Shadows: Once Upon a Time

by ladyariel32

We are all equal. But some of us are more equal than others.

Once upon a time, when Neopia was young and the flowers sang a single song in perfect harmony, there was Light and Darkness. The Light bathed Neopia in eternal warmth and wrapped it in rays of love. Darkness made sure that day turned into night. It was a time when peace ruled the hearts of all of Neopia's inhabitants.

     There were no humans, only Faeries. There were no Mutants, only normal Neopets. Good did not triumph over evil. Evil did not overcome good. It was the age of innocence.

     Once upon a time, rules and rulers did not exist for there was no use for them. Equality was a principle none of them comprehended. But it was present although they were oblivious to it.

     There were endless days of happiness. Faeries and Neopets lived together, laughing under the same blue sky and dancing with the stars at night. They listened and understood the language of nature. Thus, they learned to live in unity with it.

     Then, Darkness overpowered the Light. It did so as a Shadow, clouding the hearts of many, creating anger and then, hate. It began with two young ones.

     "Look, Tawa! I see something over that tree." Liway, a little Faerie with brown hair and reddish wings, smiled at her Green Kougra friend.

     Tawa smiled back. She began running on all four paws. Liway fluttered by, using her tiny wings, and reached the tree first. She landed in front of it. Its trunk was grey with a dark hole in the middle. A few white leaves hung from its long, dead branches. The tree looked as if all the life had been drained out of it, which was unusual. There it stood, contrasting sharply to the healthy trees surrounding it.

     Liway stared at it curiously. She had never seen anything like it before. Liway scratched her head, unsure of why her heartbeat was racing and why she felt a shiver run down her spine. It was a time when no one knew of fear. What was there to fear?

     "What a strange tree," Tawa said, panting, when she finally arrived. "I wonder what is in that hole."

     "Maybe, we should go," Liway said slowly, still staring at the tree. "There is something wrong with this tree."

     Tawa seemed not to have heard. The Kougra placed a paw into the dark hole. Liway screamed. It seemed as if her friend's paw was being swallowed, never to return. A wave of dread washed over her.

     "What is wrong with you?" Tawa said, turning to look at her.

     Liway saw Tawa's brows knitted together. It was an expression she had never seen before.

     Tawa smiled a contorted smile as she pulled her paw out of the hole. Her paw gleamed, holding a rusty copper bracelet. "It is beautiful."

     Liway approached Tawa cautiously. "May I hold it?"

     The Kougra clamped her paw shut. "It's mine!" she growled.

     Liway felt her chest tightening, a flame of fury taking over her. "I WANT IT! GIVE IT TO ME!"

     Tawa slipped the bracelet onto her paw and dashed back the way they had come. Liway clenched her fists. Her body was shaking. Quick as a flash, she flew and chased the Kougra. She dove for the bracelet, hitting Tawa in the process. Both of them fell to the ground, still fighting over it. Teeth and claws flashed white in the sunlight.

     "MINE!" Liway said triumphantly, clutching the bracelet in her left hand. She laughed. Her laugh was as cold as ice.

     "I found it. It's MINE!" Tawa reached for the bracelet with her claws.

     Liway rose into the air, successfully avoiding Tawa's sharp claws. She laughed again. Suddenly, she felt extremely powerful. Her hands tingled and glowed red. Liway slid the bracelet on her wrist and smiled cruelly. "Faeries are more powerful than Neopets. I can't believe I considered you, a mere Neopet, my… FRIEND!" She spat out the last word.

     "Faeries are selfish, superficial creatures!" Tawa retorted. "I don't want to be friends with you just as much as you don't want to be friends with me. Even more!"

     Liway's eyes blazed with anger. She focused her eyes on her right hand. A small ball of fire began to form on it. Liway looked at Tawa. The Kougra was gazing at the ball of fire in the Faerie's hand in frightened fascination. The Faerie released the fireball with a harsh laugh. Her laugh mingled with a terrified shriek.

******

Witch was awakened by howling in the middle of the night. She grumbled but got up.

     The White Aisha rolled her eyes and approached the hunched figure near her bed.

     "Currant," Witch said, seizing her Zomutt by the fur. "Ack." She quickly withdrew her paws. "Currant! You're all sweaty."

     Currant swiftly opened his blue eyes and gave a short bark. Witch knelt down beside him and scratched him behind the ears. "Had a nightmare, boy?" She smiled her twisted smile. "Never heard of Zomutts having nightmares… but then, you're no ordinary Zomutt."

     It was night in the Haunted Woods. Two shadows could be seen ambling along. One was a woman, the other an Aisha. Witch walked, dragging her paws, alongside Purple. Both were silent, thinking. As they rounded a corner, the White Aisha heard a soft whimper. Witch stopped on her tracks.

     "What?" Purple said, her voice showing signs of irritation. "We have to go home now."

     Witch ignored her new owner's words. She listened. The whimper was a little louder now. The Aisha made her way toward whoever was making the sound, guided by the cries that grew even louder as she moved nearer.

     "Witch…" Purple said in a warning tone. She threw her hands upward in an "I give up" gesture before following the White Aisha.

     Witch was holding a Zomutt in her arms, stroking his bristling fur and talking to him in a soothing voice. "Gonna take you with me, boy…"

     Purple slapped her hand on her forehead. "Witch, you can't take that…that THING to our Neohome."

     "Oh, but I will." She stood up, still carrying the Zomutt. He looked up at her with eyes so blue, they were almost black. "Currant. That's your name."

     Currant barked happily and wagged his tail. Witch looked around as she stroked her Zomutt's fur. "Still can't believe we're here, Currant." She snorted. "Huh. Shouldn't have said yes. Maybe that's why you had a nightmare. You hate this place, don't you?" Witch looked Currant in the eye and sighed.

     The two of them were in the spare room of Sprite and Chill's Neohome. Only one piece of furniture adorned the meager space: a much-used bamboo bed. After the concert, Sprite had insisted that Witch spend the night in her room.

     "But Currant can't stay in my room. He can stay in the spare room," Sprite had told her firmly. "It's a little cramped but the wind is cool." Witch was already heading for the spare room.

     Weird, Witch thought. This place gives me the creeps. Wish I was in my own bed, listening to my Seasonal Jazzmosis Album.

     Currant curled up at the foot of the bed, yawned, and closed his eyes. Witch rolled her eyes good-naturedly. She climbed into bed, pulling the covers over her head. Soon, the Aisha was lulled to sleep by her Zomutt's rhythmic breathing.

     Suddenly, Currant raised his head alertly. His eyes glowed an unusually light shade of blue as he stared at Witch who was fast asleep. Slowly, Currant stood on all four paws. He clambered onto the bamboo bed. He reached under the pillow and pulled something from under it.

     It was the Light Faerie Pencil. Currant glared at it defiantly, almost as if he was arguing with it. The pencil floated upward and toward the open window where it hovered. The Zomutt went down and padded softly in front of the window. He looked intently outside, as if he was watching something…or someone.

******

Once upon a time, equality disappeared leaving only a hint of a trace. After the first Fire Faerie discovered her powers, the other faeries discovered they had special abilities too. Realizing that they were far more powerful than Neopets, the Faeries decided that Neopets weren't worthy of living with them. Thus, they migrated to where most of the Neopets could never follow them: up in the clouds.

     It was not long before some of the Faeries concluded that they were unlike the others. Their magic greatly surpassed the magic of ordinary faeries. It was then that the Faeries began fighting with one another, each of them thinking that they were superior.

     And so, time passed by. On land, the Neopets figured out that they were all different. The shadows continued to thrive, making them loathe each other's way of living until they could no longer live together in peace. Each species claimed a piece of land as their own, living with those who had the same species as them. There they stayed, untouched by faerie hands.

     Even more time passed by. Neopia changed until it became the land that it is now. Majority of the Neopets were either adopted or owned by humans. Others were enslaved or cared for by Faeries. Some were lucky enough to live independently, in the wild.

     On the other hand, the lesser of the Faeries were captured by Balthazar and placed in bottles. It is in the bottles that they lay in wait for Neopets to set them free. In exchange for their release, they bless these Neopets with magical capabilities, the very same powers that they once considered the huge difference between Faeries and Neopets.

******

"Wake up, Witch!!!" Sprite, a Faerie Gelert, chirped, pulling down Witch's blanket. "Rise and shine."

     Witch groaned and buried herself deeper under the blanket. "Go away!" She covered her head with a pillow. Suddenly, she felt a wet tongue brushing against her paws. "Ack!" She was up like a shot. "Currant…"

     The Zomutt looked at her with his tail wagging. Witch sighed. "I know, I know. Want your doughnut. Well, don't have anymore doughnuts. I'll buy you some as soon as we leave."

     "There's no need for that." Sprite smiled and dangled a Spooky doughnut in front of Currant. He barked, made a giant leap, and grabbed the doughnut using his mouth. "You don't have to leave yet, Witch. Come and have a look around."

     "Thanks for letting us spend the night," Witch told Sprite, not looking the Gelert in the eye. "Leaving now."

     "You haven't even met Chill yet," Sprite protested. "You have to stay."

     "Can meet him now."

     Sprite frowned and looked at the ground. "Well, he isn't here. Chill won't be back until the end of the day."

     "Where is he?" Witch asked. She gave Currant a gentle pat. The Zomutt licked her paw.

     "He's at work."

     "What does he do? Plant in other Neopians' yards all day?" Witch said sarcastically.

     Sprite's voice rose dangerously. "NO! For your information, Witch, Chill works at… he plants… he's very…" The Faerie Gelert stopped.

     "Don't even know what his job is, huh?" Witch said with a smirk.

     "He gets different jobs all the time!" Sprite snapped. "How am I supposed to know what he's doing now?"

     "What time's he coming back?"

     "I don't know." Sprite narrowed her eyes into tiny slits. "Oh, you're a big one to talk. You don't even know where Purple is. She left you and she's not coming back!"

     The Aisha remained silent. "I'm right!" Sprite said triumphantly.

     Witch met Sprite's eyes. She pressed her paws together. "'Bye," she said shortly. "Currant, spit out that doughnut. Who knows what poison she put into it before she gave it to you?"

     Sprite gave her a lofty smile. "I talk to my petpet like I expect him to answer, too," she said in a phony tone.

     Witch snatched the remains of the doughnut out of Currant's mouth. She picked him up and carried him out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Her footsteps echoed as she walked on and on. Another door slammed.

     Sprite looked out the window and sneered as Witch stomped away from the Neohome. "Goodbye, Witch," she said sweetly. "Don't ever come back."

     I won't, the white Aisha screamed mentally. Her head was beginning to ache. Knew it. Should never trust ANYONE. They're all the same.

     Hot tears streamed down her face once again. She struggled to regain her composure. "It's NO USE!" she yelled angrily. Witch made sure that she was far from Sprite's Neohome before dropping to the ground and sobbing out loud. Currant licked her face.

The End

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