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"Hehe, that's true, Timothy!" Nahum laughed.
"What's true?" asked Kaleigh.
"That if they defeat the snowbeasts they'll
got lots of Neopoints from their fur!" Nahum explained. Caitlin raised her head.
"Fur? Where's the fur? I want some fur!" she
said. Nahum shook his head.
"I forgot never to mention something remotely
beautiful in front of Caitlin."
"Seth, when we get to the Frozzen Lands, can
I have fur?" she continued.
"Caitlin please," Ashley said sitting in the
seat next to her, "be quiet. I'm having a wonderful dream. You just fell into
a mud puddle and didn't care."
Caitlin sighed, "That's a memory of me when
I was three."
"Can you all just shut up!" Cody shouted from
the back. Everyone stopped what they were doing and didn't say anything. "Good,
that's better."
"We'll be landing in thirty seconds!" Seth announced,
"Get ready for it." Every buckled their seatbelts. "When you get to the gate,
ask for an audience with the Queen. Then it should be easy. She's a nice Queen,
if you don't anger her that is." Finally, STARTS made a landing, and the eight
pets walked out. They looked at the ice gates and saw them guarded by Christmas
Blumaroos.
"Let me handle this," Jeff said, walking up
to the Blumaroos. The others followed cautiously. The Blumaroos took a defensive
against Jeff and one pointed an ice spear at him.
"What do you wish to do inside her Majesty's
kingdom?" the armed one asked. Jeff was frightened, but he was well trained
at keeping calm in all situations. Having a Donksaur for a petpet makes you
do that sometimes.
"We wish to speak with the Queen to warn her
that her kingdom is in grave danger from a tribe of snowbeasts," he said. He
saw the guards bust up laughing. What's so funny? he thought to himself.
"Sn-sn-snowbeasts! Aha! Those stupid beasts
only live to migrate back and forth! They haven't changed their direction for
a hundred years! We're in danger of those brainless hairballs?" the Blumaroo
laughed. Cody could stand it no longer. He rushed past Jeff, pulled the spear
out of Blumaroo's hand, and shoved the butt of it into its stomach.
"Look here, Blumaroo. We have very important
business, and I'm not letting you interfere. Now, I suggest you leave before
I decide to turn this thing around!" he snarled. The guards were clearly shaken.
They'd never encountered a potential enemy before, and the worst they ever encountered
was when some Snowbunnies accidentally jumped all over them. They inched back.
"Okay, you can go in," the now unarmed guard
said. He opened the Ice Gates, revealing a beautiful city made completely from
ice. The eight walked in. Jeff made his way to Cody.
"Cody, I don't want you to ever do that again.
Got it? We could've been killed back there because of your rashness!" Jeff rebuked.
Cody just growled.
"Those guards are pitiful. I can't believe you
couldn't get them to do anything but laugh their striped heads off!" Cody exclaimed.
A full brawl would've taken place, if Ashley hadn't run in between them to stop
it.
"Calm down! Now I think that you are both acting
childish. I'll take the Queen, okay?" Ashley said. Cody gave his usual grunt
and Jeff nodded.
The other five were gazing at the city in awe.
"It's so pretty," Caitlin said, looking at the
intricate patterns in the buildings.
"It must've taken years to build!" Nahum said,
entranced by its beauty.
"Help! My wings have frozen stiff!" Timothy
cried. Indeed, they had. A layer of ice had formed over his very thin wings.
Kaleigh and Warren rushed over to help. Kaleigh looked him over.
"It's okay Timmy," Kaleigh said, feeling a wing,
"It's just a layer of frost! It'll melt off back in SVEN, but this means no
flying. Now, c'mon! The palace is right over there!" The eight looked at it
in stunned silence. It was huge, yet so beautiful, and even comparable to Fyora's
castle itself. They walked in, Ashley requested an audience with the Queen,
and in a matter of minutes they were standing in front of a crowned Christmas
Peophin sitting on an ice throne.
"And what is it you want?" asked the Queen.
She was normally a patient ruler, but the difficulties of the day always wore
her down near the end.
Ashley gulped at the Queen's tone, and then
began. "Your Majesty, we have evidence that claims to show that the snowbeast
tribe has changed their direction and is heading for the Frozzen Lands. Unless
action is taking soon, within two days, the whole city could be destroyed."
The Queen raised an eyebrow.
"The snowbeasts?" she asked. She started to
laugh. "My kingdom in danger of snowbeasts! The only reason they're not petpets
is because they're too stupid to stay with their master! But, seriously, what
did you want to see me about?" The whole palace erupted in laughter, even the
guards. Ashley was embarrassed, but Cody decided to take action. He started
to run towards the Queen, but Warren and Timothy tried to hold him back. It
was useless however. The extra weight of the ice on Timothy's wings made him
fall over, and Warren had to attend to his Buzz friend. Cody made a dash for
the Queen.
"Look! I don't see how you managed to make yourself
Queen, but you are putting your pitiful excuse for a kingdom in danger!" Cody
began. The Queen was taken aback. Ashley winced. Jeff was downright mad! The
foolish Gelert is just getting all of us into trouble, he thought. "Now, if
you don't do anything about this I will! Get off your throne that is in the
same shape as your brain and do something!" The Queen was now mad.
"You rain Gelert have some nerve coming up here
and insulting me! You and all your friends will be thrown into the Ice Pit!"
she said. Instantly, guards swarmed down on the children and grabbed them. Then
they started carrying them to the pit.
"Way to go Cody. Now we're going to be through
into a pit with no way out," Jeff said to the Gelert. As they approached the
pit, and Jeff looked into it he added, "Make that a fifty foot pit with no way
out."
"Into the pit with ya!" a guard exclaimed shoving
Caitlin into the pit. She screamed the whole fifty feet, landing with a thud
on the frozen floor below. At first she wondered if she was alive, she was,
and then stood up, only to be promptly squashed by Nahum who had just been thrown
in.
"Caitlin move or else Ashley will squish you
further!" Nahum said, pushing her aside. Just as he did, Ashley shrieked and
landed at the bottom. She was followed by Warren, Kaleigh, Jeff and Timothy.
Then, Cody hit the pit bottom. He looked at his friends. They had anger etched
on all their faces; even Ashley who was typically the kindest of them all was
infuriated.
"I can't believe you just did that to us!" Warren
exclaimed, "You disobeyed Jeff, went against Ashley, and got us all thrown into
a fifty foot ice pit with clearly no way out! Not even Timothy could fly that
high, even if his wings were unfrozen!" Cody just growled. He never admitted
he was wrong. He lunged for Warren, but Kaleigh grabbed his paw and twisted
it.
"Ahh, I feel better already," Kaleigh said,
looking at the Christmas Gelert who was wincing in pain.
"Okay, this is enough guys. Let's leave Cody
alone and hope he comes to," Ashley said trying to avoid anymore violence. The
seven made a little sleeping place, but it was still cold and uncomfortable.
Cody, unwilling to face his friends, slept on the other side of the pit. It
was hard for him. He had no real suit to keep warm, like Kaleigh, Jeff, Ashley,
Caitlin, or Timothy, nor warmth of body heat like Warren and Nahum had from
their friends, so he just slept cold and alone. It was then the unexplainable
happened.
To be continued...
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