Into the Snowager's Lair: Part One by kougrachica89 |  |
Fortune seemed like your average little green Gelert. She lived in Neopia Central,
with her Mum, Annie, and her older sisters, Begonia the red Gelert, Saskia the
blue Gelert, and Ryella the yellow Gelert She went to school each day, had minor
quarrels with her sisters and was basically an average NeoPet. Except there
was one thing mysteriously special about her. She was named for how her Mum
had come to have her.
One day, Annie was paying the Ice Caves of Terror Mountain a little visit;
she was planning to trade in her Combomelon Easter Negg, and then she would
finally have enough Negg Tokens for a Faerie Queen Negg. Back then, Ryella (the
oldest) was simply a pup, she had just been born a month ago. And Saskia was
only two weeks old, and Begonia had been alive merely three days! Anyway, on
their Mum's way to the Neggery, she stumbled across a small bundle near the
Snowager's Cave. It was a baby green Gelert, wrapped in a cloth. Annie decided
to take her home, and named this little one Fortune, because of her good fortune
to find her. No one, except Annie, not even Fortune herself, knew that Fortune
was not biologically part of the family. Sometimes Annie sat up at night, wondering
who Fortune's real mother was, and how her daughter came to be abandoned at
the Ice Caves. And yet, she never really cared about that strange event, for
she loved her youngest daughter. Fortune was a part of the family. And she always
would be. No matter how mysterious her past was...
Fortune lazily looked out the window, into the playground. She was in the
middle of Neopian History class, her least favourite subject. Her teacher, Mrs.
Neggwin, droned on and on about the Hunt for the Crown, when Malkus Vile had
stolen King Coltzan's crown. That itself, was a fascinating subject, but Mrs.
Neggwin could make anything sound boring. So Fortune sat there, daydreaming
about being able to fly. She yearned to be a Faerie Gelert There was nothing
she wanted more. And yet, her Mum definitely couldn't afford to paint all her
pets. Ryella wanted to be Christmas. Saskia thought being a Cloud Gelert would
be perfectly wonderful. And Begonia couldn't be happier if she was coloured
Strawberry. But alas, to be fair, their Mum had said that she wouldn't buy a
paintbrush until she could afford to paint all her pets what they wanted, so
no one would feel left out. There was one exception though. If randomly they
received a desirable paintbrush, Annie would paint who wanted to be painted.
For example, if they found a Cloud Paintbrush on the floor, their Mum wouldn't
hesitate to paint Saskia. But still, Fortune knew that the chances of anyone
finding a Faerie Paintbrush randomly were less than minuscule. She sighed aloud,
for she knew she would probably never be a faerie.
"Fortune? Fortune?" Mrs. Neggwin's sharp voice startled her out of her reverie.
"Fortune, do you know what the password was for the meeting at Hubert's Hot
Dog stand?"
Fortune snapped her head up. "Um, no, sorry, I don't," she mumbled quietly.
"That is not surprising," announced Mrs. Neggwin with an icy stare. "Let's
see; does anyone know the answer... ah, Maladra! I suppose you were listening.
Tell us, would you?"
A very smug-looking Faerie Kougra named Maladra sat three seats behind Fortune.
Fortune grimaced. She supposed Maladra would love to show her up. They despised
each other. Maladra was always gloating about how rich her owner, Katti, was;
and how beautiful her Faerie wings were.
"It would be a pleasure to tell you the password, Mrs. Neggwin. I mean, I should
know (which I do, of course), because my amazing owner was one of the first
people to figure it out, and Katti has a trophy to prove it! Anyhow, the answer
was 'codestone.'"
"Excellent, Maladra! My, you certainly are a wonderful student! Oh, and, Fortune,
see me after class." Mrs. Neggwin turned and started writing the homework assignment
on the chalkboard. Maladra turned and smirked at Fortune, whose eyes grew to
be as wide as saucers and felt her stomach drop to her toes. Stay after class?
No, she couldn't! Staying after class was thought to be the penultimate punishment,
almost as bad as suspension. Fortune sat back in her seat. She tried not to
think about a rumor she had once heard. It was about a red Eyrie named Tigerjack.
Tigerjack had been goofing off so much that his teacher had asked to see him
after class. No one had ever heard from Tigerjack again.
"But still," she told herself. "It's probably just a story." She tried very
hard not to think about it. But it wasn't working.
After class, everyone went off to lunch... except Fortune. She got up and
walked over to Mrs. Neggwin's desk. When she stood, Maladra tapped her arm and
said, "Have fun getting suspended," with a slightly malicious grin. Fortune
was more nervous than ever. She pulled up a chair so she could sit down. "Ah,
Fortune. Thank you for coming to this little meeting. Now, there is something
quite serious I must discuss with you..."
To be continued... |
