A long time ago, there was a time when the world was different. Very different. In the world of neopia, I recall a time when chaos and destruction ruled our land. Our heroes perished, and everything started to die. It was frightening. Everywhere I looked I could see bloodshed and tears. Everything seemed...dark.

I was born into a family of royalty. It was a large family, and the family was so large, we were given the name "The Arkive". Every member of the Arkive was important to the society of neopia. When we reached a certain age or when neopia needed someone of certain skill, a member of the Arkive would be selected. They would go through training, and they would become something in the society.

I remember making friends with people in the Arkive. I remember them being taken away, and disappearing for a long time. When I saw them again, they were different. They didn't smile, and it seemed as if they were slaved to their alias.

When I was 14 years old, they selected me to become The Bead Weaver.

War had stolen the lives of heroes and pure hearted residents of neopia. It was my job to save them. As the bead weaver...I was alone.

------
Part 1

-"Meminari! Wait! Where are you going?" I yelped frantically. The slender girl walked on, not looking back and not answering. "Come on! Answer me. Ever since you've been chosen as the 'Feather Alpha' you've been all quiet and wierd. What's up?!?" I asked eagerly. Meminari kept walking. "Come on why are you ---"

-"Adaline, keep your mouth shut."
-"Adaline? Since when do you call me that?!? You're my friend! You can call me Ady."
-"Adaline, please do not pester me."
-"But --"
-"I've had enough."

Meminari slid away silently as I stood in the empty hall watching her leave. Before she was the Feather Alpha, she always laughed and smiled. She loved calling me Ady, and we played together always. I hadn't seen her in 4 months since she was chosen, and I thought she would be delighted to see me.

I walked alone to the dining hall. Since I belonged to such a large family, I didn't know who my mother and father were. I was related to everyone in the room, but anyone could have been my mother or father. The Arkive is a lonely place. I was told to treat everyone as my brother and sister, and that my parents didn't exist. We were all "equal". We all came from the same place.

I didn't believe that garbage.

I sat down by myself and figeted with a ribbon on my shirt. Everyone seemed to be laughing and having fun, except for the chosen people of the Arkive. They were either reading or keeping to themselves. They were usually silent, I guess. All my friends had been chosen, so every since Meminari was chosen too, I've come to the dining hall and sat alone every day and night.

The Arkive was nice, but lonely. It scared me. Plus, we were humans. According to the older members of the Arkive, we were neopets just in "Human Form". I didn't believe that garbage either. We were plain humans. We lived in a world of neopets...but..we were humans.

Only 13 years old, I had light brown hair and bright green eyes. It was only a few days till my 14th birthday, but with so many birthdays in the Arkive, it didn't seem to matter to anyone.

The next morning was strange. Everyone looked at me coldly as I walked down the long, empty, silent hall. The decorative rug beneath my feat looked tacky. I made a friendly wave to a few of my cousins, but they just stared at me like I was an alien. I flicked my dark brown hair behind my shoulder, and continued to the dining hall.

I sat at the table and ate my breakfast quietly, for no one seemed to want to sit near me, let alone come near me. There were probably at least 3 empty seats next to me on both sides. I was creeped out, but...what had I done? Just the other day I had lost my last friend, but no one treated me like....this. It was like I was a murderer, and everyone seemed to think it. Everyone.

I sat by myself in my empty room. I shared it with about...5 other cousins, or brothers, or sisters..or whatever they were. Everyone else was downstairs playing or having fun, but if I came close, they just moved away silently and acted like I was not there. I made sure no one was around (of course they weren't), and I dug around under my small silky bed for a small wooden guitar.

Meminari had carved me it before she was chosen. She taught me how to use it, and I had been practicing ever since. There was never anything else to do, so I had gotten pretty good at it. I was hoping to write a song or two, and maybe sing it in front of a few relatives. But after today, I don't think they would want to listen.

-"I think I'll change my ways,
so all my words get noticed,
and I don't have to cry,
at the loneliness.
Never thought I'd say I'm sorry,
Never thought I'd be the one.

I put the guitar down and sighed, feeling pitiful. A knock sounded on the door, and it swung open slowly. It was Vexorlain.

I've always enjoyed having Vexor as a friend, but the tragedy is that he was chosen long ago, one of the first chosen, infact. He had just come to visit the Arkive only last week, and would be leaving quite soon back to his duties.

-"Ady, Monquelix wants to speak with you."
-"Monquelix? Speak with..me?"
-"Yes. Please hurry up."

That was odd. Monquelix usually never spoke with anyone except for the 'chosen' people. I wasn't a chosen member of the Arkive, so why did he want to speak with me? It was possible I was going to be the next chosen, but....me?!? I was not talented like Meminari was, nor did I seem to have a special gift. Why...me?

My footsteps thudded quietly on the bare tile floor and I knocked on the large redwood door. I turned the golden door handle, and entered the large room. Light flooded my eyes, and I could not see.

------
Part 2

-"The Arkive is a special place to be. Do you know that..Adaline?"
-"Yes, Monquelix."
-"To be a chosen spirit within Arkive, why, that is an honor."
-"I know that, sir."
-"Then you must also know how unspecial the outside world it."

I shifted uncomfortably in the leather seat I was sitting on as Monquelix's yellow eyes stared down at me. This was the first time he ever spoke to me, and his deep voice sounded empty and cold.

Just like the Arkive.

-"Adaline...there is a war going on in the world around us. The world doesn't have the warmth and saftey of the Arkive. People are dying, Adaline."
-"Monquelix sir, how does this concern me? I am aware that...the outside world is corrupt, but, why speak to me about such matters? There are people in the Arkive who hold a much greater influence than I. Why are you sharing this with me?"
-"Because dear Adaline, I hope that...you can save them."
-"M-m-me?!? I have no abilities whatsoever! Why select me?"
-"Because you are pure chosen blood."
-"E-eh?!"

Monquelix did not reply for a long time. How could I be pure chosen blood? Wasn't everyone in the Arkive the same? I mean....blood same at least. If I was pure, shouldn't everyone else be too? For all I knew, the only people who ever became chosen were people with great talents, abilities, skill, or personality. I had none, but I never thought Monquelix's reason for chosing me was because I was....pure chosen blood.

-"Adaline, you have always been a smart girl. You never believed what the others had told you of equality, and I've been told you had asked a lot about your parents when you were little. I've been keeping an eye on you a lot, and it may be time to tell you of your parents."
-"Sir, I've been told of equality all my life. By literally everyone in the Arkive I have talked to. But...you, one of the highest members of the Arkive, is willing to tell me the truth? Why? What trickery are you plotting against me?!"
-"None. I feel it is your right to know."

I sat uneasily, my fingers digging into the sides of the leather seat with anticipation. I awaited my answer.

-"Adaline...you had parents. Wonderful parents might I add. Jounin and Rerouna. Have you heard of them before?"
-"Jounin...Rerouna. Aren't they two names listed on the gold plaque at the top of the fireplace?"
-"Yes. You are the first and as of now, the only member of the Arkive to be born to parents that were both chosen. Thus, you are of Chosen Blood. Your parents were talented people, and one of the most legendary of the Arkive. I expect the same from you."

I just stared at him, speechless. In what...like...10 minutes, he had just told me something that most of the Arkive did not know. He told me who my parents were. He told me their exact names. He told me...that I was to save people. That people depended on me. That...I...was worth something.

-"Adaline, when the clock strikes 12 tomorrow...your birthday, you will forever be known as...The Bead Weaver."

------
Part 3

Things were never the same after that day. Everyone seemed to hate me. Everywhere I went I could hear whispers of people talking behind my back.

-"Ady, you're such a brat!"
-"Janai. What do you want?"
-"You....BRAT! Just because your of blood, you find out who your parents are...AND you get chosen!"
-"I didn't ask for any of this."
-"Liar. I bet everytime you sat in your little cornor you always thought of ways to trick Monquelix into choosing you."
-"Shut the hell up Janai. Go bug someone else."
-"Don't give me your bratty attitude. A lot of us in the Arkive have real talents, and a low-life piece of scum like you gets chosen...and at 14 years old! Some of us are near our twenties and we haven't been chosen at all."

I never really liked Janai. She always used the word 'brat' even though she was one herself. I think she's about 3 years older than me. I'm not sure, but I didn't really care either way.

After that...everything changed.

I discovered what happened when you become chosen. You go through rigorous training, and the worst part...you're alone. I spent months in a room by myself, being scolded by shadowy people creature things as I learned to be the Bead Weaver. They let me out ever month or so like a little pet. When training was done, my hair was no longer a dark brown. It was a pink color, and my eyes were darker and colder. I found I could no longer talk to people comfortably, and I found I didn't want to talk to people.

This is what happened to Memi.

I sat lonely on a large, smooth, gray rock in the garden. Below me was a lovely stream that flowed with crystal clear water. But even this beautiful place was surrounded and locked in by a large stone wall. My pink hair fluttered gently behind me in the breeze.

-"Hey."

I turned to see Memi, my dear old friend. This was the first time in a long time she spoke to me, and I smiled for a split second. The smile disappeared however, as if I had forgotten how to smile.

-"Why...did you accept Monquelix's offer."
-"Eh? What offer."
-"....don't act stupid. Why did you allow him to choose you? WHY?!?!"
-"Eh...it's no big deal."

Memi looked at me hard, her steely eyes burned into mine She looked angry, but even so, I could easily see specks of sadness in her eyes. They were clearly visible.

-"Ady...why..."
-"Memi..."
-"I don't want you to be chosen. I don't want you to suffer."
-"...suffer?"
-"Being chosen is seen as a gift, but to those who have actually been chosen, we see it as a curse."
-"...why?"
-"Don't you get it!?!?? Can't you see it?!? Haven't you noticed how it has changed you?"
-"..eh..."
-"People don't like you anymore...and you don't like people anymore."

I stared at her, knowing it was true. Of course it was true. Infact, I couldn't have said it better myself. I played with the grass beneath my feet as I watched it twirl around my finger.

-"Memi, what have I become," I said, keeping my head down and still playing with the grass. "What has this forsaken Arkive done to me."

Memi did not answer. Her lower lip twitched as if she were dying to tell me something. I knew. It was easy to tell. "There is a secret," she whispered. Her whisper was low, and hoarse. It was as if the wind was speaking. "A gift.....all chosen are born with."

-"What gift do you speak of?"
-"Monquelix is a wise man. You have only gone through a portion of your training. Of your teaching. Of your...prison."
-"I still do not understand."
-"Monquelix will tell you how to do your job. How to contribute to the world of neopia, and give you the knowledge needed. He will also give you one of these..."

Meminari pulled down the neck of her collor a few inches down to reveal a red choker. In the middle of the choker, a red square resided. It glistened in the sun, and looked like a large gem or rock of some sort. "This...this is the key to your freedom."

-"What is it?"
-"A choker."
-"I'm not dense. I know it is a choker. What is it exactly?"
-"It is a gift from Monquelix all chosen are given. With it, we can transform....into our true forms."
-"...which are?"

Memi smiled,"Neopets." I looked at her as if I didn't know who she was. Neopets? Of course we were neopets. Did she doubt my intelligence? Did she think I wasn't bright enough to know that? Maybe. But Meminari knows that I'm not stupid. Naive perhaps, but not stupid. She continued,"I am of lupe. I can become a lupess, and be free of the Arkive during this state." I looked at her hopefully now,"Really? Free of this jail?" She nodded.

-"You, Ady, I know what you are of. Your heart is pure. Your mind is bright. You are one of kind. You are...of draik. A dragon with great majesty that has no bounds."
-"I am not. How would you know this?"
-"Is it not obvious? Your free spirit, the way you flow, your individual and special mind and thoughts. You are no doubt of draik blood. No doubt in the world."

Draik bound? Is that not crazy? Maybe she does think I don't have great intelligence. She isn't right. She isn't right. She isn't right.

Or is she?

Memi's hard stare seemed like a pool of cement. Empty. Gray. Blank. Lifeless. Is this how my face would be like after my...full training? "You can be free in your draik state," Memi said, "Be strong through your training, and enjoy your freedom as a beautiful dragon such as the draik."

-"After all, Adaline, my dear...you are the bead weaver.

Blue
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Green
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Red
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