatever is about to happen.

Katie runs up to the visitor's sign-in part in the dungeon. The walls are gray with absolutely nothing on them. How wonderful. "Yes, we are here to see Sir Mathew, a.k.a. Sir M." Katie repeats to the lupe at the desk. "This way." The lupe leads us down many more drab hallways, passing scary looking neopets and people. It reminds me of the pound. "Here we are. You have a maximum time of 20 minutes. If you are not gone in 20 minutes, you will be escorted out." The lupe leaves us. I suddenly feel weak in the legs. I am very nervous even though I shouldn't be. "Go on. Show him who's boss. I'll be right here." CC whispers her encouraging words. Using the key the lupe gave me, I open the cell door and take a deep breath. Sir M is sitting in a wooden chair. Other than that, a steel bed, a toilet, and a sink sit in the room. Sir M looks at me, surprised. Does he know it's me even though I'm not painted anymore? "I-I am Am-m-ri as you might have g-guessed and I am here to t-tell you what I need t-t-to." Wow, great start Amri, I think to myself. I get on my angry face. Time to get serious. "What you did was wrong. You don't just go selling pets because you need neopoints. Neopets are supposed to be like your best friend, not an item you can just sell whenever you want to!" My voice climbed to a more angry tone. "You sold me to those people you knew couldn't be nice and YOU DIDN'T CARE! You just cared about YOU and YOUR STUPID NEOPOINTS! I went through a lot of TORTURE because of YOU! All along, you only cared about YOURSELF! I was just a shiny trophy to you! YOU NEVER REALLY CARED ABOUT ME!" I scream those words so loud that I think we might be kicked out. I can feel myself breathing rapidly, anger flowing through my veins. But I continue. I'm not done yet. "At least now I have an owner who actually CARES about me! FANCY ITEMS DON'T MEAN ANYTHING! You tried to FOOL me with your dumb FANCY HOUSE and your dumb FANCY ITEMS to make me feel HAPPY! And I was fooled! I THOUGHT YOU CARED BUT YOU NEVER DID! You just left me alone in that dumb old house and never really did anything nice but buy me STUPID ITEMS! You just wanted me to show off to everyone because of my color! Katie took me in with this BASIC COLOR so I KNOW she didn't just want me for my COLOR! SHE WANTED ME FOR ME!!! And she may not buy me the fanciest items or have the fanciest house but she CARES about ALL of her pets! Now you will rot here for the rest of ETERNITY because of YOUR STUPID GREEDINESS! And you know what? Now it's MY turn to not care! And I'm not sorry." I give him one last harsh glance and turn to leave. I slam the cell door and strut with my head held high over to my group. Their mouths both hang open. "Let's go." I say, proud of what I did. "That was great! I never have seen anyone that mad! You really told him what you thought!" CC exclaims. "Wow, that was just...wow. Amri, that was the right thing to do. I'm very proud of you." Katie finally says. I smile. "It was nothing! I was just saying the truth. And the truth hurts!" I laugh at my little comment and so does CC. "Now who wants to go buy some new t-shirts? You sure could use them for the upcoming spring and summer. Then, we'll go home and bake some cookies."

I twirl around in my new t-shirt in front of Katie. "Beautiful!" she cries. "Now you should go to bed. It's getting late." I smile and head off for the room CC and I share. While I sit down on my old, quilt-covered bunk, Katie smiles. "Goodnight Amri. Goodnight Cina." she whispers like she did last night. Only this time, the whole mess is behind me. I can only see the future, and it is shining as bright as a floodlight.

~END~

NEOPETS, characters, logos, names and all related indicia
are trademarks of Neopets, Inc., © 1999-2009.
® denotes Reg. US Pat. & TM Office. All rights reserved.
PRIVACY POLICY | Safety Tips | Contact Us | About Us | Press Kit
Use of this site signifies your acceptance of the Terms and Conditions