Lost and Found

     The Aisha threw her blankets back and turned on the bedside lamp. Just a dream she told herself.

     Somehow, knowing that she wasn't alone in the house made it easier to leave behind the fear from her dream. The day before had been eventful--she'd done better than usual at the Employment Agency, well enough to repaint her living room with that starry coat of paint she'd had her eye on for a while--and then she'd found Lost and Found on the way home, met Tagney, and--and maybe she had a new friend. Since she'd moved to Faerieland, that had been so difficult--finding friends. She thought work at the Employment Agency would help, rubbing elbows with so many others, but it was so competitive, and anytime someone talked to her, she worried that—

     No time to think about that now, Novelyx chided herself. Today was going to be no less eventful than yesterday. It'd been a long time since she'd taken a day off, and she was both excited and terribly nervous about helping Tagney. At some point--she wasn't really sure when, sometime between putting her head down on her pillow last night and waking up this morning--she'd come up with a plan.

     She made a quick breakfast of Air Faerie Cereal and Dark Faerie Plums for herself and Tagney, and then the two set off through the streets of Faerieland toward the castle at its heart, and the vast, extensive hall of records.

     They had to wait in a short line to access the records room, and when Novelyx explained to the kind Faerie Draik archivist what they were looking for, he sighed and disappeared into the stacks. Again, they had to wait a short time. The archives were quiet, except for the flipping of pages in the great tomes the Neopians nearby were reviewing, and the occasional squeak of a cart wheel somewhere out of sight as one archivist or another fetched or returned tomes. Novelyx didn't much like the smell of the archives--it always seemed old and dirty to her, even though she knew how well the archivists took care of the precious records kept here--and she fidgeted while the two of them waited; Tagney seemed enthralled by everything going on around them.

     When the archivist returned, he brought a cart of books with him. "Every annal that contains any reference to any residence located at house number 42453 on any street in Faerieland.

     Novelyx glanced at Tagney. "Uh, thank you," she said. "I guess we'll take that table over there and start looking through them. Thank you."

     The pile of books was intimidating. Novelyx wasn't sure what she expected with such a vague request, but as she opened the first tome the archivist had brought out, the oldest and dustiest of them, she found herself overwhelmed.

     She hoped Tagney didn't notice. To make sure her new friend felt comfortable, Novelyx smiled warmly and passed her the second tome from the cart. "I'll let you know as soon as I find the reference here. Anything at all that seems familiar, just say so. There's no pressure. It's not a waste of time if we don't find anything," she said. She hoped too that they would find something, for Tagney's sake. The number on the box they'd found Jay in was the only clue they had to go on.

     For hours, the two of them flipped through page after page of dusty records, scanning each for the familiar string of numbers. Each of the dozen large tomes had a few entries--42453 Air Faerie Avenue was a popular address, and seemed to change hands every few years, and there was a 42453 Dark Faerie Path at the far edge of Faerieland, near Jhudora's Bluff, that strangely hadn't seemed to change hands in the hundreds of years of Faerieland history the archives recorded, but that was constantly referenced in reports of strange happenings.

     The Dark Faerie Path address seemed familiar to Tagney at first, but the more references to the place they found, the more certain she became that it wasn't right.

     Novelyx closed that tome and reached for the next on the cart.

     But there was no next.

     Her stomach rumbled.

     Beside her, Tagney hung her head. "What if I'm not from Faerieland? What if this is all useless?"

     "It's not useless. We're eliminating possibilities. Worst case, we try all the wrong things first, and the only thing that's left is the right place to look. I hope we're luckier than that, but if we're not..." She smiled at the Shoyru. "Lunch? I know a place that's close by."

     They stacked the record books neatly on the cart and pushed it back to the archivists' station near the door. Novelyx thanked the kind Draik archivist again, and then led Tagney out of the castle to a small cafe a short walk away.

     She ordered a Ham and Cheese Wingwich at the counter, but Tagney only asked for a glass of water.

     When they found a table out on the sidewalk, Novelyx took the first bite out of her sandwich and stopped, realizing for the first time that Tagney hadn't ordered food. "You have to be hungry after all that reading," Novelyx said.

     A pink tinge spread over Tagney's burlap cheeks. "I don't--I don't have any--"

     Novelyx's eyes grew wide. "Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't even think about that. Of course, after everything that's happened to you--you don't even know if you have a bank account. I'm so sorry, I should have offered right away, I-- What do you want? Their Light Faerie Sandwich is very good if you don't like meat, and--"

     Tagney shook her head, "You've already done so much, I couldn't."

     "Oh, you can pay me back later. It's no problem. Business at the employment agency has been very good lately, really; it's no trouble. The Water Faerie Sandwich is good too, if you like things that are-- No," Novelyx laughed, "No, you don't like messy things. Hang on, I'll be right back."

     She returned a moment later with a second plate piled with Faerie Chips alongside the sandwich.

     "I have another idea," Novelyx said, sitting back down to her own sandwich. "We'll hang posters. Someone out there knows where you belong, and they miss you terribly. I know a Grundo who's an ace with a set of colored pencils, and she travels all over Neopia. She can hang posters up everywhere. We'll put my address on them, and if anyone knows anything, they can send a Neomail, and we'll pack ourselves up and head straight there."

     "You've been incredibly kind to me," Tagney said. "I-- I don't want to impose anymore. Jay and I..." she trailed off, staring at her sandwich and chips.

     "You don't have anywhere to go," Novelyx said quietly. "I know the feeling of not wanting to be a burden," and all too well, Novelyx thought. "But it's okay. We all need each other sometimes. Look, I'll show you the ropes at the Employment Agency if you want. You can borrow a bit of NP to get started, and pay me back as soon as you can. It's good work, it pays well, it won't take you long to get on your feet. You're welcome in my guest room as long as you need to stay." A wide grin spread over Novelyx's face. "You're welcome in my guest room as long as you want to stay. And I hope that'll be a while, because I think I could use some family as much as you can." Hastily, she added, "I know it's not the same. And we are going to find out where you belong. I promise. Just, in the meantime..."

     Tagney teared up. She nodded, wiped at her beady eyes, and ate her sandwich with a small, hopeful smile spreading across her face.

     When the two were finished eating, they returned their plates to the counter and headed off into Faerie City.

     "Will you show me the agency this afternoon?" Tagney asked.

     "No. Today," she declared, "is a day off." Instead, she led Tagney into the market district at the heart of Faerie City, where she wandered through a few streets until she found the shop she was looking for. It was smaller than most, and out of the way. Novelyx didn't often come to this part of the city, but she remembered the shop from a job a few weeks back: Faerie Stationery. "If you're going to do some writing, you'll need a notebook and some pencils. They have the best selection in all Faerieland, I think. Come on, pick out what you like. And no," she added, "You cannot pay me back for these."

     After much protesting, Tagney picked out a Tatty Notebook and a Never Ending Pencil.

     "Are you sure that's what you want?" Novelyx asked. "You don't have to pick the cheapest--"

     "They feel like me," Tagney said.

     Novelyx paid for the items, and they made their way back through the streets of Faerieland to her house to get Tagney settled in properly.

     ***

     Later that afternoon, a knock sounded on Novelyx's door, a Faerie Uni with the week's newspaper. Novelyx skimmed through it briefly--later, when Tagney was settled in properly, she'd read it properly, but for now, she headed back inside, tossing the paper on the kitchen table where Tagney was scribbling notes in her new notebook.

     Novelyx had almost asked Tagney what she was going to write about when she first opened the notebook, but had thought better of it. The urge struck her again now, harder to swallow this time. She hoped Tagney would share things with her, but if she needed space to think, or to escape... For a moment she stood awkwardly, watching Tagney write and trying to think of something to say, then picked up the newspaper and sat down across from her, opening to a spot in the middle. She loved the comics section the most, but this week the editorial seemed longer than usual, and she found herself looking at a mix of Q&A from Faerieland's top officials, and classified ads.

     Numbers jumped out at her--prices for Faerie Furniture hand-me-downs and once-worn dresses, promised pay for odd jobs Neopians needed done, the address where donations could be sent ahead of the coming Faerie Festival.

     It struck her then that her idea to visit the records room had almost been a good one--something in those tomes might have reminded Tagney of something about her past, but if they wanted to get to the bottom of how she'd ended up in Lost and Found, maybe they needed newer records. Records that weren't even records yet.

     News.

     "Hey Tagney," Novelyx said, cautious of interrupting her new friend's writing. "I have another idea, if you're up for it?"

To be continued…